244
TEXAS STATE LIBRARY
pared to advance toward the Capital, but before beginning their march Santa Anna, who never wished to subject himself to the command of any leader, requested that he be permitted to embark with part of the army for Tampico under the pretext of preventing the Emperor from taking refuge in the interior. This request was joyfully conceded, for none wanted to work with any one who was always and everywhere a factious disorganizer and violator of the peace. He set sail for Tam- pico with six hundred men in March, 1823, and advanced from there with all speed to San Luis Potosi, where he established his headquar- ters and for the first time began to dream of occupying the throne from .which Iturbide had just been ejected. With the object of testing his popularity and prestige he bribed some of his soldiers to proclaim him Emperor under the title of Antonio I. He was led into this foolhardiness by the dissensions which took place among the revolutionary leaders after the fall of Iturbide. All animated by different motives and working with contrary designs, these leaders had combined to depose Iturbide. After their common pur- pose was effected, they began to quarrel among themselves. Some wanted to establish a pure monarchy, others a constitutional monarchy, some a central republic and the rest a federal republic. Santa Anna conceived an intermediate plan to reunite the various factions and place himself at their head. With this hope he made the experiment by which he was to be proclaimed Antonio I. This plan collapsed, how- ever, as it not only failed to inspire the confidence of the Royalists and Centralists, but instead invited the contempt and ridicule of all parties. On abandoning his imperial pretensions, he turned a political somer- sault, became a radical democrat, and placed himself at the head of the Federalists. Seeing that the leaders of this party were scattered throughout the entire nation and were daily becoming more popul_ar, in imitation of Cromwell, he declared himself 'Protector' of the federal system and at the same time without blushing permitted his soldiers to salute him with the imperial title. This happened two weeks after he had himself proclaimed Anto_nio I. In order to put an end to Farfulla's extravagance, and to call him to his senses, a strong army under the command of Bravo was sent against him from the City of Mexico; but before these forces arrived at the theater of operations Generals Armijo and Fernandez had al- ready marched against the new Emperor by order of the Governors of Guadalajara and San Luis Potosi, and by directing their move- ments with vigor and activity very soon forced him to surrender to the Government. His troops were dispersed, and the little Napoleon marched as prisoner to Mexico. Thus fell the Federal Protector and Antonio I. His next appearance in public affairs was as a spy and traitor in the Lobato conspiracy. ·At this time there existed strong opposition to the Spaniards' holding office, and many individuals, stimulated by their hatred of this class, as well as by their desire to obtain office, formed a conspiracy for the purpose of compelling Congress to enact a law ejecting the Spaniards from all public offices and declaring them excluded from the elections and nominations for any civil or military office. Lobato was the ostensible leader of this conspiracy, but he de- clared afterwards that Don Mariano Michelena and Santa Anna were
Powered by FlippingBook