Chapter IV: Part II: South American Dominions (3)

Besides the above, there are several other smaller towns, and some very large villages in this government, which are too numerous to describe.

The country of Venezuela is not famous for mines of gold or silver, though some gold has occasionally been found in the streams, which rush from the mountains; the pearl fishery of its coasts will be described in treating of the island of Margarita.

_THE PROVINCE OF MARACAYBO._

Maracaybo, or MARACAIBO, surrounds the lake of the same name. It is bounded on the west by Santa Marta, in New Granada; on the east by Coro and Venezuela; on the north by Santa Marta, and the gulf of Maracaybo; and on the south by Merida and Santa Marta. Owing to the great extent of the lake, this province extends but a short distance inland to the east and west, its length being about 100 leagues.

The soil of Maracaybo is unfruitful on the banks of the lake. The east shore is dry and unhealthy, and on the west shore the land does not begin to be fertile for more than twenty-five leagues south of the city. South of the lake the country may vie with the richest lands of South America.

In this province the population is estimated at about 100,000 souls.

It was from the Indian towns built on posts of iron wood on the lake of Maracaybo that the Spaniards gave the country the name of Venezuela, or Little Venice. This country was long unknown after the conquest. Ampues, who was governor at Coro, had engaged all the neighbouring nations of Indians, by his conciliatory measures, to swear allegiance to Spain, when, in 1528, Alfinger and Sailler, who had been sent, with 400 followers, to assume the government, under the authority of the company of the Welsers, landed at Coro. Unfortunately for the Indians, they dispossessed Ampues of his government, and began to search in every direction round the lake for gold; finding that their hopes of suddenly acquiring riches from this source were not likely to be realised, Alfinger took the resolution of penetrating into the interior, to pillage the Indian towns, and make prisoners of as many as he could, in order to sell them for slaves. The Indian villages about the lake were soon destroyed; carnage and havoc spread around; the natives were sold to the merchants from the islands, and the whole province was a scene of horror and devastation. Alfinger did not long survive this inhuman conduct, he met his fate in a valley, six leagues from Pamplona, in Merida, the natives killing him there in a skirmish in 1531.

Two other German agents succeeded him, and continued the same barbarous conduct towards the Indians, which coming to the knowledge of the king of Spain, they were formally dispossessed: but it is asserted that the traces of the crimes they committed are visible to this day. Four villages of Maracaybo were all that escaped, and are yet standing, the iron wood on which they are founded becoming like a mass of stone from the petrifying quality of the water. These villages are situated on the east part of the lake, at unequal distances from each other, and have a church, which is also built in the water on piles, and to which the inhabitants of all the villages resort.

Several small rivers empty themselves into this lake: but as the country is uninhabited, excepting by Indians, and immediately on the shores, nothing is known with accuracy concerning them, the savage Goahiros from La Hacha preventing all access on the western side, and keeping the settlers continually in alarm.

The lake is navigable for vessels of any burden, but this advantage is sometimes rendered useless by a dangerous sand-bank across the narrow entrance, on which vessels drawing twelve feet water will occasionally ground.

Near the borders of the lake, on the west, are the only parts of this province which are cultivated, where, notwithstanding the heat of the climate, and the insalubrity of the air, some whites have fixed their habitations to cultivate cacao, and other plants. These settlers are much scattered, and have a chapel placed in the centre, to which they all occasionally resort.

The climate of the province is in general hot and unhealthy, excepting in the southern parts which border on the snowy mountains of Merida.

Its chief town is the city of _Maracaybo_, in north latitude 10° 30', and west longitude 71° 46', on the western side of the narrow or strait which leads into the lake at about six leagues from the sea, on a sandy soil, and in a dry hot climate. In July and August the air is so heated, that it seems as if it issued from a furnace: but the most usual preventative for the ill effects of this abominable climate is constant bathing in the lake. Thunderstorms, hurricanes, and earthquakes, are common in this country.

The city is built with some taste, but disfigured by having most of its houses covered with reeds. The principal part of the town is on the shore of a small gulf, a league in length, which extends towards the broad part of the lake on the south, and the other part is built on the neck to the north, where the lake is only three leagues in width. The place where the town begins is named Maracaybo Point; that where the gulf commences Aricta Point; opposite to which is Point Sta. Lucia.

Maracaybo was founded in 1571 by Alonzo Pacheco, an inhabitant of Truxillo, who gave it the name of New Zamora. It contains one parish church, a chapel of ease, and a convent of Franciscans and is supplied with water from the lake, which at times is brackish near this place, when the strong breezes, especially in March, impregnate it with salt from the spray of the sea.

The population consists of about 24,000 persons, owing to the number of emigrants who fled hither from St. Domingo. The great families, or people of rank, are about thirty. The whites, or Europeans and Creoles, apply themselves to agriculture, commerce, the fisheries and navigation, and live very comfortably. The slaves and freemen are composed of negroes and mulattoes, who exercise all the laborious trades and handicrafts, and the number of slaves is about 5000.

The best schooners which sail on the Spanish Main are built at this city, which possesses peculiar advantages for ship-building. Though the air is so hot, and the land so arid, yet the natives enjoy a good state of health, and live to an old age, owing, most probably, to the custom of frequent ablutions, as the children may be said to live in the water, and most of the people pass their time in navigating the lake. The young people are celebrated for their wit and ingenuity: but the charge of a want of probity in their dealings with strangers is brought against these people. The females are sprightly and modest, and are extremely fond of music; the notes of the harp resounding through the streets of an evening. The great object of veneration at Maracaybo is an image of the Virgin, denominated Chiquinquira, the name of a village in New Granada, from whence she was brought.

