Chapter XXIX: Part 29

_Locality, Extent, &c._--Peru lies south of Equator along the western shore of the continent, nearly central between the isthmus and the Straits of Magellan, having an area of five hundred thousand square miles, and a population of one million eight hundred thousand. The country is traversed by several chains of the Andes, from north to south, the principal chain lying nearly parallel to the coast. There exists a great variety as to the surface, soil, and climate of Peru, portions of the country being sterile, with no rains, and only dews; and others very fertile, abounding in impenetrable forests of gigantic trees, and producing the rich fruits and vegetables of tropical regions. The traveler, according to his elevation, meets here with eternal snows or perpetual summer, or the most excessive and deadly heat. The gold and silver wealth of Peru has a world-wide celebrity. The silver mines of Potosi are perhaps the richest known, unless the recent golden treasures of California shall be found to exceed them. Like the latter, the former were first made known by accident. An Indian, by the name of Hualpa, one day following some wild animals up the mountain, laid hold of a shrub or tree to aid his ascent; which, giving way, revealed a mass of silver ore, which lay so near the surface as to cling to the roots. For some time Hualpa kept his discovery a secret, but his rapid increase of wealth attracting the notice of a countryman, he revealed it to him. The friends, however, soon quarreled; upon which, the secret was divulged.

_Condition at the time of its Invasion by the Spaniards._--"Peru was one of the two monarchies of America which, at the invasion of the Spaniards, had attained to a degree of refinement far above that savage state in which most of the American Indians lived. It was also remarkable from the contrast of the character of its civilization to that of the Mexicans. Instead of the fierce and lofty spirit, the bloody wars, the uncouth deities, and ferocious rites of the latter, the Peruvians were united in tranquil subjection to a mild superstition, which represented their Inca as the child of the sun, to whom unreserved submission was due. However fable may have been mixed with the truth in the tale of Manco Capac and his wife Mama Ocollo--who, according to the traditions of the country, founded the empire, first appearing among the people about the year 1100, claiming to be children of the sun--the story of the greatness of the Peruvian empire has nothing fabulous. It comprehended not only the vast region now called Peru, but the territory of Quito or Ecuador, which is covered with the monuments of the Incas. Order was established in this vast region; the land was carefully cultivated; the rivers were carefully employed in irrigating the soil; mountains were formed into terraces to receive the canals constructed for this purpose, and walls were built to prevent the water from escaping; so that large tracts, which have now relapsed into deserts, were rendered productive."

_Conquest by Pizarro._--Francisco Pizarro, an uneducated Spaniard, is entitled to the renown, or the infamy, of bringing this rich country under the dominion of Spain, in the former part of the sixteenth century. The details are too numerous to be here given; but suffice it to say, that with two associates and about two hundred soldiers, he overran this splendid empire, and filled it with rapine and blood. The gentle and unsuspicious character of the natives rendered them an easy prey to the artifice, cupidity, and cruelty of these Spanish cut-throats. Pizarro's associates were Diego de Almagro, a soldier of fortune, and Fernando de Luques, a mercenary priest.

Atahualpa, the Peruvian emperor, treated the strangers with great courtesy, and sent them several valuable presents--fruits, corn, emeralds, and vases of gold and silver. The sight of the gold and silver served to render the Spaniards more fierce, and prepare them for the cruel butcheries that followed. The following morning, Atahualpa, attended by fifteen thousand men, met Pizarro at a place previously appointed. He was borne on a throne of gold. As the procession approached Pizarro, a Dominican friar, by the name of Valverde, made a long address to the emperor, in which he endeavored to expound the Christian religion; following which, he proposed to him a submission to the king of Spain, on the ground that the pope had made a present to him of Peru.

To this, Atahualpa replied, that he was willing to be the friend of the king of Spain, but not his vassal. The pope he considered a very extraordinary personage to make a present of that which did not belong to him; and as to those whom the friar denominated Christians--"If," said he, "they worship a God who died upon a cross, I worship the _Sun_, who never dies." After further efforts at persuasion, Valverde became indignant, and called upon the Spaniards to vindicate their holy religion, and to wreak their just vengeance upon dogs who could thus trample upon the gospel. Upon this, a signal was given, and the work of butchery commenced in the emperor's own palace. Pizarro himself advanced towards Atahualpa, and took him prisoner, while all around the princes of the race of the Incas, the flower of the nobility, and other great men of the court, were indiscriminately put to the sword.

The cruelties that were inflicted, from this time forward, upon this unoffending people, and the riches amassed by these rapacious adventurers, so abhorred of God and men, are scarcely capable of enumeration, were it the object of this succinct account to speak of particulars. While their prince, being a prisoner, was condemned on some frivolous pretext, and strangled at the stake, they were made to expiate, by their death, the crime of owning a rich and beautiful country. Their great city of Cuzco was entered by Pizarro, in 1534, and plundered of its immense wealth. Indeed, the thirst of blood and plunder was every where exhibited in the progress of the Spaniards through the country. Had the latter shown any degree of moderation and humanity, they would probably have made themselves masters of the empire without further bloodshed than this commencement of the fearful tragedy. A people, by constitution and training so mild and submissive, would have yielded to the yoke without much reluctance. But the infinite variety of their calamities stirred up the people to revenge, and they found agents to give it, for a time, a degree of effect. But the Spaniards persevered in their efforts to overthrow the country; large numbers poured into it from abroad, and all resistance finally ceased. Those of the natives who were most attached to their liberty, to their government, and to their religion, took refuge at a distance among inaccessible mountains. The greater part of them, however, submitted to their conquerors.

