Disbound
1833 · [México]
by [Santamaria, Miguel]
[México]: [Imprenta dirigada por Tomás Uribe y Alcalde], 1833. First edition. Disbound. Removed from a larger volume else a very good copy, faint inked numeral to top fore-corner.. 23, [1]. 8vo. This "Secret Report to the Sovereign People," which the anonymous author claims to have found in a mailbox "entre las diez y once de la noche del miercoles ultimo," was most likely written by Miguel Santa Maria (1789-1837), a liberal republican politician, a supporter and minister under Bolivar, and influential in the government of Guadalupe Victoria. Though exiled to the United States, he returned as a private citizen in 1831 only to find himself again embroiled in controversy because of this satirical work which depicts conditions of the Mexican army, argues the benefits of not having a military which eats up precious resources and foments civil wars, and likewise criticizes the Congress for extravagant salaries (provided in detail), and the government under Manuel Gómez Pedraza (1789-1851) who lasted merely three months. Because of this work, Santamaria would again find himself exiled in 1833 by Santa Anna and Gomez Farias, who replaced Pedraza. Scarce. Not in Palau. Not in NUC. OCLC locates only four copies: Berkeley, Southern Methodist, Yale, and BN Mexico. Sutro 692i. Spain & Spanish America II, 259. Cubas: Diccionario geográfico, histórico y biográfico de los Estados unidos Mexicanos: Volume 5, p.149.
(Inventory #: 43310)