hey may preserve the throne of Spain to the grandson of Henri
IV. They shall save that fair kingdom from ruin and reconcile it to
Europe." By the middle of March, the Duke of Angouleme and his staff left
Paris. On April 7, the French vanguard crossed the Bidassoa, and the Duke
entered Irun, welcomed by Spanish royalists. About the same time the Cortes
and Constitutional Ministry left Madrid, and compelled King Ferdinand VII.
to accompany them to Seville. The forces of the Spanish Government fell
back without striking a blow. Bands of freebooters calling themselves
royalists went pillaging throughout the northern provinces. The commandant
of Madrid felt constrained to beg the French to hasten their advance lest
the city fall a prey to the freebooters. Already the looting of the suburbs
had begun, when the French entered the Spanish capital on the 24th of May.
A regency was appointed under the Duke of Infantado. The Continental powers
sent accredited representatives to Madrid. Meanwhile the Cortes withdrew to
Cadiz. King Ferdinand refused to accompany them; so they suspended his
powers and appointed a regency over his head. The French prepared to lay
siege to Cadiz.

[Sidenote: Revolution in Portugal]

[Sidenote: Independence of Central America]

[Sidenote: The South American struggle]

Civil war broke out in Spain. Across the border in Portugal, Dom Miguel,
the second son of the absent king, excited a counter revolution. This state
of affairs in the Peninsula gave a finishing stroke to the royal cause in
America. In Central America, the revolutionists of Costa Rica and
Guatemala, who had made common cause with Mexico, proclaimed their
independence. In Mexico, Santa Anna proclaimed the republic at Vera Cruz.
Emperor Iturbide, who felt his throne tottering beneath him, retired, and
was banished from Mexico with an annuity. His sympathizers in Costa Rica
were overthrown in a battle at Ochomoco. On the first day of July, Costa
Rica was united with its neighboring States in the federation of Central
America. Nor had Peru been idle. Two royalist armies under Santa Cruz had
entered the upper provinces. During the summer months they overran the
country between La Paz and Oruro. But in early autumn they were forced back
by the revolutionists under Bolivar, who entered Lima on September 1, and
had himself proclaimed dictator of Peru. In Brazil, during this interval,
the Constitutional Assembly had been convoked in accordance wit