Treaties of Velasco
Encyclopedia
The Treaties of Velasco were two documents signed at Velasco, Texas
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...

, (which is now Freeport, Texas
Freeport, Texas
Freeport is a city in Brazoria County, Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is situated in Southeast Texas. As of the 2000 U.S...

) on May 14, 1836, between Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

 of Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

, in the aftermath of the Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...

 (April 21, 1836).
The signatories were Interim President David G. Burnet
David G. Burnet
David Gouverneur Burnet was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas , second Vice President of the Republic of Texas , and Secretary of State for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.Burnet was born in Newark,...

 for Texas and General Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...

 for Mexico. The Treaties were intended, on the part of the Texans, to provide a conclusion of hostilities between the two belligerents and offer the first steps toward the official recognition of the breakaway Republic's independence. However, there was a public treaty and a secret treaty, and neither treaty was ratified by the Mexican government. Moreover, the documents were not even called "treaties" until so characterized by U.S. President James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...

 in his justifications for war some ten years later, as was pointed out by Congressman Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 in 1848.

Public treaty

The public treaty consisted of ten articles, and was to be published immediately.
  1. Personal undertaking by Santa Anna not to take up arms, or encourage arms to be taken up, against the people of Texas in this war of independence.
  2. Cessation of hostilities, on sea and land, between Texas and Mexico.
  3. Mexican troops to evacuate the territory of Texas, relocating south of the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte)
    Rio Grande
    The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

    .
  4. Mexican troops to refrain from taking property without due compensation, etc., during their retreat.
  5. All property (including horses, cattle etc.) captured by Mexico during the war and negro slaves freed by the Mexican army had to be returned.
  6. The two armies to avoid contact, keeping a distance of five leagues (approx. 27.78 km).
  7. The Mexican army to retreat without tarrying.
  8. Dispatches to be sent to the commanders of the two armies, informing them of the treaty's content.
  9. Mexico to release all Texan prisoners, with Texas releasing the same number of Mexican prisoners of the same rank; all other Mexican prisoners to be retained by Texas.
  10. Santa Anna to be conveyed to Veracruz
    Veracruz, Veracruz
    Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...

     as soon as deemed proper.

Secret treaty

The secret treaty was not to be made public until the terms of the public treaty had been met in full.
  1. Personal undertaking by Santa Anna not to take up arms, or encourage arms to be taken up, against the people of Texas in this war of independence.
  2. Santa Anna to give orders for all Mexican troops to withdraw from Texas as soon as possible.
  3. Santa Anna to make arrangements in Mexico City so that a mission of Texans would be well received, all differences settled, and independence recognized.
  4. A treaty of commerce, friendship, and limits to be established between Mexico and Texas, whereunder the territory of Texas would not extend beyond the Rio Grande.
  5. Government of Texas to provide for Santa Anna's immediate embarkation for Veracruz.
  6. Both copies of the document to be kept folded and sealed until conclusion of the negotiations, when they should both be given to Santa Anna; no use to be made of it before that, unless either party failed to abide by its terms.
  7. Texas was to have had a trade agreement with Mexico.

Nonratification by Mexico

Although Gen. Vicente Filisola
Vicente Filisola
Vicente Filisola was a Spanish military figure, Mexican military and political figure in the 19th century.-Life and career:...

 began troop withdrawals on May 26, the government of President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...

 José Justo Corro
José Justo Corro
José Justo Corro was a Mexican lawyer, politician, and president of the Republic, from March 2, 1836 to April 19, 1837.-Background:...

 in Mexico City resolved, on May 20, to disassociate itself from all undertakings entered into by Santa Anna while he was held captive. Mexico's position was that Santa Anna had no legal standing in the Mexican government to agree to those terms or negotiate a treaty; Santa Anna's position was that he had signed the documents under coercion as a prisoner, not as a surrendering general in accordance with the laws of war. In fact, he had no authority under the Mexican Constitution to make a treaty, and in any case, the treaty was never ratified by the Mexican government.

Noncompliance by Texas

Santa Anna was not given passage to Veracruz. He was kept as a prisoner of war ("clapped in irons for six months", he later claimed) in Velasco
Velasco, Texas
Velasco was a town in Texas, United States, that was later annexed by the city of Freeport. Founded in 1831, Velasco is situated on the east side of the Brazos River in southeast Texas. It is sixteen miles south of Angleton, Texas, and four miles from the Gulf of Mexico.The town's early history is...

 and, later, in the Orozimbo plantation
Brazoria County, Texas
Brazoria County[p] is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southern-most fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a...

, before being taken to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to meet with President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...

 (ostensibly to negotiate a lasting peace between Mexico and Texas, with the USA acting as mediator). Sailing on the frigate USS Pioneer
USS Pioneer (1836)
The first USS Pioneer was most likely a barque in the United States Navy, although some reports classify her a frigate and others as a brig....

, the guest of the U.S. Navy, he did not arrive in Veracruz until February 23, 1837.

Outcome

Because the provisions of the public treaty were not met, the terms of the secret agreement were not released until much later. Although a fait accompli
Fait Accompli
Fait accompli is a French phrase which means literally "an accomplished deed". It is commonly used to describe an action which is completed before those affected by it are in a position to query or reverse it...

since mid-1836, neither the independence of Texas nor its later annexation by the U.S.
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...

 was ever formally recognized by Mexico until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

, which ended the Mexican-American War that resulted from the annexation and also recognized the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 (Río Bravo del Norte) as the Mexico – United States border.

External links

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