REPUBLIC OF NICARAGUA.
1838-1855.
STATE GOVERNMENT—DIRECTOR BUITRAGO'S CONSERVATISM—BRITISH
AGGRESSION—DIRECTOR SANDOVAL'S RULE—INTERNAL
TROUBLES—GUERRERO'S ADMINISTRATION—THE MOSQUITO KINGDOM—ITS
ORIGIN AND HISTORY—BUBBLES—BRITISH PRETENSIONS—SEIZURE OF
SAN JUAN DEL NORTE—DIPLOMATIC COMPLICATIONS—CLAYTON-BULWER
TREATY—NICARAGUA RECOVERS HER OWN—RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN
POWERS—AN AMERICAN WAR SHIP BOMBARDS SAN JUAN DEL
NORTE—PINEDA'S GOVERNMENT—ESTABLISHMENT OF THE REPUBLIC—PARTY
DISSENSION—LEGITIMISTS VERSUS DEMOCRATS—CHAMORRO AND
CASTELLON—CIVIL WAR—DEATH OF CHAMORRO—ESTRADA SUCCEEDS HIM.
Little, if anything, has been said in this history of the internal
affairs of Nicaragua since 1838. Under her first constitution, that
of 1826, the chief executive officer of the state was called jefe
del estado, and his term of office was for four years. The second
organic law, promulgated in 1838, gave that functionary the title of
director supremo, limiting his tenure of office to two years. Pablo
Buitrago seems to have been the first director called upon to enforce
the constitution of 1838.[XII-1] He was declared by the chambers,
on the 4th of March, 1841, to have been constitutionally chosen. His
first step was to remove from the office of ministro general Francisco
Castellon, who held it ad interim under appointment by Patricio
Rivas,[XII-2] calling to succeed him Simon Orozco, whom he could more
easily control.
[Sidenote: BUITRAGO, OROZCO, PEREZ.]
Buitrago treated a communication from Morazan, sent him from San
Miguel, with contumely; and afterward, when the ex-president, as jefe
of Costa Rica, accredited near him two commissioners, he declined to
receive them.[XII-3] His course won him commendation from the rulers
of Guatemala.[XII-4] His term of office came to an end on the 1st of
April, 1843, and he was temporarily succeeded by Juan de Dios Orozco.
The official press asserted that the election for director had been
made with perfect freedom. But no candidate having received the
requisite number of votes, the assembly chose Manuel Perez to fill
the position.[XII-5] The state was at peace,[XII-6] but was not to
enjoy that benefit long. In a previous chapter I have spoken of the
desolating war waged within her borders by the tyrants of Salvador and
Honduras. She was, moreover, harassed by the intemperate demands for
British claimants made by Chatfield, the ally of the aristocrats of
Guatemala, who went so far as to dictate to Nicaragua how to recognize
and pay these claims.[XII-7] The assembly then authorized the executive
to arrange the matter in the best way possible, and Castellon, the
ministro general, proposed to Chatfield to submit the disputed claims
to arbitration, naming Bishop Viteri as the Nicaraguan arbitrator.
Finally, a legation was despatched to London, Castellon being the
minister and Máximo Jerez the secretary.[XII-8] The British authorities
resolved, however, to use coercion in order to force a settlement
of the claims, the corvette _Daphne_ blockading the port of Realejo
in August 1846; and the government, being without funds to meet such
demands at once, had to pledge the revenue from the tobacco monopoly
during the next four years.
Leon, after its terrible conflict with the forces of Salvador and
Honduras, aided by Nicaraguan allies, was in a shattered condition, and
most of the families dwelling therein were in mourning, and reduced
to indigence. Muñoz, who so efficiently coöperated to that result,
had secured the coveted reward, the command in chief of the western
department. The seat of government was at San Fernando, and Blas
Antonio Saenz assumed the executive duties on the 20th of January,
1845.[XII-9] Under the sword of Muñoz the elections for director
supremo were effected, and José Leon Sandoval obtained a plurality
vote.[XII-10] He was declared duly elected on the 4th of April. The
assembly passed several important measures.[XII-11]
[Sidenote: REVOLUTION UPON REVOLUTION.]
