Spanish America, Vol. II (of 2)

The total population of Spanish America is reckoned at about 15,000,000, of which three millions are Creoles, or the descendants of European whites, 200,000 are Spaniards, and the rest are Indians, negroes, and the mixed descendants of these and the whites, the Indians bearing the greatest proportion, as Peru alone contains 600,000; but the negroes are not very numerous, and exist principally in the provinces of Caraccas and New Granada.

Till the end of the last century the ports of Spanish America were shut against the whole world, the commerce of the country being carried on exclusively by two or three large ships called galleons from Manilla, and by an annual fleet to Spain; but these vessels falling continually into the hands of enemies, and generally containing all the treasure on which the Spanish court relied, they were at last abolished, and special licences were granted by some of the governors to carry on a trade with the Antilles, and in 1797 the court of Madrid was obliged to open some of the ports. Urged by extreme necessity Cisneros the Viceroy of La Plata in 1809, declared the port of Buenos Ayres free to all nations in alliance with Spain.

The power of Spain was maintained for a long while in her trans-Atlantic colonies, by a very small number of Spanish troops, who acted with the national militia on any unforeseen disturbances; the most profound tranquillity reigned in these happy regions till the year 1797, with the exception of the revolt of Tupac Amaru in 1780, and some other trifling occurrences. Three prisoners of state, who had been banished from Spain for revolutionary crimes, arrived at La Guayra, the port of Caraccas, in the first mentioned year; by dint of argument these men gained over the soldiers by whom they were guarded, and they were permitted to hold forth the doctrines at that time so dangerously afloat in Europe, to the people who came from all parts to hear them, and finding many admirers among the creoles and mestizoes, formed at last the daring plan of revolutionizing the country.

These men, instead of remaining to head the revolt, retired to the islands in the Caribbean sea, on which active measures being taken by the government the plot was discovered; several who were concerned in it were executed, and others banished. Previous to this, in 1781, some reforms and additional taxes which were introduced in New Granada created such dissatisfaction that 17,000 men collecting themselves together marched against the city of Santa Fé de Bogota exclaiming "Long live the King, but death to our bad governors," but this insurrection was soon quelled by politic measures.

After the disturbances in 1797, the country was again tranquil, until the period when Napoleon Buonaparte, assuming upon the numerous victories which the French troops had gained, grasped at the sceptre of Europe. After subduing, in part, the mother country, and depriving the king of his liberty, he dispatched his emissaries in every direction to America; these men were, in general, of acknowledged talents, and endeavoured by every means in their power, under assumed characters, to widen the breach which had gradually been opening between Spain and her colonies.

The Americans, instigated by such advisers, and finding themselves cut off from all communication with Spain, now intent solely on her own preservation, were dubious how to act; but the mass of the people resisted all idea of throwing off their allegiance, and would not consent to their country being under French controul. Accordingly, they established juntas in Caraccas, New Granada and Buenos Ayres, in imitation of similar acts on the part of their Spanish brethren.

In Caraccas and other places, Ferdinand the Seventh was proclaimed with all due solemnity, and when it was announced in July 1808, that Joseph Buonaparte had usurped the throne of Spain, 10,000 of the inhabitants of Caraccas flew to arms, surrounded the palace of the captain-general, and demanded the proclamation of their sovereign; this he promised to do next day, but such was their ardour, that they proclaimed him immediately themselves. In Buenos Ayres, the viceroy, Liniers, receiving intelligence of the events in the peninsula, in July 1808, exhorted the people in the name of Buonaparte to remain quiet; but Xavier Elio, the governor of Monte Video, accused him of disloyalty, and separated his government from that of Buenos Ayres; and this officer afterwards ineffectually endeavoured to persuade that city to acknowledge the title of viceroy, which he had received from the mother country.

In Mexico, the news of the Spanish affairs was not known, till the 29th July 1808, when a junta was immediately established; and the city of La Paz in Charcas, in the beginning of 1809, formed a similar junta for its government; but the viceroys of Buenos Ayres and Peru opposed this motion, and both sent armies to quell the insurrection, in which they were successful.

