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Filibusters and Financiers
William Walker (1824-1860) was the most famous of American filibusters. He led an expedition to conquer Northwestern Mexico, and in the 1850s conquered and became president of Nicaragua. After crossing Cornelius Vanderbilt, he was driven from Nicaragua by Central American armies. While attempting to re-invade Central America, he was captured and executed in Honduras in 1860.
- GenresBiography
428 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1916
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May 29, 2026
A 1916 book that relates the somewhat disreputable career of William Walker, born in Nashville in 1824, who tried his hand at medicine, law and journalism before becoming a filibuster, in which capacity he astonishingly became President of Nicaragua in the mid-1850s.
Now, this word, filibuster. I had only encountered it in the sense of a parliamentary technique in which a minority party adopts time-wasting tactics to obstruct the passage of legislation proposed by a governing party. Clearly that was its meaning by 1916, since the author has to explain to his readers how it was used in the mid-19th century. He advises that the English word was derived from the Dutch vrijbuiter, (also the origin of the English word “freebooter”) and was used in the sense of a pirate or buccaneer.
The author argues that filibustering grew out of “Manifest Destiny”, the Mexican-American War, and the California Gold Rush. Since the USA had just grabbed around half of Mexico’s territory, many Americans saw no reason not to take the rest. Meanwhile the Gold Rush had left California full of ambitious and adventurous young men who had been disappointed in their search for fame and fortune, and who were looking for a new outlet for their energies. Mexico was a frequent target for attacks by various American filibusters.
Walker himself first tried his hand in Mexico. In 1853 he sailed, with 45 men, to La Paz in Baja California, took the state governor prisoner, hauled down the Mexican flag and proclaimed the new “Republic of Lower California,” issuing an address to this effect to the people of the United States. As the author puts it, “The spectacle of a man still in his twenties, with some twoscore social misfits as his entire support, solemnly explaining to a nation of twenty-five million people why he had seen fit to create a new nation on their borders, needs the pen of a Cervantes to do it full justice. But still more surprising things were to follow.” Walker was eventually driven back by Mexican forces, recrossed the border and surrendered to the US Army.
In 1855 he turned his attention to Nicaragua, where there was an intermittent but long-running civil war between two factions, the “Liberals” and the “Legitimists.” At this point in time the Liberals were getting the worst of it, and were happy to accept an approach by Walker to provide armed support. With 55 men, Walker defeated the Legitimists and captured the capital city of Granada. He was initially made Commander of the Armed Forces under a Nicaraguan President, but eventually became President himself.
Nicaragua was significant because, prior to the Panama Canal and the building of the US Transcontinental Railroad, the “Nicaraguan Transit” was the quickest way to travel between the eastern and western US. By utilising Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River (which flows from the lake to the Caribbean) it was possible to cross Nicaragua with a land journey of just 12 miles from the Pacific coast to the lake. By 1850 around 20,000 Americans made this journey each year. This is where the “financiers” element of the book comes in. Walker was in league with shady businessmen who financed his venture with a view to getting control of the Transit.
As President, Walker removed an article in the Nicaraguan constitution prohibiting slavery. There is little doubt he planned to reintroduce it, as well as the African slave trade, illegal in the US for almost half a century. Walker wanted to attract American settlers, but thought Americans would only come to a tropical environment if they were offered grants of land to be worked by African slaves.
The author plays down suggestions that Walker planned to make Nicaragua a US state. If nothing else, he preferred being a dictator to being a mere state governor. However the prospect alarmed the neighbouring countries. Several thousand Americans came to Nicaragua on the back of Walker’s initial success. He was eventually defeated and driven out of the country by a coalition of armies from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. He actually made three more filibustering expeditions, twice more to Nicaragua and once to Honduras, but these did not meet with success. Filibustering was going out of fashion.
Reading the book, Walker reminded me a little of Cortés and Pizarro, launching attempts at conquest with tiny numbers of men. Walker couldn’t quite pull it off though. The world had changed.
