Introduction
The Antonio López de Santa Anna Collection forms part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The Santa Anna Collection was described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in January 1994.
The collection's physical extent is four inches. Its materials are in Spanish, and are also available on microfilm.
The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939.
Documents from the collection were published by Genaro García in his Colección de documentos inéditos o muy raros para la historia de México (volumes 2 and 29), Mexico, Vda. de C. Bouret, 1905 and 1910. The collection also furnished substantial source material for Carlos E. Castañeda's The Mexican side of the Texan revolution, Dallas, Tex., P.L. Turner, 1928.
The suggested citation for the collection is "Antonio López de Santa Anna Collection, 1821-1878, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."
President of Mexico. Born 1794 or 1795 in Jalapa; died 1876 in Mexico City. Began military career in 1810; promoted to brigadier general in 1822. Offices and honors include: governor of Yucatan (ca. 1825 and 1829), governor of Veracruz (1828), benemérito de la patria (1829), and benemérito en grado heróico (1835).
Santa Anna was first named president of Mexico on March 30, 1833, which position he repeatedly abdicated and resumed until leaving the office for the final time in 1855. He led Mexican forces in 1835 and 1836 in the campaign against Texas independence, and in 1847 in the war with the United States. During the latter he served alternately as president and as military commander.
Santa Anna spent repeated periods of exile in the Caribbean. Upon one return to Mexico in February 1864, he promptly was deported by General Achille Bazaine for failing to abide by the terms of the agreement allowing his reentry. Santa Anna was imprisoned in 1867 then exiled until 1874, when he returned to Mexico under a general amnesty. He died in poverty in Mexico City on June 20, 1876.
21 Feb 1794/5 | born in Jalapa, Veracruz | 6 July 1810 | entered the Veracruz infantry as a cadet | 13 March 1811 | went with his regiment to Tampico to suppress insurgents working for the separation of Texas | 1813 | returned to Veracruz, promoted for bravery to first lieutenant | 1814 | made aide to General Dávila, royalist commander of Veracruz | March 1816 | promoted to captain | March 1821 | given command of troops in Veracruz, sent to rescue Orizaba and Córdoba from pro-independence forces | 23 March 1821 | arrived in Orizaba, defeated the insurgent Miranda | 29 March 1821 | General Herrera arrived, as did dispatch from Viceroy making Santa Anna lieutenant colonel as reward for Miranda's defeat; Santa Anna joined Herrera in support of Iturbide | 25 April 1821 | Santa Anna came to Herrera's aid at Tepeaca, defeated the Spanish colonel Hevia | rewarded by Iturbide with promotion to Chief of the Army's 11th Division | July 1821 | surrounded Veracruz and suggested that his old protector General Dávila surrender to him; Dávila successfully resisted | 21 July 1821 | Viceroy Juan O'Donojú arrived en route to Córdoba, where Iturbide awaited him to finalize treaties ending Spain's dominance of Mexico | Dávila withdrew from Veracruz at the end of October, still faithful to Ferdinand VII | 27 Sept 1821 | Trigarante army entered Mexico City | 28 Sept 1821 | Regency established | 25 Oct 1822 | Santa Anna with General Rincón took Veracruz | Iturbide named Santa Anna brigadier general and Commander of the Province of Veracruz | 16 Nov 1822 | suspicious of Santa Anna, Iturbide arrived in Jalapa, removed Santa Anna from his command, ordered him to join the Junta de Guerra in Mexico City; Santa Anna instead returned to Veracruz | 2 Dec 1822 | in Veracruz, Santa Anna proclaimed "la República," declared Iturbide's reign "invalid," demanded new Congreso Constituyente | 1 Feb 1823 | Plan de Casa Mata signed | 19 March 1823 | Iturbide abdicated | government sent Santa Anna to San Luis Potosí as commander of the province | 5 June 1823 | Santa Anna announced his support of the Federal Republic | called to Mexico, Santa Anna placed under house arrest | freed by intervention of Vicente Guerrero, was reinstated as brigadier general and named military commander of Yucatán | mid-1824 | arrived at Campeche | declared war on Spain, tried to invade Cuba against the wishes of the Mexican government | 25 April 1825 | government accepted Santa Anna's resignation as Governor (?) of Yucatán | President Guadalupe Victoria named him director of the Corps of Engineers, but Santa Anna soon gave up post; went to Alvarado (Veracruz), married Inés de la Paz, n.d. (Inés García?), bought hacienda of Manga de Clavo | 30 Dec 1826 | (23 Dec 1827?) | Vicente Guerrero sent to put down Montaño's rebellion at Otumba; Santa Anna offered his services to Guerrero | 7 January 1828 | Santa Anna and Guerrero defeated and exiled Barragán and Bravo | Santa Anna named Governor of Veracruz in Barragán's place | 1 Sept 1828 | Congress declared Pedraza president and Vicente Guerrero vice-president | 12 Sept 1828 | Santa Anna demanded that presidency be given to Guerrero | 3 Dec 1828 | Pedraza fled the presidency | 8 Dec 1828 | Guerrero named secretary of war | 1 April 1829 | Guerrero became president | Santa Anna again Governor of Veracruz | 27 July 1829 | Spanish under Barradas took Tampico | 11 Sept 1829 | Santa Anna with General Mier y Terán defeated Barradas' troops | Santa Anna