When Domingo de Ugartechea who was a military commander in Texas, got news that the American colonists of Gonzales refused to surrender a little cannon that had been given that settlement in 1831 as protection against the Indians,he told Francisco de Castañeda and 100 dragoons to retrieve it. Ugartechea came to mind that, given the tensions between the Texans and Antonio López de Santa Anna's Centralist government, the slightest provocation might ignite hostilities. So he instructed Castañeda to use force if necessary but to avoid open conflict if possible. The company rode out of San Antonio de Béxar on September 27, 1835.…
The ‘Battle’ of Cajamarca was arguably the most important army operation of Spain’s conquest of Peru. Atahualpa had purposefully lured the Spanish into the heart of his empire, where he was confident he could call upon massive forces to surround and crush them if necessary. Unbeknownst to Atahualpa, Pizarro had designed a scheme for his soldiers to carry out: he would draw out the emperor and then capture him amidst his own troops, which would deal a heavy blow to the Incas. Pizarro invited Atahualpa to a meeting at Cajamarca, with 106 infantrymen armed with arquebuses, 62 cavalrymen, and four small cannons hidden within alleyways that opened into an open square in the town. Before the battle, Friar Vincente de Valverde approached Atahualpa,…
Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula better known as Pancho Villa was a Mexican Revolutionary general. He was born June 5, 1878, in Durango, Mexico. When Villa was only sixteen his father passed away and so he became the head and protector of the household. Villa spent most of his life in Durango, Mexico until he killed a man who was harassing his sister. Due to that event, Villa fled and hid in the mountains for several years and changed his birth name to Francisco Villa to evade authorities.…
In chapter 3 Jared Diamond discusses one of the most controversial battles that shifted the new world to what we know today, the Battle of Cajamarca. Diamond states in his book “The biggest population shift of modern times has been the colonization of the new World by Europeans, and the resulting conquest, numerical reduction, or complete disappearance of most groups of Native Americans.” This battle was between the Incas and the Spaniards. Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a Spanish army of 168 soldiers; he was going against an army of 80,000 soldiers led by Atahualpa. Pizarro was 1000 miles away from reinforcements, and knew nothing about the local inhabitants. The stakes were all against him. Yet Pizarro was able to win…
Once in the country he rallied resistance to the foreign invaders. As commanding officer in the northern campaign he lost the battle of Buena Vista in February 1847, returned to Mexico City, reorganized the demoralized government, and turned east to be defeated by Winfield Scott's forces at Cerro Gordo. Secret negotiations with Scott failed, and when Mexico City was captured, Santa Anna retired to exile. In 1853 he was recalled by the Centralists, but again power turned his head. To help meet expenses he sold the Mesilla Valley to the United States as the Gadsden Purchase and was overthrown and banished by the liberals in 1855.…
The battle of the alamo was only three weeks before the Goliad Massacre.During the battle David Crockett and James Bowie was killed in the battle and was a won by the Mexican army.…
The battle of San Pasqual was one of the many battles fought against Americans to protect their land. The greedy American government was determined to conquer California from Mexico and make it part of the union. The mass migration of immigrants caused the widespread of people to flee south.…
Imagine fighting for freedom against a country that won’t listen to you and treats you with cruelty. You don’t have much military power, so this other, more powerful country helps you gain independance. However, as soon as you win, the country that helps turns around and puts you in the same situation, just with them instead of the original country. This is what it was like in the Philippines! Before the Spanish-American war, the Philippines were a territory of Spain, along with some other countries like Cuba and Puerto Rico. Spain mistreated the people of these territories. They moved them into camps, that had shelters with no roofs. If they didn’t get there in time, they were executed. The United States stepped in and went to war with Spain for the independance of these territories. When we won the war, we got control of these…
“At San Jacinto, Texas, he turned on the Mexicans, surprised them during an afternoon siesta, and on April 21, in just 18 minutes, captured or killed most of the Mexican army of over 1,200 men.” “Texans fought using their rifles as clubs. Some historians believe that a few defenders, perhaps including Crockett, survived the battle only to be executed at Santa Anna's orders. Other historians accept the more familiar story that all the Texans who fought died in the…
