Chapter XVI: Late Eighteenth-Century Historians

I. _José Eusebio Llano y Zapata._ II. _Miguel de Olivares and
Pedro de Córdoba y Figueroa._ III. _José Pérez García and
Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche._ IV. _Geographical description;
Molina and Vidaurre._ V. _Dionisio and Antonio Alcedo,
Zamacola, Segurola, and Martínez y Vela._ VI. _Concolorcorvo._

I

[Sidenote: Llano y Zapata]

[Sidenote: Zapata’s precocity]

[Sidenote: The Cadiz volume and letters of Zapata]

A notable figure of Peru in the eighteenth century was José Eusebio Llano y Zapata. He was born in Lima, where his father held the office of alcalde in 1690 and again in 1708. He appeared as the most precocious mind of his time in Peru. At the age of nineteen he had published papers on various topics in medicine, physics, and literature; and before he was twenty-five he had added to these, among other writings, a panegyric on Marcellos, bishop of Cuzco, the true method of preserving health, the nature and origin of comets, a discussion on the books of Judith and Isaiah, and the moral philosophy of Seneca. He possessed an extensive knowledge of languages, and, as evidence of his interest in this branch of study, he founded at Lima a public school for instruction in Greek. In pursuit of knowledge of natural history he made extensive journeys throughout South America during a period of five years, and afterwards went to Spain, where he completed his most important book: _Memorias histórico-físicas-críticas-apologéticas de la América meridional_, in four volumes. The first volume (_Reino mineral_) was printed, the MSS. of others have disappeared. In the second, the author is known to have treated of the vegetable kingdom, “from the most magnificent tree to the most humble plant”; in the third, of the animal kingdom, from the highest to the lowest; in the fourth, the author described certain geographical features of South America, particularly the great rivers, and in all parts attention is given to the historical phases of the subject. A little volume published at Cadiz in 1759 contains the preliminary discourse of the first volume of the _Memorias_ and a number of Zapata’s letters.

A more extensive collection of Zapata’s letters began to be published at Cadiz in 1764. They present important details of a great variety of subjects in the history of South America during the two centuries of Spanish rule then completed.

[Sidenote: Support of Spanish system]

Zapata was an ardent champion of the designs and spirit of Spain’s government of America. He praised the zeal of the conquistadores, excused in some measure their faults, excesses, and avarice. He denounced the writings of Las Casas as false and exaggerated, and condemned them as utterances unworthy of a Spaniard. At the same time he showed an appreciation of the Indians, maintaining that under a proper system of instruction they would have manifested in the course of time “las fuerzas del espíritu y la eficacia de la razón.”[201]

II

[Sidenote: Olivares’ career]

[Sidenote: _Breve noticia de la Compañía de Jesús_]

The _Historia militar, civil y sagrada de lo acaecido en la conquista y pacificación del reino de Chile_ by the Jesuit Miguel de Olivares is one of the more important works of the eighteenth century on Chilean history. The author was born in Chillán, in Chile, in 1674. It is believed that he went to Spain, and was there ordained priest; but in whatever manner he may have passed the early years of his life, there appears to be conclusive evidence that in 1700 he was in Chile, engaged as a missionary in the region between the Maipo and the Maule. A little later he was a missionary in the valley of Quillota, and still later he was preaching in Valparaiso. Between 1706 and 1720 he was continuing his missionary labours in various fields. In 1722 he was living in Santiago, and in 1730 at Concepción. Through his journeys he acquired much knowledge of Chile, of its geography, of its inhabitants and of the conditions under which rude settlements were growing into civilized communities. In 1736 he was in Santiago, gathering and putting into order the sources of information that furnished the basis of his _Breve noticia de la provincia de la Compañía de Jesús de Chile_, a work not designed at that time for publication, but only as material which a future historian might use.[202]

From this task he turned again to his missionary labours at first in the province of Cuyo and later, from 1744 to 1758, in Araucania. During this period he added extensively to his knowledge of the country as well as of the language and customs of the Indians.