A temple was dedicated to her worship in 1586, and immediately a fountain rose up under the altar where she was placed; miraculous virtues were communicated to its waters, and this image has procured a lasting reputation in the surrounding country.

The mariners of the lake invoke this holy shrine in all their undertakings, and it is placed in the chapel of ease of St. Juan de Dios. Three forts protect the harbour of Maracaybo. This place was plundered by Michael de Basco, and Francis Lolonois, in 1667, when they sailed up the gulf of Venezuela, with eight ships and 660 men; they entered the strait, stormed and took the fort of La Barra which defended it, and putting to death the garrison consisting of 250 men, they then advanced to Maracaybo; on their arrival there, the inhabitants abandoned the city, and removed their most valuable goods.

Here they remained a fortnight reveling in drunkenness and debauchery, and then proceeded to Gibraltar, which the people of Maracaybo had newly fortified; after a severe contest, this place was also taken, but proved a barren triumph, which so exasperated the Buccaneers, that they set fire to the place, and threatened Maracaybo with the same fate; the poor inhabitants collected as much property as they could, and ransomed the city, but not before it had been gutted of every thing.

Soon after this, Henry Morgan a Welsh adventurer attacked Porto Bello, and succeeding in his expedition, fitted out in 1669, a fleet of fifteen vessels, manned with 960 men, with which he sailed to Maracaybo, silenced the fort of the Strait, reached the city, and found it deserted; but following the people to the woods, he discovered their treasures; he then sailed to Gibraltar, which was desolate; while engaged in torturing the people he had made prisoners, in order to make them produce their hidden treasures, he learnt that three Spanish men of war, had arrived at the entrance of the lake. Summoning all the impudence he was master of, Morgan sent an order to the commander of the vessels to ransom the city. The answer was, as might be expected, a denial, and direction to surrender himself immediately; to this he replied, that if the admiral would not allow him to pass, he would find means to do so; accordingly dividing his plunder among his vessels, that each might have a share to defend, he sent a fire-ship into the enemy's fleet, and having burnt two, and captured a third ship, he made a show of landing men to attack the fort, which being thus put off its guard, Morgan passed the bar with his whole armament, without sustaining the slightest damage.

Maracaybo is the seat of the governor of the province, who enjoys the same salary, and exercises the same authority as the governor of Cumana. This district was at one time under the jurisdiction of the governor of Merida, but since that province has been annexed to the viceroyalty of New Granada, and since the province of Varinas has been formed out of part of Venezuela and part of Maracaybo, the latter has been made a distinct government.

On the east side of Maracaybo Lake are several small towns, of which _Paraute_, _Las Barbacoas_, _Gibraltar_, and _San Pedro_, are the most considerable places.

_Paraute_ is eighty miles south of Coro, and is a small place on the banks of the lake.

_Las Barbacoas_ is situated a short distance farther south, and seventy-five miles south of Coro.

_Gibraltar_, in 10° 4' north latitude, and 67° 36' west longitude, is 100 miles south-east of Maracaybo, on the eastern banks of the lake; it is a very old town, famous for the production of a particular sort of tobacco, called tobacco of Maracaybo, from which the best sort of snuff, vulgarly called Maccabaw, is made.

The country in the vicinity of this town is well watered with rivers, and consequently grows excellent cacao. Cedars of immense size are found in its woods, but the climate is very hot and insalubrious, especially during the rainy season, when the merchants and planters retire to Maracaybo or Merida.

_San Pedro_ is a short distance south of Gibraltar, and also on the banks of the lake. The other places being mere villages, or scattered plantations, are not worth mentioning.

_Truxillo_, on the confines of Merida, in 8° 40' north latitude, twenty leagues north of Merida, 105 south-west of Caraccas, and thirty west of Guanara, is in a country producing sugar, cacao, indigo, coffee, &c., and in which wheat is cultivated in great abundance, and forms the chief article of the commerce of the inhabitants, who also carry the above fruits, sweetmeats, cheese, woollens, &c. to Maracaybo, by means of the lake, which is only twenty-five leagues distant, but the route to which lies across the desert and unhealthy plains of Llonay.

The inhabitants of Truxillo are an active and an industrious race; and at present amount to 7600 souls, though the city, which is one of the oldest on the continent, was formerly also one of the best peopled, until it was destroyed and sacked by Francis Gramont, the Buccaneer, who, in 1678, traversed the province of Venezuela, with a small band of followers, attracted by the riches of this place.

The scite of Truxillo is between two mountains, and it contains a good parish church, a chapel of ease, two monasteries, a convent of Dominican nuns, and an hospital.

_PROVINCE OF VARINAS._

Varinas, the next province of Caraccas, divides the territories of this government from those of the kingdom of New Granada.

It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Maracaybo and Venezuela, east by the plains of Caraccas and the Orinoco, west by Merida and New Granada, and south by Juan de los Llanos, or Casanare.

This province was formed in the year 1787, by separating the southern districts of Venezuela and Maracaybo, when it was also constituted a distinct government. The chief has the title of governor, and his functions are the same as those of Cumana and Maracaybo, in the civil, military and ecclesiastical departments.

In order to defend this new province, a militia was raised in 1803, and a garrison allotted to the city of Varinas, consisting of seventy-seven men. The chief products of this extensive country are tobacco, well known in the European markets, and cattle, sugar, coffee, cotton, indigo; and all the fruits of the torrid zone, find here a soil adapted to each; and their qualities are unrivalled.

