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What did Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana do?
Antonio López de Santa Anna, born on February 21, 1794, in Jalapa, Mexico, became a military captain and was elected president in 1833, known for his efforts in staving off Spain's attempt to recapture the country.
What did general Antonio López de Santa Anna do in 1835?
In 1835, López de Santa Anna repealed the Mexican Constitution, which ultimately led to the beginning of the Texas Revolution.
What was Antonio López de Santa Anna president of?
president of MexicoEventually made governor, he became a national hero fighting the Spanish. Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico in 1833, the first of five presidential stints. But his autocratic centralism caused rebellion at the local level.
How did general Antonio López de Santa Anna's rise to power lead to conflict with American settlers in Mexico?
EXPLANATION: After Texans had tried to achieve representation in the Mexican legislature, Santa Anna threw out the Mexican democratic constitution and established a dictatorship, which prompted the Texans to revolt. a) Mexican attacks on American settlers.
What was Santa Anna's reaction to the outcome of the battle of the Alamo?
Citizens of the new Republic of Texas responded to the destruction of the Alamo and massacre of the unarmed Texans captured at Goliad with outrage. Volunteer companies rushed to join General Samuel Houston's growing Texas army. Meanwhile, Mexican General Santa Anna marched his army to crush the Texan rebels.
Who was the first president of Texas?
President of the Republic of TexasFormation16 March 1836 (Interim) 22 October 1836 (Constitutional)First holderSam Houston (David G. Burnet, Interim March–October 1836)Final holderAnson JonesSuccessionGovernor of Texas2 more rows
What caused the Battle between Texas and Mexico?
It stemmed from the annexation of the Republic of Texas by the U.S. in 1845 and from a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River (the Mexican claim) or the Rio Grande (the U.S. claim).
How did Texas gain its independence from Mexico?
Remembering how badly the Texans had been defeated at the Alamo, on April 21, 1836, Houston's army won a quick battle against the Mexican forces at San Jacinto and gained independence for Texas. Soon after, Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.
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...
Synopsis
Antonio López de Santa Anna, born on February 21, 1794, in Jalapa, Mexico, became a military captain and was elected president in 1833, known for his efforts in staving off Spain’s attempt to recapture the country.
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Early Life
Santa Anna was born in Xalapa on February 21, 1794. His parents were Antonio Lafey de Santa Anna and Manuela Perez de Labron and he had a comfortable middle-class childhood. After some limited formal education, he worked for a short time as a merchant.
Early Military Career
Santa Anna quickly rose through the ranks, making colonel by the age of 26. He fought on the Spanish side in the Mexican War of Independence. When he recognized that it was a lost cause, he switched sides in 1821 with Agustín de Iturbide, who rewarded him with a promotion to general.
First Presidency
In 1829, Spain invaded, attempting to retake Mexico. Santa Anna played a key role in defeating them—his greatest (and perhaps only) military victory. Santa Anna first rose to the presidency in the 1833 election.
Texas Independence
Texas, using the chaos in Mexico as a pretext, declared independence in 1836. Santa Anna himself marched on the rebellious state with a massive army, but the invasion was conducted poorly. Santa Anna ordered crops burned, prisoners shot, and livestock killed, alienating many Texans who might have supported him.
The Pastry War and Return to Power
Santa Anna returned to Mexico in disgrace and retired to his hacienda. Soon there came another opportunity to seize the stage. In 1838, France invaded Mexico in order to make them pay some outstanding debts. This conflict is known as the Pastry War . Santa Anna rounded up some men and rushed to battle.
War With the United States
In the early 1840s, Santa Anna was in and out of power frequently. He was inept enough to be regularly driven out of power but charming enough to always find his way back in.
Final Presidency
Santa Anna went into exile again but was invited back by conservatives in 1853, so he served as president for two more years. He sold some lands along the border to the United States (known as the Gadsden Purchase) in 1854 to help pay some debts. This infuriated many Mexicans, who turned on him once again.
What was Santa Anna's role in Mexico?
Santa Anna's role in Mexico's public life was not finished, however. In the years immediately following the war, the country remained chaotic, with five different liberal presidents holding power for short periods. Gradually people seemed to lose their distrust of Santa Anna, remembering only his success in rallying followers. The conservatives took power in 1853, and one of their leaders, Lucas Alamán, devised a plan to take advantage of Santa Anna's revised popularity. Santa Anna would serve as interim (temporary) president for one year, after which the country would become a monarchy (ruled by a king or queen). Alamán also planned to keep a close watch on Santa Anna and correct him if he became too dictatorial.
