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W^A- CHEERY 
 
^^^m 
 
 1 
 
AN EXPOSE 
 
 ON THE 
 
 lai^^f ntton^ of ^mni^ii Mmtxim, 
 
 COJVT^IjriJVG, 
 
 Aa account of the origin and 
 progress of those fatal difierences, 
 which have bathed that country, 
 in blocd and anarchy. An expla- 
 nation, of the social footing of the 
 Spanish Americans. The degrada- 
 tion of the colonial system of ""ipain . 
 The redress sought, and denied by 
 the Cortes. Detects of the Spanish 
 Constitution. Horrors of the Spa- 
 nish soldiery in Spanish America. 
 Dreadful consequences to the Bri- 
 
 tish islands,from arming the negroes 
 inCaracas- Mutual murder of pri- 
 soners there. A death war declar- 
 ed. Conciliation, the only means 
 of putting an end to these horrois. 
 How England ought to establish 
 her claims of a free trade, with 
 Spanish America. This even ad- 
 vantageous to Spain. Great re- 
 sources of that country. Only way 
 of establishing a permanent go- 
 vernment there, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 INTENDED AS A MEANS TO INDUCE THE 
 
 Mediator]/ Interference of Great Britain^ 
 
 IN ORDER TO PUT AN END TO A DESTRUCTIVE CIVIL WAR, 
 
 AND TO 
 
 E^ABLISH PERMANENT QUIET A^D PROSPERITY, 
 
 On a basis consistent with the Dignity of Spain, and the Inieresti 
 of the World. 
 
 RESPECTFULLY ADDRESSED 
 
 TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE 
 REGENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM, 
 
 &C. &C. &C. 
 
 Oy THE ^WSV WILLIAM WALTON. 
 
 London j 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, 
 
 And sold by Ridgway, Piccadilly; Lloto, Harley-street > 
 Mason, Holy well-street. Strand ; Whitmore and Fenn, Charing- Cross ; 
 Maxwell, Bell- Yard ; Wilson, Royal Exchange; Ricxij^RDSoir^ 
 Ditto; Gosling, Oxford-Street; BrowN} Ditto, &c. &;c. Ac. ' 
 
 ^irni^ 
 
 1814. 
 

 4> <^fi'/ 
 
 VV, GUndon, Printer, Rupert* 
 Street, ila^aiarket. 
 
PR E F^ C E. 
 
 X HE pages, I have now the honour to lay before 
 the public, were, originally, written for the exclu- 
 sive object of inducing the British government to 
 ponder on the melancholy situation of Spanish 
 America ; and under a hope of explaining the 
 nature of those unfortunate dissentions between 
 European and American Spain, which had ge- 
 nerated into an unnatural and destructive civil 
 war. More than a year ago, they were placed, in a 
 more condensed shape, in a channel, from which 
 some relief was expected; yet,still, the same apathy 
 seemed to reign with regard to this most interesting 
 subject ; and the murders of unoffending thousands 
 were heard^ without the corresponding sympathy 
 
IV 
 
 so usual to Britons. In the midst of so much 
 languor, and surrounded by mi^srepresentations, we 
 seemed perfectly insensible to the nature of that 
 war, which had already inundated the Western 
 hemisphere with blood ; nay so much had our po- 
 licy changed, that we now behold those struggles 
 with contempt, which, lately, we had encouraged 
 and promoted ; and though a road was open to 
 bring relief, consistently with honour, and even 
 with the new engagements England had contracted 
 with Spain, as well as of adding essential re- 
 sources to that momentous cause, in which we 
 were embarked, we still kept aloof, and feared 
 to interfere in a matter, we seemed not to under- 
 stand. 
 
 A resolve was made to print them, when the in- 
 discriminate massacres in New Spain, had risen to 
 such a height, that they could not be read without 
 the keenest emotion ; when a death-wsLT had been 
 declared in Caracas, and when every thingthere an- 
 nounced th« mutual butchery of prisoners, which 
 afterwards took place. They were sent to press, 
 when, in Venezuela, the slaves had been armed for 
 the murder and pillage of their masters, when the 
 horrors of St. Domingo were there renewed ; and, 
 when the danger pressed heavy on all holders of 
 British property, in the West Indies. They were 
 sent to press, when the chief sections of Spanish 
 
Columbia, had been wrapped in a wide and univer- 
 sal state of civil war and desolation^ when a mil- 
 lion and a half of its inhabitants had been immo- 
 lated on the altars of vengeance ; when odium 
 was accumulating on the British name; and when, 
 bj our coldness^ there was every reason to believe, 
 we were about to lose, for ever, our hold on a rich 
 and extensive country^ that, otherwise, opened to 
 us the most brilliant prospects. They were printed, 
 in short, when the mass of injustice and the enor- 
 mities, committed against an unoffending people, 
 were such, as the feeling mind, could, no longer, 
 behold with calmness and self-controul ; and when 
 it became the first duty of humanity, as well as 
 of society, to explain them to a public, both inte- 
 rested and implicated in their fatal consequences, 
 and who* never before had an opportunity of judg- 
 ing for itself, or even of fully comprehending the 
 nature of a dispute^ which had, already, filled the 
 New World with scenes of horror that outrivalled 
 its conquest. 
 
 During their publication, two great political 
 events have occurred, viz. the fall of Buonaparte ; 
 and the return of king Ferdinand, to his throne, 
 after the di-persion of the new Cortes. The first 
 event has, certainly, occasioned some material 
 change in the tenour of my arguments. The rising 
 influence the French were fast gaining in Spanish 
 
VI 
 
 America^ and the manner in which they were sup- 
 planting us in the affections of the people^ ceased 
 to be a subject of alarm. Yet, things had been 
 so organised^ that the sailing of three frigates to 
 three isolated points^ which it was out of our 
 power to watch^ with twenty thousand stand of 
 arms each^ would not only have broken, for ever, 
 the Spanish sceptre, in the Western hemisphere, 
 and destroyed our own influence, but would have 
 given the French that same ascendency they ac- 
 quired, by aiding the revolutionary struggle of the 
 United States. 
 
 The second event, as far as it relates to the du- 
 ration of the constitution, was perfectly foreseen; as 
 will be evinced by the strictures on that singular 
 speculation of law, which were both written and 
 printed, long before the late revolution in Madrid, 
 took place. Not that it could be anticipated, 
 that Ferdinand, or rather his counsellors, would 
 reek their vengeance on the New Cortes, which, if 
 at all founded, ought to have fallen on the old ones. 
 Had their conduct to Spanish America, been one of 
 the motives alleged for this harsh treatment, the 
 world would not have been so much astonished, or 
 those who wish well to Spam, so much scandalized. 
 And, yetj even the old Cortes, though they have 
 rendered Spanish America, the seat of anarchy, 
 bloodshed, and destruction, had, nevertheless, sav- 
 
vn 
 
 ed one half of the monarchy to its rightful pos- 
 sessor, and had acted as a shield against the most 
 pressing dangers. This e\ent has^ more than ever, 
 confirmed me in the opinion, that nothing but the 
 mediatory interference of Great Britain, under 
 such a general clash of interests, such a preva- 
 lence of irritated feelings, and under such systems 
 as those likely again to prevail in Spain, can ever 
 restore peace to the ultramarine provinces, in a 
 manner consistent with reason and justice; or es- 
 tablish permanent harmony, on the basis of gene- 
 ral good. If so, and since every month's delay, 
 is the murder of thousands, ought one moment 
 to be lost, in relieving universal aiSliction and 
 distress ? 
 
 If I have any thing to add to the explanation of 
 my views in publishingthis expose, it is, to implore 
 the benevolent exertions of my fellow-citizens, to 
 urge relief for suffering humanity; and, in order, 
 that the brightest prospects that ever opened on 
 our mercantile enterprize, may not be marred. 
 The memorials sending up from the manufactur- 
 ing towns, respecting a retention of trade to Span- 
 ish America, sufficiently, inlicate the public inte- 
 rest felt upon this occasion ; yet, what can be our 
 prospects of trade, in a country desolated by civil 
 war ? Let us not appear selfish, humanity is the 
 spring on which we are to act. Let all, with a 
 
Vlll 
 
 firm and decided voice^ express the necessity under 
 which England stands, of giving peace to Spanish 
 America ; and after aiding to extend the olive 
 branch over the old world, to pronounce it as her 
 sacred duty, to see that its benign effects are equal- 
 ly diffused to the new one. Peace must be the pre- 
 cursor of all definitive arrangements, let its basis 
 only be liberal, and itwill not only be advantageous 
 to all parties; but will, eventually, confer the 
 most lasting benefits on the world at large. 
 
 London, June 8, 1814. 
 
01? th:r 
 TO HIS ROYAL BIGHNESS, 
 
 THE 
 
 m t|)e (Hnfteti l^tnsftiams, 
 
 &c. &c, &c. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 VV HEN a private individual presumes 
 to address one, of the exalted rank of your Royal High- 
 ness in these United Kingdoms, the subject-matter, he 
 proposes to discuss, ought not only to be of a transcen- 
 dent and national interest, but the language of his 
 appeal, ought to be, besides, respectful, and divested of 
 every spirit of party and fallacious reasoning. If he 
 anticipates a favourable result from what he has got to 
 disclose, correct details ought to form the basis of his 
 expose, and impartial truth, ought to be preeminently 
 conspicuous in his display of facts. 
 
 These essential requisites, vt^ill, I hope, be found in the 
 pages I have now the honour to submit to your Royal 
 Highness ; nor will it, perhaps, be deemed presumptive, 
 if I call your attention to a subject, not of temporary, but 
 of lasting and genuine importance to us, as a maritime 
 and commercial people; and of vital interest to us, during 
 our present expensive war-system, and the great conti- 
 nental combination formed against our resources. At a 
 
period, then, when our increased sacrifices press heavy 
 on the revenue^ of the country, and whilst a fearful and 
 an eventful tragedy is acting- on the grand theatre of 
 Europe, may I be allowed to lay before your Royal 
 Highness, the following considerations, dictated by the 
 most pure and unbiased interest for our national 
 welfare ; and which have for object, to stop the ravages 
 of war, and to quench the flames of civil feuds in the 
 great continent of Spanish America ; to turn its lost 
 resources against the common enemy ; to open new 
 sources of intercourse and vent for our stagnant trade ; 
 to promote the influx of precious metals, and the entry 
 of manufacturing raw materials; to connect us by in- 
 dissoluble ties, by the double ones of gratitude and 
 interest, with a population larger than our own ; in 
 short, to add greatly to our wealth and prosperity, and 
 by thus contributing largely to our own strength and 
 resources, to establish a lasting and powerful check on 
 the views of our enemies. 
 
 Great and comprehensive as are the subjects to be 
 -discussed in^the following sheets, I will, nevertheless, 
 endeavour to unfold them, in as brief and plain a manner 
 as their complexity will admit; I will do it with a 
 correctness and solemnity suited to the importance of 
 the matter in view, and the present momentous crisis of 
 iiuman events; well aware, that in appealing to your 
 Royal Highness's judgment and feelings, I not only 
 present a fair, an interesting opportunity, of following 
 the dictates of humanity, of exercising those manly 
 and benign principles and virtues, which have ever 
 formed the characteristics of your Royal Highnesses 
 illustrious house ; but I, also, afford the means of 
 promoting the national wcllare of that empire, over 
 
s 
 
 wliich you so worthily preside; besides extending tlie 
 blessings of peace, prosperity, and regeneration, to an 
 extensive and valuable range of country, that will, at no 
 distant period, remunerate us for all our exertions in its 
 favour. 
 
 To one, w^ho like yourself, holds in his hands the 
 reins of a government, so much concerned in the political 
 welfare of every nation of the globe, but particularly so, 
 when interest, sympathy, and political engagements add 
 to the bond ; of a government, in short, that has sacri- 
 ficed so much for the freedom and independence of the 
 Stales of Europe, and has ever been foremost in the 
 cause of reason, justice, and humanity, it cannot be an 
 unseasonable theme, to dwell on those national interests 
 we have now at stake — to advert to that fund of odium 
 accumulating on our name, and those dangers we, at 
 the same time, incur, by an entire dereliction from 
 our plighted faith, and reiterated and solemn pro*^. 
 niises: neither can it be irrelevant here to pour- 
 tray the oppression, calamities, and destruction of one 
 entire quarter of the globe, with whose natives we have 
 so long sympathized, and to whose interests we are so 
 closely connected ; when, at the same time, a safe and 
 consistent remedy is within our reach ; a remedy not 
 only in perfect unison with our national honour, and 
 founded on sound and lasting policy, but, moreover, by 
 no means opposed to those very engagements, under 
 which we stand bound to the third party concerned. 
 
 The object of my present address, is to call the atten* 
 tion of your Royal Highness to the long neglected and 
 melancholy situation of the great continent of Spanish 
 America, where a destructive civil war has been waging 
 for more than four years : a deadly war, that like a 
 
 b2 
 
4 
 
 spreading cancer threatens to overrun, and soon to des- 
 troy that fair portion of the habitable globe, if the neces- 
 sary remedies are not speedily applied. It is, at the 
 same time, to point out the immense resources there 
 uselessly wasting, and the oceans of blood spilling in 
 every section ; and, in a full manner, to explain the 
 origin, nature, and progress of that complicated and ag- 
 gravated dispute, which has so long desolated Spanish 
 Columbia, rent asunder the ties of blood and nature, and 
 filled it with unheard of scenes of horror and devastation. 
 In short, the pages I have now the honour to inscribe 
 to your Royal Highness, are intended to throw light on 
 a subject that has been but partially understood in this 
 country; whence have originated delusive theories, and 
 erroneous conceptions of the actual state of. the great 
 question here alluded to ; and I am the more solicitous to 
 undertake this essential task, from the general ignorance 
 in which the public has been kept, of all the transactions 
 carried on in that unfortunate country, owing to its dis- 
 tance, and the confined use of the language, in which 
 they have been detailed ; as well as from the misconcep- 
 tions and prejudices diffused amongst us, in consequence 
 of the partial and incorrect statements, copied into our 
 public prints, from those of Cadiz. 
 
 This is, perhaps, the only great political question 
 that has not hitherto met with the attention of the 
 British public, or called forth the discussions of our 
 statesmen or writers of the day; yet, to us, as the allies 
 of the Spanish monarchy, anxious to give every efficiency 
 to that alliance, and acting on the broad principle of 
 justice and equity, it cannot be deemed of trifling im- 
 portance; much less so, when we view it connected 
 with our present and future prospects of trade, and 
 
linked with our most interesting maritime relations. Com- 
 merce, has ever been considered as the main sinew of 
 our political existence, and we have now in view, the 
 great and gigantic efforts of the enemy, if not to pa- 
 ralyze, at least to corrode this pillar of the British 
 empire, and to diminish its energy and extent Some 
 of our greatest and most enlightened statesmen of the 
 age, have, moreovor, established as a political axiom, that 
 considering our insular situation, the nature of our de- 
 fence, and the circumstances of the enemy, it behooved 
 us, in a particular manner, to extend our influence, our 
 connections, and our consumption of merchandise, in 
 those regions which are beyond his reach, and conse- 
 quently not subject to his control, his systems, or to 
 the fortunes of war, he may threaten to wage against 
 them. This safe and fundamental principle, founded on 
 our naval preponderance, and so intimately connected 
 with our political economy (that real basis of our 
 strength and grandeur) has been verified by the expe- 
 rience of the last twenty years, by successive events, 
 and by the failure of our past energies on the continent, 
 as well as by the depressed state to which we now stand 
 reduced. 
 
 In conformity to this principle, and considering also 
 the present condition of Europe, not only in conse- 
 quence of the influence of France, but also owing to a 
 continental policy existing even amongst our oldest 
 allies, to trade as little with us as they possibly can ; 
 Great Britain is particularly called upon, at this moment, 
 to enquire, if in any other quarter of the world, a 
 barrier can be found to resist the general combination 
 formed against her mercantile interests, and to open 
 new channels, in lieu of those closed against her. In this 
 
6 
 
 important enquiry, the political economist naturally casts 
 his eyes towards the great continent of Spanish America, 
 a country far surpassing the whole of Europe in extent, 
 in fertility, and in rich productions, though hitherto de- 
 barred from the intercourse of foreign nations. A 
 position, therefore, unparalleled on the face of the globe, 
 for the union of commercial advantages ; an extended 
 range of country, varied in soil and productions ; rich 
 in every thing necessary to minister to the wants and 
 luxuries of man ; one that in its late degraded state, 
 annually coined forty-tw^o millions ^f dollars, in gold 
 and silver ; consumed fifty-nine and a half ditto in Eu- 
 ropean imports, circulated thirty-eight and a half ditto ia 
 choicest exports,* besides being inhabited by a large and 
 increasing population, certainly presents a scene worthy 
 of the contemplation of the first magistrate of so enter- 
 prizing a nation as ours; yet fair as is this prospect, con- 
 siderable as is this produce and consumption of Spanish 
 America, the timely adoption of better systems, and a 
 newly diffused regeneration (as will hereafter be fully 
 proved) would long since have doubled both. And, yet, in 
 addition to this scope for commercial enterprize, in addi- 
 tion to this flattering but correct picture of the resources 
 of Spanish America, and these considerations of national 
 expediency, political motives of a still more sacred na- 
 ture, have long called upon us to look with anxious 
 concern to the fate of the Western continent, and to pre- 
 vent its entire destruction. 
 
 The increase and protection of trade, undoubtedly, be- 
 comes the paramount duty of the heads of government ; 
 
 * Vi(kj Humboldt's Political Eswy on the Kingdom of Nc\t Spain, 
 tol.4, books, chap. 12. 
 
and any elucidations on so interesting a subject, cannot, 
 therefore, by your Royal Highness, be deemed ill-placed or 
 offensive. Every thing relating to Spanish America, that 
 we have undertaken for many years past", proves how little 
 we were acquainted with the dispositions, sentiments, 
 and resources of those distant regions, notwithstanding 
 the expences government has incurred to obtain inforrar 
 ation ; and how much we have been puzzled to fix on aa 
 enlightened and accordant policy, in our new alliance 
 w^ith Spain, results from many facts that will hereafter, 
 be adduced. I am, for this reason, the more en- 
 couraged in my present attempt, as well as from a 
 conviction that my sources of information are not only 
 extensive, but also correct, and in most cases, official. 
 And whilst I deplore that want of influence we have 
 never obtained over the councils of Spain, whilst I 
 regret our complete failure to infuse liberal principles 
 in her members of government, and to awaken an en- 
 lightened policy in the nation at large, respecting its 
 vital interests with Spanish America, (the grand cause 
 of most of the evils with which we have now to con- 
 tend, in our relations with the Spanish monarchy of both 
 hemispheres) though late, I still hope something useful 
 may be deduced ; and at all events, it may be of service 
 to delineate those results which would have been pro-, 
 duced by a different line of conduct on our part, and to 
 point out where we erred, in our new and delicate con- 
 nection with European and American Spain. 
 
 Important, however, as might have been the conse- 
 quences of keeping the two halves of the Spanish mo- 
 narchy strong and united ; offensive both to justice and 
 humanity as has been that cruel, desultory, and unnatu- 
 ral war which has so long been waging between them; im-i 
 
8 
 
 mense as has been the waste of property, and lamentable 
 and afflicting, as has been this impolitic dismemberment 
 of the Spanish monarchy, not less dangerous to the 
 future existence of Spain, than subversive of the prospe- 
 rity of Spanish America, and prejudicial to the real 
 interests of England ; still, as the sincere friends and 
 allies of both parties, we have hitherto devised no 
 effectivje remedy ; nay, our statesmen in their views of 
 national policy, and national welfare, appear studiously 
 to have avoided the contemplation and discussion of a 
 question, in which so much was at issue, and in which w^e 
 were so materially implicated. They appear never to have 
 pondered on the future consequences of that blind ob- 
 stinacy, which first caused the dissentions here alluded 
 to; and which, by neither being prevented or remedied, 
 have not only cut off from Spain half her strength, 
 but have, also, deprived her of the greatest part of 
 those resources she might have brought into active ope- 
 ration against the common enemy ; and have, further, con- 
 verted the fairest portion of the Spanish monarchy (whose 
 integrity, and consequently preservation we have guaran- 
 teed) into one wide extended waste of anarchy and ruin, 
 and are, besides, fast driving it into the interests of the 
 Trench. That increase of private wealth and public 
 revenue, which might otherwise have flowed into Spain 
 to our benefit, that accession of physical and moral 
 strength w^hich might have been secured to her, and 
 that closer union which might have been cemented 
 between all parties, seems to be a subject completely 
 overlooked and disregarded ; nor is there a measure of 
 a public nature, in which we seem to have been so much 
 embarrassed, as in our conduct to our Peninsular 
 ally. 
 
9 
 
 Spanish America, in the mean time, has been bleeding at 
 every pore, in vain have its natives appealed to our jus- 
 tice 'and generosity, and in vain have they reminded us 
 of our old promises and offers. We have calmly beheld 
 them put to the sword, for seeking that just redress and 
 requisite regeneration, such as the whole world pro- 
 nounced to be their due ; and for endeavouring to esta- 
 blish those rights they had inherited from their forefa- 
 thers, but which their trampled laws could no longer 
 secure to them. Unheeded, we have beheld their fruitful 
 plains laid waste, and their ravaged cities levelled with 
 the dust. Without an effective effort in their favour, w^e 
 have seen their peaceful country become a prey to 
 anarchy and devastation, nor is there a record of a 
 public nature existing to prove, that we have felt for 
 them the common sympathies of men, or at least, that 
 we have been really sensible of the injustice committed 
 against them. Instead of, seriously, applying remedies to 
 the increasing gangrene, that has been so long preying on 
 the political existence of the Spanish monarchy in both 
 hemispheres; we have suffered it to rankle and to inflame, 
 till at last, w^e not only behold it verging to an alarming 
 state of dissolution ; thus counteracting the object of that 
 very treaty which bound us to its welfare, but, we are, 
 moreover, ourselves fast losing the affections of the inha- 
 bitants of each of its divisions, perhaps, for ever. 
 
 It is, therefore, here intended to trace the different sta- 
 ges of this unfortunate dispute, as a means of bringing it 
 in a full shape before your Royal Highness, and the pub- 
 lic; for which purpose, it may be extremely proper, to 
 examine it in principle, and to develope its results. — 
 It may, at the same time, be useful, to review the policy 
 and conduct of the British cabinet in its relations with 
 
10 
 
 Spani&b America, as constituting part of that same na- 
 tion to whom we are allied; and, also, to enumerate 
 the means by which the evils hereafter detailed, might 
 have been prevented or remedied. In prosecution of 
 my subject, it will, moreover, be highly illustrative, to 
 take a view of those unparalleled advantages which would 
 have resulted to the world at large, but particularly to 
 the patriotic cause of Spain, from the redress and regene- 
 ration of Spanish America, in that just and consistent 
 manner that might have been fixed upon, when the era 
 of liberty first dawned upon both. The contemplation of 
 this interesting scene, is not, indeed, novel to the British 
 cabinet, for it once formed the unceasing and favourite 
 study of that great and lamented statesman, whose views 
 and plans have serv^ed as a beacon to all his successors ; 
 and have, perhaps, under the guidance of the Almighty, 
 effected the great and momentous changes of the day. 
 Other more fair and equitable means to realize his con- 
 templated results, have, indeed, since occurred; and cer-? 
 tainly had he been living, they would not have been un- 
 improved. In Spanish America, Mr. Pitt beheld a wide 
 prospect of national advantage, and a plentiful source of 
 benefits, not of an uncertain and transitory nature, but 
 •uch as can no longer appear dubious and fleeting, after the 
 voyages of a Humboldt, the gleanings of a Depons,and the 
 labours of 'Molina and Azara; and, most assuredly, under 
 such a propitious an alliance as ours with Spain, he would 
 have gloried in calling them forth, against the common 
 enemy. 
 
 Though entirely unknown to your Royal Highness, 
 I am not devoid of hope, that the particulars on which I 
 am about to enter, will meet with every attention their 
 magnitude deserves, it is under these impressions alone, 
 I presume to ask it. These are not indeed details of 
 
11 
 
 universal notoriety, because they have not come within 
 the reach of many, but they are well known to those, 
 who like myself, have closely followed up the course of 
 events, who have viewed the occurrences as they have 
 passed, and who, for the last five years, have taken a 
 lively interest in the fate and misfortunes of Spanish 
 America. The following pages, constitute the result of 
 a long and favoured residence in the Spanish dominions 
 of both hemispheres ; nor do I foresee thai any of my 
 allegations, will be found devoid of their adequate and 
 respective testimony. 
 
 It having been my lot, early in life, to visit the re- 
 gions to which I allude, I used every effort to become 
 informed of their situation, how their prosperity and 
 happiness might be promoted, and how these might 
 redound to the advantage of my own country. It is 
 the result of this research, I now submit to your Royal 
 Highness, on whom, in great measure, the happiness or 
 misery of Spanish America depends. My only object 
 is to be useful, for after the sacrifices I have already 
 made for the furtherance of these views, I should conceive 
 myself wanting in my duty to the nation of which I am 
 a member, and to the interests of that country, whose ame- 
 lioration I have greatly at heart, and whose misfortunes 
 I sincerely deplore, were I to hesitate to step forward, 
 on an occasion like the present, and fail to place my 
 observations in that channel, in which they may pro- 
 duce their desired effect. 
 
 Impressed with these sentiments, I again solicit your 
 Royal Highnesses indulgence, under the assurance, that 
 mine is not a project to bring burthensome consequences 
 on the nation, or intended to make us swerve from 
 the faith of treaties ; but it is, perhaps, under existing 
 circumstances, the only means of giving efficiency to our 
 
12 
 
 alliance with European and American Spain ; it is thd 
 only one that can adequately relieve and augment our 
 trade, besides, retrieve our past losses ; objects which 
 cannot but strongly interest every member of society, at 
 the present moment, and press, with peculiar force, on 
 those who are charged wnth His Majesty*s government. 
 It is not, now, a question of prudence and deliberation, 
 but an absolute command of imperious justice and hu- 
 manity, to stop the torrents of blood flowing in every 
 section of Spanish America, and deluging its ravaged 
 plains. 
 
 The eyes of its unhappy natives, have long been cast 
 upon England; and on the judgment of your Royal 
 Highness, now rests the well-being of seventeen niillions 
 of people. And, whilst the nations of Europe bless the 
 benign and strenuous exertions with which your Royal 
 Highness watched over their welfare, and prepared the 
 means of their liberation ; whilst Spain, in an especial 
 manner, has witnessed the profuse sacrifices, and gene- 
 rous assurances of both the British government and 
 people, is no sympathy due to the unredressed natives 
 of Spanish America, with whom we are equally allied, 
 but to whose sufferings we have been so long estranged ? 
 The substantial glory and true virtue of the British na- 
 tion, could never shine forth with more effulgency, than 
 by becoming the effective mediator and sincere umpire, 
 between the alienated provinces of Spanish America, and 
 Spain; and by promoting the return of harmony be- 
 tween them, on principles just and equitable to both. 
 This is a beneficent enterprise, still within the reach of 
 your Royal Highness, if moments the most precious are 
 only improved. It was at first difficult, because we did 
 not fully understand it ; it has afterwards become ar- 
 
13 
 
 duous, from being loo long neglected. The assembling of 
 the new Cortes in Madrid, is an occurrence the most 
 propitious, and for the sake of humanity, and the name 
 and future interests of the British empire, it is to be 
 hoped, it will not be disregarded. 
 
 With regard to myself, if I can, in any w^ay, be the 
 humble instrument, by the following details, that through 
 your Royal Highnesses means, may bring alleviation to 
 the ills and sufferings of Spanish America, and explain 
 to my fellow citizens, a subject in which they and their 
 posterity are so much interested ; if the following details 
 which I have thrown together with great pains and la- 
 bour, can only fix the attention of your Royal Highness 
 to the contemplation of this important subject, I shall not 
 only consider myself superlatively happy, but I shall be 
 gratified, in having complied with one of the first duties 
 of a social being. The chief contents of the following 
 sheets, were originally thrown together, in order to 
 solicit and implore the attention of his Majesty's minis- 
 ters, to the melancholy situation of the country thereia 
 alluded to ; but recent services, connected with Spanish 
 America, and researches to enlighten our policy, and to 
 open new sources of enterprize, are no longer deserving 
 of notice or encouragement, though so much has been 
 formerly expended in revolutionary speculations, and oa 
 inconsistent plans. 
 
 Before, however, I enter into the principal and parti- 
 cular points relating to ourselves, as the allies and friends 
 of the entire Spanish nation ; it becomes essentially ne^ 
 cessary to establish, fully, what was, and yet is, according 
 to their laws and charters, the relative situation of the 
 Spanish provinces of America, with regard to Spain ; and 
 
14 
 
 to explain the nature of the colonial policy therein esta* 
 blished, at the time our alliance commenced. These eluci- 
 dations, will aid to a more perfect comprehension of the 
 causes of complaint, the redress sought, the consequences 
 of its denial, and what have been the real features and re- 
 sults, of all the differences and insurrections which have 
 taken place up to the present period ; and I am the more 
 induced to enter into this previous digression, from my 
 extreme anxiety, that the subject should be perfectly 
 understood, by your Royal Highness, in all its parts and 
 relations, and because the same has been egregiously 
 mistatedand prejudged amongst us. 
 
 § The discovery of that immense range of country, 
 extending from California, on the one side, and the 
 Missisippi on the other, as far as Cape Horn ; washed by 
 the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and generally denomi- 
 nated Spanish North and South America, was due to the 
 great Columbus, and its principal conquest and settle- 
 ment, to Cortes and Pizarro. Both the discovery and 
 conquest thereof, were effected in conformity with a 
 6olemn and special contract, made by the kings of Spain, 
 tvith Columbus and his enterprizing companions, ot? whose 
 account and risk every thing was to be performed. It 
 "ivas also, afterwards, the policy of Spain, /or no discoveries 
 or settlements to be made at the expence of the state.* It 
 was further agreed, that in consideration of the services 
 performed, the discoverers and conquerors were to remain 
 lords of me countryy the principal ones toith the titles of 
 marquis, ^c.f The Indigenes, were also to be established 
 
 * Vide Herrera, and, also, Recopllacioa de las Lejcs de India*, 
 ley 17, til. 1, lib. 4. 
 
 i- Ibid, ley 23, tit. 3, Lib. 4. 
 
15 
 
 i>n the basis of feudal vassalage, under the plan of «rt- 
 comiendas {or distributions) on consideration that they 
 were taught the Christian religion, to lice in society, and 
 succoured and defended from harm and injury. In con- 
 foimity to these stipulations, the first establishments 
 both in Hispahola and the Main, were on the plan of 
 encomiendas, or a distribution of lands and Indians, in 
 proportion to the rank of the discoverers and settlers. 
 Herrera, also, expressly says, that all these conquests were 
 performed at the expence of the conquerors, and not of 
 the government ; and the whole history of the conquest 
 of the new world, proves, that the first proceeds of trea- 
 sure obtained, were appropriated to refund that part of 
 the expences the crown had advanced, by way of loan 
 and encouragement 
 
 The high dominion of these new settlements, " dts* 
 
 covered and ti be discovered^* was retained by the king, 
 
 •' on condition that he did not alienate or separate them 
 
 from, the crown of Castile, to which they were incorporated, 
 
 either wholly or in part; in no case, or in favour of 
 
 any one. And considering** (concludes the Emperor 
 
 Charles V.) *' the fidelity of our vassals, and the 
 
 pains tchich the discoverers and settlers experienced in 
 
 their discoveries and settlements, and in order that 
 
 they may possess more certainty and confidence of these 
 
 always remaining united to our Royal croivn, we pro' 
 
 mise, and pledge our faith and royal ivord, in behalf 
 
 of ourselves and the kings our successors^ for ever and 
 
 ever, that their cities and settlements, on no account or rea* 
 
 son, or in favour of any person whatever, shall he alien^ 
 
 ated or separated, ivholly or in part ; and that if we or 
 
 any of our successors should make any gift or alienation 
 
 thereof, contrary to this express declaration, the same 
 
16 
 
 ihall he held as null and void,"'^ Such was the social 
 compact, or magna charta under which the first settle- 
 ments in Spanish America were established, and such 
 was the tenure by which they were held. Such was the 
 solemn oath and pledge, by which Charles V. bound 
 himself and his successors; how it has been observed, 
 the reader will hereafter be able to judge. 
 
 § That great persecution and desolation which befel 
 the whole of the new settlements, coming immediately 
 after the horrors of a conquest, whose contemplation 
 makes humanity shudder, and has for ever darkened the 
 annals of Cortes and Pizarro, rapidly brought the Indians 
 to an alarming state of diminutioDj and owing to the 
 distance of the court, and the depraved conduct of the 
 first chiefs and settlers, every species of crime was com- 
 mitted with impunity. The Indian population of the 
 Antilles had already disappeared, some had been carried 
 as slaves to the Peninsula, others were put to work in 
 the mines and pearl fisheries, and others applied to carry 
 burdens, or to till the ground, under imperious and cruel 
 task masters,! Roused by such scenes of impiety 
 
 * Ibid, ley 1. tit. 1. lib. 3. Charles TV. in a flagrant manner infringed 
 this solemn pledge, by the cession of Louisiana and the Spanish part of 
 St. Domingo, to the French. 
 
 t Robertson, (vol. I. book 3,) describes the conduct of the Spa- 
 niards to the conquered Indians, in the following words . " If the sim- 
 plicity and innocence of the Indians, had inspired the Spaniards with 
 humanity, had softened the pride of superiority into compassion, and 
 had induced them to improve the inhabitants of the new world, in- 
 stead of oppressing them, some sudden acts of violence, like the too 
 rigorous chastisements of impatient instructors, might have been re- 
 lated without horror. But, unfortunately, this consciousness of supe- 
 riority, operated in a different manner. The Spaniards were so far 
 
17 
 
 and injustice, some venerable ecclesiastics, amongst whom 
 the name of Las Casas stands pre-eminent, remonstrated 
 with the king, and by every means in their power, sought 
 the relief of the oppressed aborigines. Inspectors, corre- 
 gedorSf and audiejicias, or high courts of justice, were 
 sent over to serve as mounds, to the torrent of disorders 
 that had overran the country; and a supreme council, 
 called of the Indies, was established at home, to watch 
 over the fulfdlment of the laws enacted, and the royal 
 orders transmitted to the other side of the Atlantic,* but 
 especially to protect the Indians. By these establish- 
 ments, and by the new enactions of Charles V. (exclusively 
 emanating from the humane exertions of the benevolent 
 Las Casas,) the situation of the Indians was bettered ; but 
 they still retained the principal appendages of feudal vas- 
 salage, rendered doubly galling by the avarice of their 
 masters, and doubly grievous by the distance of the 
 fountain of redress. The latter circumstance, also, was 
 the cause of many of the projected ameliorations and 
 
 far advanced beyond the natives of America in improvement of every 
 kind,^at they Tiewed them with contenjpt. They conceived the 
 Americans to be beings of an inferior nature, who were not entitled 
 to the rights and privileges of men. In peace, they subjected them 
 to servitude: in war, they paid no regard to those laws, which, by a 
 tacit convention between contending nations, regulate hostility, and 
 set some bounds to its rage. They considered them, not as men 
 fighting in defence of their liberty, but as slaves, who had revolted 
 against their masters. Their caciques when taken, were condemned, 
 like the leiiders of banditti, to the most cruel and ignominious pu- 
 nishments, and all their subjects, without regarding the distinction of 
 ranks established amongst them, were reduced to the same state of 
 abject. slavery." — Alas, and are not the scenes of the first conquests, 
 renewed in the horrors of the present insurrections ? 
 
 * Vide Revol. Mexico, torn. ii. lib. 14. • 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 modifications of the kings of Spain, being scarcely ever 
 carried into effect/* 
 
 § Gradually, the encomiendas and repartimientos of In- 
 dians, excepting in the working of mines, were abolished ; 
 and in lieu of these primitive grants and privileges, thd 
 settlers and their posterity received, as compensation, 
 others; amongst which were, their being entitled to a 
 preference of offices and trusts in their own country ; f their 
 being declared nobles of the kingdoms of Castile according 
 to the privileges, laws, and customs of Spain, &c.&c.f 
 According to Solorzano, the kings of Spain also entered 
 into specific agreements with the primitive bishops, pur- 
 porting, that the Creoles, or descendants of the conquerors 
 ; and settlers, should have the right of holding the chief 
 ecclesiastical dignities, &c. &c. Ii The same stipulations 
 were afterwards confirmed, in theory at least, by various 
 successive cedillas, or royal decrees, still extant in the laws 
 of the Indies ; nor were they in any way unreasonable, 
 when it is remembered, that the new world was discover- 
 ed, conquered, and settled at the expence, and with the 
 blood and exertions of the first adventurers ; who, besides, 
 defrayed the charges of the primitive churches, and after- 
 wards maintained the ministers of the altar, with the 
 tythes of their property ; the king being debited only with 
 a third part of the expences of the first cathedrals, and of 
 
 ♦ The Breve Hclacicm, &c. of Las Casas, (lately reprinted iii 
 London gives the most lamentable account that can be imagined, 
 of the sufferings of the primitive Indians : for which reason it wa» 
 prohibited by the government of Spain. 
 
 + Ibid, ley 3 and 5, tit. 6. lib. 4. 
 
 i Ibid, lib. 6. 
 
 11 Ibid, ley 32, tit. 2, lib. 2, and ley. 29, tit, 6, lib.l. SolofZftB* 
 rolit.lad. lib. 3. cap. 14. 
 
19 
 
 some parish churches.* This principle^of preference in 
 ^ favour of the Creoles, was still carried further ; so much 
 so, that all foreigners, amongst whom are enumerated, 
 such as are not naturalized in Castile, viz. Aragonese, Ca- 
 talans, Valencians, &c. though allowed to go over to reside 
 or traffic there, were not eligible to any ecclesiastical 
 benefice in Spanish America, not even when named by 
 the king himself.f Thus it was, that to empower tiie 
 Navarrans, naturalized in Castile, for the above purposes, 
 an express law of the Indies became necessary. $ 
 
 \f"ith regard to temporal dignities and offices, the laws 
 are not less explicit. Many royal decrees contained 
 amongst the laws of the Indies, expressly declare, " that 
 in all cases of government, justicCy administration ofjinance, 
 commissions, encomiendas of Indians, ^c. the first discO" 
 verers, then the pacificators, and lasthj the settlers, and 
 those horn in the said provinces" (of America) " are to he 
 preferred,' Nor are these, and many others that might be 
 named, vain and pompous privileges, granted at the in- 
 stance of flattery, extorted in any undue manner, or ob- 
 tained without thesurrendry of good equivalents and con- 
 sideration. On the contrary, they form the basis of the 
 social compact, instituted between the kings of Spain and 
 the first conquerors and settlers, on behalf of themselves 
 and their posterity ; who thus ceded up to the crown of 
 Castile, those regions they had discovered by their enter- 
 prize, won by their blood, and settled with their own for- 
 tunes, on condition that they, the said kings, kept the com* 
 pacts and agreements contained in the laws of the Indies^ 
 
 * Ibid, ley 2, lit. 2, lib. 1. ct alibi. 
 + Ibid, ley 31, tit. 6, lib. 1. 
 t Ibid, ley 32, til. 6, lib J 
 
 C ^ 
 
20 
 
 wherein they are termed privileges ; the basis of which 
 has been just quoted.* 
 
 § Even the Indians, in accepting the dominion of Spain, 
 came under certain stipulations, called in the laws, capitu^ 
 lations ; by which their ri£;hts were defined, and their re- 
 lative situation, as social beings, was established. Charles 
 V. after the consultation held with Las Casas, at Valla- 
 (Tolid, in 1545, declared, that the wars waged against them 
 were unjust and tyrannical ; and even prior to that period, 
 in 1537, it had been decreed, that those of their laws and 
 customs, which were not opposed to the spirit of the 
 Christian religion, should be observed with equal force, 
 as if they had been specially decreed by the king. An 
 acknowledgment was made of their classes and nobility; 
 these were exempted from tribute, as were also their caci- 
 ques, lords, magistrates, and governors, who were, besides^ 
 allowed the right of addressing the king in person. The 
 compacts formed with the Indians of Tlaxcala and others, 
 in consideration of their auxiliary aid, are, also, seen in the 
 respective accounts of the Mexican and Peruvian con- 
 qiiests. After the establishment of Spanish power, when 
 any insurrections amongst the Indians occurred, the kings 
 always ordered new privileges, grants, and exemptions to 
 be oflered to them, as a means of pacification ; and every 
 thing, in theory at least, tended to inspire them with con- 
 fidence, in the solemn pledges and promises made to 
 them.f Remesal observes, that the laws and compacts 
 made in favour of the Indians, are, in substance, mere con- 
 plusions, drawn from the writings of Las Casas, in which, 
 
 * Vide, La Revolucion de Mexico, topi. 2, lib. 14, lately printed 
 in London, therein this point is treated at full length andvvith great 
 erudition. ^ , , 
 
 \ Ibid, ley 9, tit. 4, lib. 4. ' '"' ' 
 
21 
 
 having proved the injustice and horrors of the conquests, 
 he argued that the kings of Spain, as the protectors of 
 the gospel (the only title by which the new world was at 
 first held*)were rigorously bound injustice, not to injure 
 them in their natural rights, property, or persons.f In 
 numberless other royal orders and decrees, it is further 
 commanded, to " treat the Indians well; as free men, and 
 vassals of the crown of Castile, as in fact they are," Thus 
 by the laws themselves, the legislative power over the 
 Indians, is not left absolute and arbitrary in the hands of 
 the monarch himself, much less so, in those of the self 
 created governments of Spain. 
 
 Even the social footing of the negroes in Spanish 
 America, was established by a solemn compact, made 
 between Bayano their king, and the Marquis de Cariete, 
 viceroy of Peru, in 1557* According to Garcilasso,$ 
 they then agreed to lay down their arms, on condition 
 that they were allowed to settle as natives of the coun- 
 try, and had the privilege of freeing themselves, when 
 ever they were possessed of the requisite funds.|| Their 
 free descendants of colour, are consequently entitled to 
 the rights of their forefathers, yet, as will hereafter be 
 seen, the Cortes themselves have not only deprived them 
 of the right of citizenship, but have even excluded them 
 from the general census. 
 
 § Thus does it appear, that from the time of queen Isa-^ 
 
 * Vide Alonzo de jedas address to the Indians, in Robertson's 
 History of America, vol. 1, note 23, page 269 ; also Pope Alexander 
 sixth's Grant, and queen Isabella's will. 
 
 t Revolucion de Mexico, torn. 2, lib. 14. 
 
 + Cement del Peru, part 2, lib. 3, cap. 3. 
 
 II The price for freeing a prime negro, fixed by law, is 300 dollars, 
 which not being left to the will of the master, as in our colonies and 
 those of the French, greatly promotes emancipation. 
 
25 
 
 bella, the Spanish settlements were inseparably united 
 and incorporated with the crown of Castile; and as 
 before noticed, Charles V. took a solemn oath, for him- 
 self and his successors, never to alienate or disunite them* 
 They were united, even on more favourable terms than 
 Andalusia and Galicia had been, for they retained their 
 own rights and privileges, whereas the constitutions of 
 the latter, were absorbed in that of Castile. Aragon, 
 Portugal, Italy, and Flanders, were, at one period of the 
 Spanish monarchy, on a similar footing with the Indies, 
 and had in Spain their respective supreme councils, 
 similar to that destined to govern the American pro- 
 vinces.* It was ordered also to erase from the laws of 
 the Indies, all title, name, or idea of conquest; and ae 
 before stated, the Indians were not only declared free, 
 but also subjects of the king, the same as the Castilians.f 
 § The kings themselves, never addressed their Ameri- 
 can provinces, by the name of colonies, but always gave 
 them the title of Jdngdoms ; nor is the former denomina- 
 tion to be met with in the laws of the Indies, The ap- 
 pellation of kingdoms was even enacted by an express- 
 law. Charles V. was, at that time, also emperor of Flan- 
 ders and of Italy, but on his coins was alone engraved, 
 Emperor of Spain and of the Indies, and in some of the 
 Koyal decrees of Philip II. he styles himself Emperor of 
 the Indies, only. As the governing system of the American 
 provinces improved, viceroys, not factories, were sent 
 Qvcr to govern them^ with the full representation of alter^ 
 
 * Revolucion de Mexico, tora.2, lib. 14. 
 
 + The incorporation of Spanish America was decreed by Charles V. 
 
 in Barcelona, 1 1th of Sept. 1519, confirmed by Donna Juana in Valla- 
 
 dolid, 9th of July, 1520; in Pamplona, 22nd of Oct. 1523 j inMonzon, 
 
 7th of Dec. 154T, by Pbilifi 11.; in Madridj July 18, 156:J, and 
 
 Xharlps II...- 
 
ego, a denomination not even given to some of the vice- 
 roys of provinces, in the Peninsula itself.* Chanceries 
 and AtidienciaSy or high courts of justice, were established, 
 with the same privileges and pre-eminence as those of 
 Spain; also, universities, on the same footing as that of 
 Salamanca, and municipalities, as in the Peninsula. The 
 archbishops and bishops were made independent of 
 Spain, and of even each other. The Spanish American 
 provinces, were, moreover, allowed to hold their Cortes 
 of the deputies of the cities and towns ; and in New 
 Spain, the capital of Mexico held the first place, as 
 Burgos did in the Cortes of Castile. In the Cortes of 
 the south division of America, Cusco, from being the 
 ancient seat of the Incas of Peru, was entitled to the first 
 placet Nor ought it be forgotten,'this is a privilege which 
 even the province of Galicia in Spain, never obtained. 
 
 This right, was, indeed, never exercised in America, 
 but it never was revoked. It was decreed, by Charles V, 
 in 1530, and the privilege of Tlaxcala having the second 
 seat, immediately after Mexico, in the Cortes of New 
 Spain, was granted by Charles I. on March 13, 1535, and 
 confirmed by Phillip II. on July 16, 1563. Even in 
 Spain, during the reign of Charles V, the usage of assem- 
 bling Cortes ceased ; for the regent Cisneros, overturning 
 the barriers which had been placed by the people, to 
 check the arbitrary conduct of their sovereigns, by means 
 
 * The viceroy of Navarre alone, had a similar denomination, be- 
 cause this kingdom, like those of America, was dependent only ou 
 the king ; nor was any law promulgated in Spain, binding therein, 
 unless accepted by its own Cortes. Vide Revolucion de Mexico, 
 tom. 2, lib. 14, et alibi. 
 
 t Vide, Recop. Leyes lad. by 2, til. 8, lib. 4 ; also, Real Ceduladc 
 ^25 de Marao, 1635 ; alsp Ibid, lib. 4, tit. 8, lib. 4, et alibi. 
 
9t 
 
 of the armed force he had at his command, excluded the 
 grandees and prelates from the Cortes in 1538; thereby- 
 reducing this popular representation solely to the depu- 
 ties of the towns and cities, from whom he stood in nped 
 of subsidies for the public service. From that time, the 
 Cortes declined, in such a way, as to become a mere 
 ceremony, to swear in a new king; and in fact, the gene- 
 ral Cortes were never since assembled for public business, 
 till lately in JL.a Isla de Leon. 
 
 § The whole of Spanish x\merica, as before stated, was 
 governed by a supreme council, called of the Indies, 
 equal in honours and in power with that of Castile, and 
 so independent of it, and of all other branches of govern- 
 ment, that no law premulgated in Spain, nor even a bull 
 of the Pope, was legal or valid on the other side of the 
 Atlantic, unless authorized by the seal of the said coun- 
 cil of the Indies. Like that of Castile, it was further 
 empowered to enact laws relating to America, in con- 
 currence with the king. A code of particular laws, was 
 also given to the American provinces, but the monarch- 
 ical constitution, was declared equally extending to 
 them. 
 
 § Such were the rights, privileges, and equality granted 
 and sanctioned by the respective sovereigns of Spain, to 
 the discoverers and settlers of the new world; such as 
 they are yet found in their own legislative code, and in 
 the primitive grants, charters, and compacts, on which 
 their possession of these countries, was founded. From 
 these faithful sources, it is, as well as from the ancient 
 histories of the conquest, that the above grounds have 
 been extracted. Hence may it fairly be deduced, that 
 the relative situation of the ultramarine provinces to 
 Spain, originally, was not that of dependent colonies on- 
 
23 
 
 a parent state ; but that they were, by their own prero^- 
 gatives, and by the laws themselves, made equal with 
 Castile, and were even placed on a more eligible footing 
 than their sister provinces of the Peninsula, which, like'- 
 themselves, had been successively added to the said 
 crown of Castile. It further results, that the king was 
 their chief, if not, only and immediate bond of union. 
 
 Humboldt, who was not only theoretically conver- 
 sant with the legislation of Spanish America, but also 
 confessedly, the most accurate and enlightened observer 
 who has visited those long secluded regions, expressly 
 says, " that the Kings of Spain, by taking the title of 
 Kings of the Indies, have considered these distant pos- 
 sessions, rather as integral parts of the Spanish monar- 
 chy, as provinces dependent on the crown of Castile, 
 than as colonies in the sense attached to this word, since 
 the sixteenth century, by the commercial nations of Eu- 
 rope.* In another part of the same work, he adds, 
 " According to old Spanish laws, each viceroyalty is not 
 governed as a domain of the crown, but as an insulated 
 province, separated from the mother country. All the 
 institutions, that together form an European government, 
 are to be found in the Spanish colonies, which we might 
 compare to a system of confederated states, were the co- 
 lonists not deprived of several important rights in their 
 commercial relations with the old world. f Solorzano, 
 one of the compilers of the laws of the Indies, and be- 
 sides, one of the most learned of the Spanish juriscon- 
 sults of his time, confesses, " that the Indies were in- 
 corporated to the crown of Castile, as feudatory king- 
 
 * Essai Politique, chap. 12, Iib.5. 
 t Ibid, chap. 6, liv. 13. 
 
26 
 
 doms, or as the municipia of the Romans, without losing 
 tmy of their rights, forms, privileges, &c.* 
 - In strict accord with the laws of tbe Indies, and con- 
 formably to the records of the discovery, conquest, and 
 settlement of the great continent of Spanish America, it 
 plainly results, that its constitution was founded on mu- 
 tual compacts made with the first conquerors and the 
 indigenes, guaranteed by the faith of kings; and after- 
 wards modeled on such laws and charters as were suc- 
 cessively emitted, according to circumstances, and the re- 
 lative situation in which the conquerors and settles 
 Rtood, whilst their rights and privileges were yet fresh 
 and undisputed. No part of these same rights, was ever 
 surrendered up by the original settlers or their descend- 
 ants; and the present natives of Spanish America, as 
 their direct and lawful heirs, of course, have inherited 
 every prerogative thereby solemnly pledged to tlieir 
 forefathers, and sanctioned by the most solenm govern- 
 mental faith. 
 
 § Experience had, indeed, proved, that these laws, 
 rights, charters and privileges, had long been tramp- 
 led upon, and that, in their stead, had been substituted a 
 practical colonial policy, undoubtedly adapted to insure 
 control, as far as ignorance and abjection could depress 
 the mind, so as to take from its energy, and make servi- 
 tude habitual. But, as the ultramarine provinces, have, 
 already been proved, equal in their ancient constitution 
 with those of Spain, independent of her councils and 
 tribunals, and equal in rights, as well by virtue of their 
 subsequent laws, as by their primitive social compact, 
 this abuse became not only unjust, but also unwarrant- 
 able ; and the natives are now fully authoiized to sue 
 
 • Politlml. lib.?. cap. 27. 
 
27 
 
 for its removal. If such, moreover, were tlteir rights, 
 privileges, and prerogatives ; if such was the social com- 
 pact originally and solemnly instituted in favour of the 
 first settlers, and if these agreements have not been ful- 
 filled to their children, the present generation, as their 
 rightful inheritors, are justifiable in claiming, and in re- 
 covering them by every means in their power ; and their 
 being any longer withheld, is an act of tyranny on the 
 part of the Spanish government. Nay, by their long 
 forbearance, they are doubly entitled to insist on the due 
 performance .of a convention, strengthened by as ex- 
 plicit and binding acts of the legislature, as sagacity could 
 frame, and language express. 
 
 § By the force of habit, and the pressure of despotism, 
 as well as by the exclusion from the perusal of every 
 thing liberal and enlightened, gradually the Spanish 
 Americans, instead of equal subjects, had become de« 
 pendent vassals, and their rights and privileges, were 
 scarcely to be found, but in their Statute books. Were 
 these, however, to be examined carefully, and the pri- 
 mitive history of the ultramarine provinces to be atten- 
 tively perused, it would not only appear, that their sole 
 bond of political union with the mother country, was 
 the person of the king; but, that, from being in their 
 constitution independent of eveiy bjanch of government, 
 not immediately and directly emanating^ from him, when 
 this bond became dissolved, they naturally re-assumed 
 all their political and social rights, as free men. The 
 powerful confraternity which united the Spanish in- 
 habitants of both hemispheres, and their reciprocal^and 
 social connections, naturally prescribed the propriety 
 and necessity of preserving this union; yet, it is, at the 
 same time, certain, that prior to the unjustifiable abuse 
 
28 
 
 into wliich this colonial policy had sunk, no other mea- 
 sure of government had been employed, to secure this 
 union and to give it effect, than that of annexing and in- 
 corporating the new world to the Spanish crown, under 
 the title of kingdoms, nor had long and abject submis- 
 sion, effaced the only title, by which the kings always ad- 
 dressed their distant provinces. 
 
 The heading of the royal decree, published in the 
 year 1524, for the creation of the supreme council of the 
 Indies, makes use of no other term. It is as follows. 
 " And considering the great benefits and favours, which, 
 from the Almighty we have received, and are daily re- 
 ceiving from the increase and extension of the kingdoms 
 (reynos) and lordships of our Indies; and sensible of the 
 great obligations and duties thereby imposed upon us ; 
 and anxious on our part to establish the proper means 
 that the said kingdoms and lordships may be governed 
 in due manner, &c. &c. we hereby order and decree, 
 that a supreme council of the Indies be created," &c. &c.* 
 Such is not only the general, but, also, the exclusive ap- 
 pellation given by the kings of Spain to their provinces 
 on the other side of the Atlantic, nor is the term colonies 
 to be met with in their laws, or in the royal orders suc- 
 cessively transmitted to them. 
 
 § The inhabitants.thereof, are, consequently, in right, 
 and in the eye of the law, no more colonial vassals, than 
 are those of the provinces of Spain conquered from the 
 Moors,t nor were the authorities, had they only kept 
 
 * Rocop. (le Leyes Ind, ley 1. tit. 2. lib. 2. 
 
 f Seville, according to Mariana (Hist. Gener. de Espnua. lit. 1. 
 lib. 13. cap. 9.) was conquered from the Moorish Kinjf Axataje, by 
 St. Ferdinand, who annexed it to the crown of Castile and peopled 
 it, Nor was this long before the discovery of America, which, ac- 
 
28r 
 
 within their original bounds, constituted in any other 
 manner, than those which administered the duties of 
 government in the Peninsula. So explicit was the 
 ancient legislation of Spain, in this particular, that the 
 whole of the rights and privileges of the Creoles, stand 
 coeval with the mutual compacts made between the 
 monarch and the first conquerors ; and as before stated, 
 the whole were consigned to the very code that was to 
 govern them. The American provinces, consequently, 
 were not manors conferred by the sovereign on the king-» 
 doms of Spain ; they were not given in fealty to any 
 class of inhabitants in the Peninsula, nor to any indi^ 
 vidual or intermediate corporation between the crown 
 and themselves; yet, tantamount would have become 
 their political footing, if every thing pretended by the 
 late government of Spain, and the monopolists of Cadiz, 
 was carried into full effect. No, they are yet, and ever 
 were, in point of right, justice, and reason, considered as 
 incorporated, and consequently equal dominions, nor had 
 they ever acknowledged any link of the feudal chain, 
 now attempted to be imposed upon them. Their bond 
 of union was the same, as that by which the successors of, 
 Ferdinand the Catholic, held the kingdoms of Aragon 
 and Castile. 
 
 § In another point of view, it would be unjust to con- 
 sider the Spanish American provinces, as held in colonial 
 dependence by Spain, under the pretext that Spaniards 
 
 cordlngly, was placed on, at least, an equally elij;ible footing, yet in 
 the late revolution, Seville becomes the seat of government, and its 
 Junta dictates laws to the whole of the Spanish monarchy. Granada, 
 Murcia, and Jaen, were dependent on the crown of Castile, but in- 
 dependent of each other, so that their relative situation greatly re- 
 sembled that of Spanish America. 
 
80 
 
 and Spanish property, were employed in their conquest 
 and settlement. The discoverers and conquerors were 
 all volunteers, their pay and reward were in the country 
 to which they were bound; and instead of returning 
 home, they remained and settled on the land they had 
 gained by their enterprize and personal sacrifices ; and 
 the fruits of their labour, with all the prerogatives there- 
 by acquired, have naturally descended to their rightful 
 succession. With regard to the funds laid out by the 
 crown, and certainly Isabella pledged some of her jewels 
 for the expedition of Columbus, so great was the poverty 
 of the Peninsula prior to the conquest of America, Her- 
 rera, as before noticed, expresely asserts, that all these 
 advances were refunded, and that the conquerors, alone, 
 bore the expence. Robertson also observes, that " though 
 the name of Ferdinand appeared, conjointly, with that of 
 Isabella, in the compact signed with Columbus, as king of 
 Arragon, he bore none of the expence."* Diego Velas- 
 quez, his friends, and Cortes, payed for the Cuba equip- 
 ment, which gave to the Spanish crown the empire oi 
 New Spain; and the outfits of Pizarro, for the conquest 
 of Peru, were borne by himself, Diego Almagro, and 
 Hernando Lugue, canon of Panama, who all agreed to 
 share the profits obtained, according to the substance of 
 the original contract, found in Herrera, Dec. 3. lib. 6. 
 cap. 13. Nay, it seems, that the commissions and au- 
 thorities for the discoveries and conquests, were all the 
 sovereigns contributed; and it would be hard if the grant 
 of a Pope, had more force than the specific services and 
 expended property of the first adventurers. 
 
 But even supposing that some of the crown funds 
 had remained uncovered in the beginning, (a circum* 
 
 * Hist. Amcr. vol. 1. b»ok 2% 
 
31 
 
 stance impossible, when we consider the slender outfits, 
 and the quantity of funds successively remitted from 
 Hispanola and the main, as soon as they were conquered) 
 it cannot be denied, that they have long since been re- 
 funded with incalculable interest; since the Spanish 
 American continent alone, by Humboldt, is calculated to 
 have afforded to the world, and principally to Spain, the 
 enormous sum of <£ 1,223,231,434 sterl, or 5,706,700,000 
 dollars, in gold and silver,* besides rich productions; 
 and this within a period of 311 years, viz. from 1492 to 
 1803. 
 
 § Neither, therefore, can the plea of the conquest being 
 performed by Spaniards, nor that of the primitive funds 
 expended, belonging to the crown, even if this were the 
 case, amount to any right or excuse for the King of 
 Spain himself, much less the provisional governments 
 which have, since his seizure, governed in his name, to 
 hold the Spanish American provinces in absolute de- 
 pendence and abject subjection ; since force, and not the 
 consent of the latter, had produced a departure from 
 their original compacts. Neither are the inhabitants of 
 the trans -atlantic states, to be blamed or punished for 
 the abuses into which the Madrid government had gra- 
 dually fallen, or for the decline, instead of the rise, which 
 might have been expected from such valuable acquisi- 
 tions. If Spain has squandered away the resources, the 
 former has so long and so abundantly poured into her 
 lap, she alone is answerable for her own mismanage- 
 ment and profusion; but to be divested of the common 
 feelings of gratitude to her American brethren, is a 
 charge for which she is answerable to the whole world, 
 
 » Vid« HuiQbeMt P»l, E5»ai, &c. chap. ll» 
 
32 
 
 If Spain has not profited by this great accession of wealth 
 and strength, she owed to the enterprize of the great and 
 immortal Columbus, it has been owing to the weakness of 
 her past governments; and if she now treats the American 
 provinces unjustly, it is only the second part of her in- 
 gratitude to their venerable discoverer. If she had arrived 
 at the degraded state in which she stood, when her patri- 
 otic cause broke out, it w^as in consequence of the efforts 
 of her government, and of its agents, to destroy every 
 germ of industry, liberality, and useful knowledge on the 
 other side of the Atlantic; by which means, the little she 
 herself possessed, has been directly undermined, and she 
 has thus gradually fallen into a worse state, than that she 
 attempted to bring upon the American provinces. 
 
 Neglecting her own resources at home, Spain was in- 
 flated with the magnitude and splendour of treasures, 
 which passed from her as soon as received, and which she 
 afterwards was unable to find, but on her custom-house 
 books of entry. She considered herself rich, w^ithout 
 possessing more than the shadow ; and powerful, without 
 being sensible of her own weakness; till at last, debilita- 
 ted on every side, she fell into a system of jealousy and 
 distrust, which became the more sensible in the ultrama- 
 rine provinces, from the distance of the fountain of 
 power and redress. If, however, by the sacrifices one part 
 of the monarchy has made for the other, the present rights 
 of the Americans are to be measured, what has Spain to 
 throw into the scale against 300 years of slavery, not only 
 in its essence illegal, but in its form unnatural; during 
 which period of time, the great resources of America^ 
 (with the exception of the mines, the only object which 
 has absorbed the attention of Spain, to the incalculable 
 sacrifice of Indian lives) have been rendered useless, by 
 
33 
 
 not being called forth; during which, an illiheral and de- 
 structive system of government has prevailed, the arts and 
 sciences have been precluded, and in short, religion itself 
 has been degraded, in order to support despotism, by its 
 influence. What adequate compensation, then, can the 
 present regenerated government of the Peninsula, make to 
 Spanish America, forall these privations and sacrifices, and 
 forso long and flagrant an invasion of sacred rights, which 
 the former governments had so solemnly guaranteed ? 
 And, yet, if Spanish America has been able, in some 
 measure, to rise superior to all these clogs; if under such 
 shackles,'the minds of her inhabitants, as Humboldt him- 
 self observes, have been able to expand to an astonishing 
 and unexpected degree : this is not to be attributed to 
 the condescension of their oppressors, but to the nature 
 and genius of the natives themselves, aided by the influ- 
 ence of climate, and in consequence of their ardour in 
 searching after books, notwithstanding the prohibitions 
 of government. If, they have been able to overcome ob- 
 stacles laid in their way by the hand of despotism, from 
 motives of jealousy and distrust, the merit is due to them- 
 selves alone, and they are entitled to claim all its conse- 
 quent benefits. Neither are the advances made in litera- 
 ture, in civilization, and in social relations, in which the 
 Americans,have proportionably surpassed their European 
 brethren, now to be urged against them, as further mo- 
 tives for persecution, or, as a plea to bring them back to 
 that state of abject degradation, which the arms of the 
 Spanish despots, intend to entail upon them. 
 
 § Every one, conversant with history, is aware of the 
 great difference, between the relative and political situa- 
 tion of colonies, amongst the Greeks and Romans, coii- 
 trasted with those of the modern mercantile nations of 
 
34 
 
 Europe, Our own historian, Gibbon, observes,* that 
 the colonies of Rome, in their ''manners and internal 
 policy, formed a perfect representation of their great pa- 
 rent, and they were soon endeared to the natives, by the 
 ties of friendship and alliance; they effectually diffused 
 a reverence for the Roman name, and a desire which was 
 seldom disappointed, of sharing, in due time, its honours 
 and advantages. The municipal cities, insensibly equalled 
 the rank and splendour of the colonies; and in the reign 
 of Hadrian, it was disputed, which was the preferable 
 condition, of those societies which hadinsued from, or 
 those which had been received into the bosom of Rome." 
 Thus, the najne of colonies, far from being dishonourable 
 or disadvantageous, was a privilege, owing to their good 
 system, which was sought even by allies; and far from 
 excluding them from metropolitan rights, it even con- 
 ferred them on the conquered, much more so, where pre^ 
 vious compacts existed. 
 
 " The restless and suspicious policy of the nations of 
 Europe," says Humboldt, " and the legislation and colo^jial 
 policy of the moderns, which bear very little resemblance 
 to those of the Phenicians and Greeks, have thrown insur- 
 mountable obstacles in the way of such settlements, as 
 ipight secure to those distant possessions a degree of pros- 
 perity,and an existence independent of the mothercountry. 
 Such principles as prescribe therootingupof thevine and 
 olive (exactly those of Spain) are not calculated to favour 
 n^anufactures. A colony has, for ages, been only consi- 
 dered as useful to the parent state, in so far as it supplied 
 a great number of raw materials, and consumed a number 
 of the commodities, carried there, by the ships of the mo- 
 ther countr3% "f 
 
 * Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap 2. Art. Colonies, 
 t Essai Polit. &c. liv. 5. hap. Vi. 
 
85 
 
 Oar own Western colonies, were chiefly founded on 
 these principles, and the basis of their political establish- 
 ment, grew out of the commercial compact, formed be- 
 tween them and the government at home. They were 
 planted at the instance of the latter, and their trade, was 
 afterwards fostered by legislative acts. Their civil insti- 
 tutions, even originally, am.ounted to no more than a re- 
 ciprocal monopoly, and an exclusive interchange ; we 
 consumed their sugar and tobacco, and they our ma- 
 nufactures; and this was not only founded on custom, but, 
 also, sanctioned by law. At first, they were, however, only 
 small in extent, established on desert and depopulated 
 tracts ; whereas the settlements of the Spaniards, were 
 immense, and fixed in the centre of regions, in which 
 had been discovered, formidable and civilized empires, 
 whose population, besides having social rights, became 
 partly blended with the settlers, or was left in its primi- 
 tive and independent state. The ones, built new towns 
 for themselves, but the others, settled in the ancient and 
 magnificent cities of the Indians, as they stood at the 
 time of their discovery. The one,was a governmental and 
 commercial agreement, for certain individuals, to go out 
 and cultivate productions, suited to the wants or luxu- 
 ries of the mother country, in order that she might not 
 have to purchase them in a foreign market; and protection 
 was conformably ofiered, on condition, that home pro- 
 ducts and manufactures, should exclusively be consumed 
 in the colonies; who, in return, had the privileged supply 
 of sugar and tobacco in the parent state; but the 
 other, was a species of naval and military crusade. 
 The object of British and French colonies, has been 
 to promote agriculture ; that of the Spaniards, if the 
 parallel is applicable, to extend their empire and to 
 dig the mines. The governments of the first, encou- 
 
 ^^ 0? THR 
 
36 
 
 raged their subjects to go out, as peaceable tillers of the 
 earth; but the latter embarked as conquerors, possessed 
 of an insatiate lust for gain ; and fired with the martial 
 spirit of the age and of their country, bent rather on 
 plunder, than disposed to follow the humble pursuits of 
 the hoe and ploughshare. The ones, went out as special 
 colonists, carrying with them all the liberality, and all 
 the free rights of the civilized countries to which they 
 Ijelonged ; and from the beginning, adequate systems of 
 government were modelled for them, on the plan of 
 those to which they had been accustomed; whence 
 they became miniatures, of the parent states, from which 
 they derived their origin. The others, entered on their 
 daring enterprize, in order to establish themselves by 
 force; and as well from the earliness of the period, 
 as the despotic state in which Spain at that time stood, 
 were unprepared to establish a governing system, suit- 
 ed to the more enlightened state of the present times. 
 The ones, went to insulated points, whereas the others, 
 settled on an extended and varied continent, which at 
 the time of its discovery, contained, and yet contains, 
 double the population of the country that still pretends, 
 to hold them in colonial dependence.* The ones, in 
 short, emigrated with the rights only of colonists, the 
 others went out, free and unschackled military despots, 
 who would have shrunk from the idea of being included 
 in the calculations of trade and economical expediency.* 
 
 *In consequence of the ravages on the present population of Spain, 
 it caunot now be esteemed at more than eight millions and a half. 
 That of Spanish America, from accurate data, rises as high as seven- 
 teen, which added to that of the Philipine Islands, viz, three ditto, 
 makes the ultramarine population of Spain, twenty millions. 
 
 t Till within the last forty years, the profession of a merchant 
 was held as degrading, particularly by the nobles, but even grandees, 
 bad no objection, now and then, to handle a little contraband. 
 
