One Of The Worst Types of Evil In The Country

A man enters the battlefield on a white horse with his hair in a similar fashion to that of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte of France. A quick glance at the prosthetic leg, brave face, and the thousands of men assembled beside him can provide enemies with the impression that this very man is no joke. On that white horse is none other than Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. To start off with, Santa Anna was a military officer of the Mexican army who was promoted to the highest rank and was president of Mexico eleven times. His reputation isn’t so cut and clean as described above. Historians and the Mexican people think of him as one of the worst evil breed in the country.

Antonio Lopez can be recognized as either an evil person and or a hero in Mexico. Knowing that mistakes were made along the way in his career, Santa Anna was determined to rebuild his reputation time and again. Whether his efforts resulted in a sway of public opinion, it is up to the person and how they judge the severity of his faults. The making of this controversial figure can find its origin in Xalapa, Veracruz. It was on February 21, 1794, that Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was introduced into the world by parents Antonio Lafey de Santa Anna and Manuela Perez de Lebron. He was in the middle class and recognized as a criollo because he was Spanish, but born in the Americas. Santa Anna didn’t do particularly well in school, so he decided to drop out and join the military at 16 even though his father was very critical of his choice.

Naturally, Santa Anna served for the Royalist Army (Spain) as a foot soldier eliminating any rebels who fought against Spain. Under the authority of Joaquín de Arredondo, Santa Anna witnessed his tactics in terminating the uprisings and would model his future battles this was. By the age of 18, the battlefield was nothing new to the young soldier as he climbed up the ranks quickly. Already a Lieutenant, Santa Anna would indulge himself in gambling which will prove to be one of his downfalls in the future. For a while, Santa Anna was devoted to Spain, but as rebels never failed to quit, he had a change of view for what side he should be fighting on. Many supporters of Spain had similar thoughts too. In 1821, he wanted to liberate Mexico and join one of these rebel forces. With a new mindset, Santa Anna made a coalition with Augustin de Iturbide’s army to gain independence.

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The first step of achieving this goal took place in his home in Veracruz where he leads an army to kick out the Spanish. He was successful and became governor, but the significance of this fight was that he sparked a chain reaction that would have other rebels setting many places in Mexico free as well. When Mexico was on its way to independence, Iturbide made himself emperor of Mexico, but was thrown out of his leadership since Santa Anna and other military leaders believed that the country should be run as a republic and not a dictatorship. In a final attempt of control, Spain sent troops to capture Tampico in 1829. Santa Anna in response mustered two thousand men and was looked at as the savior of Mexico after Spain’s ultimate defeat. Just one year later, another dictator like figure rose to lead Mexico and sent his troops to Veracruz because he was afraid that Santa Anna would try to stop him.

Once again, Santa Anna proved victorious and in 1833 he was elected president of this developing country. With his new role as president, Santa Anna was not very committed or did anything to establish a more stable country. He left his vice president to do the work and the vice made altercations that led the people to get angry with the government. A stunning decision was made by Santa Anna who believed that Mexico wasn’t ready to be a republic and would now be run with complete authority. If not the reason why Mexico became independent in the first place, Santa Anna served as president eleven more times between 1833 and 1855. During the 1830s, Mexico allowed Americans to live in Texas under certain requirements. As the population of Americans exceeded those of Mexicans, the Americans in 1835 declared Texas independent which emerged into a devastating defeat on Mexico’s end. Santa Anna’s army of six thousand killed 180 Americans to be known as “the Almano” and as revenge, Sam Houston’s troops destroyed Santa Anna’s army in thirty minutes.

Looking for redemption, he took part in the Pastry War with France who demanded money from Mexico. In combat, Santa Anna had his leg amputated, but this served to his benefit as the Mexicans praised him a war hero. With a better reputation on his hands, he became president in 1841. Mexico was in a really bad predicament at the time financially and Santa Anna taxed the people for his own needs. He was exiled to Cuba for his selfish rule and would be back soon. Negotiating with the U.S. while in Cuba, the U.S. helped him to get back into the country as he had another agenda in mind. The Mexican American war broke out and he was in command of the military. Mexico City was captured by the U.S., and Mexico was forced to sign a peace treaty. The peace treaty included giving up the land known as the Mexican Cession to the U.S. for fifteen million dollars and annexing Texas. A detrimental hit for Mexico and it would not be its last straw.

Santa Anna’s last try at the presidency took place in 1853 because Lucas Alaman appointed him as a last resort to make Mexico stable. A man who was always selfish stayed selfish, and he sold even more land to the U.S. through the Gadsden Purchase for his own needs at a mere ten million. If it wasn’t the first time, Santa Anna was exiled permanently and wouldn’t return to his home country until he was in his eighties. So much time had passed that he was irrelevant and completely disregarded. He was slowly dying and nearly blind and deaf. On June 21, 1876, Santa Anna passed away and was laid to rest at the Tepeyac Cemetery. Santa Anna left a mixed legacy of love and deep hatred. For the positives, he had a major part in liberating Mexico from Spain because he inspired and fought with the people. The downside is that he was responsible for giving up a lot of Mexican territory and placed many of his interests ahead of what the people needed.

From pledging allegiance to Spain to becoming the president in a country in the making, Santa Anna has had a lengthy career of success and failure on his record. Introduced into the military at a young age, he decided to set the rebels free from Spain and take any leader out of power if they were heading towards a dictatorship. He won the support of the people and became president, but wasn’t prepared or interested in the work it entailed. He fought with the U.S., lost land, lost a leg and battled with the French. Not only that, he was exiled more than once and had to keep gaining the trust of the people. The one aspect that can’t be taken away from Santa Anna was his determination on the battlefield. This “Napolean of the West” will forever be judged on whether his existence was a good or bad thing.

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