The commodities of Varinas are exported chiefly by water to Guiana; the place of embarkation being at a spot called Tocunos, five leagues below the city.

The most remarkable features of this country are the extensive plains, of which it is mostly composed, and which are covered with a luxuriant herbage, feeding innumerable herds of cattle, flocks of sheep, and droves of mules and horses; these are either used in the province, or exported by means of the Great Orinoco.

Varinas is intersected by numerous large and navigable rivers, which occasionally inundate and fertilize its plains. Of these, the _Apure_, the _Portuguesa_, the _Guanarito_, the _Bocono_, _Guanapalo_, the _Arauca_, the _Capanaparo_, the _Sinaruco_, and the Meta, are the most noted.

The _Apure_ rises in one of the ridges that diverge from the eastern branch of the Andes in New Granada, in the province of Santa Fé; its length is 170 leagues, of which forty are from north-east to south-east, and the rest from west to east, where it joins the Orinoco by a number of mouths, after having received many very fine rivers, which will one day serve to render the carrying on of the trade from the eastern district of New Granada, and the countries bordering on the Atlantic extremely easy. These rivers are the _Tinaco_, _San Carlos_, _Cojeda_, _Agua Blanca_, _Acarigua_, _Areyaruo_, _Hospicia_, _Abaria_, _Portuguesa_, _Guanare_, _Tucapido_, _Bocono_, _Masparro_, _La Yuca_, the _Santo Domingo_, _Paguay_, _Tisnados_, &c., which all come either from the mountains of Granada, or those of Venezuela, and mingle their waters with the Apure, in the immense plains of Varinas.

The Santo Domingo, and Portuguesa, are the largest of these streams, almost the whole of which unite above Santiago, and form a great body of water, which enters the Apure twelve leagues below that place, and twenty leagues north of the Orinoco. This immense quantity of water gives such an impulse to the Apure, that it forces the Orinoco before it for the space of four miles, although the latter river is there a league in width. The shock of the meeting of these two noble rivers is so great, that it occasions a great agitation in the middle of the Orinoco, forming dreadful eddies and whirlpools, at which the most dextrous Indians shudder. For the space of three leagues after the stream of the greater river has regained its force, the waters of the Apure are still distinguishable by their bright and crystal appearance, after which they are lost in the muddy current of the Orinoco. The exportation of cattle by way of Guiana takes place along the banks of these two rivers, on account of the excellent pasturage which they every where afford. All the traders of the eastern portion of Caraccas, are induced by the easy means of conveyance afforded by so many confluent streams, to send their coffee, cotton and indigo to Guiana, instead of sending them on the backs of mules to Caraccas, or Porto Cavello, and traveling 300 miles in a country often almost impassable, from the inundations of the rivers.

The _Arauca_ is a river nearly as large as the Apure, and which rises in the mountains of Santa Fé, a short distance south of the sources of the latter, with which it holds a parallel course, through a country inundated by the Apure, and communicates with it near the Orinoco by several branches before it enters that river, thus forming some large and fertile islands.

The _Rio Capanaparo_ rises in the marshy country south of the Arauca, and enters the Orinoco, south of the latter river by two mouths, at some distance from each other.

South of this is another named the _Sinaruco_, which also rises in the marshes, and receives an accession to its waters from the overflowings of the Apure and the Arauca, entering the Orinoco between the Capanaparo and the Meta.

The _Meta_ is a noble river, which rises in the mountain ridge opposite to Santa Fé de Bogota, and flowing through the province of Juan de los Llanos, and the district of Casanare, it receives many other large rivers, and enters the Orinoco, thirty leagues below the cataracts of Ature, and 125 leagues from Santo Tomé of Guiana. The Meta receives the _Pachiquiaro_, the _Upia_, the _Cravo_, and the _Pauto_ in Juan de los Llanos, and the _Ariporo_, the _Chire_, and the _Casanare_ (a fine river into which flow several others) in the province or district of Casanare. The Meta also receives several smaller streams in Varinas, and seems destined to form vast commercial relations between the kingdom of New Granada and the government of Caraccas.

When the annual fleet of galleons was put a stop to, the government issued orders that all the interior produce of New Granada should be carried to Carthagena, and forbid every article, excepting coarse cottons and flour to be exported by way of the Meta, which considerably retarded the progress of the settlers in Varinas, the Llanos, and Guiana, and put a stop to the cultivation of many articles too bulky to be carried over such bad roads as those which descend to the Magdalena and the Cauca.

The banks of the Meta are inhabited chiefly by Indians, of which the _Guahibos_ tribe occupies the country near the Orinoco; and in Juan de los Llanos, the missionary villages, are very numerous on both banks of the stream.

The capital of Varinas is the city of _Varinas_ in 7° 40' north latitude, and 100 leagues south-east of Caraccas. It is a neat little place in a tolerable climate, with one church, and an hospital. Its inhabitants amount to about 6000, the governor of the province residing here.

The other towns of most consequence are _San Jayme_, _St. Fernando de Apure_, and _San Antonio_. _St. Jayme_ is situated on the west bank of the Portuguesa, above its junction with the Guanaparo and the Apure in 7° 50' north latitude on a sand hill. The town is so environed with water for three months, that the inhabitants cannot leave their houses but in canoes; it is seventy-five leagues south of Caraccas.

_St. Fernando de Apure_ is erected on the south bank of the Apure, near its junction with the Portuguesa. This town is well built, in a hot but healthy climate, and contains about 6000 inhabitants, whose occupation consists in rearing mules and cattle, and their property is in large commons, lying south of the city.

