Mexican Political History Archives

The Texas Navy’s Yucatán Campaign, 1841–1843

Commodore Edwin Ward Moore led Texan warships into battle against a superior Mexican fleet, relying on seamanship and gunnery to offset modern steam technology.

Texapedia StaffSeptember 2, 2025

Annexation and Statehood (1845-1860)Biography Military History

Juan “Cheno” Cortina: Caudillo of the Rio Grande

Remembered either as a folk hero or an outlaw land baron, Juan “Cheno” Cortina was a Mexican-Tejano rancher and militia leader in the Rio Grande Valley in the 1850s–1870s.

Texapedia StaffAugust 4, 2025

Biography Mexican Texas (1821–1836)The Texas Revolution

Santa Anna: The Villain of the Texas Revolution

Discover the full story of Antonio López de Santa Anna—military ruler, Mexican president, and the enduring villain of the Texas Revolution. Learn how his ambition shaped the fate of Texas and Mexico alike.

Texapedia StaffJune 12, 2025

Legal History Mexican Texas (1821–1836)The Texas Revolution

The Collapse of Mexican Federalism and the Road to Texas Independence

The Texas Revolution had its roots not only in cultural differences, but also in a broader constitutional crisis that reshaped the Mexican republic.

Texapedia StaffJune 14, 2025

Historic Letters & Memoirs Mexican Texas (1821–1836)Primary Sources in Texas History

Letter of Stephen F. Austin: ‘Texas Will Flourish as a State of Mexico’

Before the War for Texas Independence, Texian leaders tried to convince Mexican authorities to grant them more autonomy and self-rule as a federal state.

Texapedia StaffJuly 29, 2025

Mexican Texas (1821–1836)Texas History

Coahuila y Tejas: The Mexican State Before Texas Independence

The Mexican region of Coahuila and present-day Texas were governed as a single state in the 1820s-1830s. Learn how this arrangement functioned administratively and its political consequences.

Texapedia StaffJune 15, 2025

Constitutions of Texas Mexican Texas (1821–1836)Primary Sources in Texas History

Constitution of the State of Coahuila y Tejas (1827)

Full text and historical origins of the Mexican state constitution that governed Texas prior to the Texas Revolution.

Texapedia StaffAugust 5, 2025

Military History Spanish Texas (1690–1821)Texas History

The Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition: Revolt Against Spanish Rule in Texas

A failed 1812–13 revolution in Spanish Texas ended in the Battle of Medina—the bloodiest battle on Texas soil—and set the stage for later independence.

Texapedia StaffJuly 20, 2025

Mexican Texas (1821–1836)Spanish Texas (1690–1821)Texas History

Alcaldes as Local Magistrates in Spanish and Mexican Texas

In early Texas towns like San Antonio, Nacogdoches, and Laredo, the alcalde kept order and settled disputes—anchoring civic life in an era before American law took hold.

Texapedia StaffJuly 4, 2025

Annexation and Statehood (1845-1860)Military History Texas History

The Mexican-American War and the Role of Texas (1846–1848)

The Mexican-American War broke out just one year after the U.S. annexation of Texas, which Mexico considered its territory.

Texapedia StaffJune 15, 2025