Marcos Marcelo Escobedo (1784–1833) was a

military commander The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitud ...

in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

. He later became Mayor of

Colotlán The municipality of Colotlán is in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 505 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at . It stands at above sea level. Colotlán is bordere ...

, Jalisco.

Early life

Marcos Escobedo was born in 1784, son of José Joaquín Escobedo, presumably, a descendant of the original

Tlaxcaltec The Tlaxcalans, or Tlaxcaltecs, are a Nahua people who live in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Pre-Columbian history The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome that compr ...

colonizers of the region.

Military career

In 1808, he held the title Second Lieutenant in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

army and was governor of the Tlaxcala neighborhood. On November 1, 1808, he declared himself in favor of Mexico's independence from Spain, and along with a priest named

Pablo José Calvillo Pablo José Calvillo (1763 – April 6, 1816) served as a parish priest in northern Nueva Galicia in the early nineteenth century, and led a number of the indigenous inhabitants of the Colotlán region in open rebellion against the Spanish during th ...

and the indigenous garrisons of the region, put himself at the service of independence leader

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican ...

. In January 1811, he and his troops participated in the Battle of the Bridge of Calderón. His troops suffered great losses in the battle and returned to Colotlán to face the troops of Francisco del Real, Juan Lozano, and Sebastián Gallegos, who had occupied the town's square in their absence. In the same month, they faced a battle in Las Canoas with the troops of royalist priest Álvarez known as "El Chicharronero". In April 1811, his troops faced the army of Colonel

Pedro Celestino Negrete Pedro Celestino Joseph Negrete y Falla (14 May 1777 – 11 April 1846) was a Spanish politician and military man who served as a member of the interim government of México after the abolition of the First Mexican Empire. He fought alongside ...

and were defeated in the Battle of Tierra Blanca. Marcos Escobedo went into hiding for several years after this defeat. In 1817, he came out of hiding and once again joined the war for independence, fighting battles in the towns of San Andrés,

Chalchihuites Chalchihuites is a municipality in the Mexican state of Zacatecas in northwest Mexico. The archaeological site of Altavista, at Chalchihuites, is located 137 miles to the northwest of the city of Zacatecas and 102 miles southeast of the city of Dur ...

and Huejuquilla, gaining control of the region for the independence movement. He then joined forces with the armies of Tlaltenango and

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the c ...

and launched a military campaign to take Bolaños and then

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexican state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above sea level, on the banks of the Rí ...

Late life

On September 27, 1820, Marcos Escobedo organized great festivities in Colotlán to celebrate Mexican independence and the entrance of the independence movement's troops into

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

. In 1825, Marcos Escobedo was named Mayor of Colotlán. As mayor, he was charged with subjugating the indigenous groups in the region who opposed the distribution of communal lands. Marcos Escobedo died on August 7, 1833.

References

* Bernardo Carlos Casas. ''Historia de Colotlán''. * José María Muria. ''Sumario histórico de Jalisco''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Escobedo, Marcos 1784 births 1833 deaths Colonial Mexico Military history of Mexico People of the Mexican War of Independence Mexican rebels People from Jalisco Indigenous Mexicans