named "Benemérito de la Patria" | 4 Oct 1829 | Santa Anna returned to Veracruz | 4 Dec 1829 | refused to administer the Plan of Jalapa with Bustamante against Guerrero | 3 Jan 1830 | renounced his politico-military duties | 2 Jan 1832 | Military garrison of Veracruz rebelled against Bustamante, Santa Anna offered to mediate | government accused Santa Anna of leading rebellion | March 1832 | Santa Anna defeated by government forces | 5 Oct 1832 | Pedraza returned from the U.S. | 24 Dec 1832 | Pedraza assumed presidency in Puebla | 3 Jan 1833 | Pedraza and Santa Anna entered Mexico City | 30 March 1833 | Santa Anna named President, with Gómez Farías as vice-president | 1 April l833 | Gómez Farías became president as Santa Anna pleaded ill health; Farías'policies proved unpopular | 16 May 1833 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | 3 June 1833 | Santa Anna returned presidency to Farías | took command of the army so as to subdue insurrections of Morelia and Tlalpan | held captive by Arista while Gómez Farías put down rebellion | 5 July 1833 | Santa Anna pursued Arista | 12 Oct 1833 | defeated Arista in Guanajuato | 27 Oct 1833 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | 15 Dec 1833 | left presidency, requesting from Congress 6 months' leave because of his health | 24 April 1834 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | 27 Jan 1835 | Santa Anna left presidency | 11 May 1835 | defeated Salinas in Battle of Guadalupe, Zacatecas | named "Benemérito en grado heróico" | headed exposition to quell uprising in Texas | 26 Feb 1836 | entered Texas, attacked Alamo | 6 Mar 1836 | attacked presidio of Espíritu Santo | 21 Apr 1836 | defeated by Houston at San Jacinto | 18 Jan 1837 | interviewed by U.S. President Jackson | 21 Feb 1837 | returned to Veracruz by boat, to the cheers of the populace | 27 Nov 1838 | French fired on San Juan de Ulúa, Santa Anna defended | 5 Dec 1838 | lost leg | 20 March 1839 | Santa Anna succeeded Bustamante as interim president | 30 April 1839 | defeated federalists Mejía and Urrea at Acajete | 10 July 1839 | surrendered presidency to Nicolás Bravo | 10 Oct 1841 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | 26 Oct 1842 | returned presidency to Bravo | 4 March 1843 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | first wife died; married Dolores de Tosta | 4 Oct 1843 | surrendered presidency to Canalizo | 4 June 1844 | Santa Anna took oath as constitutional president | 7 Sept 1844 | obtained leave of absence from presidency | 19 Nov 1844 | Paredes y Arrillaga rebelled in Guadalajara | Santa Anna attacked Arrillaga without consent of Congress | Santa Anna's army deserted; he was captured and exiled | 3 June 1845 | Santa Anna left Veracruz for Havana | 4 Aug 1846 | Paredes y Arrillaga removed from office | 22 Aug 1846 | Santa Anna returned to Veracruz, proclaiming the reestablishment of the Constitution of 1824 | 6 Dec 1846 | Congress named Santa Anna interim president | Santa Anna surrendered presidency to Gómez Farías | went to San Luis Potosí to rally troops against U.S. General Taylor | 26 Jan 1847 | Santa Anna attacked Taylor | 23 Feb 1847 | defeated Taylor | 21 March 1847 | Santa Anna resumed presidency | 2 April 1847 | surrendered presidency to Anaya | went to fight U.S. General Scott in Veracruz | 20 May 1847 | Santa Anna resumed the presidency | lost five battles against U.S. | 16 Sept 1847 | surrendered presidency, escaped via Guatemala or the U.S., sailed to Jamaica then to Turbaco, Colombia | 1 April 1853 | returned to Veracruz | 19 April 1853 | made triumphal entry into Mexico City | 20 April 1853 | Santa Anna resumed the Presidency | 16 Dec 1853 | Council of State gave Santa Anna "facultades omnímodas," title of "alteza serenísima" | 1 March 1854 | Plan of Ayutla against Santa Anna | 9 Aug 1855 | Santa Anna renounced Presidency | went to Havana, then Turbaco, Colombia | 27 Feb 1864 | Santa Anna returned to Veracruz, promising Bazaine not to be politically active, but continued seeking support | 12 March 1864 | Bazaine deported Santa Anna from Veracruz | Jan 1866 | Santa Anna visited by U.S. Secretary of State Seward on island of St. Thomas | 3 June 1867 | Santa Anna returned to Veracruz, claiming U.S. endorsement | 4 June 1867 | Santa Anna taken with U.S. help to Sisal, Yucatán, and imprisoned | 30 July 1867 | Santa Anna moved to prison of San Juan de Ulúa | Santa Anna's death sentence commuted to exile | 2 Nov 1867 | Santa Anna sailed to Havana, then to the Bahamas | 1874 | Santa Anna allowed to return to Mexico by Lerdo de Tejada under a general amnesty | 20 June 1876 | died in poverty in Mexico City |
Correspondence and literary productions. Correspondence pertains to Mexican military and government affairs in the nineteenth century. Santa Anna's correspondence with Manuel María Giménez (G430) spans the period 1829-1875. It stems mostly from his periods of absence from the government but reflects his plans and opinions on the military and internal affairs of Mexico. Correspondence with Francisco de P. Mora (G518) consists of copies of letters exchanged by Santa Anna and Mora during 1865-1866 concerning their plans for a national movement to restore Mexican independence, which Santa Anna was to head, and Santa Anna's expectations that the United States would assist Mexico against the French. Letters referred to in the published guide as correspondence with Valentín Gómez Farías were all authored by Santa Anna, in 1847.
