^d>^ SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER IN SOUTH AMERICA 1730-1806 BY BERNARD MOSES UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY 1919 COPYBIOHT, 1919 BT BERNARD MOSES M'6: .2^ CONTENTS CHAPTER I The Beginnings of a New Society I. Relation of the Spaniards to the Indians. II. Spaniards, Creoles, and Mestizos. III. The new society. 1-11 CHAPTER II State of the Spanish Dependencies in South America, 1730-1750 I. Peru in the beginning of the period. II. The after- math of Antequera's rebellion. III. The controversy concerning Colonia. IV. Montevideo and Tucuman. V. Two dec^jdes of Chilean affairs. VI. The University of Chile. Vlly New Granada under the last colonial presi- dents. Vni. The state of Quito, ff^ The reestablished viceroyalty of New Granada. X. Santo Thome and the missions of the plains. XI. The little revolution of Trinidad. 12-72 CHAPTER III The Spanish-Portuguese Boundary Treaty of 1750 and the War of the Seven Reductions I. Terms of the treaty of 1750. II. Protests of the Indians against removal. III. The boundary commis- sioners and the disposition of the Indians. IV. Active hostilities of the Spanish and Portuguese against the Indians of the seven reductions. V. ''Emperor" Nich- olas Nanguiru, further hostilities, and preparations for exile. VI. Failure of the campaign and the abrogation of the treaty. 73-96 ^ iv SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER CHAPTER IV The Expulsion of the Jesuits I. Viceroy Amat and the monopoly of alcohol. II. Juan Diaz Herrera and the revolt in Quito. III. The controversy respecting the Jesuits. IV. The decree of expulsion. V. The removal of the Jesuits from the towns of Rio de la Plata. VI. The missionaries of the Chaco and the region about Sierra de la Cruz. VII. The expulsion of the Jesuits from the reductions of Para- ^ay. VIII. The Jesuits of Peru. IX. The Jesuits of Chile. X. Their removal. XI. The expulsion from Ecuador. . XIL The Jesuits removed fropa Bogota and the other towns of New Granada. (XIII; The Jesuits of the llanos. XIV. The Jesuits in exile. 97-152 CHAPTER V The Creation of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata I. The need of a new viceroyalty, and the functions of the viceroy. II. The audiencia of Charcas and the creation of the viceroyatly of Rio de la Plata. III. Viceroy Ceballos and his army. IV. The Spanish- Portuguese treaty of 1777. V. The commercial code of 1778. VI. Viceroy Vertiz. VII. Fernandez general in- tendant of the army and the royal treasury. 153-173 CHAPTER VI The Revolt of Tupac Amaru I. Abuse of the Indians by the Corregidors. II. Areche as visitador-general. III. Tupac Amaru. IV. The beginning of hostilities. V. The events of Oruro and Sangarara. VI. Hopes and aims of Tupac Amaru. VII. The overthrow and execution of the Inca. VIII. The sieges of Sorata and La Paz. IX. Results of the war. 174-203 CONTENTS V CHAPTER VII The Rebeluon of the Communeros in New Granada I. Viceroy Florez and the visitador-regente Pineres. II. The outbreak in Socorro. III. Organization of the Comun under Berbeo, and the battle of Puente Real. IV. The advance on Bogota, and the flight of the regent. V. The negotiations and the agreement. VI. Galan and the new revolt. VII. The Indians of Nemocon, and the conclusion of the conflict. 204-226 CHAPTER VIII The Conspiracy of Gramuset and Berne y I. The revolt under Amat, governor and captain- general of Chile. II. The conspiracy of Gramuset and Berney. III. The arrest and imprisonment of the con- spirators. 227-240 CHAPTER IX The Reorganization of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata I. The OrdiTianza de Intendentes. II. Status and functions of the intendants. III. The ordinance applied in Peru and Chile. IV. The reformed ordinance of 1801. V. The state of Buenos Aires and the adjacent country. 241-255 CHAPTER X Awakening Interest in Science and Politics: Mutis and Narino I. Beginnings of literary cultivation. II. El Mer- curio Peruano; Papel Periodico. III. Mutis' arrival and early j-ears in New Granada. IV. Mutis turns to Botany; correspondence with Linnaeus. V. Work of Caballero y Gongora for progress. VI. The Botanical vi SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Expedition. VII. The viceroy ordered to protect the Isthmus against invasion. VIII. The viceroy's commer- cial views. IX. Botanical Bureau's headquarters trans- ferred to Bogota. X. The Spanish Botanical Expedition to Peru. XI. Narino and the young reformers and their trial. XII. Narino in Europe; his return to New Gra- nada and imprisonment. 256-291 CHAPTER XI Lima and Santiago at the End of the Century I. The position and external form of Lima. II. The earthquake of 1746. III. The court of the viceroy and the institutions of Lima. IV. Social characteristics. V. Santiago de Chile. VI. The classes. 292-309 CHAPTER XII The State of Venezuela and Miranda's Expedition I. External attempts to overthrow Spanish rule. II. The captaincy-general of Venezuela. III. The revolt led by Espaiia and Gaul in 1797. IV. Manners and senti- ments of the inhabitants of Venezuela. V. The unem- ployed and the remedy. VI. The economic confusion in the province. VII. Miranda's project. VIII. Plans of Great Britain and the United States. IX. The expedi- tion from the United States. 311-336 CHAPTER XIII The British Capture and Loss of Buenos Aires I. The trade of Buenos Aires. II. Plans of Great Britain respecting South America. III. The British advance and capture of the city. IV. Liniers and the overthrow of Bercsford. V. The cabildo and Liniers in power. VI. British reinforcements and the recall of Popham. VII. The final British attack. 337-370 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER XIV Peru and Chile at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century I. The viceroys. II. El Mercurio Peruano. 3. Am- brosio O'Higgins. IV. The Araucanian question. V. Agriculture and the system of encomiendas. VI. Fear of foreign trade and foreign ideas. VII. The last vice- roy of the eighteenth century. VIII. The population. IX. Commerce and industry. X. Titles of nobility and entailed estates. XI. Life in the country. XII. Hindrances to production. XIII. Royal drafts on the resources. 372-426 INDEX 427 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER IN SOUTH AMERICA INTRODUCTION Spanish South America in the last decades of its dependence on Spain gave evidence of a de- cline in Spain's governmental authority and efficiency. The practice of the crown in confer- ring important offices in America only upon persons sent from Spain moved the Creoles and mestizos gradually to constitute themselves a society apart from the Spaniards. This society drifted inevitably into opposition to the estab- lished administration, and led revolts against the government. These revolts, in many instances, were immediately occasioned by the imposition of specific fiscal burdens, and they indicate that the colonies were slipping from the grasp of Spain even before the creole-mestizo element in the population had clearly formed a design for eman- cipation. The expulsion of the Jesuits deprived the dependencies of their ablest and most effective teachers, and took from the industrial and com- mercial life some of the most energetic and far- sighted entrepreneurs. By this act, moreover, the government removed the only body of resi- X SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER dents who manifested any clear conception of the proper relations to be maintained between the Spaniards and the Indians. The manner in which the development of interest in science and politics contributed to the spirit of patriotic independence is illustrated by the careers of Mutis and Narino. The outlook towards independence is further pre-, sented in the negotiations and expedition of Miranda and the heroic defense and recapture* of Buenos Aires by the citizens after Viceroy Sobre- monte had ignominiously abandoned the field'. The stage on which these scenes were enacted was the part of the territory of South America then held by Spain and now claimed by Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argen- tina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. It embraces three of the four great river systems of the southern continent; those of the Orinoco, the Magdalena, and the Rio de la Plata. The principal geograph- ical features of Venezuela are the mountains and the hilly country, occupying the northern and western parts of the territory, and the llanos, or plains, comprising the basin of the Orinoco, and extending from the western mountains to the delta of that river, an area of two hundred thou- sand square miles. In some parts of the plains there are low mesas, the remnants of an ancient plateau that has been gradually worn away by erosion. Other parts of this region are as level as the undisturbed ocean. Here nature, by the vigorous growth that follows the abundant rains, INTRODUCTION xi resists the encroachments of man's cultivation, and hitherto has tolerated only the pastoral life of semi-nomads. In agreeable and fertile valleys, between the mountain ridges and the plains, lie a number of the principal centers of population that were slowly developed during the colonial period. Caracas, the most important of these, is about six miles from the port of La Guayra, at an elevation of three thousand feet above the level of the sea. Although within the tropics, this eleva- tion ensures it a mild climate; the temperature ranges annually from 66° to 75°. In the colonial period, a road over the miountain was practically the only line of connection between the city and its port, but traffic by this route was greatly diminished by the opening of a railroad between the two places in 1883. Valencia and Barquisi- meto are two other towns that lie within this zone of eternal spring. The former, near Lake Valencia, at an elevation of sixteen hundred and twenty-five feet, is a little warmer than Caracas, having a range of temperature from 66° to 87°, with an annual mean of 76°. Barquisimeto lies about two thousand feet above the sea. These interior towns have outrun in prosperity the earlier settlements of Coro and Cumana, near the coast. The part of the viceroyalty of New Granada that became the territory of Colombia extended along the Atlantic between fifteen hundred and sixteen hundred miles, and had a Pacific coast of xii SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER nearly the same extent. But in spite of the king- dom's more than three thousand miles of ocean coast, the real entrance to the country was, and has continued to be, the Magdalena River. It was by this water route that Quesada advanced to the land of the Chibchas, and founded Bogota on the plateau of Cundinamarca. Santa Marta and Car- tagena on the coast, the former east of the river and the latter west of it, were founded before any interior settlements, and remained important, particularly Cartagena, throughout the colonial period. Cartagena, with its excellent harbor, became the halting place for vessels engaged in trade with Peru, bound from Spain to the Isthmus. It was regarded as the bulwark of the country, and vast sums were expended on its walls and other defences. But Bogota, established far from the coast and at an elevation of eight thousand six hundred and eighty feet above the level of the sea, became the political and ecclesiastical capital, and was reached from the northern coast only by a long journey on the Magdalena River to Honda, and by a difficult mountain trail from Honda to the plateau on which the city stands. Of the valleys of the tributaries of the Magdalena, that of the Cauca River was destined to become especially important by reason of its fertility and agreeable climate. The independent river Atrato, running through the low lands near the western coast and flowing into the gulf of Uraba, was some- times regarded as furnishing, with the river San INTRODUCTION xiii Juan, a possible water-way from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but its low and marshy valley never acquired great significance in the life of the vice- royalty. It was at the elevated and isolated cap- ital that the real struggle for civilization in this part of South America was carried on. During the later decades of the colonial period, the territory of Ecuador was subject to the vice- roy of New Granada, but in some part of the period Quito was the seat of an audiencia. This city derived some of its significance from the fact that it was the capital of a Quichua kingdom be- fore the Spanish invasion. Its position in the Andean region that extends southward from Bogota, at an elevation of 9350 feet above the level of the sea, gives it a temperate climate, although it lies directly on the equator. It is one hundred and fourteen miles from the coast and one hundred and sixty-five miles northeast of the port of Guayaquil. Through this port Quito had its connection with the traffic of the sea. Over this long and difficult route it sent out its prod- ucts, particularly its textile fabrics, and imported much that it consumed of European wares. The road begun by Maldonado and designed to reach the port near the mouth of the river Esmeraldas was never completed, and in consequence of the difficulty of communication with the other depen- dencies and with Spain, the city and the region about it remained of only secondary importance in the colonial empire. The positions of both xiv SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Bogota and Quito were determined by previous establishments of the Indians. The position of Lima, on the other hand, was fixed solely by con- siderations of convenience and advantage as they appeared to the Spaniards. Its founders, after due deliberation, decided in 1535 to plant it where it now stands, six miles from its port, five hundred feet above the sea, and on the banks of the river Rimac. In this they broke with the tradition of the Indians, who preferred the high lands, the slopes of the Andes, to the sandy coast of the Pacific, and who had already in Cuzco a consider- able city. But the Indians had no need of com- merce by the ocean, while this commerce was necessary to make useful for the Spaniards the wealth of the country. The ocean to the Indians was a limit of their lands, not a highway to a mar- ket. Under the Spaniards Lima became a market and a governmental residence. The wealth of the country was drawn from the mines in the moun- tains of Upper Peru, now Bolivia, and exchanged at Lima for imported European wares. This process gave character to two centers of civilization in Peru : Lima, the seat of the exchange, and cities, such as Chuquisaca, Oruro, and Potosi, that came into existence and flourished near the mines. They flourished while the mines continued to pour out their treasures, but, as the regions where they were established were unfavorable for agricul- ture, they declined when the mines ceased to yield in abundance. With the failure of the mines in INTRODUCTION xv any given part of the high lands of Upper Peru there was no other form of production to provide an economic basis for society in the region in question. In Chile a different state of things pre- vailed. There was much profitable mining in the early decades, and the fertile soil offered abun- dant rewards for cultivation. When, therefore, the mines failed, the colony was able to rely on agriculture. The population in the mining regions of Peru increased with the prosperity of the mines, and diminished with their decline ; in Chile it suffered no such fate ; it had a slower but con- tinuous growth; the wheat fields furnished a product for exportation hardly less valuable than that of the mines. The Pacific coast of Chile extends a distance of some three thousand miles from north to south, and the narrow land that lies along the foot of the Andes, between the mountains and the sea, forms, in the middle part of the country, one of the world's most favored fields for civilization. The desert lands of the rainless region of the north are in striking con- trast with those settled in the period of Spanish colonization. In the vast nitrate deposits they have a source of great wealth, but none of the natural conditions that promote the establish- ment and growth of progressive society. In that part of the long vallej^ where the city of Santiago lies at an elevation of two thousand feet, the fer- tile soil and the mild climate make this part of Chile an especially attractive seat of human cul- xvi SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ture. The lower levels of the southern districts of Chile present a rare and fruitful combination of field, forest, lake, and river, but the stout resistance of the Araucanians prevented the full exploitation of this region in the period here under consideration. In the southeastern part of the continent, as well as in Chile, agricultural resources induced only a late social development. The barren moun- tains of the northern part of the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata supported flourishing and popu- lous cities, while the rich lands drained by the La Plata River system showed few signs of prog- ress. But the later state of the low-land cities, compared with the mining cities of the high lands, furnishes a further confirmation of the fact that the race is not always to the swift. Decade had followed decade throughout the greater part of the eighteenth century, with little change except what might be observed in the increasing herds of the plains and the growth of contraband trade through Colonia. The pampas, or plains, of Argentina, extending six or seven hundred miles from the foothills of the Andes to the Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic, with a regular incline in that distance of somewhat more than two thou- sand feet, and stretching fourteen hundred or fifteen hundred miles from north to south, has no equally extensive rivals in fertility and possible productiveness except the valley of the Missis- sippi and the plains of Russia. The rich pastures INTRODUCTION xvii of Argentina and Uruguay, in the course of decades became covered with vast herds, the natu- ral increase of the horses and cattle that had been abandoned by the early settlers of Buenos Aires. In these herds the inhabitants had for the taking an abundance of flesh for food and hides for the limited foreign commerce. Supplied with this form of food without great effort, and with the danger of extreme want removed, the bulk of the inhabitants became preeminently flesh-eaters. For many years there was lacking an effective incentive to the production of articles that would adequately furnish a more varied diet. But through the stimulus of a freer commerce and an enlarged market, agriculture was gradually devel- oped, and became a rival of pastoral cultivation. Under the larger freedom of commerce accorded by the code of 1778, Buenos Aires distanced all other ports of this southeastern part of Spain's possessions. Asuncion in Paraguay, that had flourished in the earlier decades, became a stag- nant capital of an earthly paradise. With its herds and fruits, its tobacco and mate, Paraguay pre- sented physical conditions that seemed to favor prosperity and progress. Its impediments were its isolation in the interior of the continent, about a thousand miles up the river from the more favored ports of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, its preponderance of Indian blood in the popula- tion, and the unreasonable internal conflict be- tween secular and ecclesiastical factions. xviii SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER But an economic awakening, after two hun- dred years of stagnation, appeared in this region, with the failure of Spain's policy of restriction and the adoption of the code of 1778. Prior to this change, the government in Spain had been illustrating throughout these vast dominions, how human cultivation and progress may be throttled and suppressed in the presence of material re- sources greater than any that had previously appeared in the history of the world. Within this territory there were developed different political groups whose varying social characteristics were due in a large measure to the natural environment of the several groups and to the different qualities of the Indians who became amalgamated with the Spanish invaders. The history of these groups, or political entities de- pendent on Spain is a part of Spanish history; at least some changes effected in the course of their growth were ordered by the supreme politi- cal authority, and may be observed from the view- point of Spain. But there were other changes or events in this development that proceeded from the conscious designs of the colonists, from the efforts of settlers in a strange country to adjust themselves to their new circumstances, and from the unconscious influences of the widely varying nature in the different provinces. These latter events and forces seldom rose above the Madrid horizon, and this fact makes it necessary to assume a position outside of that horizon in order INTRODUCTION xix to obtain a complete view of the life that went on in the colonies. From the viewpoint of the king and the Council of the Indies, an account of the history of the dependencies may very well have a larger measure of unity than when pre- sented from the viewpoint of colonial life that varied greatly in the different dependencies. But by emphasizing the events or movements affecting all the colonies, such as the growth of a creole- mestizo society, an awakening intellectual interest in nature and politics, the overthrow of a religious order established in all of the colonies, and the rebellions and conspiracies of the last decades of the century, as features common to many political divisions, the history of Spanish South America, even when considered from the viewpoint of colonial conditions, may seem to have a certain unity, in spite of the wide geographical separa- tion, and the differing qualities of the inhabitants, of the several dependencies. Spain's power in America gave evidence of declining before the colonies showed any signs of an effective organization designed to supplant legitimate authority. For decades the principal indication of change was the indisposition of officials in the colonies to carry out, or force the strict execution of, the laws. In very many instances there was apparently no thought of creating a new power, only a protest against the conduct of the existing government. In the period here examined, from 1730 to 1806, the decline XX SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER was hardly stayed even by the energy of Charles III. In fact, that king's most positive show of administrative strength, the expulsion of the Jesuits, did not hinder but rather hastened the decline of Spanish power in the colonies. The king and the Council of the Indies continued to issue decrees in the spirit of Spain's govern- mental traditions, but the officials in America dis- played increasing reluctance to execute them exactly. The colonists frequently supported this attitude of the officials, because it was often materially advantageous to them that the royal decrees should not be carried out. The history of these last decades of Spanish rule in South America shows the affairs of the colonies drifting towards the crisis reached in the war of indepen- dence. CHAPTER I THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY The Relation of the Spaniards to the Indians. II. Spaniards, Creoles, and Mestizos. III. The new society. A crviLizED nation of this century, attempting to adjust itself to a less developed people, has for its instruction a number of experiments by other modern nations, but when the Spaniards under- took the control of Indians in America, they were pioneers; they had for their guidance only the experience of Spain in her internal affairs. They had known a society where classes were widely separated, and such a society they fostered in the New World. They undertook to transfer to America the social distinctions that were the legitimate product of a long differentiating social growth. They exerted powerful influences to make life in the colonies grow into conformity with the European type. They put forth distinct efforts to counteract any democratic influence, or any non-European social forms, that might issue from the conditions of a new country. They created a titled nobility, and, where titles were not formally granted, the relation of the encom- 2 .SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER endero to his dependents offered a distinctly recognized superior and inferior. And whatever influence the church exerted was clearly in favor of centralized authority; it was in no sense sug- gestive of equality or of a democratic social organization. In fact, in all the activity of the earlier phases of colonial life in South America, there was no anticipation of a point of view dif- ferent from that which had been traditional in Spain. The Indians were adopted as an element in the society of the colonies. The absence of any conception of equality was important. It left a l^lace in the social order for the Indians. In New England, on the contrary, the notion of equality appeared. The Indian could not, in any time allotted to him, rise to equality with the Euro- pean; and the New Englander, by not providing a lower subordinate or vassal class, left no place for him. The Spaniard built magnificent churches, filled them with decorations, and organized bril- liant processions to attract the barbarians. The government, moreover, provided penalties for keeping Indians from the churches on certain specified occasions. The New Englander built churches, and insisted on the absence of artistic decoration. To these churches he went in solemn and exclusive devotion, armed and munitioned against any Indian who might dare to appear. In the Spanish colony inequality was recognized from THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY 3 the beginning, and the Indian had a place in the lower divisions of the social structure. In the English colonies the spirit of equality excluded him. The retention of the Indians as an element in Spanish-American society provided occasion for the rise of a class of mestizos to bridge the social chasm between the Europeans and the Indians. In dealing with this class the Spaniards displayed a degree of wisdom not always shown in later colonizing by other nations. In Java, for instance, under the Dutch, a distinct line of discrimination was drawn between the European and the Java- nese. All persons having any measure of Euro- pean blood were counted as Europeans. They held themselves aloof from the natives of pure blood, but neither their attainments nor their ambitions enabled them to participate, without prejudice, in the activities of the Dutch. The Spaniards gave no such artificial position to the mestizos. These products of Spanish-Indian unions were numerous. Their origin and quali- ties were recognized, but they were not separated either from the Indians or the Spaniards by any hard and fast line. They were allowed to take their chances of rising or falling in the communi- ties of their residence. Neither custom nor law hedged them about in a restricted position. The population of the Spanish dependencies was thus shaded off through the Creoles, the mestizos, and the semi-civilized Indians down to the untamed savages. SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER II The Spaniards did, however, draw a line of demarcation, but in this discrimination the differ- ences of races played no part. The line was drawn between Spaniards born in Spain and Spaniards of the same stock born in America; in a word, between Spaniards and Creoles. It was conceived that a great gulf was fixed between the Spaniards who were born in Spain and the mem- bers of the same people who were born and lived in a Spanish colony. The depreciation of the Creoles was so extreme and general that Spanish parents who emigrated held in very different regard their children who were born in Spain and those who were born later in America. In public affairs the same prejudice was manifest. The Spanish-creole conflict ex- tended even to the monks in the monasteries. The occupants of the monasteries and of the numerous religious houses of all kinds were composed of two diverse elements, Spaniards and Creoles, who lived in almost perpetual hostility. The high civil and ecclesiastical offices were given to Span- iards but not to Creoles. But in the course of time the Creoles became a numerous class. They acquired wealth; and many of them, taking ad- vantage of the facilities for instruction in Lima, Cordova, Santiago, Bogota, and Caracas, as well as in different parts of Europe, became men of extensive intellectual attainments and cultivation. THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY 5 They knew the circumstances and needs of the colonies, and were conscious of their own fitness to have a part in the colonial government. When, therefore, they were excluded from public office, they very naturally felt that they were the victims of an unjust discrimination. By this attitude of the Spanish government, all persons thus un- justly affected, their relatives, their friends, and their dependents were drawn together into the solidarity of an increasingly powerful opposition. Even in her virtuous solicitude for the welfare of her unmarried daughters, Spain strengthened this opposition and helped to prepare for a social revolution in America. By positive law and by the restraints of an efficient administrative system, unmarried Spanish women were prevented from emigrating; but a large number of the men who went to the colonies were unmarried. The inevi- table consequence of this state of affairs was the rise of a large class of mestizos, who became affiliated with the increasing class of Creoles. Another consequence of the amalgamation of the Spanish and Indian peoples was the creation of marked differences among the populations of different districts. The differing Indian peoples in their union with Spaniards produced descend- ants of varying qualities. Much of the character of the bold, hardy, independent Araucanian re- appeared in the Chilean mestizo. The gentle Peruvian Indians, on the other hand, under the severe discipline of their rulers, were unfavorably 6 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER placed for developing heroic qualities; and they passed on to their mestizo descendants the virtues of gentleness and amiability rather than the sterner qualities of a warlike people. Thus, in the course of time, within the limits of her South American dominions, Spain had to deal not with one homogeneous people, but with a number of nations, who, although using a common language, were about as unlike one another as are the nations of Western Europe. These differences of character among the inhabitants of the several political divisions imposed a heavy administra- tive task upon Spain at a time when she was undertaking to govern her vast colonial empire under a system that took no account of social differences or the varying demands of unlike climatic conditions. Under this state of things Spain's government of her dependencies became gradually more ineffective, and this lessening of the disciplinary power of the legitimate regime permitted the growth of the creole-mestizo party of opposition, and the development in it of com- munity self-consciousness and a certain sense of independence. While the application of Spain's rigid system of colonial government might find favor in one quarter, it tended to provoke dis- satisfaction and a temper of revolt in another. It pleased Lima, because the merchants of that city enjoyed important commercial privileges; but Buenos Aires had no privileges, had not even the advantages of freedom of trade, and consequently manifested a rapidly declining loyalty; and, as THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY 7 subsequent events proved, the chain of provincial administrations in the colonies was no stronger than the weakest link. The triumphant self- assertion of the new society in one province meant its ultimate domination in all other provinces. The line of cleavage between the new society and the old, between the creole-mestizo element and the Spanish element, appeared, from one view- point, as the line between privileges and no privi- leges, between the recipients of political favors and those who were excluded from such favors. In view of the fact that many of the Indians, notably the Chibchas, of Colombia, and the Ayma- ras of Peru, represented a certain phase of civili- zation, the mestizos shaded off imperceptibly into the Indians of pure blood. In connection with this fact, one is able to see the importance of that feature of Spain's policy which provided for the adoption of the Indians as members of the colonial society. This was in marked contrast with the English plan. The Spaniards accepted the Indian but assigned him a social position like that held by a dependent class recognized in the European feudal order. With the Indians in feudal sub- jection to Spaniards it was thought to be possible to preserve in Spanish America differentiated classes corresponding with those of Europe. But the more important result of the adoption of the Indians into the body of colonial society was the fact that, separated by their dependent position from the Spanish encomenderos and the official class, they became attached to, or embodied in, 8 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER the Creole-mestizo element, and thus constituted an effective part of the new society. In what may be called the germ of colonial society, there was no middle class between the encomendero g^nd his dependent Indians; but the lack was supplied in the course of time by the appearance of the mestizos, the landless Creoles, and the adopted Indians. The development con- tinued until the population of Spanish South America embraced, on the one hand, a class of Spanish officials and other Spaniards who con- served the interests and traditions of Spain, and, on the other hand, the combined classes of Cre- oles, mestizos, and Indians. When this point had been attained, a far-reaching social change was impending. Its practical crisis, or the self-asser- tion of the hitherto suppressed party, was delayed by the isolation of the colonies and the consequent absence of free intellectual activity. During the seventeenth century this isolation was practically complete, except for the infrequent communica- tion that was maintained between the colonies and Spain. No enlightenment came at this time to the mass of the people from the English colonies, for these colonies were still in the period of their feeble beginnings ; and the subjects of other Euro- pean nations were effectually excluded. The im- portation of books of information was prohibited, and no ray of light reached them except that which passed through the distorting mind of the Spanish ecclesiastics. THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY 9 III A revival of nationalism in Spain in the second quarter of the eighteenth century tended to con- firm the loyalty of the colonial officials ; but it did not remove the alienation of the increasing body of Creoles, mestizos, and Indians. The line of separation became fixed. The old policy of privi- lege and unjust discrimination was continued. The viceroys, the captains general, the judges, the high ecclesiastics, the bulk of the priests, in short, all the holders of desirable offices continued to be sent from Spain, and men born in the colo- nies, whatever might be their attainments or fitness for the posts in question, were neglected, were left without political recognition. The line excluding the Creoles, the mestizos, and the In- dians from any participation in the public affairs that concerned them, was becoming every year more distinctly recognized. Although the Spanish government appears to have been entirely unaware of the fact, in the neglected members of the colonies were laid the foundations of a new society. From this point onward through the succeeding decades of Span- ish colonial politics we observe the decline of one section of the population and the rise of the other section. We observe, moreover, the attempt on the part of Spain to govern the colonies in accord- ance with her original plan, and the recurring evidence of her inability to adapt herself to the 10 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER changing conditions and the changing needs of the colonies. Three facts in this history, how- ever, assured the superiority and ultimate domin- ation of the creole-mestizo class. One of these was the continuation by the Spanish government of its uncompromising, repelling, and exclusive attitude towards that class, thus keeping alive class antagonisms; another was the fact that the number of persons born in the colonies, Creoles and mestizos, in a given period was in excess of the number added to the population by immigra- tion; a third was the fact that the Creoles and mestizos were practically the only persons who were sufficiently openminded to receive the liberal ideas that gradually drifted into the colonies from foreign countries, particularly from Great Britain and the now awakened British colonies in Amer- ica. The failure of the Spaniards living in the colonies to be influenced by imported ideas was not due to any intellectual inferiority on their part as compared with the Creoles, but to the fact that they were placed in a non-receptive mood by the offices or commercial privileges which they enjoyed, and by their natural adherence to the ideas and spirit of Spain. All the higher officials, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, were opposed to any access of liberalism, since their privileges were created and upheld by the government 's con- servative policy; and coming, as they did, from Spain, they very naturally stood for the ideas dominant in the country they had left. Thus THE BEGINNINGS OF A NEW SOCIETY 11 the enlightenment which gradually streamed in through the breaking walls of Spain's exclusive- ness influenced especially the members of the new society. Their attainment of more liberal ideas through their growing connection with Great Britain and the British colonies carried them farther and farther from the position of those who represented the old order of things. The new society became more and more clearly con- scious of the separation. It became conscious, moreover, that its interests were opposed to the purposes of the Spanish government; and that these interests would be properly safeguarded only by its control of the public affairs which con- cerned its members. The discussions, the agitation, the rebellions, and the military campaigns of the later decades of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth century gave evidence of dissatis- faction with the old order of affairs, and reveal efforts, often misdirected, to realize new ideals. The ideas and sentiments of the new society, or the opposition party, determined the most con- spicuous events in the history of the last quarter of the century. This creole-mestizo element of the population resented the centuries-long mani- festation of Spain's arrogance and exclusiveness ; it resented the injustice of her social discrimina- tion; and this resentment inspired the rebellions and conspiracies that seemed to presage the end of Spanish rule. CHAPTER II STATE OF SPANISH SOUTH AMERICA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY I. Peru in the middle of the century. II. The aftermath of Antequera's rebellion. III. The controversy con- cerning Colonia. IV. Montevideo and Tucuman. V. Two decades of Chilean affairs. VI. The Uni- versity of Chile. VII. New Granada under the last colonial presidents. VIII. The state of Quito. IX. The reestablished viceroyalty of New Granada. X. Santo Thome and the missions of the plains. XL The little revolution of Trinidad. In the later decades of Spanish rule the native element in the population became conscious of its real position, of its exclusion from places of authority, and gradually constituted itself a party of opposition and reform in the several depen- dencies. The activity of the French merchants in the beginning of the century had shown to the colonists the advantages of a large measure of freedom in commercial affairs. The officials in the Indies failed to execute the decrees of the superior authorities, designed to restrict trade with the colonies to Spanish merchants, and in this they were upheld by the colonists. After the STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 13 first important shock, the ancient system provid- ing for monopolies and the exclusion of foreign trade never regained its lost vigor and effective- ness. Near the middle of the century the internal affairs of the viceroyalty of Peru were over- whelmed in confusion. Lima and Callao were destroyed by the earthquake of 1746, and four years later the inhabitants of the capital were threatened with destruction by an uprising of the Indians. The plans of the leaders of the in- surgents were revealed to the viceroy, and this informi4'<>»n was confirmed by the testimony of a person who had succeeded in gaining access to a meeting of the hostile junta. Six of the prin- cipal conspirators were executed. Others escaped and moved the province of Huarochiri to revolt. They killed a number of the officials and other Spaniards, destroyed roads and bridges, and attempted to defend themselves in the fastnesses of the mountains. They were, however, driven out by a force of four hundred men sent against them. Having been defeated, some were killed on the spot, and others suffered the extreme penalty in Lima. During the middle decades of the century, the viceregal authority in Peru was exercised by Armendariz, the Marquis of Castel-Fuerte (1724- 1736), Mendoza, the Marquis of Villagarcia (1736- 1745), and Velasco, the Count of Superunda (1746-1761). 14 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Juan and Ulloa's report, the Noticias seer etas, presents a series of contemporary views of Peru's internal condition at this time. It emphasizes the frivolity, the greed, and the irregular living of at least a part of the clergj^ It reveals the partisan conflicts that disturbed the monasteries and the convents, particularly on the occasion of elections. It sets forth the merciless exactions of the cor- regidores as the sole traders within their respec- tive districts; makes clear the oppression and cruelty suffered by the laborers i^ the manufac- turing establishments; and indicates some of the burdens borne by the Indians under the system of the mita. In this period occurred, moreover, the expeditions and assaults of Anson and Vernon. II ^' In the province of Paraguay, the career of Antequera had left a legacy of rebellion and anarchy. Nevertheless, a few weeks after Ante- quera 's departure. Bishop Palos wrote to the king concerning the insurrection, and informed him that the province had been pacificed "without bloodshed by the prudent conduct of the governor of Rio de la Plata, Don Bruno Maurice de Zabala, who in obedience to the pressing orders of Joseph Armendariz, the Marquis of Castel-Fuerte, your viceroy, came here with sufficient force for that purpose."^ But the peace announced by Bishop 1 Charlevoix, Pierre Francois Xavier de, The History of Para- guay, London, 1769, II, 220. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 15 Palos ''was no more than a deceitful calm; which was soon followed by a storm a great deal more furious than that which had been allayed. ' " The supporters of the revolutionary movement wished to transfer the Indians of the reductions from ecclesiastical to secular authority, from the Jes- uits to encomenderos. In 1729 the viceroy of Peru sent Martin de Bariia to Paraguay with a special commission to pacify the province. At the same time Bartolome de Aldunate was ordered to proceed to Paraguay, but affairs in Buenos Aires, where he was a captain of infantry, re- quired his presence in that city, and the govern- ment of Paraguay remained in the hands of Bariia. But Barua failed to execute the viceroy's orders. This fact and the partisan support accorded to him by the insurgents indicated that he had departed widely from the purpose of his mission. The insurgents, or comuneros, wished to make the wealth of the reductions, or missions, available to persons not belonging to the Society of Jesus. With this end in view, it was proposed that Spanish corregidores and regidores should be established in all of the reductions, where, it was affirmed, there were one hundred and fifty thousand Indians who paid no tribute to the king. It was proposed, moreover, that there should be maintained in Asuncion an office where the tribute to be paid by the Indians might be received. These propositions having been considered by the Council of the Indies, a royal decree was sent to 2 Charlevoix, History of Paraguay, II, 222. 16 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER the governors of Paraguay and Rio de la Plata, ordering them to collect the imposts and tribute payable by the Indians in accordance with the laws in force throughout the kingdom of Peru. They were also ordered to inquire into the reasons why this had not been done before; and they should report to the viceroy. But when these decrees arrived at Buenos Aires events had occurred in Paraguay that made their execution impracticable.^ The comuneros had usurped the governmental power in Asuncion, and excluded the legitimate authorities. In July, 1730, Ferdinand Mompo, or Mompox, arrived at Asuncion. He was born in the kingdom of Valencia ; he had practised law in Lima ; had been confined for a period in the prison of the inquisition; had acquired by association somewhat of Antequera's spirit; and in virtue of this association he was received with special favor in Paraguay. He was given a seat in the cabildo, and was consulted on all important matters by the comuneros. When it had become known that Soroeta had been appointed governor of Para- guay, Mompo sent to the viceroy a memorial framed in the name of the commune, setting forth the grave inconveniences and disturbances that would result from Soroeta 's appearance in Asun- cion. Mompo urged, moreover, that as Soroeta was a partisan of the Jesuits and a friend of Diego de los Reyes, he ought not to be permitted 3 Zinny, Antonio, Hisiori-a de los goiernantes del Paraguay, 1535-1887. Buenos Aires, 1887, 165. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 17 to enter the province, and that Barua should con- tinue to he the governor. A copy of this memorial was sent to Santa Fe by a messenger, who placed it in the hands of Soroeta. The messenger was instructed not to wait for a reply. But in spite of the warning contained in this memorial, Soro- eta determined to continue his journey to Asun- cion. This act of defiance made definite the breach between the commune and the legitimate government, and created a revolutionary inter- regum, lasting from 1730 until the arrival of Governor Manuel Augustin de Ruiloba y Calderon in July, 1733. During these three years, the party known as the comuneros dominated the affairs of Paraguay. When Governor Ignacio Soroeta arrived at the Tebicuary, he halted to await replies to the communications previously sent to Barua, to the bishop, and to the cabildo. The bishop advised him to postpone his advance in view of the em- barrassment and danger that would arise from his presence in Asuncion. Bariia presented cer- tain documents concerning the state of aff'airs, one of these documents affirming that, during the absence of the Jesuits from the college, peace and order had prevailed, but that disturbance and sedition had followed their return. The cabildo expressed its determination to obey the orders of the king ; but it has been suggested that the words of the cabildo rather than its acts were favorable to peace and harmony. After further correspon- 18 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER dence, relating in part to a safe-conduct demanded by Soroeta, a force of four hundred soldiers appeared at the Tebicuary on the 17th of January, 1731, under the pretext of furnishing the safe- conduct required, but in reality to escort Soroeta to Asuncion as a prisoner. As Soroeta ap- proached the city, he found that his escort had been increased by fifteen hundred persons of all classes and conditions, not merely Spaniards, but also negroes, mulattos, mestizos, and Indians. This demonstration was evidently designed to terrify Soroeta, but no such result was observ- able: he proceeded, without apparent anxiety, to the cathedral, where he was received by the bishop and other members of the clergy. The pretense of loyalty displayed by Bariia and the cabildo was a mere sham. When Soroeta went to visit Bariia, he was attended by a squad of eight or ten sol- diers, who entered the reception room and caused the governor great embarrassment by participat- ing in the conversation. During the four days and a half which Soroeta spent in the city, he was virtually a prisoner in his own house. He left Asuncion on the 28th of January, accompanied by the second alcalde and a regidor as far as the river Tebicuary, whence he passed to Nuestra Senora de Fe, and then to Lima by way of Chile. Although apparently in full sympathy with the revolutionary party, Bariia appeared to be reluctant to exercise the gubernatorial power beyond the legal term of his office ; and after the STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 19 departure of Soroeta, the civil government of Paraguay was directed by the cabildo of Asuncion, while the military affairs were controlled by the maestro de campo appointed by the commune.* The comuneros, who had been more or less guided by the advice of Mompo, finally discovered in him the evil genius of their confusion, and saw the need of an efficient organization. They deter- mined to elect a president, and the choice fell on the alcalde Barreiro, who was regarded as the chief of the radicals. But they had later to aban- don their mistaken view. Barreiro 's first impor- tant service was to rid the province of Mompo. By the ruse of a journey to Yaguaron, he con- ducted him to the Tebicuary where he was ar- rested and sent to Buenos Aires. This act, appar- ently in the royal service, provoked a conspiracy against Barreiro. This had an unfavorable out- come for the chief conspirators, Bartolome Galan and Miguel de Garay, on whom Barreiro caused the sentence of death to be pronounced. In the bitter partisan conflict that ensued, Barreiro raised the standard of the king, but this act elecited only a limited response of loyalty, and Barreiro 's cause was lost. He fled to the mis- sions, and Miguel de Garay took his place. Fear- ing that the newly awakened hostilities in Asun- * Eegarding the conduct of this government, Lozano remarked : "Lo que en este celebre gobierno paso solo Dios lo sabe todo, porque era tal el desconcierto que ni aun los mismos oficiales se hacien capaces de todo lo que sucedia. ' ' Historia de las revolu- ciones de la provincia de Paraguay, (1721-1735), Buenos Aires, 1905, ii, 54. 20 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER cion might be directed against them, the Indians of the missions were assembled for defense at the Tebicuary. This act in turn alarmed the comun- eros, in whose eyes the four thousand mission Indians were magnified to a force of ten thousand men. In giving expression to their fear the comuneros spread the report that the Indians were about to invade Asuncion and put the inhab- itants to the sword. In the meantime Antequera, the former leader of the rebellion, was a prisoner in Lima. His execution and that of Juan de Mena, after an im- prisonment of five years, helped to inflame rather than to allay the passions of the opposing parties. The daughter of Mena, now the widow of Ramon de las Lianas, changed her mourning costume for gala dress on hearing of the death of her father, thus making public proclamation of her view that he had died gloriously for the country. The mem- ory of Antequera and Mena, in the following months, excited the comuneros to new zeal, and revived their hostility to the Jesuits. The aroused partisans of Antequera 's views proposed new crimes in the name of the public weal : in Febru- ary, 1732, they expelled the Jesuits from their college and plundered their property. The details of the social confusion following these events reveal a society in process of dis- solution. The Jesuits of the missions feared an irruption of the comuneros, and prepared for defense. The comuneros, on the other hand, STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 21 fancied that the missions in their activity were, in fact, preparing for conquest. There was no authority in Paraguay commanding general re- spect or obedience ; and that security of property which encourages production and economy was wanting. To political confusion was added in- creasing poverty. In order to put an end to hostilities, Governor Zabala called a council of war in Buenos Aires. The result of its deliberations was an order to the commandant of Corrientes to take a force of two hundred men and join the troops stationed on the Tebicuary. But the missions were not in im- mediate danger of invasion. The king and the Council of the Indies were apparently convinced that the Paraguayans were not competent to work out their social salvation independently. Therefore, in order to make peace and restore the province to a normal state, they intrusted the government to Manual Agustin Ruiloba. The viceroy recognized the difficulty of the undertak- ing, and urged Governor Zabala and the provin- cial of the Jesuits to give Ruiloba all possible assistance. The arrival at Asuncion of Bishop Arregui and the withdrawal of the troops en- camped on the Tebicuary seemed for the moment to promise peace; but discord and the spirit of contention were too profoundly rooted in the community to yield to any other remedy than force. This fact was clearly recognized by Gov- ernor Ruiloba ; for, on arriving at San Ignacio in 22 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER 1733, he ordered the large bodies of Indian troops to maintain their position, and he provided that all other men capable of bearing arms should be enlisted. The policy of waiting for the evils to cure themselves had apparently come to an end; and in contemplating the new policy, the comu- neros experienced a sudden conversion. When Kuiloba had reached the Tebicuary, deputies from Asuncion appeared, conveying to him the con- gratulations of the cabildo and General Sebastian Fernandez Mantiel, who assured him of their determination to obey the orders of the king. Ruiloba 's favorable beginning was followed by less fortunate conduct. His severe and uncom- promising attitude was effective in silencing the old opposition, but a new opposition was aroused by his indiscreet utterances after his arrival in Asuncion, and by replacing important officials with persons in his confidence. He, moreover, described as rebellious and criminal acts held by the actors to be patriotic. The comuneros were thus brought to face the alternatives of humiliat- ing subserviency and a new uprising. They chose the latter. And when the governor was informed of this movement, he proceeded to suppress it with the limited military force at his command, a force especially limited at this time by reason of the large number of soldiers who had deserted to the ranks of the commune. At this stage, when an active conflict appeared to be imminent. Bishop Arregui assumed the role of mediator. Governor STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 23 Ruiloba was, however, not in a mood to make concessions, and when the comuneros discovered his position in this regard, they attacked him, dragged him from his horse, and made him pay the penalty of his stubbornness with his life (September 15, 1733). The removal of Governor Ruiloba left the community without a controlling authority, and then followed the evils and crimes incident to a headless society. In this state of affairs, Arregui was elected governor, and a council was created. Arregui had been appointed bishop of Buenos Aires, and as a bishop clothed with the executive power in Paraguay, he found himself approving, at least formally, measures entirely inconsistent with his character as the religious and moral guide of a community. In his name as governor, property was confiscated, and many innocent persons were thrown into hopeless poverty. An- tagonism to the Jesuits prompted the council to formulate two orders respecting them for the approval of the governor. One was that they should remove all their property from the prov- ince. The other was that the seven pueblos, or reductions, San Ignacio Guazu, Nuestra Senora de Fe, Santa Rosa, Santiago, Itapua, La Trinidad, and Jesus, should be removed beyond the Parana, leaving free the lands they had occupied in Para- guay. The bishop-governor signed these orders; but he began to appreciate the absurdity of his posi- 24 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER tioii, particularly after Bishop Palos of Paraguay and the provincial of the Jesuits had labored to enlighten him. He saw that he had been the tool of a reckless community. He also became con- scious of the necessity of renouncing the part he had played in its proceedings. Believing that there would be opposition to his retirement, he made it appear that his presence in Buenos Aires was required, and, leaving in his place Cristoval Dominguez de Obelar, he departed for Buenos Aires in December, 1733, followed a little later by Bishop Palos. The measures projected against the property of the Jesuits and the missions induced Governor Zabala to provide for their defense. He ordered the Indians of military training to guard their frontiers and organize new forces. When the viceroy was informed of the tragic death of Rui- loba, he commanded that all communication with Paraguay should be cut off, and that the effects of the Paraguayans at Corrientes and Santa Fe should be confiscated. Zabala assumed command of the missions, and caused their military efficiency to be increased by the introduction of military instruction. He took one hundred and fifty sol- diers from Buenos Aires, and, with seven thou- sand Indians, established his camp twelve or fifteen miles from the Tebicuary, in January, 1735. The comuneros, alarmed by the approach of so large a force, prepared to enlist for defense all persons capable of bearing arms. Against the STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 25 forces of the commune, that had taken up a posi- tion near the frontier, Zabala sent a detachment of fifty veterans, two hundred and eighteen Para- guayans who had joined him, and two hundred Indians from the missions. These were under the command of Captain Martin Jose de Echaurri. When they arrived at the encampment of the enemy, they found it deserted. Bernardino Mar- tinez led the pursuit, attacked the retreating troops, and took the artillery and a large number of prisoners; the rest fled in confusion. Zabala found many of the leading insurgents among the prisoners, five of whom were put to death, and fifteen were sent into exile. The result of this conflict was nothing less than the subjugation of the whole province of Paraguay to the legitimate government. The Paraguayans had long enjoyed the privi- lege of electing their governor in case of vacancy, but the exercise of this privilege disturbed the peace and orderly conduct of the province. Zabala recognized this fact, and ordered the abolition of the practice. He, moreover, estab- lished regulations designed to counteract the tendencies of the revolutionary spirit. He caused the murderers of Ruiloba to be executed, and restored the confiscated property to its owner. Bishop Palos, who had fled to Buenos Aires, learned with satisfaction of the extermination of ''the wolves that had destroyed his flock, "^ and 5 Funes, Gregorio, Eiisayo de la historia civil de Buenos Aires, Tucummi y Paraguay, Buenos Aires, 1856, II, 37. 26 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER returned to Asuncion, where the Jesuits were reinstated in their college, and order and the reign of law was once more established. For the reconstructed province, Martin Jose de Echaurri was appointed governor, and, with his mission accomplished, Zabala departed for Buenos Aires in 1735. Although order was restored in Paraguay, the hostility of the parties was not abated. The surviving antagonism was especially manifest in charges against the Jesuits, designed to discredit them and their work in the mind of the king. The province, long distracted by internal conflicts and confusion, was now tormented by repeated incur- sions of the barbarous Indians. With all these afflictions, it lost its prestige. The controversy between Spain and Portugal concerning the boundary; the war of the seven reductions; and the final expulsion of the Jesuits maintained the notoriety of Paraguay for a period; but it then lapsed into obscurity for half a century. Ill During the period of internal disorder in Paraguay, Uruguay was the scene of an inter- national contest. The Portuguese held a large part of the coast; they were gradually pressing down from the north; and they appeared to be firmly established in possession of Colonia. Two circumstances had rendered them bold and aggres- sive: one was the weakness and demoralization STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 27 of Spain under Charles II; the other was the attitude of England as the protector of Portugal's commercial and maritime interests. With a sense of security thus established, they persisted in advancing their boundary and in increasing their contraband trade. They were moved to this latter undertaking by the high prices in the Spanish colonies caused by Spain's restrictive commercial policy. Other European nations, England, France, and Holland, found an advantage for themselves in Portugal's position, since Colonia furnished them a place of secure deposit for their wares, and a base for contraband trade with Spanish colonial markets. In view of the fact that the Portuguese court supported this encroachment and settlement on territory claimed by Spain, the governor of Rio de la Plata had little hope of maintaining his rights by negotiation, and conse- quently resorted to force. He captured the Portuguese commander, Lobo, and all his garri- son, caused the fortifications of Colonia to be destroyed, and transported the prisoners with their arms and artillery to Buenos Aires. But the protests of Portugal, supported by England and France, cowed the government of Spain. In spite of the energy displayed in maintaining the rights of Spain, Governor Gorro was recalled, and appointed governor of Chile. But before entering upon the duties of his new office, Gorro was obliged to suffer the humiliation of being detained in Cordova at the request of the Portuguese gov- 28 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ernment; and Spain, wishing to avoid further conflict, entered into a treaty with Portugal. This treaty not only annulled all the advantages that might have been derived from the taking of Colonia, but also obliged Spain to restore that settlement to Portugal. This was for Spain an unpropitious beginning of a long controversy. By the treaty of 1701, Colonia was formally ceded to Portugal, but in the war of the Spanish succession, Portugal took the side of England against France and Spain, and, for this reason, the viceroy of Peru, then holding jurisdiction over the whole of Spanish South America, assumed that he was not bound by the treaty, and ordered the governor of Rio de la Plata to mobilize his forces and take possession of the post. Under the command of Captain Garcia Ros, the Spanish forces laid seige to Colonia on October 17, 1704, and the members of the Portuguese garrison, find- ing they were unable to withstand the attacking party, took to their boats and fled. The artillery and the munitions of war fell into the hands of the victors. Philip V had very little knowledge of America and apparently no appreciation of the importance of Colonia. When, therefore, the British, still having in mind the commercial opportunities which the possession of the place offered, urged that, in spite of the Spanish victory, it should be given up to the Portuguese, the king of Spain assented, and this cession was confirmed by the treaty of Utrecht. The sixth article of this treaty STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 29 provided, "That His Catholic Majesty ceded for- ever and in perpetuity the Plaza de la Colonia with the territory necessary for its defense and security, to His Majesty the king of Portugal and to his successors by whatever line and right they might come to occupy the throne, without this ces- sion in any case and for any reason being able to be invalidated. ' ' IV The advance of the Portuguese and their evi- dent determination to establish themselves at a point commanding the mouth of the Rio de la Plata induced the Spaniards to endeavor to pre- vent this by seeking to increase the population of Montevideo. This little village already contained a number of families who had arrived from the Canaries in the early years of the eighteenth cen- tury. Special inducements were now offered to persons who would settle there. Among other advantages they would have free transportation thither for themselves and their families. Lots in the town and land for cultivation would be granted to them. Each settler would receive two hundred head of cattle and one hundred sheep, a quantity of grain for seed, and certain articles of food for the first year.