The fate of these robbers was, at length, as deplorable as that of the subjects of their rapacity and cruelty. By various causes irritated and enraged against each other, the leaders fought among themselves, and the most revolting scenes of revenge and hatred were exhibited in the result. The original leaders of the enterprise were soon no more, and others followed in the same path of robbery, blood, and mutual jealousy and contention. These civil wars continued through a series of years. Fortunately for this part of the new world, the most seditious of the conquerors, and of those who followed in their steps, had perished in these wars. With their departure was connected a degree of tranquillity, and then only the Catholic kings might with truth style themselves the sovereigns of the Spaniards settled in Peru.

_Condition of the Country after the Conquest._--The native Peruvians, after their subjugation, quietly submitted to the Spanish yoke for more than two centuries. They felt keenly, in many instances, the wrongs inflicted on them, but they had no power of resistance against a disciplined European force. They were loaded with insupportable burdens, yet it was useless to complain. The exactions of their conquerors were most unreasonable and cruel, and they passed their days in sorrow, groaning under the severest bondage. It would seem that all memory of their ancient independence, and the glories of the empire of Manco Capac, was lost from among them. Under their oppressions, their spirit and resolution appeared wholly to depart; but events proved that they were capable of being aroused--if by nothing better, at least by despair.

_Insurrection in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century._--The sufferings of the natives became so extreme, that they wanted nothing but a leader to induce them to rise upon their oppressors, and attempt the overthrow of the Spanish power. Such a leader was found in Tupac Amaru, a descendant, on the mother's side, from an Inca of that name. He was well fitted, in many respects, to head an insurrection, having a commanding figure and intrepidity of spirit. He animated his countrymen to many heroic deeds, and, in the course of the rebellion, several successful battles were fought, and many Spaniards killed in the encounters, and many massacred in the progress of the Indian arms; but these were, on the whole, unsuccessful; their irregularities were, perhaps, more than retaliated by the Spaniards. Amaru was captured in the course of the war, and drawn into pieces by wild horses, as the punishment of his attempt to free his countrymen from oppression. Several other leaders were likewise taken, and shared the same cruel fate.

The principal leaders of the insurrection being no more, the great body of the Indian population quietly returned to vassalage, and bowed again under the galling yoke. Such was the issue of an attempt for freedom, which filled Peru with bloodshed and misery for the space of two years, and of a war, in which, it is asserted, one-third of the population of Peru perished by the hand of violence. It produced no permanent or important change in the condition of the Indians. They were rigidly prohibited the use of arms. The tribute pressed more heavily afterwards, and was more strictly levied, and that unfortunate people were treated more contemptuously, in revenge of their unsuccessful rebellion.

_Revolutionary Movements in the early part of the Present Century._--Previously to the French invasion of Spain, and the confusion into which the mother-country was thrown by that event, and the consequent facilities and inducements which were furnished to the colonies in respect to their independence, an attempt had been made in Peru, having that object in view, as early as the year 1805. It was undertaken by Ubalde, an eminent jurist of Cuzco; but it proved to be a failure, and its author paid his life as the forfeiture of his rashness.

In 1809, a popular movement took place, and provisional juntas were established at Quito and La Paz. This revolutionary design, however, was at once defeated by the viceroys of Peru, Buenos Ayres, and New Grenada, whose armies dissolved the juntas. After this second abortive attempt, Peru remained tranquil for ten years, while the neighboring provinces were engaged in the war of their independence. At length, the people of Chili having defeated the Spanish army in the decisive battle of Maypu, in 1818, conceived the project of securing their independence by expelling the Spaniards from Peru. A naval armament and a land army both were fitted out for this object; the one in 1819, and the other in 1820. The naval force was commanded by Lord Cochrane, an English adventurer, and the land force was commanded by General San Martin.

Some obstacles were interposed to the immediate success of the undertaking; partly from negotiation, and partly from the insufficiency of the invading forces--the liberating army of San Martin being only about five thousand strong, and Cochrane being able only to blockade the Peruvian ports. The city of Lima appeared to be too powerful for an attack by the army of the general; but having, at length, resolved on the enterprise of advancing upon this city, the pusillanimity of the viceroy made way for a success which force might not have achieved. The viceroy fled, to secure his personal safety, while a deputation of citizens invited San Martin to enter the city as a liberator.

_Declaration of Independence._--It was on the 12th of July, 1821, that San Martin made his entry into Lima, where he was received with acclamations, and, on the 28th, the independence of Peru was formally declared. San Martin took the title of Protector of Peru, with supreme power, both civil and military. A provisional government was organized, and measures were adopted to establish the affairs of the country on a permanent basis. But the new state of things was fluctuating. It was not until the 20th of September, 1822, that the first Peruvian congress convened. At this congress, an executive junta was appointed, of three persons, to administer the government. San Martin declined the office of commander-in-chief of the Peruvian armies, and returned to Chili.

From this period, there was little promise of stability for the new republic. Discontent and dissensions followed among the people, and every thing was thrown into confusion. It was not until the great liberator, Bolivar, had come among them, by invitation of a portion of the people, and after three sanguinary battles had with the royalist forces, that the Spanish power was prostrated in Peru. On the 10th of December, 1824, the Peruvian congress was again installed. Bolivar was then declared the political and military head of the republic, as he had been once before, and a gift of a million of dollars was tendered him for his services, which he saw fit to refuse. Lower Peru was thus liberated, and, as early as January, 1826, Upper Peru experienced the same deliverance, through the arms of the patriot General Sucre.

