Walker Papers

Photocopy of a transcript of the trial of William Walker in Trujillo, Honduras.

William Walker: born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, 1824; adventurer and revolutionary leader; migrated to California, 1850; sailed from San Francisco with a small force, 1853; after landing at La Paz, proclaimed Lower California and Sonora an independent republic; forced back to the USA by lack of supplies and Mexican resistance, 1854; sailed to Nicaragua at the invitation of a revolutionary faction, 1855; by the end of the year his military successes made him virtual master of Nicaragua, then a key transport link between Atlantic and Pacific ocean shipping; President of Nicaragua, 1856-1857; maintained himself against a coalition of Central American states until 1 May 1857; in order to avoid capture, surrendered to the US Navy and returned to the USA; led another foray but was arrested and returned to the USA as a prisoner on parole; went to Central America for a third time, 1860; landed in Honduras and was taken prisoner by the British Navy; turned over to the Honduran authorities and executed at Trujillo, Honduras, 1860.

Open

The papers are available subject to the usual conditions of access to Archives and Manuscripts material, after the completion of a Reader's Undertaking.

Presented by Professor R A Humphreys in May 1970.

Collection level description.

Normal copyright restrictions apply.

Papers held in the Archivo Nacional, Tegucigalpa (Honduras National Archives).