*^ It was provided by the 6 Bauza, Francisco, Historia de la dominacion espanola en el Uruguay, Montevideo, 1895, I, 483; Mitre, Historia de Belgrano, I, 47; Zinny, Antonio, Historia de los gohernadores de las provin- das argentinas desde 1810 hasta la feoha, Buenos Aires, 1879, I XXXII; De-Maria, Isidoro, Historia de la republica O. del Uru- guay, Montevideo, 1895, I, 75-87. 30 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER cabildo that the holders of lands destined for cul- tivation should pay into the treasury a specified sum annually. This was the beginning of the Contribucion imohiliaria, or the land tax, in that region. Under these incentives a few families removed from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, but too few to satisfy the wishes and plans of Governor Zabala (1726-1734). In a letter to Philip V, January 6, 1727, he announced that he had distributed lands and implements to the settlers at Montevideo, and on the 15th of July, 1728, the king replied, expressing his approval of the governor's acts. The population grew slowly, and during the fol- lowing year the ceremonies were held in which Montevideo was officially declared to be a city. A cabildo, or council, was created for its govern- ment, and on the 1st of January, 1730, Zabala appointed the members of the cabildo, who, hav- ing taken the required oath, were installed in their office. From the beginning, conflicts between the civil and military authorities disturbed the peace of Montevideo. The officers of the garrison repre- sented the absolutism of Spanish rule, while the members of the cabildo, although appointed by the governor, stood for the settlers and repre- sented their aspiration for local liberty. When the members of the superior Spanish government learned that Montevideo showed signs of pros- perity, they were solicitous lest foreign commerce STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 31 might derive advantage from it, and in April, 1730, issued orders that great zeal and care should be exercised to prevent illicit exportation or im- portation, or any violation of rules respecting the royal treasury. The strict execution of these orders deprived the inhabitants of Montevideo of their expected advantage. The Portuguese were gradually ap- propriating the resources of the country, and by these restrictions the Spaniards were prevented from even sharing in the prosperity of their neighbors. Colonia, under the command of Pedro Antonio de Vasconcellos, had become an impor- tant center of an increasing contraband commerce. In its population there were twenty-six hundred adults. These included a garrison of about nine hundred men, which, with its eighty guns mounted on the walls, seemed to furnish an adequate defense. The inhabitants of Montevideo were embar- rassed not only by the restrictions of the Spanish government and by the encroachments of the Portuguese, but also by the hostility of the In- dians. This was provoked, as had often been the case elsewhere, by the aggression of Europeans. The result of the campaign against the Indians was for the Spaniards a disaster. The little town lost a large part of the men fit for military ser- vice. In the midst of these difficulties, Miguel de Salcedo succeeded Zabala as governor, in 1734, bringing to the government of the province only 32 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER mediocre ability, whether in the field of civil administration or military affairs. But under specific orders from the Spanish government, he gathered a force for the purpose of besieging Colonia. This force consisted of four thousand Indians from the missions, one thousand men from Buenos Aires, and one hundred and fifty men from Corrientes. It was supported by the frigates Armie^ia and San Esteban, sent from Spain with two hundred dragoons, and other vessels with munitions and a company of one hundred infantry. After a year of fruitless war, carried on with indifferent energy, France, Eng- land, and Holland, as mediating powers, inter- vened near the end of 1737, and at Paris adjusted terms of an armistice. Zabala, leaving the governorship of Rio de la Plata to Miguel de Salcedo (1734-1742), was promoted to the presidency of Chile, but before assuming the duties of his new office, he was directed, as we have seen, to intervene in the affairs of Paraguay. Having restored order in Asuncion, he embarked for Buenos Aires, but died before he reached Santa Fe. His claim to distinction among the governors of Rio de la Plata rests on efforts to stem the encroachments of the Portuguese; on his work in founding the city of Montevideo; on pacifying Paraguay; and, in general, on the energy and wisdom displayed in his administration. Montevideo had been designated a city, but STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 33 it had acquired at this time few of a city's char- acteristics. The fort as described by Colonel Domingo Santo de Uriarte, the commandant, was a fort only in name. Its wall was about a yard and a half high, built of stone without mortar or cement ; it had no moat, and was in a place where it would protect neither the city nor the harbor.^ The Portuguese improved the opportunity offered by the armistice of Paris to strengthen the fortifications of Colonia, and to occupy additional territory. But in the presence of these advances and preparations for future resistance Governor Salcedo limited his activity to laying formal siege to Colonia and guarding the coast to prevent con- traband trade. During his administration, more- over, the cabildo of Montevideo had to contend with three enemies. These were the Indians, the Portuguese, and the military authorities. The evils arising from these sources were fostered by the weakness, the indolence, and the stupidity of Salcedo, who was finally arrested and removed from office in 1742, when Domingo Ortiz de Rosas (1742-1745) became his successor. Taking advan- tage of this change, the cabildo petitioned that the limits of jurisdiction between the civil and the military authorities might be fixed, and that for- eigners might be expelled from the city. To this petition the governor replied that the instructions of Zabala should be maintained, which conferred the ordinary jurisdiction in the first instance on 7 See Bauza, Dominacion espanola en Uruguay, II, 32. y 34 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER the alcaldes, with an appeal to the governor, and that the commandant of the garrison should not interfere. In replying to the second point of the petition, the governor repeated an order for the expulsion of foreigners from the city. Rosas' brief administration was followed by that of Jose de Andonaegui (1745-1756). In the interior of the continent, the affairs of the Spaniards were no more satisfactory than in Montevideo and the adjacent lands. Wanting the increasing trade of the ports, whether legitimate or contraband, the province of Tucuman failed to attain even the slow progress of Buenos Aires. The overland communication between Buenos Aires and Lima and the traffic in mules with Peru were the only channels for receiving information respecting the outside world. Cordova, having become the educational, ecclesiastical, and politi- cal capital, alone furnished an exception to the general monotony and stagnation of the province. Decade had succeeded decade with nothing to relieve the dull uniformity of existence ; even the incursions of the Indians and the repeated cam- paign against them were monotonous. In Chile the age of exploration, conquest, and settlement had been succeeded by monotonous years marked by cultivation of the soil and the beginnings of a few primitive industries. Cano STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 35 de Aponte entered upon the fifteenth year of his administration as governor of Chile in 1730. He had been appointed to this office by Philip V, October 31, 1715. He was at this time fifty years of age, and had been for thirty-three years in the military service of Spain. In this service he had acquired somewhat of the recklessness and the spirit of adventure that characterized the soldiers of his time. At the close of the war of the Spanish succession, he had attained the rank of field- marshal. Near the end of 1717 he arrived at San- tiago, having made the journey from Spain by way of Buenos Aires and Mendoza. He was accompanied by his nephew, Manuel de Sala- manca, who, by favor of his uncle was advanced in a brief period from the position of a lieutenant in a cavalry regiment to the highest military office under the governor and captain-general. The rapid promotion of Salamanca over officers of longer service and superior merit provoked discontent; and his irregular conduct in dealing with the affairs of the army and of the Indians gave rise to scandals believed to involve the gov- ernor. Cano's treatment of the Indians was not conciliatory. He proposed to remedy the lack of laborers by drafting the Araucanians into service, in spite of the prohibition of royal decrees. His agents treated them with contempt, Salamanca forced them to sell their ponchos to him alone, and at prices ^ed by himself, thus depriving them of their promised freedom in trading. These 36 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER regulations and the order that the Indians should go to Concepcion to be employed under Spanish masters completed their exasperation, and led them to plan for the expulsion of the Spaniards from Chile. The Jesuit missionaries were not as blind to the consequences of these acts as were the governor and Salamanca. The superior of the Chilean missions wrote to the bishop of Concep- cion, warning him of the tempest that was threat- ening, and adding that it might still be averted by granting the Indians immunity from forced labor and other abuses. The bishop visited the governor, and informed him personally that an uprising of the Indians was impending and was inevitable, if they were not given complete satis- faction. The governor was indignant, treated the report as a calumny, and demanded the bishop's source of information. The governor then wrote to the Jesuit superior of the missions and later to the provincial of the Society. In these communi- cations he showed his irritation, and declared as exceedingly impertinent the freedom of the mis- sionaries in intervening in affairs that did not concern them and that they did not understand. The incursions of the French traders and the expeditions of Clipperton and others in the early years of the century had shown the inability of Spain to maintain her ancient commercial regime. The abundance of wares imported had aroused a spirit of speculation, and even stimulated trading with the Indians, and in this trading their rights STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 37 were not always scrupulously regarded. This trad- ing had been facilitated by an armistice, or peace, with the Indians that had been maintained during the early years of the century. By their use the Indians had learned to appreciate certain articles offered them by the Europeans, particularly alcoholic liquors. The active demand for these articles and their extensive consumption did not contribute to the maintenance of peaceful rela- tions between the two peoples. Another cause of disorder and hostility appeared in the practice of exploiting the ignorance of the Indians by making exchanges with them to their disadvan- tage; and the gravity of the situation was en- hanced by the fact that the majority of the persons engaged in trafficing with the Indians were officials, who often proceeded with violence to take from them their cattle and even to carry off their children for menial service or base uses. These and other abuses, more or less common in the relations of a superior to a less developed people, had the inevitable result in discontent and revolt. A general uprising of the Indians ap- peared in 1723, followed by elaborate military preparations on the part of the colonists. The decisive action in the conflict was the abandon- ment by the Spaniards of the forts that had been established south of the river Biobio. But in the course of events the Indians dis- covered that the state of war was attended by inconveniences not experienced in years of truce. 38 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER They could not exchange their cattle for articles furnished by the colonists. They were subject to hostile raids and the loss of property without compensation. Both parties were desirous of peace, but when a treaty was finally concluded, in 1726, with elaborate ceremonies, neither party was in a mood to abide by it : the Indians, because they were not in a position to comprehend its com- plicated provisions; the Spaniards, because they were not disposed to abandon their project to extend their frontier towards the south. In the later years of his service as governor, Cano de Aponte sought to improve the conditions existing in Chile, where, in spite of its excellent soil and climate, there was little or no progress. A large part of the inhabitants were poor; there were few industries; there was a lack of roads; and misery was everywhere evident in the filthy cities. An effective hindrance to progress in Chile, in fact, to progress in all of the Spanish colonies, was their failure to use for their own welfare or advantage the funds raised by their taxes. These were largely diverted from expendi- ture in the colonies to the coffers of either corrupt officials or the government in Spain. The troops in Chile were demoralized by delays in payments due them. The money sent by the viceroy for this purpose was sometimes several years overdue. That which arrived in Chile in 1702 was for the year 1694; for years later than this the soldiers had then not been paid. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 39 Adding to the general misfortune, came the earthquake of July 8, 1730. The shocks of this date were the destructive beginning of a series of shocks that continued many months. Churches and other buildings were thrown down in the cities of central and northern Chile; but the full force of the movement was experienced in the south, in the region of Concepcion, Chilian, Val- divia, and the forts of the frontier. At Concep- cion, then on the coast at the site of the modern town of Penco, the sea receded half a league from the shore, and returned with terrific fury, throw- ing down many structures that the movement of the earth had left standing. The agitation of the sea was observed as far north as Callao, where the water rose slowly over the walls of the shore, and as slowly retired. Besides the earthquake, Chile was afflicted at this time (1730) with an epidemic of smallpox. It began at the capital and spread to the country, extending even to the territory of the Indians, where it caused greater destruction than in the chief cities. The inhabitants of the towns fled to the rural districts, but only to encounter the dis- ease, and to die neglected ; for those who had not been attacked fled in terror, and abandoned those who had fallen ill. By epidemics like this and the lack of sanitary conditions of living, the growth of the population of Chile was materially hindered. In 1740, the number of the inhabitants was estimated to be between one hundred and ten 40 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER thousand and one hundred and twenty thousand, excluding the Indians.^ After almost sixteen years as governor and captain-general of Chile, Cano de Aponte died November 11, 1733. In accordance with a law of the Indies, the oldest member of the audiencia, Francisco Sanchez de la Barreda y Vera, was charged with the government. He had been a member of that body for more than twenty years, and during this service he had acquired much knowledge of the country, but he was '' esteemed rather for his moderation of character and his religious spirit than for his information and his intelligence."® His rule was short, for when the viceroy, the Marquis of Castel-Fuerte, learned of the death of Cano de Aponte, he bestowed the office of governor and captain general upon Man- uel de Salamanca to be held until the arrival of Bruno Mauricio de Zabala. The scandals pro- voked by Salamanca's transactions with Indians and foreigners were evidently not considered of sufficient importance by the viceroy to deter him from making the appointment, yet during the two years of his administration, prolonged on account of the death of Zabala, his rule became note- worthy for his illegitimate interference in the trade of the colony rather than for any acts important for the public welfare. These trans- actions made an unfavorable impression in 8 Barros Arana, Diego, Historia jeneral de Chile, Santiago, 1886, VI, 137. 9 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VI, 89. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 41 Madrid, and when information of Zabala's death reached the Court in September, 1736, the king, instead of confirming Salamanca in the office he had held temporarily, appointed General Jose Antonio Manso de Velasco. Manso had served for thirty-one years in the army of Spain. He sailed from Cadiz February 3, 1737, and made his formal entry into the city of Santiago in his capacity as governor and captain-general on the 15th of November. The next day he was recog- nized as president of the audiencia. The residencia, or judicial examination of Salamanca's career, imposed by royal order upon Governor Manso, was held under such conditions as to convince the governor of the entire in- efficiency of that form of trial. This opinion might very well have been derived from reports of similar trials in the past, where the results had been determined by collusion, favoritism, or various other forms of fraud. In the early months of his administration, moreover, the governor proceeded to the fron- tier, and confirmed the peace that followed the uprising of 1723, by a ceremonious parlamento celebrated with the Indians in the early part of December, 1738. In this first half of the century, Chile and Peru had acquired three new markets : that of France, made available through contraband trade; that of Spain, liberalized by the provisions established with reference to ships of register; and the mar- 42 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ket of the eastern side of the continent, opened by the development of the route between Buenos Aires and Chile by way of the Andes and the Argentine plain. The ships of register were ves- sels that might sail to America singly, but they were required to depart from, and return to, the port of Cadiz. They were permitted, however, to sail to any American port where the merchants wished to sell their wares. Through these new regulations for shipping, Buenos Aires became in a measure liberated from the narrow restric- tions which Spain had imposed upon its trade. Buenos Aires, moreover, became an important port for the reception and distribution of goods destined for transportation to Chile and Upper Peru. In connection with the change in shipping regulations relating to the Indies, there was created at Madrid a Ministry of the Indies and Commerce; and the power to grant licenses to ships of register was withdrawn from the Casa de Contratacion, and referred to the council of min- isters. This was a breach in the forces defending the ancient monopolies, and very naturally called forth protests in Cadiz and Lima. For a number of years Chile had had an advan- tageous trade with Peru. An important item in that trade was the exportation of wheat, after the earthquake of 1687. But in the early decades of the eighteenth century, the Peruvian fields be- came once more productive, and there arose a demand in Peru for protection against the impor- STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 43 tation of Chilean wheat. The production in Peru was, however, insufficient to satisfy the need for consumption. The viceroy then proposed to tix a maximum price at which wheat might be sold in the country. To this the Chileans made an effec- tive protest. Another attempt to check the im- portation of Chilean wheat was to require that payment for importations should be made with Peruvian products, and not with money. By this requirement Chile would be in a large measure deprived of a circulating medium of exchange. To counteract this disadvantage, the cabildo of Santiago proposed that the precious metals mined in Chile should be coined in Chile; and in 1732, it was resolved to petition the king to authorize the establishment of a mint in Santiago. The new markets, the new routes, and the discontent caused by the action of the viceroy led to a discussion of commercial and industrial questions, suggesting the advantage of a greater degree of commercial freedom, and making prom- inent and drawing public attention to, industrial and commercial interests. This stimulated an opposition to traditional restrictions, and caused a complete break with the ancient commercial regime. At the same time the merchants of Chile petitioned for the establishment of a consulado in Santiago, to facilitate the administration of justice in commercial and industrial cases, by enabling them to avoid the delay involved in resorting to the consulado of Lima. The viceroy, 44 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Villa Garcia, having been empowered by royal order to make the necessary rule in the matter, determined that the merchants might elect each year one of their number to be their deputy, who might pronounce decisions in economic disputes; and that these decisions might be appealed to the consulado of Lima. This was not a satisfactory solution, on account of the delays that would be caused by the appeals, and of the liability of new issues arising in connection with them. Although the merchants aspired to a larger measure of independence than was granted by this legislation, still in December, 1737, they elected Juan Fran- cisco de Lorrain to be their deputy. In spite of the limited population, Governor Manso was engaged, in 1740, in confirming the conquest of the country by establishing towns in different regions. Some of those fomided under his direction were Santa Rosa de los Andes, San Felipe el Real, Los Angeles, Cauquenes, Talca, San Fernando,. Melipilla, Rancagua, Curico, and Copiapo. In order to raise funds to meet the initial expenses of the new towns, the king author- ized Governor Manso to sell six titles of count or marquis. In view of the general poverty of the country and the fact that there were then only four families in Chile possessing titles, the gov- ernor did not expect to be able to increase the list, and, therefore, determined to offer these titles for sale in Lima. But it proved to be unnecessary to carry out this plan; for rich Chilean merchants STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 45 and the owners of landed estates bought the titles. The governor by this transaction collected the sum of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars, eighty thousand of which he distributed among the towns, and sent forty thousand to the king. Manso's refusal to retain any part of this sum for himself helped to enhance the reputation he had already acquired for honest and disinterested conduct in public affairs. On the 24th of December, 1744, the king ap-"^ pointed Governor Manso to be the viceroy of Peru, and authorized him to designate an interim governor of Chile. Francisco Jose de Obando, the Marquis of Obando, received this appointment, and occupied the office until the arrival of the king's appointee, in March, 1746. At the time of his appointment Obando was at the head of the little squadron organized by the viceroy of Peru for the defense of the coast against the aggressions of the English. In car- rying out the plans of Governor Manso and in initiating new undertakings for the advancement of the colony, he displayed an interest and an energy not ordinarily expected of one holding a provisional appointment. On the arrival of Ortiz de Rozas, he returned to Peru, and resumed his duties as commander of the Pacific squadron. 46 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER VI Ortiz de Rozas made his formal entry into Santiago on the 25th of March, 1746. He had been a soldier; he had served in the war of the succession and in campaigns in Italy and Africa; and after 1741 he had been governor of the prov- ince of Buenos Aires. Among the public works of his administration as governor and captain- general of Chile, the organization of the Univer- sity of San Felipe was the most noteworthy. This institution had long been the subject of corre- spondence with the king. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, it was observed that neither the Jesuits nor the Dominicans gave the instruc- tion required in law and medicine, so that those who went to the schools of Lima had a distinct advantage over the Chileans who could not con- veniently meet the expenses of the journey and residence in that city. Moreover, during the one hundred years following the first suggestion of a royal university by the bishops of Imperial and Santiago, the population of Chile had increased; the colony had made a certain degree of progress ; its attention was no longer wholly taken up by wars with the Araucanians; and many persons saw the need of offering the youth of the colony opportunities comparable with those furnished by the schools of Lima. The project to found an University was, therefore, brought before the cabildo of Santiago in December, 1713. One of STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 47 the alcaldes, Francisco Ruiz de Berecedo,^" pre- sented the subject in an extensive address, and urged the establishment of an university under the royal patronage. He advocated that for this purpose there should be annually set aside in per- petuity from the funds of the royal treasury the sum of five thousand two hundred dollars to erect and maintain a royal university, which should bear the name of Saint Philip, the apostle, and be an eternal memorial to Philip V. The cabildo, having heard this address, agreed unanimously that a letter should be sent to the king, urging him to issue a decree creating the proposed university and setting aside from the royal treasury the sum named for its support. During the next twenty years the authorities of Chile and the king were in correspondence with reference to the establishment of a royal uni- versity. Important among the representations to the king and the Council of the Indies was that made by the authorized agent of the cabildo of Santiago, who had been sent to Madrid. This was Tomas de Azua." The communication of Tomas de Aziia was directed to the Council of the Indies. This body had already in its posses- sion a large number of documents from Chile dealing with the foundation of the proposed uni- 10 For documents relating to Francisco Euiz de Berecedo, see Medina, Jose Toribio, La instruccion puhlica en Chile desde sus origenes hasta la fundacion de la universidad de San Felipe, Santiago de Chile, CCCLXXXVI-CCCCI. 11 See Medina, Instruccion puhlica, CCCCXXVIII-CCCCXXXI. 48 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER versity ; and on the basis furnished by these com- munications, and on the report of its attorney, the Council formed its final opinion, which was delivered to the king under date of April 12, 1736. A little more than two years later the decree establishing a royal university was issued, July 28, 1738. One hundred and thirty-six years had passed since the first communication from Chile on this subject was sent to the king. The action was not rapid on the Spanish colonial stage. The royal decree of 1738 was the charter of the university. In two long paragraphs it set forth the need of an university in Chile and the conditions under which it should be established; and in a final paragraph the king made the formal grant : * ' I concede and give a license for the foun- dation, erection, and establishment of the pro- posed university in the before-mentioned city of Santiago of the kingdom of Chile, and I com- mand my governor and captain-general, royal audiencia, secular and ecclesiastical cabildos, and royal officials of the already mentioned city of Santiago, and other ministers and persons of the said kingdom, that knowing this my royal resolu- tion they render their assistance for its most exact execution without permitting any alteration what- soever in the plan and rule with which it is my will the foundation of the university should be carried out in the said city of Santiago; and this despatch shall be observed by the keepers of the accounts of my Council of the Indies, and by the STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 49 royal officials of the already mentioned city of Santiago de Chile. "^" This decree arrived at Santiago in 1740, but, owing to the lack of funds, the formal inauguration of the university was delayed until the 11th of March, 1747. The first courses of instruction were opened June 10, 1756.^^ In spite of the long-continued efforts aiming at the establishment of an university, there was no popular interest in any project for general education. There was little disposition in the non-ecclesiastical classes to favor the education of either women or Indians. Many of the women received no literary instruction whatever; only a few learned to read, and ability to write was a very rare accomplishment. The creation of schools for Indians had been ordered by royal decrees, but these decrees had produced only insignificant results. The lower classes of society, whether in the cities or in the country, lived in ignorance, on account of the lack of schools." VII During the years here especially considered the northwestern part of the continent was the scene of important changes in the government. 12 Medina, Instruccion publica, Documentos, No. XX. The report of the attorney of the Council of the Indies and the opin- ions of that body concerning the foundation of a royal university in Chile are printed in this volume by Medina, nos. XVII-XIX. 13 Vicuna Mackenna, Benjamin, Historia critica y social de la ciudad de Santiago, Valparaiso, 1869, II, 121. 14 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, V, 364. 50 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER The viceroyalty of New Granada was created in 1717, and the royal audiencias of Panama and Quito were abolished. The towns that had been subject to the audiencia of Panama were con- tinued under the jurisdiction of the viceroy of Peru, while the territory of Quito, or Ecuador, became a part of the new viceroyalty. After Vil- lalonga 's brief term as viceroy, the viceregal office was suspended, in 1722, and Quito resumed its position under the superior authority of Peru. Antonio Manso Maldonado was appointed Presi- dent of New Granada, and assumed the duties of his office on the 17th of May, 1724. At the same time Santiago Larrain resumed his administra- tion as president of the audiencia of Quito. His official activity had been suspended by the organ- ization of the viceroyalty. The uneventful admin- istration of Antonio Manso Maldonado ended in 1731, when he returned to Spain, leaving the gov- ernment of New Granada in the hands of the audiencia. This body conducted the general administration until 1733, when Rafael de Eslaba acceded to the presidency. He died four years later, and his successor, Antonio Gonzalez Man- rique, assumed the duties of his office on the 21st of October, 1738. After a short reign of thirteen days, his death caused the office to be again vacant. The audiencia then opened the instruc- tions relating to the presidency in the event of an unexpected vacancy, and found that Francisco Gonzalez Manrique was appointed to be the sue- STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 51 cessor of his deceased brother. As the last of the presidents of New Granada under the colonial regime, he held the office until the reestablishment of the viceroyalty in 1740. Manso, writing of the resources of New Gra- nada, affirmed that emeralds existed there in such abundance, in the province of the Mozos, that they had caused those of the Orient to be forgotten, and that amethysts were so abundant that one might take out as many as he wished. But he referred to the fact that at the same time almost all of the inhabitants were beggars.^^ Bogota he found "in the utmost desolation; the principal inhab- itants and nobles withdrawn from the place; the merchants idle; the offices of the government vacant; and everything ruined and in a state of lamentable poverty.'"*' The cause of the poverty of the people of New Granada and of the king- dom, in spite of the abundant natural resources, was the principal theme of Manso 's Relacion. The most universal cause of this poverty he found in the fact "that the piety of the faithful in these parts is excessive." They enirched monasteries and the various religious orders, and founded chapels in the churches. For the favor of the church they made donations that encroached on their means of support and added to the dead, instead of to the active, wealth.^^ 15 Eelaciones de mando (Bibl. de hist. Tiacional, Ed. Posada, VIII), Bogota, 1910, 5-6. 16 Eelaciones de mando, 3. I'' Eelaciones de mando, 13. 52 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER VIII The province of Quito, like New Granada, suffered extreme poverty and misery. The pro- ductive land was unequally distributed. Here, as elsewhere in the Spanish dependencies, the best lands were held in large tracts by the Jesuits. The private holdings, small in comparison, were burdened with tithes. From this charge the pos- sessions of the Jesuits were exempt. The pros- pects of good harvests for many years were ruined by unfavorable conditions, by a destructive drought followed by an excess of rain, by an un- usual degree of cold, and by pests that for fifteen years afflicted the growing crops. One of the principal causes of the lack of per- manent progress in the Spanish dependencies was the withdrawal of funds for expenditure outside of the political division where they were collected, or to be invested, as already indicated, in the dead hands of the church. The annual contribution of 42,375 pesos, for instance, sent by Quito for the support of the garrisons of Cartagena and Santa Marta withdrew the surplus over the necessary local expenditures that might have made for the progress of the province. But this was not always merely such a surplus ; for in 1734, in order to be able to make this payment, it was necessary to withhold the salaries of the president and judges of the audiencia and of all the other public func- tionaries." 18 Suarez, Federico Gonzalez, Historia general de la Eepublica del Ecuador, Quito, 1894, V, 48, 49. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 53 There followed a scarcity of money. Many purchasers had to resort to barter. This was due not merely to the shipment of money to the coast cities, but also to the decline in the exportation of textile fabrics, both to Peru and New Granada. The diminution of the demand for the manufac- tured products of Quito was due in part to the growth of manufacturing in other provinces, and to the increased importation of European wares into the dependencies. The restrictions on the exportation of cacao had, moreover, added to the poverty prevailing throughout the province when Dionisio de Alcedo y Herrera became president in 1728. The increase of poverty was attended by an increase of crime, and the criminals took advan- tage of the Immunity offered by the churches and other asylums. The ecclesiastics were slow to assist the secular authorities to execute justice. The city of Quito, therefore, fell into scandalous disorder. Robberies were frequent; thieves in- vaded private houses and even the churches. The civil authorities were, however, aroused to action by the assassination of Jose Quiroz y Castrilton, a canon of the church. The murderer fled to the convent of St. Augustine, where he was arrested. Three days later he was condemned and hanged. Alcedo retired from the presidency in 1736. In the presence of poverty and crime, many of the inhabitants were persuaded they ought to have a better government, but their experience encour- aged the thought that it was not possible except 54 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER through a departure from the Spanish policy. The name of Alcedo is less distinctly remembered for the president's administration than for the writings of his son, Antonio de Alcedo, in the Diccionario geogrdfico e historico de las Indias occidentales 6 America. It was in the official period of Alcedo 's suc- cessor, Jose de Araujo de Rio, that the expedition of the French Academicians appeared on the tableland of Ecuador. Araujo arrived at Quito in 1736. He was born in Lima, and this fact helps to account for UUoa's attitude of disrespect towards him. It was a case of a Spanish official in the presence of a Creole official. Out of the violent controversy that arose between the Span- ish lieutenant and the Creole governor there appeared a widening breach bet-ween the two classes represented by these antagonists. The relations that existed between these men present one of the many indications of the scorn of the Spaniard for the Creole, and the Creole's fateful resentment. In fact, one of the characteristics of Quito society in this period, besides its extreme poverty, was the lack of union, the discord, the antagonism between the Spaniards and the Cre- oles. This was doubtless in part the result of a too narrow horizon of associations. This and the deadening monotony of existence made the inhab- itants eager to seize upon any occasion for a popular celebration. In 1724 the accession of Louis I, on the abdication of Philip V, was marked STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 55 by a fiesta of public rejoicing. Even the period of mourning, following his early death, was undoubt- edly an agreeable change in the dull uniformity of their common life. Many of the celebrations had an official character; the death of a king, the birth of a prince, the marriage of a member of the royal family, the coronation of a new king, all these events were greeted as grateful interrup- tions in the oppressive routine of an isolated colonial existence. The events of the fiesta were always the same: bull-fights, illumination, fire- works, and plays on an open stage in the plaza. A universal preliminary was a mass celebrated in the cathedral. IX The principal motives for reestablishing the viceroyalty of New Granada were found in the jlnability of the viceroy of Peru to exercise efficient supervision over the vast territory subject to his superior authority, and in the frequent collisions between the president of New Granada and the audiencias of Panama and Quito. The first vice- roy of the reestablished viceroyalty was Sebastian de Eslaba. All the provinces of Ecuador were brought into the new viceroyalty, but the audi- encias of Quito and Panama were not abolished as they had been in 1717. Their allegiance was transferred from the viceroy of Peru to the vice- roy of New Granada. In April, 1740, Eslaba 56 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER arrived at Cartagena, where he organized his viceregal administration,^^ and where he remained until the expiration of his term of service, in 1749. It was in this period, in 1746, that the French commission led by La Condamine, completed its work of measuring the length of a degree of the meridian in Ecuador. The two Spanish officers who were attached to the commission, devoted much of their visit in America to travelling and making investigations in astronomy, physics, and geography. They also made extensive inquiries into the political and social conditions of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador. Some of the results of these investigations were published in A Voyage to South America and Noticias secretas de America. One of the government 's tasks of this time was to relieve the suffering and wretchedness among the poor, caused by the failure of harvests not only in Ecuador but also in New Granada, and intensified in some quarters by the earthquake's destruction of Popayan. In his appeals to the people the archbishop took a strictly ecclesi- astical view of the earthquake and the drought, exhorted the people to reform their customs, and thus avert a similar punishment by God in the future. Viceroy Eslaba, as already indicated, resided at Cartagena throughout the period of his service, and, therefore, remained without much knowledge 19 Vergara y Velasco, Francisco Javier, Eslava el defensor de Cartagena, in Capitulos, 70-78. STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 57 of the needs of the other parts of the territory subject to his authority. On his retirement to Spain in 1749, he had to his credit, however, the heroic and successful defense of Cartagena against the attack of the English under Vernon. On July 9, 1746, Philip V died, and the throne of Spain passed to Ferdinand, a son by his first marriage, while Charles, a son by his second mar- riage, was king of Naples. Under Philip V, Spain had given evidence of a revival from its abject state at the end of the preceding century. There were indications of an increased intellectual activ- ity; the financial affairs of the government were improved; and the reorganization of New Gra- nada promised increased governmental efficiency for that kingdom. Although Philip V was indo- lent and without the power of effective initiative, he nevertheless showed a reasonable discrimina- tion in accepting measures presented to him by his ministers. The hostile attitude of the British suggested that the successor of Eslaba should be an experi- enced military or naval officer, and Jose Alfonso Pizarro, the Marquis of Villar, was appointed. Pizarro had served in the naval defense of the coast of Rio de la Plata, Chile, and Peru. He was at Cadiz when the notification of his appoinment reached him. He left that port September 23, 1749, taking with him seven Jesuits for the pur- poses of extending the missionary enterprises of the viceroyalty. His first noteworthy act on 58 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER reaching Bogota was to support the bishop of Panama, Luna Victoria, in creating a public uni- versity in that city, which was to be established in the house of the Jesuits. Here, as throughout Spanish South America at the period in question, whatever public opinion existed with respect to education regarded with special favor the work of the Jesuits. For a number of years the true posi- tion and jurisdiction of the governments of Pan- ama and Veraguas had been under discussion. This discussion was, however, finally terminated by a royal decree, August 20, 1739, embodying these two captaincies-general in the viceroyalty of Santa Fe, or New Granada; and a few years later, June 20, 1751, the king of Spain caused the audiencia of Panama to be abolished, leaving the government of the region in essentially the same position as the government of Cartagena. Philip V, in 1718, urged by his financial needs, sold the right to coin money in New Granada to Jose Prieto Salazar, whose title as the possessor of this right was Tesorero blanquecedor. But after the death of Philip the crown resumed this right, making compensation to the person or per- sons deprived of it. Prieto was permitted to enjoy his acquired monopoly until his death, when it passed to his widow, Maria Ana de Ricuarte, who was granted a pension for surrendering it. A similar method for providing coin had been fol- lowed in other provinces. In Chile the monopoly of the mint was held for twenty-two years by STATE OF SPANISH DEPENDENCIES 59 Francisco Garcia Huidoboro, but in 1770 Charles III revoked it in favor of the crown. The mint of Popayan was incorporated in the crown the same year, when the holder of the monopoly was granted a pension and the title of Count of Casa- Valencia. The pension accorded to his legitimate heirs was enjoyed by the family until 1859. The sale of alcoholic liquors was an exceed- ingly profitable branch of trade as carried on during the first half of the eighteenth century. Some of the parish priests did not hesitate to purchase the right to sell such liquors in specified districts, and, in the exercise of this right, they helped to transform the public celebrations of the churches into scenes of drunkenness and debauch- ery. The evils resulting from this traffic were recognized by Archbishop Aziia, and on the 25th of October, 1749, he issued an edict prohibiting the clergy from engaging in this traffic under pen- alty of excommunication; but the practices at some of the church festivities in later times in- dicate that Azua's edict was not permanently effective. The viceroy Pizarro had spent much of his life in a different field of official activity, and conse- quently found the duties involved in the civil administration of an extended territory disagree- ably burdensome. He, therefore, sought to be relieved of his office, and his repeated requests were finally granted in 1753, when he returned to Spain. His successor was Jose de Solis Folch 60 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER de Cardona, of a family that had gained an influ- ential position at the court of Spain during the war of the succession. Although frequently referred to as very young at the time of his appointment, he was in fact then not less than thirty-five years old. His childhood acquaintance with Ferdinand VI suggests that he must have been of nearly the same age as the king, who was forty years old in 1753. Various rumors were current concerning his scandalous life in Madrid at the time of his appointment, and during his early years in Bogota; but no very solid founda- tion for these tales has been revealed. The record of his public activity in the construction of roads and in the management of the finances indicate an intelligent and effective administrator. His plans for public works, however, exceeded the financial resources of the government, and under these circumstances he tried to induce the inhab- itants of certain towns to undertake work in their respective districts. But the protective govern- ment had not developed in the people the power to initiate public work or the will to make volun- tary contributions for the public good. The atti- tude of the inhabitants of New Granada with respect to public improvements is described by Viceroy Solis in the remark that ' ' they wished the utilities without expense or labor. "^° Solis not only gave attention to the kingdom's material betterment, but also undertook to gather its sta- 20 iJeZo to arms was a last resort.j But even when hostili- ties had been determined upon, the end sought was not independence from Spain, *'but to obtain some guarantee for the due observance of the laws, and their just administration. His views were certainly confined to these ends when he first 6 Funes, Ensayo de la M^toria civil de Buenos Aires, Tucuman of Paraguay, Buenos Aires, 1856, II, 234. REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 183 drew his sword, although afterwards, when his moderate demands were only answered by cruel taunts and brutal menaces, he saw that indepen- dence or death were the only alternatives.'" IV The immediate occasion of active hostilities was the conduct of Antonio Aliaga, corregidor of Tinta, in oppressing the Indians within his juris- diction, which included the villages controlled by the Inca. The unjust acts of the corregidor had already called forth threats of assassination, and he had yielded in individual cases without modify- ing his general policy. He had also encroached upon the jurisdiction of the Church, and had been excommunicated by the ecclesiastical authorities at Cuzco. Since the Church had condemned him, it might be supposed that the Inca would hesitate less than under other circumstances in proceeding violently against him. On the 4th of November, 1780, the corregidor and Tupac Amaru dined with Dr. Carlos Rod- riguez, the cura of Yanaoca, who by this dinner celebrated his name-day. The Inca found an excuse to withdraw early, and with a few attend- ants ambushed the corregidor when he appeared a little later, and took him as a prisoner to Tunga- suca. By compelling the corregidor to sign an order for the money in the provincial treasury, 7 Markham, Travels in Peru and India, London, 1862, 139. 184 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Tupac Amaru received twenty-two thousand dol- lars in money, and, in addition, a certain amount of gold in ingots, seventy-five muskets, and a num- ber of baggage horses and mules. Tupac Amaru determined that the corregidor should suffer death as a punishment for the wrongs done the Indians. He gathered a large force of his fol- lowers about him, sent for his old teacher, the cura of Pampamarca, and ordered him to inform the corregidor of his fate. He also instructed him to administer to the corregidor the last religious rites. The ceremonies of the execution, on the 10th of November, were calculated to impress the Indians with the idea that a new power had arisen. The armed retainers of the Inca were drawn up in three lines around the scaffold on the plaza of Tungasuca, and the Inca seized the occasion to explain his conduct and policy to those who had assembled to witness the remarkable scene. The Inca's declaration moved the assembled Indians to affirm their loyalty and willingness to obey his orders, and the work of bringing them together into a military force under properly appointed officers was carried vigorously forward. The first expedition was directed against the cor- regidor of the province of Quispicanchi, in the valley of Vilcamayu. It was led by Tupac Amaru, but before he arrived at Quiquijana, the provin- cial capital, the corregidor had fled to Cuzco, carrying to that city the news of the revolt. Dis- appointed in not being able to capture the cor- KEVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 185 regidor, the expedition returned to Tungasuca, having plundered several mills, and taken a large amount of clothing for his followers, eighteen thousand yards of woolen and sixty thousand yards of cotton cloth, together with a quantity of firearms and two pieces of artillery. The special reason for hostility to the owners of these manufacturing establishments was their conduct in a rigid and unmerciful enforcement of the mita, and their cruelties to the women and children employed. Tupac Amaru had already under his command 6000 men, 300 of whom had firearms. After this expedition, the revolt spread rapidly over the region now comprising the southern part of Peru, Bolivia, and the northern part of the Argentine Republic. It embraced practically all of the inhabitants except a few Europeans and Creoles. V The events in Oruro were indicative of the happenings in other places. The Spanish Euro- peans were the special object of Indian and mes- tizo hostility. Their riches excited the covetous zeal of the insurgents. Frightened by the sudden uprising and by the destruction and death in the track of the rebellions, they took refuge in the house of Endeiza; and when the house had been set on fire, they fled only to fall, to the number of between thirty and forty, into the hands of their murderers. The seven hundred thousand 186 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER pesos deposited here, belonging to Endeiza and other rich merchants, were seized by the rebels as booty. The distribution of these spoils in- creased the desire for other captures, and facili- tated the formation of an insurgent force, said to consist of twenty thousand men. Every com- mercial house was looted, and the proprietors, with few exceptions, were killed. There was de- struction on every side ; churches were desecrated, houses were destroyed, women sought refuge in the convents, and bodies were strewn about the plazas.® Eeports of the progress of the insurrection induced the viceroy of Peru to send to Cuzco General Jose Antonio del Valle and Jose Antonio Areche, the visitador-general. At Cuzco Areche was able to muster a force of 17,000 men. At the same time the viceroy of Buenos Aires sent three detachments under General Flores, designed to subdue the revolt in the southern towns of the disturbed region. The news of the revolt brought consternation to Cuzco. Two regiments which garrisoned the city turned the Jesuit college into a citadel, and steps were immediately taken to increase the forces for defense. The Spaniards and Creoles in the city were enlisted, and messengers were sent to other towns for assistance. On the 13th of November Tiburcio de Landa, the governor of Paucartambo, led a force of about one thousand men up the 8 Funes, Ensayo de la Historia civil de Buenos Aires, Tucuman y Paraguay, Buenos Aires, 1856, II, 244. REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 187 valley of Vilcamayu to meet the enemy. Several hundred of these were friendly Indians. This little army advanced as far as Sangarara, where they found themselves surrounded by a superior force of Indians under the Inca. This fact and the appearance of a severe snowstorm induced Landa to retreat and take refuge in a church. Here negotiations w^ere opened between him and Tupac Amaru. Landa wished to know the Inca's intentions, and to this inquiry Tupac replied with the suggestion that all Americans should pass over to his camp, where they would be treated as patriots, since he was proceeding only against Euro^ans, corregidores, and employees of the customs.^ These terms having been rejected, the Inca wrote to the cura, asking him to take away the women and children, but the Spanish troops prevented this, and in the struggle that ensued the powder on hand was exploded, blowing off the roof and throwing down one of the walls of the church. Immediately after this calamity the Spaniards charged the enemy, but in spite of their heroic onslaught they were nearly all cut down; there remained only twenty-eight, all of whom were wounded. These, however, recovered from their wounds in the course of time, and were set at liberty. Among the killed were Tiburcio de Landa, the chief in command, his lieutenant Esca- jadillo, Cabrera, the corregidor of Quispicanchi, 9 Ferrer del Eio, A., Historia del reinado de Carlos HI en Espana, Madrid, 1856, III, 418. 188 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER who had fled from his province to Cuzco, and Sahuaraura, the cacique of Oropesa, who had led the Indian contingent of the Spanish forces. VI Immediately after the overthrow of the Span- ish forces at Sangarara, the way to Cuzco was apparently open to the victor. The city was in great confusion and only imperfectly defended. Tupac Amaru still believed, however, that, on account of the justice of his cause, he could attain his object by negotiation. With a view, therefore, of treating with the enemy, he estab- lished his followers in an encampment near Tinta. He then issued a proclamation, setting forth the grievances that led to the revolt, and denounced the tyranny of the Spanish officials as cruel and impious. At the same time he saw the possibility of failing by peaceable means, and called upon the Indians to join his forces. In the meantime the cabildo of Cuzco prepared to resist the threatened attack. It collected arms, repaired six old field-pieces, and began to make powder. Reinforcements were received from Urubamba, Calca, and other places. Volunteers from the inhabitants were brought into the mili- tary force, and the clergy, ordered out by the bishop, were organized into four companies under the command of Dr. Manuel de Mendieta. At the end of November, Cuzco had three thousand men REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 189 in arms. Still the authorities felt insecure, and in order to ward off the danger of a general upris- ing of the Indians, they abolished the reparti- mientos and the alcabala, and made known by proclamation these and other concessions. Instead of leading his forces directly against Cuzco, Tupac Amaru visited several towns or villages in the district, where he called the inhab- itants together and told them that the object of his campaign was to correct abuses, punish the corregidores, and release the people from their burdens. He was everywhere received by the Indians with enthusiasm and greeted by them as their Inca and Redeemer. Mr. Markham refers to a private letter, dated January, 1781, which describes the Inca's entrance into Azangaro. He rode a white horse, with splendidly embroidered trappings; two fair men, like Englishmen, of commanding aspect, accompanied him, one on the right and the other on the left. ''He was armed with a gun, sword, and pistols, and was dressed in blue velvet, richly embroidered with gold, with a three-cornered hat, and an uncu, in the shape of a bishop's rochet, over all, with a gold chain round his neck, to which a large golden sun was attached. '"° News of the military preparations of the Spaniards called Tupac Amaru back from the south, and led him to concentrate his army in the neighborhood of Cuzco. A detachment under 10 Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 145, 190 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Antonio Castelo, proceeding directly to the city, was defeated at Saylla, a place about two leagues from Cuzco, but it finally reached the main body of the Inca's army. While encamped on the heights of Picchu, overlooking the town, Tupac Amaru wrote to the cabildo and the bishop. These letters were dated January 3, 1781. In the letter to the cabildo, he affirmed his position as the heir of the Incas, and declared that he was moved to try by all possible means to put an end to abuses, and to have men appointed to govern the Indians who would follow the laws laid down by the Span- ish authorities. He declared that the punishment of the corregidor of Tinta was necessary as an example to others; and proclaimed the object of the rebellion to be the entire abolition of reparti- mientos, the appointment of an alcalde mayor, or judge in every province, and the establishment of an audiencia, or court of appeal, with a viceroy as president, at Cuzco, within reach of the In- dians ; but he did not aim to overthrow the author- ity of the king of Spain. In the letter to the bishop, he announced that he appeared, on behalf of the nation, to put an end to the robberies and outrages of the corregidores ; and at the same time he promised to respect the priests, all church property, the women, and the inoffensive and unarmed people. The Spanish forces in Cuzco were unwilling to make terms with the Indians. They had been reinforced by the cacique of Chinchero and his REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 191 men, and by two hundred mulatto soldiers from Lima. After a period of ineffective skirmishing, a bloody battle was begun, on the 8th of January, in the suburbs of Cuzco and on the heights. It lasted two days, and was so far unfortunate for the Inca that he was obliged to withdraw his forces to Tinta. The force of six thousand men that had been sent to the provinces of Galea and Paucartambo made a desperate resistance, and after the arrival of reinforcements under Pablo Astete, Diego retired to Tinta, on the 18th of January, 1781. Here the Inca reorganized his army, and, in union with Diego, made another attack on Paucartambo, on the 11th of February. This, like the previous attempt, was unsuccessful, and five days later the Inca 's army was back again in Tinta. The force of 60,000 men that Tupac Amaru gathered at Tinta was more notable for its num- bers than for its discipline or its arms. Only a few hundreds had muskets. But the multitude assembled showed how strong was the feeling against the abuses of the Spanish administration. The Indian and mestizo inhabitants of the interior of Central and Upper Peru were practically all in revolt. Only sixteen caciques adhered to the Spaniards. The threatening prospect alarmed the Spanish officials in Peru and Buenos Aires. The viceroy of Peru sent to Cuzco Jose Antonio Areche, as visitador, supported by a military force commanded by Jose del Valle ; and the vice- 192 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER roy of Buenos Aires commissioned General Ignacio Flores to put down the rebellion in the southern provinces ; for the inhabitants of the entire region as far south as Oruro were in a state of revolt. Before the arrival of Flores, La Paz, which was under the command of Sebastian de Segurola, had been besieged by the Indians and subjected to almost daily attacks for four months." At Cuzco General del Valle collected an army of 15,000 men, and prepared to enter upon the campaign. While this army was still at Cuzco, the Inca wrote to Areche, the visitador, setting forth the fact that the Spanish officials had re- peatedly violated the laws and had cruelly oppressed the Indians ; at the same time he urged the necessity of certain reforms in the admin- istration. He, moreover, affirmed his willingness to enter into negotiations through which these reforms might be attained without further hos- tilities. Areche 's answer to the Inca's despatch was a refusal to negotiate, accompanied by a brutal declaration of vengeance and an affirmation that if Tupac Amaru would surrender at once the mode of his execution would be less cruel than if further resistance was made.