37 
 
 The colonial policy of the one, was to bind the affections 
 of their distant fellow citizens, to the country from 
 whence they issued, by equitable and useful laws, by ha- 
 bits, manners, and by an enlightened equipoise of inte- 
 rests ; that of the other, to insure control and dependence, 
 by force, and by means of an undue sacrifice, in favour 
 of metropolitan ambition and gain. The ones, in surren- 
 dering up certain rights, gained others as equivalents ; 
 whereas the others, to use a Creole simily, wKgre as a 
 cow, they themselves had to feed^hut ichich the Spaniards 
 milked, for their oion exclusive use, 
 
 § I have been, thus far, diffuse in explaining the nature of 
 the first discoveries and settlements, made by the Spaniards 
 on the continent of America, as well as in examining the 
 primitive charters and prerogatives, on which the political 
 and social rights of its inhabitants, were founded; from a 
 conviction of the necessity of establishing, in the fullest 
 ipanner possible, this material point, on which chiefly 
 hinges, the great question now at issue. It has been the 
 object of all the late governments of Spain, to hold the 
 transatlantic provinces in colonial dependence; and from 
 the conduct of that of Great Britain, it would almost ap- 
 pear, that her ministers, also, have not dared to consider 
 them in any other light. Nay, both seemed resolved to pro- 
 long a slavery, unjust in the eye of the law, unnatural in its 
 essence, and particularly unreasonable, when it was not 
 only attempted to save European Spain from the yoke 
 of a foreign enemy, but, also, to regenerate her inhabitants. 
 It is, now, high time to delineate the late policy of Spain, 
 established in her distant provinces; which from its de- 
 graded nature, had acquired the term of colonial; an elu- 
 cidation, essentially necessary, to form a just idea of the 
 gromids of complaint on the part of the Creoles, such as 
 
m 
 
 ^ Iheywill be described, in the more advanced stages of this 
 production* 
 
 In consecjiience of the imperfection and frailty of hu- 
 man nature, as well as from the natural tendency of man, 
 to follow the impulse of his own inordinate passions, even 
 under the best institutions, transgressions, both of law 
 and of justice, will sometimes occur. In order, however, 
 to render such deviations from right, as rare as possible, 
 it becomes the object of every good system of policy, 
 as well as the duty of the sovereign or legislative body, 
 by means of precaution and animadversion, not only to 
 enact adequate laws, but, also, to watch carefully over 
 their execution. The wishes and intentions of the first 
 jnonarchs of Spain, with regard to their distant domi- 
 liions, were undoubtedly good, and their zeal for justice 
 and equity, sincere and praiseworthy; but what availed it 
 to the Americans, to know that their laws were, at least 
 in theorj^ good, if they never saw them executed* ? In 
 the distant settlements of every nation, instances of 
 corrupt and arbitrary conduct are on record; but we 
 judge of the excellency of their establishments and 
 regulations, more from their tendency to prevent a recur- 
 ience, than from the theoretical and pompous manner in 
 which the rights of the subject are defined; in like 
 manner, as we appreciate the real merits of a first ma- 
 gistrate, by the uprightness of his conduct, and by the 
 impartial and equitable manner, in which he administers 
 justice, more than by his brilliancy of talents. 
 
 Necker, in his introduction to the Administration of 
 Finance, observes " that it is necessary to give with re- 
 serve, and promise with circumspection; but when once 
 the faith of the prince is pledged, its object ought to be 
 
 ♦ The Americans confess many of their laws on paper, to be good» 
 if a Uw could only be enacled, to make them observed. 
 
39 
 
 punctually fulfilled. Thus, is it ordained by the policy of 
 credit, and by the rules of justice." Enough having 
 been, already adduced, to prove the rights of the Spanish 
 American provinces, in the eye of the law, to be very 
 
 different from their exisling civil and political situation, 
 as described by every author who has written on the 
 subject, it would be both useless and tedious, to trace the 
 gradual stages of those infractions of their laws and 
 rights, which the despotism of the kings of Spain, and 
 the corruption of their ministers, had successively com- 
 mitted. When the minister of France, was penning the 
 above words, it would almost seem, as if he had in view, 
 the promises of the Spanish government, ever ready toof- 
 fer but backward to fulfd. Though, individual wrong, could 
 seldom penetrate to the foot of the distant throne, gene- 
 ral abuses, did, sometimes, arrest the attention, and bias 
 the mind of the feeling or politic prince, or his minister, 
 and royal orders were sent out to correct the defect com- 
 plained of. These royal orders and sovereign resolutions, 
 were placed on record, and under formal injunctions, re- 
 mitted to America ; but far from being fulfuled,by thos© 
 who ought to have been foremost to give the example 
 of obedience and submission to the king, they laughed at 
 them, and in the term of the country, called them uncon- 
 secrated hosts* Hence, originated numerous consequences, 
 not only fatal to the country, but also injurious to the 
 sovereign, who liad placed the constituted authorities 
 there, for no other purpose, than to watch over the hap- 
 piness of his far-removed subjects, and to fulfd his spe- 
 cial orders, relating to them. From this inobservance of 
 the laws and royal orders, it resulted to Spanish 
 America ; 
 
 - * Hostias sin consagrar, that is, from beiog unhallowed, not de- 
 serving of notice, 
 
40 
 
 1st. That, arbitrariness, despotism, and terror, wer^ 
 the devices of the Spanish rulers, and, that, the above, 
 were their springs of action. 
 
 2n(l, That, being the first to infringe the law, they 
 were, also, the first to deserve the punishments prescribed 
 for similar crimes ; and, that, their bad example, in this 
 deviation from equity, and from the vi^ill of the sove- 
 reign, if it did not authorize it, at least, shewed to 
 the American subjects, the road to separate themselves, 
 from a dominion, unjust, rash, odious, and tyrannical. 
 
 3d. That, dubious, whether redress had been obtained, 
 and often judging that just remonstrances had been 
 treated with disdain, the part of the community inte- 
 rested, attributed to the despotism of the minister, or 
 of government, what was, alone, arbitrary, on the part of 
 its agents abroad. 
 
 4th. That, in individual cases,money, humiliations, and 
 often-times meanness, were the only means to obtain jus- 
 tice, and even to see the laws executed ; and that, though 
 the Americans w^ere sensible of, and deplored the aggrava- 
 tions under which they laboured, they had no local re- 
 dress, nor scarcely a distant one, since the minister, who 
 patronized his transatlantic bashaw, was the medium be- 
 tween the king, and the complainant. 
 
 5th. That, these mandataries, often became the tools 
 of a corrupt minister, who, in mutual concert, sported 
 with the distress and sufferings of the Spanish Ameri- 
 cans, thereby, inducing them to conclude, that promises^ 
 and not works, were all that fell to their lot. 
 
 ()th. That, the colonial chiefs, being Europeans, and 
 biassed by provincial predilections, reserved every thing 
 for their own; and that, it was an usual policy, in order 
 
41 
 
 to secure their power, to encourage divisions between 
 the former and the natives of the country. 
 
 7th. That, these chiefs, thereby, became the absolute 
 interpretei^s of the law, and that they were practically 
 subordinate to no one, since, to no one, had they to ren- 
 der an account. 
 
 8th. That, a system of distrust and jealousy, had per- 
 vaded every act of the viceregal government^ whose 
 agents, by commanding the armed force, and rendering 
 civil justice subservient to their own will and caprice, fead 
 caused despotism to supplant the liberality of the laws, 
 and to frustrate the intentions of the king, even, when 
 they were benign. 
 
 From general premises and deductions, like the above, 
 it would, however, be impossible to form an adequate 
 idea of the principles of the system, by which Spain has 
 been so long governing her American provinces ; which, as 
 before remarked, by its extreme degradation, had at last, 
 even amongst other more liberal nations, acquired the 
 term colonial ; it will, therefore, be requisite to descend to 
 more niinute particulars, and toenumerate, with a degree 
 of correctness^, -the privations, insults, and invasions of 
 right and law, under which the transatlantic natives, 
 have so long laboured. This picture, in which each cor- 
 responding shade will appear in lively and distinct co- 
 lours, will, at the same time, render the preceding del- 
 ineation of primitive rights, together with their in- 
 fraction, more glowing and forcible ; and, by thus 
 exhibiting the viceregal despotism, to be more injurious, 
 and more tyrannical, than even the defects of old institu- 
 tions, in the hands of unprincipled power ; the reader 
 wi/i be enabled to judge, correctly, of the situation of the 
 Spanish Americans, at the period, when their Peninsular 
 brethreuj heroically rose in arms, for the double purpose 
 
42 
 
 of resisting the insidious invasion of the Freilch, and in 
 order to better their own political and social condition. 
 
 § The various sections of the great continent of Spanish 
 America, were divided into nine, distinct, and isolated 
 governments, independent of each other, and acting only 
 in concert with the king, and his supreme council of the 
 Indies, with whom their communication was direct. 
 They we^e given in charge to viceroys and captain gene- 
 rals, named as the representatives of the king ; and their 
 command, owing to defects in original institutions, dis- 
 tance, and the various reasons above detailed, was render- 
 ed illiberal, oppressive, and improvident. Holding the 
 supreme authority, and concentrating, within themselves, 
 the civil, military, and administrative commands, without 
 any local check to keep them in awe or control, they not 
 only tyrannized over the individual, but the whole of the 
 country under their jurisdiction, was forced to contribute 
 to their emoluments, in order to enable them, when their 
 command had expired,! to return home, with sufficient 
 treasure to gild over their w^'ongs, and to place them be- 
 yond the reach of justice. The laws of the Indies, had, 
 indeed, originally, placed many restrictions, on the chief 
 transatlantic agents, for the purpose of promoting the 
 better administration of government ; but it was easy to 
 elude them, and even their public infraction, was treated 
 with impunity. The picture of colonial chiefs, as 
 
 * The viceroyalties,are, New Spain, Peru, Buenos Ayres, and Santa 
 Fe de Bogata. The captain-generalships, are, Guatemala, Caracas, 
 Puerto Rico, Havanah, Chili, and Yucatan, iu a military point of 
 \iew. The Philipine islands in Asia, also constitute a captain- 
 generalship. 
 
 * According to the laws, the period fixed for the command of a 
 viceroy, or captain-general, was fivey ea 
 
43 
 
 ilrawn by Say, is perfectly applicable to tbose of Spain. 
 Enumerating the defects of colonial systems, he observes, 
 "that as the colonial chiefs, do not consider the coun- 
 tries wherein they govern, as those in which they are to 
 live the whole of their lives ; they feel no interest ia 
 making them happy and prosperous ; but, on the contra- 
 ry, all their views are directed to enrich themselves; be- 
 cause they are aware, that, on their return home, the con- 
 sideration they are about to receive, will be in proportiou 
 to the property they have amassed, and not according to 
 the conduct they may have observed, during their govern- 
 ment. If, to this is added, the arbitrary power, it is ne- 
 cessary to grant to those, who go to govern remote coun- 
 tries, we shall there find all the elements, which, in ge- 
 neral, compose the worst of governments."'^ And if in 
 our own distant establishments, where local checks 
 existed, where comparative liberality and equity reigned, 
 ^nd where redress was attainable, chiefs have^ sometimes, 
 infringed the rights of the subject, and have been arbi- 
 trary and oppressive ; we need not to be astonished, that 
 this was the case, in the Spanish ultramarine provinces. 
 
 The assumed, as well as the delegated power of the 
 said viceroys,t in its own nature, that is, comprising the 
 executive, legislative, and military attributes, and, also, 
 owing to the arrogant manner in which it was exercised, 
 had, at length, not, only, become repugnant to eveiy feel- 
 ing of liberty and justice, but, had amounted to a motley 
 despotism, the most scandalous that can be conceived, 
 besides being possessed of the absolute command, and^ 
 
 * Econoitiie politique, lib. 1. chap. 23. 
 
 t Their exorbitant power, is emphatically expressed, in one of 
 Iheir own sayings: Dios esta mui alto, el Rey en Madrid, yyo en 
 Meiico. Meaning, thai they are out of the reach ©rcontrol. 
 
 f 
 
44 
 
 agiinst which, it was impossible to appeal ; they were al- 
 lowed to make generals and admirals, whom it w^as trea- 
 son to disobey ; so that, supported by Gothic tribmials, 
 presided by European judges, with the faculty of inter- 
 preting the laws, and of judging of both the evidence and 
 the fact, every one was subservient to their will, and 
 trembled at their displeasure. It was under the unlimit- 
 ed authority of these Audiencias, or high courts of jus- 
 tice, that frequently were seen, clandestine decisions, noc- 
 turnal and arbitrary arrests, domiciliary visits, banish- 
 ments without previous trial, besides numerous other vex- 
 ations, practised by them, and their inferior satellites. 
 How often, has the friend of humanity, shuddered to be- 
 hold, and how often has the impartial and conversant vi^ri- 
 ter of every nation revolted, as he penned the corrupt and 
 debased manner in which the judicial proceedings ot Spa- 
 nish America,«were conducted ; and how many have been 
 the victims constantly sacrificed to partiality, corruption, 
 or revenge ?* Scarcely is there a solitary instance on re- 
 cord, of the frequent violations of private right and pub- 
 lic justice, at length, meeting with condign punishment ; 
 for itw^as the custom of the court, to uphold its agents in 
 their crimes, under a maxim of national policy, that it 
 w^as necessary to support the distant authorities, as the 
 most efficient means to insure subjection. 
 
 *A Spanish American friend of distinguished family, and great 
 litierality, after seeing the world, assured me, that he often shuddered 
 at what he rememhered of his youth. At the age of sixteen, he in- 
 herited tiie right of regidor, or memhcr of tlie cabildo,or municipa- 
 lity ; and in that capacity, and at the above age, he sat as judge on 
 trials for death, it being to this court, that such cases were referred in 
 the first instance. The office of regidor, corresponding to ours of 
 alderman, was inheritable and pu ;chaseablc, in all Spanish America. 
 
4b 
 
 Thus, thoughout had been established, a practical co- 
 lonial policy, calculated todepress and paralyze every ef- 
 fort of rising genius and labour; to rivetthe poverty of the 
 lower classes, and to blunt every charm[of rational nature, 
 and every feeling of social existence. The government 
 of Spain, improvident and illiberal in itself, and sensible 
 of its own wrongs and consequent insecurity, had, thence, 
 become jealous, irritable and oppressive'; till at last, lit- 
 tle difference could be perceived, between the civil state 
 of the Spanish Americans, and that of the peasant vas- 
 sals, in the most oppressed of the feudal countries of our 
 continent, as they lately stood, and as they are even yet 
 to be found, in Russia. 
 
 Tributes generally, besides destructive 77227a^, in some 
 sections, vrere exacted from the miserable aborigenes ; 
 the whole of whom, were constituted into the most un- 
 warrantable and eternal pupilage and minority, and de- 
 barred from the means of acquiring property.* They were 
 often forced to work, gratis, on the farmsofthegovemorS 
 and alcaldes, and often their little Earnings, by various 
 means, were unjustly extorted from them. Humboldtsays, 
 that the legislation of Isabella and Charles V. had deprived 
 the Indians of the most important rights enjoyed by the 
 other citizens.f The venerable bishop of Mechoacan, 
 also quoted by the above author, represented to the 
 king, that in the present state of things, the moral per- 
 fection of the Indians was impossible, and that they were 
 held in a state of extreme humiliation and misery ; that 
 they have no other means of existing, than by becoming 
 
 * The laws forbid an Indian to contract a debt exceeding twenty- 
 five dollars, so that they were unable to earn a livelihood, as traderf 
 or farmers ; servitude being alone open to theci. 
 
 t Essai Pol.&c. vol. 1. chap. 4. 
 
46 
 
 servants of the rich, whence results a clashing of inter- 
 ests, mutual envy, discord and hatred, which are render- 
 ed more terrible, by no intermediate state existing be- 
 tween them and the whites.* But monstrous and impo-. 
 litic as were the regulations instituted for their regimen, 
 and calculated to keep them in a state of eternal ignorance 
 and misery, the personal cruelties and exactions they 
 suffered from the European chiefs, were, still, of a more 
 galling nature. They were, indeed, aware, that this ha- 
 bitual oppression, was not only opposed to the spirit of 
 the law, but, also, in direct contradiction to the intentions 
 and wishes of the king : but, yet it existed, and of what 
 «vail were the good intentions of the latter, when those 
 who were to execute them, were the first to contravene? 
 All those, who, in the remotest manner, derived any 
 origin from African blood, by the laws and by custom, 
 were branded with perpetual infamy, and excluded from 
 all society. In pursuance of an adopted principle of poli- 
 cy, that it was necessary to keep each class of the co- 
 loured natives, distinct and divided ; the most cruel and 
 unheard of punishments, prohibited their miion and 
 cohabitation.f Numerous specimens of the impolicy of 
 the laws, as well as of systems founded on jealousy and 
 distrust, which, particularly in the latter times, actuated 
 'the conduct of the cabinet of Madrid, might be quoted, 
 if I feared not to exceed the limits of a letter like this. 
 Both the Indians and descendants from African blood, 
 
 * Informe del Obispo de Valladolid de Mechoacan,&c. 1799. 
 
 + The words of the law are, " que para adelante, ningun negro 
 ni negra se pudiese servir de Indio, ni India, so pcna, que al negro 
 que se serviesede* India, ge lecortasenlosgenitales,y si se sirviese de 
 Indio, cien azotes para la priraera tcz." &c. &c. Vide Hertera, Dec. 
 «. lib. 6. cap. 12. 
 
47 
 
 all of whom are denominated casts, in Spanish America, 
 have experienced the miseries of a long degraded vassa- 
 lage, so much had that inherent and habitual propensity 
 to tyrannize, added to an injurious spirit of monopoly, 
 broken down every barrier, erected by reason and justice, 
 and prescribed by sound and enlightened policy. 
 
 Notwithstanding the original compacts made with 
 the first settlers, the Creoles were gradually shut out 
 from all participation in the local commands and dig- 
 nities ; in such manner, that on examining authentic re- 
 cords, it results: that from the period of the first settle- 
 ment, up to the year 1810, out of 166 viceroys, and 588 
 Captain-Generals, Governoi-s and Presidents, who have 
 governed in Spanish America, in all 7o4 ; only IS have been 
 Creoles, and these few, merely, in consequence of their 
 having been educated in Spain. Even the curacies, pre- 
 bendaries, and in short, nearly every other civil, ecclesi- 
 astical, and military employment, were bestowed on Euro- 
 peans* not according to merit, but often, as the reward of 
 flattery, intrigue and court favour.* These unjust and 
 
 * It would be useless to carry back the reader, to a contemplation 
 of the corrupt state of the Court of Madrid, under Charles IV. and 
 Maria Louisa. The fact is, that almost every office, in America, had its 
 fixed price, the same as a loaf of bread,and in general, all were disposed 
 of, under the rose. The prices current,were as follow, Oidor, or Judge, 
 in Mexico, or Lima, 12,000 dollars, in the other sections, 8000 do, col- 
 lectorship of customs, 10,000 dollars, and so on, in proportion to the 
 revenue of the office. Another means of obtaining a nomination, was, 
 by marrying one efthe maids of honour, who had, perhaps, been little 
 else, than a pander to the pleasures and intrigues of the queen. Even 
 the servants of ministers, were often invested with offices, and I could* 
 from my personal knowledge, quote an instance, of a baker being sent 
 out by even Galvez, as one of the colonial treasurers. And yet the 
 natives of Spanish America, are commanded to bear all thege insults 
 and degradation, without repining. 
 
48 
 
 impolitic privations, were so glaring to Spaniards them- 
 celves, that Dn. Malchor Macanaz, in his celebrated 
 memorial, presented to Philip V. uses the following 
 words. " As the natives of those, your Majesty's domi- 
 nions, are equally deserving of filling the principal offices 
 of their own country, it appears reasonable, that they 
 should not be divested of all management in their own 
 homes. I am fully persuaded, that in those countries, 
 there are many discontented persons, not because they 
 are under the control of Spain; but because they are 
 cast down, and tyrannized by the very persons, who are 
 gentoVerto exercise the duties of the judicature. Let 
 your Majesty give these offices to subjects of that coun- 
 try, and by this means, disturbances will be avoided."* 
 Other similar sentiments and avowals, from many enlight- 
 ened Spaniards, might be quoted. 
 
 Thus, from the time of Phillip V, does it appear, that ra- 
 pacious, and often, immoral Peninsulars, held every office 
 of profit and distinction, and little else was left to the ex- 
 cluded natives, but ill treatment, continued insults and 
 outrages, to such an extreme, that even, lately, the Mexico 
 Consulado, or Board of Trade, composed of European 
 members, in its solemn deliberations, manifested to the 
 Cortes, that the Americans icere a race of monJcieSt filled 
 itith vice and ignorance, and automata, umoorthy of repre- 
 sentingy or being represented. The'debates which took place 
 in the Cortes, on the receipt of, this singular communica- 
 tion, are to be found in its proceedings for Sept. 1811'; 
 yet similar, if not greater insults, might be quoted from 
 the Cadiz prints. 
 
 Bribery and corruption were the springs by which 
 
 * Semanario Erudito, torn. 7. 
 
49 
 
 every thing was moved ; monopolies of various kinds, and 
 in the most essential articles, absorbed the industry of the 
 lower classes ; and restrictions of trade and prohibitory 
 systems, rendered every thing stagnant, and left the choi- 
 cest productions of no value. Besides the onerous mo- 
 nopolies, which existed in favour of the crown, and of 
 individuals, the liberty of the press was unknown, the 
 planting of the vine, and olive, was forbidden in most 
 sections,* generally the distilling of spirits, and also the 
 growing of hemp and flax. It was unlawful to whale, or 
 fish for cod, as well as to trade between the respective 
 provinces,! not only in articles brought from Spain, but 
 even in those of their own growth. Coasting trade was 
 not allowed, intercourse with foreigners, was pronounced 
 a capital crime, and punished as such. 
 
 Estrada observes, that the Spanish government, in 
 order to hold the Americans in greater subjection to its 
 own dominion, conceived that the best means, was not to 
 permit them to manufacture any thing made in Spain, 
 nor to grow, on their soil,*any of her productions. :|: Hence 
 they were forbidden to rival the wine, brandies, oil, rai- 
 
 * " Quedandaexpresamente prohibido para la Nueva Espaaa, Ter- 
 ra-firrae y Sant^ Fe, los vinos, aguardientes, vinagre, aceyte de olivas, 
 pasas y alraendras del Peru y Chile, y privados rigorosaraente en to- 
 das partes, los plantios de olivares y viuas." Vide Gazetade Mexico, 6 
 deoctubre 1804. also, Censor Extraordinario, No. 59. Cadiz, 1812. 
 
 f That this singular prohibition may not appear dubious, I quote 
 the letter of the law : " Ordenaraos y raandamos 4 los Vireyes del 
 Peru y Nueva Espana, que infalibleraenteprohiban y estorbeneste 
 comercio y traficoentrearabos reynos, por todos los caminos y me- 
 dios que fuere posible." Recop. Leyes Ind. Ley 79 Tit. 45. 
 
 q: Examen imparcial, fol. 149 
 
 £ 
 
sins, almonds, silks, cloths, glass, &c. of the mother 
 country, on whom they became dependent for supplies of 
 these articles. They were not suffered to work the quick- 
 silver mines, with which their country abounds ; and the 
 king preferred to expend a considerable sum, annually, in 
 the port of Trieste, than that the Americans should not be 
 beholden to him, for the requisites to amalgamate their ores. 
 Another unjust and impolitic principle in the colonial pc- 
 licyof Spain, was, that one section, was to be sacrificed 
 to the advantage of another. In 1792, thecabildo of Lima, 
 petitioned the court to prohibit the planting of the sugar 
 cane in Chili, in order to render "the latter dependent on 
 them for this article, and it was granted. Chili was also 
 refused permission to grow tobacco, almost, now, be- 
 come a necessary of life amongst all Spaniards, and was 
 thus forced to draw its supplies from the Peruvian dis- 
 trict of Lambayque, though its quality was the very 
 worst. Acapulco and Mexico, were not suffered to take 
 the wine, olives, raisins, and almonds of Chili ; and in 
 many other instances, unequal and disproportioned shac- 
 kles, were placed between the respective provinces. In 
 Chili, a company was established to catch seals, which 
 abound on the coast and contiguous islands, but the court 
 refused its sanction, notwithstanding the subjects of the 
 United States of North America, were allowed to whale 
 and seal on all the shores of the South Seas. The great 
 restrictions on the importations of books, were, also, ex- 
 
 + It was, Qnly, on the other side of Cape Hom, that wine, oil, 
 brandies, raisins, and almonds, were allowed to be raised, though CTery 
 other section is congenial te their growth. This was in consequence 
 of Ibc length of the Toyage,for articles of so heavy a nature. 
 
51 
 
 ti^emely grievous ; for, if any thing besides prayer-books 
 4^nd caf6chisms,escaped the vigilance of the custom house 
 searcher, it was difficult to elude the fangs of the Inqui- 
 titn, on whose expurgatory list, were to be found, the 
 best and most useful authors in modern languages. It 
 even entered into the colonial policy of Spain, to hide 
 from the Americans, the real and faithful details of the 
 primitive conquest of their country; so much so, that 
 the works of Las Casas, who was, at the same time, vene- 
 rated as a saint, were forbidden by Government, because 
 they constituted a true and just picture of the horrors 
 and cruelties, committed by the first conquerors against 
 the inoffensive Indians, and enumerated the ravages and 
 destruction of the primitive towns, with all the ardour of 
 a christian, and all the truth of an eye witness. Epic 
 poems, and romances, in praise of the first conquerors, 
 like the history of Solis, were, alone, suffered to be 
 read, and in which the ignorance and vices of the defence- 
 less natives, were alleged, as a plea for the unheard of 
 butcheries, which so soon depeopled the lately discover- 
 ed sections of the new world. It is, only, when Spanish 
 America is freed from bage despotic power, and the free- 
 dom of the press, established, that the occurrences of the 
 primitive conquests, will be fairly known to the world. 
 The friend of humanity, has still many fresh tears to shed 
 over the more faithful picture of the first ravages; and 
 his heart w^ill, often yet, beat with sympathy, at the 
 untold degradation heaped on the Indians, for more than 
 three hundred years. 
 
 By being deprived of foreign trade, the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans, were obliged to pay for their clothing, three times 
 dearer than it was worth ; and as there was no competi- 
 
5^ 
 
 tion, and most of their territorial productions were not 
 consumed in the Peninsula, they were under the necessity 
 of selling at low prices. During the wars, in which 
 Spain has been engaged, the evils of this exclusion, have 
 been incalculable, and, amongst other things, so great has 
 been the want of iron, so necessary for the implements of 
 agriculture, that, in Quito, according to UUoa,it hassold 
 for one hundred dollars, per hundred pounds weight, 
 and steel for one hundred and fifty ditto.* Ou rown 
 navigation act, by which we hold an exclusive trade^ 
 has been quoted as an excuse for Spain, and as a correct 
 example, how all parent states ought to act to their colo- 
 nies; but even, if such was the relative situation of the 
 Spanish American provinces, (and sufficient concurrent 
 testimony, has been brought forward, to prove th^i con- 
 trary) the adoption of the same law, on the part of Spain, 
 would not either be just or political, at the present mo- 
 ment, from her neither having ships, credit, capital, nor 
 manufactures. British settlements are restricted to our 
 own ships, because they can always have them cheaper, 
 and better protected than others j and because this is 
 one of the clauses of their original compact. Were the 
 impossible case, however, ever to occur, and by any unfore- 
 seen event, we were to be deprived of a sufficient numbery 
 for colonial purposes, it would be both cruel and unjust, 
 that the productionsof our planters, should rot on their 
 farms, for want of conveyance home. When Lord Chat- 
 bam asserted, that not a nail ought to be manufactured 
 in our late North American settlements, it would have 
 been most tyrannical, if this article had not been manu- 
 factured in England, and that at a cheaper rate, than 
 any where else. 
 
 Patriotic societies, which had for object, beneficence^ 
 
 * Viage a la America Meridional, Fart 1. Lib. 5. No. 713* 
 
h 
 
 53 
 
 and the dissemination of knowledge, under the most spe- 
 cious pretexts, were prohibited; as well as the study of ■ 
 the laws, and rights of nations, which latter, were sup- j 
 posed to form no part of the claims of the Americans. 
 The Indian college of Tlaiclolco was abolished, because 
 the natives of colour, therein acquired informatiotil Ca- 
 cique Cirilo de Castilla, spent thirty years of his life, in 
 endeavouring to found an Indian college, in La Puebla, 
 but died in Madrid, without succeeding. Dn. Juan Fran- 
 cisco, an Opata chief, travelled to Mexico on foot, a dis, 
 tance of five hundred leagues, and then crossed the ocean 
 to Madrid, solely to solicit a grant to found a school in 
 his own interior province, for the only purpose of teach- 
 ing his fellow Indians, the first rudiments; and lir was 
 refused by the council of the Indies, in 1798. A patriotic 
 society, established by the benevolent Villaurrutia, in 
 Guatemala, for the object of encouraging the arts and 
 sciences, was, also, interdicted, as offensive to the views 
 of the court. 
 
 The numerous instances of a similar nature, I could 
 quote, would almost exceed credibility; and any other 
 than the practical observer, would be induced to ^^>ubt 
 their existence. In a country, like England, where the 
 king, and also the dignitaries of the crown, are the active, 
 as well as the professed patrons of benevolent establish- 
 ments and institutions, for the care and instruction of 
 the lower orders, it will scarcely be believed, that when 
 Charles I V^.v/as solicited to found an university in the city 
 of Merida, in the captain-generalship of Caracas, his 
 Majesty, in his royal cedula, or decree, after consulting 
 the council of the Indies, and the fiscal, refused permis- 
 sion, alledging, that he did not conceive it j^roper, for learrt" 
 ing to become general in America* 
 
54 
 
 Thus, whilst the other nations of Europe, devoted 
 their best exertions, to spread useful knowledge among all 
 orders of society ; whilst, even those which had colonies, 
 hastened to make them share in every thing liberal and 
 enlightened, they themselves attained, Spain alone, was 
 prohibiting the extension of useful knowledge in her 
 transmarine provinces, and debarring them from the pro- 
 gressive advances of the latter centuries ; on a system, 
 and in conformity to principles, which can scarcely be 
 supposed to exist, even in the most uncivilized and bar- 
 barous nations. This strange obliquity of intellect, can 
 be explained in no other way, than by adverting to the 
 narrow-minded and bigotted manner, in which'all hergo- 
 vernmental transactions have been conducted; nor could 
 such instances of antisocial principles be credited, were 
 tbey not derived from the best authorities, and proved 
 by the testimony of all those, who have been observant in 
 Spanish America. The Inquisition, with all its horrors, 
 and exclusively composed of European judges, like the 
 police of Napoleon, was charged to watch over every one 
 who murmured against government, whose instrument it 
 had become, rather than that of religion. In short, the 
 despotism of Asia, or Turkey, scarcely presents a picture 
 more horrid and debased, than the policy acted upon by 
 the European Spaniards in their American provinces ; 
 one, that, in defiance of every just principle, and in direct 
 opposition to the law,, not only existed, but had gradually 
 grown into a most undeviating regularity of actual 
 system. 
 
 Hitherto, therefore, it would appear, that the inhabi- 
 tants of Spanish America, have been treated, rather as the 
 meek and servile servants of their European masters, than 
 
55 
 
 Ik 
 
 as men, endowed with the same understanding, equal to 
 them in rights, and, by the laws of justice and of nature, 
 entitled to the same privileges and social footing. In 
 most countries, where civilization has superseded the ra- 
 vages of conquest, the individual has some degree of per- 
 sonal protection against injustice, by the impartiality and 
 soundness of the laws, by these being fixed and unchange- 
 able, or by the correct manner in which they are admi- 
 nistered; for it is a folly to suppose, that a society could 
 ever long, and properly subsist, that is not protected by 
 adequate codes. Few, indeed, are the established socie- 
 ties, so wretched, and so destitute, as not t9 have some 
 check or other on the powerful, and some provision 
 made against arbitrary power, and the despotism of their 
 rulers; but, in this number, Spanish America might be 
 counted ; for experience has proved, that an appeal, at 
 the distance of two thousand leagues, before a corrupt 
 court, had no other effect, than to aggravate the case. 
 How many unfortunate claimants, unjustly deprived of 
 their property, have collected the last remnant of their 
 fortunes, and have crossed the ocean to seek redress at 
 the foot of the throne; but if Americans, they have had 
 to expend the whole, and, perhaps, the remainder of their 
 lives, in seeking, what from principle and corruption, was 
 denied them, but what, injustice, could not be withheld. 
 How many such instances, are there, not on record ; how 
 many, up to the present day, yet occur ; nay, how many 
 victims of vengeance and injustice, could not the prisons 
 of Cadiz, at the present moment, disclose ? How many, 
 in the dungeons of both hemispheres, are now dragging 
 a wretched existence, or perishing in hopeless captivity; 
 withouttrial, or without having, even, been notified of the 
 
 I 
 
56 
 
 cause of their sufferings ? The records of the colonial 
 policy, and of the judicial proceedings of Spain, applied 
 to her ultramarine settlements, have been filled with the 
 greatest horrors ; nor is there a pretext of any nature^ 
 that will amount to a justification of a continiiahce of 
 such outrages. Yet, are we astonished, that the settle- 
 ments have sought redress ; nay, we, ourselves, have been 
 deaf when they appealed to us as a nation, and sought 
 our interference, as a shield against the horrors by which 
 they were surrounded; and this under such grievances, as 
 those already sketched, and after the most friendly assur- 
 ances on our part. When they called on the universal 
 sympathies of mankind at large, and strong in so sacred 
 and just a cause, addressed themselves to us, we were 
 the only nation that acted with indifference, and that ne- 
 gatively told them, their object was unjust, and that 
 the Spaniards w^ere acting right, in punishing them as 
 w^anton insurgents, and in filling their country, with hor- 
 ror and devastation. 
 
 Unjust and improvident as was this colonial system 
 I have just sketched, it was nevertheless exercised over 
 one of the richest and most interesting portions of the 
 .globe, and inhabited by seventeen millions of people, 
 more enlightened than their European brethren, more 
 liberal, and possessed of a character and disposition, 
 filled up with many interesting traits. There is in the 
 Creole,^ a degree of sensibility, which, whilst the partial 
 European has often construed into effeminacy, partakes 
 more of the finer feelings ; and though, at first sight, it 
 may have the appefarance of languor, and a want of ener- 
 gy, facts, have, nevertheless, proved, that the native of 
 Spanish America, is not divested of courage, but, that he 
 
57 
 
 seldom descen(Js to cruelty. Gifted with a warm and 
 brilliant imagination, his mind is adapted to every science 
 that is^not peculiarly dry and abstruse ; and amongst the 
 literary characters the settlements have produced within 
 few years,^lmost all have been Creoles; indeed, in the very 
 Cortes, the most eloquent and liberal, are of that class. 
 I make these few incidental remarks, because, the natives 
 of the country to which I allude, amongst us, are partially 
 known, and not justly appreciated. Fortunately, also, 
 the upper classes, as previously stated, have, by dint of 
 perseverance, overcome most of the obstacles opposed to 
 mental improvement; in such manner, that the European 
 traveller is now astonished at the various acquirements, 
 which, in general, they have attained, and which he 
 would have thought impossible, under the political des- 
 potism, in which they have been so long held. 
 
 HoAvever, snch as I have just pencilled; has been the 
 degraded aspect of the transmarine government, and such 
 the melancholy picture, the Spanish Americans have pre- 
 sented, for 300 years ; and scarcely is there a country 
 where the smallest spark of rational freedom, and of 
 civil liberty has existed, that has not lamented the fate of 
 that injured people, and condoled with their abject state; 
 Since the time of Raynal, scarcely has there been a pen 
 employed in describing those varied and extensive regi- 
 ons, that, after enumerating their neglected resources, 
 has not deplored the unnatural subjection in which they 
 were kept, and the privations to which they were reduced. 
 All governments, with regard to the citizen, ought to have 
 a just and moral power ; but, very much the reverse, was 
 that by which the Spanish settlements were ruled; ingra- 
 titude was the basis of the colonial policy of Spain, and 
 
58 
 
 that same ingratitude which placed the immortal Colum- 
 bus in chains, was perpetuated to ail the countries he 
 discovered. 
 
 This enquiry into the ancient, but violated laws, as 
 well as into the colonial policy of Spain, I conceived 
 necessary, to the more complete, and full comprehension 
 of the state of Spanish America, at the beginning of the 
 19th century; and even up to the commencement of the 
 patriotic cause of the Peninsula; a period at which, the 
 rest of Europe, was astonished by political occurrences, 
 Tsiore remarkable and momentous, than any to be found 
 in the historical annals of that country. I have, pur- 
 posely, examined the laws of the Indies, as the most 
 correct means of establishing the relative, and social 
 footing of that people, for whose exclusive government, 
 they were enacted; and after recapitulating their primi- 
 tive compacts, undertaken on the most solemn pledges 
 of kingly faith, and successively guaranteed by the most 
 express, and repeated acts of Spanish legislation ; I have 
 supposed, that a faithful picture of the present colonial 
 policy of Spain, would be the most sure criterion, to 
 judge, whether there has been any deviation from the 
 original rights and prerogatives of the Spanish American 
 subjects; and whether or not, they required redress and 
 reform. If, I have enumerated the galling restraints on 
 civil liberty, as well as in many other shapes, which ex- 
 isted; and, if, in short, I have represented the situation of 
 that country to be most deplorable, where the order of a 
 corrupt minister, had, often acquired the force of law, 
 and whereevery thingwas venal, degraded, and oppressive; 
 it was in order to promote an enquiry, wheUier these 
 same abuses have been continued, since the boasted rege« 
 
59 
 
 iieration of Spain; and whether, when a most favourable 
 opportunity offered, the late governments of C adiz, have 
 complied with this most sacred of all their duties, by 
 bringing alleviation to the ills of their distant brethren, on 
 which, principally, depended, the future salvation of 
 the whole monarchy. 
 
 In examining all the principles of the theory, and the 
 practical circumstances of the case in view, I have been 
 guided, only, by such documents and records, as could be 
 relied on ; and these premises once established^ it will be 
 easy to judge, correctly,of the point at issue ; particularly 
 after the subjoined display of every thing material, that 
 has occurred in Spanish America, and in the Cortes, on this 
 important subject, of which details will be brought for- 
 ward, in the course of this production. If, I have defined, 
 in an ample manner, the primitive, but long-invaded rights 
 of the Spanish Americans; it was to ascertain whether 
 the infractions of their past rulers, have been remedied by 
 the present ones ; and whether, every thing allowed by 
 reason, by justice, and even by the laws, has been prac- 
 tically granted to them. If, I have explained the relative 
 situation of Spanish America, to Spain; it was not only to 
 clear up doubts, under which we, ourselves, have long la- 
 bouFed, and in order to establish, that Spanish America, 
 from being an equal, incorporated, and integral part of 
 the Spanish monarchy, has equally become our ally; but, 
 also, to elicite an impartial search, into the conduct and 
 disquisitions of the Cortes on the existing dissentions. 
 My object is, to demonstrate, on which side rests, the 
 blame of so many horrors and ravages, now committing 
 in the transmarine provinces of Spain, and consequently, 
 to ascertain, which party is to be charged with ingrati- 
 
60 
 
 tude and injustice. If my premises and deductions 
 should turn out correct, it will result, that the situation 
 of Spanish America, instead of being bettered, since the 
 period of the late changes in the Peninsula; had rather 
 become worse; nor, do I doubt, that experience and 
 faithful observation, will fail to authorize the tenour of 
 my allegations. If my conclusions are fairly made, it 
 will be proved, that it was not the remembrance of past 
 evils and infractions; it was not a spirit of wanton inno- 
 vation, and undue revenge; but rather, the recent pres- 
 sure of fresh aggravations and unprovoked insults, which 
 first roused the natives of Spanish America, w^iich urged 
 them to resist the tyranny of the Cadiz rulers, and to 
 seek, by force, what, on remonstrance, had been denied 
 them. In short, the subsequent details on which I shall 
 soon enter, will tend to evince, that the situation of the 
 transmarine provinces, instead of being ameliorated by 
 the regeneration of the parent state, had, in fact, become 
 more degraded; so ancient, and so habitual, was the prac- 
 tice of the heads of government, and of the monopolists of 
 the trading ports, to consider the kingdoms of America, 
 as dependent colonies, only destined to contribute to the 
 luxury and advantage of the mother country, and as a 
 fruitful harvest, intended, only, to enrich the impover- 
 ished natives of the Peninsula. 
 
 § Nor do the people of Spanish America, appear to 
 have been, altogether, insensible to the hardships and 
 privations under which they had so long lived. Prior 
 to the present situation of things, some attempts had 
 been made by the Indians, to obtain, by force of arms, a 
 partial redress and reform in the governing system, the 
 whole of which, seem to have had for object, to with- 
 
m 
 
 stand or limit, the oppressions and exorbitant exactions 
 of the Alcaides and Encomenderos % and though unsuc- 
 cessful, they, nevertheless, prove, that the natives were 
 alive to all their wrongs, and were indignant, to be thus 
 dealt with, by their cruel task-masters.* It would not, 
 however be possible, in this place, to enter into the de- 
 tails of these transactions, or of those which took place 
 in other sections, amongst the whites; they would be tedi- 
 ous, and, are, at least, partially, known in Europe. Hence, 
 however, has it happened, that most of our political wri- 
 ters, who have fundamentally discussed this question, and 
 have examined the situation of both Spain, and her settle- 
 ments ; have been of opinion, that the former, could not, 
 long, hold the latter in dependence and subjection. They, 
 indeed, conceived, that the influence, affinity, and identity 
 of religion, customs, and prejudices, might, for sometime, 
 retard the period, when Spanish America, would shake off 
 so galling a yoke ; but they all pronounced, that accord- 
 ing to the late growth, and moral improvement of the 
 settlements, the period was not far distant, when the pre- 
 sent century began. 
 
 They reasoned, however, from analogy, and not from 
 
 * I cannot refrain from announcing, that shortly will be published 
 here, an account of the revolution of Inca Tupac-Amaru, in Peru, 
 from authentic documents, found in the public offices of Buenos 
 Ay res and upper Peru, since the chan<!^es of government. It is high 
 time, that the cruelties committed by the Spaniards on the Indians of 
 Peru, about the year 1780, and which have purposely been kept so 
 secret, should be laid before the world, in an authentic shape. At 
 sigitt of the mass of information that will henceforward be laid before 
 the public, it will be seen, whether the most callous Briton, could 
 put his hand on his heart, and say, Spanish America required not a 
 radical reform. 
 
62 
 
 local knowledge; for without the late revolution in 
 Spain, and without the ungrateful conduct of her present 
 governments, no general commotion could have taken 
 place ; and even now, the Spanish Americans are very 
 far from wishing to change their allegiance; that is, if 
 they are to be dependent on any European power, they 
 •will always prefer Spain ; even, though conquered by 
 the French, notwithstanding the oppression of her go- 
 vernment. We are not, however, to be astonished, 
 since information has become more general, that the poli- 
 tical events of Europe, from 1789, should have excited a 
 lively interest amongst a people, who have been long 
 sensible of their abject situation, and who have been 
 aspiring to the extension of rights, which, as I have al- 
 ready manifested, in effect^ belonged to them; when this 
 privation, was not only a material obstacle to the mutu- 
 al prosperity of both countries ; but, has, also, now be* 
 come, a motive of such just resentment, against the pa- 
 rent state. 
 
 § But, before I proceed any further, I conceive it ne- 
 cessary, previously, to take a short retrospective view, of 
 what was, at one time, the decided policy of the British 
 government, with regard to Spanish America, and what 
 professions were then made in its name; as a better 
 deduction may be thence formed, of the manner in which 
 we have abandoned the interests of that injured conti- 
 nent, since our present treaty with the Peninsula. 
 
 Long, and rational has been the boast, that in our 
 sea-girt isle, the lamp of freedom burned with a clear 
 and steady flame ; a blessing, which, whilst we enjoyed, 
 we have never failed to regret, was not equally the por- 
 tion of others. Early, therefore, did the people of Eng- 
 
land, imbibe sentiments of compassion, and feelings of 
 personal interest, for the natives of Spanish America; 
 which were gradually confirmed and strengthened,by the 
 writings of Robertson and others, as well as by the line of 
 policy some of our late ministers traced out, for their 
 political conduct. Our illustrious Pitt, felt this just and 
 rational sympathy, and clearly saw, that the improvement 
 of so immense and diversified a continent, would not only 
 redound to the advantage of Europe in general; but 
 would, in a pre-eminent degree, contribute to the commer- 
 cial prosperity of the nation, over which he presided. He 
 was undoubtedly aware, that Spain, from her geographi- 
 cal position, from the debased state of her government, 
 and her want of energy, industry, and firmness ; could 
 be considered, as little else than a province of France ; 
 who, by the sale of her goods, and by the exactions of her 
 government, absorbed all the treasure that arrived from 
 the settlements, of which Spain was scarcely more than 
 the landing place. He evidently saw, that the resources 
 of the continental war, were, thus considerably increased ; 
 and with a magnanimity and foresight peculiar to his 
 character, he resolved to cut off this annual accession of 
 wealth from our rival, and to give it a new channel. 
 That same enlightened statesman, reasoning on the in- 
 dependence of Spanish America, and contemplating the 
 wonderful changes, the discovery and possession of that 
 immense and fruitful country, produced on the continent 
 of Europe, nay, in the whole world, even when its re- 
 sources were yet in embryo ; naturally calculated the 
 greater change that must ensue, from its separation, in its 
 present comparatively advanced state ; and that the be- 
 nefits, thence to be derived, would, consequently, result 
 
 \ 
 
64 
 
 in favour of the country, that aided to effect so impor- 
 tant an event. 
 
 Forcibly urged by these strong and flattering con- 
 victions, Mr. Pittjhad ever present to his mind, a changeso 
 desirous and momentous, and for the furtherance of his 
 views, and in conformity to his plans, natives of that 
 country were encouraged and collected; some were placed 
 in the charge of our government, and projects were 
 formed . Unfortunately for England, as well as for Spa- 
 nish America, with very few exceptions, the charac- 
 ters thus encouraged, were neither men of influence, in- 
 formation, or connections ; they were, in general, mer- 
 cenaries, rather intent on their own personal interest and 
 aggrandizement, and if we may judge from the plans 
 adopted in the subsequent ministiy, and the complete 
 darkness, in which the government has been kept with re- 
 gard to Spanish America, and the manner in which it has 
 been misled, they never knew the public sentiment of 
 that continent, and I have the best founded reasons to 
 add, ^they had neither abilities, nor principles, to aid in 
 any cause, that was to be conducted on the basis of libe- 
 rality and honour. When the services of such charac- 
 ters, are, still preferred to the sacrifices, approved zeal, 
 and unrequited exertions, of our own subjects; no won- 
 der that the Spanish Americans complain, that our ulte- 
 riour views towards them are dishonourable, and that we 
 should, yet, know so little of this valuable portion of the 
 globe, whose resources are so fast wasting from us. 
 
 The plans Mr. Pitt adopted for the Spanish settle- 
 ments, appear to have been an absolute independence, and 
 an entire separation from the mother country. Yet, this 
 M'as a work of a very complicated and gigantic nature ; 
 
6a ^ . 
 
 the means and persons employed, were not adequate ; nor 
 were the settlements in a state of maturity, for such an 
 event, or, even disposed for its accomplishment. Posterior 
 circumstances, have proved, in amanner the most evident, 
 that, notwithstanding the wrongs of the Spanish govern- 
 ment, a mere reform was wished ; and, that the natives 
 of those distant, and injured settlements, were not tired of 
 the name of Spaniards. Perhaps, there is not an instance, 
 when this question was popular in England, in which, 
 both the public and the government, were more deceived, 
 than in the one here alluded to. The fate of our own 
 expeditions to South America, convinced us, that its na- 
 tives were not debased enough to submit to conquest ; 
 and the stages at which the more recent insurrections yet 
 stand, most clearly demonstrate, that the ties of the mo- 
 ther country, were too strong, to be easily shaken, much 
 less so, by exteriour interference. Loyalty was never 
 wanting in Spanish America, and the manner in which 
 the natives have defended their own coasts,* the sacri- 
 fices they have, so long, made for the parent state, and 
 their late antipathy to the French, unequivocally prove 
 its existence. It haSj only, been (as will, hereafter, be 
 more fully evinced) since ingratitude has been thrown 
 into the cup of the other ills, the settlements had to en- 
 dure, that the people have been roused, that they have 
 attempted open resistance ; but, even yet, they have not 
 generally expressed sentiments, coincident to indepen- 
 dence; nay, they yet cling to the Spanish name, revere 
 
 * 11 is a fact, that prior to the expulsion of the Jesuits, no regular 
 Spanish troops were on the American establishment. The unpopula- 
 rity of this measure, made it requisite to be provided against insurrec* 
 Vions of the Indians, which immediately followed, in 1780. 
 
 £ 
 
em 
 
 the same monarch; the Cadiz government, alone,is the 
 dissentient point. 
 
 There are too many public testimonies, on record, for 
 it to be doubted, that the British government was, at one 
 time, busied in either plans of reform, or of separation, 
 for the Spanish American settlements ; but they do not 
 appear to have been, publicly, and officially, announced 
 and avowed to them, till June, 1797 5 notwithstanding the 
 different neighbouring governors, had, long, been corres- 
 ponding on the subject. About that period. General 
 Picton, governor of Trinidad, by orders of Mr. Secretary 
 Dundas, addressed and circulated a proclamation on all 
 the contiguous main, which, from the express manner in 
 which it acknowledges, the oppression and tyrannic sys" 
 tern exercised there; as well, as from its containing the 
 most ample and express proffei-s of friendship; besides 
 actual assurances, of England being ever ready to give 
 aid and support, whenever the inhabitants icere disposed ta 
 malce use of it; I have conceived highly illustrative of 
 my present subject; and have, consequently, placed it 
 in my Appendix, under the head of A ; as its insertion in 
 this place, would interfere, too much, with the body of 
 my text. This, was a solemn and sacred pledge, then 
 made to the people of Spanish America, that England 
 felt for their debased situation; was sensible of their 
 wrongs, and was, at all times, ready to redress them. 
 This, was an act, as solemn and as binding, as our first 
 engagements made with the Asturian and Sevilian de- 
 puties ; and though it would have been inconsistent and 
 dishonourable in England, in such moments as these, to 
 have abetted the absolute independence of Spanish 
 America, it was, however, a most sacred obligation and 
 bounden duty, on her part, to see that the objects of her 
 former promises, now attached to her by a new alliance^ 
 
were not butchered as ingrates, totally undeserving of 
 her regard. Her fornner offers, added to the fresh bonds, 
 she had just contracted with the whole Spanish monarchy, 
 ought to have urged her, to apply those principles of 
 truth and reason, as well as that manly promptitude, 
 which, in general, have guided her cabinet, not only in 
 objects of policy and legislation, but, also, in all foreign 
 transactions, in order to hinder the destruction of 
 the best portion of that same monarchy, that had, 
 iiow, become our ally, and the common feelings of 
 men, ought to have made us feel for a flagrant and cry- 
 ing injustice, of which we bore a proportionate blame, 
 and of which, eventually, we shall experience the deep- 
 est consequences. 
 
 Such, as contained in document A. were the sentiments 
 and professions, which the British government, by ex- 
 press command, caused to be manifested and circulated 
 on all the Southerncontinentof America, and snch the as- 
 surances which were never withdrawn. They are on pub- 
 lic record, they are well remembered by the natives, to 
 whom they were often individually repeated ; and up to 
 the time of the late Spanish revolution ; and till a change 
 of policy took place, similar sentiments were confirmed 
 hy all the governors of the contiguous islands. Thus, did 
 England stand pledged ; thus, did she acknowledge the 
 oppression under which the Spanish Americans labour- 
 ed ; and after such a confession, after an offer so solemn 
 and so voluntary ; they had the best founded reasons to 
 hook up to her, as their future deliverer, from that same 
 oppression, she had so often, and so explicitly deplored. 
 They had substantial grounds to believe, that her sympa- 
 thetic sentiments were real and sincere; that they had 
 not been proposed as a snare, or under the guise of mo- 
 mentary interest. The least, they were, thence, autho- 
 
«8 
 
 rized to expect was, that, when they were equally patrio- 
 tic, equally enemies of the French, equally ready to join 
 in the common cause,and when their wishes were the best, 
 that England would never commit herself, so far, as to 
 abandon them to the fury of their enemies, and to deliver 
 them up to the devastating scourge of a cruel war, waged 
 between irritated brethren. Yet, can it be believed, that 
 Avhen the newly constituted authorities of Caracas, ap- 
 pealed to the justice and generosity of the British govern- 
 ment, in a most eloquent and pathetic letter (hereafter 
 quoted) to the king, and only complaining of the illega- 
 lity of the new governments of Spain, that not an answer 
 was deigned to their communication, nor an efficient 
 measure adopted, to stop the evils, which daily increased. 
 It was about the period of our dispute with Spain, 
 respecting Nootka Sound, that Mr. Pitt first commenced 
 bis projects, for revolutionizing the Spanish possessions in 
 America, and opening their lost resources to more gene- 
 ral enterprise. It would be foreign to my present purpose, 
 here, to endeavour to trace the various engines set to 
 work, in the first place, to obtain information, and after- 
 wards to construct plans, which might eventually lead to 
 the political emancipation of that quarter of the globe, 
 and insure its regeneration. Many of them, have, already, 
 studiously, been laid before the British public, either in 
 Reviews, in detached Tracts, or in the Annual Registers. 
 Most of them, would warrant the assumption, already, 
 made, that the means projected and employed, were nei- 
 ther adequate or congenial ; and abundance of positive tes- 
 timony, might be adduced, to prove, that the beneficent in- 
 tentions of our ministersjwere, in some cases, egregiously 
 imposed upon. It would, at the same time, be irrelevant 
 here, to discuss the merits of that part of Mr. Pitt's pro- 
 
69 
 
 ject, which related to the expediency of interesting the 
 United States of North America, by a proportionable co- 
 operation, in the emancipation of their sister continent; 
 or, to dwell on a renewal of the same projected scheme, 
 during the administration of Lord Sidmouth. They may be 
 seen, at some length, in the Edinburgh Review, for Janu- 
 ary, 1809 ; and many interesting particulars, may, also, be 
 collected, from the instructions given to Generals Craw- 
 ford* and Whitelocke ; and in the trials of the latter, of 
 Lord Melville, and Sir Home Popham. The fact is, that 
 at the period to which I allude, in Europe, vast and bril- 
 liant plans existed, on paper, for the emancipation and 
 political regeneration of Spanish America, when, at the 
 same time, its natives were neither predisposed, or even 
 acquainted with what was meditating so far off, for the 
 amelioration of their lot. Eventually, these long pro- 
 jected plans, ended in injudicious attempts to subject 
 them, by the force of arms; and to impose upon them, 
 a fresh allegiance, against which, they had the strongest 
 prejudices. Roused by the spirit of freedom, and 
 galled by the experience of the past, the American 
 provinces might have been induced to throw off the 
 Spanish yoke ; but instead of leaving these results to the 
 energies of mind, and to the gradual, and more effective 
 means of convincing its natives of their degradation 
 and abject state, and animating them, by the prospect of 
 a brighter era which awaited their own exertions, we 
 not only attempted by the bayonet, to rend asunder, all 
 the ties which united them to the soil, from whence they 
 derived their origin ; but we held out to them, what, as 
 
 * General Crawford, with 5000 men, was bound against Chili, 
 where it is reported he had before been incognito to take plans. 
 
they conceived to be, was a greater degradation than the 
 one, we sought to'remove. 
 So much was the British government engaged in its plans 
 for the Spanish main, that expeditions were sent to Buenos 
 Ayres ; but their failure having been, already, attributed 
 to, partly, the right causes, viz. to the plans of conquest, 
 and to the attempt, of, merely, giving the chains of the 
 people, another form; it will not be necessary, here, 
 to enter into any further particulars. Even up to the 
 breaking out of the present Spanish patriotic cause, a 
 fresh expedition was ready to put to sea, commanded by 
 Sir Arthur Wellesley, and to be accompanied by General 
 Miranda and others; the troops and commander of which, 
 afterwards sailed to the Peninsula, from their rendezvous 
 at Cork. These circumstances were not unknown to the 
 Spanish Americans, and such demonstrations, added to 
 the solemn declarations they had continued to receive, 
 from the year 1797, amounted to an undoubted certainty, 
 that interest and liberality, would urge the cabinet of SU 
 James, when in its power, to interfere, at least, for an 
 amelioration of their lot; and that, when they had offered 
 to become parties in the war against the French, they 
 would not be left, deserted, and abandoned to their fate ; 
 more especially at a time, when they only asked for re- 
 form, and for the restoration of those rights, of which 
 they had been unjustly dispossessed. When they appeal- 
 ed to England, as their umpire, little did they dream, that 
 she would behold, with cold apathy, those very struggles, 
 she, herself, had so lately excited and encouraged. Little 
 did they suppose it possible, when they were only aim- 
 ing at redress, and she had just before pledged to support, 
 even, their independence, that England would not befriend 
 them ; and this, at a moment, when, had sli/e only lifted 
 
71 
 
 up her hand in time, nearly all bloodshed might hare 
 been spared, and the Spanish cause made doubly strong ; 
 whereas now, the Spanish monarchy is dismembered, ci- 
 vil wars have been enkindled, universal devastation has 
 ensued, to such a lamentable degree, that, on a correct 
 calculation, more lives have been, already, sacrificed in the 
 Spanish American provinces, than in European Spain. 
 
 § I have been more explicit in this short sketch of the 
 former intentions, views, and professions of the British go- 
 vernment towards the natives of Spanish America, because 
 I have noticed the odium and rancour, our dereliction, and 
 subsequent silence have caused ; and, because, had it not 
 been for these repeated assurances and demonstrations ; 
 as well as the positive conviction, that an attempt at re- 
 form, would coincide with the good wishes of England, 
 and even with those of the whole liberal w^orld, the pro- 
 vinces of Spanish America, would not have sought it; 
 but, would have, still, hugged their chains, had they 
 thought it consistent with justice, and the common feel- 
 ings of men. 
 
 Urged by the love of common j ustice, if I have thus far, 
 traced the hardships of the political situation of Spanish 
 America, if I have pointed out the defects of the colonial 
 system of Spain, and explained the arbitrary conduct of 
 her governmental agents ; it has not been for the purposes of 
 reproach; but, rather, with a view to convey a just con- 
 ception of the abject and degraded circumstances, under 
 which,the Spanish Americans laboured, at the period, when 
 the ruler of France, resolved on a change of dynasty in the 
 Peninsula ; and when the results of that debased venality 
 and deep intrigue, by which he had, long, been pre- 
 paring for the completion of his base design, became 
 manifest to the astonished world. The unweildly power 
 
72 
 
 of France, had, already, extended her limits, far beyond 
 those known to her ancient kings; and a rapid succession 
 of victories, aided by artifice and intrigue, had made the 
 politics of the surrounding monarchs, subservient to the 
 views of a chief, who had, dexterously, raised himself, 
 on the ruins of republican anarchy and prescriptive right. 
 To ordinary minds, one would have thought, that such 
 acquisitions as these, would have been sufficient to satisfy 
 thekeenest cravings of ambition; but, in the bosom of such 
 H man, as Buonaparte, in like manner, as in that of the 
 hero of ancient history, he is most proud to imitate; this 
 ever restless passion, like space, has no limits ; and to 
 conquer one world, was only to sigh for another. 
 
 To usurp the contiguous throne of Spain and the In- 
 dies, and place their sceptre in the hands of one of his own 
 family, was a project he had long revolved in his aspir- 
 ing breast ; and consonant to his plans of universal mo- 
 narchy, and general dominion, in 1808, he, openly, resolv- 
 ed to make the Peninsula, a domain of France, He was, 
 already, in military possession of the principal frontier 
 towns ; and the persons of the Royal Family, had been, 
 long, surrounded by his creatures. The degraded situa- 
 tion of Spain, was, also, propitious to so vile and hazar- 
 dous a plot ; and the general debility, which had spread 
 throughout, was peculiarly favourable to the means em- 
 ployed for its execution. Charles IV, a weak and inactive 
 prince, had then reigned about twenty years ; but, from 
 the time of his marriage with the princess of Parma, he 
 had been so much under the control of his wife, whose 
 scandalous intrigues had become an object of scorn lo 
 the meanest of her subjects, that scarcely an act of vir- 
 tue or justice, had characterized his pusillanimous reigiK 
 
With such a monarch, and under the guidance of a mi* 
 nister, both a libertine, and a despot ; Spain was, at this 
 time, sunk in the most abject state of political torpor and 
 debasement, and appeared to be on the eve, of falling an 
 easy prey, to an insidious and powerful invader. The in- 
 fluence of the queen, and the excesses of her paramour, 
 had spread dissentions betw^een the king and his son ; and 
 the unprecedented favours shewn to an intriguing and 
 ambitious, upstart, had not, only, alienated the minds of 
 the nobles from the person of their sovereign ; but, had, 
 also, inspired contempt, amongst the lower orders of so- 
 ciety. Spain, was, besides, without fleets, treasury, or 
 arsenals ; public credit had become extinct ; and a consi- 
 derable national debt, had been accumulated. Flattery, 
 favours, and bribeiy, had, long, been the only means, by 
 which employments had been obtained ; the laws, had, 
 frequently, been founded on the caprices of a corrupt 
 premier; the court, and most of the higher classes, had 
 become a prey to all kinds of immorality and dissipation; 
 and every means of circulating liberal ideas, had been 
 polluted. Patriotism and national interest, no longer 
 preserved the union of society ; the press was broken, or 
 fettered ; the public writers, were awed into silence, by 
 proscription ; or, shamefully, bribed to plead the cause 
 of existing despotism, by ribbands, offices, or pensions ; 
 in short, every thing was grown into systematic tyranny 
 and debasement, or consigned to the darkness and apa- 
 thy of ignorance; whilst every spark of genius, merit, and 
 liberahty, w^ere either damped, or extinguished. 
 
 Such, was the situation of Spain, in 1808, when Buo- 
 naparte threw off the mask of friendship, and entrapped 
 the members of the Royal Family. I hasten to pass over 
 
74 
 
 that brilliant display of patriotism and national feeling, 
 "which, immediately, burst forth in the whole Spanish na* 
 tion ; but, particularly, in the lower classes, where the 
 contagion of the court had not reached ; and, which, 
 eventually, led to an alliance w^ith ourselves. Confined, 
 as I am, to the affairs of Spain, only, as they relate to the 
 question, now under discussion, it would be perfectly ir- 
 relevant, here to call the attention of my readers, to mili- 
 tary details, or to view the Peninsula, in the light of 
 a grand theatre of successive, and brilliant victories. 
 Those errors, also, of our policy, which contributed to 
 weaken the affections of its inhabitants ; and by which, 
 the resources and energies of the country, have not been 
 adequately called forth, or united, I leave, to a more able 
 pen ; certain as it is, that the public cannot long be de- 
 prived of a full expose of the impolitic measures, and fa- 
 tal effects of a weak diplomacy, which, if they have not 
 greatly retarded the expulsion of the French, and strip- 
 ped many of our brilliant successes of half their promised 
 fruits ; have, at least, detached the mass of the Spanish 
 nation, so much from our interests, that they scarcely 
 feel bound, either by the ties of gratitude, or by the te- 
 nourof that premature treaty, we so early made, with the 
 first self created government of the Peninsula. — Whilst 
 no language can be too strong, or too glowing, to pourtray 
 the valour and prudence of our military chief, and the 
 heroic ardour of his persevering troops ; it is, at the same 
 time, painful to reflect, how little effective co-operation 
 has been obtained from a nation, that promised so much 
 in the outset of its just cause; and how much its re- 
 sources have been wasted and lost. It is lamentable to 
 behold, the domestic anarchy and civil discord, which 
 have been suffered to rankle and impair the energies of a 
 
7d 
 
 people, from whose enthusiastic and simultaneous insur- 
 rection, (being roused by the ingratitude of its foe, and, 
 stimulated, also, by a loyal impulse,) so much was expec- 
 ted. — But, it is high time, to pass on, to that period of 
 our connection with Spain, when our relations assumed 
 the shape of a definitive treaty. 
 
 § On the 14th of January, 1809, that is, after the Spanish 
 nation had been receiving from the government and peo- 
 ple of England, the most unequivocal and disinterested 
 proofs of friendship, sincerity, and profuse aid, for up- 
 vrards of seven months, a definitive treaty of peace and 
 alliance was agreed upon,with the Central Junta of Seville, 
 in the name of Ferdinand Vllth, This treaty stipulates, 
 a perpetual and sincere amity arid strict alliance, and art 
 entire and lasting oblivion of past hostilities. — It was, fur- 
 ther, agreed, that the contracting parties should make com* 
 mon cause against France^ that England should supply 
 abundant succours, and by an additional article, it was, 
 also, stipulated, that a treaty of commerce was to be car' 
 ried into effect, at a more convenient time ; a promise, 
 which apparently stands asacounterpoise,for the aid which 
 England, was, about to give; and as an equivalent for the 
 enormous expences she was, thereby, to incur ; but which 
 up to the present moment, has not been complied with — 
 By some posterior arrangement, not attatched to the ori- 
 ginal treaty, as published in the prints of the day, and 
 preserved in the Annual Registers; it was afterwards 
 agreed, that England should guarantee the integrity of 
 the whole Spanish motiarchy ; an obligation, which the 
 Spanish government, has interpreted, as a positive exclu- 
 sion to our interference with the American provinces; 
 and as an actual engagement on the part of England, 
 even, to employ force against their revolted inhabitants 
 
76 
 
 as wanton insurgents; a compliance, with which, the Ca- 
 diz rulers have, since, more, than once, officially exacted. 
 This stipulation, was, also, partly, announced in the 
 king's message to both houses of parliament, on the 4th 
 of July, 1808; wherein a pledge is given, to maintain 
 the power and independence of the Spanish monarchy, 
 integral and entire. 
 
 Such, is the substance of the engagements, which 
 bound us in sacred and effective alliance with the whole 
 Spanish monarchy ; of which, as the American provinces 
 constitute an equal and integral part, not only by the an- 
 cient laws of the realm, as already proved ; but, also, by the 
 more recent acknowledgments of the newly constituted 
 authorities of the Peninsula, as will hereafter be seen ; it 
 appears strange, that it should now be interpreted, that 
 this same treaty of alliance, was, exclusively, confined to 
 European Spain. The want of some definite basis for 
 the American provinces, added to the posterior conduct 
 of both the Spanish and British governments, have, how- 
 ever, practically, given such interpretation to these en- 
 gagements; thereby, constituting Spain, as the fully autho- 
 rized and de spotic parent state, and, thus leaving the 
 American provinces, on the footing of dependent colo- 
 nies, divested of any will of their own. This unfortu- 
 nate and material error, out of which have arisen, most of 
 the fatal dissentions, now so fast, dismembering the Spa- 
 nish monarchy, to whom we then bound ourselves, and 
 whose integrity we guaranteed, without explaining the 
 real purport of so comprehensive a clause, has never yet 
 been corrected, but has rather been confirmed by the acts 
 and correspondence of the British ministers, in which 
 mention has been made of the Spanish American pro- 
 
vinces, as well as in every other transaction relating to 
 them. It is, therefore, here, necessary to enter into some 
 explanatory details, respecting our first treaty with 
 Spain. 
 
