Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, was a Mexican priest and a member of a group of educated "Criollos" in Querétaro. They met in "tertulias" (salons) and decided in 1810 that a revolt against the colonial government was needed because Napoleon I had replaced the King of Spain with a French foreigner. Hidalgo worked closely with Ignacio de Allende, a nobleman with military training, for a battle in December 1810.