in the churches that dotted the land, many of which had schools and hospitals in connection with their work. Agriculture flourished and, by 1810, some exports were on a par with the United States. Many with the States. were on par manufactured goods competed with England in volume. Everything about Mexico bore the fruits of a happy and industrious people led to this plateau of greatness by the love and leadership of the dedicated priests and nuns of the Catholic Church. The decline of Mexico started when religious influence began declining after the king of Spain, Charles II, expelled the Jesuits in 1767 and the state seized the Jesuits' Pious Fund of some forty-five million dollars. This money had been used by the Jesuits to lend to small farmers at 5 percent interest, with the interest being used for charity. : When the Cadiz Constitution of 1820 restricted the rights and liberties of the Church, and The Cortes rejected Mexico's submitted Guarantees of Religious Independence and Union, Royalist leader Iturbide was proclaimed Emperor of an Independent Mexico. But a peaceful and prosperous Mexico, united by a common religious faith, was not allowed to continue. The events that followed were replays of the events of the French Revolution, and like that revolution, began in the Illuminist Lodges. These lodges had been imported into Mexico by way of France, Spain, and the United States. 108 The Secret Side of History school texts, and Bibles. Evidence of culture was found