The Spanish-American war arose in 1898 mainly as a result of the oppression of the Cuban people by the Spanish, and the conflict that started due to that. The U.S, concerned with the rebellions taking place, decided to get involved. Because of the war, the colonial rule of the Spanish was ended in the United States. In addition to this, the U.S gained new territories.…
The Mexican war was a war worth fighting for a few reason. The first key reason that we should have fought this war is that it was in the best interest of the country at the time and the many people in the U.S. believed in manifest destiny which was the belief that the expansion of the U.S. was justified and important. Another reason that this war would have been justified is that at the time was that mexico was a fairly new country. They had only gained independence from spain about 20 years before the mexican war. The U.S. didn’t think that Mexico was capable of controlling the amount of land that they claimed as theirs. It said in Document A that, “Mexico never can exert any real government over such a country” A third reason that this…
At 4:45 A.M. on March 9 Villa’s men rode into Columbus, firing into the army barracks, catching the American soldiers by surprise.…
The Mexican War marked a major turning point for the fledgling American nation and its military – not only did it redefine the Southern border with Mexico, but it demonstrated the capabilities of the U.S. Army during an offensive engagement following a prolonged period of peace. The Mexican War is not a commonly cited conflict in U.S. history, but the lessons learned from it are relevant even today, as it combined conventional warfare with the struggle of being a small, occupying force in both rural and urban terrain. The U.S. won a number of early decisive battles, notably at Palo Alto, the site of the first major conflict. American success during the Battle of Palo Alto was owed largely to competent leadership, standardized training, and the superiority of American field artillery.…
The battle began and ended on April 21, 1836, at San Jacinto. Sam Houston and his men charged the Mexicans, chanting,” Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” “The actual battle of San Jacinto lasted less than twenty minutes, but it was in the making for six years.” (TexasA&MUniversity.edu) Santa Anna, afraid for his life, disguised as a slave and hid. Only nine Texans were killed, but six hundred- and thirty Mexicans died. After he was captured, Santa Anna surrendered, and so Sam Houston spared his life. After he was released, Anna recanted and tried to plot revenge. The Texan government, then requested to join the United States of…
The Texas Revolution occurred because of a series of events that began long before the first shots fired at the Battle of Gonzales. In the summer of 1820 a 59 year-old Missourian named Moses Austin asked the Spanish Authorities for a large land tract which he wanted to use to attract American Pioneers. To manys surprise in early 1821 the Spanish government gave him permission to settle 300 families. Spain had welcomed Americans to help develop the land and to provide a buffer against the illegal U.S. immigrants who were causing problems. Although Moses Austin died and was not able to see his goal reached his son Stephen F. Austin stepped into his shoes and promised to carry out his fathers goal of colonizing Texas. By the end of 1824 Austin had attracted over 242 colonists to Texas and persuaded the Mexican government that the best way to attract Americans was to give out land grants. By the 1830's there were 16,000 Americans settled in Texas. As the population grew, the Mexican government grew skeptical of the growing American population. Mexico had feared the U.S. was planning to gain the province by revolution. Due to the diverse differences in language and culture their was bitter conflict between the Native Mexicans and the colonists. To reclaim the authority over Texas the Mexican government reestablished its constitutional prohibition against slavery, restricted trade with the United States, and put a end to further American Immigration. These actions possibly could have provoked the Texas Revolution. In 1832 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became Mexico's president. Many colonists hoped that Antonio would make Texas a self-governed state within the United States. Once in power, Santa Anna was less truthful than many Texans were led to believe. In mid 1834 Santa Anna overthrew Mexico's constitutional government, abolished state governments, and pronounced himself as dictator. When…