Morelos, José María (1765–1815)

Mexican priest and revolutionary. A mestizo (person with Spanish American and American Indian parents), Morelos followed independence campaigner Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, intending to be an army chaplain, but he displayed military genius and came to head his own forces. The independence movement was stalled for five years after his death.

He sought to rescue the revolution from chaos and violence, and to widen its political base. However, the Creoles failed to respond. After four major campaigns against the Spaniards, he was captured, stripped of the priesthood by the Inquisition, and executed.