 It was, unfortunately, at the very moment the Spanish 
 patriotic cause broke out, and when the first deputies ar- 
 rived from the Juntas of Seville and Asturias; that Eno[- 
 land lost the favourable opportunity, of complying with 
 her ancient promises and engagements made with Spanish 
 America; as well as of adding fresh strength and resources, 
 to the new ones, on which she was about to enter, with 
 European Spain. Founding herself on that self evident 
 principle, that Spain could not, eventually, withstand 
 the struggle, and repel the force preparing against her, 
 but, by the aid and resources of her ultramarine provinces, 
 England ought to have foreseen, that their union and al- 
 legiance, was not only necessary, but if possible, that it 
 was, besides, requisite to increase their revenue, in order 
 to multiply the essential means. When, therefore, Spain 
 proposed the integrity of the monarchy, as astipulation 
 to her treaty, if she thereby understood the abject de- 
 pendence of her colonies, she, as well as ourselves, must 
 have been aware, that if they continued in their past de- 
 graded state, and under such an unjust a system, as that 
 I have before pourtrayed, the advantages to be derived, 
 would be but small; and that nothing, but a grand and 
 radical reform, added to a full restoration ot their rights, 
 could adequately turn them to account. When England 
 bound herself to give succours, Spain, reciprocally, 
 pledged herself to exertion, and to husband her resources; 
 and when the former guaranteed the integrity of the said 
 colonies, as part of the entire monarchy, she must have 
 been sensible, she was signing the warrant of a fresh war. 
 
if Spain did not acquiesce in a just reform. Under the 
 enthusiastic hopes, with which we embarked in the Pe- 
 ninsular struggle, we ought also to have foreseen, that in 
 all times of need, Spain had been obliged to negociate 
 Joans in America; — that, in 1797, after the treaty made 
 with the French at Basle, so great were her pecuniary 
 wants, that she was obliged to borrow 17 millions of 
 dollars in Mexico, to refund which, the crown-monopoly 
 of tobacco, was placed in the hands of the lenders; — that 
 when her invasion took place, according to the state- 
 ments of Minister Count Cabarus, she had a national debt 
 of 400 millions of dollars on her shoulders, — that her Vales 
 Realesy or paper money, had depreciated 59 per cent,— 
 that in the best of times, when her territory was un- 
 touched, and when under an active trade, and in the re- 
 ceipt of colonial products, her annual revenue did not 
 exceed 35 millions of dollars; — and that, in short, by the 
 alienation of the American provinces, the mother coun- 
 try would be deprived of the very nerve of war. 
 
 Spain, with great reason, relied on the many ties 
 which bound the ultramarine provinces to her; but she 
 must have known little of the feelings of the human 
 heart, and less of the situation of her sister kingdoms, to 
 suppose, that they were to be drained of their treasure, 
 to be placed under a war system, and plunged into all 
 its privations, for the sole purpose of aiding the mother- 
 country to gain her independence; when, in return, their 
 own chains, instead of being knocked off, were to be 
 tightened and rendered more heavy. Whoever, like my- 
 self, has had an opportunity of viewing the Spanish 
 Americans, attentively, must pronounce them the most 
 loyal people any sovereign could wish; and it must 
 further be confessed, that they gave to the term and to 
 
7a 
 
 the idea of mother-countr^r, as well as to their constitu- 
 tional monarch, a respect and veneration unexampled ; 
 but there is a point beyond which the most abject cannot 
 proceed, and it was that, at which both Spain and Ame- 
 rica had arrived, when the transactions at Bayonne, 
 roused both from their sullen torpor. 
 
 It was self evident, that Spanish America would not 
 let slip, such an opportunity, as was about to preseut it- 
 self, without demanding the alleviations and political re- 
 formation, so essentially necessary to her own welfare ; 
 together with the restitution of those rights, of which she 
 had been dispossessed, by the despotic conduct of her 
 successive monarchs. This was, an event, easily cal- 
 culated and foreseen ; as well as, that, if denied, she 
 would persist in her demands. This position being, there- 
 fore, correct, our guarantee of the integrity of the Span- 
 ish monarchy, that is, our authorizing Spain to treat her 
 American provinces, with eveiy species of harshness and 
 injustice, we, pledging ourselves, at the same time, to 
 stand aloof, ca;i be considered, in no other light, than aft 
 an actual consent on our part, for one half of the Spttnish 
 nation, to tyrannize over the other; nor can this clause be 
 interpreted in any other way, when all circumstances are 
 considered, than as a prelude to that consequent declara- 
 tion of war, which was, clearly, to result, since Spain 
 seems never to have dreamt of redress, or reform. From 
 this vague stipulation, which, we have, besides, left Spain 
 to interpret, widely, to her own convenience, was, plain- 
 ly, to result, the sacrifice of one half of the nation, whose 
 united cause we were then espousing ; and, in thus stepw 
 ping forward, to guarantee a most flagrant act of injus- 
 tice,and, in negatively, upholding Spain in the continuation 
 of her oppressive and iniquitous conduct to her sister 
 
8» 
 
 kingdoms of America, we, ourselves, became a party, to 
 the most atrocious outrage on the rights and Uberties of 
 an inoffensive people, that ever marked the annals of ty- 
 ranny or imposture. 
 
 It has, indeed, been asserted in Spanish America, as 
 a kind of excuse, but, God knov^^s, v^^ith what degree of 
 foundation, that the ministers of England, were, partly, 
 surprised into this clause ; and that, when they assented 
 to it, they were unaware of the latitude that could be 
 given to its interpretation, and the destructive abuse, that 
 could be made of their upright intentions. But, if this 
 is the case, is it not high time, carefully, to ponder on 
 this important point, and, to examine the fatal conse- 
 quences, which have originated to so noble a cause, from 
 this material oversight? Full of confidence in the recti- 
 tude of her principles, and, as the avowed protectress of 
 reason and of justice, England entered into an alliance 
 with Spain ; but, if the consequences of that alliance, have 
 been opposed to both, and, are, fast dismembering the 
 monarchy, whose integrity, we, thereby, guaranteed, 
 ought we, any longer, to delay, entering on a review of 
 this part of our conduct ; and, if possible, to fix on the 
 most early remedy, to evils, which interest seventeen 
 millions of our allied fellow creatures, of whom we have 
 been, hitherto, unmindful, in the hour of sorrow* 
 
 In entering on such a treaty, as the one, to which I 
 allude, the cabinet of St. James, must certainly have con- 
 templated some objects of expediency ; or at least, in an 
 undertaking so expensive and so difficult, as that we 
 then had before us, some account must have been made 
 of the resources of Spanish America. If so, their being 
 unexpectedly cut off, becomes a point of material con- 
 siiteration. Spain, even in time of peace, could scarcely 
 
81 
 
 exist as a nation, although with the aid of her American 
 provinces; for as already demonstrated, she had been 
 long verging to a state of complete penury and degrada- 
 tion. . We, certainly, must have been aware of this pal- 
 pable fact, so soon, afterwards, confirmed by official 
 statements laid before the nation; whereby it was 
 proved ; that, besides the interest of the national debt, 
 the annual expences of government, amounted to 
 1,200,000,000 rials, to cover which, there was only a 
 revenue of 255,000,000 do. thus leaving a deficit of 
 945,000,000 do.* If, such was the actual picture of 
 Spain, at the beginning of 1811, that is, after 90 millions 
 of dollars had been received from Spanish America, 
 from the commencement of her patriotic cause, what 
 must not have been her impoverished state, at the mo- 
 ment we formed our alliance, since so large a portion of 
 her territory was in the hands of the French ? 
 
 In such an exigency, Spanish America was the only 
 country, on which, the government of Spain, could call 
 for pecuniary aid and resources ; it was evident she 
 would refuse them, if not redressed ; so that, a stipula- 
 tion to this, or some other equivalent effect, ought to 
 have preceded the one, by. which we guaranteed the inte- 
 grity of the Spanish monarchy ; if it was, thereby, to be 
 understood, that by this transaction, we did not intend to 
 exclude the ultramarine provinces, from a concurrence 
 and participation of benefits, in the very engagement, we 
 were about to form, with European Spain, If, we had it 
 
 * Exposicion del rainislro de Hacienda, sobre el Estado de la 
 Tesoreria nacional. Real Isla dc Leon, 2b de Feb. ISl I. 
 
82 
 
 then, in view, to give full efficacy to our new alliance, to 
 hinder future misunderstandings and bickerings ; and to 
 call forth the united resources of the whole Spanish mo- 
 narchy, in an active and condensed shape, against the 
 common enemy ; to combat whom, both divisions there- 
 of, were, at first, so ready and so zealous ; it was, from 
 the commencement, not, only, essentially necessary to in- 
 sure their perfect union and permanent co-operation, but, 
 also, to peclude the possibility of its being, at any time, 
 suspended. In order to render successful the grand 
 scheme of warfare, into which we then entered for the 
 immediate interests of Spain; instead of laying a ground- 
 work that was to dismember the very nation, whose cause 
 we were making our own, and, would, evidently, tend to 
 disunite its forces, to infuse dissentions and distrust, and 
 to waste so many valuable resources; we ought, in the 
 very first moments, and by a solid and well defined basis, 
 to have fixed the respective obligations of the parties 
 thus contracting ; we ought to have defined the relative 
 situation, in, which, each was to stand in the general al- 
 liance; and by a full and explicit declaration and guaran- 
 tee of our views and intentions, we should, thus, have 
 hindered those misunderstandings and mutual cl^shings, 
 which have materially foiled our projects in Spain ; which 
 have rendered our name odious to Spanish America, 
 and have, also, filled this ill-fated country, with horror and 
 devastation. If, we had then preferred to see Spain, en- 
 joy the solid benefits of unanimity, security, and national 
 honour, in the place of anarchy, and the transitory grati- 
 fications of bloody triumphs and fell revenge ; by our 
 said treaty, we ought not to have placed a barrier to the 
 operations of reason, consistency and law ; nor any ob- 
 
83 
 
 stacle to retributivej justice being extended to the Ame- 
 rican provinces. Tiie alliance of England, was sought, 
 and solicited, by Spain, and, before it was matured into a 
 specific and definitive form, it had been cemented by acts 
 of friendship and sacrifices unexampled. If Spain was 
 then sincere and grateful, and, if we looked for any com-^ 
 pensation, to replace those sacrifices we were about to 
 incur, this was the moment to have stipulated its nature, 
 or, at least, to have established its basis. Had this, only, 
 been done, in the first instance ; had our treaty been made 
 with European and American Spain, as equal and integral 
 parts of the Spanish monarchy, and as, in fact, they 
 stand ; doubtlessly the government of Spain, would, in 
 those moments, have acceded : nay, it would now have 
 been thankful, that justice and liberality, had been made 
 the groundwork of a transaction, by which so many me- 
 lancholy consequences might have been avoided. 
 
 This, was the important moment to have traced a line 
 for our own political conduct; then, it was, that we 
 ought to have manifested to the Spanish nation, at large; 
 what were our views on entering, with such cordiality, 
 into so expensive and hazardous a'struggle ; and above all, 
 our sympathy ought not to have been confined to one sec- 
 tion, since the other, however distant, was equally an ap- 
 pendage, and, perhaps, the brightest, of the crown of the 
 unfortunate Ferdinand,whose entire rights,we thus, nobly, 
 stepped forward to defend. By this means, the good un- 
 derstanding, and the mutual regard of the two govern- 
 ments, would, beyond doubt, have been strengthened and 
 preserved ; and the eternal gratitude of European and 
 American Spain, would have been our portion. Instead 
 of considering the one, as a mere cypher, and lavishing 
 
 F 9 ' 
 
84 
 
 the most unbounded acts of friendship on the other, if 
 we had only given to each, the relative situation that was 
 due, and even by a tie, stronger than any they had before 
 known, if we had but united both, in the same just and 
 glorious cause, in which each was so deeply interested, 
 besides laying the ground*work of certain success, we 
 should, also, have stamped our policy, even in the eyes 
 of the most cavillous Spaniard, with the features of dis- 
 iuterestedness, equal justice and firmness; we should have 
 silenced all the grovelling and unworthy suspicions res- 
 pecting our views, which would, thereby, have been pro- 
 ved, as originating from pure and honourable motives, 
 and, as, divested of every mercenary, or rival feeling. 
 Had the policy of England, then been enlightened, and 
 the conduct of Spain, magnanimous; and had our alliance 
 only been made, with the Spanish monarchy of both 
 hemispheres; had it had for object, the welfare of the 
 whole nation, and not of one detached portion , then, 
 might we have been enabled to boast of an united and 
 effective ally, and then, might all our sacrifices, have 
 been crowned with corresponding fruits. A measure, 
 Jike this, would have prevented the jealousies, and bick- 
 rings, which have since originated, and would have clear- 
 ed up that mystery and ambiguity, by which our conduct 
 has always been enveloped; for, with such a nation, as 
 that, with which we were then dealing, a conduct, not 
 only firm, and undeviating, was necessary ; but, also, a 
 policy, the most plain, clear, and unequivocal, ought to 
 have been obseiy^^d to all its parts. 
 
 The fact is, that in this, as well as in our other pos- 
 teriour transactions, relating to Spanish America; we 
 appear, not to have been aware, of her real and relative 
 
' 85 
 
 situation ; nor to have known, that she formed an equal 
 and undivided part of the Spanish monarchy. But, yet, 
 if we were ignorant of this material point, in our new 
 alliance ; if we were unacquainted with the rights and 
 privileges of that injured country ; in short, if, by the 
 whole tenour of our conduct, we became the abettors of 
 the tyranny and injustice of Spain ; we ought, at least, not 
 to have forgotten, that the neS^t revenue the crown receiv- 
 ed from Spanish America, was more than that of European 
 Spain ; that it was easy to double it ; that it was the only 
 country from whence bullion could be obtained ; and, 
 finally, that, if a civil war, which, the conduct of Spain, 
 was, evidently, preparing, was suffered to rankle, and to 
 spread widely, our European ally, would not only be de- 
 prived of the best half of her usual resources ; but, that 
 the mines, trade, and agriculture, would be at a stand, 
 and that the just cause in which all parties were engaged, 
 would, thus, lose half its effective strength. 
 
 How different, would the situation of Spain, have 
 been, at the present moment ; if a good understanding, 
 and a solid and liberal basis for our future conduct, and 
 satisfactory to all parties, had been adopted in the earliest 
 stages of our alliance, and before the contest was made 
 our own. She might, now, have had Spanish America 
 bound to her, by the strongest ties of interest and grati- 
 tude ; and, instead of now having money to expend, and 
 men and arms to send over, to conquer her transmarine 
 provinces, by thus, having made liberality and justice the 
 basis of her conduct, and by the adoption of new finan- 
 cial plans, she might be in the annual receipt of 40 or 50 
 millions of dollars, besides her own local revenue ; and 
 sjie might have withdrawn 30,000 of her own troops. 
 
86 
 
 now in garrison in different sections of America, busied 
 in butchering the unredressed inhabitants, and expending 
 those same resources, which otherwise, might have been 
 usefully employed in the general cause. In addition, she 
 might have received fifty thousand native volunteers, who 
 would, then, have joined her standard, in Europe; and, 
 besides, she would have deserved the good wishes of 
 every feeling mind. Thirty thousand of the best Spanish 
 troops, equipped with resources supplied by England, have, 
 up to the present time, as will, hereafter, be more fully treat- 
 ed, been sent abroad; these might have kept in the Penin- 
 sula, and with this additional strength, together with the 
 prospects I have just sketched, it might fairly be asked, 
 what different results might not have been produced in 
 the salvation of Spain, after the battles of Salamanca, 
 Vittoria, and the Pyrenees ? 
 
 How England, on this same occasion, neglected to sti- 
 pulate for a participation in a trade, which the other 
 contracting party could not carry on; and, which, by add- 
 ing to the respective resources of each, would have been 
 of the most essential benefit in tranquilizing and ameliorat- 
 ing the aggrieved provinces of Spanish America, appears 
 a political problem, difficult to be solved ; particularly, 
 as it, early, formed a subject of conversation, between 
 Mr. Canning, and Don Pedro Cevallos, according to the 
 assurance of the latter. England beheld, with eager ad- 
 miration, the first burst of the revolutionary cause of 
 Spain; and, augured well, from the enthusiastic manner, 
 in which the natives displayed their abhorrence of a fo- 
 reign yoke ; yet, if, we then hoped for eventual success, 
 it was not, only, necessary to preserve this spirit entire, 
 by the prevention of discord and dissentions; but, also. 
 
87 
 
 to throw, in the fullest and most effective manner possi- 
 ble, that additional force, into the general scale of exer- 
 tion, which might have been derived from Spanish Ame- 
 rica. The impoverished and debilitated state of the Pe- 
 ninsula, was public and manifest, and it was evident, that 
 the only means of retrieving past losses, and of giving fresh 
 vigour and energy to the whole machine, was, by hus- 
 banding and improving those Western sources of wealth 
 and revenue, which, alone, could crown the sacrifices of 
 all parties, with adequate success. It was, likewise, na- 
 tural, for England to seek some compensation or other, 
 for the strenuous exertions of her subjects, and, as a 
 means to support her armies. Yet, when, consistently 
 with reason and national honour, and, as a return for all 
 our sacrifices, we had it in our power to open a trade, 
 beneficial to all parties ; and which, besides becoming a 
 bond of union, would have rendered European Spain, a 
 «trong and powerful ally, we seem scarcely to have re- 
 flected, that Spanish America was in existence ; and, has- 
 tily forming a treaty, that wdLS to defeat its own object, 
 we set armies on foot, and rush, as it were, into a summer 
 campaign, at the end of which, we trust, to experience the 
 generosity of the self created governments of the Penin- 
 sula. That individuals, within their own sphere, should 
 sport romantic and disinterested acts of friendship, is in 
 the common order of things ; but, that a nation, entailing 
 an enormous debt on its posterity, should thus act on 
 visionary calculations, and be deaf to the dictates of pru- 
 dence and foresight, in an obliquity of conduct, that can 
 scarcely be credited. The fatal consequences, of our not 
 then stipulating for a free trade to Spanish America, be- 
 ing, however, a material point in the main subject, now 
 
 .t 
 
88 
 
 under discussion, I conceive it better to omit any further 
 remarks, in this place, and till I come to that part of my 
 text, wherein I present a review of our posterior diplomatic 
 transactions in Cadiz, undertaken with a view to obtain 
 this concession; as any anticipation in this place, would in- 
 terfere with the proposed order of my narrative. I will, 
 therefore, proceed to describe, the first features of the se- 
 veral insurrections in the Spanish American provinces. 
 
 § It may, with justice, be said, that the present dissen- 
 tions, existing between European Spain, and her ultrama- 
 rine provinces, have, in this country, never, yet, been 
 placed in a correct point of view ; consequently, they 
 cannot be fully understood. Unfortunately, amongst a 
 large portion of the natives of the Peninsula, and, espe- 
 cially, in the councils of the nation, a rancorous animosi- 
 ty, early, displayed itself; the flames of which, were con- 
 stantly fanned, by all those, concerned in the monopo- 
 lies of trade, and interested in the colonial subjection of 
 Spanish America. Hence, has it happened, that from the 
 very beginning of the disturbances, the reasons of neces- 
 sity, and the calls of justice and equality, so strongly 
 urged by the Americans ; have been disregarded, or pain- 
 ted in the blackest colours; and mercenary and corrupt 
 pens, have been employed, to disfigure, and cover them 
 with invective. A feeling of prejudice and enmity, soon 
 became transfused through the higher ranks of European 
 Spain ; and language, only worthy of the harpies of illi- 
 berality and monopoly, who, by their obscene and disso- 
 nant murmurs, would drown the voice of reason and 
 equity, would scare the beneficent return of prudent and 
 sober policy, and, with their envenomed claws, would 
 tear the olive branch of peace, has, hitherto, been, almost 
 
89 
 
 the only 'means by which the insurrections of Spanish 
 America, have been represented to the Peninsula, and to 
 the rest of Europe. The feeling and impartial mind, re- 
 volts at the masses of coarse and scurrilous invective and 
 recrimination, which have issued from the Cadiz press; 
 and, is, at the same time, astonished, at the numerous, 
 foul, and corrupt engines, set to work, in order to in- 
 fluence the dastard passions of the multitude; and, to 
 oppose the fair and unbiassed discussion of the most im- 
 portant question, ever agitated in the Cortes of Spain. 
 Whence, is it to be deplored, that war, instead of conci- 
 liation, has been made the order of the day ; and the 
 clearest and most evident points, even the tendency of 
 the transmarine insurrections, have been disfigured and 
 mistaken. 
 
 In vain, have the transatlantic governments, and 
 newly constituted Juntas, endeavoured to fix the public 
 opinion, by solemn declarations and manifests ; breath- 
 ing the same principles and views as those promulgated 
 in the Peninsula ; and expressive of their firm resolution, 
 to remain united to the grand whole, as long as it should 
 hold together ; provided they were granted in the same, 
 that relative and social importance, which their popula- 
 tion, extent, riches, and services, not only entitled them 
 to, and even the laws granted; but, which, the urgency 
 of present circumstances, also, imperiously demanded. 
 Each of the American provinces, in the Peninsular 
 struggle, expressed the most sincere and unequivocal 
 attachment and adhesion to the parent state. Each felt 
 the justice of so good a cause, and each stepped forward 
 with the balm of consolation, and poured it into the 
 bleeding wounds of their E u rope an , breth ren. Each 
 
 ^Xy^^ OF TH4^ * 
 
 iyersitt; 
 
90 
 
 maoifested, respectively, its hatred and abhorrence of 
 the insidious cruelty of the common tyrant; each for- 
 warded succours and donations ; each, in short, pledg- 
 ed itself, to avenge these mutual wrongs. 
 
 The declaration of war against France, and the new 
 intercourse with England, were announced by order of 
 the Supreme Junta of Seville, on the 6th of June, 1808; 
 and followed by other spirited and encouraging mani- 
 fests. The whole was wafted to the other side of the 
 Atlantic, as fast as the tardy winds would permit ; and 
 in all the various sections, was received with more en- 
 thusiastic acclamations, than had even been evinced in 
 the Peninsula. The temples, on every side, resounded 
 with rogations for the release of Ferdinand ; and every 
 voice called down the blessings of the Most High, on 
 tbo arms and exertions of the heroic and loyal natives of 
 the Peninsula. Ferdinand was proclaimed, with the 
 most sincere effusions of loyalty, by the heads of govern- 
 ment, in which the people joined, with the most animat- 
 ed demonstrations of joy. Extasies of sincere delight, 
 were witnessed on all sides; and illuminations, feasts, 
 and rejoicings, filled up the first days, after the receipt of 
 the resolutions of the Spanish nation at home. Address- 
 es, on the occasion, were presented to the viceroys, by 
 the respective municipalities and public bodies; they 
 were filled with congratulations, for the new era that 
 opened on the whole monarchy; they breathed warm and 
 genuine offers of allegiance to their newly acknowledged 
 sovereign, and they pledged their property and persons 
 to defend his dominions for him, as their rightful owner. 
 Money, with his name and bust, was coined; his portrait 
 wa3 placed on all the banners and in all the public 
 
91 
 
 places of the cities and towns ; and, perhaps, no mo- 
 narch that ever swayed the sceptre of the united king- 
 doms of Spain and of the Indies, was ever adjured with 
 such lively and sincere effusions of loyalty and personal 
 regard, as were now to be witnessed, in all the American 
 provinces. 
 
 Nor, were these, demonstrations extorted by the nod 
 of power, or influenced by the hopes of reward. They 
 were the spontaneous overflowings of hearts, filled with 
 respect and veneration for an unfortunate youth, entrap- 
 ped by a subtle enemy; whom they beheld as the hope- 
 ful instrument of future regeneration to both hemis- 
 pheres; and as it were, as a superior and benign god- 
 head, that was about to raise European and American 
 Spain, from the abject state of degradation and vassal- 
 age, in which both had been so long sunk. All, in short, 
 was fraternity and brotherly love, and like loving and 
 faithful subjects, the Spanish Americans complied with 
 every duty of allegiance, and nothing was left them, but 
 to raise their ardent and fervent prayers, for the release 
 of their absent monarch. The winds, for the first time, 
 seemed tardy, that were wafting to them the news of 
 the situation of their brethren in arms, — every delay or 
 suspence, was a moment of anxious torture. 
 
 The first resolves, of the whole of Spanish America, 
 were twofold ; in the first place, to resist the intrusive 
 dominion of the Emperor of the French; and in the 
 second, to give abundant succours to the patriots of Spain. 
 Nor were these professions confined to any one section, 
 they were, equally, displayed in all. Such, I can warrant, 
 was the enthusiastic 8pirit,which,then, pervaded the breast 
 of every Spanish American, and such was the loyalty,sym- 
 
92 
 
 pa thy, and patriotic feeling, universally felt and manifest- 
 ed, when the outrages endured by the natives of Spain, 
 became public, that, had the early governments of the 
 Peninsula, been, only, influenced by just, liberal, and 
 generous sentiments; the transmarine provinces, besides, 
 being preserved tranquil and entire, and besides being 
 rendered happy and prosperous, might have been created 
 into a great additional aid, and used as a powerful in- 
 strument to the grand purpose, in which England and 
 European Spain, at that time, united thf^ir noble efforts. 
 
 Yet, after the sincere avowal of such sentiments, 
 after a solemn oath of allegiance had bound every pro- 
 vince of the great Spanish American continent, to the 
 same unfortunate monarch; and after a mutual exchange 
 of fidelity, dictated with the purest effusions of patrio- 
 tism, national honour, and unanimity, had preceded ; it 
 would appear, almost, impossible, that these same pro- 
 vinces, were, so soon, to become the seat of anarchy and of 
 civil war; that thfey were about to witness scenes, which 
 outrival those of the conquest in horror; and that, in short, 
 besides universal devastation, a war of extermination, 
 was about to be declared. 
 
 That some weighty and important reasons, have urged 
 the natives of Spanish America, to resist the newly con- 
 stituted governments of Spain, and to refuse to admit 
 their control, will be easily acknowledged by those, who 
 consider the characteristic and docile disposition of the 
 inhabitants of that country; and when, also, it is remem- 
 bered, that this was not an act, partial or confined; but, 
 that, on the contrary, it extended to the largest provinces 
 and kingdoms; that it was simultaneous in all, though no 
 correspondence existed between them; that it is not the 
 
93 
 
 feeling of a day, but, has now lasted for more than four 
 years; that it does not subside at the sight of danger, but, 
 that it urges its abettors to the most daring acts of cour- 
 age and heroism, and that, instead of decreasing, it daily 
 gains ground, and enlists fresh partizans. As the Ame- 
 ricans, themselves, have confessed, no other conclusion 
 could be draw^n of their conduct, in thus deserting the 
 cause of the mother-country, than, that, they were more 
 ferocious than loild beasts,* if it could not, at the same 
 time, be clearly proved, that this alienation, had arisen 
 from the most cogent reasons; had been caused by the 
 most imperious circumstances; and had emanated from 
 motives of an insuperable nature. The Spanish Ameri- 
 cans, cannot be accused of disloyalty; after 300 years of 
 abject submission, are throw^n into the scale; nor can 
 they be charged with a spirit of wanton innovation, 
 when we consider, their long and unrepining resignation, 
 which has astonished the whole of Europe, and which 
 was proof against all the efforts of exterior influence and 
 intrigue, even those England had been combining for 
 years, as well as the more recent plans, the French had 
 been concerting, to inthrall their allegiance. The cruel- 
 ties now committing, and the profuse oceans of blood 
 now flowing in every section, are not attributable to the 
 Spanish Americans, since with them they did not origin- 
 ate; nor did they ever consider their European brethren, 
 as a nation distinct from themselves. They cannot be 
 charged with undue ambition, since it was in the cause 
 of the Peninsula they first stepped forward; nor have 
 they been urged by a wish to have the exclusive com-' 
 
 * ReprescDtacion dela Deputacioa Americana, a las Corlei. 18U. 
 
M 
 
 mand in their own country, since they charged theif de- 
 puties in the Cortes, only to ask for half the public offices 
 for their own natives. With regard to the mistaken idea 
 of independence, in the course of this expose, it will be - 
 proved, never to have existed, at the time the first leven 
 of discontent, soured the minds of the Spanish Ameri- 
 cans, and eventually produced disaffection. 
 
 That some material, and radical defect, exists on one 
 side or the other, must, consequently, be evident; and, 
 for the sake of humanityj it is to be lamented, that it has 
 not, long since, been discovered and remedied. It hav- 
 ing, however, been already proved, that it was no want 
 of loyalty on the part of the Spanish Americans, which 
 first gave rise to these fatal dissentions; it becomes ne- 
 cessary to trace them to a more advanced period of the 
 Spanish revolution, which will be best done, by describ- 
 ing minutely, the prominent features the insurrections 
 of Spanish America assumed, in their very commence- 
 ment. 
 
 The Central Junta of Seville, whose members had 
 early invested themselves with the sovereign power, in 
 the name of the absent king, and ^exercised it with all 
 the arrogance of despots notwithstanding their manifest 
 illegality, had, nevertheless., been acknowledged in all 
 Spanish America, and had been obeyed in all the pro- 
 vinces, which, had, hitherto, remained tranquil and in 
 perfect harmony with the parent state. They had con- 
 tinued, during a period of two years, to send overabund- 
 ant succours, and had lived on the most cordial terms 
 with their European brethren, notwithstanding, even a 
 solitary effective measure of redress, or amelioration, had 
 never reached them, in return, During, however, this 
 
95 
 
 interval of perfect amity, each section, respectively, had 
 been furnished with an opportunity of discovering the 
 views and sentiments of the Spanish chiefs placed over 
 them; each, beheld the precipice, preparing for all. It 
 ^was, evidently, the intention of their leaders, for the 
 transmarine provinces to follow the fate of the mother- 
 country; and they beheld themselves destined, to deck 
 the triumphal car of the ruler of France. They had, 
 also, been able to discover the divided, delapidated, and 
 impotent state of the Peninsula ; and the dispersion of 
 the only government which existed there, covered with 
 the execrations of all their fellow-subjects, together with 
 the invasion of the Andalusian provinces, sounding at 
 such a distance, as the entire loss of the kingdom; alarm 
 for their own situation, at first, became manifest, which 
 added to a grounded distrust in the colonial chiefs, caused 
 the Americans to conceive it was high time, to consult 
 their own safety. 
 
 This despondence in the affairs of the Peninsula, wa» 
 not only natural from its depressed situation, from the 
 great force employed by the enemy, from the general dis^ 
 union that was known to exist, and the scandalous man- 
 ner in which the resources of the country, had been 
 wasted by the central Junta, but it was, also, strengthen- 
 ed and confirmed by manifests circulated in every quarter, 
 particularly by the remonstrance of the Junta of Valencia, 
 the proclamation of that of Cadiz, and the circular of the 
 Marquis de la Romana ; besides various papers, which 
 were wafted to the other side of the Atlantic. Every 
 thing, in short, that arrived, was disheartening; and every 
 new occurrence, tended to represent to the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans, the uncertainty and hoplesness of their situation* 
 
96 
 
 The European Viceroys and Captain-Generals, were not 
 to be trusted ; for holding their 'commands from the old 
 governments, most of whose members, besides, being cor- 
 rupt ; were known to be devoted to, and even joined with 
 the French, it was natural to suppose, that the persons of 
 their election abroad, were, also, ready to adhere to any 
 sovereign, who would continue and confirm their com- 
 mands; and that, consequently, they were, in pectore, the 
 firm defenders and supporters of that system of despo- 
 tism, of which, they had, hitherto, been the principal in- 
 struments. These surmises, were, at length, confirmed 
 by their own conduct and declarations; and their re- 
 moval was judiciously resolved on, by the provinces re- 
 spectively, each, considering its own local administra- 
 tion, most secure in the hands of persons elected out of 
 its own bosom, and possessed of the confidence of the 
 people. 
 
 In the adoption, however, of this measure, every one 
 alledged and published, that they took the government 
 and administration into their own hands, for the time 
 heing, in order to promote their own security — not to be 
 delivered over to the French, or to any other power j — and 
 to preserve themselves for Ferdinand F//.whom all, with 
 one voice, again acknowledged as their lawful king, and 
 in whose name, their proclamations were made. This, 
 was -^ act, spontaneous and general in every division of 
 Spanish America, however secluded and distant, one 
 section was from the other; and by the respective details 
 of the governmental changes of each, it is proved; that 
 no exterior influence, no ulterior views of independence^ 
 or^ any thing, in short, disloyal or inimical to European 
 Spain, asanation, had any direct or indirect share there- 
 
97 
 
 in. In the remonstrance presented by the American de- 
 puties to the Cortes, in August, 1811, are to be found, 
 the details of all the immediate causes and peculiar cir- 
 cumstances, which lead to the assumption of the autho- 
 rities into their own hands; and this important docu- 
 ment, is the more deserving of credit, from the official 
 shape it bears, and because it was never contradicted. 
 They are, in substance, as follows: -^ 
 
 " In Caracas, the invasion of the Andalusian pro- 
 vinces by the French, and the dissolution of the Central 
 Junta, gave rise to the revolution ; in which, without 
 . any effusion of blood, the authorities were deposed, on 
 the 19th of April, 1810; and a Supreme Junta was cre- 
 ated for the purpose of governing the province, and in 
 order to preserve its existence and guard its security, and 
 as fully, expressed in the proclamation then issued."* 
 
 " In Buenos Ayres, the purport of the same news, 
 communicated by Viceroy Cisneros, and his calling to- 
 gether a congress, in order to adopt measures of precau- 
 tion, on the 25th of May, 1810, produced a provisional 
 Junta, till a congress was formed of all the deputies of 
 the provinces." 
 
 '« In New Granada, the imprudent conduct of the 
 Corregidor of El Socorro, by causing his troops to fire 
 on the unarmed citizens, of whom eight were killed, oc- 
 casioned the first movement, on the 3d of July, 1810; 
 the immediate consequences of which, were, tl5!>t im- 
 prisonment of the Corregidor and his satellites.** 
 
 " In Santa Fe de Bogota, a private individual, passed 
 by the shop of an European, who insulted him, with 
 words injurious to the Americans in general ; and parties 
 
 * Vide the various proclaraatiens of Buenos Ayres, Chili, Caracas, 
 Santa Fe, Mexico^ &c. 
 
 a 
 
siding with the principals in the quarrel, produced dissen- 
 tions, and gave rise to the eventual creation of a Junta^ 
 on 2nd. July, 1810." 
 
 " The offensive measures of the governor of Carth- 
 agena, and the odious divisions he attempted to sow be- 
 tween the Europeans and Americans, ended in a provisi- 
 onal Junta, on the 18th. August, 1810." 
 
 ** In Chili, the people were so much roused and irri- 
 tated by the arbitrary acts and extraordinary violations of 
 governor Carrasco, (afterwards tried at home for his con- 
 duct) that he found himself under the necessity of resign- 
 ing his command; and a Junta was, consequently, cre- 
 ated on the 18th. Sept, 1810." A singular circumstance 
 is, that this was the only Junta, the government of Spain 
 ^ . ever acknowledged. 
 
 **- In Mexico, the arrest of Viceroy Iturrigaray, on the 
 I5th. Sept. 1808, executed by a faction of Europeans, ex- 
 cited a strong rivality between the latter and the Ameri- 
 cans; which spread gradually throughout the kingdom, 
 v^ V ,The death of several Americans, and th^afrest of others, 
 \v/ transfused still greater irritation amongst the latter; which, 
 added to the impolitic measure of Viceroy Venegas, car- 
 Tying oiit rewards, and distinctions for the authors and 
 accomplices of the European faction, produced a revolt 
 in the town of Dolores, on the 14th. Sept. 1810, which 
 sooru^xtended to the whole country."* " 
 
 Such are the prominent features and first causes, of 
 all the insurrections, or rather local changes of govern- 
 ment, which have taken place in the various sections of 
 Spanish America. Such, do they result, from the res- 
 pective oliicial accounts I have carefully examined, atkl 
 
 • Vide Deputacion Americana, l '' dc Agoslo, 181 1 r 
 
99 
 
 8Uch are they represented to be, in the respectable docu-^ 
 ment, from which I have made the above extracts. In 
 this shape, were, they laid before the Cortes, and of course 
 exhibited to the censure of the nation at large. In 
 weighingwell,all the collective testimony on this subject, 
 it will result, that, in addition to the conviction of the 
 hopeless situation of Spain, which even the governmental 
 chiefs, themselves confessed ; " local insults and ill-treat- 
 ment, more immediately tended to rouse and irritate the 
 minds of the people," and it is deserving of remark, 
 t^ that the whole of these insults and outrages, commenced 
 on the part of the Europeans towards the Americans, 
 and in no instance whatever, were the former ill-treated 
 by the latter."* The Americans, who used any disaffected 
 language, or complaint against the Spaniards, however 
 insulted and irritated thGy might have been, were arrested 
 and thrown into dungeons; and in no place, were the lat- 
 ter molested, though they frequently insulted the Creoles, 
 even in 4:he public squares. The principal and first 
 causes of these misunderstandings, have consequently, 
 rather originated in the impolicy of the European chiefs, 
 and individuals, according to the contents of the document 
 already quoted ; and they have now grown into open war, 
 by the want of timely remedies, and by a wish rather to 
 domineer, than to conciliate. The pride and arrogance of 
 the Spaniard, was increased, and the passive disposition 
 to the American, was, at length, roused. To escape insult, 
 and to watch over the security of his country, was the 
 object of the latter ; and the former had in view, to in- 
 force the subjection, to which he had been so long ac- 
 customed. 
 
 * Ibitl. 
 
 c2 
 
100 
 
 § The commotions in Spanish America, have not, there- 
 fore, originated in a want of loyalty; for no greater a 
 proof of its existence could be given, than the sentiments 
 all the inhabitants evinced, when they were informed of 
 the occurrences at Bayonne, and when Murat's first dis^ 
 patches, were received amongst them. By the European 
 chiefs, private and mysterious meetings were then held, 
 to know in what manner, the allegiance of the American 
 people, could be safely transferred ; at the very moment, 
 that the latter were enthusiastically proclaiming Ferdinand 
 VII. swearing adhesion, obedience, and fidelity to him, 
 aud calling on the magistrates, to join them in this sponta- 
 neous and solemn act. But the constituted authorities, 
 (who had been assured of the good intentions of the 
 French Emperor to keep them in office, this having been 
 expressly notified by Minister Champigny, in a circular 
 letter addressed to all the chiefs) being confounded and 
 surprised at the sudden and animated resolution of 
 the peopel, designedly kept aloof, in order not to im- 
 plicate their reputation with the French, and declared the 
 necessity of waiting further accounts of the state of Penin- 
 sula. 
 
 During this interval of uncertainty, there were chiefs 
 of the rank of Viceroys, who dared openly to make pro- 
 posals in favour of the Gallic line ; and Liniers, in a procla^ 
 mation addressed to the people of Buenos Ay res, after 
 coldly relating the events by which Ferdinand VIL 
 had ceded his crown to Napoleon, and he afterwards to 
 Joseph; and instead of commenting on an occurrence of 
 that nature, with all the indignity, the circumstances 
 would inspire, concludes, by saying, that the Emperor of 
 the French, returned his thanks to the people of Buenos 
 
101 
 
 Ayresyfor the glorious defence they had made against the 
 English, The solemn act of allegiance, sworn to, in Ca- 
 racas, on the 15th July, 1808, in the name of Ferdinand 
 VII. amounts to an authentic proof of the timidity, and 
 uncertainty, which prevailed in the councils of the Eu- 
 ropean mandataries, and constituted authorities ; for, it 
 expressly says, *' that the Captain-General, and some of 
 the ministers of the audiencia, had authorised it, in conse* 
 (juence of the clamours, and repeated messages of the peq-* 
 pie and cahildo ; by which clause, they prepared a loop- 
 hole for themselves; and, in the line of conduct they af- 
 terwards followed, nothing but ambiguity and half mea- 
 sures, are to be discovered. They all feared to offend 
 him, whom they considered as now constituted their 
 new master, and who had promised the continuation of 
 their commands, the object they had most at heart. Even 
 the governor of the Philipine islands, persisted in follow- 
 ing the orders he had received from Murat. 
 
 Treacherous, in the extreme, was the general con- 
 duct of the Spanish constituted auth'orities abroad, with 
 only one exception; for, no sooner had the kings of 
 Spain ceded their crown to Buonaparte, than emissaries 
 were sent over to every section of Spanish America, with 
 orders, signed by Ferdinand, by the council of the Indies, 
 and by Azanza, for a general transfer of allegiance ; and 
 all confirmed the old chiefs, as a means to secure their 
 interest, and the consent of the people. The Americans, 
 ulone, opposed their views; they, alone, publicly burnt 
 the proclamations sent out by Buonaparte, and expelled 
 his agents. The European chiefs, on the contrary, pro- 
 tected them, and, the governor of Caracas, when Captain 
 Beaver, of his Britannic Majesty's ship, Acasta, demand* 
 
102 
 
 ed the French bri^, which brought out the agents and 
 papers, returned for answer, that he had given orders to 
 the forts of La Guira, to fire on his ship, if he attempted 
 fo capture the Imperial flag. 
 
 Thus, in these critical and trying moments, did the 
 Americans stand firm and decided in their conduct; and 
 the chiefs, such as Iturrigaray, viceroy of Mexico, who 
 declared for Ferdinand, and were induced to consult the 
 safety of the country, in a legal and consistent manner, 
 were, by the European party, deposed, imprisoned, and 
 persecuted; for, they were all of opinion, that the Spa-* 
 nish American provinces, were, to abide by the fate of 
 the mother country. This, even, entered into the views 
 of the Spanish government, at home, as may be seen, by 
 the proclamation of the Regency, of the 6th September 
 1810, addressed to the Americans, in which are found, the 
 following pointed words : *' It does not suffice, for you to 
 he Spaniards, unless you also belong to Spain ; and this, 
 iohatever be the event of fortune.* It is, then, to the 
 steady and firm conduct and loyalty of the Americans, 
 that we now owe the liberation of their country from 
 the fangs of the French ; that its resources are not, now, 
 ttirned against us, and that we have them, at least, par- 
 tially, open to our trade and enterprise. And, can the 
 British nation, alone, be insensible to this triumph of 
 probity, loyalty, and good sense ? 
 
 Had it so happened, that the conquest of Spain had 
 been eifected, at the period of the dissolution of the 
 Central Junta, and when Soult commenced the siege of 
 
 * No basta que seals Espanoles, slno sois do Espana ; y lo sois, en 
 fjualesquiera casos de la ^ortuna, 
 
103 
 
 Cadiz ; had the saerifice of principle, then been made by. 
 the Spaniards, in order to spare further devastation, and 
 the spilling of more blood, (and both in Spain and in 
 England, such a dread certainly existed) if the Ameri-^ 
 cans had then, only, wavered, or been disloyal, it would 
 not, now, have been a dubious case, what flag would be 
 flying in Spanish America. Their inconstancy or irreso- 
 lution, at that time,would have caused, the brightest pros- 
 pects that ever dawned on the hopes of England, to have 
 been for ever blasted. Liniers told them, they ougbt to 
 wait, in the same manner, as they had done, in the war of 
 Succession, till the fate of the mother country was decid- 
 ed, and till it was ascertained, what dynasty was to as- 
 cend the throne of Spain ; as they would, then, have in 
 their power to follow her example. In order that the 
 views of the French on Spanish America, may be more 
 manifest ; as, well as, that the candid and generous con^ 
 duct of the Americans, in resisting their overtures, may 
 be better appreciated ; I have inserted in Appendix B. 
 fiopy of the instructions, given by Joseph to his thirty- 
 two emissaries, destined to revolutionize Spanish America^ 
 in his own favpur. This, is an important document, to 
 those who desire to form a correct idea of the transactions 
 to which I allude ; and it is rendered the more curious, 
 from not having been hitherto laid before the public. I 
 have only omitted the list of the agents names. 
 
 The means concerted by the French, for the purpose 
 of transferring the allegiance of the inhabitants of Spa- 
 nish America, to their new dynasty, by various official 
 documents, are proved to have been, a general confirma- 
 tion of the powers and commands, of all the heads of go- 
 vernment and colonial chiefs. And who, at that time, 
 
104 
 
 were the partisans of these chiefs? Who, were those, 
 who were ready to support them, in all their machina- 
 tions? The old Spaniards, all those, who were connected 
 with the Peninsula, by the ties of blood, or by the rela- 
 tions of trade. The same who imprisoned Iturrigaray, 
 because in the orphan state of Spain, he conceived it ne- 
 cessary to assemble the proper representatives of New 
 Spain, in conformity to the laws and the exigence of the 
 moment. The same who held all the monopolies; and 
 who, are, stjll, endeavouring, by plots and conspiracies, 
 to pull down the very Juntas, which, at that time, saved 
 the country from the dominion of the French. The 
 same, in short, who would, now, deliver it over to them, 
 if Spain were under the subjection of its invaders. The 
 last two campaigns, have proved, that the independence 
 of Spain, is only maintained by the exertions of England ; 
 and were this aid, by any peculiar circumstances, to be 
 withdrawn ; were France, by any unforeseen contingen- 
 cies, to effect her intended conquest, or establish her in- 
 fluence, the consequence would be, that no sacrifices on 
 our part, would then suffice, to prevent those sections of 
 Spanish America, which have not had sufficient energy to 
 insist on the administration of their own concerns, from 
 following the fate of the mother country. The partisans 
 to this measure, and to an adhesion, in favour of the 
 French, would be the very persons, who then opposed 
 the Juntas, and we have only to calculate their strength, 
 in order to draw the inference. 
 
 On the appearance of the first alarm, excited by the 
 dangerous situation of Spain, as I have already shewn, 
 the governmental agents would have exerted all their in- 
 fluence, and called forth all the resources of the countries 
 
105 
 
 they had in charge, in behalf of their new sovereign, 
 from whom they expected dignities and emoluments. 
 For him, also, they would, yet, employ the very means 
 they are, at present, wielding against the just rights of 
 the people, in as strong, and decided a manner, as the 
 mercantile interests of Cadiz, on the fall of their coun- 
 try, would struggle to preserve their monopolies, and to 
 prolong their former connections. The very same per- 
 sons, who now vociferate the injuries of the nation, and 
 the rights of the throne, would, then, be favourable to 
 France. They would use the same exertions, and make 
 the same sacrifices, to obtain an object, in which, they are 
 so much interested ; nor would they fail to support adhe- 
 sion to the Peninsula, after its flag had been changed. 
 Now, they talk of resisting the despot of the continent, 
 then they would say, as they have done before, let us 
 combat the tyrant of the seas. The governors in Spa- 
 nish America, there, possess nothing, beyond their digni- 
 ties and honours ; they are strangers in the kmd; and, as 
 I have already proved, they were lately rectdy^jfco sacrifice 
 every thing to their preservation ; what guarantee, then, 
 have the Americans, or we, ourselves, that the same 
 would not be the case, at present, if similar opportunities 
 oifered ? 
 
 It has, not, been, in the mass of the people of Spain, 
 or of the ultramarine provinces, that the French have 
 found partisans or support; the higher classes, and per- 
 sons of the first influence and distinction, have been those 
 who have furthered their views, and seconded their in- 
 trigues. Such, have, uniformly, been the abettors of the 
 French usurper ; and such, those, who have served as the 
 instruments of his guilty ambition. In Europe, we have 
 seen them ready to sell the honour and independence of 
 
ids 
 
 their country ; and, could it be expected that the slime' 
 species of men, embued in the same f>olitics, stimulated 
 by the same ambitious views, and tutored in the same 
 school, although removed to a distance of two thousand 
 leagues, would have been more scrupulous, with regard to 
 Spanish America ? The British government is, also, pos- 
 sessed of a list of the agents, Buonaparte had prepared to 
 change the allegiance of that country to his own dynasty ; 
 let k be examined, and it will be found, that none of 
 them are men of the lower orders, that they principally 
 consist of persons, formerly in office, and out of thirty- 
 two named, only three are not European Spaniards. None 
 of the persons who have mixed in the American insurrec*- 
 tions, or formed part of the new governments there, are 
 enumerated on this list; yet, some of them, are yet em* 
 ployed by the Spaniards; and, till lately, one was acting 
 ss a general in Peru, who, had, also, sworn allegiance to, 
 txid received dignities from Joseph, in Madrid. This, is 
 tme of the worthy instruments, employed by the Cadiz go- 
 vernments, to butcher the unredressed and insulted inha- 
 bitants of Spanish America ; and destined to fill the 
 peaceful towns of the interiour, with carnage and horror, 
 as will be more fully seen, when I sketch the ravages an^. 
 cruelties, committed in that unfortunate country. 
 
 Yet, sincere and well disposed, as were the lower or- 
 dets in Spain, little has been done for them ; their condi- 
 tion has not been bettered ; and, though composing the 
 real strength of the nation, they appear to have been 
 counted on, for little else, than to fight and to contribute ; 
 and, in Spanish America, they have been left to the fury 
 imd revenge, of those, who, a few months before, were 
 plotting to deliver them over to the French. I am indue- 
 
107 
 
 ed to dwell the longer, on this part of my subject, because, 
 I wish it, clearly, to be understood, that in the transmarine 
 provinces, at the period, when the first ruptures took 
 place, there did not exist, amongst the inhabitants, the 
 smallest party for the French, or any disposition to listerv 
 to their overtures. We, on the contrary, at that time, 
 possessed all their good wishes, and, it was, then, in our 
 power, to have retained them. Time, and a variety of 
 circumstances, have, however, unfortunately, produced a 
 considerable change in the sentiments of the Spanish 
 Americans. The intrigues of the French, particularly, 
 in some sections ; together with the indiflerenee of Eng- 
 land, and the insults they have received from British offi- 
 cers, are fast contributing to the distrust and coldness 
 excited against us, as will, in a particular manner, be 
 noticed, in a more convenient place. 
 
 § That no general, or deep rooted sentiment of inde- 
 pendence, prevailed in the minds of the Spanish' Ameri- 
 cans, at the period of their first resistance to the govern- 
 ment of the parent state, or even at present, is a fact 
 which will be readily admitted, by every close observer 
 of the transmarine transactions ; acquainted with the si- 
 fuatiou of those provinces, their tone of feeling, and the 
 construction of their society. This is a position, that 
 ■will, at first sight, surprize many; particularly, those, 
 vrho reflect on the enormous expence, the British go- 
 vernment had incurred, under a different impression. 
 When our own North American settlements, raised the 
 standard of rebellion, the tax on tea, was made the 
 ostensible cause; but, there existed at the bottom of the 
 design, plans of ulterior separation. This, however, 
 has not been the-case in the American provinces of 
 
108 
 
 Spain. The relations and bonds, which united the in- 
 habitants of the latter, to their European brethren; a 
 conformity of habits and customs; and the intimate con- 
 nection which originated from the Americans, in general, 
 being educated by Spaniards, had evidently strengthened 
 that inherent love to the Peninsula, vv^hich was trans- 
 fused through all classes, from their very cradle. To 
 this, was added, an habitual respect paid to the govern- 
 ment and its agents; together with a blind, and, almost, 
 trembling submission, which, by length of time, had 
 been converted into a second nature. The whole of these 
 powerful ties, had created a gordian knot, which it was, 
 nearly, impossible to sever. 
 
 Influenced by opinions and prejudices, which they 
 could neither control nor discord, and which education, 
 habit, conscience, and, perhaps, honour, lead them to 
 cherish, and retain; it was impossible to infuse into 
 the mass of the Spanish Americans, any wide and effec- 
 tive wish, for absolute independence, unless a total re- 
 volution in their sentiments, previously took place. 
 This, could only be the effect of time, or be caused by 
 the immediate pressure of extraordinary circumstances, 
 which certainly had not occurred, during the period of 
 their late harmony with the mother-country. To pro- 
 claim independence, under such exigencies, as those 
 which pressed heavy on the monarchy at home; would 
 have stamped such a measure, as the offs])ring of dis- 
 loyalty and ingratitude ; and the late resolves of the 
 Americans, not to listen to the French, as before de- 
 scribed, as well as every other feature of their political 
 conduct, sufficiently repels so unfounded a charge. That 
 ingratitude and ill treatment; that the sight of their de». 
 
109 
 
 populated and ruined towns; and the repetition of their 
 interminable butchery and human misery, should, in thd 
 course of time, produce a revohition in their sentiments, 
 and gradually engender a fund of odium, and create ini- 
 mical feelings, to such a degree, as to render all inter- 
 course with Spain impossible, is, indeed, within the 
 possibility of fact. But, this, was, by no means, the 
 case, when the Americans first took the administration 
 of their own local concerns, into their own hands; nor 
 was it till the government took refuge in Cadiz, and till 
 its insensate and infuriate acts, had scattered firebrands 
 and death, in every section, that open enmity partially 
 flamed. It was, not, till Spain, forgetful of the long 
 and affecting proofs of loyalty and attatchment, she had 
 uniformly received from her provinces abroad, by her 
 impolitic declaration of war, severed the bonds of fra- 
 ternity and mutual interest, that one detatched section 
 of America, resolved on independence ; but this was in 
 consequence of peculiar hardships, and a variety of co- 
 gent motives, detailed in its manifest then published. 
 It was, not, till terror and alarm, instead of re- 
 dress, had been employed as weapons, by the agents of 
 Spain, to inforce the subjection of the American pro- 
 vinces — it was not, in short, till indignation, sharpened 
 by taunts, revilings, as well as by unheard of horrors, 
 had roused the inhabitants of the western continent to a 
 state of political phrenzy, that the deadly enmity now 
 existing, made its appearance. No, the Spanish Ameri- 
 cans can never be charged with disloyalty, the spirit of 
 their history, and the leading features of those commo- 
 tions already pencilled, not, only, prove that they pos- 
 sessed loyalty; but, also, that it was genuine and sincere. 
 
110 
 
 They, would have remained tranquil, would have even 
 conceived it honourable and conformable to their wishes 
 and interests, to have continued united with the mother- 
 country, had her government, only, corrected the ty- 
 ranny and oppression of its agents, whose wrongs, had^ 
 at last, become so flagrant, repeated, and galling, and 
 whxDse politics were so manifestly treacherous, that it 
 w^ere to judge the people divested of sense or feeling, to 
 suppose that they could endnre them any longer. 
 
 The changes of government here alluded to, had, 
 therefore, no connection, v/hatever, with any ulterior 
 views of independence ; nor, did they originate in causes, 
 emanating from foreign influence. This fact is fully 
 established by abundant testimony, and particularly by 
 the official declarations, respectively made on these oc- 
 casions, but which, are too voluminous for insertion 
 here. In the urgency of the moment, and for motives 
 both legitimate and cogent, the Spanish Americans re- 
 .solved no longer to put their trust in men, whose trea- 
 chery was evident; and they determined to administer their 
 own local concerns ; not, only, as a remedy against past 
 and present ills; but, also, in order to promote their 
 own security. Neither, did any spirit of disloyalty, or 
 French intrigue, in any way, influence their actions. 
 As, before observed, the Spanish American provinces 
 resolved to acknowledge no other sovereign, than a de- 
 scendant of Charles IV. and every where, war was pro- 
 claimed against the usurper of Spain, with as much en- 
 thusiastic ardour, as at home. The firm resolution of 
 the Peninsula, to repel, by force, an insiduous invader, 
 was not, only, applauded ; but every American stepped 
 forward, with anxious zeal, and with offers of private 
 
Ill 
 
 and public donations, in order to contribute bis mite, to 
 the general expence of a popular enterprize. It was, 
 consequently, neither disloyalty, nor ingratitude, which- 
 stimulated the conduct of the Spanish Americans; al- 
 though these have been the principal charges brought 
 against them, by the party spirit of the monopolists of 
 Cadiz, and the ravings of a violent war faction, which 
 have uniformly attempted to disfigure every transaction, 
 and to give edge and fury, to the burnings of revenge and 
 of disappointed gain. 
 
 § Ih order, however, to manifest, in the clearest man-r 
 iier possible, the intentions and views of the Spanish 
 American provinces, in their recent changes of govern- 
 ment; it will be extremely proper, to draw a parallel of 
 the situation of Spain, at the period of the seizure of the 
 royal persons, with that of the Spanish American pro- 
 vinces, when the news of the advances of the French, 
 •dnd the dispersion of the Central Junta, reached their 
 alarmed shores. I dwell, with greater stress, on this 
 particwlar part of my subject, because, it is of the first 
 importance, to a just and correct conception of the mat- 
 ter in view, to present my reader with a full picture, of 
 all the Concurrent and existing circumstances, which in- 
 duced the inhabitants of the transmarine provinces, to de- 
 posit their confidence in local Juntas of their own choice; 
 and to explain, what were their real intentions and views, 
 -in so doing. This being the particular circumstance, 
 that nearly involves all the points at issue, it is necessary 
 to' examine, with a scrupulous care, the immediate 
 causes which lead to it; for which purpose, it is, essen- 
 •^tially, necessary, to retrace and describe, the respective 
 situation of each part of the Spanish monarchy, at t-he 
 two distinct periods, above alluded to. 
 
The debased situation of the government of Spain, as 
 already pourtrayed, had, in a great measure, brought upon 
 her inhabitants, the horrors and misfortunes which befel 
 theni. Before the perfidy of the French, was unmasked 
 to the world, Spain had been bereft of her monarch ; the 
 principal provinces and fortified places w^ere in the hands 
 of the enemy, even the capital itself; and the whole coun- 
 try was reduced to a crisis, not only unforeseen and un- 
 provided for by the legislation of the state, but, also, 
 unexampled in the annals of history. During the absence 
 of the king to Bayonne, the administration of the pro- 
 visional government, had been the work of the enemy, 
 in whose hands, perfidy had also placed every other 
 branch of the legislature; and plans for the general sub- 
 mission of all the realm, had been long and deeply or- 
 ganizing. A foreigner had been placed at the head of 
 this same administration, and the enemy not only pos- 
 sessed the persons of the royal family, but had, even, 
 succeeded to use them, as so many active instruments to 
 his base designs, which had been rendered the more 
 powerful and dangerous, from being the more sacred 
 and respectable. 
 
 The councils of the nation, the constitutional inter- 
 preters of the law, the ministers, as well as the supreme 
 courts and tribunals, were all under the control of the 
 »^ usurper; and were all ready and disposed to contribute 
 to cement his base and treacherous seizure. And, what 
 had been the springs, employed to secure all this as- 
 cendency? Nothing, besides address, corruption, and 
 the promise of continuation in office and command; in 
 short, the very same^means, which had been, equally, 
 practised in America.' To add to this national calamity, 
 these same occurrences, had been' preceded by one of 
 
113 
 
 the most unfortunate and abject epochs of the Spanish 
 monarchy, of which, an outline, has been, previously, 
 given* In consequence of the baseness, abjection, and 
 Venality of the ministry, the nation was, at that time, 
 without an adequate army, without resources, and had 
 fallen a prey to interior convulsions and distrust. Every 
 branch of the administration and government, was, be- 
 sides, in the hands of chiefs; who owed their elevation 
 to the most debased measures and intrigues ; the king's 
 agents and rulers, in a word, every where, were men 
 destitute of talents and probity, and in general, had for- 
 feited the public confidence* In such a dilemma, what 
 was the conduct of the provinces of European Spain? 
 Did, they not, wherever they could, elect provisional 
 Juntas, and did they not vest in them, the public con- 
 fidence, and place under their charge, the momentous 
 struggle, on which they were about to enter ? 
 
 And, if this picture of the state of the Peninsula, at 
 the period referred to, be true and faithful ; can it be de- 
 nied, that these same evils, with all their respective ag- 
 gravations, existed in the ultramarine provinces? Owing 
 to their distance from the seat of power, and, in conse- 
 quence of many defects in the governing regimen, must 
 they not, rather, have been there felt, in a more sensible 
 manner? It has, already, been evinced, that the colonial 
 chiefs, were, in general, partisans of the French; and, it 
 is equally a fact, that the Americans were as ignorant as 
 their European brethren, to what an extent the machina- 
 tions of the enemy, and of their abettoi^s, had been pre- 
 pared, and how far, their efficacy might be relied upon. 
 Both, were equally ignorant, how long, and how widelv, 
 snares had been laying to entrap their allegiance ; and, 
 
 H 
 
 ^ 
 
\ 
 
 ill the fi r&t moments, when both were roused from the 
 same lethargy, each was unaware of the depth of the 
 precipice, to the brink of which, both had been diagged. 
 The Spanish Americans, beheld one section, commanded 
 by a Frenchman, and in the other sections, they saw as 
 their chiefs, and governors, no other than corrupt cour- 
 tiers, venal dignataries, and sycophant placemen, whose 
 patrons and supporters, had already enlisted under the 
 banners of the enem}^ and were actively employed to 
 ^further his views and plans. If so, may it not be fairly 
 asked, whether such chiefs and heads of government, 
 were worthy of the confidence and trust of the American 
 people, when, at the same time, most of them had, actu- 
 ally, given evident signs of treachery ? In the trying and 
 momentous crisis, Spain experienced at the period above 
 alluded to,she varied her government, and changed her 
 rulers, because the one was reduced to an actual system 
 of political despotism, and the others, were no longer de- 
 serving of tJie confidence of the people. And are the 
 Spanish American provinces, alone, divested of this right, 
 when the motives are not less founded, and when the 
 danger is more manifest and urgent? 
 
 § The situation of both European and American Spain, 
 on the seizure of the Royal Family, amounted to a com- 
 plete interregnum; for, the legal monarch, being, no 
 longer, in the exercise of his authority, also, absent, and 
 in actual confinement; was, of course, unable to watch 
 over the welfare of his subjects, and to attend to the 
 safety of his realm. Consequently, it became necessary, 
 to replace liis lost authority, by transferring it, as a depo- 
 ^sit, into the hands of a body of persons, elected by, and 
 vested with the' confidence of the people; under such 
 
ai3 
 
 forms and restrictions, as the laws prescribed. It would he 
 useless, in this place, to burden my reader with the opinions 
 of writers on the general laws of nations, applicable to 
 case in question. For the immediate purposes in view, 
 it is only requisite to examine the legislation of Spain, 
 in this particular; and, to discover what its annals pres- 
 cribe, for a national exigency, like the one above describ- 
 ed. In all cases of great calamiti/j or iclienever the Jdng 
 dies, and leaves a son under age, it is ordered, that the re- 
 presentatives of the cities and toicns, archbishops and 
 bishops, together with the nobles of the land, be assembled 
 to deliberate on the emergency lohich has occurred, and to 
 decide what measures are to be adopted.^ This is the 
 substance of a variety of laws, w'hich might be quoted ; 
 and Spain, in her creation of provincial Juntas, acknow- 
 ledged both its truth and application. 
 
 Were we to examine, attentively, the events which 
 occurred in the Peninsula, in the calamitous moments 
 above traced; and, were we to watch the stimulus of 
 action, that, then, urged the most important movements of 
 its inhabitants, we should find them in exact coincidence 
 with what took place in Spanish America; and, that 
 the example of the one, actually justified the conduct of 
 
 * The law of John II. Madrid, 1418, is as follows, Porque en Iqs 
 hechos ardiios de uuestros reynos, es necesario consejo de nuestrps 
 subditos y naturales, cspecialmente de los procuradores de las ciu- 
 dades, \illas y lugares de los nUestros reynos ; por ende ordenamos y 
 raandaraos, que sobre tales fechos grandes y arduos, se hayan de ayun- 
 tar Corties, y se faga con consejo de los ires estados de nuestros rey- 
 nos, segun que lo hicieron, los reyes nuestros predecesores. Vide 
 El Especulo, ley 5. tit. 16. lib. 2.— Also, Leyes de Castilla, ley 3. til. 
 15. part 2. et alibi. Azcarate declares, that the above law was ex|;eiid- 
 ed to Spanish America. 
 
 h2 
 
116 
 
 Sie other. The inhabitants of the 'latter, notwithstand- 
 ing the long invasion of their rights, nevertheless, stood 
 on exactly the same footing, as did those of European 
 Spain, at the time, she was bereft of her monarch. In 
 that cephalous state, as was fully proved by Elola, in his 
 sound and judicious preliminaries to the new constitution 
 of Spain, (maxims on which the Cortes, themselves, have 
 acted, and thereby acknowledged as true) it results that 
 '^ the people are free and independent, and neither are, nor 
 can hey the patrimony of any one family or person ; afid, 
 that the sovereignty, essentially, resides in them ; conse- 
 quejitly, the right of establishing its fundamental laws, 
 and of adopting the most suitable form of government, 
 exclusively, belongs to them." 
 
 Such are the principles, and such the basis on which 
 the boasted constitution ol Spain, is founded ; and such 
 have been the grounds, on which the Cortes have divest- 
 ed the rightful king of his sovereignty ; an occurrence, 
 not only, hitherto, unknown in the history of the Spa- > 
 nish monarchy ; but, also, an extreme, to which the peo- 
 ple of America, have never thought of going. Jovella-i— ^ 
 nos, whose name will always be mentioned with venera- 
 tion, in his celebrated report, laid before the Central Jun- 
 ta, on 7th October, 1808, establishes as a principle, ap- 
 plicable to the existing case of the nation, " that when q 
 people perceives the eminent danger of the society of 
 which they are members, and are aware, that the adminis* 
 trators of the authority, which is to govern and defend 
 them, are suborned or inthralled: they naturally enter 
 into the necessity of defending themselves, and consequent- 
 ly, acquire an extraordinary and legitimate right of insur- 
 rection'' Such was the sanction given by the first States- 
 
117 
 
 man, Spain, at that time, possessed, to the conduct of the 
 new revolutionary governments, therein established ; and 
 it formed the basis of all their operations, ^et, v^^hen 
 the American Provinces apply the same maxims to them- 
 selves, their European brethren take the alarm, and con- 
 stituting themselves into the dictators of the whole 
 monarchy, they decree, thar its rights are concentrated 
 in them alone. When the Spartish Americans, find that 
 their chiefs are become the tools of Buonaparte ; that 
 most of the Europeans amongst them, are addicted to his 
 views, and pledged to his support ; when they behold all 
 the treasure they had sent over, had been wasted, and 
 they despaired of the success of thePeninsular struggle ;— 
 when they, equally, beheld themselves bereft of their 
 iegal monarch, and without any constitutional or safe 
 government; and when, in short, they, find themselves 
 on the eve of becoming a French colony, by the very 
 treachery of those, who were charged to watch over their 
 safety, and are, besides, surrounded by uncertainty, doubt, 
 and dismay; still, are they denied the application of 
 those very acknowledged principles, in which Spain, had 
 so lately, gloried ; still, are they not allowed to consult 
 their own security, and still, are they commanded to en- 
 dure all, without repining. 
 
 , In order to form a correct idea of the critical situation 
 of the Spanish American provinces, at the period here al- 
 luded to, it is particularly requisite, to remember well, 
 the debased regimen under which they were governed, 
 and the great privations under which they laboured. 
 The immediate instruments of this debased regimen, 
 were the Viceroys and Captain-Generals, who, besides, 
 being, with few exceptions, corrupt, immoral, and ar- 
 
118 
 
 bitrary, also, held in theffd^ bands, a po^A'er, in such 
 moments as these, neither consistent with the security 
 of the country, under their chnrge, nor compatible 
 with the welfare of the people govenied. Possessed of 
 the resources of all the districts under their jurisdiction, 
 commanding the armed force, and being, at the same 
 time, the direct and immediate channel of every thing 
 that arrived from, or was conveyed to Europe; they 
 had not only the fate and lives of the inhabitants in their 
 hands, but they had it, likewise, within their power, to 
 deliver them 6ver to the French, if they thought fit, or 
 it was at their option, to leaVe them at the mercy of any 
 other foreign power. In addition to the ramifications of 
 offices 3ind' trusts^ which they immediately cofttroled, the 
 European residents were ever ready to second and sup- 
 port the measures of their constituted chiefs, as well 
 from a spirit of party and direct opposition to the Cre- 
 oles, as in order to secure an adhesion to the Peninsula, 
 for they, like the Israelites of old, hankered after the 
 flesh-pots of Egypt. Always bending to the nod of 
 their chiefs in power, and always assembled round him, 
 in consequence ot their extensive influence and connec- 
 tions, they, at all times, became a formidable plalanx; 
 the more to be dreaded, from the greater union that ex- 
 isted amongst them, and from the great facility, with 
 which they might be misled, in any thing that related to 
 the transactions of the parent state. 
 
 § This picture of the various occurrences, which pre- 
 ceded and accompanied the changes of government in 
 the ultramarine provinces; will be, however, renjlered 
 itiore perfect and intelligible, if, before I proceed any 
 further, I -give a particular outline of what occurred in 
 
119 
 
 Mexico; as, from the greater importance of this section, 
 its antiquity, and the precedence ^iven to it, by all the 
 other sections; it deserves some individual consideration, 
 in the general details which comprehend the whole of the 
 Spanish American continent. This little de atched 
 sketch, will, at the same time, more clearly, explain 
 the tone of feeling then prevalent in the country, and 
 will, greatly, elucidate the grounds on which the in- 
 habitants acted. 
 
