Cry of Dolores

General Juan Álvarez

In 1820 Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla proclaimed the famous Cry of Dolores rallying the people to protect the interests of Guanajuato and urging them to revolt against Spanish elite.  Padre Hidalgo was assassinated soon after the rebellion began, and the fight for independence brought a halt to Spanish mining operations.  Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, but Mexico City was invaded by the United States.  In September 1847 soldiers from Guanajuato joined in the unsuccessful attempt to defend México City.  Under the treaty which ended the war, Mexico ceded a huge part of their northern territory including all of what is now California, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona, as well as portions of Utah and Wyoming. Under Antonio López de Santa Anna and the provisional government of General Juan Álvarez, peace was restored.  Benito Juárez assumed the presidency of Mexico in Guanajuato and made it the provisional capital of Mexico in 1861.