^^ 11 The events of this siege are set down in the diary of the commanding officer of the city. This diary was edited several years ago by Vicente de Ballivian y Eoxas and was published in Paris in 1872, by A. Franck (F. Vieweg), in the first volume of Archivo Boliviano, under the title Diario de los sucesos del cerco de la Ciudad de La Paz en 1781, hasta la total Pacifica^on de la rebelion general del Peru. 12 Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 148 ; for the fate of the Inca's letter, see p. 149, note. REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 198 The attitude assumed by the brutal visitador Areche convinced Tupac Amaru that complete independence or death were the only alternatives before him. But he had not hitherto indicated that he was seeking independence; only that he aimed at such reforms in the Spanish administra- tion as would release the Indians from oppression. There exists a paper, however, attributed to him in which he is styled ''Don Jose I, by the grace of God, Inca, King of Peru, Quito, Chile, Buenos Aires, and the continents of the South Sea, Lord of the River of the Amazons, with dominion over the Grand Paytiti." This paper, moreover, affirms that **the king of Castile had usurped the crown and domin- ions of Peru, imposing innumerable taxes, tributes, duties, excises, monopolies, tithes, fifths ; appointing officers who sold justice, and treated the people like beasts of burden. For these causes, and by reason of the cries which have risen up to heaven, in the name of Almighty God, it is ordered that no man shall hence forth pay money to any Spanish officer, excepting the tithes to priests ; but that tribute shall be paid to the Inca^ and an oath of allegiance to him be taken in every town and village. ' ' This document is without date, and it has been suggested that it was forged by the Spaniards to- be used as written evidence against the Inca." 13 This letter is given by Mendiburu, VIII, 137. 194 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER VII About the middle of March, 1781, General del Valle moved from Cuzco against the insurgents. His army was composed of 17,116 men. His line of advance led along the mountains west of the Vilcamayu, where his troops suffered from snow- storms, the lack of food and fuel, and the want of all commissariat arrangements. Finding his position here almost unendurable both for himself and for his soldiers, he moved down from the mountains and ascended the valley of Vilcamayu, captured Quiquijana, and near the village of Che- cacupe encountered the Inca's army drawn up behind a trench and a parapet that stretched across the valley. Flanking the Inca's forces, he made an attack in front and in the rear, and drove them back to another entrenchment at Combapata. The Indians, routed from this position, fell back to Tinta, where they were overthrown by the artillery fire and a bayonet charge of the Spanish troops. Tupac Amaru's plans had failed because of the treachery of Zunuario de Castro, and his final undoing was due to the traitorous action of one of his ofl&cers, Ventura Landaeta, who, assisted by the cura of Lanqui, delivered him and his family into the hands of the Spaniards, after he had fled to that place from Tinta. With this the Spaniards began their revolting course of outrage and vengeance. On the day of the Inca 's capture General del Valle hanged sixty-seven In- REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 195 dian prisoners at Tinta, and stuck their heads on poles by the roadside. The chief prisoners were marched into Cuzco. They were the Inca Tupac Amaru, his wife, his two sons, Hipolito and Fer- nando, his uncle Francisco, his brother-in-law Antonio Bastides, his maternal uncle Patricio Noguero, his cousin, Cecilia Tupac Amaru, with her husband, Pedro Mandagure, and a number of the oflScers of the Inca's army, and the negro slave, Antonio Oblitas, who had served as execu- tioner for the punishment of Aliaga. They were taken to separate places of confinement, and in- formed that their next meeting would be on the day of their execution. The visitador Areche pronounced the Inca's sentence on May 15, 1781. He wished to show the Indians that even the high rank of the heir of the Incas could not deter the Spaniards from imposing the extreme punishment when they con- sidered it deserved. The charge against this vic- tim of Spanish barbarity was that he had rebelled against Spain, that he had destroyed the mills, that he had abolished the mita, that he had caused his portrait to be painted dressed in the imperial insignia of the uncu and mascapaicha, and that he had caused his victory at Sangarara to be represented in pictures. He was condemned to witness the execution of his wife, a son, his uncle, his brother-in-law Antonio Bastides, and his cap- tains; to have his tongue cut out; to be torn in pieces by horses attached to his limbs and driven 196 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER in different directions; to have his body burnt on the heights of Picchu, and to have his head and arms and legs stuck on poles to be set up in the different towns that had been loyal to him; to have his houses demolished, their sites strewn with salt, his goods confiscated, his relatives de- clared infamous, and all documents relating to his descent burnt by the hangman. It was also provided that all Inca and cacique dresses should be prohibited, all pictures of the Incas destroyed, the presentation of Quichua dramas forbidden, the musical instruments of the Indians burned; all signs of mourning for the Incas, the use of all national costumes by the Indians, and the use of the Quichua language should be prohibited.^* This sentence in all its barbarity was carried out on the 18th of May, 1781. VIII "With the death of the Inca the insurrection may be considered ended; nevertheless many In- dians still remained under arms, whom the bloody drama of Cuzco, far from discouraging, only seemed to have inspired with new fury. Thence- forward it was a war of extermination, so much so that the number of victims of the vengeance of the Spaniards and the Indians may be reckoned at 80,000.'"^ The surviving leaders moved south- 14 Memoirs of General Miller, Spanish ed., Lima, 1861, vol. I, Appendix A. 15 Mendiburu, VIII, 144. REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 197 ward, and, enraged by the horrible cruelty of Areche, their line of march became a path of destruction. Diego Cristoval Tupac Amaru, the Inca's cousin, held the chief command. After the siege of Puno, Andres Mandagure and Miguel Bastides overran the eastern shore of Lake Titi- caca and joined the forces that were carrying on the war about Sorata and La Paz.^'' They *4aid siege to the town of Sorata, where the Spaniards of the neighboring districts had taken refuge with their families and wealth. The unarmed Indians were unequal to the storming of fortifications, which, although constructed only of earth, were lined with artillery. But their leader surmounted this difficulty by the adoption of a measure that would have done credit to any commander. By the construction of a lengthened mound he col- lected the waters which flow from the neighboring snowy heights of Ancoma, and, turning them against the earthern ramparts, washed them away. The immediate result was the storming of the town, and the massacre of its inhabitants, with circumstances of horror exceeding the death of Tupac Amaru. '"^ Practically all of the inhab- itants, about twenty thousand in number, were killed. The clergy alone escaped. The siege of La Paz was continued for six months after the death of the Inca. Like Sorata, 16 La Paz lies in the upper end of a vast canon, several hun- dred feet down in the great gash that has been cut in the inter- andean plateau, the general surface of which is over twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. 17 Memoirs of General Miller, I, 18. 198 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER it was a place of refuge for the Spaniards of the surrounding country. In defending the city the commanding officer had constructed a line of forti- fications, but had determined to include only the principal part of the town, leaving outside the suburbs and several Indian villages. During the continuance of the rebellion in the north, the forces supporting the insurrection had been daily increasing in the south, and requests for assist- ance from the towns near-by were sent to La Paz, with which Segurola complied — as far as possible. He had also used all available funds to gather stores of provisions for the city, which were especially needed to support the increasing num- ber of refugees. The story of the progress of the siege and of the resistance offered by the besieged is given in the diary of the commanding officer, Sebastian de Segurola. The following extracts from this diary show under what disadvantages the Indians fought; and the fact that in the face of these disadvantages and of their great losses they persisted in the conflict for many months indicates to what a degree they had been moved by their intolerable grievances. ''March 27. — 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 vigor. This engagement lasted from 11 o 'clock in the morning till 4 in the eveninsr. At this hour the rebels retired with REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 199 much loss, which was given at more than one hun- dred and fifty killed, without any loss on our part. ' ' March 28. — It was recognized to-day that the number of Indians who approached us was con- siderably 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 forti- fications, and we resisted them with great valor. The attack lasted till 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy retired with more than three hundred and fifty dead, according to our calcula- tion, and on our side we had only two. *' March 29. — The Indians have been coming down from all sides since daybreak, and at 10 o'clock assaulted the city with desperation, and this attack, repulsed by us, lasted till half-past 5 in the afternoon, at which hour they retired with a loss of more than 150 men, and we had the mis- fortune, by the bursting of a cannon in one of the forts, to have three killed and several severely wounded, and among the killed was Sergeant- major Joseph de Roxas." After 109 days of siege, in which a besieging force of 40,000 Indians, according to Segurola's statement, took part, the condition of affairs in the city was desperate, but no word of despair appears in the diary of the commander. ' ' By the grace of God," he wrote, *'we have defended our- selves in spite of hunger, pest, and the enemies, even from those within, who have caused not less 200 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER care than those without." In want of other food, they had eaten the horses, mules, and asses, not merely the flesh but the skins as well, and the dogs and cats, the cat having a quoted price of six dollars. Of the 2000 mules in the city at the begin- ning of the siege, scarcely more than forty re- mained at the end of it. During these months, moreover, disease made rapid strides; and many persons in their incautious search for food fell into the hands of the enemy, to whose treatment of them *'we may not refer without the greatest horror, grief, and compassion." At the end of June, General Flores arrived with the troops from Buenos Aires and brought the desired relief." He scattered the besieging force, and caused food to be introduced into the city. Under the protection of the military force, many of the inhabitants left their houses in the city and established themselves temporarily near the camp of the soldiers. But hostilities were continued at different points in the surrounding country; and on the withdrawal of a part of the 18 ' ' The reinforcements sent to the royal army from Buenos Aires, Tueiiman, and Cochabamba were for the most part regular troops; the Buenos Aireans were armed and equipped as European soldiers; the Tucumanos composed the cavalry, and were armed with butcherknives and lassos; the Cochabambinos used short clubs loaded with lead, and which, by means of a string several yards in length, they could fling from them, and were deadly weapons. The mode of attacking the Indians was first by the fire of mus- ketry, to throw them into confusion, when, if the ground admitted, the Tucuman horsemen rode among them, dragging down whole ranks with their lassos, followed by the Cochabambinos, who despatched them with their clubs. ' ' — Temple, Travels in Variotis Parts of Peru, II, 175, 176. REVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 201 troops to places where they seemed to be impera- tively needed, the siege of La Paz was renewed. This time it was continued from the beginning of August until the 17th of October. At noon on this day the troops from Oruro arrived under the com- mand of Lieutenant Josef Reseguin, "and we began to see on the brow of the hill of Puna cer- tain men who it was not doubted were ours, and in a short time the rest appeared, covering in a moment the top of the hill. From this position they saluted the city with their artillery, filling it with the greatest joy and satisfaction imaginable. The commandant, Don Josef Reseguin, sent to me immediately notice of his arrival with 7000 sol- diers and a large quantity of provisions which would supply the city. "Thus ended the second siege of this afflicted and unfortunate city, if it may not be considered the first; since during the period of the other relief the enemies remained always on the heights of the Potopoto, Calvario, and even on the others of the environs, when the troops moved their encampment some distance away. In this it is seen that the rebels to the number of 12,000 fight- ing men, according to all accounts, not only pur- sued the siege with fire and blood as before, but also turned the waters against us; and although it had not the same outcome as in the town of Sorata, still it caused considerable destruction in the city. Misery made the same inroads as the last time, and want compelled the use of the same 202 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER unfit food ; in sustaining life there was no exemp- tion for the horses, the mules, the asses, the cats, the dogs, and the most despicable hides, not only of the animals killed but also those furinshed by the rawhide trunks and the food pouches of the shepherds. "^^ IX For still two years or more desultory fighting continued in many parts of the country in which the revolt had appeared. Although the Indians were defeated, they were neither crushed nor placated. From their victory the Spaniards de- rived little profit and less honor. The Indians remained hostile and in a mood to join any enemy of their hated masters that might arise. Outraged by the barbarity of the Spaniards, they espoused the cause of the Creoles and became a powerful factor in the struggle for independence. A recognition of the disastrous results of Spain's treatment of the Indians led the Span- iards at last to make their exactions less burden- some. Under the new order the Indians might be employed in occupations contributing directly to the general well-being of society : in raising grain and cattle ; in building roads, bridges, and edifices for public use. They might also be employed in mining; but it was not expected that they would be employed in occupations that contributed 19 ArcMvo Boliviano, Paris, 1872, I, 127, 128. EEVOLT OF TUPAC AMARU 203 merely to the luxurious gratification of the Span- ish part of the population. The line of distinction between these occupations was, however, only vaguely drawn, and was only imperfectly observed in practice. Service in the mines was subject to restrictions that were expected to obviate at least some of the evils that had previously existed. Only a certain number of laborers, not to exceed one-seventh of the inhabitants, might be taken from any district, and these were retained for a period of six months. They were paid at the rate of four reals a day. The provision that no Indian might be taken more than thirty miles to work in a mine tended to set aside the practice of taking them from the warm climate of the low country to the cold regions of the mountains. But abuses were continued in spite of the good intentions of the law-makers. The execution of the laws was in the hands of officers far removed from the super- vision of their legislative superiors. The great distance and the difficulties of communication still left the Indians practically subject to the discre- tion of the American end of the administration.^* 20 The details of the rebellion of Tupac Amaru are presented in the three hundred and sixty pages of documents contained in the first volume of Odriozola's Documentos Mstdricos del Peru; in the Relacidn historica de los sucesos de la rebelidn de Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru en las provincial del Peru, el alio de 1780 ; and in Documentos para la historia de la suhlevacion de Jose Gabriel Tupac Amaru, cacique de la provinoia de Tinta en el Peru, in Coleccion de Angelis, Tomo V; Lorente, Historia del Peru bajo los Borbones, Lima, 1871, 174-215; for the events in Cuzco, see "Informe Eelacionado, " in Bela^ones de los vireyes y audiencias, III, 307-368. CHAPTER VII THE REBELLION OF THE COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA Viceroy Florez and the visitador-regente Piiieres. II. The outbreak in Socorro. III. Organization of the Comun under Berbeo, and the battle of Puente Real. IV. The advance on Bogota, and the flight of the regent. V. The negotiations and the agree- ment. VI. Galan and the new revolt. VII. The Indians of Nemoeon and the conclusion of the conflict. The rebellion of the comuneros in New Granada, like the revolt led by Tupac Amaru, was a protest against abuses by the government. On the 10th of February, 1776, Manuel Antonio Florez assumed the duties of viceroy at Cartagena. His financial administration failed to elicit the ap- proval of the king, who sent Juan Francisco Gutierrez de Piiieres to be the visitador-regente of the viceroyalty. The visitador held a commis- sion from the king, ordering him to regulate the affairs of the royal treasury in New Granada, and, if possible, to increase the royal revenues. And COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 205 when the viceroy objected to the measures adopted, and appealed to the king, he was in- formed that Piiieres should be permitted to pro- ceed according to his own ideas, particularly with reference to the affairs of the treasury. The visitador-regente, thus placed beyond the reach of viceregal interference, proceeded to impose burdensome taxes. His sole object appeared to be to augment the funds that were destined to be sent to Spain, without observing the disastrous effect of his measures on the welfare of the colony. The viceroy having been sent to Cartagena to pro- vide for the defense of the coast, Pineres remained at Bogota the acting head of the government. The visitador found the inhabitants burdened with a long list of taxes and monopolies. There were monopolies of salt, tobacco, spirits, playing cards, the post, stamped paper, and a burdensome array of taxes and tributes, both civil and ecclesi- astical; yet in the face of a revenue system that removed from the colonists every prospect of indi- vidual prosperity, he was expected to increase at least some of these imposts. The instructions under which he acted required him to effect a more exact and systematic management of the royal revenues known as alcabala and armada de barlo- vento.^ It was not merely the amount of the taxes, but also the intolerable brutality with which they 1 The tax called armada de tarlovento was an impost designed to support the little squadron, or the division of the navy assigned to South America. 206 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER were collected that provoked insurrection,^ and this source of disturbance was aggravated by the corruption and tyranny of those persons who received and administered the funds collected, and who increased their gains by stealing one- half of the revenues in their passage from the persons taxed to the treasury. But complaints and protests by the people against these abuses were of no avail; the regent who depended solely on the king had more inducements to increase the income of his master than to seek to remove the corruption or lessen the burdens of the people. And the people were aroused to resistance not by a fear that the government might oppress them sometime in the future, but by actual oppression w^hich curtailed very materially their means of living. It was the desire to redress real griev- ances rather than a prospect of independence that moved them. II The province of Socorro, the seat of the prin- cipal manufacturing industries of New Granada, felt especially the burden of the new taxation, and therefore, became the center of the revolutionary movement, which spread rapidly from day to day, and appeared in regions as widely separated as 2 " El maltratamiento que los ministros y gnardas de la Eenta de Tobacos daban a los vasallos ... ha sido causa para que esta Jurisdiccion, la de San Gil, la de Velez, y la de Tunja, segun se dice, se hayan alzado. " Eeport by the cabildo of Socorro to the viceroy, March 7, 1781, in A. M. Galan, Vida de J. A. Galdn (Bibl. de hist, nadonal, IV), 223; see also ibid., 229-231. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 207 Pamplona and the llanos. The insurgents were, moreover, stimulated by reports of the uprising of Tupac Amaru, which was communicated to the Indians of New Granada, and which helped to arouse them to action. In the llanos, Javier Men- doza proclaimed the revolution in the name of the Inca, ordered the churches closed, and pro- hibited the Catholic worship. The idea of revolt was early entertained in Bogota. It found adherents in Jorge Lozano de Peralta, Juan Bautista Morales, Manuel Garcia Olano, Ciriaco de Archila. The last named person was a lay member of the Dominican monastery. Opposition to the decrees of Pifieres appeared in October, 1780, in the towns of Bari- chara, Simacota, and Mogotes. A few weeks later a more strenuous resistance was manifest in Charala, led by Pedro Nieto. Neither the audi- encia nor the regent possessed either the physical or the moral force to suppress the revolt in its beginnings. The party of rebellion sought an effective ally in the Indians by communicating to the more intelligent of them the idea that through independence they might find a redress for their long-standing grievances. Manuel Garcia Olano, the general director of the post, and Francisco Vargas, the parish priest of Socorro, were espe- cially influential in this undertaking. At Socorro, March 16, 1781, a company of persons, led by Jose Delgadillo, appeared before the house of the alcalde, Jose de Angulo y Olarte, and shouted their refusal to pay the new imposts. 208 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER The alcalde addressed the crowd, and urged the necessity of complying with the regent's orders, since they were the commands of the highest legitimate authority in the kingdom. This appeal only called forth cries of indignation and violent threats from the rioters. In the midst of this uproar, a woman ran to the bulletin-board near the alcalde 's house, and tore down the edict of the visitador. This act was greeted with applause and with the cry, "Long live the king and death to bad government." The frightened alcalde fled to a hiding place, while the crowd surged through the streets proclaiming its victory and vociferat- ing its condemnation of the regent.^ This demonstration produced an immediate result. The cabildo of Socorro assembled on the afternoon of the riot, and decided to suspend the collection of the new taxes. The insurgents of Socorro were temporarily pacified, but there was a new outbreak in San Gil. The inhabitants came together in the plaza, destroyed the regent 's edict, attacked the guards and the administrator of the monopolies, burned the tobacco in the store- houses, and declared that they would not pay the additional taxes demanded. A similar attack was made at Simacota, where the crowd poured out 3 Briceno, Manuel, Los Comuneros, Bogota, 1880, 13 ; Manuela Beltran is said to be the name of the first person, in New Granada, who thus dared to tear in pieces a document issued by authority and posted under the royal arms of Spain. Ibid, 99; Plaza, Antonio de, Memorias para la historia de la Nueva Granada, Bogota, 1850, 334; Galan, A, M., Vida de J. A. Galdn {Bibl. de hist, nacional, IV), 223. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 209 the brandy, burned the tobacco and other stores, distributed the money, threw out the furniture, and pulled down the royal arms. The insurgents from many quarters prepared to appear in Socorro on the 15th of April to continue the work of destruction. Their vigorous and unrestrained action had a practical effect in causing the regent to issue a decree relieving the towns of Tunja, Socorro, Sogamoso, and San Gil of some of the objectionable taxes. The success of these early instances of resistance suggested the possibility of acquiring a larger measure of relief. At the end of March Dionisio Plata received at Socorro a document sent from Bogota by Ciri- aco de Archila. When opened in the presence of a company of the more influential residents of the town, it proved to be an appeal to the people in verse. Later it was read by the crier to four or five thousand persons called together by the sound of the tocsin, and was received with shouts of applause. It moved the people to avenge themselves for the evils they had suffered under exorbitant taxes and the merciless conduct of monopolists. The members of the crowd were transformed into an angry mob. They assaulted the offices of the monopolies, broke open the doors, tore down the royal arms, poured out the alcoholic spirits, destroyed the cards and stamped paper, and burned the tobacco. The guards, the admin- istrator, and the alcaldes escaped to the houses of Francisco Rosillo and Juan Bernardo Plata, and 210 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER then took refuge in a church. Destruction of this kind was repeated as the revolt extended its area, yet the seizure of property was not robbery for individual gain, nor was it attended by assassina- tion. Ill In April, 1781, six thousand insurgents from adjacent towns assembled in Socorro for the pur- pose of organizing themselves with the view of persuading the government to abate the griev- ances of the people. They elected Juan Francisco Berbeo to be their chief, and Jose Antonio Estevez, Antonio Jose Monsalve, and Salvador Plata to be associated with him. These four per- sons having taken an oath of fidelity to the people, formed a commission called the Comun, from which the members and their adherents became known as Comuneros. The procurador of the commission was Antonio de Molina, and the secre- tary was Manuel Jose Ortiz. Each of the towns in revolt chose a captain, and by popular election three or five persons to constitute a local comun. The serious and energetic activity of Berbeo in creating a military force, persuaded the audiencia to move towards the same end. That body sent one of its members, Jose Osorio, to subdue the rebels, and establish order in the insurgent towns. Informed of this project, Berbeo prepared to offer resistance. The force which he was able to put into the field consisted of about four thousand men. These so far outnumbered the forces of COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 211 the oidor that he found it advisable to surrender to the insurgents. After this event Berbeo, Mon- salve, Rosillo, and Estevez addressed the viceroy, affirming that they had accepted their positions as captains in order to restrain the disorderly jDroceedings, and to see whether it might be pos- sible, by prudence, to secure the "tranquility of these republics," without loss of lives and prop- erty. At the same time they wished to make it clear that they were not disposed to deny the sovereignty and power of the king.* When the cabildos of the insurgent towns and the leaders of the revolt asked respectfully that the audiencia would moderate the new imposts, this tribunal replied only by an order requiring the pueblos to be subdued by force. For this pur- pose Oidor Osorio marched out towards the north with a troop of fifty armed men, leaving twenty- five in Bogota.^ Captain Barrera was in immedi- ate command, while Osorio was commissioned to treat with the enemy. At Puente Eeal, near the town of Velez, they met the vastly superior force that had been gathered from the towns in revolt. Although the rebels had few fire arms, by the advantage of mere numbers they overwhelmed the troops sent from Bogota. Osorio had attempted to avoid an actual conflict by offering to make concessions, but in this he was not successful. Berrera and Osorio were captured, and sent to 4 Nota de los capitanes generates del Socorro al virey, Socorro y Mayo 7 de 1781, printed in Briceno, Los Comuneros, 103. 5 Vergara y Velasco, Novisimo texto de historia de Colombia, Bogota, 1910, 207. 212 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Chiquinquira. Osorio died a few months later. Francisco Ponce, Barrera's aide, escaped dis- guised as a monk, and carried the news of the disaster to Bogota, where the inhabitants, in view of the lack of troops for defense, were thrown into a panic. At this encounter the insurgents obtained the fifty muskets that had belonged to the soldiers, twenty-two trabucos, and the seven hundred muskets which the authorities at Bogota had provided for the expected additions to their force. They took also twenty thousand cartridges with balls, and a large amount of powder with separate balls, together with pistols, swords, money, and equippages.*' The bloodless victory of the comuneros at Puente Real was followed by important changes in their organization. The captains were organ- ized as a supreme council of war. Berbeo became superintendent and commanding general, and Joaquin Fernandez Alvarez became secretary of state. With their new organization, the insur- gents assumed the supreme authority, and adopted democratic principles as the basis of their state. They declared their independence, and wished to govern themselves as a sovereign republic.^ Yet, in spite of their proposed democracy, they con- templated offering the crown to Osorio, but an inquiry as to his sentiments revealed the fact that he would reject it if offered. 6 Cuervo, Documentos, TV, 8. 7 Finestrad, J. de, El vassallo instrmdo {Bibl. de hist, nacional), Bogota, 1905, cap. VIII. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 213 IV The next step in the revolutionary movement was an advance upon Bogota. Information reached Pineres that the rebels sought his head, and that to take it would be their first object on entering the city. This prospect induced him to prepare for flight. But before he left Bogota, he convened the audiencia. He proposed to that body that it should appoint a commission to meet the comuneros ; and that it should solicit the interven- tion of the archbishop ; it should organize the mili- tia and publish an edict reducing the alcabala and the armada de barlovento. The audiencia adopted the measures proposed, and adjourned at midnight. Before dawn of the following morning, Pineres had left Bogota for Honda. On the same day, the 13th of May, the commissioners went out to meet the advancing insurgents. From Zipaquira they sent a note to Berbeo and his lieutenants, which reached them at Raquira. In this note the com- missioners announced their willingness to hear them on subjects which they thought might be for the good of the king and the people.* On approaching Zipaquira, the insurgents were not in a tractable mood. They were not dis- 8 This letter is printed as No. VI of the documents forming the Appendix of Briceno, Los Comuneros, p. 106. No. VII of these documents is a list of the captains who assembled at Zipaquira in command of the comuneros. The men under these eighty-seven officers numbered about 20,000, representing sixty-six pueblos embraced in territory now belonging to the states of Boyac^, Cundinamarca, and Santander. 214 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER posed to listen either to the commissioners or to the archbishop. They made a riotous attack on the house of the administrator of monopolies, and destroyed everything within reach. This out- break caused the members of the audiencia to see the helplessness of their position. With no means of resistance at hand, they announced that the tax of armada de barlovento was abolished, and that the alcabala was reduced to two per cent. Catani, one of the members, having been made general-in-chief of the legitimate troops, gathered a force of six hundred and forty men, and sent to Honda for arms that had been deposited there for the viceroy. At Nemocon the insurgents learned of the flight of the regent, and appointed Jose Antonio Galan to proceed to Honda and prevent him from going to the coast. Near Facatativa Galan and his twenty-five soldiers encountered the troops sent out from Bogota against him. Having defeated them, he gathered reinforcements at Facatativa, and con- tinued his march towards Honda. He captured the guards who were conducting arms to the vice- roy, and occupied Guaduas. This event and the threatening attitude of the increasing rebel force created a state of confusion in Bogota. The com- missioners and the archbishop were authorized to prevent the insurgents from entering the capital, and to this end they might employ any possible means.^ 9 See the credentials of the commissioners, No. VIII of the documents in Briceno, 110. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 215 Knowing that the greater part of the insur- gents were without arms, Berbeo vacilated and was undetermined as to what course to pursue. It was clear that the government would make an effort to defend itself and put do^vn the rebellion, and Berbeo recognized the inability of an un- trained and unarmed crowd to resist successfully such a force as the government would ultimately bring against it. After considering suggestions for an agreement with the audiencia, he finally decided to send one of his advisers, Juan Bautista Morales, to England, commissioned to obtain funds for the purchase of arms and equipment. The archbishop was alarmed by the growth of the revolutionary spirit, and by the fact that the bulk of the discontented were not affected by his appeals. He succeeded, however, in taming the zeal of Berbeo, the commanding general, and in persuading him to adopt such an attitude of mind as led him later to be accused of treason to the cause of the insurgents. While the popular move- ment was gaining ground, the town of Giron undertook to oppose the revolution. It created a council of defense, and formed a military com- pany of two hundred lances. The aggressive acts of this body were answered by the revolted towns sending against Giron a force of four thousand men. The inhabitants fled, but later many of them were induced to return and swear allegiance to the supreme council of war of Socorro. The rebels were intolerant of the inactive or indiffer- 216 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ent course pursued by some of the towns, and required them either to declare positively in favor of the insurrection or accept the position of enemies. V In the last days of May, 1781, Ambrosio Pisco, with a number of Indians, joined the ranks of the insurgents. Pisco was a descendant of the Zipas. Along the way from Giiepsa to Nemocon, and on his arrival, he was greeted with enthusiasm, and the principal Indians from many quarters appeared to pay him homage. In the presence of a large assembly of Indians, he was proclaimed Lord of Chia and Prince of Bogota. These survivals of ancient ceremonies and the empty honors con- ferred by them apparently satisfied the Zipa. He placed himself under the command of Berbeo ; for after the oppression his race had endured for many generations, he knew only how to obey. If he had possessed the power to take the initiative in action, and the insurgents had had more respect for the Indians, the ancient rule of the Zipas might have been revived, and have become at least a temporary substitute for the rule of the king. While encamped near Zipaquira, Berbeo re- quested the authorities of Bogota to appoint com- missioners to discuss with insurgent commis- sioners certain terms on which the two parties might agree. The demands of the insurgent were COMUNEEOS IN NEW GRANADA 217 presented in an extensive document providing for the abolition of monopolies, and the abolition or reduction of a large number of specified taxes.^° The rebellion of the comuneros aroused the Indians to revolt. At Silos, in the district of Pamplona, the Indians came together in consid- erable numbers and rejected the authority of the king of Spain. "They solemnly published the proclamation of Tupac Amaru, and swore obedi- ence to him as Emperor of America.'"^ In the course of the discussion on the proposed terms of agreement, the mass of the insurgents conceived the idea that their officers, by too great concessions, were deceiving them. They spread the alarm, and demanded that the war should be continued. They demanded, moreover, that they should be led to Bogota. Aroused by the attitude of the crowd, the archbishop urged the immediate approval of the capitulaciones by the commis- sioners; and when this was accomplished, the document was sent to the audiencia. This body confirmed the commissioners' approval, thus allaying the popular agitation. 10 This document, Texto de las capitulaciones redactadas por los comuneros para presentarlas al comandante general, is printed in Briceno, Los Comuneros, 121-137. It is dated June 4, 1781, and is signed by Juan Francisco Berbeo. These capitulaciones were approved by the audiencia June 7, at eleven o'clock in the night; they were confirmed by oath on the plain of Mortino before 2000 insurgents, the archbishop sanctifying the agreement by a religious service. The multitude dissolved the same day. Sixty copies of the agreement were made for the sixty cabildos that had supported the movement. On the 15th it was published at Bogota. Vergara y Velasco, Texto, 210. 11 Briceno, Los Comuneros, 64, 139. 218 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Groot affirms that through the influence of the archbishop the capitulaciones, or the terms of agreement, were approved without modifications, "but at the same meeting the members of the com- mission signed a secret protest declaring that, having given their approval, it was done under the force of circumstances in order to avoid greater evils, and that consequently they held the agreements void as obtained by force when they had no force with which to sustain the dignity of the government."^- Yet in the face of this atti- tude, when the agreement had been received at Zapaquira, and had been approved and solemnly sworn to, the archbishop celebrated mass with the Te Deum. This solemn act of hypocrisy was per- formed when the commissioners had already secretly declared that they would not for them- selves regard the agreement binding. The comu- neros, having faith in the oath of the coimnis- sioners, disbanded their forces, and caused them to return to their accustomed places. The purpose of the audiencia in making the concessions contained in this agreement, as set forth in its report to the king, was to maintain the sovereignty of the crown in these dominions (at whatever cost) which otherwise could not have been accomplished, except by means of a difficult and bloody conquest.^^ 12 Eistoria de Nueva Granada, II, 191. 13 Informe de la real audiencia de Lima a su Majestad, Lima, December 22, 1780; Carta del Arzobispo al Oidor Osorio, Zipaquira, June 11, 1781. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 219 The insurgents fancied they had won an im- portant victory. They were, moreover, lured into a fatal sense of security by oaths and the elaborate religious ceremonies by which the agreement was solemnized. The revolutionary forces returned to their several towns, taking with them copies of the document which they regarded as the charter of their liberty. Berbeo went to Bogota to receive his appointment as corregidor and chief justice of Socorro. This appointment was later inter- preted to be the price of his advocacy of the agreement. ^^ ^i,niw\y^ nj j^//i^^ VI The principal insurgent force had been out- witted and traitorously deceived, and had left the field. Galan, however, held his small body of soldiers intact. At Guaduas he learned that the supporters of the rebellion in Honda had been defeated. He, therefore, advanced to that town, where he discovered that the victorious forces, fearing an unfavorable result of the impending conflict, had fled to Nare. Galan 's march towards Honda excited the inhabitants of towns north of Bogota to take up the cause of the revolution. La Mesa, Tocaima, Ibague, Cayaima, Purificacion, and Neiva raised the standard of revolt in June. In Neiva the leaders assembled in the plaza on the 19th of that month, repudiated the authority of the governor, broke down the doors at the office of the monopolies, and in general, carried out the 220 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER programme that had been followed elsewhere, including the destruction of the arms of Spain. Hearing the uproar in the plaza, the governor, Policarpo Fernandez, rushed into the presence of the rebels; and when he saw that his commands were not obeyed, he drew his sword in order to enforce obedience. At this point, Toribio Zapata, one of the leaders of the rebellion of Neiva, attacked him and killed him with a spear. The alcalde, who had accompanied Fernandez, entered the fight and killed Zapata; and in the confusion of the conflict the alcalde escaped.^* The purpose of the capitulaciones having been attained in the disbanding of the insurgent force under Berbeo, the next step was to quell the revolt in the north, and to obtain from the people decla- rations of fidelity to the king and a repudiation of the capitulaciones. By the participation of the clergy, other-worldly influences lent their per- suasive force to accomplish this result. The arch- bishop decided to make a pastoral visit to the northern towns; and he summoned to his assist- ance the Capuchin missionaries Joaquin de Fine- strad, Felix Goyanes, and Miguel de Villajoyosa. The incentive urged by the missionaries for laying aside hostility to legitimate authority was not the common good of the community but the pains of eternal damnation. The agreement between Berbeo and the audi- encia settled nothing. Both the government and 1* Briceno, Los Comuneros, 70. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 221 the people were dissatisfied. The govern.ment had acted on the policy of making concessions in days of trouble, and of withdrawing them in the days of peace. The dissatisfaction of the people mani- fested itself in frequent outbreaks ; and the spirit of the government, now that the great body of the insurgents had been dispersed, was shown in ener- getic measures of punishment. Large numbers of prisoners were sent to the fortress of Cartagena, and among these there were many persons who were conspicuous and known to be popular in their communities; and because they were popu- lar and conspicuous their influence was feared. Therefore, under this suspicion, they were seized and conducted to prison secretly. The arrival of five hundred veteran soldiers at Bogota from Cartagena, on the 15th of August, 1781, gave the government confidence in its ability to carr}'' out its policy; and the desire to retreat from the position taken in the articles of agree- ment became more pronounced when it was known that viceroy Florez was disposed to repudiate that document. The viceroy's ground for nullifying it was that the acceptance of its terms was secured by force. VII In AugTist the Indians of Nemocon came into conflict with the government about the salinas. These salt works formerly belonged to the Indians, but they had been taken by the audiencia and held 222 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER as property of the crown. The effort of the In- dians to regain them was supported by Ambrosio Pisco. The Indians attacked the house of the administrator, determined to kill him. Informa- tion of this event having reached Zipaquira, troops were sent to Nemocon, where they arrived on the 1st of September. In the clash which ensued the Indians were victorious, but five of their number were killed, and seven of them were wounded. ^^ The Indians, persuaded that they could not withstand the trained troops, fled to the moun- tains. The commander of the legitimate forces ordered the heads of the Indians who had been killed to be cut oif and placed on pikes, one in each of the five towns of San Diego, San Victorino, Las Cruces, Egypto, and Boqueron. This act sug- gested to the comuneros what would probably be their fate, and persuaded them to assemble at Socorro, and prepare for a new insurrection. Jose Antonio Galan became the commanding gen- eral. A number of towns, Malaga, Mogotes, Charala, La Concepcion, Santana, and others joined in a new revolt; but it was not possible to reawaken the enthusiasm of the people. There was, moreover, no leader who inspired confidence ; yet the audiencia, fearing that Galan might pos- sibly prove a successful commander, ordered his arrest and imprisonment." 15 An account of this conflict is given in a letter written by Jose Bernet to Viceroy Florez, September 9, 1781, printed as No. XXI of the documents in Briceno, Los Comuneros, 151-153. 16 For this order, see Briceno, Los Comuneros, 162-167. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 223 When the insurgents at Mogotes learned that the government had decided to imprison Galan, their revolutionary zeal abated. The majority of them abandoned him. Attended by only a few followers, he fled to a place called Chagonuete, where he was arrested.^' Galan was born at Charala, and at the time of his arrest he was thirty-two years of age. On the basis of charges that appear not to have been proved he was sen- tenced, January 30, 1782, to be hanged ; and, after the execution, his body was quartered and burned. Juan Manuel Jose Ortiz, Lorenzo Alcantuz, and Isidro Molina met a similar fate.^® In pronouncing sentences at this time the audiencia was apparently moved by a desire for vengeance rather than by a wish to execute jus- tice. Besides those who suffered the death penalty, a large number of other persons received milder forms of punishment. The government rather than the rebels displayed the barbarity of a tribunal of terrorists. Galan 's head was sent to Guaduas, where it was placed on a pike at the entrance of the town, while the heads of Ortiz, Alcantuz, and Molina were exposed in a similar manner respectively at Socorro, San Gil, and Bogota. The houses of these four victims were 17 For an account of Galan 's arrest, see Plata's report in the documents In Briceno, Los Comuneros, 165-167. 18 The sentence of death on Galan, Ortiz, Molina, and Alcantuz is No. XXVI of the documents in Briceno, 175-181; see charges against Jose Antonio Galan in Galan 's Vida de J. A. Galan, 240-242, The sentence is printed on pp. 314 and 315. 224 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER destroyed, their descendants were declared in- famous, and their property was confiscated. By its summary judgments and the severity of the penalties imposed, the audiencia introduced a reign of terror throughout the kingdom. Com- panions of Galan were sent to the presidios of Africa. Ambrosio Pisco was condemned to death, for setting himself up as Prince of Bogota in place of Charles III. But his sentence was subse- quently modified, and, with his wife and nephew, he was sent for fourteen years to the fortress of Cartagena. After the execution, imprisonment, or expul- sion of the leaders of the revolt, and the return of Piiieres, the regent, to Bogota, the audiencia publicly annulled, on the 18th of March, 1782, the capitulaciones, or articles of agreement, made with the insurgents through Berbeo ; and all acts based on that agreement. A little later, April 1, of the same year, it deprived Berbeo of his title and functions as corregidor. After a troubled reign of six years filled with misfortune, due chiefly to the unwisdom of the visitador Pineres, Florez petitioned the king to be relieved of his viceregal oflSce. His petition was granted, and Juan de Torrezal Diaz Pimienta, the governor of Cartagena, became his successor, and proceeded to Bogota by way of the Magdalena river. Eeports of his proposed policy of con- ciliation had preceded him, and his arrival was expected with satisfaction ; but all hopeful antici- COMUNEPtOS IN NEW GKANADA 225 pations were set aside by his death four days after he reached the capital. In accordance with the sealed orders opened by the audiencia, after the death of Pimienta, Archbishop Caballero y Gongora assumed the duties of the viceregal office, and thus to his ecclesiastical functions, there were added those of the political chief of the vice- royalty. The archbishop was born in Andalucia; was appointed bishop of Chiapa in 1775 ; and was promoted the same year to be bishop of Yucatan. In March, 1779, he entered upon the office of arch- bishop of Bogota. The promotion of the archbishop to the office of viceroy was in recognition of the service he had rendered in favor of peace. The general amnesty granted by the king and applied by the archbishop- viceroy included Ambrosio Pisco and his family, who returned to Chia. By the barbarous punish- ment of Galan and his immediate followers, and by the subsequent acts of pardon, the spirit of revolt, it was assumed, had been subdued ; yet the revolutionary flame had not been quenched, but only smothered." The revolution of 1810 com- pleted the work, at once destructive and creative, begun by the comuneros thirty years earlier. Juan Bautista Morales, as already indicated, had been sent to England to obtain funds for carrying on the revolution. In May, 1784, Luis 19 Edicto promulgando el indulto, No. XXX of the documents in Briceno, 189-205. 226 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Vidalle arived in London to assist in the under- taking, and on the 12th of May he presented a statement to the British government, in which he set forth the state of affairs in New Granada. The revolt of the comuneros had been suppressed, and his purpose was to obtain assistance in an attempt to emancipate themselves from the crown of Spain; as stated by Vidalle, "the inhabitants of these provinces are looking forward with anxiety to their separation from Spain. '"° The papers presented offered numerous inducements designed to persuade the British to furnish the required assistance. It was aflfirmed that the people would declare themselves British subjects ; and it was announced at the same time that an intimate connection existed between the move- ment of Tupac Amaru and the uprising of the comuneros. In these documents it was, moreover, declared that the purpose of the insurrection of 1781 was to secure the complete indei3endence of the American colonies. The plans of the commissioners were com- municated to the Spanish minister in London, together with copies of the propositions that were to be presented to the British government. Vidalle was arrested in France and imprisoned in Cadiz. Morales was also imprisoned and with 20 Inf orme del comisionado don Luis Vidalle al gobierno ingles, No. XXXVI of the documents in Brieeno, 235 ; Eobertson, William Spence, Francisco de Miranda and the revolutionizing of Spanish America, in Ajimuil Beport of Am. Sist. Assn., 1907, I, 208. COMUNEROS IN NEW GRANADA 227 these events the comuneros' prospects of Euro- pean assistance and of independence vanished for the moment, but the hope of emancipation remained. ^^ 21 Some of the more accessible writings dealing with the rebel- lion of the Comuneros are the following: Brieeno, Manuel, Los Comuneros, Bogota, 1880; Finestrad, Joaquin de, El vasallo in- struido (Bibl. de Hist, ruicional, IV), 1-204; Galan, A. M., JosS Antonio Galdn {Bibl. de hist, nacianal, IV), 205-410; Eestrepo, Hist, de la revolucion de la republica de Colombia, Besanzon, 1858, I, 13-30; Belacion verdadera de los hechos y pasages oourridos en la sublevadon de los pueblos, ciudades y villas que did prindpio en la del Socorro y San Gil, y extensiva a todos los del reyno, Santa Fe, 1781; Orjuela, Luis, Minuta historica Zapaquireiia (Bibl. de hist. 7iacio7ial, IV), 329-362. CHAPTER VIII the conspiracy of gramuset and berney;. I. The revolt under Amat, governor and captain-general of Chile. II. The conspiracy of Gramuset and Berney. III. The arrest and imprisonment of the conspirators. I; The breach between the governors and the gov- erned was often widened by the arrogant bearing of some of the higher officials towards the colo- nists. This was illustrated by the conduct of Amat y Junient, the captain-general of Chile (De- cember 29, 1755-September 26, 1761). Under Amat and his successor, Guill y Gonzaga (1761- 1767), the Indians on the southern frontier contin- ued their ancient resistance to Spanish encroach- ments, and the frequent parlamentos, instituted by the Spaniards, generally failed to set aside the hostilities that existed between the settlers and the Indians. Francisco Javier Morales and his interim predecessor (1768-1773) recognized that the ports of the Pacific were almost entirely de- fenseless. At the same time it was seen that Spain was not in a position to furnish a force GRAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 229 adequate for their defense; nor was the govern- ment in Spain able to control the measures under- taken by Chile and Peru in cooperation; and the inability of this government to manage effectively the affairs of the colonies became, with the pass- age of time, more and more evident; yet in spite of this fact, the king demanded reforms in the revenue systems designed to increase the income of the royal treasury, and deplete the resources of the colonies. The demands made in Chile for the benefit of the royal treasury, were not greatly unlike the contemporary requirements in New Granada, which had provoked the revolt of the comuneros. During the administration of Augus- tin de Jauregui (1773-1780), the increase of the alcabala and other taxes in Chile moved the colonists to assume an attitude of decided hos- tility towards the officers of the government. The reforms of Charles III doubtless aimed at an improvement of the colonial administration, but, in unsettling social conditions, they weakened the influence of preexisting traditions as an element of control, and thus left the inhabitants freer than they were before to question the advisability of new legislation, and to propose measures inconsistent with Spain's governmental policy. The alcabala had long been felt to be an oppressive tax, but it had been endured, and even modifications of the rate had not greatly disturbed the order of things. The tax on certain shops, particularly those for the sale of groceries and alcoholic beverages, had been reduced, but under 230 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Jauregui it was proposed to reestablish the old rate, and to increase the alcabala. These changes, the imposition of new taxes, and an increase in the valuation of articles subject to the alcabala, provoked a revolt against the king's subordinates in Chile, by whom the obnoxious changes had been made. On the sudden death of Silvestre Garcia, President Jauregui appointed Gonzalez Blanco to be Garcia 's interim successor as administrator of accounts. Blanco was especially moved by the desire to increase the royal revenues, and he undertook to reform the alcabala, as well as the fiscal regulations respecting the pulperias, or shops for selling groceries and alcoholic beverages, so that they might contribute to that end. When the people learned of these changes, Blanco be- came the special object of popular indignation. Numerous pasquinades appeared in Santiago, and under their influence the popular agitation was intensified. The fact that Blanco's predecessor was the author of many of the obnoxious changes was not remembered by the people. In July, 1776, they assembled in riotous disorder in the plaza of Santiago. The governor, apparently unable to restore tranquility, acceded to the demand for a general assembly to consider means for quieting the revolt. This assembly was an open meeting of the cabildo of Santiago, and was limited to one hundred members chosen by the cabildo from the inhabitants of the city. It selected four especially prominent men of the colony as an executive com- GKAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 231 mittee. These were Bacilio de Rojas, Antonio Bascunan, Antonio Lastra, and Lorenzo Gutierrez. The governor revoked provisionally the changes in taxation that had been introduced. He also gave assurance that justice would be administered. He sent (March 31, 1777) the provisional suspen- sion of the changes in taxation to the king for his consideration and final decision. Gonzalez Blanco, in consideration of his zeal in seeking to procure funds for the king, was appointed royal treasurer at Potosi. The popular agitation was, however, continued, and to this unrest was added dissatisfaction of the regular clergy. The rules of the orders were relaxed. The monks lived without the monas- teries, and disregarded the obligations of their profession. The king and his appointed inspectors appeared to be unable to set aside the scandals. The revolutionary movement in Chile was a local manifestation of the contemporary revolt against the government, that appeared with more or less force in practically all of the colonies. In Peru and New Granada it resulted in Civil War, but in certain other instances, owing to the peculiar cir- cumstances of the communities, it did not advance beyond the status of a conspiracy or a local rebel- lion. But everywhere it indicated the failure of the government in Spain to grow sufficiently in wisdom and power to enable it to accomplish suc- cessfully the increased task imposed upon it by the changing needs of the colonial administration. 232 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER II The full extent of the spirit of revolt was not made manifest by the movements that culminated in active and open hostilities, and became known to all the world. Besides these there were secret conspiracies. Some of these were afterwards brought to light, while there were doubtless others that were never revealed. An instance, or a type, of the secret conspiracy was that formed by two Frenchmen, Antonio Gramuset and Antonio Ber- ney. Gramuset had lived many years in Chile ; he had been married there, had tried many projects and had failed in most of them. In 1769, he was included under the royal order for the expulsion of foreigners. The execution of this order was stayed when he joined a company of foreigners to fight against the Araucanians. The king dis- approved of this concession; nevertheless, the foreigners remained in the country. After sev- eral years of unsuccessful mining and agriculture, Gramuset was occupying, in 1776, a small country house near Santiago, and was chiefly concerned with mechanical inventions. Berney was a teacher of languages and mathe- matics. He had come from Buenos Aires to Chile, and had found protection and occupation as an instructor in French in a Chilean family, and in Latin in the Colegio Carolino. He was a guileless, visionary, and deluded person. His mind was filled with all sorts of abstract doctrines, but he GRAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 233 had very little knowledge of the real, practical world. Gramuset planned to become rich; Berney, to make law that would shape the fortunes of a state. Berney visited Gramuset, and their conversa- tion turned to the popular discontent, and to the absurd tyranny of the colonial regime. They reached the conclusion that the country should be independent. By 1780 the noise of the tax revolt had ceased, but dissatisfaction and discontent re- mained. According to Gramuset, the achievement of independence would be the realization of a general earnest desire, Gramuset examined the project of a revolution calmly and coolly as another speculative undertaking. Berney, having been unjustly dismissed from the Colegio Caro- lino, turned against the existing order with bitter resentment. The success already attained by the English colonies, whose grievance was unjust taxation, supported the thought that the same degree of success might be achieved in Chile, where the grievance was also burdensome taxes. The confidence of Gramuset was not fully entertained by Berney, who, as a man of books, was in his proper element when solving mathe- matical problems rather than when dealing with practical political problems. But Berney 's doubts and vacillation disappeared after his conversa- tion with Jose Antonio Rojas, who appeared as an ally in the conspiracy. Rojas was a man of education and standing in the colonial community. 234 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER He was born in Santiago and was educated at the Jesuit College and at the University of San Felipe. He had served as an officer in the garrison of a militia post on the frontier; as adjutant of Viceroy Amat, after that officer had been pro- moted to the position of viceroy of Peru; and as corregidor of Lampa. He had been in Madrid six years, soliciting from the government the adjust- ment of certain private affairs ; and the knowledge which he gained there of the conduct of the public administration, its intrigues, its prejudices, and its ignorance, made him a determined opponent of the colonial relation of Chile to Spain. He returned to America in 1777 with his collection of books. He purchased a seat in the cabildo of Santiago, but he did not attend the meetings; and a little later withdrew to his estate of Pol- paico. In his retirement he received Berney, and discussed with him the proposed republican con- stitution for Chile. Rojas' opinions, his mental attitude towards the social organization, underwent a very great change during his residence in Europe. In France he acquired an extensive knowledge of the cur- rent philosophy of the time. In Amunategui's words, "he left Aanerica a loyal vassal and re- turned a rebellious subject."