José Manuel de Herrera (27 March 1776 – 17 September 1831) was a Mexican Catholic priest, writer, politician and professor of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. He joined the insurgents during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence (, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from the Spanish Empire. It was not a single, coherent event, but local and regional ...

. He directed the newspaper ''Correo Americano del Sur''

Biography

He studied at the Carolino College of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

, where he obtained a bachelor's and a doctorate. He was priest of Santa Ana Acatlán and Huamuxtitlán. He served as chaplain of the royalist army commanded by Mateo Musitu in Chiautla de la Sal. At the end of 1811, when

José María Morelos José María Teclo Morelos Pérez y Pavón () (30 September 1765 – 22 December 1815) was a Mexican Priesthood in the Catholic Church, Catholic priest, statesman and military leader who led the Mexican War of Independence movement, assuming it ...

took the place, he was apprehended along with the rest of the royalist soldiers. However, he decided to go over to the insurgent side, being appointed military vicar. After the capture of Oaxaca in 1812, he gave a solemn mass in the

Oaxaca Cathedral The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (), located in the city of Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, Mexico, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Antequera, Oaxaca. Its construction began circa 1535 and it was consecrated on 12 July 1733. ...

to celebrate the occasion. Two months later, Morelos commissioned him to found and direct the ''Correo Americano del Sur'' newspaper, in this publication he collaborated with

Carlos María de Bustamante Carlos María de Bustamante Merecilla (4 November 1774 – 29 September 1848) was a Mexican statesman, historian, journalist who played a political and intellectual role in support of Mexican independence, both before and during the Mexican Wa ...

. In September 1813, he was a deputy of the Chilpancingo Congress representing the Tecpan province. He collaborated in the drafting of the Constitutional Decree for the Liberty of Mexican America, he was a signatory to it, as well as the Solemn Act of the Declaration of Independence of North America. In 1815, Morelos appointed him plenipotentiary to negotiate with the United States government in Washington D.C. the supply of arms and ammunition. For this trip, Morelos entrusted him with the custody of his son

Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Juan Nepomuceno Almonte Ramírez (May 15, 1803 – March 21, 1869) was a Mexican soldier, commander, minister of war, congressman, diplomat, presidential candidate, and regent. The natural son of Catholic cleric José María Morelos, a leading c ...

, however they only managed to reach

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. After the death of Morelos, Herrera returned to Puebla, where he accepted the pardon offered by the viceroy Juan Ruiz de Apodaca. At the instructions of Bishop Antonio Joaquín Pérez, he taught a Chair in Philosophy at his alma mater. In 1821, after the independence of Mexico had been consummated,

Agustín de Iturbide Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Arámburu (; 27 September 178319 July 1824), commonly known as Agustín de Iturbide and later by his regnal name Agustín I, was the first Emperor of Mexico from 1822 until his abdication in 1823. An offi ...

appointed him Minister of Foreign and Internal Relations of the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire (, ) was a constitutional monarchy and the first independent government of Mexico. It was also the only former viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after gaining independence. The empire existed from 18 ...

. During Vicente Guerrero's government, he was appointed Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Business. He was the

President of the Chamber of Deputies President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

in 1828 and 1829.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Jose Manuel Mexican Empire 1776 births 1831 deaths Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico) People from Tlaxcala 19th-century Mexican politicians Politicians from Tlaxcala 19th-century Mexican Roman Catholic priests