control. The government attempted to establish military colonies along the frontier to settle and pacify the region. The project was hampered by lack of funds, but by 1851, despite not being as extensive as originally planned, reasonable progress on the colonies had nonetheless been made, and three successful settlements were home to over two thousand individuals. An insurrection in the Sierra Gorda led to the governor requesting aid from the surrounding states. Two thousand men subsequently arrived and the leader Quiros was captured and executed in October 1849. The Caste War was also ongoing in Yucatán. General Micheltorena arrived to take charge of federal efforts to keep the insurrection under control. The Maya leaders were advancing, and established a headquarters at Chan Santa Cruz. Micheltorena resigned after failing to keep the situation under control and was replaced in May 1851, by General Vega. Foreign relations Towards the end of his administration, Herrera began to negotiate a treaty with the United States to either construct a canal or a railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The treaty was approved by the administration, but rejected by congress due to a clause that permitted the United States to send troops in order to protect the construction. In response to the upheavals faced by the Papal States during the 1848 revolutions, the Mexican government offered Pope Pius IX asylum, which the pope responded to by considering the creation of a Mexican cardinal and granting an award to President Herrera. Post presidency The 1851 election was won by Mariano Arista, and Herrera was the first Mexican president to complete his term since the inaugural holder of the office, Guadalupe Victoria has passed power over to Vicente Guerrero in 1828. After stepping down, Herrera was accompanied by President Arista to his home in Tacubaya. There he lived in declining health, and lived long enough to witness the return to power of Santa Anna in 1853, after having played such a pivotal role in overthrowing him in 1845. Herrera died in poverty on February 10, 1854. He was buried in the cemetery of San Fernando. At the funeral were present José María Lacunza, Luis G. Cuevas and other officers and officials. See also List of heads of state of Mexico References Further reading Cotner, Thomas Ewing, The Military and Political Career of Jose Joaquin de Herrera, 1792–1854. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1949, reprinted 1969. Diccionario Porrúa