[Sidenote: _Historia militar, civil y sagrada_]

[Sidenote: Fate of Olivares’ manuscript]

Olivares was apparently induced to undertake his _Historia militar, civil y sagrada_ by the encouragement of certain other Jesuits who had seen his manuscript on the Jesuits in Chile. This larger work was begun at Chillán in 1758, continued in Santiago, and a clean copy of it made in Concepción in 1767. Thus, after nine years of work, it was completed the year in which the author, together with the other members of his order, was expelled from the colonies. Olivares at that time was ninety-two years of age; but his great age did not prevent his inclusion with the others under the decree of expulsion. The first stage of his journey to Europe was from Chile to Peru. He remained two months in Lima. Here, by order of the viceroy, Manuel de Amat y Juniet, his manuscripts were taken from him, but by the intercession of José Perfecto Salas, who had lived in Chile, Olivares recovered the first part of his _Historia_. But on his departure from Callao he was obliged to leave the second part in the hands of Peruvian officials. His companions in exile at Imola wished to spread in Italy a knowledge of the history and social affairs of Chile, and for this purpose they desired to make use of Olivares’ manuscript and very naturally raised the question of procuring the second part. In 1788 Olivares caused the first part of his manuscript to be presented to the king of Spain through the Spanish ambassador at Rome, and at the same time communicated to the king the fact that the second part was in Peru, and expressed his desire to obtain it in order to complete it and to add to it his final corrections. But this was a wish not to be fulfilled. The second part was, indeed, found and sent to Madrid in 1790, but the author had already fallen under the weight of more than a hundred years.

[Sidenote: Olivares’ sources]

[Sidenote: Character of Olivares’ work]

The manuscript sent to the king of Spain in 1788 is the part of Olivares’ work which has determined his place in the literature of the colonies. It is not known what was the fate of the second part sent from Chile to Madrid in 1790 by Governor Ambrosio O’Higgins. In writing his _Historia militar, civil y sagrada_, Olivares used the works of Antonio de Herrera, Ovalle, Ercilla, Xufré del Águila, Tesillo, and Bascuñán, as well as the _Voyage_ of Frezier, the writings of Juan and Ulloa, the chronicle of Techo, the description of the bishopric of Santiago by José Fernández de Campino, and the manuscript history by Córdoba y Figueroa, which, according to Medina, “served as his principal guide.” Documents in the archives were not accessible to him, and this limitation of his sources made certain errors inevitable; but his experience and observations enabled him to present especially valuable descriptions of the country and the customs of the Indians. In his pages, moreover, one may find independent judgments regarding the defensive military operations, and on the extent of success achieved by the missionaries in their efforts to convert the Indians. Compared with his work on the Jesuits in Chile, the history written later shows a more marked maturity of judgment and a greater degree of originality. “But anyone who may wish to examine the book on the Jesuits will find in it not only a mass of facts most useful for a knowledge of the history of the Jesuits in Chile, but also for a complete understanding of the political and civil history.”[203]

[Sidenote: Historians of the 18th century]

[Sidenote: Córdoba’s _Historia de Chile_]

The Chileans of the eighteenth century, who wrote on the history of their country, show a somewhat clearer conception of the proper nature of history than their predecessors. One of the books of this time was _Apuntes de lo acaecido en la conquista de Chile, desde sus principios hasta el año de 1672_, by José Basilio de Rojas y Fuentes, of whose life too few facts are known to constitute the basis of a biography. Of Pedro Córdoba y Figueroa, the author of a _Historia de Chile_, much more is known. He was a descendant of one of the early conquistadores, and was born in Concepción in 1692. Having passed under the instruction given by the Jesuits in his native town, he embraced the career of a soldier, acquired official rank in 1734, became a member of various expeditions against the Araucanians, participated in at least three parlamentos, or conferences, with the Indians, and was finally established at Concepción, where he held the office of alcalde. The fact that little mention is made of him during the period between 1739 and 1751 suggests that these were tranquil years of his life. During this time he was making his historical studies, using such works on Chilean history as had been printed at that time, and certain manuscripts, some of which, Medina says, are not now known.[204] His work, the product of these studies, has been commended as showing patient investigation and judicious criticism. He was, however, afflicted with a common infirmity of this time, the desire to show his erudition respecting subjects quite foreign to the history of Chile, in the field of Latin classics and the writings of the Fathers of the Church.

