History of Mexico (Bancroft)/Volume 4/Chapter 29

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

 

CHAPTER XXIX.

PLAN OF IGUALA.

1817-1821.

Capture of Insurgent Chiefs — Fort of Jaujilla — Dispersion of the Junta — Pardon Accepted by Numerous Leaders — A Flickering Light — Affairs in Spain — The Spanish Constitution Proclaimed in Mexico — Election of Deputies — Thoughts of Independence — Iturbide Reappears — Diversity of Political Opinions — Plots to Overthrow the Constitution — Iturbide in Command — Well-disguised Designs — Overtures to Guerrero — Independence Proclaimed — The Plan of Iguala — Measures of the Viceroy.

Soon after the unfortunate Mina had met his death in front of Los Remedios, another disaster was sustained by the revolutionists at the famous hill of Cóporo. Bravo had reoccupied that stronghold, and repairing the defences, had hoped to maintain his position. At first his efforts were successful, and two assaults, conducted respectively by colonels Ignacio Mora and José Barradas, were repulsed with severe loss to the royalists. Colonel Marquez y Donallo was then sent from Mexico with an overwhelming force, accompanied by Ramon Rayon, whose thorough knowledge of the ground would be of great service to the besiegers. The place was now closely invested. In vain Guerrero tried to throw in supplies. Benedicto Lopez, while engaged in such an attempt, was captured with all his train; and this true patriot, who in one of the darkest hours of the cause had given it renewed life by his victory over Torre at Zitácuaro, was shot by order of the viceroy. On the 1st of December, 1817, the place was carried by assault, many of the besieged being slain, or perishing in their attempt to escape down the precipice. Bravo, though dreadfully bruised in the descent, managed to conceal himself, and eventually made his way to Huétamo.^[1]

Further calamities now rapidly followed, and a tide of adversity overwhelmed the remnant left of the first great leaders of the cause. Ignacio Rayon, persecuted by the present junta, had fallen into its hands, and been sent a prisoner to Patambo, there to await his trial. Verdusco, after narrowly escaping capture in November 1816, had been appointed in 1817, by the junta at Jaujilla, comandante general first of the province of Mexico, and then of the south. In neither region did he accomplish anything, and he retired to Purechucho, about half a league from Huétamo. The capture of these two chiefs was determined upon, and the execution of it intrusted to Captain de la Cueva and Padre Salazar. Their undertaking was not an easy one, but by falsely representing that they were going to join Bravo, they arrived with a small force near Huétamo without encountering any obstacle, and arrested Verdusco at Purechucho. Bravo, who had reached Huétamo two days before, on his flight from Cóporo, unbroken in spirit by suffering or disaster, gathered what force he could and attempted a rescue. His effort was unavailing, however, and Cueva and Salazar, having beaten him off, pushed forward with all speed to Patambo, where they surprised and captured Rayon and his family on the night of the 11th of December. Bravo was, however, still intent on rescuing the prisoners, and having collected about 300 men, would probably have succeeded had not Colonel Armijo, the royalist commander in the south, being instructed to aid Cueva and Salazar, arrived with a strong reënforcement. Joined by Guerrero, Bravo unsuccessfully endeavored to oppose Armijo's advance, and exhausted by suffering, retired to a secluded rancho in the sierra, there to attend to his grievous bodily injuries. But his ill-luck pursued him. Armijo, having discovered the place of his retreat from a prisoner whom he captured a few days afterward, suddenly surrounded the place on the 22d; and Bravo, Padre Talavera, Colonel Vazquez, and some others fell into his power.^[2]

The prisoners were conducted to Cuernavaca. The lives of the ecclesiastics were not in immediate danger, as formal proceedings were ordered to be instituted against them; but Bravo and the other captives were summarily condemned by the viceroy to be put to death pursuant to the edicts of Venegas and Calleja.^[3] Armijo's son, however, hastened to Mexico with a petition, signed by his father and brother officers, that Bravo's life might be spared; and Apodaca, inclined to mercy, and considering the revolution virtually ended, revoked the death sentence, and issued another order commanding the secular prisoners also to be put on their trial. As the viceroy placed the reprieve in Armijo's hands, he told him that Bravo's life now depended on his speed, and at breakneck pace, regardless of self or horse, Armijo sped on his return. He arrived at Cuernavaca only just in time to stop the execution. In the proceedings which followed, every effort was made to spare the lives of the prisoners; and though Rayon was condemned to death on July 2, 1818, Apodaca suspended the execution of the sentence by decree of September 30th, in the hope that some loop-hole of escape might be found. When a general pardon was proclaimed on the occasion of the king's marriage with a princess of Saxony, the viceroy was not slow to avail himself of it. Accordingly, in April, 1820, further proceedings against the prisoners were stayed; and when during the same year the Spanish constitution was restored and the king decreed the release of all political prisoners, Apodaca, in spite of doubts raised as to the application of the edict to persons on trial in Mexico, liberated on his own responsibility all such captives by order of October 13th.^[4] Bravo on his release was treated with much consideration by the viceroy, who restored his estate to him. He retired to Izúcar, where he lived in seclusion, while Rayon and Verdusco went respectively to Tacubaya and Zamora.

After the fall of Cóporo the viceregal government directed its attention to the destruction of the junta de Jaujilla, with the object of blotting out the official existence of the revolution. This junta now consisted of Ignacio Ayala, Doctor San Martin, a canon of Oajaca, and Antonio Cumplido.^[5] The fort to which they had withdrawn was situated on an isolated rock in the lake of Zacapo, the only access to it being by means of a narrow neck connecting it with the main land. They had also rendered their position still more unassailable by diverting the current of a neighboring river, and thereby flooding the country adjacent to the lake. Aguirre was accordingly ordered to proceed from Valladolid and reduce this stronghold. On the 20th of December, 1817, he appeared before it; and though his offer of pardon to the authorities and garrison if they surrendered without resistance was received with contempt, the members of the junta deemed it prudent to consider their own safety, and effected their escape a few days afterward, taking with them the printing-press and archives. Siege was now regularly laid to the place, Aguirre being strongly reënforced by Barradas, and by troops and artillery sent by Cruz. For two months operations were vigorously carried on,^[6] the position of the besieged becoming daily more desperate. An attempt made by Father Torres to relieve the garrison failed; sallies made from the beleaguered fort were equally