 On receipt of the news of the deplorable situation of the 
 Peninsula, of the seizure of the king, and of the invasion 
 of the French, Viceroy Iturrigaray became diffident of 
 those powers he had received from Charles IV, through 
 his corrupt minister Godoy, and which had been, so 
 recently confirmed by the Duke de Berg, and by the 
 Spa«ish ministers of the intrusive king. Fearful of the 
 impossibility of maintaining harmony, amidst such 
 general despondency, distrust, and the clashing of in- 
 terests, and considering also, that his limited authority 
 could,- in no way, replace that of the lost king, he pro- 
 posed calling together a general assembly, or Junta of 
 the representatives of all the provinces, in order to re- 
 solve on the future mode of government, and to esta- 
 blish, in this critical situation of affairs, an administra- 
 tive system, in which the people might confide. In 
 this he was opposed by the audiencia, consisting of old 
 Spaniards, these were joined by all the European mer- 
 chants and placemen, who trembling for the ascendency 
 of the more numerous Creoles, in any plan of govern- 
 ment founded on popular election, resolved, by open 
 force, to frustrate any attempt that might give prepon- 
 derance to the latter. The adoption of the viceroys 
 
120 
 
 measure, was supported by the cabildo, which, in 
 Spanish America, still retained some shadow of popular 
 representation, and by its official remonstrance (part of 
 which I have inserted in Appendix C. as highly illustra- 
 tive of this particular point) it proved, that this was the 
 only means of consulting the voice of the people, pro- 
 moting confidence and unanimity, and of producing 
 security to the whole kingdom, in a manner conform- 
 able to the injunctions of the law, and the example of 
 the provinces of the Peninsula. A powerful faction of 
 Europeans, was formed and armed, the person of the 
 viceroy was seized, and himself and family,, under ag- 
 gravated indignities, were sent prisoners to Europe, 
 Thus, did European despotism, under a new shape, 
 rear its hydra head in Mexico, and the seat of power 
 became usurped, whilst the laws of the realm, and the 
 patriotic wishes of the Creoles, were laughed to scorn.* 
 The latter, trusted to the justice and equity of the 
 government at home, but instead of a thorough investi- 
 gation into this aflair, although Iturrigaray was absolved 
 of every charge, and his intentions were, thereby, proved 
 to have been legal, pure, and patriotic; the principal 
 members of this faction, aud the chief plotters of this fla- 
 grant insult on the American people; were rewarded 
 with insignia, offices and distinctions, carried out to 
 Mexico, by the successive Viceroy Venegas. Such was 
 the origin and commencement of those disorders and 
 
 * The principal occurrences connected with this affair, are detail- 
 ed, at full length, in the Rovolucton de Mexico, the work before re^ 
 ferred to. The principal object of the author, appears to have been 
 a defence of the viceroy, and an explanation of the material causes 
 which produced open enmity on the part of the Creoles in New Spaio, 
 
121 
 
 intestine divisions, which first began to spread open en- 
 mity between the Europeans and Americans in Mexico; 
 and afterwards, gave rise t© the numerous evils, which, 
 so fast, spread in that unhappy section of the Spanish 
 American continent, and so soon filled it, with ravages 
 and destruction. It was this impolicy and injustice, on 
 the part of the Europeans there, and the government at 
 home, which first convinced the Creoles of the insult- 
 ing extremity of their sufferings, and renewed the irri- 
 tating sense of their actual and varied oppression. In 
 this particular, the sentiments and feelings of each sec- 
 tion, have been alike; though their open display has 
 been more immediately excited, by ditFerent concurrent 
 circumstances and local causes. The origin has been 
 the same, though the features and the results, in some 
 measure, have varied. 
 
 § The situation of the Peninsula, though more melan- 
 choly and alarming, was not so perplexed and doubtful, 
 as that of the various sections of Spanish America. The 
 distance at which they were placed, created a gloomy 
 suspence; they knew not the fate which awaited them; 
 they were ignorant what political changes were reserved 
 for them ; whether they were to be bartered to a new 
 master, and thrown into the scale of political compensa- 
 tion, — whether the transfer and alienation to France,was 
 to be carried into effect, — whether they had been made 
 the price of British co-operation, — whether the princess 
 of the Brazils, was to be their future sovereign, and, in 
 short, whether they were to be left a prey to the despo- 
 tism of the popular demagogues at home. In the mean 
 time, the bosom of the whole country, was torn asunder 
 by parties and factions \ and discontent, and distrust. 
 
422^ 
 
 reigned iQ every order of society; The audiencias, were 
 plotting to supplant the viceregal power, every one was 
 ambitious of command, and, at the same time, the 
 people were at the will and mercy, of men, who, besides, 
 being strangers to the land, were neither possessed of 
 their choice, nor vested with their respect or confidence. 
 They were aware, that, in the United States, a wide 
 plan for their political subjection, had been organized, — 
 that General Dalmivart, had already penetrated to the 
 interior provinces of Texas, — that, besides, the nu- 
 merous orders and confirmations of powers, sent out to 
 the governors, bishops, &c. by the council of the Indies, 
 and besides the proclamations filled with venom against 
 Ferdinand ; they knew that crosses of the legion of honour, 
 bad also been prepared by the French, for a long list of 
 worthies, then amongst them. They were informed, that 
 the Portuguese court, had long had pretensions on that 
 part of Spanish America, which borders on the Brasils; 
 and that even in 180S, acrimonious disputes were pending, 
 "respecting their large innovations on the Spanish territory. 
 They were not ignorant, that the princess of the Brasils, 
 a& infanta of Spain, sought to be made regent of the mo- 
 narchy of her absent brother; that she was corresponding 
 with various sections of Spanish America, in order to 
 sound their chiefs and further her views; in short, the 
 Spanish Americans had reason to expect, overtures and 
 emissaries from Napoleon, the Duke de Berg, Joseph, the 
 king of Naples, the princess of the Brazils, and they were 
 moreover^ uncertain, as to the conduct and views of the 
 British. 
 
 They, also, well remembered, that they had been, long, 
 under doubt and uncertainty, as to the eituatiou and stabi- 
 
123 
 
 fity of the government at home; that when the pro- 
 visional changes took place in the Peninsula, deputies 
 from the central Junta of Seville, had been sent amongst 
 them, urging the supremacy of that body, and demanding 
 their acknowledgement and remittances. Shortly after, 
 they remembered that the viceroy had received dispatches 
 from the Asturian deputies, then in London, demanding 
 the same pre-eminence, and expecting the same obedience 
 and supplies; and now they beheld these late idols of the 
 Spanish people, dashed to the ground, and that it wa& 
 uncertain, what kind of government was to succeed them. 
 At home, they were sensible that every- thing was mutual 
 distrust, discord and misfortune; and th^t ambition, rather 
 than patriotism, had, hitherto, actuated the conduct of the 
 principal government of the Peninsula. They had seen the 
 Central Junta, which owed its existence to a concentra- 
 tion of the provincial ones, (though effected in an irre*» 
 gular way;) had plotted the overthrow of those very 
 same bodies, from whence it derived its supposed origin. 
 They had beheld, the basest means employed by itsniem- 
 bers, in order to extend and enlarge their command; and 
 they had seen them resort to every undue measure, in 
 order to prolong and consolidate their power, and for the 
 purpose of securing to themselves, a complete despotism 
 over their fellow-citizens. The council of Castile, was 
 known to have been plotting against the Central Junta 
 of Seville, this against that of Valencia, Asturias, Sec. ; 
 in short, they had experienced, that no regular, ac* 
 knQwledged, or legal government, existed in the Pe- 
 ninsula; and they had seen with their own eyes, that 
 the chiefs in the American provinces, changed masters, 
 as fast as the Protean shape of the Peninsular govern- 
 ment, variedj^ 
 
124 
 
 In the mean time, a tremendous crisis, impended 
 over the fate of the Peninsula; the supposed impregna- 
 ble passes of the Sierra Morena, had been forced ; on 
 every side the national troops were dispersed, and the 
 generals, attributed the losses and misfortunes of the 
 armies, to the ineptitude of the provisional central go- 
 vernment. No sooner had this been driven from Seville, 
 and dispersed, than it was accused of despotism, mal- 
 versation, corruption, inexperience, negligence; and 
 even, of corresponding and siding with the French. 
 The battle of Ocana, appeared to have put a seal to the 
 fate of Spain, 50,000 French, are already spread on the 
 plains of Andalusia, and dismay was painted in every 
 countenance. Amidst such general confusion, even the 
 local and provisional Junta of Seville, creates itself into 
 a sovereign, circulates orders throughout the whole 
 kingdom to assemble fresh deputies; and even sends 
 couriers to Cadiz, to arrest the members of the late Cen- 
 tral Junta, or to kill them. The president and vice-pre- 
 sident, were seized in Xeres, and with difficulty escaped 
 with their lives ; in short, such was the odium attatched 
 to the members of this government, and such the influ- 
 ence of the factious, that any one who had undertaken 
 their defence, would have been held as a traitor to his 
 country.* 
 
 The above is the picture of the state of the Penin- 
 sular government, about the beginning of January, 1810, 
 as drawn by a Spaniard, who has publicly taken to him- 
 self, the character of impartial, and such is the corres- 
 ponding report of public affairs, at the time above- 
 mentioned. We will next proceed to examine what 
 
 * Estrada, Exameo Imparcial, Part l\ 
 
125 
 
 kind of a governing system originated out of the wreck 
 of the Central Junta, in conformity to its decree of 29th 
 of January, 1810, issued in La Isla de Leon. 
 
 ** At length, after great dangers and difficulties, the 
 members of the Central Junta, collect in La Isla; where, 
 filled with dread, and without energy to determine on 
 the continuation of their command, during the fews days 
 which remained till the assembling of the Cortes; in the 
 midst of obscurity, furtively, and without the requisite 
 powers, they elect a Regency of five persons; who, how 
 great so ever might have been their private virtues, were, 
 doubtlessly, very little fit, to fulfill the duties of the 
 ministry now confided to them. Without having suffi- 
 cient courage to cause this Regency to be acknowledged, 
 they (the central numbers) put it in the full exercise of 
 its public functions, and all determine to leave that 
 point, in order to escape the fury of the people.*" Such, 
 also, is the picture of that same government, the Spa- 
 nish Americans w^ere called upon, blindly, and submis- 
 sively, to obey; and such is the origin of that same 
 Regency, which afterwards declared war against them, 
 because they did not conceive it conformable to their 
 political interests, and general safety, to cringe, and bow 
 their abject heads, to a set of new despots, created out 
 of the worst and most execrable government, that ever 
 insulted the rights of a people, or abused the exigencies 
 of a state.t 
 
 * Estrada Id. Id. 
 
 + It is a fact, that the Junta of Cadiz,^shut the port, in order that 
 the news of this confusion and dilemma in the afikirs of the Peninsula, 
 raijht not reach to the other side of the Atlantic, 
 
no 
 
 After presenting my reader, with this faithful picture 
 of the respective situations of the Peninsula, at the two 
 periods of time, before prefixed ; I would now ask him, 
 in candour, and, in sincerity, whether it Avas, either 
 reasonable, or just, for the distant provinces of America, 
 to continue as the servile slaves of these crest fallen de- 
 qnagogues; or whether it w^as wise, for them to be made 
 the submissive tools of five individuals, who had sprung 
 into power, out of the choice and nomination of men, at that 
 very time, covered with universal execration ? Was it con- 
 formable to the real interests of European or American 
 Spain, or, even, of England, for this valuable quarter of the 
 ^world, to remain subservient to the nod of a government, 
 founded on illiberality, illegal in its essence, now infected 
 with the contagion of monopoly, and awed by the interest 
 of the trading port, in which it had just taken refuge? 
 ♦Nay, at the moment of such an eventful period to Euro- 
 pean Spain, and during such an existing exigence in the 
 whole world, was it rational, for the rights, liberties, and 
 security of the Spanish American provinces, to be any 
 longer, insulted by the governmental forces, that had been, 
 hitherto, representing in the Peninsula; or was it politic, 
 that the improveable, but long neglected regions, to which 
 I allude, should, in such critical circumstances, as those 
 just described, still remain enslaved, outraged, and ag- 
 grieved by an ephemeral government, desirous only to 
 prolong their degradation? I leave it, to the upright and 
 impartial in every clime, and in every situation, to draw 
 his own conclusions; fully convinced as I am, in my own 
 breast, after a patient research through dubious and con. 
 tradictory authorities, that I have not only been correct 
 and faithful in my preceding delineations of events and 
 
127 
 
 circumstances; but that the main point of the whole 
 question, now at issue, is, whether the Spanish Ameri' 
 canSf in such moments of danger, distrust, and despou" 
 de?icy, did, or did not^ do right, in thus changing (for 
 the time being J their local government, and placing the 
 administration of their own affairs, in the hands of men, 
 possessed of their trust and confidence 9 
 
 § These essential premises being established, it now 
 remains for me to examine, what was the species of 
 government which the laws of Spain enact, as well as 
 the annals of her national history, prescribe, for cala- 
 mities, like that which had befallen the Spanish mo- 
 narchy of both hemispheres ; and next, whether it was 
 such as the Spanish Americans, equally, adopted. I have, 
 previously, quoted some of the fundamental laws of 
 Castile, which ordain the assembling of the three estates 
 of the realm, in all cases of great emergency and national 
 misfortune. This axiom is, moreover, fully authorized, 
 by the spirit of the Spanish history, by many precedents, 
 f?nd, recently, by the conduct of the whole provinces of the 
 Peninsula. When the functions of the crown, were there 
 unfortunately suspended, the various provinces, immedi- 
 ately placed their confidence in Juntas, and vested in 
 them, the administration of their affairs; with full powers 
 to call forth the resources of the districts under their ju- 
 risdiction, and promote their security and defence. Not- 
 withstanding, however, this measure of prudence, there 
 existed in each, a captabi-general, and an audiencia, or 
 other equivalent authorities, constituted by the king; 
 but still, these were not sufficient, even, for local pur- 
 poses. For the general guidance and government of 
 the realm, a concentration of these provincial Juntas, 
 
1^ 
 
 was esteemed most conducive to the welfare of the states 
 and if this concentration, had, only, been made, in a due 
 and consistent manner, (and it was not, as will, here- 
 after be fully shewn) the hopes of the country, would, 
 never, have been so much frustrated. 
 
 Notwithstanding this new measure, the council of 
 Castile, nevertheless, existed; as well as of the Indies; 
 but to neither, was the management of the nation, con- 
 fided. Yet, in their respective jurisdictions, at home> 
 they each exercised an authority, infinitely superior to 
 the viceroys, captain-generals, and audiencias, in Ame^ 
 rica ; for, in fact, they represented the supreme power, 
 as well as the person of the king. Still, they were 
 overlooked in the new arrangements, and the people of 
 the Peninsula, considered that the Council of Castile, 
 was not adequate, to fill up the void newly created 
 between them, and the sovereign. And what greater 
 reasons existed in America, for the inhabitants to trust 
 their all, in the hands of local viceroys, captain-generals, 
 and audiencias, under the guidance of the council of the. 
 Indies at home ? Ler us call for the test of fact and expe- 
 rience, and thereby ascertain, what fresh proofs of probi- 
 ty, rectitude, and sincerity, there existed in them, at the 
 precise period referred to, more than had been evinced by 
 the governors of the European provinces, or by the 
 council of Castile, when the form of government was 
 changed. The general conduct of the transmarine autho- 
 rities has been, already, pointed out, and as for the Coun- 
 cil of the Indies, from the time of the Spanish revolu- 
 tion, in its plans for the well-being of the country, over 
 which it presided, it had done nothing more, than send 
 over orders, and full confirmations to the powers of the 
 
129 
 
 thiefs and bishops in office there, as the best means, to 
 insure subservience to Napoleon. 
 
 § In Europe, we have seen both of these councils, under 
 the necessity of submitting, first to the Central Junta, 
 then to the Regency, and tifterwards, to the national 
 Cortes. And in w^hat way was the loss of the king, to be 
 supplied in America ? In the annals of Castile, no traces 
 or precedent of a monarch having been, surreptitiously, 
 taken from amidst his subjects, is to be found ; conse- 
 quently, such a case as the present, was, in like manner, 
 novel in the history of Spanish America ; since, from the 
 time of the conquest, the kings had, always remained in 
 the bosom of the nation, respected and obeyed by all its 
 members. Yet, in all cases of emergency, as before es- 
 tablished, the laws of Castile ordain, that the representa- 
 tives of the people, be assembled; and, by express sta- 
 tutes, it is further enacted, that in all cases of minority^ 
 the regents of the realniy and the tutors of the infant heir 
 to the crown, be named by a general Congress, for that 
 purpose assembled. And is not the seizure of the royal 
 person, (by which an interregnum, together with all the 
 weighty and momentous consequences of an actual mi- 
 nority, have been produced to the whole nation of both 
 hemispheres), a case equally arduous, important and ca- 
 lamitous ? Spanish America, by the fullest and most ex- 
 press acts of the Spanish legislature, had been annexed 
 to the crown of Castile, as already proved, whose laws 
 and statutes, were there equally binding; and the mo- 
 narchical constitution, had been,likewise, extended there 
 to. In addition to this, by an express enactment, it is 
 directed, that the viceroys and governors, provide for and 
 determine in all general matters, within their jurisdiction 
 
 I 
 
130 
 
 but, always consult arduous matters, with the Real Acuer- 
 do,* Consequently, in such cases, the viceroy was not 
 the sole arbiter, nor, could so monstrous a system of le- 
 gislation, be imagined, as one tliat left to the direction of 
 a single individual, the fate of a large and detached sec- 
 tion of a nation, when the whole was surrounded by im- 
 minent dangers, and convulsed by a variety of contend- 
 ing and clashing interests. 
 
 A local Junta, in the provinces of Spanish America, 
 was not a novel occurrence, or one, unauthorised by pre- 
 cedent. The earliest annals of New Spain, record an 
 instSLUce of 2in Ai/untamiento J or Junta, being assembled in 
 an emergent case. Cortes, not trusting to the powers 
 and nomination of generalissimo, he had received from 
 Diego Velasquez, captain-general of Cuba, delivered 
 them up, together with his commission, into the hands 
 of a Junta, in Villarica, and received from that body, a 
 fresh confirmation, the legitimacy of which, was never 
 questioned, either by Velasquez, or Narvaez,although hi* 
 most deadly enemies. A local Junta, also, governed the 
 whole kingdom of New Spain, immediately after its con- 
 quest and pacification ; for the audiencia did not go out 
 till the year 1529, nor the first viceroy, till 1534, In a 
 royal cedula, issued in Madrid, 6th June, 1664, it is, 
 moreover, ordered, that the viceroys consult arduous mat- 
 ters in a general Junta, this is, therefore, a full acknow- 
 ledgment of their legality. This mode, of, provisionally, 
 conducting the affairs of government, is still more ex- 
 pressly established in another royal cedula, dated Ma- 
 drid, 24th June, 1766. In the beginning of the last cen- 
 
 * Recop. Ley, Ind. ley 45. lit. 5. lil). 3. 
 
131 
 
 tury, a Junta was formed in Mexico,* for the purpose of 
 consulting weighty and important matters relating to the 
 state ; particularly, respecting a diminution in the price 
 of quicksilver, which, from being a monopoly of the 
 crown, was out of the jurisdiction of the viceroy ; and, 
 even at the period of the governmental changes in the 
 ultramarine provinces,a superior Junta of finance existed, 
 independent of the viceroy and audiencia. In short, the 
 plan of Juntas, is not, only, the most reasonable means of 
 establishing unanimity and confidence, and providing for 
 public security in extraordinary cases ; but is, also,, in 
 strict accord with the laws and usages of the whole na- 
 tion, and conformable to its most recent precedents. 
 Had not this been the case, a viceroy, in charge of an 
 American province, would, scarcely, have recommended 
 such a measure to his own detriment, and with so much 
 responsibility on his shoulders; nor could he, when sur- 
 rounded by all his councils, have committed so egregious 
 an oversight, in the application of the laws, and usages 
 of his own nation. 
 
 Valencia and Seville, as before noticed,were, equally, 
 conquests of the crown of Castile; yet they were 
 allowed to adopt this measure ; and the Junta of the 
 latter, did more, it undertook to exact obedience from 
 the entire provinces of both hemispheres. The sections 
 of America, in altering their local governments, had for 
 object, to provide for their own safety, and to put an 
 end to the reign of doubt and uncertainty; and most as- 
 suredly, the bsst means of answering this end, was by 
 cetnenting thd fidelity of the people afresh, also by esta- 
 
 * Coraenlario de las ordenanzas de raineria, cap. l.fol.25 
 
 i2 
 
blishing an union of intentions and wishes; and tPi-aaP 
 transfusing harmony through each order of society. 
 These objects, in the Spanish Americans, were a thou- 
 sand times mor£ prudent and reasonable, than the con- 
 duct of the governments of European Spain, in over- 
 turning the fundamental Mws of the entire monarchy, in 
 divesting the king of his sovereignty, and in waging an 
 unjust and intemperate war, against half his subjects. 
 The only material difference, which existed between the 
 two parts of the monarchy, at the above parallel of time, 
 was, that one was under an invasion, and the other was 
 not; but were the American provinces to wait, till ar- 
 mies were landed on their shores, before they provided 
 for their security; or were they, in like manner, to be 
 roused from their slumber, by the very same storm 
 bursting upon them, which had, already, laid waste the 
 Peninsula? When the news of the melancholy situation 
 of Spain, at the beginning of 1810, reached them, they 
 conceived that the seal had been irrevocably put to her 
 fate; and that this circumstance, alone, with a small 
 degree of address on the part of the French, was suffi- 
 cient to render the Peninsula, a powerful instrument in 
 their own subjection; and even independent of this cir- 
 cumstance, which their own chiefs, besides, lead them 
 to believe as inevitable; if the French squadron, which 
 about that time, left the port of Rochefort, had reached 
 its proposed destination, what would have been the 
 situation of New Spain ? 
 
 § In taking this general review of the situation of Eu- 
 ropean and American Spain, at the period of these two 
 remarkable transactions in their political conduct; it is, 
 at ilie same time, necessary, in order, clearly, to mani- 
 
133 
 
 fest the urgent motives which induced the provinces of 
 ■the latter, to change, for the time being, their form of 
 government, to examine the particular state of the so- 
 ciety in Spanish America, and also to bear in mind, the 
 numerous privations under which its inhabitants labour- 
 tjd. The general system of government practised in the 
 whole of that country, in consequence of a long accu- 
 mulation of abuses, was, according to the outline al- 
 ready given, rather suited to support and procure a de- 
 gree of sovereignty and dependence, than to promote 
 the prosperity, improvement, and happiness of the peo- 
 ple governed. The most galling of all these privations, 
 was, however, that, by which the Creoles were excluded 
 from a participation in all offices of trust or dignity, for 
 they had, certainly, long beheld with irritated feelings, 
 that foreign Samaritans had come amongst them, ex- 
 clusively to enjoy the waters of the well of Jacob, and to 
 whose portion alone, fell the fat of the land. They had, 
 nevertheless, waited with patience, for two years, yet 
 no effective relief had been procured them; nay, their 
 situation had been rendered worse; for besides their old 
 aggravations, they now beheld their countiy filled with 
 denunciations, espionage, arrests, prosecutions, banish- 
 ments, &c. principally levelled at themselves; and which, 
 not only tended to infuse alarm and disgust into the bo- 
 soms of the inhabitants, but, also, strongly, to alienate 
 their minds, from the immediate authors of such scenes. 
 The distance at which the transatlantic provinces 
 were, moreover, placed, the many stratagems used to de- 
 ceive them, by the circulation of incorrect and exagger- 
 ated accounts, had greatly contributed to fill them with 
 uncertainty and dilemma; they beheld disasters succeed 
 
134 
 
 the first victories gained by the patriotic arms ; they saw 
 their treasury exhausted, and that the enemy had already 
 over-ran the best provinces of the Peninsula, and had 
 shut up the wreck of an impotent government, within 
 the walls of Cadiz.- The chiefs, who, so lately, had 
 placed themselves at the head of the nation, were now 
 dispersed and covered with ignominy; and they heard 
 that the Central Junta, which, not long ago, had been 
 pronounced a paternal and beneficent government, had 
 now all the disasters of the nation laid to its charge; and 
 yet it was plain, that the succeeding government, was no 
 ether than a committee of the preceding one, with no 
 more than the delegated power of its predecessors. They 
 beheld, on the other hand, that two years had produced 
 no alteration in their own degraded state; that in conse- . 
 quence'of intrigue, and the influence of the French over 
 their own chiefs, they were running the same risks, as 
 were the inhabitants of the Peninsula, from open force. 
 Under such circumstances as these, could it be pro- 
 nounced treason, or rebellion, in the distant provinces, 
 to choose men of their own confidence ; in order to su- 
 perintend their local administration, to watch over their 
 welfare, and to remove, or reform, the most crying of 
 the privations under which they had so long groaned? 
 To effect these necessary and reasonable purposes, they 
 imitate the example of the mother-country; and they 
 establish a provisional government, during the absence 
 of the monarch, or till the general government of the 
 realm, was organized on a new and legal basis. 
 
 It had, candidly, been confessed by the new go- 
 vernments of the Peninsula, on assuming their functions, 
 that the late defective administration of the Ma drid ca- 
 
135 
 
 binet, had opened the gate to the French, and brought 
 abjection to the whole monarchy. And might not the 
 same evils in Spanish America, have produced conse- 
 quences, equally serious. Was it, there, also, as in the 
 •Peninsula, that reforms were to be delayed, till the re- 
 medies would be of no avail? Reform, was, then, as 
 necessary in the one, as it was in the other, even as a 
 means of prevention; and independent of right and jus- 
 tice, in such critical moments, to aggravate its denial, by 
 fresh wrongs, was not only dangerous and impolitic, but, 
 was, also, unjust and criminal. The European Spaniards, 
 considered reform as the second grand object for which 
 they were fighting; this alone, aided by loyalty, render- 
 ed their country worth defending, and the idea that their 
 former degradation was to return, would have extingu- 
 ished the bright and animated flame, which burst forth 
 on the opening of their glorious cause, and would have 
 rendered despondence general. Why then were the 
 transmarine provinces, which doubtlessly required re- 
 form in a double degree, and which were, at the same 
 time, contributing their wealth and resources for the 
 united object of all, alone, to be excluded from an alle- 
 viation of their wrongs? The fiscal laws, had, there, 
 reduced the country to the impoverished state at which 
 it then stood, and had rendered the choicest productions 
 of nature, of no value; yet, at the very instant, the Spa^ 
 nish Americans were about to receive some alleviation, 
 by trade being opened to them, the Cadiz Regency or- 
 dains, that its own decree, should be revoked and pub- 
 licly burnt;* because it was offensive to the monopo- 
 lists cf that trading port. 
 
 * Vide Regency decree, Cadiz, June 27, 1810, and this impo- 
 litic measure fully discussed in El Espanol, London, No. 4, page 305. 
 
136 
 
 Itwas both the interest and honour of the inhabitants 
 of the transatlantic provinces, (and as an eye-witness, 
 and \vith substantial documents in my hand, I can aver 
 my assertion to be true) to give all the aid and succour 
 in their power, to the patriotic cause of the Peninsula,as 
 long as viras consistent with their own safety ; but, in re- 
 turn, it was, undoubtedly, the duty of the government 
 of the latter, to throw to the ground, that improvident 
 and unjust system, by which the former had been so 
 long governed. The Spanish government, by being 
 wanting in this essential and primary duty, not only 
 placed the Spanish Americans, under the necessity of 
 looking to themselves; but, by declaring a hasty and in- 
 temperate war against them, also authorised the attitude 
 in which the latter have placed themselves, in order to 
 defend their own rights. Consequently, the former, is, 
 alone, answerable for all the fatal results. The Central 
 Junta, at a moment when pecuniary succours were 
 wanted, and fearful that the transmarine provinces, 
 might be endangered, amidst the general confusion, and 
 dismay, likely to spread abroad, did, indeed, decree, that 
 the Spanish American provinces, formed an equal and 
 integral part of the Spanish monarchy, but this appeai-s, 
 rather, to have been a messure of expediency or flattery, 
 than an attempt at redress ; for the decree was never 
 acted upon, but was left to die away of itself, or to be 
 disavowed by the opposite conduct of the successive 
 governments. 
 
 This theoretical, rather than practical, step, was 
 not, however, necessary, to stimulate the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans, to acts of loyalty and generosity ; for, as before 
 proved, the first, was the general sentiment that mani- 
 
137 
 
 feted itself on the opening of the cause in Europe ; and, 
 in order, to prove the second, I have only to add, that, 
 during the administration of the Central Junta, ninety n^il- 
 lions of dollars, were sent over from all the transmarine 
 provinces, of which the section of Mexico, alone, fur- 
 nished fifty-five. A very large proportion of these funds, 
 were, besides, private donations, or belonged to local es- 
 tablishments, and, consequently, not the property of the 
 crown. Were all these effective demonstrations on their 
 part, therefore, deserving of no consideration at home ? 
 Empty declarations of nomirnal equality, when opposed 
 to practice, could be considered as nothing else, than as a 
 snare ; and, could, of course, by no means, satisfy the 
 justice, and restore and secure the rights of those, who 
 had so long suffered. Similar promises and offers, on pa- 
 per, but, unaccompanied by practice and effect, resemble 
 the two algebraical terms of plus and minus y which, mu- 
 tually destroy each other, and leave the result as nothing. 
 Even if such declarations in intention and in theory, had 
 been sincere, (and time has proved them to have been the 
 reverse) the delay of their full and effective execution, 
 on the iliost frivolous pretexts, too plainly evinces, that 
 the motives, under which they were made, were ambi- 
 guous ; and their want of practical realization, proves, 
 the disdain and unfair manner, in which the Spanish 
 Americans have been dealt with. 
 
 § The insurrections in Spanish America, have, in this 
 country, by many, been viewed in an unfavourable light, 
 from being supposed, in some measure, to be analagous 
 to the French revolution, whose horrors, both recent and 
 great, have, deservedly, excited the disgust and resent- 
 ment of every sober nation. This opinion of the Spa- 
 
138 
 
 nish American transactions, is, however, exremely, in- 
 correct and unfounded ; and has only originated from 
 gross misconceptions, arising out of the complexity and 
 obscurity of a subject, hitherto, unexplained to the pub- 
 Jic. In the revolution of France, we had before us, the 
 fatal consequences and atrocious effects, of extending 
 licence beyond what its votaries could bear; but in the 
 insurrections of Spanish America, we have beheld a sti- 
 mulus of action, both just and respectable, and the accom- 
 panying movements, have not been similar. Though 
 ' many scenes of confusion, and some instances of cruelty, 
 have occurred, the ones, have, nevertheless, not hindered 
 considerable improvements in the governing system,where 
 any thing regular has been established ; and the others, 
 have not been wanton, or when sanguinary, have not been 
 instigated by any other motive, than retaliation, as will 
 be more fully understood, when I subjoin my abridged 
 detail of the horrors apd havoc, which have desolated 
 the several regions of the unfortunate Spanish Columbia. 
 If the situation of those sections, where the governmen- 
 tal changes, have had a fair, though yet partial means of 
 operating, had not been, thereby, bettered ; many of the 
 accusations brought forward by the monopolists of Ca- 
 diz, and which, have, in some measure, produced 
 amongst us an unwarranted stigma, might have had 
 their due weight ; but the political and social state of 
 Buenos Ayres and Chili, the only two sections from which 
 any limited inference can be drawn, have materially chang- 
 ed for the better, as will, hereafter, be fully considered, 
 § The facts I have, so far, related, respecting the views 
 and intentions of the Spanish Americans, in their res- 
 pective governmental changes. I now leave to the un- 
 
 ; 
 
139 
 
 unbiassed conclusions of British minds; ftdly sensi- 
 ble, that these transactions, will never warrant the 
 charges of disloyalty, ingratitude, or of sinister, or un- 
 lawful proceedings. The preceding description of the 
 relative bearing and position of affairs, sufficiently ma- 
 nifests the grounds on which the transmarine provinces, 
 then acted ; and this material point being once establish- 
 ed, and in exact conformity to the events as they occur- 
 red, it results, that the original views of the Spanish 
 Americans, in deposing their own chiefs, and establish- 
 ing provincial Juntas, were excited by the alarm, spread 
 amongst them, in consequence of the hopeless-situation 
 of the Peninsula* They were urged by the immediate, 
 evident, and general despondence, which every where 
 reigned, and by distrust in the government at home, 
 and in the chiefs, who were then in office, amongst them. 
 These, with a variety of local and more pressing causes, 
 were the radical and primordial motives, which stimu- 
 lated their conduct ; but, in addition to all, they felt, 
 heavily, the fatal effects of their bad plans of govern- 
 ment, and its galling oppression, which had grown into 
 a most degrading system, to which they saw there was 
 no end. They laboured under a total suspension of com- 
 merce; and the aggravated weight of domestic tyranny, 
 had, daily, more and more, irritated and roused their 
 feelings ; for they looked round and beheld other nations, 
 their neighbours, and even the colonies of European 
 powers, situated on their own shores, happy, prosperous, 
 and possessed of civil liberty, whilst they, alone, were 
 to have their old and abject degradation prolonged. They 
 pondered on the prospect before them, and scarcely a 
 bright or cheerful shade, was found in the melancholy 
 picture, that rose before their troubled sight. 
 
 ITHIVliESITt)) 
 
140 
 
 The great instruments destined to carry on the colo- 
 lonial system of Spain, were the viceroys and captain- 
 generals; and consequently, it was natural, that they 
 should be the first to feel the blow. That the Spanish 
 Americans, could, no longer, remain cold spectators of 
 the fate preparing for them, or tamely submit to be made 
 over to the French, much less, endure the fresh insults 
 heaped upon them; was the natural result of their long 
 injured, but not abject, feelings; their resentment was 
 of course, directed against their rulers, as the persons 
 intrusted with the machinations of Buonaparte. Their 
 removal was, thence, resolved upon; but they were di- 
 vested of their commands, in the most quiet and consti- 
 tutional manner possible; and Juntas were established 
 to represent their authority, on exactly the same plans, 
 as those of Oviedo, Seville, and the other provinces of 
 the Peninsula. The Juntas of the transmarine provinces, 
 were, therefore, exact prototypes of those of Spain; 
 they were created under similar circumstances, and I 
 can with confidence assert, that had the Cadiz Regency, 
 at this time, and the Cortes afterwards, when they first 
 entered on their national functions, and as urged by the 
 American deputies therein, only, then, confirmed these 
 same Juntas, as authorities constituted in conformity to 
 the laws, and the urgency of actual circumstances; nay, 
 had this local administration, been granted to the Ameri- 
 cans,' for the time being, and with only a partial redress 
 of the most galling grievances, the horrors, anarchy, and 
 bloodshed, which have since followed, might have been 
 avoided, and cordiality might have been preserved. 
 
 § The Cadiz Regency, that had, by this time, created 
 itself into a Sovereign power,and though chosen for a tem- 
 
141 
 
 porary purpose, sought the prolongation of its command ; 
 instead of entering into the feelings of the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans, and weighing, well, the circumstances which had 
 stimulated their conduct, declares war, and orders mea- 
 sures of a strict blockade against Caracas ; from whence, 
 as being the nearest section of America, the news of the 
 recent governmental changes, had been received. This 
 declaration of war and of blockade, is dated August 31, 
 1810 ; and from its being the first link of that long chain 
 of impolitic and unjust measures, which have, at length, 
 produced open enmity, I add it in my Appendix D, in 
 order that my reader may judge for himself. This being, 
 however, the primary source, and real cause of all the 
 subsequent calamities, it is necessary to subjoin some ex- 
 planatory remarks. 
 
 The motives of the Spanish American provinces, in 
 changing their respective governments, have, already been 
 manifested, literally, as they occurred, and, as explained 
 in the declarations of each. In Spain, the same motives 
 had authorised the institution of Juntas,and a murmur was 
 not heard ; yet the same measure in Spanish America, pro- 
 duces a declaration of war, on one part of the monarchy 
 against the other. In what way, can this be reconciled ? 
 As an exterior form, and, perhaps, as a snare ; but, at the 
 same time, with substantial grounds, the ultramarine 
 provinces, by a royal decree, dated 22d Jan. 1809, had 
 been declared integral and equal parts of the Spanish 
 monarchy ; this had been confirmed, by a fresh decree of 
 May 22, same year; and again, by proclamation of the 
 Central Junta, on January 1, 1810. This was, still, no 
 more, than a just restitution of sacred, but long invaded 
 rights, as fully pointed out, in the early stages of this 
 
14a 
 
 production. Why, then, is Spanish America, to be pre^ 
 eluded from consulting her own safety, and promot- 
 ing her own welfare, in a way not only conformable to 
 the laws and precedents, but also, sanctioned by most 
 recent example ? The existing Regency, was no more 
 than a committee of the Central Junta ; this had decreed 
 Spanish America to be equal, in rights, with the Penin- 
 sula; and, now, the former, by its decree, again, public- 
 ly, divests them of this right Whence, then, this pal- 
 pable contradiction ? The small island of Majorca, was 
 allowed to assemble a Junta, for its own local administra- 
 tion, and no complaint was ever uttered. Why, then all 
 this partiality ? To the fact. The government had now been 
 removed from Seville to Cadiz, and in their plans and 
 of reform, the Americans sought to rend asunder their 
 trammels on trade. The Cadiz merchants, trembled for 
 their monopolies, and the Regency, by this time, had be- 
 come the tool of their extravagant pretensions, and the 
 instrument of their injustice. 
 
 As a specious pretext to this public outrage, and in 
 order to gloss over their arbitrary conduct, the Regents 
 declare, that the people of Caracas, had made themselves 
 independent of the mother-country , and created a go-^ 
 verning Junta, to exercise a supposed independent au- 
 thority ; when, at the same time, nothing of the kind 
 had either been attempted or manifested. But it was 
 necessary, to give some plea for so flagrant an act of in- 
 justice, and such an abuse of power; and the Cadiz mo- 
 nopolists, and the ravings of a mercenary war faction, 
 were, not long, in defining the nature of the colouring, 
 that was to be given to so intemperate a measure. If 
 the self constituted Regents of Spain, then, charged their 
 
143 
 
 distant fellow- subjects, with rebellion, treason, and in- 
 gratitude, the only motives which could authorize a 
 war; they ought to have been confronted and heard, 
 and the illegality of their views, ought to have been 
 made known, by strong and deliberative evidence. Be- 
 fore one half of the nation, declared war against the 
 other, the reasons ought to have been explained, the 
 circumstances cleared up, and above all, unwise and 
 dangerous self-delusion, ought never to have been the 
 motive of so important a rupture. The cold blooded 
 fury, and the mercenary malice of faction, ought never 
 to have influenced or guided the actions of a govern- 
 ment, that pretended, not only, to render the Spanish 
 monarchy powerful and effective, but, also, to regener- 
 ate its abject subjects; nor should it ever have been 
 guilty of an injustice, which involved a direct contra- 
 diction to the promises made to the suffering inhabitants 
 of a country, that had given such long, and sin<;ere 
 proofs of attatchment and recent loyalty. It was that 
 political power, these Regents, then, arrogated to them- 
 selves, beyond the limits of their authority, which first 
 disturbed the just equipoise of the state, and shook that 
 ancient fraternity, which, by length of time, had grown 
 into a degree of habitual dependence, between Euro- 
 pean Spain, and Spanish America. 
 
 § By an unfortunate combinationof circumstances, if 
 the policy of Spain in this particular, was improvident, 
 illiberal, and unjust, that of the British government, 
 also, does not appear to have been, sufficiently, firm, 
 decided, or enlightened. From the very moment, we 
 entered into our treaty with European Spain, of which 
 sincerity was the acknowledged basis, we lost sight of 
 
144 
 
 Spanish America, whom we seemed no longer to re- 
 gard, as soon as we were ea&y on the score of the French* 
 Mutual sincerity had been pledged, yet the ingredient of 
 mutual confidence,seemed entirely excluded. We appear 
 to have been afraid, of convincing Spain, of the error she 
 was then committing, or of reminding her, of the heavy 
 consequences, she was about to brhig down,on her own 
 guilty head. If a rupture, with a large transatlantic po- 
 pulation, was a case novel in the Spanish historical an- 
 nals, it was not in our own; was there, then, no advice 
 that the experienced ministers of an allied nation, could, 
 at their most important juncture, have given; nay, was 
 there no good, which England might, not then, have 
 derived, out of the great and ponderous mass of evils, 
 thence about to result to Spain? Was this not the most 
 suitable moment to have stifled an increasing calamity, 
 which, w^e now see has, for upwards of four years, ger- 
 minated into a wide growth of public and private mi- 
 sery, and has spread its poisonous influence over the 
 whole monarchy ? 
 
 What sound policy, would, at that time, have dic- 
 tated, was plain and easy; for the dispositions of the 
 Spanish Americans, were avowed and public, and ap- 
 pearances could not be mistaken. They demanded re- 
 dress, not as a favour, but as a right to which they were 
 entitled; and in case of refusal, every thing announced, 
 that the movements would not be slight or temporary. 
 The general and animated features of the insurrections, 
 made it manifest, that palliatives could, no longer, be 
 employed with success; and the stages and probable 
 consequences of the events, were too alarming, to be 
 looked upon with indiflference. If delicacy and prudence 
 
145 
 
 made the British government, then, abstain from fo- 
 menting the insurrections in question; no motive of 
 policy, whatever, could authorize it, to suffer the Re- 
 gency of Cadiz, without the wishes of the nation being, 
 previously, known, to declare war against one half of the 
 monarchy, equally bound by a solemn treaty, particu- 
 larly in moments so pressing; nor could the British go- 
 vernment have been unaware, that it was a war, unjust 
 in its nature, and fraught with the most fatal conse- 
 quences to all parties. What renders this circumstance 
 the more astonishing, is, that this same Regency, avow- 
 edly, owed its existence, protection, and support, to 
 the influence of the governmental agents of England. 
 Both in European and American Spain, the creation of 
 this ephemeral government, after the dispersion of the 
 Central Junta, is known under the appellation of hechura 
 Ingleza (British make) the influencing or counteracting 
 of its acts, when unjust, was therefore, in a particular 
 manner, expected from a mutual ally; and beyond 
 doubt, in those moments, dexterous and energetic re- 
 monstrance, would have been successful. The triumph 
 of probity, good sense, and moderation, on this occa- 
 sion, would have redounded, more to the solid advan- 
 tage of England, and have produced more real benefits 
 to the entire Spanish monarchy, than any of the other 
 military or political transactions, in which we have been 
 engaged for its welfare. 
 
 It was the two undivided halves of the Spanish em- 
 pire, and constituting the whole nation, who were the 
 allies of England, and not the Regency of Cadiz, which 
 had been engendered, amidst the terror and dismay that 
 succeeded the flight of the Central Junta from Seville; 
 
 K 
 
146 
 
 and if five persons, illegally constituted, were on the 
 eve of committing an unjust, and impolitic act, against 
 one half of the nation whose sovereignty they had 
 usurped; if they were about to declare an unwarrantaJjle 
 war against it, and which would deluge it in blood, and 
 dvy up those resources, that were to give efficacy to the 
 exertions of the whole; who so well as England, their 
 mutual ally, and with equally as much at stake, could 
 with propriety step in between the irritated parties, and 
 insist on being their umpire ? It is honourable in a na- 
 tion, as it is in an individual, to be misled by the im- 
 pulse of expanded philanthropy, but to merit the op- 
 posite charge, each ought, equally, to avoid. The im- 
 mense havoc, that has ensued from the unfortunate mea- 
 sure here alluded to, might, then, have been easily cal- 
 culated on and foreseen; but it would almost appear, as 
 if both Spain and England, were envious of the profound 
 peace enjoyed in all the transmarine provinces; and as if 
 Spain, in flames by the hand of a deadly enemy, had 
 likewise hastened, to hurl on the quiet shores of Co- 
 lumbia, the same conflagration, by which she herself, 
 was fast consuming. 
 
 Had England, then, only used energy, talent, and 
 address ; had she held out to Spain, the example of dig- 
 nity, and true wisdom, and had she by sound and firm 
 reasoning, only silenced the ravings of a boisterous war 
 faction, according to the united testimony of both Spa- 
 niards and Americans, she would not, only, have been 
 successful, and averted this storm from bursting on her 
 ally, but she would, besides, have derived considerable 
 advantages to herself. She would, moreover, have, 
 then, really, maintained the integrity of the entire Spa- 
 
147 
 
 nish monarchy, to its unfortunate owner, and would, 
 likewise have secured to herself, the everlasting grati- 
 tude of its two component parts. England had claims 
 upon, and ties over the then existing Regency, which 
 from a variety of circumstances, she cannot have over 
 the present Cortes; and the Americans, with founded 
 motives, blame her for not using them in time, for the 
 good of all. The firm and decided interposition of the 
 British government, in order to hinder the decrees of 
 the Cadiz Regency against Caracas, would have cut the 
 evil to the root ; would have spared the blood which has 
 since flowed; would have warded off the general deso- 
 lation which has ensued; would have kept the nation 
 united ; and would also, have prevented the war of ex- 
 termination, now enkindled. By strongly urging the 
 sincerity of that treaty, which existed ; by a full gua- 
 rantee of the upright intentions of England; by, thus, 
 gently, leading the Spanish government by persuasion 
 and argument ; by enlightening the nation with regard 
 to its real interests ; and, in short, by convincing it of a 
 sense of what was right; we should, not only, have 
 given strength and duration to our alliance, and conso- 
 lidated it by an union of interests; but, we might, in 
 that case, have expected to see the entire monarchy of 
 Spain, rise superior to the adversities by which it was 
 beset 
 
 Instead of a hasty and intemperate war, the Spanish 
 Americans had every reason to expect a full investiga- 
 tion, and a fair, impartial, and independent exposure, of 
 those multiplied sources of wrong and hardship, under 
 which they had so long laboured. If the urgent state of 
 the mother country, did not, at that time, admit of formal 
 
 k2 
 
148 
 
 and tedious deliberations, they i\'ere, at least, entitled to 
 an immediate and willing redress of those most glaring 
 privations, by which, they had been so uniformly depress- 
 ed. If the government of Spain, had, then possessed 
 sufficient wisdom and energy, to second the manifest 
 wishes of the transatlantic provinces, in sueing for an es- 
 sential reform; if gratitude, equity, and good faith, had, 
 then, triumphed over the enfuriated yells of an inconsi- 
 derate war faction; if the conduct of Spain, had been 
 confined within the sober range of rational hope, and had 
 only laid aside, its deluding intoxication, then, and only 
 then, might Spain have been made strong, and then might 
 she have hailed the cheering return of virtue, happiness, 
 and domestic peace. If the Cadiz Regents, instead of 
 being misled by intrigue, and stimulated by faction; had, 
 only been influenced by a mutual spirit of benevolence 
 and accommodation, under the influence England, these 
 differences, whilst yet in embryo, would have been adjust- 
 ed; fresh vigour and resources, would have been added 
 to Spain, and the career of those, who delight in the an- 
 nihilation of confidence, would have been checked. 
 
 Every government in the Peninsula, that preceded the 
 Cortes, was illegitimate, in its essence and formation;^ 
 and the sovereign powers by them urrrogated, were, in di- 
 rect contradiction, to the laws and usages of the realm. 
 Necessity, and the absence of avowed opposition, on the 
 part of the people, might have given a limited sanction to 
 their conduct, in acts relating to the defence, or more 
 immediate welfare of the nation; but to overturn its fun- 
 damental laws, and to declare war against one half the 
 monarchy, before the consent of the other, had been ob- 
 tained; was not, only, exceeding, the powers whicb" 
 
 <• ' 
 
149 
 
 Charles or Ferdinand themselves possessed, had either 
 been quietly sitting on the throne of his ancestors; but 
 it was, moreover, exercising an arbitrary and impoli- 
 tic despotism, which could not fail of meeting with the 
 deserved reproach of every member of Spanish society, 
 as soon as calmer feelings, had succeeded to the general 
 CH)nfusion of the whole kingdom. From such a system, 
 nothing, but a perfect disunion of the elements of the 
 state, could be expected. And if the agents of England, 
 then looked quietly on, and without a solemn remon- 
 strance or protest, suffered this great and flagrant act of 
 injustice, to be carried into execution ; and which, alone, 
 sufficed to defeat the very object of the sincere treaty, 
 that formed the basis of her conduct, it is hardly to be 
 distinguished, whether, the conduct of the five Regents of 
 Cadiz, or the pusillanimous negligence of the British ca- 
 binet, was most to be blamed. 
 
 From that moment, it was, that, unmindful of the real 
 and durable interests of the Spanish monarchy at large, 
 we were awed into silence, by the upstart and self-sufTi-* 
 cient governments of the Peninsula, who sought power, 
 more for the gratification of ambitious views ; than for 
 the well-being of their fellow-subjects. We then became 
 subservient to the will of creatures, who, by their conduct, 
 have proved, that they were ready to sacrifice the lives and 
 rights of their distant brethren, to the smiles of greatness, 
 and to the undue gains, of one hundred and fifty Ca- 
 diz monopolists. Even, if we had no other means in our 
 power, than the press, we might have convinced Spain, 
 of the injustice and impolicy, and of the tyrannical nature 
 of this single measure; we might have forewarned 
 the people, if we could not the government, of the fatal 
 
150 
 
 consequences that were about to ensue ; nay, we might 
 have excited and fixed the impartial judgment of the 
 nation at large, on this singular and intemperate act of its 
 rash government. Every one, v^ho knows the peculiar 
 situation of the Cadiz government, in those moments, and 
 is aware of the many successful springs that might have 
 been touched, without implicating the dignity of the na- 
 tion, or offending our new ally, will candidly confess the 
 truth of this assertion. 
 
 This over delicate conduct on our part, has not cured 
 the Spaniards of distrust; it has not inspired them with 
 confidence,* but it has alienated the affections of the Spa- 
 nish Americans, and has blasted many of our future pros- 
 pects amongst them. It has produced a civil war, with 
 all its fatal consequences, and it has, besides, driven 
 the injured provinces on the other side of the Atlantic, 
 even to the extreme, of sighing for the aid and protection 
 of our enemies, and of rejoicing in their success. Our 
 delicacy and forbearance, must have been intended, as a 
 remedy to the captious distrust of the Spaniards: but 
 this remedy, has, rather, aggravated the disorder, and 
 caused its baneful influence to spread still wider. Would 
 not, the pacification and union of the transmarine provin- 
 ces, have been the most powerful tie to the affections and 
 gratitude of European Spain ; and, if, in either quarter, 
 it is deduced, that a want of energy, and zeal on the part 
 of England, and illiberality on that of Spain, has been 
 the only bar to such desirable results, the unfavour- 
 able conclusions drawn against us, in the minds and 
 feelings of the Spanish Americans, are not divested of 
 grounds. 
 
151 
 
 But, what is most to be feared, is, that England, in this 
 particular, has erred, rather from a want of serious and de- 
 hberate enquiry, into this important question; or, that she 
 has been influenced by the acrimony constantly circulated 
 in the Peninsular prints, and the partiality of the Cadiz go- 
 vernment. This, could not have been the case, if, as before 
 fully testified, we had, only, in our very alliance, traced out 
 aline of conduct for both parts ofthemonarrhy,with whom 
 we were contracting ; and had fixed the relative duties of 
 each, before we gave a pledge, both vague and inconsis- 
 tent in its essence. Had England, then, reflected on the 
 consequences about to befall all parties; or even as a re» 
 demption of this first error, had she been, only, sensible, 
 that, every month, she was delaying efficient remedies to 
 the evils thence arising, she was, actually, condemning 
 thousands of the unredressed inhabitants of Spanish Ame- 
 rica, to death, to dungeons; and was, besides, throwing 
 millions of useful resources into the general scale of de- 
 struction ; it scarcely can be thought, that her ministers, 
 would have delayed, for a moment, some firm and hu- 
 mane resolution, on this material subject; nor can it be 
 supposed, that the policy of her deliberative and execu- 
 tive measures, in this particular, would, then, have been 
 so remiss. It was a reasonable anticipation, in the Spa- 
 nish Americans, from plentiful motives already explained ; 
 to expect that England would sympathize in the repeat* 
 ed acts of cruelty and injustice committed against them ; 
 and, when the fatal ^ects of the precipitate and rash con- 
 duct of the Cadiz Regency, became public and manifest, 
 they had still more founded hopes, that no time or oppor- 
 tunity would be lost, in England, resorting to- some sound' 
 and liberal experiment, in order to stop the eff'usion of 
 
152 
 
 blood ; or at least, that under her mediation, a prompt 
 and cordial means, equally honourable and desirable to 
 all parties, would be afforded, for discussing and ad- 
 justing the interests of each. In short, the decree of the 
 Cadiz Regency, declaring war, and instituting a blockade 
 against Caracas, under the peculiar circumstances just 
 explained, stands as an everlasting monument of the injus- 
 tice and intemperance of that same ephemeral govern- 
 ment, and, further proves, the want of influence, or ex- 
 isting coldness, on the part of England. 
 
 Some of our statesmen, speaking of our policy, with 
 regard to European and American Spain, have been 
 heard to say, that the British government could not inter- 
 fere, or have any direct, or indirect correspondence, with 
 the latter; for, what should we think of an ally, who 
 took part to protect a revolt in Ireland against ourselves, 
 whilst under a treaty of alliance and mutual co-operation. 
 How fallacious such reasoning, and how devoid of all 
 analogy. The government of Cadiz, has, indeed, con- 
 strued the conduct of the transmarine provinces into 
 wanton revolt, and into an open rebellion, founded on in- 
 gratitude; and such is the picture, drawn of it, in the 
 Peninsular prints. But, is this a fact, or does this in- 
 ference, equally, belong to England? Has she, in like 
 manner, been, influenced by partial, or undue motives? 
 The prejudices and invectives of Spain; have never slept, 
 since Cadiz became the seat of government; and to 
 judge from appearances, it would seem, as if they had, 
 also, formed the basis of the political conduct of Eng- 
 land, in those points, to which they referred. Yet, when 
 viewing the subject, dispassionately, it comes to be un-* 
 
153 
 
 tlerstood, that the stimulus of this animosity, on the part 
 of the Cadiz government, has been partiality, motives of 
 interest, and, partly, rancour ; and, vi^hen it is, at the same 
 time, remembered, that the Spanish Americans, from the 
 commencement of their pretensions, have only asked re- 
 dress, and such governmental reform, as they required, 
 and were entitled to ; that they have ever been ambitious 
 of belonging to Spain, as an integral and incorporated 
 part ; that they have ever acknowledged the same mo- 
 narch, and that, in short, they have, uniformly, given, the 
 most unequivocal proofs of fidelity, loyalty, and frater- 
 nity, it seems impossible, that such conclusions should 
 have been drawn by Spain, or that they should have 
 warped the independent and upright councils of Eng- 
 land, 
 
 § The first fatal effects, produced by this injudicious 
 declaration of war, on the part of the Cadiz Regency, 
 against Caracas, was the driving of the inhabitants of 
 that province, to the extreme of declaring their inde- 
 pendence ; the first act w hich occurred on the other side 
 of the Atlantic, to endanger the integrity of the Spanish 
 monarchy. This being an occurrence, too remarkable to 
 be omitted, in this general outline, and full explanation of 
 all the insurrections of Spanish America, I will hereafter, 
 submit a short detail of its most leading events ; contenting 
 myself, for the present, with observing, that the people of 
 Caracas, were urged by open hostilities, by the aggrava- 
 tions, and repeated insults of the Cadiz government ; and 
 that if a partial attempt was then made at absolute inde- 
 pendence, it was not till July 11, 1811, that is, nearly a 
 year after this same declaration of war, now under consi- 
 
154 
 
 deration, had been made. This event, therefore, in Cara- 
 cas, took place, at a subsequent period, and when the 
 unjust conduct of the Peninsular government, of which 
 this same Regency decree is quoted, as the principal ba- 
 sis, together with the coldness of England, had convinced 
 the people, that they had nothing to expect from home, 
 but a continuation of ill-treatment, a prolonged refusal 
 to the discussion and restitution of their rights , 
 and, in short, this measure was resorted to, because, 
 from the preparations, making on their shores, they 
 conceived it was time, to seek the means of their own 
 defence. They judged, under such circumstances, that 
 it was the same thing, to be in open hostility, as 
 to endure the grievances of covered enmity ; surround- 
 ed, as they were, by plots, by arrests, and by every do- 
 mestic and external horror, that civil discord, and an im- 
 placable enemy, could hurl amongst them. 
 
 § If, the impolitic declaration of war, made by the Re- 
 gency against Caracas, and which has, avowedly, been the 
 cause of all the misfortunes that have since harrassed the 
 other sections, from its operating as an insulting defiance 
 to the just claims and pretensions of all, was, at the time 
 of its promulgation and execution, overlooked by the 
 British government; nearly a year aft;prwards, that is, 
 when the injuries and insults of Spanish America, had 
 become manifest and urgent, and when the integrity of that 
 same monarchy, we had guaranteed, became endangered; 
 was it not time to ponder on the state of that injured coun- 
 try ; was the hour not yet come, to concert remedies for 
 evils, which had, already, risen to the most alarming 
 height ; and was it not, yet, evident, what would be the 
 
155 
 
 melancholy consequences, of this increasing overflow 
 of gall, on both sides ? Would it not have, then, been, 
 more manly, generous, and just, in the British govern- 
 ment, under the influence, and actuated by the since- 
 rity of that same treaty, which had constituted us, the 
 united guardians of the crown of the absent Ferdinand, 
 when its brightest gem, was, thus, likely to be torn from it; 
 nay, would it not have been more politic, at once, to have 
 struck at the root of these disorders, which were about 
 to prey on the very vitals of the Spanish monarchy of 
 both hemispheres, and which would, eventually,' defeat 
 the object, which led to our alliance. This was, only, to 
 be done, by a mutual approximation and compromise; 
 these could, only, be produced, by the influence, advice, 
 or demand, of a third party ; can it, therefore, be doubt- 
 ful, on whom this essential duty devolved ? 
 
 It would not have been impossible, though the task 
 was, undoubtedly, difficult, for a dexterous and ener- 
 getic minister near the Cadiz government, to have called 
 its members, seriously, to the contemplation of the 
 fatal consequences of this unfortunate rupture; nor 
 would it have been an arduous undertaking, to have 
 convinced them, of its being the primary, and most 
 sacred duty of their public functions, as well as the in- 
 terest of the nation at large, to restore and cement the 
 harmony of all parts of the monarchy; to keep down 
 parties and war factions; to stop the waste of public 
 treasure; to put an end to the evils which the state suf- 
 fered j and above all, that it was the imperious dictate 
 of humanity, to terminate an unjust war between bre- 
 thren, which for so many reasons, was to be deplored 
 by all parties, and on which, at a future period, the 
 
156 
 
 whole world would sit as judges. England had, then, 
 the most manifest and crying justice on her side ; and if 
 the objects of her alliance, were comprehensive ; if she 
 had in view, the lasting, and not trie temporary welfare 
 of the Spanish monarchy, and if, more particularly, she 
 had it in contemplation, to secure to herself, the sin- 
 cere gratitude of its inhabitants of both hemispheres, 
 and cause this same gratitude to last beyond the dura- 
 tion of the present conflict, she ought to have lifted up 
 her views to higher hopes, and to a bolder policy, 
 than merely to fight the battles of the deluded Fer- 
 dinand. 
 
 § It has been, so far, my object, to trace to their very 
 origin, the present dissentions existing between Euro- 
 pean and American Spain; and if in pursuit of this pur- 
 pose, I have been diffuse, it has been owing to my 
 anxious wish, that every concurrent circumstance, might 
 be fully understood. I have, also, by this time, brought 
 my reader, as much, in chronological order, as I was 
 able, to that stage of the transatlantic occurrences, when 
 open war began to flame between two sister kingdoms, 
 who had, for more than three hundred years, remained 
 united by the strongest possible ties ; and between whom, 
 till now, no material variance, had occurred. Yet, 
 though, I flatter myself, with having irrefragably de^ 
 monstrated my position, in general principle, founded 
 on a series of facts, and illustrated by the most leading 
 and accompanying circumstances, I am, nevertheless, 
 scarcely, satisfied, with having fully attained my object. 
 I am, still, fearful, that some of the premises on which 
 my deductions rest, may, by the superficial reader, to 
 whom the subject is novel, appear partial, or devoid of 
 
157 
 
 sufficient testimony. I could not, therefore, in this 
 place, refrain from sanctioning my assertions, respecting 
 the impolicy and injustice of the war declared, by the 
 Cadiz Regency, against Caracas, on which, my most ma- 
 terial arguments are founded, by the opinion of the res- 
 pectable editor of the El Espahol, whose testimony to a 
 British mind, must bear the greater weight, from the 
 sincere and unbiassed manner, in which he has uniformly 
 discussed the detatched transactions of the Spanish revo- 
 lution, which, as a periodical writer, have fallen under 
 his review. From his being, also, an European Spaniard, 
 one, who was never on the other shores of the Atlantic, 
 but who has, ever, felt for the welfare, as well as for the 
 honour of his native soil, I feel the greater confidence in 
 bringing forward his remarks; which through all his 
 labours, have not only been distinguished for range of 
 general reasoning, but in many interesting topics, have 
 bespoke the patriot and the philosopher, conversant in 
 human nature, and alive to the multiplied evils, by 
 which the bosom of his ill-fated country, has been harr 
 rowed up. The following, are his words. 
 
 " An attentive meditation on the actual state of 
 things, between Spain and America, has excited in me 
 the following doubt. If a people, or province, belong- 
 ing to the crown of Spain, were to raise their voice and 
 to proclaim; — from this moment, we no longer acknow- 
 ledge Ferdinand VII. as our king — we divest ourselves, 
 of the obedience we had pledged to him — we declare 
 war against Spaniards, — and we deliver ourselves up to 
 Napoleon, — what punishment would be assigned for 
 such a crime, and what measures' would be taken 
 against such a people or province? It seems to me 
 
158 
 
 that no man of honour in the world, would fail to say, 
 such a people has committed an indignity ; and so cri- 
 minal a proceeding, deserves condign punishment. He 
 would add, government ought to take the most effective 
 measures, to oppose so absurd an idea; it ought to block- 
 ade their shores, that they may have no communica- 
 tion with others; the ships which approach their ports, 
 of whatsoever nation they may be, ought to be confis- 
 cated, as those of enemies; and, though it is hard, to go 
 to extremes against a people, who formerly constituted 
 one family, and to arm brethren against brethren, it is 
 nevertheless, necessary, in consequence of their rebellion, 
 to shut them up and to blockade them, by land and sea; 
 and their neighbours ought to be commanded, to hinder 
 the entry of provisions, and the export of the products 
 of their soil and industry; in short, every exertion ought 
 to be made, to prevent every communication with their 
 inhabitants. In case the authors of such a measure, are 
 apprehended, they ought to be punished, with all the 
 rigour, authorized by the rights of sovereignty." — 
 
 " And, what would the unhappy and benevolent 
 Ferdinand VII. say, if he knew, that this same rigour 
 had been decreed against a people, who, enthusiasti- 
 cally, renewed their obedience to him; who offered 
 their blood in order to preserve their fidelity and do- 
 minions to him; who tendered the fruits of their in- 
 dustry, as a ransom, for him, and his country, whilst in the 
 possession of enemies; who affectionately hoped at 
 some period, to have the means of consoling him, for 
 all his misfortunes; and who, perhaps, only err, in 
 believing, that their beloved sovereign, is not, at present, 
 represented in those distant provinces, in a manner. 
 
159 
 
 even, conformable to bis own interests? Certainly, I 
 cannot guess what Ferdinand VII. would say, but I do 
 not believe, he would use the language of the Regency, 
 in its decree against Caracas."* — These sentiments, 
 wer6 penned in September, 1810, that is, a month after 
 the Regency decree, had been signed- consequently, 
 long before its fatal consequences had been produced. 
 
 Not, sufficiently, satisfied, with the sole testimony 
 of one Spaniard, however weighty and respectable his 
 authority, before I take leave of this part of my subject, 
 I conceive it my duty, to insert the avowed sentiments 
 of another; who in presenting to his own nation, ** A?t 
 impartial examination of the dissentions of America y with 
 Spain,'' uses the following words. " In conformity to 
 these mistaken principles, the Central Junta, instead of 
 binding, afresh, the sections of America to the Peninsula, 
 by authorizing them to name and form provincial Juntas, 
 composed of their own inhabitants, as the only means, 
 radically, to destroy the repeated acts of injustice, there, 
 committed by the governmental authorities; not only 
 endeavoured to abolish them in the Peninsula, but, 
 also, never took care to establish them in America. This 
 measure, alone, would, most assuredly, have filled the 
 Americans with joy; and by this means, discontented 
 parties, would have beeen avoided."t Further on, he 
 adds. " The news of the occurrences in Caracas, was 
 received by the Regency; but, instead of preventing a 
 civil war, by acceding to the most just proposals, made 
 by the members of that Junta, in their letter of May 20, 
 directed to the Marques de las Hormazas, (hereafter 
 
 * Vide El Espanol, London, Sept. 1810. 
 t Estrada, Part I. 
 
160 
 
 quoted) and without attending to the uniform dictates of 
 justice, and unmindful of the situation of the Peninsula, 
 it decrees, to reduce them, by force, to submit to the law, 
 which they (the Regents) thought proper to dictate. 
 Neglecting all other measures, but those suggested by 
 an impotent vengeance, the Regency declares the port 
 of La Guira in a state of blockade, commissions a coun- 
 sellor, and a parcel of other ministers, with ample fa- 
 culties, to oblige the people, to enter into what, despotic 
 governments, usually, call, duties of the subjects; and 
 for this purpose, it adopts such measures, as a similar 
 government would only adopt, when able to realize them; 
 but which, in other cases, it would disregard, if want 
 of reflection were not added to despotism, &c. Such 
 measures, which, besides, being unjust, the Regency 
 had not the faculties to carry into execution, could 
 answer no other purpose, than to exasperate, still more, 
 the minds of the discontented, and to give them new 
 and just motives of complaint, thus, urging them on, to 
 the prosecution of their enterprize."* 
 
 These are the united sentiments of Spaniards, and 
 of the two principal characters, who have attempted 
 to discuss the question in view. To them I could add, 
 the corresponding opinions of others, were I not afraid 
 to trespass on the patience of my reader. I have pro^ 
 duced them, rather, as a corrobation to my premises, 
 than as an amplification of my subject; and when the 
 British government had equity and justice on its side, 
 when the thinking part of the Spanish community, also, 
 both openly, and in their hearts, condemned the arbitrary 
 
 ♦ Estrada, Pari 11. 
 
161 
 
 conduct of the trade-leagued Regents, their perusal caif- 
 not fail to excite surprize, that no effective measure of 
 prevention was attempted ; and that the ministers of St. 
 James, in this unguarded moment, should thus, by their 
 want of energy and foresight^ have blasted the fairest 
 prospect of giving force and efficacy to our new alliance 
 with European Spain; and of securing great and lasting 
 advantages, to our mercantile and political interests, in 
 Spanish America, The present convulsions in this unhap- 
 py country^ thus clearly, resulted from the intemperate 
 and impolitic conduct of the five Regents who succeeded 
 the Central Junta, overawed, as they were, by the 
 trading interests of Cadiz. The Regency, in its official 
 capacity, might have been injured or offended by the 
 acts of the transmarine provinces, but how could it al- 
 lege the rights of a sovereignty, of which it did not 
 possess a single component element; and under the cir- 
 cumstances in which Spain was at that time, how could 
 such impotent rigour, redound to the advantage of the 
 general cause? This offence, however, could scarcely 
 be resented by the Cadiz Regency, individually, for 
 the occurrences in Caracas took place, when the dis- 
 persion of the Central Junta was known, that is, prior 
 to advices having been received, of the installation of 
 the Regency. 
 
