Page:Vol 6 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/380

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REPUBLICAN RECONSTRUCTION.

    analyses of the labors of each session respectively. Each volume furnishes also an alphabetical index of the subjects therein contained. Diario de los Debates. Fol., 24 vol. These large and thick volumes give us in detail the daily work of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th congresses of Mexico at their several sessions, together with that of their respective permanent committees during the recess of the legislative body, embracing the period from Sept. 1, 1869, to Apr. 1, 1882, and their results.

    Francisco de P. Arrangoiz, Méjico desde 1808 hasta 1867. Méx., 1872. Sm. 4º. 4 vol. The chief aim of this work is to furnish an historical picture of the second Mexican empire, and this it does fully and clearly. The author is evidently well informed on general modern history, and on the international relations of the several prominent powers. So much had been published in France, after the execution of Maximilian, displaying ignorance of Mexican history, manners, and civilization, that the author, prompted by patriotic motives, undertook to throw light on those subjects, and to draw public attention to events connected with his country, about which so little seemed to be known. The narrative for the period from 1808 to 1830 is a mere condensation from Alaman's Historia de Méjico. From and after the last-mentioned year he gives an independent statement of events down to the time when the conservative party and clergy of Mexico conceived, as he alleges, the plan of choosing a ruler from among the reigning families of Europe. From this point his work assumes in a measure the form of a diary, treating events as they arise without any attempt at historical generalization. The author was among the first to suggest to Maximilian the acceptance of the Mexican throne, and was for some time in his service in a diplomatic capacity; but he resigned his office when he saw Maximilian's course toward the interests of the church and conservative party of Mexico. His letter of resignation to Maximilian points out what he considered the errors of that prince's policy, and foreshadowed the fatal result. He asserted that no complete history of Maximilian's rule could be written without having access to the documents in the possession of the French government. Maximilian's unhappy fate is wholly attributed to Napoleon III. and his ministers.

    Emmanuel Domenech — Histoire du Mexique — Jurez et Maximilien — Correspondences Inédites des Présidents, Ministres et Généraux Almonte, Santa-Anna, Gutierrez, Miramon, Marquez, Mejía, Woll, etc., etc., de Juarez, de L'Empereur Maximilien, et de L'Impératrice Charlotte. Paris, 1868. 8, 3 vol., pp. 314, 412, and 453. Beginning with the earliest date of Indian mythology, the author of these volumes carries the history of Mexico down to 1867. The contents of the work are thus divided. In volume i. Indian history previous to the conquest is treated of in the first 136 pages; then follows a narration of the conquest itself in 1519 to 1521, for the statments in which the writer has relied chiefly upon Bernal Diaz. This period occupies 100 pages. The remainder of the volume is taken up by a succinct review of the colonial times from 1521 to 1810. Although Domenech does not name the authorities he made use of in writing this portion of his work, it seems that he was mainly guided by Cavo, Tres Siglos. The 2d volume is devoted to the history of Mexico from 1810 to 1861, in which the war of independence is treated in a very superficial manner, only 42 pages being given to it. With much greaser detail is narrated the history of the succeeding 40 years, full accounts being furnished of the different metamorphoses which the republic underwent during that period. The author here frequently quotes from Suarez y Navarro, Lorenzo de Zavala, Luis de la Rosa, Poinsett, Filisola, and others. Volume iii. is the most important part of the whole work, and is entirely devoted to the history of the tripartite alliance and the French intervention, ending with the tragic death of Maximilian. The author supports his narrative of this period by numerous documents, mainly consisting of letters written by Maximilian, the Empress Carlota, Almonte, Santa Anna, Gutierrez, Miramon, Marquez, Mejía, Juarez, Woll, and others, thus rendering this part of his production not only important, but trustworthy. Domenech resided for 20 years in the U. S. and Mexico, which time he employed in familiarizing himself with