Fort Jaujilla.

unsuccessful, and on March 6th the defenders capitulated on the condition that their lives should be spared.^[7] Meantime ill luck dogged the footsteps of the fugitive junta. Ayala and Doctor San Martin were cap tured;^[8] and though another junta was formed in the neighborhood of Huétamo, it was similarly dispersed in June, and its president, José María Pagola, and secretary, Pedro Bermeo, shot in the cemetery of that town.^[9] The year 1818 was otherwise fatal to the cause of independence and its chief supporters. Padre Torres, after his unsuccessful attempt to relieve Jaujilla, made his name execrated by his tyranny and violence. Seizing private property, and burning villages and haciendas, under the pretext of cutting off supplies from the enemy, he soon became a scourge in the land. His own officers began to hate him, and revolting against his tyranny, appointed Colonel Juan Arago as their commander-in-chief in his stead.^[10]

Refusing obedience to the junta established at Huétamo, he was at last deserted by most of his followers, and sought refuge alike from the royalists and revolutionists in the sierra of Guanajuato, where one Zamora put an end to his brutal life by thrusting his lance through him.^[11] José María de Liceaga, former member of the junta de Zitácuaro, was also murdered at the latter end of this year.^[12]

Zacatula, whither the royalist arms had never yet penetrated, was taken by Armijo in May, and Montesdeoca and P. Galeana were driven in flight from the district. Cuyusquihuy, the last rebel stronghold in the Huasteca, was captured by Colonel Luvian in September, and the plains of Apam were pacified. During this and the two following years, in the encounters which were numerous and only of minor importance, the royalist arms almost everywhere prevailed. Bradburn was defeated at Chucándiro;^[13] Nicholson and Yurtis were captured by Barragan at Puruaran, and shot;^[14] the Pachones were ceaselessly pursued, and finally accepted the pardon; Barrabás hill, which had been fortified by Guerrero, was taken, and that chief driven across the Mescala into Michoacan, where he sustained a serious defeat at the Aguazarca, at the hands of Ruiz;^[15] and the harassed insurgents, driven from place to place, sought the benefit of the pardon in great numbers, among whom were Ramsey, the brave defender of Fort Los Remedios, Tercero, ex-member of the junta, Pablo Anaya, fathers Navarrete and Carbajal, Huerta, Borja, Arago, Erdozain,^[16] and other leaders.

Among the few insurgents who scorned to ask for royal clemency was Guadalupe Victoria, whom the government vainly endeavored to capture. A reward having been offered for his arrest, he fled to the recesses of the woods and mountains, and though chased for six months like a wild beast, he always succeeded in baffling his pursuers. For more than thirty months, without a companion, he lived in the fastnesses of the mountains, undergoing incredible sufferings from hunger and exposure. During this period he never saw a human being; his clothes were torn to shreds and reduced to a single cotton wrapper, and frequently for four and five days at a time no food passed his mouth. But with indomitable will he endured to the end.^[17] By 1820 the pacification of nearly the whole of New Spain had been consummated, and the revolution was confined to the narrow limits of the cerro de la Goleta, where Pedro Ascensio still held out, and a portion of the district on the banks of the Mescala, to which Guerrero had retired after his defeat at the Aguazarca.

Thus after eight years of a desolating war, the country, raised from ruin, was beginning to taste the pleasures of peace. The revolution in its first period had terminated. The efforts of Hidalgo, Morelos, Bravo, and others had apparently been in vain; the sacrifices of blood and treasure, the heroic sufferings, the great examples of pure and exalted character and high courage, the prowess of men like Victoria, Matamoros, Trujano, Galeana, Mina, and hundreds of others had availed naught; the noble spirit shown in the defence of Cuautla, Izúcar, Huajuapan, Cóporo, Sombrero, Los Remedios, and other places had been barren of benefit to the cause. And this result was due mainly to the absence of union among a number of the prominent chiefs; to rivalries and jealousies on the part of others; and, generally speaking, to the lack of discipline shown by so many leaders, who, instead of lending a joint coöperation under a central authority that might have been made very useful, had become a scourge to the country by their depredations and crimes. The Indian masses had become uncontrollable and dangerous to the respectable portion of society; this drove many to seek the viceregal protection, and restrained for a time the general desire for independence which had pervaded even the royalist ranks. This will be made evident by coming events.

The revolution now had but one faint light burning far away in a rough corner of the mountains in the south, kept alive by the indomitable patriot, Vicente Guerrero. It was a dying flame, apparently, that neither caused the government fear nor inspired hope in the patriot heart; yet Guerrero would not let it die; he hoped and prayed and labored that the day might come when new men and new leaders would rally round the banner of liberty. But after the old way there was to be no such happy consummation. All the same it was to be, however, but as the work of different men and unexpected combinations, as the effect of unlooked-for causes. Independence was to be brought about by a change of front of the army, directed by a hierarchy,^[18] and under the leadership of a late enemy to the cause.

Before continuing the narrative of affairs in New Spain, let us glance once more at doings in the mother country, inasmuch as they had a direct connection with the events leading to the final separation of Mexico.

A triumphant military revolt restored, early in March 1820, the constitution of 1812, and compelled the king on the night of the 7th to accept it, and to pledge himself to its support. The oath was wrung from the reluctant Fernando on the 9th by the ayuntamiento of Madrid, backed by the people;^[19] after which he appointed, as was also required of him, a "junta provisional consultiva," presided over by Cardinal Luis de Borbon, archbishop of Toledo, and generally composed of men who used moderately the absolute powers placed in their hands.^[20]