_San Antonio_ is situated on the north bank of the Apure, just above where it divides itself into several branches to join the Arauca, in about 7° 30' north latitude, with a village called _Bancolargo_ on the opposite bank of the river. South of this town and between the Capanaparo and the Sinaruco, the country is inhabited by tribes of wild and independent Indians, who allow no settlements to be made among them.

The whole province of Varinas on its western and northern parts is covered with farms and small villages, mostly situated on the banks of the different rivers.

A road leads from the plains of Calobozo, in Venezuela, through St. Fernando de Apura, and across the rivers to the junction of the Meta with the Orinoco.

This province has lately become the scene of contests between the Spanish troops and the insurgents; particularly in the vicinity of the Apure.

_PROVINCE OF GUIANA; OR, SPANISH GUIANA._

This immense province extends from the frontiers of Juan de los Llanos and Quixos, in New Granada to the frontiers of British, French and Portuguese Guiana. It is bounded on the north by the Orinoco and the plains of Cumana, Barcelona, and Caraccas; on the east by unknown lands between the settlements of the English and French; west by the Orinoco and the provinces of New Granada; and south by the Portuguese possessions.

It has been computed to be 1000 leagues in circumference; but this vast extent is inhabited chiefly by warlike and savage tribes of Indians, who forbid all access into the interior. The population of those parts which are occupied by the Spaniards, their descendants, and the mission Indians, is computed at 34,000, this population being confined mostly to the banks of the Orinoco.

The precise boundaries of this country cannot be laid down, on the west it is said to extend to the western mouth of the river Yapura, proceeding thence almost due north. On the east it has, from Cape Nassau, a shore of thirty leagues to the mouth of the Orinoco; thence along that river to the Rio Portuguesa, an extent of more than 400 leagues. The Portuguese territories on the south, were formerly bounded by a line passing under the equator, but they have since acquired more settlements to the north in the western parts of Guiana.

The population of Spanish Guiana is thus divided; 19,400 Indians, under the care of missionaries; 8000 creoles, mulattoes, &c. scattered in the settlements, and the remainder in the capital; the villages being more frequent at from fifty leagues from the Atlantic to about 130 up the Orinoco.

Guiana is subdivided into Upper and Lower Guiana, the capital being the point of separation. The most southern fort of the Spaniards is that of San Carlos, on the Rio Negro, in 1° 53' north latitude.

Upper Guiana comprehends all the country west of the Caroni river; few plantations are seen there, though the soil is rich beyond imagination. Lower Guiana is east of the Caroni, or in the space bounded by the sea on the east, the Orinoco on the north, the Caroni on the west, and the Essequibo on the south; than which, a more fertile soil cannot be found, watered by numerous rivers, whose periodic overflowings deposit a slime as prolific as the Nile; but this fine district is nearly a waste, harbouring anthropophagical tribes, of whom the Caribs are the most formidable, as well as sanguinary.

The riches of the few Spaniards and creoles settled in this province, consists in cattle, of which the missionary Franciscans alone possess more than 150,000 head.

The trade of Guiana consists entirely in the export of cattle and mules, with some tobacco, cotton, and indigo, and in 1803 they had thirty-four small vessels employed in trading to Trinidad and the neighbouring Spanish ports.

In the history of the discovery of Guiana much obscurity prevails; but Martin Silva, in 1568, obtained a patent to conquer some tribes to the westward of the present limits. After penetrating through Venezuela, his people deserted him; when he returned to Spain, and collected new followers. Silva then attempted to cross the country from the coast between the Maranon and Orinoco, but he and his followers were slain and devoured by the Caribs. The missionaries, Pizarro's brother, and Diego Ordaz, also attempted to enter and explore Guiana, but were all frustrated by the natives.

Sir Walter Raleigh also twice tried to reach the pretended city of Manoa, or El Dorado, which is supposed to have been situated in lake Parima, and whose streets were paved with gold; which marvellous story had most probably its origin in an Indian village, built on an island whose soil contained mica, which glittering, and appearing splendid in the sunshine, deceived the adventurers who had observed it.

In later times the Spaniards have endeavoured to conquer these regions, but have always been unsuccessful; one of them has had the courage to cross the greater part of the country in the dress of an Indian; and from his researches, the direction of the ranges of mountains has been ascertained. Humboldt, also contrived to go a great distance along the chain of the cataracts, but was prevented from exploring the sources of the Orinoco and the celebrated lake of Parima by the _Guayecas_, a race of Indians who, though of very diminutive stature, display the utmost courage and activity in defending their possessions. These people resist all persuasion to become the converts of the monks who had visited their frontiers, and equally defy the armed force which generally accompanies these priests.

The rivers flowing through Guiana, which are best known, are the _Orinoco_, into which, on the north, the _Caroni_, the _Aruy_, the _Caura_, and several smaller ones empty themselves; on the west the _Suapure_, the _Sippapu_, &c., join that stream, while on the south the _Guaviare_, the _Ynritta_ and the _Atabapo_ also add to the magnificence of its course. The _Rio Negro_ also flows through a part of Guiana, and forms, by means of the _Cassiquiari_, a junction between the Maranon and the Orinoco, thus constituting Guiana an immense island detached in every direction by a broad expanse of water from the continent of South America.

The _Yapura_ and the _Uapes_ run through the southern or continental parts of this province, and join the Maranon.

Many large rivers issue from, or rise near lake Parima and the interior; of which _Rio Branco_ and the _Siaba_ are the most noted, but as the lake itself, and all the surrounding country are as unknown as the internal parts of Africa, it will be useless to repeat names that are gathered from maps, often imaginary, and generally erroneous.

The capital of Guiana is _Santo Tomé_, or _Angostura_, (the strait, so called, because situated in a narrow part of the Orinoco;) it was originally built in 1586, nearer the sea, at the distance of fifty leagues from the mouth of the river, but having suffered successively from the invasions of the English, French and Dutch, it was removed, in 1764, to its present scite, ninety leagues from the Atlantic, on the right bank of the river, at the foot of a small mountain. Opposite the city is a village and fortress on the left bank of the Orinoco.

This place was built for the defence of the passage of the Strait, and is called Port Rafael. Between this port and the city is the island Del Medio, a low rocky islet, covered during the floods. The channel lies between this shoal and the town, the river being 200 feet broad at low water. Santo Tomé is the seat of government, the bishop and governor of Guiana residing in it, but its buildings are said to be mean, and its appearance unworthy of a better title than that of a large village.

The other towns of Guiana are also no better than villages, and it has many forts near the Portuguese boundaries.

_ISLAND OF MARGARITA._

This island, which is about thirty leagues in circumference, forms a government separate from that of Cumana, on whose shores it lies, and dependant on the captain-general of Caraccas. It lies in north latitude 10° 56', and in 64 and 65 degrees west longitude.

It was first discovered by Columbus in 1498. The pearls found on the coasts of this and the neighbouring isle of Cubagua, soon rendered it famous, and the fishery was carried on at the expence of vast numbers of Indians who lost their lives in the undertaking.

The possession of Margarita is an object of some consequence to the Spaniards, as it is separated from the continent by a straight only eight leagues wide, and to windward of all the best ports of Caraccas. It forms the channel through which all vessels coming from Europe, or windward, to Cumana, Barcelona and La Guayra, must pass, though it is not navigable in its whole breadth, the rocky island Coche between it and the continent, leaving only a narrow pass of two leagues, but which is seldom dangerous, owing to the general calmness that reigns in this part of the Caribbean sea.

In this island there are only three ports, _Pampatar_ on the east-south-east; _Pueblo de la Mar_, a league to leeward of the preceding, and _Pueblo del Norte_ on the north side.

The population of Margarita has been estimated at 14,000 persons, consisting of 5500 whites, 2000 Guayqueria Indians, and 6500 Castes. The pearl fishery formerly constituted their principal occupation, and is still attended to by the Indians, who also take numbers of turtles and fish, the latter of which they salt and export. They fabricate cotton stockings, and hammocks of a very superior quality. Fowls, turkeys, and all kinds of poultry are exported to the continent by the lower classes, and the island is celebrated for its beautiful parrots and other curious birds, which are so much esteemed that scarcely any trading vessel leaves the place without carrying away some of them. Along the coast of Margarita the land is in general rocky and very steep, but the interior is fertile, producing maize and fruits, and covered with groves; its climate, though very hot, is wholesome, the greatest inconvenience experienced by the inhabitants being a want of good fresh water.

The capital of this government is the city of _Asuncion_, situated in the centre of the island, and which, excepting its being the chief place, is otherwise unimportant.

This island has lately been the scene of some sanguinary actions between the insurgents and the Spanish troops under General Morillo; the latter having been defeated in a severe battle, was obliged to retire to the adjacent continent. The chief scene of these operations was near the port of Pampatar.

_VICEROYALTY OF PERU._

The viceroyalty of Peru is far from being the largest, or the richest of the Spanish American governments, as since the dismemberment of several of its most important provinces it has become of very little comparative importance; to its name is however attached the most interesting recollections, and as the empire of its Incas was formerly the most renowned, the history of its conquest the most extraordinary, and its ancient splendour the greatest, we have judged it proper to place the general outline of the most important historical relations regarding ancient and modern South America, with the particular description of those of Peru.

BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT.

Peru is bounded on the north by the southern provinces of Quito, Maynas, Jaen de Bracamaros, and Guayaquil; on the west by the Pacific Ocean; on the east, by the Portuguese possessions, and the provinces of Buenos Ayres; and on the south, by the government of Chili and the viceroyalty of La Plata. It was formerly the most extensive kingdom of South America, but in the year 1718 the provinces of Quito in the north, as far as the river Tumbez, were annexed to the government of New Granada, and in 1778, Potosi, and several other of its richest districts on the east were annexed to the viceroyalty of Buenos Ayres; its present extent is therefore from the Rio Tumbez, in 3° 30' south latitude, to the chain of Vilcanota, in 15° south latitude, or 690 geographical miles, while along its coast this length maybe prolonged to 375 more; its medial breadth, not including the Pampas del Sacramento, is nearly eighty, so that its area may be estimated at 33,630 square leagues, or according to Humboldt, only at 30,000.

Its eastern settlements bound on Colonna, or the land of the Missions, the Pampas del Sacramento, and the savage nations of the Pajonal, a vast steppe covered with long grass.

POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT.

Peru is divided into seven intendancies, viz. Truxillo, Tarma, Huancavelica, Lima, Guamanga, Arequipa and Cuzco, each of which is governed by an intendant, nominated by the viceroy, a nobleman of the highest rank, who is sent from Spain, and whose appointment is one of the first consequence in Spanish America.

The population of Peru may be estimated at 1,300,000, of which 130,000 are whites, 240,000, mestizoes, and the remainder Indians and negroes, the latter of whom are in very small numbers.

