Isidro Plácido Del Rosario Barrada y Valdés (

Puerto de la Cruz Puerto de la Cruz is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. It was formerly known by its English translation, "Port of the Cross", although now it is known by its Spanish name in all langu ...

, Tenerife, 6 October 1782 – Marseille, France, 14 August 1835) was a Spanish general sent to

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 ...

in 1829, eight years after Mexican independence in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to reconquer the country for the Spanish Crown.

South-America

Born in Tenerife, he moved as a child with his parents to Venezuela. They lived in

Carúpano Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná.Venezuelan War of Independence The Venezuelan War of Independence (, 1810–1823) was one of the Spanish American wars of independence of the early nineteenth century, when independence movements in South America fought a civil war for secession and against unity of the S ...

broke out, he sided with the Royalists. He fought in many battles. He was also present in the

Battle of Boyacá The Battle of Boyacá (1819), also known as the Battle of Boyacá Bridge was a decisive victory by a combined army of Venezuelan and New Granadan troops along with a British Legion led by General Simon Bolivar over the III Division of the Spa ...

from where he managed to escape with 270 of his men. He fled to

Cartagena de Indias Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Region of Colombia, Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past ...

, which he helped to defend against the Siege of Cartagena of 1820–21. After the surrender of Cartagena de Indias, he was transported to Cuba, where he reached the rank of Colonel in 1824 and Brigadier General in 1828. He was also appointed Governor of

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

in 1824.

Expedition to Mexico (1829)

Background

The General Law of Expulsion was promulgated in Mexico in 1827. This law ordered the expulsion of all foreigners from the country, particularly all Spaniards. In January 1829, Feliciano Montenegro, Mexican counsel in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, informed his government that a Spanish expeditionary force was being assembled in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Bay of Campeche. The rallying point was the Isla de Lobos (

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

), but the weather made it difficult to reassemble. The frigate ''Amalia'' and four transports arrived there on July 14. More ships arrived in the following week. By July 22, nearly all had reached the reassembly point. One transport with 400 troops was forced to go to New Orleans for repairs.

Invasion of Mexico

On July 26 the fleet arrived off Cabo Rojo, near

Tampico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fif ...

. On the 27th the first operation began, with 25 skiffs and 750 men, but the surf did not allow them to land. Admiral Laborde had to offer one ounce of gold to any man who would swim to shore for fresh news about the state of defense the country was in. Eugenio Aviraneta e Ibargoyen accepted. He took 12 ounces of gold and a bottle containing proclamations. Once ashore, he spoke to four Indigenous Huastecos. They told him that there were no troops near about, but that General Lagarza was in Tampico with a thousand troops to guard against a possible uprising by

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. often known as Santa Anna, wa ...

. Aviraneta was informed that Lagarza did not know of the arrival of the Spaniards. He paid his informants three ounces of gold. They told him the best place to disembark but refused to accompany him to Tampico, fearing reprisals. The disembarkation began at 2:00 that afternoon, at the place pointed out by the Huaxtecos. The force began marching toward Tampico, and the Spanish ships were sent to the Río Pánuco. On the 31st the first fight with Mexican forces occurred, at Los Corchos, 20 km southeast of Pueblo Viejo, Veracruz. Meanwhile, Santa Anna had been preparing for the expedition, and had assembled 1,000 infantrymen, 500 cavalry, four pieces of artillery and a fleet of 3 brigs, 4 schooners and 5 boats. Santa Anna did not attempt a direct assault, but rather laid siege to Barradas's forces.

Surrender

On September 11, 1829, Barradas, cut off from supplies and with his troops weakened by disease, signed the Capitulation of Pueblo Viejo with Santa Anna and General Manuel Mier y Terán. Santa Anna was hailed as the savior of the Republic. This was the final consummation of Mexican independence. President

Vicente Guerrero Vicente Ramón Guerrero Saldaña (; baptized 10 August 1782 – 14 February 1831) was a Mexican military officer from 1810–1821 and a statesman who became the nation's second president in 1829. He was one of the leading generals who fought ag ...

had sent Santa Anna to oppose the Spanish, and he also sent Vice-President General

Anastasio Bustamante Trinidad Anastasio de Sales Ruiz Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as the 4th President of Mexico three times from 1830 to 1832, 1837 to 1839, and 1839 to 1841. ...

to Jalapa in reserve to oppose any other Spanish landing along the coast. Bustamante took that opportunity to lead his troops in revolt and overthrow Guerrero.

Later life

Defeated in the Battle of Tampico, Barrada traveled to New Orleans and then went to New York, from where he headed to Le Havre aboard the

Packet boat Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed mainly for domestic mail and freight transport in European countries and in North American rivers and canals. Eventually including basic passenger accommodation, they were used extensively during t ...

Francisco I. He arrived in France on 2 February 1830, continued to Paris, and intended to travel to the Spanish Court from there. But in Paris, he learned that an order had been issued for him to be detained in Spain and transferred to Cuba, to be tried for treason. He therefore decided to remain in Paris. He never returned to Spain again, living in poverty in France. He had a son in 1831 and moved to Marseille where he died from disease in the Rue Glandeves 1, on 14 August 1835.

References

* Melgarejo Vivanco, José Luis, ''Tamiahua. Una Historia Huaxteca''.

External links

The expedition

A short account of the expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barradas, Isidro Mexican War of Independence Spanish generals 19th-century Spanish military personnel People from Puerto de la Cruz 1782 births 1835 deaths Spanish expatriates in Mexico