Early in April, 1820, the first news of the revolutionary movements in Spain reached Mexico, and, when confirmed, caused much excitement among the Spaniards, some hailing the change enthusiastically, while others deprecated it. Among the latter were the upper clergy, who feared that the liberals would push on the reforms to their prejudice, and therefore awaited with anxiety the installation of the córtes. The friends of independence, on the contrary, were hopeful that the new order of things would afford them means to attain some of their desires, such as a free press, popular elections, and constitutional ayuntamientos. At first the viceroy resolved to make no alteration till he received orders from the court, withholding the news received from time to time as much as possible from the public. But a vessel which sailed from Cádiz on the 5th of April brought the information that a brig of war had sailed on the 24th of March, bringing orders to establish in New Spain the constitutional system; whereupon the merchants of Vera Cruz compelled Governor Dávila, who could not count on the support of the garrison, to proclaim the constitution in that city on the 26th of May.^[21] The same was done at Jalapa on the 28th. Fearing now that the European portion of the garrison at the capital would follow the example of their comrades in Spain, the viceroy, in accord with the real acuerdo, promulgated the constitution on the 31st, after its adoption by the sovereign had been made known in an edict. That resolve was hastened by Apodaca's knowledge of the influence freemasonry was already exercising in Mexico. There were but few masons in the country before the coming of the expeditionary forces, and these had preserved strict secrecy from dread of the inquisition.^[22] The field and nearly all the company officers of those troops, as well as of the navy, were members of the order, and it was whispered that Apodaca was one of them, though this was not divulged. He was, however, sure that the masons had effected the revolution in Spain, and feared that those in the army of Mexico had been directed to promote one in the colony. The instructions received from the court were therefore rigidly carried out. The viceroy, audiencia, and other authorities took the oath in form^[23] on the 17th of June, the reëstablishment of freedom of the press was published, and the junta de censura was constituted, the same persons who were appointed in 1813 being elected;^[24] the acordada, inquisition, and other privileged jurisdictions were suppressed, the administration of justice being established in accordance with the decree of the córtes of that year; and the corporations and authorities prescribed by the constitution were organized, as soon as possible. The election of members to form the constitutional ayuntamiento of the capital took effect on the 18th of June, a few Spaniards being chosen.^[25]

On the 18th of September the election of deputies to the ordinary session for 1820-21, of the national congress, and to the diputacion provincial^[26] took place with no little disorder, but with less enthusiasm than that shown in the former constitutional epoch. The choice fell almost exclusively on ecclesiastics and lawyers, with a sprinkling of soldiers, merchants, and men of no particular calling, among whom were three natives of Spain, namely, Colonel Matías Martin y Aguirre, comandante of Michoacan, chosen for San Luis Potosí, Tomás Murphy, and Andrés del Rio for Mexico.^[27] These deputies arrived at Madrid after the second session of the córtes had begun. Spain since the reëstablishment of the constitutional regime had been subject to continual disturbances. The reforms and innovations introduced during the first session of the congress were vigorously maintained and extended in the second, the American deputies coöperating with the radicals in the hope that the independence of Spanish America might be achieved. The upsetting of the government policy in the metropolis was not without effect in the ultra-marine provinces.^[28] In New Spain the desire for independence, though restrained, was not dead. Visions of its consummation without the terrible disorder which had hitherto marked the revolution began to present themselves, and a radical change in public opinion was taking place. The troops, the ecclesiastics, government officials, property owners, and other influential classes were no longer disposed to aid in putting down the revolt that seemed impending. Even the Spaniards were not animated by the same sentiments.^[29] A general conspiracy against the government was soon inaugurated, agents being scattered throughout the provinces to make proselytes. The chief authority was derided; the government ridiculed and attacked on all sides by the press, at public meetings, and by corporations claiming powers which by law they did not possess. The example presented at the capital was readily followed in the provinces, and erelong the impression prevailed that before the end of the year another revolution would break out, headed by one or more of the pardoned leaders, or promoted by the clergy under the wing of the bishop of Puebla, who was strongly opposed to the new principles. Some even conjectured that the United States would revolutionize the country if the Floridas were not at once surrendered under the treaty of February, 1819. Such being the bent of the public mind, Odoardo, the fiscal of the real audiencia, recommended the temporary suspension of the constitutional system, and proposed that the country should be ruled under the laws of the Indies by a viceroy clothed with absolute powers. But it is easy to perceive that the remedy suggested was impracticable, when the universal tendency was to independence, the only difference of opinion being as to the best mode of effecting it.

Prior to the promulgation of the constitution, conferences were held at the rooms of Doctor Matías Monteagudo,^[30] in the oratory of San Felipe Neri, and attended by men of high official and social standing, who detested the principles advanced in the Spanish córtes on religious matters, and were resolved to oppose the establishment of the constitution in Mexico. Among them were the regente Bataller, the high ecclesiastics, the ex-inquisitor Tirado, and several other Spaniards who disliked for their own private reasons a constitutional regime. But in order to carry out their plans a military leader of repute on whom they could rely was needed, and they bethought them selves of Colonel Agustin de Iturbide as the right man for their purpose.

I have in former chapters laid before the reader the brilliant services of this officer in the field,^[31] and his recall to Mexico in 1816 to meet charges brought of illegal proceedings in securing wealth. Iturbide's relations with Monteagudo began at that time, and it was said that, affecting piety, he joined in the religious practices of the congregation of San Felipe Neri for the purpose of winning the doctor's good-will and consequent influence in his favor with Bataller, then auditor de guerra, and as such Iturbide's judge. Be this as it may, he was acquitted,^[32] but was not restored to his command, nor was he again called into active service till 1820. The government, however, gave him the profitable lease of an hacienda near Chalco, formerly in charge of the society of Jesus. Iturbide was at this time in the prime of life. Handsome in person, elegant in mien, and attractive in manners and speech, he soon became a favorite in society. During his retirement he surrendered himself to the dissipations of the capital, which caused serious dissension in his family, resulting in frequent ebullitions of his imperious temper. He had already squandered most of his ill-gotten fortune before the constitution was promulgated in Mexico; and his impoverished condition was the very one which might be expected to influence a man of his character to accept proposals that offered him an opportunity of winning rank, honors, glory, and wealth.^[33] Overtures were therefore made to him; and in order to further his own projects, he pretended to enter into the plans of the malecontent party, and offered his services to the viceroy, who at this time was himself inclined to ignore the constitution, and contemplated maintaining the form of government as established by the laws of the Indies. Iturbide was aware that the object for which he was wanted was impracticable; but his aim was to secure a command, and to give the first impulse to a revolution which he hoped afterward to control as suited himself. The plan came to naught, however, through Apodaca being obliged to proclaim the constitution; but Iturbide did not fail to perceive that the very promulgation of the new system made a revolution inevitable, and accordingly formed his plans to direct it.

