Today in History—September 16: A Cry for Independence for Mexico

Written by

Katie Angell

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

History

Before dawn on September 16, 1810, a church bell rang in the small town of Dolores, Mexico. The man behind it was Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a Roman Catholic priest.

Little did he know, he was about to help set a revolution into motion.

Hidalgo belonged to a group of conspirators plotting an uprising against the Spanish colonial government of New Spain. The revolt had been planned for a later date, but when authorities discovered the conspiracy, Hidalgo and his cohorts decided they could wait no longer.

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In the early hours of September 16, Hidalgo summoned the people of Dolores by ringing the church bell of his parish. Before the gathered crowd, he issued an impassioned call to arms against Spanish rule. The moment became known as the Grito de Dolores, or the Cry of Dolores.

Exactly what Hidalgo said has been lost to history, but his message was strong enough to ignite a rebellion. Hundreds joined the insurgents that day, and their numbers soon swelled into the thousands.

Fun Fact

In 2025 Mexican Pres. Claudia Sheinbaum became the first woman to lead the Grito de Dolores.

Hidalgo would not live to see Mexico gain its independence: He was captured and executed the following year, but the struggle continued under other revolutionary leaders. Eleven years after the Cry of Dolores, Mexico finally secured independence from Spain.

More than two centuries later, Hidalgo’s call still echoes. Each year on the night of September 15, Mexico’s president reenacts the famous grito from the National Palace in Mexico City, ringing the exact same bell Hidalgo did and leading the crowd in cries honoring the heroes of independence. The celebration continues into September 16—now Mexico’s Independence Day.

By the Numbers