The missionary lands to the east have not been included in this statement; of them we shall have occasion to speak hereafter.

In Peru the revenue is derived from the duties on imports, exports, gold, silver, tobacco, liquors, the capitation tax on the Indians, taxes on the clergy, &c. It is said to amount to 1,083,000_l._ annually, and it remits, in prosperous times, to Spain for the royal coffers, 216,600_l._, to Panama, 70,000_l._, to Valdivia in Chili, 3750_l._, and to the island of Chiloe a similar sum to defray the expences of their several administrations. The net revenue of the colony, after defraying these sitaudos, or remittances, does not amount to more than is sufficient to settle the expenses of its own internal government.

The salary of the viceroy is 12,600_l._ a small sum, but which is assisted by the monopoly of certain manufactures, by grants, and by the colonial situations and titles he can confer.

Peru is the seat of two royal audiences, that of Lima and that of Cuzco. The audience of Lima was established in 1543, and is composed of a regent, eight oidores or judges, four alcaldes, and two fiscals, the viceroy being president. It is divided into three chambers, and is the superior court of appeal for the whole government. The royal treasury is the next great office of state, composed of the viceroy, the regent of the council, the dean of the tribunal of accounts, and other officers, and the revenue appeals are determined by the tribunal of accounts.

_Commerce._--The commerce of Peru is important, and on account of the number of fine ports along its coast, it may be styled the maritime province of the South American states.

The trade flows through three channels; by the straits of Magellan from Europe, through the North Pacific from India and Mexico, or Guatimala; and through the interior with the southern provinces of Chili and Buenos Ayres. Since the trade was unshackled in 1778, its exports and imports have doubled, and the principal branch of its commerce is that carried on round Cape Horn.

The exports of Peru are chiefly gold, silver, brandies, sugar, pimento, cinchona, salt, vicuna wool, coarse woollens, and other trifling manufactures.

Its imports are European goods, linens, cottons, woollens, silks, iron, hardware, superfine cloths, mercury, wax, paper, glass, medicines, wines, liqueurs, books and furniture: from Buenos Ayres it receives Paraguay tea, live stock and provisions, and from the other internal provinces, coca leaf, indigo, tallow, cacao, timber, cordage, pitch and copper.

Chili also supplies Lima with grain and fruits in immense quantities, and salted meat, soap, wine, copper, saffron, &c.

The ports of Peru which are most frequented, are those named Arica, Ilo, Iquique, and Quilca, in the intendancy of Arequipa, and Pisco, on the south of Lima; Chancay and Guacho in Lima; and Guanchaco, Pacasmayo, and Payta, in Truxillo, on the north.

With the southern ports, the trade is in wine, brandy, iron, dried fruits, copper, tin, lead, &c.; with the northern, in wool, cotton, leather, chocolate, rice and salted fish.

To the Rio de la Plata, the exports are maize, sugar, brandy, pimento, indigo and woollens; these exports are said to amount to 2,000,000 dollars annually, and the imports from that government, to 860,000, consisting in mules, sheep, hams, tallow, wool, coca leaf, Paraguay tea and tin; and 20,000 mules arrive annually from Tucuman, for the service of the Peruvian mines. A great trade is also carried on with Guayaquil and Guatimala, but with Panama it is almost nothing.

From the Philippine islands, muslins, tea, and other East Indian goods, are imported, amounting to 270,230 dollars annually, in return for about 2,790,000, exported to Asia, in silver and gold.

The produce of the mines of Peru, including those of Chili, is about 1,730,000_l._ annually, whilst the value of European goods imported, is nearly 2,492,000_l._ in the same period; and the value of the agricultural produce exported, of Peru and Chili, is 866,000_l._

In this country the population is much scattered, and composed of castes who have the greatest distrust of each other, the Indians being the most numerous, and leading a life of indolence and apathy; the natural resources of this fine region are unheeded; and its commerce, far from being restricted by the government, suffers only from the inactivity of its inhabitants.

_Mines._--The mines, which in general are very rich, are very ill worked, and often abandoned from trivial causes; and the quicksilver necessary to obtain the metal from the ore, is procured in insufficient quantities, no exertions being made to clear the mines of that valuable substance, which exists in the greatest profusion in the country.

The mines which produce the greatest quantity of valuable metals, are those of _Lauricocha_, the province of Tarma, commonly called the mines of _Pasco_ in the _Cerro de Bombon_, or high-table-land, in which is the small lake De los Reyes, to the south of the Cerro de Yauricocha; those of _Gualgayoc_, or _Chota_, in Truxillo, and the mines of _Huantajaya_.

The mines of _Pasco_ were discovered by Huari Capac, an Indian, in 1630; they alone furnish two millions of piastres annually, and are at an elevation of more than 13,000 feet above the level of the sea; the metalliferous bed appears near the surface, the shafts being not more than from 90 to 400 feet in depth; water then makes its appearance, and causes great expence in clearing it. The bed is 15,747 feet long, and 7217 feet in breadth, and would produce, if worked by steam, as much as Guanaxuato in Mexico; its average annual produce is however 131,260 _lbs._ troy.

_Gualgayoc_ and _Micuipampa_, commonly called Chota, were discovered in 1771, by Don Rodriguez de Ocaño a European; but in the time of the Incas, the Peruvians worked some silver vein, near the present town of Micuipampa.

Immense wealth has been discovered at _Fuentestiana_, at _Comolache_ and _Pampa de Navar_; at the last of which, wherever the turf is moved, for more than half a square league, sulphuretted and native silver, in filaments, are found adhering to the roots of the grasses, and it is also occasionally discovered in large masses.

