Synopses & Reviews
At a time when the U.S.-Mexican border was still not clearly defined and when the doctrine of Manifest Destiny and land hunger impelled the Anglo presence ever deeper and more intrusively into South Texas, Juan Nepomucino Cortina cut a violent swath across the region in a conflict that came to be known as The Cortina War. Did this border caudillo fight to defend the rights, honor, and legal claims of the Mexicans of South Texas, as he claimed? Or was his a quest for personal vengeance against the newcomers who had married into his family, threatened his mother’s land holdings, and insulted his honor? Historian Jerry Thompson mines the archival record and considers it in light of recent revisionist history of the region. As a result, he produces not only a carefully nuanced work on Cortina—the most comprehensive to date for this pivotal borderlands figure—but also a balanced interpretation of the violence that racked South Texas from the 1840s through the 1860s. Cortina’s influence in the region made him a force to be reckoned with during the American Civil War. He influenced Mexican politics from the 1840s to the 1870s and fought in the Mexican Army for more than forty-five years. His daring cross-border cattle raids, carried out for more than two decades, made his exploits the stuff of sensational journalism in the newspapers of New York, Boston, and other American cities. By the time of his imprisonment in 1877, Cortina and his followers had so roiled South Texas that Anglo reprisals were being taken against Mexicans and Tejanos throughout the region, ironically worsening the racism that had infuriated Cortina in the beginning. The effects of this troubled period continue to resonate in Anglo-Mexican and Anglo-Tejano relations, down to this very day. Students of regional and borderlands history will find this premier biography to be a rich source of new perspectives. Its transnational focus and balanced approach will reward scholarly and general readers alike.
Review
“This book is of exceptional quality. Through painstaking research the author establishes a new standard for the history of the Rio Grande Valley, Northeastern Mexico and a higher level of understanding for the historical significance of Juan Cortina. It will become a classic of Texas History.”--John Mason Hart, The John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History, University of Houston John Mason Hart, The John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History, University of
Review
andquot;The two decades that Jerry Thompson devoted to studying Juan Cortina's life have produced a significant contribution to historical literature. Thompson reveals Cortina to be not only a man who was shaped by history but also one who helped shape the history of two nations.andquot;--Military History of the West
Review
andldquo;Thompsonandrsquo;s book provides not only a powerfully written history of a Mexican American who symbolizes andlsquo;resistance to oppression and intolerance,andrsquo; but also a clear, cogent explanation of the relationship between the United States and Mexico as they face each other across the Texas border.andquot;--Journal of American History
Review
“Jerry Thompson has produced the definitive work on one of the most controversial and influential Mexicano/Tejano figures of Texas and Southwestern history . . . . With stunning clarity and balance, Thompson has provided a much-needed narrative interpretation that brings to life one of the more colorful figures of Texas, Border, and Chicano histories.”—Hispanic Outlook
Review
andldquo;Jerry Thompson has performed a difficult feat: comprehensively examining a life that had almost as many turns as a circle.andrdquo;--Journal of Southern History
Review
andldquo;This is the most well-researched and thorough account of Juan Nepomuceno Cortinaandrsquo;s life that we have . . . . This book certainly shows that Cortina andlsquo;established his niche in the grand sweep of time,andrsquo; but it will be left to other scholars to follow the many trails hinted at by Thompson.andrdquo;--Western Historical Quarterly
Review
“Jerry Thompson’s sympathetic but balanced biography is a ‘must read’ for all students of Texas history and Anglo-Hispanic relations.” --East Texas Historical Journal John D. Huddleston
Review
andquot;Cortina's life was much more complex than commonly understood, and a major and exciting contribution of this book is its account of the role that Cortina played in the Mexican War against the French Intervention as well as the American Civil War.andquot;--Hispanic Outlook
Review
andldquo;This book is meticulously researched by a master historian who has a deep, profound understanding of 19th-century history along the Texas-Mexico border. It therefore provides a historically sound biographical portrait permitting readers to understand the complexity of both Juan N. Cortina and the border country that produced him.andrdquo;--Choice
Review
and#8220;[Thompson] readily underscores the racial prejudice within Anglo leadersand#8230; This biographyand#8230; is proof that a century and more after the events, the historian who is willing to devote years of research on both sides of the border into documents as el as state and national archives, can produce and outstanding biography. Lovers of the history of the Wild West as well as Mexican and Civil War buffs will find this work a treasure.and#8221; and#8211;Chuck Parsons
Review
andldquo;Jerry Thompsonandrsquo;s sympathetic but balanced biography is a andlsquo;must readandrsquo; for all students of Texas history and Anglo-Hispanic relations.andrdquo; --East Texas Historical Journal
About the Author
JERRY THOMPSON is a Regents Professor of History at Texas AandM International University in Laredo and a past president of the Texas State Historical Association. He is also the author of Tejanos in Gray: Civil War Letters of Captains Joseph Rafael de la Garza and Manuel Yturri, winner of the 2011 Tejano Book Award.