Emiliano Zapata was a Mexican revolutionary leader and one of the most important figures of the Mexican Revolution.
@Mexican Political Figure, Timeline and Childhood
Emiliano Zapata was a Mexican revolutionary leader and one of the most important figures of the Mexican Revolution.
Emiliano Zapata born at
Emiliano Zapata married Josefa Espejo in 1911 and had a daughter named Paulina Ana Maria.
He also had six sons Mateo, Juan, Nicolas, Felipe Diego, and Ponciano, and four daughters Elena, Josefa, Carlota, and Margarita who were born out of wedlock.
He has influenced the history of Mexico and his life has been portrayed through movies, books, comics, clothing and music.
Emiliano Zapata was born as Emiliano Zapata Salazar on August 8, 1879 in Anenecuilco, Morelos, Mexico.
He was the son of a well-known ‘mestizo’ peasant named Gabriel Zapata who trained and sold horses to people. His mother was Cleofas Jertrudiz Salazar.
Emiliano had three brothers named Eufemio, Pedro, and Loreto and six sisters named Matilde, Jovita, Maria de Jesus, Celsa, Maria del la Luz and Romana.
He received rudimentary education including book-keeping from his teacher Emilio Vara.
His mother died when he was 16 years old and his father died 11 months later, after which he had to look after his family.
After being pardoned, Emiliano Zapata again started agitating and was promptly drafted into the Mexican Army to stop him from agitating any more.
After only six months in the Army he was discharged and sent to Porfirio Diaz’s son-in-law’s hacienda asa horse-trainer.
In 1909 the villagers ofAnenecuilcoelected him president of the village council board and he soon became involved in the agitations carried out by the local peasants and farmers against the landowners.
Once an entire village was burnt to the ground by the angry landowners because the villagers had forcibly occupied a piece of land.
Zapata continued with his struggles and sometimes he was successful in getting the land back for the villagersby using very old title deeds to petitionthe governor to help return pieces of land to their rightful owners.
Emiliano Zapata was known as ‘El Tigre del Sur’ or ‘The Tiger of the South’.