III

[Sidenote: José Pérez García]

[Sidenote: García’s social position]

Two writers on Chilean history during the last years of the colonial period were José Pérez García and Vicente Carvallo y Goyeneche. Pérez García was born in 1721, at Colindres, a little town in Spain near Santander. His parents are described in their letters patent of nobility as “_caballeros nobles, hijodalgos de sangre y naturaleza_.” He acquired only the limited education ordinarily obtained by young persons who intended to devote themselves to commerce. At the age of twenty he left Spain for America in company with an older brother, who made a considerable fortune in Upper Peru, and also conducted a commercial house in Buenos Aires. For ten years Pérez García remained in that city engaged in mercantile pursuits. Here he laid the basis of the fortune that later insured his independence. About the middle of the century he went to Chile, and continued his activity in mercantile affairs in Santiago. Here his recognized honesty and his wealth acquired for him an honourable position in the community, and his marriage with María del Rosario Salas y Ramírez, the daughter of a rich Spanish merchant, added to his fortune, and fixed his intimate relations with the most conspicuous elements of Chilean society. After his withdrawal from active business he continued to live in Santiago. In his retirement he sought unsuccessfully from the king the rank and title of lieutenant-colonel, not with a view of exercising the functions of command, but for the sake of the social distinction this title would confer. One of the characteristic features of this colonial society is seen in the importance attached to titles and distinctive rank.

[Sidenote: Contents of García’s book]

[Sidenote: Lack of literary skill]

[Sidenote: Ground of García’s superiority]

For six years in the first decade of the nineteenth century Pérez García was engaged in writing his _Historia general, natural y militar, civil y sagrada del reino de Chile_, completed, as he announced on the last sheet of his manuscript, March 19, 1808. The first part of this book is taken up with references to the Virgin as the “discoverer, conqueror, and colonizer of the kingdom of Chile”; with a discussion of the origin of the Americans, with an inquiry as to the probable population of this continent before the Noachian flood, and with the question as to the presence of the Apostle Thomas on this continent. This part has neither interest nor historical value. And, considering the author’s lack of literary training, one ought not to be disappointed in finding the writing crude and the language in many instances incorrect. “But the real merit of Pérez García’s manuscript,” according to Barros Arana’s judgment, “resides in the historical narrative which constitutes about three-quarters of the whole work. This writer has prepared himself with a profound study of the chronicles, those in manuscript as well as those in print, and of the documents that came to his hands, and although with complete neglect of literary forms, he was able to make a book which has a true value and which may be consulted with profit now, after many documents have been discovered, and after the history of the conquest and colonization have begun to be rewritten with the new light which they furnish. The reason of the superiority of the history of Pérez García over those that preceded it is found in the fact that the author has not always accepted as unquestionable truth what he found written by other authors; that he has attempted to verify the statements for himself and by means of comparing those narratives with the documents; and that finally he has corrected in many points numerous errors, and has set down facts from his own investigations that are not found in the other chronicles.”[205]

[Sidenote: Carvallo’s work]

[Sidenote: Carvallo and O’Higgins]

The work by Carvallo was entitled _Descripción histórico-geográfica del reino de Chile_. On account of the extensive investigations on which it is based and its independent spirit it may be properly classed with the writings of Pérez García. Both of these authors were, moreover, distinguished from many of their predecessors by their secular status. García was a merchant and Carvallo was a soldier. As a soldier Carvallo was subordinated to Ambrosio O’Higgins while that officer was in general command of the southern frontier, and afterwards when he had become governor and captain-general of Chile. The friendly relation that at first existed between them was later changed to hatred and hostility, by which O’Higgins was moved to use his influence to obstruct the execution of Carvallo’s plans. This is seen in the failure of Carvallo to obtain the office of corregidor in Peru for which he had applied, and also in the objections raised by O’Higgins to granting Carvallo leave to go to Santiago to consult authorities for his proposed history of Chile, as well as in his later refusal to grant his request for permission to go to Madrid to secure its publication. When Carvallo proposed to abandon his military career and enter a monastery, he requested that in his ecclesiastical position his military salary might continue to be paid to him. This O’Higgins firmly and definitely refused. But by persistence and a subsequent petition he succeeded in obtaining O’Higgins’ permission to go to Santiago; and directly from the government in Spain he obtained leave to go to Madrid.