 § The evident injustice of the Cadiz government, to- 
 w^ards the ultramarine provinces, and the marked im- 
 policy of England, in first not preventing, and after- 
 wards, during more than four years, in not applying ef^ 
 fective remedies to the increasing evils, which, have, al- 
 ready, bathed the fairest portion of the Spanish America, 
 in the blood of its inhabitants, are, I presume, sufficiently, 
 
 h 
 
163 
 
 evinced in this division of my subject, and in the deduc- 
 tions, thence, regularly, established. From my geneml 
 statements, it would result, that most has been owing to 
 the wanton cruelty, and unjust and intemperate conduct 
 of the Cadiz Regents; who, callous to the sufferings of 
 their fellow-citizens, and awed by the mercenary clamours 
 of the monopolists of that trading port, declared war 
 against their distant brethren, and thereby opened the 
 floodgates of anarchy and civil discord. It was this 
 impolitic measure, which first excited a spirit of 
 indignation and open enmity, in the insulted and 
 outraged inhabitants of Spanish America, whom we, 
 lately, beheld glowing with the most enthusiastic senti- 
 ments of loyalty and patriotism, and pledging their lives 
 and fortunes in aid of the Peninsula. Amongst the 
 same, for more than four years, have we, nevertheless, 
 'witnessed a merciless warfare, such a one, that humanity 
 shudders to contemplate. As a vengeance on them, we 
 have seen new racks and tortures invented, even such, as 
 are unknown to the States of Barbary. We have read 
 of oceans of carnage, and of the indiscriminate massacre 
 of the defenceless natives of every section; and still, we 
 are not weary of the long drama of iniquity, so long re- 
 presenting in that unfortunate country. We see 
 17,000,000 of our most faithful and zealous allies, en- 
 dure all these evils, and we scarcely remember that they 
 exist. Yet, what has been their crime ? If only re- 
 dressed and regenerated, Spanish America, was ready 
 to form a sincere and active part of the entire nation ; 
 she was willing to contribute with her treasure and her 
 sons, to fight the common enemy ; and could England or 
 Spain, require more ? Could either, look for a greatei* 
 
163 
 
 proof of loyalty or cooperation? Yet, both never at*- 
 tempted to improve these valuable sentiments, in proper 
 time; nor had either, the courage or the energy, to 
 staunch so many horrors, which issued from this first 
 neglect. Early remedies, one would have thought ad- 
 visable, if they had been for no other object, than as a 
 means of wisely redeeming this first error. 
 
 Every measure, in short, hitherto, prescribed and 
 adopted for American Spain, both by the Cadiz and 
 London cabinets; seems rather to have been dictated by 
 the enemies of both, than as emanating from either a 
 consistency in reasoning, or sound wisdom in political 
 systems. Hitherto, the promises of the one, have been 
 as insincere, as the reproaches of their presses, have been 
 unjust; and every step has helped to plunge European 
 Spain into fresh difficulties, and fresh wants, by depriving 
 her of all her Western sources of revenue. And, could 
 the enemy have desired more ? Was, not this, rendering 
 her, a more easy prey to his base attempts? The con- 
 duct of the other, besides, aiding to produce the conse- 
 quences just stated, has transfused an odium to the 
 British name, which will become an hereditary feeling 
 in the descendants of those families, who hav.e suffered 
 and lost so much; and from whose commercial inter- 
 <;ourse, present and future, so much private opulence 
 and public revenue, might have been derived. It is, 
 also, in consequence of this odium, that our great and 
 grounded hopes, on the unexplored resources of the 
 Spanish American continent, will, hereafter, be frustrat- 
 ed. And, could the enemies of England, have desired 
 more ? 
 
 It was, eariy, evident, from the unjust conduct of the 
 
 L2 ^ 
 
164 
 
 t!adiz government (and I make this distinction, because 
 the accusation includes not the nation at large) that if 
 Spain was, ever, to restore her authority in the incensed 
 sections of Spanish America, if England did not inter- 
 fere, it could, only, be at the expence of blood, and at 
 the point of the sword. Victory and terror, in short, 
 were to precede every step of this subjection. And 
 from whence were the armies to come, which were to be 
 made the instruments of these victories and terror? The 
 annals of our own transactions, and our attacks on the 
 shores of Spanish America, might have taught us, that 
 no. effective Spanish force existed there, even to resist 
 foreign invasion, much less, to stop the spread of popular 
 commotions. Where the armies of the Peninsula then, 
 whilst so. requisite at home, to be sent across the At- 
 lantic, to effect purposes, neither warranted by justice, 
 or recommended fey policy? The united exertions of 
 England and Spam, were then engaged in a struggle, the 
 duration of which, was not fixed, and whose sacrifices, 
 could not, at that time, be numbered. Was economy, 
 therefore, no object, in the general scale of consideration? 
 In politics, as well as in mechanics, it is an unpardonable 
 error, to raise a high superstructure, where the basis is 
 .mot sound and well prepared, and where each correspond- 
 ing and relative part, is not perfectly adjusted and mu- 
 tually supported. If we rushed into a treaty with an 
 entire monarchy, without defining or understanding the 
 relative situation, one half bore to the other, what ex- 
 pectation could we have, of full and durable effect being 
 given to that alliance; and if we beheld the most essen- 
 tial resources of Spain wasted away, without a struggle 
 to improve, or preserve them, what eventual hopes could 
 
165 
 
 we have, of crowning our exertions with success, or of 
 giving to that superstructure of friendship, sincerity, 
 and cooperation, on which we had built the hopes of 
 our alliance, any lastino- and solid consequences? 
 
 The world beheld, with astonished wonder, the 
 courageous and energetic manner, in which the people 
 of Spain, rose in arms to repel the insidious invasion of 
 a powerful enemy; and admired the persevering zeal, 
 with which, they continued their enterprize, even 
 amidst the most unheard of difficulties and hardships. 
 Every nation, has, also, seen, the incalculable good that 
 has been derived from the patriotic display of the ener- 
 gies of a people, of themselves, neither possessed of 
 armies or fleets (comparatively speaking) and who, in 
 short, had little else, than patriotism for their guide 
 and support. But, how much greater, would not have 
 been the benefits and effects thence derived, if this 
 people had only been led on, by a wise, liberal, and 
 just government; and their energies had been seconded, 
 by upright and provident councils? What different 
 effects, would not, then have been produced ? Spain has 
 operated as a pivot,, on which the great insurrections of 
 the north of Europe, have, in great measure, turned; 
 but how, different, would have been the results, par- 
 ticularly, on her own soil, if all her resources had been 
 condensed and kept united ; if, anarchy, distrust, and open 
 enmity, had been prevented; and if her European, as 
 well as American strength, had been directed, in a 
 straight line, towards the main object in view? If 
 Spain, should, unfortunately, fall, it will not have been 
 from want of energy, and patriotism on the part of the 
 people, so much, as in consequence of a want of pecu- 
 niary resources. It will, rather, have been owing to the 
 
166 
 
 debility of her government, the increase of disunion 
 and distrust, and finall}^ because care has not been 
 taken, to keep together, the most interesting elements 
 of the state. 
 
 § The more closely we examine the subject matter in view, 
 the more plain and manifest it appears, that the transma- 
 rine provinces of Spain, at the period, when the whole 
 monarchy was deprived of its sovereign, could be viewed 
 in no other light, by the newly constituted authorities of 
 Spain, than as forming a people, in every sense, equal 
 with themselves, and entitled to the right of replacing 
 the lost authority of the king, ' in the same way as had 
 been done, in the Peninsula. The only bond of union, 
 which -existed between the two, was the person of the 
 king; Spanish America to Spain, had no other legal re- 
 lation, than that of belonging to the same sovereign, and 
 forming part of the same nation. Yet, both the Juntas 
 of Seville and Asturias, pretended a full sovereignty over 
 the sections of America ; each used every exertion to 
 obtain it, not as it would appear, to confer happiness, 
 to give redress, and to act with liberal justice; but, ra- 
 ther, to monopolize more resources, to obtain the pro- 
 duce of the mines, and to enjoy a more extended sphere 
 of command. So great were those exertions made to 
 ensure control, and so well disposed, and habitually sub- 
 missive, were the Spanish Americans, that the Central 
 Junta was, at one time, notwithstanding its manifest ille- 
 gality, acknowledged by all the viceroys and captain- 
 generals, tribunals, and cabildos, abroad;* not that this 
 
 + Quito, was llie only section, that opposed alleojiance to the 
 Central Junta; but this was a temporary occurrence, obedience 
 being, soon, inforp^ by th.e trpops pf Lima aqd Santa Fe. 
 
167 
 
 was an act, in which the people at large were implicated, 
 for the constituted authorities, did it as a means to pre- 
 serve their own power, and retain their offices. The ca« 
 bildos assented from European influence, but possessing, 
 in themselves, scarcely the smallest shadow of popular 
 representation, from the seats therein, being more pur- 
 chasable than^elective, they had, consequently, no right, 
 of any kind, to transfer the sovereignty of the American 
 people, to any isolated body of the Peninsula whatever. 
 How could it, therefore, be expected, that a people, nei- 
 ther consulted nor represented, would willingly and per- 
 manently acknowledge acorporation, which, in the Penin- 
 sula itself, had only a provisional character, and, besides, 
 being defective in its legal essence, was, also, divested of 
 every efficient form. 
 
 The only fair and just manner, in which it is possible 
 to interpret the unalienable and imprescriptible rights 
 of a nation, and such as they are supposed to reside in 
 every people, is, by fixing, as a basis, that all the divi* 
 sLpns and members thereof, have an equal right to share 
 in the national representation ; the only fountain of civil 
 liberty, and the only means of guarding against, and of 
 correcting the abuses of that government and admi- 
 nistration, which all have considered necessary, from a 
 principle of general good. This principle of mutual be- 
 nefit, founded on consent, constitutes the really true, and 
 strong tie, which binds the willing obedience of society. 
 These are rights, which, therefore, are considered, as 
 never having been affected or lost, by any possible cir- 
 cumstances j and, they are of such a nature, th^t no 
 generation can deprive their posterity of them. Conse- 
 quently, the rights of the Spanish Americans, could not 
 
168 
 
 have been impaired, by the acknowledgment made of 
 the Central Junta, by the viceroys and captain-generals ; 
 since it was done without the consent and concurrence 
 of the people, and, in many places, the acquiescence of 
 the cabildos or municipalitios, was obtained by threats. 
 Even some of the audiencias in America, in whom a 
 respect for legal forms, predominated over Peninsular 
 prejudices, and who have always been the strongest in- 
 struments in the subjection of the ultramarine provinces, 
 were opposed to the absolute control of European Jun- 
 tas ; not, so much, from this dependence being in con- 
 tradiction to the principles of liberty, since proclaimed 
 at home, but in eonsfequence of its militating against the 
 ancient and less liberal character of the Spanish legisla-- 
 tion. In fact, according to the known laws of the Spa* 
 nibh monarchy, the pretended absolute sovereignty of the 
 Central Junta, over the ultramarine provinces, w^s not 
 only unjustifiable and inconsistent; but, even the man* 
 ner, in which its authority was, in a temporary manner, 
 acknowledged by the colonial chiefs, as a means of pro- 
 longing their respective commands, and on which the go- 
 vernment of Spain, now grounds a charge of ingratitude,, 
 and rebellion, when every circumstance is duly consi- 
 dered, turns out to be, the greatest chimera, by which 
 the patience and discernment of a people, were ever in- 
 sulted. To render this allegation more clear and intelli- 
 gible, I will carry back my reader to a contemplation of 
 the manner in which the Central Junta was first formed, 
 as well as of its character, and leading conduct ; as this, 
 Avill be the most effectual means of enabling him to draw- 
 bis own conclusions, and of establishing, whether or not, 
 u legal committee thereof, was afterwards, authorized to 
 become the despots of Spanish America. 
 
169 , 
 
 The editor of the El Espanol, who. from being an eye- 
 witness, and well acquainted with the early occurrences 
 of the Peninsula, is deserving of full credit, after sketch- 
 ing the spontaneous energy, with which the Spanish peo- 
 ple rushed to arms, observes, " tl\at the first persons who 
 offered themselves to the people, then in a tumultuous 
 state, were chosen to govern the provinces. In Seville, 
 a popular leader proposed the creation of a Junta, and, 
 for this purpose, the curate and superiors of the convents, 
 were assembled. Tilly and his party, having formed a 
 list of the persons who were to constitute this Junta, he 
 and his emissaries entered the town house, and propos- 
 ing each other in a loud voice, they were elected as 
 members, without waiting for any body's answer. To 
 these were afterwards added, other persons, who, from 
 their credit or dignity, were possessed of the confidence 
 of the people." Such is the picture of the formation of 
 the Junta of Seville, which "afterwards denominated itself 
 Supreme and Central ; and, as drawn by an eye-witness 
 of undoubted credit.* I omit any further details, which 
 might serve, more fully, to explain the irregular charac- 
 ter of the principal persons, who contributed to the for- 
 mation of this Junta ; as they would only tend to make 
 its origin more degrading, when my object, is, princi- 
 pally, to insist on its injustice. 
 
 In such a government as this, it was, that the 
 Spanish people, blindly, placed their confidence ; un- 
 aware, what powers they had, thus, assented to, in these 
 their new representatives. This government it was, ac- 
 cording to the above author, " that began its career, by- 
 consecrating error, and perpetuating ignorance ; and to 
 
 * Vide El Espanol, No. I. 
 
170 
 
 it, the losses of Sir John Moore, are to be attributed.'* 
 The Central Junta, after tasting the sweets of power, 
 was resolved to retain it, and delayed the assembling of 
 the Cortes, on which the hopes of the nation wefe found- 
 ed. The narae of Ferdinand VIL which its members 
 placed at the head of all their official papers ; and the 
 term o{ Majestyy with which they clothed themsaiveg, 
 appearedassufficientauthority to exercise a political despo- 
 tbm, even unknown to the real monarchs; and to render 
 this farce the more complete, they decreed to themselves, 
 titles, uniforms, ribbons, guards, &c. at once^creating them- 
 selves in to Eastern bashaws. Without ever reflecting on the 
 nature or limits of their power, they instituted in them- 
 selves the sovereign command ; amused the people ami^ 
 the British, by false and delusive statements; demanded*^ 
 and received copious supplies of funds, from the Euro- 
 pean and American provinces, which they squandered 
 away, without rendering in any account. In short, they 
 insulted the noblest cause that ever animated the bosoni^ 
 of a people; till at last, they were driven from their deft, 
 by the advance of the French; and the people of the 
 Peninsula, opening their eyes, were astonished at their 
 long forbearance. 
 
 Apd, if such was the picture of the very government, 
 which, at that time, exercised its power and liuthoritys 
 over Spain and the Indies; if such, it is universally ac- 
 knowledged, to have been, both by Spaniards, and other 
 eye witnesses ; and if, moreover, its general injustice is 
 deduced from its own recorded acts, could it be judged 
 criminal in the Spanish Americans, under so many pecu- 
 liar circumstances as those already explained, and after 
 00 millions of their dollars had been received by the 
 Central Junta, almost without thanke, and squandered 
 
171 
 
 away without even the compliment of a public account; 
 could it be judged criminal in them, I repeat, to refuse 
 any longer confiding their own security, and the admi- 
 nistration of their local affairs, to men, who came 
 amongst them, by the choice, and vested with the au- 
 thority of this same body of self-created despots ? Or, I 
 may add, in the eyes of the impartial world, could that 
 
 ' war be pronounced just or politic, which was declared 
 by a committee of such a government, against one half 
 of the monarchy, to whom, even a hearing had not been 
 granted? To answ^er in the affirmative, would be to com- 
 mit the greatest possible insult, both to the rights, feel- 
 ings, and understandings, of mankind at large: and 
 
 ^•'would at once, establish, the most flagrant and extensive 
 
 " principle of injustice, that the annals of history or le- 
 gislation, ever recorded. Are laws and rights, then, 
 nothing in the scale of Spanish policy; and does a decla* 
 ration of war, unjust in itself, and fraught with the most 
 fatal consequences, amount to nothing, in the great con- 
 siderations of expediency, which ought to guide the 
 conduct of her ally? If the first is, really, the case, what 
 is the character of that nation, and of that government, 
 whose alliance we yet boast ; and if this want of faith, 
 equity, and of even humanity, results on the part of 
 Spain, even to her children and descendants, those who 
 are united to lier by the ties of blood and of interest, 
 what is it, we are, eventually, to expect, who are scarcely 
 linked, by the common tie of gratitude ? If the second 
 position be, likewise, true, and if the Spanish monarchy 
 is thus dismembered, and its resources frittered away, by 
 impolitic, and unjust domestic wars, from which result 
 
 . distrust, impoverishment, and, in short, a general dis- 
 union of every effective element of the state, what 
 
172 
 
 ^^rounded hopes have we, of crowning our united cause 
 with success ; and how can we fulfill to the outraged 
 Ferdinand, our guarantee, of the integrity of his crown? 
 In what light, soever, we consider the inhabitants of 
 the new world, whether we view them with the eye of 
 philosopln^ or found ourselves on the ancient legislation 
 of Spain; we shall find them in social rank, and in poli- 
 tical rights, equal with those of the provinces of the 
 Peninsula ; consequently, the claims of absolute sove- 
 veignty, over the sections of America, arrogated to them- 
 selves by the irregular governments of the former, are 
 equally as absurd, as if the provisional governments of 
 the latter, had attempted to exercise despotic control, 
 over the Central Junta, the Regency, or the succeeding 
 Cortes. Supposing, for a moment, that these were legal 
 ,and constitutional forms of government for the Peninsula, 
 (and even with regard to the Cortes, in this particular, 
 my reader shall, hereafter, be enabled to judge for him- 
 self) they could not be so, for Spanish America; unless 
 constituted in a regular and correct manner, with the 
 concurrence of the latter, in compliance with the general 
 principles and laws of the realm, and in strict accord 
 with equality, equity, and justice. There is a just and 
 moral principle, which, equally, belongs to every indivi- 
 dual member, as well as to every individual province, of 
 an extended empire. This principle was, then, equall}^ 
 the birthright of American Spaniards; and to divest 
 them of it, by the acts of an illegal government, and 
 then to persist in the support of that same injustice; is 
 not, only, opening the road to discontent, oppression, 
 and consequent civil war, but it is, also, authorizing them 
 to seek justice by the extreme means of hostility, as the 
 only alternative; left within their reach. The law3 and 
 
173 
 
 rights of the whole monarchy, ought to have been main- 
 tained, in undisturbed authority, and equal exercise, in 
 -American, as well as European Spain; and the political 
 order of the state, by no departure from its most funda- 
 mental principles, being suffered, ought, then, in like 
 manner, to have been preserved. To deviate from this 
 principle, is to level to the ground, the boundaries 
 of order and the safeguards of civil freedom ; and, to 
 authorize the inhabitants of one half of a monarchy, to 
 tyrannize over those of the other, is to lay the founda- 
 tions of anarchy, and eventual ruin, to the whole state. 
 
 The great mistake of the British government, seems 
 to have been, that, it considered Spanish America, as 
 insulated from all the laws and principles of the rest of 
 the monarchy ; and its natives, as detatched from the Eu- 
 ropean ranks of the state. Had not this been the case, 
 how could the ministers of England, have, silently, be- 
 held a declaration of war, made against 17 millions of 
 people, bound to her by ancient promises, and now linked 
 to her interests, by a fresh alliance? Had Spanish Ame- 
 rica been in the wrong, and had she committed crimes so 
 great and flagrant, as to deserve the utmost rigour, in the 
 eye of justice, this criminality ought to have been pre- 
 viously proved ; and the grounds thereof, ought to have 
 been, incontrovertibly, established. Before Spain de- 
 clared an expensive and unjust war, it was her duty to 
 have discussed the rights of the ultramarine provinces,: 
 in a fair and adequate manner ; their com, plaints ought 
 to have been heard ; and if this was omitted, her conduct 
 has been unwarrantable and arbitrary ; and, when the 
 narrow policy of the day, is gone by, the British govern- 
 ment itself will be the first to confess it. But^ then. 
 
174 
 
 alas, shall we be in time, to prevent the fatal conse- 
 quences intailed on ourselves? 
 
 That the Central Junta was an unfair and unconstitu- 
 tional government, is confessed, not only by Spaniards, 
 but, also, by the whole world. Jovellanos said it was 
 illegal ; because its powers and representation^ were nei- 
 ther complete, nor constitutional*. Yet it was this form 
 of government, which, as before shewn, constituted the 
 Regency into a Sovereign, by merely transferring and 
 deputing its own powers : which, if illegal in the whole, 
 must, consequently, have been so, in part. Arguelles, 
 confessed the first Regency was not legitimate t, and this 
 has, also, been the public avowal of the Cortes. How, 
 then, can a war proclaimed by such a government, be 
 legal; or how can its improvident conduct, be justified ? 
 The silence of the people of Spanish America, with re- 
 gard to the Central Junta, arose out of a hope, that its 
 acts would promote the welfare and defence of the realm ; 
 but when its conduct, and that of the succeeding Re- 
 gency, became manifest, they protested against those of its 
 enactments which related to themselves, on the very basis 
 of this flagrant want of legality. 
 
 § In explaining to my reader, these various causes, which 
 first led to an unfortunate rupture, between European and 
 American Spain ; my object is, not only, to manifest the 
 sentiments and peculiar situation of the latter, but, also, 
 to lay before him, the accompanying sentiments and 
 pointed charges of the former. For the want of better 
 reasons, the defenders of Spanish injustice, go so far as 
 to allege, the vague and indefinite rights, which they 
 
 * Dictaraen de Jovellanos, Oct. T, 1805. 
 f DiscursQ coQtra Lardizabal en las Cortes. 
 
175 
 
 suppose to be demed, from the relations, arising out of 
 a common origin. The denomination of mother country, 
 which, as a wise writer observes, has produced nume- 
 rous mistakes and false reasonings, in all questions, re- 
 lating to European settlements abroad; in the Peninsular 
 papers, has been an inexhaustible source of bitter invecr 
 live, against those of the ultramarine provinces, which 
 have considered the transformation of their local govern- 
 ments, necessary. Crimes, of a variety of kinds, are 
 charged against them ; particularly that of ingratitude, 
 an allegation founded on no other grounds, than this 
 chimerical filiation. This term, besides, being abused, 
 has been brought forv/ard, as an imaginary metropolitan 
 right, and as if it were founded on law, and established 
 by actual compact. These are denominations, which, if 
 applicable to the case in question, ought merely to be 
 confined to the expression of affection, and as referring 
 to an affinity of mutual origin, existing between the va- 
 rious members of one entire monarchy, and as exciting 
 those sentiments of fraternity, natural in two great 
 families, derived from one common stock. Thence, how- 
 ever, to deduce a positive ground of dependence and 
 subordination, were to introduce a new maxim of policy ; 
 as well as an axiom, not only unknown, but also, extra- 
 vagant and unjust. Each nation, in that case, would be 
 obliged to acknowledge the sovereignty of its primitive 
 stock ; and the rights of the people, would have to be 
 traced to their tables of genealogy. 
 
 The proper manner to have used the strong claims, 
 and endearing ties of mother-country, would have been, 
 to have redressed their wrongs, and not to have de- 
 clared war against tlienl; to have adopted some equit- 
 
176 
 
 able plan of conciliation, and not to have insulted their 
 judgment and feelings by refusing a hearing ; to have 
 viewed the hardships of their case, impartially, and not 
 to have proscribed, men and measures, vihich only had 
 for object, the safety and reform of their country; 
 and, in a particular manner, not to have declared and 
 treated those persons as rebels, who stepped forward in 
 the exercise of their own rights, in order not to be deli-* 
 ■vered over to the French. The tender ties, and sacred 
 claims of mother country, ought, at least, to have 
 secured to her offspring, a fair, unbiassed, and funda- 
 mental discussion of their rights ; and an unprejudiced 
 hearing of the appeals, in which, they stated their 
 wrongs. When Charles V., as severe a monarch as ever 
 lived, was desirous of allaying the disturbances, which 
 during his reign, took place in Peru ; instead of armies, 
 threats, and executions, he sent out Licenciado Gasca, 
 as a pacificator, and with full powers ; under the im- 
 pression, that if the complaints were just, they ought 
 to be redressed; but that mildness, conciliation, and 
 good words, would be more effectual than force, which, 
 would only add fuel to the flame. These disturbances, 
 were, nevertheless, of a serious nature; and nearly 
 threatened the sovereignty of the king, both in Peru and 
 Mexico. Yet Charles, though the proudest and most 
 powerful of the Spanish monarchs, instead of applying 
 insulting stigmas, merely called them dissentions; and 
 said they must be looked into, and remedied ; because 
 this was not only just, but, because unwarrantable and 
 harsh measures, might endanger those his distant king* 
 doms, then so valuable and so interesting, from being, 
 the great sources of allhis wealth, which rendered him 
 
i7r 
 
 of such consequence in Europe. When more justifiable 
 occurrences happen, in our own time, the Cadiz govern- 
 ment pronounces them, rebellions, ingratitude, and 
 crimes of high treason, and decrees, that they are to be 
 punished as such. Not, even, content with this, it 
 rushes into a war of extermination. Such, have been 
 the hasty and inconsiderate resolves of men, who from 
 abject obedience, by the most undue means, rose to the 
 command they then held; whose systems were founded 
 bn theory, whose arguments were terror, and whose 
 councils were swayed by monopolists, who from interest, 
 were opposed to reform, and to every thing that would 
 curtail their individual profits. 
 
 The dread of the ulteriour loss of the ultramarine 
 provinces, and the fear of being thus cut off from the 
 receipt of their precious metals, so necessary for the 
 support of his numerous armies, urged Charles V. to use 
 plans of redress and reconciliation. In the great enter- 
 prizes in which he was engaged, the failure of his West- 
 em resources, would have deprivedhimof the very nerve 
 of war. And has not the Cadiz government, all this time, 
 been engaged in a still more arduous enterprize, and 
 avowedly, possessed of less means ? Consequently, was 
 it not doubly bound, to husband every part of the public 
 revenue? Yet, with this precedent on record, one, that 
 occurred in times, when the Spaniard might, justly, 
 boast of the glory of his name, still have the present 
 sovereigns of Spain, been above following such an ex- 
 ample, and have been too self-sufficient, to borrow 
 grounds for their conduct, in the most renowned annals 
 of their own history. Charles was a legal and powerful 
 monarch, safely seated on his throne, and supported by 
 
 M 
 
178 
 
 num<;rou8 armies. Yet policy dictated to him, mildness 
 and a patient hearing; but when the illegal, weak, and 
 ephemeral governments of Cadiz, come to grasp the seep- 
 ire of power, unmindful both of their own weakness, and 
 insensible of their own illegality, they insultingly disre- 
 gard the wrongs and sufferings of their fellow subjects ; 
 they turn from the appeals of truth and justice; and 
 instead of redress, reform, and a just restoration of rights, 
 they hurl amongst their American brethren, the fire- 
 brands of destruction, discord, and revenge. Resolved 
 on the declaration and waging of an impotent war, they 
 become superiour to the sacrifice of even punctilio; and 
 spurning every overture to conciliation; they prefer the 
 weapons of terror and vengeance, to the more safe and 
 effectual measures of redress and reform. They even do 
 more. By the most cruel and unheard-of means of war- 
 fare, they seek to impose and rivet a bloody yoke on the 
 reluctant necks of their fellow-citizens; rather than see 
 them bound, by the more rational and lighter bonds of 
 gratitude, mutual fellowship, and reciprocal intercourse. 
 § The more this subject is examined, the more plainly 
 does it appear, that the Spanish American question, was 
 the most important of all those, in which the Cadiz go- 
 vernments have been concerned; and as such, I am confi- 
 dent it will be confessed, by all those, who are aware, 
 how much European Spain, depended on the ultramarine 
 provinces for pecuniary succours. The principal consi- 
 deration, hitherto, attached by the former to the latter, 
 has been the mines ; yet, it was evident, that war would 
 close them; that it would exclude from the circulation 
 of Europe, the annual coinage of 42 millions of dollars; 
 that the armies of the Peninsula, as well as those of its 
 
179 
 
 Allie?, would be driven to the greatest shifts for the 
 want of specie ; and that this privation, would produce 
 calamities to the mercantile interests of both Spain and 
 England. Nevertheless, all these considerations held no 
 Weight with the Cadiz cabinet; who, mindful only of a 
 temporary and delusive advantage, in favour of a small 
 body of men, and instead of adopting the natural and safe 
 plan of conciliation and redress, preferred rushing into 
 an unjust and impotent war, that was to bring ruin in its 
 train, and defeat the very object for which it was de- 
 clared. It was the prevention of all these manifest evils, 
 and the making of all the resources of the entire monar- 
 chy, strong and effective, in order to answer the great 
 objects in view, that in this particular moment, required 
 foresight, coolness, judgment, and impartiality. Then, 
 was it, essentially, necessary, to consolidate the vacilating 
 power of Spain, instead of tearing it asunder. Then, was 
 it, more than ever, requisite, to tighten the bonds which 
 held the two sister countries together, instead of putting a 
 fresh bar to their peace and harmony. Then, was the 
 time, to have healed, instead of afresh tearing open in- 
 veterate wounds; in short, then, was it necessary to ease 
 and satisfy the minds of the Spanish Americans, in lieu 
 of irritating and rousing them, by fresh insults. 
 
 Resentment and passion, in so important a case, ought 
 to have been banished; and above all, vengeance on the 
 weakest side, ought never to have been wielded against the 
 strongest. Conciliation and disinterestedness, on the one 
 hand, and affection and submission on the other, would, 
 alone, have produced the desired effect; would have 
 hindered a dispute, which every day, becomes pregnant 
 with more serious consequences, and on which, the fate 
 
 M 9 
 
180 
 
 of unborn millions, depends. Certainly, the latter sent> 
 nients existed on the part of the Spanish Americans; as 
 will, hereafter, be fully evinced; and, if the irritated 
 feelings, and disappointed and mercenary passions of the 
 Cadiz rulers, had not been roused to such a pitch, as to 
 make them insensible to the real interests of the nation, 
 ■\vhose guidance they had undertaken, the most salutary 
 results might then, have been produced. If the Cadiz 
 government, stimulated by fanatical phrenzy, and awed 
 by mercenary demagogues, was in those moments, in- 
 capable of drawing just and fair inferences of guilt and 
 innocence ; at least, England ought to have been more 
 prudent, and more enlightened; and above all, she 
 ought never, to have suffered such motives as these, to 
 have been the basis of an unnatural and merciless war» ' 
 fare, in the fatal consequences of which, she was equally, 
 interested. Scarcely is there a nation of the continent, 
 either allied or not, when suffering by the horrors of war, 
 by epidemical diseases, or by other misfortunes, beyond 
 human control, that has not received succour and con- 
 solation, from the exertions and benevolence of the 
 British government and people. Yet, in the case of 
 Spanish America, and when we have it in our power to 
 prevent the worst of all horrors, viz. that of a sanguinary 
 and revengeful civil war, we are, not only, silent and un. 
 mindful; but, when other attendant evils, like the forked 
 lightening from a portentous cloud, burst amidst its in- 
 habitants, and desolate the whole of their country, with 
 corresponding ruin ; when earthquakes, ravaged plains, 
 depopulated towns, and dungeons, crouded with num- 
 berless victims, rise before our sight, and the cries of 
 wido\>8 and orphans resound in our ears, still do we 
 
181 
 
 look on with cold indifference, and still arfe we deaf to 
 public appeals, that would read the hardest heart. And 
 who are all these sufferers? The very people, who, 
 lately, were the objects of our proffered fjiendship and 
 support, and now the victims of our own delusions, 
 though included in a solemn treaty, recently made. 
 
 There was a bond of interest, friendship, and rela- 
 tionship, rendered sacred, by the lapse of time, and 
 cemented by the fidelity of Spanish America, which, 
 might have been made a happy basis for our friendly ex- 
 ertions; and aipowerful means of preventing a precipitate, 
 act, on the part of a government, on whom we had then 
 such great claims. A new era, had by this time, broke 
 upon the Spanish monarchy of both hemispheres; and 
 though the defence of Spain was an object of the first 
 political consequence, the regeneration and preservation 
 of Spanish America, in another light, was also of incalcu- 
 lable importance. Influenced and impelled by that love 
 of rational and just freedom, which urged us to support 
 the cause of Spain, and led us to jejoice in the liberation 
 of Grermany, Holland, &c. we ought equally, to have 
 gloried in the same happy results being produced in 
 Spanish America; as v/ell, consistently, with our old 
 professions, as, because this was the only means, to ren- 
 der our alliance effective. If national honour, and the 
 sincerity which formed the basis of our treaty with the 
 representatives of Ferdinand, did not suffice ; at least, 
 motives of expediency, both to ourselves and Spain, 
 ought to have caused us, as soon as the dissentions ap- 
 peared with all their aggravated consequences, not, only, 
 to bring both parties together, in order to discuss their 
 differenceg; but, also, to establish present harmony, ia 
 
182 , 
 
 such a manner, as to prevent future collisions. This was 
 both a dut3% and interest, on tlie part of England ; and I 
 can now aver, and will, at a future time, amply prove, 
 that we should, always, have found a sincere and cordial 
 disposition for conciliation, on the part of the Spanish 
 Americans, which certainly might have been improved, 
 if the proper and timely means had been employed. 
 
 § It was not a restless desire of change, it was no wish 
 to break down the mounds of regular establishment, it 
 was not, in short, any thing opposed to justice, equity, 
 and the strict letter of the law; which first caused the 
 Spanish Americans, to depose their European chiefs, and 
 to place the administration of their affairs, in the hands 
 of persons of their own choice and confidence. As 
 before, fully, and substantially explained, the accounts 
 circulated, even by the agents of government, were dis- 
 heartening; the entire Peninsula was believed in danger; 
 and it became evident, that the cause was solely maintain- 
 ed, by the aid of England ; but, it was, at the same time, 
 uncertain, how long this cooperation would last. The 
 intervening ocean, might, with good reason, be considered 
 as a sufficient barrier against ravages, like those, to which 
 Spain was, already a victim; but, it could not shield the 
 ultramarine provinces, from the intrigues and domestic 
 machinations of the same enemy. Every interiour and 
 exteriour exertion was making there, in order that they 
 might equally share the pending fate of the mother coun-. 
 try ; and the very orders of that Regency, which declared 
 •war against them, amounted to no less. The doctrine of 
 all the Spanish chiefs there, as well as of their adherents, 
 was, that the dynasty which obtained the crown of Spain, 
 yiras to be acknowledged on the other side of the Atlantic; 
 
183 
 
 and every measure both there, and at home, tended to 
 prepare for this ulteriour object. The strength and in- 
 fluence of the European part of the community, were in 
 favour of it; and as before testified, nothing but the 
 energy of the Creoles, prevented its completion. Yet 
 both Spain and England, have been forgetful of these 
 facts; and the one pronounces these testimonies of loy- 
 alty, as treason and ingratitude; whilst, the other, calmly 
 beholds them, punished as such. 
 
 The very occurrences, which preceded and accom- 
 panied the governmental changes in Spanish America, 
 prove, that the adoption of provisional Juntas, was re- 
 sorted to, in the first place, as an essential means of 
 safety; and in the second, that reform, was the next 
 object, to which their attention was directed. Right, 
 necessity, and example, are on their side; and the de- 
 claration of war, against acts, which had such motives 
 for basis, was not only unjust, cruel, and impolitic, o» 
 the part of Spain; but, on that of England, it was, also, 
 weak, humiliating, and insincere, silently, to behold such 
 an excess of outrage, committed against one half of the 
 monarchy, with whom she was allied, and to whose se- 
 curity she was pledged. The degraded situation of 
 Spanish America, was a theme general in every nation ; 
 of course, it could not be a secret in Spain. If so, what 
 duty in the new governments, was more urgent and 
 pressing, than its reform. The restraints and privations 
 under which the Creoles laboured, had long been a sub- 
 ject of complaint and remonstrance; and the shelves of 
 the public offices, were loaded with volumes on this 
 subject. The destruction of these restraints and priva- 
 tions, the revival of trade, judicial and financial reform. 
 
184 
 
 and particularly, the reduction of despotism and oppres- 
 sion, were therefore the primary considerations which 
 ought to have actuated the proceedings of the new rulers; 
 these ought to have been the object of their earliest de- 
 liberations. The encouragement of arts and sciences, 
 as well as the introduction of all the useful discoveries 
 of Europe, was, besides, a paramount duty on the part 
 of the Spanish government, as blessings only inferiour 
 to those of civil peace and personal freedom, with which 
 they are so closely entwined ; and after the long and dark 
 night of ignorance, in which Spanish America had been 
 shrouded, the moral as well as political reformation and 
 improvement of its inhabitants, became necessary. 
 
 Nothing of this kind, however, had taken place; the 
 colonial system ; such as before described, continued in 
 full force, and besides, orders were continually going 
 out, to drain the ultramarine provinces of their last dolJar. 
 Strict watch was instituted over their inhabitants, to 
 scrutinize every action and thought; and a full system 
 of espionage and prosecution was organized, of which 
 numbers were victims. Even the nomination of viceroys 
 and captain-generals, sent out to govern abroad, proves 
 how little, policy and circumspection have guided the 
 Cadiz governments; and how little, the dignity and cri- 
 tical situation of the transmarine provinces, have been 
 consulted. I omit dwelling on the inconsistencies of the 
 Central Junta, or describing the feelings of one section 
 of America, on seeing two viceroys come out to govern 
 it, one named by the Junta of Gallicia, and the other by 
 that of Asturias. Venegas is sent out viceroy to Mexico, 
 the same, who, from a Lieutenant-Colonel on half-pay, 
 was made a General by the Central Junta ; who delivered 
 
185 
 
 up an army of 11,000 men in Ucles; who, after desert- 
 ing his, post, received, from the same government the 
 command of the army of Andalusia, consisting of 32,000 
 men, with which he v/as beat by the enemy, in Almo-: 
 nacid. The same, who declined co-operating in the 
 battle of Talaveia, and, who, in short, never gave signs 
 of talent, patriotism, or probity ; but to whom, a large 
 share of the disasters of the Peninsula, have been attri- 
 buted. Calleja is named to succeed him, the very same 
 -who put-14,000 old men, women and children to death 
 in Guanauato ; who, leveled to the dust, the town of 
 Zitaquaro; and who has, in short, in bis public dis- 
 patches, (as will be seen hereafter,) boasted, that he had 
 put to the sword, many thousand Creoles. Emparan 
 was sent to Caracas, after swearing allegiance to the 
 French, in Madrid i and the command of the Peruvian 
 army, was given to Goyeneche, who a little before, had 
 been invested with the insignia of Joseph. In the lower 
 departments of government, numerous similar instances 
 might be quoted. Such have been the men, the Cadiz 
 governments have destined to wield the arm of power in 
 the ultramarine provinces; and in such are their inhabi- 
 tants invited to place their confidence. In the hands of 
 such, in short, w^as the fate of Spanish America placed, 
 till its natives had sufficient energy to withdraw it. 
 
 When the force and correctness of the particulars just 
 stated, have been maturely examined, the motives which 
 first urged the inhabitants of the provinces of Spanish 
 America, to prefer the administration of their local con- 
 cerns, being in the hands of persons attached to their 
 own soil, and possessed of their own confidence, can 
 no longer remain dubioust Besides the more recent 
 
186 
 
 ilangers, by wnicn they were surrounded, they felt sen- 
 sibly, the galling weight of that oppressive system, into 
 which they had been, gradually, dragged, from the time 
 of the conquest, and which as men, and as possessed of 
 « larger share of enlightened liberality, than is generally 
 met with in their European brethren, they could, no 
 longer, endure. My statements further tend to prove, 
 that in first asking, and then persisting in the reform 
 of their political and social situation, and redress of 
 grievances and restraints, they not only act on the sub- 
 stantial grounds of justice; but also, in strict accord 
 with the most sacred and inherent rights, which have 
 been guaranteed to them, by the respective monarchs 
 of Spain. In opposing the fair discussion of those rights, 
 in denying their restitution, and in repelling their ap- 
 peals, by hostility and vengeance ; it will, moreover ap- 
 pear, that the governments of Cadiz, have not only acted 
 with injustice and impolicy; but have, besides, de- 
 viated from public law, and the spirit of their political 
 history. 
 
 Humboldt observes, that the Spanish ministry, too 
 often sacrificed the interests of the whole American con- 
 tinent, to those of a few maritime towns of Spain. The 
 present government has done more, it has sacrificed the 
 most sacred and essential interests, to the passions, re- 
 sentment, and undue gains of the monopolists of Cadiz; 
 iirritated . and alarmed, at the dread of seeing the loaves 
 and fishes, they had so long and so exclusively enjoyed, 
 shared amongst those, for whom they had, always, tes- 
 tified, hatred and jealousy. The new governments of 
 Spain, have uniformly reprobated the ancient and corrupt 
 policy of the court of Madrid ; they have constantly in- 
 
187 
 
 veighed against its acts, as the cause of the general de- 
 gradation, into which the whole nation had been sunk ; 
 3^et, when their own power is atFianced, and opportuni- 
 ties of reform and of favourable deviation, offer ; their 
 egotism urges them to follow the same beaten track, and 
 they leave untouched, the very vices, which they con- 
 fessed, had before exhausted the state. Avowedly, the 
 revolution of Spain, had two material objects; viz. to 
 recover the independence of the nation, by repelling its 
 invaders; and next, to reform the abuses, which had so 
 long prevailed. Both these objects were held out to the 
 people, by the new authorities; it was these hopes which 
 made them tacitly consent to endure control, under an 
 illegal shape ; but in their elevation, phrenzy, or blind- 
 ness, the new chiefs forget the provinces abroad, till 
 they, themselves, begin to be uneasy at the manner in 
 which they are treated, and are roused by the dangers to 
 which they are exposed. 
 
 The governments and people of Spain, have aspired 
 at every thing that could perfect and secure their own 
 national independence, personal freedom, and moral im- 
 provement. For these purposes, the fundamental laws 
 and most ancient usages of the realm, have been over- 
 turned and trodden to the ground ; why then were not 
 these, which Spain considered as the greatest benefits 
 and blessings, to be denied to Spanish America ? Was it 
 not also time, for her inhabitants, to receive the most 
 unequivocal and strong assurances and positive proofs, 
 that their dearest interests were equally attended to and 
 secured 5 that civil freedom, for them, was no longer 
 an empty name; that military despots, were no longer, 
 to be the instruments of their oppression ; that a sus* 
 
188 
 
 picious, and crafty police, should ^no longer be the basis 
 of their governing system , and in short, that in the 
 councils of the nation, equity, and justice, belonged to 
 the one, as well as to the other. Was this to be done, by 
 the prolongation of that same colonial system, presented 
 to my reader, in the early pages of this expos^? Weje 
 these just restitutions to be made, by aggravating, in- 
 stead of removing those privations and disabilities, under 
 which the Spanish Americans had so long laboured; or 
 was it to administer equal and impartial justice, to de- 
 clare war against one half of the monarch}^ for no other 
 reason, than, because, it had followed the example of 
 the other, and sought its own security and reform, iu 
 the very measures, in which the other, had, so lately, 
 gloried? And if this conduct was opposed to justice, 
 was it not equally in contradiction, with policy and ex- 
 pediency ?^ The colonial regimen, practised by Spain, 
 in the ultramarine provinces, loudly called for reform; 
 the Seville and Cadiz governments, therefore, are, in the 
 first place, answerable for two years negligence; and for 
 1)0 effective relief to Spanish America, being found on 
 their records, from the year 1808 to 1810, the period 
 when the governments of the latter, were transformed. 
 If this is a fact, and also that the situation of the in- 
 habitants of the transmarine provinces, required im- 
 mediate att^vntion, and particularly the revival of trade; 
 to refuse it by an insulting declaration of war and block- 
 ade, was not only to commit the most flagrant act of in- 
 justice in the face of the whole world ; but it was, besides, 
 to involve the last remnant of Spanish power and in- 
 fluence in the Western hemisphere; it was to sow the 
 seeds of fermenting passions, which would soon unnerve 
 
189 
 
 tb^ strength of the whole nation, and produce a fatal- re- 
 laxation in every part of the social body; and a war 
 that woul-d deluge its fairest portion, in blood and de- 
 struction; and, eventually, dry up both the resources of 
 Spain and her ally. 
 
 The motives which first urged the various sections 
 of Spanish America, to resist the control of their vice- 
 roys and captain-generals, and to entrust the administra- 
 tion of their local concerns, respectively, into the hands 
 of provisional Juntas, the only motives which excited 
 the anger, and called forth the vengeance of the Cadiz 
 Regency; are^ by this time, sufficiently explained and 
 proved. The first movements, it consequently, results, 
 had for object, to escape the shackles of the French, and 
 afterwards, to commence the grand work of reform. The 
 first motive, was even respectable to the most illiberal 
 of Spain, and particularly so to England; and as for the 
 second, who can step forward and say, it was not ne^ 
 cessary ? The grounds of the first, originated in a merit- 
 ed distrust in the colonial chiefs; who, as before mani- 
 fested, had given testimony of their bad faith; and had 
 proved by their conduct, that they were not to be 
 trusted. A variety of peculiar circumstances, had added 
 to this want of confidence ; and at such a distance, the 
 eventual fate of the Peninsula, was extremely uncertain,. 
 What hopes could be consistently entertained, when its 
 then deplorable situation, is considered; or why was 
 Spanish America to be more sanguine in her hopes> 
 when, even the rest of Europe^ dispaired? What pros- 
 pect of reform, did there exist, when two years of apathy, 
 had gone by; during which time, the ultramarine pro- 
 vinces, had only been thought of, to contribute supplies> 
 
190 
 
 and to add to the sounding dignity and parade, of the 
 new rulers of Spain and the Indies. The only govern- 
 ment which had raised itself on the anarchy of the mo- 
 ment, was now dispersed, and it was'^uncertain, under 
 what new shape, succeeding despotism would act. How 
 could confidence subsist in Spanish America, when in 
 Spain, all was discomfiture and dismay; when division 
 reigned in the national councils, amongst the military 
 chiefs; and even the allies ; when the treasury was ex- 
 hausted; when the national armies were broken; when 
 th# garrison towns and chief provinces, were in the 
 bands of the enemy; when the people were tired of the 
 war; and when in short, the best opportunities of saving 
 the Peninsula, had been lost ? , All these dilemmas, have, 
 indeed, since been overcome ; but this, has not been, by 
 the energies of the Spanish government and people, but, 
 rather, by the perseverance of England. At the period 
 to which I allude, and when the governmental changes 
 took place abroad, nothing but the salvation of Cadiz, 
 preserved the monarchy; and this was, more owing to the 
 zeal and activity of the Duked*Albuquerque, than to the 
 prompt or prudent measures of the government; and 
 when things had arrived at this low ebb, were the 
 Spanish Americans, also, to wait, till the eleventh hour, 
 or till they .had, equally, fallen a prey to a designing 
 foe? 
 
 In strict conformity to the laws of the realm and the 
 successive grants of the kings of Spain, we have, before, 
 seen the ultramarine provinces, entitled and authorized 
 to hold their Cortes, within themselves; yet, when they 
 erect provisional Juntas for local purposes, and for mo- 
 tives the most just and respectable, and in exact iniiita- 
 
191 
 
 tion of those of European Spain ; they are warred upon 
 as rebels, and treated as outlaws. War and blockade, 
 is openly declared against them; and after all their testi- 
 monies of loyalty, both recent and sincere, after their 
 copious remittances, and finally, after 300 years of aflfec* 
 tion and fellowship, which have been proof against all 
 the instigations of England, they are treated worse, than 
 the very provinces of the Peninsula, which had already 
 bent to the allegiance of the French. If the position be 
 true, that the Spanish Americans were equal in rights 
 with their brethren of the Peninsula, and this relative 
 footing is not only analagous to the spirit of their history, 
 but, also, founded on the most repeated, and express acts 
 of the Spanish legislature ; and if as before proved, the 
 person of the king was their sole bond of political union; 
 I fairly ask my reader, what steps the Spanish Americans 
 were to take, when this bond was wrenched from them; 
 when no legal or substantial form of government wts 
 established, to replace it; and when, in short, they were 
 equally driven to an emergency, for which, in the sta- 
 tutes, no adequate provision could be found? If their 
 conduct then proved any thing, it was attachment and 
 respect to the parent state. Attachment, by not imme* 
 diately deposing their chiefs, as soon as the first news of 
 the French, invasion, and the loss of their rightful mo- 
 narch, arrived out amongst them; thus preferring to wait 
 with patience and forbearance, and this for more than 
 two years, and till their own situation, was not only 
 desponding, but, also, till they found it was in vain to 
 look, any longer, for relief, or redress, to a country^ 
 which, in itself, had not even the form of a government^ 
 and, which, they supposed, had, already, become a prey 
 
192 
 
 to its Enemies. Respect, by following the very example 
 of the Peninsula, when plunged into a similar distress. 
 
 The Americans from their distance, as well as from 
 their loss being the greatest, required a temporary and 
 substituted power ; was, there, therefore, any other than 
 Juntas, that could be adopted ? Was there any other form 
 that could adequately supply their wants, or fulfil their 
 wishes ? The Juntas of Oviedo, Seville, and Valencia, as 
 independent bodies, could treat with England, and enter 
 into an alliance, in the name of the w4iole monarchy, 
 and their right and authority was never doubted. Their 
 creation was the same as those of Spanish America, with 
 this difference, that those of the latter, were in form and 
 in essence, more regular and constitutional ; and the ur- 
 gent circumstances which gave rise to both, were on a 
 parallel. Yet, though equal in rights, and actuated by 
 motives both more honourable and just, the Juntas of Spa- 
 nish America, are warred upon, because they merely un- 
 dertake the administration of their own affairs, and con- 
 sult their own local welfare, without interfering with the 
 rest of the monarchy. The general object of the sec- 
 tions of Spanish America, was to assemble local and pro- 
 visional Juntas, as well for purposes already expressed, as 
 a kind of preliminary step to the calling of a general 
 congress, of the representatives of each. This, also, was 
 the original plan in Spain, hut the Central Junta and Re- 
 gency, after tasting the sweets of power, were loath to 
 forego it; and, consequently, struggled to retain it, as 
 long as they could ; that is, for more than three years. I 
 mention this intention of the Spanish Americans to call 
 a general congress, in case the disasters of the nation 
 continued ; in order to repel the charge of iiulividual 
 
195 
 
 ambition in the respective leaders of the people, having 
 been the basis of their origin. The formation of Juntas, 
 in Spanish America, particularly in one section, has, in- 
 deed, opened a tempting and easy path to unprincipled 
 ambition, but this has been an occurrence, both recent 
 and partial ; nor could a general principle, be drawn from 
 so limited an instance. 
 
 § The judicious and attentive reader, who has thus far, 
 accompanied me in my subject, will, by this time, be at 
 no loss to judge for himself, of the real origin and 
 causes, as well as of the most material circumstances, of 
 the first distentions, which arose between European and 
 American Spain. It no longer remains dubious, that 
 they originated in the injudicious and unjust conduct of 
 the Cadiz government. The basis was a want of libera- 
 lity, accompanied by jealousy, and an avowed spirit of 
 monopoly, which soon assumed the shape of hostility, 
 ill-treatment, and ingratitude. Not that I level these 
 charges against the whole Spanish nation ; no, I am well 
 persuaded, that the sensible and impartial part of the 
 community, has long regretted, that equity, disinterested- 
 ness, and candour, had not been made the basis of the 
 Spanish x\merican question ; and that the means of mu^ 
 tual explanation and conciliation, have been neglected. 
 A large portion of the Spanish people has long lamented, 
 that the Regency of Cadiz, did not adhere to that sys- 
 tem of equal political rights, on which the social and re- 
 lative situation of the Spanish Americans, had been 
 founded; and, from which, they had been, gradually, 
 dragged, by the despotism of the successive monarchs. 
 Unmindful of that great and sound truth, that the real 
 liberty of the subject, as well as public peace and secu- 
 
194 
 
 Vity, can only be preserved, by making the authority and 
 administration of the laws, equal, pure, and unbiassed, 
 and, by maintaining the tone and energies of government, 
 the Cadiz Regency sacrificed the rights and w^elfare of 
 the whole sections of Spanish America, to the monopo- 
 lies of the Cadiz merchants, and to their incessant and 
 unwearied endeavours to retain an unnatural trade. 
 Having, however, in the course of my observations, re- 
 fered, in general terms, to this particular point, and as- 
 serted, that it was from Cadiz, that issued, the first sparks 
 of that devouring flame, Avhich has, already, overspread 
 the whole of Spanish America, I conceive it my duty to 
 add some explanatory remarks. 
 
 Much must the liberal mind regret, that since Cadiz 
 became the seat of government, the influence of the 
 i^iercantile bodies over its operations, has been not only 
 great, but, also, exercised in the most undue and unbe- 
 coming manner. Accustomed to view the commerce 
 of the ultramarine provinces, as an exclusive right and 
 monopoly, belonging to them, and, as it were, vested in 
 them, by charter or compact, every engine was now set 
 to work, in order to preserve it. This injudicious mo- 
 nopoly, by which the inhabitants of Spanish America, had 
 long endured the greatest privations, which had rendered 
 the choicest gifts, nature had so bountifully bestowed on 
 their genial soil and climate, of no value ; and which, 
 during the wars with England, had nearly left them, 
 without clothing, was the first object, to which the 
 people of the ultramarine provinces, directed their plans 
 of reform* Trade with all powers, was declared free, 
 as soon as ever the new provisional governments, entered 
 on their functions. The news of tliis resolution, as well 
 
195 
 
 as the creation of Juntas, reached Cadiz, at the same 
 time ; and this attempt to throw down old and habitual 
 monopolies, was, by those who had so long founded 
 upon them, their riches, and the means of their eleva- 
 tion, considered as implicating all the crimes of treason, 
 rebellion, and ingratitude. Reform, the restitution of 
 long-invaded rights, and the full establishment of equa- 
 lity, the objects at which the Spanish Americans aimed, 
 in their transformations of government, consequently, 
 found enemies in the commercial bodies of Cadiz, from 
 being opposed to their interests, and from depriving 
 them of those exorbitant gains, which time had render- 
 ed habitual ; and which they considered themselves en- 
 titled to retain, notwithstanding the other party, was 
 thereby sacrificed. The influence of the Cadiz merchants 
 over the members of the Regency, arose out of loans of 
 money, individually advanced, or raised for the general 
 service of government, as well as from personal favours. 
 The tables of the merchants, were surrounded by persons 
 who had offices and influence ; all which, aided by in- 
 trigue, mercenary pens, and an active press, soon stifled 
 the calls of equity, liberality, and justice ; and this most 
 important of all questions, thence became involved in 
 virulence, inveterate opposition, and malignant calum- 
 nies. Gradually, a fund of rancour and open animosity 
 was engendered, and soon the measures of government, 
 became identified with the local views and interests of 
 that trading port. The Cadiz columns, became panders 
 to the worst passions of the multitude ; and were used 
 as channels to convey to the public, every species of 
 factious misrepresentation. The transactions of govern- 
 ment, from that time, were wrapped up in mystery, and 
 
 N 2 
 
its councils, weak in themselves, were surrounded hy 
 felsehood and deception. 
 
 Na sooner were the governmental changes in the 
 sections of America, known in Cadiz, than a war faction 
 was immediately formed ; and instead of the merits of 
 the case, being deliberately examined, open hostility was 
 proclaimed, and the voice of policy, justice, and huma- 
 nity, became drowned, amidst the shouts of monopoly, 
 and the conflicts of party» This same rancour, extended 
 soon after, to Puerto Rico, Montevideo, Havana, Mexico, 
 Sec. whose public papers, together with those of Cadiz, 
 must have often filled their readers, with disgust. The 
 coarsest invectives, that malignity or wickedness could 
 invent, feelings of personal malice and revenge, in short, 
 every thing that could poison or irritate, has constantly- 
 operated as a bar to hinder the beneficial results that 
 might then have been produced; whereby, those fatal 
 enmities, now so justly to be deplored, have been occa- 
 sioned. The same want of sincerity, the same arrogant 
 and fulminated threats, and the same misrepresentations 
 of facts, have often struck the unbiassed in Cadiz; whilst 
 balm, conciliation, and redress, have been entirely over- 
 looked. In Cadiz,, it has been held as a crime to sup- 
 pose, that the Spanish Americans had rights, the same 
 as other men ; and the Consulado of Mexico, sought 
 even to divest them of feelings. Their subjection, with- 
 out being heard, has there been held as an unalienable 
 right; and the rendering of the productions of their soil, 
 not worth collecting, has been, also, considered as an 
 exclusive privilege of that same trading port, as will, 
 hereafter, be more fully shewn. The possession and 
 g4j\eriiment of the American provinces,, has been con* 
 
197 
 
 sidered as devolving on those temporary governments, 
 created in the Peninsula for its defence ; and in default 
 •of the rightful successors of Charles IV. and during the 
 suspension of the crown functions, the Cadiz merchants 
 have supposed, that the inhabitants of the form-er, w^ere 
 bound, blindly, to obey those illegitimate governments, 
 in vi^hich they had no part, and v^hich were established, 
 without the concurrence of even the people at home. 
 
 § But, even granted, that the Central Junta, and the 
 succeeding Regency, had acquired the right of absolute 
 command, in the Peninsula, and that the want of due 
 election, had been made up, by the tacit consent of the 
 people ; their authority must have been founded on some 
 real or supposed constituent principle. If so, the mem- 
 bers of such governments, could only carry to their ses- 
 sions, those same rights and powers, which their con- 
 stitutents themselves possessed; and these, being no other 
 than their own individual rights and faculties, such as 
 are common to all men, they, of course, could confer no 
 right, title, or power, whatever, to use an imperative 
 voice, out of their own provinces. It would, therefore, 
 be as inconsistent in Juntas of the Peninsula, arrogating 
 to themselves the sovereign and absolute power in the 
 distant provinces, on the real footing on which they 
 «tand; as it would for the Junta of Seville, to command 
 within the jurisdiction of Asturias; or for a concentra- 
 tion of all the American Juntas, to exact obedience in 
 the Peninsula. It was a monstruosity in policy, as well 
 as in legislation, for Juntas of detached provinces of the 
 Peninsula, and afterwards a concentration thereof, to 
 exact obedience of, and treat the sections of Spanish . 
 America, as dependencies; and if it is a fact, that there 
 
198 
 
 is an undisturbed and inherent right in every people, to 
 choose for themselves ; the Juntas of Spain, that is, ail 
 the governments v^^hich preceded the Cortes, either in- 
 dividually, or collectively, possessed no legal right of 
 absolute control over the ultramarine provinces, unless 
 by their own will and consent. 
 
 To judge, correctly, of the acts of a government, it 
 is necessary to calculate the good which has been pro- 
 duced, and the evils which have been avoided. The 
 CentralJunta, left behind it, an exhausted treasury, dis- 
 persed armies, disunion and distrust, and most of the 
 provinces, likewise, in the hands of the French. The 
 Regency, on the basis of injustice and terror, declared an 
 intemperate war against one half of the monarchy, 
 which, besides, cutting off the chief resources which 
 "would have rendered the patriotic cause of the Peninsula, 
 prosperous, has changed the ultramarine provinces, into a 
 wide, and extended waste, of ruin and desolation. Had 
 the integrity of these two ephemeral governments, been 
 incorruptible; had their views, principles, and actions, 
 been free from selfish and undue passions; had they not 
 nourished, and been biassed by the conflicts of party ; 
 had their ends been always upright, and their means 
 pure; had wiles been unknown to them, and their pro- 
 fessions always sincere ; in short, had they attended, 
 with equal solicitude, to the interests of all parts of the 
 monarchy, and therein administered justice, impartially, 
 and without local prejudices or party feelings, then, 
 might any trivial oversight in their public conduct, have 
 been overlooked, or attributed to the difficulty of the 
 times, in which they had charge of government. Had 
 the ambition which guided their actions, been regulated 
 
by principles, and controled by circumstances; had its 
 object, been the real welfare of the whole country over 
 which they presided, rather than personal aggrandize- 
 ment and the gratifications of intrigue ; they might, in 
 European Spain, at least, have still deserved the name 
 of Patriots ; and their actions, and not their intentions, 
 would have been arraigned by the rest of the world. 
 Had their descisions, been guided by sound and impar- 
 tial counsel; or had the great objects of their public ad- 
 ministration, been steadily pursued; had the high sta- 
 tions, in which the members of each government, were 
 placed, been unsought; nay, had patriotism been their 
 guide, and had, even their conduct, been unassuming 
 and divested of arrogance, the illegality of their powers, 
 would, perhaps, never have been made a subject of cen- 
 sure or reproach ; they never would have been scoffed 
 at, for their authority being neither founded in law, or 
 accompanied by the public voice; but, they would, 
 rather, have acquired glory and renov/n, out of the diffi- 
 culties with which they had to contend, and the great 
 perplexities with which they had to struggle. None of 
 these public virtues and essential qualifications, were, 
 however, found in the Central Junta, or Cadiz Regency; 
 and during the long period of their command, England, 
 in her alliance, was, perhaps, involved, in the greatest of 
 all possible contradictions; viz* that of fighting in one of 
 the noblest causes, that ever animated the bosom of a 
 people ; and, in the furtherance of her views, of having 
 to support two of the worst, weakest, most illegal, and 
 degraded governments, that ever usurped power, or ini 
 suited the rights and liberties of a nation. Thus is it, 
 that almost every member of these two governments. 
 
200 
 
 has sunk into solitude, or is forgotten; and even the 
 virtuous Jovellanos, from being connected with the 
 CentralJunta, appeared to have tarnished his political 
 reputation, and to have obliterated the remembrance of 
 that honourable cause, for which he suffered, under the 
 corrupt Godoy. 
 
 England, in her treaty with Spain, was thus destined 
 to contend with the strongest prejudices, which a com- 
 bination of circumstances, the irritation of passions, and 
 illiberality could produce; and as time has been added 
 to our connection, these difficulties have increased. Yet, 
 this has principally, been owing to a want of early re- 
 medies, and to a mean subservience, had to the illegal 
 governments of the Peninsula, rather than to the nation 
 at large. When Lord Wellesley, was received in his 
 official capacity of ambassador, by the Central Junta, he 
 reserved to .himself, the right of remonstrating on any 
 point, that might interest the respective sovereigns and 
 nations.* This stipulation, was admitted with apparent 
 satisfaction; and of course, it could not have been con- 
 sidered an imprudent interference, in his successor, using 
 the same privilege. He early discovered and complained 
 of the " poverty and exhausted state of Spain," to 
 which he attributed all the hardships and privations of 
 our armies, and the whole, he says, was aggravated by 
 the debility of government. f At this time, however, 
 the Central Junta still continued in command; and the 
 French had, hitherto, been kept in some degree of 
 check. But, when the hopes of Spain, became confined 
 to the tenure of Cadiz; when the best provinces were in 
 
 * Vide Papers published by order of Parliament, March 19, 1810. 
 t Letter to Mr. Canning, Seville, August 15, 1809. 
 
201 
 
 possession of the French, and when, at the same time> 
 nothing but a committee of that execrated government 
 had been placed at the head of affairs, were not these 
 evils increased, and did not the necessity of giving 
 strength and resources to European Spain, become 
 more urgently manifest? And could this be done, by 
 an impolitic declaration of war, against that part of the 
 monarchy, which, besides, being out of the reach of the 
 enemy, had always been an essential source of revenue, 
 to the Kings of Spain ? 
 
 Lord Wellesley, in the same letter, complains " of 
 the erroneous policy of a weak government, operating 
 against the general cause of the Peninsula;" and he 
 himself, often remonstrated on this subject. He asserts, 
 that " the promises of the Central Junta, in the most 
 essential points;" even those which involved the means 
 of enabling the British army, under Sir A. Wellesley, 
 to remain within the .Spanish territory, on which the 
 safety of Spain, then, actually depended, " were only 
 verbal, were merely matters of form, and never carried 
 into execution." All was " procrastination — delay," and 
 at last, he adds, these " proofs of inactivity, served only 
 to increase the suspicions of ignorance, debility, and a 
 want of sincerity, already attached to government." 
 Such was the nature of the government, which, at that 
 lime, presided over the destinies of Spain and the Indies; 
 and such was its neglect, under the most imperious cir- 
 cumstances^ when pressed by an active and powerful 
 enemy, and when the most vital interests of the nation, 
 were at stake. The members, thereof, were, neverthe- 
 less, strongly urged by a British general, and an active 
 ambassador from the court of St. James ; and though a 
 
202 
 
 continuation of their supineness, was about to deprive 
 them of the co-operation of British forces, and thus 
 leave them single-handed with the French, disasters, 
 only, served to rouse them from their apathy and torpor. 
 And if this was the situation of the Spanish government, 
 at the period here alluded to, if such was its remissness, 
 negligence, and even ignorance, in matters of most urgent 
 moment; could any thing but blunders, impolicy, and a 
 want of discriminating judgment, be expected with re- 
 gard to the affairs of Spanish America, situated at sucH 
 a distance, and crouching, as the members of the Eu- 
 ropean government supposed, under the most abject sub- 
 mission and dependence? 
 
 The conduct and nature of the governments of Spain, 
 must have been early known to the British cabinet, since 
 it was fully pourtrayed by an active and intelligent en- 
 voy, for their express information. It was evident, they 
 were not guided by an undeviating sense and principle of 
 moral right, and fairness of intention, since, in their 
 public functions, they neglected those means of general 
 welfare and defence, which alone would stand the test 
 of time, and bear the scrutiny of the impartial of every 
 nation. Speaking of the nature of the Central Junta, 
 Lord Wellesley observes, " Its constitution, is not 
 founded in any well understood system of union between 
 the provinces; and much less, in a just^^and wise distri- 
 bution of the elements and powers of a government. So 
 far, there does not exist a confederation of the provinces; 
 the executive power, is divided and debilitated in the 
 hands of a Junta, too numerous for any unity in deliber- 
 ation, and promptitude in execution ; and too reduced, 
 for the purpose of representing the body of the Spanish 
 
203 
 
 nation. The Central Junta, is not an adequate represen- 
 tation, either of the king, the aristocracy, or the people; 
 nor, has it in itself, any of the useful qualities of an exe- 
 cutive council, or of a deliberative assembly; at the 
 same time, that it unites many of those defects, which 
 interfere with both deliberation and execution."* In the 
 same letter he adds. " Whether this ill-formed govern- 
 ment, is sincerely affected, or not, to the cause of Spain 
 and her allies, is certainly dubious; all the jealousies 
 which exist, of every nature, against the British govern- 
 ment or the allies, are principally, found in this body, in 
 its ministers, or their adherents ; in the people, no traces 
 of such unworthy thoughts, are to be found. But leav- 
 ing to one side all examination of the dispositions of the 
 Junta, it is evident, that it possesses no spirit of energy 
 and activity; no degree of authority or force; that it is 
 not supported by the good will and affection of the peo- 
 ple, whilst, from its strange and extravagant constitution, 
 it unites within itself, all the most contradictory incon- 
 veniences of the known forms of government, without 
 having one of their advantages. It is not an instrument 
 of sufficient force, to execute the objects for which it 
 was formed; nor can it ever acquire sufficient force or 
 influence, to call into action, the resources of the nation, 
 and the spirit of the people, with that vigour and energy, 
 which might give efficacy to a foreign alliance, and 
 repel a powerful invader. This is the true cause, at 
 least, of the continuation of that state of debility, con- 
 fusion, and disorder, the consequences of which, the 
 British army has lately experienced, in the interior ad* 
 
 * Lord Wellesley to Mr. Canning, Seville, September 15, 1809- 
 
204 
 
 mmistration of Spain, and especially, in that of the mi- 
 litary department."* 
 
 Two material tmths, must have been deduced by 
 the British government, from this statement of facts; 
 viz. that the then existing government of Spain, was 
 unjust in its formation, and inadequate to the wants of 
 the nation at large; and next, that by rousing it to a 
 sense of the necessity of acting on the broad principle of 
 justice, and of meeting the invasion of the French, with 
 all the force and united courage and resources of the 
 provinces of both hemispheres, we might have, perhaps, 
 offended the individual members of an ephemeral go- 
 vernment, which could only last, till the people ivere 
 convinced of their own forbearance, but, that we should 
 thereby eventually, have deserved the gratitude of the 
 entire monarchy, since as Lord Wellesley says, these 
 jealousies only existed in the government and its adherents, 
 but tiot a trace of them, was to be found i?i the people. It 
 thence results, that all this delicacy and forbearance of the 
 British cabinet, has had for object, rather to please and 
 flatter the members of a government, faithfully, though 
 sparingly, pourtrayed to them by their own minister; 
 than to consult the real welfare and lasting interests of 
 the people to whom we were allied, and of that mo- 
 narchy, whose preservation and integrity, we had 
 pledged, on behalf of its unfortunate sovereign. 
 
