[A. D. 1812.] The remainder of the year 1811 passed quietly, but early in 1812, after penetrating to within twelve miles of the capital, the insurgents retired to the town of Cuautla, where they were besieged by the royal army. Morelos, who had assumed the leadership, made vacant by the death of Hidalgo, was a man of similar qualifications to the first, and educated in the same seminary of learning, in Valladolid. He was born in the year 1765, of humble parentage, and, though studiously inclined, could not gratify his thirst for knowledge till late in life. At Cuautla (now known as Cuautla Morelos) the patriots were besieged for sixty days, until, when on the verge of starvation, they effected a retreat. By rapid marching Morelos reached Orizaba, which he took, then Oaxaca, far in the south, and then marched upon and captured the important city of Acapulco, on the west coast.
[A. D. 1813.] In November, in the town of Chilpantzingo (in the present state of Guerrero) was assembled the first National Congress of Mexico, composed mainly of distinguished men, such as the historian Bustamente, and the patriot Ignacio Rayon, who had kept alive the spark of revolution after the death of Hidalgo.
THE FIRST DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
was made on the 16th of November, 1813, by which the Mexican people gave voice to their feelings, and declared their resolve to dissolve their connections with the throne of Spain. Slavery was declared abolished, as also imprisonment for debt, and the holding of monopolies. All men were declared free and equal before the law.
In the same month of November there appeared upon the scene a personage who subsequently filled an important place in Mexican history, Colonel Augustin Iturbide, He was then loyal to the king, and at the head of a large force