Clandestine meetings of different political parties were held in numerous places, and a great variety of opinions was expressed. The Spaniards mostly favored the constitutional system, or a modified form of it adapted to the conditions of the country. Among the Mexicans more diversified views prevailed; and though all wished for independence, they were divided both as to the mode of securing it and the form of government to be adopted. With regard to the first point, the extermination of the Spaniards, their expulsion from the country, and the more moderate proposal that they should be only excluded from public office were severally advocated as means of attaining it. As to the form of government, absolute monarchy, a limited monarchy with the Spanish constitution, or with one expressly framed for Mexico, a federal republic, and a central republic were the various systems discussed, each of which found supporters. Iturbide from the first manifested his repugnance to democracy in any form, and his preference for a moderate monarchy. His first intention was to make himself master of the capital;^[34] but it was finally concluded by his party that it would be safer to begin operations in the provinces, with the capital as the objective point. Accordingly he applied to the viceroy for a military command, and was appointed to succeed Colonel Armijo as comandante general in the south.^[35] On this occasion he had a long private conference with Apodaca, but what was said has never transpired. All that the public knew was that Iturbide was going south to extinguish the last embers of rebellion, with instructions, delivered verbally, to induce if possible Guerrero to accept the indulto. Having asked for the Celaya regiment, of which he was colonel, he started for his post, provided with short notes for Parrés, Echávarri, Anastasio Bustamante, Roman of Teloloapan, and Arce of the plains of Apam.

The plan formed was, that the deputies then about to leave for Spain should constitute themselves into a national independent congress at Vera Cruz, while Iturbide simultaneously proclaimed independence in the south. With this understanding, Iturbide had started for Cuernavaca, and the deputies Gomez Pedraza, Molinos del Campo, and Gonzalez Angulo for Puebla; but nothing was accomplished by them or their colleagues, and becoming alarmed, the deputies, to the number of thirty-seven, finally embarked.^[36]

The command given Iturbide was not the most suitable for carrying out his purposes, and he even accepted it with some reluctance.^[37] It comprised the region extending from the districts of Tasco and Iguala to the coast, and was divided from one end to the other by the river Mescala, which separated the Goleta range, occupied by Ascensio Alquisiras as a subordinate of Guerrero, from the Sierra Madre on the south, where Guerrero had established his headquarters, in the vicinity of Ajuchitlan and the Coronilla Mountains.

Iturbide endeavored to prevail on the viceroy to place at his command the largest possible force and pecuniary means; and his correspondence is replete with flattering promises and assurances of devotion, couched in phraseology, however, carrying a double meaning.^[38] The call for an increased force was apparently well grounded. The troops hitherto serving under Armijo were scattered in detachments stationed at long distances from one another, and could ill withstand the continual attacks of the insurgents. Guerrero's forces, which numbered about 2,000 men well armed and disciplined, were in the heart of the district, and the rough nature of the country enabled him not only to stand successfully on the defensive, but at times to strike heavy blows.^[39]

Iturbide established his headquarters in Teloloapan, the most central point in the district. On the arrival of the Celaya regiment, without waste of time he drew aside Francisco Quintanilla, captain of the third company, apprised him of his scheme, and asked if he could rely on his support and that of his brother officers. Quintanilla could hardly believe his ears; but his commander that same afternoon placed in his hands for perusal the famous plan that was proclaimed some weeks later in Iguala, and correspondence with residents of the highest standing in the capital. The signatures were convincing, and the captain unhesitatingly assured Iturbide that he might safely count on the regiment, then 517 strong.

Continuing his correspondence with the viceroy, Iturbide kept asking for more troops and money, while repeating his assurances of loyalty.^[40] As far as lay in his power, Apodaca acceded to Iturbide's requests; and his disposition to do so gave rise afterward to a supposition that he was also in accord with the revolutionary plan then being concocted, an idea apparently corroborated by the ill success of the subsequent military operations. But facts all tend to prove that the viceroy had no suspicion of Iturbide's real purpose. Apodaca was a faithful subject of Fernando, and his loyalty would not permit a project to detach Mexico from the Spanish crown.^[41]

Iturbide's force on the 21st of December amounted to 2,479 men,^[42] scattered throughout his district; and on the 22d he started from Teloloapan for the purpose of concentrating them, with the double object of assuming the offensive against the insurgents and placing himself in a position to effect the meditated revolution which, according to the plans formed, was to take place in March following. Dispositions were at once made to open the campaign. The troops were brought together and formed into strong divisions, and active operations opened. But sanguine as had been Iturbide's expectations of immediate success, a series of reverses followed. Both he and his officers were signally discomfited, both by Guerrero and Ascensio,^[43] and the plan which he had formed of confining the former in the sierra lying between the coast and the Mescala, and the latter to the cerro de la Goleta, and then destroying them in turn, proved abortive. In view of this stubborn resistance, Iturbide, who feared that a protracted struggle would frustrate his own project, opened communications with Guerrero, with the object of inducing that chief to aid him in his scheme. He had previously entered into some negotiations with Guerrero, to whom most favorable offers were made if he would place himself and his force under the Spanish government;^[44] but the independent leader scornfully refused to accept proposals which were tantamount to the offer of a pardon so repeatedly rejected by him.^[45]

Iturbide's real object had been to open secret relations with Guerrero, and he did not allow this rebuff to discourage him. On the 4th of February he again wrote, inviting him to a personal interview at or near Chilpancingo, and apprising him verbally of his design by the mouth of a trusty messenger. Half an hour's conversation, he said, would bring them to an understanding. But instances of royalist perfidy were too numerous, and Guerrero would not trust him; he, however, sent Colonel José Figueroa to arrange the terms proposed by Iturbide, which were consummated. They were to the effect that Guerrero with all his forces should aid the former in carrying out his project. This most important point gained, Iturbide continued to deal out in liberal doses his duplicity. He informed the viceroy that Guerrero had placed himself with 1,200 armed men under the viceroy's government, on the condition of their not being regarded as pardoned insurgents, and had furthermore pledged himself to induce Ascensio, Montesdeoca, and Guzman to do likewise. The whole number of men thus placed at his disposal would be 3,500.^[46]

Iturbide had meantime adopted other measures for the success of his enterprise in Nueva Galicia, Michoacan, Guanajuato, and elsewhere.^[47] Two factors were still wanting, namely, a printing-press and money. The former was supplied by securing a press at Puebla owned by Joaquin Furlong. To meet the latter necessity, Iturbide brought his diplomatic powers into play. The conducta for Acapulco had been detained in the capital owing to its risk of capture, but Iturbide could now answer for its safety and offered to convey it to the port. Accordingly it was despatched with the consent of the agents of the Manilla merchants, who forwarded therewith the proceeds of their last received Asiatic goods, amounting to 525,000 pesos, which Iturbide of course appropriated.^[48]