 And, on the part of the British government, did 
 there, then, exist no right, nor no grounds for interfer- 
 ence; had we no means left us, to procure remedies for 
 so many evils, either by remonstrance, or by positive 
 
 ♦ Lord Wellesley to Mr. Caaning, Seville, September 25, 1809. 
 
205 
 
 demand? Either the basis of our treaty Tvith SpairTy 
 was insincere; and a contrary stipulation was tberein? 
 specified ; or, it was confined to the European provinces, 
 only. If it wa& sincere, Spain ought to have been grate-' 
 ful for that advice, which was to keep the monarchy 
 united; and was to secure a prosperous issue to that 
 war, against which, there would, otherwise, be so many 
 founded probabilities. Spain must have considered our 
 treaty, as extending to all the monarchy over which 
 Ferdinand had a claim; and the many times which the 
 Spanish go-vernm^nt has, since, remonstrated with, and 
 demanded military and naval aid of us, as an ally for the 
 reconquest of Spanish America; together with the manner 
 in which the Spanish ambassador in London, solicited of 
 government, the persons of the first deputies, who ar- 
 rived here from Caracas, evidently proves, that we were 
 supposed ta feel an imperious interest in the ultramarine 
 provinces, and that we were equally bound to their fate. 
 Why, then, did we hesitate to convince such a govern- 
 ment of its self-delusion ;^ and why could not this invita- 
 tion, have been made the basis of more just, equitable^ 
 and honourable measures? If Spain had sufficient right 
 and confidence in England, to call upon her to fight 
 battles, of which, the policy and justice^ had never beeiv 
 proved ; could she not place trust in her as an umpire ; 
 or would those blessings have been less acceptable, 
 which had been purchased by conciliation and just 
 redress, rather than crimsoned witb the blood of brethren, 
 and extorted at the point of the swoi'd > 
 
 Before Spain called upon England, for fresh succours, 
 it was her duty to prove, that her own resources had 
 been husbanded, and not wantonly wasted away. Ii^ 
 
206 
 
 good faith, this was necessary, in order to establish, that 
 further sacrifices, were both just and unavoidable. It, 
 therefore, became the legislation of Spain, as it did /le 
 policy of England, to push the war against France, with 
 all possible vigour; for, otherwise, it could only ter- 
 minate in the ruin of the hopes and downfall of the 
 liberties of the one, and render useless those enormous 
 sacrifices which the other had been making, for the 
 whole of Europe, during a period of more than twenty 
 years. To effect this so great and so desirable a pur- 
 pose, it was, in the first place, necessary, to bind all 
 parts of the monarchy together, by stronger and more 
 indissoluble ties; and secondly, to found the rights of 
 Spanish America, on a just and renovated equilibrium; 
 as the only means of giving to the entire nation, unity, 
 strength, and energy. Spanish America, was a country, 
 that, from a variety of most interesting motives, was 
 deserving of our most anxious regard and tender solici- 
 tude. On it, at that time, opened an era, which the 
 friends of the happiness and liberty of the human race, 
 beheld with delight, and had long, and ardently, desired. 
 Our immediate interests, as well as our remote political 
 advantages, forcibly pointed to this quarter; whilst a 
 most peculiar combination of circumstances, such as 
 may never again return, rendered those moments, we 
 then lost, the most favourable and propitious. Lord 
 Wellesley, early informed government, that he had re- 
 commended to the secretar}'- of the Central Junta, a new 
 governing system, to be established under an act, that 
 was ** to contain the principle articles of amendment of 
 injuries, correction of abuses, and an alleviation of im- 
 posts, both in Spain and the Indies ; together with the 
 
207 
 
 principal points of concession to the colonies, of those 
 rights, which alone, could secure to them, a just part, 
 in the representation of the body of the Spanish em- 
 pire."* The British government, even if no other 
 means of information, were attainable, was, thereby, 
 early aware, what was absolutely necessary for the well- 
 being of Spanish America; and was it by suffering a war 
 to be declared against her unredressed inhabitants, even 
 without a hearing, and when they merely took their own 
 reform into their own hands, because they had been 
 forgotten at home, that these requisites, pointed out by 
 Lord Wellesley, were to be obtained ? 
 
 No record of the Central Junta, or of the Cadiz Re- 
 gency, that is, no governmental act, during a period of 
 ijiore than two years, can be produced to prove, any ef- 
 fective measure in alleviation of the wrongs of Spanish 
 America ; or to evince, that the members of either go- 
 vernment, were actuated by a sincere and zealous desire, 
 to remove the hideous and galling yoke, that had, so 
 long, rested on the shoulders of her oppressed inhabi- 
 tants. Lord Wellesley had sufficient candour to confess 
 this truth, up to his own time, when he told his govern- 
 ment, ** that the admission of the colonies, to a partici- 
 pation in the government, and in the representation of 
 the mother country, appeared rather to have been sug- 
 gested, as an expedient to secure to the Junta, a conti- 
 nuation of its actual authority, and that it had no con- 
 nection whatever, with any extensive or liberal view of 
 policy or government." f As I have before asserted, this 
 
 * Lord Wellesley to Mr. Canning, Seville, September 25, 1809. 
 t Ibid 
 
208 
 
 measure on the partoftbeCentralJunta,was, consequelif;-* 
 ly, no more than a lure; since these verbal sentiments of 
 moderation, were belied by actual conduct* At the same 
 time that the executive published flattering decrees, 
 private orders, of a very opposite tenour, vv^ere sent over 
 to the chiefs in power ; so that its insincere offers, though 
 fair on paper, when put to the test, were as flimsy as the 
 texture, on which they were transcribed. Was this, then, 
 the species of justice, that was to satisfy the wants of a 
 suffering people; or were they to continue to place their 
 confidence in a goveniment, which, besides being illegal 
 and inadequate, was sunk into every error and every cor- 
 ruption, which, in the course of ages, had crept into the 
 cabinet of Madrid? Lord Wellesley, in his said letter, 
 assures his government, that, even in Spain, ** no plan 
 had been adopted for the eff*ective amendment of inju- 
 ries, the correction of abuses, the alleviation of exac- 
 tions, the administration of justice, the regulation of the 
 revenue, imposts and commerce, the security of persons 
 and property ; and that all the other branches of govern- 
 ment, were as defective as that of the war department.** 
 Yet this is the picture of the very government, Spanish 
 America was commanded to obey ; this was the nature 
 of the executive, from which her inhabitants were to ex- 
 pect relief. Lord Wellesley further adds, ** The Supreme 
 Junta, continues multiplying precautions to prolong the 
 duration of its command, in spite of the interests of the 
 monarchy, and the intentions and wishes of the people; 
 by which means, all the evils and abuses, which now op- 
 press the nation, will increase," Sec, The Spanish 
 Americans were, then, not the only ones, who were sen- 
 sible of the degraded state of the Peninsular government. 
 
209 
 
 since it was public to the whole of Europe, and p^rticu* 
 larly known to the British government, through the most 
 respectable channel that possibly could be found. But 
 what is more. Lord Wellesley, actually, foresaw the effects 
 which would be produced in the ultramarine provinces, 
 by the disorders of the Seville government, when as early 
 as September, 1809, he announces to Mr. Canning, " that 
 when the true state of the government of the mother 
 country, is known in the colonies, there will be imminent 
 danger of a commotion, in this most important part of 
 the empire,'* The commotions in Spanish America, 
 were, consequently, foreseen, and must have emanated 
 from causes, not only of an imperious nature, but, also, 
 exclusively originating on this side the water. And are 
 the inhabitants of the transmarine provinces, then, to be 
 plunged into the horrors of a civil war, on this account, 
 and treated as rebels, for the adoption of measures, 
 which were both suggested by prudence, and controled 
 by motives, arising out of the common order of things? 
 § Lord Wellesley, moreover, certified to his govern- 
 ment, that ** the greatest obstacle to the liberty of Spain, 
 was the very state of her government; but, for the Spa- 
 nish Americans to be sensible of this fact, and to act ac* 
 cordingly, is a crtme of high treason, is pronounced re- 
 bellion, and their conduct is branded with all the terma 
 of opprobrium, that malignity, disappointment, and ran- 
 cour, could invent. Actuated by the pressure of their 
 own ills, and as we have already seen, urged by the des* 
 ponding situation of the Peninsula, they elect a provi- 
 sional government, the most rational and the most con- 
 stitutional they could i and for this, war is proclaimed 
 against them. For this, they are, in fact, declared, hors 
 
 Q 
 
210 
 
 de la lot ; and on this unjust basis, the subjugation of the 
 ultramarine provinces, becomes a plea for the greatest ex- 
 cesses of ambition and revenge, of which instances, such 
 as never before soiled the page of history, will be, here- 
 after, quoted. The two reasons alleged by all the sec- 
 tions of Spanish America, for thus varying the forms of 
 their own local administration, was the hopeless situa- 
 tion of the Peninsula, and the illegal and degraded state 
 of its governmenrt; and these sentiments, were fidly con- 
 veyed both to the Spanish and British cabinets, in the 
 two documents placed in my Appendix, under the heads 
 of E and F. The first, in a letter written by the Junta of 
 Caracas, to the Marques de las Hormazas, as Spanish 
 minister, under date of 20th May, 1810; m which, the 
 deplorable situation of that province, (exactly the same 
 as in the other sections) is faithfully pourtrayed, and the 
 reasons for preferring local Juntas, fully explained. I 
 have thought it hest to give it in its entire state, not only 
 on account of the energetic and plain display of facts, 
 therein contained ; but, because it serves as a remarka- 
 ble contrast to the sentiments of a British minister, al- 
 luding to the conduct of Caracas, of which notice, will 
 be, hereafter, taken. Document F. is a letter, written by 
 the said Junta of Caracas, to his Majesty George III, un- 
 der date of the 1st January, 1810; which I have, also, 
 inserted at full length, in consequence of its being ex- 
 tremely explanatory of the views and motives, which 
 urged the Spanish Americans to vary their forms of go- 
 vernment. Having, moreover, in the course of this ex- 
 pos6, strongly urged the neglect of timely interference, 
 ion the part of the British government; and, besides, ar- 
 '^ued, that it was not only inconsistent with our true po» 
 
211 
 
 iicy, but even with our pledge made as the joint guar- 
 dians of the Spanish monarchy of both hetiiispheres, to 
 suffer the ultramarine provinces to be rent asunder by 
 unjust civil wars, and their resources to be wasted 
 away ; I conceive it my duty to manifest to my reader, 
 what was the nature of the appeal, at that time, made to 
 the feelings and justice of the British nation ; particu- 
 larly, when I can thereby explain, in a full and official 
 manner, the grounds on which the Spanish Americans 
 acted. 
 
 The object of this letter, was to announce to the 
 British government, that the inhabitants of Venezuela, 
 under the dangers to which they were exposed, and the 
 pressure of domestic ills, by which they were bent 
 down, had no longer been able to endure the illegal, un- 
 fair, and corrupt government of the Peninsula, through 
 the immediate control of its agents. It was to complain 
 of the inadequate and tyrannical measures of a govern* 
 ment, that, up to that period, had concurred in no single 
 act for the relief of the ultramarine provinces; but, that 
 seemed resolved, to sustain the edifice of the most op- 
 pressive tyranny, ever invented for the misery of the hu- 
 man race. As the mutual ally of the entire monarchy, 
 it was to inform England, of the prostration of a galling 
 and political despotism, not only opposed to sound rea- 
 son and rational freedom, but also in direct contradiction 
 to the general welfare of the state. It was to complain 
 of restraints and privations, which Spain prolonged, 
 from motives of interest and illiberality; and, it was to 
 condemn a system, that sacrificed a populous continent, 
 to the gains of one hundred and fifty Cadiz monopolists. 
 It was, in short, to enumerate aggravated hardships, of 
 
 o 3 
 
4m 
 
 which England had, before, expressed herself sensible ; 
 and, at the same time, to implore her protection, not for 
 an independence of Spain ; not for any thing unwarrant- 
 ed by law, or opposed to right and justice ; but, only, 
 that they might not become the victims of an enfuriated 
 government, actuated and misled, by the ravings of a 
 war faction, framing in the trading port, in which its 
 members had lately taken refuge. 
 
 Was the disavowal of such a government, and was 
 the deposition of those authorities constituted by it, a 
 crime of such great magnitude, as to deserve a cruel and 
 intemperate war ; or were such sentiments as these, mo- 
 tives of shame to the British government ? The contents 
 of this letter, do no more, than correspond with the pic- 
 ture drawn of this same government, by Lord Wellesley, 
 and by Spaniards themselves; nor do they constitute any 
 thing, "beyond a faithful outline of an executive, that so 
 soon after, received the general execration of every good 
 citizen of the Peninsula. And was it high treason, in 
 the Spanish Americans, to discover and complain of 
 this fact, a few months sooner than their European 
 brethren ? 
 
 This letter constitutes the best epitom^, possible, of 
 the views and intentions of all the sections of Spanish 
 America, from its corresponding with the true situation 
 of each ; yet, it breathes loyalty and fidelity to Ferdi- 
 nand : it professes a strong adhesion to the name of Spa- 
 niard ; it burns with equal ardour against the common 
 enemy ; and merely disowns the authority of a govern- 
 ment, whose disorders had plunged the European pro- 
 vinces into the greatest distress, and were entailing the 
 Barae evils on those of America, The first juriscpiisults 
 
213 
 
 and politicians of Spain, have acknowledged the picture 
 therein drawn of the Central Junta, to be correct and 
 true ; how, therefore, could the Spanish Americans, act- 
 ing upon those same avowed premises, be pronounced 
 traitors and rebels, and how could decrees be issued to 
 punish them as such ? A near contemplation of the 
 events as they passed, will unravel this mystery. Cadiz, 
 as already explained, had now become the seat of govern- 
 ment, and the new authorities abroad, in consequence of 
 the impoverished state of the country, after a long war 
 with England, and in order to increase the public reve- 
 nue, had judged it necessary, to annul all restraints on 
 trade. This measure, was resented by the old monopo- 
 lists thereof, with all the fury of disappointment, and 
 all the rancour, of which the sordid are capable. Gall 
 is immediately infused into the public mind, the worst 
 interpretations are put on views and measures, which 
 were not only just, but also necessary ; and without pre- 
 vious deliberation, remonstrance, or hearing, a rash war 
 is declared. In conformity to their respective avowals, 
 and in strict accord with every concurrent circumstance, 
 we see, that the various sections of Spanish America, 
 conceived, that their political safety, required them to 
 have local and stable governments amongst themselves; in 
 order that they might not be dependent on an authority, 
 placed at an immense distance, and continually changing. 
 An authority, abject, corrupt, and debased in itself, and 
 unable to attend even to the concerns of the Peninsula. 
 And this, was actually, anticipated by a British minister^, 
 and expected by Spaniards themselves. Yet this mea- 
 sure of urgent necessity, becomes a crime of the deepest 
 hue, in the eyes of the Regency ; who, instead of recon- 
 
214 
 
 ciliation, redress, and mutual explanation, rushes into a 
 thoughtless and unnatural war; and attempts, rather to 
 weaken by disunion, and depress by terror, than to con- 
 solidate and unite, by a just equilibrium of interests. 
 
 This unjust war, which was about to deprive Spain 
 of resources, such as would have poured fresh vigour 
 and energy into the state, and redoubled its exertions ; 
 this war, which would, evidently, drive the injured and 
 unredressed inhabitants of Spanish America, to the ex- 
 tremes of despair; which would deluge the fairest por- 
 tion of the empire, in blood and desolation ; and urge a 
 forsaken people, to lengths, not only uncongenial, but 
 also unintended J lengths which might endanger the 
 safety of the monarchy, whose integrity we had guaran- 
 teed, was completely overlooked by the British govern- 
 ment, who, in this most interesting moment, kept aloof; 
 and after omitting to prevent, afterwards, devised nothing 
 effective, with a view to promote the consideration and 
 adjustment of these momentous differences. Yet the 
 great point with Spain, at that time, was, not why she 
 was to continue the war, but, how it was to be carried 
 on. This was the most material consideration for Spain, 
 and, consequently, for ourselves ; every other was subordi- 
 nate; or at least, of comparative insignificance. To give 
 energy and union to that part of the monarchy, which 
 had to resist the power and influence of France, was an 
 object of the first consequence; and our attention ought 
 ptimarily, if not solely, to have been directed to it. And 
 was this to be attained, by an impolitic and fatal war, 
 being hastily declared by one part of the monarchy, 
 against the other ? Most assuredly; no. Where, then, 
 was England, in such important moments, as these ? 
 
215 
 
 Where was the foresight, energy, and sincerity of that , 
 government, which had guaranteed the integrity of the 
 Spanish monarchy, and had taken into its hands, the 
 rights of the absent Ferdinand in joint trust? Of that 
 government, whose minister in Cadiz, beheld this dis- 
 memberment about to ensue, without an effective effort 
 to maintain union and fraternity; and who was silent, 
 when thejiwtrder of many thousands, was about to take 
 place, in countries, which had never thought of deviating 
 from their allegiance to a monarch, whom they revered 
 for his virtues, and respected for his misfortunes. 
 
 The letter just noticed, from the Junta of Caracas, to 
 the king of England, was placed in tlie hands of the 
 British ministry, about the middle of July, 1810, that is, 
 near the same time that the declaration of war against 
 Caracas, and dated June 27, 1810, arrived from Cadiz." 
 The smallest reflection on the contents of each, must 
 have demonstrated, that one side or the other, was egre-« 
 giously in the wrong; and that this extreme rigour of 
 the Regency, if not absolutely unjust and tyrannical, was 
 at least, premature, and divested of legitimate motives. 
 If, therefore, we had at heart, the real and lasting wel- 
 fare of the whole monarchy, and not of a detached part; 
 were there not here, sufficient grounds for direct or in- 
 direct interference, either by strong remonstrance, or 
 positive demand ? In effecting so noble, sojust, andso 
 humane a purpose, what had we to contend with ? One 
 hundred and fifty Cadiz monopolists, and their merce* 
 nary partizans. And were not the entire influence and 
 sacrifices of England, superiour to such a faction ? The 
 means this faction used, to neutralize the good wishes of 
 a large portion of the Spanish community, was, by 
 
216 
 
 pHnting the grossest and most malevolent misrepresen- 
 tations, that ever issued from a slanderous press, or w^ere 
 invented by malice. And was not our fair use of the press, 
 a means, even, if no other could avail, of counteracting this 
 poison, or of correcting opinions, in which often, our 
 own national honour was implicated? The grounds on 
 which the Spanish Americans acted, were, then, fully 
 and officially known to us; and it might be imagined, 
 from the practical experience of one illustrious member 
 of the cabinet, one, who had been an eye witness of the 
 very abuses, disorders, and hardships, of which the ultra- 
 marine provinces complained, and when the urgency was 
 so great, that prudence and foresight, might have sug- 
 gested some timely plan, to guard against so many evils 
 which were about to befall our allies; and which would, 
 materially, weaken the state, we were strongly bound to 
 support. England was, at that time, as a point, destined 
 to connect and conciliate, these clashing interests be- 
 tween brethren ; she was the bond of union, alone, ca- 
 pable of knitting the two halves of the Spanish monarchy 
 closely together ; and each, had the most substantial motives 
 to hope, that she w^ould never cast from her shoulders, a 
 sacred duty, which honour, the welfare of her mutual 
 allies, and the future interests of her own subjects, had 
 imposed upon her. 
 
 And might not the British nation, at that time, have 
 been proud, in being instrumental to the happiness of a 
 virtuous and unoffending people, who had been left no 
 other choice, between abject and degraded submission, 
 and all the horrors of a civil war, waged against them, 
 by an illiberal unenlightened nation? Was not this a 
 licb, an interesting field, for the display of British jus- 
 
217 
 
 tice, and British philanthropy? A feeling interest, a 
 sincere warmth, and benevolent promptitude, even bor- 
 dering on a generous indiscretion, have, uniformly, been 
 the characteristics of the British government, when call- 
 ed upon to protect right, and to afford a shield for suffer- 
 ing virtue. This has been the case, when common in- 
 terests, alone, bound her to the fate of nations; why then 
 silence, coldness, and indifference to Spanish America, 
 now, by a recent alliance, as well as by great and willing 
 sacrifices made against the common enemy, participating 
 in a communion of interests; and formerly, the object of 
 our promises and pledges? In other quarters, and in pur- 
 suit of a less just cause, England has not been content 
 with sacrifices and perseverance; but the benevolent 
 magnanimity of her subjects, has also been desirous of 
 healing wounds, inflicted by the ravages of war, and 
 even of alleviating the distress of individual sufferers. 
 Almost every nation of the European continent, even 
 the Indians of North America, at one time or other, 
 have experienced the consolations and fatherly aid of 
 England, and the sympathies of her people. Spanish 
 America, alone, is overlooked and forgotten. Was this 
 section, of the globe, alone, undeserving of our anxiety ? 
 On it, we behold the most dreadful of all calamities, 
 ready to burst; we see a decree, rash, impolitic, and 
 destructive, carried into effect, and, already, is European 
 Spain deprived of her best resources, whilst her Ameri- 
 can provinces, present a picture of indiscriminate mur- 
 der, anarchy, and destruction. And, still, from delicacy 
 we dare not interfere. Yet, we have induced Sicily to 
 change her constitution, to new model her laws and 
 customs; and we look for the gratitude of that people in 
 
218 
 
 whose regeneration we have, thus, cooperated. We 
 have dictated in Portugal, and have placed a British 
 General over the armies of Spain; and we, there, con- 
 ceive we have been fulfilling the sacred duties of a potent 
 sind faithful ally; in short, for all our political friends, in 
 Europe, we have made the greatest sacrifices and exer- 
 tions; for their welfare, freedom, and well-being, we 
 have fought and struggled ; yet, after the most solemn' 
 pledges and promises, are on record; after frequent and 
 unsought protestations of sincere friendship and regard, 
 unconditional, and unlimited by time, we hesitate, we 
 are afraid, nay, we appear ashamed, of hfting up our 
 hands, to ward off the blow of destruction from the 
 heads of our transatlantic friends, those who have been 
 the object of our long and reiterated offers. When, 
 their unhappy country, has been, for more than four 
 years, drenched in the blood of their fellow-citizens; 
 and when murder and desolation, have, there, reared 
 their ghastly heads, in every quarter, we can no longer 
 find time, to pour the balm of comfort into the gaping 
 wounds of these our new allies, as well as our ancient 
 friends. When the subsequent abreviated detail of 
 havoc and injustice, which have originated from th6 
 coldness of England, and the rash and precipitate con^ 
 duct of the Cadiz Regency, meets the eye of a British 
 minister, or the ear of a benevolent but uninformed pub- 
 lic, the tear of sympathy cannot be withheld from the 
 one, nor the glow of indignation from the other. 
 
 The cabinet of St. James, did not, however, content 
 itself with entirely, abstaining from all interference in 
 behalf of the outraged provinces of Spanish America,^ for 
 by its public and official conduct, it negatively expressed 
 
21& 
 
 ah approval of the conduct of the Regency, rather than 
 testified a just and dignified interest, for the sufferings 
 of Spanish America, or sympathy for the desolation that 
 was about to ensue. Lord Liverpool, on 29th June, 1810, 
 wrote to General Layard, governor of Curacoa, in the 
 following terms : " that his Britannic Majesty has the 
 greater motives for forming these hopes" (viz. that the 
 inhabitants of Caracas will re-establish their bonds with 
 Spain, which, as before shewn, were not broken, till a 
 declaration of war, on the part of the latter, had taken 
 place) " from the Regency established in Cadiz, having 
 appeared to have adopted, with regard to the dominions 
 of America, the same wise and generous principle, be- 
 fore adopted by the Supreme Junta, of establishing the 
 relations between all parts of the Spanish monarchy, on 
 the most liberal footing, by considering the provinces of 
 America, as integral parts of the empire, and by admit- 
 ting its inhabitants, to share in the Cortes of the whole 
 kingdom. This letter, was communicated to the Cadiz 
 government, and published in the gazette there, as a kind 
 of confident support to the measures of the Regency. 
 Governor Layard, was also authorised to make every pub- 
 lic use thereof, and it was, consequently, transmitted to 
 Caracas, and there inserted in the public papers.* What 
 a contrast in the sentiments of this letter, written as a 
 basis for the political conduct of England, with regard 
 to American Spain, when compared with the documents 
 E. and F.on which the preceding remarks have been 
 made I What a variance between the opinion of Lords 
 
 * This letter of Lord Liverpool to Governor Layard- is found, 
 entire, in El Espanol, No. 6. 
 
220 
 
 Wellesley and Liverpool! One says, that promises, delu- 
 sive, and unaccompanied by works, are all that the Cen- 
 tral Junta, has done in favour of Spanish America ; and, 
 the other, as much as tells her inhabitants, that every 
 thing has been done for them, consistent with justice 
 and reason. The one gives a faithful picture of the de- 
 graded situation of the Peninsular government, and the 
 other, enters into a panegyric on its liberal systems. 
 
 Lord Liverpool, when he penned the above dispatch, 
 must have been unaware of the real situation of the ul- 
 tramarine provinces; and urged by his anxious solici- 
 tude to preserve harmony with the Peninsula, and fear- 
 ful of giving fresh motives of jealousy and distrust, he 
 laid the blame of disscntions, which he foresaw and 
 feared, to that quarter, where the primordial causes did 
 not exist. The Spanish Americans, on the best grounds, 
 might have asked the Noble Lord, when he thus con- 
 demned their conduct, what the government of Spain 
 had done in their behalf; and at the period when he 
 penned his dispatch, what proof he had to substantiate 
 his assertion? ? They had been, long, living under a sys- 
 tem, of which despotism was a fixed and fundamental 
 principle; had this, then, ceased to exist? Could his 
 Lordship then prove, that personal freedom, the impar- 
 tial administration of justice, the increase and advance- 
 ment of commerce and agriculture, reform in their mode 
 of national education, in financial and military arrange- 
 ments, in short, all that tends to perfect and secure na- 
 tional independence, had been granted to Spanish Ame- 
 rica? Were unfair restraints, no longer, imposed on the 
 domestic economy of any orders of the state ; and was 
 the administration of justice, guided op principles, so as 
 
221 
 
 to secure to every man, his personal freedom and proper- 
 ty ? Did local interests, no longer, palsy the plans of ge- 
 neral government ; and v^^ere the public laws founded on 
 the true interests of the nation at large, and not of any 
 individual class of inhabitants, or of any particular sec- 
 tion ? For three hundred years, the whole world had be- 
 held Spanish America, governed by the arbitrary acts of 
 military despots, from whose mandates there was no ap- 
 peal; and, was this reign of terror, then, at an end ? The 
 prisons, had only been emptied of sufferers, where the 
 energy of the people, had broken their own chains ; 
 and, were these victims to return to their solitude and 
 misery, because the Spanish government had made verbal 
 promises, in which the heart had no share ? In short, if 
 those restraints, of which the British government itself, 
 had often complained, were not then removed ; and, if 
 the ultramarine provinces, had not been freed from all 
 those vexations, which impede the course of justice, 
 which oppress and damp genius and industry ;* which 
 subdue the spirit, which convert free and social beings, 
 into abject and degraded vassals, and render their condi- 
 tion, that of dependant slaves; the notification of its 
 being the wish and policy of England, for the sections 
 of Spanish America, to re-establish their bonds with the 
 mother-country, that is, again to invest their ex-viceroys 
 and ex-captain-generals with their former powers, and to 
 
 * Can it be credited, that whilst the Spanish government ordered 
 the tobacco to be plucked up in the sections of Spanish America, the 
 k'lag, as tobacconist-general, was paying to Portugal, annually, six 
 hundred thousand dollars, for what was supplied him from the 
 Brazils ? 
 
222 
 
 rctarn, with full penitence and submission, under the 
 control of the Cadiz Regency, the object which the lat- 
 ter exclusively sought, was no less than implicating the 
 name of England, in the acts of the Spanish government, 
 and upholding the grounds of its proceedings. If we 
 had no balm, no consolation, to bestow on an injured and 
 unoffending people, at least, we might have spared them 
 the pang of being scoffed at in Cadiz, by this letter being 
 there produced by the monopolists, as a kind of sanction 
 to those measures, which they had induced the Regency 
 to adopt ; and which the liberal mind, could not fail to 
 disapprove. Certainly, the sound judgment of Lord Liver- 
 pool, in this particular, must have slumbered ; nor could 
 these instructions ever have been intended, as a basis for 
 that line of conduct, afterwards followed by the governor 
 of Curacoa, in his relations with the unfortunate sufferers 
 of Caracas, of which, notice will, hereafter, be taken. 
 
 § The silence of the British government on the declara- 
 tion of war against Caracas, together with other general 
 traits of negative disapprobation, on its part, as well as 
 on that of some of its officers ; the disdain, with which 
 the appeals of the Spanish Americans were treated, and 
 the indifference, with which the fleets and armies of 
 Spain, were seen to cross the Atlantic; for the exercise 
 of revenge, and the spilling of more innocent blood, 
 amounted, in the minds of a suffering people, to no less, 
 than a positive approval of the conduct of Spain, and an 
 actual condemnation of that of the Spanish Americans. 
 Yet, would it not have been more salutary, for some 
 mutual explanation to have taken place, under the gua- 
 rantee of England ; would it not have been better, that 
 the provinces of Spanish America, had been enabled to 
 
223 
 
 found a temporary government, suited to their territorial 
 and local interests, as well as conformable to their manners 
 and habits, during, at least the time, whilst the functions 
 of the crown were suspended? In their acts, they com- 
 plained, that the produce of their imposts, was devoted to 
 purposes, entirely foreign to them ; might they not have 
 been satisfied, that these were moderate, fairly distribut- 
 ed, and applied to uses, both beneficial and of general 
 good ? They lamented, that in their own country, they 
 were treated as aliens, and that every spring of private 
 and public prosperity, was closed to them, by odious 
 and onerous monopolies ; and would it not have been 
 more politic, that their reasonable Welshes should have 
 been accomplished ? Would it not have been more pru- 
 dent, and more equitable, in Spain herself, changing 
 those very chiefs, who had always been the instruments 
 of the despotism of the court, and of the ministers in 
 power, from whom they received their nominations ? 
 Would it not have been more advisable, to have establish- 
 ed such a system, as would have left both the govern- 
 ment, and the people governed, without suspicion and 
 distrust ? Would it not, moreover, have been more ho- 
 nourable, to have converted the political changes of the 
 Peninsula, also, into sources of public benefit, in Spanish 
 America ? Would not this, in short, have been the best 
 possible security of the social happiness, and consequent- 
 ly, of the tranquillity of the inhabitants of all American 
 Spain ? 
 
 Had England, in due time, notified to Spain, in a dig- 
 nified and strenuous manner, that as the joint guardiaa 
 of the rights of the lamented Ferdinand, she could never 
 consent to an act, that was about to place them in the 
 
224 
 
 greatest danger; and, when the unfortunate conse- 
 quences of that indiscreet act, had become manifest and 
 urgent, if she had, strongly, signified, that she was, inse- 
 parably bent on the restoration of peace ; had she, firmly 
 and officially, convinced both parties what was consistent 
 with the object of the general league, in which all were 
 engaged ; and what was, at the same time, in strict ac- 
 cordance with the honour and safety of those most im- 
 mediately concerned ; during the time of the Cadiz Re- 
 gency, during the visit of Lord Wellington to Cadiz, on 
 our rupture with the United States, after many of our 
 brilliant victories, when the hopes of the nation were 
 high, and, particularly on the removal of the Cortes to 
 Madrid, as well as on other occasions; the objections to 
 our mediatory interference, which only lingered in the 
 bosoms of the illiberal, and were only kept alive by the 
 conflicts of a desperate war faction, might have been 
 silenced ; and in that interesting portion of the globe, to 
 which I allude, the tears, might very long since, have 
 been, wiped, from the eyes of distress and misery, and the 
 cheering prospect of repose and prosperity, might again, 
 have been opened. 
 
 In the general avowal of the sentiments of the Spa- 
 nish Americans, such, for example, as are contained in 
 documents E. and F. was there nothing that merited the 
 consideration and gratitude of England, individually; 
 and was there no disposition, during a period of four 
 years of bloody war, she could improve, for the general 
 good, even as the ally of European Spain ? Unfortunate- 
 ly, the disorder that required an immediate remedy, was 
 suflered to linger and increase; and its most dangerous 
 nymptoms, were disregarded, till the case became ex- 
 
225 
 
 tremely aggravated. If the sacred tie, which bound us 
 to the Spanish monarchy, failed to excite in us, a strong 
 anxiety for the welfare of its best half, amidst the ob- 
 scure clouds of doubt and fear, by which we were then 
 surrounded, could we not there discover a bright spot, on 
 which to rest our future policy and hopes ? It was evident, 
 that the more communications we opened with Spanish 
 America, and the more gratitude we infused into the 
 bosoms of her inhabitants, the more v^^e bound that rising 
 country, to our interests, and the greater strength we 
 thereby acquired. England might then, as she yet may, 
 have produced a confederation between European and 
 American Spain, on a basis, in unison with the wishes of 
 the advocates of rational freedom, and even stronger, 
 than any bond of political union, that before existed. 
 One, that by casting off the yoke of despotic power, and 
 establishing, in its place, a paternal, legal, and venerable 
 government, such a one, that even the benevolent Fer- 
 dinand, might have approved, would have given reno- 
 vated strength to the Spanish empire of both hemis- 
 pheres, and connected its detached parts, still more 
 closely together. Gratifying, as is the contemplation of 
 all that has been achieved by England, for the repose 
 and well being of the world, a dark cloud has long over- 
 hung the western continent of Spain; and amongst the 
 numerous wreaths of never fading laurel, with which the 
 former has crowned the heads of her champions, fight- 
 ing for the rights and liberties of Europe, has she no 
 civic wreath in store, for the wise and politic minister, 
 who, by his exertions, shall dissipate this gloom, who 
 shall restore peace to Spanish Columbia, and open her 
 unexplored resources to more general enterprize? Could 
 
220 
 
 Eogland require a greater glory, or a more consoling re- 
 flection, than to pour the balm of comfort, into the 
 bleeding wounds of seventeen millions of people, and 
 thus merit their eternal blessings ? 
 
 § Whoever goes back, to the early stages of the dis- 
 sentions here alluded to, and contemplates the degraded 
 situation in which the ultramarine provinces stood, will 
 not hesitate to confess, that the government of Spain, 
 had many acts of justice to do for the inhabitants of the 
 former; and that an extensive and radical reform^ conse- 
 quently became one of its primary duties. Yet, we saw 
 the whole of the administration of the Central Junta, and 
 of the Regency, pass by, and not an effective measure of 
 alleviation to the wrongs of the Spanish Americans, was 
 carried into effect. The first did, indeed, declare them 
 equal in rights with their European brethren; yet, the 
 Kegency immediately afterwards, forbade them a free 
 trade, more essential to their interests, than any thing 
 else. Even the new constitution of Spain, makes them 
 equal, yet in so doing, prohibits them that trade, which 
 the inhabitants of the Peninsula themselves enjoy; as 
 will, hereafter, be more, fully, noticed. The Spanish 
 Americans then, have, hitherto, been living under falla- 
 cious assurances, without any grounded reliance on the 
 firm and impartial faith of their lawgivers at home; who, 
 certainly, ought to have been the steady preservers and 
 careful and zealous guardians of their civil rights, as 
 well as of those of the European portion of the commu- 
 nity. The Spanish Americans were declared equal in 
 rights, yet, the Juntas of La Paz and Quito, were mur- 
 dered for the exercise of this equality; the same was 
 attiempted with that, of Chili, and public war is pro^* 
 
227 
 
 claimed against that of Caracas. They are declared 
 equal in rights, yet, in Caracas and Mexico, every one, 
 favourable to the formation of a Junta to represent Fer- 
 dinand, is buried in dungeons. They were declared 
 equal in rights, yet they are ordered still to endure the 
 odious clogs, and the mad and unprincipled monopoly of 
 150 Cadiz merchants. They were, in short, declared 
 equal in rights, but these were promises, as hollow, as 
 those of the Central Junta to Mr. Frere. The subse- 
 quent conduct of the Cortes, as will be shewn in a re- 
 view of their transactions with regard to Spanish Ame- 
 rica, has been a punctilio, not to deviate from the mea- 
 sures of their predecessors the Regents; and the preci- 
 pitate and summary discussion of this important ques- 
 tion, like the hasty investigation of the Boston port bill, 
 during the struggle of our own transatlantic possessions, 
 has rather been the real and efficient cause of the pro- 
 longation of so many disasters, than any conviction that 
 the war was just. This negligence and lukewarmness 
 on the part of the Cortes, has, also, in a great degree, 
 been owing to the temporary triumph of the Cadiz mer- 
 cantile interests, and their influence over the press; and 
 it is a melancholy reflection, yet, founded on correct 
 data, that such illiberal principles as these, should have 
 been the chief barriers, which have obstructed redress 
 and justice, to those who had so long suffered. 
 
 Gratitude and political expediency, alone, as before 
 fully evinced, might have roused the justice of the new 
 governments of the Peninsula, if no other more equitable 
 principle existed ; and the first display of loyalty ac- 
 companied by copious remittances from the ultramarine 
 provinces, might have been made the basis of an ex- 
 
 p2 
 
228 
 
 tensive and liberal system. Yet, one government suc- 
 ceeded the other, and no reform was thought of; nor 
 were any of those effective concessions granted, which 
 Lord Wellesley indicated, as the only means of produc- 
 ing permanent good. One of the first acts of the Cadiz 
 Regency, was to annul its own decree of free trade, un- 
 der aggravations, which must have roused the injured 
 feelings of the most weak and submissive. Fresh powers 
 were sent over to the colonial chiefs, for the purposes of 
 rendering their administration more severe, and conse- 
 quently more oppressive. A most tyrannical plan of 
 espionage was set on foot; victims of resentment, every 
 where, abounded; and in order to cloak and support all 
 these vexations, the course of public justice, was, actu- 
 ally, declared suspended. An order was sent out, to im- 
 pede the circulation of all newspapers, except the gazette 
 of the Cadiz Regency; and this was only tolerated, when 
 officially transmitted by the government to its agents. 
 The situation of Spanish America, was, in fact, rendered 
 worse, by the new changes in the Peninsula; for fresh and 
 galling insults, were added to the increased acts of in- 
 justice on the part of the governmental agents; and on 
 the degradation of old systems, renewed terrors were 
 ingrafted. This systematic terror, rose to such a height, 
 that in Lima, the editor of a public paper, for telling the 
 inhabitants of Spanish America, that they had a country 
 (patria) was arrested and sent home a prisoner; and in 
 other sections, many other despotic acts might be enu- 
 merated. Yet by Spain, the ultramarine provinces are 
 told to endure all these hardships, without repining; and 
 England, by her indifference, tells them, they are to ex- 
 pect no redress, as long as she is linked lo the parent 
 state. 
 
229 
 
 The rancour of the Cadiz governments, as before de- 
 monstrated, became analagous to the interests by which 
 it was first roused; and it was afterwards kept alive, by 
 every base artifice and design. But, that this blindness, 
 and this infatuation, should, in like manner, have per- 
 vaded the acts of the British government, and the con- 
 duct of its agents, is the most unaccountable of all poli- 
 tical solecisms; and if it proves no more, it at least 
 evinces, that the extent and importance of this subject, 
 did not receive due and timely consideration ; and that 
 it was treated, rather as an every day incident, than as 
 one of the great occurrences, which the page of history, 
 will, at a future period, have to record. In fact, the 
 whole ot the changes, which have taken place in Spanish 
 America, within the last four years, have excited less 
 interest and sensation in England, than would have been 
 caused, by any alteration in one of the petty States of 
 Germany, or by a change in the governmental forms, of 
 the citizens of the Alps. Thus, has it happened, that 
 every thing was thrown on the chances of a war, not of 
 common hostility, to establish a right, to fix a boundary, 
 or to dislodge an intrusive enemy ; but one, accompanied 
 by bloody persecution, and sharpened by peculiar feel- 
 ings of revenge. It was the boast of modern times, that 
 civilization had stripped M'arfare, of nearly all its ancient 
 ferocity ; but, in Spanish America, we see it, not only- 
 brought back to the horrors of the dark ages, but, if 
 possible, rendered more brutal, savage, and deformed. 
 The British officers who have cooperated in the Peniiv- 
 sula, have had an opportunity of judging of the nature 
 of Spanish troops, and we have seen how dangerous it 
 was, even to let them loose, on the French natives of the 
 
230 
 
 Pyrenees. To the feelings of such officers, do I now 
 appeal, when I ask the question; what fatal conse- 
 quences, must not be produced, by such troops, being 
 let loose, on the often defenseless natives of Spanish 
 America, situated, at a distance, from the arm of power, 
 and as it were, answerable to no one for their excesses ? 
 Thence, have the military reports of the European chiefs, 
 commanding in that ill-fated country, presented little 
 else, than details of individual murder, and general mas- 
 sacre; as will,purposely,beshewn, from official sources, 
 in a detached section of this expos6. Boundless robbery, 
 indiscriminate seizure, vengeance, horrid impiety, and 
 atrocious murders, are the evidences, that attest the 
 conduct of the officers, who have had to subject the insur^ 
 gents \ and a mode of warfare has been established, w^hich 
 has been made a plea, for the greatest excesses, and a 
 continual source of rapine and bloodshed, throughout 
 the ravaged provinces. The feeling mind revolts at such 
 scenes, but what must be the reflections of the impartial 
 Briton, who sees the name of his own nation, materially 
 implicated in these horrors; who sees the instruments of 
 these butcheries, sent over cloathed and armed with those 
 resources, England had generously lavished, for the de- 
 fence of Spain ? 
 
 However urgent the dictates of policy, and loud the 
 calls of humanity, nothing on the part of either Spain or 
 England, has yet sufficed, to wind up this long drama of 
 horrors and disasters; and when a wide and extended 
 civil war, with all its attendant scourges, has deformed 
 and harrowed up the bosom of Spanish America, for 
 more than four years, and in which, many hundred thou- 
 sand souls have been sacrificed, not an effective measure 
 
231 
 
 of pacification, has been organized; but, rather, the issue 
 of all, has been left to a system, founded on mutual ruin, 
 cemented by blood, and generating vice and misery in 
 endless succession. As the governments of Spain, have 
 taken a more regular form, we shall hereafter see, that 
 the deputies representing the American provinces in the 
 Cortes, have often complained of these horrors, and have 
 lamented the unfortunate causes which gave rise to 
 them.. They have fully and repeatedly manifested their 
 basis; by urging, unfair monopolies, inequality of repre- 
 sentation, the vices of the colonial regimen, and the hard- 
 ships under which the Spanish Americans laboured, as 
 the grounds of all these disasters; and till such time as 
 it is proved, that the councils of Spain, have reformed 
 all these points; that the claims of the inhabitants of the 
 ultramarine provinces, have received a fair and impartial 
 discussion, and that they have been restored to their 
 long invaded rights, the government of Spain, alone, is 
 answerable for all the crimes and horrors, committing in 
 the injured provinces of Spanish America; as is England, 
 for that waste of lives and treasure, which might have 
 been useful in Europe; for that destruction, which en-^ 
 sues; and for those dangers, to which the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans are exposed. She is answerable, by giving a 
 pledge of national faith, to at least, an obscure and 
 dangerous condition, open to abuse and misrepresenta- 
 tion—by not stipulating for a trade,'in favour of her own 
 .subjects, which alone, would have prevented these evils 
 that have followed— by suffering the Cadiz Regency, to 
 declare an unjust and impolitic war— by not putting a 
 timely remedy to calamities which make humanity 
 shudder— and by suffering those resources sent to Spain, 
 
232 
 
 for a prosecution of a just war against the French, to be 
 employed on the other side of the Atlantic, in the fur- 
 therance of views, founded on injustice, illiberality, and 
 the most flagrant of all invasions of right. England, has 
 also been to blame, for giving to the monopolists of 
 Cadiz, frequent causes of triumph in the realization of 
 their views; and particularly, after all her indifference, 
 in herself celebrating one of the greatest horrors that the 
 most dreadful visitations of nature, or the fell revenge of 
 unprincipled power, could bring amongst a detached 
 portion of the human race, as will be hereafter shewn* 
 
 Accustomed as England has been, to balance her own 
 substantial interests, as well as the future destines of 
 empires, her pusillanimous silence respecting the horrors 
 committing in Spanish America, whilst actually her 
 ally, and when she had so much at stake, appears a 
 problem, both singular and unaccountable. That the 
 contagion of Cadiz'party and war faction, should, equally, 
 have extended to England and her agents, is one of the 
 greatest sacrifices of policy and discrimination, that ever 
 warped the measures of a potent ally, from the path of 
 rectitude and justice. Yet what other conclusions can 
 be drawn, when we behold one half of the resources of 
 Spain, rendered useless and abortive; when we see an 
 unnatural and cruel war prolonged ; when England dis- 
 regards the continuation of horrors, only found in the 
 annals of a Nero or a Tiberius ; when no medium of 
 approximation and friendly intercourse, under stipula- 
 tions advantageous to all parties, and founded on libera- 
 lity, reason, and gratitude, is carried into effect ; and 
 when, under the greatest sacrifices of the British public^ 
 an annual trade of twenty millions sterling, as will 
 
233 
 
 hereafter be demonstrated, is neglected and forgotten, 
 nay, unimproved by no one. From the date of our alli- 
 ance with the Spanish monarchy, we have been plunged 
 in a crisis, big with the most important results, and such 
 as must have filled the mind of every friend of his 
 country, with anxious solicitude. This has been an in- 
 terval of alarm, and often of despondency ; whilst the 
 whole of Europe, has been struggling against the lawless 
 ambition of one man, who had, at his command, the 
 united resources of the greatest nation of the globe. The 
 consequences of these struggles, have been war and 
 ravages in every quarter of the globe, where French in- 
 fluence could reach; producing events, more striking 
 and more momentous, than the ordinary occurrences of 
 centuries. England has stood preeminent in her glorious 
 exertions to procure that peace, she has, perhaps, now 
 attained, but, all this time, has no attempt, by concilia- 
 tion, been made for Spanish America, to obtain an ob- 
 ject, that in Europe, has cost so many lives and so much 
 treasure ? Conquests and dear bought acquisitions, have, 
 often, constituted the leading features of the parliamen- 
 tary speeches from the throne; but would it not have 
 been a more glorious and sober boast, that such a con- 
 tinent, through the exertions of England, had received a 
 government, founded in law, and on the basis of equal 
 representation, instead of one, built upon despotism, 
 supported by the sword, and unaccompanied by rights, 
 either sacred or defined ? Would it not have been more 
 wise and expedient, that such a continent, by means of 
 political and commercial relations, had been opened to 
 Britith enterprize, and also made a powerful means of 
 increasing revenue, even to Spain ? 
 
234 
 
 The long injustice of Spain to the ultramarine pro- 
 vinces, was evident and true, would it not, therefore, 
 have been more honourable, and more upright, in the 
 new Peninsular rulers, to have confessed and corrected 
 errors, rather than to have continued to deceive them- 
 selves, by fallacious, but plausible palliations and ex- 
 cuses} Ingratitude, was the hue and cry raised against 
 the conduct of the Spanish Americans; it resounded in 
 the Cadiz prints, and in all those where the money of 
 the monopolists could have access; nay, it often re- 
 echoed in those of London. This was, however, a 
 means, rather to cover the disgrace of convicted folly, 
 and to turn merited odium on those, who from distance, 
 were unable to make their own defence. Not, that the 
 Americans, have been altogether free from blame, or 
 exempt from all censure or reproach. Under such feel- 
 ings of provocation, they were, often, loud in their com- 
 plaints, and invective, was too frequently, mixed with 
 their clamours. But, wherever a contrast is made be- 
 tween the pieces written in Cadiz, and those produced on 
 the other side of the Atlantic, the heaviest charge will 
 be attached to the first. Even granted that the complaints 
 of the Spanish Americans, were, in some instances, ex- 
 aggerated, and this is most that can be alleged against 
 them; even supposing the terms in which they were 
 conveyed, were angry, disrespectful, and irritating, their 
 counterpart was to be found in Cadiz j and it was besides 
 clear, that old degradations, as well as fresh intemper* 
 ance, had laid their foundation. On the one side, was 
 a spirit of monopoly, founded on illiberality, stimulated 
 by self interest, and put in motion by the lever of gain; 
 on the other, were galling inconveniences, flowing from 
 
235 
 
 the unequal footing which existed between the inhabit- 
 ants of each hemisphere, which could not fail to pro- 
 duce conflicting interests, mutual disgusts, irritation, 
 and even alienation, amongst the suffering members of 
 the empire. It could not fail to rouse the feelings of 
 the most abject and submissive, to see great national 
 interests, and the most sacred jOf all rights, wantonly 
 sacrificed on the altars of state jealousy, illiberality, and 
 monopoly. Such principles of conduct, could only tend 
 to perplex, injure, and sour that harmony of measures, 
 on which general utility depends; and acrimony and 
 enmity, were inevitably to flow, from a flagrant and 
 insulting violation of those establishments of justice and 
 legislation, which are the only solid and just basis, of 
 the honour and prosperity of nations. The Spanish 
 Americans, demanded no more, than to stand or fall, by 
 those very laws, which had been early framed for their go- 
 vernment; they persisted for no other, than the exercise 
 of those rights, they had inherited, but of which, suc- 
 cessive despotism had stripped them. In short, they 
 sued for no more, than a practical equality with their 
 European brethren, founded in reason, and in contradic- 
 tion to no avowed maxim of equity. They struggled, 
 with unabating zeal, for the exact observance of those 
 charters and grants, their forefathers had left them, as a 
 sacred inheritance; and of those sacred pledges of kingly 
 faith, whose infraction, particularly in moments such as 
 those, in which Spain stood; was not only forbidden, 
 by the principles of moral justice, but also, by the dic- 
 tates of sound policy. If they are blameable for the 
 means they often employed, they are warranted in the 
 object to which they aspired* 
 
236 
 
 It would be unjust to assert, that no excesses have 
 been committed by the Creole party; or to deny, that 
 private interest and individual ambition have, sometimes, 
 actuated the conduct of their leaders. With regard to 
 the first charge, partial excesses have indeed occurred, 
 to the great regret of the well wishers of the cause; but 
 they have been such, as are common to the tumultuous 
 assembling of armed men, roused and irritated, and who 
 have had 300 years of oppression, ill usage, and injustice, 
 to avenge; but even from the confession of the Spanish 
 government gazettes, I will afterwards prove, when I 
 appeal to the humanity of the British nation on this sub- 
 ject, that they have partaken of none, of that premedi- 
 tated and systematic plan of terror and vengeance, which 
 has, uniformly, followed the victories of the Spanish chiefs 
 abroad. These facts, will now, for the first time, meet the 
 eye of the British public, and they will be found both 
 opposed to the laws of humanity, and the legitimate 
 mode and established usages, of honourable warfare. 
 Every one, acquainted with the records of history, is 
 aware of the great difficulties, attending, even a partial 
 release from the chains of despotism ; and must know, 
 that even variations, of a trifling nature, in the scheme 
 of government, have deluged whole countries with blood 
 and ruin, and involved them in the mo&t aggravated 
 miseries of civil contention. But, there are traits, that 
 have accompanied the war in Spanish America, which, 
 besides, being unheard of, in modern times, constitute a 
 monument of unknown and unnatural crimes and atroci- 
 ties. This has been a 'war, carried on by means of ex- 
 communications, as in the dafk ages, when the engines 
 of terror and fanaticism, armed Christians against Chris- 
 
23 
 
 « 
 
 tians, dethroned kings, and bathed their empires in the 
 blood of their subjects. The author of the Revolucion 
 de Mexico, speaking of the degraded state in which the 
 whole of the Spanish monarchy, had been so long held; 
 and complaining of the civil and religious despotism, 
 prevalent therein, forciby observes; " that, as the rights 
 of the Spanish Americans, to join in representing Fer- 
 dinand VII. and to administer their own local concerns, 
 were palpable and defined; how could it, otherwise, 
 have been possible, for Spain to have armed the inhabit- 
 ants of the transatlantic provinces, one against the other; 
 and thus hinder their union, which would have enabled 
 them, easily to have triumphed over such disproportion- 
 ate numbers. It has been with the aid of this religious 
 despotism, that Spain has principally fought her battles 
 on the other side of the Atlantic; for, if there, the true 
 religion of Jesus Christ, had been known ; had the gos- 
 pel, there, existed, in its true purity; and had it ceased 
 to be the tool of civil power, and the instrument of 
 despotism and terror; how could fanaticism, rushing 
 from the episcopal palaces, and from the caverns of the 
 inquisition, have been seen to mix its sable torch with 
 the flames of civil war; and cause those to be held as 
 excommunicated heretics, who refused to bend the knee, 
 before the bloody image of a military despot?'* 
 
 It has, therefore, not been to the common modes of 
 warfare, that the agents of Spain have recurred, in order 
 to arrest the arm of justice, and to inforce a system, that 
 would add to the past aggravations, under which the 
 Spanish Americans had groaned ; nay, would even de- 
 prive them, of the first consolations of humanity. Every 
 engine, that malice, vengeance, and fanaticism, could 
 
238 
 
 invent, has been set to work ; even the name of England, 
 has been used, by the votaries of tyranny and usurpa- 
 tion, as an instrument to wrest from a suffering people, 
 the most sacred of rights, even those of nature. Besides 
 the aggravated vengeance of heaven, the terror of Bri- 
 tish arms, has been denounced against the Spanish in^ 
 habitants of the western shores of the Atlantic ; nor is 
 there an artifice, which illiberality, could invent, that 
 has been left unpractised. 
 
 § The further we pursue this enquiiy, into the origin 
 and causes of the dissentions, which, unfortunately, ex- 
 ist between European and American Spain; and the 
 more we lament the horrors by which they have been 
 accompanied, the more manifest does it result, that 
 they sprung from two material sources, viz. the rash, 
 unjust, and intemperate conduct of the Cadiz govern- 
 ment; and the want of timely interference, on the part 
 of England. Thes,e two facts, are not only, to be traced 
 out of the passing circumstances as they occurred, but, 
 are, also, consonant to the opinions of those, who are 
 practically acquainted with the events. The new go- 
 vernments of Spain, in entering on their functions, were 
 responsible for the greatest trust, ever confided to the 
 organs of a political society; this was a period of pro- 
 bation, in which the eyes of the whole world, were cast 
 upon them. Then, was the moment, to have established 
 the national character for ever ; then, was Spain to have 
 given such tone and energy to the government, which 
 Avas to administer the general interests of both parts of 
 the empire, as would have enabled it to answer the noble 
 ends, for which it was instituted. It was, then, in the 
 hands of the new rulers, to render Spain, as a n^tiop. 
 
239 
 
 prosperous and respectable; or, to lay the basis of her 
 future misery and contempt. This was the moment, to 
 have testified whether the revolution of Spain, was to 
 prove a curse or a blessing; not only to the present race, 
 but, also, to generations yet to come. Under the con- 
 viction of the importance of the then existing crisis, the 
 new chiefs, in power, had it within their reach, to pro- 
 mote and secure those salutary results, which justice, 
 gratitude, good faith, and honour, imperiously prescrib- 
 ed, and which ever attend on those virtues and good 
 qualities, which enoble the acts of a nation, and endear 
 its memory to the rest of the world. The new govern- 
 ments of Spain, were, however, unfortunately blotted 
 with the reverse of all these cardinal and essential vir- 
 tues; for influenced by local prejudices, they were op- 
 posed to those mutual concessions which are always ne- 
 cessary to general prosperity; and in many instances, 
 that might be quoted, they were not, even, disposed, to 
 sacrifice their own individual advantages, to the welfare 
 of the community at large. In short, I may add, that 
 the most essential points, relating to the well-being, nay, 
 to the existence of Spain, have been controlled by party 
 and local prejudices, whilst the voice of sacred justice, 
 has, scarcely, been heard. 
 
 Had not this, unfortunately, been the case, the new 
 rulers, would never have been so unmindful of those im- 
 perious obligations of honour and equity; nor, would 
 they ever have misjudged the real interests of the nation 
 so much, as to withhold their consent to a measure, on 
 the part of the Spanish Americans, that was founded on 
 the most respectable motives, and emanated from the 
 conviction of circumstances, in which they had no share. 
 
240 
 
 Had jealousy and local policy, not mixed too much in 
 the public councils, of the Peninsula, we should not have 
 seen the open and insulting violations of those most sa- 
 cred obligations, which public and private contract could 
 create ; we should not have beheld the declarations of 
 equality, founded as they were in right and justice, and 
 even theoretically decreed by the Central Junta, opposed 
 in practice, and only made a lure to entrap unwary suf- 
 ferers. Instead of declaring an unjust war, and making 
 manifest falsehood its basis, if the government of Spain, 
 owing to its distance, was unable to discern between 
 right and wrong, it ought, first, to have sent over com- 
 missioners of integrity and abilities, exempt from the 
 suspicions of prejudice, to treat with whatever recognized 
 organ of piibUc authority, was found on the other side of 
 the Atlantic ; with whom, explanations ought to have 
 preceded, sound and liberal ultimatums, ought to have 
 been mutually exchanged ; and if her influence had di- 
 minished, she ought to have called in that ally, as me- 
 diator and umpire, who, from so many cogent reasons, 
 was able to make justice triumphant. A spirit of rash 
 persecution, could only irritate and lend to connect the 
 Spanish Americans more closely together; it was, there- 
 fore, impolitic, to inflict deeper and wider wounds, afresh, 
 before the old ones, were healed. And when the alter- 
 native of peace, had, unfortunately gone by, and when 
 war, with all its horrors, had become the sole arbiter of 
 the destinies of each country, its tremendous power 
 ought, at least, to have been wielded on principles, con- 
 sonant with reason, and justice, and not in a manner, so 
 as to outrival the horrors of the most barbarous ages. If 
 the sufferings of the Spanish Americans were, in some 
 
341 
 
 instances, uttered with the angry vehemence of men, 
 who had long borne galling and unprovoked injuries, 
 the Spanish nation at large, ought not to have forgotten, 
 that their grounds were just and true; and that they 
 were only directed against illegal governments, whose 
 degradation was manifest and public. Spain, as a na- 
 tion of brethren, ought ever to have remembered, that 
 the ultramarine provinces, uniformly, adhered to Fer- 
 dinand, early lost, but mutually lamented ; and that, in no 
 way, had they wandered from their general allegiance. 
 She ought to have borne in mind, that the Spanish 
 Americans, had never attempted to plunge the parricidal 
 weapon, into the bosom of the country, from whence 
 they derived their origin; and that if a detached province 
 had changed its flag, it was not till after the most ag- 
 gravated provocations, and even then, the sentiment 
 was not general. The inhabitants of Spanish America, 
 have ever revered the land of their forefathers, and the 
 existence of this affection, is sufficiently proved, by the 
 abundant and conclusive testimony, adduced in the out* 
 set of my subject. 
 
 The new governments of Spain, ought certainly to 
 have marked out for their political conduct, a more in- 
 dulgent course, instead of opening the floodgates to dis- 
 asters, so deliberate and extensive. If the Spanish 
 Americans had rights, their fair and unbiassed discus- 
 sion, ought not to have been prevented; and those, who 
 constituted themselves their rulers, ought to have been 
 convinced of the real policy, as well as of the moral 
 duty, of admmistering impartial justice, to men, w^ho 
 had so long suffered; and who, for the first time, had 
 now an opportunity of listening to the voice of truth; 
 
 Q 
 
242 
 
 who from the greater degree of light and knowledge, by 
 which they were surrounded, were enabled to examine 
 the real state of their late degradation ; and who would 
 not be easily induced, particularly by force, to return to 
 a system, under which, they would have to forego, all 
 the great objects, in which the happiness of social 
 beings, is comprised. The new governments,'' could 
 never expect to be called paternal, unless they freely 
 assented to the exercise of those rights, which belonged 
 to each portion of the monarchy; and every thing was 
 to end in anarchy and confusion, if partialities stood in 
 the way, of what was indispensable, for the individual 
 happiness of all. It was just for the inhabitants of 
 Spanish America, to participate in the fruits of a revolu- 
 tion, in which those of the Peninsula, gloried; and they 
 were equally entitled to enjoy the benefits of civil liberty, 
 under a form of government, free and uncorrupted, and 
 of sufficient tone and energy, to guard them against the 
 return of oppression. This could only be effected, con- 
 formably to public and private prosperity, and consider- 
 ing the distance at which the ultramarine provinces, 
 were placed, but by some great and radical change; nor 
 could these advantages be procured, in any other way, 
 than by some limited, but safe, and well guaranteed 
 system of self-government. Some instrument, was', 
 therefore, necessarily to be adopted, to administer this 
 system, so as to render it competent to the great objects 
 for which it was instituted; and was it reasonable, that 
 this instrument should be n viceroy, possessed of such 
 powers, as those described in the early part of this essay? 
 Had equity and good faith, been the basis of the conduct 
 of the new Peninsular governments, that ^doubt and un- 
 
243 
 
 certainty, that partiality and remissness, in matters of 
 the most vital importance; that instability and change, 
 which marked the footsteps of each form, they succes- 
 sively assumed, would, never, have produced so long a 
 train of ills at home, and which could not fail of equally 
 spreading, to the other side of the waters of the Atlantic. 
 That restraints of a most grievous nature, bent down 
 the inhabitants of Spanish America, was plain and ma- 
 nifest; these were only to be removed, by a radical ex- 
 tirpation, and this was not to be done, by the sacrifice 
 of the rights of others. The long and unrepining suffer- 
 ings of the ultramarine provinces, required a compensa- 
 tion; and the new governments were bound to give it, 
 as a reward for the blood, cares, toils, and calamities, 
 occasioned by the misconduct of the old one. Above 
 all, they were entitled to a patient and unbiassed hear- 
 ing; the whole of which, if Spain had granted, she 
 might now have told her tale to the world, with a good 
 grace, and England might have believed her; but, com- 
 plaints and invectives, ill become those, who were the 
 first aggressors. 
 
 In Spanish America, at any period of these unfortu- 
 nate dissentions, there was to be found, a sincere dispo^ 
 8ition to conciliation and adjustment, which certainly 
 might have been improved, so as to meet any just and 
 liberal plan, the legislature of Spain, might have urged, 
 or England have recommended. Ineffectual, also, as 
 we shall soon shew, all the exertions of the American 
 deputies in the Cortes, to have been, to obtain redress 
 for their constituents, on a basis, legal and equitable, it 
 cannot be denied, that amidst the heat of so cruel a war- 
 fare, there existed, on the part of the very insurrec- 
 
 q2 
 
244 
 
 tional chiefs, a readiness, not only to stop the effusion 
 of blood, but, also, to enter on some definitive and per- 
 manent arrangement. Hidalgo, chief of the Mexican in- 
 surrection, on 31st of October, 1810, sent two generals to 
 Venegas, to treat for peace; the only terms of which 
 were, to restore the Junta and local authorities of the 
 capital, and to form a strong cantonment of troops, on 
 some of the leading positions from Vera Cruz, the des- 
 cent of the French, being at that time, dreaded. Ray^ 
 on, when at Zacatecas, likewise, solicited Calleja to 
 agree to the formation of a Junta or Congress, consist- 
 ing of Europeans and Americans, respectively elected 
 by the provinces; on which terms, he offered to lay 
 down his arms. He barely received for answer, that if 
 he laid them down, he should be comprehended in the 
 general indult published by government; that is, his life 
 should be spared. Some time since, a solemn offer was 
 made by the Mexican deputy in the Cortes, to obtain 
 money for the Peninsular cause, in loans, by mortgag- 
 ing the mines as a security; provided Spain would 
 guarantee the ulterior independence of the ultramarine 
 provinces, in the only case, of herself being conquered ; 
 as an assurance of that kind, by convincing them, that 
 it was not intended to bind them to the car of Napoleon, 
 would make them cease to be impatient, and the public 
 mind being thus tranquillized, peace and confidence 
 would be restored, and suspended agriculture and the 
 tvorking of the mines, would be continued. This pro- 
 posal, as all others had been, was not only rejected with 
 disdain, but, also, treated as revolutionary; and an 
 offer, liberal and disinterested in itself, and only sug- 
 gested in consequence of that prevailing anxiety of the 
 
245 
 
 inhabitants of Spanish America, to know what was to 
 be their future fate, in case of a misfortune, which all 
 thought unavoidable, but which each deplored, became 
 a fresh motive of persecution, and an additional plea for 
 further excesses. 
 
 The Junta of Sultepec, in March, 1812, sent to the 
 Viceroy of Mexico, a plan for peace, which was intended 
 as a basis of reconciliation, and as a means of preventing 
 further effusion of blood. This was accompanied by a plan 
 forwar, amounting to a proposed compact between the con- 
 tending parties, respecting the manner in which the war 
 was to be carried on; in order, that an end might be put 
 to so many atrocities, as were continually committing. 
 Both were rejected with disdain, but, as their contents 
 are highly illustrative, and tend to corroborate some of 
 my chief premises, I annex them in my Appendix, under 
 the head of G, together with their accompanying mani* 
 fest ; particularly, as they will throw considerable light 
 on the exertions of the Spanish American deputies in 
 the Cortes, to bring about some plan of pacification and 
 mutual adjustment, a subject on which we shall present- 
 ly enter. On many other occasions, a sincere disposition 
 to accommodation, was manifested, on the part of the 
 Creoles, which we shall have occasion to notice in the 
 progress of this expos^. But, whilst Spain appeared de- 
 termined, not to submit her controverty with the ultra- 
 marine provinces, to the mediation of a third power, 
 England bore with the greatest tameness, every rebuff in 
 her offers of mediation; which she, apparently, under- 
 took, rather as a political experiment, than as a measure 
 of urgent necessity, in which every possible engine was 
 to be set to work, and every strenuous means of success^ 
 
246 
 
 employed. Everypacific disposition, was overlooked, and 
 no rational mode of explanation, was suggested. The 
 government of Cadiz, preferred war, blockades, threats, 
 and persecutions, and in vain, did one of the American 
 deputies, in the Cortes insist, that it was cruel and inhu- 
 naan, to send out troops to make war upon brethren, 
 without having previously appropriated an hour, to fix 
 on some means of conciliation, or even given their rights 
 and the basis of their conduct, a fair and unbiassed dis- 
 cussion. Rancour and animosity now flamed high, the 
 Cadiz merchants formed a Junta out of their war faction, 
 which contributed by loans to the expence of the equip* 
 ments, and, thus, resolved to maintain by force, what must, 
 necessarily have been ceded, if the ultramarine provinceb 
 had been heard and redressed. Ah ! one moment's re- 
 flection, on the part of the Cadiz Regency, and timely 
 exertion on that of England, would have prevented 
 all these calamities; and in, like manner, one week of 
 moderation, justice, and impartiality in the Cortes of 
 Spain, would have done more towards the pacification of 
 Spanish America, than all the armies, the monopolists 
 could send over, or all the engines of terror and ven- 
 geance, they could set to work. Yet, on the precipice 
 on which Spain, then, stood, it was evident, that every 
 means ought to have been essayed, in order to prevent 
 the eff'usion of human blood, and the wider spread of 
 anarchy and confusion ; nor was it less essential to hus- 
 band her own troops and resources, when her very exist- 
 ence, at home, was at stake. 
 
 Thus, has Spain by her own illiberality, placed her 
 American provinces in the greatest danger ; by her rash- 
 ness, she has been plunged into a war of extermination. 
 