^ In this state of mind he entered into communication with Berney, and announced to him that there were two other allies who were important because of their social 1 Los Precursores de la independencia de Chile, III, 201. GRAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 235 standing. These were Manuel Jose Orejuela, who had been commissioned to go with an expedition to discover the city of Caesares. The other was Francisco de Borja Araos, a captain of artillery at Valparaiso. Gramuset then undertook the formation of a programme of events by which the proposed reform should be introduced, and Berney pro- ceeded to frame a constitution. He thought that the proclamation of the reform should embody the constitution of the new state, and he was persuaded that no other means than the reading of the constitution would be required to induce the people to adopt it and approve the change. Clearly much depended then on this document, and while writing it Berney naturally wished to be free from the confusion and distractions of the city. He, therefore, withdrew to Polpaico, Rojas' estate, and there began and completed his task of framing the constitution. The first part of the document that was ex- pected to convince and move a people, very few of whom were able to read, was an argument in justification of a republic, presenting its advan- tage over monarchy, and illustrated by facts drawn with much learning^from sacred and pro- fane history. The second part set forth the organization of the state, affirming that it was based on the prin- ciples of natural law. It was the development of two fundamental maxims: ''Love your neigh- 236 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER bor as yourself," and "Do not to another what you do not wish him to do to you." The state should be governed by a body called "The Sov- ereign Senate of the very noble, very powerful, and very Catholic Chilean Republic." The mem- bers of the senate should be elected by the people. The Araucanians, like the rest of the inhabitants, should send deputies to this assembly. The death penalty should not be applied to any criminal; slavery should be abolished; social classes should not exist; and the land should be divided into equal portions. As soon as the revolution should have triumphed, an army would be raised; the cities and the coast would be fortified, not with the design that Chile should be moved by the ambition of conquest, but in order that she might make herself respected, and that her concessions dictated by justice should not be attributed to weakness. Moreover, there should be decreed freedom of trade with all the nations of the world, without exception, including the Chinese and the Negroes, and even with Spain that had pretended to isolate America from the rest of the earth.^ The manifesto ended with a note to the king of Spain, informing him in moderate and cour- teous terms that the Chileans had determined to separate themselves from his rule, and to consti- tute themselves an independent republic.^ It affirmed, moreover, that they were disposed to 2 Amunategui, Los Precursores, III, cap. 4, Sec. 9. 3 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VI, 405. GRAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 237 offer to him their friendship and their commerce in case the mother country preferred these relations to an armed breach. There was little probability that this pro- gramme would be accepted. The majority of the inhabitants were too ignorant and too far removed from the intellectual currents of the age to have any thought about government. The educated minority were either ecclesiastics, who were still persuaded of the divine right of kings, or en- comenderos or other owners of property who had no wish to see an equal distribution of the land. The number of persons privy to the plot was gradually and cautiously increased. Among the later enlistments was Mariana Perez de Saravia, a lawyer of indifferent standing from Buenos Aires. After mature consideration of his posi- tion, and troubled at finding himself involved in a questionable undertaking, he determined to de- nounce the revolutionary project to the authori- ties. The chief of these authorities at this time (1781) was the governor and captain-general Ambrosio de Benavides, whose advanced age ren- dered him infirm and inefficient. The effective head of the government was Tomas Alvarez de Acevedo, the regent of the audiencia. To him Saravia addressed a letter announcing the exist- ence of a conspiracy to effect a political revolution. Finding Saravia 's assertion in accord with re- ports from other sources, Acevedo resolved to act on it. But at this point he encountered embar- rassment. 238 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER He was aware that revolution tends to breed revolution, and that to announce publicly the fact that the separation of Chile from Spain had been advocated, would put the thought of emancipation into many minds. He had, therefore, to devise a plan under which the offenders might be arrested, tried, and punished without making partisans for the revolution. Ill Saravia continued his association with Berney, and entered into relations with Gramuset. He pursued the business of a spy with the zeal of a renegade. When Acevedo had derived from Saravia the needed information, he caused the conspirators to be arrested and subjected to a secret trial. The proposed arrest of Rojas and Orejuela produced a new difficulty. On account of their conspicuous positions in the community, they could not be smuggled away and imprisoned without causing their absence to become noted and inquiries to be set on foot regarding it. Such inquiries would inevitably expose the fact that the emancipation of the colony had been advocated, by persons of social importance. The pro- posed proceedings against them, therefore, were dropped. The sentence on Berney and Gramuset was pronounced February 5, 1781. It was decided to withhold the punishment legally due, and to GRAMUSET-BERNEY CONSPIRACY 239 send the prisoners to the viceroy of Peru, with a complete record of the case.* The consideration of the fate of these con- spirators occupied the attention of the crown, the Council of the Indies, and the viceroy of Peru for a number of years. In the meantime Berney and Gramuset remained imprisoned in Lima, the authorities hesitating to send them to Spain, lest they should fall into the hands of the British, and thus reveal to the enemy the fact that a conspiracy had existed in Chile to overthrow the government and establish a republic. Finally, in 1784, after peace had been made with Great Britain, Berney and Gramuset were embarked in a man-of-war. Berney was lost in a shipwreck on reaching the coast of Portugal; Gramuset, however, arrived at Cadiz, and was imprisoned in one of the sub- terranean cells of the castle, where he perished miserably in 1786. The government of Chile, as suggested, wished to keep the people in ignorance of the projected revolution, lest the knowledge of it should breed further discontent, and it was so successful in this undertaking that no popular tradition of the proposed movement survived in Chile; yet when revealed by the researches of Chilean historians, it is seen to be one of the early manifestations of discontent, which were followed by others from time to time until the violent outbreak, thirty years later.^ * The sentence is printed in Amunategui, Los Precursores, III, 230. 5 For the details of this conspiracy one may consult Una con- spiracion en 1780, by Miguel Luis Amunategui and Gregorio Vic- 240 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER To these rebellions and conspiracies one might add a number of others that were less far-reaching in their effects, but prompted by essentially the same causes. Among the more noteworthy of these were the revolt in Venezuela, led by Fran- cisco de Leon, and that led by Felipe Velasco in the province of Huarochiri. They were all pro- voked by burdens, abuses, and hardships imposed by the government, its agents, or by members of a dominant class or corporation.® tor Amunategui; Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VI, 404-420; Amunategui, M. L., Los Precursores, III, cap. 4. The experience of Jose Antonio de Rojas, who went from Chile to Spain in 1772 and returned in 1777, indicates one of the methods by which liberal or revolutionary ideas entered America. He became interested in the characteristic thought of the last half of the eighteenth century, and purchased and sent to America many of the notable books of the time: The Encyclopedic of D'Alembert and Diderot, the works of Eousseau, Montesquieu, Helvetius, Eobertson, Holbach, and Eaynal. Writing to Jose Per- fecto de Salas in December, 1774, he notes the fact that "a very singular work has appeared, entitled. The Political and Philo- sophical History of European Establishments and Commerce in the Indies. It is anonymous, and appears to have been printed in Amsterdam. It is prohibited because the author speaks very clearly, and because he utters certain truths. " In a later letter to the same person, Eojas says "the author of the work men- tioned is Abbe Eaynal. This hombre divino, this true philosopher, is worthy of the praise of the whole literary world, and particu- larly of Americans." Quoted by Amunategui, La cronica de 1810, II, 47-49; on Eejas, see Ibid, II, 5-107. 6 Schumacher, H. A., Sudamerikanische Studien, Berlin, 1884, 172; Mendiburu, VIII, 295. Mendiburu prints the barbarous sen- tence pronounced upon Velasco and his followers, VIII, 295-298. CHAPTER IX THE REORGANIZATION OF THE VICEROYALTY OF RIO DE LA PLATA I. The Ordinanza de Intendentes. II. Status and func- tions of the intendants. HI. The ordinance applied in Peru and Chile. IV. The reformed ordinance of 1802. V. The state of Buenos Aires and the adjacent country. One of the effects of the conspiracies and rebel- lions already referred to was to convince the supreme government that the state was failing in its great undertaking. Conspicuous evidence of this was the relation that existed between the cor- regidores and the Indians. These officials stood nearer the bulk of the inhabitants than any others, and had thus the most advantageous position for either inspiring loyalty or creating dissatisfaction and hostility. The records of their conduct show how little they did to attract or please the Indian, and how much to repel and enrage him. Neither the Indian's person nor his property was secure from the abusive and unjustifiable acts of the cor- regidor; and through the reforms that followed these intrigues and revolts the office of the cor- regidor disappeared. 242 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER In spite of the power nominally conferred upon officials in America, the king sought to keep in his own hands or in the hands of the Council of the Indies the essential power in all matters of funda- mental importance; but this involved governing at long range, and no adequate means existed for overcoming the difficulties of communication. The old governmental machine had shown itself unfit for the work it had to do. The energy even of Charles III, Spain's ablest king, made itself only imperfectly felt in the remote provinces of the dependencies. The power of Spain was de- clining in America because the governmental organization was inadequate to carry that power to points where its exercise was needed. The Ordinanza de intendentes was issued for the vice- royalty of Rio de la Plata in order to introduce an important administrative reform. With cer- tain modifications it was extended to the other dependencies in South America and to Mexico. It divided the territory of Rio de la Plata into eight intendencies, each taking the name «. of its principal city. The territory of each, with certain exceptions, was made to coincide with that of the bishopric in which the capital city lay. These exceptions refer to certain districts that were parts of a bishopric but not subject to the corre- sponding intendant. Mojos and Chiquitos were included in the diocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, but were military governments in immediate subordination to the viceroy. Montevideo and RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 243 Misiones were other exceptions of a somewhat similar kind/ They were in the bishopric of Buenos Aires, but not under the intendant of Buenos Aires or any other intendant. On the other hand the bishopric of Paraguay had the same limits as the intendancy of Paraguay. The capitals named in the ordinance were Buenos Aires, Asuncion, Tucuman, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, La Paz, Mendoza, La Plata, and Potosi. The powers of the viceroy were not to be curtailed, except that the supervision and control of the royal treasury was to be under the general intendant, who, in this matter was to act with absolute independence of the viceroy.^ Under this law the corregidores were suppressed or sup- planted by sub-delegates, who, in divisions of the intendency called partidos, were subordinated to the intendant. II The audiencia of Buenos Aires was created in 1783, the year following the publication of the Ordinanza. It embraced within its jurisdiction the provinces of Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Para- guay, and Cuyo. The inhabitants were thus sub- ject to the superior authority of the viceroy, which 1 Quesada, Vireinato, 574. 2 Lopez, V. F., Historia argentina, Buenos Aires, 1883, I, 403 ; Ordenanza de indendentes, Art 2; Quesada, Vireinato, 387-519; for the dates of the establishment of the bishoprics and the terri- tory of each, see Zinny, Gobernadores, I, XCVI. 244 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER reached every part of the kingdom ; to the general intendant; to the governors-intendants, limited to their several indendancies ; to the audiencia of Buenos Aires, in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Paraguay, and Cuyo ; and to the audi- encia of Charcas, in the provinces of Upper Peru. To these several secular authorities must be added the ecclesiastical authority of the bishops. The officers of the voceroyalty, under this organization, may be considered as apportioned to two depart- ments under the king, the heads of which were made responsible to him. At the head of the first stood the viceroy. At the head of the second stood the general intendant of the army and the treasury. The chief official of each of the eight intendancies had the double title of governor- intendant ; for he was subordinated to the viceroy in affairs relating to the police, instruction, wor- ship, and the judiciary, while he was the agent of the general intendant in his intendancy, with ref- erence to revenues, expenditures, and all other fiscal matters. This distribution of power did not create local governments, as that term is used with reference to a constitutional state. The divisions of the viceroyalty were merely administrative districts; and the officers who exercised power in them did not derive their authority from local constituents, but from the king. They were not parts of a federation, but agents of an absolute centralized superior, or rather of two superiors that were RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 245 expected to work along different but parallel lines; and ^'what made the application of the ordinance of intendants, of 1782, inconvenient and impossible in practice was the hierarchical administrative subdivision which it introduced. A viceroy of the treasury and a viceroy of politi- cal government were two incompatible terms.'" The inconvenience of this bifurcated administra- tion was soon set aside, and the two functions which the ordinance had separated were united in the viceroy. This was done by suppressing the independence of the general intendant and making him subject to the viceroy. The chiefs remained independent of one another only during the administration of Vertiz (1778-1784), and while Manuel Fernandez was the general intendant. On the appointment of Francisco de Paula Sanz, as general intendant, he was subordinated to the viceroy, and became at the same time governor- intendant of the intendancy of Buenos Aires, and in this capacity he exercised the same functions as the governor-intendants of the other inten- dances ; but in his character as general intendant, he had general jurisdiction in the whole territory of the viceroyalty, and as governor-intendant of Buenos Aires, his jurisdiction was limited to the territory of the bishopric, coextensive with the intendancy.* 3 Lopez, Historia argentina, I, 408. 4 Quesada, Vireinato, 449. 246 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ni The ordinance of intendants was applied in Peru by the creation of eight intendancies. These were the intendancies of Trujillo, Lima, Tarma, Huancavelica, Guamanga, Cuzco, Puno, and Are- quipa, which were divided into fifty-seven par- tidos/ The application to Chile was delayed, in order that the question of Chile 's relation to Peru might be considered, and this was finally resolved by a royal order of June 1, 1784. This order pro- vided that Chile should remain dependent on the viceroyalty of Peru with respect to the military administration and the affairs of the royal treas- ury. The territory was divided into two inten- dancies. The northern part of the country, from the southern boundary of Peru to the river Maule, constituted the intendancy of Santiago ; the region between the Maule and the Araucanian frontier formed the intendancy of Concepcion. This division was confirmed January 14, 1786, by the viceroy of Peru. Ambrosio de Benavides became the intendant of Santiago, while Ambrosio 'Hig- gins was appointed to the same office in Concep- cion. In these, as in all other cases under this law, the intendant appointed a legal adviser. Besides these two cities, the only other town of importance in Chile was La Serena; for the majority of the inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, and lived scattered throughout the country. After the two 5 Paz Soldan, Mariano Felipe, Historia del Peru independente, Lima, 1868, I, 1. RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 247 intendancies had been approved by the king (February 6, 1787), the project to make La Serena the capital of a third intendancy was considered and rejected. The province of Chiloe remained dependent on the viceroy of Peru. IV The organization and procedure established by the royal ordinance of 1782 was modified by the general ordinance of 1802^ The later ordinance superseded the earlier, and the first article of it declared that each prov- ince should be in charge of a single person with the title of intendant, reuniting the political and the military governments. It also provided that the intendant should be appointed by the king. The ordinance itself appears as a constitution for the colonial governments in America, and deals with the superior government, the subordinate governments, and the whole hierarchical order of employees, pointing out to each one his powers and duties, in a word, his jurisdiction.'^ It pro- vides for the establishment of superior councils in all of the capitals of the viceroyalties and the captaincies-general. One of these superior coun- cils, or courts, with the title of contensiosa, took account of private cases, everything that involved 6 The title of this later ordinance was : Ordinanza general formada de orden de S. M. y mandada imprimir y publicar para el gobiemo e instruccion de intendentes, subdelegados y demos empleados de Indias. 7 Quesada, Vireinato, 486. 248 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER a point of law that could be settled by trial; the other, the junta superior de gohierno, of which the intendant of the capital was an ex-officio member, rendered opinions in cases involving governmental matters, everything relative to the revenues, the method, manner, and time of collect- ing them, as well as to employees and their powers and obligations. In so far as the members of these two courts were in sympathy with the inhab- itants of the capital where they resided and shared their aspirations with respect to local affairs, they formed a counterpoise to the cen- tralized power exercised by the viceroy. But all of these functionaries of the capitals were under the superior jurisdiction of the audiencias, whose powers lay above the range of these reforms, and who still were authorized to assume the viceregal functions in case of the death of the viceroy with- out provision made for an immediate successor. Subject to the viceregal superiority and the jurisdiction of the audiencia, the intendants, as provincial governors by royal appointment, con- tinued to exercise those large powers which natu- rally devolved upon them as agents of the viceroy and as important members of an administrative hierarchy, where the head was absolute and the other members too isolated to be effectively under practical control.^ 8 For a general statement concerning the condition of affairs in the viceroyalty of Eio de la Plata at the end of the eighteenth century, see the Memoria of the viceroy Aviles, addressed to his successor, Joaquin del Pino, dated at Buenos Aires, May 21, 1801, M and printed in Zinny, Gohernadores, I, XLVII-XCVI. RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 249 V At the time of these reforms, early in the last quarter of the century, the town of Buenos Aires was in a neglected state, and the condition of the inhabitants of the neighboring country was even more lamentable. In addition to the lack of the resources of civilized life, they were harrassed by Indian raids. Many of the men were killed, and women and children were carried off into cap- tivity. The region presented no places especially favorable for defense, or passes where the ap- proaching bands might be attacked and destroyed. From any part of the vast plain, they swooped down upon their unfortunate victims. To patrole the pampas and give security to the country popu- lation was a task quite beyond the power of any militia then at the disposal of the government. The city of Buenos Aires at this time showed the results of shameful neglect. Many of the streets were impassable the greater part of the year. The heavy rains carried off the loose material, leaving deep, irregular gullies and stag- nant pools. From the west a stream entered the city; it separated into two branches, formed deep water-courses that cut off almost completely different districts from one another. The inhab- itants enjoyed few of the facilities ordinarily incident to living in a city as wealthy and populous as Buenos Aires was then. There was no hospital, no public lighting, no police ; and the streets were 250 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER unpaved. The abundant wealth was largely in the hands of persons whose ignorance or whose meanness prevented the public from deriving any advantage from it. Even the idea of placing lights in front of their houses at night did not occur to the inhabitants as desirable. Viceroy Juan Jose Vertiz (1778-1784) under- took to remedy some of these evident defects. In spite of the lack of cooperation of the inhabitants, he began to improve the streets; he founded a hospital, established a home for foundlings, cre- ated an orphan asylum, and took steps towards introducing a system of street-lighting. The foundling asylum was supported in part by rents derived from estates confiscated from the Jesuits ; in part from the proceeds of bull-fights; in part from the income from the theater; and in part from the gains of the printing office. The munici- pal lighting was supported by a door tax of two reals on each street door. Recognizing that the life of the city was barren and that there were few social influences except those making for degeneracy, Vertiz determined to establish a theater which might furnish a certain degree of inspiration through the heroic characters it would present, and the cultivated language of the plays. In carrying out this project he naturally encoun- tered the opposition of the clergy. A Franciscan friar, Jose Acosta, went so far as to censure, from the pulpit, these public amusements patronized by the viceroy. He "declared in the name of RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 251 the Holy Spirit that those who attended them would incur eternal damnation."^ The viceroy, having learned of the attitude assumed by the friar, required him to be expelled from the mon- astery, and another preacher to repudiate his utterances. The superiority of Buenos Aires over the other cities of the viceroyalty was rather prospec- tive than actual. It was at this time in no sense a center of wealth or cultivation. It had an old fort, a town organization, and an old market. The suggestion that it would absorb the life of the other towns did not seem to point to a real danger. The cities of Cordova, Tucuman, and Salta ap- peared then so firmly established as not likely to be affected by the rivalry of the port. These cities were richer and more populous than Buenos Aires. Cordova had a university, while no such institution existed at Buenos Aires in the colonial period. Cordova was, moreover, the residence of a bishop, and it was an important point on the line of trade between the eastern provinces and Chile, Cuyo, and Peru. In some respects Chu- quisaca was even more important than Cordova. It was the seat of an audiencia, the residence of the archbishop of La Plata, and the place of resi- dence of many persons of wealth. In fact, the centers of wealth and cultivation were not at the shore or in the valleys of the great river of the eastern part of the continent, but in the mountains 9 Lopez, Historia Argentina, I, 438. 252 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER near the mines of Upper Peru. But Buenos Aires had one point of advantage that was destined to become appreciated when the significance of its agriculture and foreign commerce with respect to progress in civilization should become known. The Spaniards were under the delusion that civi- lization could be developed in isolation; that it was a matter of precept, not a result of social contact and imitation. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the society of the river coun- try and that of the mountain country were too different to permit a great degree of sjonpathy to exist between them; and Paraguay, with the large Indian element in the population and its traditions of theocratic government, had also a character peculiar to itself. Finding Buenos Aires without facilities for printing and consequently without the desired means for distributing information among the people, Vertiz endeavored to supply this de- ficiency. He fortunately discovered that the Jesuits, on their expulsion, had left a fully equipped printing office in the college of Nuestra Senora de Monserrat in Cordova. This equip- ment he caused to be transferred to Buenos Aires. Here he encountered a new difficulty : he knew no one competent to set up the press and use it. He sent inquiries to all the provinces for such a per- son, and was finally informed by the governor of Montevideo that there was in that city a young sergeant who had worked in a printing house in RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 253 Cadiz. The viceroy called him to Buenos Aires to assume immediate charge of the undertaking; he offered him for a wife any one of the inmates of the orphan asylum. The young man with marvellous modesty expressed his desire to accept the choice of his patron, who is reported to have made a satisfactory selection. Thus was founded a printing house and at the same time an im- portant family of the viceregal capital. The printing house continued to be known for many years under the designation of Imprenta de los Ninos Expositos. Around the colonial city was the colonial country, and the character of this background determined the character of the city's life. Be- hind Potosi lay the rough and barren summits of the eastern Andes, with their rich mines of silver. Potosi was necessarily a miner's town. La Paz lies in a deep gash cut in the interandean table land, bounded by the inhospitable plain of central Bolivia and a ridge of the mountains. Santiago flourished in the delightful valley of central Chile. Back of Buenos Aires were spread out the vast and fertile plains of Argentina, occupied by a few land-holders and the multitude of a homeless prole- tariat. In 1744, for 186 proprietors there were 5897 dependents. The latter were without some of the fundamental ideas of civilization. To them the plains and the herds appeared like the gift of God to the race. If they were hungry, there were the animals provided for man 's comfort. If 254 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER they needed shelter, there was the land on which they might erect their habitations. The new order of things, under which the lands were claimed as private property and the herds had individual owners, had been brought about by decrees of per- sons, who from the viewpoint of the dwellers of the plains had no right to either the land or the animals. Why should the favoritism of a gover- nor deprive them of their ancient privilege of wandering or settling at will ? As the generations passed and the blood of the white man became mixed with that of the tribes of the plains, the views of the half -wild proletariat remained prac- tically unchanged. The savage had not become civilized, but the descendants of the white man had moved towards the savage state. In contrast with the state of things in Chile, the cheapness of slave labor on the great estates drove the free men to the desert, or made them the unpaid de- pendents of the proprietors. If endowed with energy and daring, some of them moved beyond the limits of the territory that had been granted to private persons, and established themselves on the unappropriated lands, and made there little centers of cultivation. But their peace was not long; for a new grant brought a new proprietor to claim the results of their labor, or they were swept away by the nomadic savages. The absence of a minute division of the land was in a large measure due to the persistence of the feudal ideal in the colonies. Such a division, RIO DE LA PLATA REORGANIZED 255 if it had been carried out, might have furnished an independent possession to every man seeking a permanent home and property for himself and his descendants, and filled the country with a self- respecting population, democratic because of the essential equality of wealth, and fitted in good time to lay the foundation of a republic. Instead of this, the feudal notion of inferior and superior survived, making, when carried into practice, the great body of the people in the country either miserable dependents or free men who could find no place for a permanent home. This was the undemocratic state of society, on which it was later proposed to erect a democratic government. CHAPTER X AWAKENING INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS: MUTIS AND NARiNO Beginnings of a new literary cultivation. II. El Mercurio Peruana ; Papel Periodico. III. Mutis' arrival and early years in New Granada. IV. Mutis turns to botany; correspondence with Lin- naeus. V. Work of Caballero y Gongora for prog- ress. VI. The Botanical Expedition. VII. The viceroy ordered to protect the Isthmus against in- vasion. VIII. The viceroy's commercial views. IX. The Botannical Bureau's headquarters trans- ferred to Bogota. X. The Spanish Botanical Ex- pedition to Peru. XI. Narino and the young reformers and their trial. XII. Narino in Europe ; his return to New Granada and imprisonment. ^ The revolts and conspiracies in various parts of Spain's South American possessions indicated that the inhabitants had become conscious of their individuality and of their unsatisfactory state. This consciousness was intensified by the intel- lectual awakening that appeared in the last decades of the century. Unions with intellectual aims became inevitably patriotic unions. The INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 257 achievements of colonial writers and investigators did not enhance the interest or the pride of the colonists in the mother country, but helped to con- centrate popular interest on the welfare of the colonies, and to magnify their aspirations for recognition as independent commonwealths. The intellectual awakening brought into clearer light the unreasonableness of Spain's policy, and strengthened the opposition to Spanish rule. An illustration of this tendency may be observed in the consequences of the intellectual movement under the later viceroys of New Gra- nada. This movement was characterized by a new interest in literary production, by a new zeal in scientific investigation, and by attention to questions of political reform. One indication of the changed attitude towards literature was the formation of societies, or '' circles," for the promotion of literary cultiva- tion. One of these societies in New Granada was called Tertulia Eutropelica. All kinds of sub- jects were discussed at its meetings. At the head of it stood Manuel de Socorro Rodriguez, who was one of a small group of its more notable figures. Others of this group were Maria Valdes, Fran- cisco Antonio Rodriguez, and Jose Maria Gruesso. All of these, as well as a great majority of those who participated in the scientific and literary movement of the period, were Creoles, men of Spanish blood born in New Granada. y 258 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER II Indications of an awakening intellectual activ- ity may be seen also in the literary and scientific revival in the University of San Marcos, in the increasing number of persons who habitually gathered in the newly established cafes of Lima for literary discussions, and in the publication of the periodical called the Mercurio Peruano. In Quito the Jesuits had formed an academy for the study of astronomy and physics, but this dis- appeared with the expulsion of the order. A little later the Esciiela de la Concordia appeared, de- signed to further the study of agriculture and industry. This institution undertook the publica- tion of a periodical known as the Primicias de la Cultura de Quito, the first to appear in that city. The means for printing had been introduced by the Jesuits, and the Apendice al plan de estudios para la real universidad de Quito, of 1791, indi- cates a disposition to revive the intellectual life of the institution. In spite of the dense ignorance that prevailed generally throughout the viceroyalty, the capital had always contained a limited group of cultivated persons, and this group became especially active during the reign of Viceroy Espeleta (1789-1797). One of the noteworthy manifestations of this activity was the establishment and maintenance of the Papel periodico de la ciudad de Santafe de Bogota. It consisted of eight pages, and the first INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 259 number was published on the 9th of February, 1791. It deprecated the attention that had been given to insipid, useless, and absurd questions; called for an examination of the marvellous nature of the country; and endeavored to culti- vate a taste for literary, scientific, and political studies. Although liberal ideas had been more or less current in the preceding decade, Viceroy Espeleta became ''the protector of the press which popularized them.'" The appeal in favor of more liberal thinking was made not merely to New Granada, but also to other countries of Span- ish America. The first number of the Papel Periodico was sent to a literary society in Lima with the viceroy's commendation, and thus, through his patronage and protection of a publi- cation that encouraged the spread of emancipated thought, he unwittingly contributed to weaken the foundations of Spanish rule in New Granada and in every other dependency to which the journal's influence was extended. The Mercurio Peruana for April 28, 1791, devoted its leading article to the Papel Periodico, aflfirming that "the spirit of the century is propitious for instruction, human- ity, and philosophy. Different parts of America have, for a long time, found themselves in pos- session of common ideas, and have unconsciously united in adopting the most opportune means for transmitting them, namely, periodicals. Perhaps before 1800 Buenos Aires and Chile will respec- sGroot, II, 270. 260 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER lively issue a Diario, a Mer curio, or a Gazeta." The Papel Periodico ceased to be published after an existence of five years. But while it continued to be issued, it was used by the new generation of Creoles of New Granada in making public their ideas and aspirations. Ill A more noteworthy phase of the intellectual awakening in New Granada was the series of investigations led by Jose Celestino Mutis, who stimulated a large number of the rising genera- tion of Creoles to habits of scientific inquiry. Mutis arrived in New Granada in 1760, as physi- cian to Viceroy Mesia de la Zerda, who landed at Cartagena, then the bulwark of Spanish power in America. Here Eslaba had spent the whole period of his viceregal administration (1740-1749), and his successor, Jose Alfonso Pizarro (1749-1753), had remained here the greater part of his term of service in New Granada. But Solis (1753-1761) had resided at Bogota, then, as many years later, difficult of access; and his successor, Mesia de la Zerda (1761-1773), followed his example. Zerda left Cartagena on the 5th of January, 1761. By way of the Magdalena and the Opon rivers and the mountain trail, he reached Bogota on the 24th of February. The city as a place of residence in the eighteenth century did not offer many attrac- tions to one coming from the higher ranks of INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 261 European society. It contained only a few thou- sand inhabitants. Under Viceroy Guirior (1773- 1776), there were 16,233. In 1794, sixteen or eighteen years later, there were only 17,405. Most of the institutions characteristic of a civi- lized community were wanting.* The country was without roads. Whatever communication was maintained made use of rivers, mountain trails, and Indian paths. The missions were protected by military garrisons. The finances of the kingdom were in a low state ; even the more important centers of population furnished only meager incomes to meet local ex- penditures or to satisfy the demands of the royal treasury. And at this time the commission for establishing the boundary between the Spanish and the Portuguese dependencies in the north, under the direction of Jose de Yturriaga, was soliciting funds for the maintenance of its large staff of engineers, draughtsmen, mathematicians, naturalists, and an escort of more than a hundred men. The extreme of embarrassment was, how- ever, avoided by the arrival of the information that the treaty of demarcation had been annulled by the agreement of February 12, 1761. In 1762 the viceroy, accompanied by Mutis, returned to the coast by way of Honda and the Magdalena river. This journey was undertaken to make sure that the defenses of Cartagena were 4 The name of the city at this time was Santa F6 de Bogota, but it was usually called Santa Fe. A law of December 17, 1819, made Bogota the official designation. 262 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER strong enough to withstand any attack which Great Britain might make. After the conclusion of peace and his return to Bogota, Mutis devoted some part of his time to instruction in the Colegio de Nuestra Senora del Rosario. The subject taught by him was Mathematics, not Medicine or Botany or Natural History. His public presenta- tion of the doctrines of Newton raised against him a storm of opposition on the part of the secu- lar clergy and the monks, but the protection of the viceroy appears to have fixed a point beyond which their opposition might not go. IV Zerda recognized the low state into which min- ing for the precious metals had fallen, and made an effort to increase the production. For this purpose Jose Antonio de Villegas y Avendano was called from Lima, and commissioned to ex- amine and report on certain districts north of Bogota. Mutis accompanied him, and remained for a number of years in the region about Pam- plona. These efforts were attended with no especially striking results, and the attention of Mutis was hereafter directed more exclusively to a botanical survey of the country. Linnaeus had urged him to make botany the object of his inves- tigations. Mutis' correspondence with the Swed- ish botanist suffered serious interruptions, for INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 263 Linnaeus' letters were in the beginning directed to Santa Fe in New Mexico instead of to Santa Fe in New Granada. In this correspondence, when finally established, there was much refer- ence to chinchona. Although the quality of the bark as a remedy for fever had been known for more than a hundred years, scientific inquiries concerning it had only recently been undertaken. Condamine, of the geographical commission, had published a report on this subject in the trans- actions of the Paris Academy of Sciences, and this report had been made the basis of Linnaeus' description. The intellectual progress of New Granada, stimulated by the activity of Mutis, had been checked by the expulsion of the Jesuits. It was the members of this society that were furnishing the most hopeful instruction in the missions and other remote parts of the kingdom. To repair the temporal damage caused by their removal, the viceroy appointed Francisco Antonio Moreno to be the executor of the Jesuits' heritage. Moreno was born in Mariquita, was educated in Spain, and had been fiscal of the audiencia. In his new office, he conceived a comprehensive system of instruction that, among other things, would pro- vide for a school wherever a Jesuit mission had existed. With the confiscated book collections of the Jesuits he founded a public library, and to these measures Mutis gave his enthusiastic ap- proval. The Colegio del Rosario, where Mutis 264 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER had taught mathematics, was transformed into a university and removed from clerical domination. In this institution Mutis resumed his instruction, now as professor of mathematics. Referring to the failure of the Spaniards adequately to exploit the products of their territory and to bring them into general use, Moreno cited chinchona as an illustration, and expressed regret that they should be obliged to beg from the French such a product of their own soil. In 1772, Zerda returned to Spain; Mutis, who had accompanied him to America as his physician, was invited to make the return voyage in the same capacity. He decided, however, to decline the invitation. The distinguished engineer, Francisco Requena, under the persuasion of the viceroy, reached the same decision. Although Requena had gone to New Granada for a brief period of colonial service pre-requisite for promotion in Spain, he remained in America three decades, and became the head of the Spanish Boundary Com- mission provided for by the Spanish-Portuguese treaty of 1777. Shortly after the departure of Viceroy Zerda, Mutis entered the priesthood, but in his new character his attention was not distracted from his scientific work. The new viceroy, Manuel de Guirior, was received at Honda, April 16, 1773, by a number of the higher officers of the viceregal government at Bogota. Mutis was a member of this reception committee, and a little later, in a INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 265 letter to Linnaeus, wrote as follows concerning Guirior : "Our illustrious Viceroy, just arrived in this town from Spain, is a most ardent promoter of science. He has become acquainted with our cor- respondence in consequence of your present of books, confided to his care ; and he is much inter- ested in what passes between us. He generally enters into conversation with me, after dinner, about you; and makes me read passages out of your letters, highly flattering to me in which he takes great delight, though they put me to the blush. This benevolent man, a few days since, took me with him into the hilly country, where he went for the purpose of planting strawberries, now one of our luxuries, in order that they may become naturalized all over these mountains."^ V Guirior showed his sympathy with the liberal- izing efforts of his predecessor and the work of Moreno and Mutis by defending their educational reforms against the attacks of the church. He undertook, moreover, to improve the financial con- dition of the kingdom by extending the system of monopolies, notably those of tobacco and chin- 5 Smith, James Edward, A Selection of the Correspondence of Linnaeus and other Naturalists. London, 1821, 11, 525. The editor of this correspondence wrote, in Rees' Cyclopedia, XXV, Art. "Mutis," that Mutis was the means of introducing straw- berries into the country of New Granada. 266 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER chona. Extravagant expectations were at this time entertained concerning trade in chinchona bark. Some persons maintained that it was des- tined to be as profitable as the Dutch had found their oriental trade in spices. Before the arrival of the royal confirmation of the proposed changes, in the system of monop- olies, Viceroy Guirior was transferred to Peru, and Manuel Antonio Florez (1776-1782) had be- come his successor in New Granada. Florez retired from Bogota early, and, residing at Cartagena, was eclipsed by the visitador-regente, Peneres, whose maladministration provoked the rebellion of the comuneros. The accession of Archbishop Caballero y Gongora to the post of viceroy in June, 1782, promised a more enlightened rule than those which had led to the popular re- volt. The new archbishop-viceroy became inter- ested in the missions that had been ruined by the expulsion of the Jesuits, particularly those in the region of the Orinoco and the Amazon, and in the work of the boundary commission. He supported the system of schools established by Moreno, and furthered the plans of Mutis for an organization that would promote scientific research; founded a chair for instruction in medical science in the Colegio del Rosario; and contemplated the forma- tion of a public clinic and means for caring for the poor. In spite of his quality as an ecclesiastic Cabal- lero did not disapprove of the plan to bring INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 267 German and Swedish miners into the country although they were Protestants; for this project was in keeping with his plan to have the mines of the kingdom worked on a larger scale and in a more systematic manner than heretofore. A somewhat similar project had occupied much of Mutis' attention in the earlier years of his resi- dence in America; and through his efforts to put mining on a better footing, he became interested in Jose Ruiz, who went to Upsala to study under Johan Gottsckalk Wallerius. Later in a letter to Linnaeus, written from the mines of Ibague, Feb- ruary 8, 1777, Mutis says, ''Our friend Ruiz, after a long journey, which has occupied him for three years, is now safely returned to America, and I have passed many delightful days with him in hearing all he could tell me of you and your con- cerns, as well as of your worthy son. . . . We came together from Bogota, a few days since, to these mines of Ibague, that he may put in practice everything he had further acquired in this science during his stay in the Upper Hartz. ' '" After his return to America, Jose Ruiz had much practical experience in mining enterprises, yet the proposed mining reform was entrusted to Jose d'Elhuyar, who had had extensive oppor- tunities to acquire profound knowledge of mining. He was born in Legrono. At Paris he had studied mathematics, physics, chemistry, and natural his- tory. Then, supported by a grant from the king, 6 Smith, J. E., Correspondence of Linnaeus and other Natural- ists. London, 1821, 11, 526. 268 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER lie turned his attention to metallurgy; studied three years at Freiburg, making himself familiar with the processes of smelting the various metals ; visited the mines of Bohemia, and acquired a knowledge of the processes employed there; went later to the mines of Hungary, Sweden, and Nor- way, always with the object of learning their practical methods and processes. By his studies and his observations he had become eminently fitted for directing the proposed reform in min- ing. VI Another striking evidence of an awakening scientific interest in the natural resources of America was the organization of the Botanical Expedition of 1777. This was to have its prin- cipal station at Lima, and to extend its activ- ity into Ecuador and Chile. This enterprise prompted Viceroy Caballero to organize re- searches in botany in New Granada. Under the name of an expedition he created a bureau or institute for botanical research. According to his Relacion de Mando, he was moved by the announcement of the coming of German explorers and the humiliation of having the un- known natural treasures of the country pointed out to the inhabitants by strangers. "I provided for the formation of a Botanical Expedition, com- posed of a director, a vice director, and a draughts- man. For the post of director, I chose the pres- byter Don Jose Celestino Mutis, a subject who INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 269 for more than twenty years had traversed a great part of the kingdom, collecting the products of nature, and known by his literary correspondence with the scientific men of Europe."' This action of the viceroy was approved and confirmed by the king, and he ordered that the necessary funds should be immediately placed at the disposal of Mutis. The authorities were spurred to unusual activity in this matter by national pride prompting the wish that whatever foreigners published might not be original dis- coveries but only such things as should be already known in America. Mutis was appointed royal botanist and astronomer to the expedition for the northern part of South America, and two thou- sand doubloons were awarded to him to meet the expenses of completing his writings. Besides this he was given an annual salary of two thousand pesos. And under the king's orders, he was to be furnished with all the botanical and astronomical books and instruments that might be needed for the execution of the work entrusted to him. The second officer of the expedition was Elroy de Valenzuela, who was born in Giron, and had accompanied Mutis from that town to Bogota. Mutis evidently found in him a favorite protege, for on one occasion he wrote to him : * ' Every let- ter which I receive from you is as precious to me as were my letters from the great Linnaeus."^ T Eelaciones de Mando (Bibl. de Hist. Naeional, VIII), 253. 8 Schumacher, Hermann A., Siidamerikanische Studien, Berlin, 1884, 45. 270 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Mutis was empowered to select the place where the bureau, or the headquarters of the expedition, should be established, and he chose Mariquita, a little town in the upper valley of the Magdalena river near Ibague. Here he commanded a large staff of assistants. Among them there were artists or draughtsmen. The majority of the artists came and went. Two, however, were especially noteworthy. One was Pablo Antonio Garcia, whose original talent, cultivated at Pam- plona, Bogota, and Ibague, entitled him to distinc- tion, and who was appointed draughtsman of the expedition. The other was a boy from Guaduas, who appeared at Mariquita, and who developed rapidly a marvellous talent for drawing plants. This was Francisco Javier Matiz. With the opportunities for instruction which he enjoyed in association with Mutis he became also a botanist. VII Mutis' retirement to Mariquita and the deter- mination of the viceroy to reside near the coast made subsequent communication between them infrequent. The king was desirous that the Isthmus of Darien should be protected against in- vasion, and by a decree of August 15, 1783, he made it the special duty of Caballero to see that this was accomplished. The viceroy's first step in responding to this obligation was to appoint Antonio de Arevalo to be the military commander •^ INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND PG^piCS 271 of that region. Garrisons were established at various points along the coast, and a fleet of ves- sels was gathered at Cartagena to carry supplies to these posts. Arevalo occupied Caiman, Mandinga, and Con- cepcion; and later, Calidonia. To Calidonia he gave the name of Carolina del Darien. He pro- ceeded to bring together inhabitants for the dis- trict, and to construct forts for defense against the Indians. The British government, through the governor of Jamaica, ordered that no assist- ance should be furnished the Indians. This ap- pears to have persuaded them of the hopelessness of their attempts to resist the Spaniards, and they sent a representative to Cartagena, who took the oath of fidelity before the archbishop-viceroy in the name of the eight tribes for whom he acted. But this oath was not faithfully observed, and the Indians soon traitorously attacked fort Carolina. The intervention of Henry Hooper, an English- man, who had lived many years in the region and knew the language of the Indians contributed to the restoration of peace. He persuaded the In- dians to send a delegation to Cartagena to agree on terms of peace with the viceroy. Such an agreement was formed July 21, 1787. By the pro- visions of this treaty the Indians agreed not to trade with the British, to carry no arms but axes and machetes, not to take vengeance for griev- ances, but to refer all grievances to the proper authorities. In this way the hundred years' con- 272 U^IN'S DECLINING POWER flict with the barbarians of Darien was brought to an end by the energy and prudence of the viceroy, and with this ceased the hostilities that had been encouraged by the British and the Dutch. In dealing with this region, the viceroy had his attention called to the possibility of inter- ocean communication, and he informed the king that through Darien communication between the oceans by water might be effected without great difficulties. This had reference to the route by the Atrato and the San Juan rivers. More than fifty years earlier the possibility that foreigners might use this route appears to have been called to the attention of the Spanish government. A royal decree was issued, January 20, 1720, that imposed the death penalty on anyone who should navigate these rivers.® Absorbed in the affairs of the coast, the vice- roy gradually ceased to be interested in the in- terior of the country. He no longer thought of returning to Bogota, and fixed his residence in Turbaco, not far from Cartagena. The need of funds to meet the expenses of his military under- takings led him to impose a succession of bur- densome taxes; and his interest in the botanical expedition, at first supported for expected scien- tific results, was now limited to the thought that it might be useful in exploiting the natural re- sources of the country for the Spanish market. 9 Schumacher, Siidamerikanische Studien, 50; Plaza, Nueva Granada, 401. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 273 VIII In the Relacion handed to his successor, Caballero affirmed that in two years there had been sent to Spain, under the monopoly 21,271 cases of quina weighing nearly four million and a half of pounds. This was expected to produce for the royal treasury more than 600,000 pesos. But in the enthusiastic viceroy 's view, ' ' The prin- cipal ornament and glory of the botanical expedi- tion was the discovery of the tea of Bogota, a most precious plant of great use in Asia and Europe, and of not less use in America, and which until now has been believed to be the exclu- sive product of China. The past year, 1786, the Director, Don Jose Mutis, gave me the first notice of it, and I sent to the court the samples which he handed to me, in order that they might be exam- ined anew; and in fact, from the careful and repeated chemical examinations that were made, it proved to be not only really tea, but also more aromatic and of superior quality to tea of Asia. ' '^^ The prospect of an advantageous foreign trade in the tea of Bogota, particularly with the Eng- lish, loomed above the viceroy's horizon, when he considered the difficulty in getting it from China. "We have it in the valley of Bogota, near the city in great abundance," he continued, "and its cul- tivation may be increased to any extent ; and with the exception of a short journey by land to Honda, 'i-o Belaciones de Mando {Bill, de Hist. Nacional, VIII), 254. 274 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER it may be carried by the Magdalena river to Car- tagena, and from there to Spain, an infinitely shorter and more secure journey than that from the East Indies. The government is able to give it all the protection that may be needed from its planting to its sale in the foreign country; and finally the tea of Bogota, may be the most im- portant product for exportation from the king- dom. "^^ With a similar practical end in view, the vice- roy supported the movement to put the mining industry on a better basis. Engineers and miners were brought from Europe and an organization for the administration of the mines was formed. This embraced a director of mines, a fiscal, and a large number of mining officials and practical miners. The general direction of the whole sys- tem devolved, as already suggested, upon Juan Jose d'Elhuyar, who became intimately associated with Mutis; and the region about Mariquita be- came the seat of initial operations. The new viceroy, Francisco Gil y Lemus, appeared in New Granada commissioned to hold the residencia of Caballero, and then to proceed to Peru. But during the period of his residence, from January 8, to July 30, 1789, he displayed great activity. He visited Santana, the seat of ^"^ Eelaciones de Mando (Bibl. de Hist. Nacional, VIII), 255. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 275 D'Elhuyar's mining operations, where he found the German miners suffering from ill effects of the tropical climate, and where they were the object of popular opposition for their Protestant faith. At Mariquita he found that the years of work by Mutis and his staff of assistants had had almost exclusively a scientific purpose, and had contributed little to the practical economic results, which the kingdom's finances, with the indebted- ness of two million pesos, seemed to demand. After the short administration of Viceroy Gil y Lemus, Jose de Espeleta succeeded him at the end of July, 1789. Espeleta had been captain- general of Cuba for more than three years (De- cember 28, 1785, to April 18, 1789) and was thus not without experience in the affairs of America. Early in his reign, in 1791, the bureau of the Botanical Expedition was transferred to Bogota, thirty years after Mutis had entered that city. In these years Bogota had undergone a great change. It was becoming the fashion for men of cultivation to turn to new things. Societies, asso- ciations, and clubs were formed for discussions, from which not even political questions were excluded. Many persons had found the plain and simple manner of living unsatisfactory, and articles of luxury had begun to find a way into the country from France. The Creoles had ex- perienced an intellectual awakening, and had become conscious of their importance in the com- munity. Manual Socorro Rodriguez, the chief 276 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER official of the Library of Bogota began with this year, the publication of a periodical devoted to literature and philosophy. Much attention began to be given to geographical studies, and studies in the natural sciences were introduced into the Colegio del Rosario. This movement derived its origin and principal impulse from men of a gen- eration younger than that of Mutis, some of whom were his pupils and assistants, who had come with him to Bogota from Mariquita, or who were his collaborators on the Flora Bogotana. The edifice prepared for the bureau on its transfer from Mariquita to Bogota, became known as the Botanical House. It furnished abundant room for Mutis' herbariums and the various col- lections that had been made in other departments in previous years, as well as working space for the enlarged staff. The number of Creoles among the assistants, in relation to the Europeans, was increasing. This was particularly true of the draughtsmen and the painters. In connection with the bureau there was established a school of drawing and painting, conducted by Salvador Rizo, who for three years had been the accountant, or business manager of the expedition. By the work of pupils of this school a new rate of prog- ress was had in the preparation of drawings and paintings for the proposed Flora Bogotana. The intellectual awakening in New Granada that marked the years of Mutis' activity was not due entirely to the progress of studies in the INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 277 realm of nature. The events of the French Revo- lution became gradually known, and provided sub- jects for discussion among the members of the new generation. But the director of the expedi- tion was of another generation. Science still claimed Mutis' undivided attention. Although his later years were spent in the capital, he had little part in its conspicuous society. In spite of the publications directed against him in Spain by Sebastian Jose Lopez, the opinion of the Span- iards concerning him remained that to which Linnaeus had given expression." The botanical expedition to Peru was more properly called an expedition than that which 12 Jo86 Celestino Mutis was born in Cadiz in 1732, and died in Bogota September 2, 1808. Some of the results of his investiga- tions were published in the proceedings of the Swedish Academy of Sciences. A part of his correspondence with Linnaeus is included in Smith's "Selection of the correspondence of Linnaeus with other Naturalists," London, 1821. A collection of papero entitled El arcano de la Quina with portrait, was published in Madrid in 1828. The material prepared for the Flora de Santa Fe de Bogota, was deposited in the archives of the Botanical Garden at Madrid. This consisted of a large number of manu- scripts, an extensive herbarium, and 6849 drawings of plants. Some of his monographs were Memoria de las palmas del Nuevo Eeino de Granada (incomplete), Memoria sabre el Caryocar amygdaliferum, printed in Cavanilles' Icones, and Observaciones sobre la vigilia y sueno de algunus plantas, in Botanical Garden of Madrid. An elaborate account of Mutis is found in Gredilla, A. Federico, Biografia de Jose Celestino Mutis con la relacidn de su viaje y estudios practicados en el Nuevo Eeino de Granada, Madrid, 1911. 