Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/228

 216 SPAIN was captured, and on April 27 a treaty of peace was signed in which the sultan agreed to pay an indemnity of 400,000,000 reals, and to accord to Spanish trade the same rights as were enjoyed by the most favored nations. Diplomatic relations with Mexico had been broken off in 1857 on account of outrages on Spanish subjects and the non-payment of Span- ish claims. Negotiations with France and Eng- land, which complained of similar grievances, led in 1861 to the conclusion of a tripartite treaty, in accordance with which the three governments toward the close of the year sent an expedition against Mexico, to obtain satis- faction. The castle of San Juan de Ulloa and Vera Cruz surrendered to the Spanish squad- ron under Gen. Gasset without a struggle (Dec. 14-17) ; but the project of the establishment of an empire under Maximilian being disapproved of, the Spanish forces were withdrawn in May, 1862. In 1860 a Carlist insurrection was in- cited by Gen. Ortega, governor of the Balearic islands, who proclaimed as king the count de Montemolin, eldest son of Don Carlos. The attempt failed, Ortega was captured and shot, and the count de Montemolin was forced to renounce his claim to the throne; but soon after ho repudiated his abdication at Cologne. He died at Trieste on Jan. 13, 1861, when his brother Don Juan asserted his right to the Spanish crown. In the same year Spain re- sumed her authority over the republic of Santo Domingo on the invitation of President San- tana, who despaired of allaying internal dissen- sions. Troops were sent thither, but in 1863 an insurrection broke out, which resulted in the relinquishment of the country by Spain in 1865. In 1864 war was declared against Spain by Peru in consequence of the seizure by the former of the Chincha islands. Chili joined Peru in 1865, and the war continued till 1866, when the Spanish forces were withdrawn from the Pacific. (See CHILI, and PERU.) The mis- deeds of Queen Isabella's administration and her own personal misconduct caused wide- spread dissatisfaction and led to numerous in- surrections in 1865-'8, and resulted in the defeat of the royal army at Alcolea, Sept. 28, 1868, and the flight of the queen to France. A provisional government was established, pre- sided over by Generals Serrano and Prim and Sefior O16zaga. These events were imme- diately followed by an insurrection in Cuba. (See CUBA.) During 1869 several republican insurrections against the provisional govern- ment were suppressed with much bloodshed, and the oorte^ voted by a large majority against a republic and for a regency, which was estab- lished on June 15, with Serrano at its head. Violent discussions then took place concern- ing the choice of a king. After the rejec- tion of the candidacy for the throne by several prin. vs, the provisional government proposed to the cortes in July, 1870, the election of Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ; bat he declined becoming a candidate in con- sequence of the strong opposition of France, which resulted in the Franco-German war. Meanwhile republican agitation was renewed in the provinces, but on Nov. 16 the cortes elected for king Amadeus, duke of Aosta, the second son of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, who accepted the crown on Dec. 4. On Dec. 28 Marshal Prim was mortally wounded by as- sassins in his carriage in the streets of Madrid, and two days after Amadeus landed at Carta- gena. He endeavored to rule the country as a constitutional monarch ; but the dislike of the Spaniards for a foreign prince, and the demor- alized condition of all parties, caused his utter failure. After a stormy reign, during which Sagasta, Topete, Serrano, and Zorrilla were the leading statesmen, he abdicated on Feb. 11, 1873, and the cortes established a government under the presidency of Estanislao Figueras. Meanwhile a Carlist insurrection, which had broken out in the north in 1872, began to de- velop itself. Don Carlos, son of Don Juan, who had renounced in his favor his hereditary rights in 1868, took command of the insur- gents and proclaimed himself king under the title of Charles VII. Among the commanders under him were his brother Don Alfonso, ac- companied hy his sanguinary wife Dofia Blan- ca, the curate Santa Cruz, Dorregaray, Elio, Saballs, Lozano, Tristany, and Lizarraga ; but the old Carlist chief Cabrera finally declared for the Madrid government. The insurrection gradually spread over Navarre, the Basque provinces, Catalonia, Aragon, and even Va- lencia. On June 8, 1873, the cortes, having previously abolished slavery in Porto Kico, adopted and proclaimed a democratic federal republic by a vote of 210 to 2, and Sefior Pi y Margall was chosen president of the executive power. He was succeeded on July 19 by Don Nicolas Salmeron, who was succeeded in turn on Sept. 7 by Don Emilio Castelar. But the republic had scarcely been established when the intransigentes and internationals began a series of revolutionary movements in favor of "cantonal sovereignty," and insurrections broke out in various cities, chiefly of the south and southeast, while the Carlists infested the north. Alcoy, where frightful atrocities were committed, Malaga, Seville, Cadiz, Granada, Valencia, and Murcia were easily reoccupied by the government troops under Pavia, Cam- pos, and others (July and August) ; but Carta- gena, in which Gen. Contreras led the insur- gents, resisted for six months (July, 1873, to January, 1874). Here a portion of the Span- ish fleet had fallen into the hands of the insur- gents, with which they made piratical excur- sions against Almeria and other towns of the coast. The blockade was, however, pushed forward with vigor, and a heavy bombardment finally compelled the surrender of the for- tress, Contreras and other leaders escaping to the coast of Algeria. Less successful were the government troops under Moriones in the north, who failed to relieve Bilbao. Castelar