247 
 
 imd, during the most momentous period of her struggles 
 against France, she has been cut off from those resources^, 
 which would have rendered success more easy and cer- 
 tain. The united interests of both countries, were how- 
 ever sacrificed to punctilio, to clashing interests, and to 
 the most grovelling of all passions. If Spanish America, 
 laboured under grievances, and the government at home, 
 was unable to redress them ; it might, at least, have con- 
 fessed their existence, and acknowledged its own inabili- 
 ty, then to attend to their removal. But time has not been 
 wanting, since there has been sufficient to overturn the 
 fundamental laws of the realm, and to frame a constitu- 
 tion, on a basis, that could neither bring permanent hap* 
 piness and tranquillity, to one portion of the monarchy, 
 or the other. The reform of the colonial system of 
 Spain, was an object of ckar and unequivocal import- 
 ance, and in it, the enlightened and virtuous citizen, 
 could not fail to concur. Its defects were plain and well 
 known, and a practical declaration of rights, or a com- 
 prehensive decree, would have sufficed for their extinc- 
 tion. And was there no time for this ? In granting a free 
 trade, a disposition to be just, would have been evinced; 
 but even this was denied, though of its equity and 
 necessity, no great contrariety of sentiment could prevail. 
 The wise and thinking part of the community, those, 
 who unbiassed by 'local ties and prejudices, could trace 
 the existing evils to their real source, strongly, recom- 
 mended the incorporation of such principles, into the 
 political and governing system of Spanish America, as 
 might correct obvious vices. If Spain had time for no- 
 thing else, she had at least plenty, to devise some uniform 
 system in the commercial relations of both parts of the 
 
248 
 
 rtionarchy, which besides promoting the mutual interests 
 of each, would have maintained harmony on the other 
 side of the Atlantic, and testified her gratitude to En- 
 gland. When the grounds, on which a trade with Spanish 
 America was denied to the latter, are made known, a 
 very just conclusion may be drawn, of the principles and 
 motives, which have operated as a bar to the extension 
 of justice, on a larger scale. 
 
 Had the commotions in Spanish America, not origi- 
 nated in real grievances, such as would admit of redress, 
 so great a share of blame, would not have fallen to the 
 lot of those, who thus unfiiirly withheld it. But if these 
 grievances were real, why was the proper remedy delayed, 
 till the public mind, would bear them, no longer? if 
 lenient measures had been adopted, and had only tended 
 to increase the resentment and exasperation of the com- 
 plaining parties, and to enlarge their demands ; had 
 equitable proffers been made, and rejected with scorn; 
 had the conciliatory efforts of the Spanish govermttentj 
 given edge to their audacity, and had they actually 
 organized a systematic plan of rebellion, confounding 
 liberty, with a contempt for legal control, then, the rigour 
 of the Cadiz Regency, the subsequent apathy of the 
 other governments, and the coldness of England, might 
 have had some plausible grounds; and the conduct of the 
 insurgents, might have equally been lamented and depre- 
 cated. Had the latter been bent on magnifying positive 
 evils, and fomenting causeless jealousies and distur- 
 bances; had they asked any thing opposed to law and 
 justice; had they thrown off their allegiance to that mo- 
 narch, whom the entire nation had acknowledged, or 
 Joined the French, Spain might have been warrantable. 
 
249 
 
 in lier declaration of war-^-^and England might have had 
 some reason*, for all her indifference. But if this was 
 not the case, ought not all the fatal consequences, of so 
 many horrors as have been committed, to fall on the 
 heads of those, who first provoked the contest; and 
 why should England be ashamed of men, who do no 
 more, than assert their own rights? Ought not the 
 oceans of blood, so long flowing in Spanish America, to 
 rest wholly on the heads of those, whose self-interest, 
 and indiscreet and arbitrary conduct, first gave rise to 
 such a long reign of atrocities? 
 
 § The true Spanish patriot, could not fail to regret the 
 clouds which so early spread' over the brightest morn, 
 that ever dawned on the monarchy of both hemispheres. 
 From the period of these dissentions, its political situ- 
 tion was such, as to excite every feeling of anxiety; 
 under the existing embarrassments, it was difficult for 
 the wheels of the public machine, to move on with any 
 probability of success; the future, in short, presented 
 little else, than a gloomy obscurity of doubt and fear. 
 The gathering clouds, became dark and menacing, so as 
 to threaten a storm big with impending ruin; and besides 
 an empty treasury, and the pressure of a potent enemy, 
 complicated and heavy calamities, which flowed from 
 the inefficacy of the general government, were to be de- 
 plored; w^iilst nothing but the interference of England, 
 or a return of equity and liberality to the councils of 
 Spain, could prevent an accumulation of difficulties, 
 and ward off some terrible convulsion. Negligence on 
 the part of the Central Junta, and rashness on that of 
 the Cadiz Regency, had plunged the whole sections of 
 Spanish Ameripa, into scenes of desolation, which would 
 
250 
 
 be widely felt, and long remembered; and would, be- 
 sides, close the only secure source of pecuniary supplies. 
 Yet, a large portion of these horrors, would have been 
 spared; and at least the national honour might have been 
 retrieved, if the succeeding Cortes, had been possessed 
 of an enlarged philanthropy, and if they had followed 
 the sound dictates of policy, prudence, and justice. Had 
 they even acted, with the same generous liberality to 
 the transmarine provinces, as the Em{)eror of Russia^ 
 did, with regard to Poland, and afterv/ards to France; 
 bad they, like him, assured their American brethren, 
 that they were ready to cooperate with them, in any 
 establishment, that might secure their freedom, happi- 
 ness, and prosperity; had they, instead of impotent wars, 
 forgotten the past, and offered a sacred and sincere am- 
 nesty ; had they, like Charles V. used conciliatory men 
 and measures; and had they, above all, cordially set 
 about the discussion of their rights, and the full redress 
 of their wrongs; that immense and valuable portion of 
 the Spanish empire, might have been preserved tranquil 
 and entire, its resources might have served as a power- 
 ful instrument to repel the French, and the European 
 and American brethren of Spain, might have been bound 
 together, by the ties of fraternity and fellowship, even 
 stronger, than those, which before existed. And would 
 not this have been grateful to the true Spaniard, who 
 had long, wept in silence, over the misery and degrada- 
 tion of Spain, as well as of Spanish America? And 
 would not the contemplation of such results, to England, 
 have given rise to reflections, not less satisfactory, than 
 interesting? After the freedom of Spain, was not this^ 
 the next glorious object, to which she could aspire? 
 
251 
 
 But the Cortes of Spain, as well from the defects of 
 their formation, as owing to the prevalence of illiberality, 
 were not disposed to spread the blessings of peace and 
 regeneration to the other side of the Atlantic; as will be 
 shewn in a subsequent section of this expos6. The 
 American deputies therein, laboured in vain, they were 
 always outvoted, and it was evident, that the issue of 
 their exertions, could not fail to increase the mortifica- 
 tion and resentment of their constituents. The whole 
 of this passed, under the eyes of the British agents in 
 Cadiz; and if we had no other than the records of our 
 mediation debates, and the results of our free trade 
 solicitations, these would have sufficed to have convinced 
 us, that illiberality and injustice, were the chief basis of 
 the conduct of the Cadiz government, And, if England 
 had before neglected opportunities more favourable, could 
 she not, when the Cortes first assembled, have recom- 
 mended and urged, in the most forcible, glowing, and 
 pathetic terms, which language could atford, or a sense 
 of justice inspire, what was absolutely necessary and in- 
 dispensable, for the salvation of the country, and the 
 avowed honour and interests of the nation at large ? She 
 ought never to have forgotten, that the Spanish Ameri- 
 cans were entitled to every consideration; and that if 
 they were not redressed, and war was proclaimed against 
 them, for merely insisting on what was their due, it 
 would result, that the rights they were contending for, 
 would be rendered doubly strong, by being afresh with- 
 held. And could any motive, more honourable and 
 just, have been made the basis of those mediatory ex- 
 ertions on the part of England, which might have shield- 
 ed many thousand victims from the vengeance ^f the 
 
252 
 
 irritated and illiberal, and have, besides, given renewed 
 energies to Spain ? When the magnitude of the prize 
 we were contending for, is considered, as well as the 
 apparent doubtful issue of the contest, it appears im- 
 possible, that the 'Biitish government should not have 
 thought, seriously, on the fatal consequences of closing 
 to Europe, the only country from which coin could be 
 obtained, as well as of desolating by anarchy and civil 
 war, the best section of the world for the relations of 
 trade. Placed on an extensive continent, comprehend- 
 ing all the soils and climates of other hemispheres, Eng- 
 land beheld a people, ready to sacrifice the produce of 
 their industry, in support of the same cause in whicli 
 herself and Spain were engaged; and who by calling 
 their inert resources forth, would have been able to make 
 *asy, many of those privations, which the inhabitants of 
 cSfch, were suffering. Was it liberal in Spain, to com- 
 mand those resources to continue closed, or was it can- 
 did in England, omitting any means of removing the 
 causes of such extensive disquiet? She then, more than, 
 ever, required new channels in which to transfer her 
 |)«rsuits of trade; and in this, Avas she opposed by ob- 
 stacles, that discouraged the adequiite attempt? 
 
 Conclusive reasons indhce a confident belief, that the 
 affairs of Spanish America, did not receive that prompt 
 consideration, which the public exigence demanded, or 
 the magnitude of the subject required. Yet, England 
 had before her a plan of conduct, not only consonant to 
 the plain rules of justice; but, she had it also -in her 
 power, to effect results, which would have afforded in- 
 Unite delight to every benevolent and liberal mind. She 
 tnight have produced a reconciliation, that would have 
 
253 
 
 b«8a the parent of future happiness. Her conduct might 
 have been arraigned by the sordid and the servile, buls 
 she would have deserved the everlasting gratitude of the 
 good Spaniard i and she would, in that case, have ful- 
 filled, completely, her sacred trust to Ferdinand. Spain 
 might have been induced, to receive the Spanish Ameri- ': 
 cans again into the bosom of their common country; 
 even if their conduct, at first, had been hasty and repre- 
 hensible this would have been, by a just and equitable 
 reform, by a solid peace, and by such self elected, limit- 
 ed, and guaranteed governments, which alone could suit 
 a distant, extensive, and populous country. How to 
 effect this, was, perhaps, unknown to such new politi- 
 cians as those who assembled in the first governments of 
 Spain, nor was the infected atmosphere of Cadiz, perhaps 
 suited to the growth of ideas so liberal. Yet, would it have 
 been dishonourable, in England urgently promoting such 
 desirable ends ? If the occupations of her own ambas- 
 sador, precluded the pursuit of such an object, could 
 she not have attached to him, those who from practical 
 experience, intelligence, and zeal, were likely to aid in 
 so essential an enterprize? But, the British government 
 never appears to have endeavoured, earnestly, to find, 
 out, what were the points in dispute, what each was 
 disposed to grant and accept, or what could be made a 
 basis of restored harmony. Maintaining a guarded se- 
 crecy, and unmoved by horrors, such as would excite 
 the coldest to pity, the cabinet of St. James, has suffered 
 these unfortunate disseyitions, year after year, to linger 
 and rankle, resorting solely to such remedies, as could 
 only serve to add to the triumph of the unjust and 
 illiberal. 
 
254 
 
 England, in this pari: of her political conduct, seems^ 
 to have considered the views of the Spanish Americans, 
 as hiconsistent with their relative situation to Spain; 
 and her interference, it was feared, would clash with her 
 existing treaty. That is, she adopted the language of 
 the Cadiz merchants, pronouncing the ultramarine pro- 
 vinces, as dependent colonies; thus judging the illegal 
 governments instituted in Spain, to be the legal dictators 
 of the whole monarchy, to whom blind obedience was^ 
 to be paid. Spain told her, the Spanish Americans 
 were rebels and traitors, and she appears to have be- 
 lieved the verdict, and was silent. Had it, however, 
 been possible, by any combination of circumstances, 
 that fleets and armies had been sent from Spanish 
 America, to land on the shores of Spain, to ravage her 
 provinces, and to deluge them in blood; would England, 
 in like manner, have been silent? Would she, with' 
 cold apathy, have, thus, beheld the objects of her 
 treaty, frustrated; or would she have suffered such 
 material diversions, to counteract the great ends she had 
 in view I Would she not have remonstrated, would she 
 not have interfered, nay, would she not have imperi- 
 ously demanded, a cessation of such impolitic and un- 
 natural acts? Yet, the same fatal consequences have 
 arisen, from Spain sending her armies to the other 
 shores of the Atlantic; the resources of both countries, 
 have been equally dried up, and those stigmas have 
 likewise fallen on Spain, which would in the first case, 
 been cast on Spanish America. Had we seen such 
 horrors and such calamities, hurled on Spain, as have 
 for more than four years, desolated Spanish America, we 
 should have interfereil, even from principle* of Huma- 
 
255 
 
 ftity ; yet, if both parts of the monarchy are equal, is 
 not the latter, equally entitled to our regard ? 
 
 If England, during her treaty with Spain, was too 
 honourable to contemplate, for a moment, the advantages 
 which w^ould flow to her, from the erection of tmother 
 independent empire, on the western shores of the At- 
 lantic; she might, at least, have been sufficiently just, to 
 have seen, that the war carried on there, was cruel und 
 tyrannical ; and she might have been at the same time so 
 ifirm and humane, as to have peremptorily, demanded its 
 cessation. She might, at least, have urged a suspension 
 of hostilities, till some mutual accommodation had been 
 hegociated by the general legislature; and to this, she 
 might have conveyed such sentiments, as would have 
 secured an impartial discussion of so momentous a sub- 
 ject. Dependent as was Spain upon her, for essential 
 supplies, there were many springs that might have been 
 touched with success ; and with full confidence, she might 
 have prayed, for the effusion of blood to be avoided. Th6 
 vital necessity, of adopting some measure, to prevent a 
 separation in the integral parts, of which the Spanish 
 monarchy was composed, became daily more apparent; 
 and this could only be effected, by a mutual spirit of 
 concession and defference, which the urgency of affairs, 
 as well as the nature of the case, rendered indispensable. 
 The mass of the people in Spanish America, had long 
 felt the inconveniences of the existing plan of govern- 
 ment, but, more especially, its administration; and 
 they ardently wished for their reform. This could only 
 be done, by some radical and comprehensive measure, 
 such, alone, would crown the. work with success; any 
 thing partial, would, eventually, produce more dicon- 
 
256 
 
 tent, and only maintain a short, but turbulent exist- 
 ence* The very idea that seventeen millions of people, 
 are to seek justice at the distance of two thousand 
 leagues, has something in it so monstrous, that one 
 would suppose such a system had no partizans or abet-, 
 tors. The monopolies of the mother-country, in them-, 
 selves, as v^^ell as in the manner in which they had b^en 
 exercised, were both burdensome and unjust. The 
 fact, that Spain, should say to the whole of her ultra- 
 marine provinces, your industry shall not go beyond 
 those limits we have prescribed for our convenience, in- 
 terest, or caprice; your productions shall rot on their 
 trees, if we are unable to fetch them away; and you 
 shall have no other cloathing, than what we have tripled 
 in original value, appears the extreme of x\siatic des* 
 potism. 
 
 The pre-eminence of a government, is for it to be 
 such, as to win the affections and respect of the people; 
 and the grounds of national policy, ought ever to be 
 founded on those immutable and pure principles of 
 sound morality, which have been matured by time, and 
 sanctioned by the wisdom of ages. In the conduct of 
 human affairs, there is no truth more thoroughly proved 
 and established, than that there exists an intimate con- 
 nection, between an honest and magnanimous policy, 
 and the solid rewards of public prosperity and national 
 happiness. The Cortes, therefore, ought to have con- 
 sidered, in a candid and deliberate manner, the nu- 
 merous and urgent claims, the people of Spanish America 
 had on the justice of the general government; and if the 
 former organs of power, by their illiberality or impo- 
 tency, had been unable to carry into effect, the dictates 
 
257 
 
 of gratitude and equity, bad they been deaf to tbe ap- 
 peals of sound and temperate reason, it, at least, be- 
 came tbat government whicb had now assumed a more 
 substantial and regular form, and from whom the nation 
 expected so much, to have made the agitated situation 
 of Spanish America, an invariable object of anxious so- 
 licitude; and (ommon justice, as well as the clearest 
 and most urgent principles of political expediency, re- 
 quired this to have been made the subject of their earli- 
 est deliberations. Yet, no reform or scheme of govern- 
 ment, that might conduce to the public happiness of 
 Spanish America, was proposed; the war still lingered, 
 and even the grounds on which it had been undertaken, 
 were not reconsidered. The ^spect of affairs, was, ne- 
 vertheless, then most alarming ; the monarchy was about 
 to decline into wretched fragments, bathed in the blood 
 of brethren; and nothing but prompt and urgent mea- 
 sures, could extricate Spain from the embarrassments, 
 in which she was entangled. The blaze of civil commo- 
 tions, already raged widely, and clashing interests daily 
 added to the flame. This, was only to be extinguished, 
 by reason, by convention, or by open force. The Cadiz 
 press teemed with fresh productions of passion and pre- 
 judices and the strength gained by the war faction, 
 during the administration of the Regency, rendered its 
 partizans more clamorous, under the Cortes. The cold- 
 ness of the British government, was construed into an 
 approval of measures, and instead of redress, explana- 
 tion, or even a hearing, more troops, were prepared. 
 
 § England, in the mean time, neglected to expose to 
 the Spanish public, the real circumstances of the case; 
 and to warn them of the dangers which overhung their 
 
 R 
 
258 
 
 country. No means were adopted, to detect the nu- 
 merous misrepresentations, which continually went forth; 
 nor even to arrest and blunt the vital stabs, so frequently, 
 aimed at the honour of a faithful and active ally. No 
 exertion was made, to refute those arguments, by which 
 the sophists railed against England and her mediator^' 
 offers, on the grounds of ilUberal fallacy; nor did she 
 attempt to increase her friends, by a full developement 
 of those honourable principles, by which she was guided. 
 These, though objects of serious import were not de- 
 serving the attention of the British government, yet, 
 they would have added facility to many important mea- 
 sures. Though, within its reach, they were disregarded. 
 Thenc^ has it resulted, that with all her influence, Eng- 
 land has been unable to awe the insolence of contending 
 faction, into silence; and her indifference, as well with 
 regard to Spanish America, as on many other essential 
 points, became a standard, which served as a fresh re- 
 sort, to the disaffected against her. Yet, could it be 
 possible, that so much time had been spent, and the 
 Spanish American question, or the grounds on which the 
 war was carrying on, were not understood ? Can it be 
 believed, that after the supplies we had furnished, the 
 sacrifices we had made, and the blood we had spilt, we 
 had no influence over the councils of Spain; or that we 
 bad inspired no confidence or gratitude, into the bosoms 
 of the people? The timely exertions of England, at 
 the commencement of these dissentions, as already de- 
 monstrated, would have allayed every irritated feeling ; 
 ^nd at this late hour, it will not be pronounced impolitic 
 or unwarrantable, if England as an ally, with the prin- 
 cipal burden then on her own back, had urged, remon- 
 
259 
 
 strated, or made it a sine qua non, that a reform should 
 be granted, such as would restore harmony amongst all 
 parties. England, certainly, could not be insensible to 
 the gratification, of cooperating in the pleasing, though 
 arduous task, of securing to the inhabitants of Spanish 
 America, those blessings they had a right to expect, 
 from a free, efficient, and equal plan of government, 
 well administered. The anxiety of the Cortes, ought to 
 have been awakened, by the magnitude of the interests 
 which brought them together; and enabled, as they 
 were, to deliberate in tranquillity, under the protection 
 of British troops, and to fix on those reforms which 
 were to advance the happiness of all, and secure a per- 
 manent union between the sister parts of the monarchy, 
 they ought to have lost no time, in assuaging those bitter 
 animosities, which had been engendered by the miscon- 
 duct of the preceding governments; nor ought they to 
 Lave distrusted in the good dispositions of an ally, who 
 had been the anchor of their hopes in time of need, and 
 from whom they had continued to receive, ample and 
 unequivocal testimonies of regard and friendship. 
 
 The proper mode, of conciliating the affections of so 
 large a portion of the empire, as Spanish America, was a 
 subject of the most interesting enquiry; and, indeed, the 
 most essential, on which the Cortes could enter. An 
 agitation had been produced, so great and so extensive, 
 as not to be easily calmed ; yet, it had not arisen out of 
 a licentious and turbulent spirit, bent on disturbing the 
 harmony and tranquillity of the general state; nor was it 
 an infection, occasioned by the wide spreading contagion 
 of the times. The same love of country, still glowed in 
 the breasts of the Spanish Americans; in Ferdinand 
 
 r2 
 
260 
 
 the wishes of all parties confided, and in him the in- 
 terests of all united. The sincerity of these feelings, 
 rendered the refusal of redress, the more galling; nd^ is 
 there any truth that can be uttered Avith more confidence, 
 than, that if paternal affection had only glowed in the 
 bosom of Spain, the duteous sentiments of filial love, on 
 this interesting occasion, would have been kept alive, in 
 her distant offspring. When the first legislature of the 
 country assembled, under the form of the ancient Cortes, 
 many matters pressed heavy on the attention of the 
 members; yet, after the invaded slate of the countr}'', 
 and the means of repelling a formidable enemy; the 
 -agitated and convulsed situation of Spanish America, 
 demanded a serious and deliberate enquiry. The latter 
 <]uestion, embraced two essential points; viz. harmony 
 amongst the common members of a state, on which, 
 national strength, depended; and next, the means of 
 revenue, without which the French could not be re- 
 pelled; and without which vital spring, the action of 
 government could not long continue. It was to the 
 assembling of the Cortes, that Spanish America, and 
 the whole world, looked for a remedy to the fatal dis- 
 sentions, which had so long, desolated the ultramarine 
 provinces; and it was then, fully, expected, that Eng- 
 land would, immediately, agitate something, for the 
 liberties and happiness of her transatlantic ally. That 
 no private disgusts, or individual irritations, should 
 occur on the meeting of so heterogeneous a body; or 
 that certain public measures, should not meet with some 
 disapprobation, were things, beyond human expecta- 
 tion; but, under the persuasion, that justice and policy, 
 demanded that negociations should precede any further 
 
261 
 
 hostilities, it was thought, that both Spain and Eng- 
 land, would promote a candid and fair revision of those 
 motives, which had given rise to a cruel and unnatural 
 war, between the two halves of the Spanish monarchy. 
 
 England, however, still kept aloof, and appeared in- 
 sensible of the necessity of using her powerful exertions 
 in favour of suffering humanity; and though, by this 
 time, she must have been convinced, that local prejti- 
 dices, separate views, and party animosities, had, hitherto, 
 misdirected that comprehensive and equal eye, which 
 ought to have watched over every part of the monarchy, 
 thereby producing the most serious evils; still, she dis- 
 regarded the prolongation of their fatal consequences. 
 Bound by the most sacred ties, to the welfare of Spanish 
 America, England could not divest herself of feelings of 
 lively interest for the unredressed inhabitants thereof, 
 unless clear and insurmountable conviction, had proved 
 they were in the wrong. She could not but lament the 
 horrors, by which their unhappy country was torn to 
 pieces; to feel other^vise, was to surrender up sound 
 judgment, to the caprice of party. She must have been 
 sensible, that it was necessary to remove every cause of 
 quarrel, by treaty, and by mutual explanation; and the 
 undistinguishing vengeance with which the war was 
 carried on, increased the necessity of greater circum- 
 spection, in those who administered government under 
 a new shape. These were controversies, of so delicate 
 a nature, as to require a great degree of moderation and 
 firmness for their adjustment; but yet, their results 
 were of that alarming aspect, as to demand an immediate 
 attention, and they, besides, called for all the imposing 
 weight of character and influence, which both England 
 and Spain;, could add to measures of pacification. 
 
262 
 
 § Unfortunately for Spain, as well as for England, as 
 faer ally, there has not existed in the Peninsula, since 
 the loss of the rightful monarch, a constitutional, proper, 
 and legal form of government, as often before inculcated; 
 and what has existed, has rather been busied in its own 
 preservation, in forms and ceremonies, in etiquettes, 
 and in parade, than in seriously attending to the two 
 most essential points; viz. the driving out of the French, 
 and conciliating of the ultramarine provifices. I say not 
 constitutional, because the ancient laws of the Spanish 
 monarchy, do not admit of any other Cortes, than those 
 formed out of the nobles, clergy, and procuradores or 
 representatives of the cities and towns, entitled to vote 
 therein ; all of which, are specified by law. I say pro^ 
 per and legal, because, he only is correctly entitled to 
 take his seat and vote in a representative Congress, who 
 has been formally elected by a majority of votes, fairly 
 given and duly summed up, in the districts, entitled to 
 such representation. But this was not the case, with 
 the new Cortes of Spain. When they entered on their 
 functions, on the 24th of September, 1810, ninety persons 
 only, took their seats as duly elected members, or what 
 were called proprietarios^ To these were added fifty^ 
 three substitutes or suplentes; picked up and placed in 
 the Cortes, without any other requisite form, than that 
 of being known to belong to the districts, for which 
 they sat as representatives.* 
 
 Besides this glaring informality, twenty-nine sub- 
 stitutes were put in for the whole of Spanish America, 
 to represent seventeen millions; whilst European Spain^ 
 
 * These calculations, are founded on official statements, cor- 
 responding with the Court Calendar, published in Cadiz 
 
263 
 
 bad one hundred and twenty-five delegates to represent 
 ten millions of people. All the provinces occupied by 
 the French, had substitute representatives therein; so 
 that it remains, at least a dubious question, whether a 
 congress thus constituted, had sufficient authority to 
 enact laws which were binding to the whole empire; 
 and to wage an unnatural and inhuman war, against an 
 equal, integral, and incorporated part of the monarchy, 
 v/hose rights had not even been discussed, and whose 
 illegitimate conduct, had not been proved. Emergency 
 of circumstances, is indeed, pleaded in favour of this 
 representative body; the same as was said of the Central 
 Junta and Cadiz Regency; yet, these were both, after- 
 wards, declared illegal. But even for this plea to have 
 had full effect, the consent and concurrence of Spanish 
 America, as an integral part of the entire nation, was 
 necessary; and this was formally refused, not only in 
 consequence of the irregularity which prevailed, but, 
 also, because redress was withheld. It was that very 
 Regency, assuming to itself the kingly powers, and 
 created as before shewn, out of the terror and dismay of 
 the Central Junta, which called these Cortes together ; 
 ordering one member to be elected for every 50,000 
 souls in the Peninsula, but for Spanish America, one 
 was only allowed for every province, even though its 
 inhabitants exceeded a million. The Spanish members, 
 were to be elected by the people of each parish, but the 
 American ones, were to be chosen by the cabildos or 
 municipalities, who are generally Europeans, or in- 
 fluenced by them. There were, besides, eleven de- 
 puties allowed for the provincial Juntas of Spain, in ad- 
 dition to the prorata for the population; but in Spanish 
 
264 
 
 America, the very existencQ_of those Juntas, was pro- 
 nounced a crime of high treason. JDelegates, were, also, 
 sent from the capitals in the Peninsula; so that the dis- 
 proportion was extremely great. In this statement of 
 facts, the irregularity of the elections, is overlooked. 
 
 Thus, did the Cortes of Spain, enter on their func- 
 tions, with twenty-nine substitutes for Spanish America, 
 chosen out of different natives thereof, whom chance or 
 business had brought to Spain; and like the Cortes of 
 Bayonne, they have sounded as the general and extra- 
 ordinary Cortes of the nation. These said substitutes 
 for America, protested the second day after the installa- 
 tion of the Cortes ; that is, on the 25th of September, 
 1810. These protests were made verbally, and in writ- 
 ing, in presence of the president; all declaring, that in 
 yielding to the necessity of the moment, they, in no 
 way, intended to injure the rights of their fellow-citizens 
 whom they were supposed to represent; or to counteract 
 the just claims they had to an equal representation, 
 which they pledged themselves, afterwards, to demand 
 in the Cortes. Ireland, stands on the same relative foot- 
 ing to England, as Spamsiv America does to Spain; and 
 what would our sister island think, of twenty-nine sub- 
 stitutes being chosen in London, to sit for her in the 
 Imperial Parliament? Would she consider the acts of a 
 legislature, thus constituted, to be valid and binding? 
 Such are, nevertheless, the facts, the installation of the 
 Spanish Cortes, presents; yet, this body has enacted 
 laws for the whole monarchy, has divested the king of 
 his sovereignty, has overturned the ancient legislature of 
 the state, and has, in short, continued the war against 
 Spanish America, without even having discussed or 
 proved that its grounds were just. 
 
265 
 
 Other more duly elected members, have since, ar- 
 rived from the various sections of Spanish America; but, 
 the former substitutes w^ere continued. The whole of 
 their joint time therein, has been spent in jarring and 
 wrangling with their prejudiced opponents, on the situ- 
 ation of their unfortunate country, the neglected interests 
 of those they were chosen to represent, and in urging 
 redress, which was never granted. The first object of 
 the new Cortes, was to decree the sovereignty of the 
 nation; and the American substitutes immediately re- 
 monstrated, that it would be improper, to suffer the news 
 of such a decree, to reach the other side of the Atlantic, 
 without some satisfaction for the violated rights of the 
 ultramarine provinces; or some concession, that might 
 tranquillize the disturbances, already commenced there. 
 A project of a decree, was consequently formed; but 
 after seventeen days of boisterous debate, in which acri- 
 mony, partiality, and invective, had the greatest share, 
 the Americans were outvoted.* It would be an un- 
 pleasant task, in this place, to convey to my reader some 
 idea of the grounds, on which justice, was on this solemn 
 occasion, denied to Spanish America; nor would it be 
 possible, to enumerate the shafts of calumny levelled by 
 the Spanish members, and the Cadiz prints, which had 
 early entered into the feelings of the monopolists. The 
 report of these discussions, resembles, in a singular 
 manner, the celebrated disputes between the bishop of 
 Darien and the venerable Las Casas, which took place 
 in presence of Charles V.; for, if possible, more illibera- 
 
 * The project of the decree formed by the American substitutent 
 may be found m the Cosmopolita, No. I. and II. 
 
266 
 
 iity was displayed. Every fierce passion, that rancour 
 and sordid gain could stimulate and impel, or slander 
 and malice could inspire, was now unchained ; and nei- 
 ther the intrinsic merits of the scheme, or its justice and 
 urgency, could establish those principles of honest 
 policy and diffusive patriotism, which were so essen- 
 tial to the return of peace. Spanish America, had to 
 behold, in the first debates relating to its welfare, one of 
 the greatest violations of national faith and common jus- 
 tice, ever before witnessed; and when the edifice of pub- 
 lic happiness had been laid in ruins, by factions and the 
 storms of war, those who presided over the fate of the 
 nation were too unjust, seriously and impartially, to en- 
 quire, on what basis it was to be rebuilt, and what pro- 
 portions the structure was to possess in future. In short, 
 the first debates of the Sanish Cortes, respecting the si- 
 tuation of Spanish America, evinced, that the majority 
 lof its members, were not prepared to contend with the 
 habitual influence and authority of long established cus- 
 tom, however faithless the grounds on which it had been 
 founded; and that they were far from being ready to 
 break to pieces, the old idol of their blind and fatal su- 
 perstition. Spain, appeared disposed to regenerate with- 
 in herself, every thing that she was able ; but she seem- 
 ed jealous of bringing her American brethren into the 
 light of truth, and into the consoling atmosphere of 
 civil liberty; nor was she sufficiently liberal, to dissipate 
 the Egyptian darkness, by which they had been so long 
 surrounded. She was careless about regaining the es- 
 teem, which in the eyes of Europe, she had forfeited, 
 by her degraded conduct to her distant provinces; and 
 she was forgetful of those humanising principles, which 
 
267 
 
 constitute the essence of eivilization, and form the 
 bond of union, by which nations are held together. 
 
 The assembling of the Cortes within the Spanish 
 realm, was an occurrence of the first consequence; and 
 from it, much was expected. It indicated, that Spain 
 was about to return to those days of strength and splen- 
 dour, w^ith which her annals are filled. The arm of 
 despotism, had long suspended the reunion of pofWiJar 
 representatives, but it was thought, that the reign of 
 liberality, had now commenced. Notwithstanding the 
 irregularity under which the Cortes assembled, much 
 good was within their reach ; and that they would im- 
 prove the precious moments before them, was the 
 warmest wish of the true patriot. They, indeed, be- 
 held their country in the most melancholy situation that 
 can be imagined, for besides an insidious and powerful 
 invasion which was to be repelled, the distempers of 
 the state, had grown to such a degree of violence and 
 malignity, as to mock the efforts of ordinary remedies. 
 The state of the nation, was such, as to call for all the 
 energies of zeal and talent; but the deplorable situation 
 of Spanish America, after the means of resisting the 
 French, was, certainly, the next grand object, that 
 demanded their attention. To restore peace and har- 
 mony to sister provinces, which had suffered so much, 
 from the degradation of the old government, and were 
 now plunged into the direst of all misfortunes, by the 
 rashness of a late self-created power, was a theme not less 
 splendid than endearing, nor was it possible, one would 
 have imagined, for the Cortes to have been more sub- 
 stantially happy, than in being able to congratulate 
 themselves, on the fair prospect they had before them. 
 
268 
 
 of seeing a consistent administration of laws, established 
 in the transmarine provinces of Spain. This was a sub- 
 ject that could not fail to inspire feelings of delight into 
 all, to whom the success of justice and equity, is an 
 object of desire; and the remissness and subsequent 
 hostility of the Cortes, were, consequently, beheld with 
 grief and sorrow. 
 
 ,§ This was the valuable moment, for the new legis- 
 lature of Spain, to have healed the wounds which had 
 been lately inflicted by impolicy and rashness; this was 
 the momentous occasion, to have spoken to the inha- 
 bitants of Spanish America, with confidence, but with 
 paternal kindness, and in strict accord with reason and 
 justice. In the glowing language of a Burke,* the new 
 Cortes of Spain, ought thus to have addressed themselves 
 to the inhabitants of the Spanish American continent. 
 We find, with infinite concern, that arguments are used, 
 to irritate you, in order to impair your connection with 
 your parent country, grounded on a supposition, that a 
 general principle of alienation and enmity to you, had 
 pervaded the whole of this kingdom; and that there does 
 no longer subsist between you and us, any common and 
 kindred principles, upon which we can possibly unite, 
 consistently with those ideas of liberty, in which you 
 have justly placed your whole happiness. If this fact 
 were true, the inference drawn from it, would be irre- 
 sistible. But nothing is less founded. We admit, in- 
 deed, that the most violent proceedings have been in- 
 stituted against you, by wicked and designing men, in 
 order by despair and resentment, incurably to poison 
 
 ♦ Vide Address to the British Colonies ia North America. 
 
269 
 
 your minds against the origin of your race; and the il- 
 legal and unnatural hostilities declared and carried on 
 against you, seem as if intended to render all cordial re- 
 conciliation between us, utterly impracticable ? 
 
 But, we conjure you by the invaluable pledges, 
 which have hitherto united, and which we trust will 
 hereafter lastingly unite us, that you do not suffer your- 
 selves to be persuaded, or provoked into an opinion, 
 that you are at war with this nation. Do not think that 
 the whole, or even the uninfluenced majority of Spaniards, 
 are enemies to their own blood on the American conti- 
 nent. Much delusion has been practised, and much 
 corrupt influence treacherously employed. But still, a 
 large, and we trust the largest and soundest part of this 
 kingdom, perseveres in the most perfect unity of senti- 
 ments, principles, and affections with you. It spreads 
 out a large and liberal platform of common liberty, upon 
 which we may all unite for ever; and it has long deplored 
 and deprecated the degraded system, by which you have 
 hitherto been governed. It also hails the revolution of 
 Spain, as a propitious means of future regeneration to 
 the monarchy of both hemispheres. It abhors the hosti- 
 lities which have been carried on against you, as much 
 as you who feel their cruel etfects; and it disclaims the 
 injustice, by which you have been dispossessed of your 
 rights. 
 
 We particularly deplore the rash and intemperate 
 acts of the preceding illegal governments of this country, 
 and the undue manner, in which they have been influ- 
 euced, by the sordid and the illiberal. But the reign of 
 terror and of despotism, is at an end, and European, as 
 well as American Spain, beholds a new era of justice 
 
270 
 
 and equity, by the revival of that popular representation, 
 which constituted the greatest glory of our forefathers; 
 As members of the new Spanish Cortes, we stand ar- 
 rayed under the banners of our constitution and laws, 
 ready to defend your rights, as well as those of the in- 
 habitants of the Peninsula. You are all equal, and 
 equal justice awaits you. For ourselves individually, 
 •we faithfully assure you, that we consider you as rational 
 creatures, as free agents; as men willing to pursue, and 
 able to discern your own true interests. We wish to 
 continue united to you, in order, that a people of one 
 origin and one character, should be directed to the ra- 
 tional objects of government, by joint councils, and pro- 
 tected in them, by a common force. Other subordina- 
 tion in you, we require none. We shall never press the 
 argument of general union, to the extinction of your 
 local, natural, and just privileges. Sensible of what is 
 due both to the dignity and weakness of man, we shall 
 never attempt to place over you, any form of govern- 
 ment over which, in great fundamental points, you 
 should have no sort of check or control in your own 
 hands; or which should be repugnant to your situation, 
 principles, and character. On entering on our public 
 functions, we are ready to cooperate with you in every 
 consistent plan for your present regeneration, and future 
 happiness; and in again declaring you equal in rights, 
 and in every other sense, with your European brethren, 
 we stand pledged, that this declaration shall be no longer 
 a lure, but it shall be carried into cordial effect. Liberty 
 for you, shall be no longer an empty name. The only 
 strong request we have to urge, is, that you be sincere 
 and consistent in your conduct, and reasonable in your 
 demands. 
 
271 
 
 No circumstances of fortune, you may be assured, 
 will ever induce us to form, or tolerate any other design. 
 Nay, even if you should resist our sincere intentions, 
 and the disposition of providence, vv^hich we deprecate, 
 should even prostrate you at our feet, broken in pow^er, 
 and in spirit, it would be our duty and inclination to re- 
 vive, by every practicable means, that free energy of 
 mind, which a fortune unsuitable to your virtue, had 
 damped and dejected ; and to put you, voluntarily, in 
 possession of those privileges, which you had in vain at-* 
 tempted to assert by arms. For we solemnly declare, 
 that although we should look upon a separation from 
 you, as an heavy calamity, yet we had much rather see 
 you totally independent of this crown and kingdom, 
 than joined to it, by so unnatural a conjunction, as that 
 of freedom, with servitude; a conjunction, which, if it 
 were at all practicable, could not fail, in the end, of 
 being more mischievious to the peace, prosperity, great* 
 ness, and power of this nation, than beneficial, by any 
 enlargement of the bounds of nominal empire. 
 
 We are further of opinion, that the system, by which 
 you have hitherto been governed, is not adequate to your 
 wants, or capable of promoting your happiness ; we are 
 therefore, ready to admit whatever proposals for change 
 and amendment, you may wish to suggest, being perfectly 
 ready to concur with you, in the promotion of what is 
 just and equitable. As a pledge of our own sincerity, 
 we beforehand, declare, that you ought to have the right 
 of administering your local concerns, under such forms 
 as the general legislature, may deem most expedient for 
 all parties; and that you enjoy, within yourselves, 
 the exclusive right, of applying to the support of your 
 
272 
 
 administration, what God has granted as the reward of 
 your industry. We also reason and feel, as you do, on 
 the invasion of your charters, because these comprehend 
 the essential forms, by which you enjoy your liberties. 
 We, consequently, regard them as most sacred, and 
 agree, that they ought, by no means, to be taken away, 
 or altered, without process, examination, and hearing, as 
 they have lately been ; and, particularly, without the 
 concurrence of those who live under them. We cannot 
 look upon men, as delinquents in the mass; much less 
 are we desirous of lording over our brethren, insulting 
 their honest pride, and wantonly overturning establish- 
 insnts^, acknowledged to be just. We cannot approve of 
 putting the military pcvrer out of the coercion of civil 
 justice, in the country where it acts; and, we conceive 
 it monstrous, that you should not have the full means of , 
 redress within yourselves. 
 
 Born in a civilized country, formed to gentle manners, 
 trained in a merciful religion, and living in enlightened 
 and polished times, w^here even foreign hostility is sof- 
 tened from its original sternness, w^e lament and condemn 
 the cruel modes of warfare, instituted against you, and 
 the indiscriminate massacre and destruction, to which 
 you have been exposed. We regret to find, that the 
 Dame of the Almighty, has been prostituted in the vilest 
 acts of bloodshed ; that religion has been'made an instru- 
 ment in your subjection, and that the threats of fanati- 
 cism, have been added to the inevitable mischiefs of civil 
 war, in order to increase discord and domestic enmity 
 amongst you. We do not condemn you as rebels or traitors ; 
 nor do we call the vengeance of war upon you. We do 
 not know how, thus, to qualify millions of our country- 
 
273 
 
 men, contending for an admission to privileges, on which 
 we have always founded our own happiness and honour. 
 On the contrary, we revere the principles on which you 
 act, though we lament their fatal effects. Armed as you 
 are, we embrace you as friends, and as our brethren^ 
 bound to us, by the best and dearest ties of relation. 
 
 We view the establishment of such a continent as 
 yours, on the principles of rational liberty and of just 
 equality, as the best means to render this kingdom, ve- 
 nerable to future ages. We, therefore, exhort you, to 
 cleave to those equitable grounds, which may form a 
 true bond of union between us, but we do not urge you 
 to an unconditional submission. The sizeof your country 
 and population, require a suitable constitution ; we are 
 happy in being now enabled to form it, and it is to it 
 alone, we implore your obedience. Let us, instantly, set 
 about the work on both sides, with the same conciliatory 
 turn of mind, and we may yet, owe to our mutual mis- 
 takes, contentions and animosities, tlie lasting concord, 
 freedom, happiness and glory, of the whole empire of 
 both hemispheres. 
 
 Had such sentiments and assurances as these, similar 
 to what Mr. Burke sent over to our North American co- 
 lonists, during the period of their disaffection and dis- 
 content, been early addressed, by the new Cortes of 
 Spain, to the inhabitants of Spanish America; had the 
 language of the new legislature, exhibited a warm ex- 
 pression, the only genuine offspring of ardent feeling, 
 had conciliatory measures been used, instead of threats, 
 and had solemn and sacred offers been employed, in- 
 stead of terms of recrimination, then, might the world 
 have expected to see the points of controversy adjusted. 
 
274 
 
 and the hostile temper which had been manifested on 
 both sides, might have been softened into a mutual and 
 , good understanding. Besides the principle of justice, in 
 the existing circumstances of Spain, the reconciliation 
 of the ultramarine provinces, ought, certainly, to have 
 been the first principle of the new government; and the 
 means of avoiding further bloodshed, ought to have been 
 sought, with the most anxious solicitude. This was a 
 war, unjust and unnatural, and attended with great pub- 
 lic expence and private calamity, besides being produc- 
 tive of future consequences of a most fatal nature. Not 
 to cause it to cease, was to confirm the rash acts of the 
 preceding illegal governments ; and to behold it, with 
 indifference, was to carry fresh terror and destruction 
 into the bosom of their common country. The new 
 Cortes of Spain, had been called together, in order to 
 fill the place of the absent monarch, and to organize a 
 government, possessed of the confidence of every part of 
 the empire. Its first duty, was to retrieve the national 
 character, and to wipe away the stains with which it 
 had been blotted, by the degradation and impotence 
 into which the home provinces had been plunged, and 
 by the unjust and impolitic systems, under which those 
 abroad, had hitherto been governed. To establish a 
 plan of revenue, commensurate to the urgent wants of the 
 country, and to revive public credit, were the next ar- 
 duous and exalted duties^i imposed on the new legisla- 
 ture, by the distresses of the whole nation. 
 
 It, therefore, became the Cortes, guided by every 
 possible intelligence and virtue, to take up the most 
 , pressing points with persevering labour; and in examin- 
 ing the nature of those claims which were the most ur- 
 
275 
 
 gent, the melancholy situation of Spanish America, 
 m'ust have particularly interested their feelings and judg- 
 ment, and its restored tranquillity, at that time, would, 
 evidently, have been productive of the greatest benefits. 
 And, had it been the happy lot of Spain, to behold her 
 national legislature assemble, uninfluenced by those pas- 
 sions and prejudices, which grow out of previous divi- 
 sions, and unnatural restraints, then only, might its acts 
 have been liberal and enlightened; then local and narrow- 
 minded policy, would never have disturbed the unani- 
 mity which ought to have reigned in matters of general 
 import; and then only, would party spirit and the influ- 
 €nce of undue monopolies, not have been mixed with its 
 deliberations. Had due weight been given to the im- 
 portant consideration, that this was a cruel civil war 
 waged by brethren, and carried on in that half of the 
 empire most essential for pecuniary supplies, certainly 
 such remissness would not have occurred; and the new 
 Cortes of Spain, like the preceding Regency and Central 
 Junta, would not have had imputed to them, dispositions 
 unfriendly to the public happiness, of at least one half of 
 the monarchy. In discussing a question of this intricate 
 and interesting a nature, it was not easy for a body of 
 men, surrounded by illiberality and monopoly, to be en- 
 tirely divested of irritation ; nor could it be expected, 
 that no contrariety of sentiment would occur. It was, 
 however, astonishing, that a majority should not feel the 
 necessity of some urgent measure relating to Spanish 
 America, where such alarming evidences of disquiet ex- 
 isted. The fact is, that twenty-nine American substi- 
 tutes, had to vote against one hundred and twenty-five 
 Spanish deputies; and by the result, the ultramarine pro- 
 
 s2 
 
276 
 
 vinces were convinced of that melancholy truth, which 
 they so soon afterv/ards found confirmed, that the in- 
 terests of one half of the monarchy, clashed with those of 
 the other; and that no real justice awaited them, from 
 the acts of a congress, so unfairly constituted, so foreign 
 to their wants, and deliberating at such a distance. 
 
 Had true and sincere sentiments of fraternity and fel- 
 lowship been timely conveyed, by the new Cortes, to 
 their American brethren, then migh tthe one have felt the 
 security, which, as a national government, the others were 
 about to give, and the equal justice they were about to 
 administer. Then might the Spanish Americans have ex- 
 pected, that the general interests of all, would be at- 
 tended to; and thence, would they have learnt, that it, 
 was their duty, as well as their interest, to place full con- 
 fidence in the assembly of their new representatives, and 
 their trust in the hands of those, who were charged with 
 the general execution of the laws. In the ultramarine 
 provinces, a sincere disposition never was wanting to 
 yield to proper explanations, and to comply with just 
 measures, such as arose out oi a due sense of public benefit, 
 and a virtuous regard to the general welfare. Could a 
 more valuable opportunity have been found, of improv- 
 ing these sentiments, than when the Cortes first assem- 
 bled in La Isla de Leon ? To consult the wants of every 
 part of the community, and to lay the foundations of 
 public administration, on the affections of all the mem- 
 bers thereof, was the greatest glory to which the new 
 Cortes of Spain could aspire; and this was not to be 
 done, by continuing a war, of which the legitimacy had 
 neither been discussed or proved. As men, anxious 
 for the welfare and happiness of theij entire nation, it 
 
277 
 
 pjlrticularly behoved them, to guard the "equilibrium 
 established therein by the general laws; and if the 
 Spanish Americans had been declared equal in rights, 
 and were also found so in their ancient charters, the 
 practical and full exercise of that equality, undoubtedly 
 belonged to them. It was to the Cortes that they looked, 
 for this act of justice, and to their patriotic exertions; 
 to promote the essential redress, as a means of pacification, 
 they trusted with new and undiminished confidence. 
 
 Unfortunately, however, for the interests of both 
 parties, the Cadiz government was not disposed to adopt 
 liberal and conciliatory measures, nor was it inclined to 
 redress. Slaves or nothing, appeared to be the motto of 
 all the new governments ; and the words of the Jesuits, 
 used to Benedict XIV. when he proposed a reform, in 
 order to prolong the existence of their society, sint ut 
 sunt, vil non sint, might be very well applied to them 
 all. The fact is, the Cadiz mercantile interests had al- 
 ready taken the alarm, for in consulting the good of their 
 country, the new governments in America, as before 
 shewn, had removed the shackles of trade, and this sole 
 measure, became the real nucleus, on which the whole 
 odium gathered and accumulated. Instead of being 
 grateful for the patriotic manner, in which the Spanish 
 Americans had watched over the safety of their country, 
 volunteered in donations and succours, pledged them- 
 selves to Ferdinand, bound themselves to the cause of 
 Spain, and sworn eternal enmity to the common foe, the 
 new governments instantly treat them as rebels, and war 
 is declared against them, in compliment, as it were, to 
 the chiefs they had just deposed. This war is continued 
 under the greatest aggravations, mutual enmity is its 
 
278 
 
 issue, and universal devastation ensues. The Spanish 
 Americans appeal to Spain, recur to England, and are 
 treated with contempt. Chastisement, threats and decrees 
 of blockade, or at most, insulting proposals of pardon, 
 -are the answers given to their just and reiterated remon- 
 strances and claims; all of which might be reduced to 
 very few points^ viz. equality of representation, Juntas, 
 free trade, equal eligibility to offices in their own coun- 
 try, and the abolition of monopolies. And are these de- 
 mands unjust; are they unreasonable; are they such as 
 warrant a war, even in the best of times, on the part of 
 Spain ; or, are they such as to justify England, in leaving 
 the aggrieved ultramarine provinces, thus neglected and 
 abandoned, to the fury of their enemies, and compelling 
 them, as it were, to have called in the French to their aid? 
 § Spain, has not, however, acted from ignorance, in the 
 great Spanish American question, though, it is presuma- 
 ble, England l>as ; for these said claims were brought be- 
 fore the Cortes, the day after their installation, as already 
 noticed, w^ere repeated on the 16th November following^ 
 in eleven propositions; again, on the 31st December; 
 were discussed in January, and rejected, or definitely de- 
 ferred, in February, 1811. When the flames of civil war, 
 began to rage wider and with greater fury, and when it 
 >f as visible, that the Spanish Americans were indignant 
 at the treatment they received from the national congress, 
 the question was again agitated, 'when the famous re- 
 monstrance of the whole American deputies, was laid 
 before the house, on the 1st August, 1811. But, even 
 that clear, strong, and just statement of facts, was reject- 
 ed with the same contempt, and treated with the usual 
 disdam ; or, in other words, twenty-nine American sub- 
 
279 
 
 stitutes, voted against one hundred and twenty-five Spa- 
 nish deputies, nearly all filled with prejudice, and tutored 
 by the monopolists of Cadiz, jealous of their privileges. 
 This, same remonstrance, was afterwards transmitted, 
 with seven other public memorials from America, to a 
 committee, where it was buried in oblivion ; and, in No- 
 vember following, instead of pacification, redress, and 
 conciliatory measures, troops w^ere sent to Mexico. And 
 who was it fitted out these troops, since the poverty of 
 the government, deprived it of the means ? It was done by 
 a subscription of the very same merchants, who trembled 
 for the loss of their monopolies ; the same who influ- 
 enced the Cortes, as will presently be shewn, by specious 
 arguments, not to open the trade of the transatlantic pro- 
 vinces to Englaed ; the same, in short, who were ready 
 to sacrifice the vital interests of both countries to their 
 own private ends. 
 
 The only material alleviation granted to the Ameri- 
 cans, has been permission to work their own quicksilver 
 mines, found in New Spain and Peru ; an article essen- 
 tially necessary for the amalgamation of the precious 
 metals, and, consequently to the coining of money, of 
 which government stood in the greatest need. Thi^ 
 grant became the more urgent, as the mercury from 
 Trieste and Almaden, could no longer be obtained ; but, 
 it appears rather to have been a want of funds, that gave 
 rise to this condescension on the part of the Cortes ; for 
 the monopoly in favour of the crown, still exists; though 
 so extremely destructive and cramping to the mining inte- 
 rests. Generally, every memorial, petition, and remon- 
 strance of a public nature, presented by the American 
 deputies, has been passed over to an ultramarine com- 
 
280 
 
 mftte^, which, figuratively, has been called a wdl of ob^ 
 livion, Avhere they have been forgotten, and from whence 
 the strenuous exertions of the parties, have never been 
 able to call them forth. 
 
 The fact is, no cordiality existed, nor is it possible, 
 that it should exist, as long as the mercantile interests, 
 hold so much influence, or IJII liberality is made the 
 basis of the governmental conduct The Spanish go- 
 rernment may boast of decrees made to better the 
 situation of America, but what good have they pro- 
 duced ? Even what reforms w^ere decreed, have not 
 been executed ; and it is of this default, that more 
 is complained, than of the letter of the law. Many 
 parts of the code of laws of the Indies, were in theory, 
 good, but they were never practiced. The sections of 
 Spanish America, are still under the same kind of gover- 
 nors, and the same maxims, and the same routine, pre- 
 Tail. The same arbitrariness exists in the interpreting 
 and infringing of the laws, and the same impunity is 
 practiced to oppressors. 
 
 It has not, however, been for the want of means, or 
 of correct data, on which to found themselves, that the 
 claims and rights of the Spanish Americans, have not 
 been, hitherto, fairly discussed, and adequately redressed 
 by the Cortes of Spain. The wishes of the trans-atlantic 
 provinces, beside the cases already named, were fully ex- 
 plained in the remonstrance of the Mexican deputy to 
 the Cortes, in which he stated, that, according to the ge- 
 neral opinion of New Spain, it was indispensably neces- 
 sary to adopt the measure of provincial Juntas, in order 
 to shield the inhabitants from the persecutions of Spanish 
 chiefs; which Juntas, by holding, locally, the supreme 
 power, under the government of the Peninsula, and act- 
 
281 
 
 ing as its immediate organ in point of right, might re- 
 strain and keep in due bounds, the despotic and arbitrary 
 authority of the viceroys and judicial magistrates, who 
 would, then, become more the administrators of the law, 
 than the tyrants of the people, who, if injured, would 
 not, then, have to come to Europe for redress. That this 
 local administration and check on the viceroys, even up 
 to the present day, appears to be the chief object for 
 which the Spanish Americans are contending, will be 
 clearly seen from General Rayons letter to the Bishop of 
 La Puebla, dated September 15, 1811, in which he says, 
 " We are now arrived, at that precise period, in which 
 it is not possible to remedy the great confusion the coun- 
 try at present experiences, unless it is, by adopting the 
 system of government, intended to be established. The 
 essential point of this is, that the European give up and 
 resign the government, which he has held so many years, 
 into the hands of a congress, or national Junta, to be 
 composed of representatives of the provinces. That 
 this congress be not the tool of Spain, but that it have 
 the care of itself, of the defence of the kingdom, the 
 conservation of our holy religion, the observance of 
 just laws, the establishment of those which may be 
 deemed adequate, and, also, that it watch over the rights 
 of our acknowledged monarch, Ferdinand VII.'* And is 
 not this consistent with justice, is it not practised by all 
 other extensive settlements, does not the same exist in 
 Ireland, in the British East Indies, in Canada, nay, even 
 in our West India islands? Had not, also, Ireland her 
 parliament, prior to the union, and was she not possessed 
 of the means to withstand the abuse of power, and to 
 «top the arbitrary acts of guilty ambition ? 
 
38^ 
 
 S In thus, fundamentally, .discussing the origin and 
 causes of the unfortunate dissentions, Avhich exist between 
 European and American Spain, and, in circumstantially 
 relating the various particulars, as they occurred, I con- 
 ceive it my duty, before I proceed any further, to give 
 my reader, in as abridged a shape as possible, an idea 
 of the nature of the eleven propositions, made by the 
 American deputies in the Cortes ; as they were supposed 
 to contain all their constituents demanded,and to amount 
 to the specific basis, on which the Spanish Americans 
 were ready to lay down their arms, and again enter into 
 sincere friendship with their Peninsular brethren. At the 
 end of each, illustrative observations, are added. 
 
 Proposition I. In conformity to the decree of 1 5th 
 October ulto, the national representation of every part of 
 Spanish America, and the Spanish West India and Phili- 
 pine islands, including each individual class of their inha- 
 bitants, shall be, respectively, the same, in form, manner, 
 and without distinction, as in the provinces and islands 
 of European Spain. 
 
 Observation. By the decree of the ibth OctCJber, 
 all the inhabitants of Spanish America, had been in- 
 distinctly declared equal with those of Spain. Accord-, 
 jng to the ancient legislature of the latter, as explained in 
 the early pages of this expose, even the Indians had. 
 been declared as much subjects of the king, as the na- 
 tives of Castile. It was this practical equality, particu- 
 larly in representation, which the American deputies 
 now insisted on. The population of both countries is, 
 certainly, mixed hi a great degree, for in Spain, besides 
 Moorish descendants, there are persons of colour and 
 gypsies, agaiuet whom no exceptions existed. In the 
 
283 
 
 ultrBinarine provinces, some of the most laborious, valu- 
 able, and, often, rich, part of the population, consists of 
 coloured persons ; and if, under the ancient laws, they 
 were even admitted to study in the colleges,* certainly, 
 they were deserving of being represented, as long as their 
 state was that of freeddm. Against the Indians, there 
 could be no reasonable objection, they being blended in 
 the general population ; nor can any thing be supposed 
 so ridiculous, as that the chief inhabitants of an immense 
 continent, are to be subservient to laws, in the formation 
 of which, they have no part. This point was never car- 
 ried, and in the new constitution, as will hereafter be 
 seen, its intention was completely frustrated. 
 
 Proposition II. The free natives and inhabitants of 
 Spanish America, shall be allowed to cultivate and rear 
 whatever their climate will produce; and to promote 
 their manufactures, industry, and arts, in all their 
 extent. 
 
 Observation. Granted : but, it is much to be feared, 
 that thi^, like other concessions niade by the king's mi- - 
 nisters, when from the evidence of justice, they could 
 not be denied, will be of little avail. That is, the chiefs 
 in power, have always been instructed to contravene 
 them, in a secret manner. Humboldt, in several places, 
 alludes to this fact, and observes, that even what the 
 laws permit with regard to manufactures, the policy of 
 the government frustrates, not only by not encouraging, 
 but also by hindering them by indirect measures, as has 
 always been the case, with the manufactures of silk, pa- 
 
 * la Lima, «ome mulatoes, under the celebrated Dr. Unanue^ 
 have made singular progress in medicine, and many useful disco- 
 veries, in the virtue of native plants, are owing to them. 
 
284 
 
 per, and glass. In like manner, the Cortes, in order to 
 contravene the advantages that might result from this 
 concession, opposed its being published by the execu- 
 tive, nor were any measures taken for its effective com- 
 pliance, in the country to which it referred. 
 
 Proposition III. That the Spanish American pro- 
 vinces, shall enjoy ample faculty to export their own 
 natural productions and manufactures, to the Peninsula, 
 as well as to allied and neutral nations; and they shall 
 be allowed the importation of whatever they may want, 
 either in national or foreign vessels ; in consequence of 
 which, all their ports are to be opened. 
 
 Proposition IV. There shall be a free ^trade between 
 Spanish America and the Spanish possessions in Asia, 
 every exclusive privilege opposed to this freedom, being 
 Abolished. 
 
 .. Proposition V. There shall also be established, a free- 
 dom to trade from all the ports of Spanish America and 
 the Philipine islands, to other parts of Asia; every other 
 privilege to the contrary, being annulled. 
 
 Observation. These three propositions relating to the 
 same point, were reserved for discussion, till after the 
 report of the committee of finance. The Regency at the 
 instance of Great Britain, in April, 1811, proposed to the 
 Cortes to grant a free trade, and it was agitated in secret 
 sessions. The opinion of the Cadiz Board of Trade, was 
 taken, whose members were all adverse to the measure, 
 on grounds, which well deserve a separate revision. 
 Another adverse opinion, was forwarded by the Mexico 
 Board of Trade, consisting of Europeans, signed on the 
 16th of July, 1811, extremely injurious to the British, 
 and in which it is attempted to prove, that a free trade, 
 is contrary to the peace of Utrecht, and the Christian 
 
285 
 
 religion. The Cortes rejected the motion, on the IStU' 
 of August, 1811, and not till the month of June, was « 
 coasting trade allowed to nationals, but the order was 
 never issued, which rendered it useless. Even in Sep- 
 tember following, the deputy for Vera Cruz, urged by 
 the European interests, endeavoured to abolish this con- 
 cession ; and Viceroy Venegas opposed the entry of ves- 
 sels from the Havanah, even after the substitutes for that 
 place, advised, that the grant had passed the house. In 
 1812, England again renewed her overtures for a free 
 trade, of which mention will be made in another place. 
 With regard to Asia, anfl the Philipine islands, nothing 
 was granted. Thus, has nearly the \fhole trade of 
 Spanish America, laid dormant since the revolution of 
 the mother-country, 
 
 Proposition VI. All estancos or monopolies, shall be 
 suppressed, but the public treasury shall be indemnified 
 for the ubility arising therefrom, by fresh duties on the 
 monopolised articles. 
 
 Observation. This question was reserved fqr the 
 opinion of the committee of finance,where it still remains, 
 noth withstanding that in Spain, from the time of the Cen- 
 tral Junta, the monopglies had been abolished, and the 
 people had burnt the guard houses. The monopoly of 
 tobacco, has only lately, been thrown down. 
 
 Proposition VII. The working of the quicksilver 
 mines, shall be free in Spanish America, out the adminis- 
 tration of their produce, shall remain in charge of the 
 constituted authorities. 
 
 Observation. This is the only point, on which the 
 Cortes ordered the Regency to circulate orders; — the 
 reasons of this readiness, are already explained. 
 
 Proposition^VIII. All Spanish Americans, whether 
 
286 
 
 of Spanish or Indian descent, thall be equally eligible 
 with native Spaniards, to all offices of rank or emolu- 
 ment, both at court, and in every other part of the mo- 
 narchy. 
 
 Observation, The exclusions in this particular, even 
 in their own country, are what the Creoles have long 
 borne with preying chagrin. Many juridical remon- 
 strances have been laid before the throne, on this subject, 
 some of which are to be found in Solorzano, as well as in 
 Dr. Ahumada, an author of more recent date. Of this 
 particular grievance, considerable mention has been al- 
 ready made. During the reign of Charles III. an attempt 
 was made, entirely to deprive the Creoles of all nomina- 
 tions, which caused the municipality of Mexico, about 
 the middle of the last century, to send over a celebrated 
 remonstrance, which, certainly, deserves to be called, an 
 eloquent demonstration of the rights of the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans. This proposition was declared to be contained in 
 the said decree of equality of rights, of the 15th October; 
 or of promises, as before mentioned, made as a theoretical ex- 
 periment, but which, never brought any good to the ultra- 
 marine provinces ; as proof of which I will add, that the 
 tributes were not taken off the Indians, till April, 1811, 
 that is, when the revolutionary parties had already an- 
 nulled them ; nor was the destructive mita thrown down 
 in Peru, till September, 1812. That this may be better 
 understood, an explanation of the mita is found in my 
 appendix, under the head of H. In order that my reader 
 may have a more complete idea of the grievance, which 
 the 8th proposition was intended to remove, I would 
 ask him, what would be the feelings of Ireland, if her 
 natives were prevented from rising in proportion to their 
 merits, with our own citizens? Were this the case. 
 
287 
 
 would it be expected, that the union could be cordial 
 and lasting? Natives of our sister island, are even at the 
 head of our councils and armies, and far from feeling 
 jealousy or suspicion, they constitute our glory and our 
 pride. 
 
 Proposition IX. Especially Consulting the natural 
 protection of the respective kingdoms of Spanish America 
 it shall be declared, that half of the nominations in each, 
 shall be given to natives thereof. 
 
 Observation. In pursuance to the ancient laws, we 
 have already seen, that the Creoles are entitled to a pre- 
 ference in their ovvrn country, but that by the successive 
 despotism of their kings, and the scandalous venality of 
 the court, this provision was of no avail. Charles IIL 
 in consequence of the strong remonstrance from Mexico, 
 above alluded to, had ordered the audiencias and church 
 preferments to be given, in an equal proportion, toCreoles; 
 but this was never complied with, nor was it now enac- 
 ted afresh, though this is the principal point of complaint, 
 which has caused disturbances in Spanish America, from 
 the time of its discovery. In Spain, there are 164 Ca- 
 thedrals and CoUegiates, together with 4103 Prebenda- 
 ries, of which, it may naturally be imagined, that few 
 or none, fall to the lot of Creoles ; and in the whole of 
 Spanish America, there are 47 metropolitan Churches, 
 and 501 Prebendaries, so that to ask for the half of these, 
 was not by any means extravagant. The fact is, the 
 Spaniards had always considered the ultramarine pro» 
 vinces as a land of promise, exclusively sought and held 
 for their advantage, and to diminish their prospects of 
 gain, was to touch them to the quick. 
 
 Proposition X. For the exact fulfillment of the above 
 stipulation, there shall be a consultive Junta, formed in 
 
288 
 
 each capital, -who shall propose the persons in turns, who 
 may be suited to fill each vacancy, &c. 
 
 Observation. This certainly would have greatly con- 
 tributed to establish order and justice, in this particular, 
 but there were too many hungry mouths to fill, for it to 
 be carried into effect. And as the case how stands, it is 
 less likely the Creoles can be satisfied in this their just de- 
 mand, for they must, necessarily, expect to be over-ruu 
 with a number of chiefs and dignitaries, who will there 
 seek a compensation, for what they have lost in the Penin- 
 sula, unless king Ferdinand enters into a sense of the 
 hardships of the transatlantic provinces, and acts with 
 more liberality, than the governments which have repre* 
 sented him during his absence. 
 
 Proposition XL Considering it essential to the pro- 
 gress of civilization, and the instruction of the Indians, 
 the order of the Jesuits shall be restored. 
 
 Observation. This proposition was not admitted to 
 discussion. It principally related to the advantage of 
 Peru, where the Jesuits in former times, had certainly 
 brought the Indians out of their barbarous habits, into 
 those of civilization ; and if it proves no more, it at 
 least evinces, the liberality and enlightened zeal, with 
 which the American deputies in thfe Cortes, sought to 
 promote the interests and welfare of their country. 
 
 Such were the economical points agitated by the 
 American deputies, up to the month of February, 1811, 
 and such were the terms and context of the redress they 
 sought for their constituents. Having thus presented 
 the facts as they occurred, and also in the most official 
 form, I leave my reader to judge of the justice of these 
 demands, and to conclude, whether a war carried on 
 
289 
 
 with their refusal, as a basis, can be just in the eyes of 
 God or man ; and whether England, with these proofs 
 before her, ought to be ashamed of the inhabitants of a 
 continent, to whom she has so often given assurances of 
 regard and esteem. The objects of the above eleven pro- 
 positions, together with a new governing system, con- 
 sisting of provincial Juntas or assemblies, representing 
 the general government at home, as a check on the vice- 
 roys and judges, was all the people of Spanish America, 
 asked through their deputies in the Cortes; and it is to 
 their refusal, that a continuation of the greatest horrors, 
 that ever marked ancient or modern annals, is owing; 
 horrors of such a nature, that the scenes of the primitive 
 conquest, are thereby renewed. * The new Gortes of 
 Spain, as before explained, had it in their power, to 
 place two nations, sprung from the same origin, alike in 
 manners and in language, and formed to be connected by 
 the bonds of reciprocal fellowship and mutual interest, 
 in the situation of sincere friends ; by only securing to 
 one, a practical equality conformable to reason and law, 
 and by thus removing the causes of present, as well as 
 of future dissentions. For them was it reserved, to avert 
 the continuance of civil storms, which already threatened 
 to disunite those, whom a just cause and the abhorrence 
 of a treacherous enemy, had united ; and by fixing the 
 firm basis of general good, they were then enabled to 
 restore peace and harmony amongst their fellow-bre- 
 thren. 
 
 These great and desirable ends, might have, un- 
 doubtedly, been answered, if that spirit of prudence and 
 moderation, so essential to the management of discordant 
 interests, had been displayed within the walls of the Cortes; 
 
290 
 
 and if personal considerations, had not been mingled 
 with the general acts of government. It was on the pre- 
 servation of unanimity, and on the careful continuance 
 in health and vigour, of that fraternity and fellowship, 
 which had hitherto prevailed; that the happiness and se- 
 curity of the country, depended ; and it was by this 
 means only, both at home and abroad, that the legitimate 
 executive powers, could be left unimpaired. It was not 
 the Spanish Americans alone, who were sensible of the 
 degraded system under which they were governed. The 
 intendant D°. Gonsalez Montoya, by order of the Cortes 
 and Regency, drew up a plan, suited to conciliate the 
 interests of European and American Spain, and as a 
 basis of a constitution, for the latter. Speaking from 
 experience, he ingenuously confesses, " that the Euro- 
 pean chiefs, exercise there, a pure despotism and a con- 
 tinued tyranny, always committing extravagant acts; 
 |:hat if they do any good, it is, because, the Creoles teach 
 them, who, alone, understand their own welfare, and 
 laws and customs. For this reason, Spain ought to give 
 up to them, all their own economical government, for, 
 isince, they do not send over officers to us, he adds, there 
 is no reason, why we ought to send such over to 
 them."* 
 
 Impressed alike from reason, observation, and feel- 
 ing, as ought to have been the members of the new 
 Cortes, with the necessity imposed on the nation, of 
 making every sacrifice to put an end to evils, whose 
 symptoms daily became more menacing, the national 
 government was still remiss and wavering; memorials, 
 
 * Tbii fkeUb was printed in Cadiz, ISll. 
 