Why was Santa Anna important to Mexico?
(This was called the "pastry war" because one of those owed money was a baker.) When other military commanders were unable to beat the French, Santa Anna answered the call to aid his country. He led the army to victory, but not before losing his left leg in battle. Santa Anna made the most of this injury by having the leg buried with full military honors, thus highlighting his status as a war hero.
How old was Santa Anna when he married Maria?
But once again, Mexicans grew disenchanted with Santa Anna. The people disapproved, for example, of their president's second marriage. Only a few months after the death of his wife Ines from pneumonia, the fifty-year-old Santa Anna married fourteen-year-old Maria Dolores de Tosta. In December 1844, General Mariano de Paredes y Arillaga (1797-1849) forced Santa Anna out of office. Santa Anna was imprisoned while Mexican officials discussed the possibility of trying him for treason. Instead, he was exiled to Cuba.
How many casualties did Santa Anna have?
Once again, Santa Anna had to either retreat in a hurry or face even more devastating casualties. Santa Anna himself was forced to leave many belongings behind, including a spare wooden leg that made a treasured souvenir for the U.S. soldier who found it. The Mexicans had an estimated one thousand casualties in this short battle, compared to only about four hundred for the U.S. side. In addition, three thousand Mexican soldiers were captured, although they were released after their guns were taken and they had promised not to fight again. The U.S. forces also took possession of forty-three Mexican cannons and four thousand smaller weapons, as well as ammunition and other supplies.
Why was Santa Anna in trouble?
Santa Anna showed skill and courage as a soldier, but sometimes got into trouble because of gambling debts. A young man of average height and build with dark hair and eyes, pale skin, and very good manners, he was popular with women. He quickly rose through the ranks of New Spain 's army and, in 1821, became a lieutenant colonel. About ten years earlier, with an uprising of about sixty thousand mestizos (those of Spanish and Native American heritage) and Native Americans led by a Catholic priest named Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811), Mexicans had begun rebelling against their Spanish rulers. Now the Spanish army was fighting another rebellion. This one was a joint effort by conservative Mexicans (criollos who did not want to lose any of their own privileges) under the leadership of Agustin de Iturbide (1783-1824) and liberals (rebels who sought a more democratic form of government for Mexico) under Vicente Guerrero (1783-1831).
How did Santa Anna influence the Texas Revolution?
The issue came to a head after Santa Anna sent troops to Texas as a show of force. The Texans declared themselves independent from Mexico and chased the Mexican forces out of several towns. In the early months of 1836, determined to squelch this so-called Texas Revolution, Santa Anna himself led an army of 6,000 on the difficult journey to Texas. The Mexicans' siege of the Alamo, a former mission in the town of San Antonio that had been occupied by U.S. troops, on March 6, ended in the deaths of all of its 189 U.S. defenders.
What was Santa Anna's role in the Mexican American War?
As a young soldier in the Spanish army, Santa Anna took part in crushing the uprisings that often occurred around Mexico, then called New Spain, as Native Americans and others rebelled against the harsh treatment they received from the Spanish. As a member of the infantry, and later of the cavalry (soldiers on horseback), Santa Anna was trained in a brutal kind of warfare that included the routine execution of prisoners. Later in his life, while leading troops in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican American War, Santa Anna would demonstrate the deadly influence of this training.
What was Santa Anna's job?
After regaining honor at the more famous fall of the Alamo in 1836, Santa Anna felt his job in Texas was done. But under counsel , he decided to take one final swipe at the Texas rebels by dividing his army and sweeping the land. The resulting campaign led to the Battle of San Jacinto. It was a disaster for Santa Anna.
Who was the general who marched to Texas ahead of Santa Anna?
General Martín Perfecto de Cos marched to Texas ahead of Santa Anna intent on punishing the rebels. But Cos' loss of Goliad, as well as the initial (and less famous) struggle at the Alamo in 1835, proved an embarassment to Santa Anna. In part, his Alamo siege was a matter of family honor.
When was Santa Anna elected president?
Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico in 1833, the first of five presidential stints. But his autocratic centralism caused rebellion at the local level. It was in this context that his army marched north to Texas.
Where was Santa Anna born?
Born on February 21, 1794, in Veracruz, Santa Anna enjoyed a middle-class upbringing. After some formal education and a short career as a merchant, he was appointed to the infantry. It was a good fit for him. He fought Mexican rebels under the Spanish for years, receiving several promotions.
Where was Martingale captured?
Martingale from Santa Anna's horse, captured at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Was Santa Anna captured?
Santa Anna was captured, sent to Washington D.C., and eventually returned home.