278 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER appeared in New Granada. It was directed by Hipolito Euiz and Jose Pavon, who went from Spain and returned to Spain after they had fin- ished their survey and made their collections. This expedition left Cadiz November 4, 1777, and arrived at Callao April 8, 1778, It embraced, besides the directors, Joseph Dombey, ''Galliarum Regis Medico, et Botanico egregio," and two draughtsmen, Joseph Brunete and Isidore do Galvez. In the preface to their Flora the directors give a general sketch of their survey, noting the regions explored, and giving some account of the material results of their researches. They first examined the country immediately about Lima, and sent to Spain, by the ship Buen Consejo, a large number of dried plants and two hundred and forty-two colored dramngs. Their second field of investi- gation was the region about Tarma and Jauja, whence they passed to Huanuco, where they dis- covered seven species of Cascarillos. After their return to Lima, they went a little later to the province of Chancay, leaving Dombey at Lima. Chile, as well as Peru, was a part of the field assigned to Ruiz and Pavon, as the directors of the Peruvian expedition. The descriptions of Chile by Feuvillee and Frazier facilitated the exploration of that country. The members of the expedition went to Chile by sea, and landed at Talcahuana. They surveyed the regions near Concepcion, Itata, Rene, and Arauco; and also INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 279 the provinces of Puchocay, Maule, San Fernando, Rancagua, Santiago, and Quillota and some part of the region of the Andes. A shipment of fifty- two cases of the collections which they had made in two years was lost in the wreck of the San Pedro de Alcantara, that ran on the rocks at Peniche in Portugal, on the 2nd of February, 1786. In order to repair this loss, the investiga- tors returned to Huanuco, and revisited various parts of that province; they advanced as far as the Huancabamba river, which was then the boundary between the lands of the settled inhab- itants and the territory of Indians still in their wild state. At the estate of Macora they spent two months, and here two persons, Juan Tafalla and Francisco Pulgar, became attached to the expedition in the capacity of student assistants, the former as a botanist and the latter as a draughtsman. Before the loss of the shipment on the San Pedro de Alacdntara the expedition encountered a disaster, on the 6th of August, 1786, in the burn- ing of the descriptions of plants, animals, and minerals made in Chile, and of the topographical accounts of the provinces of that kingdom and of Peru. At the same time there were burned large numbers of plants, birds, quadrupeds, and insects, together with equipment and supplies for three months. The expedition returned once more to Huanuco, and after this undertaking sent from Callao to Spain by the frigates El Pilar and El Brillante, seventy-three cases of natural products, 280 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER eighteen pots of living plants, and five hundred and eighty- six drawings. The draughtsman Joseph Brunete died in Pasco in 1787, whither he had gone to receive the salaries of the expedition's personnel. The other members having returned to Lima, took leave of their pupils, Tafalla, who later became professor of Botany at Lima, and Pulgar, and embarked in the ship El Dragon on the first of April,' 1788. They took with them their manuscripts, twenty- nine cases of natural products and one hundred and twenty-four living plants. After a voyage of somewhat more than five months, they landed at Cadiz, on the 12th of September. In the preface to their work. Florae Peruvi- anae, et Chilencis Prodromus, XV, Ruiz and Pavon enumerated the toils they had endured and the dangers they had passed during the eleven years of their sojourn and wanderings in America. They had suffered, to quote their account, "heat, weariness, hunger, thirst, nakedness, wants of every kind, tempests, earthquakes, plagues of mosquitos and other insects, continual risks of being devoured by tigers, bears and other wild beasts, ambush by thieves and savage Indians, treachery of slaves, accidents from precipices, from the falling of the branches of the lofty trees of the forests, and from the passing of rivers and torrents, the burning of Macora, the shipwreck of the San Pedro de Alcantara, the separation from M. Dombey, the death of the draughtsman Brunete, and the loss of manuscrips." INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 281 These two undertakings present certain points of contrast. The expedition to Peru was organ- ized in Spain; the members were appointed in Spain; and it proceeded to Peru to work with a large measure of independence for the attainment of its specific purpose. The expedition, as it appeared in New Granada, had to a large extent the character of a domestic institution, in the organization of which the viceroy was especially active. The director although bom in Spain, had already at the time of his appointment, spent many years in scientific researches in America. The expedition in New Granada had also a much more powerful influence than that of Peru in educating youth and in promoting intellectual activity, particularly among the Creoles. The period of Mutis' effective work closed with the visit of Humboldt in 1801 ; after this event Francisco Caldas became the leader of scientific inquiry in New Granada." 13 The awakening interest in the scientific study of nature in all the Spanish Colonies was observed by Humboldt, and he affirms that "no European government has spent more considerable sums to increase knowledge of plants than the Spanish government." "All the researches made during twenty years in the most fertile regions of the new continent have not only enriched the domain of science with more than four thousand new species, but they have also contributed much to spread the taste for natural history among the inhabitants of the country. ' ' — Essai politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne, Paris, 1811, 1, 120. On Caldas and his work, see Memoria historica sobre la vida, cardcter, trabajos cientificos y literarios y servicios patrioticos de Francisco Jose de Caldas, in La Siesta, Bogota, 1852 ; also Vergara y Vergara, Historia de la Uteratura en Nueva Granada, Bogota, 1905, cap. XIV; Groot, cap. XLI; Schumacher, SiidameriJcanische Studien, Berlin, 1884. 282 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER XI Other evidence of the intellectual awakening in Spanish South America is found in the new inter- est manifested by the Creoles in questions of gov- ernment. The transformation of the British colonies into the United States of America and the social explosion of France in the French Eevo- lution filled the atmosphere of Europe and Amer- ica with a storm of new political ideas that swept over the barrier of Spain's protective system. Many Spanish traditions were thrown down, and the loyalty of the colonists, particularly the loy- alty of the Creoles, was everywhere thoroughly shaken. The effects were observed in all of the dependencies, but most distinctly in New Granada, where they were conspicuously illustrated by the career of Antonio Narino. In the last decade of the century Nariiio voiced the protest of an awakening people against Spain's unreasonable rule. He belonged to the same generation as the younger scientists who had grown up under the influence of Mutis ' investigations, but his thought was directed chiefly to the realm of social affairs. He was born at Bogota in 1760." He studied at the Colegio de San Bartolome; and at the time of the reception of Gil y Lemus as viceroy of New Granada he was alcalde of his native city. Among 1* El Precursor : Documentos sohre la vida puhlica y privada del General Antonio Narino, Bogota, 1803 (Bibl. de hist, nacional, II). 2. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 283 his contemporaries he passed for a man of learn- ^jjg 15 ijijjg viceroy maintained especially friendly relations with him, and appointed him treasurer of the tithes. The canons of the ecclesiastical cabildo opposed this appointment on the ground that they alone had the right to appoint to this office. They appealed to the king who supported their contention. When their power had thus been recognized, they exercised it in appointing Nariiio, who had been appointed by the viceroy.^*' Among his other enterprises, Narino had acquired a printing press. Having received a copy of a history of the constituent assembly of France from Captain Ramirez, an officer of the viceroy's guard, he copied Les Droits de l' Homme from it. He translated this document into Span- ish and printed it on his press in the beginning of 1794. He at first held the copies in reserve, but a few of them were distributed among Narino 's friends. One of these was discovered by a Span- iard, Francisco Carrasco, through whom knowl- edge of it became public, and by whom Narino was denounced to the viceroy. The viceroy was at Guaduas when he learned of this publication. On his arrival in Bogota he commissioned Joaquin Mosquera to institute proceedings against Narino. 15 One of the most enlightening' documents of the collection called El Precursor (164-191), is the list of books contained in Narino 's library, and confiscated with the rest of his property by the government. 16 Documents relating to this controversy are printed in El Precursor, 3-15. 284 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER At the same time he authorized Juan Fernandez de Alva to prosecute a number of persons charged with conspiracy; and Joaquin Inclan to bring to trial certain persons for issuing pasquinades against the government. By the trials for sedi- tion and issuing the pasquinades a number of the accused were sentenced to imprisonment, and later were sent to Spain. When Narino was brought to trial, he affirmed that no other person had had any part in the publication of the docu- ment in question ; and he excused his act by saying that he had not published it to provoke a revolu- tion against the government, but merely as an economic speculation. When asked to deliver the copies, he replied that as soon as he learned that the subject was to be investigated he had burned them. The destruction of them appears to have been complete. The defense presented by Narino and his attorney Ricuarte maintained that publishing The Rights of Man was not a crime; that it was not pernicious, since the same principles were current, having been already printed in Spanish books, and consequently its further circulation should not be regarded as criminal; and that viewed in the light of reason and giving to the document its proper meaning, it could not be considered as prejudicial to the public interest.^^ 1'? The document containing the defense offered by Narino in the case brought against him for publishing Los Derechos de Hombre and for other alleged offenses is found in El Precursor, 51-110. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 285 The evidence presented by Narino was not accepted as exculpating him, and he was sentenced to imprisonment in Africa for a period of ten years. He was sent to Spain with a number of other persons who had been convicted on charges relating to conspiracy and the issuing of pas- quinades. On arriving at Cadiz, Narino took advantage of the confusion at the port, escaped, and went to Madrid. The other persons whose cases were referred to the Council of the Indies, and who were conducted to Madrid, were Louis Rieux, Manuel Froes, Jose Ayala, Sinf oroso Mutis, Francisco Zea, Ignacio Sandino, Pedro Pradilla, Bernardo Cifuentes, Jose Maria Cabal, and Enrique Umana. Besides the ten persons sent by the audiencia under grave charges, five others were brought to the attention of the Council of the Indies as minor offenders. The decision of the Council respecting all of these was that they should be set free and placed in full possession of all their rights, and be permitted to continue their studies and professions as if no proceedings against them had been taken. Their property, which had been confiscated, should be restored to them without cost ; and those having a legal domi- cile in New Granada should be returned to Bogota, or to the towns of their previous residence. Rieux having no legal residence in that dependency, might not return to it without permission granted by the king, who, however, found it just that Rieux should be allowed to return and recover his prop- 286 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER erty. Twelve of these persons were young men under thirty years of age. Of the others, the Frenchman Rieux was the oldest, forty-four, while Ayala and Cifuentes were thirty-three and thirty- four respectively. Narino was thirty-four, and thus the whole group was composed of men who were about to assume, or who had already assumed recently, the duties and the obligation of the new generation.^® XII From Madrid Narino fled to France, where he remained until he considered himself in danger. At Paris he fell in with Jose Caro, a Cuban, who was urging the French revolutionary government to support an insurrection that he had projected in Peru. At Paris he also interviewed Tallien, and presented to him a project for bringing about a revolt in New Granada, and for transforming the viceroyalty into a republic. To this propo- sition Tallien replied that although he could not support the project publicly, because of the peace existing between France and Spain, in secret he would furnish such assistance as might be pos- sible, so arranging affairs that the Spaniards would not send a fleet of sufficient force to prevent the contemplated movement. At the same time he affirmed that in England more effective action might be taken.^^ 18 This decision is printed in El Percursor, 121-143. 19 EZ Percursor, 217. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 287 Encouraged by this statement, Narino went to London, where he endeavored to form a plan to promote an insurrection in New Granada, and to make an agreement under which Great Britain would furnish arms, munitions, and a squadron that would attack Cartagena and by making use of the Orinoco take advantage of the resources of the interior of the country. Nariiio's note to Pitt on this subject remained unanswered; he, however, obtained an interview with Lord Liver- pool. From London Nariiio returned to Paris. Then he went to St. Bartholomew by way of Bor- deaux. Afterwards he passed over to St. Thomas, and later to Curazao. From the islands he went to New Granada, and proceeded to the capital in disguise.-" Espeleta's administration ended January 2, 1797, and on the same day his successor, Pedro Mendinueta (1797-1803), assumed the duties of the viceregal office. Complete tranquility pre- vailed at this time throughout the country ; but the report that Narino had escaped and had returned to New Granada caused a certain popular agita- tion. This news was satisfactory to the radicals, but it alarmed the conservatives. In his Relacion to his successor, Mendinueta affirmed that ''one of the greatest tasks of the government was that of maintaining good order in internal affairs, public peace, and submission to the magistrates, a task which in more fortunate 20 El Precursor, Preface. 288 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER times cost little anxiety. Communication with foreigners by means of contraband ; the introduc- tion of books and public papers prohibited as 23rejudicial to religion and the state; certain flat- tering maxims imperfectly understood; a philo- sophical fanaticism, and more than all a spirit demanding always something new, succeeded in turning some few heads and making them adopt various notions which they announce as their own ideas. In these circumstances is found the origin of the changes and the radical doctrines manifest in the capital in 1794."" Narifio was, in fact, already in Bogota, under the protection of the archbishop, by whom ad- vances in his behalf were made to the viceroy. On the 30th of July, 1797, Nariiio addressed a communication to Mendinueta, giving an account of his sojourn in France and England, and of his interviews with Lord Liverpool, with whom he had discussed the question of subjecting his coun- try to foreign domination, and the proposition that England should offer assistance with arms, munitions, and a squadron that would cruise off New Granada and prevent the entrance of succor from Spain. It was agreed that, in consideration of this assistance, certain advantages respecting commerce with New Granada would be accorded to the British. This document closed with the f ol- 2'i^ Relacianes re Mando (Bibl. de hist. NacioiKil, III), 584. "La capital del virreinato era un foeo de ardoroso patriotismo, unido al deseo mas violento de aprender y de estudiar todas las ciencias. ' ' — Buletin de historic y antiguedades, II, 676. INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 289 lowing remarkable profession of conversion by Nariiio : "I hope that, reestablished in the sovereign con- fidence of the king by your Excellency, I shall be able to employ the rest of my days in repairing the past and giving authentic and unequivocal proof of my repent- ance, occupying all the moments of my life in the service of both their Majesties. And if resentment led me to the borders of the precipice, I assure your Excellency that from today onward my obligation and the recognition of his great goodness will lead me even to shedding the last drop of my blood in the service of the king, at whose royal feet, humbly prostrated and with the most pro- found respect, I implore his sovereign piety, in order that in his personal goodness he may deign not only to grant me pardon for my past errors, but that, restoring me to his royal confidence, which is what my heart earnestly desires, I may remain in such a state that by ray works I may be able to give evidence of my repent- ance and of being able to come to the support of my disgraced country. ' ' On the 4th of August, 1797, the viceroy asked for an elucidation of certain passages of this com- munication, concluding with the statement that if in good faith Narino wished to render this service to the sovereign, in accordance with his protesta- tions, he could not do less than to reply categori- cally to the government.^^ In responding to this request Narino made an elaborate and detailed comment on his narrative, and on the 11th of September, 1797, Mendinueta granted him amnesty, and sent a report of this 22 El Precursor, 238-246. 290 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER action to the king for confirmation. The king, however, ordered that Narino should not be lib- erated until after the conclusion of peace. It is not probable that any concession by the king at this time would have prevented Narino from ultimately becoming a factor in the struggle for independence; but by accepting his promised loyalty, the most forceful early advocate of emancipation would have been withheld from the movement, at least in its preliminary stages. During the period of these events the govern- ment of the United States had become more thoroughly organized, and the officers and people of New Granada were receiving abundant infor- mation of the hopeful prospects of the young republic. From France, moreover, came reports of the overthrow of feudalism and absolute govern- ment and the abolition of political privileges ; the announcement of the sovereignty of the people; that the essential basis of government was equal- ity before the law, the liberty of the individual, freedom of conscience, of speech, and of the press ; the right of all citizens to be elected or appointed to public office; the just distribution of the bur- dens of taxation; the responsibility of public officials; and the security and inviolability of property. It was not merely the doctrines of lib- erty that reached the governors and the people of the dependencies. They learned of the spread of these doctrines in Europe, the transformation of governments, and the rise of new republics, in INTEREST IN SCIENCE AND POLITICS 291 France, in the Netherlands, in Italy, and the popular revolt of the Poles against their oppres- sors. The forces that caused the disappearance of colonial isolation and ignorance overturned the cornerstone of Spanish rule. In New Granada the rest of the foundation was wrecked by the indolence, the corruption, the political blindness, and stupidity of Viceroy Antonio Amar y Borbon, who succeeded Mendinueta in 1803. CHAPTER XI LIMA AND SANTIAGO AT THE END OF THE CENTURY I. The position and external form of Lima. II. The earthquake of 1746. III. The court of the viceroy and the institutions of Lima. IV. Social char- acteristics. V. Santiago de Chile. VI. The classes. The city of Lima presented the most advanced phase of social development in Spanish South America at the end of the eighteenth century. It was the residence of the highest officers of the government and of the most important dignitaries of the church. Here resided, moreover, a consid- erable body of titled nobles, and here the differ- entiation of the social classes was carried to the extreme, giving to the city many of the features of an Old-World capital. In Mexico the Spaniards had established their capital at the center of the dominant Indian com- munity. To have followed this example in Peru would have placed the new city at an inconvenient elevation, and in a position difficult of access from the sea. In Mexico the Spaniards wished to live LIMA AND SANTIAGO 293 away from the unsanitary coast. In Peru the valley of the Rimac near the coast offered an agreeable and healthful climate and an abundance of pure water for the use of a city and for irri- gation in a rainless region. The population of Lima at the beginning of the eighteenth century was 57,250. It had increased to 60,000 in 1746. The earthquake of that year caused a loss of be- tween 6000 and 8000 persons; and, therefore, in 1755 the number of the inhabitants was only 54,000. In 1781 the number had again reached 60,000, and during the next nine years there was a loss of 7373. It may be presumed that by the end of the century there was a certain increase over the 52,627 given as the population in 1790, but the amount of this increase has not been accurately determined.^ When Tadeo Haenke wrote his description of Lima, the city was still surrounded by walls. These walls were between eighteen and twenty - five feet high, without moat or outworks. They enclosed an area that was about a mile in extent from north to south, and about the same extent from east to west. It was divided into two parts by the river Rimac. Communication between these two parts passed over the stone bridge built during the administration of Montesclaros. At first there was a wooden bridge, and later the Marquis of Canete, while viceroy, caused a bridge ^ Mer curio Perimno, February 3, 1791 (I, 97); Present State of Peru, 139-141. 294 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER to be constructed of brick near the site of the present stone bridge. This was subsequently de- stroyed by the force of the water. Then, several years after its destruction, the present structure was begun, in 1608, and two years later it was completed. The plans were made by Friar Gero- nimo Villegas, a native of Lima, and the work was carried on under the direction of Juan de Corral. The expenses of the construction were met in part by a tax of two reals on every sheep consumed in the city, and by certain contributions required of other cities in the viceroyalty. Some of these cities were unable to see any justice in being required to pay for work that lay entirely beyond the limits of their jurisdiction ; and Quito, in particular, complained at being compelled to furnish this assistance. The total cost of the structure, including the replacing the arch that was thrown down by the earthquake of 1746, was seven hundred thousand pesos. The principal plaza, now only a breathing place for the citizens, a place of rest and recre- ation, appears to have been used as a market at the end of the eighteenth century. It was sup- plied abundantly with products of Europe and America. Negresses generally conducted the sales, ''and judging from their good clothing and the manner in which they conduct themselves one may conclude that many of them pass a life of comfort and the most of them acquire wealth."^ 2 Haenke, Tades, Descripcion del Peru, Lima, 1901, 3. LIMA AND SANTIAGO 295 The principal streets were broad and straight, dividing the city into blocks one hundred and fifty yards square, and were paved and kept notably clean. Many of the houses were large, built about one or more patios, or courts, and were con- structed of adobes and of studs interwoven with cane or bamboo, and covered with plaster or stucco. The roofs, in the absence of rain, were of little importance, except to keep out the sun, and were in many cases formed of a framework of timber and reeds covered with earth. This form of construction, particularly the basketwork walls covered with plaster, were thought to be well adapted, by their lack of rigidity, to with- stand the shocks of the frequent earthquakes. There were, in the last decade of the eighteenth century, 3641 houses in the city, which was divided into thirty-five wards, in each of which there was an alcalde de barrio elected to watch over the par- ticular interests of his ward, and who was subject to the central authority. II The inhabitants of Lima entered upon the second half of the eighteenth century with the task of reconstructing the city only partially accomplished. The earthquake of 1746 had trans- formed a large part of the buildings into masses of ruins, and those persons who had occupied the houses destroyed had sought safety in the public 296 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER squares and in the suburbs. At the time of the earthquake, after the first stupefying effect of the shock had passed, and the inhabitants had learned that a tidal wave had completely destroyed Callao, and even carried ships from the harbor directly over the town, they were seized by an unreason- able fear that the same calamity might overtake them. A rumor was spread through all the city that the sea was rising and advancing towards Lima. Apparently forgetting that the city was six miles from Callao and five hundred feet above the level of the sea, they were seized by a panic that prevented all sober reflection, and sent them in wild confusion towards the neighboring moun- tains. The number of victims of the earthquake and the flood in Lima and Callao is set down at some- what more than sixteen thousand. Some of the members of the clergy added to the terror of the event by noisily proclaiming that the catastrophe was a Divine punishment for the sins of the people. The provincial of the San Franciscans preached against those persons who had affirmed that the earthquake was the effect of natural causes. The destruction of the shops and the bakeries caused an immediate scarcity of pro- visions ; but the embarrassment was soon removed by the influx of food from the country, and by the arrival of ships from Chile with cargoes of wheat. A greater source of danger appeared in the pos- sible infection from the large number of unburied LIMA AND SANTIAGO 297 bodies of men and animals. And to these evils was added the plundering of the dead and the ruins by bands of outlaws. Ill Somewhat of the social character of Lima was due to the fact that the city was the residence of the viceroy of Peru. Representing the king, he maintained much of the style of royalty. He was attended by two companies of guards, one of cavalry and one of halberdiers. Before 1784 the cavalry company contained one hundred and forty-seven men, but in that year it was reduced to a captain and thirty-four men. The halberdiers were reduced to a captain and twenty-four men. When the viceroy drove through or about the city, four of the cavalrymen preceded him and four followed. His court was made to resemble that of a European monarch. The presence in Lima of a group of families distinguished by their wealth or titles contributed to the imitation. The highest title in this society was that of duke, held by Formin de Carvajal y Vargas, who was born in Chile in 1722. His father, Luis de Carvajal, was a regidor of Concepcion. Formin de Carvajal was later an alcalde of Lima, a familiar of the inquisition, and an incumbent of other important offices. As holder of the office of correo mayor, he received the revenues of the post-office, and when these were resumed by the crown, in 1768. 298 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Charles III granted him as compension an annual income of fourteen thousand dollars. Eleven years later, in 1779, he was made Duke of San Carlos, a grandee of Spain of the first class, and a field marshal. Among the institutions established at Lima, the most conspicuous was the royal audiencia, created in 1546. At the end of the eighteenth century, it was composed of a regent, eight judges, four alcaldes de corte, and two prosecuting attor- neys. The viceroy was the president. For the administration of justice, the audiencia was organized in three divisions. Two divisions, com- posed of oidores, or judges, considered civil cases, while the third division, composed of the alcaldes de corte, dealt with criminal cases. The superior council of the royal treasury was composed of the viceroy as president, and five members including the regent of the audiencia. Created in 1784, the principal object of this body was to supervise the affairs of the treasury and the economical affairs of the department of war. A court of accounts, properly a bureau of audit- ing; a bureau charged with making a census of Indians ; a commercial tribunal known as the con- sulado ; a court of mines ; and the royal mint were some of the other institutions established at Lima.^ There were various other organizations or offices that helped to give the city the appearance and character of a capital. Among these were the 3 On the institutions of Lima, see Memorias de los vireyes, VI, 79-86. LIMA AND SANTIAGO 299 University of San Marcos, the central post-office, the commission for managing the royal monopo- lies, the custom-house, and the commission for managing the royal monte de piedad, or pawn- shop. There were established here also a large number of religious orders, that had acquired a large amount of property and were receiving extensive annual revenues.* 4 The following tabular statement presents the religious houses in Lima at the period in question, together with the numbers of the members and the amounts of their annual revenues stated in dollars : Dominicans : Convento grande del Eosario 146 Santa Kosa Magdalena Santo Tomas Franciscans, three monasteries: Convento grande de Jesus 161 _ College of San Buenaventura de Guade- lupe „ 20 Kecoleccion 33 Augustinians, three houses: Casa grande 129 34,150 Eecoleccion de Guia 9 1,928 University of San Ildef onso 30 4,104 Mercedarios, three houses: Casa grande 140 19,922 Eecoleccion de Bethlem 16 2,945 College of San Pedro Nolasco 34 3,900 Order of San Francisco de Paula 42 7,139 Hospitalarios de San Juan de Dios 43 4,561 Agonizantes, two houses: Convento de Nuestra Senora de la Buena Muerte 53 19,724 Santa Liberata 5 2,500 Oratorio de San Felipe Neri 41 3,283 Hospitium of St. Benedict 2 1,630 No. of members Revenues 146 9 $35,389 2,519 19 8,869 30 6,802 No. of members Revenues 22 3,640 2 1,630 572 119,504 210 5,300 12 12 1,141 11 5 300 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Beletmitas, two houses: Casa grande Casa de Incurables Fourteen Convents of Nuns Beaterios, or houses inhabited by pious women : Eeal Casa de Amparados de la Purisima Concepcion 210 Nuestra Senora de Copacabana Santa Eosa de Viterbo Patrocinio Camilas , Real Casa de Ejercicios, retreat for religious women .... 1,200 A less detailed statement is found in the Eelacion by Viceroy Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos, made on the basis of the enumeration of 1791 ; it gives the number of monks as 1100, nuns as 572, and beatas as 84. — Memorias de los vireyes, VI, 28. Besides these houses devoted exclusively to the life of the religious, there were also many hospitals and other institutions having charitable or public purposes, that were directed and con- trolled by the church. But the large amount of wealth held by the religious orders may not be taken as conclusive evidence that the king of Spain and the Council of the Indies favored the accumulation of real property in the hands of the church. The following statement in the Laws of the Indies points to an opposite view: ''Let the lands be distributed reasonably among the dis- coverers and pobladores antiguos and their de- scendants, who may remain in the country, and let them not be able to sell them either to a church or to a monastery or to any other ecclesiastical per- LIMA AND SANTIAGO 301 son, under pain of the lands reverting to the king and being conferred upon other persons."^ This law, however, like many others made for the Indies with excellent intentions, was not effective; for real property was brought into the hands of ecclesiastics to such an extent that, as it has been said, ''secular persons came to be mere administrators of estates possessed by the church."^ In Lima and some of the other cities, the monasteries owned a large part of all the real estate ; and in the middle of the eighteenth century it was said ' ' there are but few who do not pay rent to the church, either for their houses or their farms. ' " IV From contemporary records we are able to derive a sufficiently clear idea of the personal qualities of the inhabitants of Lima as well as of their general activity, during the last years of Spanish rule. They were generous, and spent their money lavishly, often going beyond reason- able limits even to their ruin. This was particu- larly true of the Creoles, who, perhaps recognizing their social inferiority, sought to overcome this prejudice by extravagant display. There was lit- tle crime among them, but, when a crime had been 5 Leyes de Indies, lib. 4, tit. 12, ley 10. 6 Oliveira, 27, 28. 7 A True and Particular Belation of the Dreadful Eartliquake, London, 1748, 279, 280. 302 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER committed, their inclination to mercy led them to seek to protect the culprit. This humanity was manifested also in their treatment of their slaves. It was very rare that slaves complained of severe treatment by their masters. Living in a society dominated by the viceroy, the inhabitants of Lima acquired somewhat of the refinements and formal- ity of manners characteristic of dwellers near a royal court. Their desire for wealth and its uses led even members of illustrious houses to oppose the prejudices that existed in Spain, and engage openly in trade. They possessed a peculiar pride, or vanity, which tended to manifest itself in ex- travagant sentiments and statements concerning their surroundings. In their language every white man was a caballero; every instrumental concert was an opera; every man with the ele- ments of education was a savant; and any one showing any evidence of devotion was a saint or an angel. They were given to pleasure and gambling, and in general to a life of entertain- ment and idleness. Idolizers of women, they almost always held their own wives in little esteem. The youth were easily corrupted, and the luxury of the demi-monde indicated that a large number of contributions were made to their wealth. ''Lima," says Haenke, ''like the cities of Spain, has its bull-ring where bull-fights are held at appointed times. The bull-fighters, the most active and daring, have the custom of hamstring- LIMA AND SANTIAGO 303 ing the bull if he will not attack. The people of Lima count among their public amusements the drama, for the representation of which they have a sufficiently capacious theatre. Good order and neatness are maintained in the treatre in spite of the fact that the spectators smoke during the play. The decorations are mediocre, and the actors are ordinary. Generally no other plays are given than those which we call magic or religious plays. The public applauds them heartily, and the time appears still very remote when these coarser productions will be driven from the stage, which, far from instructing, vitiate the understanding and confirm bad taste."® Among the popular amusements of the city, pelota and cock-fighting were especially conspicu- ous, and furnished occasions for extensive betting. The cock-fights were at first held in the streets, public squares, and vacant lots. In 1762 Viceroy Amat, acting on a proposition by Juan Garial, ordered the construction of a cockpit, Garial bind- 8 Haenke, Tadeo, Descripcion del Peru, Lima, 1901, 29. Before the year 1771 cafes were not known in Lima. This year Francisco Serio proposed to establish a cafe, and his project was supported by Viceroy Manuel de Amat. This was a new institu- tion and was much frequented. Its extensive patronage induced a person called Salazar to open another the next year. This second cafe was known as Francisquin; later it became an inn, the Leon de Oro. Serio 's venture proved so profitable that in 1775 he opened a larger place called Cafe de las Animas. A third cafe was established near the bridge, called the Cafe de Puente. Others were established later, but the first three or four were extensively patronized, and through their influence the cafe became a favorite place of resort. — Mendiburu, Apuntes historicos, 79, 82 ; Mercurio Peruano, I, 108-111. 304 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ing himself to pay annually five hundred pesos to the hospital of San Andres, and one thousand pesos into the treasury of the city. This pit was constructed in the plaza of Santa Catalina. The fights were held on holidays and two other days of the week. The basis of the life and prosperity of Lima was commerce. The precious metals from the mines and the wares from Europe were received and forwarded or distributed by the inhabitants of the city. But in 1794 Arica had begun to receive European goods, and this took away from Lima the trade of the rich provinces of Cuzco and Arequipa.^ The increase of direct shipments be- tween Spain and Buenos Aires helped, moreover, to detract from Lima's trade; and the disappear- ance of the corregidor as the sole trader in his district diminished materially the demand for wares at Lima. In connection with these facts, and perhaps as their consequence, there was ob- served a marked increase in the number of the unemployed." The inquisition continued throughout the cen- tury to maintain its principal colonial office at Lima, and here it continued its nefarious inquiries and its fiendish punishments. 9 Memorias de los vireyes, VI, 121. io"Discurso sobre el destine que debe darse a la gente vaga que tiene Lima," by Joseph Ignacio de Legimada, in Mercurio Peruano for February 16, 1794 (X, 115). The author of the Discurso called attention to the fact that the son of an artisan was not willing to follow the career of his father, preferring, in case no other occupation was at hand, to join the ranks of the unemployed. LIMA AND SANTIAGO 305 V In Peru the sandy lowlands near the coast and the mountains of the interior made life in towns or cities the preferred form of existence; but the physical characteristics of Chile, the fertile lands and the agreeable climate, rendered rural life there to such an extent attractive that the inhab- itants had in a large measure resisted the efforts that had been made to cause them to live in cities. At the end of the century two-thirds of the population were still living scattered about the country, on the estates or at the mines. Except Santiago, no city had more than six thousand inhabitants. Concepcion had about five thousand. The cities next in size were Valparaiso and Serena. After these came Chilian and Talca. Each of the last two had about four thousand inhabitants. In general the dwellers in the cities had few opportunities for getting information of events in other countries, and at the same time they had very little interest in such events. But, as the majority of the cities were small, they were intensely interested in local feuds and factions. These arose naturally where the towns were isolated, and where large numbers of persons were idle and without incentives to higher aspirations. There w^ere no amusements but card-playing, bowling, cock-fighting, and horse-racing. Santiago, the capital of the colony, the resi- dence of the governor, or the captain-general, the 306 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER seat of the audiencia, was the center of the most pretentious society of Chile. It had about thirty thousand inhabitants. With respect to its public buildings it was not below the standard of Lima or Mexico. But the private houses were generally simple, one-story structures, and the interior fur- nishings were necessarily plain, on account of the expensiveness of European wares and the rude- ness of nearly all colonial products. The streets were usually dirty, but this feature of the city's affairs was greatly improved under the republic. The practice of burying larged numbers of bodies in the churches led to *'the propagation of epi- demics that made great ravages among the inhabitants. The churches in which the soil was constantly removed for new burials emitted an unhealthy and pestiferous odor, which made it necessary to open and ventilate them every morn- ing before the faithful assembled.'"^ In Santiago, as in the other important Span- ish-American capitals, there was a limited class of men who had acquired titles of nobility, and whose wealth enabled them to live in luxury as compared with the bulk of the inhabitants. Cor- vallo, describing them, said: "They use costly carriages and fine liveries, and show themselves on the public drives, and visiting and at balls with rich costumes and valuable jewels.'"^ The city had no public market, but the plaza in front of 11 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VII, 459. 12 Bescripddn Mstdrico-geogrdfica, Part II, Chap. 4. LIMA AND SANTIAGO 307 the cathedral was used for this purpose. The streets were not lighted, except as those who went out at night or their servants carried lanterns. The state of the city in this respect was an in- centive to vice and disorder. But the character of many of the lower class made any incentive of this kind superfluous, for ''drunkenness was a vice much more common than in our day, as were also robbery, brawls, and assassinations."^^ Beg- ging had attained such alarming proportions that many persons were inclined to seek a remedy, and hoped to find it in the development of industries ; and to this end they sought to suppress the obstacles that had stood in the way of industrial progress. The filth, the vice, the ignorance, and the lack of sanitary measures and of proper medicinal remedies, both in the country and in the cities, in spite of the general healthf nines s of the climate, made it possible for diseases to become epidemic. In the records of the municipal council of Santi- ago, the existence of the epidemics was carefully noted, as was also the action taken to provide prayers, offerings, and processions to allay the evil. But the records give no pathological indi- cations sufficient to inform us of the character of the diseases in question. From other sources, however, it is knowai that syphilis and smallpox were two of the diseases that spread their ravages through the colony. Smallpox was first intro- duced into Chile in 1561, and from time to time 13 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VII, 463. 308 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER throughout the colonial period it appeared and carried off its victims by thousands. In 1765, the municipal council of Santiago recorded the fact that, in the few preceding months, smallpox had caused the death of more than five thousand per- sons. In 1788-1789 the city of Concepcion, having a population of not more than six thousand, lost fifteen hundred by smallpox. The ravages of the disease, as it swept through the cities and over the country, left horror and desolation in its path. Those persons who escaped death were often greatly disfigured, and many of them were left blind. Its appearance in one province, Santiago or Concepcion, led the other province to establish a quarantine line along the river Maule, but the precautions were always ineffective. In the last half of the century successful vaccination was introduced, but it could not be made general. Except among the cultivated classes, it met with insurmountable opposition. VI In the society of Chile where a small minority of the inhabitants — the Spaniards and the Cre- oles — sought to preserve the lines of class separa- tion, the mestizos constituted a large lower class, the members of which found it difficult to keep above the line of positive misery. They inherited vices as well as virtues from both of the races from which they were descended. The mestizos, like their ancestors on the side of the Indians, LIMA AND SANTIAGO 309 were both physically and mentally strong; yet they were rough, malicious, superstitious, given to gambling, intoxicating drinks, and robbery, and they were easily drawn into bloody quarrels. They might have become a powerful factor in the material progress of the country, if the political authorities and the upper class had known how to provide the conditions in which their labor would have been demanded. But in the isolation imposed by nature and under the restrictive legis- lation imposed by Spain, there was only a limited market for the wares which the country might most readily produce, and as a consequence those persons who might have become most effective laborers were wasted, without employment, in recklessness and poverty. There was no lack of laborers to complete promptly the wheat harvest in spite of its abundance, or to perform the work of the vintage. The market was inadequate to receive the wares that were produced, or, espe- cially, that would have been produced if all the laborers had been employed. These circum- stances made the increase of vagrancy inevitable. Negroes formed only a small part of the colonial population of Chile. The first colonists, instead of buying negroes, availed themselves of the labor of the Indians, with little or no cost. There were, however, three or four thousand African slaves in Chile before the middle of the seventeenth century, but a later rise in their price caused many to be transported to Peru and 310 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER there sold; and, but for the prohibition of the governor, all of them would probably have been taken away. Valparaiso was the port from which the slaves were shipped ; and with this beginning, it became a somewhat important market for slaves brought from Africa by way of Buenos Aires. Many negroes and mulattoes born in Chile were also sold there for transportation to Peru. The low wages of free laborers in Chile made it un- profitable to keep slaves, particularly since the price had risen from 250 to 600 dollars. Yet at the close of the eighteenth century, there were in Chile ten or twelve thousand negroes and mulat- toes, including both sexes. Of this number only four or five thousand were slaves, and these were almost all in domestic service. They were kept by the wealthy families largely for ostentation. They were generally dressed well, sometimes in showy livery, and were treated with kindness. Some of them who appeared to be sufficiently intelligent and trustworthy, were made superin- tendents on estates in the country, while others were taught trades. They became tailors and shoemakers, and made the clothing and shoes for the family of their masters. Among the negroes and mulattoes who were free, there were tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, silversmiths, and some who followed other trades. Those living in Santi- ago formed a small battalion, under officers of the white race; and in the struggle for indepen- dence they rendered important service in the battle of Maipo. CHAPTER XII THE STATE OF VENEZUELA AND MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION I. External attempts to overthrow Spanish rule. IT. The captaincy-general at Venezuela. III. The revolt led by Espana and Gual in 1797. IV. Manners and sentiments of the inhabitants of Venezuela. V, The unemployed and the remedy. VI. The economic confusion in the province. VII. Miranda's project. VIII, Plans of Great Britain and the United States. IX. The expedition from the United States. The internal rebellions and conspiracies against the government of Spain's dependencies in South America were followed by assaults relying on external support. The primary aim of the inter- nal revolts was relief from burdensome taxes. The objects of the external attacks were commer- cial and political advantages. If the revolting colonies had plans for the overthrow of the gov- ernment, such plans were developed only after reform had appeared to be impossible. For many years Great Britain and France had coveted the 312 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER opportunities for wealth and political power offered by Spain's American possessions. The inhabitants had, therefore, reason to suppose that their appeals to foreign governments for assist- ance would be successful, since they were ad- dressed to the cupidity and political ambition of those governments. Negotiations concerning those appeals were a part of the elaborate web of European diplomacy in the century's later decades. Two conspicuous late attempts from without to overthrow the Spanish authority before the beginning of the campaign for independence were the invasion of Venezuela by Francisco de Miranda, with men enlisted in the United States, and the taking of Buenos Aires by the British.^ Miranda was a native of Caracas, and much of his remarkable activity was directed to obtaining for- eign support for his revolutionary project. His first conference with Pitt concerning the emanci- pation of the colonies was held in February, 1790. At this time the plans of the revolutionists had become definite. The free and independent state 1 The expeditions of Admiral Veruou and Commodore Anson were undertaken, if not with a conscious determination to over- throw completely the rule of Spain in South America, at least to open the colonial ports to British trade. Vernon expected to establish the power of Britain in the Gulf of Mexico and on the northern coast of South America, while Anson was to penetrate the southern seas, sack the open ports of Peru, and effect com- munication with Vernon across the Isthmus of Panama. These expeditions occupy a place midway between the raids of the earlier freebooters and the later more elaborately prepared attempts to supplant Spanish power in America. THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 313 to be created was designed to supercede the Span- ish colonies, and to embrace all of their territory, but the initial effort was intended to supplant the rule of Spain in Venezuela. II This province, formerly a part of the vice- royalty of New Granada, had been finally organ- ized as a captaincy-general in 1777. At this time an intendant was appointed, who, assisted by the governors of the subordinate districts, was charged with the financial affairs of the depen- dency. The local governors, or delegates, directed all ordinary expenses in their districts, but for all extraordinary expenses they required the approval of the intendant. From their decisions relating to affairs within their jurisdiction, there was an appeal to the intendant, but if no appeal was taken the delegate might submit his decision to the intendant for approval. The intendant was president of the general assembly of the con- sulado, and was the judge of appeals from that court. ^ The audiencia established in 1786 included within its jurisdiction all the territory subject to the captain-general: the provinces of Venezuela, Maracaibo, Cumana, Varinas, Guayana, and the 2 Depons, F., A Voyage to the eastern part of Terra Firma, or the Spanish Main m South America, New York, 1806, 11, 105, 106. 314 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER island of Margarita. The captain-general was its president, and it served as his advisory council in affairs of administration ; it was also the supreme court of the captaincy-general. Appeals might be taken to it from the decisions of the municipal court of the alcaldes. The consulado of Caracas, created in 1798 for the purpose of settling com- mercial controversies, performed its functions not only at the capital, but also through deputies at the important ports. This tribunal was composed of the intendant as its president, a prior, two consuls, nine counsellors, and a syndic, with a secretary, an assessor, and deputies. The process in its trials was simple and direct, the judges mak- ing an effort to effect an amicable settlement. If the case was especially complicated, the parties were permitted to make written statements, but they were obliged to swear that no lawyer had been concerned in preparing the papers. The consulado was expressly charged by the king to report measures for the encouragement of agri- culture, industry, and commerce; to further the construction of roads ; to improve the port of La Guayra; and to facilitate the use of such rivers as might serve for the transportation of produce. But the practical achievements of this body re- sponded only indifferently to the expectations entertained concerning it. The trade it was created to stimulate declined during the years following its establishment. The exports from the captaincy-general between 1793 and 1796 THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 315 amounted to $12,252,415; between 1796 and 1800, to only $6,442,318.^ Somewhat of the inefficiency of the consulado was due to the election of persons who sought membership more for the honor conferred upon them than for the opportunity for service. The diminution of exports was in large measure owing to the failure of the harvests in 1798 and 1799. In the latter year there was such a scarcity of food that the cabildo of Caracas passed a resolu- tion to encourage the merchants to import grain from the Antilles. The execution of this measure was, however, suspended by the opposition of the commandant of La Guayra. The inhabitants appeared to be facing 'a famine ; and this state of affairs was aggravated by the conspiracy of 1797. Ill The Creoles in Venezuela, as well as elsewhere, had adopted the principles of the French Revolu- tion. They recognized the inability of Spain to send adequate forces to America, and in their dis- satisfaction they began to expect support from England. Three state prisoners, condemned in Spain, arrived in La Guayra, and, under the lib- erty allowed them in their prison, they became propagandists of revolutionary doctrines. They escaped and joined the conspirators who were led by Jose Maria Espaiia and Manuel Gual. In July, 3Depons, 11, 346. 316 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER 1797, the conspiracy was discovered. The leaders fled to Trinidad, but many of their adherents were arrested. Espaiia, interpreting the dilatoriness of the courts to indicate the possibility of an armi- stice, returned to Venezuela. He went to join his wife at La Guayra. Although he had entered the town disguised and lived in hiding, he was dis- covered April 29, 1799, and a few days later was hanged in the plaza of Caracas. His head was placed in an iron cage at La Guayra, and his limbs were distributed among several towns.* On July 12, 1799, Manuel Gual wrote to Miranda from Trinidad: *'Our enterprise failed only from this circumstance, that of my being absent from Caracas : the government discovered the plan through the imprudence of a simpleton; they arrested many persons, and took the most active measures, both at La Guayra and Caracas ; so that our combinations being defeated, I was obliged to make my escape, with the view of seek- ing succor in the English colonies, as the hopes of my countrymen are still alive. This, in a few words, is an account of the miscarriage of our attempt; since which, the desire of independency has but increased."^ When Charles IV learned of the revolt, he sent to the audiencia a secret order recommending the 4 Baralt and Diaz, Besumen de la historia de Venezuela, Cura- zao, 1887, 11, 19. 5 Antepara, Jose Maria, South American Emancipation; Docu- ments, London, 1810, 185; Eobertson, Francisco de Miranda, Am. Hist. Assn., 1907, 1, 225; Depons, 1, 150. THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 317 court **to refrain from sanguinary measures, to exercise towards those who were concerned in that affair all the leniency which their fidelity deserved, and not to punish as a crime what might be only the effect of seduction and ignorance."® This recommendation may have caused fewer to suffer capital punishment than otherwise might have been executed ; still ninety were sentenced in May and June, 1799; some to be hanged and some to be imprisoned in irons, and some condemned to deportation/ IV There appears to be no authoritative state- ment of the number of Venezula's inhabitants at the end of the century. The guesses range from 728,000 upwards. This is Depons' estimate, whose distribution recognizes two-tenths as whites, three-tenths as slaves, four-tenths as the descendants of freedmen, and one-tenth as In- dians. Somewhat more than two-thirds of the whole population, or 500,000, lived in the province of Venezuela, while 100,000 of the remainder occupied the territory of Maracaibo. From this estimate it appears that the majority of the whole was composed of members of the colored races. The bulk of the real property in both the towns and the country was in the hands of the Creoles, 6 Depons, 1, 150. 7 Gonzalez Guinan, Francisco, Historia contempordnea de Vene- zuela, Caracas, 1909, 1, 13. 318 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER while the Spaniards controlled the commerce and held the political power. The possession of the public wealth by one of two antagonistic classes, and the public power by the other, furnished the conditions of an inevitable conflict, a conflict involving not merely political but also economical questions.® The Creoles by reason of their wealth had become influential in all matters except the affairs of the actual government. Many of them had devoted much time to the cultivation of their minds, and, ''by reason of their travels, had be- come informed of the most rcent ideas and events of Europe. ' ' Their wealth moreover made it pos- sible for them to gratify their desire for display.^ Dauxion observed that "the luxury of European capitals is found in the town of Caracas, and a refinement or exaggeration of their politeness, which partakes of the Spanish gravity, and the voluptious manner of the Creoles. It may be said that their manners are a mixture of those of Paris and those of the large towns of Italy; the same taste for dress, sumptuous furniture, ceremonious visits, balls, shows, music, and even for painting, which is in its infancy. ' "° In spite of the habit of the Spanish govern- ment to discriminate against the Creoles with 8 Level, L. D., Historia patria, Caracas, 1911, 247, 248. 9 Eivas, Angel Cesar, Origines de la independencia de Vene- zuela, Caracas, 1909, 70. 10 Dauxion, Jean Francois, BescripUon of Venezuela, Trinidad, Margarita, and Tobago, London, 1820, 189. THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 319 respect to offices in the colonies, there was devel- oped among them, in the later decades of the cen- tury, a strong sentiment of patriotism. They felt ^'a kind of pride in being born on the soil of the New World. "^^ Their interest in Spain as the i-- mother country declined, and they fell under the influence of the French. They imitated French fashions, and were ambitious '*to assimilate their manners to those of the French.'"- When the restrictions on the importation of European books was relaxed, there was a demand for the political writings of revolutionary or pre-revolutionary France. The Count of Segur, after his sojourn in the United States, visited Venezuela. At Vic- toria he met a physician, who took him to his house and showed him with great pleasure the works of Rousseau and Raynal." Restrictions on immigration were also relaxed. The Council of the Indies by an edict issued in 1783 removed most of the barriers : any for- eigner of the Roman Catholic faith might estab- lish himself in the colony. It protected, for a period of five years, inunigrants from debts con- tracted in the countries they had left." But from 11 Depons, 112. i2Depons, 122. 13 Meviories ou souvenirs et anecdotes, 1, 140. i4Dauxion, 326. 320 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER such immigrants it was later (1801) proposed to raise a revenue by imposing a tax of four hun- dred dollars, and an equal amount as a fee for naturalization. The emigration from Spain to Venezuela during this period did not exceed one hundred persons annually. Fewer returned to Spain, thus indicating a weakening connection between the colony and the mother country. Following the subjection of Trinidad to Great Britain, in 1797, a strong tide of emigration set from the lower classes of that island towards Venezuela. These immigrants were not only with- out resources, but also lacked the will to work. At the same time Caracas became the goal of the unemployed from the country. They came either in search of work or to get food without work. The embarrassment produced by the large num- ber of vagabonds and beggars was so great that a special committee of the consulado was formed to investigate the subject. After due considera- tion, the prior reported that the first evil to be remedied was that concerning the agricultural laborers and the elaboration of their products; ''for even in the actual limited state of the har- vests not enough persons are found to gather them, not even for an exorbitant wage, in spite of the existing abundance of idle men. ' "^ Accustomed to the conditions of poverty, they preferred them and independence to the mildest form of labor and its attendant restraints. There were ten thou- 15 Level, Historic patria, 238. THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 321 sand persons in the capital without productive employment adequate for their maintenance. They gathered in great numbers in front of the episcopal palace Saturday, twelve hundred ap- pearing as public beggars. All but a few of them were able to work. But they preferred the life of vagabonds to engaging in any continuous and laborious occupation. The consulado formed a plan for setting aside the evil. It was to collect all the beggars at the door of the bishop 's palace on a specified day, and at all other places where they were accustomed to resort for alms ; to have them examined before a judge as to what hindered them from working in the fields. Unemployed persons, found co.m- petent to work, were sent to pueblos in charge of local officers, who assigned them to estates where laborers were needed, but with the special recom- mendation that they should be treated with humanity, and induced to become willing to work. The committee considered also the wages that should be given to persons forced to labor, and concluded that they should be adjusted to the cost of subsistence, varying with the changes in the price of important articles of food. The captain-general accepted this project; the beggars were rounded up; and the vagabonds, who knew what awaited them, left Caracas to work according to their pleasure, rather than under compulsion. Freed from the useless con- sumers, the authorities undertook to supply the 322 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER city with needed provisions. One of the measures taken was to prohibit the exportation of food from La Guayra." VI The regulation of the trade with colonial ports had passed in large measure to the local authori- ties. The laws providing for the exportation of products to the colonies near the Gulf of Mexico made permission for such exportation to depend on the assent of the intendant." It was in the exercise of this power that Captain-General Vas- concelos, supported by the intendant, undertook to relieve the distress of Caracas by opening the port of La Guayra for the importation of food from neutral nations. But their effort was not hopefully successful. The price of corn was eight times as high as the normal price ; still few ships came to the port. The British fleet did not permit ships to depart from Spain ; not even those carry- is Level, Historia patria, 239. To these economic disturbances there were added serious social embarrassments, violations of local traditions, and interference with the long-standing prerogatives of the white element of the population. Under the royal decree of August 3, 1801, one might legitimate a son for a small payment of money; he might become an hidalgo or obtain a Castilian title (titulo de Castilla) without the applicant being obliged to make known the services he had rendered. He might acquire the distinction involved in the right to prefix Don to his name; and for one hundred and twenty -five dollars a negro might whiten himself, or become legally a white man. — Level, Historia Patria, 236. 