Mexican Independence History The Siege of Guanajuato

On September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo, parish priest of the town of Dolores, issued the famous â€Å"Grito de la Dolores† or â€Å"Shout of Dolores.† Before long, he was at the head of a vast, unruly mob of peasants and Indians armed with machetes and clubs. Years of neglect and high taxes by Spanish authorities had made the people of Mexico ready for blood. Along with co-conspirator Ignacio Allende, Hidalgo led his mob through the towns of San Miguel and Celaya before setting their sights on the largest city in the area: the mining town of Guanajuato. Father Hidalgos Rebel Army Hidalgo had allowed his soldiers to sack the homes of Spaniards in the town of San Miguel and the ranks of his army swelled with would-be looters. As they passed through Celaya, the local regiment, composed mostly of Creole officers and soldiers, switched sides and joined the rebels. Neither Allende, who had a military background nor Hidalgo could completely control the angry mob that followed them. The rebel â€Å"army† that descended upon Guanajuato on September 28 was a seething mass of anger, vengeance, and greed, numbering anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 according to eyewitness accounts. The Granary of Granaditas The intendant of Guanajuato, Juan Antonio Riaà ±o, was an old personal friend of Hidalgo. Hidalgo even sent his old friend a letter, offering to protect his family. Riaà ±o and the royalist forces in Guanajuato decided to fight. They chose the large, fortress-like public granary (Alhà ³ndiga de Granaditas) to make their stand: all of the Spaniards moved their families and wealth inside and fortified the building as best they could. Riaà ±o was confident: he believed that the rabble marching on Guanajuato would be quickly dispersed by organized resistance. The Siege of Guanajuato Hidalgo’s horde arrived on September 28 and was quickly joined by many miners and workers of Guanajuato. They laid siege to the granary, where royalist officers and Spaniards fought for their lives and those of their families. The attackers charged en masse, taking heavy casualties. Hidalgo ordered some of his men to nearby rooftops, where they threw stones at the defenders and onto the roof of the granary, which eventually collapsed under the weight. There were only some 400 defenders, and although they were dug in, they could not win against such odds. Death of Riaà ±o and the White Flag While directing some reinforcements, Riaà ±o was shot and killed instantly. His second-in-command, the town assessor, ordered the men to run up a white flag of surrender. As the attackers moved in to take prisoners, the ranking military officer in the compound, Major Diego Berzà ¡bal, countermanded the order to surrender and the soldiers opened fire on the advancing attackers. The attackers thought the â€Å"surrender† a ruse and furiously redoubled their attacks. Pipila, Unlikely Hero According to local legend, the battle had a most unlikely hero: a local miner nicknamed â€Å"Pà ­pila,† which is a hen turkey. Pà ­pila earned his name because of his gait.  He was born deformed, and others thought he walked like a turkey. Often ridiculed for his deformity, Pà ­pila became a hero when he strapped a large, flat stone onto his back and made his way to the large wooden door of the granary with tar and a torch. The stone protected him as he put the tar on the door and set it afire. Before long, the door burned through and the attackers were able to enter. Massacre and Pillage The siege and assault of the fortified granary only took the massive attacking horde about five hours. After the episode of the white flag, no quarter was offered to the defenders within, who were all massacred. Women and children were sometimes spared, but not always. Hidalgo’s army went on a pillaging rampage in Guanajuato, looting the homes of Spaniards and creoles alike. The plundering was horrible, as everything not nailed down was stolen. The final death toll was approximately 3,000 insurgents and all 400 defenders of the granary. Aftermath and Legacy of the Siege of Guanajuato Hidalgo and his army spent some days in Guanajuato, organizing the combatants into regiments and issuing proclamations. They marched out on October 8, en route to Valladolid (now Morelia). The siege of Guanajuato marked the beginning of serious differences between the two leaders of the insurgency, Allende, and Hidalgo. Allende was aghast at the massacres, pillaging and looting he saw during and after the battle: he wanted to weed out the rabble, make a coherent army of the rest and fight an â€Å"honorable† war. Hidalgo, on the other hand, encouraged the looting, thinking of it as payback for years of injustice at the hands of Spaniards. Hidalgo also pointed out that without the prospect of looting, many combatants would disappear. As for the battle itself, it was lost the minute Riaà ±o locked away the Spaniards and richest creoles in the â€Å"safety† of the granary. The normal citizens of Guanajuato (quite justly) felt betrayed and abandoned and were quick to side with the attackers. In addition, most of the attacking peasants were only interested in two things: killing Spaniards and looting. By concentrating all of the Spaniards and all of the loot in one building, Riaà ±o made it inevitable that the building would be attacked and all within massacred. As for Pà ­pila, he survived the battle and today there is a statue of him in Guanajuato. Word of the horrors of Guanajuato soon spread around Mexico. The authorities in Mexico City soon realized that they had a major uprising on their hands and began organizing its defense, which would clash with Hidalgo again on Monte de las Cruces. Guanajuato was also significant in that it alienated many wealthy creoles to the rebellion: they would not join it until much later. Creole homes, as well as Spanish ones, were destroyed in the wanton looting, and many Creole families had sons or daughters married to Spaniards. These first battles of Mexican independence were viewed as a class war, not as a Creole alternative to Spanish governance. Sources Harvey, Robert. Liberators: Latin America’s Struggle for Independence Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 2000.Lynch, John. The Spanish American Revolutions 1808-1826 New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1986.Scheina, Robert L. Latin America’s Wars, Volume 1: The Age of the Caudillo 1791-1899 Washington, D.C.: Brassey’s Inc., 2003.Villalpando, Josà © Manuel. Miguel Hidalgo. Mexico City: Editorial Planeta, 2002.

