Investor Presentaiton
The Comanche-Mexico Wars (1821-1870)
The Comanche-Mexico Wars was a series of conflicts from 1821 until 1870 which
consisted of large-scale raids from Texas into northern Mexico by Comanches and their
Kiowa and Kiowa Apache allies which left thousands of people dead. T. R. Fehrenbach,
the author of Comanches: The Destruction of a People, writes that "a long terror
descended over the entire frontier, because Spanish organization and institutions were
totally unable to cope with war parties of long-striking, swiftly moving Comanches." The
Comanche raids were sparked by the declining military capability of Mexico in the
turbulent years after it gained independence in 1821, plus a large and growing market in
the United States for stolen Mexican horses and cattle.
In 1834, Mexico signed its third peace treaty with the Comanches of Texas. However,
almost immediately Mexico violated the peace treaty and the Comanches resumed their
raids in Chihuahua. In the following year, Sonora, Chihuahua and Durango reestablished
bounties for Comanche scalps. Between 1848 and 1853, Mexico filed 366 separate claims
for Comanche and Apache raids originating from north of the American border. In the
1840s, Comanche raids became larger, more deadly, and penetrated deeply into Mexico.
From September 1840 until March 1841, six Comanche armies numbering between two
hundred and eight hundred warriors invaded northern Mexico. Like the Apaches, the
Comanches did not have a central leadership.
Copyright 2019 by John P. Schmal.
All Rights Reserved.
27View entire presentation