William Walker The Man who would Conquer Nicaragua Part 2 Mexico

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Eric Gasca, and you're listening to the
Distorted History podcast, and I can't give you many names,
and you're a blacker. Hey, look, I'm reasoning. I'm got

(00:24):
the barah A long struggle for freedom, it really is
a revolution. Welcome back to Distorted History, where this week
we pick up on the story of William Walker, a
fairly infamous figure especially in Central America, following his attempt

(00:46):
to take over Nicaragua before ultimately being defeated by an
alliance of five Central American nations. Last time, we saw
William grow up in an anti Savory family before going
on the study medicine and places like Philadelphia and Europe
please known to also be against slavery. Then, following his
mother's death, he moved to New Orleans, where he studied
in practice law briefly before agreeing to service the editor

(01:09):
for The Crescent, a fairly liberal paper that was against
the expansion of slavery and supported such radical ideas as
giving women the right to vote. Walker, though a man
who was described as being serious, quiet, gentle, and kind,
seemed to change following the passing of his fiancee, Ellen Martin,
As those who knew him would describe him suddenly developing
what they perceived to be bounce of paranoia. Additionally, he

(01:32):
also seemed to become obsessed with the idea of heroic
and reckless action, a concept that he would seemingly find
a monophor in the filibusters who were so prevalent in
that day and age, with filibusters being the term mused
to describe individuals who either formed or joined a private
military force whose goal was to take over a foreign territory.
Sometimes these filibusters looked to join and aid pre existing

(01:55):
revolutionary efforts, then looked too cast off European colonial powers,
or look too sides in civil wars in other countries.
Such individuals usually justified their involvement by claiming they were
there to spread democracy and freedom, although the promised payments
and lands offered to such individuals were also likely tempting. Meanwhile,
oftentimes these filibusters saw the ultimate goal of their mission

(02:17):
as having the United States annex said territory like they
did Texas after what might have arguably been the most
successful filibuster campaign in history. For some, then, this was
simply an extension of manifest destiny. Where was the nations
preordained fate to continue expanding, an idea which was predicated
on the concept that the US was a white Protestant
nation and thus superior to other cultures and peoples. They

(02:40):
were then effectively making the world a better place by
expanding the US and its influence, as they would be
showing inferior peoples a better way to live. Meanwhile, somehow,
even worse than all that were those filibusters, who explicitly
loaned to gain more land to extend their slaveholding empire
into Yet, regardless of their motivation, and while the US

(03:00):
government at least officially disapproved of filibusters as he violated
the nation's various treaties and Neutrality Act, the nation's public
and the press were very much fascinated by their adventures.
So while not everyone approved of every filibuster mission, there
were those who saw them as heroic figures, which may
help to explain why whale Walker, after moving out to California,

(03:22):
started making plans to take over the Mexican state of
Sonora after reading stories in the newspapers about the brutal
Apache raids taking place in the region. As his justification
seems to have been that since the Mexican government was
not protecting her people. He would go there and take
over so that the US could then annex the territory
and provide the protection that the Mexican government hadn't, although

(03:43):
the fact that the territory had notable gold and silver
deposits also likely factored into his thinking. Regardless, though, before
I go any further into William Marker's filibustering adventures, first,
like always, I want to acknowledge my sources for this series,
which include Michael Gobat's Empire by Invitation, William Walker in
Manifest Destiny in Central America, Frederick Rosengartens Freebooters Must Die,

(04:05):
The Life and Death of William Walker, the most notorious
filibuster of the nineteenth century, Stephen Dando Collins's Tycoons War,
How Cornelius Vanderbilt invaded a country to overthrow America's most
famous military adventurer, and Robert E. May's Manifest Destiny's Underworld Filibustering,
and Antebellum America. And like always, these and any other
sources that I use, will be listed on this podcast,

(04:27):
Blue Sky and Kofee pages plus for anyone who doesn't
want to be bothered skipping through commercials. There is always
an ad free feed available at patreon dot com slash
Distorted History. And with all that being said, let's begin.
While we have been looking at the life of William
Walker and possibly have some sense the reasons behind his
interest in becoming a filibuster, it has to be said

(04:48):
that he was not exactly representative of these types of
men who would take part in all these various missions.
To begin with, one of the more common figures among
the filibuster recruits were former soldiers, typically veterans of the U.
Mexican American More particularly those who had trouble finding jobs,
were even just readjusting to civilian life, men who simply
felt more at home in military camps, where they could

(05:10):
experience a kind of close camaraderie with fellow soldiers that
they couldn't quite find anywhere else. Freemasons were also not
uncommon among the ranks of the filibusters. Some of this
was because among the group's core tenants was the idea
of an international brotherhood and they need to help the
victims of despotism and tyranny. Plus, there is also the
simple fact that there were just a ton of Freemasons

(05:32):
in America at the time, as I'm fairly certain that
secret societies in general were extremely popular, and the Freemasons
were one of the largest groups. In fact, a number
of men w would serve as Walker's officers, including Walker himself,
were Freemasons. Also commonly found among the ranks of the
various filibuster missions conducted by William Walker and others were
immigrants and members of the urban poor. In general, these

(05:55):
were young men who were faced with hard times due
to the nation's changing landscape. As you see, America's urban
population in the period prior to the Civil War grew
at a rate three times as fast as the country's
population as a whole, which was due to Americans moving
from rural farming communities to cities and from incoming waves
of immigrants. In fact, between the late eighteen forties and

(06:15):
early eighteen fifties, somewhere between two hundred and four hundred
thousand immigrants would arrive annually in New York alone. Meanwhile,
as the nation's urban population was swelling, the rise of
industrialism and capitalism was putting an end to many old trades.
This meant young men could no longer rely on the
system where they practiced in a craft and were taken
care of by a skilled older tradesman until they were

(06:38):
ready to go out on their own and start their
own shops. The destruction of these old ways in the harsh,
often cruel life they found in the new industrialized factory
system led to the formation of workingmen's parties, trade associations,
and strikes as the poor laborers fought for things like
living wages and non deadly working conditions. Meanwhile, also being
created due to all of this strife was a sum

(07:00):
culture in which disadvantage individuals vented their frustrations through occasionally
illegal and or violent means, as embraced activities like gambling,
boxing and cockfighting. It was and young men raised in
this violent sum culture who were also faced with a
dearth of opportunities, who when looking for other options, and
potentially found something by joining one of these filibuster expeditions,

(07:22):
which was an especially appealing option if the young man
in question was too young to join the army. Indeed,
by and large, many of the filibusters were exceedingly young.
For example, one list of individuals who took part in
our Cecil Lopezz Cuba expeditions would show that out of
eighty four individuals, fifty five of them were under twenty
five years old. In fact, one federal judge would note

(07:44):
that many of those who took part in the filibusters
were quote mere boys. Now, filibuster recruiters very much seemed
to recognize that the harsh realities of life for the
urban poor made them uncommonly likely to agree to take
part in their half baked plans. As filibuster recruiters tended
to set up shop in large cities, where they would
rent out hotel rooms and even office spaces to conduct

(08:06):
their efforts out of, from where they would typically offer
recruits pay which was comparable to that which one would
receive for joining the US Army, which actually wasn't all
that much. But they and their pitch also had the
promise of bonuses like additional money or land that would
be theirs should they actually be successful in their campaign. Basically,
then you had a situation where they're being offered pay

(08:27):
that was barely enough to survive upon, to pot their
lives in danger to try and conquer another country or
part of another country, while their own government, at least
nominally was against such actions. Those who agreed to these
terms and were typically desperate individuals who didn't really have
much in the way of other choices or prospects. Therefore,
the promise of potentially life changing money and or land

(08:48):
on the chance that their mission might actually be successful
was enough of an inducement. The New York Daily Tribune,
for example, would report that a group of recently immigrated
Hungarians and Italians who had joined the ranks in are
Se So Low Pizzus Cuba Filibuster had only done so
quote because they had no other means of saving themselves
from starving. That being said, it wasn't just pure desperation

