The Archduke, Maximilian of Austria, and his consort, who had been selected by Napoleon III as emperor and empress of Mexico, ar rived in Vera Cruz 24 May 1864. In the capi tal they were welcomed and crowned with great ceremony. The protest of the United States forced the withdrawal of French troops from Mexico, and Maximilian, left to his fate, was compelled to surrender at Queretaro in 1867. He was tried, found guilty of treason to the Mexican people and shot on the Hill of the Bells near Queretaro, together with his two generals, Miramar' and Mejia, 19 June 1867. The concerted action of the Army of the North under Escohedo and the Army of the East under Porfirio Diaz defeated the Imperialists; Mexico City surrendered to Diaz 21 June, two days after the execution of Maximilian; and on 15 July Juarez returned to the capital amid the rejoicing of the populace. But opposition to the Juarez government soon developed and his administration was troubled by constant uprisings and disaffection. Juarez died sud denly 19 July 1872, shortly after he had been re elected President. He was succeeded by Sebas tian Lerdo de Tejada, who served one term and was forced out of office shortly after his re-election by Gen. Porfirio Diaz who defeated the Lerdist party at the battle of Tecoac, marched upon the capital and was there pro claimed provisional President, 24 Nov. 1876, and later constitutional President. At the expira tion of his term of office, 30 Nov. 1880, he was succeeded by Gen. Manuel Gonzalez, who con tinued the Diaz policy of encouraging the con struction of railways and increasing the efficiency of the rural police charged with the protection of the country from revolutionary and robber bands.
Diaz succeeded Gonzalez in the winter of 1884, and, for more than a quarter of a cen tury, he continued to be the one great peat in Mexico. He found the country in debt as the income of the administration inadequate , meet the demands on it. He increased the tie nue of the nation over 400 per cent; he be railways, highways, roads and harbors; drained the valley of Mexico and made pest-ridden coast towns places of resort. He encouraged foreigners to settle in or invest the country and to contribute their part to h program of expansion and development, and le created a credit for the nation and increased and improved it. He introduced sys tem and encouraged honesty in the public sir ice and prevented, to a very great extent, mi versation of public funds, which had been noticeable during previous administrations, 17 the introduction of a rigid and modern syvere of accounting and by holding the heads of it departments accountable for the funds passev through their hands. With Diaz the Indian asd mestizo elements, constituting fully 85 per ce of the population, began to come into die own. Thus a new social life was created e. Mexico under his regime, and in it the mestizo for the first time, began to play a promine-. part.
Diaz found public instruction neglected Ix' practically non-existent and he set to wort remedy this defect. Training schools f-oT teachers were established and the higher sue. and colleges were increased and improved witb a view to supplying, through them, the tezi ing body for new primary and schools. Though lack of funds hampered di work, the results achieved bore fruit in tie rapid increase of the standard of intelfizio in the larger towns and cities. Under Din de resources of the country were developed; cot merce threw off its provincialism and became national and international, and new indu.ctrie sprang up throughout the land. But, with government which had absolute control of the affairs of the country so long as that of Diai abuses were bound to creep in. About the President had grown up a strong parr the members of which, while admiration for him and his • ceeded in enriching . .
and friends through concession/ secured through their close conndzkieni administration. The spread of public instruc tion and the rise of the Indian and ineStiotc public prominence introduced • equation a new and restless el had constantly, throughout his 1 tr curb, control and discipline. The discontent O creased; Mexican exiles in the United State used every means in their power to hasten lie overthrow of the man they characterized autocratic and tyrannical. Ramon Corral. de Vice-President, who was looked upon as tk leader of the sinister influence at work in tie party surrounding the President, was sia0 out as the special object of attack of the a• government agents. Diaz, in the face of the impending storm, supported Corral, who was re elected in 1910. During the month of Septa' ber 1910 the 100th anniversary of the declara tion of Mexican independence was celebrated throughout the republic with great pomp and ceremony and special representatives of for eign nations gathered in the capital to lend dignity to the occasion. But scarcely had the of national rejoicing ended when polit ical unrest began to show renewed activity. Francisco I. Madero, who had presented him self as a candidate for the presidency in op position to Diaz and had been arrested on the charge of sedition and finally released from prison and ordered to leave the country after the elections had been held, furnished the neces sary leader to the Liberals in the United States and their many sympathizers in Mexico. The active revolutionary propaganda already begun was intensified, and agents of the insurgent party spread their doctrines throughout Mexico and induced uprisings in Vera Cruz, Puebla, Chihuahua, Durango and other cities and towns of the republic; and, as Medero crossed the border to head the insurgents, similar out breaks took place south of Mexico City, while revolutionary bands gathered in force in the north near Torreon, Gomez Palacio and Par ral. The inauguration of Diaz as President (1 Dec. 1910) increased the revolutionary centres and quickened their activities, thus compelling the government to weaken its strength by dis tributing its forces over a large and constantly increasing area of territory. Radical changes were effected in the Diaz Cabinet and attempts were made to meet the demands of the revolu tionists, as American troops were ordered con centrated along the Mexican border; for this move was taken in Mexico to mean a threat of intervention. The government offered to enter into peace negotiations with the insur gents, but attempts made to this end proved abortive and were suspended 6 May. Juarez fell to the insurgents 10 May, and Diaz, urged to save the country from further bloodshed and the danger of intervention, resigned, 25 May, and was succeeded in office by Francisco de la Barra, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, as Presi dent ad interim pending an election. Two weeks later Madero entered the capital where he was enthusiastically received. So powerful was his influence that the de la Barra adminis tration was forced to consult him in every im portant move made. On 15 Igvrember Madero was unanimously elected President of Mexico; but scarcely had he assumed office when op position began to develop and revolutionary intrigue to show itself within his own party. Zapata revolted in Morelos and Gen. Bernardo Reyes attempted an unsuccessful insurrection. Gen. Pascual Orozco, one of the foremost revolutionary leaders, rebelled and captured Juarez 12 Feb. 1912. Gen. Felix Diaz took Vera Cruz, but was himself captured, tried and condemned to be shot — a sentence which was commuted to confinement in the penitentiary near Mexico City. In the meantime Madero found himself unable to control those who sur rounded him, to establish a stable government or to carry out the promised reforms.