[Sidenote: Life of Carvallo]

[Sidenote: Carvallo’s project to write a history]

The life of Carvallo was that of a vigorous and restless spirit in revolt against the narrowness and monotony of Chilean social conditions in the last half of the eighteenth century. He was born in Valdivia in 1742, the son of the governor of the district, and the youngest of three brothers. Until his twentieth year he was under the instruction of Jesuits; he then entered the military service, in which he continued for many years in his native city, where he married and became the head of a numerous family. The dull routine of garrison duties in a stagnant colonial town irked him. Hoping to find an open field for his ambition, he sought and secured his transfer to the frontier. At this time the project of President Guill y Gonzaga to establish towns or forts on territory not previously occupied by the Spaniards provoked the opposition and hostility of the Indians. It would be difficult to imagine a more complete contrast to Carvallo’s life at Valdivia than that presented by his experience on the frontier; but the freer life of the frontier had its compensations; he found there abundant material for the diary which he kept throughout the whole period of his military career. The writing of this diary is said to have suggested to him the project to write a history of Chile. Moreover, daily contact with the Indians for more than thirty years gave him a secure basis of judgment concerning the long conflict which furnishes the main theme of Chilean history; he acquired sufficiently the Indians’ viewpoint to enable him to discern the unjust features of the Spanish policy respecting them, and by his spirit of impartiality he was led to oppose the governors and to point out their abuses and unworthy conduct.

When Carvallo finally obtained permission directly from the government in Spain to visit Madrid, O’Higgins sent to Buenos Aires an order for his arrest, but the order arrived too late to prevent Carvallo’s departure, and he was consequently able to pass a number of years in the Spanish capital, where he completed his History of Chile in 1796.

[Sidenote: Carvallo at Madrid]

At Madrid Carvallo was able to command influence sufficient not only to defeat the efforts of those who wished to excite hostility to him at the court, but also to secure the favour of the king and incorporation in the army at Buenos Aires. It is not definitely known how long he remained at Madrid, long enough, however, as already indicated, to complete his manuscript, the narrative of which extends to 1788, to the end of the _interim_ government of Tomás Álvarez de Acevedo. He was not able to secure its publication, but before it was printed it was extensively used as a source by later writers. Two of the volumes of Gay’s _Historia física y política de Chile_, as pointed out by Amunátegui, “are a simple transcription of some of the books of Carvallo’s work.”

[Sidenote: Carvallo’s death and legacy]

Early in the nineteenth century he entered upon his duties as captain in the army at Buenos Aires; the date of this event is sometimes given as 1803. When the famous junta gobernativa was formed, May 25, 1810, Carvallo took up the cause of the revolution with great enthusiasm, but his failing health prevented him from rendering the efficient service he had desired to give. He died in 1816. Some time after his death Juan Arias, his son-in-law and sole heir, appeared at Buenos Aires to receive his meagre inheritance. The following is Arias’ report of his conversation with the officer in charge of Carvallo’s affairs:

“My friend, your father-in-law is dead.”

“I am already aware of that misfortune.”

“He declared that you were his sole heir.”

“I have read the will, and I wish you would please to order
that the poor articles of his property may be given to me.”

“These articles were reduced to his clothing in use and a few
silver spoons.”

“Where shall I be able to get them?”

“My friend, as you were not here, I gave the clothing to some
Chilean immigrants, who were in want.”

“But the spoons?”

“I sold them and used the proceeds in causing masses to be
said for the eternal repose of Carvallo.”

“Besides the clothing and the spoons, I am especially
interested in the manuscript of a History of Chile, which my
father-in-law had written. Please let me know where that bundle
of papers is.”

“I sold it for two hundred pesos on account of masses for the
departed Carvallo.”[206]

IV

[Sidenote: Some geographical descriptions]

Throughout the colonial period geographical description held a prominent place among the writings of Spanish Americans. _Descripción de Chile_, by Ponce de León, _Población de Valdivia_, by Miguel de Aguirre and _Explicación de la plaza y puerto_, by Pedro de Moreno, are among early works of this kind. Ponce de León and Aguirre wrote in the seventeenth century, while Moreno’s _Explicación_ was published in 1731. A little later Pedro Usauro Martínez de Bernabé wrote an account of the presidio and city of Valdivia. This author arrived in Chile very young, and at the age of seventeen, in 1749, he was already under military training. For many years later he was in service as a member of the garrison of Valdivia, and through his long service in this region he became familiar with the natural peculiarities and the state of affairs in the southern part of Chile. The extent and accuracy of his observations, and his ability to attain general views based on these observations give his writings a certain superiority over many of the works in this field.

[Sidenote: Ciudad encantada de los Césares]

Belief in the tradition of the “Ciudad encantada de los Césares” was rife in Martínez’s time, and, having had some part in an investigation designed to make clear the grounds of the popular belief, he wrote _Reflexiones críticas político-históricas sobre los nominados Césares_. He had also in mind to free his countrymen from their illusion; for at Valdivia he had knowledge of those who had faith in the tradition, and of the expeditions organized to discover the famous city of the Césares.