All the mines in the partido of _Chota_, comprehended under the name of _Gualgayoc_, have furnished the provincial treasury of Truxillo, with 44,095_lbs._ troy of silver annually; these minerals are richer than those of Potosi, and are discovered mostly at the height of 13,385 feet.

The mines of _Huantajaya_ are surrounded with beds of rock salt, and are celebrated for the quantity of native masses of silver they produce. They are situated in the partido of Arica, near the small port of Yquique, in a desart destitute of water, and furnish an annual supply of from 42 to 52,000_lbs._ troy. Two masses, which were discovered here lately, weighed, one, two, and the other eight quintals.

Gold was formerly procured by the Incas in the plains of _Curimayo_, north-east of the city of Caxamarca, at more than 11,154 feet above the sea. It has also been extracted from the right bank of the Rio de Micuipampa, between _Cerro de San Jose_, and the plain called _Choropampa_, or the Plain of Shells; so named, on account of a vast quantity of petrified sea shells, found there, at the absolute height of more than 13,123 feet.

At present, the Peruvian gold comes partly from _Pataz_ and _Huilies_, in Tarma, and is extracted from veins of quartz, traversing primitive rock, and partly from washings established on the banks of the _Maranon Alto_, in Chachapoyas.

Cobalt, antimony, coal and salt, exist in this country; but as they are, with the exception of the latter, chiefly found in the mountain regions, the high price of carriage prevents their useful qualities from being brought into general use.

The coinage of gold and silver in the royal mint of Lima, between 1791 and 1801, amounted to 5,466,000_l._ or 1,113,000_l._ _per annum_; of which 3450 marcs were gold, and 570,000 silver.

The number of gold mines and washings worked in Peru is about 70, and the number of silver mines 680, which includes all the different works on the same spot. Of quicksilver, four mines exist, with four of copper, and twelve of lead.

Emeralds and other precious stones are found in this country, with obsidian, and the stone of the Incas, a marcasite capable of the highest polish.

_Climate_, _Features_, &c.--The climate of Peru is singularly various. The mountains which extend on the west side of America, cause a division of this country into three distinct parts, the maritime valleys, the barren summits, and the plains or uplands between the ridges. The chain of the Andes, arresting the clouds, which dissolve on the mountain districts into rain and vapours, accompanied with storms of thunder and lightning, whilst between 5° and 15° south latitude, on the coast, rain is unknown, and the dry winds from the Antarctic constantly pervade this region, from the desert of Atacama to the gulf of Guayaquil, a distance of 400 leagues. In this tract, the houses are covered only with mats, sprinkled with ashes, to absorb the night dews, and the soil, being moistened only by these dews, is rather sandy and barren.

On the uplands vegetation nourishes, and to the height of 10,000 feet, the Sierra or High Peru, enjoys a climate composed of a mixture of perpetual spring and autumn. Beyond 14,000 feet, the Sierra is covered with eternal snows, and consequently an everlasting winter reigns in its neighbourhood.

The cultivation of these different tracts is little attended to; along the coast, desarts of thirty or forty leagues in extent are frequent; and the immense forests which cover the maritime plains, prove that the inhabitants are not numerous; these forests contain acacias, mangle trees, arborescent brooms and ferns, aloes, and other succulent plants, cedars, cotton or ceiba trees of gigantic growth, many kinds of ebony, and other useful woods, ten or twelve species of palms, and the maria, an enormous tree used in ship building. These forests are thickest at the distance of seven or eight leagues from the coast, and the trees then become covered with parasitical plants, which reach to their very top, mixing their beautiful and lively flowers with the dark green foliage, so peculiar to the tropics.

In the forests and in the plains of the coast, are found the cabbage palm, the cocoa nut, the cacao nut, the cotton shrub, the pine apple, canna, amomum, turmeric, plantain, sugar cane, &c., on the sides of the Andes, and in its great plains, are the precious cinchona, coffee tree, the cardana alliodora, a large tree, whose leaves and wood emit an odour resembling garlic. Twenty-four species of pepper, five or six of capsicum, and several of potato, tobacco and jalap exist in Peru, and the green and hot houses of Europe owe most of their beautiful flowers and plants to this country.

The llama, the guanuco, the vicuna, and the alpaca, or the different species of American camel, find their native climate in the cold districts of Peru; the jaguar, the cougar or puma, and several other wild animals, inhabit the thick forests; while the elk, the ant-bear, deer, monkeys, the great black bear of the Andes, and armadillos, &c., are very numerous. The woods abound in beautiful birds, the rivers in fish and alligators, and numerous tribes of reptiles infest the warm districts of the coast, in which venomous insects are also common.

The mountains of Peru do not yield in height to those of Quito, the great chain of the Andes dividing itself into several parallel branches, forming as in Quito, long and narrow valleys, near its summits; it is very precipitous towards the east, and seems to form a natural barrier between the kingdoms of La Plata and Peru. It here gives birth to the Maranon, the Guallaga, the Tunguragua, and a variety of smaller rivers, which either lose themselves in these or in the Pacific Ocean.

HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &C.

The history of Peru in the remote ages is not so clearly ascertained as that of Mexico; traditions were not handed down to posterity as in that country by symbolical paintings, but were remembered only by means of the quippus, a knotted string of different colours, or by the priests who were brought up from their youth in temples, where the history of the nation was one of the objects of the care of their elders in their instruction.

