Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga Collection

The Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga 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 collection was described by the Benson's Mexican Archives Project in January 1994.

The collection's physical extent comprises 2.25 linear feet. Its materials are in Spanish; their bulk dates are 1840-1849. 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.

Documents from the collection were published by Genaro García in his Colección de documentos inéditos o muy raros para la historia de México (volume 32), Mexico, Vda. de C. Bouret, 1910.

The suggested citation for the collection is "Mariano Paredes y Arrillaga Collection, 1825-1876, Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin."

President of Mexico; general. Born 1797 and died 1849 in Mexico City. Began military career in 1812; offices held include: brigadier general (1832); Minister of War (Dec. 1838); military governor of Jalisco (1841-January 28, 1843); Comandante General of Mexico (1841). Led movement against President José Joaquín de Herrera on December 14, 1845. Named interim president of Mexico on January 4, 1846; elected president by Congress on June 12, 1846. Paredes took command of the Mexican Army on June 20, 1846; his government ceased to function on July 28, 1846. He was captured in an armed rebellion on August 4, 1846, and imprisoned, then exiled to Paris, France, in October 1846. Paredes had returned to Mexico by September 1847 and participated in an insurrection in July 1848. He was defeated by General Anastasio Bustamante, fled again to Europe, returned to Mexico under the general amnesty of April 1849, and died in poverty in Mexico City in September 1849.

7 Jan 1797	born in Mexico City
6 Jan 1812	becomes cadet in the Regimiento de Infantería de México
1816	enters the Ejército Trigarante as sublieutenant
March 1821	adheres with his regiment to the Plan of Iguala; is named by Iturbide as captain of high-mobility troops (capitán de cazadores) in the regiment assigned to Mexico City
	obtains notable victory at Arroyo Hondo, Querétaro; awarded shield inscribed "30 against 400"
June 1821	made lieutenant colonel
1822	made battalion commander
11 Feb 1823	publicly denounces Iturbide in Puebla
1823	as mayor of the Plaza of Puebla, joins with Marqués of Vivanco in proclaiming national independence
21 Dec 1829	while chief weapons officer in Guadalajara, rebels in support of the Plan of Jalapa
1831	promoted to colonel
1832	made brigadier general
1832 (1833?)	is advanced to division commander, as Comandante General de San Luis, Sonora y Jalisco
1835	begins to take active part in politics, advocating national unity and reinforcing Santa Anna at the battle of Guadalupe, Zacatecas
4 Dec 1838	serves as Minister of War until 12 Dec 1838
18 May 1839	in Jalisco, helps Gov. Escobedo to suppress a federalist revolt
1841	becomes part of a military junta, in agreement with Santa Anna, supporting the "Bases de Tacubaya"
8 Aug 1841	sets forth in Guadalajara a plan under his own name, reproaching Bustamante for yielding to the French and for not having tried to recover Texas
Aug 1841	is excluded from Santa Anna's cabinet but is re-named military governor of Jalisco
1841	supports Santa Anna for President; Santa Anna names him to the Junta de Notables, and Bravo makes him Comandante General of Mexico
28 Jan 1843	ceases to be Governor of Jalisco
Oct 1843	publicly repudiates President Santa Anna at Celaya
1843	exiled by Santa Anna to Toluca for refusing to command the troops of Yucatán
July 1844	named Senator but refuses post
1844	quarrels with Santa Anna, foments demonstration against him
14 Dec 1845	rebels against President Herrera; proclaims himself a champion of national rights; does not march to Saltillo against U.S. invaders
2 Jan 1846	enters Mexico City, is received by the Junta of Notables, most of whom he himself appointed
3 Jan 1846	named interim President by this Junta
4 Jan 1846	takes oath of office but does not exercise its powers
12 June 1846	officially re-elected President by Congress in extraordinary session; chooses Gen. Bravo as his Vice-president
	Paredes' govt unable to meet civilian or military expenses
20 June 1846	Paredes is given authority to command the Mexican Army
28 July 1846	his administration ceases to function
4 August 1846	an armed rebellion, headed by Jalisco, rises against him in Mexico City; Paredes is captured, imprisoned in a convent
Oct 1846	goes to exile in France
	returns to Mexico
12 June 1848	opposes treaty of peace with U.S., calling for self-rule of states
1 July 1848	joins insurrectionists Cosió and Jarauta in Lagos, Jalisco
18 July 1848	is defeated with insurgents (Cosió, Jarauta, Doblado, Negrete) in Guanajuato by Bustamante; escapes, flees to Europe
April 1849	is included in Mexico's general amnesty, returns to Mexico
Sept 1849	dies in Mexico City under conditions of near poverty

Sources for the chronology:

Diccionario Porrúa de historia, biografía y geografía de Mexico, 5th ed. rev. Mexico City: Editorial Porrúa, 1986, v. 3, p. 2203.

Enciclopedia de México. Mexico City: Secretaría de Educación Pública, 1987, v. 11, pp. 6206-07.

Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europea-americana, 1st ed. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1958, v. 42, p. 14.

Musaccio, Humberto. Diccionario enciclopédico de México. Mexico: Andrés León, 1989, v. 3, p. 1466.

Rivera, Manuel. Los gobernantes de México. Mexico: Imprenta de J.M. Aguilar Ortiz, 1873, v. 2, pp. 286-298.

The collection documents political and historical developments in 19th-century Mexico, primarily the 1840s. Paredes' association with these events is reflected in correspondence dating from 1825 to 1849. Correspondents include Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mariano Arista, José Joaquín de Herrera, Luis Parres, José María Tornel, and family members Josefa Cortés de Paredes, Manuel and José María Cortés, and Agustín Paredes y Arrillaga. Also present in the collection are a number of anonymous letters; many appear to be copies of letters by Paredes, while others are signed with pseudonyms. Among the correspondence are occasional financial and legal documents, registers of correspondence, literary productions, notes, and lists. Materials dating from after Paredes' death until 1876 relate to various topics including Mexico's response to the European intervention and the personal affairs of individuals whose relationship to Paredes is undetermined. Undated items include a list of names appearing in the collection and letters addressed to Paredes as president of Mexico, presumably written in 1846.

The collection consists of one series of correspondence, arranged chronologically. Within the collection can be found general correspondence (1825-1849), family and personal correspondence (1842-1848), and materials dated after Paredes' death (1849-1876). Interspersed among the correspondence are such other types of documents as receipts, accounts, wills, agreements, powers of attorney, instructions, proclamations, petitions, proposals (including one for the reconquest of Texas), reports, lists, certifications, and printed material. Undated items include a list of names appearing in the collection.

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