When we use the term “ugly American,” most of us think of
stereotypes of insensitive American tourists blundering their
way through highly choreographed, eight country, seven-day tours
across Europe. The stereotype may be unfair, but, unfortunately,
the worst visitors to any country make the strongest
impressions. Long before middle-aged American retirees flew to
Paris to board those European torture tour buses, one American
set a standard for “unwelcome tourist” that has yet to be
surpassed by the loudest American visitors to European Art
Museums or the drunkest American college students on Caribbean
beaches. In 1853, five years after the end of the Mexican-
American War, a young lawyer from Tennessee named William Walker
decided he liked northwestern Mexico. He liked it so much that
he decided it would be a nice place to set up a kingdom. Walker
traveled to Guaymas, Mexico and patiently explained to the
Mexican government that it would be a great idea for him to
establish a “buffer zone” in northern Mexico.