(09:09):
that drove some that joined the ranks of the filibusters. Instead,
some of the immigrants who signed up did so because
they had taken part in one of the recently failed
revolutions that had been attempted in Europe. These individuals and
had revolutionary and military experience that made the filibusters a
natural fit. Meanwhile, expeditions that departed from places like California
and Texas tended to take advantage of the numerous transient

(09:32):
and armed individuals who resided in those areas. Indeed, one
individual from vermontu State in San Antonio for a time
in eighteen fifty five would provide an illustration of what
life was like in the region. As they wrote that quote,
everybody carries pistols here when traveling, and many carry them always.
On election day, ninety nine out of every hundred voters
had pistols bolted on them, and I saw some of

(09:54):
them drawn. In addition to virtually being universally armed, the
residents all of these regions were all so prone to vigilantism. Indeed,
Californian particular had developed a notorious reputation for its vigilante bands. Additionally,
Californian particular offered filibuster recruiters an abundance of potential enlistees
and the form of the numerous individuals who had struck
out in their attempts to get rich as a part

(10:16):
of the gold rush, and those who were suffering due
to the highly inflated economy in the state, which was
another consequence of the gold rush. Meanwhile, also drawn to
these filibuster missions, where many were looking to escape the law.
In fact, one O Walker's second lieutenants in his Nicaragua
army literally just before boarding the ship to take him
down the central America had stabbed another man in the

(10:37):
streets of San Francisco. Then there was the man who
enlisted in Walker's Nicaragua filibuster so as to leave town
and escape being shot by the husband of the woman
he had attempted to rape. While yet another man, one
George Tellman, joined the Nicaragua campaign so as to escape
murder charges after killing a man in a pharaoh dispute.
Now that's not to say that all those who joined

(10:58):
the ranks of the philibusters were violent vagabonds on the
run from the law, as other expeditions at least would
make a point of noting that they had among their
ranks attorneys, printers, and doctors, in other words, supposedly respectable types. Additionally,
John H. Dardard, while working for the Department of the
Interior to investigate narcisso Lopez's filibuster attempts so as to

(11:19):
collect evidence to be used to prosecute participants in his
unlawful actions, would know that there were a number of
skilled artisans among the ranks of the filibuster force. Walker,
in fact, in addition to the aforementioned murderers and rapists,
also had among his ranksy sheriff of Bexar County, Texas,
who made a point of promising the residents of the
region that he would only be gone for a few months. Meanwhile,

(11:42):
various filibusters over the years would also feature the relatives
of notable figures. For example, we already saw in the
fate of William Crittenden, the nephew of US Attorney General
John J. Crittenden. He also wasn't alone in undertaking such
an adventure, as Jefferson Davis's brother in law would attempt
to join a filibuster effort in Mexico while Jefferson Davis
himself was the Secretary at War. Then there was Governor

(12:04):
Samuel Bigger of Indiana and Governor James moorehead of Kentucky,
who would both have sons who joined various filibuster efforts.
Which is all to say that a wide variety of
people would take part in these filibusters. Really, then, the
thing that was seeming the most common was the general
youth of these individuals, as filibusters more often than not
seemed to be young men looking for adventure. After all,

(12:27):
many had grown up breeding historical romances like those of
Sir Walter Scott, who had popularized ideas of medieval chivalry
and knighthood. These young people then looked to model their
laws on such characters and their adventures, with some first
attempting to do so by joining local militias or volunteer
fire companies. But if these options didn't quite stretch their
itch for danger and adventure, then filibustering offered a step

(12:50):
up from those other pursuits. Indeed, philipbusters reported to offer
such adventure seeking use a chance to see new lands
that to live out their dreams of being a hero
by rescuing some local populace from some threat or another.
In fact, William Walker would look to attract recruits for
a Sonora campaign by playing on their chivalrous desire to
rescue the helpless women of the region from the rapacious apaches.

(13:12):
It was, and typically some combination of these various reasons,
including but not limited to the desire for adventure, the
lack of other options for work, and the camaraderie found
in military units, that led men to not only join
such filibuster units, but to in some cases do so
multiple times. As some men actually turned filibustering into a
bit of a career as he would join up time

(13:33):
and again, regardless of how unsuccessful their previous attempts had been, which,
to be clear, is not to say that many who
talk part and failed expeditions did not come back completely
dissolution with the whole crusade. It's just that a surprising
amount would return with a completely different reaction to their experience,
and thus we're willing to try again now. Philibusters in

(14:19):
the American press were typically portrayed as being sort of
hyper masculine types. William Walker, however, in no way fit
this image. Instead, in actuality, he was fairly short, standing
only five foot four, and was quite slim, as he
weighed only one hundred and twenty pounds. He was also
described as having small, delicate hands and being fairly shy. Indeed,

(14:40):
author T. Robinson Wren, who encountered Walker after he returned
to San Francisco following his initial trip to Sonora, where
he was prevented from traveling inland, would describe the would
be filibuster quote to have wolted William Walker. One could
have scarcely credited him to be the originator and prime
mover of so desperate an enterprise as the Invasion of
these status, and his appearance was that of anything else

(15:03):
than a military chieftain. Below the medium height and very
sim I should hardly imagine him to weigh over one
hundred pounds. His hair lightened towy, while his almost white
eyebrows and lashes concealed a seemingly pupiliss gray cold eye,
and his face was a massive yellow freckles. The whole
expression very heavy. Walker's quiet saw voice and drab way

(15:24):
of dressing also stood in stark contrast to the stereotypical
image of the powerful, colorful, adventurous felibuster. Indeed, Warren would
continue his description of Walker quote his dress was scarcely
less remarkable than his person. His head was surmounted by
a huge white fur hat whose long nap weaved with
the breeze, which, together with a very ill made, short

(15:45):
waisted blue coat with killed buttons and a pair of
gray strapless pantaloons, made up the ensemble of as unprepossessing
looking a person as one would meet in a day's walk.
Walker then didn't exactly stand out in a crowd, and was,
if anything, quite un mass only by the standards of
the era. In fact, he didn't even drink, which was
seemingly a bit of a common manly pastime. The thing was,

(16:07):
as Warren himself would admit, appearances were deceiving, especially when
it came to William Walker, as he would go on
to describe him as well, being quote extremely taciturn. He
would sit for an hour in company without opening his lips,
but once interested, he rested your attention with the first
word he uttered, and as he proceeded you felt convinced
that he was no ordinary person. Walker. It seems the

(16:30):
despite his less and noticeable appearance, had a strange kind
of captivating charisma about him. Additionally, in spite of his
less and heroic stature, William Walker idealized the concept of heroism. Indeed,
he would deliver a commencement addressed to his alma mater
in October eighteen forty eight, in which he focused on
heroism in the arts, during which he expressed the belief

(16:51):
that a man's artistic talent could be expressed through courageous
actions and a patriotic war, a speech notably given even
before his wife to b Ellen Marnes. On time med
to Mize a year later, suggesting that this fascination with
HEREI was ammuz anew Following that tragic loss, however, her
death might have served to deepen his obsession as for
where this fascination with heroic deeds first came from. In

(17:13):
addition to the aforementioned historical romances that potentially inspired filibuster recruits,
Walker himself was likely in particular inspired by the likes
of Sam Houston, who, like William Walker, had been born
and raised in Nashville and had subsequently gone on to
become a lawyer. Most notably, though, Houston had famously settled
in the at the time Mexican state of Texas in
eighteen thirty three, where within two years he would become

(17:36):
the general of an army that took on and defeated
General Santa Anna, the President of Mexico a clash, a
clash that then resulted in the creation of the Republic
of Texas, which Houston would become the first president of.
William Walker, then, potentially looking to walk in Sam Houston's footsteps,
upon returning to San Francisco, started making plans to lead
a filibuster expedition and the Mexican state of Sonora, hoping

(18:00):
to conquer the state, and then declared to be an
independent republic like Texas had been first. Though, to make
this dream a reality, Walker needed to start raising money
which could be used to recruit men to join him
on this mission. Plasi also needed to buy guns and
ammunition for these men, and they of course also needed
supplies and a ship to take them from California down
to Sonora. So to finance this expedition, Walker and his

