Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/426

406 it was ordered that every three years he should personally inspect the troops, not only those stationed at the capital, but those in the provinces, and if unable to do this on account of ill health, the fact was to be confidentially made known to the king by the viceroy or captain-general.

Fears of war with Great Britain having ceased in 1772, the government mustered out of garrison duty three of the native regiments, though the drilling of the militia was continued. The troops from Spain were successively sent back, and from the last of them, the Zamora, were retained the necessary officers, sergeants, and corporals for perfecting the organization of the provincial militia. Later, the occupation by the British of the Philippines, and the revolution in England's colonies in North America, again warned Spain of the necessity of being prepared for an emergency. But no preparations were made. At the end of the war of 1783, when the coasts of Spanish America were threatened, and the forts of Omoa and San Juan de Nicaragua were taken by the English, she resolved further to increase her military establishment in Mexico, creating in 1788 the regiments Nueva España and México, and the next year the Puebla. The French revolution deeply affected Spain, and the revolt of Santo Domingo gave rise to the creation of the Fijo de Vera Cruz in 1793. The Nueva España, Mexico, and Puebla were afterward sent away to serve in Cuba, Santo Domingo, Louisiana, and Florida. But between 1789 and 1794 the