Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/789

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surrendered more than half of his dominions to Great Britain. The reforms that he wrought in the civil service of India, and in its judicial and revenue systems, were wide-reaching and salutary. On his return to England in 1794 he was created a marquis for his services in India. In the following year he became master of the ordnance, with a seat in the cabinet. In 1798 he was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland and commander-in-chief of the forces there. This was just after the suppression of the rebellion, and Cornwallis remained in Ireland until the accomplishment of the parliamentary union between that country and Great Britain. Then in November, 1801, he was sent to

France as one of the commissioners for negotiating the treaty that was completed and signed at Amiens, 29 March, 1802. Feeling his health to be somewhat precarious, he now retired to his rural estate at Brome in the hope of spending the remainder of his life in seclusion. But in 1805 the troubles in India seemed to call for his skilful management, and he was again sent out as governor-general, but lived only a few months after his arrival. Among English public men there have been none more high-minded, disinterested, faithful, and pure, than Lord Cornwallis. As a military commander he was bold and vigilant, though unable to cope with the transcendent talents of Washington and Greene. He was by far the ablest of the generals sent by Great Britain to fight in America. He married, 14 July, 1768, Miss Jemima Jones, by whom he had one son and one daughter. The former succeeded to the marquisate, which became extinct by the failure of male heirs in the next generation. See Gleig's “Lives of the Most Eminent British Military Commanders” (London, 1832); Kaye's “Lives of Indian Officers” (London, 1867); and Johnston's “Yorktown Campaign” (New York, 1881).


CORONA, Ramón (co-ro'-nah), Mexican soldier, b. in Acaponeta, 8 May, 1825; d. 11 Nov., 1889. He was in business in his native town, but had to leave the place on account of persecution by Manuel Losada, a bandit, who became a kind of independent ruler in the Tepic territory. Corona joined the liberals, entered the army, soon obtained the rank of general, and fought against the army of Maximilian, especially in the western states, and the French troops never became masters of that part of the country. Corona organized the Army of the west, 8,000 strong, in 1866, and crossed the country, defeating the French in many encounters. He reached Querétaro, participated in the siege, and, after the final victory of the Mexicans, Maximilian surrendered to him, 15 May, 1867. The republic having been reinstated, President Juarez gave Gen. Corona a high military office, with residence at Guadalajara. At that time Losada, thinking to subjugate the whole nation, organized an army of 16,000 men, and issued a proclamation to his troops, telling them to expect no compensation but what they could get from the vanquished towns. On 28 Jan., 1872, at daybreak, began a bloody battle, near Mojonera, between his forces and about 1,400 men under Corona. Losada was routed, leaving over 3,000 dead on the field, while the rest of his troops were dispersed. Next day Corona entered Guadalajara in triumph, after having saved that city from the army of plunderers, for which he was surnamed the “Hero de la Mojonera.” President Lerdo de Tejada appointed him minister to Spain, where he remained twelve years. He returned to Mexico in 1884, and was put in command of the Federal army at Jalisco.


CORONADO, Francisco Vásquez de (cor-o-nah'-do), Spanish explorer, b. in Salamanca, Spain, about 1510; d. in 1542. On the arrival in Culiacán of Cabeza de Vaca from his journey from Florida in 1536, when he brought news of the existence of half-civilized tribes far to the north, an expedition was sent out under Marco de Niza, in 1539, to explore that region. On its return, a second expedition was fitted out under Coronado, which departed from Culiacán, on the Pacific coast, in April, 1540. He passed up the entire length of what is now the state of Sonora to the river Gila. Crossing this, he penetrated the country beyond to the Little Colorado, and visited the famed cities of Cibola mentioned by Cabeza de Vaca and De Niza. In the kingdom were seven cities. The country, he says, was too cold for cotton, yet the people all wore mantles of it, and cotton yarn was found in their houses. He also found maize, Guinea cocks, peas, and dressed skins. From Cibola, Coronado travelled eastward, visiting several towns, similar to the existing villages of the Pueblo Indians, till he reached the Rio Grande, and from there travelled 300 leagues to Quivira, the ruins of which are well known, being near lat. 34° N., about 170 miles from El Paso. There he found a temperate climate, with good water and an abundance of fruit. The people were clothed in skins. On his way back in March, 1542, Coronado fell from his horse at Tiguex, near the Rio Grande, and is said to have become insane. The viceroy Mendoza wished a colony to be founded in the regions visited; but the commander of the expedition did not wish to leave any of his party in so poor a country and at so great a distance from succor. The narrative of this expedition furnishes the first authentic account of the buffalo, or American bison, and the great prairies and plains of New Mexico. Drawings of the cities and houses built by the Indians were sent to Spain with Coronado's report.


CORPA, Pedro de, missionary, b. in Spain about 1560; d. in Florida in 1597. He came to America in 1592, and was one of a body of Franciscans who were sent to Florida to mediate between the Indians and Spaniards. At this time the Spaniards were so hemmed in by the natives that they could not leave their forts, and were reduced to great extremity. Father de Corpa was well received and succeeded in restoring friendly relations. He then began his missionary labors, at first without much success, owing to the difficulty of weaning the natives from polygamy. He prevailed in the end. howevei', built several chapels, and founded villages and schools. He introduced an Indian translation of Pareja's "Doctrina Christiana para los Indios." In 1597 he found it necessary to denounce the life of the son of a cacique who had relapsed into polygamy. The young chief fled from the village, collected a