Born on February 21, 1794 in Veracruz, Santa Anna enjoyed a middle-class education. After some formal education and a short career as a merchant, he was appointed a member of the infantry. It was a good fit for him. However, after President Santa Anna lost Texas after brutally executing 342 Texans, he withdrew to Veracruz out of shame.
Antonio López de Santa Anna Pérez de Lebrón, soldier and five-time president of Mexico, was born in Jalapa, Vera Cruz, on February 21, 1794, son of Antonio López de Santa Anna and Manuela Pérez de Lebrón. But the loss of Goliad by Kos, as well as the initial (and less famous) fight at the Alamo in 1835, proved an embarrassment to Santa Anna. Although he was clearly a brilliant political opportunist, Santa Anna was ultimately loyal only to himself and had an insatiable thirst for power. Santa Anna gained a lot of prestige in 1829 when he fought against Spain's attempt to reconquer Mexico, and became known as the Hero of Tampico.
After Mexico lost the war between Mexico and the United States under Santa Anna's control, he re-entered exile, where he remained until 1853, when he was invited back by the Conservatives. The son of a minor colonial officer, Santa Anna served in the Spanish army and rose to the rank of captain. The Mexican-American war largely meant the end of Santa Anna's political career, although he did have a short-lived final presidency in 1853-4 after being invited back by political conservatives. Captured Santa Anna, fearing execution, voluntarily signed an order calling for all Mexican troops to withdraw.
Determined to crush the Texas rebels, Santa Anna took command of the Mexican army that invaded Texas in 1836. However, in 1821, Santa Anna astutely assessed the situation in the last rebellion and moved to the side that favored independence, helping to install Agustín de Iturbide as the first emperor of Mexico. Veracruz was the perfect place for Antonio López de Santa Anna to grow up, since politics here was mainly dominated by the merchant class, which is where his family lived. Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose full name was Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, was an important military leader and several times president of Mexico. At the same time, a military coup took place in Mexico City and Santa Anna was deposed from the presidency.
Despite being a charismatic leader and opportunist of the highest level, it was under Santa Anna that Mexico was forced to cede independence from Texas, and then most of the American West to the United States, a territory that together accounted for approximately half of Mexico's possessions in the 19th century. Santa Anna took over Mexican forces upon his return; but instead of acting for peace, he led his men against the United States until he was defeated by U.