In Quito a junta was established on the 10th of August, 1809, but the viceroys of Peru and New Granada, with the greatest promptitude, detached a force against this city, which compelled the insurgents to abandon their project. At this time affairs wore a serious aspect in America; numerous adventurers appeared on her shores, eager to enrich themselves on the spoils of Spanish power. The partizans of revolution in Caraccas, the coast of which was more accessible to emissaries from Europe, formed themselves into a junta suprema, assumed the reins of government, but still published their acts in the name of the Spanish monarch. At Buenos Ayres a similar measure was taken; in Chili, the junta was organized in September, and an insurrection breaking out in the town of Dolores, near Guanaxuato in Mexico, the whole continent was now in a state of alarm and tumult.

In the mean time these proceedings were related to the council of the regency in Spain, which determined that body to take such active steps as their circumstances enabled them to do, and the coasts of the captain-generalship of Caraccas were declared in a state of vigorous blockade. From this period, the revolt in that province and the northern parts of New Granada, became daily more alarming; General Miranda was the commander of the Venezuelan army, in which capacity he achieved one victory, the result of which can never be forgotten in the Caraccas. The inhabitants of Valencia were for the royal cause, and though of very inferior force, resisted the insurgent party in two actions, in the first of which they were victorious, but in the second were subdued.

The 4th of July 1811, was the day on which the congress of Venezuela proclaimed themselves the representatives of the free provinces of Caraccas; and the little village of Mariara, close to the beautiful lake of Valencia, saw the first blood that was spilt in the civil war of these unfortunate countries. On the return of the king to his throne, on which he was placed by the glorious and ever-memorable conduct of the British and Spanish troops commanded by the Duke of Wellington; he issued a decree on the 4th of June 1814, announcing to the Spanish Americans, his arrival in his kingdom, ordering them to lay down their arms, and promising oblivion of the past; to enforce this mandate, he also sent General Morillo from Cadiz with a well equipped army of 10,000 men. This army landed on the coast of Caraccas in April 1815; but the insurgents not paying attention to His Majesty's commands, the general immediately commenced active measures. From Campano, where he landed, he proceeded to Margarita, from thence to Caraccas, and in the following August he besieged Carthagena.

Previous to his arrival, Boves, a Spaniard by birth, but a person of low rank, collected a handful of men, attached to the royal cause, and although destitute of assistance from the Spaniards, who were besieged in Puerto Cabello, he found means to raise a large body of troops in the interior, and seeking the insurgent army commanded by Bolivar, he fought several battles with them, in all of which his band was victorious, so that he was enabled to overthrow the new government established at Caraccas.

This valiant individual, following the career he had so fortunately begun, dispersed the army of the independents in every direction, but was killed in storming their last strong-hold, at the moment of victory.

On the arrival of General Morillo he found the province free from the independent troops, and therefore commenced his march for Carthagena, joined by the natives of the country who had formed the army of Boves, and who assisted him materially in taking Carthagena, and re-conquering the revolted provinces of New Granada.

Castello and Bolivar were at this time the leaders of the independent forces in this country, but dissensions occurring between them, Carthagena was supplied with only 2000 troops; the siege lasted from August to the 5th of December, 1815, when the governor and garrison evacuated the place, and the royal army took possession of it, but 3000 persons perished through famine during this siege.

General Morillo now advanced through the provinces of New Granada to the city of Santa Fé de Bogota, which place he entered in June, 1816, remaining in it till the following November: during his stay the leaders of the insurgents, and all who had been criminally engaged, were imprisoned, shot or exiled. From this period Bolivar, who had gone to Jamaica, turned his attention again towards Venezuela, planned an expedition to assist the people of Margarita, and joining Borion, an affluent native of Curaçoa, assembled the emigrants from Venezuela, and part of the garrison which had evacuated Carthagena.

Borion was appointed commander of the naval forces, and sailing from Aux-Cayes they landed in the beginning of May 1816, at La Margarita.

From this island Bolivar proceeded to Campano, five leagues west of the city of Cumana, of which he dispossessed the royal forces, and having armed many light troops who joined him, again embarked and proceeded to Ocumare; landing at this port he issued a proclamation, enfranchising all slaves, but was soon afterwards defeated by the royalists in a severe and hard fought action, after which he retired to Aux-Cayes, from whence he again brought new reinforcements in December 1816, to Margarita. On this island he published another proclamation, convoking the representatives of Venezuela to a general congress, and went afterwards to Barcelona, where he organised a provisional government.

At this place he repulsed the royalists under Generals Real and Morales, with great loss, but in the month following, on the 7th of April, 1817, the city of Barcelona was taken by the Spanish troops, and Morillo received an addition of 1600 men from Spain, in the month of May; since this period the actions between the Spanish troops and the insurgents have been frequent; the congress of Venezuela has been established by Bolivar, and again overthrown by Morillo; the islanders of Margarita have repulsed the Spanish forces, and at this moment the army of the Independents is concentrated near the shores of the Orinoco, and the Spanish troops are in possession of the capital and all the principal towns.

While these events were going on in Caraccas, the congress of Buenos Ayres declared its independence. The town of Monte Video was taken possession of by the Portuguese, and the march of insurrection spread itself into the remote government of Chili. Mina, who had been concerned in the Caraccas revolution, undertook an expedition against New Spain, in which, after sometimes repulsing, and at others being repulsed, by the Spanish generals, he was at last taken prisoner and beheaded at Mexico.

The United States have ejected the adventurers who had established themselves on Amelia Island in the government of East Florida, and it appears, that the revolutionary cause is only successful in Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, in both which provinces, it cannot however be said to be established, as a large Spanish army occupies part of one, and the Portuguese troops have partial possession of the other. In New Granada, Florida, Quito, Peru and Mexico, the insurgents have very little sway, and in the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba they are unknown; consequently the colonies of Spain, so far from being wrested from her, are still under her dominion; and it appears extremely probable, that they will remain so.

Recurring to the subject of the kingdom, which it is the primary object of this section to describe, we must now treat of its capital, a city which, from its former as well as from its present importance, may well justify its pretensions to be the metropolis of Spanish South America.

Capital.– Lima is situated in 12° 2' 25" south latitude, and 77° 7' 15" west longitude, in the spacious and fertile valley of Rimac, whence by corruption, the name Lima is derived. This city was formerly called Ciudad de los Reyes, and was founded by Pizarro, on the 18th of January, 1535. The name of the valley was derived from that of an idol of the Peruvians, who was called by way of distinction Rimac, "he who speaks." This city is an archbishopric, the rental of which is valued at 30,000 dollars.

The scite of Lima is very advantageous, as it commands a view of the whole valley in which it lies. A river of the same name washes the walls of the town, over which there is an elegant and spacious bridge of stone. On the north are the vast mountains of the Cordillera of the Andes, from which some branches extend towards the city; those of St. Christoval and Amancaes being the nearest. At the end of the bridge is a gate of noble architecture which leads into a spacious square, the largest in the place, and beautifully ornamented. In the centre of this square is a fine fountain with bronze figures; the form of the city is triangular, its base lying along the banks of the river. This base is two-thirds of a league in length, whilst the perpendicular may be estimated at two-fifths of a league, the whole being surrounded with a brick wall, flanked with thirty-four bastions; it is entered by seven gates and three posterns. Opposite to the river is the suburb of St. Lazarus; and its streets, like those of the city, are broad, regular, parallel, and crossed at right angles; they are also well paved, and the drains are supplied from the river, thus rendering the place exceedingly clean. The number of streets has been stated at 355.

Towards the east and west within the walls are many fruit and kitchen gardens, and most of the principal houses have gardens watered by canals. The city abounds with churches, chapels, convents, nunneries, colleges, and hospitals, and it has a noble university founded in 1576. All the churches are magnificently decorated, and are in general large, and adorned with paintings of value.

The viceroys of Peru usually reside at Lima and keep their court there, giving public audience every day, for which purpose there are three fine rooms in the palace. The tribunals of account, of justice, of the treasury, &c., are also held there, which, with the royal mint, the court of the municipal body, and the police, afford employment to numbers of persons, and render Lima the most lively and magnificent place in South America.

The viceroy's palace, formerly a fine structure, but which was damaged by the great earthquake in 1687, the city prison, the archiepiscopal palace, the council house, and the cathedral, stand in the great square, and occupy three sides of it.

In the suburbs, as well as in most parts of the city, the houses are of wood-work, interlaced with wild canes and osiers, both within and without, plastered over with clay and white washed; the fronts being painted to imitate stone. Most of the houses are only one story high with a flat roof, covered on the top with slight materials to keep out the wind and sun, as it never rains violently in this part of Peru, and the rafters which support the roofs are carved and decorated within side, and covered with clay on the outside. This mode of building has been adopted, in consequence of the destructive effects of the earthquakes which have so often devastated Lima.

On solemn festivals, or on the entrance of a new viceroy, the riches and pomp displayed in this city are astonishing, the churches being loaded with massive plate, consisting of tables, candlesticks, statues of saints of solid silver, the holy vestments and chalices covered with gold, diamonds, pearls and precious stones, and even on the common days of office, the decorations of the churches is richer than can be seen at the most splendid catholic festival in Europe.

Luxury in dress and splendid retinues are the prevailing passion of the gentry and people of Lima, so that the public walks and malls are crowded with carriages. The dress of the ladies is extremely rich; and even those of low rank never appear without bracelets, rosaries, and gold images about their necks and arms. The white females are in general of a middling stature, handsome, of a very fair complexion, with beautiful dark hair and bright eyes; they are naturally gay, sprightly and without levity in their outward behaviour, though taxed with vicious propensities; and all the women of Lima have a great fondness for music: the dress of the men is also very superb, but they are said to be in general fonder of gallantry than of following any useful avocations, though they occasionally show great ardour for the acquisition of knowledge.

The theatre of Lima is a neat building, but the performers are said to be very wretched; coffee-houses were only established here in 1771, cock-fighting and bull-baiting are the favourite amusements of the populace, who are also greatly addicted to gaming.

In Lima the number of inhabitants has been estimated at 54,000, the monks and clergy being 1390, the nuns 1580, the Spaniards at 17,200, with 3200 Indians, and 9000 negroes, the rest being mestizoes and other castes.

The rich priests, proprietors of estates, military and civil officers, physicians, lawyers and artizans, compose a body of 19,000, and the remaining 35,000 are slaves, domestics and labourers; but the population has declined since the erection of the viceroyalty of La Plata.

The climate of this city is agreeable, and though the variation of the four seasons is perceptible, yet they are all moderate; spring begins in November, winter in June or July, when the south winds cease, and this season continues, with the intervention of a second spring or autumn until November; rain is seldom or ever known at Lima, tempests rarely happen, and the inhabitants are strangers to thunder and lightning; but they are infested with vermin and insects during the summer months, and are always subject to the recurrence of earthquakes, several of which have nearly ruined the city at different times in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries; the one which happened in 1746, being the most tremendous and destructive, and which took place on the 28th of October at half after ten at night, continuing for many weeks. The city was nearly destroyed, numbers of the inhabitants perished, and the port of Callao was submerged by the sea; twenty-four vessels were lying in the harbour, nineteen of which were sunk, and a frigate, and three others carried up by the rise of the waves into the country a considerable distance from the beach; out of 4000 people, the number which escaped at Callao was only 200, while at Lima 1300 were buried under the ruins, and numbers wounded and maimed.

In Lima, the most common disorders are malignant, intermittent, and catarrhous fevers, pleurisies and constipations. The small-pox was formerly very fatal; but in 1802, a merchant vessel, the Santo Domingo de la Calzada, put into Callao, in a voyage from Spain to Manilla; a philanthropic individual in Spain had sent some vaccine matter on board of this ship for the Philippines; but as the small-pox was raging at that time in Lima, Don M. Unanue, the professor of anatomy, hearing of this precious cargo, and instantly availing himself of it, vaccinated his patients, which he performed with the greatest success, and since that period, the Jennerian system having been followed, the virulence of the small-pox gives way.