17 Depons, 1, XXVII. THE STATE OF VENEZUELA 323 ing the mails. The mail that arrived on the 20th of February, 1799, was the first to arrive for four- teen months/^ Barcelona and Cumana, however, continued an advantageous trade with the colonies, and were supplied with food, while Caracas suffered want. Trinidad, moreover, after it fell into the hands of the British, became a depot of large stores of British wares. At the same time it became a market for a large contraband trade, rendered especially flouishing by the practice of selling on credit.^^ British smugglers, principally residents of the island of Trinidad, purchased three-fifths of what Venezuela had to sell, and paid in wares of British manufacture.^" During this period of economic disturbance the political affairs fell into confusion. There was a strong drift towards decentralization. The cabildos in the provinces enlarged their powers to an unprecedented degree, extending their authority over all departments of social control except the military.-^ The captain-general re- garded the future with evil foreboding. Address- ing a council of war at Caracas on the 21st of November, 1798, he said: "Our situation, gentle- men, is truly deplorable ! An expedition threatens the whole coast, and all the coast is without de- fense; and the king's fleets, blockaded in his ports, 18 Level, Eistoria patria, 236. 19 Level, HistoHa patria, 235. 20Dauxion, 131. 21 Depons, 11, 36. 324 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER cannot come to our support. And the people, already wearied with our government, look up to the English as their protectors and friends /'^^ The central figure in the negotiations relating to the threatened expedition was Francisco de Miranda, who had been trained in Spain. After he left the Spanish service, much of his activity was directed to a project to supplant Spanish rule with a government having a revolutionary origin. His persuasion was effective; even Catharine of Russia became interested in his undertaking, and expressed her determination to support the inde- pendence of South America. She, moreover, by a circular letter to her ambassadors in Europe, ordered them to accord to him their assistance and protection whenever he might need it.^^ VII At a conference at Hollwood, on the 14th of February, 1790, Miranda presented his project to Mr. Pitt, who approved of it, but expressed his inability to assist in its execution except in case of war with Spain. While the Nootka sound con- troversy threatened to lead to war, Miranda urged his plan for the emancipation of Spanish America. In September, 1791, he presented to the British minister the outline of a government he ' ' thought proper to be introduced into South America 22Antepara, 189. 23 Antepara, 15, 41. MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 325 according to the principles of Freedom and Inde- pendency. ' '^* It was proposed to enlist the sympathy of the Indians, who had not ceased to regret the destruc- tion of their ancient state, by reviving the title of Inca for the person holding the executive power and serving as the hereditary head of the federal empire. The senate was to be composed of caciques or senators, appointed by the inca for life. The members of the lower house were to be chosen by popular election. The inca was to ap- point distinguished jurists to be judges, who would hold office for life, unless removed by impeach- ment. Among other officers with titles borrowed from ancient Rome, two censors were to be nom- inated by the citizens and confirmed by the inca. They were to watch over the morals of the sen- ators, of the youth, and of teachers. The doctrine of the relation of statute law to the constitution was evidently borrowed from the United States. No law contrary to the spirit of the constitution would be valid. The plan for amending the pro- posed constitution was also clearly drawn from the United States. Although the proposed state was to be a federation, no mention was made in the constitution of the subordinate political organ- izations or their relation to the supreme govern- ment. But elaborate provision was made for the period of transition until the establishment of the permanent government. 24 Miranda to Pitt, September 8, 1791. Am. Hist. Bev., VII, F. 13. 326 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Miranda 's design was to obtain the support of the United States in order to supplement that expected from Great Britain; but his letters to General Knox and Alexander Hamilton brought no satisfactory results. Great Britain continued to be moved by the ambition to extend her power in America at the expense of Spain, and Spain's declaration of war in 1796 appeared to oifer a favorable occasion for attaining the desired end. The intrigues of Blount supported for a short time the hope of acquiring Florida and Louisiana, but the expulsion of Blount from the senate of the United States nullified all expectations of advan- tage in that direction. It was known in Spain that Miranda was interested in the British enter- prises, and the king admonished the viceroy of New Spain, the captain-general of Yucutan, and the captain-general of Caracas to be on their guard against the machinations of the conspirator and the undertakings of the British. After the capture of Trinidad, the British sec- retary of war directed Thomas Picton, the gover- nor and commander of the island, to keep the inhabitants of the neighboring part of the conti- nent under careful observation, and to assure them of succor from his Britannic Majesty, when- ever they were disposed to renounce the rule of ^ Spain. The course pursued by Picton constituted a distinct propaganda of revolution; and by his presentation of the advantages of holding Caracas and Santa Thome, he sought to induce the British MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 327 government to adopt an aggressive policy. He declared "it would be no difficult matter to sub- vert the Spanish government in the provinces of Cumana and Caracas, the example and effects of which would shake their empire over the whole continent, and would open immediate as well as immense commercial advantages to Great Britain.""^ Miranda continued his negotiations with Great Britain in December, 1797, announcing himself as the representative of a junta said to be composed of deputies from the principal provinces of Span- ish America. He requested that Great Britain would support the movement for emancipation with twenty-seven ships of the line, 8000 infantry, and 2000 cavalry, and suggested, as a means for preserving liberty, an alliance of Great Britain, the United States, and Spanish America. At the same time it was proposed that inter-oceanic navigation should be provided for both at the Isthmus of Panama and by way of Lake Nica- ragua. The next month Miranda attempted to enter into relations with the United States. He visited Rufus King, and through him he hoped to approach Hamilton. Later he unfolded to King his plans, and emphasized the advantages England and the United States would enjoy in the trade of Spanish America. 25 Picton to Dundas, September 18, 1797, quoted by Eobertson in Annual Report of the Am. Hist. Assn., 1907, 1, 315. 328 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER VIII The policy of the British government was com- municated to King by Granville : " If Spain should be able to preserve her independence and prevent a revolution of her government, they should not enter into the project respecting South America; but if it was really to be apprehended that Spain should fall beneath the control of France, then it was their intention to endeavor to prevent France from gaining to their cause the resources of South America. In this event they should immediately open their views and commence a negotiation upon the subject with the United States. At present they deemed it impolitic to engage in the plan of Miranda. ' '^^ The British government, however, continued to keep in mind the possibility of an expedition to South America, and to make preparations for it. Miranda was solicitous to learn the decision reached in England, and at the same time sought to enlist the interest of the administration in America. Hamilton was not enthusiastic over either the plan of the proposed undertaking or its chief advocate; he did not hesitate to call him "an intriguing adventurer."" King endeavored to persuade the United States to action by affirm- ing that South America was on the eve of revo- 26 King, Charles R., Life and correspondence of Bufus King. New York, 1896, 111, 561. 27 Report of Am. Hist. Assn., 1907, 1, 327. MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 329 lution, and that if England did not assist at the movement the work would be done by France to the great disadvantage of the United States. Four months after this, Hamilton appears to have changed his view.-^ He at least wrote favorably of *'the enterprise in question. I wish it much to be undertaken, but I should be glad that the prin- cipal agency was in the United States — they to furnish the whole land force necessary. "^^ The project that was forming involved the cooperation of Great Britain and the United States in revolutionizing South America. But it failed to ripen with sufficient rapidity to satisfy Miranda's extravagant imagination. In his dis- appointment, he entertained for a brief period the idea of going to Trinidad, where Governor Picton had formed a plan to begin the revolution by an attack on the town of Cumana. The British- American cooperative plan to emancipate South America was wrecked. Adams and Pinckney opposed it ; Great Britain was withheld from it by her engagements on the continent, and by her fear of causing the scenes of the French Revolution to be repeated in America. The ministers, however, thought of this failure to act as only a postpone- ment of the project. This was again taken up in 1799. In the subsequent negotiations. Manual Gual, the exiled leader of the conspiracy of 1797, 28 King to Piekney, Marshall, and Gerry, London, April 2, 1798. Life and Correspondence, 11, 300. 29 Hamilton to King, Aug. 22, 1798, King, Life and Corre- spondence, 11, 659. 330 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER appears in correspondence with Miranda and the British commander of the Windward Islands. Later projects for British participation were defeated by the opposition of Granville, yet Miranda was retained in England against his will when he wished to go to France, where he hoped his plans might receive more favorable consider- ation. The treaty of Amiens, March 27, 1802, halted all revolutionary negotiations; but the prospect of renewed hostilities with France and Spain in 1803 caused Miranda's schemes to be revived. And soon after this the plans for attack- ing South America took a wider range. Sir Home Popham urged the government to send an expe- dition against Buenos Aires. Preparations for such an expedition were made in 1804, but the project was suddenly abandoned; England and Spain were still nominally at peace. Again dis- appointed, Miranda determined to go to Trinidad, taking with him such arms and munitions as would be needed in beginning a revolution. But this project also failed. In 1804 Spain declared war on Great Britain. Pitt returned to power, and plans for an attack on South America found new advocates. Sir Home Popham was chosen to conunand an expedition against Buenos Aires, while Miranda continued to urge his plan for a revolution in Venezuela. The Spanish minister in London communicated to his government information concerning the designs of the British and the MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 331 preparations for an attack on Buenos Aires were set aside as well as the proposition to assist Miranda. Thus after negotiating with the British government for fifteen years, Miranda was doomed to see all his schemes come to naught. He made his will, and prepared to go to the United States.^'' IX Miranda arrived in New York in November, 1805. For several months he was engaged in efforts to induce the government of the United States to lend its assistance to his revolutionary undertaking. After his unsuccessful attempts in this quarter, he entered into relations with Smith and Ogden in New York. Mr. Ogden offered the ship Leander, that had been engaged in the trade between New York and Santo Domingo. He also promised to place at his service another ship, then at Santo Domingo, called the Emperor. The Leander put to sea on the 2nd of February, 1806.^^ In his charge to the jury in the trial of William S. Smith, Judge Talmadge said that the Leander ' ' had a very crowded cargo, and was laden almost 30 Miranda 's negotiations with the British government are presented at length in Francisco de Miranda and the revolution- ising of Spanish America, by William Spence Kobertson, in Annual Beport of the Am. Hist. Assn., 1907, 1, 191-528. 31 Miranda and the British Admiralty, 1804-1806, containing "Memorandum by Captain Sir Home Popham" and correspon- dence concerning Miranda 's Expedition of 1806, in Am. Rist. Rev., VI, 508-530. 332 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER entirely with articles of warlike preparation. From 180 to 200 men were engaged in the enter- prise, several of them immediately after took military title and rank, and all were submitting to subordination and discipline; eleven or twelve hundred suits of soldiers' uniforms, about six hundred swords and cuttlasses, and a great num- ber of belts, pouches, and cartridge boxes, about four thousand five hundred pikes, a number of muskets, horsemen's pistols and blunderbuses, all of which were principally in boxes or sacks. Exclusive of her complement of seventeen guns, the Leander had on board about thirty-four can- non, with several field carriages, one hundred and fifty casks of gunpowder, and a quantity of balls suited to cannon and muskets of different caliber. ' '^^ Knowledge of Miranda's departure provoked unwonted activity on the part of the Spanish minister to the United States. He dispatched accounts of this event to the captain-general of Caracas, to the viceroy of New Spain, and to the governors of Cuba and the Floridas. By giving the number of men in the expedition as 1200 in- stead of 180 or 200, he alarmed the inhabitants of the provinces that appeared to be open to invasion. He also protested against the attitude of the United States government in regard to the expe- dition. The French also found the action or 32 Lloyd, Thomas, The trials of William S. Smith and Samuel G. Ogden, New York, 1807, 238, MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 333 inaction of the government blameworthy ; and the protests of these two nations had doubtless much influence in bringing Smith and Ogden to trial; but public sentiment was in favor of the accused, and their acquittal was sometimes interpreted as a verdict against the government. The Leander was halted by the British ship Cleopatra on the 12th of February, and was obliged to surrender to Captain Wight about a score of her crew. Miranda visited the British vessel and presented to the captain his papers showing the relations he had sustained to the Brit- ish government. He also caused a number of Americans recently captured by the British to be released and added to the forces of the expedition. Having been permitted to proceed, Miranda now organized his one hundred and eighty men as the "Columbian Army." He caused the arms and equipment on board to be repaired and made fit for service. Finding at Jacquemel that the Emperor would not join the expedition, Miranda secured two schooners, the Bacchus and the Bee, and transferred to them a number of his men, in spite of their mutinous protest. The three vessels reached the island of Aruba on the 11th of April. The troops were landed and drilled, and five days later they continued their voyage. Guevara Vas- concelos, the captain-general of Caracas, warned by Yrujo, had taken measures for defense, and sent abroad information of the proposed invasion. On the 2nd of May, Lieutenant Brierly, who had 334 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER been at Cumana on the 20th and the 21st of April wrote to Rear- Admiral Cochrane : "The country is in a dreadful state, and embargo on every vessel on this coast, no person suffered to quit his dwelling on pain of death, every person under arms, that is able to bear them, the prisons full of Miranda's friends, and in short everything in the greatest confusion imaginable. In the meantime no person has any knowl- edge of the present situation of Miranda, nor is it even conjectured in which part of the "West Indies he is ; this I am certain, he has a multitude of friends who will join him the moment he appears. "^^ On the 28th of April the vessels of the expedi- tion fell in with two armed Spanish ships, a brig of twenty-two guns, and a schooner of eighteen guns. After a few shots had been exchanged, the Leander ran away, and the persons on the other vessels were taken prisoners and landed at Puerto Cavallo. That night they were ''cramed into a small dungeon shackeled two and two."^* After the loss of the schooners, the Leander went to the island of Granada, and then to Barba- dos, arriving at the latter island in the first week in June. Cochrane, who was stationed there, replied to Miranda's petition for assistance, that he would furnish a number of small vessels and 33 Am. Hist. 'Rev., VI, 522. 34 Diary and Letters of Henry Ingersoll, in Am. Hist. Bev., Ill, 681; (Sherman, John A.) ^ general account of Miranda's Expe- dition, including the trial and execution of ten of his officers, New York, 1808, giving also some account of the fate of the other prisoners; Smith, Moses, History and adventures and sufferings of Moses Smith, Albany, 1814. MIRANDA'S EXPEDITION 335 such additional support as he might be able to give. He also extended to him permission to enlist re- cruits in Barbados and Trinidad. Miranda's petition to General Bowyer, of the British land forces of the Leeward Islands, called forth a more cautious reply. The general proposed, before making a decision, to receive instructions from Great Britain. Miranda was, however, not dis- posed to wait for such instructions, and left Bar- bados, accompanied by three small British vessels. At Trinidad the little squadron was increased by the addition of six or seven other ships. The vessels of ''the expedition attached to General Miranda" were by order of Admiral Cochrane, under the command of Captain Campbell. They arrived in the bay of La Vela de Coro on the 1st of August. The troops landed on the 3rd, and took the forts and the town of Coro. Listead of the popular uprising in favor of emancipation, the greater part of the inhabitants fled, carrying with them whatever property they could take away. Miranda's proclamation, setting forth his de- sign with respect to the form of the government to be established, and a "letter to the Spanish Americans" produced no assuring effect. More- over, his letters to Admiral Cochrane, Admiral Dacres, of the Jamaica naval station, and Sir Eyre Costo, the governor of Jamaica, brought no favorable reply, except that Admiral Cochrane proposed to continue such assistance as the small squadron under Captain Campbell could furnish. 336 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER In the meantime the oiGficers of the province had sent forth a call for troops. The merchants exaggerated reports concerning Miranda's forces .and the designs of the leader; and in the face of the increasing numbers of the enemy the invaders found it advisable to withdraw to the island of Aruba. In September Captain Dundas, of the British ship Elephant, warned Miranda that the protection of the British naval force would be withdrawn unless he retired from Aruba. On the 21st of October, Miranda, with some of his officers, arrived at Granada. Meanwhile Vasconcelos, ignorant of the extent of Great Britain's partici- pation in the revolutionizing projects, continued to maintain the captaincy-general in a state of tense anxiety with respect to the next move of the champions of emancipation. But at Granada, the military uniforms and the flag of the expedition disappeared; the Leander was sold; the insig- nificant remnant of the troops received a partial payment; and how to meet or avoid his other obligations constituted for Miranda one of the residuary cares of the campaign.^^ 35 An intimate and unsympathetic account of the expedition is presented in Biggs' letters: The History of Don Francisco de Miranda's attempt to effect a Bevolution in South America, Boston, 1811. CHAPTER XIII THE BRITISH CAPTURE AND LOSS OF BUENOS AIRES The trade of Buenos Aires. II. Plans of Great Britain respecting South America. III. The Brit- ish advance and capture of the city. IV. Liniers and the overthrow of Beresford. V. The cabildo and Liniers in power. VI. British reinforcements and the recall of Popham. VII. The final British attack and failure. The second attempt to overthrow from without the rule of Spain in South America was directed / against the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. After the extension of commercial freedom in 1778, there was a noteworthy increase of shipping at Buenos Aires. In the three years from 1792 to 1795 forty-seven vessels left that port, and fifty- three vessels arrived from Spain. The value of the exportations and the importations for this period amounted to somewhat more than $8,- 000,000. There was also a great increase in the internal trade. Mendoza and San Juan sold annually large quantities of wine and brandy; and Tucuman had an extensive trade in hides and textile fabrics. Paraguay's trade was chiefly in 338 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER mate, tobacco, and lumber. Of the mate exported, Chile consumed about 4,000,000 pounds, and paid for it with exported gold and silver. The mules sent to Peru from the eastern prov- inces of the viceroyalty were driven by easy stages to Salta, where they were kept over the winter; and in the spring they were taken to Potosi. In the province of Buenos Aires they cost at that time between three and four dollars a head, but at Potosi they brought eight or nine dollars a head. In case they were taken farther into the country, they brought a larger price, amounting in some places to forty or fifty dollars apiece. They were required in Peru for use in the mines, but the hard conditions under which they worked caused many of them to be short-lived, thus mak- ing the demand for them greater than it would have been if they had been employed under more favorable circumstances. Cordova, Salta, and Jujui lay on the main route from Buenos Aires to Peru, and the inhab- itants of these towns, by furnishing means of transportation, derived important advantages from this overland trade. The goods were gen- erally carried in carts drawn by four or more oxen; and the freight rate from Buenos Aires to Jujui was four dollars a quintal, or approximately four cents a pound. For transportation beyond Jujui mules were substituted for oxen and carts, and the rates varied according to the season and the abundance or scarcity of mules. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 339 The early policy to make Buenos Aires de- pendent on Lima for European wares was checked, as has been indicated already, by the rise of contraband trade with the Portuguese; and the commercial emancipation of the eastern provinces from Peru was finally completed by the increase of importations at Buenos Aires directly from European ports. In this later trade with Peru, therefore, Buenos Aires, having a cheaper source from which to obtain European wares, received in return for her exportations large quantities of gold and silver, products of the Peruvian mines. The trade between Buenos Aires and the western coast by sea was inconsiderable. Now and then a vessel arrived at Montevideo from Callao with wares intended for shipment to Spain. Ships were also occasionally sent from Monte- video to Arica with quicksilver for the mines, and they carried at the same time small quantities of mate and tallow. The principal trade of Buenos Aires with Chile was through the province of Cuyo, on the eastern side of the Andes. The exports from Chile and Cuyo to the eastern provinces were woollen goods, particularly ponchos, wines, brandy, and oil; raisins and dried peaches; apples, snuff, and sugar; and copper, gold, and cordage. The enlarged freedom of commerce gave an increased value to the products of the herds of Eio de la Plata. Hides and salted beef could now be profitably exported in the numerous vessels 340 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER that brought European wares to Buenos Aires. The wealth of the inhabitants increased rapidly, and justified the expenditure of large sums on private houses; and the viceroy took advantage of this prosperity to embellish the city with important public buildings. The city hall and the mint were begun in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Buenos Aires had previously grown very slowly under the severe restriction which Spain had placed upon her trade. In 1608 the town con- tained 2000 inhabitants. During the following one hundred and seventy years its population increased from 2000 to 24,205, an average addition of only about 130 persons a year. The progress was more rapid after the organization of the viceroyalty and the establishment of commercial freedom. The last quarter of the eighteenth century added somewhat more than 15,000 per- sons to the city's population, so that at the begin- ning of the nineteenth century Buenos Aires contained 40,000 inhabitants, and 46,000 in 1810.^ II The British government had contemplated for a long time the conquest of some part of South America. It was solicitous to obtain a New World market as compensation for the loss of the North American colonies. The projects of Miranda 1 Lopez, V. F., Historia de la Bepuilica Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1883, I, cap. XXVI. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 341 seemed to offer an opportunity for gaining control of Venezuela. It was not less solicitous to prevent any diminution of British power and prestige in the East Indies, menaced chiefly by the Dutch in possession of Cape Colony. Preparations for a campaign against South America had already been undertaken, as already suggested, in 1804. In that year Sir Home Pop- ham was appointed to the ship Diadem, "with a view of cooperating with General Miranda, to the extent of taking advantage of any of his proceed- ings, which might lead to our obtaining a position on the continent of South America, favorable to the trade of this country."^ The point to be aimed at in the projected attack was revealed by the testimony of Lord Melville at the trial of Popham. "At all times," he said, "and in every conversation that I had with Mr. Pitt on the subject, I make no doubt Buenos Aires was often the subject of discussion. My reason for being confident in that opinion is, that in all the considerations I ever gave to the subject of South America, whether the attack was to be made on a smaller or larger scale, I always considered the Rio de la Plata as the most important position for the interest of Great Britain upon that side of South America. ' '^ The proposed attack was not made directly from Great Britain. In August, 1805, an expedi- tion to the Cape sailed from Cork. The naval 2 Lord Melville, head of the Board of Admiralty ; see Minutes of a court-martial for the Trial of Sir Home Popham, London, 1807, 139. 3 Ibid., 140. 342 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER forces were under the command of Sir Home Popham ; General David Baird commanded a land force of 6600 men. This expedition arrived at its destination on the 4th of January, 1806. The Cape fell into the hands of the British without great cost, and soon afterwards it was determined to make an attempt on Buenos Aires. Sir Home Popham and Brigadier-General Beres- ford commanded the expedition to the Eio de la Plata, which consisted of three frigates, three corvettes, and five transports, carrying in all one hundred and seventy-eight guns. The Board of Admiralty took the view that this expedition to Buenos Aires was undertaken by the officers at the Cape without any superior ''direction or authority whatever," leaving the Cape, "which it was Sir Home Popham 's duty to guard, not only exposed to attack and insult, but even with- out the means of affording protection to the trade of his Majesty's subjects, or of taking possession of any ships of the enemy, which might have put into any of the bays or harbors of the Cape or ports adjacent."* Sir Home Popham had been directed, however, by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to send a frigate to cruise on the east coast of South America between Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata, as soon as he should have accomplished the object of the expedition on which he was about to proceed, for the purpose of procuring intelli- * Admiralty Order in Trial of Sir Home Popham, 4. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 343 gence of the enemy's motions, in order that he might be prepared against any attack they might be disposed to make on the settlement.*^ And in September he was directed from the Admiralty office to retain all the transports under his com- mand at the Cape of Good Hope, after the reduc- tion of that settlement, until he should receive further orders.® While at Portsmouth in 1805, Sir Home Pop- ham had received information of the weak state of the garrison at the Cape of Good Hope. ' ' This intelligence," he said, "appeared to me so impor- tant, not only from the advantage to be derived from the capture of the Cape of Good Hope itself, but from the facility which the possession of that settlement would afford to the projected conquest of the dependencies on the east coast of South America, that I lost no time in coming up to town and communicating it to Mr. Pitt." The communication was made through Mr. Sturges Bourne, then one of the secretaries of the Treas- ury, whom Mr. Pitt immediately authorized to make further inquiries on the subject "in the quarter from which the communication was stated to be derived." The result of the information obtained by this means "was a complete confirma- tion of the statement made by Sir Home Popham ; and Mr. Pitt instantly determined to take the necessary measures for the execution of an expe- 5 John Barrow to Sir Home Popham, August 2, 1805; see Trial, 17. 6 Ibid., 18. 344 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER dition against the Cape. ' ' The suggestion of Sir Home Popham appears thus to have been the origin of Pitt's plan; for Sturges Bourne said before the court-martial: "I am quite sure that Mr. Pitt had no such expedition in his contem- plation at the time Sir Home Popham made his proposal, and I have no reason to believe that any other of the king's ministers had such an object in view." But whatever their origin, Mr. Pitt's views with respect to South America were not confined to introducing British manufactures, but took a wider range. ^ The origin of the plan to take Buenos Aires which was carried out at this time may be seen in the correspondence produced at the trial of Pop- ham. In a letter written by Popham to William Marsden, of the Admiralty Office, and dated April 9, 1806, he announced that, on account of the unsettled weather, he proposed to remove his squadron from its position in Table Bay, and that he considered the coming of Admiral Willeaumez very improbable. As it was expected that the French fleet would be obliged to resort to Rio de la Plata or the coast of Brazil for supplies, he thought "employing the squadron in cruising a short time off that coast, instead of remaining idle, will be a disposition fraught with some advantages, and which I hope will appear so evident to their Lordships as to induce them to approve the measure. ' ' Starting on the 10th, the 7 Trial of Sir Home Poplmm, 142, 146. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 345 lack of the requisite breeze led him to anchor in the outer bay, and here he received ''intelligence respecting the weak state of defence which Monte- video and Buenos Aires were in." With this information, confirming what he had already learned from other sources, he "suggested the expediency of sparing a few troops for a short time, to enable us to bring a question of such importance to an immediate issue."* Popham urged this undertaking, "from a conviction of the great and splendid benefit which the country would derive by a conquest of such a nature at this moment." Sir David Baird after consider- ing the subject seriously and consulting with Gen- eral Beresford acceded to the proposition, and ordered that the 71st regiment should be em- barked under the direction of General Beresford. The main advantage of the conquest suggested at this time was the opportunity "to supply several millions of inhabitants with the manufactures of the United Kingdom. ' '^ The conquest, moreover, was not expected to be difficult, for Popham was convinced as the result of his examinations that there were "not above five hundred regular troops at the two places, some provincial cavalry and militia; that the walls of Montevideo are in a very ruinous state ; and the inhabitants disaffected beyond any calculation." In his letter of April 13, 1806, 8 Popham to William Marsden, April 13, 1806. 9 Popham to William Marsden, April 30, 1806. 346 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Popliam expressed the hope that his superiors in London would consider the undertaking "as far preferable to the alternative of allowing the squadron to moulder away its native energy, by wintering in False Bay, and eventually become paralyzed. ' ' III While on the voyage Popham had a plan to take Montevideo as soon as he neared the coast, and then to pass on to Buenos Aires. But infor- mation received from a British pilot who fell into his hands as he entered the river persuaded him that it would be expedient to move immedi- ately against the latter city. Major-General Baird in his instructions to Brigadier-General Beresford directed him to assume the office of lieutenant-governor, "and to draw whatever salary and allowances may have been enjoyed by the Spanish Governor, his imme- diate predecessor, until His Majesty shall be graciously pleased to make known his pleasure. ' '^° During the advance of the British the city was in confusion, and the authorities displayed only weakness and indecision. After the vessels had been observed entering the river, Jose de la Pena, the chief pilot of the royal fleet, went along the coast in search of definite information con- cerning these vessels. On the night of the 23d 10 Major-General Baird to Eight Hon. Lord Castlereagh, April 14, 1806, Trial of Sir Home Popham, 59. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 347 of June, 1806, in accordance with Viceroy Sobre- monte's orders, he reported to that officer at Buenos Aires. But the viceroy refused to adopt Pena 's advice, and held that the vessels were only cruising, and had not come to attack the colony. On the 24th, Pena returned to Ensenada to await the viceroy's orders. At daybreak, on the 25th, British vessels appeared off Buenos Aires. The viceroy now caused a call to arms to be sounded, and between seven and nine o'clock the inhabi- tants gathered at the fort. "But in spite of all this, still no preparations were made ; on the con- trary, the viceroy remained inactive, notwith- standing the fact that the ships of the enemy were seen approaching Quilmes, three or four leagues from the city, and disembarking in boats and launches."" Finally as a result of persistent urging the viceroy caused arms to be distributed to the militia of Buenos Aires. This force, having been joined by 800 lancers under the command of Nicolas de la Quintana, was sent to Quilmes to attack the enemy, and was to be under the com- mand of Sub-Inspector Pedro de Arce. In the meantime 1000 citizens had been given arms at the fort, but they had no cartidges and their guns had no flints. These things they were to get from their respective captains in the afternoon. On the 26th, at eleven o'clock in the morning, 600 of the jjrovincial militia with their officers marched to Barracas, with the viceroy as their rear-guard.^^ 11 Calvo, Tratados, IV, 387. 12 Ibid., IV, 388. 348 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER In the meantime the British had landed; the Argentines after firing from a distance fled, leav- ing three cannon and a howitzer which were immediately taken possession of by their enemy. During this skirmish a second call to arms was sounded in the city, announcing to the rest of the inhabitants who remained in the town that their compatriots found themselves in great need of assistance. During these operations the alarm had spread through all parts of the city. The inhabitants were terrified by the news of the arrival of the British forces. The panic was, moreover, intensi- fied by the ringing of the bells; and the viceroy, abandoning all hope of effective resistance, was fully occupied in preparing for flight. But before his departure for the interior of the country, he published, June 26, 1806, a manifesto to the inhabitants he was cowardly deserting. There were in the city no disciplined troops, and no competent leaders. In the companies that were formed to ward off the impending invasion, the officers were as ignorant as the rank and file. On the 27th of June the British troops, numbering fifteen hundred and sixty men, entered Buenos Aires. The population of the city at this time was about 45,000 and the more spirited of the inhabitants felt deeply the humiliation of their subjugation, particularly when they saw how small was the body of the conquerors who took possession of the streets and squares, and pro- THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 349 ceeded to make their power effective in the government/^ Having taken possession of the city, and raised the British flag, with much firing of cannon both by the fleet and the artillery on shore, Beresford ordered the public treasure to be put into his hands. Under the circumstances compliance with this demand was inevitable. The money was sur- rendered and transferred to London. A large amount of merchandise also fell into the hands of the British. It consisted principally of chinchona and quicksilver, and was estimated to be worth between one million and two million dollars, namely, $1,438,514. The arrival of the spoils in London aroused general joy, and filled the British nation with extravagant expectations of ^commer- cial gains. The government of Great Britain had not authorized this conquest, but now it approved and confirmed it. The effect of the fall of Buenos Aires and of the plan of the British to invade Chile was to stimulate the government in Peru to undertake 13 In his Autobiography, Belgrano makes the following state- ment respecting the taking of the city by the British: "Confieso que me indigne, y que nunea senti mas haber ignorado, como ya dije anteriormente, hasta los rudimentos de la milicia; todavia fue mayor mi incomodidad cuando vf entrar las tropas enemigas, y su despreciable numero para una problacion como la de Buenos Aires ; esta idea no se aparto de mi imaginacion, y poco falto para que me hubiese hecho perder la cabeza: me era muy dolor oso ver a mi patria bajo otra dominacion, y sobre todo en tal estado de degradacion que hubiese sido subyugada por una empresa aventurera, cual era la del bravo y honrado Beresford, cuyo valor admiro y admirare siempre en esta peligrosa empresa. ' ' 350 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER preparations for the defense of the western coast of South America. The viceroy Abascal sent forces and supplies to Chiloe, aroused the Peru- vians to enlist in the militia, and proposed to lead a body of troops to Chile, and, if necessary, to Buenos Aires. The struggle of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires to drive out the British and regain the city moved the Peruvians under the leadership of Abascal to lend assistance. They sent 100,000 pesos by way of Cuzco, and 200,000 from the treasuries of Arequipa and Puno. From Chile were sent 1800 quintals of powder, 200,000 cartridges and 200 quintals of balls, and other munitions and supplies. After the surrender of the funds, the inten- tions of the British government were made known to the inhabitants through proclamations, dated June 28 and June 30, and issued by the command- ing officers. These proclamations affirmed, among other things, that a free trade should be opened and permitted to South America, similar to that enjoyed by all others of His Majesty's colonies, particularly the island of Trinidad, the inhab- itants of which had derived peculiar benefits from being under the government of a sovereign power- ful enough to protect them from any insult, and generous enough to give them such commercial advantages as they could not enjoy under the administration of any other country. The terms granted to the inhabitants of Buenos Aires by Popham and Beresford were THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 351 published on the second of July. They provided that the troops belonging to the king of Spain, who were in the town at the time of the entry of the British troops, should be allowed to meet in the fortress of Buenos Aires, to march out of the fort with all the honors of war, and should then lay down their arms and become prisoners of war ; but such officers as were natives of the country, or legally domiciled, should be at liberty to continue in the province as long as they behaved themselves properly, taking the oath of allegiance to His Britannic Majesty ; or they might proceed to Great Britain with regular passports, having previously passed their parole of honor not to serve until they should be regularly exchanged. Moreover, all bona fide private property, whether belonging to individual persons, the churches, or public institutions, should be unmolested; all the inhab- itants should receive protection; the different taxes should be collected by the magistrates, as usual, until His Majesty's pleasure should be known ; every protection should be afforded to the exercise of the Roman Catholic religion ; the coast- ing vessels in the river should be delivered to their owners; and all public property should be sur- rendered to the captors." By proclamation, dated August 4, 1806, Major- General Beresford made known the conditions 1* The document setting forth these terms, dated July 2, 1806, is printed in Wilcocke, S. H., History of Buenos Aires (London, 1807), 352; see Annual Register, 1806, 599; the original, printed in Spanish and English, is found in Colec. Carransa : Invasiones Inglesas, 1806-1807, i. 352 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER under which trade with Buenos Aires and its dependencies might be carried on. He informed the people ' ' that the system of monopoly, restriction and oppression has already come to an end ; that the people will be able to enjoy the products of other countries at a moderate price; that the manufactures and productions of their country are free from the hindrance and oppression that has burdened them, and prevented the country from becoming what it is capable of being, the most flourishing in the world ; and that the object of Great Britain is the happiness and prosperity of these countries." The regulations announced by this procla- mation^^ provided that a lawful trade in all merchandise, fruits, manufactured articles, and products from Great Britain, Ireland, and her colonies might be carried on with Buenos Aires and its dependencies, in British ships owned by His Majesty's subjects, or by inhabitants of that country, upon paying, in general, a duty of twelve and one-half per cent ad valorem, on entering any port of Rio de la Plata ; and that all commodities produced in that country should be permitted to be imported into the United Kingdom, in the ships already mentioned, under the same terms as from the West India islands. 15 The original proclamation is found in Colec. Carranza : Inva- siones Inglesas, 1806-1807. The order of the king in council affirming possession of the conquered city and territory and con- firming the terms of Beresford's proclamation made it clear that the British government had adopted the results of the conquest, and held the city and the territory as a part of the dominions of the British sovereign. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 353 IV Beresford was not ignorant of the prepara- tions a part of the inhabitants were making to resist the invaders and to drive them out of the city. Through his spies he was kept informed of the steps taken to organize a patriotic force at Perdriel, a place about fifteen miles from the city. Against these patriots, who had raised their standard of blue and red, Beresford led a body of five hundred men with six pieces of artillery. In spite of the brave resistance of Pueyrredon and his followers Beresford was victorious. The killed and wounded on both sides, however, did not amount to more than a dozen persons. Although those who had determined on the re- conquest of the city were temporarily scattered, they were not discouraged nor were their plans changed. They were almost immediately united with certain forces under Liniers, that had been collected at Colonia, and had left that town for the southern shore on the 3d of August. On the eve of his departure from Colonia, Liniers issued a proclamation to his troops, in which he expressed his confidence in their zeal and patriotism, but affirmed "that if, contrary to his expectations, some forgetting their principles should turn their face from the enemy, they should know that there will be a cannon in the rear charged with grape-shot, with orders to fire on fugitive cowards. ' ' 354 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER "Valor without discipline," this proclamation con- tinues, "only leads to immediate ruin; forces united and subordinate to the voice of those who direct them furnish the most secure means of attaining victory ; therefore I order and command that the most scrupulous obedience be observed, under the most severe penalties of the ordinances for such cases."" In crossing from Colonia the Spanish forces took advantage of a gale that swelled the waters on the bank of Palmas permitting their ships to pass over in safety. .They were favored, more- over, by the violent rains that set in, making the roads practically impassable by any force but cavalry ; and they were abundantly supplied with horses, while the British had only a few they were able to obtain in the city. Recog-nizing his dis- advantageous position, Beresford deemed it ad- visable to withdraw from the center of the town to the right bank of the Riachuelo. He sent over the wounded and the treasure, but here the Span- iards intervened and prevented his retreat. General Beresford had expected to be able to keep Liniers' forces at a distance from the town, but his inadequate means of communication and the condition of the roads prevented the execution of his plan. On the 10th of August the Spaniards had closed in upon the town, and occupied the principal avenues, while the inhabitants had 16 This proclamation was dated August 1, and the forces left Colonia on the 3d (Liniers to the Prince of Peace, August 16, 1806) ; for this and other documents relating to the English invasion, see Calvo, Tratados de la America Latina, V, 1-118. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 355 armed themselves and taken possession of the housetops and the churches, prepared to carry on guerilla warfare from their posts of advantage. Only a part of the force that had been collected under Liniers was armed; and as it entered the city it continued to be attended by a large number of persons who had neither the arms nor the disci- pline of soldiers. The people were aroused to do what they might, whether with or without arms, to further the cause of their emancipation; and the unarmed were especially helpful in assisting to bring up the artillery. Liniers' success in life had hitherto been lim- ited by his personal character. He was a man, according to General Mitre's description, of "high spirit, sensitive imagination, reckless tempera- ment, with more good-nature than energy, and with more zeal in taking up projects than perse- verence in carrying them out; he was intelligent, active, and brave, uniting to an heroic yet vacil- lating ambition the frivolous passions of a super- ficial man ; although he was not wanting in moral elevation and had the characteristics of a gentle- man, he was guided rather by his emotions than his judgment. "^^ On the 10th of August Liniers demanded from Beresford the surrender of the city. To his request the British general replied that he would defend it as long as it might be done with- in Mitre, Historia de Belgrmio, I, 128 ; Groussac, Paul, Santiago de Liniers, Conde de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, 1907. 356 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER out overwhelming the inhabitants in calamity. Liniers received this answer at eleven o'clock at night, and three hours later his forces began the march; at five o'clock in the morning they occu- pied the square, Retiro, and here the contest for the possession of the city began. The result of the fighting which followed in the streets and from the housetops was the unconditional sur- render of Beresford and his troops, on the 12th of August. The lost in killed and wounded was three hundred; twelve hundred laid down their arms and became prisoners of war. The victors lost two hundred in killed and wounded.^^ After the overthrow of the British the fate of Buenos Aires was in the hands of the popular army. The viceroy, the representative of the sovereign, had fled before the invaders, and was hopelessly discredited. Under the circumstances it devolved upon the municipality to initiate a movement to effect an organization. This was done by calling a congress of one hundred persons known as notables. This congress was opened, according to Mitre, * ' in the presence of more than four thousand spectators resolved to intervene in the discussion if it was necessary."^® 18 Liniers to the Prince of Peace, August 16, 1806; Sir Home Popham to W. Marsden, August 25, 1806. 10 Historia de Belgrano, I, 141. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 357 Under the strong pressure of a clamorous public, the chief military command was formally conferred upon Liniers, and a committee carrying a notification of this appointment was sent to Sobremonte. The viceroy was found about forty leagues from Buenos Aires at the head of a force of three thousand men, and he professed to be advancing to reconquer the city which had already been reconquered by the citizens themselves. At first he refused to assent to the appointment of Liniers, but was soon convinced by the attitude of the municipality that opposition was useless. He was also convinced that the period of his service as viceroy was ended. This change left the civil and military power distributed among the audiencia, the cabildo, or municipal corporation, and Liniers, as the mili- trry chief. Under this new order, two of the authorities, the cabildo and the military chief, had a popular basis for their power. It was the voice of the populace which had insisted that Liniers should be formally recognized as the leader of the armed force; and the cabildo was the repre- sentative body of the municipal republic. In the process of colonial emancipation the audiencia, whose members were appointed by the king, and represented absolute power, appeared destined to diminish relatively in influence as the people grew in power. 358 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER VI After the surrender of the troops in the city under Beresford, the fleet remained in the river blockading the ports of both shores. The first reinforcements to arrive were 1400 men from Cape Colony; the next were 4300 men sent from England under the command of General Samuel Auchmuty. Admiral Stirling, who was in com- mand of the convoying fleet from England, was ordered to relieve Sir Home Popham. Both of these expeditions were dispatched before it was known in London that Beresford had been de- feated; and they were originally designed to assist him in holding the position he had won. Another expedition of 4400 men had been pre- pared to invade Chile, but was ordered to the Rio de la Plata when the result of the popular uprising in Buenos Aires had become known to the British government. A little later still another body of 1630 men was sent, under the immediate command of Major-General Levi son Gower. In the begin- ning of the year 1807, the British had assembled near Buenos Aires an army of about 12,000 men, a fleet of eighteen war vessels, and more than eighty transports. The chief command over all the land forces serving in this region was con- ferred upon Lieutenant-General Whitelocke.^" General Whitelocke was commanded, in case the 20 Whitelocke 's military commission was dated February 24, 1807; see Trial of Lieut.-Gen. WhitelocJce, London, 1808, I, 5. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 359 British succeeded in establishing their authority in the southern provinces of South America, to assume and exercise the civil government of the conquered territory, and to pay himself a salary of four thousand pounds sterling per annum out of any revenues that might be collected in these provinces. Before the news of the disaster reached Lon- don an order was issued for the recall of Sir Home Popham. The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty had before them Popham 's letter of July 6, containing information that the city of Buenos Aires and its dependencies had surren- dered to His Majesty's arms: and they found it advisable to take note of the irregularity of the conquest. On September 25 their secretary, Wil- liam Marsden, wrote to Popham : "I have received their Lordship's commands to acquaint you, that although they have judged it neces- sary to mark their disapproval of a measure of such importance being undertaken without the sanction of his Majesty's government, and of your having left the station it was your duty to guard without any naval defence, they are nevertheless pleased to express their entire approbation of the judicious, able, and spirited conduct manifested by yourself, the officers, seamen, and mariners employed under your orders on the above occa- sion." Rear admiral Stirling, appointed to succeed Popham, was authorized to determine in which ship Popham should return to England and, in performing this duty, he indicated the Sampson, 360 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER which had a convoy in charge for the Cape of Good Hope, and was then to proceed to Saint Helena on the way to Europe. In protesting against this order Sir Home Pophom wrote: ' ' It is natural, Sir, for me to feel mortified at the idea of having, by any act of mine, given their Lordships cause to supersede me in this country; but when, in addition to this, I learn that it is proposed that I should be subject to all the aggravation of a voyage lengthened by proceeding from South America to South Africa, thence to Saint Helena for convoy, on my way to Eng- land, I cannot but say it is the severest punishment that could be inflicted on me. To a mind sensible, as I trust mine is, to every reproach — to any man of proper feeling — it is that sort of punishment which I consider second- ary to scarcely any but death : it is carrying me in a situation humbled in the extreme to the place which, in conjunction with Sir David Baird, I had the honor to capture. There are also reasons, too evident to need any explanation, which would make a visit to Saint Helena, situated as I am, equally galling to my feel- ings. "^^ The subsequent correspondence on this subject showed Stirling's meanness of spirit under cir- cumstances where he could have afforded to be generous. After his arrival in England Sir Home Pop- ham was tried by a court-martial, held on the Gladiator; and at the conclusion of the trial the following verdict was rendered : "The Court is of the opinion, that the charges have been proved against the said Captain Sir Home Popham. 21 Sir Home Popham to Rear- Admiral Stirling, December 7, 1806. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 361 That the withdrawing, without orders so to do, the whole of any naval force from the place where it is directed to be employed, and the employing it in distant opera- tions against the enemy; more especially if the success of such operations should be likely to prevent its speedy return, may be attended with the most serious incon- venience to the public service, as the success of any plan formed by his Majesty's Ministers for operations against the enemy, in which such naval force might be included, may by such removal entirely be prevented. And the Court is further of opinion, that the conduct of the said Captain Sir Home Popham, in the withdrawing the whole of the naval force under his command from the Cape of Good Hope, and the proceeding with it to the Rio de la Plata, was highly censurable, but in consider- ation of circumstances doth adjudge him to be only severely reprimanded; and the said Captain Sir Home Popham is hereby severely reprimanded accordingly."^^ VII The British forces took possession of Monte- video, Maldonado, and Colonia, and appeared to have established their authority firmly on the left bank of the river. "Merchant vessels had followed in the wake of the ships of war, and the river, lately so deserted, was encum- bered with vessels having on board more merchandise than the country would be able to consume in five years. Montevideo had all the appearance of an English city; English placards covered the walls; in all the streets English shops were opened, where English cloth was sold at half the price which had hitherto been paid for it, on account of the thousand hindrances of the Spanish cus- 22 Trial of Sir Home Popliam, 179, 180. 362 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER toms, and the unreasonable demands of the smugglers. Finally a Spanish-English journal, The Star of the South, was established under the patronage and with the assistance of the English administration, with the pur- pose of undermining the authority of Spain, whose decadence and weakness it was pleased to expose. ' '^^ About three months after the taking of Monte- video, Wliitelocke and Crawford arrived. In view of the firm footing that had been gained on the left bank of the river, and the fact that 1600 men had previously taken the city, the task of the commander-in-chief, at the head of an army of twelve thousand men, did not appear difficult. On the 28th of June, 1807, the British forces landed at Ensenada, a little port about sixteen leagues southeast of Buenos Aires. Since Beresford's easy victory the spirit of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires had undergone a great change, which was in a measure manifest in their expul- sion of the invaders, and they now found them- selves directed by leaders of energy and foresight. Alzaga stood at the head of the municipality, and the national battalions were commanded by Saavedra, Belgrano, Esteban Romero, Balcarce, Viamont, and Martin Rodriguez. The bulk of the inhabitants, in view of the force and skill that were brought against them, appreciated the diffi- culties of the situation ; but at the same time they felt confident of success. The British, advancing towards the city, crossed the Riachuelo, and inflicted upon the 23 Arcos, La Flata, Paris, 1865, 214. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 363 Spaniards a partial defeat. This defeat de- stroyed the hopeful expectations of the people and spread a pall of evil foreboding over the city. In the night which followed, Alzaga caused the city to be placed in a condition of defense. The streets around the plaza were cut by deep trenches ; the troops were distributed on the roofs of the churches and other buildings; and the artillery was placed behind street barricades, and where it might command the trenches. Confidence returned to the defenders of the city. The leaders of the attacking party appeared also to be con- fident of victory, for in summoning the city to surrender he offered the following conditions : "1. All British subjects detained in South America must be delivered up, and sufficient hostages placed in the power of the British commander till their arrival at Buenos Aires. "2. That all persons holding civil offices dependent on the government of Buenos Aires, and all military officers and soldiers become prisoners of war. "3. That all cannon, stores, arms, and ammunition be delivered up uninjured. "4. That all public property of every description be delivered up to the British commanders. "5. That free and unrestrained exercise of the Roman Catholic religion be granted to the inhabitants of Buenos Aires. ''6. That all private property on shore shall be re- spected and secured to its owners. ' ' In replying to this proposition, the Spaniards refused to consider any terms which involved the laying down of their arms. The day following the 364 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER date of this reply, namely, the 4th of July, Gen- eral Whitelocke wrote to Liniers, stating that he had another column of troops awaiting his orders within little more than a league of the capital; that he had considerable reinforcements on board ship ; and that the navy was ready to support such military operations as might be adopted. But Liniers appears not to have been profoundly impressed by the assurance of the invader, and replied, on the same day, that whilst he had am- munition and whilst the spirit which animated the garrison and the people continued to exist, he would not think of delivering up the post which had been confided to him, convinced that he had more than sufficient means to resist all the forces that were ready to be brought against him. Active hostilities began in the city on the 5th of July; and as the result of this day for the British there were 1130 killed and wounded, including 70 officers, and 120 officers and 1500 private soldiers made prisoners. It was now the Spaniards' turn to assume a tone of confidence. At five o 'clock on the evening of the conflict, Liniers wrote the fol- lowing letter to General Whitelocke: "The same sentiments of humanity which induced your Excellency to propose to me to capitulate, lead me, now that I am fully acquainted with your force, that I have taken 80 officers and upwards of 1000 men, and killed more than double that number, without your hav- ing reached the centre of my position ; the same senti- ments I say, lead me in order to avoid a greater effusion of blood, and to give your Excellency a fresh proof of THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 365 Spanish generosity, to offer to your Excellency, that if you choose to reembark with the remainder of your army, to evacuate Montevideo, and the whole of the River Plate, leaving me hostages for the execution of the treaty, I will not only return all the prisoners which I have now made, but also all those which were taken from General Beresford : at the same time I think it necessary to state, that if your Excellency does not admit this offer, I cannot answer for the safety of the prisoners, as my troops are so infinitely exasperated against them, and the more so, as three of my Aids-de-Camp have been wounded bearing flags of truce ; and for this reason I send your Excellency this letter by an English officer, and shall wait your answer one hour. "^* Whitelocke's reply was dated July 6, and in it he affirmed that the idea of surrendering the advantage which the army had gained was quite inadmissible; but the tone of this communication did not suggest a boasting spirit on the part of the writer, and in the treaty which was signed on the following day, he acceded to virtually all of the demands made by Liniers. What the con- ditions of the final agreement were, can hardly be more succinctly stated than in the language of the treaty itself : "I. There shall be from this time a cessation of hos- tilities on both sides of the River Plata. ' ' II. The troops of his Britannic Majesty shall retain for the period of two months the fortress and place of Montevideo, and as a neutral country there shall be con- sidered a line drawn from San Carlos on the west to Parido on the east, and there shall not be on any part of that line hostilities committed on any side, the neu- 24 Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whiteloclce, Appendix, vol. I, p. xxxviii. 