Why did Santa Anna retire?
At the height of his power during the 1830s and 1840s, Santa Anna exhibited a lack of interest in the day-to-day business of executive leadership. Citing reasons of poor health, but perhaps motivated also by an unwillingness to make unpopular decisions in a volatile political climate, he often retired to his estates in Vera Cruz, leaving his presidential duties in the hands of a subordinate. Such was the case following his election in 1833, when Santa Anna turned the reins of power in the capital over to his vice president, Valentín Gómez Farías. The liberal Gómez Farias promptly implemented a series of reforms to tax and in other ways curb the power of the church and the army. At the urging of conservatives, Santa Anna reasserted his authority, issuing in 1834 the Plan of Cuernevaca, which declared the Gómez Farías' reforms null and void. Marching on the capital, he dissolved Congress and sent Gómez Farías into exile. With the support of the Church, the army, and hacendados, the Mexican caudillo established a centralist dictatorship, thereby provoking the greatest crisis to the Mexican republic the nation-state had yet faced. Upon taking power, Santa Anna fundamentally altered the federalist Constitution of 1824 with the Siete Leyes (Seven Laws), which replaced the republic's states with "departments" more firmly under the control of the national government. Federalists resisted the changes, and several states rose in revolt, declaring their independence from Mexico City and forming their own governments.
Who was the leader of Mexico during the second quarter of the nineteenth century?
Antonio López de Santa Anna , a military and political leader who served as president eleven times during the course of his remarkable career, was the central figure in Mexican public life during the second quarter of the nineteenth century. As elsewhere in Latin America, the Mexican political landscape was influenced less by ideology than personality, with caudillos (charismatic, authoritarian leaders) playing a dominant role. An opportunist willing to change allegiances for reasons of political expediency, Santa Anna personified caudillismo in Mexico in the decades following its independence from Spain.
What was Santa Anna's hope?
But Santa Anna held out hope that he would be able to return to power. This hope was kept alive by, of all things, a tree sap called chicle. He had brought a supply of chicle with him from Mexico. By finding someone to develop it into a cheaper substitute for rubber and selling it, he believed that he could acquire enough wealth to raise an army to retake Mexico City.
Why was Santa Anna out of power?
By then, he had been out of power for more than a decade due to political opposition against him in Mexico.
Who was the Mexican dictator who killed hundreds of rebellious Texans at the Battle of the Alamo?
If you’re familiar with Antonio López de Santa Anna , it’s because he was the Mexican dictator whose forces killed hundreds of rebellious Texans at the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. While the story of this battle has long been a subject of fascination for Americans, there is another story about Santa Anna that is less well-known but perhaps just as fascinating. This is the story of how Antonio López De Santa Anna helped create modern chewing gum.
Who was the tyrant who killed the people at the Alamo?
Unlike Adams, Antonio López de Santa Anna died penniless. After leaving New York, he was never able to regain the wealth or power that he had held as Mexico’s leader. But by giving Adams his supply of chicle, the tyrant who ruthlessly killed hundreds of people at the Alamo played a crucial role in the development of one of the world’s most beloved confectioneries.
What did Santa Anna do?
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.
Where was Santa Anna exiled?
He was once exiled to Staten Island. Like his idol Napoleon, Santa Anna found himself exiled on several occasions after being deposed from power. After spending years on Staten Island, Santa Anna returned to Mexico shortly before his death in 1876.
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.
Who was the president of Mexico?
Antonio López de Santa Anna (February 21, 1794–June 21, 1876) was a Mexican politician and military leader who was President of Mexico 11 times from 1833 to 1855. He was a disastrous president for Mexico, losing first Texas and then much of the current American West to the United States.
Overview
Further reading
• Alemán, Jesse. "The Ethnic in the Canon; or, on Finding Santa Anna's" Wooden Leg"." MELUS 29.3/4 (2004): 165–182.
• Anna, Timothy E. Forging Mexico, 1821–1835. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1998
• Calcott, Wilfred H. Santa Anna: The Story of the Enigma Who Once Was Mexico. Hamden CT: Anchon, 1964.
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 …
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 hi…
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.
Early Life
Early Military Career
First Presidency
Texas Independence
The Pastry War and Return to Power
War with The United States
- In the early 1840s, Santa Anna was in and out of power frequently. He was inept enough to be regularly driven out of power but charming enough to always find his way back in. In 1846, war broke out between Mexico and the United States. Santa Anna, in exile at the time, persuaded the Americans to allow him back into Mexico to negotiate a peace. Once...
Final Presidency
Schemes and Plots
Death
Legacy