_Condition of the Country after the Expulsion of the Spaniards._--Bolivar's influence was great, and a constitution of government was adopted, which harmonized with his views; but the people were still dissatisfied, and they seized an occasion, when Bolivar was absent in Columbia, of rising in insurrection, and effected a complete revolution in the beginning of the year 1827. A new form of government was adopted, combining the properties of a federal and a central system, with a president, chosen for four years, a national congress, and a separate provisional government.

The republic, however, did not become settled by this latter change; for the constitution of 1827, like that which preceded it, has proved to be too little congenial to the taste and capacities of the people. As late as 1835, four chiefs, in arms, were striving for the supremacy; and one year later, a spurious president, General Salaverry, having been defeated in battle, was condemned to death by a court martial, and shot, with his adherents, in the month of February, 1836. In 1837, Peru was placed under the protection of Santa Cruz, president of Bolivia. Both Chili and Buenos Ayres were at war with Peru, a few years since.

V. BOLIVIA.

NAME, Extent, and Physical Character--Overthrow of the Spanish
Power--Proclamation of Independence--Choice of Rulers under
the New Constitution--Present Condition.

_Name, Extent, &c._--This country, originally called Upper Peru, and once forming a portion of the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres, or La Plata, dates from the battle of Ayacucho, December 9th, 1828, in which the republicans, under Sucre, completely defeated the royalists. The name, Bolivia, given to it, was in compliment to Bolivar.

The republic has a length of one thousand one hundred and forty-two miles, and an area of four hundred and ten thousand square miles. In its physical features, it is marked by several lofty peaks of the Andes. Some of them exceed twenty thousand feet in height. The inequality of the surface gives it a great variety as to temperature and climate. In the central portion of it, the soil has great agricultural capabilities. The mineral wealth of the country is very considerable--the famous mine of Potosi, which has heretofore been particularly noticed, now belongs to Bolivia.

_Overthrow of the Spanish Power._--The provinces of Upper Peru having been wrested from the Spaniards, as above stated, General Sucre soon cleared the country of the royalist forces. As he advanced into the territory, not only was he received with universal joy by the inhabitants, but the royal corps, in various places, spontaneously declared for the independence of the country. Sucre reached Potosi in April, 1825, where Olaneta, the Spanish general, made what resistance he was able, but was himself slain, and the royal troops in Upper Peru surrendered to the conquerors.

_Proclamation of Independence._--The upper territories being thus emancipated, a general congress of delegates was convened to decide on the political destiny of the intendencies; whether they would unite with Lower Peru, or the United Provinces, or form a separate and independent nation. The latter was chosen; and, on the 6th of August, 1825, a solemn declaration of the independence of Upper Peru was published. The congress, which assembled at Chiquisaca, gave the new republic its name, and determined to call the capital _Sucre_, the name of the general whose exploits have so often been spoken of. Having solicited Bolivar to prepare a constitution, the congress dissolved itself on the 6th of October. The constitution which was proposed by Bolivar, and adopted by the congress in 1826, vested the executive power in a president chosen for life, with the privilege of naming his successor, and the legislative power in three bodies: a senate, tribune, and censors. But this constitution was soon abolished.

_Choice of Rulers under the New Constitution._--Sucre, at the time of the adoption of the Bolivarian constitution, resigned his discretionary power, and was elected president; but he sent in his resignation to the congress which assembled on the 3d of August, 1828, and returned to Columbia, and, in June, 1830, he was assassinated near Pasto. On the retirement of Sucre, General Velasco filled the office of president, till the meeting of the convention, on the 16th of December. This body displaced Velasco, and elected General Blanco president. A revolution soon followed, which resulted in the deposition and death of Blanco, January 1st, 1829. A temporary government was established, with Velasco at the head, till a new president could be elected, and Santa Cruz was chosen. Generals Velasco and Ballivian have since been elected presidents of the republic; the latter is still in office.

_Present Condition._--The most recent accounts represent Bolivia as being in a state of civil war. The antagonists of President Ballivian have proclaimed the constitution of 1839, and constituted a provisional government, backed by a powerful military organization. The revolution is headed by General Belza, minister of war, who has violated his oath of office, disgraced his country, and outraged constitution and laws, for the purpose of gaining the presidency.

VI. CHILI.

EXTENT, Physical Features, Climate--Conquest by
Almagro--Revolution in the beginning of the Present
Century--Final Establishment of Independence--Subsequent
Condition.

_Extent, Physical Features, Climate, &c._--Chili, lying on the shore of the Pacific, from the twenty-fourth to the forty-fifth degrees of south latitude, its length being one thousand two hundred and sixty miles, and its breadth three hundred miles, possesses many natural advantages and attractions. The immense chain of the Andes traverses the country from north to south. In the vicinity of these mountains, earthquakes are common, and these seem to be the only drawbacks to the paradise which nature has formed in this part of the South American continent. Chili, it is believed, is blessed with the most salubrious and delightful climate on the globe.

Though there are some sterile tracts, the soil, in general, is remarkably fertile, and the products are rich and varied. Medicinal, dyeing, and aromatic plants abound, and there are several plants peculiar to the country. All kinds of metal abound in Chili. Gold, however, is the most copious, and in some districts there is scarcely a hill which does not contain it. Chili is supposed to be the only American state, formerly subject to Spain, whose commerce has been increased since the separation from the mother-country.