Literary productions include "Documento precioso para la biografia del General Santa Ana" (G387), which details a disagreement over a debt incurred in 1813 related to alleged misuse of military funds (G387 was originally in the Lucas Alamán papers, according to a note made by C. E. Castañeda); "El eccmo señor general don Antonio López de Santa Anna en Veracruz" (G505-2), an account of Santa Anna's 1838 entrance into Veracruz; "Mis memorias, escritas ... en mi ultimo destierro" (G546), Santa Anna's memoir; "Manifest which General Santa Anna addresses to his fellow citizens relative to his operations during the Texas campaign and his capture" (although this is listed in the published guide as "Manifiesto," it is an English translation of the original); a September 16, 1847, address by Santa Anna to the citizenry, announcing the abandonment of the capital and his renunciation of the presidency; a draft of Genaro García's introduction to Santa Anna's memoirs; and research notes.
Also included in the collection are a typescript copy of Santa Anna's will, and "Indice de un paquete de cartas reservadas que se hallaba en la Secretaria llamada de Estampilla" (G411).
The Antonio López de Santa Anna Collection was arranged into subgroups by earlier library staff. The processing of the collection was completed by the Mexican Archives Project staff in January 1994. Documents are arranged chronologically within folders. Items bearing manuscript numbers are shelved numerically. The subgroups and series are:
I. Archives
a. | Manifiestos, proclamas, etc. | |
December 2, 1822. Proclamas del Brigadier Santa Anna a los habitantes y tropa de Veracruz. | ||
December 23, 1832. Convenio celebrado entre las divisiones al mando de los ecsmos. señores d. Anastasio Bustamante y d. Antonio Lopez de Santa-Anna. | ||
April 29, 1834 (oversized) | ||
May 10, 1837. "Manifest which General Antonio López de Santa Anna addresses to his fellow citizens relative to his operations during the Texas campaign and his capture." | ||
September 16, 1847. Announces abandonment of capital and renunciation of presidency. | ||
b. | Draft of Genaro García's introduction to Santa Anna's memoirs. | |
c. | Research notes. |
G387 : | "Documento precioso para la biografia del General Santa Ana," 1821. Details a disagreement over a debt incurred in 1813 related to alleged misuse of military funds. |
G411 : | "Indice de un paquete de cartas reservadas que se hallaba en la Secretaria llamada de Estampilla," 1823. |
G430 : | "Correspondencia autografa del Exmo. Sr. Gral. Santa-Anna y el Coronel Manuel Maria Jimenez," 1829-1875. Stems mostly from Santa Anna's periods of absence from the government but reflects his plans and opinions on the military and internal affairs of Mexico. Includes a letter dated 1878 from Giménez to Santa Anna's daughter, and a note from Giménez dated January 26, 1878, recording the date of Santa Anna's death. |
Attached to G430-68 is "Acontecimientos acaecidos en Veracruz con el exmo. sor. gral. d. Antonio Lopez de Santa-Anna desde la llegada del sor coronel d. Manuel Maria Gimenez á dicha ciudad el 2 de marzo de 1864, hasta el reembarque de s.e. el dia 12 del mismo mes. Abril 20 de 1864." | |
G505-2 : | "El Eccmo Señor General Don Antonio López de Santa Anna en Veracruz ...". 1863. Account of Santa Anna's 1838 entrance into Veracruz, in "Biografia del Sr. Coronel Manuel M. Jimenez." |
G518 : | "Correspondencia entre el Sr. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y el Sr. D. Francisco de P. Mora," 1865-1866. Copies of letters exchanged by Santa Anna and Mora concerning their plans for a national movement to restore Mexican independence. |
G546 : | "Mis memorias, Escritas de mi puño y letra sin ayuda de nadie, en mi ultimo destierro," 1874. |