[Sidenote: Pinuer’s _Relación_]

[Sidenote: Orejuela’s Commission]

This tradition was exploited by Ignacio Pinuer, who conducted an expedition organized to search for the famous city. Pinuer was born in Valdivia, and this tradition interested him from his boyhood. In his mature years he was brought into frequent communication with the Indians, and from them he sought confirmation or explanation of it.[207] His expedition was naturally fruitless, but his _Relación sobre una ciudad grande de españoles situada entre los indios_ (1774), has kept alive the memory of his undertaking. A part of this _Relación_ is contained in Pedro de Angelis’ _Colección de documentos_, reproduced from the _Semanario erudito_ of Madrid. Another document relating to this expedition is Benito Delgado’s _Diario_. Delgado was the chaplain of the expedition, and his account was addressed to Governor Joaquín de Espinosa. Gay, the historian, printed it in _Historia de Chile_ (_Documentos_, I, 431-485). But even when this tradition was gradually losing its hold on the minds of Chileans, the court of Spain was still influenced by it, and commissioned Manuel José de Orejuela to continue the search. But in spite of his royal patent Orejuela encountered opposition in America. The viceroy of Peru and the governor of Chile recognized the folly and absurdity of the enterprise, and persuaded him to relinquish his projected expedition.

[Sidenote: Order for information]

Before the delusion concerning a city of the Césares had run its course, the government in Spain ordered the officers of the royal treasury at Santiago and the corregidores to formulate information concerning districts under their direction. As results of this order there appeared a number of reports or statistical accounts covering various parts of Chilean territory. One of these was José Fernández Campino’s _Relación del obispado de Santiago de Chile_, a dry statistical description of central Chile. Another similar production was Pedro González de Agüeros’ _Descripción historial de Chile_, which was published in Madrid in 1791.

[Sidenote: Juan Ignacio Molina]

In the preface to the second volume of his history of Chile Molina affirms that when he undertook that work he had in his possession the first volume of Olivares’ manuscript, and that he was in constant expectation of receiving from Peru the second volume, but that this volume, on which he had confidently relied, he had never received, and in consequence he had been compelled to seek from various other sources the information which it would have furnished. Although Molina lived long in Chile, and wrote the geographical, natural, and civil history of that country, his work was originally published in Italian. The first part, treating of natural history, was issued in Bologna in 1782. A Spanish translation appeared in Madrid in 1788. The second part, treating of the civil history, appeared several years later. Like Olivares and the other Jesuits, he was expelled from America in 1767.

[Sidenote: Vidaurre’s _Historia de Chile_]

Another contemporary writer who suffered the same fate was Felipe Gómez de Vidaurre. As in the case of Molina, Bologna became Vidaurre’s residence in exile, and here he wrote his _Historia geográfica, natural y civil del reino de Chile_, the imperfection of which is in a large measure due to the fact that he wrote at a distance from the scenes he described, and without the documentary and other requisite authorities. Vidaurre’s work is divided into eleven books, the first relates to geography, the second, third, and fourth to natural history, and the others treat of political events. Critics appear to have found this book not without merit, but not equal in merit to the writings of Olivares and Molina.

V

[Sidenote: Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera]

[Sidenote: Dionisio de Alcedo’s works]

Dionisio de Alcedo, although less widely known than his son, nevertheless played an important rôle in the affairs of the colonies, and made certain contributions to the published information concerning the Indies. He was born in Madrid, and, in 1706, he left Spain for Peru. In 1708, while returning to Europe, he was taken prisoner by the English. Having been liberated and sent to Quito, he arrived there in time to accompany Bishop Diego Ladrón de Guevara to Lima, where provision had been made for Guevara’s succession to the viceregal office after Castelldosrius. During the succeeding years Alcedo was charged with important and commissions until he was finally appointed, in 1728, president of the province of Quito. This post he held until 1737. He was thus at the head of the government of Quito when the French commissioners with Juan and Ulloa began their observations and measurements under the equator. Subsequently, having returned to Spain, he was appointed president and commanding general of Panama. He served in this capacity from 1743 to 1749. He retired from this office in consequence of charges presented by the judges of the audiencia, which proved, however, to be entirely unfounded. He retired to Spain in 1752, and died there in 1777 at the age of eighty-seven. Two works by Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera were published in Madrid. The first was _Aviso histórico político geográfico con noticias particulares de la América meridional_ (1741); the second, _Compendio histórico de la provincia, partidos, ciudad, astillero, ríos, y puerto de Guayaquil_ (1741).

