The Forgotten American Colony of Tabasco
In the 1840s, American settlers briefly ruled the Mexican region of Tabasco, a surprising footnote in U.S. history.
Amid the turmoil of the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, most Americans recall the famous U.S. victories in places like Veracruz or Mexico City, but few are aware that for a short time, U.S. forces established a unique and largely forgotten colony in the tropical region of Tabasco on Mexico’s Gulf coast. This odd episode began as a minor military operation but resulted in a brief period of civil governance by Americans—a fact that remains virtually unknown outside of specialized historical circles.
Tabasco, a province prone to flooding and disease, was targeted by the U.S. as part of General Zachary Taylor’s broader strategy to disrupt Mexico by blockading ports and cutting off supplies. In October 1846, a U.S. naval squadron led by Commodore Matthew Perry sailed up the Grijalva and Tabasco Rivers to the regional capital, San Juan Bautista (modern-day Villahermosa). Local Mexican defenders resisted fiercely, but after several skirmishes and bombardments, the Americans occupied the town.
What is often omitted from history books is what happened next. Unlike the fleeting occupations in other strategic ports, U.S. forces in Tabasco remained for several weeks, enforcing American law and involving several navy officers in the direct administration of the town. Commodore Perry, an early advocate of “gunboat diplomacy,” allowed local residents to elect representatives who would work alongside the military governor, establishing a rare instance of American-style civil government within occupied Mexican territory.
The Tabasco occupation was not a simple case of military rule. Perry and his men undertook efforts to administer the justice system, collect local taxes, and ensure basic services continued. The official documents from the naval squadron reveal that court records, licenses, and legal decisions were issued jointly by the Americans and the elected local leaders, reflecting a strange and temporary fusion of Mexican custom and U.S. law.
This arrangement was not popular with everyone. The local population was divided—some merchants and political figures favored cooperation with the Americans, believing it was a path to stability and perhaps advantageous trade. Others saw the occupation as an affront to Mexico sovereignty. Tensions soon escalated, especially as outbreaks of disease, particularly yellow fever, began to ravage both the local population and the U.S. garrison.
After less than two months, casualties from disease and the growing prospect of counterattacks forced Perry and his men to abandon their social experiment and withdraw. By early 1847, Mexican authorities retook control of Tabasco, but not before a wave of strange administrative records, legal changes, and trade agreements left their mark on the archives.
Though Tabasco eventually faded from the war’s headlines, American and Mexican scholars have since excavated the rare official documents and letters from Perry’s expedition, piecing together the details of this forgotten experiment in U.S. overseas rule. While short-lived, the episode provided a revealing preview of the more elaborate U.S. occupations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines half a century later, and offered a surprising window into how early American leaders envisioned their country’s emerging role on the international stage.
Even today, the people of Tabasco sometimes reference the American “intervention,” though it remains a vaguely remembered episode. For most U.S. citizens, however, the idea that their country briefly administered a colony deep inside Mexico is an obscure and fascinating footnote, offering a reminder that history is filled with unlikely encounters and forgotten experiments in governance.
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