Generals and More Generals-One constant is the army involvement in Mexican Politics in the 19^th and 20^th Centuries — Mike Ashe

General Guadalupe Victoria was elected the first president of Mexico in 1824 and ruled until 1829.

After 1829 musical chairs of the Generals began, with one of the most noteworthy being Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna from Vera Cruz.  Santa Anna was a colorful military leader and politician serving more than 40 years.  He was a hero to many and a failure to most Mexicans, losing half of Mexican territory to the United States was his ultimate legacy.

Tejas Immigration

After Mexican Independence from Spain, settlement of Tejas was encouraged. In 1824 Stephen Austin received approval from the Spanish governor to bring settlers into Tejas.

 In 1829 Mexico abolished slavery but it granted exceptions until 1830 to Tejas and reversed itself and made the importation of slavery illegal, which slowed Anglo-American immigration.  Incentives to buy land were generous, with a $30 down payment and a 10-year tax holiday.

[As an example of generous incentives, immense tracts of land were sold for as little as 4 cents per acre. Mexico was highly desirous of populating Texas. Foreigners were invited to settle in Texas. In return they had to take the Mexican oath of allegiance and promise to be at least nominal Roman Catholics — RMB]

A ban on US immigration enacted in 1830 along with increased Mexican military presence in the region angered the Texans who pushed for self-rule.

[By 1830, Americans made up over 75% of the population of Texas, and Mexico felt it was losing control and clamped down in various ways. In effect, Mexico had encouraged and welcomed immigration and allowed them to create, without hindrance, their own community on Mexican territory. When this arrangement was rescinded, trouble followed — RMB]

In 1833 Santa Anna became president and opposed self-rule. That same year Texan delegates lead by Austin requested that Mexico roll back the 1830 laws and provide more protection from native people, exempt Tejas from anti-slavery laws, and separate Tejas from Coahuila.  Austin presented the proposal to Santa Anna and was imprisoned in Mexico City.  The government repealed the 1830 Law but did not grant statehood to Tejas.

[Austin wrote optimistically from Mexico, “All is going well …. General Santa Anna has solemnly and publicly declared that he will sustain the federal representative system, as it now exists ….” He had successfully negotiated resumption of immigration although not self-rule. However, overall he felt a major crisis had been defused. Then as he returned, he was arrested, sent back to Mexico, and placed in solitary confinement. This further enraged the Texans and deeply affected Austin’s outlook on Texas’ future — RMB]

Settlers continued to pour into Tejas and on March 2, 1836 Tejas Declared Independence as the Republic of Tejas.  Santa Anna by then was in Tejas with a 6,000 men army. On March 6^th Santa Anna’s troops attacked the Alamo and after fierce fighting the Alamo fell and her defenders all lost their lives including survivors who were executed.  The same scenario was repeated in Goliad with all defenders killed or executed.  The battle of San Jacinto River took place on April 21 with Sam Houston’s surprise attack on Santa Anna’s troops, killing 630.  Santa Anna was captured and the Republic of Texas was inaugurated.

[For those interested in learning more about this period of US and Mexico history, A Time To Stand by Walter Lord is an excellent resource. The book invests valuable time providing biographical as well has contextual bases for the battle. For more detail, another excellent resource is Three Road to The Alamo — RMB]

Sam Houston was elected as its first President and Stephen Austin as Secretary of State and died in office in December 1836 at the age of 43. In January 1839 Tejas adopted the Lone Star flag.

Almost ten years later Texas was annexed under the administration of James Polk. 

As an aside, the Louisiana territory was purchased from France in 1803 and Alaska in 1867 from the Russians. In 1898 the Hawaiian Islands were annexed by the US.

U.S. Mexican War 1846-1848

A border dispute resulted in US troops being sent to the Rio Grande.  The Mexican government saw this as an invasion and war broke out.  Santa Anna returned from exile to play a role in the war.  U.S. forces invaded Mexico capturing Monterrey and landing a shipload of men in Vera Cruz. The force marched into Mexico City, and after it fell, the conflict was over.  U.S. troops suffered 10,000 losses from illness and about 1,500 from combat.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded to the United States nearly all of the northern territory including New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Tejas and Western Colorado for $15 Million and assumption of citizen claims against Mexico.

In the battle of Chapultepec in Mexico City, six Mexican military cadets were killed defending the castle and are forever revered by the people of Mexico as heroes of the Republic.

Zachary Taylor became a national hero in the US after the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812. Then he became President in 1849 but died in office shortly thereafter in 1850.

President Benito Juarez-First Reform

The first pure blooded indigenous president of Mexico (a liberal politician) was Benito Juarez, born of Zapotec peasants.  He worked in the cornfield and as a shepherd until age 12.  His sister moved to the City of Oaxaca as a cook and Benito joined her as a house servant. At that time, he only spoke Zapotec. Benito was very intelligent and thirsty for learning and, with help from a Franciscan, to study for the priesthood. In 1829 he graduated from the Oaxaca Institute of law and science. In 1831 he received a law degree and entered politics. Unlike other Mexican politicians, he was honest, modestly unassuming, and lived a simple lifestyle. He was immensely popular as a judge, legislator, and Governor of Oaxaca. In 1853 many liberal politicians were exiled when the conservatives assumed power including Juarez who spent 2 years in New Orleans in semi poverty.  

In 1857 Ignacio Comonfort was elected president and picked Juarez as his vice president and leader of the supreme court.  True to form Comonfort was ousted by the conservatives.  In 1860 the conservatives were losing control which resulted in Juarez being able to return to Mexico City as president. 

The first act in his presidency was to suspend all foreign debt for two years which resulted in troops being dispatched from England, Spain and France in 1861 to safeguard their investments.  Spain and England backed out when it became clear that Napoleon wanted to conquer Mexico and install Maximilian as Emperor.  The French suffered a major defeat in Puebla on May 5^th 1862 (also known as Cinco de Mayo) but they were able to hold onto Mexico City and install their puppet. To keep his government alive Juarez retreated to El Paso del Norte (later renamed Ciudad Juarez).

The Second Emperor Maximillian and his wife Carlota  

 In April 1864 the Austrian Archduke backed by Mexican monarchists and many conservatives was crowned emperor. Several European countries recognized the new government of Maximillian, however, the United States continued to recognize Juarez as president. With the end of Civil War in the US Juarez began receiving military aid from its northern neighbor in 1866.  Also, that year, French troops began to be withdrawn from Mexico due to the Austro-Prussian War.

Upon arrival in Mexico the Maximillian and his wife, Carlota, took residence in Chapultepec Castle. One of his first orders was to cut a wide avenue from the Castle to the city center called Paseo de la Emperatriz (now known as Paseo de Reforma). They also had a country retreat in Cuernavaca (the Palace of Cortes).

Maximillian and Carlotta had no children so they adopted two nephews of the daughter of Iturbide, the first emperor of Mexico. When one of the mothers (an American) protested, she was deported from Mexico.  The truth was that these boys would never become true royalty due to not being of royal blood. The boys were later returned to their real families.

Maximillian did uphold many liberal causes to the surprise of many in Mexico including Juarez.  In the end the emperor was executed by firing squad along with loyalist Generals Miramon and Mejia in 1867. Carlotta was in Europe at the time and never returned to Mexico.

Juarez could have commuted the death sentence but chose not to because he believed it was needed to send the message that foreign intervention in Mexico should never happen again.

The French influence and legacy in Mexico included making pastries. The bolillos (French rolls) are a staple in Mexico served in even the most upscale restaurants in Mexico City. Pan Dulce is a treat for many of us with a sweet tooth.

There was even a Pastry War between Mexico and France in 1839 involving — who else? — Santa Anna.

My wife’s family claims French ancestry but has yet to prove it in the kitchen (of course just kidding).

Juarez was returned to power after the emperor’s death. In 1871 after being reelected he served for one year and in 1872 died of a heart attack. His legacy of domestic reform was the start of the end of neocolonialism in Mexico and his leadership in the face of Napoleonic aggression made him a true hero.

Next: The Porfiriato