The Chicago Mafia During The Prohibition Era - 1236 Words

Just like in every other business legal or not legal if there is demand, be rest assured there will be a supply. The result was bootlegging â€Å"alcoholic liquor unlawfully made, sold, or transported, without registration or payment of taxes.† (random house, 2015) Bootlegging helped open the door for more organized crime such as opening speakeasies, which were private illegal stores and clubs that sold alcohol. These activities turned out to be a very lucrative business in the black market sector, thus creating large organized crime groups, more criminal and violent activities. This was especially true in the larger cities, such as Chicago were one man named Al Capone ruled the city â€Å"One of the most famous American gangsters, Al Capone, also†¦show more content†¦In the 1920s many anti-prohibitionists started gaining steam, because of the new found support and the obviousness that the 18th Amendment was not working. When the great depression struck in 1929, it h elped support the Anti-Prohibition movement even further, for the sheer fact that the government could end the prohibition and instead of the black market getting the money from alcohol sales, it could be going to the people. The money the government was using to enforce the prohibition, that clearly wasn’t working, could be going to areas in the U.S. that really needed it. These were some of the points that even Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt used during his election campaign, and the majority loved the idea of ending the prohibition and Roosevelt was elected to be the 32nd president in November 1932. Soon after Roosevelt came into office it was put into motion to repeal the 18th Amendment. â€Å"After over a decade of being a â€Å"dry† country, on December 6, 1932, Senator John Blaine of Wisconsin submitted a resolution onto the floor of the Senate to submit the 21st amendment to the states for ratification, which followed in February 1933. That very same year, t he 36th state, which was the last necessary one needed (and ironically ended up being Utah), ratified the 21st amendment at 5:32pm on December 5th, at which point President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, at 7pmon the same day, signed the amendment and

