Books about nineteenth-century Mexican leaders are relatively scarce, and although this work is not a study of Santiago Vidaurri, a clear enough picture emerges to make this volume a welcome addition to the literature of the field.
The first part of the book is an interesting account of Vidaums emergence as the “Caudillo of the North.” It is paradoxical that liberal politicians who worked so hard to topple conservative-centralist regimes attracted to their cause the type of regional leader typified by Vidaurri, because when these “states righters” were allowed to enjoy the autonomy they desired, it threatened the stability of the new liberal governments attempting to unify and reform the nation.
The heart of the book properly belongs to the relationship between Vidaurri and the Confederacy. This unique situation was possible only because he had established himself as the semiautonomous ruler of the states of Nuevo León, Coahuila and, at times, Tamaulipas. He controlled the border and the movement of commerce within his domain. Without his support, the Confederacy’s bid to bypass the Union block-ade was doomed. That it succeeded was not the result necessarily of Vidaums sympathy for the Confederate cause, but because he realized that the lucrative commerce from the friendly Confederate States of America was a good source of revenue with which to consolidate the power base he had built in Monterrey.
So long as the government of President Benito Juárez remained weak, Vidaurri was safe in his bid for regional autonomy. It was this very weakness, however, that was unable to stop the French invasion and drove the Juarista remnant northward to Saltillo. Forced to decide between the contending forces, Vidaurri chose the French because he believed they would win. It was a fateful choice for him, however, for while the French welcomed his support, they effectively cut him off from his power base in Monterrey. Thus, his last years of government service were spent in Mexico City.
While accurately describing Vidaums motivating drive as a lust for power and a desire for regional autonomy in a general sense, there is little in this book but the bare bones of letters, orders, and decrees. Hopefully, some scholar will soon publish a full biographical study of this fascinating and important Mexican leader.
Another reason for the effectiveness of the Confederacy in northern Mexico was their able agent, José A. Quintero. In fact, the two central chapters of the book are as much a study of Quintero’s diplomacy as of Vidaurri’s policies. On the other hand, it was not possible to go into much detail about the role of the Confederacy along the Río Grande and in the cotton trade in northern Mexico. While the activities of Quintero were fully described and woven into the fabric of the general account, many of the other facets of this interesting story were necessarily neglected.
Tyler is due a vote of thanks from scholars in the fields of both Confederate and Mexican history for accomplishing the difficult task of drawing together these two separate fields of study at a point where they happened to overlap.