It’s an extraordinary story. The book itself is very detailed, perhaps overly so. Walker, it must be said, was not the most admirable of characters.
Now, this word, filibuster. I had only encountered it in the sense of a parliamentary technique in which a minority party adopts time-wasting tactics to obstruct the passage of legislation proposed by a governing party. Clearly that was its meaning by 1916, since the author has to explain to his readers how it was used in the mid-19th century. He advises that the English word was derived from the Dutch vrijbuiter, (also the origin of the English word “freebooter”) and was used in the sense of a pirate or buccaneer.
The author argues that filibustering grew out of “Manifest Destiny”, the Mexican-American War, and the California Gold Rush. Since the USA had just grabbed around half of Mexico’s territory, many Americans saw no reason not to take the rest. Meanwhile the Gold Rush had left California full of ambitious and adventurous young men who had been disappointed in their search for fame and fortune, and who were looking for a new outlet for their energies. Mexico was a frequent target for attacks by various American filibusters.
Walker himself first tried his hand in Mexico. In 1853 he sailed, with 45 men, to La Paz in Baja California, took the state governor prisoner, hauled down the Mexican flag and proclaimed the new “Republic of Lower California,” issuing an address to this effect to the people of the United States. As the author puts it, “The spectacle of a man still in his twenties, with some twoscore social misfits as his entire support, solemnly explaining to a nation of twenty-five million people why he had seen fit to create a new nation on their borders, needs the pen of a Cervantes to do it full justice. But still more surprising things were to follow.” Walker was eventually driven back by Mexican forces, recrossed the border and surrendered to the US Army.
In 1855 he turned his attention to Nicaragua, where there was an intermittent but long-running civil war between two factions, the “Liberals” and the “Legitimists.” At this point in time the Liberals were getting the worst of it, and were happy to accept an approach by Walker to provide armed support. With 55 men, Walker defeated the Legitimists and captured the capital city of Granada. He was initially made Commander of the Armed Forces under a Nicaraguan President, but eventually became President himself.
Nicaragua was significant because, prior to the Panama Canal and the building of the US Transcontinental Railroad, the “Nicaraguan Transit” was the quickest way to travel between the eastern and western US. By utilising Lake Nicaragua and the San Juan River (which flows from the lake to the Caribbean) it was possible to cross Nicaragua with a land journey of just 12 miles from the Pacific coast to the lake. By 1850 around 20,000 Americans made this journey each year. This is where the “financiers” element of the book comes in. Walker was in league with shady businessmen who financed his venture with a view to getting control of the Transit.
As President, Walker removed an article in the Nicaraguan constitution prohibiting slavery. There is little doubt he planned to reintroduce it, as well as the African slave trade, illegal in the US for almost half a century. Walker wanted to attract American settlers, but thought Americans would only come to a tropical environment if they were offered grants of land to be worked by African slaves.
The author plays down suggestions that Walker planned to make Nicaragua a US state. If nothing else, he preferred being a dictator to being a mere state governor. However the prospect alarmed the neighbouring countries. Several thousand Americans came to Nicaragua on the back of Walker’s initial success. He was eventually defeated and driven out of the country by a coalition of armies from Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. He actually made three more filibustering expeditions, twice more to Nicaragua and once to Honduras, but these did not meet with success. Filibustering was going out of fashion.
Reading the book, Walker reminded me a little of Cortés and Pizarro, launching attempts at conquest with tiny numbers of men. Walker couldn’t quite pull it off though. The world had changed.
It’s an extraordinary story. The book itself is very detailed, perhaps overly so. Walker, it must be said, was not the most admirable of characters.
February 23, 2013
Most of this was new to me. It's amazing how few Americans know who William Walker was, though he is standard history-instruction material in Mexico. This is a great insight into the history of American imperialism and the geopolitics of 19th-century Central America. I wish there were more recent books on Walker. Anyone know of one?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews