Today, millionaires are focused on his own space race for “save humanity” of itself. In the 19th century, millionaires concentrated all that impetus on conquering territories of third countries independently, using your own private army and governing their colonies like ancient feudal lords.
That was the case of William Walker, considered by many to be the “last great filibuster“, who acted as an independent mercenary who conquered territories in Mexico, Nicaragua.
William Walker: the Central American dictator
The story of William Walker is a tale of ambition, power, and the formation of Latin American identity. Born in Tennessee in 1824, Walker was the son of businessmen who were very influential in local politics. He studied medicine, journalism and law.
However, he abandoned these professions to become a filibuster, a kind of private mercenaries that promoted revolutions not authorized by any country in order to take over the territories and their resources. To understand the context of private invasions of countries, it is important to know the concept on which the Doctrine of Manifest Destiny. This doctrine, one of the pillars foundations of the United States.
This 19th century doctrine justified the territorial expansion of the United States across North America, based on the belief of being a “chosen” nation with the divine right to extend its civilization. This idea is associated with the annexation to the United States from territories such as Texas and California, and wars such as those in Mexico and Spain, promoting the idea that expansion was obvious and predestined, reflected in the phrase “By divine or God’s authority.”
This ideology influenced policies of interventionism and expansionism, whose maximum expression is Thomas Jefferson’s famous phrase: “America has a hemisphere to herself.”
The Sonoran Desert, part of the Republic of Sonora.
At only 29 years old, in 1853, Walker recruited 32 American slave mercenaries and set out to conquer the southern borders of the country like Hernán Cortés, in search of power and riches. The raid was not bad for them and they conquered the cities of La Paz and Ensenada in Mexico, proclaiming himself president of the Republic of Sonorawhere he rushed to impose new legislation permissive with slavery to obtain a quick return on his conquest.
His presidency was short-lived, as five months later, Mexican resistance and a lack of supplies forced him to withdraw.
In a troubled river, invaders gain
Far from becoming discouraged after the failure of the first foray into private colonialism, William Walker allied himself with the Democratic Party of Nicaragua, which at that time was in the middle of a territorial dispute for control of the Central American country with the Legitimist party.
Walker saw the opportunity to take advantage of the matter and offered to help the local bourgeoisie militarily to achieve their objectives, and in the process, to further enhance their own economic interests. After winning the battle in Granada with an army of mercenaries called “The immortals“, was symbolically elected president, imposing American policies and customs.
William began to apply his colonialist policy in the area by initiating a policy of government by decree, in which slavery was reestablished, the English as official language and the arrival of Americans was encouraged, in addition to changing the constitution and the country’s flag.
He also established by decree that all the assets of the “enemies of the State” would be confiscated in favor of the Republic and distributed by a Special Board especially generous with the interests of William Walker and the United States.
Therein lies in fact the “germ” of the Panama Canal. Given the strategic nature of the area, this conquest did not go unnoticed by the United States, which was quick to recognize the legitimacy of the new republic created by William Walker.
The US interest in controlling this area was based on the importance of creating a interoceanic trade route that connected the Atlantic with the Pacific. The Transit Route was immediately established that connected both oceans through the San Juan River in the south of the country.
The return of the hero. Gripped by the pressures of business interests and his neighboring countries, Walker’s government is overthrown and the millionaire must return to his native Tennessee hailed as a victorious hero.
His exile would not last long, since, three years later, William Walker returned to his old ways and was already planning the conquest of Honduras. This coup adventure lasted less than the previous one. Walker is captured by the British troops stationed in the area and is quickly handed over to the local authorities in Trujillo, where without further delay he is tried and sentenced to death.
Image | Wikimedia Commons (Mathew Benjamin Brady, Nicaragua-CIA_WFB_Map.p), Pexels (aboodi vesakaran)
*An earlier version of this article was published in May 2024
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