All was now prepared, and with no further delay, on the 24th of February, 1821, Iturbide, who was at Iguala,^[49] issued a printed proclamation to the inhabitants of New Spain, setting forth the necessity of independence, and informing them that he had designed and framed a plan for the formation of national principles and the establishment of a future government. This was the celebrated Plan de Iguala, which I epitomize in a note.^[50]

The troops at Iguala pledged themselves to support the proclaimed plan, and the following day was fixed for the administration of the prescribed oath to the officers and men, which was solemnly carried out.^[51]

No time was lost in laying the proceedings before the viceroy, and Iturbide addressed two letters to him, one official, and the other confidential, in which he tendered him the presidency of the future junta gubernativa, enclosing a list of proposed members.^[52] Letters were also addressed to the archbishop and others in Mexico. Whether or not Apodaca was implicated in Iturbide's project, as soon as he heard of the publication of the plan de Iguala, he took steps to oppose it, and issued a proclamation to the people warning them against revolutionary schemes, and advising them to pay no heed to papers intended to support them.^[53] He also concentrated a force at the hacienda of San Antonio, nine miles south of Mexico, for the protection of the capital; made preparations for the organization of an army of 4,000 or 5,000 men, to be called Ejército del Sur, the command of which was given to General Liñan; and reappointed Armijo to the command in the south.^[54] Nor were measures of policy neglected. A general pardon was proclaimed to all officers and men who should abandon Iturbide's standard.^[55] His family was prevailed on to urge him to desist from his purpose, while at the same time he was proclaimed an outlaw, which was an act foreign to the constitution now in force.

 

 

