Bridges history column: Other side of the Texas Revolution - Santa Anna

He was one of the last presidents of Mexico to rule over Texas and always portrayed as one of the great villains of Texas History.  Santa Anna is an overwhelming presence in the history of early Mexico, shaping much of the direction of the country in that time period, and Texas by extension.  His role in the history of Mexico is much more complicated.  He was president of Mexico on 11 different occasions until being overthrown, he was a constant foe of Texas and the United States, he was responsible for events from chewing gum to the disaster at the Alamo.  Santa Anna’s impact on history cannot be denied.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was born in eastern Mexico in 1794, one of seven children.  His father was a respected and modestly successful lawyer under Spanish colonial rule.  However, his father was often frustrated by the Spanish crown granting political appointments to ambitious Spaniards close to the royal family rather than those colonists born in Mexico.  He tried to push his son into a career as a businessman, but his mother managed to get him appointed as an officer in the Spanish army at the age of 16.

By 1810, Mexico and most of Latin America was in chaos following Napoleon’s occupation of Spain.  That year, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla sparked a rebellion of the lower classes in Mexico, calling for racial equality for Mexico’s many different minority groups and for land reform.  Santa Anna fought against the rebels.  In 1813, he made his first venture into Texas by defeating the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, an ill-fated attempt by a ragtag private army to take over the area.  Serving under Gen. Jose Joaquin de Arredondo, Santa Anna learned his techniques for regaining control in the midst of rebellion – mass executions.  Santa Anna was part of the brutal suppression of the uprising, mercilessly slaughtering 300 rebels in San Antonio and leaving the bodies hanging in the trees.  By 1815, the rebellion throughout Mexico had been largely suppressed.  When a coup in Spain overthrew the absolute monarchy in favor of a constitutional government in 1820, aristocrats in Mexico rebelled, fearing for the future of their elite status.  Gen. Augustin de Iturbide led the revolt, and seeing the political winds changing, Santa Anna joined forces with Iturbide.  By 1821, Iturbide was proclaimed emperor of Mexico; and Santa Anna was rewarded by being given command of Veracruz, Mexico’s most important port city.

Between 1823 and 1862, the average term of a Mexican president was nine months.  Resignations, coups, and mysterious deaths became a fact of life in Mexican politics, with Santa Anna increasingly at the center of the chaos.  Santa Anna participated in the rebellion against Iturbide that led to the creation of a republic in 1823.  In 1827 as Mexico conducted an election, Santa Anna and a number of other generals declared they would ignore the results and launched an attack on the government.  With Santa Anna’s help, a new president was installed by the military.

Santa Anna led Mexican troops against Spain’s attempt to reclaim Mexico in 1829.  He repelled the Spanish invasion at the Battle of Tampico.  For the ambitious officer rising through the ranks, the results were everything he wanted.  His popularity soared, and he christened himself “The Napoleon of the West.”

After the vice-president seized the presidency for himself in 1830, he arrested his predecessor and placed him on trial.  After the former president’s execution in 1831, protests erupted across Mexico.  Seeing the opportunity, Santa Anna gathered his forces and launched a rebellion against the new government.  Crushed under the weight of Santa Anna’s attacks, Bustamante agreed to step down while the different factions agreed to new elections.  Santa Anna was elected president overwhelmingly in 1833.

As president, Santa Anna was as the height of Mexico’s political power.  But he soon became bored with the position.  After a month in office, he stepped down in favor of Vice-President Valentin Farias and returned to his estate in Veracruz.  Farias continued to take orders from Santa Anna and pursued a number of reforms while tackling an immense national debt.  After these reforms began angering conservatives, Santa Anna returned to Mexico City to reclaim the presidency, forcing Farias to resign.  This process would continue three more times between the summer of 1833 and January 1835.  As a result, instability and factionalism arose again and the government’s control over the country weakened.

In 1834, Santa Anna dissolved Congress.  He abolished the 1824 constitution and arbitrarily imposed a new constitution in January 1835 to restore order before stepping down from the presidency once again.  Instead of order, revolution erupted across Mexico as the people demanded their rights be restored.  Protests erupted across the country.  Several states declared themselves in rebellion.  Yucatan declared its independence and several northern states declared their independence as the Republic of the Rio Grande.  Santa Anna retook command of the army and brutally crushed these rebellions across the country.

Texas settlers, mostly Americans, had grown tired of the abuses by Mexico and began their own rebellion, the Texas Revolution.  Once Santa Anna restored order in Mexico, he rode north to Texas with his forces to suppress the rebels.  This would lead to the bloody massacres at the Alamo and at Goliad in early 1836, moments that would leave an indelible mark on Texas History.

Ken Bridges is a writer, historian and native Texan. He holds a doctorate from the University of North Texas. Bridges can be reached by email at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Bridges history column: Santa Anna, other side of Texas Revolution