366 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER trality being understood, only that the individuals of both nations may live freely under their respective laws, the Spanish subjects being judged by theirs, as the English by those of their nation. "III. There shall be on both sides a mutual restitu- tion of prisoners, including not only those which have been taken since the arrival of the troops under Lieu- tenant-General Whitelocke, but also all those his Britan- nic Majesty's subjects captured in South America since the commencement of the war. "IV. That for the promptest dispatch of the vessels and troops of his Britannic Majesty, there shall be no impediment thrown in the way of the supplies of pro- visions which may be requested for Montevideo. "V. A period of ten days from this time is given for the reembarkation of his Britannic Majesty's troops to pass to the north side of the River La Plata, with the arms which may be actually in their power, stores, equip- age, at the most convenient points which may be selected, and during this time provisions ma}^ be sold to them. "VI. That at the time of the delivery of the place and fortress of Montevideo, which shall take place at the end of the two months fixed in the second article, th',? delivery will be made in the terms it was found, and with the artillery it had when it was taken." "VII. Three officers of rank shall be delivered for and until the fulfillment of the above articles by both parties, being well understood that his Britannic Majesty's officers who have been on their parole cannot serve against South America until their arrival in Europe. "25 This treaty was signed by Lieutenant-General Whitelocke and Rear- Admiral George Murray, on the part of the British, and by Santiago Liniers, 25 Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix, vol. I, p. xxv. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 367 Cesar Balbiani, and Bernardo Velasco for Spain. The British were required to evacuate Buenos Aires within forty-eight hours, and Montevideo within two months, and they complied strictly with these requirements. At the expiration of the term fixed, the posts which they had held on the Plata were abandoned. The complete victory won by the inhabitants of Buenos Aires had come after brief periods during the conflict when it was feared that all was lost; and the announcement of peace, with these extraordinary and unexpected conditions, was received with many signs of public joy. The patriots owed their deliverance not merely to their own bravery, but also, in large part, to the stupidity of the British leader. Their loss dur- ing the days of fighting was 302 killed and 514 wounded, of whom 37 were officers. Concerning the attitude of the Spanish to- wards the English in Montevideo, an English resident of that city made the following statement in a volume published in 1808: "The intercourse which subsisted between the Span- iards and English in Montevideo, gave them an idea of our character, conduct, and liberal intentions, so different from what they had been taught to expect, that could they have followed their own wishes, and what they knew to be their own interest, by far the greater part of them would have rejoyced at our continuance among them. They confessed that they had never before seen such commerce, that they had never enjoyed under their former government such security and happiness, or 368 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER known such strict impartiality in the administration of justice. "It indeed seemed, without exaggeration, that the inhabitants of Montevideo, on the news of our repulse at Buenos Aires, felt even more severely than ourselves, and lamented, instead of rejoicing, at the successes of their countrymen. As the period of our departure approached, and when they found by our preparations that the place was really to be abandoned, which was a circumstance that they for a long time thought incred- ible, a gloom seemed to pervade every countenance. Not the most distant appearance of exultation could any- where be discovered. They took leave of us with regret, and seemed by the tears that were shed, to be parting from their friends and relations, rather than from enemies."^" Whitelocke returned to England, and was there tried by a court-martial on four distinct charges. The essential points of these charges were as follows : "1. That Wliitelocke had sent a message to the Span- ish commander, demanding, among other things, 'the surrender of all persons holding civil offices in the gov- ernment of Buenos Aires as prisoners of war.' "2. That during the march from Ensenada to Buenos Aires he 'did not make the military arrangements best calculated to ensure the success of his operations against the town,' and ordered the forces to enter the city with arms unloaded, and on no account to fire, thus unneces- sarily exposing the troops to destruction, without the possibility of making effectual opposition. "3. That he 'did not make, although it was in his 20 Notes on the Fieeroyalty of La Plata in South America, London, 1808, 104^106. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 369 power, any effectual attempt, by his own personal exer- tion or otherwise, to co-operate with or support the different divisions of the army under his command, when engaged with the enemy in the streets of Buenos Aires, on the 5th of July.' "4. That he, subsequently to the attack on the town of Buenos Aires, and at a time when the troops under his command were in possession of posts on each flank of the town, and of the principal arsenal, with a com- munication open to the fleet, and having an effective force of about flve thousand men, did enter into, and finally conclude a treaty with the enemy, whereby he acknowledged in the public dispatch the 10th of July, 1807, that he resolved to forego the advantages which the bravery of his troops had obtained, and which advantages had cost him about two thousand five hundred men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and by such treaty he unnecessarily and shamefully surrendered all such ad- vantages, totally evacuated the town of Buenos Aires and consented to deliver, and did shamefully abandon and deliver up to the enemy the strong fortress of Monte- video, which had been committed to his charge, and which, at the period of the treaty and abandonment, was well and sufficiently garrisoned and provided against attack, and which was not, at such period, in a state of blockade or siege. "^^ General Wliitelocke was found guilty of these charges, with the exception of that part of the second charge which relates to the order pro- hibiting firing on entering the city. He was in consequence '^cashiered and declared totally unfit and unworthy to serve His Majesty in any mili- tary capacity whatsoever." 27 Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Wliitelocke, Appendix, vol. I, pp. i-iv. 370 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER The city of Buenos Aires, by its heroic achieve- ments in expelling Beresford and resisting the assault of Whitelocke, won marked distinction. By the king it was ennobled and permitted to employ the title of Excellency; and all the other cities of the viceroyalty sent deputations con- gratulating it on its heroism.^^ Although this episode cost Buenos Aires many lives and not a little destruction of property, by it the inhabitants acquired a valuable experience. It showed that the authority of Spain in this part of America might be easily overthrown; at the same time it made manifest the fact that the new society already stood prepared to assert itself. By this struggle the inhabitants of these provinces had moved forward to a new position. They had been deserted by their official ruler, and in the presence of a powerful enemy, they had been obliged to take up the reins of public power which he had cowardly thrown down in his flight. By their experience, gained in successfully defending themselves, they had been politically transformed. They had acquired the spirit of an independent commonwealth. They had the power to be free, and wanted only the will to be free. The revolt against Spain was, therefore destined to appear 28 See Trial of Lieut.-Gen, Whitelocl'.e ; also Watson, Eobert Grant, Spanish and Portuguese South America, London, 1884, II, chap. XVIII, and Appendix; an account of the taking and the reconquest by a contemporary resident of Buenos Aires is con- tained in Ignacio Nunez, Noticias historical de la Eepuhlica Argen- tina, Buenos Aires, 1857, 3-50. THE BRITISH IN BUENOS AIRES 371 whenever the community arrived at a conscious- ness of its real position. The events of these two years had tended to arouse their self-conscious- ness. The British carried off the spoils of the colony, but they contributed to the development of a nation. CHAPTER XIV PERU AND CHILE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY I. The viceroj^s. II. El Mercurio Peruana. HI. Am- brosio O'Higg'ins. IV. The Araueanian question, V. Agriculture and the system of eneomiendas. VI. Fear of foreign trade and foreign ideas. VII. The last viceroy of the eighteenth century. VIII. The population. IX. Commerce and industry. X. Titles of nobility and entailed estates. XL Life in the country. XII. Hindrances to produc- tion. XIII. Royal drafts on the resources. Aftee the final establishment of the viceroyalty of New Granada in 1739, and the creation of the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, in 1776, the juris- diction of the viceroy of Peru, including the par- tially dependent captaincy-general of Chile, was limited to a region embracing approximately the territory at present claimed by the republics of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. From 1776 to the end of the colonial period, the viceregal power within this territory was exercised by a series of seven viceroys. These were Manuel de Guirior (1776- 1780), Agustin de Jauregui (1780-1784), Theo- PERU AND CHILE 373 doro de Croix (1784-1790), Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos (1790-1796), Ambrosio O'Hig- gins (1796-1801), Gabriel Aviles, the Marquis of Aviles (1801-1806), and Jose Fernando Abascal (1806-1816). Under the political organization of this region during this period, Chile was depen- dent on Peru with respect to military affairs and matters relating to the royal treasury, but the local affairs of the province were controlled by the captain-general of Chile. There was a modifica- tion of the boundary of the viceroyalty, in 1796, when certain districts northwest of Lake Titica were withdrawn from the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, and added to the viceroyalty of Peru. The four years of Guirior 's reign were marked by the local disturbances preliminary to the great Indian revolt, and by the military preparations that absorbed much of the attention of both Amat, who preceded him, and Jauregui who followed him. Although it was now fifteen years after the expulsion of the Jesuits, the government was still engaged with measures relating to the disposition of the confiscated property.^ In the upturning between 1780 and 1782, the system of the forceful distribution of goods among the Indians disappeared together with the corregidores, but other abuses hardly less grave subsisted. Not the least of these was the treat- ment of the Indians in the mines. This was an 1 Guirior 's Belacion to his successor is printed in Belaciones de los vireyes y audiencias que lian goiernado el Peru, Madrid, 1872, III, 1-113. 374 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ancient field of cruelty. For two hundred years the employers had held their laborers as slaves, not nominally slaves ; but it was maintained that they could not leave the works while they were in debt, and they were kept in debt by the proprie- tors selling them goods at exorbitant prices. This form of bondage was not an invention of the Spaniards. It is an inheritance from the Orient. The viceroy Guirior uttered a severe prohibition of the practice, but whatever may have been the immediate effect of his injunction, the abuse still lingers in many parts of the world, and doubtless in many obscure corners of America. At this time there was communication by post between Lima and Buenos Aires once a month for correspondence, and a special post once every two months for packages. There was also a monthly post between Lima and Cerro de Pasco and Huanuco by way of Jauja. In some of the civil institutions of the country, hospitals, for example, there was observed a marked decadence due at least in part to a decline in their resources. This decline was often owing to maladministra- tion. Li the earlier decades the prodigality of the mines permitted lavish expenditure and encour- aged no emphasis on the need of careful and economical management. It was not strange that public foundations later suffered from careless or unwise control. Somewhat of the weakness of the civil administration was doubtless attributable also to the fact that most of the chief officials sent PERU AND CHILE 375 from Spain to govern the colonies were men of military training and experience, and conse- quently fitted to take a wise initiative only in military affairs, only in expenditure and destruc- tion, not in the creative work on which the well- being and the progress of civil life depends. The loosening of the joints of the social struc- ture was illustrated by the affairs of the Univer- sity of San Marcos. The academic community was divided into hostile parties. It was a con- flict between the old and the new, and between ecclesiastical and secular control. In a project to elect a new rector, the inhabitants of the city became partisans for one or an other candidate. As in the election of the head of a monastery or convent, persons having no connection with the institution became intense partisans. It was the case of a .community having few opportunities to express its contentious spirit, seizing upon and becoming partisans in matters that did not vitally concern it. Respect for the traditional seemed to triumph, when the viceroy suppressed the pro- fessorship of Indain languages and used its foun- dation in establishing a chair for instruction in the ethics, politics, and economics of Aristotle. Among the royal decrees arriving at Lima in the reign of Jauregui, relating to details of admin- istration, significant and insignificant, one pro- vided that the squadron in the Pacific should be under orders of the viceroy and of no other chief. Another provided that troops sent from Spain to 376 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Peru or Eio de la Plata should return after four years including the time of the outward and home voyage. Jauregui was succeeded in tho viceregal office by Teodoro de Croix on the 3d of April, 1784. Twenty-four days later he died as the result of a violent accident. Teodoro de Croix gave his chief attention to internal reforms and material improvements. He caused an audiencia to be installed at Cuzco. The oidores on their arrival in the city were greeted with great manifestations of rejoicing, and the coming of the royal seal a little later was made the occasion of the usual elaborate ceremony that attended its reception. The viceroy caused a cabildo to be created in Tarma and also in Huaraz. He applied the ordinance of intendants to Peru; made certain long-discussed improvements of the harbor at Callao ; formed a project for construct- ing a system of sewers for Lima, but in under- taking to carry out his plan he encountered insur- mountable difficulties. He had to deal with the irrepressible question of monopolies and taxes, arising here as it had arisen elsewhere, and always exciting a hostile controversy. He had to execute the royal order of January 20, 1784, which provided that no foreign ship would be permitted to enter the ports of the Spanish dominions of the Indies under any pretext whatsoever. It was under this order that Bias Gonzalez, the governor of the island of Juan Fernandez, was condemned for harboring the disabled Columbia while it was PERU AND CHILE 377 undergoing repairs. By a royal decree of the following year, May 10, 1785, the organization of the Philippine Company was announced. The first ship of this company to enter Callao from Manila was called the Hercules; it was assigned to the Count of San Isidro." Viceroy Croix entered with excessive zeal upon the execution of the order of August 10, 1785, concerning printing and the possession of books. In obedience to the terms of this decree he caused to be collected and burned all copies that could be found of the works of Montesquieu, Raynal, Machiavelli, and other works, like the Encyclo- peclie, that seemed to contain doctrines endanger- ing the stability of the state. Some of the owners of these works were accustomed to keep them in secret receptacles, in hollow beams or in hidden places in the walls of their houses. This decree required, moreover, that no printed paper or document of any kind should be issued without permission given by the government. The vice- roy entered into an agreement with the Inquisi- tion for the purpose of uniting the forces of these two agencies in the attempt to prohibit the impor- tation of prohibited books. A joint committee was organized and commissioned to examine all public libraries and withdraw such works as in the opinion of this committee ought not to be circulated. These measures appearing when the intellectual revolt of the late eighteenth century 2Mendiburu, II, 443. 378 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER was in full swing tended rather to widen than to close the breach between the colonies and the 1/ mother country. The production of the mines had declined to such an extent in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, that Charles III saw the need of making a special effort to revive the industry. For this purpose he called Baron von Nordenfiicht from Curland to Madrid in 1788 and sent him to Peru as chief of a metallurgical commission. Norden- fiicht was born in Prussia. On this Peruvian expedition he was accompanied by a number of chemists and metallurgists, who, in 1791, estab- lished a chemical laboratory at Lima for the instruction of youth. At the mines of Potosi the commission undertook to put in practice a system of exploitation that would produce more satisfac- tory results than those hitherto followed. But the expected results, neither in instruction nor in the practical business of mining, were realized, and Nordenfiicht withdrew from America after a number of years, with a greatly diminished repu- tation. Viceroy Gil de Taboada y Lemus, of the royal navy, arrived at Cartagena January 1, 1789. While there he received the extensive Memoria prepared by his predecessor, Gongora, who had held the two offices of archbishop and viceroy of New Granada. After an uneventful career of seven months as the head of the government of New Granada, he relinquished his authority, and assumed the duties of viceroy of Peru. PERU AND CHILE 379 II The awakening interest in literary cultivation was encouraged by Viceroy Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemus. He approved the project to establish a periodical publication designed to pre- sent articles relating to the state and progress of the kingdom. He, moreover, offered from the archives and from the various offices and vice- regal institutions such information as might be desired for publication. Through the efforts of an interested company of persons under the patronage of the viceroy the Mercurio Peruana came into existence. A few months before it appeared there had been issued a periodical called the Diario erudito, that began to be published October 1, 1790. It was issued by a society known as ''Filopolita. " Its existence was limited to about two years. The obstacles to its continuing were lack of funds and the rigorous official censor- ship exercised over all articles submitted for pub- lication. This censorship was so firmly fixed in the order of affairs that not even the viceroy was competent to set it aside.^ The first number of the Mercurio Peruana was issued on the 2nd of January, 1791. An associa- tion known as the Saciedad de Amantes del Pais was formed to guarantee the permanency of the publication. The number of members was limited to thirty. Twenty-one of them were required to 8Mendiburu, IV, 70. 380 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER be residents of Lima, and persons of literary attainments. After the completion of twelve volumes, the publication was suspended in 1796/ Another publication of the period in question was El Seminario critico, undertaken by Padre Antonio Olavarrieta. It was announced as de- signed to discuss questions relating to education, public customs, and in general the social affairs of the community. From 1793 to 1798 Dr. Unanue edited and caused to be published an annual official guide. In 1793 the viceroy made arrange- ment for the publication of the Gaceta de Lima. It was said that the ''alarming events of the French nation" made this periodical necessary, "in order that the capital and the viceroyalty might have an accredited journal through which the inhabitants might inform themselves concern- ing the excesses that are now reported to their ears in an informal manner.'" The Gaceta was continued until 1821, publishing only such matters as were found to be agreeable to the government, and not hesitating to present information in a garbled form. In 1791 there was also formed an association of writers called "Tertulia poetica." The viceroy extended to it his patronage and support. It held frequent meetings, where the members submitted their compositions for exam- ination. Some of these were found worthy of 4 Mercurio Peruano, February 27, and March 20, 1794. The names of the members of the society are given by Mendiburu, IV, 70. 5 Memorias de los vireyes, VI, 97. PERU AND CHILE 381 publication in the Mercurio Peruana but the asso- ciation itself had only a brief existence. The establishment of the Gaceta was not the only act the viceroy was induced to take by the events of the French Revolution; he was moved also to create a secret police in Lima, whose func- tion was to find out the subjects of public and private communications among the inhabitants, and to keep a careful watch over the books and other writings that were brought into the coun- try. The members of this force were enjoined especially to prevent the circulation of The Rights of Man, that Nariiio had printed and made known in New Granada. It was also made the business of the secret police to take account of all persons who had entered the kingdom after 1790, and to inquire into their manner of life. The viceroy issued an order prohibiting the game of pelota, in order to prevent the assembling of discontented persons at the courts. In his Memoria to his successor. Viceroy Gil set forth the advantages for Peru and the royal treasury of direct trade with Spain by way of Cape Horn. Through statements published in the Mercurio, the inhabitants of Peru had their first opportunity to learn the relation of their imports to their exports. According to this source, during the lustrum from 1785 to 1789 the imports from Spain amounted to 42,099,313 pesos, while the exports to the Peninsula were valeud at 35,979,339 pesos. These exports were in money and products 382 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER of the country. During the lustrum from 1790 to 1794, the imports amounted to 29,091,220 pesos, and the exports to 31,889,500 pesos. The greater part of the exports in both cases consisted in gold and silver both coined and in other forms.'' Ill Viceroy Gil turned over the affairs of the vice- regal office, on the 6th of June, 1796, to Lieutenant- General Ambrosio O'Higgins, the Marquis of Osorno. O'Higgins came to Peru from Chile, where he had held the office of governor and captain-general. It is noteworthy that the most distinguished of the Chilean captains-general, the person who made the most profound impression on the affairs of Chile, entered upon the duties of his office at an age when public officials are often supposed to have outlived the period of their greatest usefulness. This man was Ambrosio O'Higgins, who was born in Ireland in 1720. The agitation against the Catholics in Ireland, their exclusion from public offices, and other limitation of their civil and political rights persuaded him, as many others had been persuaded, to emigrate, and seek to establish himself in a foreign country. Spain received him hospitably and assigned him 6 Statistics relating to the reign of Viceroy Gil de Taboada y Lemus may be referred to in the Mercurio Peruano, in the vice- roy's Memoria to his successor (Memorias de los vireyes, VI), and in Mendiburu's monograph on the viceroy in Die. Biog., IV, 69-103. PERU AND CHILE 383 a position in the army. A few years later he went to Peru, interested in a mercantile venture. This resulted disastrously, and in 1761 he sought occu- pation in Chile where Governor Barroeta gave him a subordinate position as engineer. After twenty-seven years of eflScient service, he was appointed captain-general of Chile and after a vigorous administration of eight years he was promoted, in 1796, at the age of seventy-six, to the office of viceroy of Peru. This office he held nearly five years, until his death in 1801. In the later years of the colonies the king of Spain sought to promote to the highest offices per- sons who had experience in either the civil or military service of the Indies. At the time of his appointment to the office of captain-general, O'Higgins had served many years as an engineer, a military officer, and an intendant, and had be- come familiar with the character and needs of the different parts of the Chilean territory. This policy doubtless helped to make the gov- ernment of the colonies more efficient, at the same time the colonists, in so far as they could think of the government as embracing many officials long familiar with their affairs, were disposed to think of it as their government. Under this view they would assume that a viceroy, a captain-general, or a judge sent from Spain without American experi- ence, was not in sympathy with it. Thus the carrying out of this very reasonable policy could not but emphasize the distinction between the 384 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Spanish rule and a local or domestic administra- tion. The northern part of Chile had not been visited by any of the previous governors or cap- tains-general, while the southern districts, lying between the Araucanian frontier and the capital, had been constantly within the range of the captain-general's observation. The expeditions against the Araucanians had crossed these dis- tricts, and, through the numerous conferences with the Indians, this region had been kept in mind by both parties. But the northern end of the territory had remained in isolation, and both the economical atfairs and the aifairs of the ad- ministration needed the supervision and stimulus of the central government. The fact that the captain-general made this northern journey of hundreds of leagues over a region with few roads, studying the needs of the inhabitants and seeking to promote their material interests in all possible ways, is a sufficient indication of the zeal and force which he brought to the task of government. IV In the long course of the Araucanian war treaties had been made from time to time, but they were rarely more than temporary inter- ruptions of hostilities. These interruptions per- mitted the belligerents to recover from their losses and make ready for a new attack with re- PERU AND CHILE 385 newed force. In the conflict the rules of warfare that prevail among civilized nations were dis- regarded. Both parties kept forces on the fron- tier, made raids at every opportunity into the enemy's territory, and committed all kinds of depredations. Neither party trusted the promises of the other, and time seemed only to increase the bitterness of their hostility. In this state of affairs the southern districts might not be neglected. Moreover, the almost continouus war- fare had a very marked influence on the military arm of the colony. It made the militia a vital and active force. Imminent war made military discipline possible. / As a means of establishing peace between the two races, Jauregui, when he became captain- general in 1773, caused four Araucanian chiefs to be brought to Santiago as ambassadors represent- ing the various Indian tribes. It was intended that these chiefs should be witnesses to the dis- position of the Spaniards to deal fairly with their neighbors ; that they should be employed as medi- ators or interpreters in future negotiations; and that through them the complaints of the Indians might be carried to the Spanish authorities. They should be clothed and supported at the expense of the government. They arrived at Santiago in April, 1774, and were placed under the protection of the local authorities; and the public was solemnly ordered, under severe penalties, not to show them any disrespect. This plan received the 386 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER endorsement of the viceroy of Peru, but there were not wanting persons who saw that it in- volved an overestimate of the civilization of the Indians and was consequently visionary. It was, nevertheless, confirmed by an agreement between the Indians and the Spaniards made at the con- ference in 1774. In this agreement it was stipu- lated that peace should be maintained among the various Indian tribes, and that the Indians should send their sons to be educated in a school to be opened in Santiago for this purpose. The Arau- canians, however, hesitated to comply with the provision respecting the education of their sons. The few who were sent to Santiago acquired a certain amount of elementary knowledge; but difficulties arose when attempts were made to give them more advanced instruction. It was found that the barbarian was only a good beginner in learning. In 1780 the Santiago school for Indians was transferred to Chilian. With respect to agricultural reform, O'Hig- gins entertained certain ideas and plans that, under the prevailing natural conditions, could not be fully carried out. He seems to have exagger- ated the possibilities of governmental influence in economic affairs. His efforts to foster the pro- duction of sugar was a case in point. In some of the northern valleys where it was planted on a PERU AND CHILE 387 small scale, the enterprise was in a measure successful; but the attempt to create larger plan- tations in other districts encountered difficulties, and the cultivation was abandoned after three or four years of experiment. The efforts to extend the production of rice had no better result, and the attempt to introduce the cultivation of tobacco met with an insurmountable obstacle in a royal decree of prohibition issued in the interest of the existing monopoly. The motive in these and other proposed agricultural reforms was the betterment of the condition of the people ; and, although some of the specific undertakings were unsuccessful, attention was called to the need of more careful cultivation. But more important for the social well-being of Chile was the eifort of the captain-general to set aside the abuses of the encomiendas, and even to abolish the system itself. In the beginning this system was thought to be necessary in order to provide laborers for the fields and the mines ; for it was understood that the Indians, like all sav- ages, lacked the habit of consecutive work, and that compulsion would be necessary to make them persistent laborers. The power to compel the Indians to work having been granted to the encomenderos, there remained no practical obstacle to making them slaves, and to this posi- tion they were reduced with all the attendant miseries that have become historic. But after two hundred years and more, a class of persons 388 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER had come into existence who were accustomed to obtain their livelihood by more or less regular work. The reason for compulsory labor origin- ally advanced was no longer valid, and it is to the credit of the captain-general as an administrator that he gave a powerful impulse to the movement for abolishing this system. The encomenderos carried to the King their protests against the action of the governor, but O'Higgins by frequent reports kept the king in- formed of his motives in this reform, and of the advisability of causing it to be adopted through- out Spain's American possessions. The fact that the initiative in a reform as important as this was taken by a governor of a dependency in America indicates that the Spanish rule was declining, and that local authority in local affairs was leading the rule of the king. By a decree of April 3, 1791, Charles IV approved the action taken by the governor of Chile, and by a later decree, June 10, of the same year he ordered that the encomiendas of private persons should be definitely suppressed. VI While the captain-general was engaged in these and other internal reforms, the coming of foreign vessels to participate in the trade of the colony provoked the opposition of the officials both in Chile and Peru. Even the presence of foreign PERU AND CHILE 389 vessels excited alarm, whether they came to trade or merely halted at a Spanish-American port on their way to another destination. In 1788 an American vessel named Columbia, battered by storms, put into the port of the island of Juan Fernandez. The governor of the island. Bias Gonzalez, permitted repairs to be made. Although the vessel was bound for Alaska, and had no design to trade at the ports of South America, Governor Gonzalez was deposed and tried for having furnished succor to the distressed vessel. The viceroy had no warships with which to pursue strange vessels, but a ship furnished by a merchant of Lima was armed and sent to Juan Fernandez; it failed to find any offenders. The coming of foreign vessels from the United States was opposed by the authorities not merely because they would tend to overthrow the ancient trade regime, but also because they would help to propa- gate the political ideas of the young republic, and thus contribute to the destruction of the Spanish colonial system. During the last decades of the eighteenth cen- tury, the radical philosophy of the time, as already indicated, was gradually modifying the ideas of the Spanish colonists, while the kings of Spain continued to think as their ancestors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries thought. They held that the cession of Alexander VI and their conquests made them absolute masters of their American possessions and the exclusive 390 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER lords of the adjacent oceans. But the colonists had already begun to regard this view as a fiction ; for they saw that foreigners did navigate these seas and trade at colonial ports in spite of the ^ royal prohibition. They saw also that the demand of the increased population could not be satisfied by Spanish traders dealing solely in Spanish ; wares. But, although unable to meet the require- ment of the colonists, Spain still persisted in her /attempt to exclude foreign trade and foreign ideas, with the inevitable result of alienating her transatlantic subjects, and weakening her control over them. After the Columbia other ships appeared off the coast, and when these were reported to the king, he again ordered the colonial authorities to prevent foreign vessels from navigating Ameri- can waters or from approaching the ports. But the efforts of the colonial government were in- effective, the contraband trade was continued ; and the colonists, finding the supply of desired wares increased by it, were not in sympathy with the order of prohibition. On the etiquette of certain packages introduced from the United States appeared the figure of a woman holding a flag, with the motto, ''American Liberty." This fact, brought to the attention of the king, induced him once more to issue his futile injunction against contraband trade. While the inhabitants of the viceroyalty were contemplating the results that might proceed from PERU AND CHILE 391 the encroachments of foreigners it was announced that Charles III was dead. He had died in Decem- ber, 1788, but information of the fact did not reach Chile and Peru until April of the following year. After elaborate funeral ceremonies had been had in the capital cities, preperations were made to celebrate the accession of Charles IV. The enthusiastic chronicler of these ceremonies in Chile affirmed that persons familiar with the grandeur of the most important courts and cities of both worlds maintained that nowhere else had they seen such magnificence as was here displayed. This was the last occasion of this kind on which public enthusiasm was especially manifest; for when Ferdinand VII, the son and successor of Charles IV, ascended the throne in 1808, the Spanish monarchy was already falling under the shadow of Napoleon 's expanding empire, and the loyalty of the people was undermined by the spread of revolutionary doctrines. The fear of foreign encroachment had already led the authorities of the viceroyalty to petition the king to send them arms and ammunition. O'Higgins repeated this request, and acting on orders from the king the viceregal government proceeded to put the coast in a state of defense; for active hostilities appeared to be imminent in 1789 as a result of the controversy between Eng- land and Spain concerning the possession of a part of the island of Vancouver. The Spanish government, in withdrawing its pretensions, con- 392 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER ceded to the English the right to fish in the Pacific and at the same time to make use temporarily of certain points on the coast that were not occupied by the Spaniards. In order to prevent this con- cession from serving as a pretext for unlawful trade with the Spanish colonies, it was expressly stipulated that English subjects should not navi- gate the Pacific within ten maritime leagues of any jDoint of the coast occupied by the Spanish. This concession gave English vessels recognized rights on the Spanish-American coast, but the Spanish authorities found it difficult to confine them within the limits of these rights ; for vessels that came ostensibly to fish were naturally led to engage in the much more profitable business of smuggling, and the government was not in a position to prevent them. VII On the 16th of May, 1796, O'Higgins surren- dered his functions as head of the government of Chile into the hands of the regent of the audiencia, who exercised them until the arrival of O'Hig- gins' successor, the Marquis of Aviles. He entered Lima as the viceroy of Peru on the 24th of July, and thus, clothed with the highest official dignity in the New World, he came back to the city where in poverty he had attempted unsuccessfully to enter upon a very humble mercantile career. It was in the first year of his administration that PERU AND CHILE 393 the intendency of Puno was withdrawn from the vieeroyalty of Rio de la Plata, and added to the territory of Peru. Although he was seventy-six years of age on his arrival in Lima, the activity he had displayed in Chile appears to have suffered no abatement. He caused a fort to be constructed at Pisco, and manned it with a force of artillery ; he strengthened the fortress of Callao, armed cer- tain vessels of war, established a camp for the instruction and discipline of troops, and con- structed barracks for soldiers at Lima. His sup- port of mills for spinning cotton, flax, and hemp, that had been established by a company, indicates a certain emancipation from the restraints im- posed by the government in Spain. He saw more clearly than most of his predecessors the economic advantage of good roads. In Chile he had found the country almost wholly without roads; they existed only in and immediately around the cities. The Spanish colonists everywhere were generally content to travel or to transport their goods on beasts of burden. Even between Valparaiso and Santiago there was no wagon road before the last decade of the century. O'Higgins had to make this journey three times during the first two years of his rule as captain-general, and these journeys were sufficient to make him appreciate the need of a road suited to vehicles on wheels. The inhabitants of the capital of Chile, as the foreign trade of the country increased, recognized the advantage that would accrue to them from 394 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER better means of transportation; but when it was proposed to begin the construction, the captain- general encountered two obstacles; the lack of funds and the unwillingness of many proprietors to have the road traverse their lands. Finally, however, certain funds were obtained by imposing a slight additional tax on goods imported and exported at Valparaiso, and some of the proprie- tors were made to see that their prejudices were groundless, and that the road would be a benefit rather than an injury. The work of construction was begun in 1792. Two years later Captain Vancouver passed over this road going form Valparaiso to Santiago. "The making of the new road," he wrote, *'had doubtless been a work of great labor, and to a people who are not very industriously in- clined, and who are all bigoted to former practices and original habits, it is no wonder that the manifest advantages that must result to the in- habitants of the country from his Excellency's wise undertaking, should be overlooked, or rather not be seen by them ; and that the execution of his judicious plan should have deprived him, amongst the lower orders of the people, of much of his popularity. ' " In Peru itself O'Higgins found the roads in a lamentable state, and undertook to improve them. He built a new road from Lima to Callao, the most elaborate of all of his constructions of this 7 A Voyage of Discovery, VI, 258. PERU AND CHILE 395 kind. The end at the entrance of the city was adorned with an architectural gate bearing the royal arms and the arms of Lima and the con- sulado. VIII The population of Peru at the end of the century, according to Humboldt's estimate, was 1,200,000.* Negroes and mestizos, particularly at Lima, formed a considerable part of the inhab- itants ; and there were about 400,000 Indians. The population of Chile is set down in the returns of the first census as 259,646 in 1778. The estimate for the end of the century is approximately 400,000, counting the Spaniards, the Creoles and the mestizos. The presence of the alien and mixed races, in this viceroyalty as elsewhere in Spanish America, made the Spaniards especially solicitous to maintain lines of social distinction. The coexistence of these classes created a prejudice in the Spanish mind against many kinds of work, thus giving to the society of the viceroyalty the spirit characteristic of communities composed of slave-holders and slaves. The Spaniards refused to engage in certain occupations that were honor- able in themselves, because they were accepted by persons of color, suffering any degree of pov- erty rather than do violence to their prejudices. 8 Humboldt to Viceroy Mendinueta, November 7, 1802, printed by Groot, II, Appendix No. 47; Memorias de los vireyes, Lima, 1859, VI, 4. . 396 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER The persons who constituted a subject class were Indians, mulattos, and negroes. They were required to pay tribute. The mestizo was no farther removed from the Spaniard than the mulatto, yet he was not under this obligation. The basis of this ditference was the Spaniard's differ- ent estimates of the Indians and the negroes. The Spanish-Indian union might produce a child des- tined to freedom. The Spanish-negro union might produce only a member of a subject class. The mestizos formed the bulk of the free laboring class, the artisans, and the subalterns in the offices of administration.^ The long discussion concerning the relation of the Indians to the Europeans, particularly in the southern part of the viceroyalty, finally culmin- ated in 1791 in the abolition of personal service and the incorporation of the encomiendas in the crown. This last act was, in fact, a revocation of the privilege enjoyed by the encomenderos of holding Indians for service on their lands. The decree making these changes provided also for alloting to the Indians such lands as might be necessary, when cultivated, for their support.^" One of the beneficient eifects of this measure was the pacification of the Araucanians, who had been stimulated by the cruelties inflicted on their compatriots to maintain themselves in a state of hostility towards the Spaniards. An equally pro- See Amunategui, Los Precursores de la independencia de Chile, Santiago de Chile, 1910, III, 15. 10 This edict is printed in Amunategui, Los Precursores, II, 493. PERU AND CHILE 397 yoking cause of this hostility was the reluctance of the Indians to depart from their ancient man- ner of living, a change destined inevitably to follow the encroachment of their northern neigh- bors. Having been brought by this measure into a friendly attitude with respect to the power they had known for many decades, they might be expected to adhere to it rather than to go over to a party that seemed to be opposed to it. Thus the Araucanians appear in sjmipathy with the royalists rather than with those who were hostile to the legitimate government. Although the revolutionary party as developed later drew no physical support from the Araucanians, the heroic struggle of that people to preserve its indepen- dence encouraged the revolutionists to persist in their cause. Ercilla, in Araucana, wrote to mag- nify the power and glory of Spain, but the characters and the deeds that stand out conspicu- ously in the poem, and that furnished an inspira- tion to Chilean patriotism are the characters and deeds of Araucanians. In the early years of the revolutionary movement, there were many evi- dences of this influence. Parents caused their children to be baptized with the names of Caupo- lican, Lautaro, Tucapel, and of other Indians who had achieved fame in the long conflict. The examples of these heroes as set forth by Ercilla and Chilean historians were cited in proclama- tions to awaken the zeal of Chilean soldiers in the cause of independence. 398 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER IX A large part of the trade between Peru and other dependencies was carried on by sea, chiefly from the port of Callao. The merchandise ex- ported consisted of textile fabrics, sugar, and rice. The articles imported were wheat, tallow, hides, copper, cordage, mate, and tobacco. The mate and tobacco came to Peru from Paraguay by way of Chile. The trade between Lima and Bogota passed in part overland through the province of Quito, and in part through the ports of Guayaquil and Panama. The viceroyalty of New Granada sent to Lima, among other things, cacao and coffee. The effect of the liberal policy respecting trade, established in 1778, and carried into gen- eral execution in 1783, may be seen in the great increase in shipping at Callao. In 1785 sixteen vessels arrived at that port with cargoes esti- mated at twenty-four million dollars. At that time the value of the annual production of gold and silver in the country was only about four million dollars, and these were the principal com- modities produced that might be exported to pay for imports. Thus the zeal to embrace the new opportunities for trade brought to Peru goods to the value of twenty-four million dollars in a period when four million dollars represented the normal consumption of imports. The result of this oversupply was to glut the market completely and to cause a temporary interruption of trade. PERU AND CHILE 399 In some cases the wares could not find a market at any price, and were committed to the flames. This was a warning to shippers, and caused them to withhold their goods. By this means the im- ports were reduced to the quantity and the kinds of commodities needed." The Spanish colonists, like the Spaniards in Spain, did not look with favor on commercial or industrial corporations. They raised a great out- cry against the Philippine Company^^ and other corporations on the ground that they were destructive of the commercial undertakings of private persons; that they absorbed all the trade the viceroyalty could maintain; and that by their 11 T/ie Present State of Peru, London, 1805, 108-110; at the beginning of the nineteenth century a large part of the wares in use in Lima were English. Writing from his observations made at the time, Stevenson says ' ' the windows were glazed with Eng- lish glass — the brass furniture and ornaments on the commodes, tables, and chairs were English — the chintz or dimity hangings, the linen and cotton dresses of the females, and the cloth coats and cloaks of the men were all English; the tables were covered either with plate or English earthenware, and English glass, knives, and forks; and even the kitchen utensils, if of iron, were English; in fine, with very few exceptions, all was either of English or South American manufacture. Coarse cotton, nankeens, and a few other articles were supplied by the Philippine company. Spain sent some iron, broadcloth, Barcelona prints, linen, writing paper, silks, and ordinary earthenware. From the Italians they had silks and velvets; from the French, linens, lace, silks, and broadcloth; from Germany linens, common cutlery, and glass; everything else was either English or of home manufacture." — Twenty Years in South America, I, 349. 12 The Campania Filipinas was established in 1785 for a period of twenty years. It was designed to carry on trade directly with the East Indies. It gave a powerful impulse to Spanish commerce. — Palacio, Edward de, Espana desde el primer Borbon hasta la revolucion de Setiembre, Madrid, 1868, I, 487. 400 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER extensive capital they were enabled to sell at a reduced price. It was affirmed that by these means they drove the private trader to the wall." The association of capitalists in industrial and commecrial corporations was unknown in Chile in the colonial period. ' ' There was no other commer- cial association than that of certain brothers, who, after the death of their fathers, continued together for a certain number of years in the business which their fathers had established."" There were, moreover, no companies for insuring against the risks of transportation by sea, or against losses by fire. In view of this fact and the great risks attending the route around the southern end of the continent, in the course of time more and more of the wares imported from Europe were carried by way of Buenos Aires and the Ajides, while the sea route was almost entirely neglected. The conduct of business was further impeded by the absence of a system of credit and exchange, necessitating the actual transfer of coin for the payment of debts, whether within or without the limits of a province or dependency. The expor- tation of money required by this method of mak- ing pajTuents sometimes threatened to exhaust the supply of currency. This difficulty was in a meas- ure set aside by the circulation of clipped coins that passed for their nominal value but could not be exported without loss. The coins of circulation were of the same system as those used in Spain, 13 Present State of Peru, 117. 14 Barros Arana, Hist, de Chile, VII, 401. PERU AND CHILE 401 but the copper coins that circulated in Spain were not employed. The attempt made in 1781 to intro- duce them met with vigorous opposition; and it was not until after the establishment of the repub- lic that the project to circulate copper coins was resumed with success. Among all the obstacles to industrial and com- mercial progress, the chief was the deadening grip of Spain's restrictions. With natural conditions that might have been turned to good account in the production of sugar, the Spanish government prohibited the introduction of material for the equipment of sugar mills, and prohibited also the construction of sugar refineries in Peru. The pro- hibition of making brandy from cane was de- signed as a direct discouragement to the cultiva- tion of cane. This order not proving effective, a tax of twelve per cent was imposed upon brandy, and later it was definitely decreed that Indians might not work in sugar mills, and they might not be employed in cutting and carting cane without express governmental authorization.^^ By a series of decrees extending over many decades, the cultivation of the grape and the making of wine were prohibited, and all these acts of prohibition had one general purpose, namely, to leave the markets of America open to Spanish wine. It was, however, seen in the course of time that these restrictions were disadvantageous to Spain as well as to the colonies, and they were 15 Leyes de Indias, lib. 6, tit. 13, ley 11. 402 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER relaxed; yet even while the laws existed without modification they were not completely effective; frequently they were not obeyed. But as long as they stood unrepealed the production of wine was necessarily a precarious business; for it could not with entire safety be presumed that the policy of one viceroy to allow planters to ignore the law would be followed by his successor. ^^ Although an act of prohibition might be directed to the authorities of a specified captaincy- general or viceroyalty to cure a specific evil in the district in question, yet it w^as often the purpose of the decree that its application should be gen- eral, and affect all regions where the conditions to be remedied might exist. By Philip IV, the prohibition concerning the cultivation of the grape had already been made to apply generally, when it was ''prohibited to plant vines in the Indias Occidentales, and ordered that the viceroys should give no license for new planting or for cultivating the vines already planted."" An in- dication of the declining force of Spanish law in America is seen in the fact that the vineyards had greatly increased in the later decades of the cen- tury, in spite of the general and specific decrees of prohibition. The acts of prohibition by the government, provoked by the complaints of Spaniards, ran directly counter to the purposes of the Spaniards 16 Leyes de Indi-as, lib. 4, tit. 18, ley 15. "i-i Leyes de Indias, lib. 4, tit. 17, ley 18; Amunategiii, La cronioa de 1810, I, 89. PERU AND CHILE 403 settled in America, whose attention in the begin- ning was directed to the cultivation of the various grains and other food products they had used in Spain. The lack of frequent communication with any civilized country made such cultivation neces- sary to their existence and thus as early as 1501 "there were cultivated on this continent wheat, rice, and all the nutrious grains of Spain; there had been introduced the Spanish domestic fowls, sheep, hogs, goats; the ox and the ass and the horse aided man in the cultivation of the fields, where before he had worked alone. ' '^* It is noteworthy that the government early assumed an attitude of opposition to the cultiva- tion and use of the coca plant. This was the sacred tree of the incas, and it was employed in their religious ceremonies. It was conceived to have power to placate the anger of their gods. The curling smoke of coca burning on the altar brought divine favor ; and only the priest chewing the sacred leaf could hear the voice of the oracles. The right to cultivate the coca plant belonged only to the inca, son of the sun, the Supreme King, and the Supreme Priest. The public action at first taken by the Spanish authorities was in some sense prompted by ideas of religion and charity.^^ 18 Benzoni, History of the New World, 91. 19 < < The plant grew in unhealthy regions, and experience had taught that the Indians who went to the coca plantations, if they did not lose their lives, came back to their homes with weakened bodies. To seek to abolish the coca plantations was, therefore, in a certain way, to spare the sufferings of the oppressed race." — Oliveira, La politica econdmica de la metropoli, 34. 404 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER By an ordinance issued by Viceroy Toledo under royal authority, it was provided that no per- son might plant coca. As a penalty for violation of this ordinance, it was ordered that the plants should be pulled up and burned, the culprit should pay a fine of two thousand dollars, and he should be banished for four years. But while the Indians were prevented from working on the coca planta- tions, they were permitted to work under the much more destructive conditions of the mines. The reason of this discrimination may perhaps be found in the fact that the mines contributed one- fifth of their product to the king, while, in the view of the authorities, "coca was the diabolical instrument of superstition."^" Working in the mines might kill the body, but the use of coca tended to demoralize the spirit. The absurdity of this legislation appears to have been perceived at last by the viceroy himself, for he subsequently issued an ordinance permitting the establishment of new coca plantations.^^ While the government of the viceroyalty of Peru sought to discourage the cultivation of wine and coca, it was active in promoting the cultiva- tion of wheat; but the fields had been rendered unproductive by the earthquake of 1687, and re- mained sterile for nearly forty years. After 1722 the production of wheat was revived, and with this arose the policy of protecting the Peruvian 20 Oliveira, 45. 