Antonio López de Santa Anna

Antonio López de Santa Anna was a Mexican military officer and politician who held the presidency repeatedly and shaped national politics from the 1830s through the 1850s.

Valentín Gómez Farías: A Mexican liberal politician who served as president and pursued reforms limiting the power of the Catholic Church and army. Santa Anna alternately enabled and displaced Gómez Farías during their shared presidential administrations.
Battle of Tampico: An 1829 battle in which Mexican forces defeated a Spanish expedition attempting to reconquer Mexico. Santa Anna’s role in the victory made him a national hero and strengthened his political standing.
Pronunciamiento: A public military declaration demanding political change, often used to challenge or replace a government in nineteenth-century Spain and Latin America. Pronunciamientos repeatedly created openings for Santa Anna to seize or regain national power.
Texas Revolution: The 1835–1836 conflict in which settlers and Tejanos rebelled against Mexican government rule in Texas. Santa Anna’s military campaign failed to prevent Texas from breaking away from Mexico.
Guadalupe Victoria: A Mexican independence leader who served as the first president of the federal republic from 1824 to 1829. Victoria’s constitutional presidency contrasts with Santa Anna’s recurring reliance on personal military authority.
Lucas Alamán: A Mexican conservative statesman, historian, and industrialist who helped shape national policy after independence. Alamán helped bring Santa Anna back to power in 1853 and influenced his conservative government.
Battle of the Alamo: An 1836 siege in which Mexican forces captured a Texan garrison at San Antonio after a thirteen-day battle. Santa Anna commanded the Mexican forces in the campaign that became his most famous military episode.
Siete Leyes: A Mexican constitutional framework adopted in 1836 that replaced the federal system with a centralized republic. Santa Anna’s government used the Siete Leyes to centralize authority and restructure the republic.
Texas Annexation: The 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Annexation intensified the crisis that led to war during Santa Anna’s political career.
Benito Juárez: A Mexican liberal statesman and president who defended the republic and advanced major reforms in the 1850s and 1860s. Juárez’s reformist republican leadership opposed the conservative order restored under Santa Anna.

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