Peace had not been restored. Disturbances were breaking out in
several parts. There were revolutionary movements in Managua, and the
government sent thither Ponciano Corral to make an investigation,
and quell the sedition. His report brought about the imprisonment
of several citizens.[XII-12] Manifestations in favor of Cabañas at
Rivas were put down with an iron hand. On the 24th of June there was
a revolt at Leon, which Muñoz quelled, and the government had its
authors confined in San Juan del Norte.[XII-13] The executive had
proclaimed neutrality in the contest between the government of Salvador
and Malespin, who was sustained by Honduras; and though he concluded
with Salvador at San Fernando a treaty of peace, friendship, and
alliance, he also entered into a similar one with Honduras.[XII-14] The
latter treaty was intended to be a reality, and it is undeniable that
Nicaragua was a faithful ally and coöperator of Honduras down to the
treaty of Sensenti. The treaty with Salvador was not made in good faith
on the part of Nicaragua.
The town of Chinandega was, in the latter part of July, captured by 200
revolutionists under José M. Valle, alias El Chelon,[XII-15] who had
come with sixty or eighty men on a schooner from La Union, and landed
at Cosigüina.[XII-16] On the 26th Muñoz was attacked in Leon, but
defeated his assailants.[XII-17] The government abandoned San Fernando
and went to Managua.[XII-18] Muñoz, victorious again at Chichigalpa,
marched on Chinandega, which he occupied without opposition; but having
to return to Leon, the insurgents retook it. He came back with a large
force on the 16th of August, and reoccupied the place.[XII-19] Sandoval
had, on the 9th, forbidden the men who accompanied Morazan to Costa
Rica from entering Nicaraguan soil. A ministerial crisis occurred at
this time, Rocha and César resigning their portfolios, which were given
to Máximo Jerez and Buitrago.[XII-20] Their tenure was necessarily
short, and they were superseded in the latter part of the year by
Fruto Chamorro and José Guerrero, the latter being almost immediately
succeeded by Lino César. This new arrangement gave the director an
homogeneous cabinet. The government was now a decidedly conservative
one.
The revolution came to an end in the latter part of September 1845,
an amnesty being issued excepting only the chief leaders, and persons
guilty of common crimes.[XII-21]
[Sidenote: SANDOVAL AND MORALES.]
This short truce enabled Sandoval to pay an official visit to the
several districts. In Chinandega the inhabitants having abandoned their
homes, he issued orders to bring them back.[XII-22] The government
was levying heavy taxes. The citizens of Leon, Chinandega, El Viejo,
and other places, who were the victims of the self-styled "ejército
protector de la paz," were compelled to support the régime which
had its being out of the destruction of the first-named town. It is,
therefore, not a matter of surprise that the people of many towns went
off to the woods. The insurrection broke out again, Valle appearing in
Segovia, and reëntering Chinandega on the 26th of November. The amnesty
decree was thereupon revoked.[XII-23] The state of Honduras took part
in the war, sending an army under Guardiola to the aid of Sandoval. The
insurgents were defeated first by Muñoz, and soon after by Guardiola,
who occupied Chinandega.[XII-24] At the end of the campaign Muñoz
signified a desire to leave the state, and asked for a passport; but
the government replied with words of fulsome praise that his services
could not be spared.[XII-25] This was precisely what Muñoz had fished
for.[XII-26]
Efforts were made by Buitrago and others to prevail on Sandoval
to call the chambers of 1846 to sit in Leon, but he objected to
the proposition. The assembly met first in San Fernando June 7,
1846, and on the 14th of August sanctioned every past act of the
government.[XII-27] At a later date it removed to Managua, and
adjourned leaving much unfinished business, for which it was summoned
to an extra session,[XII-28] and after doing what was required of it,
retired on the 18th of December.
The end of Sandoval's term was approaching, and elections for supremo
director took place. The assembly met again on the 12th of March, 1847,
and Senator Miguel R. Morales assumed the executive. Minister Salinas
in his annual report made a number of suggestions to the chambers;
namely, an amendment of the constitution in the direction styled by the
conservatives, "moderado y de órden;" good relations with the pope, and
cordial friendship with the priests; public instruction based upon the
requirements of the council of Trent. The office of supremo director
passed, on the 6th of April, into the hands of José Guerrero, who
had been chosen for the constitutional term.[XII-29] Acceding to the
repeated petitions of the people of the western department, Guerrero
decreed[XII-30] to make Leon the residence of the government, and the
transfer was effected July 20th, the people of that city greeting the
director and his officials with joy. The assembly, however, preferred
to sit at Managua, and did so on the 3d of September.[XII-31]
The country stood in need of a new constitution, but this could
not be framed at the present time, because the whole attention of
the government and people was absorbed by the questions with Great
Britain, which were a menace to Nicaraguan territory, and even to the
independence of all Central America. These difficulties were connected
with the possession of the territory known as the Mosquito Coast, or
Mosquitia. The Spanish authorities to the last moment of their rule
over Central America acted in a manner indicative of Spain's claim of
full sovereignty over that territory, disallowing the pretended right
of the Zambo chief who under British protection had been dubbed King of
Mosquitia.[XII-32]
[Sidenote: THE MOSQUITO COAST.]
