Mexico Caught in the Crosshairs

The newly independent republic of Mexico faced direct challenges to sovereignty and independence, not only from the European powers but also from their northerly neighbor and fellow republic, the United States of America. In the 1830s-1840s, as the 1840s Washington-based atlas map of the United States suggests, Texas was an ambiguously held territory, one the southern US states wished to add as yet another slave state into the Union. The outbreak of war from 1846-1848 reconfigured Mexico and the United States. Following the war Matamoros remained part of Mexico as a result of Mexican General Santiago Tapia's honorable actions in the Plaza of Matamoros. His actions not only gained Tapia the prestigious Mexican "Cruz de honor" in 1851, but also demonstrates how Mexico fended off U.S.-backed filibusters from Texas seeking to overthrow the influence of the Mexican government and capture runaway slaves. These battles between the two nations were pivotal to the delineation of the borders and the separation of freedom from slavery.

Contributors:

Michael Bain and Armando Arizpe


Map of the United States from 1842

This map of the United States of Mexico, created circa 1842 by an author for an atlas printed in Washington based atlas, highlights the lingering issue of independence and sovereignty over Texas following the 1836 independence revolution and the Treaties of Velasco. The Treaties, signed by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna following his defeat at the Battle of San Jacinto, formally recognized the independent Republic of Texas. The Mexican government, however, disputed that claim and Santa Anna’s authority in signing the treatises.

The map itself has Texas shaded in an ambiguous color that nearly blends in with that of the United States of America. This shading represents the aspirations of factions within the United States as they mulled the idea of annexing yet another slave state into the fractious union. The resulting annexation of Texas that occurred in 1845, not without resistance from northern free states, helped usher in decades of conflict in the form of the nearly immediate Mexican-American War and the future United States Civil War.

Santiago Tapia's Cruz de Honor

The Mexican Government of the State of Tamaulipas presents Santiago Tapia with the “Cruz de Honor'' after his heroic defense at the Plaza de Matamoros in October 20th through the 30th of 1851. The award supplements information on the attempt by filibusters from Texas, headed by Jose Carvajal, who sought to capture Matamoros in order to overthrow the centrist policies of the Mexican government and capture runaway slaves. Santiago Tapia aided the commander of Matamoros, Francisco Avalos in the defeat of Carvajal and the Texan attackers. This document therefore also is evidence of the effort by Mexican states to offer the protection of African Americans.