Thread with excerpts from the Mexican-American War section of TR Fehrenbach's "Fire and Blood: A History of Mexico" (1973). Since independence, Mexico had seemingly gone backwards in all respects; in 1840 Mexico was less civilized than it had been.
An incident where French warships blockaded Veracruz over nonpayment of debts from unstable and perpetually-bankrupt Mexican governments. The Mexican response: show "Death to the Anglo-Saxons and Jews" and bring back Santa Anna.
After the secession of Texas, Mexico appeared to be disintegrating, with the Pacific areas effectively independent, much of the North run by bandits chiefs, and Yucatan seceding.
Somehow, Santa Anna returned (after yet another coup).
Inevitably, Santa Anna ran out of money again and was ran out of Mexico in yet another coup. Meanwhile, Texas and Mexico were fighting an undeclared war, with Mexican atrocities against Texan prisoners.
Polk was happy to bargain with the Mexican Government, offering to pay them desperately needed cash in exchange for depopulated land, but didn't understand the Mexican need to preserve appearances.
After the war began (over Mexicans attacking the US Army in land between the Rio Grande and Rio Nueces, claimed by both Mexico and Texas), the US strategy was to seize the despoblada (US Southwest), which was defenseless (which they did trivially), then invade Mexico proper.
The US military establishment had never fought a war and was consistently greatly outnumbered in Mexico proper (rarely more than 10K troops), but won anyways due to superior morale and technique. The distance, terrain, and climate was more dangerous than the Mexicans.
Early US victories in the North toppled the Mexican government, various caciques in the provinces started an insurgency against the Mexican government, and Santa Anna tricked the Yankees into letting him back into Mexican, where he was given power yet again.
In the meantime, the Democratic Polk administration fell out with the Whig army leaders (mostly Taylor); this led to an amphibious invasion across the Gulf of Mexico through Veracruz under Winfield Scott.
Santa Anna, who was actually a decent general, surprised Taylor with a force outnumbering them 3:1, but superior American artillery decided the issue.
When Winfield Scott, launching an amphibious invasion from Veracruz across the Gulf of Mexico, landed to attack the Mexican heartland with a greatly outnumbered force, almost all contemporary military opinion regarded him as lost. He took inspiration from Cortes.
Santa Anna's generalship was good, but his junior officers were terrible. Scott beat the Mexicans in several battles and took Mexico City without resistance; the Americans neither looted nor raped the city.
The Americans did not have a great counter to Mexican guerilla war, but the Mexican elite did not want to spark a general insurgency, fearing it would devour them as well. The North was once again threatening secession and a whites vs Indians race war began in the Yucatan.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was basically fair; it took territories only nominally Mexican for a realistic price. Neither the income nor usable resources of Mexico were reduced. But it devastated Mexican pride, as they had not won even a single battle.
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