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 Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

, but following defeat in the

Reform War The Reform War (17 December 185711 January 1861) or War of Reform (), also known as the Three Years' War (), and the Mexican Civil War, was a complex civil conflict in Mexico fought between Mexican liberals and conservatives with regional var ...

was forced to guerrilla warfare. Later, he helped the French in their intervention to help restore the conservative cause. However, their defeat forced him into exile for most of the rest of his life.

Career

He fought against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

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. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

in the revolutionary movement of 1849. After the fall of Santa Anna in the 1854-55

Revolution of Ayutla The Plan of Ayutla was the 1854 written plan aimed at removing conservative, centralist President Antonio López de Santa Anna from control of Mexico during the Second Federal Republic of Mexico period. Initially, it seemed little different from ...

that brought the liberals to power, Márquez supported the conservative government in the

(1858–60) against the liberal government of

. 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 Party (Mexico), conservative general who disputed the president of Mexico, Mexican presidency with ...

, 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 Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

", alluding to the Battle of Tacubaya (11 April 1859) and the Massacre of Tacubaya, where he ordered liberal officers and some medical personnel to be executed. Márquez pursued

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

in the

Sierra Gorda The Sierra Gorda () is an Ecoregion, ecological region centered on the northern third of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo and San Luis Po ...

after the defeat of the conservatives on the battlefield; he is blamed for the murders of the prominent liberals

Melchor Ocampo Melchor Ocampo (4 January 1814 – 3 June 1861) was a Mexican lawyer, scientist, and politician. A zambo and a radical liberal, he was fiercely anticlerical, perhaps an atheist, and his early writings against the Catholic Church in Mexico gaine ...

and General Leandro Valle. In 1862, he supported the conservatives' invitation to Maximilian Hapsburg to become the

emperor of Mexico The Emperor of Mexico () was the head of state and head of government of Mexico on two non-consecutive occasions during the 19th century. With the Mexican Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico briefly became an independent mon ...

, although he did not participate in conservative politicians' plans for it. He did join the French forces under General

Charles de Lorencez Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

in the initial invasion. In 1864, Márquez was given a mission to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. 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 François Achille Bazaine (13 February 181123 September 1888) was an officer of the Fren ...

condemned Márquez's methods of recruitment. In March 1867, Maximilian sent him to

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to form a cabinet and raise troops for the relief of

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

, which was then under siege. Márquez was a rival of

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 reached the state capital. He was defeated before he could reach the city and returned to Mexico City, where he was besieged by liberal General

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

. 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 the city of

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

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 (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Tomás Mejía José Tomás de la Luz Mejía Camacho, better known as Tomás Mejía (17 September 1820 – 19 June 1867), was a Mexican soldier of Otomi background, who consistently sided with the Conservative Party (Mexico), Conservative Party throughout its ...

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 () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

and the fall of

, who had played such a key role in the defeat of the Empire forty years earlier. Márquez died in Havana in 1913 at the age of 93.

References

External links

* * Leonardo Márquez in the Woodson Collection at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Leonardo Mexican generals Mexican–American War Mexican monarchists Reform War Second French Empire People of the Second French intervention in Mexico 19th-century Mexican people Conservatism in Mexico 1850s in Mexico 1860s in Mexico 1820 births 1913 deaths Exiled Mexican politicians

Career

References

Further reading

External links