Pancho Villa and the Raid on Columbus, New Mexico

The apprehension between the Texians and Mexicans began to shift towards a war when a Mexican force led by Francisco De Castañeda was instructed to take a cannon from the rebels in the city of Gonzales. Castañeda was instructed to try to retrieve the cannon without force in order to prevent it from being used against the Mexican authorities and because the slightest act of aggression would likely push the Texians over the edge. The Texians, led by John Henry Moore, refused to cooperate. They even attempted to negotiate with Castañeda and his force to convince them to side with the Texas cause, as they shared the same principles in regards to Santa Anna’s dictatorship. After Castañeda refused, because as a soldier, he was obligated to follow orders, a minor battle ensued. Although it was almost insignificant, it gave the Texians a spark and the rebel cause was able to increase recruiting efforts for the larger altercations that would occur in the next few months (Hardin, 2010).

The Mexican Revolution brought multiple parties and movements out of the woodwork. In John Womack’s Zapata and the Mexican Revolution, a story of one state’s drive for agrarian reform and its people’s evolving mission was told, with Emiliano Zapata as a pivotal leader. The dynamics of the revolution, however, reach deeper than Womack’s account portrays. While Womack documents the revolutionary path of the Zapatistas from the southern state of Morelos, the story of Pancho Villa, an arguably parallel character fighting for states in the North against the repressive powers of General Victoriano Huerta, reads more as a subplot. The writings of Samuel Brunk, Ana Maria Alonso, and Mariano Azuela shed light on the less simplistic dynamics of

Hidalgo’s following grew from 300 to over ½ million people and in not time Hidalgo’s enraged revolutionaries tore through Mexico. After moderate success Hidalgo was defeated by a band of Royalists and while fleeing the country for the US he was disowned by one of his fellow companions and killed. Another priest named Jose Morelos from then on would lead the fighting. He would finally accomplish what Hidalgo had set out to do, lead Mexico to independence, from Spain in 1821.

Mexico also had a system of railways which connected to the United States at key points which made invading the Mississippi valley, to in essence cut the nation in two plausible with a Mexican ally. Mexico also faced the nationalistic advantage and the Yankee hatred which fueled much of the war talk of murdering the gringos. The Mexicans had justified reasons to hate the gringos. During the latter stages of their civil war the US bombarded the city of Veracruz in order to destroy munitions supplying Huerta's forces. The US also launched an invasion involving twenty thousand men or two thirds of the regular forces to invade Mexico and capture Mexican generalismo Poncho Villa. These forces were led by Gen. Pershing and were ultimately unsuccessful on their 3 month trek in the deserts of Mexico. This sense of nationalism would be essential if Mexico were to launch an offensive campaign against the US, but without strong leadership they would fail miserabliy. Mexico lacked a strong central figure for over twenty years. Mexico had been going on an on going struggle with a three prong civil war between Huerta, Villa and Caranza. Forces from former governments were still lingering about and occasionally one leader would seize power for a short time just to be ousted. Because of Mexico's geographical advantages it would be perfect for fighting a war with the US but because of what it lacked in stability it could never fight any war. The situation is best described in some

Porfirio Diaz was the president of Mexico when the Revolution broke out. He was elected in 1877, and although he swore to step down in 1880, he continued to be reelected until 1910. He claimed that he was justified in this because he brought stability to Mexico. However, this was hardly the case. Diaz's regime aimed to industrialize Mexico, and foreign investors such as the United States and Britain

Vicente Guerrero was of black heritage, which his Spanish enemies would mock him because of his cultural background. With the help of other Black Mexicans, Vicente Guerrero would win the war, become Mexico’s second President, and quickly abolish slavery. With this in mind, Peru’s culture would also have African influence.

José Doroteo Arango Arámbula AKA Pancho Villa was a revolutionary who left a mark on History. Pancho Villa left a mark in history by leading the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920 to fight against the perpetrator who let foreign businesses to come into Mexico: Porfirio Diaz.

The siege, fall and ensuing massacre of nearly two hundred Alamo defenders at the hands of Mexican General, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron’s army of over five thousand was a defining moment in both Texan, and American history. For 13 days against insurmountable odds, a small, but very determined Texan garrison force fended off an equally determined Mexican Army ordered to capture it. I’ll discuss the events and political climate leading up to the siege, key historic figures involved on both sides, the siege itself, along with events immediately following the battle. The iconic phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” would later go on to become a rallying cry at the Battle of San Jacinto.

