Centralist Republic of Mexico

The Centralist Republic of Mexico, officially the Mexican Republic, was the unitary regime that replaced the federal First Republic on 23 October 1835, when conservatives repealed the federal constitution for the Siete Leyes, the seven laws. From Mexico City, Santa Anna and the centralists dissolved the state legislatures, disarmed the civic militias and ruled through departments under appointed governors. The new order broke the country apart: Texas rose in 1835 and left in 1836, Yucatan declared itself, Zacatecas and California rebelled, and the treasury never recovered. The Siete Leyes made Catholicism the sole religion and replaced elected governors with appointees of the capital. The regime lurched between Santa Anna's returns and liberal risings for eleven years, losing every frontier it claimed. In 1846 the United States declared war over Texas and the northern departments; the centralist constitution collapsed with the invasion, the federal republic was restored, and the unitary experiment ended where it had begun, in a pronunciamiento.