Juan Cortina and the Texas-Mexico Frontier, 1859-1877

Edited with an Introduction by Jerry D. Thompson

Forward

Several observations may be made about this collection of documents on the life of Juan Nepomuceno Cortina.

First, it tells of the quality of the forthcoming and long-awaited biography from Jerry D. Thompson’s competent research.

Second, it moves us beyond easy caricatures heretofore painted of Cortina; instead these archival sources disclose the complexity of a man rising to defend the Mexican name in Texas, of the caudillo in Tampaulipas whose tenacity struck terror on competitors, and of the wily politician who survived the tumultuous administrations of Antonio López de Santa Anna, Benito Juárez, Maximilian, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, and part of that of Porfirio Díaz.

Lastly, the work underscores the transnational nature of border history, for what transpired in Matamoros and norther Mexico during the Mexican War, the Civil War, the French intervention, and the Cattle Era of the 1960s and 1870s clearly impacted on events in South Texas. The finished tome is destined to rank alongside important biographies currently being written by other historians of the Mexican American experience.

Arnoldo De León

C.J. “Red” Davidson Professor of History

Angelo State University