January 9, 1836. · Mexico City
by [Texas]: [Barragán, Miguel]
Mexico City, January 9, 1836.. Letterpress broadside, 11 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches. Minor edge wear, light soiling, old folds and creases. Very good. An exceedingly rare Mexican presidential decree authorizing the Mexican federal government to dispose of half of the income of its Departments (i.e. states) while "subsista la guerra provocada por los colonos de Tejas" ["the war brought on by the Texas colonists continues"]. This is an interesting edict reflecting the impact of the nascent Texas Revolution on the government of Mexico. It is dated about halfway between two very important milestones of the Revolution: the Battle of Goliad in October 1835 (a pronounced victory for the Texas settlers) and the writing and adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence in early March 1836 (itself mere days before the conclusion of the Battle of the Alamo). No doubt the resources of the Mexican treasury were wearing thin due to the ongoing battles with the Texas settlers, reflected in the budget cuts and fiscal reorganization indicated by the present document.
The decree was issued by interim president Miguel Barragán, who stepped in for Santa Anna while he pursued the rebel Texans in the field. This decree was printed first in Mexico City, and promulgated through provincial reprints, copies of which are known from Guadalajara, Zacatecas, Arizpe, Chihuahua, and Toluca. Streeter did not see a copy of this original Mexico City printing, but took his entry information from a later Arizpe reprint located at the Bancroft Library.
OCLC records just three copies of this rare original Mexico City printing: at Yale, the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and Baylor's Texas Collection. STREETER TEXAS 871. OCLC 28014681. (Inventory #: WRCAM57758)
The decree was issued by interim president Miguel Barragán, who stepped in for Santa Anna while he pursued the rebel Texans in the field. This decree was printed first in Mexico City, and promulgated through provincial reprints, copies of which are known from Guadalajara, Zacatecas, Arizpe, Chihuahua, and Toluca. Streeter did not see a copy of this original Mexico City printing, but took his entry information from a later Arizpe reprint located at the Bancroft Library.
OCLC records just three copies of this rare original Mexico City printing: at Yale, the Briscoe Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and Baylor's Texas Collection. STREETER TEXAS 871. OCLC 28014681. (Inventory #: WRCAM57758)
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