Lucas Ignacio Alamán y Escalada ( Guanajuato, New Spain, October 18, 1792 –

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Mexico, June 2, 1853) was a Mexican scientist, conservative statesman, historian, and writer. He came from an elite Guanajuato family and was well-traveled and highly educated. He was an eyewitness to the early fighting in the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

when he witnessed the troops of insurgent leader Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla sack

Guanajuato City Guanajuato () is a city and municipal seat of the municipality of Guanajuato in central Mexico and the capital of the state of the same name. It is part of the macroregion of the Bajío. It is in a narrow valley, which makes its streets narrow a ...

an incident that informed his already conservative and antidemocratic thought He has been called the "arch-reactionary of the epoch...who sought to create a strong central government based on a close alliance of the army, the Catholic Church and the landed classes." He has been compared to

Metternich Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar, Prince of Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein ; german: Klemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lothar Fürst von Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein (15 May 1773 – 11 June 1859), known as Klemens von Metternich or Prince Metternic ...

, and was one of the prime voices advocating for the establishment of a monarchy in Mexico. According to historian

Charles A. Hale Charles Adam Hale (June 5, 1930 – September 29, 2008) was a distinguished historian of Mexico, who published major works on nineteenth and early twentieth-century Liberalism in Mexico. Life Hale was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Lloyd and ...

, Alamán was "undoubtedly the major political and intellectual figure of independent Mexico until his death in 1853 ... the guiding force of several administrations and an active promoter of economic development."

Early life

Alamán was born in 1792 in Guanajuato, a prosperous silver mining city in northern

colonial Mexico Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 ...

. His father, don Juan Vicente Alamán, immigrated from Navarre and accumulated a fortune in mining. His mother, doña María Ignacia Escalada, was member of a distinguished American-born Spanish family, and held the title of the fifth marchioness of San Clemente. Alamán's father was his mother's second husband, following the death of her first husband, Brigadier Gabriel de Arechederreta. Alamán had an older sister, María de Luz Estefanuia Anna José Ignacia Alamán y Escalada, born 1782, and an older half-brother, Juan Bautista Arechederreta. The family was wealthy and socially prominent when Alamán was born and during his early youth, but mining was an uncertain and volatile industry, and his father suffered financial losses. His father died when Alamán was sixteen. A formative event in Alamán's life, which he wrote about in his autobiography, was his witnessing the sack of Guanajuato during the revolt by

Miguel Hidalgo Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader of the Mexican ...

in 1810 where an Indian and mixed race mob captured the city granary (''alhondiga'') and killed those taking refuge inside. Although an important incident in his youth, biographer

Eric Van Young Eric Van Young, Distinguished Professor of History at University of California, San Diego, is an American historian of Mexico who has published extensively on socioeconomic and political history of the colonial era and the nineteenth century. He ...

argues that "judging by his social background, his cool, rationalist personal style, his travels and studies, and the circumstances of his coming to political maturity, it is hard to imagine Lucas Alamán as anything ''other'' than the deeply conservative thinker and public actor he became." Alamán enjoyed a good education and demonstrated a cosmopolitan outlook. After attending school in Guanajuato during the 1790s, he became involved in his family’s mining business. Afterwards, he studied at the ''Real Colegio de Minas de la Nueva España'', in Mexico City. In 1814 Alamán traveled to Spain and began touring other European nations shortly thereafter, studying German mining techniques as well as chemistry in Paris. Upon his return to Mexico, the viceroy appointed him to direct the health services provided by the ''Junta de Sanidad''. As the Marquis of San Clemente, Alamán undoubtedly dreamed of becoming a minister in the court of a Mexican Bourbon monarch. He frequently traveled on his credentials as a scientist and diplomat, becoming one of the most educated men in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1812 Alamán was a deputy to the

Cortes of Cádiz The Cortes of Cádiz was a revival of the traditional ''cortes'' (Spanish parliament), which as an institution had not functioned for many years, but it met as a single body, rather than divided into estates as with previous ones. The General ...

