Guadalupe Victoria (1786-1843) was a Mexican politician and military man, hero of independence and the first president of Mexico as an independent nation. He was born under the name of José María Fernández y Félix, but changed his name for moral and political purposes; Victoria, in honor of the glory and Guadalupe, in honor of the patron saint of Mexico.
His regime was characterized by three main aspects. The first of these was the establishment of diplomatic relations with several of the great nations of the world (and even with the recently founded Gran Colombia)..
The second aspect was the duration. For more than a quarter of a century after the end of his term, no other Mexican president managed to complete a full presidential term..
The third and perhaps the most important aspect was the expulsion of all the Spanish forces that were still in Mexico after its independence..
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Guadalupe Victoria was born with the name of José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, on September 29, 1786, in what is now the state of Durango, in Mexico. However, at the time of his birth, his hometown of Tamazula was in Nueva Vizcaya, a province of New Spain..
At a very young age, he was orphaned by both parents and was raised by his uncle, a priest from the local community. It was his own uncle, as a religious, who was responsible for his baptism, although he died shortly after Victoria was orphaned.
Before developing a military interest, he studied at the Durango Seminary, although he was in great financial difficulties. He did a simple job of textbooks to sell to other students; the money he produced, he used to buy food and subsist as he could.
After finishing his studies at the Durango Seminary, he went to Mexico City, where he studied Law at the Colegio de San Ildefonso. He continued studying law until 1812, when he abandoned his studies to join the independence movement of Mexico..
In 1812, when he joined the forces of General Hermenegildo Galeana, he changed his name from José Miguel Ramón Adaucto Fernández y Félix, to simply Guadalupe Victoria. The religious symbolism of his name in conjunction with the glory of the "Victory" represented the independence ideals of the military.
Once incorporated into the army of independence, he joined other prestigious military personnel and was a key player in taking over territory for the insurgent movement. Finally, his troops seized the territory of Veracruz and Oaxaca.
In fact, in Veracruz he joined the independence leader Nicolás Bravo, who worked under the orders of the patriot José María Morelos.
The military strategies he employed were crucial to the eventual Mexican victory over European control. He dedicated a great deal of time and resources to stopping the Spanish advance through the so-called “Puente del Rey”, a fundamental fact to slow down the European reconquest of insurgent Mexico..
His military actions made him recognized as the main leader and strategist of the War of Independence..
Guadalupe Victoria was involved in two major battles during the Mexican War of Independence: Oaxaca and Veracruz.
According to the history of Mexico, Victoria led the assault on Oaxaca by crossing a deep lake that was not safeguarded by the Spanish troops in the region.
It was in this battle that the insurgent army recognized for the first time the importance of the leadership of Victoria, and as a consequence they named him Brigadier General of the army..
In addition, after their heroic actions, the independence forces of Mexico obtained total control of Oaxaca.
This city became an important tactical center for the group of independence soldiers, since with its control it was possible to access a series of highways and roads that reached many other territories of New Spain..
After the taking of Oaxaca, the garrisons of the independentistas led by Guadalupe Victoria went on to capture Veracruz. One of the reasons why it was not possible to retain the city for more than two years was the lack of weapons at its disposal, but it managed to defend it bravely from Spanish attacks..
After the last Spanish offensive recaptured Oaxaca, Veracruz and all the towns that the independentistas had obtained, Victoria's troops deserted. The viceroy of New Spain offered pardons to several of those responsible for the uprising, but Guadalupe Victoria did not want to accept hers.
As a consequence of this, he became an enemy of the Spanish Crown. Without an army to support him, he secluded himself in the Mexican jungle, where he had to survive on his own. His diet was quite poor in his life as a fugitive; I only ate vegetables and fruits, in addition to the animal meat that I managed to obtain.
Another way that Guadalupe Victoria had to survive was by visiting various towns adjacent to the jungle where she was hiding. There, the locals assisted him with food and supplements. However, the very irregular state in which he lived made his health condition quite precarious.
Living in the forest he developed a chronic and permanent epileptic condition. Later they managed to treat some symptoms, but it was this disease that was responsible for ending his life when he was only 50 years old..
While he lived in hiding, his visits to different towns made him become someone recognized by the people, although not so much as a patriot, but as a local legend.
After four years living as a fugitive, Mexico's independence movement regained strength. The government of Spain was confident that the insurgents had managed to be appeased, but local leaders continued to plot a way to overthrow the Viceroyalty even though they were not in active warfare..
However, the resistance movement was little, since the locals were living legally thanks to the pardon granted by the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
In the late 1820s, Spain's weakness in Europe caused the insurgents to return to arms. This time, Agustín de Iturbide developed and proclaimed the Plan of Iguala in 1820, a document through which Mexico declared itself an independent nation from Spain..
