The Calderón Bridge has been proclaimed a historical heritage of the Mexican nation since 1932. This bridge was designed and made in masonry between the years 1670 and 1672. It bears its name in honor of Francisco Calderón y Romero, who served as ruler of the time in the jurisdiction of Nueva Galicia and also as President of the Guadalajara Board. Battle of the Calderón bridge

During the colonial period, this bridge was key in connecting the town of Guadalajara with the Los Altos area . Hence, it was highly traveled by tourists or visitors who traveled from Mexico City to Zacatecas. This current tourist jewel of the Aztec nation is also distinctive because a very important event in the history of that country took place in its vicinity, let’s see what it is about.

When and where did the Battle of the Calderón Bridge take place?

In this magnificent place that people think of when they arrive in Mexico, in order to recreate themselves, a Battle took place that took place on January 17, 1811 at the Calderón Bridge . This bridge has its exact location in the Municipality of Zapotlanejo, in Jalisco, approximately nine kilometers from the Laguna or dam called Puente Colorado or Puente de Calderón in the Mexican Republic.

The conflict alluded to in this nation had a duration of six continuous hours in combat due to the possession or possession of the aforementioned bridge as a primary reason and was called the Battle of the Calderón Bridge. Read on to find out now who fought in this armed conflict.

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Who participated in the Battle of the Calderón Bridge?

In the Battle of the Calderón Bridge there were an estimated approximately one hundred thousand men from the insurrection , a large contingent of Mexican soldiers, which were led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende , Mariano Abasolo and Juan Aldama . They all had something in common and that is that they shared the idea of ​​the independence of the Aztec nation. They participated as subversive soldiers in the first stage of the activity for said independence, they faced some 6,000 defenders of the royalist army, guided by General Officer Félix María Calleja , a high official from New Spain and his assistant Manuel Emparan, as well as by a character who stood out for being the ruler of one of the towns in Mexico called Puebla and who was known as “the Jackal of the Green Eyes“, whose real name is Manuel de Flon . Besides these men, there was also José de la Cruz , another pro New Spain military man.

In summary, there were two camps: the royalists , who insisted on supporting the Spanish monarchy and the pro-independence armed forces of Mexico for the defense of the sovereignty of their nation.

Causes of the Battle of Calderón Bridge

The Battle of the Calderón Bridge marks the beginning of a series of successive armed conflicts that developed in Mexico with the aim of achieving freedom, sovereignty and the maintenance of the idiosyncrasy, as well as the self-determination of the Aztec nation, thus releasing its state of colonization by the Spanish monarchy, represented by New Spain. Few reasons were enough for the outbreak of the war clash, which were enough to fight. These are:

• Resistance due to the possession of said bridge as a key point in the connections between Mexico City and Zacatecas , due to the claim to take the aforementioned bridge, which crosses the Calderón River.
• The high-ranking rebels’ conflicts made a dent in the relations between the military leaders Ignacio Allende and Miguel Hidalgo , which was decisive in the outcome of this armed struggle.

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Consequences

As in every battle there are sequels, this is not the exception and unfortunately they are things that cannot be avoided after such confrontations, their effects can be summarized as follows:

• The destruction of both the leaders and the troops of the Mexican revolutionaries with the flight and death of the soldiers and the arrest as well as the execution of Hidalgo, Allende and Aldama . Fortunately, only Mariano Abasolo survived but was punished with life or perennial imprisonment in a Spanish jail where he died not long after, when he fell ill with tuberculosis.
• The generation of a great fire that caused the burning of the scarce weapons of the Mexican insurgents , as well as their flight and the death of many civilians, approximately 13,000 of that contingent. Battle of the Calderón bridge
• The lack of scruples in displaying the heads of prisoners who were beheaded for a long time in the vicinity of the bridge in question.
• The abandonment of spaces by insurgents , which led to their failure.
• The culmination of the first phase the emancipatory war of the Mexicans .

Winner

The final point of this armed struggle called the Puente de Calderón and the uprising of the cleric Miguel Hidalgo was placed by the success or triumph of the royalist army . Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was subject to capture and execution by his opponents. Although a good number of people participated on the part of the “defeated” in this conflict, they were not well trained for combat nor did they have sophisticated weapons, on the contrary it was scarce and somewhat rudimentary.

Another factor that perhaps influenced the victory of the royalists was the fact that there was panic and confusion among the insurgents of Mexico due to the detonation of a fragmentary grenade in the Mexican war team. This caused a roar and the destruction of the scarce provisions of the revolutionaries, who were the object of anguish, which caused a stampede of those who were fighting because a fire originated that made it difficult to see the enemies clearly. This situation was taken advantage of by the Spanish forces who concentrated on the fight, thus totally destroying the Mexican rebels. Battle of the Calderón bridge