Vote For Snowball The Kosher Porker Free Essays

Tulip Serbin Plansinis Vote For Snowball: The Kosher Porker At a time when food and spirits were low, a certain candidate stepped up to the hay mound to lift up such grief and depression. In his actions and improvements to better the farm, he made the harvest more productive, and led victory through a tough battle. No one would be a greater leader than Snowball. We will write a custom essay sample on Vote For Snowball: The Kosher Porker or any similar topic only for you Order Now He supported animals’ rights, a continued revolution, and productivity. Shortly after the rebellion of Mr. Jones, to signify this exciting new change to the society of human kind, Manor Farm was quickly changed to Animal Farm. By Snowball changing the name of the farm, it now indicated that this farm was run and operated by animals. Not only did this show farmers the strength of the animals, but also the effecting power they could have. Snowball’s dream was to have every farm run and operated by animals. Snowball was very persuasive. Snowball persuaded the animals with the simple sentence, which said, â€Å"Surely, comrades, surely there is no one among you who wants to see Jones come back† (Orwell 52)? To put his plan of a continued revolution in action, he then sent pigeons to all the neighboring farms to spread the word of the rebellion, hoping to get other animals thinking of the same idea. Also, the Beats of England song was being highly recognized and sung by animals and humans alike. Snowball was definitely a highly determined pig, and knew how to popularize his farm and its effecting power. Nothing could be more superior in a leader, than being â€Å"for the people†. Snowball was for the Animals’ Rights, and showed it prominent ways. During Old major’s speech, he came up with the idea of Animalism, where animals are highly acknowledged, and humans are shunned from the animal world. Snowball was the first pig to take any action in improving upon Animalism. Old Major had a long list of rules and regulations for the animals if a rebellion was to take place. Snowball elaborated the long set into The 7 Commandments. The commandments were then written on the barn so that all the animals could see them. By doing this, all the animals knew what they could and couldn’t do. Every person (or animal) likes to patriotic to their cause or country, and snowball helped them raise their patriotism by making a flag. An organization or town or anything that has a leader†¦ could not be a professional name until a flag is made. By making this flag, it published and popularized again the power the farm had. Snowball also came up with very good ideas. The most important idea was the idea for the building of the windmill. In the story he said, â€Å"I do not deny that to build this would be a difficult business, but you would decrease your working time, and it would provide luxury to all animals† (Orwell 65). Snowball also liked to get involved. One example is he fought himself in the Battle of the Cowshed. By using Julius Caesar’s tactics he led his farm to victory. He knew how to lead animals very well. In the text he said, â€Å"War is War. The only good human being is a dead one† (Orwell 59). Snowball showed immense courage and definitely earned the animals’ respect for it. Snowball knew how to listen and treat the animals to their own wants and needs. Snowball knew how to get the â€Å"hay† rolling. Snowball was very productive. In order for the animals to have some say in the matter, he made up the idea of The Committees, which included The Egg Production Committee for the chickens, The Clean Tail Committee for the cows, and Whiter Wool Committee for the Sheep, plus many more. Although, the committees didn’t go very far, showing the animals that he (a pig) was letting the animals in the â€Å"in crowd† , showing something no other pig was able to do. Also, Snowball made the harvest successful. In the story he said, â€Å"Now, Comrades, let us make it a point of honor to get in the harvest more quickly than Jones and his men did† (Orwell 43)! Snowball was determined to make it a point that the animals could accomplish far more than Jones could do. By saying that quote, he got the animals excited to participate in the â€Å"challenge† of â€Å"Beat Jones in the Harvest†. Snowball also taught the animals education. Although some animals couldn’t get passed the 4th letter in the alphabet, every animal on the farm was literate. Indeed, they did beat Jones in the harvest thanks to Snowball’s supervision and Boxer’s hard work. Snowball supported animals’ rights, a continued revolution, and productivity. He also was involved in getting work done, such as fighting in the Battle of the Cowshed. He also knew how to get the work accomplished, but in a way that benefited everyone. Snowball in the end knew how to win the â€Å"popular vote† by â€Å"being for the animals†. How to cite Vote For Snowball: The Kosher Porker, Essay examples

What Matters Most To Me free essay sample

There are many things that matter to me. The first is God, I go to Church just about every Sunday.nthe second thing is my family. They mean the world to me. The last thing is my friends. If I am not at school or with my family, Im with my friends. First, God matters to me. If you dont have God, then who do you have? Me and my family go to Church every Sunday. We are religious but not majorly religious. God comes before anybody or anything. The second thing is my family. Like I said, they mean everything to me. I love them with my whole heart, even though they annoy the mess out of me. Me and my family are close, we share a lot with each other. I will always choose them over anybody. The third and last thing, are my friends. They are my rock. We will write a custom essay sample on What Matters Most To Me or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page When I cant go to my family and talk to them about it, I always have them. There are a lot to name but I love them all equally. And even though I might lose some of them, in the end it will prove who is my true friends and who isnt. To conclude, I cant pick which of these three mean more. Of course God means the most. But they are all basically equal. I literally couldnt live without these three things. Because in the end I know for a fact that God, my family, and my friends, will always be there for me.