Full Answer
What did General Santa Anna do for Mexico?
General Santa Anna was born in 1794 and joined the military by age sixteen. Though he originally fought on the Spanish side, Santa Anna switched sides and favored Mexican independence in 1821. Santa Anna was a charismatic leader, and attained the Mexican presidency eleven times.
Why was Santa Anna so weak as a leader?
Because of his weak staff system, Santa Anna was oblivious to the challenges and was totally confident that a show of force and a few massacres would have the rebels begging for mercy.
What did Hernan Santa Anna do as a teen?
As a teen, he won a commission in the Spanish army and might have been expected to live out an unspectacular career as a middle-level army officer. However, the young Santa Anna quickly distinguished himself as a capable fighter and leader, and after 1821, he gained national prominence in the successful Mexican war for independence from Spain.
Was General Santa Anna a Freemason?
General Santa Anna – Yes, THAT One From The Alamo – Was a Freemason. Mr. Adkins explained that this confirmation of Masonic membership does not provide proof of the story that Masonic membership saved General Santa Anna’s life, but rather only refutes the arguments that General Santa Anna was not a Mason.
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How did Antonio López de Santa Anna come to power?
Antonio López de Santa Anna gained much prestige in 1829 when he fought against Spain’s attempt to reconquer Mexico, and he became known as the Her...
What is Antonio López de Santa Anna most famous for?
In 1836 Antonio López de Santa Anna marched into Texas to quell a rebellion primarily by U.S. settlers there. During this expedition, Texas declare...
What is Antonio López de Santa Anna’s legacy?
Antonio López de Santa Anna possessed a magnetic personality and notable qualities of leadership, but his lack of principles, his pride, and his lo...
Who Was General Santa Anna?
Though most political careers exhibit a wide range of experiences, it would be hard to find someone with as many crests and troughs as the nineteenth-century Mexican president, General Santa Anna. President eleven times and exiled nearly as often, Santa Anna is one of the most important figures of nineteenth-century Mexico and the American West.
What was Santa Anna's most important act?
Santa Anna took part in several coups during the formative years of the Mexican Republic in the 1820s. His most important act for his political future, however, came in 1829 when Spain attempted to retake Mexico, landing an invading force in Tampico. Santa Anna defeated the Spanish force with a far smaller Mexican force, and became a national hero in the process. He earned several laudatory epithets after the battle, but perhaps the most known is the one he gave himself: 'the Napoleon of the West.'
How many times did Santa Anna take over the Mexican presidency?
Over the ensuing twenty-two years, Santa Anna would hold the Mexican presidency eleven times. He was first elected overwhelmingly in 1833. Santa Anna quickly gave most of the ruling power to his vice president, who launched far-reaching and unpopular reforms of church and state authority. As public outcry against the reforms grew, Santa Anna led a coup against his own government and seized power (essentially from his own vice president) in 1835.
Why did Santa Anna return to Mexico?
When the Mexican-American War erupted in 1846, however, Santa Anna returned to Mexico originally claiming he only wanted to help in the war effort. Regardless, he declared himself president upon his return. The Mexican army under his command was subsequently defeated, and he was forced to sell all contested land to the United States, an acquisition American historians term the 'Spanish Cession.' Humiliated, Santa Anna was forced back into exile in 1848.
Which side did Santa Anna fight on?
Though he originally fought on the Spanish side, Santa Anna switched sides and favored Mexican independence in 1821.
Where was Santa Anna born?
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was born in Xalapa, Mexico, on February 21, 1794. His was a family of high social standing, as his parents were from Spain. Santa Anna joined the military as a cadet at only sixteen. He was a natural to military life and command, and by twenty-six he was already a colonel in the Spanish colonial army.
Who commanded the Mexican forces during losses in the Texas Rebellion and the Mexican-American War?
Santa Anna commanded the Mexican forces during losses in the Texas Rebellion and the Mexican-American War.
What did Santa Anna do?
In 1828 he backed Vicente Guerrero for president, only to help depose him later. Santa Anna gained much prestige in 1829 when he fought against Spain’s attempt ...
Why did Santa Anna seek U.S. support?