_Conquest by Almagro._--After the principal provinces of Peru were brought into subjection, the Spanish conquerors turned their attention to the conquest of Chili. In the early part of 1535, Almagro set out for Cuzco, in the prosecution of this enterprise, with a considerable force. From the nature of the route, he met with great difficulties, and lost many of his men; but he at length accomplished his design, and was received with tokens of submission on the part of the inhabitants. The natives, however, at length, recovering from their astonishment at the sight of so superior a race of men as the Spaniards, began to think of regaining their liberty. Hence, a war arose, which lasted ten years, in which, though the natives were sometimes successful, they were generally and in the end defeated. For a long course of years, the possession of the country by the Spaniards continued to be disputed, and fatal hostilities occurred from time to time, as they attempted to extend their empire in Chili. Their object, however, was effected by degrees, as in all the other American colonies.

_Revolution in the beginning of the Present Century._--The occasion of the revolution in Chili, and its subsequent independence, was the same as in the other Spanish states in America, viz: the disturbances in Spain in consequence of the French invasion in 1809. The captain-general of the province was compelled to resign, and by the popular voice the Count de la Conquista was elevated to his place. The count immediately took measures for instituting a new government. A general congress was determined on, and at length chosen, after some attempts made by the royalists at a counter-revolution. The congress, upon their organization, passed a decree, permitting all persons who were dissatisfied with the changes in the government, to leave the country with their effects, within six months. The children of slaves, born in future, were declared free, and many other acts were passed, with a view to reform the abuses of the ancient government.

Discontent, however, with the new order of things, soon arose, and there was the usual amount of plots and counter-plots, menace and fighting, between the friends and the enemies of the changes in the government, which has constituted a principal feature of Spanish American history in modern times. After various military movements and internal struggles, the revolutionary power was overthrown, and, in 1814, the Spanish authority was completely rëestablished in Chili.

_Final Establishment of Independence._--This state of things continued for more than two years. But it was destined to pass away, after some severe fighting. The government of Buenos Ayres dispatched an army, under San Martin, for the purpose of liberating Chili. After incredible exertions and fatigue, he crossed the lofty chain of the Andes, and arrived in Chili with very little loss. At Chacabuco, the royal troops were defeated, and put to the rout, on the 12th of February, 1817. At Santiago, the liberator was received with acclamations by the inhabitants, and made supreme director. He, however, declined the office, and bestowed it upon O'Higgins, who had commanded a division of his army. Chili was delivered by means of San Martin's successes, ending in the great victory of Maypu, April 5th, 1818, in which the whole Spanish army was destroyed, with the exception of their commander, Osorio, and a few horsemen. This victory set the seal on the independence of Chili, and the patriots were soon enabled to carry the war into the enemy's country by the invasion of Peru, as narrated in the history of the latter.

_Condition subsequently to the Establishment of Independence._--The fact of securing her independence has given little repose to Chili. The outward forms of a republic have been preserved in her government, while parties have struggled for the ascendancy, and filled the country with turbulence. For several years, the southern frontiers were disturbed by the depredations of an outlaw, named Benavides, a Spaniard, who put himself at the head of the Araucanian Indians, and desolated the country with fire and sword, and the commission of bloody atrocities unsurpassed in the history of savage warfare. His success, and the authority he had acquired over the Indians, induced him to think himself a powerful monarch, and he attempted to establish a navy. He captured several American and English vessels, which touched on the coasts of Chili for refreshments, and made himself master of a large amount of property, arms, and military stores. The Spaniards encouraged him in his piracies and murders, and furnished him with troops and artillery. But his bloody career was cut short by the Chilians, who dispatched an expedition against him in October, 1821. Arauco, his capital, was taken, his forces defeated, and Benavides compelled to flee. He was taken prisoner in February, 1822, tried and executed.

In January, 1823, O'Higgins was compelled to resign, and was succeeded by Ramon Freire, as supreme director. In July, 1826, Freire resigned his office, and Admiral Manuel Blanco was appointed in his place; but before the expiration of two months, he retired from office. In 1827, the form of the government was changed; but the public tranquillity has not been secured by the change. Of the two vice-presidents, who were chosen from 1827 to 1831, one was expelled and the other assassinated. Chili, for many years, has been agitated by the dissensions of two parties; the one desiring to establish a central government, and the other, a government like that of the United States.

Chili, in connection with Buenos Ayres, within a few years, has been at war both with Peru and Bolivia. According to the latest accounts, some difficulty now exists between this country and Buenos Ayres; the hope is expressed that it may not issue in war. The too great readiness of the infant republics of South America to engage in contentions with one another, and to indulge in internal feuds, must be acknowledged to be a bad omen in respect to their preparation for the blessings of liberty and independence.

VII. BUENOS AYRES, OR PROVINCES OF LA PLATA.

NAME, &c.--Inhabitants, or Classes of People--Discovery and
Settlement--First Insurrection against the Government of
Spain--Progress and Changes of the New Government--Present
Condition of the Government.

_Name, &c._--This country received its name, at first, from the name of its great river La Plata. The river was so denominated from the fact that, among the spoils of a few Indians, inhumanly put to death, some ornaments of gold and silver had been found. In 1778, it was erected into a Spanish vice-royalty by the name of the vice-royalty of Rio de la Plata. On its declaration of independence, in 1816, it assumed the name of the United Provinces of La Plata, and, in 1826, that of the Argentine Republic; and it has, also, long been known by the name of Buenos Ayres, from the name of its chief city.