Although it is doubtful which nation had advanced to the greatest state of civilization, it is certain that the Mexicans had the most correct chronological notions; and accordingly, the æras of their early history are the most to be depended on. From what country the ancient Peruvians migrated is not known; they were however of a character widely different from the Mexicans, and have been conjectured by some authors to have come from the south-east.

They remained for a length of time without any decided form of government, until they were subdued by a tribe who were said to have come from an island in a great lake to the south of Peru. These people were warlike and totally different in their manners from the Peruvians, who were merely tribes of wandering inoffensive savages. According to some authors MANCO CAPAC, and MAMA OELLO his wife were the conquerors of Peru, appearing on the banks of lake Chucuito, clothed in flowing garments, and whiter than the natives whom they came amongst; they gave themselves out as children of the sun, sent by that divinity to reclaim and instruct mankind. Awed by the presence of these people, the rude savages followed them till they settled at Cuzco, where they founded a town, afterwards the capital of Peru. Persuading the tribes who wandered over the country to collect around them, Manco Capac, instructed the men in agricultural and other useful arts, while Mama Oello taught the females to weave and spin. After securing the objects of primary importance, those of providing food, raiment and habitations for his followers, Manco Capac turned his attention towards framing laws for their government, in order to perpetuate the good work he had begun. He constituted himself their sovereign and high priest, enacted a law that no one but his descendants were to fill this post, that they were to be held sacred, and looked upon as inferior only to the planet from whom they sprung.

At first his territories embraced only a few leagues in extent round the capital, but these were rapidly enlarged from the mild and beneficent effects of his patriarchal government.

He was now styled by his subjects Capac, or rich in virtue; he founded the temple of the sun at Cuzco, which was to be served only by virgins of royal descent. This monarch lived among his people for a number of years and then suddenly disappeared. His successors increased the boundaries of their territories by the force of their arms, and by the greater force of persuasion, backed by the mildest exercise of their royal functions.

These monarchs were styled Incas, and were distinguished by a peculiar dress and ornaments, which none of their subjects dared to assume; they were adored by the Peruvians, who looked upon them as the sons and vicegerents of the divinity they worshipped. This unbounded power of the Incas was unaccompanied by any ill effects, as their attention was uniformly exerted for the good of their subjects, in extending the benefits of civilization, and knowledge of the arts introduced by their founder.

It seems highly probable that such a person as Manco Capac existed, and that he introduced the measures we have related, but it is also most probable that he was accompanied by followers who carried his dictates into effect among the rude Peruvians, and therefore the supposition that these people were conquered by a superior and warlike tribe from the south, is by no means improbable, as at the present day, there exist several tribes in the southern forests, who are more civilized than the modern Peruvians, and who have successfully resisted the invasion of the Spaniards. The successor of Manco Capac, who died in the latter end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century, was his son _Sinchi Roca_, or the brave, who extended his dominions sixty miles south of Cuzco. The third Inca was _Lloque Yupanqui_, who further extended the territories of Cuzco and reduced several tribes; the fourth was _Maita Capac_, who also added to the empire, and erected several splendid edifices; the fifth, _Capac Yupanqui_, was another conqueror; the sixth, _Inca Roca_, subdued many small districts; the seventh was named _Yahuar Huacac_; the eighth, _Inca Ripac_, and who had an army of 30,000 men; he conquered many provinces, and obliged the chief of Tucuman to pay him homage; the ninth was _Inca Urca_, who was deposed after he had reigned eleven days; he was succeeded by _Pachacutec_, who subdued Jauja, Tarma, and other provinces; the eleventh was _Yupanqui_, who carried his conquests to the river Maule, in Chili, and over the Mojos far to the east of the Andes; the twelfth, _Tupac Yupanqui_, conquered several districts in Quito; and the thirteenth, _Huayna Capac_, subdued the kingdom of Lican or Quito, and established himself in the capital. His history has been related in the historical description of that province. On his death-bed he divided Quito and Peru between his sons; but _Inti Cusi Hualpa_, or _Huascar_, was declared Inca; he fought a bloody battle with his brother _Atahualpa_, and was taken prisoner, on which _Atahualpa_ or _Atabalipa_, invested himself with the regal fillet, and was proclaimed fifteenth Inca of the Peruvians. On his being killed by Pizarro, _Manco Capac_ was crowned by permission of that general, but revolted from the allegiance he had vowed to Spain, and retiring to the mountains, is supposed to have died about 1553. The seventeenth and last of the Incas, was _Sayri Tupac_, who resigned his sovereignty to Philip the Eleventh of Spain, and died a christian, leaving only one daughter, who married Onez de Loyola, a Spanish knight, from whom descend the Marquesses of _Oropesa_ and _Alcanises._ Manco Capac, the Second, left several children, one of whom, _Tupac Amaru_, was the oldest, and was beheaded by the Spaniards, on pretence of his having assumed the imperial fillet.

The discovery of Peru by the Europeans takes its date from the latter end of the reign of Huana Capac in 1524, when three inhabitants of the city of Panama entered into an association for the purpose of exploring the continent south of the isthmus of Darien. Don Francisco Pizarro of Truxillo, Don Diego Almagro of Malagon, and a priest named Hernando de Luque, were at that time among the richest people of Panama, and proposed to themselves the employment of their fortunes in one common stock, to discover and conquer new countries on the south, after the model of Cortez in Mexico, with whom Pizarro had served, and to whom he was related. Having obtained permission from Pedro Arias de Avila, the governor of Terra Firma, _Pizarro_ fitted out a vessel, in which he embarked in the port of Panama with 114 men.