Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos

Who was Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos?

Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos was a New Spain lawyer and politician and a proponent of independence from Spain. He was imprisoned by the Spanish authorities for his advocacy, and died in prison. He is considered one of the protomartyrs of Mexican independence.

Born at the hacienda of Ciénega del Rincón in what is now the Municipality of Ojuelos de Jalisco in the State of Jalisco but was then under the jurisdiction the village of Santa María de los Lagos; from the religious point of view, the hacienda of Ciénega del Rincón, belonged to the Parish Church of the actual city of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes. Francisco Primo de Verdad y Ramos studied in the College of San Ildefonso in Mexico City, graduating as a lawyer. He was a student of the American and French Revolutions, and of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His friend and comrade Licenciado Juan Francisco Azcárate y Ledesma later described him as a "true scholar".

In 1808, he was a member of the Cabildo of the ayuntamiento in the capital of the viceroyalty. He was a Criollo by virtual of his birth in America, and a prominent member of the Criollo party in government.