Vicente Guerrero Collection

The Vicente Guerrero Collection forms part of the Genaro García Collection, which was purchased by the University of Texas in 1921 from the heirs of Genaro García. The Vicente Guerrero Collection was described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in December 1993.

The physical extent of the collection is 11 inches. The materials are in Spanish; their bulk dates are 1822-1831. The collection is also available on microfilm.

The following guide is available in Rare Books Reference: Castañeda, Carlos E. and Jack Autrey Dabbs, eds., Guide to the Latin American Manuscripts in the University of Texas Library. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1939.

Additional information pertaining to Vicente Guerrero is to be found in the papers of his wife, Guadalupe Hernández de Guerrero, and son-in-law, Mariano Riva Palacio, which also are housed at this institution.

The suggested citation for the collection is "Vicente Guerrero Collection, 1723-1843, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

President of Mexico, military leader. Born 1783 in Tixtla (now Ciudad Guerrero); died 1831 in Cuilapan. Guerrero began his military career in 1810. He was commissioned capitan by José María Morelos before the attack on Taxco, and became a lieutenant colonel in 1812.

Guerrero joined forces with Juan Nepomuceno Rosains (1814) to continue the fight for independence and was made colonel. After years of fighting against the royalists, in 1821 Guerrero formed an alliance with Iturbide, formerly an enemy, to pursue independence. Upon their success Guerrero received the rank of general and the Gran Cruz de la Orden de Guadalupe. After Iturbide was removed from power Guerrero was named General de División, and became a member of the Supremo Poder Ejecutivo which governed until the assumption of the presidency by Guadalupe Victoria in 1824.

Guerrero was also head of the Partido Yorkino, and was a candidate for the presidency of the Republic in 1828. Manuel Gómez Pedraza initially obtained a majority of votes, but the legislature reversed itself and declared Guerrero president. He took office in April 1829. During his presidency a Spanish expedition attempted to reconquer Mexico. As a result, Guerrero organized a reserve army, at whose head he placed his vice-president, Anastasio Bustamante. After the army defeated the invaders, the congress declared Guerrero unfit to govern and Bustamante became president.

Guerrero left office on December 16, 1829 and initiated a counter-revolution which lasted through the year 1830. Guerrero was captured in January 1831, condemned to death by a council of war, and executed in Cuilapan on February 14, 1831.

Correspondence, financial and legal documents, documents pertaining to elections in the state of Guerrero, literary productions, and lists constitute the majority of the collection (bulk dates 1822-1831). Correspondence primarily concerns Guerrero's personal business (management of haciendas and other property) and military affairs. Financial documents include accounts, inventories and valuations, notes of indebtedness and repayment, and receipts relating to Guerrero's business affairs.

The item, "Livro de data general de varios giros que tengo á mi cargo ..." is filed separately as G413 Ms. Legal documents include grants, leases, and agreements concerning property. Literary productions are comprised of reports and notes on properties, and one speech. Lists contain business information for the years 1823-1831 and military information for 1822; other items in this series are a register of inhabitants of Tixtla made in 1822 and lists of births, marriages, and deaths recorded by the Iglesia Parroquial Cabezera de Partido de San Martín in Tixtla from January through September of 1822.

The collection also contains documents pertaining to Guerrero's pension; certifications, oaths of office and allegiance, and miscellaneous documents; several decrees of the Supremo Poder Ejecutivo from 1824; and documents relating to the Grito de Centralismo, Campeche (1829).

The Vicente Guerrero Collection was arranged into series by the staff of the Mexican Archives Project, which completed the processing of the collection in December 1994. The series are:

1. Correspondence, 1723-1831 (bulk 1822-1829). Primarily concerns Guerrero's personal business and military affairs. Includes register of correspondence and borradores from 1824.

2. Financial documents, 1822-1831. Accounts, inventories and valuations, notes of indebtedness and repayment, and receipts relating to Guerrero's business affairs. Also includes "Livro de Data General de varios Giros que tengo á mi cargo pertenectes a el exmo. sor. D. Vice Guerro dando principio en Diciembre del Año 1823" (G413).

3. Legal and supporting documents, 1822-1831. Grants, leases, and agreements concerning property.

4. Documents pertaining to elections, 1822-1824.

5. Literary productions, 1823-1827. Reports and notes on properties; one speech.

6. Lists. Includes lists containing business information for the years 1823-1831; lists pertaining to military affairs, 1822; a register of inhabitants of Tixtla entitled, "Padrón de Tixtla," 1822; and lists of births, marriages, and deaths recorded by the Iglesia Parroquial Cabezera de Partido de San Martín in Tixtla from January through September of 1822.

7. Documents pertaining to Guerrero's pension, 1831-1843.

8. Grito de Centralismo, Campeche, 1829.

9. Certifications, oaths, and miscellaneous documents, 1822-1840?

10. Decrees of the Supremo Poder Ejecutivo, 1824.

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