He served only six months before Guerrero was overthrown and de Zavala was forced into exile. He returned to Mexico in and served again as governor of Mexico and in Congress.
De Zavala resigned his post when Santa Anna began to assume dictatorial powers. He moved to Texas, where he owned land and became active in the independence movement. As a delegate to the Consultation of and Convention of , de Zavala signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. An experienced politician, de Zavala was named vice president of the new Republic of Texas. Texas soldiers thwarted this plan, and de Zavala returned home.
And after Mexico's independence was established in , he helped write the new country's constitution. During his time in Mexico, Zavala held many elected and appointed offices. But in , Zavala's allegiance would shift north. Zavala resigned in protest and headed to Texas. Zavala's new loyalty to Texas was complete. He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, helped write the Texas constitution, and served as the Republic's first vice president.
In October of , ill health forced him to step away from public life. A month later, on a near freezing day in November, Zavala's rowboat, with him in it, overturned in Buffalo Bayou. Zavala developed pneumonia from which he never recovered. The hero who helped secure Texas independence was laid to rest in a family cemetery near the San Jacinto Battleground.
Visitors to the Portal to Texas History can read Lorenzo de Zavala's correspondence, including letters to Santa Anna and Zavala's resignation from public office in Texas. The Portal also provides a range of resources for educators on Zavala.
In accordance with the provisions of the Treaties of Velasco , Zavala was appointed, on May 27, , one of the peace commissioners to accompany Santa Anna to Mexico City, where the general was to attempt to persuade the Mexican authorities to recognize the independence of Texas. The frustration of this plan by certain Texas military units brought an end to the peace commission. Shortly thereafter, Zavala returned to his home in poor health and relinquished his part in the affairs of state.
He resigned the vice presidency on October 17, Less than a month later, soaked and half-frozen by a norther after his rowboat overturned in Buffalo Bayou, he developed pneumonia, to which he succumbed on November 15, He was buried at his home in a small cemetery plot marked by the state of Texas in The plot has since sunk into Buffalo Bayou. They had three children, including Lorenzo, Jr. To this union were born three children; Augustine, the eldest, was the father of Adina Emilia de Zavala , who long will be remembered for her spirited role in the fight to preserve the Alamo.
Zavala's memory is preserved in Texas in a number of place names, notably Zavala County, a village in Jasper County, and a rural settlement in Angelina County, and in numerous street and school names.
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