(18:23):
ally started selling bonds in California, with the sales of
stocks and bonds actually being one of the more common
ways in which filibuster expeditions were funded. The Cuban expedition
of eighteen fifty, for example, was partially funded through these
sale two thousand dollars bonds that had been signed by
Narcisso Lopez himself. These bonds and promised investors five annual
payments at six percent interest returns which were guaranteed by

(18:46):
Cuba's public lands and the quote fiscal resources of the
people in government of Cuba. Basically, then, the ideal was
investors would get their money back with interest, provided that
the filibuster was actually successful and the game can control
of said lands at fiscal resources. Walker's bonds mean, while
we're a bit more modested, just five hundred dollars, with

(19:07):
the so called Independence loans offering a square league of
land in Walker's new Republic in return for their investment.
That being said, while this was a popular means of
raising money, it was not exactly the most reliable method,
as such bonds typically sold solely, if at all, as
people were understandably worry about putting their money into such
risky expeditions. After all, they didn't exactly tend to be successful,

(19:31):
and in fact, oftentimes they were stopped before the attempt
was even made. A Rianne then often land to those
behind the filibusters having to discount the bonds to try
and attract investors. Meanwhile, to try and shave off some
of the cost involved in carrying at a filibuster, organizers
tended to ask recruits to pay for their own travel
to the place where they were to gather before setting off,
and they were also typically expected to bring their own

(19:53):
weapons and other items like blankets. Raising money to fund
a filibuster expedition, though, was only part of the battle,
as money could only get them so far if they
didn't actually have many were willing to go on such
a mission. Now I've already covered in general terms the
kind of men who typically sign up the joined filibusters.
Yet still even those who were inclined to take part

(20:13):
had to be convinced in one way or another, and
Walker would offer up a variety of justifications for his
proposed takeover of Sonora, with the noblest office justifications being
they were heading there so as to protect the people
of Sonora from Apache raids. The Apache, after all, had
a profound hatred for the people who initially invaded their
lands and were capable of terrible deeds. Walker and his

(20:35):
allies in this campaign, though, had other aims as well. Namely,
they had their eyes set on the silver and gold
deposits in the region, which were going to waste, Accornda Walker,
because the Mexicans were a quote indolent and half civilized
people who Accornda Walker had failed quote almost entirely to
develop the resources nature is pleased at their command, a

(20:57):
justification in which we see the racist underpinning of the
concept of manifest destiny, where other groups need the guidance
of the supposedly superior white Protestants to properly take advantage
of the riches that nature had given them. Meanwhile, also
playing into the concept of manifest destiny was the fact
that the French had been granted various contracts to begin

(21:17):
mining in Sonora, which was a problem as this meant
that a European power would be operating in the Western hemisphere.
Walker and as allies and promised to resolve this issue
by voting said contracts with the French. Thanks to these
various justifications, Walker managed to raise enough money to recruit
an army force of forty five men and also procure

(21:38):
the services of the schooner the Caroline to take them
to their destination, with the ships setting off from San
Francisco in October eighteen fifty three. However, it does not
seem like this was their plan departure time. Instead, they
rushed out of port so as to avoid being stopped
by federal authorities who had no interest in allowing Walker
to violate their treaties and neutrality law. As a result

(21:59):
of this hurried departure, then, Walker ultimately left behind most
of their food and ammunition, which was then subsequently seized
by federal officers. Plus a also seemed to have left
without as many men as Walker had plan on taking
with him. Now, these were all pretty significant losses, given
that men, ammunition, and food are all, you know, kind
of important for a military operation. That being said, this

(22:20):
was also a fairly common problem for these expeditions, as again,
the federal garnment typically wasn't super enthused with the filibusters,
an issue only compounded by the fact that do save money,
the organizers of these expeditions sought to have their recruits
show up at the last possible minute so that that
way they did not have to feed and provide shelter
for them. Delays due to government interference and costs the

(22:42):
organizers' money, while premature departures often meant leaving behind a
number of recruits, which was seemingly the situation for walker
Sonora campaign. After setting off, the Walker was faced with
the fact that he didn't actually have enough men to
take on the Garrison Aguimas. After all, just a few
years prior to this, the garrison and it fought off
the significantly larger force of actually trained French filibusters under

(23:04):
the command of Count de Roussette bulbon As. The count
had two hundred and sixty men under his command, but
they were still defeated by the Guimus Garrison. Walker then
not wanted to end up by the count, who would
ultimately be executed by a firing squad. Instead of heading
for Guimas and Sonora proper had the Caroline aim for
Baja California, the long narrow peninsula of land that lay

(23:25):
across the Gulf of California from Sonora. Walker and his men,
most of whom were in their twenties thirteens, would then
come ashore in longboats at La Paz on the fourth
of November. Now it has to be said that the
men who came ashore here were not exactly the greatest
fighting force ever seen by man. Indeed, while William Walker
would describe them as being quote full of military fire

(23:47):
and thirsting for military reputation, the reality was they were
probably closer to Frederick Rosengarde's description and freebuters must Die,
where he described them as being quote reckless saloon loafers
and the drags of the California docks. Plus, even if
they were more capable than Rose and Garden was giving
them credit for the fact that the matter was Walker himself,
despite his self awarded rank of colonel, actually had no

(24:09):
experience whatsoever as a soldier and knew nothing about life
in the military. Yet, because it seems that literally no
one was expecting an attack on Lapez, Walker and his
men were quickly able to reach the residence of the
understandably surprised Governor Baja California, Rafael Espinoza, who they promptly
put under arrest. Additionally, they were also able to take

(24:30):
the few Mexican police officers in town by surprise and
disarm them. Meanwhile, it seems like all the other residents
of La Paz were more confused than anything about what
was going on and why these Americans were here. They
were then likely particularly confused when these strange men took
down the Mexican flag and raised in its place a
weight flag with three horizontal red bars and two stars,

(24:50):
which were meant to represent the states of Baja California
and Sonora, a flag that Walker himself had designed for
the new Republic of Lower California that he was looking
to create. The Once this flag was raised and his
men fired a salute in response, a proclamation was read
aloud which proclaimed that quote, the Republic of Lower California's
hereby declared free, sovereign, and independent, and all allegiances to

(25:12):
the Republic of Mexico is forever renounced, a message that
was signed with the authorization of the president of this
new republic, William Walker himself, and one that the people
of the past likely did not understand, given that it
was read aloud in English. Regardless, Once these formalities were
out of the way, Walker sat back to wait for
his law partner, Henry Watkins to arrive with an anticipated

(25:33):
two hundred additional men. Walker, though after a while, would
apparently tire of waiting and instead start heading up the
Peninsula Thorney region, which was both more heavily populated and
also from where they could reach Sonora by traveling over land,
ultimately arriving in the port of Ensenada, where he issued
yet another proclamation, essentially explaining why he was doing what
he was doing, in an apparent effort to get the

(25:55):
people of the United States on his side. As Walker
would proclaim, quote, Mexican government has for a long time
failed to perform its duties to the province of Lower California,
cut off as the territory was by the Treaty of
Guadalupe Donka from all direct communication with the rest of Mexico.
The Central authorities had manifested little or no interest in
the affairs of the California Peninsula. The geographical position of

(26:17):
the provinces, such as to make it entirely separate and
istanked in his interest from the other portions of the
Mexican Republic. But the moral and social ties which bound
it to Mexico had been even weaker and more desilible
than the physical. Hence, to develop the resources of lower
California and to affect a proper social organization therein, it
was necessary to make it independent. Speaking of appealing to

(26:39):
the American public, the newspaper the Alta California would round
about this time make a big deal out of what
had essentially been a dust up that had involved about
a dozen of Walker's men who had gone ashore and
looking for what near Lpez instead of Though Walker's men
had encountered some local native people who were not exactly
happy to see them, However, not much of note happen,

