The Life and Times of Miguel Hidalgo Y Costilla

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1910 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER X. The Independent Mex1can Nat1on. THE stage upon which the drama of the Independence of Mexico was enacted was of comparatively narrow scope. But there was a larger expanse of territory, containing an immense population, influenced by the life of Hidalgo and the principles which he and his successors promulgated. The short-lived Empire which was hastily established for Iturbide was territorially the fourth largest in the world, the British Empire, China, and Russia alone being larger. It was divided into five Captaincies-General and included a large and but partially explored region north of the Rio Grande del Norte, extending to the Pacific Ocean. In the south, Guatemala was lopped off while the Independence was pending, and Chiapas became a part of Mexico in partial compensation. These incidents in the historical geography of the country excited little commotion at the time, in the midst of so many more important happenings. It was an Empire of magnificent opportunities, and of natural resources without limit, though but little known at that time. By the revolt of the Texans in 1836; by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 at the close of the war with the United States, and by a treaty in 1853 made with James Gadsden representing the United States, Mexican territory was reduced to its present area. It contains a population of more than fourteen millions living under the influence of the Grito de Dolores. The Independence of Mexico was recognized by the United States in 1822, and a Minister Plenipotentiary was sent to the new nation. The United States furthermore resolved to assist in securing the recognition of Mexican Independence by the European nations and advanced, at the instance of England's Minister of Foreign...