Ten years later he sought U.S. support in an attempt to oust the emperor Maximilian, whom the French had placed on the Mexican throne; at the same time, he offered his services to Maximilian. Both proposals were refused. Two years before he died, poor and blind, Santa Anna was allowed to return to his country.
Why did Santa Anna march into Texas?
In 1836 Santa Anna marched into Texas to quell a rebellion primarily by U.S. settlers there. During this expedition, Texas declared its independence from Mexico. His army defeated Texan forces at the Alamo and Goliad before moving eastward to the San Jacinto River, where he was defeated and captured by Gen. Sam Houston.
Who was the leader of the Mexican forces in 1847?
Santa Anna took charge of the Mexican forces upon his return; but instead of acting for peace, he led his men against the United States until he was routed by U.S. forces under Gen. Winfield Scott. Santa Anna again retired, moving to Jamaica in 1847 and to New Granada in 1853.
Who captured Santa Anna?
After his army had defeated Texan forces at the Alamo and Goliad, Santa Anna then moved eastward to the San Jacinto River, where he was defeated on April 21 in the Battle of San Jacinto and was captured by Gen. Sam Houston.
Who was the leader of the Spanish army in 1821?
Antonio López de Santa Anna. The son of a minor colonial official, Santa Anna served in the Spanish army and rose to the rank of captain. He fought on both sides of nearly every issue of the day. In 1821 he supported Agustín de Iturbide and the war for Mexican independence, but in 1823 he helped overthrow Iturbide.
What did Santa Anna do as a teenager?
However, the young Santa Anna quickly distinguished himself as a capable fighter and leader , and after 1821, he gained national prominence in the successful Mexican war for independence from Spain. ...
What happened to Santa Anna?
Deposed during his captivity with the Texan rebels, Santa Anna returned to Mexico a powerless man. During the next two decades, however, the highly unstable political situation in Mexico provided him with several opportunities to regain-and again lose-his dictatorial power.
How many times did Santa Anna become the head of the Mexican government?
All told, he became the head of the Mexican government 11 times. Overthrown for the last time in 1855, he spent the remaining two decades of his life scheming with elements in Mexico, the United States and France to stage a comeback. Although he was clearly a brilliant political opportunist, Santa Anna was ultimately loyal only to himself ...
When was Santa Anna captured?
Lulled into overconfidence by his initial easy victories, Santa Anna was taken by surprise at San Jacinto, and his army was annihilated on April 21, 1836. The captured Santa Anna, fearing execution, willingly signed an order calling for all Mexican troops to withdraw. Texas became an independent republic.
What was the impact of Santa Anna's overthrow of Mexico?
Some viewed Santa Anna’s overthrow of the Mexican Republic as an opportunity to break away and form an independent Republic of Texas that might one day become an American state.
Where did Santa Anna die?
General Santa Anna dies in Mexico City. Embittered and impoverished, the once mighty Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna dies in Mexico City. Born in 1792 at Jalapa, Vera Cruz, Mexico, Santa Anna was the son of middle-class parents.
Who was the leader of the Mexican army that defeated the Texas rebels?
Determined to crush the Texas rebels, Santa Anna took command of the Mexican army that invaded Texas in 1836. His forces successfully defeated the Texas rebels at the Alamo, and he personally ordered the execution of 400 Texan prisoners after the Battle of Goliad.
What did Santa Anna do in the war?
Santa Anna had been at his ranch near the port when the war began, and he led a battalion of Mexican troops to defend Veracruz. Although they ended up retreating from the more powerful French forces, Santa Anna would gain more prestige as a war hero, as he had been wounded in the fight and had to have a leg amputated. He took the leg back with him to Mexico City and gave it a full state funeral with honors. It was later exhumed and dragged through the streets by angry protesters. And just like his sway with the public, Santa Anna would end up having trouble holding onto his new leg, as well.
How many times did Santa Anna take office?
He took the office on six different occasions, according to the government of his home state of Veracruz, though the Texas State Historical Association claims it was only five. During that first term, American settlers in the then Mexican state of Texas started up a rebellion, and Santa Anna led the Mexican expedition that went to quell it.
Where is Santa Anna's leg?
