DON FRANCISCO ESPOZ X, a Spanish general, was born in 1781, at Idozin, a small village of Navarre. When the insurrection against the French broke out in 1808, Mina took part in the guerilla warfare then carried on, and soon distinguished himself so much by his skill and courage as to collect a large body of men under his standard. He thus rose to be the head of all the troops of Navarre, and urged the war with great vigour, inflicting many heavy blows on the French. He displayed great activity and rapidity in his movements, and gained many successes by falling suddenly and unexpectedly on the French convoys proceeding between Madrid and France; and although the French organized a large army to secure their possession of the country infested by him, he always succeeded in baffling their attempts by dispersing his troops among the ravines and mountain passes, and reuniting them again at a different place a short time after. During all these exploits Mina acted not only as the general directing the movements of his band, but fought himself as actively as any soldier in the ranks. On one occasion he was severely wounded, and on another narrowly escaped with his life, when having been surprised in a house to which he had betaken himself, and not having time to seize his arms, he only saved himself from certain destruction by defending himself with an iron bar. Mina was raised to the rank of colonel in 1811, and to that of brigadier-general in 1813. At the close of the war he was at the head of more than 30,000 men, who had taken 13 fortified places, and captured upwards of 14,000 prisoners. In 1814 Mina was invited to the court of Ferdinand VII.; but he did not conceal his disapproval of the abrogation of the constitution of 1812, and was accordingly sent back to Navarre, where, shortly after, along with the other generals and the greater part of the army, he openly joined the liberal party, and was obliged to save himself from the fate of his companions by taking refuge in France. (For a full account of the events of this period, and of Mina's share in them, see SPAIN.) The Spanish ambassador in France demanded the delivery of the fugitive; but Louis XVIII. not only refused to do so, but insisted on the recall of the ambassador, and gave Mina a pension. On the restoration of Napoleon he refused to enter his service, and retired to Switzerland; but returned to France on the fall of the emperor. In 1820 Mina returned to the theatre of his old exploits; and the remembrance of his former achievements soon put him at the head of a large army. When the constitution was again accepted by the king, Mina was appointed captain-general of Navarre; and in 1821 he held the same office in Galicia; but was soon after deprived of his command, when he retired to Siguenza. He was recalled, however, in 1822, and took the command of the constitutional army in Catalonia, with which he obtained great successes over the enemy. The invasion of a French army, however, compelled Mina, after resisting as long as possible, to give up the contest, and to retire to England. After the revolution of 1830 he repaired to Paris, where he and Valdes planned an invasion of Spain. The latter, more impatient than Mina, entered Spain in 1830; and as his expedition was not successful, Mina crossed the frontier in order to save his companions, though with faint hopes of the success of his enterprise. After displaying great courage and passing through the greatest dangers, he reached with difficulty the French frontier. In 1834, on the breaking out of the civil war, Mina was recalled to take the command of the army of the queen. But he was now opposed to his old followers the peasants of the north, who embraced the side of the Carlists, and turned against Mina those very tactics which he had taught them, and by which he had gained along with them so many successes. His health, too, was injured by the incessant activity, sufferings, and dangers of his laborious life; and he was obliged to resign his command in 1835, without having gained any great success. He died the following year at Barcelona.