José Anastasio Torrens

José Anastasio Torrens (1790 – 1857) was a Mexican colonel in the army of José María Morelos[4] who served as chargé d'affaires of Mexico to the United States from 3 May 1823 to 18 November 1824[1][5][6] and as chargé d'affaires of Mexico to Colombia from 6 September 1824 to 9 November 1829.[2]

José Anastasio Torrens
Chargé de affaires of Mexico to the United States (interim)
In office 3 May 1823 – 18 November 1824[1]
Preceded by	José Manuel Zozaya[1]
Succeeded by	Pablo Obregón[1]
Chargé d'affaires of Mexico to Colombia
In office 6 September 1824 – 9 November 1829[2]
Preceded by	Francisco Molinos del Campo[2]
Succeeded by	Manuel Diez de Bonilla[2]
Personal details
Born	1790 Huatusco, Veracruz[3]
Died	1857 (aged 66–67) Mexico City[3]
Nationality	Mexican

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Obregón.

While living in Colombia, he was accused of supporting José María Córdova's revolt against Simón Bolívar along the minister plenipotentiary and future president of the United States, William H. Harrison.[7] As a result of his secondary participation in a plot against the Colombian President and his systematic involvement in local politics, Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister cancelled his diplomatic passport and asked him to leave the country.[8]

Biography

Torres was born on 1790 in Huatusco, Veracruz,[3] and studied in the United States along Juan Nepomuceno Almonte, son of José María Morelos. Both were part of a group of young army officers sent by the Mexican rebel to complete their education overseas.[4] Once Mexico and the United States established diplomatic relations, Torrens —who had developed a close relationship with José Manuel de Herrera, minister of Foreign Affairs of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide, during an 1816 trip to New Orleans— was appointed secretary in the first legation ever to represent Mexico in the United States.[4]

The team was led by José Manuel Zozaya, whom Torrens substituted in May 1823. As chargé d'affaires of Mexico to the United States, Torrens endured economic hardships but actively reported on the United States' territorial ambitions.[4][9] He was substituted the following year by Colonel Pablo Obregón, a veteran of the Army of the Three Guarantees, and transferred to South America, where he was appointed chargé d'affaires of Mexico to Colombia.[8]

Torrens arrived to Colombia with his secretary, Colonel Ignacio Basadre[10] —former agent of Vicente Guerrero in the Caribbean[11]— through the port of La Guaira.[8] They stayed for five years in the country and both sympathized with Vice President Francisco de Paula Santander but deeply distrusted South American liberator Simón Bolívar, who had been declared president-for-life with the power to select a successor by the 1828 Constitution.[12] Torrens believed Bolívar had expansionist ambitions and antagonized with republican ideals,[8][13][14] and that same year he was accused, along both the minister plenipotentiary and future president of the United States, William H. Harrison, and the British consul, James Herderson, of supporting a revolt organized by General José María Córdova.[7] As a result of his secondary participation in a plot against the Colombian President, and his systematic involvement in local politics, Colombian Foreign Affairs Minister cancelled his diplomatic passport and asked him to leave the country.[8]

Back in Mexico, Torrens was ignored for other public missions until he was appointed brigadier general in Michoacán, on 4 February 1854,[15] and died three years later in Mexico City.[3]

Notes and references

1. "Embajadores de México en Estados Unidos" (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
2. "Embajadores de México en Colombia" (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
3. García Cantú, Gastón (1991). Idea de México: Los Estados Unidos (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes. p. 314. ISBN 978-968-16-3425-4. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
4. Flores D., Jorge (1972). "Apuntes para una historia de la diplomacia mexicana: La obra prima, 1810-1824". Estudios de Historia Moderna y Contemporánea de México (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas. 4: 9–62. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
5. Zorrilla, Luis G. (1977). Historia de las relaciones entre México y los Estados Unidos de América, 1800-1958 (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Editorial Porrúa. pp. 52, 58. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
6. Salado Álvarez, Victoriano (1937). La novela vivida del primer ministro de México en los Estados Unidos (PDF) (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Editorial Polis. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
7. Brown, Matthew (2012). The Struggle for Power in Post-Independence Colombia and Venezuela. New York City, New York, U.S.A.: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-137-07673-1. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
8. Narváez, Roberto (July–December 2009). "El "Diario reservado no. 18" (1829) de José Anastasio Torrens". Estudios de Historia Moderna y Contemporánea de México (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. 38: 139–163. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
9. Henderson, Timothy J. (2008). A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War with the United States. New York City, New York, U.S.A.: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-4299-2279-1. OCLC 872599302. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
10. "Gaceta de Colombia" (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: Banco de la República de Colombia. 8 May 1825. p. 86. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
11. Sims, Harold (1990). The Expulsion of Mexico's Spaniards, 1821-1836. Pittsburgh, United States: University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-8229-7668-4. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
12. Arana, Marie (2013). Bolivar. New York, N.Y., United States: Simon & Schuster. p. 351. ISBN 978-1439110195. OCLC 798060356.
13. Vargas Martínez, Gustavo (2005). Presencia de Bolívar en la cultura mexicana (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. p. 39. ISBN 978-970-32-2615-3. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
14. Gabaldón Márquez, Edgar (1983). Bolívar en la Cancillería Mexicana (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, Archivo Histórico Diplomático Mexicano, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. ISBN 978-968-810-034-9. Retrieved 14 October 2014.
15. "Expediente 4477: Nombramientos de Comandantes Generales Principales, Gobernadores y Prefectos durante los años de 1853-54". Finding Aid to Archivo Histórico de la Defensa Nacional records, 1706-1857. The Online Archive of California. Retrieved 29 October 2014.