Aguascalientes was a federal territory of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, lasting from

1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...

and 1857.

History

In 1834 President

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...

was taking measures against

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

and moving the country towards a more

centralized system Centralisation or centralization (American English) is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning, decision-making, and framing strategies and policies, become concentrated within a particular ...

. Politicians in

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

looked askance, as they had been supporters and defenders of the existing system since its implementation in 1824. An order to disband federal

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

s in early 1835, was taken in Zacatecas as the end of federalism. The citizens took up arms: they disobeyed the government and prepared to face the

Mexican Army The Mexican Army () is the combined Army, land and Air Force, air branch and is the largest part of the Mexican Armed Forces; it is also known as the National Defense Army. The Army is under the authority of the Secretariat of National Defense o ...

led by Santa Anna, to whom

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

had given extraordinary powers to appease the Zacatecas rebellion. The people of Aguascalientes, taking advantage of the situation, sought the emancipation from Zacatecas. When Santa Anna arrived in the city of Aguascalientes on March 22, residents expressed their desire for separation. The president then met with them on May 23, 1835. On October 3, 1857, Aguascalientes became a state of Mexico.

Bibliography

References

{{Coord, 22.016667, -102.35, display=title States and territories disestablished in 1857 States and territories established in 1835 Territories of Mexico