(27:00):
and especially since Walker soon arrived on the scene with
an additional thirty men and was thus able to drive
off their opponents. This monor clash, though per the out
to California's retelling was turned into a glorious military victory
that had freed lower California from the tyranny and decadency
of Mexico. Which is all to say that public sentiment
in the US, or at least in California, was generally

(27:22):
on the side of Walker and his crew of filibusters,
which was apparently enough to convince more young men to
rush to volunteer to join this great heroic effort. As
recruiting office at Kearney and Sacramento Streets in California, where
the flag of the New Republic now flew, was suddenly
flooded with new, eager recruits. Indeed, two hundred and thirty
new recruits were soon loaded onto the Break and Nita,

(27:43):
along with a fresh supply of guns and ammunition, which
all sounds good in theory as long as you don't
include the bar that they weren't bringing with them much
in the way of food, which, as we will see,
would prove to be a significant oversight, given that the
situation down in Encinata wasn't exactly going the way Walker
would have lined as to begin with, their ship, the Caroline,
had been taken over by some local Mexicans who seem

(28:06):
to have only needed to bribe the ships made to
gain control of the vessel, which they then sailed off
with along with the large amount of supplies that had
on board, and the two Mexican governor said Walker and
his men had captured. A turn of events that somehow
wasn't the worst thing that happened to Walker while in
en Sonata, as his men won't trying to procure cattle
from a nearby town, would be attacked by a force

(28:26):
of Mexican volunteers under the command of one wee Aloupe Belindres,
an infamous gorilla fighter, who managed to kill several of
the filibusters, with his clash being the clearest indication yet
that these people had no interest in being quote unquote
liberated by Walker and his men. This then, was in
quite the glorious campaign that Walker's various recruits thought they
were going to be taking part in, as in addition

(28:48):
to not exactly being greeted as liberators, they were basically
just hanging out in Encinata instead of undertaking some grand
campaign of conquest. Plus, they were also all increasingly hungry,
as you were called that. Not only did Walker's reinforcements
not bring any additional food with them, but they had
also lost what supplies they had when the Caroline was captured. Then,
when they had attempted to procure count to Omega for

(29:10):
the lack of supplies, they had encountered Milindres's forces. Walker's
troops and were increasingly bored and hungry, and they were
also having to deal with dysentery on top of all
of that, a situation that resulted in fifty men revaulting
and basically just quitting as he started walking off in
the general direction of San Diego. This, however, did nothing
to dampen Walker's zeal, as on the eighteenth of January

(29:31):
eighteen fifty four, he officially proclaimed himself the president of Sonora,
despite the fact he had not even actually set foot
in the state yet. Now, somewhere in the midst of
all these various pronouncements, Walker would also apparently adopt Louisiana
civil code, which some believe, in part due to his
later actions in Nicaraugua, meant that Walker was also looking
to expand slavery into his new republic. Here. The thing is,

(29:54):
though nothing else in Walker's record from this time supports
the idea that he had dropped his free soil tendencies. Indeed,
following this period, he would describe pro slavery expansionist types
as the quote most active and efficient agency abolitionists can
have in the Southern States, meaning that their actions and
their zeal to expand slavery do more to turn the
rest of the country against them than anything else. Wedge

(30:16):
doesn't sound like something Walker would say if he himself
had actually attempted to expand slavery into his new republic. Regardless,
even though things weren't exactly going as plan down in Mexico.
Back in San Francisco, according to an account from the
Annals of San Francisco, quote, excitement was great in the city.
At the corners of the streets and in bar rooms,
groups of intending buccaneers and their friends collected and discussed

(30:37):
the position of affairs. More volunteers appeared than there were
means conveying to the scene of action. People then were
apparently rapped with excitement for the daring actions of William
Walker and his brave filibusters. Nothing it seemed, could dampen
their excitement. Indeed, even the news that they clashed with
the gorilla fighters quote only find the recruits the more
to help their oppressed brethren. Why could not be lower Californias,

(31:00):
poor ignorant brutes have been contented with the beautiful script
of the New Republic for their paltry provisions. The rage
for war, freedom to the Mexicans, death to the Apaches,
and plundered to the Americans. Spread over all California, and
numbers hastened from the mining region to San Francisco to
depart southward in time and to share in the spoils
of the conquered land. In general, then it seems that

(31:21):
San Francisco and much of California were fully behind Walker's adventure. Indeed,
it wasn't just young potential feliposters who were consumed with
the news. As quote. People in private circles laughed and
talked over the business coolly. They generally thought and said
it was all right at all events. It was a
fine specimen of the go aheadism of young America. Money

(31:41):
men even advanced considerable sums for the use of the expeditionists.
In California. Then, excitement was at a fever pitch, and
there was great support for Walker and his men. This, however,
did them little good at the moment, so come February
eighteen fifty four, with everything had gone wrong forman as
men since arriving in the port city of ensign Nada,
which now included both a Mexican warship and the USS

(32:03):
sportsmith watching off from offshore, Walker decided it was about
time to get moving and go someplace else. Walker then
looked to finish his mission as he marched off towards
Sonora with one hundred and thirty five of his men,
hoping as he did that his actions would spark a
popular rebellion in the region against the Mexican government. To
that end, upon arriving in San Vicente, a once prosperous

(32:24):
village that had largely been abandoned due to Apache raids,
Walker had his men gather up sixty two ranchers who
still lived in the region. He then had them brought
to the abandoned San Vicente, where, while military music played
in the background, Walker had these men, on the twenty
eighth of February, swear an oath of allegiance to his
Republic of Sonora, oths that honestly did not mean much.

(32:44):
After all, many didn't really understand what they were doing,
and es not like they were exactly being given a
choice in any of this, as any who hesitated when
it was their time to give their oath were then
encouraged to get on with it as it were prodded
into action by Walker's assembled men and their various weapons. Essentially,
then this was all I showed to try and further
the narrative that they were there to save the people

(33:05):
Sonora from their ineffective government when failed to defend them
from the terrors of the Apache, a performance that would
continue the following day when Walker addressed his men, quote,
Soldiers of Sonora, you are about to undertake a most
glorious enterprise. You start to cross the Colorado in order
to defend a helpless people from the attack of merciless savages.
For years, the population of Sonora has been the prey

(33:28):
of the Apache Indians. Their property has been taken from them,
there was and children have been massacred or consigned to
a captivity worse than death by the torturing fire of
a worthless foe, again clearly indicating that they were there
to say the residents of Sonora from the Apache. However,
this was a mission that they would not have to
undertake if the Mexican government had lived up to its responsibility,

(33:50):
as Walker would continue, quote, all these outrages and which
the civilization of the whole continent blushes, have been permitted
by the government which pretends to control the people of
so Nora. With the Mexican government failing in his duty,
it was then up to Walker and his men to
do this job and liberate the state, with Walker finishing
up his addressed to his men by stating that quote,

(34:11):
it is possible that in your chivalrous efforts, you may
be opposed by the Mexican government. If you are, when
you meet the enemy, let the holiness of your cause
move your arms and strengthen your souls. When you strike
an a Mexican foe, remember that you strike and an
auxiliary of the Apache, and an accessory to the murder
of innocent children and be rape of helpless women. The

(34:32):
thing was, though, for as much as Walker tried to
inspire his men with these words, the fact in the
matter was licensed. Joining Walker in this campaign had been
anything but good for the men under his command, as
keep in mind they had all been without sufficient food
for some time, and many had also been sick with dysentery,
a situation which had already led to a mass desertion,
and is not like the conditions had exactly improved. Indeed,

(34:55):
there was apparently a plot by ten of his soldiers
to blow up the filibuster's ammunition stores to serve as
a distraction while they proceeded to steal all the food
and other supplies. Walker, though, upon learning of the spot,
had the two ringleaders of this group arrested and executed
by firing squad, while the other troublemakers were whipped and
kicked out of camp, which was a bold move considering
that he didn't actually have any authority beyond what the

(35:17):
men granted him, and the fact that he didn't exactly
have an abundance of men at his command. Walker though,
saw such punishments as necessary to maintain discipline among his men.
Once all the various oaths, speeches, executions, and punishments were handled,
Walker would leave twenty of his men behind to guard
San Vicente, as it had become his base of operations,

