By: Andrea Sarria & Diana Coronel
Pancho Villa is a key revolutionary figure in the history of the Mexican Revolution. This page is dedicated to this treasure of Mexican history. Throughout the page you will find information about Pancho Villa, images of him, maps, and videos which demonstrate the struggle of this Mexican figure.
The man most of the world knew as Pancho Villa was born in San Juan del Río, Durango, in 1877 with the name of Doroteo Arango. After killing Agustín Negrete, at the age of sixteen, since he raped his sister, Doroteo Arango changed his name to Pancho Villa in order to avoid the law.
Having started in 1910 with the opposition of Francisco Madero in regards to the reelection of Porfirio Díaz, Mexico’s dictator, Madero went to arms against Díaz. Pancho Villa was among the people that aided Madero in fighting against Díaz. Finally in May 21, 1911, Díaz stepped down of office after signing the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, giving way for Madero to become president.
When Victoriano Huerta came to power in 1913, Villa revolted against him. On March, Pancho Villa became the leader of the Constitutionalists (northern army) in Chihuahua, locates in the North of Mexico. Soon after, he became the Master of Chihuahua City .
He had his own agrarian reform plan which consisted of all the confiscated land should be under the control of the government, and they would decide who to give them to and when. During the revolution, the revenues made from them would be used the finance the revolutionary fight and to compensate the widows and orphans of the soldiers. After victory was achieved, the confiscated land would be used for four purposes: “pay pension to the widows and orphans, compensate the veterans, restore village lands hat had been usurped by the hacendados, and to pay taxes left unpaid by the hacendados”. (Keen, and Haynes 280). So while some of the confiscated land remained under the state control, other parts were given to Villa’s lieutenants.
Since the economy in the north was based on cattle rising, Villa used cattle to sell to the United States in exchange of arms and ammunition. Also, the cattle were hand out to unemployed families and to public institutions.
Villa’s main supporters were ranchers, cowboys, and other unemployed people. With the help of Emiliano Zapata, Venustino Carranza, and Álvaro Obregón, Pancho Villa was able to dispose Huerta in July 15. However, much to his surprise, Venustino Carranza became the leader of Mexico in July 1914. Now Villa and his Northern Division fought against Carranza. However, this time he wasn’t as successful. Each time he had to retreat northward from the land that he had captured while fighting against Huerta, until by the end of 1915, he was back to Chihuahua.
In October 1915, when President Wilson (USA) acknowledged Carranza’s government, he placed an arm embargo on Carranza’s opponents. Angered by the arm embargo, Pancho Villa raided Columbus, a city in New Mexico. The US response was to send an expedition, under General Pershing, into Mexico in order to capture and punish Villa. For two years, General Pershing and his 10,000 troops unsuccessfully chased Villa in Mexico. However Carranza opposed the American action, and since they got nowhere, on 1917, the Punitive Expedition ended.
Even after the Punitive Expedition, Villa continued his battle against Carranza. In May 1920, Carranza fled from the capital. Villa was compensated for his efforts with a hacienda, and other lands were given to his man. However, in 1923, he was assassinated.
The man most of the world knew as Pancho Villa was born in San Juan del Río, Durango, in 1877 with the name of Doroteo Arango. After killing Agustín Negrete, at the age of sixteen, since he raped his sister, Doroteo Arango changed his name to Pancho Villa in order to avoid the law.
Having started in 1910 with the opposition of Francisco Madero in regards to the reelection of Porfirio Díaz, Mexico’s dictator, Madero went to arms against Díaz. Pancho Villa was among the people that aided Madero in fighting against Díaz. Finally in May 21, 1911, Díaz stepped down of office after signing the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez, giving way for Madero to become president.
When Victoriano Huerta came to power in 1913, Villa revolted against him. On March, Pancho Villa became the leader of the Constitutionalists (northern army) in Chihuahua, locates in the North of Mexico. Soon after, he became the Master of Chihuahua City .
