But you may not imagine that it is these men who love freedom and seem to have nothing to do with politics who established a country more than 100 years ago. And their legendary story also stems from the love-hate relationship between the United States and Mexico.
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Mexico has a glorious history in the Middle Ages. The Aztec civilization, which rose in south-central China, has made amazing achievements in astronomical calendar and economic construction. But in the early sixteenth century, the Spanish fleet landed in Mexico. Western Europeans not only talk with guns, but also carry all kinds of plagues and infectious diseases with them. In the face of tiny germs, but more terrible than bullets, the aborigines fell one by one, and Central America soon became a colony. It was not until 300 years later that Mikel Hidalgo Costia, who was called "the father of the country" by the late Buddha, led the people to liberation that Mexico finally broke away from Spanish control and became an independent country.
Newly independent Mexico, including not only today's Mexico, but also today's New Mexico, Texas and other counties in the southern United States, can be described as a rapid development. However, there are also great difficulties. Mexico has a small population, most of which are concentrated in Central America, and the northern states add up to only a few thousand people. These thousands of people are far away from the capital, and naturally belong to the kind of treasure that dad doesn't love and mom doesn't love.
While the American War of Independence is frequent, the European continent is also changing. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/9th century, Napoleon defeated the anti-French alliance and established the first empire of France, and his personal prestige reached its peak. However, although France is powerful in Europe, it is somewhat unable to manage American colonies. At this moment, more than 40,000 French troops led by Napoleon's brother-in-law were wiped out in the battle of Haiti.
Napoleon, who was badly hit, simply decided to sell the American colony Louisiana to the United States, and he freed up more energy to run Europe. It should be noted that the area of Louisiana was four times that of France at that time, but the buyer, the United States, only paid a mere150,000 dollars. Is Napoleon a fool? Not exactly. He hopes that the United States will further strengthen its strength after winning Louisiana and contain Britain from the west, which is also beneficial to his own European chess game.
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But what everyone didn't expect was that the deal also brought a side effect: the United States, which owns Louisiana, borders Texas, Mexico. American pioneers were excited to discover that there was a vast but uninhabited land in western Louisiana. With the dream of wealth, they came here alone to root for gold and become the oldest cowboys. Mexicans, who are small in number, have gradually become local "minorities".
Then the problem is coming. Mexico * * * promulgated laws and laid down rules. Do these States want to hear it?
Mexico * * * soon realized this problem, so it began to strictly control immigration and impose harsh management on Americans who have already entered the country. Until 1833, the powerful Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico. He stipulated that all American immigrants in northern States such as Texas must learn Spanish and believe in Roman Catholicism. He also raised taxes and banned slaves.
It's okay to learn Spanish and change religion, but raising taxes and banning slaves really moved cowboy cheese. If you know anything about the Civil War, you must know that the slave-holding states in the United States are concentrated in the south. Until today, the superior mentality of white people in these southern States of the United States may not have been completely eliminated, let alone 200 years ago. Without slaves, it means that large plantations are abandoned and mines are abandoned, which means huge economic losses. The landlord in Texas is very angry. Led by Stephen Austin, an experienced pioneer leader, the fierce cowboys pulled out revolvers at their waists on weekdays and declared their independence.
Santa Anna, then president of Mexico, was originally a bloody soldier, who hanged the Spanish in the Mexican War of Independence and made great contributions. He calls himself "Napoleon of the West" and "Savior of the Motherland", and his life creed is "Do it if you don't accept it". In the face of the rising tide of independence in Texas, this man, without saying a word, personally led the army to the north to suppress it, and war was imminent.
On a starry night, more than 3,000 Mexican soldiers arrived at Fort Alamo in San Antonio. It is a fortress, but it actually covers an area of 1.2 hectares. There is only a church and a barracks, and the total number of defenders is only 200. Simple armament, isolated situation, the opponent is still a famous war maniac, I am afraid that ordinary people have long been timid. However, less than 200 Texas militiamen not only refused the ultimatum of surrender, but also stepped into their respective positions and launched a fierce battle with the Mexican army.
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In Santa Anna's view, such a thin defender is still fighting tenaciously, which is obviously a contempt for himself. He ordered all the cannons to aim at the fort, and then sent 1800 soldiers to launch a general attack from four directions. Without fear and lack of shells, the Texas militia filled the hinges and nail cannons. Although the number of people is small, they can take one as ten. On the other hand, Mexican troops are mostly recruited temporarily, and their combat experience and courage are much worse. Because of this, both Mexican attacks were repelled.
But after all, the huge gap in the number of people can not be made up by individual combat effectiveness, and the defenders in Texas are compressed near the church. Black and blue, the few remaining militiamen simply rushed out of the bunker and launched a fierce hand-to-hand combat with the enemy with knives and gun butts. The fighting lasted from night to early morning. After paying twice the cost of enemy casualties, Mexico finally occupied the Alamo fortress.
Although it was only a small battle for the fortress, the impact of the Alamo War was far-reaching. The fighting spirit and courage of 200 Texas militiamen in the war greatly encouraged the Independent Army. At the Battle of San jacinto one month after the war, Sam Houston, who later became the first president of the Republic of China, shouted the slogan "Remember the Alamo". In just 18 minutes, he killed more than 700 Mexican troops and even captured Santa ana with 39 casualties. The Mexican army, which was beaten out of the water, withdrew from Texas in a mess, and the day of Texas's independence finally came.
On March 1836 and 1, the Republic of Texas was proclaimed and the Lone Star Flag was designated as the national flag. The Lone Star Flag is similar to the American flag in form, except that there is only a big white five-pointed star embedded in a dark blue background. As the national flag symbolizes, Texas lives alone between the United States and Mexico. Where should its future go?
The population of Texas is mostly immigrants from the southern United States, and the United States can provide strong protection for Texas, so joining the United States to become a state is obviously the best choice for Texans. In the following years, Presidents Taylor and Polk from southern states came to power one after another. With their help, Texas finally joined the United States and became a continent in the United States.
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The entry of Texas seems to have expanded the territory of the United States, but in fact it has buried countless hidden dangers.
First of all, the border dispute between the United States and Mexico intensified, and finally the war between the United States and Mexico broke out in 1846. As a victorious country, although the United States seized 2.3 million square kilometers of land in Mexico after the war, it also paid a heavy price of nearly 20,000 casualties and nearly $ 1 billion, which was not worth the candle. Mexico, on the other hand, lost most of its territory, and it has not recovered until today.
Secondly, with the entry of southern States such as Texas, the contradiction between free States and slave-holding States in the United States has intensified. The deepening of suspicion and rift eventually led to the Civil War more than 20 years later, in which 600,000 Americans were killed, more than the total number of American deaths in the two world wars.
In fact, until today, the trend of Texas independence is still active among these martial arts people. For many years, the descendants of cowboys who consider themselves "the sons of Lone Star and China", not only California, have tried to leave the United States and achieve "self-control" again; From time to time, motorcycle double guns broke out in bars and alleys, and large and small fights broke out. Whether it is backward in concept or brave in blood, this article does not comment much, and it can be regarded as a unique cultural landscape of the United States.