View source for Ignacio Allende

{{short description|Mexican independence leader}}
{{family name hatnote|Allende|Unzaga|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Ignacio Allende
|image=Ignacio Allende.jpg
|image_size=
|caption= Portrait by Ramón Pérez, 1865
|birth_date={{birth date|1769|1|21|mf=y}}
|death_date={{death date and age|1811|6|26|1769|1|21}}
|birth_place= San Miguel el Grande,<br/>[[Viceroyalty of New Spain]]<br/>(now [[San Miguel de Allende]], [[Guanajuato]], Mexico)
|death_place= [[Chihuahua City|Chihuahua]], [[Nueva Vizcaya, New Spain|Nueva Vizcaya]], Viceroyalty of New Spain<br/>(now [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], Mexico)
|allegiance= [[File:Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg|border|20px]] [[New Spain]] (1769–1809)<br/> [[File:Escudo de Allende Reverso Cruz.svg|border|21px]] [[Mexican War of Independence|Mexican independence movement]] (1809–1811)
|branch=
|serviceyears=1802 – 1811
|rank=Captain (New Spain),<br/>Lieutenant General (Mexican independence movement)
|unit=
|commands=
|battles=[[Mexican War of Independence]]
|awards=
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}

'''Ignacio José de Allende y Unzaga''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ɑː|ˈ|j|ɛ|n|d|eɪ|,_|-|d|i}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/allende|title=Allende|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Allende Gossens|access-date=27 July 2019}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|UK|æ|ˈ|-|,_|aɪ|ˈ|ɛ|n|-}},<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Allende,+Salvador |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807072602/https://www.lexico.com/definition/allende,_salvador |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-08-07 |title=Allende, Salvador |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/isabel-allende|title=Allende, Isabel|work=[[Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English]]|publisher=[[Longman]]|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|es|iɣˈnasjo aˈʝende|lang}}; January 21, 1769 – June 26, 1811), commonly known as '''Ignacio Allende''', was a captain of the Spanish Army in [[New Spain]] who came to sympathize with the [[Mexican War of Independence|Mexican independence movement]]. He attended the secret meetings organized by [[Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez]], where the possibility of an independent [[Mexico]] was discussed. He fought along with  [[Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla]] in the first stage of the struggle, eventually succeeding him in leadership of the rebellion. Allende was captured by Spanish colonial authorities while he was in [[Coahuila]] and executed for [[treason]] in [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]].

==Biography==
[[File:Ignacio Allende statue.jpg|thumb|left|120px|Allende statue in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua.]]
[[File:Ignacio_Allende_by_Jose_Ines_Tovilla.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Posthumous portrait of Ignacio Allende (1769-1811).]]
Allende was born on January 21, 1769, to a wealthy Spanish [[Criollo (people)|criollo]] family in [[San Miguel de Allende|San Miguel el Grande]] in [[Guanajuato]], Mexico. His father was Domingo Narciso de Allende, a wealthy trader.

In 1802, he joined the army, serving under general [[Félix María Calleja del Rey, 1st Count of Calderón|Félix María Calleja]]. In 1806, he started to favor the possibility of independence from [[Spain]]. 
His attendance at a conspiratorial meeting in Valladolid (today [[Morelia]]) was discovered, in 1809, by the Spanish and went unsanctioned. Regardless, Allende kept supporting the underground independence movement. He was eventually invited by the mayor of [[Querétaro, Querétaro|Querétaro]], [[Miguel Domínguez]] and his wife Josefa Ortíz de Domínguez to discuss further plans for independence at their home. It was during one of these meetings where Allende met Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and his captain [[Juan Aldama]].

Originally, the independence movement was to be led jointly by Allende and Aldama. A change of plans prompted by the discovery of the conspiracy forced Hidalgo to start the rebellion earlier than agreed. The "[[Grito de Dolores]]" uttered  by Hidalgo signaled the beginning of the revolution, after which the conspirators rallied behind him. The rebel army quickly captured the town of [[Dolores Hidalgo|Dolores]] and marched towards San Miguel el Grande, where Allende obtained the support of his cavalry regiment. On September 22, 1810, Hidalgo y Costilla was officially made [[captain general]] of the Revolutionary army while Allende was made [[lieutenant general]]. 
After the famous [[Capture of Alhóndiga de Granaditas|capture]] of the [[Alhóndiga de Granaditas]], in Guanajuato, and his victory in the [[Battle of Monte de las Cruces]] Allende suggested Hidalgo march toward [[Mexico City]] and capture it. 
As a consequence of the rebels' defeat in the [[Battle of Calderón Bridge]], the leadership of the Revolutionary army demanded the replacement of Hidalgo as their leader. Allende took this new responsibility and, with a decimated army, he decided to march north to the [[United States]], with the goal of making connections with those in the United States for support.<ref name="mexdes">{{cite journal|title=Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla|journal=Mexico Desconocido|publisher=Grupo Editorial Impresiones Aéreas|location=Mexico City|url=http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/notas/4182-Miguel-Hidalgo-y-Costilla |language=es |access-date=November 27, 2008 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121205850/http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/notas/4182-Miguel-Hidalgo-y-Costilla|archive-date=November 21, 2008}}</ref><ref name="inah">{{cite web|url=http://www.inah.gob.mx/Ninos/miguelhidalgo/index.html |title=¿Quien fue Hidalgo? |access-date=November 27, 2009 |publisher=INAH |location=Mexico |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921041309/http://www.inah.gob.mx/Ninos/miguelhidalgo/index.html |archive-date=September 21, 2008}}</ref>
The rebels, however, were ambushed at the [[Wells of Baján]]  due to the betrayal of [[Ignacio Elizondo]], leading to the capture of Allende, Hidalgo, and several other commanders. Allende's illegitimate child Indalecio was killed during this ambush.

Allende was taken to the city of [[Chihuahua, Chihuahua|Chihuahua]] where he was tried for insubordination and imprisoned. He was informed of 2,000 Americans located near [[San Antonio de Bexar]] and asked for a meeting with the viceroy in order to contemplate a joint solution in defending a potential American invasion. His request was denied and was executed by firing squad on June 26, 1811. His body was decapitated and his head taken to the [[Alhóndiga de Granaditas]] where it was shown to the public inside a cage hung from one corner of the building. In 1824 his remains were buried in the vault reserved for the viceroys and presidents in the cathedral of Mexico. His remains were moved in 1925 to the [[El Ángel|Independence Column]] in Mexico City.

== Legacy ==
Allende is a national [[hero]] of Mexico. Places named in his honor include the municipal district and city of [[San Miguel de Allende]] in the state of [[Guanajuato]], the municipal district of [[Allende, Chihuahua]], the municipality of [[Talpa de Allende]] in [[Jalisco]], [[Allende, Nuevo León]], [[Allende, Coahuila]], and [[Allende metro station]], in Mexico City.

==See also==
*[[History of Mexico]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikisourcelang|es|Ignacio Allende|Ignacio Allende}}
*{{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20050519082023/http://www.agn.gob.mx/agn_joyas/joya06.html Account of the Grito de Dolores, by Ignacio Allende]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allende, Ignacio}}
[[Category:1769 births]]
[[Category:1811 deaths]]
[[Category:Mexican generals]]
[[Category:Mexican people of Basque descent]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New Spain]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Guanajuato]]
[[Category:People from San Miguel de Allende]]
[[Category:Executed Mexican people]]
[[Category:People executed for treason against Spain]]
[[Category:People executed by Spain by firing squad]]
[[Category:Mexican independence activists]]