JUAN FERNANDEZ. 306 JUAREZ. feet. They are fertile and well wooded, and differ remarkably in their llora and fauna from the mainland. The climate, which is not unliealth- ful, is similar to that of Valparaiso, but much more humid; crops of grain are easily raised, and excellent fruits might be produced if more attention were paid to their cultivation. Tiio inhabitants, however, are not very prosperous; their number is less than 100, and they are chielly engaged in cattle-raising. The islanils were discovered by Juan Kcrnandez in 1574. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the group was a resort for buccaneers. Here Alexander Selkirk, a Scotch buccaneer, lived in solitude for four years (1704-OS). His story is supposed to have suggested the llobiitson Crusoe of Defoe. The islands were later used as a penal station by the Spanish Government. JUANG, juU-iing', or Pati'N. A primitive peo- ple of Kolarian stock of the Cnttack country, duelling about the mouth of the JIahanadi I{iver in Northern Orissa. They are considered by some authorities to be the most primitive tribe in Hindustan. JUAREZ, nwa'res. Benito r.BLO (1800-72). President of the Republic of llexico. He was born at Guelatao in the State of Oajaca, JIarch 21. 1800, being the child of Indian parents, who died when he was four years old. His education was taken in hand by a cliaritaldc merchant of Oajaca, who made it possible for him to grad- uate at the seminary in that town, after which he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. He was appointed judge of the civil court in 1842. and secretary to the |)rovincial Governor in 184.5. ^Meanwhile revolution and counter- revolution had succeeded one another in the little State of Oajaca. which in 1840 resumed its .sovereignty and placed the executive authority in the hands of a triumvirate, which included Juarez. Shortly after the restoration of the Federal Constitution, in the same year, Juarez was elected to the Constituent Congress, and in 1847 was chosen Governor of Oajaca. His ad- ministration was, in the true sense of the term, an era of reform. The finances were put upon a sound basis, necessary public works were carried out, and the economic condition of the state, improved by the development of its mineral resources. When Juarez left office in 18.52 Oajaca was probably the most prosperous State in ^fcxico. Upon Santa Anna's return to power (18.5.3) .Juarez was exiled in revenge for a re- fusal to lend himself to the dictator's purposes some years earlier. He spent the next two years in great poverty in Xew Orleans. The revolution against Santa Anna in 18.5.5 made possible his return to Jlexico. He joined the revolutionists under General Alvarez, who. upon becoming President, made .Juarez Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs. In this capacity he brought about the enactment of a law. known by his name, which suppressed the military and ecclesiastical tribunals, and with them all privi- lege in army and Church. ITpnn the resignation of Alvarez, in December, 18.55, Jitarez retired from office, but was named by Conionfort. the successor of Alvarez, provisional Governor of Oajaca, being subsequently chosen to this posi- tion bv an overwhelming majority. He resigned in 1857. to become Secretary of the Interior, and Chief .Justice — the latter office being bv the terms of the Constituti(m equivalent to the Vice-Presi- dency of the nation. On the overthrow of Conionfort in January, 1S;58, by the party of reaction, Juarez succeeded to the Presidency, and was recognized by all the- jSlexican States, The Conservatives, however, took the field, and Juarez was compelled to lleo to (iuanajuato and then to (luadalajara, finally estal)lishing the seat of government at Vera Cruz, where he arrived May 4lh by way of Aca- pulco, the Isthmus of Panama, Havana, and New Orleans, In virtue of his executive authority, he had set up a Cabinet, and he proceeded to is.sue decrees embodying the ref<irms which had been instituted by Ccnnonfort. His Government was recognized by the United States. In the civil war which ensued Juarez's autiiority was for a time reduced to the city of Vera Cruz, but finally the Liberals gained the ujjpcr liaiicl. Juarez's rival, tJencral Jliramon, was defeated at Calpuhil]iam, Decend)er 22. 1800. and on .Jan- uary 11. 1801, .Juarez entered the City of Mexico. In Jlareh he was elected President for four years. Trouble, however, was at hand. The Government was bankrupt. Even the confiscation of Church lands failed to remedy the situation, and the decree of .July 17, 1801, susjicnding payments on the foreign debt for two years, led to the allied intervention of France, England, and Spain in Decemlier, 1801, and .January, 1S()2. An agree- ment to protect the interests of foreign debtor.s led to the withdrawal of the English and Spanish troops; but France was aiming at nothing less than the establishment of a Mexican empire for the Austrian Archduke ilaximilian (q.v.) in the interest of the Napoleonic dynasty, already seeking' to strengthen its hold upon the French people by a brilliant foreign policy. Juarez ob- tained a loan from the United States, and fought the invaders with braveiy and skill. On May 31, 1803, however, he tied from iMexico to San Luis Potosi before the victorious French. Step liy step, in spite of a determined guerrilla warfare, he was forced to withdraw toward the north to Saltillo, to Monterey, to Chihuahua, and finally in August, 1805, to El Paso del Norte on the United States frontier. Maximilian had in the meanwhile proclaimed himself Emperor; but at this point the United States Government, having established peace at home, found itself free to interfere in behalf of Juarez, whose claims had been from the beginning persistently recognized at Washington. Upon the representations of the United States, the French troops were withdrawn (.lanuarv-March, 18(!7), and the Republicans im- mediately succeeded in turning the course of events in their own favor. JIaximilian was cap- tured and shot (June 19. 1807). and two da^'S afterwards the national troops under Porfirio Diaz entered the capital. Elections were held in December, and .Tiinrez once more became Presi- dent of the Republic. His administration, how- ever, was harassed by constant attempts at revolution. In 1871 he was reelected to the Presidency, but the difficulties of the situation i^.eenipd rather to increase than to dimin- ish. Diaz, who had been a candidate for the Presidency in 1807. and again in 1871, raised the standard of revolt, and a formidable opposi- tion rose up against .Juarez. In the midst of these difficulties he died, July 18. 1872. His rlistinctive characteristics seem to have been a tremendous will power, and the cold impassibility