When this happened, Guadalupe Victoria came out of her hiding place in the jungle to join the independence cause again. In the first town where he was sighted, a group of insurgent soldiers joined him, forming a military garrison..
Victoria joined the united army made up of all the Mexican insurgents, with whom she took Mexico City in 1821. Once Mexico City was taken, the Act of Independence was signed..
The arrival to power of Guadalupe Victoria happens, first, through the establishment of the First Mexican Empire at the hands of Agustín de Iturbide. After Mexico became independent, a provisional cabinet was established that would govern the country while deciding how the powers would be divided..
However, Agustín de Iturbide planned the establishment of an Empire, with himself at the head under the title of Emperor..
The Empire consisted of two main parts that were in charge of governing the country: The Emperor and the Congress. All patriots who had been members of the independence movement, such as Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero, were excluded from government posts..
This generated the beginning of a series of conspiracies. Victoria was imprisoned, accused of conspiracy, before the fall of the Empire and the exile of Iturbide in 1823. After this event, a new government triumvirate was established, which included Guadalupe Victoria..
In 1824, after a series of political and social difficulties, the Constitutive Act of the Mexican Federation was declared for the first time. Mexico became a free and federal state. Elections were called and Guadalupe Victoria was victorious. He assumed the presidency in October 1824.
After the end of her constitutional mandate, Guadalupe Victoria made the decision to retire from politics. However, shortly afterwards he was summoned to be part of the Senate, and he even became president of that institution..
In addition to his work as a senator, he was in charge of fighting rebellions in some Mexican states, such as Oaxaca, which continued to occur after the country's independence..
He remained active in government and military positions until the proclamation of the Central Republic, when he resigned from the military command in disagreement with the end of federalism. However, he helped Mexico avoid a war with the French thanks to his skills as a diplomat..
His health worsened due to his epileptic condition. He married in 1841, but his body could no longer take many more seizures. He died on March 21, 1843, when a doctor was treating, without success, his fragile health.
The great enemy of the government of Guadalupe Victoria was the economic deterioration of Mexico. The war of independence had cost the country a great deal of money, and not enough taxes were generated to repay all the debt that existed.
That problem had already been faced by Iturbide, but he could not solve it. Victoria opened new trade routes thanks to the founding of the merchant navy, but the country's income was still insufficient.
As a consequence of this, England offered two loans to the president. By accepting them, he managed to appease the precarious economic state of Mexico; Partly for this reason, he ended his mandate without major problems, beyond the attempts to overthrow his enemies..
However, when Victoria drove the Spanish inhabitants out of the country, the economy again suffered damage. Most of the European inhabitants of Mexico were wealthy merchants.
It can be considered that the main objective of Guadalupe Victoria as president was for Mexico to be recognized as an independent nation in the eyes of the world. The American states were the first to recognize Mexico, but Europe took a little longer.
The achievement of international recognition was one of the most important of his government. He managed to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with nations such as the United States and Greater Colombia..
These events gave a great economic respite to the country, which was reinforced with the arrival of many other foreign merchants who settled in Mexico..
In addition, Victoria granted monetary funds to Gran Colombia to help in Peru's war of independence, led by Simón Bolívar..
Victoria had to face a few coup attempts during his presidency, but none succeeded in overthrowing him. However, the one that attracts the most attention was that of the patriot Nicolás Bravo himself.
Bravo was vice president of the republic, but conspired with the Scottish Lodge to change the government of Victoria. This attempt culminated in the expulsion of Nicolás Bravo from the country and the imprisonment of all its members..
His government ended as dictated by the constitution, and although the appointment of the next president was debated, he constitutionally handed over the presidency on April 1, 1929.
The fight against a deteriorating economy did not make the government of Guadalupe Victoria a failure. In fact, it managed to carry out several public works despite the country's lack of income. On September 16, 1825, Guadalupe Victoria abolished slavery in Mexico, one of the most important achievements of her government..
In addition, he created the Public Treasury and the Military College, also recovering the infrastructure of Mexico City, which had been damaged by years of internal war.
He took military action to counter the threat from the Spanish. One of the main ones was the establishment of garrisons in the coastal ports facing Cuba - still a Spanish colony - to combat invasion attempts..
The navy was reinforced during his government, and also inaugurated new ports on the country's coasts. Education saw significant improvements thanks to a series of internal agreements.
During his government the last bit of Spanish resistance that remained in the country was ended and, as a state policy, all the Spanish inhabitants who were in Mexico were expelled..
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