_Inhabitants, or Classes of People._--These are the same as are found in Chili, viz: European Spaniards, Creoles, Negroes, Indians, and the mixed races. The Chiquintos are a numerous and civilized nation of independent Indians. There are also many other tribes. There is a striking sameness in the character of all the South American states. Among the Creoles, the strictest equality obtains. No white would do service for any one of his own nation. Education, perhaps, in all the classes, is rather neglected.

_Discovery and Settlement._--Sebastian Cabot, in the early part of the sixteenth century, sailed up the river, to which he gave the name of La Plata. In attempting to build a fortress in the country, or otherwise to commence a settlement, he met with so much opposition from the inhabitants, that, in 1530, he returned to Spain, in order to obtain recruits. The few men whom he left in the colony, were either massacred, or abandoned the country. Some more considerable forces, led by Mendoza, came and settled on the river in 1535, and laid the foundation of Buenos Ayres. Their condition, however, was precarious, whether there, or wherever else they located themselves in the country. They were in danger of being cut off, either by famine or Indian hostilities. Buenos Ayres was at length abandoned, and settlements made farther up the river. To propitiate the natives, they finally resorted to the policy of marrying their women. From a union of this kind, sprung the race of Mestizoes, which, in the course of time, became so common in South America. Buenos Ayres was rebuilt in 1580, and from that time some of the petty nations in that vicinity submitted to the Spanish yoke. A degree of civilization and order was effected among this savage people, by the Jesuits, through a long course of years.

_First Insurrection against the Government of Spain._--The desire of throwing off the government of the mother-country was manifested at an early period among the inhabitants of the city of Buenos Ayres. The development of this feeling was somewhat earlier there, than in other parts of Spanish America. It owed its origin to the war which existed between Spain and Great Britain, in 1806. As the consequence of this war, the province of La Plata was neglected, and thus presented a strong temptation for invasion on the part of the British. That which might have been attempted at some subsequent period by public authority, was commenced by private aggressions, or certainly without orders from the government. A fleet and army, under Commodore Topham and General Beresford, after effecting the conquest of the Cape of Good Hope, proceeded to Buenos Ayres, on the 8th of June, 1806, and, after a slight resistance, took possession of the place on the 28th of June. The Spaniards, however, under Liniers, a French officer, collecting a large force in the country, rëtook it within sixteen days, with a good deal of loss to the British. The latter having received rëinforcements, made two several attempts to recover possession of the city, but failed in both.

In the embarrassments occasioned by Napoleon's invasion of Spain, parties sprang up in Buenos Ayres, some supporting Liniers, who had been appointed viceroy of the province, and others the Spanish authority. The latter appeared, for a time, to be the prevailing power; but the ebulition of royalty which had proclaimed Ferdinand, was of short duration. The Spanish Americans began to feel that they had power in their hands, as was manifested in their defeat of the British. Their discontents increased at the tyranny exercised over them. Commotion followed commotion, till in May, 1810, the viceroy, Cisneros, finding his embarrassments and perplexities greatly increased by the disasters of the Spaniards at home, was compelled to announce his inability to manage the government. By the request of the municipality of the city, he called a congress, which established a provisional junta for the government of the country. The 25th of May, the date of this government, has ever since been observed as the anniversary of independence in Buenos Ayres.

_Progress and Changes of the New Government._--On the part of Spain, attempts were made to recover her lost power, and the difficulties and dissensions, so universally experienced by the American colonies on such occasions, were felt in a considerable degree in Buenos Ayres. In 1811, a congress assembled in the city of Buenos Ayres, and placed the executive power in the hands of a triumvirate. In 1812, Posadas was appointed supreme director of the republic, with a council of seven. In 1816, a congress assembled at Tucuman, declared the countries on the La Plata independent, and named Pueyredon director; having transferred its sessions to Buenos Ayres, it assumed the title of the United Provinces of South America.

In 1819, a congress assembled at Buenos Ayres, formed a constitution, modeled on that of the United States, and Rondeau was elected supreme director, and Rivadavia was placed at the head of foreign affairs. For some time, the principal functions of the government were discharged by a constituent congress, the executive power being intrusted to the provincial government of Buenos Ayres.

In February, 1826, Rivadavia was elected president. The republic became involved in war with Brazil, on account of Banda Oriental, which was first added to Brazil, and afterwards declared (August, 1828) independent. Rivadavia having resigned, the congress was dissolved, each of the provinces became again independent, and Dorego was chosen governor of the province of Buenos Ayres. General Lavalle, at the head of the Unitarios, caused Dorego to be shot, and himself to be proclaimed president, December 1st, 1828. A bloody civil war ensued, and in August, 1829, Lavalle was compelled to resign, and his successor was General Juan Jose Viamont, who was succeeded, December 8th, 1829, by General Juan Manuel de Rosas, who was declared dictator August 9th, 1830; but before the end of the year, General Queroga made himself dictator or governor. In 1835, De Rosas was made governor of Buenos Ayres for five years; and, in addition to his other duties, he was charged with the foreign relations of the Argentine Republic.[87]

As early as the year 1822, the independence of the United Provinces of La Plata was acknowledged by the congress of the United States, and a treaty of commerce was concluded with Great Britain in 1825. Domestic troubles, however, were again renewed, the union of the provinces was dissolved, and separate governments were established. But the difficulties did not soon come to a close, as two fiercely-contending parties, of opposite views respecting the forms of government, created no small amount of turbulence and misrule.