1. Report of Marquez, in Gaz. de Mex., 1817, viii. 1326-7, 1384-99; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 7. Rayon was rewarded for his services by being made lieut-col. Bravo's account, as recorded in Id., iv. 229-30, confirms this statement, though Bustamante makes the assertion that he had ascertained that Ramon Rayon, at great risk to himself, did not keep faith with the royalists, and was of no great service to them.
2. Armijo's reports in Gaz. de Méj., 1818, ix. 49, 217-23; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 7-8.
3. The order is produced in the proceedings of Rayon's trial. Hernandez y Dávalos, Col. Doc., vi. 951-1074.
4. No sentence was recorded against any other prisoner than Rayon. They had been removed from Cuernavaca to Mexico. Bravo was confined for nearly three years heavily ironed, and bore his captivity with dignified resignation. He was frequently visited by the viceroy, who expressed his admiration at his noble demeanor, by saying that he seemed like a dethroned monarch. Bravo employed a portion of his time in making cigar-cases, by the sale of which he procured the luxuries of a little tobacco and chocolate. Alaman, Hist. Méj., iv. 667-8. Fuller particulars of the trials will be found in Id., iv. 664-7; Noticioso Gen., 1819, March to July, passim, Dec. 15, 1820, Jan. 21st, and April 5th; Gaz. de Mex., 1820, xi. 883; Disposic. Var., ii. 45; Córtes Act. Pub., i. 1820, July 11th, 16th, Aug. 24th; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 207.
5. The two last-named had succeeded Maríano Tercero and Pedro Villaseñor. Mendíbil, Resúmen Hist. Rev., 307.
6. A detailed account of the siege is given in Aguirre's report of March 7, 1818, in Gaz. de Mex., 1818, ix. 573 et seq.
7. The command of the fort, owing to the absence of Nicholson, had devolved on Antonio Lopez de Lara, assisted by captains Christie and James Devers, who with Nicholson had accompanied Mina from the United States. Christie and Devers were opposed to the surrender, and being treacherously seized were delivered bound to Aguirre, who, detesting such perfidy, not only declined to bring them before a court-martial, according to viceregal orders, but succeeded in saving their lives. Aguirre attributed the whole merit of the defence to their firmness and gallantry. Id., 577. He also used his endeavors to obtain their return to the U. S., but they were sent to Spain. Aguirre was from Navarre, a relative of Mina, and a man of liberal ideas, generous as well as brave. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., iv. 505-6; Id. . Supl. to Cavo Tres Siglos, iv. 166-7; his generosity and gallantry are also corroberated by Robinson, Mem. Mex. Revol, ii. 170-1, 180. In 1820 he was still comandante general of Michoacan, and being aware of the royal amnesty decreed March 8th of that year, on the reëstablishment of the constitution, though directed by the viceroy to await a decision of the auditor de guerra on the subject, he at once set free all the political prisoners held in Valladolid, and reported having done so. Alaman, Hist. Méj., iv. 700-1.
8. They finally received tho benefit of the king's pardon in 1820. For an account of the capture of San Martin and the dispersal of the junta, consult Quintanar's report to Cruz in Gaz. de Mex., 1818, ix. 419-23; Torrente, Rev. Hisp. Am., ii. 471-2; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., iv. 507-8; Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 313-16. Maríano Torrente, Historia de la Revolucion Hispano Americana, Mad. 1830; 2 vol. 8vo, 1st, 116 and 447 pp.; 2d, 572 pp. This author had written before a work entitled Geografia Universal. In the introductory part of his history he gives important mining, agricultural, commercial, and other statistical data, together with a long essay on the state of society in New Spain. The main portion of the work gives in chronological order the leading events of the Spanish colonies in America from 1807 to 1819. The historical facts are mostly taken from Spanish official reports, though for the most part denuded of the scandalous exaggerations appearing in those reports; they appear in concise form, in good order, and in somewhat elegant language. But the bitter expressions and marked partiality of the author for Spanish domination render his statements suspicious. He is a strenuous defender of the Spanish king's divine right to rule both in Europe and America, the interests and rights of communities being ignored. According to his doctrine, the people who were fighting in America for their independence were rebels, ingrates, and infamous; indeed, his vocabulary hardly furnished epithets sufficiently strong to apply to them. However, in the midst of all this, he throws light upon many dark points that might have remained so forever.
9. Gaz. de Mex., 1818, ix. 635-6; Mendíbil, Resúmen Hist., 364-70. Pagola was a resident of Salvatierra in Guanajuato, of which town he had been a regidor. Bermeo was formerly a notary of Sultepec, and secretary of the congress before its dissolution at Tehuacan. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectiftc., 315.
10. Arago was a Frenchman who had accompanied Mina, and was said to be a brother of the celebrated astronomer of that name. Id., 309.
11. He had won at the hacienda of Tultitan 1,250 pesos from Zamora at cards, and having received from the latter a favorite horse as pledge for the payment, refused to surrender it next day when Zamora produced the money. Zamora was instantly slain by a brother of Torres and others who were on the road with him. Alaman, Hist. Méj., iv. 688-9.
12. After narrowly escaping capture with Mina at Venadito, he retired to the hacienda La Laja near Guanajuato and belonging to his family. Depredations having been committed by Miguel Borja on a neighboring estate also belonging to the family, Liceaga proceeded thither to call him to account. Borja in alarm caused him to be intercepted by one Juan Rios, a known robber, who, on his attempting to escape, ordered his men to fire upon him. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 317-19. The author states that there are discrepancies in the accounts he received of the affair.
13. Aguirre's report in Gaz. de Mex., 1818, ix. 634-5. Bradburn joined Guerrero some time afterward. He obtained his pardon on the arrival of Iturbide on the scene, who made him his aide-de-camp. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 397.
14. June 16, 1818. Nicholson was converted to Catholicism two days before his death. Gaz. de Méj., 1818, ix. 1042-5.
15. On the 5th of Nov. 1819, Chivilini and Urbizu were taken and executed. See Ruiz's report in Gaz. de Mex., 1819, x. 1211-12, 1269-75, in which he says that of Guerrero's 600 men, 400 were killed, and the other 200 fled day and night without rest or food till they were beyond the Brasilar, where the pursuit could no longer be continued. Torrente, Revol. Hisp. Am., ii. 555; Perez, Dicc. Geog. Estad., i. 178.
16. Arago and Erdozain had come with Mina. In their letters to the viceroy they spoke of the other party in most offensive terms. Gaz. de Mex., 1819, x. 797-9. Zamacois takes them to task for their conduict, justly laying more blame on Arago. Hist. Méj., x. 449-50. Arago later took part in all revolutionary plans in Mexico, from that of Iturbide till 1837, when he died a general. Erdozain at the end of the war of independence was a colonel, and retired to private life, never taking part in revolutions.
17. Ward, Mex. in 1827, i. 229-31. Alaman would persuade us to believe that these were mere tales, and that Victoria had his hiding-place in the hacienda Paso de Ovejas of Francisco de Arrillaga. Hist. Méx., iv. 640-1. Ward assures us, however, that he heard the story of Victoria's sufferings from himself, and it was confirmed by the unanimous evidence of his country-men.
18. The incentive of the upper clergy was their hatred of the Spanish constitution. Alaman, Hist. Méj., iv. 725.
19. The royal order for the promulgation of the constitution in all the Spanish dominions is given in Gaz. de Mex., 1820, xi. 671-2.
20. The men that figured in 1812, and suffered in 1814 for their liberal principles, now claimed their reward in the form of high office. The Mexican deputies, says Alaman, did not neglect themselves; hence Joaquin Maniau secured for himself the position of chief of the tobacco bureau in Mexico; Llave, Couto, Gastañeta, and Ramos Arizpe obtained canonries in New Spain. Hist. Méj., v. 11-13.
