LS made the interesting point that when the US under James K. Polk took possession of what is now the US Southwest, it was not actually taking possession from Mexico. Although Mexico considered that it inherited a valid claim to the land from the Spanish, the indigenous tribes had never accepted the authority of the Spanish or the Mexican governments. And, de facto, the tribes had been able to keep Mexico from exerting effective control there.Thus it was the US, with its army and its railroads and its European immigrants which conquered that land. Not Mexico, and not Spain. Spain’s title was recognized in Europe, but its writ never ran on the ground. Again, the difference between the Spanish approach of taking over an existing (even wealthy) civilization and exploiting it, and the English, later US, approach of taking over land via ownership by farmers imported from Europe. Just sending in an army worked to exploit an existing civilization; it took farmers to provide a sufficient base of support for sufficient soldiers to conquer and hold wilderness.
Ping to #37 above.
It all started with Texas. Later, after the dust settled, it even concerned the Lincoln administration so much that they had Grant send Sheridan to the border with arms for the republican forces, at which time the French decided they didnt want anything to do with fighting which might involve ourselves.
Grant scoffed at the whole thing. He states in his civil war memiors that it was the royalty in europe who were the prime instigators in the whole affair at that time. After all, they were all cousins.
If you read the rolls of the euro troops in Mexico, there were a couple other countries who had provided troops also.
I often wonder if there was a war with France over Mexico at that point just after our civil war, how fast would we have beat the hell out of them. I know one thing, it wouldnt have been pretty since our troops were experienced veterans.
Exactly. In fact, Moses Austin was invited to settle specifically to have white (new) “Mexian citizens” pacify the land & secure it from Indians.
Comancheria vs the Second United States Cavalry