[3] María Sotera Ortiz, Josefa's sister, took care of her upbringing and managed to secure a place for her in the prestigious Colegio de las Vizcaínas in 1789.

Ortiz de Domínguez developed an early sympathy for the Amerindian, mestizo and the criollo community who were oppressed by the Spanish colonial government.

This created discontent among many criollos who soon started to organize secret and literary societies where works of the Enlightenment banned by the Roman Catholic Church were discussed.

The meetings, attended by educated figures including Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla and Ignacio Allende, quickly turned to revolutionary issues.

The colonial authorities, unaware of Domínguez's wife's allegiance, asked the Corregidor to conduct a search in the town in order to apprehend the rebel leaders.

[9] The news allowed the leaders of the conspiracy to abandon the town and prompted Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla to declare war against the Spanish colonial authorities earlier than expected.

However, Ortiz de Domínguez believed the establishment of a Mexican Empire, instead of a Republic, was against the ideals she had fought for during the revolutionary period, and she refused the honor.

[20] In 1791 Josefa Ortiz married Miguel Domínguez, who around those years was working for the Secretary of the Revenue Service and in the office of Virreinato de la Nueva España.