(35:37):
while he set off with the bout one hundred men
to conquercase liberate the Mexican state of Sonora. This men
crossing the Colorado River, which many two hundred mile journey
through some pretty desolate territory just to reach the mouth
of the river where they intended to make their crossing.
To see them through this track, then, Walker and his
men brought a herd of kennel with them, which would
provide them with a reliable source of food along the way,

(35:59):
but a day nothing to make the journey any easier. Indeed,
many of Walker's men would arrive at the Colorado River
wearing little more than rags and boots that had been
worn through due to the long, tiresome march, which is
all to say that there were less an ideal condition
to attempt a crossing of the Colorado River and its
treacherous currents. Surprisingly, though, given the state they were in
upon reaching the river, walker and his men would generally

(36:21):
make the crossing without issue, utilizing wooden rafts. Their cattle, however,
were a different story, as when Walker's men attempted to
drive them across the deep and treacherous wooters, the framed
animals were all swept away and drowned, a turn of
events which was disastrous, to put it mildly, as while
Walker and his men had finally reached Sonora, they were

(36:41):
now half naked and hungry, as their primary source of
food had just been washed away. Meanwhile, everywhere they looked
was just more sand rocks and sagebrush, meaning that their
chances of being able to live off the land here
were slimmed to none. In fact, fifty Walker's men seen
it pretty much e meanly grasped how unbelievably they were
at this moment, and just started walking to the north,

(37:03):
apparently intending to fall the river to fort Yuma, some
seventy miles away just over the border in the US.
Walker himself, meanwhile, actually had enough sense to recognize that
he and his men in their current condition had no
hope of actually being successful, so they turned around and
started heading back to their base at San Vicente, intending
to reunite with each twenty men they had left behind. However,

(37:25):
by the time they returned to San Vicente in April,
they would discover that infamous guerrilla fighter Guadalupe Milindres, who
had previously attacked Walker's men near the port city of Ensenada,
had subsequently attacked San Vicente and massacred the many left
behind there. Walker's return only gave Milenders and his forces
a new target, as he now started relentlessly harassing Walker

(37:46):
and his remaining men as they took potshots to them
day and night, even while they were looking to retreat
from the region. As they did, Walker would reject an
offer of being allowed to leave Mexico in peace, provided
that he and his men laid down their arms, with
Walker likely refusing this offer because he did not trust
that Milenders or some other Mexican force would not take
advantage of their unarmed state to exact the revenge on

(38:08):
him and his men for invading their country, a refusal
which only meant they would continue to come under attack
as they fled northward. Indeed, by the time that Walker
and his men reached the relative safety of the border
on the eighth of May, he had only thirty three
men left with him. They also weren't exactly safe yet either,
as Millenders and his mounted forces were actually waiting at

(38:28):
the border for Walker during the worn out and lipping
filibusters as they approached. Walker, then, left with no other
real choice, ordered his men to charge their tormentors, who
ultimately broke ranks and rode away, rather than engage in
battle and continue harassing these men who were now actively
fleeing their lands. Meanwhile, winning just across the border for
William Walker and his failed filibusters was a contingent of

(38:51):
US infantry out of San Diego. Seeing them, Walker did
not hesitate to approach, declaring as he did quote, I
am Colonel WILLI Walker, I wish to surrender my force
to the United States, at which point Walker and his
thirty three remaining men all pledged to report to San
Francisco to stand trial for violating federal neutrality laws. Walker's
dan court would then come five months later in October

(39:13):
eighteen fifty four. Representing him in this case would be
none other than his own friend, edmin Randolph. However, Walker,
as a trained lawyer, often simply defended himself in the
court case. As he did, Walker would claim that the
only reason why he had gone to Sonora in the
first place was to defend the people of the territory
against the Apache. In fact, he would go on to
claim that the entire reason for his initial trip to

(39:35):
Guimas had been to get into contact with Mexican officials
in the hope of signing a contract with them, a
contract which would have then given him the authority to
defend the people Sonor from the Apache in return for
land within the state to start as Connie. Indeed, Walker
would argue that he never would have shown up with
this force of armed Americans had the people of Guama's
not pleaded with him to do just that. Meanwhile, in

(39:58):
the midst of trying to justify zactiontions, Walker apparently couldn't
help himself, as he would make your point of adding
that essentially the failure of his filibuster wasn't actually his fault. Instead,
his lack of success was entirely due to the fact
that he had to leave early with only a small
portion of his men thanks to interference from the US government,
you know, because they were actively trying to stop him

(40:18):
from violating federal neutrality laws, the thing he was currently
on trial for. Walker, however, would ignore this as he
explained how this interference had then forced him the change
his plans, which is why everything went wrong. Walker then
assisted that he and his men had acted bravely as
it confronted numerous hardships, all in the name of rescuing
the residents of Sonora from a corrupt and ineffective government

(40:41):
that was failing to protect them from the evil Apache.
The prosecution meanwhile, clearly could not care less about Walker's
story of being on a humanitarian mission, as the instead
emphasized that the fact of the matter was he had
unquestionably violated the nation's neutrality laws. Indeed, it doesn't seem
like he really attempted to refute that point, which this
whole case was about. Additionally, when the case was handed

(41:04):
over to the jury, the judge also gave a statement
that was not favorable to Walker or his cause. However,
the jury quite obviously disagreed with both government representatives, as
after just eight minutes of deliberation, they declared Walker not guilty,
and so, with the men at the center of the
plot being acquitted, the US government just dropped its cases

(41:24):
against all of his men, recognizing that they had little
chance of actually getting a jury to go against a filibuster,
especially in California, where Walker had become a bit of
a hero. Indeed, following this, he would be chosen to
serve as a delegate in the state's Democratic Convention and Sacramento, Walker, though,
would be annoyed by the petty squabbling of local California

(41:44):
politics and so would not pursue such a path. Passed
his momentary involvement. Meanwhile, Walker's misadventures may have had unintended
consequences on international relations, as in December eighteen fifty three,
prior to Walker's filibuster attempt, America's Minister met Mexico, James Gaston,
had been in the process of negotiating with Mexico to
purchasing Northern partisan Ora, a territory which would go on

(42:07):
to make up Arizona and New Mexico, with America looking
to acquire this land to be used as a part
of their planned Transcontinental railroad. Mexican officials, however, believe the
United States offered to be too low, that is, until
Walker's activities potentially cast things in a different light, as
Mexican officials seemed to suspect, albeit wrongly, that the US

(42:27):
government was backing his campaign. It is possible then that
they feared that Walker's campaign to be a bit of
a warning, a glimpse into a future where they refused
America's offer and the US simply took the land by
force without any compensation to Mexico whatsoever, which might be
the reason why Mexico changed their position and quickly drew
up a treaty signing off on the sale of the

(42:48):
territories of what is today Arizona and Mexico, lands that
were rich in minerals, for just ten million dollars. As
it is possible that they decided that their best option
was to get what they could while they could. Only
the other hand, though, it seems that some at least
in the American government were all the belief that they
could have gotten even more land through the Gadsden purchase
were not for Walker's unwanted invasion. This, noteably, however, did

(43:11):
not stop others from trying to take over parts of
Mexico Sonora in particular. Indeed, Walker wasn't even the only
boy who had grown up in Nashville to make such
an attempt, as less than two years later, one Henry Crabb,
who had at least met Walker when they were both
boys in Nashville, would also lead a filibuster campaign aimed
at conquering Sonora. Now, unlike Walker, Crab actually had connections

(43:32):
within the Mexican state. Indeed, he had married the daughter
of a prominent resident of Sonora who had moved to
la and become a merchant, while his brother in law,
jam Ansa, ran a store in southern Arizona, just three
miles from the border with Sonora. These links and had
likely helped Crab get into contact with Sonora's governor, Ignatio Pesquiera,
with whom he entered into an agreement where a Crab's