[Sidenote: Antonio de Alcedo’s _Diccionario_]

Antonio de Alcedo, a son of Dionisio de Alcedo, born in Quito in 1735, availed himself of material presented by his father and by various writers on America, and compiled the well-known _Diccionario geográfico de las Indias_, which was published in five volumes at Madrid in the years 1786 to 1789. This was later translated into English, with various additions and corrections, the translation thus becoming more valuable than the original. It was designed to embrace descriptions of the provinces, the cities, and the most striking natural features of the whole of America, but the parts devoted to British America, as might very well be expected, are less important than those treating of Latin America.

[Sidenote: Zamacola, priest of Arequipa]

The activity of Juan Domingo de Zamacola, a priest of Arequipa, appears to have been divided between building and writing. He made considerable and important additions to church edifices in Arequipa, and his written work deals extensively with the affairs of Peru. In a descriptive itinerary from Buenos Aires to Arequipa he gave an account of the towns and the roads on the way. Another work contained an account of the events of the revolutions in the provinces of Peru between 1780 and 1785. He also wrote a “narrative of the earthquake at Arequipa of May 14, 1784,” also a diary of the visit of Bishop Pedro Chávez de la Rosa to the provinces of Tarapacá, Tacna, and Moquegua, containing an abundance of statistical information. Of a similar character was his work on the history and geography of Arequipa, and that on the foundation of the town of San Fernando in the valley of Socaboya. In a lighter vein were his satirical papers against idleness, against “the women who smoke,” against luxury, and against the use of colours on the face.

[Sidenote: Segurola’s _Diario_]

An enlightening account of one phase of the war known as the rebellion of Tupac Amarú is found in the _Diario de los sucesos del cerco de la ciudad de La Paz en 1781_. It was written by Sebastián de Segurola, a brigadier in the royal army, in command of the forces in La Paz during the siege, and was printed in the first volume of the _Archivo boliviano_ (Paris, 1872). It recounts in a series of daily entries the flight of the Spaniards to La Paz from the neighbouring towns, the fortification of a certain part of the city, the gathering about the city of great bodies of Indians, the gradual diminution of food within the city, the consumption of the bulk of the horses and mules, and even the utilizing of rawhide trunks as food; until finally, after facing famine for months, the besieged saw loyal troops on the heights around the city and were assured of relief.

[Sidenote: Career of Segurola]

The author of this diary was a Spaniard born in the province of Guipuzcoa on January 27, 1740. He joined the army at the age of eighteen, and after eighteen years of service left Spain for America in the force commanded by Zeballos, when that officer, as viceroy of the newly created viceroyalty of Río de la Plata, went to defend the Spanish settlements against the encroachments of the Portuguese. Segurola had been decorated with the cross of Calatrava and appointed corregidor of the province of Larecaja; and after the conclusion of Zeballos’ campaign he entered upon the duties of his provincial office, taking up his residence at the town of Sorata, later destroyed by the Indians in the rebellion. While at Sorata he learned of the outbreak of hostilities, and on January 1, 1781, he took command of the forces at La Paz and in the neighbouring provinces, as directed by the president of the audiencia of Charcas. After the rebellion Segurola remained at La Paz in the office of governor and intendant that had been provided for in the reformed organization of the viceroyalty. He was married in 1786, but his wife died two years later at the birth of a second daughter. His death occurred the following year. In recognition of his loyalty and his distinguished services, he was admitted to the order of Santiago, appointed field-marshal, and president of the audiencia of Charcas, but the notification of these honours reached La Paz a few days after his death.

[Sidenote: _Anales de Potosí_]

In this first volume of the _Archivo boliviano_ appears also an important document relating to the marvellous history of the city of Potosí, a city that had been called into existence by the rich mines of Upper Peru. This document is entitled _Anales de la Villa Imperial de Potosí_, and was written by Bartolomé Martínez y Vela, a resident of Potosí. It is one of the principal historical sources of Vicente G. Quesada’s _Crónicas potosinas: costumbres de la edad mediæval hispano-americana_, and of the author’s chapter called a _Mining Town in Upper Peru_.[208]

[Sidenote: The _Diario_ of Segurola]

