Skip to main content

Primary sourceDocument

Signature of Miguel Hidalgo Y Costilla

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla

Hidalgo's autograph signature, as it appears on his decrees and letters, including the title 'Generalísimo de America'.

This is Hidalgo's own handwritten signature, used on his decrees as leader of the insurgency.

Ask Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Black handwritten signature on white background reading 'Mig. Hidalgo', with 'Generalísimo de America' written below in cursive, followed by a flourish.
Signature of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.

About this source

What it is

This is the handwritten signature of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, reading 'Mig. Hidalgo' with the title 'Generalísimo de America' written beneath it.

Why it matters

A signature like this appeared on the decrees and letters Hidalgo issued as leader of the insurgent movement. The title he used shows how he presented himself: not simply as a priest, but as the supreme military commander of the independence cause.

Look closer

  • What does the title 'Generalísimo de America' suggest about how Hidalgo saw his own role?
  • Why might a leader's handwriting and signature matter to historians?
  • What can't a signature alone tell us about a person?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla sources

Meet the AI Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla →
Black and white photograph of a large old bronze bell mounted in a wooden and iron frame, with metal rods and a crossbeam above it, set against a stone wall with arches visible in the background.Speech

Secondary source

Grito de Dolores

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla · 16 September 1810

Photograph of a scanned, aged Spanish colonial edict headed 'Nos los Inquisidores Apostolicos' in dense printed and handwritten text, with a seal at lower left, signatures at bottom, and an AGN archive stamp at lower right.Document

Primary source

Edicto contra Hidalgo

Apostolic Inquisitors of New Spain · 1810

Front facade of the Alhóndiga de Granaditas, a large stone building with rows of small barred windows, its weathered pinkish-beige walls and a wide stone staircase in the foreground. Two people walk on the plaza, and a third stands at right.Artifact

Secondary source

Alhóndiga de Granaditas

1798-1809 (built); 1810 (battle)

A dim stone-walled cell with a wooden chair with woven seat, a small table holding stacked papers, an open book, a quill pen in an inkstand, a bread roll on a metal plate, and a candle holder. A cot with striped blanket sits behind, and a glass barrier runs across the front.Artifact

Secondary source

Calabozo de Hidalgo, Chihuahua

18th century

Hand-colored lithograph of a standing man in a black cape, wide-brimmed hat with red and green plumes, red sash, blue trousers and tall boots, holding a cross raised in one hand and a walking staff in the other, with a sabre at his side.Painting

Secondary source

Miguel Hidalgo (2) by Claudio Linati 1828

Claudio Linati · 1828

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions