Spanish America, Vol. II (of 2)
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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 650 °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 1,083,000l. annually, and it remits, in prosperous times, to Spain for the royal coffers, 216,600l., to Panama, 70,000l., to Valdivia in Chili, 3750l., 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 12,600l. 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 1,730,000l. annually, whilst the value of European goods imported, is nearly 2,492,000l. in the same period; and the value of the agricultural produce exported, of Peru and Chili, is 866,000l.
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 44,095lbs. 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 52,000lbs. 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 5,466,000l. or 1,113,000l. 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.