Another Immigrant War, the San Patricios [3]

Less well known than the Alamo story is the story of the European-born immigrants who fought and died in the Mexican-American war and in particular, the significant minority who took part on both sides.

One Mexican army brigade was called the Saint Patrick's Battalion (or 'San Patricios'). It was made up of men who began the war in the US army but defected en masse to the other side, thereby defending Mexico from the US invasion.

The San Patricios brigade was made up of recent US immigrants, mainly professing the Catholic religion. The majority were Irishmen, recruited from high Texan unemployment by US army recruiters headed south to fight Polk's war.

The protection of immigrant rights was a non-issue in those days predating Homeland Security. Then, as now, rules were particularly lax in wartime, which meant that many army men were horribly mistreated to keep them in line. This led to a slew of army defections to 'volunteer and embrace Mexico's cause'. Among reasons cited for this traitorous behaviour, was the conduct of their mainly British Protestant officers, and the particularly vicious antics of the Texas Rangers when capturing Mexican towns; desecration of Catholic Church property, rape and slaughter.

These opportunist Mexican soldiers of fortune were commanded by John Riley of Clifden, County Galway. The Battalion of St. Patrick, 800-strong, fought a commendable retreat from US invading forces as the Americans pushed south to the capital, DF. One reason cited was the brigade's determination not to be captured alive. It is even said that the Patrick's battalion threatened to shoot their Mexican colleagues if they capitulated to the US forces.

The mainly Irish-born, English-speaking battalion was given a great deal of autonomy as to how they fought their former employers; unfortunately for them they found themselves on the losing side. As it turned out the Patricios were prudent in avoiding capture - the US Army had been instructed to make an example of the Irish Catholic defectors. They meted out face branding with hot irons (the letter 'D' for Deserter) and most survivors were summarily hanged. In DF, the US army made a point of hanging most of the remaining Patricios in the same Zócalo.

The valiant Patricios are commemorated annually in Mexico. Recently Irish dignitaries were invited by former Mexican President Vicente Fox to share in the 1847-1997 celebrations in the Zócalo, DF.

The myth of National Independence

It may at first glance seem like an incongruous list of populations but modern-day DF and its suburbs were host to the Olmecs, the Aztecs, the Spanish, the 'Mexican' and for a short time even the US conquerors. One might suggest that the Spanish conquerors should be treated as a special case as they ruled 'New Spain' as a European colony, the other regimes being self-governing, though I would argue otherwise.

What exactly is the logic of a modern-day self-governing republic? To what extent is it possible for a modern nation to control its own destiny, especially in the context of the massive influence of global transnational corporations and in the context of regional trade communities such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? These questions are especially pertinent in the case of Mexico, whose northern neighbour is the largest economic and military power on the planet.

When colonial powers cede control to new nations, contacts rarely come to an abrupt end. Ireland maintained laws that protected British property rights after 1921. These were written in the English language as part of predominantly English laws. Ireland also maintained an economy entirely dependent on Sterling for many decades. The Mexican revolution was not dissimilar, although the second Zapatista revolution did alter some property rights to the benefit of local Mexicans over foreign landowners, largely as a result of the first Zapatista rebellion.

Central Mexico seems like an appropriate place to explore the legacies of colonial power and to delve into their neocolonial counterparts.

Dust of Colony

DF has some really impressive colonial architecture but the colonial architectural style is found in many Altiplano Spanish cities. Particularly beautiful are Zacatecas, Guanajato, Puebla, Querétaro and, perhaps the most famous of them all, San Miguel de Allende.