Texas Revolution

After a long and challenging struggle for Mexican independence, Spain withdrew on August 24, 1821. Although Spain did not officially recognize Mexico as an independent country, Mexico emerged as a new nation, ready for a fresh start.

The oppressive rule of their Spanish overlords became unbearable for free-thinking Mexicans. Consequently, Mexico needed a new constitution that would grant greater freedoms to ordinary citizens.

A brilliant young politician, Lorenzo de Zavala, then 36, played a significant role in drafting the new Constitution of 1824. In that year, Mexico officially adopted the name "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" (The United States of Mexico).

History remembers Lorenzo de Zavala as the politician behind the Mexican Constitution. Some scholars suggest that Lorenzo essentially "copied and pasted" the American Constitution, translating it into Spanish to create the new Mexican Constitution.

In 1836, through a remarkable series of events, Lorenzo de Zavala drafted another constitution—this time for the Republic of Texas, Mexico's rebellious foe.

Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Sanchez was born in 1788 in Tecoh, Yucatán. His parents were Creoles of Spanish Basque descent, and he was a third-generation Yucatecan. De Zavala was educated in Mérida, where he studied Latin, morals, scholastic theology, and classical philosophy.

Lorenzo de Zavala was a physician from Yucatán who became a career politician, diplomat, and author. He was known for his keen intellect and fluency in several languages.

After graduating from college, Lorenzo founded a newspaper called "El Aristarco Universal" (The Universal Critic). He also contributed to several other newspapers, advocating democratic concepts that would define his later political career.

At the age of 26, Lorenzo was arrested by the Spanish Crown and accused of sedition for writing articles that criticized Spanish rule. He served a three-year prison sentence from 1814 to 1817.

Lorenzo used his time in prison to read and learn. During those three years, he learned English and read numerous medical books. Upon his release in 1817, he became a doctor and began practicing almost immediately. He successfully practiced medicine for two years, but mounting political tensions compelled Lorenzo to return to diplomacy.

In 1829, after Antonio López de Santa Anna overthrew the Mexican government, De Zavala was forced into exile. He relocated to the United States, spending part of this time in New York, where he wrote a book about U.S. political culture from his perspective as a Mexican aristocrat.

His book, "Journey to the United States of North America," mainly reflects the America he experienced but also highlights his views on U.S. hypocrisy regarding slavery, despite its professed ideals of freedom.

In 1831, after his exile, Lorenzo returned to Mexico and was appointed as the Minister to France. His wit and mastery of Spanish, English, and French gained him recognition in Europe. However, while serving in Paris, he became increasingly aware that President Santa Anna, backed by the military and the clergy, had assumed dictatorial powers. To make matters worse, Santa Anna disregarded the Mexican Constitution of 1824, which De Zavala had helped write. He considered Santa Anna's actions a betrayal of the Mexican people.

In protest, De Zavala resigned his position and spoke out against the tyranny. This made him an enemy of the state, preventing him from returning home. For the safety of his family, he moved them to his land in Texas. Lorenzo, his wife, and their children arrived in 1835 by steamboat and shared a house with his close friend, Stephen F. Austin, who would later become known as the Father of Texas.

Besides Austin, the only Texan Lorenzo knew was David G. Burnet, who later became the Interim President of Texas. De Zavala had previously met Burnet in New York. Both de Zavala and Burnet were empresarios, or entrepreneurs, and the Mexican government granted them Empresario Grants to encourage settlement and create a buffer zone between the U.S. and Mexico aimed at suppressing hostile Native American groups.

An Empresario Grant provided the holder with vast tracts of Texas land in exchange for recruiting and being responsible for a specific number of new settlers. De Zavala's arrangement required him to bring in 500 families. He and Burnet sold their grants in New York to investors.

At the height of the Texas Revolution, in early March of 1836, an assembly of Texian and Tejano delegates was held at a Texas settlement known as Washington-on-the-Brazos. A Declaration of Independence for the Republic of Texas was drafted and signed at that historical convention. One of the delegates at that historic convention was Lorenzo de Zavala. Lorenzo personally designed the first flag of the new Republic, helped write the new Constitution, and eventually served as Interim Vice President under the provisional government.

But just as the ink dried on those signed revolutionary documents, Santa Anna's forces aggressively marched towards Washington on the Brazos to capture the delegation and end the rebellion.

As Santa Anna's troops approached, De Zavala and his family escaped down the San Jacinto River to the nearby home of an old friend, William Scott. Scott was one of the Empresario Grant colonists. Lorenzo had a front-row seat from Scott's property to witness the upcoming battle of San Jacinto. A couple of days later, General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican Army arrived on the other side of the river to set up camp. Soon after, another army arrived nearby to set up camp: Houston and the Texian Army, about 800 men.

Lorenzo was sitting with other friends on the proverbial 50-yard line of the battlefield when Houston ordered the attack to commence at 4:30 p.m. on April 21, 1836. The Twin Sisters were firing on the Mexican troops. The Battle of San Jacinto was underway.

A short 18 minutes later, the battle was over. Almost immediately, formal news of the victory reached Lorenzo and his companions. Houston had succeeded. The day belonged to the fighting Texians and Tejanos, and the Republic of Texas was born there and then.

History remembers that Lorenzo witnessed the battle, saw the rout in real time, and then celebrated the Texan victory.

It is a known fact that General Santa Anna hated Lorenzo de Zavala. Santa Anna was jealous of Lorenzo and secretly desired Zavala's wife. Some believe that Santa Anna's primary motive for marching to Texas in early 1836 was to capture and punish the traitor Lorenzo de Zavala, making an example of him.

Sorrowfully, soon after the great victory, De Zavala's health began to fail. He resigned from his post as Vice President and returned home. Less than a month after his retirement, he was boating in Buffalo Bayou, not too far from where he witnessed the birth of the Republic. Tragically, his rowboat overturned, and he took a chill and passed away that night. He developed pneumonia and died at his home on November 15, 1836, merely months into the life of the fledgling Republic he helped establish.

Soon after, De Zavala's wife left Texas on a schooner bound for the East Coast. History remembers that Texas' first vice president, Lorenzo de Zavala, married a beautiful lady, Emily West.

Some Mexicans consider De Zavala a traitor to his homeland for supporting Texas independence. But on the other hand, Texans consider him a founding father and a hero. Lorenzo De Zavala was a true Patriot of our Texas Revolution and remained a shining figure in our great history.

This post is dedicated to all of De Zavala's descendants living in Texas and worldwide. May they continue to carry the torch of freedom handed down to them by Lorenzo De Zavala to benefit this great state of Texas.

Thank you, Lorenzo, for giving us our Texas Constitution, for your deeds of bravery, and your heroic devotion to our Republic — Texas!

Texas Heroes - Never Forget!

Sources:

Lorenzo De Zavala, Wikipedia

ZAVALA, LORENZO DE by Raymond Estep, TSHA Texas State Historical Association

Evolution of the Texas Flag, Texas Almanac