(43:54):
Arizona Colonization Company would help Pesquiera take on the forces
of his longtime rival, the former governor of Sonora, Manuel
Maria Gandura, in exchange for mining rights and land grants,
a situation which would make Crab marching a heavily armed
force across the border much more legitimate, as he would
be doing so apt to be hasted the governor of
the territory he was entering. However, before he could do so,

(44:17):
Pesquiera was able to consolidate his power in Sonora to
the point that he no longer needed to worry about
his rival Gandura, and so he nullified his agreement with Crab.
This hawar did not stop Crab, who, in March eighteen
fifty seven marched out from Los Angeles with sixty eight
members of his Arizona Coonization Company, which, without his agreement
with Sonora's governor, became by definition and invading force. This invasion, however,

(44:41):
would somehow go even worse than William Marker's attempted to
take over of Sonora, as all but one of Crab's
men and the men from two additional smaller parties that
joined him would die either in battle or at the
hands of Mexican firing squads. Now William Walker's expedition at

(45:29):
cocker Sonora and start a new republic had by all measures,
been an abject disaster. Walker though sought as a valuable
learning experience. As such, the news coming out of Nicaragua
was particularly interesting, as upon returning to San Francisco following
his failed filibuster campaign into Mexico, Walker and his surviving
opinions will learn that a civil war had broken out

(45:50):
in Nicaragua, with the conservative legitim Mista Party going to
war with the Liberal Democratic Party, whose exile leaders had
just arrived in the city on the fifth of May. Now,
at first glance, Nicaragua feels kind of random as a
target for American filibusters, by which I mean you can
understand the attraction of places like Mexico and Canada. They're
right there. As such, they just seem like a natural

(46:13):
extension of the whole manifest destiny idea. It's more land
and you can walk there, so why not try and
take it if that's your mindset. Even Cuba feels logical
as even as an island, it's still kind of right there,
just ninety miles away from Florida. In particular, without any
more information or context, you'll have to wonder why target
Nicaragua versus virtually any other Central American or even South

(46:36):
American country for that matter. The question then is why
was William Walker so attracted to the idea of conducting
a filibuster in Nicaragua. While there is a reason for that. Indeed,
there is a reason why William Walker and other Americans
for that matter, believe that it wouldn't make sense for
the US to add next Nicaragua in particular, to begin with,

(46:57):
Nicaragua has a lot of the hallmarks when to make
it attractive to a cognizing power. After all, it over
fifty thousand square miles in size. Nicaragua is the largest
Central American nation, but it only had a relatively small
population of two hundred and sixty thousand. Meanwhile, it was
also rich in natural resources like tropical hardwoods and good
farmland where sugar, cotton, corn, various tropical fruits, and the

(47:21):
plant responsible for the indigo dye could all be grown.
It also had lanta would serve as great pasturage for
herds of kettle, not to mention abundant mineral deposits, including
gold and copper. That being said, even with all this
going for it, Americans knew little and cared even less
about Nicaragua until the California Gold Rush introduced the idea

(47:41):
that it might provide a quicker and even safer route
to reach California than by traveling overland or by sailing
around the tip of South America. However, the initial impressions
of the first Americans who attempted the crossing to take
it advant of the gold Rush was not entirely favorable,
as these individuals, while noting how beautiful the land itself was,
would also note how there had not been proper accommodations

(48:03):
for travelers like themselves, and that the country's dirt roads
at a habit of becoming rivers a month during the
rainy season. Additionally, in their crossing would be delayed due
to the kind of revolutionary activities that Americans just kind
of saw as being par for the course. In the region,
indeed Americas in general acting like such violence was simply
a part of the local culture. US papers, in fact,

(48:24):
would print letters from the first prospectors to cross over
Nicaragua to reach California and get a jump on the
gold rush, to then describe the people of Nicaragua as
being quote semi savages, assassins, and tribes of thieving Indians, which,
to be fair, was not really how the group wad
made the crossing portray the people that they encountered. However,

(48:45):
itsed away that the papers twisted their words so as
to fit the prevailing idea in the US that the
residents all of Latin America were racially inferior. After all, Nicaragua,
much like Mexico, had experienced political strife and instability following
the end of Spanish control of the region. Mexico, for example,
from May eighteen thirty three to August eighteen fifty five,

(49:05):
had experienced thirty six presidential changes, while Nicaragua seemed to
have a new president on an almost yearly basis, situations
that led to Americans looking down their noses at their
southern neighbors as they used this as evidence that these
lands needed to be conquered and put under the guiding
hand of superior white Protestants. As again, they simply looked

(49:26):
at these various upheavals as nothing more than a symptom
of the character of the people living in those lands,
never really bothered to understand that these were typically ideological
conflicts between conservative forces who looked back at and idealized
a colonial order, and liberals who saw things like a
more secular society and democracy. Nicaragua's ongoing conflict, in fact,

(49:46):
had on one side the conservative Legitimista party, whose base
of power was Granada, which, in addition of being a
major port for international trade, was also home to some
of the wealthiest merchants in the region. Given this, the
the city and the political party which called at home
had closer ties with England and Europe than their rivals,
and was also more closely tied to the Catholic Church,

(50:08):
which was a common theme among the various conservative parties
in Central America, as they tended to be more closely
tied to England and Europe due to their mythologizing of
the bygone era of colonization, while also first and foremost
looking to represent the interests of the Catholic Church and
the wealthy plus the wealthy emergenc who were most closely
tied to this and other Conservative parties, tended to be

(50:29):
white and held the opinion that equality between the races
was a detriment to society. Meanwhile, their rivals in the
Liberal Democratical Party made their center of power in Nicaragua's
largest city, Leone. Now, it has to be said than
much like the rival Conservative Party, the Liberals were led
by a bunch of extremely wealthy individuals, with the main
difference seemingly being that they tended to come from a

(50:51):
mixed race and background, so among their other goals, they
supported the idea of deracialization in the country. They were
also more secular in their beds, supported freedom of the press,
and more slightly better towards the poorer than their Conservative opponents.
That being said, they were still incredibly wealthy individuals who
in many ways lived nearly identical lives to their foes. Meanwhile,

(51:13):
amidst the ongoing conflict between the elites and these two parties,
nicaragua'spor also regularly staged their own rebellions against the quarreling
elites so as to challenge the existing order with some
of these rebellions being driven by the indigenous people of
the region, while other times these rebellions were driven primarily
by the non indigenous peasants, who represented the majority of
the people living in Nicaragua. The eighteen forty nine revolved

(51:36):
that the prospectors, looking to get a jump on the
California gold rush encountered was detail and of one such uprising,
one which was in fact so serious that the liberals
and conservatives actually worked together to crush what they described
as an attempted communist revolution, a situation which, as much
as anything else, demonstrates just how highly stratified Nicaragua's society was.

(51:57):
At the top were the elites, individuals who were not
just wealthy, but those who enjoyed specific kinship ties. This
was a class that was very aristocratic in nature, as
exceedingly few were allowed to join the club, which was
why they typically married within their own select circle. Below
the elites were merchants, master artisans, priests, physicians, lawyers, officers,

(52:18):
and those who owned medium sized farms. This was obviously
a significantly larger group than the elite, but still they
represented less than ten percent of the population. Even in
the major cities, despite that being primarily where they lived. Meanwhile,
the vast majority of the people who lived in Nicaragua
cities were the poor peddlers, servants, washerwomen, artisans, and farmers

(52:39):
who lived in what was known as the suburbs, where
they resided in hunts of kain sacked with palm leaves,
simple structures that sat on dirt roads, in contrast to
the comble streets and the city centers. Indeed, these huts
had more in common with the drugs of the indigenous
people of those lands than they did with the homes
of the wealthy, who lived in structures that were more
spash and style, with their thick stone walls and tiled roofs.