21. Dávila said that the next proclamation would be that of independence, but was not heeded; his predictions being treated as the 'temores ridículos de un anciano servil.' Santa Anna, who stood by him when he uttered them, informed Alaman.
22. The first to bring them together was the oidor of Mexico, Felipe Martinez de Aragon. The chief masons were Fausto de Elhuyar, the mineralogist, two Franciscans, and a few others, all of them Spaniards, who belonged to the order. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 387.
23. The archbishop and his chapter on June 1st, and later, from day to day, the courts, officials, corporations, religious communities of both sexes, etc. The 9th of that month was appointed for the solemn promulgation. Gaz. de Mex., 1820, xi. 547, 553-5, 677-8; Noticioso Gen., 1821, Feb. 16; La Cruz, vii. 548.
24. The junta consultiva of Madrid on the 10th of March, and Apodaca in his edict of June 19th, urgently recommend writers to use the liberty granted with moderation, in enlightening the government and in promoting national welfare. Gaz. de Mex., 1820, xi. 591-4, 697-711.
25. The election took place pursuant to the viceroy's decree of June 14th. Dispos. Var., ii. 42-3.
26. The territory within the jurisdiction of the junta preparatoria did not include Yucatan or Nuevo Leon, which were to have juntas of their own. The district of that junta comprised the following provinces: Mexico, Puebla, Oajaca, Guanajuato, Valladolid, Vera Cruz, and San Luis Potosí; Tlascala was constituted together with Huejocingo as a province detached from Puebla, and Querétaro another, separate from Mexico. The total population to be represented was set down at 2,886,238 souls; at the rate of one deputy for every 70,000, there were awarded to said district 41 deputies. Gaz. de Mex., 1820, xi. 683-8.
27. At the installation of the córtes on the 9th of July, New Spain was represented by suplentes chosen in the same manner as those to the córtes of 1810, namely, Miguel Ramos Arizpe and José Mariano Michelena, both of whom had been active coöperators of the late revolution, the former in Valencia and the latter in Coruña. Arizpe had been confined since 1814 in the Carthusian convent near Valencia, whence he had been removed by Gen. Elío, for his connection with that revolution, to a more rigorous prison for trial; but the revolution having triumphed, on the 10th of March Arizpe was released, and was instrumental in saving Elío from being torn to pieces by the infuriated populace. The other members were José M. Couto, Manuel Cortazar, Francisco Fagoaga, José M. Montoya, and Juan de Dios Cañedo. With the exception of the last named, those suplentes, like the others of the Spanish ultramarine provinces, took part only in such discussions as interested their own party, which was the exaltado, or radical. Only suplentes represented America in the córtes of 1820. They urged the law of Sept. 27th for a complete forgetfulness of the past in the American provinces, whether wholly or partly pacified, to such inhabitants as should have recognized and sworn to support the constitution; all political prisoners were to receive unconditional amnesty. The same deputies, the most active of them being Arizpe, in a printed letter of Jan. 22, 1821, to the minister of war, called for the removal from office of viceroys Pezuela and Apodaca, generals Morillo, Cruz, and all other military officers who had distinguished themselves in the insurrection, for which reason they were represented as hostile to the constitutional system. The same deputies brought their influence to bear in favor of Juan O'Donoju's appointment to succeed Apodaca. Arizpe, Idea Gen. sobre conducta, 10-20; Alaman, Hist. Méj., v. 23, 33-5.
28. Among the measures adopted by the ministers, with the forced sanction of the king and the approval of the córtes, were many involving radical changes, including religious reformation, namely, suppression of the Jesuits, abolition of ecclesiastical fueros, sequestration of church property, etc.
29. Alaman furnishes copious extracts from the important report made by the fiscal of the audiencia on the 24th of Oct. 1820, to the supreme government in Madrid, confirming the facts as stated in the text. The fiscal, José Hipólito Odoardo, was a man of extensive information, and had long resided in Mexico. Hist. Méj., v. 42-9.
30. A canon of the metropolitan church, who played a prominent part in the deposal of Viceroy Iturrigaray, and thereby won a high standing among the Spaniards. Alaman says that he obtained particulars of these meetings from the fiscal Odoardo, which were afterward confirmed by Licentiate Zozaya, who was Iturbide's attorney in some personal matters, and had many conversations with him on public affairs. Hist. Méj., v. 50.
31. Iturbide 's reputation is marred by many acts of cruelty and other offences of which he was accused by public opinion; some of the cruelties ascribed to him are indeed too horrible for belief, and as they have not been fully authenticated, it is to be hoped that the accusations were not founded on fact. The details appear in Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 245-6, 260-1, 386; Bustamante, Mem. Hist. Mex., MS., v. 13; Id., Garza Vindicado, 6; Ward's Mex., i. 263. Beltrami says that his horrible acts shocked both Llano and Calleja. Mex., ii. 21.
32. The inquiry into his conduct was stifled; in fact, the malversations he was accused of extended more or less to the whole army, which showed a disposition to make common cause with him. Ward's Mex., i. 265-6: Arroniz, Biog. Mex., i. 200.
33. It is said that Iturbide had been in favor of his country's independence, but was opposed to the plans of the insurgents whom he fought with so much vigor. He made his ideas known to Filisola, then a captain and later a general of the Mexican army, as well as to his lawyer, Zozaya. Alaman. Hist. Méj., v. 56-7.
34. Details of his plan are given in Pedraza, Manif., 7-8.
35. Armijo had repeatedly asked to be relieved. Iturbide's appointment was made on the 9th of Nov., and he left for the south on the 10th. Mex. Col. Ley. Fund., i. 1; Mex. Bosquejo Rev., 45-6.
36. The deputies wanted independence provided it dropped from heaven. At one time they thought of joining Iturbide, but were deterred by the fear that the viceroy might be alarmed and frustrate Iturbide's plans. They accordingly embarked for Cuba. Pedraza, Manif., 9-10. In this connection Alaman's biographer says that Alaman and other deputies were informed in Jan. 1821, by one of their number, Juan Gomez Navarrete, of Iturbide's plan for independence, and asked not to embark, but to meet in congress at the opportune time. There being good reason, however, to fear the government had now suspicions, they departed on the 13th of February. Even those who had no intention of going to Spain did so, but tarried at Habana to await coming events. Alaman, Apuntes Biog., 12-13; Id., Hist. Méj., v. 87-9; Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 403-4; Gaz. de Mex., 1821, xii. 285-7.
37. On account of the insalubrity of the climate. In 1811 he had been twice at the point of death from disease in the tierra caliente. The viceroy verbally promised to relieve him soon. Prior to his departure, doubtless with the view of better concealing his intent, he addressed a petition through the viceroy to the king for promotion to a brigadiership, and in a private note to Secretary Badillo asked his good offices with the viceroy to forward his wishes. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 389-90. Alaman declares that he saw the note in Badillo's possession. Hist. Méj., v. 68.
38. In a letter of Nov. 19, 1820, he pledges himself to embody in his future statements only such facts as behooved an honorable man, declaring at the same time that his purpose was to restore order and to operate to the viceroy's glory by bringing peace to the whole country. He assures Apodaca that after striking the blow he has planned, the troops may go back to their respective stations, and 'if in the mean time the capital (which God forfend) should demand attention,' he would rush to its succor, as well as to any other place that might need it. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 93-4.
39. His army of the south well deserved the name. It was as efficient as that of the royalists, and its prestige was great. The coast of Acapulco, and a large portion of the provinces of Valladolid and Guadalajara, were its field of action. Id., 92.
