The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 21, Number 1, November 1985 Page: 28
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28 THE TEXAS GULF HISTORICAL & BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD
He began to realize that he had no clout in France and that he had reason
to fear the increasing dictatorial powers of Santa Anna. Anticipating his
return to America, Zavala sent his son and namesake to look after his in-
terests in Texas.
To emphasize the reasons for his resignation, he wrote a letter, osten-
sibly to Santa Anna, but actually published in Mexico City, August 30, 1835,
in which he stated, in part:
I never believed that it would be necessary to write you a letter
which had as its purpose to oppose you in the name of liberty, of
civilization and of your own glory, regarding resolutions which issued
from your government, whose objective has been to destroy the first,
oppose the progress of the second, and to soil the third; depriving
the country at the same time of the honor of naming another son
among its distinguished patriots. - You have broken the condi-
tions of your political existence, abandoning, vilifying and
persecuting the same people who accompanied you in your triumphs,
who elected you as their leader, who elevated you to power; mean-
while you have fallen into the hands of those who made war against
you, who cursed you, who discredited you, and who would have
shot you if they had caught you.16
Simultaneously the Mexican minister to London, Garro, wrote a similar
letter; Santa Anna considered the letters rebellious and directed action in
the Mexican Supreme Court against Garro and Zavala.
After forwarding his resignation to Mexico and receiving his successor,
Zavala did not return to Mexico, but went to New York (March, 1835),
where he continued to remain aloof from the Mexican political struggles,
stating he was seeking to rehabilitate his personal fortune. Possibly Zavala
was actually plotting the overthrow of his old co-conspirator, the personable
and vain Santa Anna, who had set aside his Federalist ideals and had
established a Centralist regime.
Zavala's diplomatic accomplishments in France for his coun-
try were relatively unimportant other than the preliminary contacts
with the Spanish ambassador, nor was he able to conclude a for-
16Letter translated by John H. Wells. See also Mirabeau B. Lamar, Papers, (6 volumes),
1920-1927, Vol. I, 167-169. Also see Estep, op. cit., pp. 331, et seq.[Vol. XXI, No. 1
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Texas Gulf Historical Society. The Texas Gulf Historical and Biographical Record, Volume 21, Number 1, November 1985, periodical, November 1985; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1433656/m1/30/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Gulf Historical Society.