The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846 translated into Spanish and published in Mexico and Spain. As of 2013, it was still in print. The book won the Ray Allen Billington Prize from the Organization of American Historians in 1983, the Westerners International Co-Founders Book Award for best nonfiction of 1982, the 1982 history Award from the Border Regional Library Association, and the Presidio La Bahia Award from the Sons of the Texas Republic. The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846 The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846: The American Southwest Under Mexico by historian David J. Weber is a history of the part of Mexico's north and northwest that became part of
Antonio López de Santa Anna enough to send him to school. In June 1810, the 16-year-old Santa Anna joined the Fijo de Veracruz infantry regiment as a cadet against the wishes of his parents, who wanted him to pursue a career in commerce. In September 1810, secular cleric Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rebelled against Spanish rule, sparking a spontaneous mass movement in Mexico's rich agricultural area, the Bajío. The Mexican War of Independence was to last until 1821, and Santa Anna, like most creole military men, fought for the crown against the mixed-raced insurgents for independence. Santa Anna's commanding officer was José Joaquín de Arredondo,