(53:02):
Some Nicaraguins in actually welcomed the idea of US annexation
in the hope that it would put an end to
the civil wars that had repeatedly plagued their country since
gaining independence in eighteen twenty one. Additionally, some also welcomed
American involvement, as they saw the US as a country
that could come in and kick the British out, as
the English in eighteen forty eight had moved in and

(53:23):
occupied the eastern port city of San Juan del Norte,
which they then renamed Greytown. Now. The British did this
because they wanted to prevent the Americans from control in
the eastern end of the canal that was being proposed
to run through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean with the
Pacific Ocean, while the people of Nicaragua saw the British
occupation as potentially rowing the chances of the canal being

(53:44):
built in the first place, something which worried them as
they saw the project as being a potential bone for
their country and its economy. After all, Nicaragua's economy had
benefited greatly from the gold rush alone, as they had
exported food, wood, and cigars to California, which was in
desperate need of such goods, as it again had in
no way been prepared for such a massive influx of

(54:04):
people who were swarming the territory with no intention of
farm or provide for themselves. This success and had only
heightened their dreams for a canal. Because they could enjoy
such success from taking advantage of the situation like the
gold strike in California, their imagination surged and what might
be possible with a canal. Now you may be surprised
by this talk of constructing a canal across Nicaragua, given

(54:27):
the fact that ultimately such a canal would be built
across to Panama. At this time, though, Nicaragua was seen
as a much better location to build such a canal
to begin with. It was believed that its climate was
healthier than that of Panama's due to the fact that
it was further away from the equator and was comparatively cooler.
As a result, it was believed that those traveling through

(54:47):
Nicaragua would be less exposed to the dangers of tropical
fevers than if they traveled through Panama. Plus, the process
of constructing a canal and Nicaragua was seen as being
easier as a would need less digging thanks to the
existing natural wooden ways in the country, an idea that
wasn't new by the way. In fact, it dated back
to the days when Spain controlled all this territory. Meanwhile,

(55:09):
multiple other foreign countries over the years had also expressed
interest in such a project, plans which were encouraged by
local elites who looked to take an advantage of such
a project and who look forward to more quote unquote
civilized immigrants being drawn to their country thanks to the
Canal project, with the elites in Nicaragua being particularly interested
in a better relationship with the US, largely because the

(55:31):
US was the country that recently had shown the most
interested in such a project. The US and Nicaragua, in fact,
would even sign a friendship treaty only third of September
eighteen forty nine, a treaty in which the US committed
itself to protecting Nicaraguan's sovereignty along the proposed Canal Route,
an agreement which notably gave the US a potential opening
to intervene and kick the British out of San Juan

(55:52):
del Norte. Nicaraguan liberals, in particular light the idea of
joining the US as a non slave state, due to
the practice having been abolished in the country back in
eighteen twenty four. Their desire to join the US resulted
from the fact that many liberals, not just in Nicaragua
but in Latin America in general, saw the US, in
particularly non safeholding North, as a model state of sorts,

(56:14):
notably continuing to do so in the face of the
nation's recent war with Mexico. Some in fact thought that
Mexico might have also done well to come under American control,
a belief that again was not just held in Nicaragua,
but in Bolivian other Central American countries, as well as
newspapers in various countries would all promote the idea that
Mexico would enjoy better progress, democracy, and stability were to

(56:37):
come under American rule. Which is all to say that
those in Nicaragua and in these other Latin American countries
who espoused these ideas were of the belief that if
they were to join the United States, they would become
and had these same rights as other American citizens, which
is probably fairly naive on their part, as they did
not know what we know about America and its history. Notably, though,

(56:58):
it has to be said that it wasn't just the
elite who looked at a potential relationship with the US
as being a positive. Indeed, even the leaders of local
indigenous communities sold June in the US as beneficial. Such individuals,
though clearly did not know the full story about what
it happened to the indigenous people in the US. Nor
did any of these individuals, from the leads to the
indigenous representatives know that many of those who joined the

(57:22):
ranks of felipbusters. Did so because he already looked down
on the residents of Latin America, who they believed needed
saving and civilizing. They were, in particular sold on the
idea of being annexed by the US by a young,
charismanic American envoy, all without realizing that while doing so,
he wrote about how the degree of equality that existed
among the people in Nicaragua was a problem. Now, the

(57:44):
envoy was greatly misinformed when it came to the actual
degree of equality in Nicaragua, as I've already touched upon. However,
in his opinion, what the country needed was a large
influx of white people, as with a larger white population,
they would then be able to quote the distinctions which
naturally separate the superior and inferior families of men, a

(58:04):
stance that even the liberal leads in Nicaragua probably would
have had any problem with, as while they wanted to
attract more quote unquote civilized immigrants to outnumber the poor
and indigenous people who periodically rebelled against a rule, the liberals,
because they were often from a mixed race heritage, wanted
to deracialize their country. They were, though very much attracted
to the idea of the Munroe Doctrine, which had been

(58:26):
introduced to them by the aforementioned envoy. Now, to be clear,
at the time of Monroe's declaration in eighteen twenty three,
in which he warned the old powers of Europe that
any interference in the New World would potentially be seen
as a threat to the United States, it hadn't really
meant all that much. The US, after all, was in
no real position to backup such a decoration, and indeed

(58:47):
and woill largely be forgotten until eighteen forty five, when
President James K. Polk referenced the idea to justified the
US annexing Oregon, Texas, New Mexico, and California. The people Nicaragua, meanwhile,
were attracted to the Monroe doctrine, becausing like the idea
of continental unity. This was in part because there was
no real strong national identity in Nicaragua at that point.

(59:10):
In fact, the country, after the end of Spanish rule,
had been a part of the Central American Federation, which
had been formed by the Five countries would achieve their
independence from Spain in eighteen twenty one. Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Savador, Honduras,
and Costa Rica. This federation, however, had split up after
fourteen years of existence due to political feuds between the
various sections, a general lack of communication, and battles between

(59:34):
the Church and state, yet still at once something that
sum in Nicaragua very much wanted to go back to.
Plasi also saw the Monroe Doctrine as a promise of
sorts of protection, not realizing that the Monroe Doctrine was
less about protecting others and seeking to improve their lives,
but instead just the excuse of the US to do
what it wanted and exercised its power. Indeed, the Monroe

(59:56):
Doctrine wasn't all that dissimilar from the concept of manifest
destiny MI. After all, not a coincidence that Polk, who
was very much pro manifest destiny, was the one who
revived in Gaily Monroe doctrine its name. Again, though, many
in Nicaragua were unaworthy true nature of America and Americans,
which was why they were not shy about trying to
attract US citizens to come to their country. Indeed, their

(01:00:18):
Friendship Treaty with the US was in port designed to
attract US citizens to their country. By making it easier
for Americans to obtain land in Nicaragua, an idea of
such wide ranging popularity that not even the countries Catholic
leaders looked to interfere in the immigration of presumed Protestant Americans. Again,
while many from an adverse set of backgrounds and political
beliefs in Nicaragua shared this treaty with the Americans, thinking

(01:00:41):
it would bring untall prosperity to their country. Back in
the US, the Whigs would reject it, fearing that such
a treaty would ultimately result in the US and nexing Nicaragua. Then,
as if to poor sought in this wound, in April
eighteen fifty, the Americans and the British signed a treaty
of their own, in which they pledged to work together
to build and control of the canal, with the Americans

(01:01:02):
apparently expecting the Bridge to foot the bill for this project.
You'll note, however, that the country in which this proposed
canal would be built was not at all involved in
this treaty. As you might expect, then, the people in
Nicaragua were upset at essentially being told that they had
no say in the destiny of their own country. Yet still,
even with this, they still hoped that Americans would come

(01:01:22):
and settle in Nicaragua, as again, both the conservative and
liberal parties wanted white Americans to come and further civilize
their country, an idea held by the country's elite which
was born out of their contempt for the poor and
their belief that the Americans had some kind of special
spirit of industry, a spirit that the Nicaragua elites believed
that their own people liked, as they perceived them as

(01:01:45):
only wanted to sleep in hammocks the Americans that, in
their minds, would provide a good example for the masses. Indeed,
some even held the belief that the men passing through
going to or coming from California for the Gulden Rush,
by sleeping with indigenous women, were benefit fitting Nicaragua, even
if they did not settle down there. This was because
he believe that these supposedly racially superior when Americans would