40. In a letter of Dec. 10th from Teloloapan, using remarks open to suspicion, he speaks of the expediency of applying 10,000 or 12,000 to the furtherance of his plan, as it would save one year's operations, and perhaps 250,000 or 300,000 pesos. In another of Jan. 1, 1821, he says that the bishop of Guadalajara had lent him, ‘de persona a persona,' 25,000 pesos, borrowed on interest upon his own estates. On the 15th of Dec. the treasury officials of Mexico were directed to place 12,000 pesos in Cuernavaca, subject to Iturbide's order. Two large remittances of war material were also sent him. Id., 95-6.
41. Liceaga says that Apodaca's nobleness of character made him an easy dupe, and he could not suspect in others a perfidy he was himself incapable of. And yet he leans to the belief that he was in accord with Iturbide. Adic. y Rectijic., 396, 414, 420. The viceroy has been accused by some of having, together with the enemies of constitutional government, employed Iturbide to upset the new system and restore the old one. Ward's Mex., i. 262. It was even asserted that King Fernando had a hand in the plan; and in proof of it a letter to that effect was published as coming from the king, which has been subsequently pronounced apocryphal. Apodaca himself afterward contradicted the whole story. His son, Juan Ruiz de Apodaca, vindicated his memory from the aspersions thrown upon it by a writer named Rivero, Nov. 1847, in El Español of Madrid, which led to a correspondence between them.
42. According to his report to the viceroy. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 396.
43. On the 27th of Dec. Lieut-col Berdejo was defeated near Chichihualco at the Cueva del Diablo, and on the 28th Iturbide himself was routed by Ascensio near San Martin de los Lubianos. In his report of the 31st he made things appear as well as possible; but the fact is, that he met with a very serious set back. On the 20th of Jan. 1821, Lieut-col Moya suffered severely at Guerrero's hands, the grenadiers of the south being cut to pieces, and his line of communication interrupted by the occupation of Sapatepec by Guerrero. Iturbide's irritation at this disaster was great, and his report to the viceroy was exceedingly unfavorable to Moya, whom he also addressed in a very acrimonious despatch. Again, on Jan. 25th, Lieut-col Torres was attacked near San Pablo. Id., 397-400; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 97-9. The fact that the official reports do not appear in the government gazette is proof of the seriousness of these defeats.
44. He addressed Guerrero on the 10th of Jan., and promised that he should be retained in his command and be allowed means for his support. He grounded his promises on the supposition that the deputies to Spain would obtain consideration for Mexican interests, and that the king or some member of his family would come to reign in Mexico; even if this did not come to pass, he declared and pledged himself to be the first to defend with his sword and fortune the rights of all Mexicans. The whole correspondence may be found in Mex., Cartas de los Señores Generales, 1-8; Iturbide, Id., 1-8; Perez, Dicc. Geog. y Estad., i. 38-42; Mex. Bosquejo Revol., 43-62; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 99-106; Rivera, Hist. Jalapa, ii. 211-13; Mex. Col. Ley. Fund., 1-4; Zerecero, Discurso Cív., 34-41.
45. This answer, dated Jan. 20th, is an ably written one, and the authorship is attributed to Col José Figueroa, who was with Guerrero, and acted in the negotiations as his trusty agent. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 401. Figueroa became later a general of brigade, and died at Monterey, California, filling the offices of gefe político and comandante general.
46. Despatch of Feb. 18, 1821. Gaz. de Mex., 1821, xii. 187-8; Mex. Bosquejo Revol., 65.
47. Captain Diaz de la Madrid went to arrange matters with Negrete, who though a Spaniard had liberal ideas, and was convinced that the Spanish dominions in America could no longer be held as colonies. Captain Quintanilla was commissioned to make the necessary arrangements with Quintanar, Barragan, and Parrés in Valladolid, and with Bustamante and Cortazar in the Bajío of Guanajuato. In due time he also obtained the assent of Lieut-col Torres. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 402.
48. The agents, being friends of Iturbide, were suppossed to have been aware of his intention. Id., 408-9, 416. On the 24th of Feb. he wrote them to the effect that he had detained the funds, but that if the viceroy acceded to a certain proposal made him that very day, they would be forwarded to their destination. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 107.
49. Where he had detained the conducta.
50. Art. 1. The religion of New Spain is and shall be the Roman Catholic Apostolic, without tolerating any other. 2. New Spain is independent of the old, and of every other power, even of this continent. 3. Her government shall be a moderate monarchy, under a constitution specially adapted for it. 4. The emperor shall be Fernando VII.; and should he not present himself within the time the córtes shall fix, to take the oath, then the infante Cárlos, Prince Francisco de Paula, the archduke Cárlos, or any other member of the reigning family that the córtes may designate, shall be called to occupy the throne. 5. Pending the meeting of the córtes, a junta shall provide for convening them, and for the fulfilment of this plan. 6. The junta gubernativa must be composed of the members named in the official letter to the viceroy. 7. Till Fernando VII. comes and takes the oath, the junta shall govern in his name; all orders he may issue shall be held in suspense till he has taken the oath. 8. Should Fernando not come out, the junta shall govern in the nation's name till there be an emperor. 9. This government will be sustained by the army of the three guaranties, of which more hereafter. 10. The córtes shall resolve to continue the junta, or substitute a regency till the emperor's arrival. 11. The córtes shall frame at once the constitution of the empire. 12. All inhabitants, whether white, African, or Indian, are qualified to hold office. 13. Persons and property shall be respected and protected. 14. Secular and regular clergy shall be upheld in their fueros, preëminences, and estates. 15. All offices and public employés shall be continued as heretofore: only such officials as oppose this plan being removed. 16. A protecting army, to be called Ejército de las tres garantías, shall be created to prevent at all hazards any violation of such guaranties. 17, 18, and 19 refer to the organization, privileges, and duties of the army. 20. Offices shall be bestowed provisionally in the nation's name on the most meritorious. 21. In criminal trials the Spanish constitution shall be observed till a Mexican one has been promulgated. 22 and 23 provide against conspiracies, and for the treatment of conspirators. 24. The córtes shall be constituent; and the deputies be chosen with that view; the junta fixing rules and time. Gaz. Imp. Mex., i. 81-4; Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 116-18; Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 434-7; Mex. Col. Ley. Fund., 4-9; Noticioso Gen., 1821, Oct. 3, supl. 1-2; Gac. de Guad., 1821, July 21, 33-4; 1822, May 29, 402-3; Iturbide, Breve Reseña, 11-17; Alaman, Hist. Méx., v. app. 8-13; Ward, Mex. in 1827, i. app. 5257; Mex. Diario Cong. Constituy., ii. 498-502.
51. Among the officers were several Spaniards. Iturbide had made known that the step taken by him had been with the assured coöperation of Guerrero. The troops at Sultepec, under Lieut-col Torres, adhered to the plan, and the example was followed by Cuilti at Zacualpan. But the European force at Temascaltepec or Tejupilco, and the two companies stationed at Alahuitlan, retired to Toluca. Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 441; Alaman, Hist. Méj., v. ap. 13-15.
52. They were: Miguel de Bataller for vice-president, Dr Miguel Guridi y Alcocer, conde de la Cortina, Juan B. Lobo, Dr Matias Monteagudo, Oidor Isidro Yaiiez, José María Fagoaga, Juan José Espinosa de los Monteros, Juan Francisco Azcárate, Dr Rafael Suarez Pereda, Suplentes—Francisco Sanchez de Tagle, Oidor Ramon Osés, Juan José Pastor Morales, and Col Ignacio Aguirrevengoa. Among them were seven Spaniards. Bustamante, Cuad. Hist., v. 118-26; Mex. Bosquejo RevoL, 66-71, 104-9; Liceaga, Adic. y Rectific., 442.
53. Proclamation of March 3d, seconded the same day by the ayuntamiento of Mexico. Gaz. de Mex., 1821, xii. 224-8.
54. Gaz. de Mex., 1821, xii. 234-6, 241-4.
55. Edict of March 8th; letter to Liñan of the 13th; proclamation of the 14th. Id., 242, 265-7.