Francisco Villa

Francisco Villa , c.1877-1923, Mexican revolutionary, nicknamed Pancho Villa. His real name was Doroteo Arango.

When Villa came of age, he declared his freedom from the peonage of his parents and became notorious as a bandit in Chihuahua and Durango. His vigorous fighting in the revolution of 1910-11 was largely responsible for the triumph of Francisco I. Madero over Porfirio Díaz. When Victoriano Huerta overthrew Madero (Feb., 1913), Villa joined Venustiano Carranza and the Constitutionalists in the fight against Huerta. The Constitutionalists met with continual success. Villa, at the head of his brilliant cavalry, Los Dorados, gained control of N Mexico by the audacity of his attacks; Huerta resigned in July, 1914.

Antipathy and suspicion had always existed between Villa and Carranza; now, with their common enemy eliminated, an open break occurred after the Convention of Aguascalientes . A bloody contest ensued, with Álvaro Obregón taking the side of Carranza. In the midst of chaos, Villa, with Emiliano Zapata , occupied Mexico City (Dec., 1914) but later evacuated the capital (Jan., 1915). Obregón pursued Villa, and their armies engaged at Celaya (Apr., 1915). Decisively defeated, Villa was driven north and out of military significance. In the winter of 1915 he campaigned disastrously against Plutarco E. Calles in Sonora.

Villa's waning power was further diminished by President Wilson's recognition of Carranza (Oct., 1915), which angered Villa. In Jan., 1916, a group of Americans were shot by bandits in Chihuahua, and on Mar. 9, 1916, some of Villa's men raided the U.S. town of Columbus, N.Mex., killing some American citizens. It is not certain that Villa participated in these assaults, but he was universally held responsible. Wilson ordered a punitive expedition under General Pershing to capture Villa dead or alive. The expedition pursued Villa through Chihuahua for 11 months (Mar., 1916-Feb., 1917) but failed in its objective. Carranza violently resented this invasion and it embittered relations between Mexico and the United States.

Villa continued his activities in northern Mexico throughout Carranza's regime, but in 1920 he came to an amicable agreement with the government of Adolfo de la Huerta . Three years later Villa was assassinated at Parral. In a sense Pancho Villa was a rebel against social abuses; at times he worked a rough justice but he was a violent and undirected destructive force. His daring, his impetuosity, and his horsemanship made him the idol of the masses, especially in N Mexico, where he was regarded as a sort of Robin Hood. The Villa myth is perpetuated in numerous ballads and tales.

Bibliography: See biographies by W. D. Lansford (1965), O. Arnold (1979), and F. Katz (1998); M. L. Guzmán, The Eagle and the Serpent (tr. 1930); E. Pinchón, Viva Villa! (1933, repr. 1970); H. Braddy, Cock of the Walk (1955, repr. 1970); C. C. Clendenen, The United States and Pancho Villa (1961, repr. 1972); M. A. Machado, Jr., Centaur of the North (1988); F. McLynn, Villa and Zapata (2000).

Villa, Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa (b. 5 June 1878, d. 20 July 1923). Mexican revolutionary A latter-day Robin Hood of the Mexican Revolution, his original name was Doroteo Arango. Together with Zapata he joined Francisco I Madero in his resistance against Díaz, whom they defeated in 1911. Following Madero's assassination in 1913, however, he soon broke with the moderate leader of the ‘constitutional’ army, Carranza, and returned north to establish a stronghold in the state of Chihuahua. There, he expropriated the landowners and used their revenues to equip his army, with which he returned in 1914 to join Zapata in the occupation of Mexico City. He ceased to be a threat to the national government when his troops were decisively defeated in 1915 by those of Carranza, which were led by General Obregón. In 1916, his attack on the US town of Columbus, New Mexico, provoked a US-military intervention under General Pershing. He retired in 1920, and was assassinated in 1923.

Villa, Pancho (born Doroteo Arango) (1878–1923) Mexican revolutionary. He played a prominent role in the revolution of 1910–11 led by Francisco Madero (1873–1913), and together with Venustiano Carranza (1859–1920) overthrew the dictatorial regime of General Victoriano Huerta (1854–1916) in 1914. Later that year, however, he and Emiliano Zapata rebelled against Carranza and fled to the north of the country after suffering a series of defeats. Villa invaded the USA in 1916 but was forced back into Mexico by the US army. He continued to oppose Carranza's regime until the latter's overthrow in 1920. Villa was eventually assassinated.