Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 24. Chapters: Girolamo Savonarola, William Laud, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Pavel Florensky, Jozef Tiso, José María Morelos, Nicholas Sheehy, Abuna Theophilos, Kyprianos, Wladyslaw Gurgacz, Uchiyama Gudo, John Hamilton, Zechariah ben Jehoiada, Prosper Bernard, Thomas Maxfield, Francesco Calcagno, Max Josef Metzger, Seraphim Chichagov, Jan Bula, John VII of Jerusalem. Excerpt: 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 simply Miguel Hidalgo, was a Mexican priest and a leader of the Mexican War of Independence. In 1810 Hidalgo led a group of indigenous and mestizo peasants in a revolt against the dominant peninsulares under the banner of the Virgin of Guadalupe. After clashes with the criollos and other townspeople the group disbanded. Hidalgo was captured on 21 March 1811, and executed on 30 July. Hidalgo's rebellion was the beginning of what would become the Mexican War of Independence. Although he was unsuccessful in his original aim, Hidalgo's efforts were followed by those of José María Morelos and Agustín de Iturbide who brought down the colonial governments of Spain in Mexico. Hidalgo is considered the Father of the Nation of Mexico. Hidalgo was born on May 8, 1753 as the first child of Don Cristobal Hidalgo y Costilla and Doña Ana María Gallaga at the estate of San Diego Corralejo in the Penjamo jurisdiction. Hidalgo was born a creole. "In Spanish-American history, the term 'creole' signifies one of pure Spanish blood, born, not in Spain, but in one of the Spanish colonial possessions." Under the system of the day, Hidalgo's rights as a creole were far less than those of someone born in Spain but slightly better than a mestizo, someone with a mixture of Spanish and Amerindian ancestry. Both of Hidalgo's parents were descended from well respected families within the creole community. Eight days after his birth Hidalgo was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith in the parish church of Cuitzeo de los Naranjos. Hidalgo's parents would have three other sons, Jose Joaquin, Manuel Mariano, and Jose Maria. In 1759 when Hidalgo was 6, Charles III of Spain ascended the throne, he soon sent out a visitor-general with the power to investigate and reform all parts of colonial government. Privileges previously withheld from cre