Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/49

Rh The invasion decreed by the three European powers became a fact on the 14th of December, 1861, when a Spanish fleet, commanded by the jefe de escuadra, Joaquin Gutierrez de Rubaleaba, and conveying an army of occupation, sailed into and without resistance took possession of the port of Vera Cruz. General Gasset, commanding the land forces, occupied the city on the 17th, proclaiming martial law, and issuing a manifesto of a hostile nature; after which he assumed full control of the place, the ayuntamiento, which was the only authority left in it, having to submit to the force of circumstances. Gasset's manifesto stated that he would hold the city in the name of the Spanish queen till the arrival of the commissioners of the powers to the London tripartite arrangement.

This act of Spain caused the utmost irritation in Mexico. The government, and particularly Doblado, displayed great activity. General Zaragoza started from Mexico with 3,000 men; and, notwithstanding the embroiled condition of affairs in the interior states from local issues as well as reactionary warfare, forces began coming from them to the capital. Juarez issued