On December 29th, 1839, a battle was fought at Cagancha, between General Echagne, governor of the Buenos Ayrean province of Entre Rios, and General Fructuoso Rivera, president of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. The former had an army of five thousand men, and was defeated with a loss stated at eight hundred killed, and a considerable number of prisoners, together with the loss of their baggage and horses. The loss of General Rivera, in killed and wounded, was stated at about two hundred.

_Present Condition of the Government._--The government of this country, for many years past, has been in the hands of Don Juan M. de Rosas. According to the latest advices, Rosas is in trouble with the new British minister, Mr. Southern. It is stated that the former refused to receive Mr. Southern, unless he was authorized to treat with Rosas on the basis laid down by Mr. Hood, the first special minister that was sent out by England. Mr. Southern refuses to submit to that condition, and thus the affair remains at present.

FOOTNOTE:

[87] American Almanac for 1849.

VIII. ORIENTAL REPUBLIC, OR URUGUAY.

LOCALITY, Extent, &c.--Name and History--The Constitution.

_Locality, Extent, &c._--This country lies north of the Rio de la Plata, east of the river Uruguay, and south of Brazil. It has an area of eighty thousand miles. Monte Video is the capital of the republic, and is a town of some importance. Uruguay comprises nine departments.

_Name and History._--This country constituted a part of the vice-royalty, afterwards the republic of La Plata, and was known by the name of Banda Oriental (Eastern Frontier, from its geographical position). After the declaration of the independence of the United Provinces, it became the subject of an obstinate war between the new republic and the empire of Brazil.

Elio, who was appointed by the regency of Spain captain-general of the province of Rio de la Plata, in that capacity, also, governed the province of Monte Video, or the Banda Oriental. He was now the most dangerous and powerful enemy with which the government of Buenos Ayres were at war. That government having received an ally, by the desertion of Artigas, a captain in the royal service, employed him, in conjunction with General Rondeau, in an expedition against Banda Oriental. In May, 1811, they obtained a signal victory at Las Piedras over the royalists, and laid siege to Monte Video. In this extremity, Elio, finding himself unable to hold out long without assistance, applied to the Portuguese of Brazil, who sent him an army of four thousand men, and a subsidy of moneys. Before any important operations could be engaged in, however, a treaty was concluded between Monte Video and Buenos Ayres, in November, 1811, by virtue of which the siege of Monte Video was to be raised, and the Portuguese forces were to return home. In pursuance of the treaty, the siege was raised, but the Portuguese proved faithless, and began to ravage the territory of La Plata.

Danger now encompassed the Buenos Ayreans, not only from the Portuguese, but from the royalists of Peru. They, however, induced the latter to withdraw their troops, and the royalists they defeated in battle; but nothing could restore quiet to the country, and hostilities were again commenced with Monte Video. The war was carried on with various success, and what, with this calamity and rival factions which infested the city, little tranquillity was enjoyed, till articles of agreement between the Brazilians and Buenos Ayreans were signed at Rio Janeiro, August 27, 1828. Then was effected the independence of the country, which took the title of the Republic of Monte Video, so named from its capital, but it has since assumed the title of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

A constitution was adopted in 1830, according to which the legislative power is vested in two bodies; a senate of nine members, and a house of representatives of twenty-nine members, and the code Napoleon was established as the law of the country.

IX. BRAZIL.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Discovery and Settlement--Policy of the
Portuguese Government--Removal of the Portuguese Court to
Brazil--Constitution and Government.

_Situation, Extent, &c._--Brazil is an extensive country, occupying the eastern and central portion of South America, from four degrees north to thirty-three degrees south, and from thirty-five degrees to seventy-three degrees west longitude. It has an area of three millions square miles.

This region is traversed by several distinct chains of mountains, chiefly in the eastern and northern provinces, but they do not any of them reach to any great elevation. "The mighty Orellana," or the Amazon, gives a character to the country, as it is the largest river in the world, both in regard to the length of its course and its volume of water; draining an area of more than two millions of square miles, and furnishing the country with the amplest means of intercommunication. The greater part of Brazil is constituted of an immense immeasurable plain, through which flow innumerable streams, on which stand boundless and impenetrable forests, and the whole of which swarms "with animal life in all its forms; ferocious beasts of prey, huge serpents, alligators, troops of monkeys, flocks of gaudily-colored and loquacious birds, and clouds of insects, are yet undisturbed by the arts of man."

A great variety exists as to the climate. Intense heat prevails under the equator, but rendered supportable by the excessive humidity of the atmosphere and the copious dews. Mild and temperate, with occasionally cold weather, is experienced in the southern portions.

The soil is very fertile in a large portion of the country, and produces an immense variety of rich and valuable plants and vegetables, many of them being peculiar to this region. The forests are admirable for their beauty and grandeur; the growth of trees being gigantic, and the number of ornamental ones surpassing calculation. An important article of export, are several kinds of what is called _Brazil-wood_, not to speak of timber for ship-building, mahogany, and an infinity of dyeing woods.

The golds and diamonds of Brazil are far-famed; the quantity of gold annually obtained being estimated at five millions of dollars. Brazil has more foreign commerce than any other country in America, except the United States. Its principal ports are Rio Janeiro, Bahia or St. Salvador, Pernambuco, Para, San Luis de Maranham, and San Pedro.