, the Spanish national parliament, for the Province of

Nueva Galicia Nuevo Reino de Galicia (''New Kingdom of Galicia'', gl, Reino de Nova Galicia) or simply Nueva Galicia (''New Galicia'', ''Nova Galicia'') was an autonomous kingdom of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was named after Galicia in Spain. Nueva ...

(included present day Jalisco,

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

, Sonora, Sinaloa) in Viceroyalty of New Spain.

First Mexican Republic

After Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, Alamán returned to Mexico and became one of the most influential politicians in the nascent country. He was a co-founder and lifelong member of the

Mexican Conservative Party The Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador) was one of two major factions in Mexican political thought that emerged in the years after independence, the other being the Liberals. At various times and under different circumstances they wer ...

, more an ideological orientation than a formal party. He consistently defended the centralist organization of Mexico with a strong government rather than the federalist position, with power held in the individual states. Under the junta that governed Mexico after the fall of Iturbide, Alamán served from 1823 to 1825 in the powerful post of Minister of Interior and Exterior Relations (''Ministro de Relaciones Interiores e Exteriores,'') combining the duties of a foreign minister, interior minister and minister of justice). In his cabinet post Alamán successfully attracted British capital to Mexico. He was part of the group of conservatives who ousted insurgent general

Vicente Guerrero Vicente Ramón Guerrero (; baptized August 10, 1782 – February 14, 1831) was one of the leading revolutionary generals of the Mexican War of Independence. He fought against Spain for independence in the early 19th century, and later served as ...

from the presidency, who himself came to power by coup in 1829. Alamán was a member of the

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

that briefly governed Mexico in 1829 after the Plan de Jalapa with the aim of installing conservative

Anastasio Bustamante Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as president of Mexico three times. He participated in the Mexican War of Independence initially as a royalist befo ...

as president. Alamán was the leading figure of the conservatives as the regime change unfolded. Guerrero was captured by a merchant ship captain Picaluga paid 50,000 pesos for the deed, in January 1831, summarily tried in a court-martial, and executed a month later. Alamán viewed the execution of Guerrero as saving Mexico from "dissolution." Many Mexicans, however, saw Guerrero as a martyr and his execution was deemed by the liberal newspaper ''El Federalista Mexicano'' "judicial murder." The two conservative cabinet members considered most culpable for Guerrero's execution, Alamán and Secretary of War José Antonio Facio "spent the rest of their lives defending themselves from the charge that they were responsible for the ultimate betrayal in the history of the first republic, that is, that they had arranged not just for the service of Picaluga's ship but specifically for his capture of Guerrero." Alamán published a tract defending himself, drafted while in hiding in Mexico City. Alamán returned to the post of Minister of Interior and Exterior Relations in 1830–1832 under the Bustamante government. It was in this capacity that he named

Manuel Victoria Manuel Victoria (died 1833) was governor of the Mexican-ruled territory of Alta California from January 1831 to December 6, 1831. He died in exile. He was appointed governor on March 8, 1830 by Lucas Alamán. Exile The revolt, called Battle of ...

the Governor of Alta California on March 8, 1830. In October 1830, he created the ''Banco Nacional de Avío'', the first bank in Mexico, which provided the country with the financial infrastructure necessary for its burgeoning economy. Through this government investment bank, Alamán's plans to revive the textile industry, which took hold and prospered in Puebla and Veracruz even when Alamán was not part of the government.

Centralist Republic of Mexico

After what he saw as the disaster of

Texas independence Texas secession movements, also known as the Texas independence movement or Texit, refers to both the secession of Texas during the American Civil War as well as activities of modern organizations supporting such efforts to secede from the Unite ...

from Mexico in 1836, Alamán largely retired from politics, though he continued to promote what he saw as the interests of the country by serving as ''Director de la Junta de Fomento de la Industria'' (Directorate for the Promotion of Industry) from 1839 until his death in 1853. During the same period Alamán negotiated a deal with the United States to the north fixing the national borders of the two nations which held right up to the time of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

1846–1848. He also promoted colonizing the northern provinces in order to stave off U.S. expansionism. For most of the 1840s, he devoted himself primarily to writing the history of Mexico from the perspective of a conservative. His three-volume work ''Disertaciones sobre la Historia de la Republica mexicana'' (Mexico, 1844–1849) and his five-volume ''Historia de México, desde los primeros movimientos que prepararon su independencia en el año de 1808, hasta la época presente'' (Mexico, 1849–1852), stand as the major intellectual productions of the Conservative Party in nineteenth-century Mexico, and the only histories produced by a Mexican author of his era to view the Spanish presence in his country favorably.