During the first weeks of 1911, Zapata continued to build his organization in Morelos, training and equipping his men and consolidating his authority as their leader. Soon, Zapata's band of revolutionaries, poised to change their tactics and take the offensive, were known as Zapatistas. On February 14, Francisco Madero, who had escaped the authorities to New Orleans, returned to Mexico, knowing that it was time to restart his revolution with an all-out offensive. Less than a month later, on March 11, 1911, "a hot, sticky Saturday night," the bloody phase of the Mexican Revolution began at Villa de Ayala. There was no resistance from the villagers, who were mostly sympathetic to the revolution, being sharecroppers or hacienda workers themselves, and the local police were disarmed quickly. Not all battles that followed were this quick, however. The revolution took its bloody course with the legendary Pancho Villa fighting in the northern part of Mexico, while Zapata remained mainly south of Mexico City. On May 19, after a week of extremely fierce fighting with government troops, the Zapatistas took the town of Cuautla. Only forty-eight hours later, Francisco Madero and the Mexican government signed the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, which ended the presidency of Porfirio Díaz and named Francisco León de la Barra, former

The character of Demetrio Macias proves to be quite ironic. One facet of his character reveals his determination to find Pancho Villa’s army,

This is largely due to the fact that Diaz gave away the country's wealth to buy the loyalty of some, by gifts of haciendas (large estates), concessions or cash. Under his leadership, the gap between the rich and the poor grew undoubtedly larger due to his disregard of democratic principles and the common folk, and his acute determination to keep his dictatorship by any means possible. One of the most renowned opposition leaders of Diaz at the time was the European-educated Francisco Madero. Madero led a series of strikes in resistance to Diaz across the country and eventually ran against him in the election for presidency in 1911. Although Madero had a significant number of votes, Diaz had him imprisoned because he felt the people of Mexico were not ready for democracy, and feared the loss of his own presidency. Madero was not released until after the election so that votes could be tabulated in favour of Diaz. When released from prison, Madero continued to fight against his former adversary. Madero led the first phase of the armed revolution which resulted in Diaz's defeat and to his own presidency reign until 1913. It was during this time that many of the folk heroes of the Revolution emerged, including Francisco "Pancho" Villa of the North, and Emiliano Zapata of the South. In 1913 Madero was assassinated by A Mexican general by the name of Victoriano Huerta. Victoriano and his federal army was defeated in a coalition of armies led by Alvara Obregon, who took

Mexico suffered ten years of war, suffering, and turmoil. Mexican leaders during 1910-1920 were unable to hold the country together and a revolution consumed the nation. The Mexican people grew tired of political greed, lack of support, and unequal treatment. Several leaders such as President Diaz would prove to be a man of one interest, himself. Others would quickly rise against him and attempt to claim the presidency. General Huerta and Francisco

The Reform War was a civil war between the Mexican people, the conservatives vs. the liberals.  With the unhappy reaction of the liberals chaos broke out and Comonfort resigned and Benito Juarez became president. “Comonfort died in an ambush in 1863”(Biography in context) With Juarez President the Reform War ended. The liberals considered this a political victory over the conservatives, having one of their own in office. “Juarez would free Mexico from the most flagrant remnants of neocolonialism.”(Scholes) After the Liberals defeated the conservatives, President Juarez had more to worry about. Some European countries were very upset with Mexico and their unpaid debt with them. They sent troops to Mexico but, they all withdrew themselves when they saw that French dictator Napoleon was planning to overthrow Juarez’s government. The overthrow of the Juarez government started the French Intervention in Mexico in 1862. With the help of the United states Juarez managed to gain back control, he became a hero in the eyes of most liberal Mexican’s for not backing down and running out the French.

Juarez relationship with Santa Anna was strained from the beginning. Serving under Santa Anna during the war with the states, Juarez contempt grew. After the war broke out, Juarez was recalled to his home state to serve as provisional governor. The eventual defeat led to the exile of Santa Anna who had sought refuge in Oaxaca where Juarez governed. Juarez refused his proposal and established his leadership by attitude and example. His leadership may not have been revolutionary; however it did lead to strong support in his ideals and accomplishments.

An interview given by Diaz in 1908 was read by Francisco I. Madero and he was inspired to gather supporters to defeat Diaz in the 1910 election. In the interview Diaz said that he thought Mexico could handle free elections by 1910 (Summary 4). Madero was a strong believer in democracy and realized that Diaz had a monopoly with the government. Madero thought that Diaz should step down from office (Consul General 1-2). By the time 1910 came around Madero had inspired many citizens and had quite a group of followers. His chances for election were very good and Diaz got scared. Right before the elections in 1910, Diaz falsely accused Madero and had him thrown in jail. Diaz is once again elected as president. Madero was soon released and, learning of Diaz’s reelection, he fled to Texas (Summary 4). While there he stated that the elections were illegitimate and that he was the President Pro-Temp until new elections could be held (Consul General 2). He also wrote a document, which called for a revolt on November 20, 1910 which marks the start of the Mexican Revolution (Summary 5).