_Discovery and Settlement._--The discovery of Brazil, by the Portuguese, was a matter of accident. It occurred in the year 1500, as Pedro Alvarez Cabral was sailing from Lisbon with a fleet for the East Indies. Standing out a great distance to the west, in order to avoid the calms on the coast of Africa, he saw land, on the 24th of April, in latitude seventeen south, and on the 3d of May landed at a harbor which was named Porto Seguro. The country was named Brazil, eventually, from the circumstance that the forests abounded with trees producing a beautiful dye-wood of a fiery red, to which the Portuguese gave the name of _brazil_, from _braza_, a live coal. Cabral having taken possession of the country in the name of his sovereign, the king of Portugal, dispatched a vessel to Lisbon, to announce his important discovery, while he himself proceeded on his voyage to India.

The king, gratified with the foregoing announcement, immediately fitted out an expedition, under Amerigo Vespucci, consisting of three ships, which sailed in 1501. Vespucci explored the country as far south as the fifty-second degree of latitude, but formed no settlement. After a voyage of sixteen months, he returned to Lisbon. Two years after, 1503, he made a second voyage, in which he had the misfortune to lose all his fleet, with the exception of his own ship. During this visit, he established a settlement on the coast, and carried home a cargo of brazil-wood, the value of which was so great, as to induce many adventurers to embark for that country. These volunteer colonists, composed of various grades and conditions in the social scale, but all imbued with the spirit of enterprise, formed a settlement at St. Salvador.

The settlement which had been made on the coast in 1503, under Vespucci, received but little attention, until certain French adventurers, about half a century afterwards, attempted to settle a colony at Rio Janeiro. A Portuguese force finally expelled the French from their position, after a struggle of two years, in 1567--the French having continued in different parts of the country, from 1558 till that time. Owing to various circumstances, the Portuguese court, from making this region a place of exile and confinement for convicts and the unhappy victims of the Inquisition, was led to regard it, at length, as a place of some importance. The sugar-cane began to be cultivated, and the new luxury of sugar was sought with avidity. In connection with this, a governor was sent out to manage the affairs of the settlers, and he built a city at St. Salvador, which became the centre of the colony. The Jesuits, however, were the most efficient class in building up the colony, and conciliating the affections of the natives.

As misfortunes, during the latter part of the sixteenth century, befel the Portuguese in Europe, advantage was taken of their weakness, and their Brazilian possessions were invaded and taken by the Dutch. But they were not suffered to hold their conquest without molestation. In 1626, St. Salvador was rëtaken by the Portuguese; the Dutch, however, retained their power for a number of years in the country, and added to their conquests, till they were expelled, in 1654, by a superior Portuguese force sent against them. In 1661, the sole possession of Brazil was secured to Portugal by treaty, in consideration of the sum of one million seven hundred thousand dollars, which that crown engaged to pay to the United Colonies.

_Policy of the Portuguese Government in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century._--The measures adopted by the government in respect to Brazil, were narrow and illiberal. Their effect was to discourage industry, and to fetter commerce. On the latter, restrictions and monopolies were imposed. The search for gold and diamonds engrossed the attention of the government. Foreigners could either gain no admission into the country, or were jealously watched. Trade was carried on only at the fortified posts. This disastrous state of things continued till the beginning of the present century, when an event took place which changed the whole aspect of affairs in this country.

_Removal of the Portuguese Court to Brazil._--The event above referred to, was the removal of the court in the mother-country to this, its American colony. The design of effecting such a change was entertained many years before it took place; as early as 1761, the measure had been determined on, and preparations were made; but it was not until 1808, that the project was put into execution. The occasion was the declaration of war by Buonaparte against Portugal. The regent (who, after the death of his mother, in 1816, became king of Portugal, by the title of John VI.), with the royal family, left Europe for Brazil, where they arrived January 22d, 1808. This event resulted in great advantage to the Brazilians. Soon, the old exclusive system of trade was abolished, and all the ports of the country were opened to the commerce of the world; the free exercise of industry was permitted to all classes of people; and the press, which for three centuries had been prohibited, was immediately established.

After the fall of Napoleon, John raised Brazil to the rank of a kingdom, in 1815, thenceforth to be called the kingdom of Brazil, which, with the European territories, should constitute the United Kingdoms of Portugal, Algarves, and Brazil. In 1821, John returned to Portugal, leaving his son, Pedro, in Brazil, as prince-regent. On the 12th of October, 1822, Brazil was declared independent, as there had been, for some time, a manifest and growing desire, on the part of the people, for this change. At the same time, the Prince Pedro was crowned emperor of Brazil. On the death of John VI., in 1826, Pedro declared his daughter Maria Queen of Portugal; and, on the 6th of April, 1831, he abdicated the throne of Brazil in favor of his son, Pedro II., born October 2d, 1825, and who is now emperor.

_Constitution of Government._--According to the constitution, which was formed in 1823, and adopted in 1824, Brazil is a hereditary monarchy, with a legislative assembly, consisting of two houses; a senate, appointed by the emperor, and a house of representatives, elected by the people. The Catholic faith is the religion of the state, but all other Christians are tolerated, though not allowed to build churches, or perform divine service in public.

X. PARAGUAY.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Insurrection and attempt at Revolution in
the latter part of the Eighteenth Century--Establishment of
Independence, and a Despotic Government.

_Situation, Extent, &c._--This republic is situated between the rivers Paraguay and Parana, having the empire of Brazil on the east, and the Argentine Republic on the west. It has an area of ninety thousand square miles. Its divisions consist of eight departments.

