Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 2).djvu/710

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676
GONZALEZ BALCARCE
GONZALEZ-VIGIL

Lerdo de Tejada, and in January, 1876, joined the third rebellion of Porfirio Diaz, and organ- ized in the eastern frontier states bodies of light cavalry that harassed and checked the govern- ment forces. On 16 Nov., 1876, during the de- cisive battle of Lomas de Tecoac, between Ala- torre and Diaz, Gonzalez arrived at the head of 3,000 cavalry, and with a vigorous attack disor- ganized and entirely routed Alatorre. This ac- tion decided the overthrow of Lerdo's govern- ment, and in 1878 Diaz appointed Gonzalez secre- tary of war, in which office he did much for the Mexican array. In 1879 he was made commander- in-chief of the northwestern district, where he soon quelled all seditious movements, and, return- ing to Mexico, received from congress the rank of general of division, and the title of " Pacificator of the Occident." In June, 1880, he resigned the portfolio of war, as his candidacy for president had been proclaimed by Diaz. He was declared elected on 25 Sept., and on 30 Nov. assumed the executive, and appointed Diaz secretary of public works. His administration was distinguished by financial mis- management. He decreed extraordinary import duties on foreign manufactures, doubled the stamp-duty, and debased the currency by the issue of a great quantity of nickel coins, which were largely disposed of to speculators at a discount. The opposition to these culminated in a riot in 1884, which led to their withdrawal and redemp- tion by the government. The proposition to allow the government the use of about £18,000,000 for expenses to be incurred in settling the English debt led to another riot in November, 1884 (see Diaz). In the same year the Monte de Piedad bank was forced to suspend by the efforts of a rival institu- tion, and through reports that government would make a demand on the bank for a forced loan, which proved unfounded. Gonzalez also published a de- cree suppressing the liberty of the press. On 30 Nov., 1884, he resigned the government to his suc- cessor. Gen. Diaz, with a bankrupt exchequer. He has since been governor of the state of Guanajuato. On 30 Oct., 1885, there was presented in congress a resolution of impeachment against the ex-presi- dent for misappropriation of public funds, which in November was referred to the section for the grand jury of the congress for action. This accu- sation has not been pressed.


GONZALEZ BALCARCE, Antonio, South American soldier, b. in Buenos Ayres. Argentine Republic, in 1774; d. there, 5 Aug. 1819. lie entered the army at an early age, was taken prisoner by the English in Montevicleo, 5 Nov., 1807, and remained in England until the declaration of peace. He then went to Spain and fought against the armies of Napoleon. He returned to South America in 1809, and took part in the Argentine revolution of 25 May, 1810. Gonzalez was ap- pointed major-general of the expedition to assist the revolutionists of Peru, and gained the victo- ries of Suypacha and Cotagaita. He was then made commander-in-chief of the army, and soon afterward entered the city of La Plata, and was appointed its prefect. He filled the office of presi- dent of the republic in 1816, crossed to Chili to join the army of San Martin in the following year, and commanded the infantry in the battle of Mayi^u, 5 April, 1818. As commander of the army of the south he drove the Spaniards from Concepcion. He then returned to Buenos Ayres, and died suddenly while engaged in preparing a plan of defence for the city against the Spaniards.


GONZALEZ DE SANTA CRUZ, Roqne, South American missionary, b. in Asuncion, Paraguay, in 1576; d. in Uruguay in 1628. He was born of Spanish parents, entered the Society of Jesus in 1609, and was sent as a missionary to the Guaycurus. He effected numerous conversions, among them that of the cacique and his wife, and in 1611 determined to found a " reduction " or Indian col- ony on the river Jujuy, an affluent of the Bermejo, at 24° south latitude. He had already formed several Indians into a community when he was summoned in 1613 to take charge of the reduction of St. Igna- tius, near the Parana. He subsequently converted a large body of Indians at Itapua, and, after visit- ing Asuncion for supplies, founded at the former place an Indian village containing nearly 800 fami- lies. In August, 1616, he founded a third colony on the St. Anne river. On 8 Dec, 1623, he laid the foundation of a colony which he called Con- ception, and which soon had a population of nearly 4,000. In 1626 he founded the colony of St. Nicho- las, containing 400 families, and that of St. Francis Xavier, with 1,200, as well as several others. He was murdered by order of a cacique, who feared the missionary was undermining his authority.


GONZALEZ DEL VALLE, Mannel, Cuban lawyer, b. in Havana in October, 1802 ; d. there in January, 1884. He studied at the university of his native city, received the diploma of doc- tor of philosophy, and was admitted to the bar. Pie taught law and philosophy in the University of Plavana, and filled many high offices in that city. He published a " Diccionario de las Musas "' (New Yoi-k, 1827) ; " Programa de Materias filosofi- cas " (Ha.vana, 1839) ; " Articulos sobre Psicologia " (1840) ; and " Estudios de la Moral " (1843).— His brother, Jose Z., author, b. in Havana, Cuba, in 1820 ; d. in Madrid, Spain, in October, 1851, studied law in his native city. He went to Madrid to finish his education, and was admitted to the bar in 1840. He was for many years professor of natural phi- losophy in the University of Havana, but, on ac- count of his health, went to Spain in 1850, and was appointed honorary secretary to the queen. He published several novels, including " Luisa," "Carmen y Adela," and " Amar y Morir" (1839); " Tropieales," a volume of poems (Havana, 1842) ; " Viajes por Europa " (1843) ; " Guirnalde Fune- bre " (1844) ; " Rasgo Ilistorico de la Filosofia " (1848); and "Lecciones de Meteorologia " (1849). — Another brother, Anibrosio, physician, b. in Ha- vana in 1822, was graduated in medicine in his native city in September, 1846, and appointed to fill the chair of anatomy at the university. Pie is a member of several Spanish scientific societies, and has done much to improve the sanitary con- ditions of Havana. He published "Manual del F'lebotomiano " and " Manual de Obstetricia " (1849); " Muerte Aparcnte " (1863) ; "Higiene Pu- blica " (1870) ; and " Tablas Obituarias "^(1870-'8).


GONZALEZ-VIGIL, Francisco de Paula, Peruvian author, b. in Tacna, 15 Sept., 1792 ; d. in Lima in 1876. He entered the seminary of Arequipa, and was ordained priest in 1818, but afterward became vice-rector of the College of the independence, of Arequipa. In 1825 he was elected deputy to congress, and came to Lima. He opposed the dictatorship of Bolivar, and voted against the constitution which that general tried to impose on Peru. In 1832 he was again elected deputy, and in 1834 was editor of the "Genio del Rimac," the organ of the Liberal-reform party, but subsequently retired to his native city, whence he was called in 1836 to take charge of the National library. In 1837 he was again elected to congress and in 1838 re-elected, when he proposed the indictment of the government of Gamarra, but