Lecture One: The Pursuit of Happiness (1794-1824)
"Great ambition is the passion of a great character"
Napoleon I
Antonio López de Santa Anna was born into a moderately wealthy
criollo* merchant family in 1794 Verzcruz, a malaria-ridden port on the Caribbean coast of Spain's most prosperous and populous colony. As a child he grew up amongst a background of political uncertainty in both Mexico and beyond. The turmoil of the First Revolutionary Wars in Europe reverberated around the globe and Spain's colonial possessions watched the impact on the Mother Spain with a mixture of emotions. While the forced abdication of Charles IV in 1808 (in favour of Napoleon's brother) was a critical point in Mexican struggles for independence, the young Santa Anna was more enraptured by the glorious military campaigns of the Emperor Napoleon. The rise and fall of the French Empire was a profound influence on the young child - later in life Santa Anna was delighted to be labelled the 'Napoleon of the West' and he remained an avid collector of Napoleonic memorabilia until his death - and perhaps it was the example of Bonaparte that led him to enrol as a cadet in the army at the tender age of sixteen. This was the natural career path for a middle class youth with little interest or aptitude in the family business or religion. As it happens Santa Anna was a perfect match for army life and he quickly came to enjoy the excitement and camaraderie that can be only experienced in a military unit. The young cadet would have many opportunities in which to test his valour - 1810 saw the beginning of both Santa Anna's military career and the Mexican Wars of Independence. The instability of Europe had finally arrived in the New World
The social revolution of Father Hidalgo (1753-1811) as protrayed by Juan O’Gorman
As with most such conflicts, political revolution was preceded by abortive social revolution. In 1810 the radical priest Miguel Hidalgo (1753-1811) raised an army of poor Indians and
mestizos and began to occupy towns throughout Central Mexico in the name of an independent Mexico. The
criollos of the political classes were generally supportive of independence, having long coveted the privileges of the Spanish
peninsulares for themselves, but the social demands of Hidalgo's peasant 'soldiers' were anathema to them. Despite coming close to seizing Mexico City the peasant army ultimately floundered as its radical social agenda continued to alienate potential allies amongst the propertied classes and the military. Hidalgo himself was executed by Royalist soldiers in 1811 but this merely signalled a new stage in the struggle for independence. Retreating into the dense jungles and mountains of the countryside a number of rebel leaders, including José María Morelos (1765-1815) and Guadalupe Victoria (1785-1843), continued to harass the colonial government in a guerrilla war, ironically modelled on the Spanish campaign against Napoleon. It was in the chaotic environment of this low level and scattered warfare that Santa Anna first distinguished himself while fighting for the Spanish Army in numerous campaigns in both Texas and his native Veracruz. The fighting was often brutal, with prisoners executed out of hand, but promotion followed success on the battlefield for the ambitious young soldier and in 1821 (at the age of twenty seven and after a decade of continuous campaigning) he was granted the rank of Colonel. It was therefore something of a surprise when Santa Anna, by now the most prominent military commander in the province of Veracruz, joined the rebellion and declared himself a devoted servant to the cause of independence
Santa Anna's sudden conversion was somewhat startling, and merely the first of many betrayals, but it wasn't particularly original. Towards the end of 1820 the Spanish Viceroy Don Juan O'Donojú (1762 - 1821) had provided the staunchly conservative
criollo commander Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824) with over three thousand men and a mandate to crush the insurgency raging throughout the countryside. In a daring act of treason Iturbide instead negotiated a truce with the rebel leader (Guadalupe Victoria) and came to head a new independence movement, shorn of the social demands of previous risings. This new, and overwhelmingly conservative, programme (the
Plan of Iguala) was popular with many privileged Mexicans and virtually all
criollo army commanders. There was a surge of defections from the Spanish Army as many of the latter, including Santa Anna, lost no time in swearing loyalty to the charismatic and forceful Iturbide. In a matter of months the decade long war petered out as the Army of the Three Guarantees** entered Mexico City on 27 September 1821 without opposition and ended three centuries of Spanish rule
Agustín de Iturbide (1783-1824): Hero of Independence and Emperor of Mexico
With the capture of the capital a military junta was established to draw up a constitution for the new government, which was to be a constitutional monarchy governed by a European prince. Naturally Iturbide, as hero of the recent war, was granted a place of prominence on this council but this could not sate his ambition. As the politicians dithered over finding a suitable monarch a raucous demonstration was staged on 18 May 1822 calling for Iturbide himself to be crowned Emperor. The fact that many of these demonstrators were his own soldiers did not stop Iturbide from feeling to necessary to "resign [himself] to circumstances" and accept the crown as a "fresh sacrifice for the public good" †. The following day he appeared before the recently established Congress and, with the backing of conservatives, was named Emperor in what amounted to a bloodless coup. Thus was born the First Empire of Mexico, one of the more farcical political constructs in modern history. Inheriting a nation devastated by civil war and wracked with hardships, the Emperor's circle spent their hours piecing together elaborate codes of court etiquette and protocol. Governance suffered even further, Congress was disbanded within months, and Iturbide's political foes arrested without charge. It is no surprise that the number of republicans in Mexico rapidly multiplied. In a taste of things to come however it was the actions of a young colonel that precipitated crisis - after being chastised by the Emperor for his lethargic campaign against the few Spanish regiments left in Mexico, Santa Anna, ever mindful of the prevailing political winds, reacted angrily and suddenly declared himself for a Mexican Republic (the
Plan de Casa Mata). The call was taken up by others throughout the country and, ironically given Iturbide's own past, the army sent to arrest Santa Anna instead revolted and joined his ranks. In February 1823, after a mere ten months in office, Iturbide was forced to abdicate and leave for Europe in exile ††
Santa Anna was still a relatively minor army officer but he had already made a significant mark on Mexican history. The self-proclaimed 'Founder of the Republic' would spend the next decade expanding his powerbase in his native Veracruz but his name was beginning to reach the lips of Mexico City's rich and powerful. The prestige amassed during these formative years would prove invaluable to Santa Anna on his long journey to the presidency
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* Criollo: A caste within colonial Mexico comprised of locals of European descent. These were ranked higher than Indians or mestizos (mixed European and Indian ancestry) but were still considered inferior to peninsulares (Spanish citizens born in Iberia). As such they effectively formed a middle class but chaffed under restrictions that ensured that most prominent positions in colonial government were reserved for Iberians. The criollos were the clear winners of Independence and in the absence of peninsulares, systematically deported over the decades following the establishment of the Republic, they came to dominate Mexican society for the next century
** The Three Guarantees being that an independent Mexico would:
1) Be a constitutional monarchy headed by either the Spanish Ferdinand VII or another suitable European prince
2) Acknowledge the Roman Catholic Church's privileged position within Mexican society
3) Treat all criollos and peninsulares equally
† As quoted in 'Robertson, W.S., (1961), Rise of the Spanish-American Republics as Told in the Lives of their Liberators, New York'; an excellent study of the numerous figures that emerged in opposition to Spanish rule in the Americas. The case of Mexico cannot be studied in isolation and should be placed within wider trends in the collapsing Spanish Empire
†† Iturbide later made the mistake of returning to Mexico in 1824. He was promptly arrested and executed for treason. See "Robertson, W.S., (1952), Iturbide of Mexico, Durham" for a biography of the first and only Emperor of Mexico