With the single exception of Salvador, all these countries are most easily reached from the eastern coast, there being many passenger and freight vessels with regular sailings from New York, Baltimore, Mobile and New Orleans. The United Fruit Company maintain an excellent bi-weekly service between the chief ports of Central America and New York and New Orleans.
Steamship service along the west coast is miserable, passenger and freight rates being excessive. The passenger ships from San Francisco are old, poorly equipped, slow and the food inferior. Travelers are recommended to enter these countries from the east, taking the railway across to the west coast, and a local coasting steamer thence to their destination. The Kosmos Line maintains an irregular service from San Francisco. Salvador has a national line of steamships, making calls at ports in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala and going as far north as Salinas Cruz in Mexico, the western terminus of the Tehuantepec Railway, from which goods coming from the eastern part of the United States, after crossing Mexico, are reshipped for Central American west coast ports.
XIII
MEXICO
Prior to the invasion of Mexico by the Spaniards, the Aztecs who inhabited the country, had developed a wonderful system of religion, education, civilization and government. Hernando Cortes landed April 12, 1519, at about where Vera Cruz is now located, marched inland, and with the aid of friendly Indians succeeded in finally conquering the inhabitants, burning their cities, destroying their libraries and killing their emperors, in reward for his service being made Governor of New Spain as the Spaniards called this land in 1522. The Spanish possessions in Mexico and Central America were united for the purposes of government, and a viceroy appointed first in 1535, this method for the control of these colonies being used until 1821. Spanish rule in Mexico, as with all of her dependencies, was harsh, and the spirit of revolt came to a head in 1810, under the leadership of a Spanish priest, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who was defeated and executed in 1811. The movement for freedom was kept alive by another priest, Jose Maria Morales, who was captured and killed in 1815. In 1821 Augustin Iturbide defeated the Spanish army and was successful in having himself crowned Emperor of Mexico July 21, 1822. He was forced to abdicate in 1823, and to leave the country, but returning in 1824, was captured and shot. On the departure of Iturbide, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana proclaimed the country a republic, Guadalupe Victoria becoming the first president. Spain sent an army to regain Mexico in 1829 but was utterly defeated, within three months after landing, and ultimately the Spanish Crown recognized the independence of Mexico, Dec. 28, 1836.
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April 21, 1836, Texas seceded from Mexico and was annexed to the United States in 1845, following which Mexico went to war with its northern neighbor, was conquered and had her capital occupied by American troops.
Taking advantage of the American Civil War, Napoleon III, aided by England and Spain, in 1862 placed the Austrian prince, Maximilian, on a throne in Mexico, maintaining him in power by a European army. When the Civil War had terminated and it became evident that the Washington government would oppose this European invasion of Mexico, Napoleon III withdrew his military support, Maximilian was captured, and on June 19, 1867, was shot at Queretaro. On the death of the second Emperor of Mexico, the republic again came into being; six presidents had controlled its destinies up to the assassination of Francisco Madero and the assumption of the executive power by Victoriano Huerta. Porfirio Diaz, who ruled from 1877 to 1911 gave Mexico a stability that it never possessed before or since.
More than 300 successful or abortive attempts at revolution are recorded during the stormy life of Mexican independence. A confusion of empires, republics, dictatorships and military usurpations have succeeded each other with bewildering rapidity. Between 1821 and 1868 the form of government was changed ten times, over fifty persons succeeding each other as presidents, dictators or emperors. And the end is not yet in sight. The curse of anarchy and military dictatorship hangs over the land like a pall. Murder, assassination, execution, rapine, the wanton destruction of property and the complete paralysis of the commerce of the nation make us ask how long can this continue? It is safe to assume that when some man is found strong enough to take up the frayed fragments of this people, and bring order out of chaos, a republican form of government will again be established.
Its constitution, based after ours, calls for a federal form of government, the various states being free to regulate their internal affairs; the executive power is vested in a President and Vice-President elected for six years each, with a legislative body of two branches, namely, a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies.