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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Geoff" data-source="post: 1529882" data-attributes="member: 522">American del Norte - Historic Overview It’s the blossoming of the Wild West, but not exactly as you know it; North America is splintered, but not as you’d expect.In 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla began the struggle for Mexican independence with Spain. In 1821, the hard fought battle was finally won and Mexico was free from Spanish rule. In that very same year, the first Anglo pioneers, led by Stephen F. Austin, were allowed to settle in Texas, beginning an influx of settlers into Mexican lands.In 1833, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico. Just two short years later, in 1835, a new Mexican Constitution was drafted centralizing power, but giving Mexican Provinces some freedom in the way they ruled themselves; thus began the era of prosperity for Mexico in North America. The Texas War of Independence was never a reality; the Alamo never happened as the citizens of Texas and other Mexican lands were governed by even-handed leaders; despite this, bloody fields of battle in North America would not be spared.For nearly a dozen years, the Republic of Mexico flourished and explored the lands of North America left to them by their Spanish legacy. In 1845, General Jose Joaquin de Herrera assumed the presidency of the prosperous nation while James K. Polk was inaugurated as President of the United States; they would quickly cross paths as Polk stated that due to its large amount of citizens with Anglo ancestry, Texas should be annexed into the United States.President Herrera was able to coax the revered former ruler Santa Anna away from retirement, despite his advancing age, to guide the armies of Mexico against the forthcoming war. After a few minor skirmishes in Texas, full scale war broke out in May of 1846 as American General Zachary Taylor led a charge deep into Texas in an attempt to break the spirits of the Mexican soldiers. Despite having the element of surprise, the American strike was rebuffed by General Mariana Paredes y Arrillaga of Mexico.Throughout the span of 1847, the tides of war turned to favor both sides at varying times. During the summer, as American forces were assembling in Louisiana for a concentrated attack, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the former president, spearheaded a charge into Louisiana catching the gathering American army off-guard. This all but ended the American incursions into Mexican territory and extinguished their spirit for battle.By the end of the year, the Treaty of 1847, or El Tratado de 1847, was agreed to by both the United States of America and the Republic of Mexico. As the aggressor, the United States was forced to grant some concessions to Mexico. The treaty granted Mexico undisputed rights to Louisiana and Texas as well as “normal timeline” Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, portions of Colorado and Wyoming, and the panhandle of Oklahoma.In the early 1861, the United States of America had to turn its military might to within its own borders as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia attempted to secede from the Union. Despite their effort, the Confederate Rebellion was squashed in just over a year with less than a dozen major battles being fought. Interestingly enough and despite the opportunity, the Republic of Mexico did not take advantage of the United States’ internal struggle in a military fashion.As a new decade dawns upon North America, the continent finds itself in a relative state of peace. The frontier is beginning to open as settlers from America head west and those from Mexico head north. It’s the beginning of a new era, it may not be as we remember it, but the west is still wild.</blockquote>

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