The _Diario_ of Segurola contains the story of a critical event in the Indian insurrection of 1780 and 1781, namely, the siege of La Paz. The position of that city at the bottom of a great ravine in the inter-Andean plateau gave a certain theatrical setting to the event. From the rim of the cañon the Indians could look down into the city, and the inhabitants from the fortified part of the town could watch the movement of the enemy from day to day. The diary is an account of the flight of Spaniards from neighbouring towns to La Paz as a place of refuge; of the formation of a line of intrenchments enclosing the densely populated area of the city, and of an exhausting defence continued for many months. Some idea of the character of the narrative may be derived from the following translations of daily entries:

[Sidenote: March 27, 28, and 29, 1781]

“March 27, 1781.—This day the Indians attacked with great force all parts of the city, setting fire to the houses that were outside of the trenches, assaulting these and the wall, from which they were repulsed with great vigour. This engagement lasted from 11 o’clock in the morning till 4 in the evening. At this hour the rebels retired with much loss, which was given at more than one hundred and fifty killed, without a loss on our part.

“March 28.—It was recognized to-day that the number of Indians who approached was considerably increased. At 8 o’clock in the morning they attacked all parts of the city, aided by some guns which they fired, and at the same time they went on burning the houses outside of the fortifications, and we resisted them with great valour. The attack lasted until five o’clock in the afternoon, when the enemy retired with more than three hundred and fifty dead, according to our calculation, and on our side we had only two.

“March 29.—The Indians have been coming down from all sides since daybreak, and at ten o’clock assaulted the city with desperation, and this attack, repulsed by us, lasted till half-past five in the afternoon, at which hour they retired with a loss of more than one hundred and fifty men, and we had the misfortune, by the bursting of a cannon in one of the forts, to have three killed and several severely wounded, and among the killed was Captain José de Roxas.”

[Sidenote: Martínez y Vela on Doña Clara]

[Sidenote: The elegance of Doña Clara]

[Sidenote: Doña Clara in poverty]

In the troubled life of Potosí, Martínez y Vela found an abundance of incidents that enabled him to give his _Anales_ a piquant flavour not usually discovered in chronicles. The following is his entry for the year 1690.

“This year died in Potosí, that famous Señora, Doña Clara, commonly called Amaltea, or Achacosa, who was at first a great sinner, extremely rich, vain, and proud, and later very poor, humble, and virtuous. At the age of twelve she became very well known not only in Potosí and everywhere in Peru, but her fame extended also to Spain. She was, moreover, beautiful, very discreet, lively, and agreeable; nature had bestowed upon her all its gifts; she sang sweetly, played and danced gracefully. She exercised a very great influence, since besides her great patrimony as a woman of excellent standing she acquired at the cost of her virtue immense wealth in gold, silver, jewels, precious stones, pearls, and rich ornaments. She controlled everything, even the wills of her associates, and was vain in the extreme; the various rooms and patios in her house were sprinkled every day with scented water. The neatness of her stables was such that one never saw in them even a straw. Continually every day perfumed water was kept boiling in the porch and reception rooms, in apple-shaped receptacles of silver, and there were braseros of the same metal. She had as many chemises of fine linen from Holland and Cambray as there are days in the year, and she put on a fresh one every night. She had four rich bedsteads of wood and bronze with feather-beds and draperies of beautiful cloths, and she changed from one to another every three months. In a word, she was the most affluent woman in Potosí, but these goods were acquired by a violation of the will of God, and in the end pleasures of the world are such that even before they pass their retribution appears; thus it happened to this famous woman; for in a short time, by means it would be long to relate, she saw herself without gold, silver, jewels, pearls, servants, and ornaments and what was more, without even an old dress to hide her nakedness, and even more lamentable still, her poverty was so great that she had not even a crust to eat, and lived by charity, she whose weekly expenses in her house amounted to two thousand pesos in daily banquets and other worldly pleasure. She received from charity a skirt and an old chemise, cast-off finery, which was no longer of use. She washed the clothes of strangers, because they gave her food, she who had been disgusted on seeing a little spot on her dress. She worked for even the humblest for a piece of bread, she who had had white servants and many black female slaves, such an abundance of servants, that two of them were employed solely in wiping up with towels the spittle with which those who came to visit her had soiled the floor. Finally she expiated in this life the disorders of her past, and suffered with admirable patience her labours, giving by her experience a lesson to the proud, the rich, and the avaricious, and thus she died very poor in material goods, but rich in virtues. She was buried by the charity of her noble and pious neighbours. I present this case to undeceive and correct those who believe themselves secure in the possession of their temporal goods.”