A British agent claimed some years afterward that the relations of the
Spanish and Mosquitian authorities had been in 1807, and even before,
such as are held between independent powers.[XII-33] The so-called
king of Mosquitia claimed sovereignty over an extent of country 340
miles long from north to south, and about 235 miles in breadth. He
also claimed the district of Talamanca in Costa Rica, and that of
Chiriquí in Panamá.[XII-34] The British authorities maintained a sort
of protectorate over these Indians, occasionally sending presents to
their chiefs.[XII-35]
[Illustration: MOSQUITIA.]
[Sidenote: KING GEORGE FREDERICK.]
George Frederick and his half-brother Robert, like their father George,
who was killed in 1800, were of mixed negro and Indian blood. They
were first taken to Belize to receive some education,[XII-36] and
next to Jamaica, where they were the objects of some attention on
the part of Lord Albemarle, the governor-general. George Frederick's
education was an indifferent one. In 1815 he was back in Belize to
be crowned there at his own request, Chaplain Armstrong performing
the ceremony, and his chiefs taking the oath of allegiance in regular
form.[XII-37] He was then proclaimed king of the Mosquito shore and
nation, and a British war vessel conveyed him and his chiefs to Gracias
á Dios.[XII-38] It seems that kingly life afforded him little or no
satisfaction. Aware of his lack of qualifications, and fully sensible
that he could not retrieve himself from vicious habits, especially
from the bottle, which soon controlled him, his heart failed him, and
his life became embittered.[XII-39] The British government at first
manifested a friendly interest, sending him presents, and Chaplain
Armstrong his advice; but the latter was disregarded by the king
and his chief minister, who often remarked that a present of rum
would be more welcome. The instruction on government was beyond his
understanding, and looked on as falsehood. Such was the effect of
his West India education in civilization. It has been asserted that
he was murdered in 1824.[XII-40] Robert, his brother, succeeded,
and was deposed, his successor being James, descended from an older
branch of the family,[XII-41] who took the name of George Frederick.
Mosquito annals do not record what became of him. The next king was
Robert Charles Frederick, who believing himself a real monarch, for
and in consideration of abundant contributions of rum, to which he
was much addicted, began to make large grants of land, some of which
carried with them the rights of absolute sovereignty. Most of these
grants were afterward cancelled, and the king was taken by the British
authorities to Belize, and kept under control. He died there, leaving,
in a so-called last will, dated in February 1840, to Superintendent
Macdonald the regency of his dominions during the minority of his heir,
the princess Inez Ann Frederick.[XII-42] Macdonald, whether as such
regent or as an officer of the British crown, appointed his private
secretary, Patrick Walker, to reside at Blewfields, and have charge of
the affairs of Mosquitia; since which time the shore began to assume
much importance, at least in a political sense. Walker established a
council of state, and soon opened a dispute about boundaries with the
Central American states, giving rise to grave questions which occupied
the attention of other governments, and of which I will treat later.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: COLONIZATION FAILURES.]
Several attempts were made since the early days of the present century
to colonize the Mosquito shore, for which large tracts of land were
granted. Among the most important was one made to the Scotchman Sir
Gregor MacGregor,[XII-43] who soon after started a wild project,
which later was known as the Poyais bubble, and ended, about 1823,
disastrously for the dupes who had been drawn into it.[XII-44] In
1839 the British Central America Land Company of London made another
experiment on the same place where MacGregor had tried his, and
it ended in failure.[XII-45] A German colony named Carlsruhe, near
Blewfields, which was started about 1844, had to be abandoned in 1849
after losing about two thirds of the emigrants.
The climate of the coast is moist, hotter than in the interior, and not
as healthy. The greater part of the soil is fertile, and it may be said
that the country possesses many natural elements of wealth.[XII-46]
Blewfields, the capital of Mosquitia, is on the river and lagoon of the
same name. In the latter part of 1847 Blewfields and its dependencies
had 599 inhabitants, of which 111 were white and 488 black,[XII-47] in
two villages, the larger, Blewfields, having 78 houses, and the lesser,
Carlsruhe, 16. Few of the houses were built of boards. One of this kind
was then occupied by Walker, the British agent and consul-general, with
whom the sovereign resided.[XII-48]
* * * * *
On the 12th of August, 1841, Macdonald, superintendent of Belize, came
to San Juan del Norte on the frigate _Tweed_, bringing with him the
so-called king of the Mosquitos or Moscos. At the same time an armed
sloop, under the Mosquito flag and commanded by Peter Shepherd, entered
the port. The comandante and revenue officer, Lieutenant-colonel
Quijano, went to see the commanding officers at Shepherd's house, but
was not received, on the plea that both the king and superintendent
were unwell. An official letter from him was left unanswered. At
last, the superintendent's secretary, together with the captain of
the frigate and the king's secretary, called on Quijano and told him
that on the following day his letter would be answered, requiring his
recognition of the Mosquito king as the ally of her Britannic Majesty.
Quijano refused, and his visitors retired. He reiterated his refusal
in a letter to the superintendent, and in the name of his government
solemnly protested against his pretension, as well as against the
insults inflicted on his country.[XII-49] He was finally notified that
if he interfered with any British or Mosquito subject, both he and his
government would be held responsible.[XII-50]
[Sidenote: BRITISH INTERFERENCE.]
The demands and insults of the British officers continued until the
15th, when they seized Quijano and carried him on board the frigate,
intending to take him to Belize.[XII-51] The Nicaraguan government, in
a note to British Vice-consul Foster, denounced the acts of the British
officials at San Juan as high-handed, accusing Macdonald of usurping
the name of her Britannic Majesty in supposing her to be an ally of
the so-called Mosquito king.[XII-52] The whole American continent
became indignant at the British proceedings in San Juan. There was one
exception, however, which must be classified as vile. Ferrera, jefe
of Honduras, under the influence of the servile element of Guatemala,
allied with Chatfield, recognized the Mosquito nation.[XII-53]
Chatfield informed Nicaragua that the whole Central American territory
lying between Cape Gracias á Dios and the mouth of the San Juan River
belonged to the Mosquito king, without prejudice to other rights the
king might have south of the San Juan.[XII-54] In January 1848 two
British war vessels occupied the port of San Juan without resistance,
replacing the Nicaraguan officials by Englishmen as servants of the
Mosquito king, after doing which they sailed away; but no sooner had
the intelligence reached the interior than a force was despatched
to San Juan, which reoccupied the place and sent to the capital as
prisoners the intruders.[XII-55] Whereupon the British returned
in force in March 1848, and defeated the Nicaraguan detachment.
Hostilities being further prosecuted, the Nicaraguans had to succumb
before the superior power of their foe, and consented to an armistice,
providing that they would not disturb San Juan, or attempt to
reoccupy the port, pending the negotiations which must follow on these
events.[XII-56]
[Sidenote: TREATIES.]
Nicaragua, by her ablest diplomates, defended her rights to the
disputed territory both in Europe and America, without obtaining
a satisfactory result, until the fears of Central Americans for
the independence of their country were brought to an end by the
Clayton-Bulwer treaty, otherwise called the Ship Canal convention,
concluded at Washington between the United States and Great Britain on
the 19th of April, 1850, by the first article of which neither power
could occupy, fortify, colonize, nor exercise dominion over Nicaragua,
Costa Rica, the Mosquito Coast, or any other portion of Central
American territory, nor make use of a protectorate in any form.[XII-57]
Thus was this vexed question terminated, England resigning all her
claims to the Mosquito Coast, and by a subsequent treaty concluded
at Managua on the 28th of January, 1860, known as the Zeledon-Wyke
treaty, ceded to Nicaragua the protectorate absolutely.[XII-58] Since
then Nicaragua has subjected the Mosquito Coast to a prefecto.[XII-59]
Nevertheless, it is understood that the Indian reserve is still
ruled by a chief chosen by the natives, assisted by a council, which
assembles at Blewfields; but subject to the supreme authority of the
Nicaraguan government.
