José Manuel Hidalgo y Esnaurrízar

José Manuel Hidalgo y Esnaurrízar (6 April 1826 – 27 December 1896) was a Mexican soldier, diplomat, and writer. He played a key role in establishing the Second Mexican Empire.

Biography Hidalgo was born in 1826 to Mercedes Esnaurrizar and Francisco Manuel Hidalgo, an Andalusian noble and colonel that supported Augustin de Iturbide during the movement for Mexican Independence.

After the fall of the Empire, he left Mexico for France. To supplement his income during exile he published several novels. His novels were a mixture of realism and sentimentalism dealing with the aristocracy, the nobility, and the grand bourgeoisie. He died in Paris in 1896.