No "Hidalgo" Led a Mexican Revolution in 1820—But Miguel Hidalgo Started Independence in 1810

The premise is off by a decade and a name.

The Real Hidalgo: Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753–1811)

• Priest in Dolores (Guanajuato).
• September 16, 1810: Issued the **Grito de Dolores**—call to arms against Spanish rule.
• Goal: **Independence from Spain**, redistribution of land, abolition of slavery/tribute, return of land to indigenous communities. A social revolution *within* the independence war.
• Led peasant army (untrained, armed with machetes/slings) → captured Guanajuato, Valladolid; marched on Mexico City but retreated.
• Defeated at Calderón Bridge (Jan 1811), captured, defrocked, executed (July 1811).

1820: The *Other* Turning Point

• Spain's Liberal Triennium (1820–23): Riego's coup restored 1812 Constitution. Spanish viceroy in Mexico (Apodaca) swore it.
• Conservative criollos (Agustín de Iturbide) feared liberal Spain more than independence.
• Plan of Iguala (Feb 1821): Iturbide + Guerrero → **Three Guarantees**: Independence, Catholicism, Unity.
• Treaty of Córdoba (Aug 1821): Spain recognizes Mexican Empire.

So: No 1820 Revolution by Hidalgo.

Hidalgo's 1810 uprising *was* the spark. 1820 was the Spanish liberal crisis that allowed conservatives to consummate independence *on their terms* (Iturbide's Empire, then Republic 1824).