He had his own agrarian reform plan which consisted of all the confiscated land should be under the control of the government, and they would decide who to give them to and when. During the revolution, the revenues made from them would be used the finance the revolutionary fight and to compensate the widows and orphans of the soldiers. After victory was achieved, the confiscated land would be used for four purposes: “pay pension to the widows and orphans, compensate the veterans, restore village lands hat had been usurped by the hacendados, and to pay taxes left unpaid by the hacendados”. (Keen, and Haynes 280). So while some of the confiscated land remained under the state control, other parts were given to Villa’s lieutenants.
Since the economy in the north was based on cattle rising, Villa used cattle to sell to the United States in exchange of arms and ammunition. Also, the cattle were hand out to unemployed families and to public institutions.
Villa’s main supporters were ranchers, cowboys, and other unemployed people. With the help of Emiliano Zapata, Venustino Carranza, and Álvaro Obregón, Pancho Villa was able to dispose Huerta in July 15. However, much to his surprise, Venustino Carranza became the leader of Mexico in July 1914. Now Villa and his Northern Division fought against Carranza. However, this time he wasn’t as successful. Each time he had to retreat northward from the land that he had captured while fighting against Huerta, until by the end of 1915, he was back to Chihuahua.
In October 1915, when President Wilson (USA) acknowledged Carranza’s government, he placed an arm embargo on Carranza’s opponents. Angered by the arm embargo, Pancho Villa raided Columbus, a city in New Mexico. The US response was to send an expedition, under General Pershing, into Mexico in order to capture and punish Villa. For two years, General Pershing and his 10,000 troops unsuccessfully chased Villa in Mexico. However Carranza opposed the American action, and since they got nowhere, on 1917, the Punitive Expedition ended.
Even after the Punitive Expedition, Villa continued his battle against Carranza. In May 1920, Carranza fled from the capital. Villa was compensated for his efforts with a hacienda, and other lands were given to his man. However, in 1923, he was assassinated.
Movie Clips
These websites are very useful in learning about Pancho Villa:
http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pancho.htm: Great website that contains information about the “Pursuit of Pancho Villa” in the year 1916-1917. It contains maps and it’s not a guideline, it contains in depth information of Villa in this period of time.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/pancho-villa.htm:This website contains picture of Pancho Villa throughout June 5, 1878-July 20, 1923.
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/army/p/panchovilla.htm: This is a website that contains 8 subtopics under the category of Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution. Each subtopic contains an explanation that helps to understand how Pancho Villa affected the Mexican Revolution. This website talks about the early life of Villa and the battles that he fought as well as his motivations.
http://ojinaga.com/villa/Photos/photos.html: This website is dedicated to Pancho Villa; therefore it includes important aspects that shaped the Mexican Revolution due to the involvement of Pancho Villa. In it the reader will be able to find description of events such as: Pancho Villa against Porfírio Diaz, the Ojinga battle and the Zacatecas fall .
Some suggested readings are:
Lynn, Frank Mc. Villa and Zapata A History of the Mexican Revolution. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2000. Print.
These sources were used for the elaboration of this page:
Americas-fr, . "Pancho Villa." Americas Un Nouveau Mond. 1999. Americas-fr, Web. 16 Oct 2009. <http://www.americas-fr.com/es/historia/villa.html>.
Cova, Dr. Antonio Rafael de la . "Pancho Villa (June 5, 1878-July 20, 1923)." Latin American Studies. 1997. Web. 16 Oct 2009. <http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/pancho-villa.htm>. Griffith , Joe. "In Pursuit of Pancho Villa 1916-1917." The Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard. 2005. The Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, Web. 16 Oct 2009. <http://www.hsgng.org/pages/pancho.htm>.
Keen, Benjamin, and Keith Haynes. A History of Latin America. 6th ed. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. § Sampaio , Rafael de Assunção . "Rev. Mexicana." Revoluções Latino-americanas. 2002. Escola Estadual, Web. 16 Oct 2009. <http://sti.br.inter.net/rafaas/revlatame/rev__mexicana.htm>.
Sampaio , Rafael de Assunção . "Rev. Mexicana." Revoluções Latino-americanas. 2002. Escola Estadual, Web. 16 Oct 2009. <http://sti.br.inter.net/rafaas/revlatame/rev__mexicana.htm>.