Antonio L¢pez de Santa Anna (1794?1876) is one of the most famous, and infamous, figures in Mexican history. Six times the country?s president, he is consistently depicted as a traitor, a turncoat, and a tyrant?the exclusive cause of all of Mexico?s misfortunes following the country?s independence from Spain. He is also, as this biography makes clear, grossly misrepresented. ø Will Fowler provides a revised picture of Santa Anna?s life, offering new insights into his activities in his bailiwick of Veracruz and in his numerous military engagements. The Santa Anna who emerges from this book is an intelligent, dynamic, yet reluctant leader, ingeniously deceptive at times, courageous and patriotic at others. His extraordinary story is that of a middle-class provincial criollo, a high-ranking officer, an arbitrator, a dedicated landowner, and a political leader who tried to prosper personally and help his country develop at a time of severe and repeated crises, as the colony that was New Spain gave way to a young, troubled, besieged, and beleaguered Mexican nation. ø ø

This narrative history describes the events preceding, and the prosecution of, the Texas Revolution and the U.S.-Mexican War. It begins with the introduction of the empresario system in Mexico in 1823, a system of land distribution to American farmers and ranchers in an attempt to strengthen the postwar economy following Mexico's independence from Spain. Once welcomed as fellow countrymen, the new settlers, homesteading on land destined to be called Texas, were viewed as enemies when in 1835 they revolted against the government's harsh Centralist rulings. Winning independence from Mexico and recognition from the United States as the independent Republic of Texas only intensified the Mexican refusal to accept their loss of Texas as legitimate. The final straw for both sides came when Texas was granted U.S. statehood and 11 American soldiers were ambushed and murdered. As a result, Congress declared war on Mexico, a bloody conflict that resulted in the U.S. gain of 525,000 square miles.

The History of Mexico: From Pre-Conquest to Present traces the last 500 years of Mexican history, from the indigenous empires that were devastated by the Spanish conquest through the election of 2006 and its aftermath. The book offers a straightforward chronological survey of Mexican history from the pre-colonial times to the present, and includes a glossary as well as numerous tables and images for comprehensive study. For additional information and classroom resources please visit The History of Mexico companion website at www.routledge.com/textbooks/russell.

Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico includes approximately 250 articles on the people and topics most relevant to students seeking information about Mexico. Although the Concise version is a unique single-volume source of information on the entire sweep of Mexican history-pre-colonial, colonial, and moderns-it will emphasize events that affecting Mexico today, event students most need to understand.

2018 Outstanding Academic Title, selected by Choice Political Culture in Spanish America, 1500–1830 examines the nature of Spanish American political culture by reevaluating the political theory, institutions, and practices of the Hispanic world. Consisting of eight case studies with a focus on New Spain and Quito, Jaime E. Rodríguez O. demonstrates that the process of independence of Spanish America differs from previous claims. In 1188 King Alfonso IX convened the Cortes, the first congress in Europe that included the three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the towns. This heritage, along with events in the sixteenth century, including the rebellion of Castilla and the Protestant Reformation, transformed the nature of Hispanic political thought. Rodríguez O. argues that those developments, rather than the Enlightenment, were the basis of the Hispanic revolution and the Constitution of 1812. Emphasizing continuity rather than the rejection of Hispanic political culture, and including the Atlantic perspective, Political Culture in Spanish America, 1500–1830 demonstrates the nature of the Hispanic revolution and the process of independence. Rodríguez O.’s work will encourage historians of Spanish America to reexamine the political institutions and processes of those nations from a broad perspective to gain a deeper understanding of the Spanish American countries that emerged from the breakup of the composite monarchy.

On February 23, 1836, a large Mexican army led by dictator Santa Anna reached San Antonio and laid siege to about 175 Texas rebels holed up in the Alamo. The Texans refused to surrender for nearly two weeks until almost 2,000 Mexican troops unleashed a final assault. The defenders fought valiantly-for their lives and for a free and independent Texas-but in the end, they were all slaughtered. Their ultimate sacrifice inspired the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo!" and eventual triumph. Exhaustively researched, and drawing upon fresh primary sources in U.S. and Mexican archives, The Blood of Heros is the definitive account of this epic battle. Populated by larger-than-life characters -- including Davy Crockett, James Bowie, William Barret Travis -- this is a stirring story of audacity, valor, and redemption.

It was a small war -- probably no more than 2,500 men were ever engaged in a single action, both sides taken together. It was a short war too, lasting only about seven months. And it was fought in what was, at the time, one of the most obscure corners of the earth. Yet the Texas War for Independence has become a heroic conflict of legendary proportions.Very few balanced accounts of Texas's epic struggle for independence have been written. Here historian Albert A. Nofi provides a splendid chronicle of the events and personalities of the war. He clearly explicates the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto, carefully exploring the legends that have grown around them, and exposing the truth behind the myths. The Alamo offers a strategic and tactical analysis of the war, technical information about the weapons used by both sides, strength and casualty data, orders of battles, information on the financing of Texas freedom, portraits of both Texan and Mexican personalities, and the story of a little-known war at sea. Also included are maps of military movements, the most detailed tactical map of the Battle of San Jacinto available to date, and a number of fascinating illustrations. The Alamo is military history at its best: a social, political, economic, strategic, and tactical examination of the Texas War for Independence, one of the most dramatic episodes of America's colorful past.