Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez de

Santa Anna, Antonio López de 

Born Feb. 21, 1795, in Jalapa, state of Veracruz; died June 21, 1876, in Mexico City. Mexican statesman and politician. General. Son of an officer of the colonial army.

Santa Anna was president of Mexico from 1833 to 1835, 1841 to 1844, 1846 to 1847, and 1853 to 1855. In the 1830’s and 1840’s, during the US military invasion of Mexico, he proved to be an incompetent military commander and an unprincipled politician. In 1836 the army under his command suffered several defeats in Texas, where Santa Anna was captured by the Americans. He played a treasonable role in the war between the USA and Mexico of 1846–48. Santa Anna concluded the Gadsden Treaty of 1853, according to which about 120,000 sq km of Mexican territory was sold to the USA. The revolution that started in 1854 put an end to Santa Anna’s political career, and in 1855 he was overthrown as president. He lived in Colombia, Venezuela, and the USA from 1855 to 1874 and then returned to Mexico.