Descripción
96 pages with maps and illustrations. Royal octavo (9 1/4" x 6 3/4") bound in original publisher's pictorial wrappers. First edition. The Battle of Monte de las Cruces was one of the pivotal battles of the early Mexican War of Independence, in October 1810. It was fought between the insurgent troops of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Ignacio Allende against the New Spain royalist troops of General Torcuato Trujillo, in the Sierra de las Cruces mountains between Mexico City and Toluca. The battle marks the furthest advance of the first rebel campaign, before Hidalgo decided to retreat towards Guadalajara, and not attack Mexico City, despite the fact that he won the battle. The battle marks the end of the first offensive in the Mexican War of Independence, which began with the Grito de Dolores. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was the parish priest of Dolores, Guanajuato, involved with one of a number of conspiracies against the colonial government in the early 19th century. A particular conspiracy was called the Conspiracy of Querétaro. The plot, which was supposed to be launched in December 1810, was discovered. Fearing his arrest, Hidalgo decided to begin the insurrection early by calling upon parishioners to rise up against the colonial government.[2][3] The Grito was a call to arms to better the lives of Mexicans, and it immediately attracted the support of the lower classes in the town of Dolores and the Bajío region.[4] One reason for this was that Hidalgo had credibility among the lower classes, despite being an upper class Creole, due to his work to give the poor and indigenous peoples more economic opportunities. This made Hidalgo leader of the insurgent movement instead of fellow conspirator Ignacio Allende, despite Allende's training as a military commander. Only a month and a half after the Grito de Dolores, Hidalgo s army entered the Toluca Valley on its way to Mexico City. The insurgents rampage through Guanajuato terrified the elite in New Spain and even many of the lower classes of the more conservative valleys of Toluca and Mexico.[2] The city of Toluca called upon viceregal authorities for help, which came in the form of contingent of royalist forces under the command of General Torcuato Trujillo. The battle began at about 8am on 30 October 1810 in a cold pine forest on rugged territory. The battle had three phases, corresponding to the three offensives of the insurgent army against royalist positions. The first two were rebuffed, but the insurgents managed to surround the royalists. Before the third try, Hidalgo sent emissaries to try to get the royalist to surrender but the head of the royalist army responded by killing the emissaries. This angered insurgent troops. The third offensive was successful and cleared the road for the advance to Mexico City. However, the insurgent army experienced heavy losses, with 2,000 troops dead and many more wounded. This was due to the lack of training of insurgent troops as well as the lack of modern weapons. After the battle, Hidalgo s troops advanced as far as Cuajimalpa, which today is just within the Federal District of Mexico City. Meanwhile, Hidalgo also sent word that he wanted to speak to the viceroy, Felix María Calleja.[3] However, at this point, Hidalgo decided not to press forward to Mexico City and instead retreat towards Guadalajara. The battle crippled the royalist army but did not completely destroy it. It was able to regroup and pursue a counteroffensive as Hidalgo retreated. Condition: Some edge wear with some small chips else a very good copy. N° de ref. del artículo TEH015
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