* * * * *
Nicaragua, as soon as she assumed the position of an independent
nation, hastened to open friendly relations with other powers.[XII-60]
Spain made with the republic July 25, 1850, a treaty of friendship,
commerce, and navigation, the first and second articles of which fully
recognize Nicaragua's independence.[XII-61] Early efforts were made to
arrange ecclesiastical affairs with the papal see, a concordat being
finally concluded at Rome November 2, 1861.[XII-62]
With the other Central American states Nicaragua made treaties, which
underwent from time to time alterations, as circumstances seemed to
demand for her own or the general defence. Several of these will be
made apparent in the course of my narrative. Nicaragua has endeavored
to maintain cordial relations with her neighbors.[XII-63] The republic
entered into friendly diplomatic relations with the powers of Europe
and America, most of them having treaties of amity, commerce, and
extradition of criminals. Its relations with the United States have
generally been intimate, made so by considerations of neighborhood,
business interests, and similarity of institutions, as well as by
a mutual desire to forward the construction of a ship canal across
Nicaraguan territory. They have been disturbed at times, however,
while Nicaragua was a transit route between the eastern states of
the American union, and during the execution of schemes of American
filibusters, such as those of Kinney and Walker.
[Sidenote: ARBITRARY ACTS.]
While the Mosquito question was pending between Nicaragua and Great
Britain, circumstances were hastening a practical solution of it.
An American company, acting under a Nicaraguan charter, opened a
transit route for passengers through the state, beginning at San
Juan del Norte, which place rapidly filled up with emigrants from the
United States, who becoming numerically predominant, met in a primary
capacity and organized an independent government.[XII-64] After an
indiscreet attempt on the part of a British commander to levy duties
on an American steamer, which was disavowed by his government, the
British protectorate over San Juan at last virtually ceased. The town
and port remained under the direct control of the inhabitants, most
of whom were Americans, as a free city.[XII-65] The prosperity of the
place was retarded by a dispute with the persons into whose hands the
transit had fallen, which produced bitter feeling, and resulted in
alleged insults to Solon Borland, United States minister to Nicaragua,
whose belligerent instincts carried him away to interfere in matters
which were foreign to his office. The sloop of war _Cyane_, Commander
Hollins, was despatched by the American government to look into
the case. Hollins assumed a hostile attitude,[XII-66] made arrogant
demands, and the latter not being complied with, he bombarded the
town on the 13th of July, 1854, and landing a party of marines, burned
it to the ground.[XII-67] This act has been generally condemned. The
American government hardly contemplated it; but not having punished
Commander Hollins, it must bear the odium. Notwithstanding these
difficulties, peaceable relations were not disturbed.[XII-68] Nicaragua
also has treaties with Belgium, Italy, France, England, Peru, and other
nations.[XII-69]
A squabble occurred in 1876 at Leon, in which the German consul and a
Nicaraguan citizen were concerned, giving rise to a conflict between
the German and Nicaraguan governments, the former making of it a casus
belli, and demanding, backed by a naval force, a considerable sum of
money.[XII-70]
* * * * *
The political situation in the interior of Nicaragua, during the
winter, of 1848-9, was anything but satisfactory to the lovers of
peace. Parties were again venting their animosities. The leader
Bernabé Somoza captured Rivas, and afterward became notorious for
deeds of cruelty and robbery. Director Norberto Ramirez[XII-71]
despatched there a strong force under J. T. Muñoz. Somoza was defeated
and captured at San Jorge on the 14th of June.[XII-72] Ramirez was
succeeded by José Laureano Pineda in 1851,[XII-73] against whom a
revolt broke out August 4, 1851, having J. Trinidad Muñoz for its
leader. Pineda and his ministers Francisco Castellon and F. Diaz Zapata
were arrested. The plan failed, however. Leon, Muñoz' headquarters,
was taken by government forces assisted by troops from Honduras,
and Muñoz surrendered.[XII-74] On the expiration of Pineda's term in
1853, Chamorro became chief of the state, having been elected by the
suffrages of the moderados. The new director was a well-meaning man,
and hoped by pursuing a moderate course to allay party bickerings.
But his political opponents, together with a portion of the military
element, did not permit him to develop his policy in peace.
The legislative assembly rejected, April 30, 1853, a provisional
constitution which had been framed and published by the national
constituent assembly on the 13th of October, 1852,[XII-75] and at the
same time declared the state to be independent and sovereign. This was
followed on the 28th of February, 1854, by another decree of the state
constituent assembly assuming for the state the title of República
de Nicaragua, and giving its executive the name of president.[XII-76]
The coat of arms and flag of the new republic were decreed April 21,
1854.[XII-77]
[Sidenote: CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY.]
