Mexico’s history as a sanctuary for those fleeing bondage in the United States is a powerful chapter of shared liberation history. This narrative shifts the lens from the Texas Revolution being purely about liberty and highlights how it was fueled by the defense of chattel slavery by American colonists.
The True Independence and Slavery
While U.S. figures like Washington, Jefferson, and Madison remained enslavers, Mexico’s revolutionary leaders dismantled the institution as they fought for independence.
Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Maria Morelos: In 1810, Hidalgo issued a decree to abolish slavery. Morelos, who had African ancestry, formalized this in the Sentimientos de la Nacion (1813), declaring slavery abolished forever. [JSTOR Daily]
Vicente Guerrero: Mexico’s second president was of African and Indigenous descent. In 1829, he officially abolished slavery across the Republic. This was a direct blow to Anglo American colonists in Texas who brought enslaved people under the guise of indentured servitude. [Texas State Historical Association]
Santa Anna and the Defense of Mexican Law
The portrayal of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna as a traitor ignores his role as an enforcer of abolitionist law against pro slavery colonists.
Fighting for Abolition: Santa Anna’s march into Texas in 1836 was a response to colonists refusing to comply with anti slavery laws. He denounced the contracts used by settlers to keep people in chains and asked how Mexico could permit wretches to moan in chains in a country with laws protecting human liberty. [Digital History]
A Sanctuary for Refugees: Mexico served as a southern Underground Railroad. Enslaved people knew they were free the moment they crossed the Rio Grande. Mexico repeatedly refused to sign extradition treaties to return freedom seekers. [National Park Service]
Shared History: The Black Panther Perspective
The Black Panther Party highlighted that Mexico had abolished slavery 34 years before the Emancipation Proclamation. They viewed the loss of Mexican territory in the Mexican American War as a colonial land grab to expand slavery. This perspective frames the defense of the Alamo not just as a fight for freedom, but as a fight to maintain the right to own human beings in a country that had already declared them free. [Reparations Commission]