This country is considered the fairest portion of what was once the United Provinces. Its climate is mild and balmy; the surface is not mountainous, neither is it a dead level; it is well supplied with a great variety of streams of pure water; its soil is every where found to be exceedingly productive, and was originally covered with immense forests of stately timber. Among its more ample productions are grain, cotton, sugar, and excellent fruits--oranges, figs, the olive, and the grape--as well as the singular vegetable called _matte_, so extensively used in South America as a tea or beverage.

_Insurrections and attempts at Revolution in the early part of the Eighteenth Century._--Paraguay is rendered remarkable by several projects, more than a century ago, having in view its independence, and, what is more wonderful, by the open and public assertion, at that time, of the principle, that the authority of the people was greater than that of the king himself. Thus was anticipated, in a colony of the most bigoted and despotic court of Europe, more than a hundred years ago, the modern liberal doctrine of the sovereignty of the people. The attempts referred to were made by individuals, who had, perhaps, their private causes of grievance, as Antequera, Mompo, and Mena, though one of them, certainly, Mompo, was the preacher of the doctrine above stated. No real independence, however, was effected, except for a short period. The revolutionary leaders were soon overcome in battle, put to death, or banished, and the authority of the king of Spain was rëestablished, and continued for the greater part of a century.

_Establishment of Independence, and a Despotic Government._--In 1810, the junta of Buenos Ayres sent a body of troops to Paraguay to depose the Spanish governor, but they were compelled to retreat. The inhabitants, however, themselves deposed the governor, and took the government into their own hands. In 1813, they proclaimed Paraguay a republic, under two consuls, the principal of which was Dr. Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia. At the end of the year, Francia caused himself to be named dictator for three years, and, at the close of this term, for life. On the 24th of September, 1826, a formal declaration of independence was made, though the country, for fourteen or fifteen years, had been governed independently of Spain.

The administration of Dr. Francia proved to be an absolute and perfect despotism, and that of a most severe and sanguinary character. He was a native of Paraguay, and received the degree of doctor of theology at the University of Cordova, in Tucuman. For nearly thirty years he acted the tyrant over the inhabitants of the country, and brought the entire mass into the most unresisting subserviency to his will. No personage has figured so conspicuously as Dr. Francia, in the modern history of South America. When, by consummate address, he had succeeded in getting himself appointed dictator for life, commenced one of the most extraordinary events on record. "From the moment when he found his footing firm, and his authority quietly submitted to, his whole character appeared to undergo a sudden change. Without faltering or hesitation--without a pause of human weakness, or a thrill of human feeling--he proceeded to frame the most extraordinary despotism that the world has ever seen. He reduced all the population of Paraguay to two classes; of which the dictator constituted one, and his subjects the other. In the dictator was lodged the whole power, legislative and executive; the people had no power, no privileges, no rights, and only one duty, to obey. All was performed rapidly, boldly, and decisively. He knew the character of the weak and ignorant people at whose head he had placed himself, and who had the temerity to presume that they had energy and virtue sufficient to form a republic. The inhabitants of Paraguay delivered themselves up, bound hand and foot, into the hands of an absolute and ferocious despot, who reduced them to absolute slavery, ruined their commerce and agriculture, shut them up from the rest of the world, and dragged to the prison or the scaffold every man in the country whose talents, wealth, or knowledge opposed any obstacle in the way of his tyranny. No human being was allowed to leave the country, or dispatch a letter abroad." A few only escaped, by means of the flooding of the country by the rise of the river Paraguay, and from these individuals the world has learned respecting the secrets of this more than Dionysian espionage and tyranny. No attempted conspiracies availed to secure his person or destroy his life. He managed so as to gain over his soldiers entirely to his interests. As was to be expected, he lived in constant fear of assassination or poisoning, ordering his guards sometimes to shoot those who dared to look at his house in passing along the streets, and taking the trouble to cook his own victuals. He died at about the age of eighty, in 1842, having thus enacted the despot during the long course of twenty-eight years.

The wonder of all is, that the people generally were contented and happy under this strict and unnatural regime; yet it is partly to be accounted for from the entire security of person and property which was felt, so far as the intercourse of the people among themselves was concerned. Each district was made responsible for every theft committed in it. All the inhabitants, Indians as well as Creoles, were taught to read, write, and keep accounts. Public schools were every where established, and children were required to attend them, until, in the judgment of the municipal authority, they were sufficiently instructed. The dictator also established lyceums and other liberal institutions. Every person was required to labor, and mendicity was prohibited. It has been represented, however, that there was a mitigation of the doctor's despotism, in the latter part of his life.

According to the more recent accounts, the government of this country was administered by five consuls; but this and the other matters pertaining to Paraguay, are very imperfectly known, as the country has, for so long a period, been avoided by foreigners.

WEST INDIES.

SITUATION, Extent, &c.--Inhabitants--Political Divisions.--I.
BRITISH WEST INDIES:
Jamaica--Trinidad--Barbadoes--Bahamas--St.
Christopher--Bermudas or Sommers' Islands--St. Vincent.--II.
SPANISH WEST INDIES: Cuba--Porto Rico.--III. FRENCH WEST
INDIES: Martinique--Guadaloupe.--IV. DUTCH WEST INDIES.--V.
DANISH WEST INDIES.--VI. HAYTI.

_Situation_, _Extent_, _Climate_, _Productions_, _&c._--The West Indies constitute the great archipelago of the western continent, extending from latitude ten to twenty-eight degrees north, between the coast of Florida on the north, and the mouth of the river Orinoco in South America. They are a large cluster of islands, in their several portions variously denominated, according to their situations or other peculiarities, but will here be considered in their political divisions. The land area of the whole group is over ninety-three thousand square miles.