ITURBIDE, DON AUGUSTIN DE, Emperor of Mexico, was the son of a Biscayan man and a rich Creole, and was b. at Valladolid, in Mexico, in 1784, or, 'according to ' b others in 1700. On occasion of the first insurrections in Mexico, e was appointed by the viceroy, Apodaca, to the command of the.militia of his province, and was successful against the insurgents; but lie afterward inclined more to their cause, and being intrusted by the viceroy with the command of the army in 1821, he went over to them, when lie found it impossible to obtain a separate constitution for Mexico. In May, 1822, lie ascended the throne of Mexico as emperor, under the name of Augustin I., and the con gress declared the crown hereditary in his family. He seemed to aim at rulingwell, but rather as a despotic than a constitutional sovereign. His reign was full of trouble, and came to an end in less than a year by his abdication on Mar. 20, 1823. He received a pension of 25,000 piastres from the congress on condition of his residing in Italy, and went with his family to Leghorn. a few months in that city he repaired to England, where lie. organized an expedition for the recovery of the empire which lie
had surrendered; and issued a declaration that he would employ whatever influence he might obtain on his return to Mexico for the introduction of the political institutions of • England into that country. He embarked May 11, 1824; landed in disguise at the port of Soto-la-Marina, duly 14;, was arrested on the 17th, and shot at Padilla on the 10th of the same month. The Mexican congress made a provision for his family. His son was adopted by the late emperor Maximilian of Mexico as his heir, Maximilian himself being childless. The overthrow of the Mexican empire, however, has cut off his prospect of a throne. Sec A Statement of some of the Principal Erents in the Public Life of Augustin de lturbide, written by himself; translated by M. J. Quin (1824).
the largest 'of the Kurile Islands,. belonging to Japan, n. hat. 44° 29', e. long. 146' 34'. It is 140 m. long with an average width of 20 miles. It is of volcanic origin, fertile, and well-watered. The people are employed chiefly in hunting and fishing.
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