Mexican American War

Among his more important actions are the creation of the Natural History Museum in

and the foundation of Mexico's General National Archive. The latter has been very important for learning about the historical events in Mexico and understanding the political processes of the Mexican Republic. He also founded and ran a mining company, established the first metal foundry in independent Mexico in 1825, administered the estates of the descendants of Hernán Cortés, and served as president of the Mexico City ''ayuntamiento'' (city council) in 1849. Although Alamán was in general anti-American, he was dismayed by the withdrawal of the U.S. Army, which had protected the property against "bandits and rebels."

Last Years

Santa Anna and Lucas Alamán were in correspondence during Santa Anna's exile following the debacle of the

Mexican American War Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

. Alamán helped pave the way for Santa Anna's return to power with conservative support "if he agreed to a program of cessation of political activity against the Church and security for the holders of large propertied interests." Alamán returned to national public service in March 1853, when Santa Anna appointed him Minister of Foreign Relations. Alamán served until his death from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on June 2, 1853.

Published works

*''Canción patriótica en celebridad de los días de nuestro augusto y deseado monarca''. Mexico city: Oficina de Ontiveros 1812. *''Defensa del ex-ministro de relaciones D. Lucas Alamán, en la causa formada contra él y contra los ex-ministros de guerra y justicia del vice-presidente D. Anastasio Bustamante, con unas noticias preliminares que dan idea del origen de esta. Escrita por el mismo ex-ministro, que la dirige á la nación''. Mexico City: Imprenta de Galván á cargo de M. Arévalo 1834. *''Historia de Méjico''. 5 vols. Mexico City 1968–69. *'' Memorias, la verdadera historia de esta república desde el año 1808'' (1840) *. Mexico City: Impreso por I. Cumplido, 1845. *''Disertaciones'' 3 vols. Mexico 1969. *''Documentos diversos''. 4 vols. Mexico 1946. *''Ensayo sobre la decadencia de la minería en la Nueva España''.

Archival materials

Ynsfran, Pablo Max. "Catalogo del Archivo de Don Lucas Alamán que se Conserva en la Universidad de Texas, Austin" ''Historia Mexicana'' Vol. 4, No. 2 (Oct. – Dec. 1954), pp. 281–316

Honors

Eponymy

;

Genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

: * (

Orchidaceae Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

) '' Alamania'' La Llave & Lex. ;

Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

: * (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

) '' Perezia alamani'' ( DC.) Hemsl. * (

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae, the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of a genus in the family. Most spurges, such as '' Euphorbia paralias'', are herbs, but some, ...

) ''

Jatropha ''Jatropha'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός (''iatros''), meaning "physician", and τροφή (''trophe''), meaning "nutrition", hence the common name ...

alamanii'' Müll.Arg. * ( Rhamnaceae) ''

Colubrina ''Colubrina'' is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia, northern Australia, and the Indian Ocean islands. Common names include ...

alamanii'' G.DonGen. Hist. 2: 37. 1832 (IK)

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Pan-Americanism 19th-century Mexican historians Mexican monarchists Historians of Mexico Mexican male writers Mexican Secretaries of the Interior Mexican Secretaries of Foreign Affairs 1792 births 1853 deaths Writers from Guanajuato Politicians from Guanajuato People from Guanajuato City Deaths from pneumonia in Mexico Conservatism in Mexico 19th-century male writers 19th-century Mexican scientists 19th-century Mexican politicians