A constituent assembly, called on the 11th of December, 1853, to meet
on the 8th of January, 1854, for the purpose of framing a constitution
for the republic, was installed on the 22d of that month.[XII-78] It
continued its session without interruption, and on the 7th of April
assumed, for urgent cases, the powers of an ordinary legislature,
enacting that, in the event of a temporary vacancy in the office of
president, his duties should devolve on the member of the constituent
assembly called by him to assume them. Chamorro was then chosen
provisional president, to hold the office till the 1st of March,
1855. The new charter of the republic was sanctioned on the 30th of
April,[XII-79] which was in force only in Granada and other towns
acknowledging Chamorro's government.
[Illustration: NICARAGUA.]
[Sidenote: LONG AND BLOODY WAR.]
The opposition of the liberals culminated in an attempt at revolution
in Leon, promoted by Castellon, Jerez, and Mariano Salazar. The
government then residing at Managua defeated their plan for the
time, and banished the leaders and a few of their influential
followers.[XII-80] The exiles sought refuge in Salvador and Honduras,
and with the favor of Cabañas, who was then on bad terms with
Chamorro,[XII-81] obtained resources for a second attempt against
the government of the latter. With a few men and a quantity of arms
and ammunition, they went from Tigre Island to Realejo. The invaders
were enthusiastically received, Leon, Chinandega, and immediate towns
proclaiming Castellon provisional director, which office he assumed
June 11, 1854.[XII-82] This was the beginning of a long and bloody
war, which Salvador and Guatemala vainly tried to avert.[XII-83]
Chamorro approached Leon, but finding it had declared for Castellon,
retired to Granada and fortified the place, sustaining afterward an
irregular siege of several months from thrice the number of his force,
under Jerez, till the early part of 1855. Castellon, meantime, gained
possession of the republic, Granada excepted; but the long siege of
this town wrought a change in the feelings of the unstable people, and
in a short time Chamorro or his party recovered Managua, Masaya, and
Rivas, after a series of bloody encounters. The siege of Granada was
consequently raised.[XII-84] Even Chamorro's death, which occurred at
this time,[XII-85] did not favor the democrats. He was succeeded by
José María Estrada. Corral was the general-in-chief of the legitimist
forces, and was organizing at Masaya an army to capture Leon. The
government had called the constituent assembly, which met on the 8th of
April with only fourteen members, and on the 10th resolved that Estrada
should retain the executive until a president should be chosen under
the constitution. This greatly displeased Corral, who had expected to
be called to that position. He had his headquarters in Managua, and
threatened to be revenged of the men who had slighted him.[XII-86]
Meanwhile Muñoz had gone to Honduras and returned with a small division
of troops, the chief command of both the democratic and Honduran forces
being vested in him. By his advice Castellon appointed Rosalío Cortés
and P. Aleman commissioners to ascertain the views of the legitimist
chiefs with reference to peace negotiations. Estrada consented to
receive Cortés, but not Aleman, and the former had interviews with
him and his supporters, prevailing on them to enter into negotiations
either in their official or private capacity. Muñoz had authorized
Cortés to tell Corral he wished to have a direct understanding
with him.[XII-87] Cortés first saw Corral, and by his advice next
had interviews with Estrada, Vega, and others, all of whom showed
a willingness to treat for peace, and asked him to return to Leon,
which he did, touching at Managua, where Corral assured him of his
disposition to come to an understanding with Muñoz.
[Sidenote: DEMOCRATS AND LEGITIMISTS.]
The situation of the democrats was improved since the return of Muñoz.
That of the legitimists was not so good, but the rulers felt confident.
By its moderate course the legitimist government was gaining favor in
democratic towns. Estrada's confidence was increased with the arrival
of two foreign ministers accredited to his government.[XII-88] By this
time Corral had an efficient division at Managua. His subordinate,
Colonel Tomás Martinez, who in late years became president of the
republic, not only cleared Nueva Segovia of Hondurans, but also
occupied the town of San Márcos in Honduras. Lieutenant-colonel Andrés
Murillo obtained a victory over the democrats at Tecuaname on the
17th of May. A few days after—May 31st—Estrada's government decreed an
amnesty to all soldiers, from private to sergeant inclusive, presenting
themselves within twenty days.[XII-89] On the 13th of June came two
men who afterward were fatal to the legitimists, Santos Guardiola,
and the clergyman Manuel Alcaine. The latter was a commissioner from
Salvador to both belligerents, and his efforts on behalf of peace
had been favorably entertained by Castellon. Estrada listened to him,
but did not accept his proposals.[XII-90] Alcaine went back to Leon,
and reported that the legitimists were bent upon exterminating the
democrats, and his statements were fully believed. All hope of bringing
the war to an end by peaceful negotiations was now abandoned.[XII-91]