(01:02:07):
sire children that would be more like them than their
indigenous mothers. Now, much of this kind of thinking seems
to have come first and foremost from Americans. However, there
is some evidence that there were those in Nicaragua who
actually found this way making this more than just an
American fantasy. Meanwhile, the greater hope was that some of
these American men passing through the country would ultimately decide

(01:02:28):
to settle down with a local woman to start a family,
something which some men actually did, like for example, John DeShawn,
who while on his way to California, happened to fall
in love with a woman from Lyon. He then decided
to settle down in Nicaragua with her, were he not
only helped to modernize the country sugar industry, but also
introduce the country products like these steel plow and the

(01:02:49):
sewing machine. If nothing else he helped Among the elite
of both parties in Nicaragua was that a massive influx
of Americans would help them control the country and keep
the rebellious poor people at bay. To this end, to
try and attract American settlers, see Nicaraguan government and churches
made special exceptions for them. For example, they passed laws
to allow American immigrants to fully participate in the economy,

(01:03:12):
while the Catholic clergy in the country not only encouraged
religious tolerance, but even allowed Protestants to marry Catholics and
be buried in their cemeteries without converting. Meanwhile, Nicaraguans, in
their eagerness to being more like the Americans who were
passing through their country, started adopting things like fennel shirts
and other bits of apparel like tailcoats and high neck
dresses with long sleeves, clothes that, to be clear, were

(01:03:33):
far more practical in colder regions than in the more
tropical climate of Nicaragua. Additionally, they also picked up for
their American visitors songs like O Susanna and dances like
the Polka, which each became fas in their own right.
Which is all to say there was quite a fascination
and appeal to Americans, which would make William Walker's eventual
arrival seem less like a hostile invasion. It also wasn't

(01:03:55):
just Americans either, as Walker would also benefit from European
settler colonies because a thing in Central America and they're
leaving a good impression with the people whose country they
settled in. You see, between the gold Rush generally reminding
the people in Europe that Central America was a beautiful land,
rich and potential opportunities, and the fact that the US
was in the middle of one of its major anti
immigrant fans, immigration agents in Europe started looking more toward

(01:04:19):
Latin America. This and led to mass movements of European
immigrants coming to Nicaragua and other nearby countries like Costa Rica. Now,
these groups notably worthy works of private enterprise and not governments.
As a result, they weren't there to impose their power
on the country or its people. Instead, they were primarily
there to purchase land to live and work on. As such,

(01:04:40):
they were not there to force the native peoples to
work for them or to follow their country's laws or religion.
Also leaving a good impression on the populace in Nicaragua
were African American immigrants. As a not insignificant amount of
free blacks who have been born in the North and
those who escaped from Savory would opt to leave the
United States altogether to start a new life and place
like Nicaragua. Indeed, the region would eventually become a place

(01:05:03):
where some African American activists encouraged others to go to
as a part of their unending search for a state
to call their own, an effort led by one David Pack,
the first African American to earn a medical degree in
the US, pack could run a medical practice in drugstore
in Philadelphia before moving to Nicaragua in eighteen fifty one
and settling in San Juan del Norte. Once there, Peck

(01:05:25):
took part in the movement to get the British to
grant them the right to create their own city state
with their own elected officials, a proposal which the British
eventually agreed to. The resulting city state then went on
the past their own constitution, which granted universal mail suffrage
quote without regard to color or property, meaning that every
adult man could vote regardless of how rich or poor

(01:05:47):
what colored their skin was. With this long place, David
Peck would be swept to victory in the next election
after defeating white immigrants from the American South whose main
goal was to take away the rights and install savory
in the region. San Juan del Norte, however, which was
also known as Greytown by the British, would be destroyed
in July eighteen fifty four by a US warship. Basically

(01:06:08):
what happened was one of Cornelia's Farndobole successory transit company ships,
which ferried people from one side of the country to
the other. Collided with a boat operated by a local
black man, at which point the American captain of the
transit company ship responded by shooting the black man dead.
After committing this blatant murder, the American captain then fled
to the home of a US commercial agent in an

(01:06:28):
attempt to flee from justice and the righteous anger of
the local populace, anger which then boiled over when US
Ambassador Soule and Borland arrived so as to escort the
murderer out of the city and prevent his arrest. This
act by the US Ambassador then led to a ride
in the streets of the city, during which time Borland
was reportedly hit with a bottle, with the ambassador only

(01:06:49):
getting more upset when local officials failed to arrest anyone
for this crime, doing so all the while conveniently ignoring
the fact that he had actively prevented those same authorities
from arresting a man who it was known had committed murder,
an outreach for which the US super Worthy Cyan was
dispatched to punish the town by basically laying waste to
the entire city, with Greytown essentially being destroyed, many including

(01:07:13):
its black residents, fled further inland, which then brought them
closer to the Nicaraguan Liberal Party after all, and stalleth
they would be welcomed by the Conservative Legitimista Party, who
wanted to create a centralized state run by Oligarch's shoprized whiteness. Indeed,
the Conservatives were actively looking to restrict access to the
government by increasing the amount of property one had to

(01:07:33):
own to both hold office and to vote. Basically, they
were looking to make it so only the rich had
any saying the government. Meanwhile, the Conservatives were also targeting
the countries were all poor, as they looked to make
it so the constitution no longer protected communal lands, as
that way the wealthy would be allowed to further collect
and monopolize lands that had formerly been used by everyone,

(01:07:54):
a move that then set the single largest social group
in Nicaragua in opposition to the conservativelegion the Mesta government. Basically,
then you had a situation where a wide variety people
from the liberal democratical elites to the rural poor opposed
the ruling Conservative Legitimista Party and were looking for aid
and fighting them and their armies. Meanwhile, you also had
the larger cultural acceptance of Americans and the way they

(01:08:17):
were seen generally as being an answer to many of
the country's problems, all of which would very much open
the door for Wial Walker. One thing, though, that was
not a factor despite what American papers would claim, was
Walker's unusual gray eyes. As you see, the American press
would claim that there was this ancient legend among the
native peoples of the region about a gray eyed man
who would liberate them. The problem with the story is

(01:08:40):
while the legend kind of technically existed and wasn't some
ancient belief. Instead, it had been invented by the British
a few decades earlier as a part of their attempt
to seize Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. Yet, regardless of this fake legend,
when Byron Cole would arrive in Nicaragua in October eighteen
fifty four, arriving in the midst of the ongoing Star
War between the Liberal Democratical Party and the currently in

(01:09:03):
power conservative Legitimista Party, the twenty five year old, who
originally held from Maine, had most recently come from San
Francisco with the intention of trying to establish a U
s settler colony in Nicaragua. As he worked towards this end, however,
Cole could not help but take an interest in the
ongoing events in the country. As he did, Cole, who
published a free Sole newspaper, felt a kind of kinship

(01:09:24):
with the Liberal Democratic Party and their cause, which ultimately
led him to magan the leaders of the party and
offer in which he would provide them with three hundred
filibusters from the US in exchange for land that they
could then colonize once the conflict was over, and offered
that the Democratic goos would actempt, at which point Cole
returned home to San Francisco to speak with a friend

(01:09:45):
of his who also happened to be the editor of
his aforementioned Freesyle newspaper, a man who notably had experienced
leading a filibuster expedition, with this friend, of course, being
none other than William Walker, who of course would agree
to lead this new filli buster mission and join in
the ongoing civil war in Nicaragua, doing so this time,
unlike has failed invasion of Sonora, at the actual behest

(01:10:08):
to some of those residing in the country he was invading. However,
the story the Nicaragua and Civil War William Walker's role
in it and how he was eventually mainly president of
that country will have to for now remain a story
for another time. Thank you for listening to Distorted History.

(01:10:29):
If you would like to help out, please rate and
review the podcasts and tell your friends if you think
they'll be interested. If you would like ad free in
early episodes, I set up such a feed over at
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free feed available on Spotify or likely through your podcast
app as long as it uses an RSS feed. I

(01:10:50):
will continue to post sources on kofee and Twitter, though,
as it's just a convenient place to go to access
that information regardless. Once again, thank you for listening. Until
next time.

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