The great wealth of the citizens of Lima is mostly derived from the mines in the internal provinces, but agricultural pursuits are much followed, and the pastures in the vicinity feed multitudes of horses, mules and cattle. The ancient Peruvians had rendered the valley of Rimac very fertile by intersecting it with small canals, and this plan has been adopted by the Spaniards who irrigate their spacious fields of wheat and barley, their meadows, plantations of sugar-cane, olives, vines, as well as their gardens, which are thus rendered very productive, but the frequent earthquakes having tended to alter the good quality of the soil, it consequently requires much care to manage.

Bread, butter, milk, beef, mutton, pork, poultry, &c., are all excellent in Lima, and the place is plentifully supplied with fish from the bay of Callao, and the adjacent villages, as well as from the river Lima. The wines used in this city are generally the produce of Chili and the southern provinces, from which the brandies are also brought; most of the European and dried fruits are also supplied by Chili, but no manufactures are carried on in the place itself, as it depends entirely on being the emporium of the commerce of Peru with Chili, New Granada, Guatimala and New Spain.

The port of Lima is Ballavista or Callao, the former name being that of the new town which was founded at the distance of a quarter of a league from the remains of Callao, which had been totally destroyed by the earthquake in 1746. At the present port there is a fort named San Fernando, with a garrison to protect the bay, which, on the south-west is fenced by a barren island called San Lorenzo. Here all the vessels anchor about two leagues from Lima; and the harbour of Callao is one of the finest in the South-Sea, the anchorage being deep, but the ocean always tranquil, and the largest vessels lying in perfect safety.

The river Rimac or Lima, discharging itself into the sea here, furnishes an abundant supply of fresh water for the vessels, and every thing can be procured of which a ship may be in need; as in Callao it may be said that the productions of the four quarters of the world are exchanged for each other; the ships from Europe meeting those from the East Indies, from Africa, and from the northern shores of America.

Callao is situated in 12° 3' 42" south latitude, and 77° 14' west longitude, at about five English miles distance from the city of Lima.

INTENDANCY OF TRUXILLO

This province is the most northerly of those in Peru, it is bounded by the river Tumbez and Guayaquil, on the north-west; Jaen de Bracamoros on the north-east; the Lauricocha or Tunguragua on the north; the Rio Guallaga and Pampas del Sacramento on the east; the Pacific on the west; and the province of Tarma on the south; containing within its limits seven jurisdictions; viz. Sana, Piura, Truxillo, Caxamarca, Chachapoyas, Llulia, and Chiloas and Pataz.

The province of Truxillo along the coast, has a climate in which excessive heat predominates; whilst in the interior it varies according to the high or low situation of the districts, from temperate to frigid. The first district of Truxillo, towards the north, is Piura, through which passes the road from Guayaquil to Lima; the whole country from the northern borders of Piura to Lima being named the Valles. The climate of Piura is hot, though not unhealthy; but the greater part of the country is uninhabited. The chief towns are Piura, Tumbez, the frontier of New Granada, Sechura and Payta; and it contains 11,000 inhabitants, in 26 settlements.

Piura, the capital, is situated in south latitude, 5° 11' and in 80° 36' west longitude. It was the first Spanish settlement in Peru, and was founded in the year 1531, by Pizarro, who built the first church in it. The city then stood in the valley of Targasala, near the sea, and was called San Miguel de Piura, but was removed, on account of the unhealthiness of its situation, to its present scite, on a sandy plain. The houses are constructed of bricks, or cane and wood-work, and have generally only one story. The corregidor, and an officer employed in collecting the royal revenue, reside here and at Payta alternately, and the town contains about 7000 inhabitants. It has an hospital and church; the climate is hot and dry, but not unwholesome, and water is sometimes scarce in the heats of summer. It is 25 miles south-south-east of Payta, its port; 208 north-north-west of Truxillo; 480 north-north-west of Lima, and seven from the ocean; and its territory is fertile, and produces some cotton, sugar, maize and has extensive woods of Sarsaparilla.