Santa Anna's wooden leg is now in a museum in Illinois, of all places. Wikipedia. The following decade, Mexico was still fighting, this time with the United States. During the conflict — which Americans call the Mexican-American War and Mexicans call the U.S. Intervention in Mexico — Santa Anna's forces were caught off-guard by an infantry unit ...
Who was Santa Ana's left leg?
The Bizarre Truth Of General Santa Anna's Left Leg. Mexican military officer and statesman Antonio López de Santa Ana was a conniving leader who liked to play both sides of a conflict for his own personal gain, and he was both lionized and reviled by his countrymen as a result. According to Britannica, he was an integral figure in Mexico's fight ...
Who captured Santa Anna?
After successful battles at San Antonio's Alamo mission and Goliad, Santa Anna was finally defeated in April 1836 in the Battle of San Jacinto and captured by Sam Houston.
Did Santa Anna lose his leg?
Santa Anna lost his left leg fighting the French in Mexico. Wikipedia. Santa Anna did all that fighting in Texas on his own two legs. Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Davy Crockett and the other American rebels may have taken Texas away from Mexico, but it was ultimately the French who would cause Santa Anna to lose his leg.
What is the significance of Santa Anna's announcement?
The significance of this announcement in terms of Texas history stems from numerous reports that General Santa Anna saved himself from execution after being captured at the battle of San Jacinto in 1836 by ...
Who was the American frontiersman who died at the Battle of the Alamo?
Lieutenant Almaron Dickinson (1814 – March 6, 1836), American soldier, died at the Battle of the Alamo. James “Jim” Bowie (April 10, 1796 – March 6, 1836), American frontiersman, pioneer, fighter and soldier. He was a significant figure in America and the Texas Revolution. He died at the Battle of the Alamo.
Did Santa Anna disown Masonry?
Some Masons have said that General Houston and many other Masons at San Jacinto would have known that General Santa Anna had disowned Masonry and that his offenses in Mexico, the Alamo and Goliad would have forfeited any rights for protection he may have had as a Mason.
Overview
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , usually known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, was a Mexican politician and general. His influence on post-independence Mexican politics and government in the first half of the nineteenth century is such that historians of Mexico often refer to it as the "Age of Santa Anna". He has been called "the M…
Early life
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Nueva España (New Spain), on 21 February 1794 into a respected Spanish family. He was named after his father, Licenciado Antonio López de Santa Anna (born 1761), a university graduate and a lawyer; his mother was Manuela Pérez de Lebrón (died 1814). The family belonged to the racially elite criollo group of American-born Spaniards, although the family was n…
Career
López de Santa Anna's origins on the East Coast of Mexico had important ramifications for his military career, because he developed immunity from yellow fever, endemic to the region. The port of Veracruz and environs were known to be unhealthy for those not native to the region so he had a personal strategic advantage against military forces from elsewhere. Being a military officer in a ti…
Personal life
López de Santa Anna married twice, both times to wealthy young women. At neither wedding ceremony did he appear, legally empowering his future father-in-law to serve as a proxy at his first wedding and a friend at his second. One assessment of the two marriages is that they were arranged marriages of convenience, bringing considerable wealth to López de Santa Anna and that h…
Later years and death
From 1855 to 1874, López de Santa Anna lived in exile in Cuba, the United States, Colombia, and Saint Thomas. He had left Mexico because of his unpopularity with the Mexican people after his defeat in 1848 and traveled to and from Cuba, the United States, and Europe. He participated in gambling and businesses with the hopes that he would become rich. During his many years i…
Legacy
He was highly controversial at the time and ever since. In the 2007 biography by Will Fowler, Santa Ana was depicted as, “a liberal a Republican, and army man, a hero, a revolutionary, a regional strongman, but never a politician. He presented himself as a mediator who was both anti-party and anti-politics in the decades when the new country of Mexico was wracked by factional infighting. He was always more willing to lead an army than to lead his country”
In popular culture
• He is repeatedly mentioned in the John Wayne film The Alamo
• In the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro, Santa Anna is mentioned and is portrayed by Joaquim de Almeida in a deleted scene.
• Fox animated series King of the Hill season 2 episode 18 The Final Shinsult largely revolves around Santa Anna's prosthetic leg.
See also
• History of democracy in Mexico
• List of heads of state of Mexico