21 Oliveira, 47^9. PERU AND CHILE 405 wheat market from the more abundant and cheaper production of Chile. The first step towards this end was to reduce the tax burden on Peruvian farmers who raised wheat. Then it was ordered that dealers should sell Chilean and Peruvian wheat in equal quantities, and, later, that Chilean wheat should be sold only after the Peruvian wheat had been exhausted. In order to render the protection still more effective, still later a tax of a dollar per fanega was imposed on wheat from Chile. Finally, under Viceroy 'Hig- gins, action was taken that suggests one phase of the culture system of Java. The farmers of cen- tral and western Peru were required to devote a part of their estates to the cultivation of wheat, the amount in individual cases to vary with the size of the estate in question. Yet in spite of these protective measures, Peru had not great expectations regarding her agricul- ture. A large part of her territory was composed of mountains, and another large part was made up of deserts. More might have been done if sys- tematic and persistent efforts had been devoted to irrigation. But with profitable mines at hand and with an energetic part of the population in eager search for others, it was not to be expected that large sums would be invested in carrying out elaborate plans for irrigation, when the profits of such undertakings would be realized only after some years. There was wanting both an adequate local demand for the products and also the 406 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER requisite labor to stimulate and develop agricul- tural production. The devastating scourge of smallpox, the violent and unaccustomed efforts of the Indians taken to work in the mines under the oppressive system of the mita, and the introduc- tion and inunoderate use of spirituous liquors destroyed a large part of the original inhabitants, and the immigration was not sufficient to com- pensate for the loss. A savage people unused to the regular tasks which civilized man imposes upon himself appears to be unable to maintain itself when subjected to the conditions of civilized life. The mere fact, therefore, that savages dis- appear when brought into contact with civilized society does not necessarily involve a condemna- tion of the superior race. Unnecessary hardships imposed upon the inferior may hasten the in- evitable decline. For imposing such hardships a nation may be justly blamed, and on this point the verdict has been rendered against the Spaniards. Agricultural production was embarrassed not only by lack of internal consumption but also by the difficulties of transportation. Sugar shipped from Havana to Spain brought the o\vner a clear profit of fifty cents a quintal. The white sugar of Martinique sold in France brought a profit of sixty-two and a half cents a quintal. On account of the larger freight charges, sugar from Peru sold in Europe in competition with that from Havana caused the owner a very considerable loss. In the same way cotton from Peru could not PERU AND CHILE 407 successfully compete in Holland with that from other parts of the world. In view of these facts, Peru had to rely on gold and silver as exports. Other causes leading to the decline of agri- culture were the diminution of the number of inhabitants, the lack of an organized and effective system of cultivation especially needed in a coun- try where much depended on irrigation, and the general aversion of the natives to work on being released from the authority of their traditional rulers. Under these conditions the support of the population became increasingly difficult. The importation of the African negro, as an agricultural laborer, did not greatly improve the condition of affairs. As a slave laborer, he had all the economic defects of his class. But the defects of colonial agriculture were not all due to the laborers. The Creole proprietors were only interested in spending their income in ease. They brought to their undertakings a minimum of that practical intelligence which should manifest itself in new appliances and improved methods of culti- vation. With respect to those who tilled the soil independently on a small scale, the circumstances were hardly more favorable. Under the commun- ism of the inca period, the work of the Indian was prescribed by a superior authority. When, there- fore, this authority was removed the Indian was deprived of his accustomed direction, and he did not possess sufficient power of initiative to make his efforts extend much beyond the satisfaction of 408 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER his immediate wants. The early gains in gold and silver and the hope of finding rich mines made the Spanish and Creole population impatient of the meagre returns from cultivating the soil, and the presence of slave laborers brought the work of the agriculturist into disrepute. Furthermore, the arid lands of the rainless coast and the broken region of the Sierra offered few attractions to agricultural undertakings, and the Spanish gov- ernment took no steps toward storing the waters of the mountain streams, or systematically utiliz- ing them in irrigation, a work clearly transcend- ing individual effort. In Chile the fitness of the soil and climate for agriculture made this branch of production pros- perous; its chief obstacle to expansion was the limited demand for the products. The early dis- tribution of the lands among many proprietors was later counteracted by the accumulation of many estates in the hands of the Jesuits. Some of those that remained iii private hands passed from one generation to another in the same family. This direct descent was furthered by the law upholding primogeniture. There were, how- ever, no estates to which this procedure had been applied prior to the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury. The number of them increased in the early part of the eighteenth century, but declined towards the end. At the end of the colonial period PERU AND CHILE 409 there were only eighteen important estates taking advantage of this law. There were others subject to certain restriction as to transmission, although they were not properly under the law of primo- geniture. The heads of some of the families hold- ing estates under this law bore titles of nobility. The system of inheritance under the law of primogeniture contributed to maintain the pres- tige of certain families, but it came to be regarded as a cause of the backwardness of Chilean agri- culture. It was, therefore, decreed in 1789 that no more foundations of this kind should be made without the express permission of the king. The titles of nobility were eagerly sought, particularly by the Creoles ; they were conferred by the crown on the presentation of a nobiliary, a statement of services rendered, and the payment of a certain amount of money, ordinarily not less than twenty thousand dollars. As might have been expected, many persons not worthy to be made prominent in their communities received titles of nobility; and this abuse led the king, in 179.0, to undertake to make such regulations as would set it aside. Whether owing to any measures formed by the king or to the increasing influence of the new society, in the last years of the colonial period no new titles were granted to Chile. Persons seeking some mark of distinction limited their aspirations to the possession of a decoration in the order of Santiago, of Calatrava, of Alcantara, of Montera, or, later, to the order of Charles III. 410 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWEK XI While life in the cities lacked many attractions, the country presented much less favorable condi- tions. On the estates of even the more wealthy families, there were few conveniences for com- fortable living. The houses of the proprietors were in some cases large, but they contained only a few rooms. They had very little furniture, and this was usually in the last stages of its useful- ness. The windows were without glass. A few plates and other dishes, often presenting evidence of rough usage, made up the table service, and everywhere there was a lack of cleanliness. The food was only such as was produced on the estate. Fresh meat was available usually only at the annual period of slaughtering; for it was found to be too expensive to kill an ox or other animal in order to provide fresh meat for a family for four or five days. In the last years of the century a few of the more wealthy owners of land, par- ticularly those in the neighborhood of Santiago and Lima, showed a disposition to increase the conveniences of living in the country. The pro- prietors who lived on their estates for only a few months in the year constituted a very small part of the country population. The large majority was composed of tenants who were nominally free, but whose condition was not greatly different from the vassals of the medieval landlord. Each of them received a small farm, or piece of ground, for cultivation. In return for the use of this he PERU AND CHILE 411 was required to work for the owner. * ' There were without doubt," as Barros Arana says, ''kind and charitable proprietors who treated their tenants humanely, who helped them in their times of need, and who were interested in their well-being; but the greater number maintained with respect to their dependents a regimen that was very little different from that to which the Indians of the encomienda were subjected."-- The great pro- prietors frequently exercised the power of public officials, either as agents of the subdelegates or as merely owners of the soil, and their orders had practically the authority of law. They arrogated to themselves the right to administer justice and even to impose punishments. Although the tenant might legitimately leave the estate on which he lived, few of them did it voluntarily, for they either acquired a sentimental attachment to the places where they had spent many years, or they saw nothing to be gained in going from one estate to another. Like the very poor everywhere, who have some permanent abiding-place, they hesi- tated to move lest they should lose the very small advantage of their actual state, and fall into the more miserable condition of the floating popula- tion that wandered over the country seeking work wherever they fancied it might be found. The feudal relations that thus came into existence were generally characteristic of the later colonial society, especially of that portion of it outside of the cities, in the southern part of the continent. 22 Hist, de Chile, VII, 466. 412 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER XII Although the mines were one of Peru's most important sources of wealth, this industry was subject to certain inconveniences. It could not be carried on advantageously without the mita, but the continuance of the enforced labor of the mita caused the rapid destruction of the Indians. It was, moreover, carried on without adequate scien- tific knowledge. It was burdened with the pay- ment of a fifth of the product to the king. It suffered from lack of credit, or from credit obtained under onerous conditions. Banks for assisting mining enterprises either did not exist, or when created were opposed and discredited. Stock companies that might have brought together the requisite capital were, if formed at all, of little importance. The bank proposed in Arequipa in 1792, with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars divided into five hundred shares, found that the country was not accustomed to such projects and failed for lack of support. Progress in mining was, moreover, hindered by the Spaniard's lack of initiative ; also by the desire of the Creole, who had a fortune, to consume it in ease instead of increasing it by means of work ; or, if he invested it, by his search for such investments as would cause him the least trouble. The ill-success that attended the quicksilver mine of Huancavelica at certain periods was due to maladministration and the neglect or hostility of the government favor- ing the Spanish mine of Almaden. PERU AND CHILE 413 A striking feature of Spain 's policy respecting industry in the dependencies was its vacillation. The views of one king were sometimes not the views of his successor, and the Council of the Indies did not always render the same interpreta- tion of facts. The viceroys and captains-geenral, moreover, sometimes had policies of their own, inconsistent with the orders set forth in royal decrees. An instance of the misinterpretation of facts is shown by the action of the government in Spain, when prices were rising there as a con- sequence of the importation of gold and silver from America. It was assumed that the rise was due to a strong demand for Spanish wares by the colonists. The rise in the price of textile fabrics offered a specific case. To provide the remedy desired by the consumers in Spain, the govern- ment prohibited the inhabitants of the depen- dencies from purchasing cloth in Spain. This action taken by the Cortes in Valladolid, in 1548, furnished protection for the manufacturer of the articles in question in America. Whatever advan- tage was derived by the American manufacturer was not designed by the Spanish authorities, but accrued as a consequence of an act taken in ignor- ance of the influences affecting their trade. This hallucination later caused the issuance of ordi- nances to further manufactures in different parts of America. This direct reversal of the original policy was not consistently maintained subsequently. Philip II undertook to encourage the purchase of 414 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER American wool by Spaniards, "hoping that the textile industry of the colonies would be destroyed by being deprived of one of its most essential materials. "^^ The great distance from Europe and the difficulties of transportation furnished, however, sufficient protection to keep the industry alive. Yet a little later it was dealt a severe blow by an ordinance issued by Philip II, in 1595, pro- viding that *'in no province or part of the Indies may the Indians work in the mills for making woollen, silk, or cotton cloth. "^* But this ordi- nance did not apply to those manufacturing estab- lishments belonging to communities of Indians and carried on by them exclusively ; it also did not apply to those belonging to the king. It affected only those owned by private persons and those in which Indians and Spaniards were engaged to work together. The motive of these acts of pro- hibition was revealed in the instructions to Vice- roy Velasco, when it was required ' * that he should prohibit the manufacture in order that the trade and commerce in cloth might not be weakened," But the viceroy was unwilling to carry out this policy, and affirmed "that the manufactories are so necessary and the cloth made in them of so great importance and service for the poor people, and that which comes from Spain is so dear, that the Indians, the negroes, and even the Spaniards would go naked if the manufactories were closed ; 23 Oliveira, 92, 93. 24 Solorzano, Politiea Indiana, lib. 11, cap. 12. PERU AND CHILE 415 and this could not be done without great resent- ment from many private persons in this kingdom, who have them and who are supported by them."^^ In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the textile industry in Peru suffered an apparently fatal shock. The viceroy and the audiencia re- ceived orders to destroy all the factories and mills which had not been established by the express permission of the king; to give an account of those demolished and of those that remained.^*^ It might have been possible to avert the de- structive effect of royal orders, but the abundant importations to the viceroyalty by the French in the early decades of the eighteenth century was fatal to the undertakings of American manufac- turers. The wares thrown on the American market were of a superior quality and cheap ; and American production could not resist this compe- tition. The cessation of the French trade later in the century, after the collapse of colonial produc- tion, left the colonists in want of many articles important for their well-being. Imports from Spain were interrupted by the fear of hostile ships. The arrival of Spanish ships at American ports was to such an extent prevented by the watchfulness of the British that there was not only a great scarcity of European goods at very high prices, but also a corresponding fall in the 25Mendiburu, VIII, 288; Oliveira, 95. 26 The royal order was received by Viceroy Ladron de Guevara on the 4th of November, 1711 ; for the terms, see Mendiburu, IV, 372. 416 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER price of American products. In order to remedy this evil, officials in America exercised functions that legally belonged to the king and the Council of the Indies. They assumed towards foreign traders essentially the same attitude that the Peruvian and Chilean officials held towards the French in the first and second decades of the cen- tury. In the first decade of the nineteenth century they were even more open and specific in their action. In November, 1808, Juan de Casas, the president of Venezuela, declared commerce with the British colonies and neutral nations to be law- ful, and reduced by one-fifth the duties that had been established.-^ This action was recognized as temporar}^, but it indicates to what extent the local authorities in the colonies were usurping the legitimate powers of the government in Spain. The merchants of Cadiz were indignant; they preferred, quoting Amunategui, 'Ho see the col- onists given over to nakedness and hunger rather than to run the most remote risk of losing their monopoly."-^ The independent action of the authorities in America, when not reversed by the king or the Council of the Indies, encouraged further action of a similar character; but sometimes such action was annulled, and thereby a sentiment of hostility was provoked. From this it would appear that 27 Amunategui, Lo cronica de 1810, Santiago de Chile, 1876, I, 77. 2s La cronica de 1810, 1, 72. PERU AND CHILE 417 after the colonists had begun to think of acting on their own initiative, the results would be essen- tially the same, whatever course might be pursued by the government in Spain. The viceroy's or captain-general's superior knowledge of the local circumstances often enabled him to see that a strict execution of the king's orders would cause an unjust hardship, and, in his growing indepen- dence, he not infrequently assumed the responsi- bility of adapting the execution of the orders to the known circumstances of the persons subject to them. Part of the weakness of Spain's hold on the^" dependencies lay in the fact that the connection was a personal union. Whatever common senti- ments the colonies and the parent nation may have entertained in the beginning were enfeebled as the American possessions became conscious of their individuality and distinct interests. The growth of this consciousness was inevitably attended by a decline of loyalty to the government in Spain; it produced an impulse to rejecting Spain's domination. XIII Perhaps the most effective hindrance to pro- duction and to the advance of the colonies in material prosperity was the draft made on their resources by Spain. The colonies were conceived as existing for the advantage of the mother coun- / 418 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER try, and whether their resources were insignificant or abundant little remained, after the exorbitant demands of the crown had been satisfied, to promote the general welfare of the colonies. There was in each of the principal cities an office, or agency, of the royal treasury. This office received the funds designed to be transported to Europe to the credit of the government in Spain, and to meet in the colonies such expenses as were borne by the royal government. These funds were derived from many sources, among which the tax known as the alcabala was one of the more productive. This tax had been long known in Spain, and was originally imposed to provide means for carrying on the war against the Moors. In the course of time its imposition and collection came to be regarded almost as a prerogative of the crown; and when the question arose as to the propriety of introducing it into America, it was assumed that without any new grant it might be extended by the king to all possessions annexed to the Spanish empire. It was thus established in Mexico in 1574, and in Peru in 1591. It was a per- centage tax on the price of every article sold, and was due at every sale of the article in question, whether this article was a bundle of faggots or a great estate. The rate fixed for the colonies was two per cent, and this rate was maintained for a number of years, but about the middle of the eighteenth century it was raised to five per cent. In the case of a retail dealer it would have been PERU AND CHILE 419 evidently inconvenient to collect the tax on the occasion of each sale. An account of such a trader's stock was, therefore, taken annually, and the annual sales estimated. The tax was then collected on the estimated sales for the year. On land or other property that was seldom sold this tax was not burdensome, but it tended to absorb the value of wares that passed from hand to hand many times during the year. Under this system, if trade was dull and few exchanges were made, the annual profits were naturally small; if trade was brisk, the profits were absorbed by the royal treasury. The universal effect was to discourage exchanges. The import and export duties varied with the articles involved and with the ports where they were landed, the larger ports having a higher rate than the smaller. The impost known as the armada was a tax collected for the purpose of maintaining government vessels designed to pro- tect the coast from pirates. In the course of time it was found that smaller vessels than those at first employed were better adapted to this pur- pose, and an additional impost was established for maintaining them. This tax was called armadilla. Later the pirates ceased to infest the coast, but the tax to provide means for warding them off continued to be collected. A small special import and export tax was levied to pay the salaries and other expenses con- nected with the consulate. It amounted to an 420 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER average duty of one per cent on all articles im- ported from Spain and from different parts of Spanish America, or shipped to those regions. The import and export taxes levied for this pur- pose on such trade as was permitted with foreign countries were much higher, averaging about three per cent. There were some exceptions to these rates : horses and mules paid a specific duty of one dollar a head. In the larger cities there was a license for the sale of intoxicating liquors. The amount of this license for saloons, or shops, for this traffic, was fixed in proportion to estimated sales, but this payment did not release the dealers from the alcabala; this they were obliged to pay, in addi- tion, as retail traders. The practice of selling titles had been resorted to in Spain as a means of increasing the royal revenues, and this was extended to the colonies. A resident of Spanish America who mshed the distinction of a title of nobility paid the king a prescribed sum; or he might even enter into an agreement to pay annually interest on the sum prescribed. These payments and the interest on the sums promised constituted a source of revenue for the king. Back of this practice lay, as already indicated, the desire and purpose of the king to maintain in America social conditions similar to those of Spain. There was a long list of other sources from which revenues flowed more or less abundantly PERU AND CHILE 421 into the royal treasury. The following were the most important: 1. The media anata was half of the salary, or yearly product, of places or offices under the gov- ernment to which appointments were made. It was paid into the treasury for the first year. In case of an increase of salary by promotion or otherwise, the half of the increase was paid for the first year after it was granted. 2. The royal ninths comprised the parts of the tithes not allotted to ecclesiastical or other insti- tutions. The tithes established in America by an edict of Charles V, October 5, 1501, were at first applied solely to the support of the church. Forty years later, it was provided that they should be divided into four parts. One part, or one-quarter of the whole amount, was given to the bishop of the diocese, and one part to the chapter. Of the remaining half of the whole amount collected, two- ninths (one-ninth of the whole) went to the crown; three-ninths were set apart for the foundation of churches and hospitals; and the remainder, four- ninths, was devoted to the support of curates or other officiating ecclesiastics. Later this last amount was increased to seven-ninths of the half of the whole amount, absorbing the three-ninths previously devoted to founding churches and hos- pitals. 3. The tribute paid by the civilized Indians constituted an important contribution to the royal revenue. This was the annual personal tax im- 422 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER posed upon every male Indian between the ages of eighteen and fifty, over whom the Spaniards had acquired jurisdiction. The amount of the tribute varied both with respect to persons and with respect to provinces. It was collected by the corregidores, or governors of districts, who were allowed six per cent of the sums collected, in accordance with the assessment placed in their hands. In the colonial system established by Spain, every Indian was regarded as a vassal either immediately subject to the king or depen- dent on an encomendero. During the years in which the Indians were being brought into sub- jection to Spanish authority, the king made numerous grants of lands, and large numbers of Indians were assigned to the various holders of these lands. Making these grants w^as a part of the process of conquest ; for a Spaniard on whom had been bestowed an extensive territory, together with aiiarge number of Indians, would necessarily be disposed to dominate his possessions and main- tain peace among his dependents. In the course of time these grants that were made for only one or two lives, reverted to the crown, and the tribute that had been paid previously to the encomendero was, after this reversion, paid into the king's treasury. The effect of this change was to in- crease the king's revenue, and to make a larger part of the Indian population dependent imme- diately on him. This tax gradually came to be regarded with dissatisfaction ; for those who paid PERU AND CHILE 423 it looked upon it as a sign of personal subordina- tion or bondage. 4. The royal treasury received also a large sum from the sale of offices, particularly municipal offices. Appointments to these offices were made frequently after a considerable pajTiient to the crown by the candidate. 5. The income derived from the sale of stamped paper increased with the increase of the population and the growth of official business. 6. The royal treasury received, moreover, a certain increment from lost property and strays, which, having been found and held unclaimed for a year, belonged to the king. 7. The fifth part of the product of the mines was the most noteworthy element of the royal income. A large part of the income from the mines was the net product of the quicksilver mine of Huancavelica owned by the government. Dur- ing the two hundred and nineteen years f r((fml570, when the mine was purchased by the crown, to 1789, the mine of Huancavelica produced 1,040,469 quintals of mercury, an average annual product of 4751 quintals. The price of the metal extracted was sixty dollars per quintal in 1786 and seventy- three dollars in 1791. At the average price of the whole period in question, the value of the product was 67,629,396 dollars. After deducting the ex- penses of the mine there remained a profit for the crown of about 65,000,000 dollars. It is impossible to make an accurate statement 424 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER of the output of the other mines of South America, from which the king drew the allotted twenty per cent. It is estimated that the mines of Potosi alone, in their first ninety years, produced 395,- 619,000 dollars ; and that between 1545 and 1800 the king's fifth from the product of these mines amounted to 163,000,000 dollars. On the basis of this estimate the total output of the mines of Potosi for these years would appear to have been 815,000,000 dollars. It has been estimated, more- over, that Spain received from America, during two hundred and forty-eight years ending in 1740, the sum of 9,000,000,000 dollars. These figures are, however, only estimates, as the condition of the accounts of the mines has always made it im- possible to derive from them an accurate and trustworthy statement. 8. The proceeds of the salt tax belonged to the crown, but it was one of the less productive sources of income. 9. The king also received the fees paid by ships on entering and clearing at the ports. 10. The proceeds from the sale of the bull of Crusada, although this was apparently an insti- tution of the church, were gathered into the royal treasury. The Crusada mentioned here as a source of revenue was a bull published every two years, carrying absolution from past offences and containing certain privileges with respect to the future. The jjrices paid for the bull ranged from a few cents to several dollars. 11. The crown received an important addition PERU AND CHILE 425 to its revenues from various kinds of concessions and monopolies, but these created great dissatis- faction, and, as has already been pointed out, provoked revolts that endangered the stability of the royal government. There was also a tax on titles of nobility. This was, however, of very little importance except in Lima and the city of Mexico. In Lima at the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury there were sixty-three persons who were expected to pay this tax. The viceroys and captains-general, recogniz- ing their loyalty and obligations to the crown, sometimes sent special contributions to the king, from any available funds, thus depriving the dependencies of means that might have been used for public improvements, or to facilitate social progress. In the last years of the eighteenth century and in the beginning of the nineteenth, the drift of affairs clearly indicated that the great colonial enterprise had failed. The viceroy found evi- dence of it in the decreasing population, and y proposed remedies that would have had some chance of success if they had been applied two hundred years earlier: To guard with care the treatment of the Indians by the priests and the corregidores ; to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages; to transfer to the decadent provinces a sufficient number of families from the more densely populated provinces; to prevent the cre- ation of too great a number of convents and monasteries; to rehabilitate the arts and trades; 426 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER and to oppose the increase of luxury.^® But the only remedy that involved a promise of success, the complete overthrow of Spain's traditional policy, did not enter the mind of the king. There were, moreover, almost insurmountable difficulties that opposed the application of the only remedy destined to work a cure. The inhabitants of the dependencies had been subject to an autocratic rule from the beginning. The viceroys, the captains-general, the judges, the corregidores, and all the higher ecclesiastical functionaries were the appointees of an absolute authority in the other half of the world. Neither the colonists nor their ancestors had had an opportunity to learn the difficult business of self-government. Unlike the British colonists of North America, they lacked both the political instinct and experience in organ- ization and administration ; and during these last decades of the century their reaction under gov- ernmental abuses hardly went beyond protests. Their plans for constructive political efforts were visionary or impractical. In this state of affairs ends the colonial enterprise. The growth of a new spirit, the development of a will to be free, the rise in the creole-mestizo society of the power and the determination to organize itself for eman- cipation, and the long struggle to overthrow the ancient regime fill a new period in the history of Spanish South America. 29 Memorial de los vireyes, III, 133. THE END INDEX Abascal sends aid to Buenos Aires, 350, 373. Abipones, account of, 88. Acevedo advocates viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, 158; real head of Chilean government, 237. Acosta, Jose (the historian), provincial, 128. Acosta, Friar, opposes Ver- tiz's theatre, 250. Admiralty's view, 342; orders as to Cape, 343 ; on Pop- ham 's irregularity, 359. Agriculture, in Chile, xv, 408; in Argentina, xvii; hind- rances to, in Peru, 406-408. Alcabala, increased, 177; not imposed on Indians, 178, 418. Alcohol, monopoly of, 99; de- stroyed in Quito, 100. Alcoholic liquors, consumed by Indians, 37. Alcedo, president, 53. Aleedo 's Diccionario, 54. Aldunate in Buenos Aires, 15. Alexander VI, 74. Aliaga, corregidor, 183, 184. Altamirano, Jesuit, 80. Alvarez, J. F., state secretary of Comun, 212. Alzaga at head of Buenos Aires, 362; organizes de- fense, 363. Amantes del Pais, 379. Amar y Borbon, viceroy, 291. Amaru, Tupac, 180. Amat y Junient, governor and viceroy, 97; his military regime, 98, 177; in Chile, 228. Amnesty to rioters in Quito, 101. Amunategui on Rojas, 234. Ana de Ricuarte, held mint pension, 58. Andean route, 42; passes guarded, 136. Andes, slopes of, xiv. Andonaegui, Governor of Uru- guay, 34; to attack reduc- tions, 81 ; moves on mis- sions, 1754, 82; to priests, 91; returns to Spain, 93. Angostura, 63. Angulo y Olarto, alcalde, ad- dresses insurgents, 207. Anson, 14; his plan, 312, n. Antequera, in Paraguay, 14; executed in Lima, 20; his rebellion, 157. Aponte, Governor of Chile, 35; Chile under, 38; death, 1733, 40. Aporger, Padre, remained in Misiones, 126. Aranda, Count of, receives de- cree expelling Jesuits, 106; instructions, 106; his cir- cular letter, 107, 129; ob- jects to leaving Jesuits in Quito, 142; instructions, 151. Araucanians, resistance by, xvi ; drafted into service, 35; would expel Spaniards, 36, 46; chiefs in Santiago, 385; pacified, 396; sympa- thized with royalists, but inspired patriots, 397. Archbishop of Bogota and the Comun, 217; his hypocrisy, 218 ; pastoral visit to rebels, 220; becomes viceroy, 225, 266. Architects among Jesuits, 133. 428 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Areche, 177; increased taxes, 178; charges against Gui- rior, 179; his forces at Cuzco, 186; with Del Valle at Cuzco, 186, 191 ; his re- ply to Tupac, 192 ; attitude, 193; sentences Tupac, 195. Arequipa, 179, 246; trade with Arica, 304. Arevalo, commander at Isth- mus, 270-272. Argentina, x. Arica becomes a port, 304. Armada, tax, 419. Armadilla, 419. ' ' Armiena, ' ' frigate, 32. Arms and munitions distrib- uted by Amat, 98. Armistice of 1737, 32, 73. Army, Superintendent of, 168. Arregui, Bishop, at Asuncion, 21; as mediator, 22; elected Governor, 23 ; his false posi- tion, 23 ; retires to Buenos Aires, 24. Articles furnished by corregi- dor, 175. Aruba, Miranda at, 333, 336. Asesor general, 156. Asuncion, stagnant, xvii; without authority, 23 ; Jes- uits removed from, 114, 243. Astete, Pablo, commands at Cuzco, 191. Atrato river, xii; route to Pa- cific, 272. Auchmuty, General, 358. Audiencia, Quito and Pana- ma, 50. 55 ; of Buenos Aires, 243; in Venezuela, 1786, 313. Auditor's office, 172. Aviles, 373; O'Higgins' suc- cessor in Chile, 392. Aymaras, 7. Azua, agent of cabildo on university, 47. Azua, Archbishop, on priests ' traffic in alcohol, 59. Azores, Portuguese from, 163. * ' Bacchus " and " Bee " j oin Miranda, 333. Baird, General, 342; to Beres- ford, 346. Balmaseda, agent to expel Jesuits from Chile, 136, 137. Bank at Arequipa, 412. Barcelona, province of, 61, 68. Barquisimeto, xi, 68. Barreiro, president of comu- noros, 19. Barreda, Jose, provincial of Paraguay, 80. Barreda y Vera, succeeds Aponte, 40. Barrera, Captain, 211, 212. Barros Arana, on Jesuit am- bitions, 133. Bastides, Miguel, campaign east of Titicaea, 197. Battle, reduction Indians de- feated, 89 ; of Cuzco, 191 ; at Ciiecacupe, 194; of Puente Eeal, 211. Barua, in Paraguay, 15, 17, 18. Bauza on war against mis- sions, 94. Belgrano on loss of Buenos Aires, 349, n. Benavides, Governor of Chile, 237 ; intendant of Santiago, 246. Berbeo, chief of Comun, 210; commanding general, 212 : commisioners ' note to, 213; his vacilation, 215; pro- poses peace conference, 216; corregidor of Socorro, 219. Beresford, General, to Rio de la Plata, 342; salary, 346; victorious at Perdriel, 353. Berlanga, Juan de, and arrest of Jesuits, 109. Berney, his conspiracy, 232; forms constitution, 235 ; sentenced, 238. Berrio, Antonio de, 62. Bishops, authority of, 244. Bishoprics and intendencies, 242. Blanco and royal revenues, 230 ; transferred to Potosi, 231. Blount, intrigues of, 324. Bogota, position of, xiv, 4; Comun advance upon, 213; population of, 260, 261 ; be- comes fashionable, 275. INDEX 429 Bolivia, x. Books, importation prohibited, 8 ; on politics in Venezuela, 319,- hunted by Viceroy Croix, 377. Borja, authorized Jesuits in Peru, 127. Botanical Expedition, ap- proved by the King, 269; change in purpose, 272-274; transferred to Bogota, 275 ; in Peru, 277-281. Bougainville on Nanguiru, 88, n. Bourne, Sturges, to Pitt, 343. Boundary controversy, 26 ; eommisioners, 79 ; commis- sioners for Portugal, 80 ; question, 93. Bridge over the Kimac, 293. Brierly on Cumani, 334. British policv communicated to King, 328. British designs on South America, 340. British vessels at Buenos Aires, 347, 348. British proclamation as to trade at Buenos Aires, 350- 352. British in Montevideo, 361 , reinforcements at Buenos Aires, 358 ; advance on Buenos Aires, 362; de- mands, 363. Brunete, Joseph, 278; died in Pasco, 1787, '2^80. Bucareli, Governor of Rio de la Plata, 104; receives order to be sent to Chile 'and Peru, 108; his edict at Buenos Aires, 109; on Cordova Jes- uits, 112; on latest Jesuit arrivals, 114; goes to Mis- iones, 125 ; enters Yapeyu, 126; sends papers to Chile, 135. Buenos Aires, lost and rewon, Chap. XIII ; British at, X, xvii ; lack of privileges, 6; new shipping orders, 42; state of. 155, 249; and trade, 167; shipping point for interior, 168; audiencia of, 243, 244; provinces of, 244 ; intendency of, 245 ; re- lation to other cities, 251 ; agriculture and commerce, 252 ; trade with Spain, 304 ; later trade, 339 ; increased wealth, 340 ; population, 340 ; project against, dis- cussed, 345; offers resist- ance, 347 ; prepares for de- fense, 353 ; commanders of battalions, 362; victorv, 370. Bull fights at Lima, 303. Caballero, his toleration, 266 ; Belacion de mando, 268, 273. Cadiz, in Spain's commerce, 167; merchants of, 416. Caesares, Orejuela's expedi- tion to, 235. Cafes in Lima, 303, n. Callao, destroyed, 1746, 13; fortress of, 98; under vice- roy, 157. Canary Islands, 167. Cannon cast at Lima, 98. Cape captured, 342. Capuchin missions, 64. Cartagena, xii; defended by Eslaba, 57; defenses of, 261. Carabobo, 68. Carvajal, Duke, 297. Casa de Contratacion, 42. Casas, Juan de, on British commerce, 416. Casanare, 64. Caracas, xi, 4, 68. Cauca Valley, xii. Cauquenes, 44. Castel-Fuerte, 13, 14; ap- points Salamanca governor, 40. Ceballos, his fleet and army, 162; lands at Montevideo, 162; received at San Borja, 93; his commission, 159; his orders, 159; his power, 161; promoted, 163; suc- ceeded by Vertiz, 168 ; and reform, 172; repatriation of Portuguese, 170-172. Celebrations, 55. Cession of reductions, 76, 430 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Chaeo, Jesuits of, 118. Charcas, aufliencia of, 157, 244; advises the King, 158, 170. Charles II, Spain under, 27. Charles III, xx; King of Naples, 57; accession, 95, 103; appoints Bucarcli, 104; reply to Clement XIII, 107; his reforms, 153; economic legislation, 166, 172, 229; death, 391. Charles IV, accession, 391 ; re- volt in Venezuela, 316. Charlevoix, quoted, 14, 15. Checacupe, battle of, 194. Chibchas, xii, 7. Chiloe, province of, 247. Chinchona monopoly, 265. Chiquitos, 170. Cliile, x; middle part of, xv; mining in, xv; southern, xvi; monotony of life in, 34; trade with Peru, 42; rural life in, 305, 384. See Agriculture, Aponte, etc. Chome, Padre, died going into exile, 122. Chucuito, 170. Chuquisaca, xiv, 251. Church, attitude towards the Indians, 2; and riot in Quito, 180; extent of prop- erty, 301. Cities, of Chile, 305; life in, 410. Clement XIII, on expulsion of Jesuits, 107. Clergy, their irregular living, 14; against Tupac, 188. Coast, sandy, xiv. Cochrane, furnishes ships to Miranda, 334. Cock-fights. 303. Code of 1778, 167, 172, 173, 398. Coining in Chile, 43. Colegio del Bosario, Mutis at, 263. Colombia, x, xi. * ' Columbia ' ' at Juan Fernan- dez, 389. Colonia, contraband trade, xvi; held by Portuguese, 26, 27; taken by Eoss, 28; ceded to Portugal, 28; under Vasconcellos, 31; be- sieged by Salcedo, 32, 33; fort strengthened, 72 ; ceded by Portugal, 74; Ceballos advances on, 162; prisoners sent to Mendoza, 163; ceded to Spain, 1777, 164; re- ceives English goods, 166; Portuguese inhabitants, 171. Colonial history, xviii. Colonial system, failure of, 171. Colonists of Buenos Aires after 1778, 167. Commercial code, 166-173. Comuneros, Chap. VII; of Paraguay, 15-43; of New Granada, 209-219. Comun, 221-224. Communism of missions, 147, Concepcion, Bishop of, 36 ; earthquake, 39; in tendency of, 246, 305; smallpox in, 308. Condorcanqui, Tupac's name, 180. Conspiracies, secret, 232, 241. Conspiracy of Gramuset and Berney,' Chap. VIII. Consulado for Santiago, 43; Caracas, 314; on unemploy- ment, 321; tax for, 419. Contensiosa, court of, 247. Contraband trade, 27, 31, 41, 165, 339. Copiapo, 44. Cordova, 4; Gorro retained at, 27; capital, 34, 251. Coro, xi, 68. Corral, Juan de, built Lima bridge, 294. Corregidores, as sole traders, 14; purpose of office, 174; and Indians, 241 ; sup- pressed, 243, 373. Correo m-ayor, resumed by croAvn, 297. Corporations in South Amer- ica, 399. Corsica, Jesuits in, 117. Corvallo on Santiago, 306. Council of the Indies, xx, 15, 47, 156. Country, life in, 410. INDEX 431 Court of junta superior de gobierno, 248. Crawford at Buenos Aires, 362. Credit, absence, 8, 400. Creoles, ix, 4 ; excluded from office, 4, 9; and mestizo op- position, 5-11 ; party at Quito, 102; acquire Jesuit property, 103 ; intellectual awakening, 275, 301, 315, 318; attachment to New World, 319. Crime, increase of, 53. Croix, viceroy, 373. Crusada, proceeds from, 424. Cumana, xi, 61, 68, 313, 334. Cundinamarea, plateau of, xii, Curico, 44. Cuyo, province of, 244. Cuzco, xiv; coUege of, 128, 158; on corregidores, 176, 179; panic in, 186; pre- pared for war, 188 ; abol- ishes repartimientos, 189 ; battle of, 191, 246; trade with Arica, 304. Dangers met by Kuiz and Pavon, 280. Darien, Indian war ended, 272. Dauxion on luxury at Caracas, 318. Dead hand, King opposed, 300. Decline of Spain's power, xix. Decree expelling Jesuits, 104. Defeat at Puente Real, 212. Del Valle, against insurgents, 192-194; brutality, 194. Diario erudito, 379. Diary of Segurola, 192, n. 198. Diego and Inca at Paucar- tambo, 191 ; after Inca, 197. Diguja, Governor, 66; suc- ceeds Zelaya at Quito, 102; prepared to expel Jesuits, 141. Disaster at Sangarara church, 187. Divine right of Kings, 237. Dobrizhoffer, 76, 88. Dombey, of Botanical Expe- dition, 278. Dominance of creole-mestizo class, 10. Dominicans, their instruction, 46. Donations to church, 51. Draft on colonies by Spain, 417. Dual government, 173. Duke of San Carlos, 298. Dundas w^arns Miranda, 336. Dutch, in Java, 3 ; West India Company, 62 ; view of Santo Thome. Earthquake, 1730, in Chile, 39; 1687, 42; 1746, 295; "divine punishment," 296. Ecclesiastics, Spanish, 8. Echaurri, Captain, 25; ap- pointed governor, 26. Economic facts, misinterpre- ted, 413. Ecuador, x, xiii; under New Granada, 99. Education, lack of interest in,. 49. Election in Paraguay, 25. Elhuvar, reforms mining, 267, 274. Emeralds in New Granada, 51. "Emperor" offered to Miran- da by Ogden, 331 ; refused to join Miranda, 333. Encomenderos, 2; and JesuitS; 103. Encomiendas, abuses of, O'Higgins on, 387; incor- porated in croAvn, 396. Endeiza, house plundered, 185. England protects Portugal, 27. English, the, in the Orinoco, 1740, 69. English colonies, 8; goods at Colonia, 166; protection of Venezuela, 324; right to fish, 392; wares in Lima, 399. Equality on fate of Indians, 2. Ercilla's Araucana, 397. Escucla de la Concordia, 258. Eslaba, viceroy of New Gra- nada, 55, 260. Espana, revolutionist, 315. Espeleta, viceroy, 258, 275. 432 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Espinosa, commandant of Trinidad, 70. Essequibo, slaves of, 63. Estcvez, Comun council, 210. Estudios de Quito, 1791, 258. Europeans vs. Americans, 101. Execution of Aliaga, 184. Export duties, 419. Expulsion of Jesuits, Chap. IV; decree in Chile, 137; as an event in history, 149; general effect of, 152. Fabro, to arrest Cordova Jes- uits, 112. Failure of colonial system, 425. Falkland Islands, 170. Ferdinand VI, influenced by Jesuit rumors, 84; succeed- ed by Charles III, 103. Ferdinand VII, 391. Fernandez, general intendant, 173, 245. Feudal subjection of Indians, 7. Feuvillee, 278. Fiesta on eve of Jesuit expul- sion, 143. Flora Bogotana, 276. Florez, viceroy, 204; resigned, 224, 266. Florida Blanca, 164. Flores assists La Paz, 192, 200. Food problem in Venezuela, 322. Forces of reductions, 85. Foreign vessels in Pacific, 389. Foreign invasion, fear of, 391. Foreigners expelled from Montevideo, 33, 34. Founder, title of, 131. France, as market, 41 ; sup- ports Portugal, 27 ; influ- ence of, in New Granada, 290. Frazier, 278. Free trade, effect of, 339. French academicians, 54; in Ecuador, 56. French importations, 36; merchants, 12. French Revolution, influence in New Granada, 277, 282; in Lima, 381. French trade, 1700-1715, 415. Funds withdrawn, 38, 52, 178, Gaceta de Lima, 380. Galan, Bartolome, 19. Galdn, Jose Antonio, at Gudduas, 214; fight at Facatativa, 214; ordered to Honda, 214; renews the rebellion, 219; chief, 222; executed, 223. Galvez, Jose de, 179. Garay, Miguel de, 19. Garcia, P. A., Mutis' assist- ant, 270. Genoa, Jesuits would settle at, 118. German Jesuits sent to Ger- many, 120. Gil de Toboada, 373, 378. Giron, opposes Comun, 215. Gonzalvez Manrique, Antonio and Francisco, 50. Gorro, Governor of Chile, 27. Government, civil, of Para- guay, 19 ; policy towards Comun, 221; weakness of, 101, 242. Governors, provincial, 172. Gower, General, 358. Gramuset and Berney, 232, 235; denounced, 237; their fate, 239. Gran Cliaco, missions of, 171. Great Britain, ambition of, 326 ; cooperating with U. S., 329. Gruesso, J. M., 257. Gual, revolutionist, 315, 316; ■ndth Miranda, 329. Guamanga, 246. Guaranis, detained in Buenos Aires, 124. Guayana, 61; first governor, 62, 68, 313. Guill y Gonzaga, 135; in Chile, 228. Guirior, viceroy, 177, 178; goes to Peru, 266, 372; ar- rives, 1773, 264; Liberal, 265. INDEX 433 Gumilla, Padre, on crop fail- ure, 68. Guayaquil, port for Quito, Haciendas of Jesuits, 131. Haenke, Tadeo, 293 ; on Lima, 302. Hamilton, Miranda to, 326, 327; changed view of Miranda, 328. Herds in Argentina and Uru- guay, xvii; of Misiones, 65. Herrera, Juan Diaz, in Quito, 99, 100. Hides and beef, trade in, 339. Honda, xii. Hooper intervenes in favor of Spanish on Isthmus, 281. Hospitals, 300. Huaroehiri in revolt, 13. Huancavelica, 179, 246, 412; product, 423. Huidobro, held mint monop- oly, 59. Humboldt on Spain's sup- porting research, 281, n. Ideals, new, 11. Ideas, imported, 10. Ignorance of lower classes, 49. Immigration, 319. Import duties, 419. Imprenta de los Niiios exposi- tos, 253. Inca's titles, 193; Inca aj;id followers prisoners at Cuzco, 195 ; in new state, 325. Indian raids on Buenos Aires, 249. Indians, in Spanish society, 2 ; adoption by Spaniards, 7 ; with Creole-mestizo party, 8; revolt in Peru, 13; under mita, 14; in Uruguay, 31; uprising, 1723, 37; oppose treaty of 1750, 76; and re- moval of Jesuits, 119; op- pressed by corregidores, 171, 175; after Tupac, 202; as laborers, 406^08. Independence, spirit of, x. Industry, Spain's policy on, 413 ; textUe, 414. Intellectual awakening, 257, 282. Inhabitants, differing groups of, 6; of Lima, their char- acter, 301. Inquisition, 304. Institutions of Lima, 298. Insurance companies, 400. Insurgents, in Quito, 98-102; in Trinidad, 320. Insurrection, 196, 202. Intendant, 168; in Cliile, 240; territory, 242 ; in Peru, 246, 248. Intendancies, 169; and bish- oprics, 242; their capitals, 243; in Chile, 246. Invasion, 312. Irrigation, 405. Isolation, effect of, 8. Jaurcgui, Guirior's successor, 179; in Chile, 229, 372. Janszoon Pater, Adriaen, burns Santo Thome, 62. Juan and Ulloa, 13, 174, 176. Jesuits, expulsion of, Cliap. IV; xi, XX, 15, 16, 17; driven from college, 20; hostility to, 23, 24, 26; re- instated in Asuncion, 26; saw Araueanian danger, 36 ; their instruction, 46; land- owners in Ecuador, 52 ; in New Granada, 57; work in education, 58; hostility to, 66; protest to audiencia, 78; oppose treaty, 78; in Quito, 100; property con- fiscated, 102 ; and encomen- deros, 103 ; charges against, 104; arrested in Buenos Aires, 108, 115; church closed, 110; arrested at Santa Fe, 110; at Cordova, 112; journey, Cordova to Ensenada, 113 ; from Spain, 1766, 115; drowned in Eio de la Plata, 116 ; at Buenos Aires, 117; of Chaco, 118; from Chiquitos, 120; Ger- man sent to Germany, 120 ; from Paraguay, 123 ; num- ber in Misiones, 126; in Peru, 127; their wealth. 434 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER 128, 129, 130; devotion to Indians, 129; their slaves, 130; their libraries in Peru, 130; property in Chile, 131; industries, 132; houses, 133 ; relation to government, 134; at Chilian, 134; of Cuyo, 137; from Chile, 137- 139; their pension, 140; from Chile to Lima, 140; at Quito, 141 ; from Quito to Guayaquil, 142; from New Granada, 142-144 ; routes 145; llanos, 145; isolation 147; communism, 147; resi dence in Europe, 149 novices, 151; effect of ex- pulsion, 263. Keyniis quoted on Santo Thome, 62. King's C. K., aim, 328; King, Miranda visits, 327. Knox, Miranda to, 326. Labor and market in Chile, 309. La Condamine in Ecuador, 56. Le Guayra, xi, 314. Land tax, 30. Landa, and Tupac, 187; Landa killed, 187. La Plata, 243 ; archbishop of, 251. La Paz, besieged, 192, 197; position of, 197 n., 243, 253. La Serena, 246. Laws on Indians after Tupac, 202. "Leander" offered by Ogden, 331; its cargo, 331; halted by British, 333 ; at Granada 334; sold, 336. Leo, Francisco de, revolt, 240; Bights of Man, 283. Liberalism, opposed, 10. Libraries of Jesuits, 130. Library, public, with Jesuits' books, 263. Life in cities, 410; in country, 410. Lima at end of century. Chap. XI; position of, xiv, 4, 6; in 1746, 13, 168, 178, 246; position of, 292; popula- tion, 293; walls, 293; streets, 295 ; houses, 295 ; after earthquake of 1746, 296 ; social character, 297 ; institutions, 298. Linnaeus and Mutis, 262. Liniers, orders on desertion, 353 ; crosses Rio, 354 ; Mitre on, 355; demands Beres- f ord 's surrender, 356 ; mili- tary chief, 357 ; reply to Beresford, 364. Liquors, tax on sale, 420. Lisbon, destroyed, 93. Literature, periodical, 276. Llanos, x. Loayza, archbishop, 127, Local government, 153, 154. Lobo, captured at Colonia, 27. Looting in Oruro, 186. Lopez, Tupac 's instructor, 181. Lopez, S. J., attacks Mutis, 277. Lorrain, president of Quito, 50. Lost property, 423. Louis I succeeds Philip V, 54. Loyalty in New Granada, 282 ; lovaltv to Spain declines, 417. Lozauo quoted, 19, n. Madariaga, rector of Jesuit College, 137. Magdalena, x, xii. Mails to Venezuela, 323. Malouine, 170. Mandagure, campaign east of Titicaca, 197. Manso de Velaseo, Governor of Chile, 41 ; sells titles, 44; founds towns, 44; vice- roy of Peru, 45. Manso Maldonado, President of New Granada, 50. Mantiel to Ruiloba, 22. Maracaibo, population of, 317. Margarita Island, 314. Markets for Chile and Peru, 41. Markham on the Inca, 189. Martinez, B., pursues comu- neros, 25. Marsden, Popham's letter to, 344. INDEX 435 Martin Garcia, treaty of 1750, 81. Mate from Paraguay, 338, 398. Matiz, Mutis ' draughtsman, 270. Media anata, 421, Melipilla, founded by Manso, 44. Melville at trial of Popliam, 341. Mendoza receives Portuguese soldiers, 163. Mercurio peruano, 38, 258, 259, 379. Mena, Juan de, executed at Lima, 20; daughter in Paraguay, 20. Mendieta commands force of clergy, 188. Mendinueta, viceroy, 287. Mesia de la Zerda, 143. Messner, Padre, 122. Mestizos, 5; in Chile, 308. Middle Class, absence of, 8. Military affairs in Peru, 98; escort at missions, 146, 162. Mines, Charles III would re- vive, 378; output, 424; low state of, 262; and the mita, 412; fifth, 423. Minoa, expedition to, 62. Mint for Santiago, 43 ; monopoly, 58; at Popayan, 59. Miranda's expedition, Chap. XII, 312, 324; requests of Great Britain, 327 ; on U. S. support, 326; retained in England, 330; with Smith and Ogden, 331 ; support from Cochrane, 335; ships attacked, 334; takes Coro, 335. Missions in Orinoco region, 63-65 ; support from royal treasury, 65 ; of the plains, 65; Jesuits expelled, 119, 146; of Guaranis, 170, 243, 266. Mitre on Liniers, 355. Mompo in Asuncion, 16-19. Monasteries, conflicts in, 14; at Santo Thome, 62; in Chile, 231, 375. Mojos, 170, Molina, Jesuit, sent from Chile, 140, Molina, Antonio de, officer of Comun, 210, Money, lack of, 53, 400, Monino, to treat with Portu- gal, 164, Monks, 4, Monopoly of alcohol, 99; of food by Jesuits, 132. Monopolies, 42, 98, 265, 276, 425. "^ Monsalve, Comun council, 210. Montesclaros, viceroy, 178, 293. Montevideo, xvii, 29, 30, 32, 33, 110, 167, 170, 361. Morales, Juan Bautista, sent to England, 215; impris- oned, 226. Morales, F. J., in Cliile, 228. Moreno, his school sysfapn, 263, Mules, trade in, prices, 338; duty on, 420. Mutis, X, 260-276; life and writings, 277, n. Nanguiru, Nicholas, 84; suc- ceeds, Sepee, 87. Narino, x, 282; prints De- rechos de Hombre, 283 ; tried, 283-284 ; defense, 284 ; escaped at Cadiz, 285 ; in France, 286; in England, 287; conversion, 289; im- prisoned by King's order, 291. Nationalism revived in Spain, 9. Natural sciences in Colegio del Rosario, 276. Negroes in Chile, 309. Neiva, riot in, 220. Nemocon, Indians of, 221 ; fight at, 222. New Andalucia, 68. New Granada, xi, 50; condi- tion of people, 51 ; viceroy, 99, 154, 261. NevFton, doctrines of, 262, Nicholas I, 87. Nieto, Pedro, 207, Ninths, royal, 421. Nitrate deposits, xv. 436 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Nobility in New World, 1 ; titles of, 409. Nobles at Lima, 297. Nootka Sound, 324. Nordenflicht in Peru, 378. Noticias secretas, 14, 56, 172, 174. Nueva Guayana, 63. Obando, interim governor of Chile, 45. Obelar, succeeds Arregui, 24. Obrajes, oppression in, 180, 185. Observationists, 64. Ocean for Indians and Span- iards, xiv. Official delinquency, 12; inde- pendence in America, 416. Officials in America, 179; sent from Spain, 9. Offices in America, 1 ; given to ^Spaniards, 4 ; sale of, 423. O'Higgins, intendant, 246, 273; in Peru, 282; agricul- tural experiments, 386 ; goes to Peru from Chile, 392; work in Peru, 393. Olano, Garcia, 207. Olavarrieta, editor, 380. Olivares sent from Chile, 140. Oppression by corregidores, 175. Orders instead of nobility, 409. Ordinance of intendants, 173, 242, 243, 245; of 1802, 247. Orejuela, Chilean conspirator, 235. Organization iinder inten- dants, 242. Orinoco, x; missions of, 266. Oropesa, Marquis of, 181. Ortiz, Secretary of Comun, 210. Oruro, xiv; revolt in, 185; looted, 186; troops from, at La Paz, 201. Osorio and crown of Comun, 212. Paleozzi, Padre, died at Porto Bello. 123. Palos, Bishop, 14, 24, 24. Polpaico, Rojas' estate, 235; Panama, audiencia, 50; in New Granada, 58; univer- sity, 58. Papel Periddico, 258, 259. Paraguay, x, 21, 24, 170; province of, 244; Indian population, 252. Paraguayans and reductions, 15. Parlamento with Indians, 41. Patriotic unions, 256. I'astoral life in Venezuela, xi. Patagonia, sovereignty over, 169. Paula Sanz, general intendant, 245. Pavon, Jose, 278. Peace after 1723, 41. Pelota at Lima, 303. Pena's inquiry, 346. Perdriel, fight at, 353. Peru, xii, xiv, 13; internal state, 14; viceroy of, 15; and Tupac's forces, 191; intendencies, 246; Botan- ical Expedition to, 277. Peruvian market glutted, 398. Personal service abolished, 396. Philip II, 181. Philip V, ignorance of Amer- ica, 28; appoints Aponte governor, 35 ; and univer- sity, 47; abdication, 54; death, 57; sells coining ■ right, 58. Philippine Islands, 105-107. Philippine Company, 397, 399. Picton, governor of Trinidad, 326; propaganda, 326; plan 329. Pimiento, viceroy, 224. Pineres, visitador in New Granada, 204, 207; pre- pares for flight, 212; mal- administration, 266. Pisco, Ambrosio, honored as Zipa, 216; supports Indians, 222; fate, 224; returned to Chia, 225. Pitt, Miranda with, 312, 324; returned to power, 1804, 330; plan as to South Amer- ica, 344. INDEX 437 Pizarro, viceroy, 57, 59, 260. Plains of Argentina, xvi, 253- 255. Plata, Comun council, 210. Plaza, quoted on property of Jesuits, 448. Plaza of Lima, 294. Police, secret, of Lima, 381. Politics, interest in, Chap. X. Popayan, destroyed, 56. Popham, on expedition to South America, 330 ; chosen to command, 330 ; ' ' Dia- dem," 341, 342; weakness of Cape, 343 ; letter to Marsden, 344 ; to take Mon- tevideo, 346; recalled, 359; to Sterling, 360; trial, 360; sentence, 360. Population, in Peru, xv; dif- ferences in, 5; of Chile, 39, 46; of reductions, 79; of Lima, 293 ; decreasing, 425. Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad, 72. Port charges, 424. Ports, under code of 1778, 168; largo and small, 419. Portillo, provincial, 127. Porto Bello and trade, 167. Portugal supported by Eng- land, 74. Portugese after armistice, 33; at Colonia, 26; advance on Uruguay, 31 ; defend Colo- nia, 72; at Mendoza, 171. Patagonia, settlements on coast, 170. Paraguayan missions after Jesuits, 171. Post. Lima to Buenos Aires, 374. Potosi, xiv, 170, 243, 253; mules taken to, 338. Poverty in New Granada, 51; in Quito, 52. Prieto Salazar, mint monop- oly, 58. Priest, arrested by Viana, 91 ; on alcohol, 59; exactions of, 180. Primogeniture in Chile, 408. Prince of Bogota, 216. Printing office in Buenos Aires, 252. Property in Paraguay, con- fiscated, 24; of Jesuits in Chile, 131. Protection, Peru vs. Chile, 42. Protestant miners, 267, 275. Provinces of Eio de la Plata, 170. Provincial 's instructions to Jesuits, 79. Public works planned by Solis, 60. Pueyrredon 's resistance, 353. Puente Keal, battle of, 211. Puno, siege of, 197, 246; added to Peru, 393. Quesada, advances to Bogota, xii. Quichua, Kingdom, xiii, lan- guage, and dramas forbid- den, 190. Quina, from New Granada, 273. Quiroz, Canon, killed, 53. Quispicanchi, Tupac against, 184. Quito, seat of audieucia, xiii ; position of, xiv.; audiencia of, 50; poverty in, 52; re- volt in, 98. Radical philosophy, 389. Raleigh, 62. Rancagua. 44. Raynal, 319. Ecal Decreto de Ejecucion, 104. Real estate in church hands, 301. Reductions, the seven, 23 ; ceded, 75, 85; submit, 91; Indians in military service, 94; of Chiquitos, 120. Reform needed, 172 ; by Cuzco, 189; internal, 376; difficul- ties of, 426. Religious houses in Lima, 299, n. Reseguin, commands Oruro troops, 201. Restrictions by Spain, 401- 405. Residencia inefficient, 41. Revenues royal, 420-425. 438 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Revolt, of Tupac, extent of, 192; local, 179; in Bogota, leaders, 207; internal, 311. Revolution in Paraguay, 104. Revolutionists sent to Spain, 285. Reyes, Diego de los, 16. Rimac at Lima, xiv; valley of, 298. Rio de la Plata, x; viceroy- alty of, xiv; takes Colonia, 27. Rio Negro, 169. Rights of Man, 381. Riot in Quito, 100. River systems, x ; of the south- east, 154. Road, Santiago to Valparaiso, 394. Rodriguez, Tupac's instructor, 181, 183. Rodriguez, M. S., chief of Bo- gota library, 275. Rodriguez, Socorro, Manuel de, 257. Rojas, J. A., with Berney, 233, 240. Rosas, succeeds Salcedo, 33. Rozas, Ortiz de. Governor of Chile, 45, 46. Rousseau, works of, 319. Royal exactions in Chile, 229. Royal orders on Colonia, 179. Ruiloba, Governor of Para- guay, 17, 21, 22; death, 23; his murderers executed, 25. Ruiz de Berecedo, on Univer- sity of Chile, 47. Ruiz, Jose, studied under Wal- lerius, 267. Ruiz, H., botanist, 278. Rumors in Europe as to Jes- uits, 84. Salamanca, Aponte's nephew, 35; governor of Chile, 40; residencia, 41; not con- firmed by king, 41. Salcedo succeeds Zabala, 31 ; Governor, 32; lays siege to Colonia, 33; deposed, 33. Sales by eorregidor, 175. Salt tax, 424. Salta, 251; mules at, 338. Salinas of Nemocon, 221. Sangarara, Landa at, 187. St. Bartholomew, visited by Narino, 287. San Bernardo, College of, 128. "San Esteban," frigate, 32. "San Felipe," 44. San Fernando, 44. San Gabriel, island added to Spain, 164. San Gil, 208. San Ildefonso, treaty of 1777, 164. San Juan River, xiii. San Jose de Oruiia, in ruins, 69. San Miguel, ceded pueblo, 90. Santa Catalina Island, 165. Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Jes- uits of, 121, 170, 243. Santa Fe, Jesuits arrested, 110. Santa Marta, xii. Santa Rosa de los Andes, 44. Santiago, valley of, xv, 4; at end of eighteenth century. Chap. XI ; intendency of, 246, 305-308. Santo Thome, 61; different sites, 63. Sorata destroyed, 197. Saravia denounced Berney, 237. Savages disappear, 406. Science and politics, x. Secretary of viceroyalty, 172. Segurola at La Paz, 192; diary, 192-198, 202. Segur in Venezuela, 319. Seminario critico, 380. Sentence of Tupac, 195. Sepee, Guarani chief, 87. Serena, 305. Settlers at Montevideo, 29, 30. Seville in Spain 's commerce, 167; monopoly broken, 168. Shipping at Buenos Aires, 337. Ships, of register, 42 ; used by Botanical Expedition, 279. Siege of La Paz, 198-202. Slaves, 165; in Chile, 309; trade in, 74. Smallpox, in Chile, 39, 307; at Trinidad, 69. INDEX 439 Smuggling, effect on Peru, 166. Sobremonte, viceroy, x, 357. Social movements in Quito, 177; character of Lima, 297; classes in Peru, 395. Society, designed by Spain, 1; Spanish and creole, 7, 9, 11; in Chile, 306. Socorro, revolutionary center, 206; revolt at, 207; sus- pends taxes, 208; document in verse, 209; insurgents, 210. Solis Folch, viceroy, 59; char- ity, 142; enters monastery, 143, 260. Soroeta, Governor of Para- guay, 16-19. Southeastern districts, 154. Southey, quoted, 79. Souza Coutinho, of treaty commission, 164. Spain 's control of Indians, 1 ; declining power, 6; declares war on Great Britain, 330. Spanish-Creole separation, 4 ; merchants, 12 ; succession, war of, 28; defeat at San- garara, 187; minister's activity, 332; on English at Montevideo, 367; on ap- pointments, 383; and Brit- ish colonies, 426. Spaniards on new ideas, 10; reinforced at Cuzco, 190. Squadron, Pacific, 45. Stamped paper, 423. State designed by Miranda, 325. Statistics by Solis, 61. Stevenson, quoted, 156 n. Sterling, Admiral, 358; on Popham's return, 359. Stock companies, 412. Strays, 423. Suffering of Indians, 180. Superintendent of treasury, 168, 173. Superunda (Velasco), 13. Table Bay, British squadron at, 344. Tafalla, professor of botany at Lima, 289. Talca, 44. Tallien to Narino, 286. Talmadge, Judge, on "Le- ander's" cargo, 331. Tarija, Jesuits at, 114. Tarma, 246. Taxes, 205; in Chile, 229-231. Tea of Bogota, 273. Tebicuary River, 17-24. Temple, quoted, 200, n. Temperature in Venezuela, xi. Tenants on estates, 410. Terms granted Buenos Aires by British, 351; of White- locke 's surrender, 365. "Tertulia eutropelica, " 257; "poetica," 38. Tesorero Manque cedor, 58. Textiles, of Quito, 53; indus- try, 414. Theatre at Lima, 303. Tinta, province of, 181. Titles, sold in Chile, 44, 420; taxed, 425. Toledo, viceroy, 181. Tordesillas, treaty of, 74. Trade, 34; Chile-Peru, 42; Rio de la Plata, 166; tea in Bogota, 273, 323, 381, 398. Traffic, Buenos Aires to Lima, 338. Treachery with Tupac, 194. Treasury, royal, 168, 173, 418. Treaty, Spanish -Portuguese, 28, 74, 75, 78, 95, 164. Tribute, by Indians, 16, 396, 421. Trinidad, revolt, 68-72, 323, Troops, unpaid, 38, 84, 200, n. Truce with reductions, 84. Tucuman, 34, 170, 243, 244, 251. Turbaco, residence of viceroy, 272. Tupac Amaru, revolt, Chap. VI, 177-217. Ulloa and Araujo, 54. Unanue, Dr., 380. Unemployed in Venezuela, 320, 321. United States, influence of, 282; in New Granada, 290; constitutions, 325, 390. 440 SPAIN'S DECLINING POWER Unions, patriotic, 256. University of San Felipe, 46- 49; of San Marcos, 258, 299, 375; at Panama, 58. Upper Peru, xiv, xv; province of, 244. Uprising in Quito, 1765, 98; 1782, 373. Uraba, Gulf of, xii, Uriarte, on fort at Monte- video, 33. Uruguay, x; scene of contest, 26. Utrecht, treaty of, 28. Valdelerios, boundary commis- sioner, 79. Valencia, xi. Valenzuelas, Elroy de, under Mutis, 269. Valparaiso, 305; slave market, 310. Vancouver, quoted, 394. Varinas, province of Vene- zuela, 313, Vasconcellos, Pedro Antonio de, commands Colonia, 31. Vasconcelos, Manuel de Gue- vara, captain-general of Venezuela, 322, 336. Vargas, Francisco, 207. Venezuela, geography of, x; Chap. XII; provinces of, 313; trade, 315; population, 317; bad state of, 320-323. "Venus, La," sails with Jes- uits, 113. Vera Cruz, and trade, 167. Veraguas, province of New Granada, 58. Vergara, Francisco, regent of tribunal of accounts, 61. Vergara, Padre Manuel, dies going into exile, 126. Vernon, 14; his plan, 312, n. Vertiz, as governor, 161 ; in command after Ceballos, 163; viceroy, 168; settle- ments under, 169, 245, 250; establishes a theatre, 250 ; founds printing office, 252. Viana, campaign against re- ductions, 85 ; message to In- dians, 86. Viceroy, of Peru, 13; repudi- ates treaty, 28; Villa Garcia on Chilean consulado, 44; Bucareli, letter, 129; power and duties, 153 ; of Mexico and Peru, 155; relation to audiencia, 156; restrictions on, 156; Stevenson on, 156, n. ; relation to Callao, 157 ; in Buenos Aires permanent, 168; power limited, 168; re- port to successor, 170; under law of Indies, 172; powers of, 243 ; and inten- dants, 244, 272; in Peru, 177(>-1816, 372-373. Viceroyalty of Rio, Chap. VI; of New Granada, 55; of Peru, 153 ; of Buenos Aires, 155, 158 ; of Buenos Aires province, 159; independence of Peru, 161; organization, 170, 244. Viceregal office suspended, 50. Vieja Guayana, 64, Vilcamayu, troops at, 194. Villegas, J. A. de, on mines, 262. Villegas, Geronimo, plans Lima bridge, 294. Vine culture near Mendoza, 163. Voyage to South America, 56. War, England and Spain, 169. Warships equipped by Amat, 98. Wheat in Chile, xv; growing in Peru, 42; price fixed in Peru, 43, 405. Whitelocke arrives at Buenos Aires, 362; reply and sur- render, 365; trial and sen- tence, 368. Women, unmarried, refused emigration, 5; education of, 49. Yrujo, Spanish minister, war on Caracas, 333. Yturriaga boundary commis- sioner for the north, 79, 261. Zabala in Paraguay, 14, 21, 24 ; attacks communeros, 25 : leaves Paraguay, 26, 30-40. Zelaya at Quito, 101. Zapata, leader at Nieva, 220, Zerda, viceroy, 260, 264, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. — RfCD ID-URl URt SEP 3 1968 OCT 1 i ^5^ .i^O "■ ^^^V DISCRARGE-URi: JAN 181982 OV 91981 orm L9— Series 444 DEC 22 158? UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY