Melissa E. Bowlin
Ozarka College
Francisco "Pancho" Villa Francisco Villa was born Doroteo Arango in San Juan del Rio, Durango in 1877. Some resources say that he was actually born in 1879. Although Doroteo Arango was the man 's original name, most people knew him as Francisco "Pancho" Villa. Francisco spent most of his life living in Durango, until at the age of 16, when he killed a man for raping his younger sister ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). He had to leave the town of Durango in order to keep from being executed for killing the man that had raped his sister. Over the next few years there was very little record kept of Francisco. …show more content…
It was during this time that he originally changed his name to Francisco "Pancho" Villa to keep the law from recognizing his original name ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). When Francisco was at the young age of 20, "he moved northward to Chihuahua, where he worked on and off as a minor in Parral".
He would also sell stolen cattle in Chihuahua to make a living. During this time, "his occupation was recorded as a "wholesale meat seller", according to many government biographies that were written". Later on he would begin to mine again, but this time in a town near Chihuahua called Santa Eulalia ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). Soon Francisco was becoming to tire of laborers work, and decided to add bank robber to his resume of different jobs he would do in later years. He was wanted now not only as a murderer by the Diaz government but also as a bank robber ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", …show more content…
2006). It was during the beginning of the 1900 's when Francisco would really make a name for himself and his bandit followers because he would show the poor, whom looked up to him, just how much he did not want to follow the rules of the government at this time. In 1910, "Villa and his men came down from the hills to join Francisco Maderos Revolutionary forces". This is where him and his men would make a transition from banditos to revolucianarios ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). "Francisco was able to recruit and army of thousands, including a substantial amount of Americans, some of whom were made captains in the Division del Norte". "Villa even created one squadron made up entirely of Americans under the leadership of Captain Tracey Richardson, a man who apparently fought with many different insurgent armies around the world at that time" ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). Madero 's leadership and victory did not last long until he was assassinated. Francisco was still left to leadership and command of his Division del Norte army in resistance. "It was during this time that he became almost like a folk hero in America" ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). . There were several Hollywood film makers who would begin to flock to wherever his battles began and ended. Many of these battles were staged for the convenience of the filmmakers during this era ("Francisco "pancho" Villa", 2006). Francisco Villa was known as a hero to many when he ultimately decided to fight for freedom in the Mexican Revolution. He actually went against Madero 's orders and attacked Ciudad Juarez and won. "This victory is what truly brought Villa in to power" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). Although Madero would soon push Villa to the sidelines, "Villa would never forget the man who led him in the first steps in revolution" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). Villa would fight many battles during this era, "the battles of Zacatecas and Ojinaja stand out as particular highlights in the battles during his life". "At Ojinaja, Villa defeated Huertas federal troops and forced them across the Rio Grande to Marfa, Texas". "Late in the process of trying to overthrow Huerta, Carranza tried to sabotage Villa 's progress by sending him to Saltillo, an insignificant target, rather than the more important town of Zacatecas" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). Villa was once again pressured to go against orders, and he triumphed at Zacatecas, one of the bloodiest campaigns of the revolution, because he had indeed defeated Huerta once and for all. "While Villa was a hero in the revolution, he was also known for his brutality in the face of betrayal". "Both he and his "trigger man", Rudolfo Fierro, were known for the particularly barbaric ways in which they would dispatch their enemies" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). It was Carranza whom would soon begin to pick away at Villa one piece at a time. "A turning point came in 1915, when Villa and his elite soldiers, the dorados, lost several battles to Carranza 's general, Alvaro Obregon" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). The battle of Celaya was said to be the battle that set Villa running. It was during this battle that technology would defeat Villa more than anything. "Villa and his 19th century style cavalry came up against 20th century technology imported from the war in Europe (WWI), and employed by the constitutionalists". "Their use of barbed wire, sophisticated machine guns, and trench warfare resulted in a massacre of Villa 's troops" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). . It was these defeats that led the United States to withdraw their support of Villa in favor of recognition of Carranza. In 1916, Villa was angered because he thought the United States had betrayed him , and he began to attack the border town of Columbus, New Mexico. "Although the number of deaths in Villa 's troops outweighed the deaths of Americans, the U.S. government was outraged, and sent troops, led by General John J. "BlackJack" Pershing, in to Mexican territory to track down Villa and eliminate him". "The search continued well in to 1917 but the troops never found him during this time" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). Running from Pershing 's troops really began to take its toll on Francisco.
"Although he won many battles during the period 1917-1919, he was never the same as he had been at the height of his power". "In 1923, in an agreement with then president Alvaro Obregon, Villa retired to a hacienda in Canutillo, near Parral, Chihuahua". "He seemed to be living the quite life of a rancher, surrounded by former comrades and friends, many whom now served as his body guards". "Obregon and his soon-to-be successor, Plutarco Elias Calles, wanted to take no chances that Villa would regain his strength". "They established a conspiracy to assassinate him." "On July 20, 1923, as Villa made his way back to his ranch from Parral, seven riflemen began to set off shots on his car" ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). Villa was assassinated at this time. In life, and in death, "Villa remains a controversial figure". One hundred years after his death, he is still loved by many, but also hated by many too ("The Storm That Swept Mexico", 2012). It can be shown that his life was quite one of turmoil and very extravagant all in one. There are many rolls of film and photographs that can show this was a daring bandit whom left a huge imprint during the time of the Mexican Revolution, and will always be remembered, whether it be in a good or bad way, he will always be written in to the history of the Mexican
Revolution.
References
Francisco "Pancho" Villa. (2006). Retrieved from http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1305-francisco-pancho-villa.
The Storm that Swept Mexico. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storm- that-swept-mexico/the-revolution/faces-revolution/francisco-villa/.
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1305-francisco-pancho-villa
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storm-that-swept-mexico/the-revolution/faces-revolution/francisco-villa/