VI

[Sidenote: _El lazarillo de ciegos caminantes_]

_El lazarillo de ciegos caminantes_ is rather an elaborate guide-book than a history. It treats of the route from Buenos Aires to Santiago de Chile, but its principal subject is the south-eastern part of Spanish South America, the region between Buenos Aires and Lima. It indicates the various lines of communication, describes the towns, the roads, the resources, the manners and customs of the country traversed, and the difficulties, privations, and dangers of a journey over this route. The style is plain and direct, the writer’s point of view is often humorous, and his references are now and then vulgar; but the clearness of his descriptions and the picturesqueness of the lighter parts make the book eminently readable. As a contemporary account of the Peruvian cities in the last half of the eighteenth century it has no successful rival.

[Sidenote: Concolorcorvo]

By the title-page of the original edition one is informed that the book was written by Don Calixto Bustamante Inca, alias Concolorcorvo, and that it was printed in Gijón in 1773. But, in spite of this reference to Gijón it is held that it was printed in Lima. A new and excellent edition was issued by the historical and numismatic society of Buenos Aires in 1908.

[Sidenote: Dialogue with Alonso Carrión]

The author was born in Cuzco. As a youth he visited Lima, and soon afterwards set out for Spain, where he affirmed he had an uncle who was an Indian of the royal Inca family; but learning of the death of this unnamed uncle, he went on this occasion only as far as Buenos Aires. Later he undertook the voyage to the Peninsula and returned from Coruña to Montevideo in the ship “El Tucumán.” From Buenos Aires to Lima he accompanied the visitador Alonso Carrión de Lavandera, to whom he frequently makes reference in describing this journey, and who figures in certain passages in a dialogue with the author. Carrión had been commissioned by the king to arrange the affairs of the postal service preparatory to its passing from private hands to the crown. Bustamante, who assisted Carrión, took this occasion to gather at least a part of the information set down in his description of the country traversed, and much of this information refers to the existing postal service and the special need of it at certain points.[209]

[Sidenote: The merits of Lima and Cuzco]

The following extract gives some indication of the author’s manner.

“I promised to write a description of Lima, but the visitador told me that was an undertaking, in which many men of superior talents had not been able to succeed, and that it would be ridiculous for a pigmy to undertake it. But, Señor Inspector, is it possible that I must conclude such a detailed itinerary without saying anything about Lima? Certainly, Señor Inca, for this great city does not concern you, is not your affair, and here ends my commission. Señores Jorge Juan, Antonio Ulloa, he added, and the principal cosmographer of the kingdom, Dr. Cosme Bueno, wrote with a swan’s quill of all the most important things in this capital, and you cannot add anything material with yours which is the quill of a goose. Nevertheless, I replied, please tell me what is the difference between this great city and that of my birth. I suppose Señor Inca, he answered me, that you are prejudiced in favour of Cuzco, your native town, and would wish me to say that it is superior in every respect to Lima, but you are greatly mistaken; for, leaving aside the situation and the parks, you ought to observe that in this great capital the king maintains a viceroy with great magnificence and with an allowance equal to the total revenue of all the great estates of Cuzco. It has also three bodies of guards supported by the king, one of cavalry, well mounted and paid, others of infantry and halbardiers, which serve not only for ceremony and ostentation, but also for the protection of the persons and the peace of this great town. There may be added, moreover, the audiencia, the superior tribunals of accounts, the inquisition, the university, the theatre, and the public promenades near the city, which are not found at Cuzco, or at any other city of the kingdom.

[Sidenote: Carriages, dress, and aristocracy of Lima]

“Lima maintains two hundred and fifty public carriages and more than a thousand calesas, which are distinguished from the carriages by the fact that they have two wheels and are drawn by a mule, and are more readily upset. There is nothing of this kind in your great city. In the matter of dress, one is as crazy as the other, with a difference of tastes, and in the extent of families and commerce Lima greatly exceeds Cuzco. In this city there are many marquises and counts, and a much greater number of persons who have been decorated with the orders of Santiago and Calatrava, who with rare exceptions have sufficient incomes to maintain themselves in splendour, and to whom may be added persons having entailed estates and gentlemen who are supported by their lands and other proper kinds of business, so that they may live in a manner to give brilliancy to the society of the city. There is no doubt that in your native city, as in others of the vast viceroyalty, there are illustrious families, but the number of them is not comparable with those of this city” (Chap. XXVI).