Leonardo Márquez Araujo (8 January 1820 – 5 July 1913) was a conservative Mexican general. He led forces in opposition to the Liberals led by Benito Juarez, but following defeat in the reform war was forced to guerilla warfare. Later, he helped the French in their intervention to help restore the conservative cause. However, their defeat forced him into exile mostly for the rest of his life.
Career
He fought against the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
of 1846 to 1848 and was a prominent supporter of conservative General
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...
in the revolutionary movement of 1849. After the fall of Santa Anna in the 1854-55
Revolution of Ayutla
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
that brought liberals to power, Márquez supported the conservative government in the
Reform War
The Reform War, or War of Reform ( es, Guerra de Reforma), also known as the Three Years' War ( es, Guerra de los Tres Años), was a civil war in Mexico lasting from January 11, 1858 to January 11, 1861, fought between liberals and conservativ ...
(1858-60) against liberal government of
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
. With
Miguel Miramón
Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo, known as Miguel Miramón, (29 September 1831 – 19 June 1867) was a Mexican conservative general who became president of Mexico at the age of twenty seven during the Reform War, serving b ...
, the leading general of the conservatives, Márquez initially found success against the liberal army, but the tide turned in 1860, and the liberals won on the battle field. He was called "The Tiger of
Tacubaya
Tacubaya is a working-class area of west-central Mexico City, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, consisting of the '' colonia'' Tacubaya proper and adjacent areas in other colonias, with San Miguel Chapultepec sección II, Observatorio, Daniel Ga ...
", alluding to the Battle of Tacubaya (11 April 1859) where he ordered executed liberal officers and some medical personnel. Márquez pursued
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
in the Sierra Gorda after the defeat of the conservatives on the battlefield; he is blamed for the murders of prominent liberals,
Melchor Ocampo
Melchor Ocampo (5 January 1814 – 3 June 1861) was a Mexican lawyer, scientist, and politician. A mestizo and a radical liberal, he was fiercely anticlerical, perhaps an atheist, and his early writings against the Catholic Church in Mexico gain ...
and General
Leandro Valle Leandro may refer to:
* Leandro (given name), a male name, including a list of people with the name
* ''Ero e Leandro'', a 1707 cantata by George Frideric Handel
* San Leandro, California
* San Leandro Creek
San Leandro Creek ( es, Arroyo de San ...
.
In 1862, he supported the conservatives' invitation to
Maximilian Hapsburg to become the
emperor of Mexico
The Emperor of Mexico (Spanish: ''Emperador de México'') was the head of state and ruler of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions in the 19th century.
With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, Mexico bec ...
, although he did not participate in conservative politicians' plans for it. He did join the French forces under General
Charles de Lorencez in the initial invasion. In 1864, Márquez was in 1864 given a mission to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Meanwhile in Mexico, the war led by the French was turning as Liberals were starting to win back their territory and the French emperor was now considering the pros and cons of the war in general.
In October 1866, Maximilian made him a division commander of forces around Mexico City, but he was unaware that Márquez was causing dissension by forced conscription (''leva'') of troops and exacting protection money from residents of the capital. French general
Bazaine Bazaine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adolphe Bazaine-Vasseur (1809–1893), French railway engineer
* François Achille Bazaine (1811–1888), French military officer
* George Albert Bazaine-Hayter (1843–1914), Frenc ...
condemned Márquez's methods of recruitment. In March 1867, Maximilian sent him to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
to form a cabinet and raise troops for the relief of
Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
. Márquez was a rival of
Miguel Miramón
Miguel Gregorio de la Luz Atenógenes Miramón y Tarelo, known as Miguel Miramón, (29 September 1831 – 19 June 1867) was a Mexican conservative general who became president of Mexico at the age of twenty seven during the Reform War, serving b ...
and disagreed with him frequently. Miramón had proposed an assault on the republican army while they were divided, but Márquez opposed the idea, possibly only because Miramón had suggested it. He joined Maximilian at Querétaro, and broke through the besiegers and almost the state capital. He was defeated before he could reach that city and returned to Mexico City, where he was besieged by liberal General
Porfirio Díaz
José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
. He made his way to Mexico City for the purpose of organizing a force to relieve the Emperor. Finding that to be impossible, he conceived the plan of setting up an independent government of his own in the southern states, with
Puebla
Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
as its capital in order to continue the conservative cause which seemingly, along with the French, looked to be collapsing.
However, it was too late and the emperor was captured on 21 June 1867, and Márquez, after remaining in concealment for several months, made his way to
Vera Cruz and then to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , while Maximilian and dedicated conservative generals Miguel Miramón and
Tomás Mejía were executed by firing squad in Querétaro.
He was expressly excluded from the Juárez's amnesty of 1870. He was allowed to return to Mexico in 1895, but returned to Cuban exile in 1901, due to his continuing unpopularity.
[Hamnett, Brian. ''Juárez''. pp. 274-75] He continued to defend his role in the Empire, and lived long enough to see start of the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
and the fall of
Porfirio Diaz Porfirio is a given name in Spanish, derived from the Greek Porphyry (''porphyrios'' "purple-clad").
It can refer to:
* Porfirio Salinas – Mexican-American artist
* Porfirio Armando Betancourt – Honduran football player
* Porfirio Barba-Jac ...
who had played such a key role in the defeat of the Empire forty years earlier. Marquez died in 1913 at the age of 93.
References
Further reading
*
Bancroft, H.H., ''History of Mexico'', volumes v and vi (San Francisco, 1888)
* Díaz Reyes Retana, Fernando. ''Vida militar y política del señor general de división don Leonardo Márquez Araujo'' (México, 1978)
* Léon Toral, Jesús de. ''Historia militar: la intervención francesa en México''. 1962.
External links
*
* Leonardo Márquez in the Woodson Collection at
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
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*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Leonardo
History of Mexico
Mexican generals
Mexican–American War
Mexican monarchists
Reform War
Second French Empire
Second French intervention in Mexico
19th-century Mexican people
Conservatism in Mexico
1850s in Mexico
1860s in Mexico
1820 births
1913 deaths