291 
 
 petitions, and remonstrances of the most urgent nalur«, 
 were treated with neoflect and disdain; and even though 
 to have kept entire the united revenue of Spanish Ame-! 
 rica, for the pressing wants of the Peninsula, would have 
 been a great point gained in the general concerns of the 
 nation, yet, neither the calls of policy, nor the dictates 
 of justice, could rouse the new legislature to energy and 
 exertion. At the end of July, the substitute deputies 
 for Santa F6, presented to the Cortes, the new constitu- 
 tion made by that province, acknowledging Ferdinand 
 VII, though independent of the government of Spaiq; 
 Arguelles, then rose and exclaimed, ** that since one pro-i 
 vince after the other, continued to separate, they were 
 now bound to hear the American deputies;'* who, on 
 the 1st of August, 1811, were consequently, encouraged 
 to lay before the house, an energetic remonstrance, 
 Aligned by thirty-three deputies. 
 
 General allusion, has already been made to this do- 
 cument,* and its contents, certainly constitute a clear 
 and official demonstration of the causes and origin of the 
 existing dissentions, and aq enumeration of the points of 
 controversy. The causes and origin, are stated to have 
 been a dread of being delivered over to the French; and 
 their immediate explosion, was occasioned by insults, 
 ill-treatment, and reproaches. The general and pri- 
 jnordial basis of discontent, is, however, proved to have 
 been, the state of servility and oppression, in which the 
 ultramarine provinces had been kept, by the despotism 
 pf the old government, which the new ones, neglected 
 
 * This memoir was reprinted in London, 1812, and is also foi^q^ 
 ijusertfid ia ]E1 Espaaol, for the 30th of March, 1812^ 
 
 T 9 
 
292 
 
 to remove. As men, tl\e deputies argue, equal with the 
 Spaniards in rights, their constituents are entitled to an 
 equal representation, in the present, as well as in the 
 future Cortes. As fellow-citizens , they plead, that they 
 ought to have the working of their quicksilver mines, 
 the cultivation of their lands, the fisheries of their own 
 seas, and manufactures for their own cloathing, free and 
 unrestrained. The deputies remind the Cortes, that, 
 although, these points had been, in some measure, 
 granted by the house, no orders for their accomplish- 
 ment, had been issued by the executive ; and they again 
 insist, on the abolition of monopolies, v^hich remained 
 untouched. As social beiiigs, they reason, that the 
 Spanish Americans ought to be remunerated, equally, 
 and according to their respective merits, by the distri- 
 bution of offices; that they ought to be allowed a free 
 trade with nations at peace; and be freed from the despo- 
 tism of European mandatories, by means of provincial 
 assemblies, to hold them in check. 
 
 Without these points being granted, the deputies add, 
 " it will not suffice for Spain to destroy the present po- 
 pulation, and send over new settlers, for their children 
 cannot fail to love the land on which they are born, and 
 consequently, they will not be more disposed to live 
 under the trammels of oppression. It is this alone, 
 which the present inhabitants, seek to remedy. If they 
 do not acknowledge the existing government, it is be- 
 cause they believe it illegitimate; in this, they may be 
 actuated by a political error, but it is not a rebellion, 
 since they acknowledge the head of the monarchy; and 
 they have even organized their Juntas, without with- 
 holding their representative concurrence, in the Cortes, 
 
293 
 
 a« far as allowed, conformably to what they themselves 
 demonstrate, in their public papers.* For this very 
 reason, they cannot be accused of sedition; for the 
 division of two parts of the monarchy, cannot be treated 
 as such, when both remain united in the same prince, in 
 like manner, as the division of two brothers, who still 
 remain under the paternal authority, cannot be termed 
 an emancipation of either of them; nor is the separation 
 of two churches who acknowledge the same pontiff, 
 called a schism, since this was the case for many ages, 
 with the Greek and Latin churches." 
 
 This memoir was read in secret sessions, and pro- 
 duced a degree of heat and asperity, that nearly brought 
 on blows ; and, eventually, it followed the fate of all 
 the others; that is, it slumbers in the hands of the ul- 
 tramarine committee, from which, neither the thunder 
 of a Demosthenes, nor the eloquence of a Cicero, could 
 call it forth. The fact is, that no cordial disposition' 
 existed in the majority of the Spanish deputies, to grant 
 to the ultramarine provinces, the practical exercise of 
 those equal rights, which belonged to them from the 
 time of their settlement; and which had been so recently 
 decreed them on paper. It, consequently, became use- 
 less, for so small a proportion of American deputies, to 
 bring forward motiops; for they were negatived, not 
 from any conviction of their inconsistency, but, because, 
 they were prejudged before being submitted to the house, 
 and thrown out, merely in consequence of the quarter, 
 from whence they originated. In a question of this de- 
 licate nature, it was, nevertheless, evident, that nothing 
 
 ♦ Caracas Gazette, July 27, 1810. 
 
^94 
 
 uUt cDaciliatory measures could be productive of har* 
 liiony; and it was particularly requisite, that above alU 
 hatred and resentment should be discouraged. For the 
 foundation of any just and equitable measures, on the 
 part of Spain, there had long existed a broad platform 
 ton the other side of the Atlantic; for, as fully demon* 
 strated, in the outset of my subject, at no period of time, 
 had the attachment of the ultramarine provinces to the 
 mother-countryj been more strong or more general, than 
 when the invaded state of the latter j was known to them. 
 Whatever hostilities had beert, hitherto, carried on, 
 were for defensive purposes, but, the Spanish Americans, 
 generally, still acknowledged the same monarch, and 
 only complained of the degraded system by which they 
 were governed^ which it became necessary to remove, 
 as a previous step to the restoration of concord. This 
 desirable end could never be attained, as long as the 
 members of the national legislature, were not disposed 
 to divest themselves of prejudice, and till the reign of 
 terror, was at an end; nor could the Spanish Americans 
 iconceive themselves satisfied, or happy with their lot, as 
 long as the government at home, was continually distrust- 
 ful, and rendered jealous and suspicious by the hardships 
 of the American people, which it had neither the courage 
 to remove, or even the liberality, candidly to discuss. 
 
 In the mean time, the Cadiz press, was continually 
 plyed; invective, reproach, and scurrility, were daily 
 dished up under a variety of seasonings, to please the 
 palates of the votaries of gain, and galling expressions 
 of scorn and contempt, were uttered on every possible 
 occasion; till at last, the pride of the Spaniard was 
 roused to the continuance of a war, which was supposed 
 
295 
 
 just, because it was represented so, by the servile and 
 the interested. In short, there was no disposition to 
 render private convenience subservient to public good; 
 and such was at length, the prevalence of deception, 
 that the national character was thought at stake, and 
 bound for its honour, to continue the war, with fresh 
 vigour. Any thing less than unconditional submission, 
 was deemed a greater blot, than even bowing to the 
 French yoke. Thence, were all the exertions of the 
 American deputies, rendered useless, and the tardy and 
 slack mediatory offers of England, were treated with 
 disdain. 
 
 § Had the Spanish government, at that time, only ex- 
 amined well, the history of the revolutionary war of North 
 America, what a variety of useful lessons, might it not 
 have culled out for its future guidance ? It would there 
 have seen, the fatai consequences of a rash and incon- 
 siderate act, on the part of a parent state, who, by sub- 
 sequent concessions proposed, seems heartily to have re- 
 pented of her intemperance. Had the Cadiz government 
 further compared the present demands of the Spanish 
 American provinces, with the original situation of the 
 various settlements, now called the United States, it 
 would have found, that the former actually sue for no 
 more, than what the latter enjoyed, before they asserted 
 their independence; that is, whilst even colonies of 
 England, they had local checks over their governors, 
 and that their governing system was such, as not to 
 clash with their happiness or prosperity. Another still 
 ■more valuable lesson might have been borrowed, from 
 which the Cortes would have learnt, that it is never too 
 late to do an act of justice; nor is it unbecoming, or 
 
296 
 
 dishonourable, in a parent state, to endeavour to recon- 
 cile her distant offspring, as long as the basis offered, is 
 consistent with reason and justice, and conformable to 
 the dictates of prudence and humanity. The original 
 causes which lead to the North American war, are too 
 recent and too well understood, to require any comment 
 here, as an explanation to those circumstances, I am 
 about to subjoin. The high tone, with which His Ma- 
 jesty's ministers and parliament, spoke to those colonies, 
 and the sanguine hopes, under which hostilities were 
 commenced on the part of England, are fresh in the 
 memories of all. Yet, after the war had been prosecuted 
 by the crown, for some years, with heavy expence and 
 great calamity, the cabinet receded from the high ground 
 it had taken in the beginning, and a plan of pacification 
 was determined upon, very different to the first preten- 
 sions insisted on, by the king and ministers. 
 
 After several motions had been made by the opposi- 
 tion, tending to the abandonment of the American war. 
 Lord North gave notice in the House of Commons, that 
 he had digested a plan of reconciliation; conformably to 
 which, he moved to bring in 1st **a bill for removing all 
 doubts and apprehensions, concerning taxation by the 
 parliament of Great Britain, in any of the colonies and 
 plantations of North America.'* 2dly *' A bill to enable 
 His Majesty, to appoint commissioners, w^ith sufficient 
 power, to treat, conduct, and agree upon the means of 
 quieting the disorder, now subsisting in certain of the 
 colonies of America," 
 
 The first bill, contained a declaration, " that parlia- 
 ment will impose no tax, or duty, whatever, payable 
 within any of the colonies of North America, except 
 
297 
 
 only sueh duties, as it may be expedient to impose for 
 the purposes of commerce; the net proceeds of which, 
 should always be paid and applied to, and for the use of 
 the colonies, in which the same shall be respectively 
 levied, in like manner, as other duties collected under 
 the authority of their respective legislatures, are ordina- 
 rily paid and applied." It was insistuig on the opposite 
 of this clause, that, in fact, produced the war; but 
 England, by fatal experience, had seen her error, and 
 she was too liberal and too enlightened, to persist in it, 
 any longer, in the face of justice. And may I not be 
 allowed to ask, whether it would have been dishonour- 
 able in England, reminding Spain, as her ally, of these 
 fatal momentos ; and inspiring into her, sentiments of 
 equity and just liberality, whilst it was yet time ? Had 
 the North American colonies, then to lay to the charge 
 of their parent state, a fiftieth part of the hardships and 
 restraints, with which Spanish America has now to re- 
 proach Spain ? Yet, even their conduct had friends and 
 partizans amongst ourselves, and eventually, England 
 had to confess, that a great share of blame rested with 
 herself, in not using timely redress, and plans of con- 
 ciliation, before it was too late. The great and striking 
 difference, between the situation of the Spanish, com- 
 pared with the British Americans, may be well collected 
 from the first sections of this expose; and the opposite 
 nature of the pretensions of the first, may be established 
 from the transactions in the Cortes, of which a full detail 
 has just been given. Yet, though the parallel of cases is so 
 different, though the fate of Spanish America, is such, as 
 to interest the feelings of the most apathized, and though 
 the justice and nature of the object, is so transcendently 
 
298 
 
 greater, not a glow of sympathy, appears, yet, either to 
 have moved the ministers or people of England; nay, not 
 even an expression of condolence, has escaped either. 
 
 The second bill authorized the appointment of com- 
 missioners by the crovrn, v^ith power " to treat either 
 with the constituted authorities, or with individuals in 
 America, provided that no stipulations which might be 
 entered into, should have any effect, till approved in 
 parliament, other than is afterwards mentioned." — ^It 
 was thereby enacted, " that the commissioners may 
 have power to proclaim a cessation of hostilities, in any 
 of the colonies; to suspend the non-intercourse law ; and 
 further, to suspend, during the continuance of the act, 
 so much of all, or any of the acts of parliament which 
 have passed, since the 10th day of February, 1763, as 
 relates to the colonies." — " To grant pardon to any num- 
 ber or description of persons, and to appoint a governor 
 in any colony, in which His Maje&ty had heretofore ex- 
 ercised the power of making such appointments." — 
 These two bills, passed both houses of parliament, with- 
 out any considerable opposition. 
 
 Such was the conduct of England, at the momentous 
 period, when experience had taught her ministers, th€ 
 fatal consequences of a rash act, and the many difficul- 
 ties of carrying on a war at such a distance. Such were 
 the proceedings of an enlightened nation, moved by the 
 calamities that must necessarily follow in the train of a 
 bloody civil war; the continuance of which, without 
 these preliminary steps to conciliation had preceded, 
 would have been most unjust and tyrannical. These 
 measures were adopted, even though her aggravations 
 were very different to those of Spain, and when the 
 
299 
 
 points of controversy, were perfectly distinct. The 
 olive branch, here accompanied the sword, and, if possible, 
 England, considering she was fighting against her owri 
 blood, was more magnanimous in this act, than if she 
 had decreed fresh troops to replace those of Burgoyne, 
 since all they could produce, were fresh horrors and 
 more calamities. Had Spain now on her national re- 
 cords, such overtures as these, and had she manifested 
 a disposition to concord, on a rational basis, then, the 
 destruction she has caused, might have some excuse; 
 and then, the existing stigma, had been wiped from her 
 name. Had she heard the claims of her distant brethren, 
 had she coolly and deliberately discussed their hardships, 
 and redressed what was just, and had all her pacific 
 overtures been treated with contempt, then, and only 
 then, would her war have been just, and in that case 
 alone, could England have beheld her conduct, with in- 
 difference* 
 
 In prosecution of their conciliatory plans, the British 
 commissioners arrived in North America, but it was, 
 unfortunately, too late, circumstances had materially 
 changed. General Burgoyne had been defeated, and, 
 above all, the French and Spaniards had now manifested 
 a readiness to join in the quarrel, in favour of the colo- 
 nists. Their efforts to carry through the objects of their 
 mission, were, consequently^ ineffectual ; the terms were 
 indeed such, as the colonists would, at one time, joyfully 
 have accepted; but these terms now required an 
 union of both countries, under one common sove- 
 reign, and this was supposed too lowering for the ground, 
 on which the Colonists then stood. Ail those mutual 
 affections, which as parts of the same monarchy, they 
 
300 
 
 bad been accustomed to feel for their European brethren, 
 had now been extinguished, by a long and distressing 
 war; the States, by this time, had discovered their own 
 strength ; brilliant careers were already opened to most 
 of their new chiefs ; and their recent treaty with France, 
 upheld them in their views of absolute independence. 
 Another material trait, in the election of these commis- 
 sioners, was well deserving of the imitation of the Spa- 
 nish government, viz. they were all persons, who had 
 ©penly condemned the violent measures of the adminis- 
 tration, and had wished a settlement of differences, on 
 the ground first taken by America, and were conse- 
 quently, serious friends to a restoration of peace, on just 
 and reasonable terms. And, were these the qualities 
 found in a Cortabarria, a Venegas, a Calleja, &c. ? In 
 her terms of pacification, England authorizes her com- 
 inissioners to treat with constituted authorities, and even 
 with individuals; but Spain, has deemed it dishonour- 
 able, to treat with the Juntas of the ultramarine pro- 
 vmces, though they were assembled in imitation of her 
 own, and for the most legal and constitutional motives* 
 
 In order, however, to complete my parallel, I con- 
 ceive it my duty, to add the terms, on which the kinga 
 commissioners, offered to renew the bonds of former 
 friendship, and to put an end to the ravages, by which 
 the several States of North America, were desolated. 
 They are as follow. ** To consent to a cessation of 
 hostilities, both by sea and land. — To restore free inter- 
 course, to revive mutual affection, and renew the com- 
 mon benefits of naturalization, through the several parts 
 of the empire. — To extend every freedom of trade, that 
 the respective interests of Britain and America, could 
 
301 
 
 j-equire. — To agree, that no military force should be kept 
 up in North America, without the consent of the geneml 
 Congress, or particular assemblies, — To concur in mea- 
 sures calculated to discharge the debts of America, and 
 to raise the credit and value of the paper circulation. — 
 To perpetuate the union, by a reciprocal deputatian of 
 an agent or agents, who shall have the privilege of a seat 
 and voice in the parliament of Great Britain; or if sent 
 from Britain, to have a seat and voice in the assemblies 
 of the different colonies, to which they may be deputed 
 respectively, in order to attend to the several interests of 
 those, by whom they may be deputed. — In short, to 
 establish the power of the respective legislatures in each 
 particular colony; to settle its revenue, in civil and mi- 
 litary establishments, and to exercise a perfect freedom 
 in legislation and internal government ; so that the Bri- 
 tish colonies, throughout North America, acting with 
 Great Britain, in peace and war, under one common 
 sov€reign, may have the irrevocable enjoyment of every 
 privilege, short of a total separation of interests, or con- 
 sistent with the union of force, on which the safety of 
 their common religion and liberty depend." 
 
 Such were the assurances under which England, as a 
 powerful nation, sought to reestablish her bonds of rela- 
 tionship with a country, she herself had settled, in the 
 light of colonies and plantations, and over which the king, 
 besides his public capacity as sovereign, had private 
 prerogatives, which still added to his right of controuL 
 Thus did England address herself to a people, less than 
 three millions in number, contained on a comparatively 
 much smaller tract of country than Spanish America, 
 which, though inhabited by seventeeii millions, wa» 
 
302 
 
 treated by the Cortes, as has already been shewn, like a 
 handful of dependant vassals. Spanish America, though 
 equal in rights with European Spain, as well by primitive 
 charters, as by recent decrees, is warred upon, for the es- 
 tablishment of Juntas for interiour government, though 
 such-establishments were, by England, deemed essential 
 to the happiness and well being of North America, even 
 prior to her attempts to separate ; and which all enlight- 
 ened powers, consider indispensable to the common prin-» 
 ciples of freedom, even in a West India island, that only 
 contains half a million of souls. A principle of justice, 
 and an earnest desire to spare the further effusion of 
 human blood, dictated to the parliament of England the 
 offer of the preceding terms ; and, for the sake of hu-p 
 manity, every one was desirous to terminate a calamitous 
 •war, whilst policy also, strongly urged for the return of 
 harmony and peace. 
 
 England, at the above period of her differences wiih 
 North America, asked no more than such a bond, as was 
 necessary to preserve that union of force, in which the 
 safety and advantage of both consisted ; and she pledged 
 herself ready and willing, to enter into a fair discussion of 
 all the circumstances necessary to insure, or even enlarge, 
 that rational independent state, which, as a continent, she 
 acknowledged North America ought to possess. How 
 different were these advances to peace, then made by 
 Great Britain, when compared with the conduct of the 
 three governments, which have presided over the desti^ 
 nies of Spain, during the absence of Ferdinand. To the 
 one, principles of reason and justice, accompanied by- 
 considerations of mutual interest, were held out as a basis 
 of adjustment; to the others, threats of blockade, r^» 
 
303 
 
 vaging armies, and the denunciations of heaven, are pro- 
 posed as the means of subjection ; but to discuss their 
 rights, or to review, impartially, the grounds of the ex- 
 isting w'dY, is thought beneath the dignity of the Spa-- 
 niard. During the American war, the original ground of 
 contest, was yielded by England; but in that waged 
 against the ultramarine provinces of Spain, the Peninsu- 
 lar government never established any, but merely con- 
 tinued hostilities, because this was the voice of the town, 
 in which it had taken up its temporary residence; and 
 because faction and disappointed gain, vociferated for the 
 nneasure, without demonstrating any substantial reasons. 
 At any period of the colonial contest above alluded to, 
 the prospects of England, certainly wore a brighter aspect 
 than those of Spain, during the invasion of the French ; 
 and, most assuredly, the former had many more resources 
 to wield. Yet policy taught her, that she owed it to her 
 Qwn honour, to improve every opportunity that offered 
 for conciliation ; so that, even in the spirit of Christianity, 
 she was bound to put an end to the calamities of so dis- 
 tressing a war. 
 
 England, sought to make known to the colonists, the 
 full extent of the beneficial tendency of the terms 
 offered ; but Spain offers none, and merely seeks to 
 frighten her ultramarine provinces, by swelling the equip- 
 ments she is making, and by repeating her threats, 
 under a new Fhape. The commissioners of the one, 
 even after their negociations had been refused by the 
 American Congress, still expressed their readiness to 
 proceed in their conciliatory endeavours, wherever there 
 was an opening ; but the others, conceive any advances 
 to the sanie ends, as derogatory to the national character. 
 
304 
 
 which could not stoop to such a degradation, as to treat 
 with insurgents. The one, offered to treat with deputies 
 from the colonies, conjointly, or with any provin- 
 cial assembiy, or convention individually ; but the others, 
 not only disregard the claims of all Spanish America, as 
 established by her deputies, within their own legislature, 
 but decree, that the very existence of an assembly, conven- 
 tion, or junta, is a crime of high treason. England, through 
 her Commissioners, addressed herself to the North Ame- 
 rican inhabitants of every class and condition, ad adjur- 
 ed them, in the strongest and most pathetic manner pos- 
 sible, not to lose so favourable an opportunity of secur- 
 ing their liberties, and their future prosperity and happi- 
 ness on a permanent foundation; but Spain, demands an 
 unconditional submission, and only offers fetters, heavier 
 than those her ancient kings had riveted. The one, pub- 
 lished a pardon, sincere and binding, for all insurrections 
 prior to a certain date ; and the other, crouds her dun- 
 geons with victims, even after a solemn capitulation and 
 promise of general amnesty. The one, in short, treated 
 her prisoners as freemen, who at most, were deluded, and 
 not criminal, thus endeavouring to alleviate the horrors 
 of necessary warfare ; whereas the other, in numerous 
 instances, puts them to the sword, in cold blood, and af- 
 ter surrendry, commits the most wanton devastations, and 
 tramples on laws, which every civilized nation, has, hi-^ 
 therto, respected. 
 
 But, alas, a strange and blind infatuation, had seized 
 upon the minds of the Spanish heads of government, and 
 liberality, no longer actuated those, whose weight of po- 
 litical character, enabled them to guide the public helm. 
 The claims and clamours of the Cadiz merchants^ were 
 
305 
 
 still urgent and loud, and their resentments sustained no di- 
 minution. Men, indeed, recede, slowly, and with difficulty, 
 from favourite habits, in which their interests are, besides, 
 concerned ; and as it were, to court popularity, the go- 
 vernment listened and condescended. A general remiss- 
 ness and neglect, moreover, prevailed, and the differences 
 with Spanish America, were treated as of little moment, 
 though it was a point that ought to have been investigat- 
 ed with the greatest labour, and being a principle which 
 involved the greatest interest to the monarchy at large, 
 it ought to have been presented to the public, in all the 
 views of which it was susceptible. No real and sincere dis- 
 position existed to discuss the various contraverted points, 
 with cool and unbiassed judgment, or to consider them, 
 with all the weight and attention the subject deserved, 
 and the grounds on which the opposing parties acted, [ 
 eminently required. The government seemed determined J 
 to avoid those full and satisfactory explanations, so essen- 
 tial, not only to the good understanding of the basis of 
 the dispute, but also, to the application of a safe and con- 
 eistent remedy, as a means to restore a connection, so 
 wantonly broken. Nothing was devised, in order to re- 
 move those discordant materials, which had been substi- 
 tuted in the place of that strong cement, which, formerly, 
 bound each part of the monarchy together ; for the re-in-] 
 statement of which, horrors of a variety of kinds, had j 
 been resorted to, instead of the rational and sober means 
 of adjustment. The lessons of other nations, in vain 
 Jaid open for the guidance of the Cortes, they were 
 unheeded, and never produced an useful suggestion. 
 Had Spain, at the momentous period of her rupture with 
 h&x sister provinces, only been possessed of such a man 
 
 u 
 
306 
 
 as the Earl of Chatham, who it is well remembered, en- 
 deavoured to prevent our own rupture with North A.me- 
 riCa, and afterwards exerted himself to produce a recon- 
 ciliation; what blood might not have been spared, and 
 what horrors might not have been avoided? England 
 never can forget, the unavailing efforts of that great and 
 good man, to prevent a dismemberment of the empire ; 
 but in the Cortes of Spain, scarcely does there exist, a 
 solitary instance of an European, who has lifted up his 
 voice in favour of Spanish America, even on the grounds 
 of humanity. 
 
 § In order, however, to give my reader a more com- 
 plete idea of those principles which guided the legislature 
 of Spain, in its general deliberations ; and as a means to 
 explain how England was affected by thesfe controversies, 
 I conceive it useful, here to subjoin the particulars and 
 result of those attempts made by the British minister, to 
 obtain a free trade with Spanish America, and for Eng- 
 land to be admitted as mediatrix, between the contending 
 parties. That no clause had been inserted in our treaty 
 with Spain, to establish the commercial relations of both 
 countries, this point being left to a future period, has 
 been already mentioned ; and those natural and obvious 
 reflections, which result from the omission of not making 
 -this the basis of our co-operation^ have already been 
 added. Such an accession of commerce, as Spanish Ame- 
 rica presented to the enter prize of England, had long been 
 an object to which the cabinet of St. James had turned its 
 attention, and some of the expedients tried to obtain it, 
 have before been passed in review. Immense sums had, 
 in vain, been expended to open this new channel for 
 trade— one that promised unequalled advantages; and 
 
307 
 
 when this brilliant prospect opened on the British em- 
 pire, by an association of propitious circumstances, not 
 likely to return, it appears unaccountable, that it was 
 overlooked. Spanish America presented to the world, an 
 extended and varied tract of country, in which nature 
 had made such an ample display of her bounties, that the 
 more it was explored, the more it would rise in estima- 
 tion, "y et, an illiberal system of government, had kept 
 the whole closed, even to the industry of its own inha- 
 bitants, who, in vain, beheld the fertility of their soil, 
 and the rich productions by which they were surrounded. 
 
 To open a trade with such a country, was, conse- 
 quently, an object of the greatest consequence to England, 
 not only as a relief to her then suffering subjects, but also, 
 ■as a means to increase the revenue of Spain, and to add 
 to her effective strength. To give stability to commer- 
 cial relations with Spanish America, was, therefore, the 
 primary object of both ; and Spain was doubly bound to 
 this act of justice, from the further motive of expe- 
 diency, as tranquillity would thus have been preserved. 
 As the ally of Spain, and bearing so large a portion of the 
 warexpences incurred for her salvation, England was en- 
 titled to this remuneration on the score of gratitude; and 
 if the former enjoys the commerce of the latter, and we 
 consume her oils, wines, brandies, fruits, &c. besides her 
 colonial productions ; and if she is, at the same time, 
 unable to clothe her transatlantic citizens, and transport 
 to Europe the produce of her soil, why was a trade to 
 Spanish America, as an equal and integral part of the 
 monarchy, to be objected to ? 
 
 In conformity to these views, the British minister had 
 iifeed^omis endeavours to get this trade opfened, soon after 
 
 y 2 
 
308 
 
 the installation of the Cortes, but it was bluntly refused. 
 The Regency, however, again pressed the national legis- 
 lature, and the point was agitated in secret sessions, 
 about the middle of April, 1811. The manner in which 
 this demand was made, and the grounds on which it was 
 substantiated, not having been laid before the Spanish 
 public, it is not here possible to present them to my 
 reader. By those who took a favourable part in the dis- 
 cussion, they were viewed in the light of a favour, which 
 England asked of Spain, and to which the latter seemed 
 to have fully corresponded, by putting it to the vote in 
 her house of delegates. No sooner was this attempt 
 known in Cadiz, than the public prints were set to work, 
 mercenaries were employed to write sarcasms, and on 
 the corners of the walls was announced, in large letters, 
 Cancelada*s work, called " Ruin to Neto Spain, if trade is 
 declared free, founded on twelve propositions,^* Such 
 means had their full weight with the public, and even 
 within the House, so that the wishes of England were 
 completely frustrated. 
 
 Spain, owing to her want of manufactures, vessels, 
 and capitals, was, at this time, unable to carry on her 
 trade with the ultramarine provinces, in such manner as 
 to supply their wants, and to receive their productions in 
 return. Indeed, at ^the best of times, this commerce 
 had been carried on by foreign capitals in Cadiz, prin^ 
 cipally French ; the Spanish merchant doing little more^ 
 than cover the property with his name. To refuse, 
 therefore, this privilege to her ally, was acting as the 
 dog in the manger, and was particularly impolitic, it 
 being the foremost demand of the Americans, to have 
 their ports opened to England, «fter the long blockade 
 
309 
 
 Svhich had just preceded. This was the more necessary, 
 because enlightened Spaniards themselves confess, and 
 amonsfst them Estrada, that the Custom House systems, 
 and the want of free trade, had, in great measure, ruined 
 the finances of Spain. In fact, these improvident regu- 
 lations made what little trade there was, contraband ; so 
 that the crown lost its dues ; and the prohibitory laws 
 reduced the productions to no value, w^hereby agriculture 
 was destroyed, and the country was, besides, drained of 
 its specici Humboldt, as well as other intelligent fo- 
 reigners, has remarked, that the trade restrictions, wer^ 
 destructive to both the prosperity of the mother country 
 and the American provinces^ and that their removal would 
 greatly add to the revenue of the crown. 
 
 How a stipulation to open a trade to Spanish America, 
 was omitted in our treaty with Spain, seems a circum- 
 istance the most unaccountable, for the latter does not 
 appear to have thrown into the scale of equivalents, any 
 advantages to compensate our succours. The English 
 nation was, at that time, in great want of an extension of 
 trade ; and one would naturally suppose, that it was the 
 object of all governmental transactions, to be either of 
 presenter remote benefit to their respective subjects: 
 and when England resolved, thus lavishly to open her 
 treasures, and sacrifice the lives of her soldiers in the 
 cause of Spain, it certainly must have been with a hope, 
 that some advantages were to be derived to her people, 
 on whom the burden rested ; and in those sanguine mo- 
 tnents, the idea must have been very distant, that Spain 
 could ever be so illiberal as to deny a trade, she herself 
 could not carry on, arid which would, besides, double 
 her own resources, and tend to strengthen the allegiance 
 of her distant provinces* 
 
310 
 
 The British government, apparently sensible of this 
 oversight, long after the treaty had been carried into 
 effect, and when the succours had been given and ex- 
 pended, solicited the Regency to open the Spanish Ame- 
 rican trade ; and it was formally refused by the Cortes 
 on the 13th August, 1811 ; after a discussion filled with 
 illiberality on the part of the Spanish members, but de- 
 fended by the American ones, as a measure of policy 
 and necessity. But times had now very much altered, 
 Spain was no longer an humble supplicant for aid ; and, 
 from auxiliaries, we had become principals in the war. 
 The forrner had, moreover, perceived, that w^e were as 
 much interested in its issue, as herself; and, in the mean 
 time, that unfortunate spirit of jealousy and distrust had 
 originated, and had been allowed to spread. Animosity 
 between the mother country and the American provinces, 
 had also taken deep root, and plans of conciliation and of 
 sober trade, had been superceded by threats, war, and 
 revenge. 
 
 If, however, we reflect on the consequences of a want 
 of trade, in a country that had been so long secluded, the 
 illiberality of the Spanish government will appear the 
 more glaring, as will, also, our want of energy and fore- 
 sight. How a people must suffer for the want of active 
 trade, whose great resources are in territorial produc- 
 tions, and whose dependence for supplies, is on European 
 imports, particularly after the long stagnation occasioned 
 by the past war with England, can easily be conceived iu 
 a country like this. The result has been, that in Guaya- 
 quil, cocoa, at present, is worth no more than three dol- 
 lars per quintal, or in other words, is left to rot on the 
 trees; and that, in all the upper provinces of New Spain, 
 the common people are now clothed in skins. On a free 
 
311 
 
 trade, at this particular time, the Spanish Americans 
 besides conceived, that their present comforts, as well as 
 their future prosperity, depended. They viewed it as a 
 means to convey to the markets of the world, the sur- 
 plus produce of their luxuriant soil, and they beheld their 
 sanguine hopes, disappointed, with disgust and chagrin. 
 In the mean time, also, the resources of that great conti- 
 nent, instead of being called forth and increased, were 
 declining : every thing was stagnant, and the British 
 merchant was losing an intercourse, that, besides the sale 
 of goods, might have been attended with great political 
 consequences. 
 
 From the time the seat of government wis removed 
 to Cadiz, the influence of the monopolists of trade, as 
 already shewn, began to be exerted against any measure, 
 which might deprive them of their accustomed profits ; 
 and every engine was set to work, to retain the sole pos- 
 session of the right of shipping to the ultramarine pro- 
 vinces, and receiving their returns. The public opinion 
 was gained by sophisms and misrepresentations ; and in 
 order to add strength to the opposition, and to influence 
 the approaching discussion in the Cortes, the Consulado 
 or Board of Trade of Cadiz, under the authority of its 
 president, prior, consuls, deputies, and other members, 
 for that purpose convened, on the 24th July, 1811, pub- 
 lished its manifest, addressed to the delegates of the ge- 
 neral and extraordinary Cortes, as well as to the public 
 at large, in which they attempt to prove, " that the grant- 
 ingofafree trade to England with Spanish America, is a 
 monstrous and unwarrantable measure, and destructive 
 to the interests of Spain" In this long and elaborate tissue 
 of sophisms and invectives, the following arguments are 
 the most conspicuous. — 
 
312 
 
 This manifest attempts to prove, that a free trade 
 with theifj American provinces, would bring about a c?e- 
 solation, greater than the one, Spain at present experiences, 
 — That the report of a free trade, icoidd he a desolating 
 voice, more terrible than the one heard on the 2d of Mai/,* 
 and be destructive of the very existence of Spain. — That 
 those who are desirous of establishing it, are impostors, 
 and deserving of exemplary punishment, and of eternal 
 hanishjjient. — That it is a measure, intended to bring 
 desperation on the minds of the merchants, — That the 
 destinies of Spain and her political existence, depend on 
 the solution of this question, — That the names of the 
 authors of such a disaster, will be preserved, in order to 
 receive the indignation of future ages. — That it would 
 produce a scene of most certain horror, — That the Ameri- 
 cans do not require such a measure, but detest it, as de- 
 structive of f heir interests, — That nothing but open ene- 
 mies, could have proposed similar ideas, — That it ivas an 
 horrible monstruosity, similar to that, committed by one, 
 who should pierce the heart of his brother, at the moment 
 he was embracing him* — That Spain would be ruined, 
 made the tool of foreigners, and that her merchants and 
 manufacturers, being destroyed, would fall into slavery, 
 -^And, in short, that it would be subversive of religion, 
 order, society^ and morality, ^c. 
 
 Such are the sentiments and arguments, and such the 
 official form of the Manifest, published by the board of 
 Cadiz merchants, to influence and decide the Cortes, to 
 refuse to England, a fre€ trade with the American pro* 
 vinces; and this to the subjects of a nation, who were 
 aiding and cooperating in the Peninsular struggle, at the 
 
 * The revolution in Madrid, against the French. 
 
313 
 
 isame time, also, that it was the foremost demand of the 
 Americans. It, unfortunately, had all the effect pro- 
 posed. And can it be possible, that there was not, at 
 that time, in Cadiz, an Englishman, sufficiently patri- 
 otic and enlightened, to have answered such a string of in- 
 consistencies; to unmask such an assemblage of dark in- 
 uendoes, and to confound their abettors ? Can it be 
 supposed, that there was not one to prove, that the pa- 
 cification of the ultramarine provinces, and the increase 
 of their revenue, depended on this measure ; of conse- 
 quence, that on it rested the integrity of the monarchy, 
 and, indeed, the existence of Spain, as a nation ? Was 
 there no one, when the British people, as a mercantile 
 body, stood expectant for such a boon from the grati- 
 tude of Spain, and from the liberality of the Spanish 
 Congress, to expostulate, and even to remind them, 
 that the very manifest which they made the basis of their 
 conduct, confesses the misery y to which the late wars had 
 reduced the merchants of Cadiz -y of consequence, that 
 they were not able themselves, adequately, to carry on 
 * this trade, being without capitals, vessels, or manufac- 
 tures ? Was there no one, dared tell this insolent body 
 of monopolizers, that when they called themselves the 
 interpreters of the wishes of all the trading bodies of both 
 hemispheres, and when they asserted, that the voice of the 
 trade of Cadiz, was that of all America; that it was the 
 refusal of this very trade, which left the productions to 
 rot on the trees, which deprived the Americans of cloath- 
 ing, which produced distress, and that, in short, this 
 very stagnation and inactivity, constituted the most ma- 
 terial complaint of the Western provinces, and that the 
 removal of this odious monopoly, would, of itself, destroy 
 
314 
 
 the principal barriers, which impeded a good understand- 
 ing between the two sister kingdoms ? 
 
 Amongst the other strange inconsistencies found in 
 this celebrated manifest; it boasts of the great advantages, 
 America enjoys from her connection with Spain, such as 
 the cojisumption of her productions, mental improvement ^ 
 and religion. Yet this was at a moment, when cocoa in 
 Cadiz, would not pay the duties, and when in Mexico, 
 paper was worth 30 dollars per rheam. That the late 
 conduct of Spainy with regard to her settlements, was an 
 object luorthy the imitation of all the world — when, her 
 colonial policy has been an object of execration to every 
 writer, who has touched on the subject. That the trade 
 ought to be kept exclusive, as a nursery for seamen^ — but 
 they forgot to state, where the vessels were to come 
 from. That a competition with British merckandize^ 
 V>ould ruin their own, — and this, in 1811, when their 
 own manufactures were destroyed, and the principal pro- 
 vinces in the hands of the enemy, so that the Americans 
 were to wait for cloathing, till their works and looms 
 were rebuilt, and reorganized, and the country freed 
 from the French. That the trad^ licences, formerly granted 
 to foreigners, have tended to demoralize the American 
 provinces; at the same time, that it is universally acknow- 
 ledged, that they have been of the greatest service, for a 
 large share of the science, at present, found in Peru, is 
 owing to the intercourse, that country once had with 
 the French.* 
 
 Such are the arguments, used in the report of the 
 mercantile interests of Cadiz, to combat the wishes of 
 
 * All the sentences in italics, arc literally translated from the 
 original. 
 
315 
 
 England, in a particular point, not only due to her sub- 
 jects on the score of gratitude, but, also, necessary, as the 
 only means of adding to the revenue of Spain, and of 
 tranquillizing the ultramarine provinces. The question 
 was, however, negatived, and this in August, 1811, when 
 Spain had, for two years, experienced the sincerity of 
 England, when the resources of Spanish America, were 
 nearly suspended, and the claims of her inhabitants were 
 still unredressed. Similar arguments, and similarly 
 pointed reflections, were used by the European Consula- 
 do of Mexico, in support of the monopoly mutually en- 
 joyed by them, and their Peninsular brethren, but in 
 which, however, a greater degree of ilUberality was 
 blended, so much so, that the Cortes themselves, sent 
 out a spirited reprimand. It was under the general pre- 
 valence of such impressions, that both the discussion of 
 the trade, and the mediation affair, were lost; and such 
 will be the fate of all liberal questions, supported by the 
 American deputies, and consonant to the good wishes of 
 England, as long as the latter suffers such wrong and in- 
 correct opinions to prevail, without seriously attempting 
 to counteract them, and as long as the poison of such 
 remarks, is not extracted, by the very same means, as 
 those by which it had been infused. 
 
 And can it be supposed, that the government of 
 Spain, situated as it was to England, could act with less 
 justice, and with less liberality, than a former Spanish 
 ministry had done; for during the war of Succession, the 
 French enjoyed a free trade to the Spanish settlements, 
 particularly in the South Seas; and both Feuill^s and 
 Freziers' voyages, will be found to refer^to many licences 
 granted, even for Lima, And, as an American orator. 
 
316 
 
 (when urging a viceroy in Americaj to open a trade with 
 the British, as the only means of alleviating the distresses 
 of the landed interests, and repairing the wants of the 
 treasury), justly said : Spain ought to he ashamed of de-^ 
 flying to gratitude and to England, what loas, at that 
 time, through dependence and dread, snatched from her. In 
 'ivor Icing our own good, added he, let us not be sorry, thai 
 that nation should share therein, to ivhom we owe so mucht 
 and loithout whose aid, our intended reform, would not he 
 possible,* 
 
 The above respective quotations, constitute a fair and 
 correct contrast, between the sentiments of the Spaniards 
 and Spanish Americans on the subject alluded to ; and it 
 is particularly deserving of notice, that there is not a 
 measure, agitated in the Cortes for the interests of Eng* 
 land, a proposal in which her policy has been implicated, 
 or a plan of any nature founded on liberality, that has 
 not met with the aid and concurrence of the American 
 deputies, and similar also, has been their conduct, in se- 
 veral questions they have defended in print. When that 
 of free trade was brought forward, they defended the 
 measure, as necessary for the welfare of the Western pro- 
 vinces, which stood in need of supplies, Spain could not 
 send out, and a sale of those productions she could not 
 consume. They upheld it in favour of England, alleg- 
 ing, that Spain was in gratitude, and injustice bound, to 
 make this sacrifice for a people, who were making so 
 many for her. When the mediation affair was discuss- 
 ed they voted for it in a body, and, in like manner, on 
 the nomination of Lord Wellington. And, does a con- 
 
 * Representation for free trade with England, Bnenos AyreSi 
 1810, by Dr. Mariano Moreno. 
 
317 
 
 duct so firm, and so disinterested as this, deserve no re- 
 ciprocal support from the British government, when it 
 sees these deputies, in vain struggling to obtain for their 
 constituents, v^hat numbers and illiberality have alone 
 withheld ? 
 
 The French under their late treaty with Spain, and 
 when united by no other bond than that of terror, were 
 allowed the residence of official agents in Spanish Ame- 
 rican ports; Depons was in Caracas, Humboldt had ac- 
 cess to the whole continent, and in Cuba and Puerto Rico, 
 privateer agents resided, who publicly condemned and 
 sold English and other prizes, in the ports of these 
 islands. The United States have a Consul at the Ha- 
 vannah, and we have none ; nor have we, on either the 
 Atlantic side of Spanish America, or islands, an indivi- 
 dual to protect trade, the subject,OF to hinder the false 
 aspersions thrown on the British name. In the month 
 of March, 1809, the Spanish consul-general Forunda, an- 
 nounced in the public papers of the United States, that 
 all the Spanish consuls, were authorised to give clearances 
 to Anglo-American vessels, desirous to trade to Puerto 
 Rico, Cuba, Maracaibo, LaGuira.and the Floridas, but no 
 similar arrangement was made for the English merchant. 
 In fact, the cream of the trade to Spanish America, up 
 to the late declaration of war, has been enjoyed by the 
 United Slates ; and besides the sale, freight, and ship- 
 ment of goods, we have lost the real and effective means 
 of creating an influx of precious metals, both for our 
 ■wants at home, and the supply of our armies abroad ; and 
 this, merely, because we forgot, that such a country as 
 Spanish America existed, when we rushed into our 
 alliance with Spain, 
 
31g 
 
 Seldom, has more conclusive testimony been collected 
 of that undue ascendency, which, in the conflicts of 
 party, prejudice and passion, so often, obtain our reason 
 and justice, than in the discussion of the point just re- 
 ferred to. The avaricious spirit of commercial monopoly, 
 had lost none of its influence; and within the house, as 
 well as without, a stream of malignant opprobrium was 
 directed against the views of England. The question was 
 decided, with that hasty credulity and impelling preju- 
 dice, which cannot await the sober and deliberate deci- 
 sions of judgment; and this illiberality of the Cortes, 
 opened another source of irritation, which added to the 
 ■copious torrent, already overflowing theWestern provinces 
 of Spain. The refusal of a free trade to England, when, 
 at the same time, it was so essential to the welfare of 
 Spanish America, was an evidence of combined ingrati- 
 tude and injustice; and certainly added another item to 
 the long catalogue of discontents, which already existed. 
 The jealousy, which men, so readily, entertain of the 
 views of those, with whom they are not accustomed to 
 associate, and whom they have been taught to hold in an 
 unfavourable light, had spread a degree of suspicion on 
 every thing we attempted to do in Spain ; and a strong 
 party, was ever ready to thwart our most sincere endea- 
 vours^ In all popular governments, (and Spain might, at 
 that time, be considered as one) the press is the most 
 ready and effective channel to convey opinions to the 
 public, and to give them popularity. The Cadiz papers,^ 
 as before noticed, in aff*airs relating to Spanish America, 
 had early become the vehicles of calumny and invective, 
 and, on this occasion, their mercenary zeal and acrimony, 
 were increased. England, during the period of her ca. 
 
319 
 
 operation with Spain, has therein constantly been op- 
 posed, by avowed enemies and insidious friends, and 
 those numerous wounding suspicions, and irritating 
 charges which, so frequently, circulated, exhibit ample 
 evidence of this fact. 
 
 § Whilst it was her earnest wish and fondest hope, to 
 give every energy to European Spain, in order to make 
 her equal to the great struggle in which she was engaged, 
 England, at the same time, sought, by means feeble, 
 though sincere, to produce harmony and consequent 
 good to the community at large, by oifering herself to 
 mediate, between the former and her Aii irican provinces. 
 On the part of England, a desire had beei: early manifested, 
 to adjust the subjects of controversy, and proposals for a 
 mediation, were made by her minister in Cadiz. They 
 were brought on the floOr of the Cortes, in April 1811, 
 and were accepted by them on conditions, which nearly 
 involved all the points in dispute. The Cortes exacted, 
 that the insurgent provinces, should acknowledge them 
 as their sovereign, swear obedience to them, and send 
 their deputies to be incorporated with those of Spain; 
 which if they did not do, within fifteen months, England 
 Was to aid the mother-country to subject them by force. 
 Spain, thus became her own judge, and instead of pub- 
 lishing a declaration of such rights, as the Spanish Ame- 
 ricans actually possessed, with a solemn guarantee, that 
 the same should form the basis of the adjustment, she 
 tells them at once, to send over their deputies, but not 
 elected as in the Peninsula, and not as there correspond- 
 ing to each 50,000 souls. She tells them to obey, with- 
 out having altered their governing system, without grant- 
 ing them a free trade, without destroying their galling 
 
320 
 
 monopolies, and, in short, without giving them that 
 practical equality which Spain herself possessed, or re- 
 moving one of the material causes of complaint. 
 
 The Cadiz Regency, consequently, signified its readi- 
 ness to accept the proffered mediation, but, on examina- 
 tion, its conditions, as laid down by the Cortes, were 
 found such, as to be supposed " incompatible with the 
 principles, on which alone the British government could 
 consent to interfere. Under all circumstances, however, 
 it was thought proper to name commissioners, at the 
 head of whom, Commodore Cockburn was placed. His 
 Majesty's ministers, trusting that the Cadiz government, 
 in consideration of the honourable and liberal conduct. 
 Great Britain had invariably observed, throughout her 
 existing alliance with Spain, w^ould so ameliorate and 
 alter the objectionable conditions above alluded to, as 
 to enable the commissioners to bring about the recon- 
 ciliation, so devoutly to be wished, on terms, equally 
 calculated to insure the future happiness and security of 
 the American subjects, and, at the same time, keep un- 
 impaired the honour and dignity of the Spanish mo-^ 
 narchy." 
 
 From the 10th to llth of July, 1812, this question 
 was agitated in the Cortes, in secret sessions, and after a 
 report of a committee, had been heard. The American 
 deputies, went into all the details, necessary to explain 
 the origin of these dissentions, and recapitulated the 
 points in contest. They pleaded in favour of the mea- 
 sure, on the grounds of humanity and justice, and re- 
 commended conciliation, as a more honourable and se- 
 cure means of adjustment, than the terror of arms. To 
 promote it, they argued, no instrument was so powerful 
 
321 
 
 ^nd proper as England, who had made so many sacri- 
 fices, and possessed the confidence of both parties. The 
 Spanish deputies, without bringing forward any specific 
 or insurmountable objections, alluded to the interested 
 motives which induced England to propose this measure, 
 and the darkest and most pointed stabs, were aimed at 
 her national honour and faith. Some complained, that 
 the revolution in Mexico, had increased for the want of 
 rigour, and others alluded to the difficulty of any thing 
 effective being done, by foreign commissioners, who did 
 not understand the points at issue. In short, all that 
 tended to give influence to England, or open to her any 
 access to Spanish America, was viewed with jealous dis- 
 approbation; and it was resolved, that a mediation could 
 only be applied to Caracas and Buenos Ayres, already 
 nearly out of the control of Spain, but that it could, by 
 no means, extend to Mexico, where it was asserted, that 
 no revolutionary government existed, wherewith to treat, 
 A national Junta, nevertheless, was, at that very time, 
 organized in Sultepec, which had long possessed the 
 confidence of the inhabitants. Indeed, New Spain, has 
 ever been the most suitable section of Spanish America, 
 for the adoption of this measure, from it« being more ex- 
 empt from those extreme democratic and frenchified 
 principles, which have been manifested in some other 
 sections, and because it contained a larger degree of ta- 
 lent and collected influence. 
 
 That excess of caution, with which Spain, as Robert- 
 son, says, has always thrown a veil over her transactions 
 in America, and the peculiar solicitude, with which she 
 has concealed them from strangers, were particularly re- 
 markable, during this and the debate on the question of 
 
322 
 
 free trade. The cabinet of St. James, was, perhaps, not 
 inclined to expose itself to another mark of disrespect, 
 nevertheless, the most weighty reasons existed, to have 
 a complete explanation on this subject, and to under- 
 stand, perfectly, the views and intentions of the Spanish 
 government. Yet, if we were to content ourselves, 
 with merely asking a favour; if we were to address our- 
 selves, in the tone of supplication, and not urge those 
 strong reasons which actuated our conduct, and if par- 
 ticularly, we did not fully explain and guarantee the in- 
 tegrity of our intentions, as a preliminary measure, it is 
 a pity, England ever exposed herself to a fresh and in- 
 sulting rebuff, in proposing a mediation, after the fate 
 of the free trade question, was known. In a measure of 
 this kind, it was on the good sense and virtue of the 
 nation at large, that we had to rely; and if the powerful 
 engine of the press, was daily contributing its influence 
 to the extension of opinions, calculated to misrepresent 
 our views, and eventually to deprive us of all confidence; 
 to neglect an antitode, was only doing the thing by 
 halves. By such means, extensive animosity against us, 
 had made its way into the public mind, without there 
 encountering a justseitse of the great sacrifices w^e wer^ 
 making, or of the humane and honourable motives which 
 stimulated our conduct. In vain, did we testify the sin- 
 cerity of our views, to the executive of Spain, if these 
 testimonies never passed its office doors, whilst the 
 French, on the one hand, and the illiberal party on the 
 other, were actively employed in blackening our na- 
 tional character. Though in the free trade question, 
 illiberality and invective, had lost us the measure, we, 
 on this more important occasion, again neglected to 
 
323 
 
 (destroy those false and specious grounds, oq which tlie 
 opposition had taken their stand, and though it was evi- 
 dent, that the same would have their influence in the 
 question now alluded to, still we sought not to attach the 
 wavering, or gain the well-disposed to friendship. We 
 disregarded that furious and malignant spirit, which had 
 infused itself into the publications of the day; and though 
 England could have demanded a free trade and media- 
 tion, as the reward of services, from which were flowing 
 great and lasting benefits; though without any departure 
 from those principles, which were held as fundamental 
 to her treaty, she might have insisted on them, and con- 
 vinced the Spanish people of their justice ; the most 
 effective means were, however, overlooked. 
 
 The points in question, were, indeed, delicate iu 
 their nature, as long as the Cadiz monopolists held so 
 much sway; yet they could no longer remain untouch- 
 ed, without hazarding the most serious consequences. 
 The wanton and unjust horrors committing in Spanish 
 America, and the manner in which the resources of Spain, 
 and the supplies of England, were wasted, were circum- 
 stances, in which the honour of both were implicated. 
 It was, besides, time to settle the commercial relations 
 of each, by amicable relations ; points to which the in- 
 terest and gratitude of Spain, were expected to contri- 
 bute. However, to render a mediation effective, a great 
 practical knowledge of the laws, institutions, manners, 
 and even language of flie countries to which it referred, 
 were particularly essential. No mission of any kind, to 
 a foreign country, was more difficult than the one to 
 whijgh I allude, and though it required a certain weight 
 of character; it rather stood in need of practical men, 
 
 X2 
 
324 
 
 who fundamentally understood the relative interests about 
 to be discussed, and who could on this, as well as on the 
 other side of the Atlantic, attend to the drudgery of ex- 
 plaining, conciliating, and gaining on the public mind. 
 With chagrin and disappointment, did the American 
 deputies behold a British mediation, unaccompanied by 
 these requisites ; for it was early evident, to those who 
 had stood the brunt of so much illiberality, and who 
 were alive to the injuries their constituents were daily 
 receiving, that the object could never be attained, unless 
 by rendering this mediation extremely substantial; by its 
 government displaying an uncommon degree of energy 
 and resolution ; and by resorting to every means of sooth- 
 ing tlie angry passions, and conciliating the jarring dis-- 
 cords of men, who reasoned from interest and prejudice, 
 and not from equity and moderation. To reconcile piii- 
 vate convenience with public interest, was the chief 
 point to be conquered ; and both questions had such an 
 affinity to each other, that to gain one, was to gain 
 both. 
 
 To attain this, one would naturally have supposed, 
 that conclusive arguments, as well as sufficient means, 
 were not wanting, particularly, in the distressed state in 
 which Spain, at that time stood. When it was agitated 
 to name Lord Wellington, generalissimo of the Spanish 
 armies, a measure infinitely more unpopular, and pique- 
 ing to the pride of the countiy, every engine was set to 
 work, and the measure was carried, though many more 
 inveterate prejudices were opposed to it, than to the 
 two points, to which allusion is here made. Disputants 
 entered the lists, and agitated the point in the public 
 prints. Its necessity being proved, the measure was 
 
325 
 
 carried. From the united principles of humanity and 
 policy, England might have urged a mediation, with all 
 the vehemence of conviction, and with those just princi- 
 ples of discrimination and mutual confidence, which 
 ought to exist between nations so nearly allied. In this, 
 at least, she was superior to the charge of egotism, Mr» 
 Burke maintained the right, nay even the duty of the al- 
 lies, to rescue France from anarchy and despotism ; and 
 did not the same right exist in England, to preserve 
 Spanish America from the greatest of all horrors, that of 
 a merciless civil war ? The United States, in soliciting 
 and accepting the mediation of Russia, did it from the 
 avowed motive of the rectitude and impartiality of the 
 Emperor, and as being engaged in a war as the ally of 
 England. And has the intercourse and sacrifices of Eng- 
 land, only served to inspire Spain, with sentiments of 
 distrust ? Russia was invited to concur as a general ally 
 of England, but the latter was the particular ally of the 
 whole Spanish monarchy, that is, equally of American 
 Spain. The mediation of Russia was rejected, not from 
 any doubt or suspicion in the auspices, under which it 
 was to be agitated ; but, because it was inconsistent for 
 the point at issue, to be mixed with the affairs of the 
 European continent.* Much greater reasons existed^ for 
 making the dispute between Spain and her American 
 provinces, a question of exclusive interest and interfe- 
 rence to Great Britain. Its irritable and violent symp- 
 toms, had long assumed appearances of increased malig- 
 nity, and their fatal consequences, every day became 
 more diffusive. The resistance of the Spanish Americans, 
 
 * Vide Lord Castlereagh's letter to the Secretary of the Uaited 
 Siate»,Nov.4, 1813. 
 
326 
 
 wore the appearance of system, and was regularly pro- 
 gressive. From causes both incessant and active in their 
 operation, a broad foundation had been laid for those 
 animosities, whose fury is generally proportioned to the 
 objects in view. Hitherto, all pacific endeavours on the 
 part of Spain, that is, the proclamations of her distant 
 viceroys, and military chiefs, which rather contained 
 threats and denunciations of vengeance, than substantial 
 offers of conciliation, had only ended in new and outra- 
 ging proofs, of persevering hostility; and every social 
 and domestic tie being broken, it was evident, that no- 
 thing but the interference of a third power, could again 
 produce harmony. It was only by some extraordinary 
 weight of influence, respectable to both parties, that 
 those intemperate dispositions, could be moderated and 
 restrained. 
 
 And was any power, so proper as England, to give 
 this weight of influence? Whilst the maxims of good 
 faith, and of moral and political justice, demanded that she 
 should then have made the most strenuous endeavours, the 
 same reasons, at the same time, required, that Spain should 
 not have been illiberal. For one nation to mediate for 
 the other, was not a trait, even novel in the Spanish his- 
 tory ; and in recent times, it was peculiarly common. As 
 the patron and protector of the Southern Indians, Spain 
 has often asserted her right of mediating between them, 
 and the United States ; and during the war between En- 
 gland and North America, her mediation was offered to 
 the belligerent powers, and its refusal, then induced the 
 Madrid cabinet to declare war. Irately, we have seen 
 England mediate between Denmark and the Allies, and 
 many other recent examples, might be quoted. In En- 
 
327 
 
 gland asking to become the mediatrix between Spain 
 and her American Provinces, it was not like a foreign 
 power intruding itself into their domestic and particular 
 concerns, since the object to be attained, was interesting 
 to the world at large. Commissioners could be sent by 
 England, and the other allies, to Copenhagen and Nor- 
 way, to settle differences relating to the latter; but when 
 the most flagrant acts of injustice, and innumerable hor- 
 rors have been long committed in Spanish America, no 
 one seems to think seriously of the fact, and no one 
 attempts, manfully, to put an end to the reign of terror. 
 On England, as the great and good ally of Spain, this task 
 particularly devolved; but if her government, in forming 
 its mediation, merely went to ask a favour, and to say, 
 for the sake of humanity, we beg these horrors may cease, 
 and from motives of gratitude, we request a free trade 
 with your colonies, without resorting to the many springs 
 which might have been touched, it was putting into the 
 hands of the Spanish government, the means of refusal, 
 and using only an ineffectual exertion, which could not 
 fail to add to the triumphs of the illiberal. If the British 
 government was not disposed to attach to this mediation, 
 all the appropriate zeal and talent in its power, not only 
 to give the measure success in Spain, but also, to promote 
 its execution on the other side of the Atlantic ; if it was 
 not intended to urge all the strong claims the case offered, 
 and also, to use every exertion to explain the intentions 
 of the measure to the Spanish public, it is a pity the 
 expenses of the mediation were ever incurred, for its 
 issue might have been foretold, before it left England. 
 The most trifling infornial attempt to know the senti- 
 ments of the Spanish government, would have proved, 
 
328 
 
 that the means above adopted, would have been insuffi- 
 cient, if nothing strenuous and urgent was added thereto. 
 But there was a dread to offend, and there, besides, ap- 
 peared an apprehension, that a strong interest in the 
 case, would rather impede than promote beneficial con- 
 sequences. Yet the most powerful motives urged Eng- 
 land to run the risk, since it was by her aid and guarantee 
 only, that social order could be restored to Spanish iVmerica. 
 Ireland, as the rights of the American provinces will 
 clearly demonstrate, stands exactly on the same relative 
 basis to England, as the ultramarine provinces do to Spain ; 
 and had she, as a sister kingdom, been treated as the 
 latter have been, for three hundred years, not only the 
 impartial of our own island, but even those of the whole 
 world, would respect the ally who interfered to better 
 her situation ; who, by energetic stipulations, and warm 
 expostulations, endeavoured to close her wounds, to re- 
 store her long invaded rights, and to place her inhabitants 
 on the footing of men ; more especially, if the half of the 
 force, thus to be obtained, was essentially necessary to give 
 efficacy to the exertions of the whole alliance. It would 
 be the extreme of delicac}^, for one pilot, calmly to behold 
 another, steering a vessel on a hidden rock, without advert- 
 ing him of his danger, and insisting on a change of course, 
 if blindness made him persist in his obstinacy. Nations 
 interfere for one another, to obtain peace, and why could 
 not we have done the same, in propitious moments, to ob- 
 tain redress, and to preserve harmony and concord between 
 our mutual allies ? If such exertions had been rendered 
 fruitless, if, however, the voice of reason and of justice 
 iJiad been stifled amidst the cries of monopoly, rancour, 
 and intemperance, it would then be the duty of that ally 
 
329 
 
 to acquaint Ireland, in the strongest and most unequi- 
 vocal terms, that such exertions had been made, and had 
 proved abortive. Yet, up to the present moment, the 
 Spanish American provinces are ignorant, that England 
 has ever raised her voice in their favour, that she has 
 ever sighed over their wrongs and misfortunes, or that 
 she has ever v/ished them an alleviation of those evils, 
 which, from awe to Spain,- she no longer dared to ac- 
 knowledge, as existing. Spain, in rushing into an incon- 
 siderate war with her ultramarine provinces, seems to 
 have forgot how essential they were to her success, but 
 that we should have been equally blind and wavering, is 
 the most unaccountable of all political problems. Spain 
 might have learnt from our own history and fatal expe- 
 rience, that it is first necessary to make a people happy 
 and contented, by the restoration of their rights, before 
 she could count on their allegiance. 
 
 But to carry on the simile- When the affairs and si- 
 tuation of Ireland, have been agitated and discussed in 
 the parliaments and councils of England, not only ran- 
 cour, partiality, and party spirit, have been banished 
 from the debate, but the natives of the latter, have felt 
 the most warm and cordial interest in the question, and 
 in the rights and amelioration of the other, and have been 
 actuated by a brotherly feeling, divested of jealousy, 
 animosity, and pique. Had a glaring and open violation 
 of the rights of the one, been ready to take place, the 
 others would have felt the wrong as their own, and would 
 have equally burned with resentment. Very different, are 
 the facts to be deduced, from an impartial examination 
 of what has occurred in the American question, and in tho- 
 debates of the Cortes, in every stage through which it 
 has gone. 
 
330 
 
 § The Spanish Americans, naturally entertained great 
 hopes, that in the new constitution of Spain, some ge- 
 neral ground-work of reform, favourable to them, would 
 be laid ; but, unfortunately, the basis of rights, on which 
 there were to stand, not being properly defined and esta- 
 blished, the new code has rather operated as an injury. 
 Indeed, as long as the laws and statutes which are to 
 govern the American provinces, are to be made in an 
 European congress, particularly in one like that of Cadiz, 
 situated amongst a powerful body of monopolizers, 
 whose influence over the acts of government, is both ma- 
 nifest and undue; where such a disparity of votes is 
 found, and where opinions and interests so materially 
 clash, what hopes of strict and impartial justice can the 
 former expect, more particularly now, since resentment 
 is let loose, and the passions are wound up to the highest 
 pitch ? 
 
 Confined as I am to the present question, as it relates 
 to Spanish America, it would be foreign to my subject, 
 in this place, to analize the-whole of the new constitu- 
 tion of Spain ; yet I cannot but observe, that from the 
 general remarks I hav6 been able to make, after an at- 
 tentive perusal, I, by no means, think it is calculated to 
 secure the person of the individual, from the grasp of 
 arbitrary power, since, on the contrary, it leaves him 
 subject to as much violation as before. I can scarcely 
 augur that code to be lasting, which confounds the dif- 
 ferent and opposite classes, which takes away the digni- 
 ties of the clergy, grandees, and nobles, which divests 
 them of their national representation, and tends to level 
 them with the other orders of the community. These 
 are bodies of extreme influence, in a country, that can 
 scarcely be considered in any other light than feudal ; 
 
331 
 
 where the peasantry depends on them, where no inter- 
 mediate class of citizens counterpoises their ascendency, 
 and where, besides, they hold the lands and chief riches 
 of the state. Spain is ill prepared for a change so great 
 and so sudden as this ; and if so, it cannot be expected 
 to prove a basis of permanent quiet, or tend to produce 
 perfect unanimity. The return of King Ferdinand to 
 Madrid, will, indeed, try the merits of the constitution, 
 and the parties already forming, give 'rise to serious ap- 
 prehensions, that it will not long stand its ground. 
 
 The constitution formed by the Cortes of Spain, is 
 the production of theorists, collected in the warm atmo- 
 sphere of a popular assembly, and by no means prepared 
 for such a task. In it, there is no division of powers, and 
 the necessary equilibrium to maintain the whole fabric, 
 is wanting. Under it, a king, master of an armed force, 
 might be a tyrant, and the people would have no remedy. 
 If, by the constitution of a state, is meant, the body of 
 those written and unwritten fundamental laws, which 
 regulate tho most important rights of the higher magis- 
 trates, and the most essential privileges of the subjects, 
 such constitution can only be the work of time ; for the 
 attempt to change by violence the habits of men, and the 
 established order of society, so as to fit them for an ab- 
 solute new scheme of government, flows from presump- 
 tive ignorance, and must be accompanied with fatal 
 results. How much more so, must not this be the case 
 in Spain, where mental improvement is so backward, 
 where innovation is beheld with so much dread, and 
 where prejudices are yet so deeply-rooted. A free con- 
 stitution, says the great Shipley, is the growth of time 
 and of nature, rather than the work of human invention. 
 
332 
 
 Such, also, is the opinion of all our other political wri- 
 ters ; the quick and ready manufacture of all kinds of 
 constitutions, was the discovery of the Abbe Sieyes. 
 
 One of the chief excellencies of the admirable system 
 of British polity, is, the reciprocity of controul, which 
 thereby subjects every adopted measure of one branch 
 'df the legislature, to the investigation and refusal of 
 'another. By this means, if one body is actuated by pas- 
 sion, has not been sufficiently deliberate, or not in full 
 possession of the requisite data ; if it should have judged 
 liastily, unwisely, or partially, its resolutions are subject 
 to the review and check of another body, where it is 
 presumable, that the same motives of erroneous judg- 
 ment, do not exist. In like manner, the Senate acts a 
 xheck on the actions of the Congress of the United 
 States ; and indeed, any other system, is opposed to po- 
 . litical expediency and the experience of ages. No check 
 exists over the Cortes of Spain, who have hitherto acted 
 as an executive as well as legislative body, since the 
 ministers trembled to do any thing, without their pre- 
 Tious concurrence. Spain may imagine she has received 
 as the basis of her future happiness, a constitution 
 founded on science and experience ; but if we attend to 
 the economy of providence, we shall discover, that be- 
 neficial alterations, are not hasty and violent, but gentle 
 and progressive. The sudden and quick [operations of 
 nature, generally produce destruction ; while, whatever 
 is salutary, is mild and gradual. Experience she^vs, 
 that human affairs proceed on a similar analogy ; valuable 
 improvements are slow and gradual, but hasty changes 
 are mischievous, and end in destruction. The present 
 gorerning system of Spain, has served to introduce highly 
 
333 
 
 republican principles, dangerous where so much igno- 
 rance prevails in the mass of the inhabitants ; and it has 
 tended greatly to demoralize, by almost setting religion 
 at naught. Libertinism, and even atheism, w^ere never 
 so general as now in Spain, for, from the extremes of 
 superstitious despotism, what with the war, and a rage 
 to imitate the French, licentiousness has become the 
 order of the day. 
 
 Mankind, by the experience of the last twenty years, 
 have at last discovered, that the frame and application of a 
 well-ordered government, must, necessarily, grow out of 
 the labour of years, and be ripened by sober experience. 
 Also, that'jt must be interwoven with the usages of the 
 people, be engrafted on their habits, customs, and man- 
 ners, and correspond to the wants of the present times. 
 Spain, though freed from her enemy, has still much to 
 conquer within herself; great debility and confusion yet 
 reign there. She presents to the mind, the idea of a 
 deep and dreary chaos, difficult to reduce to order, 
 unless the plans of the architect be clear and comprehen- 
 sive, and his powers equal to the object to which he as- 
 pires. To draw order and arrangement from this chaotic 
 confusion, is a work of gigantic nature ; and it remains 
 to be proved, whether the king, with this constitution in 
 his hand, one decided in a hasty manner, founded on 
 many principles of the French revolution, at variance 
 with the most powerful orders of the state, and uncon* 
 genial to the habits and prejudices of the people, will 
 be able to perform so important task. As before ob- 
 served, the constitution of Britain, was not the work of i 
 month, or of a year ; it was formed out of the experience 
 and wisdom of ages, and matured by unremitting care. 
 
334 
 
 and by a constant progression of improvement. If any 
 thing proves its excellence, it is, that the French now 
 seek to imitate it, and that, throughout the long and 
 tremendous hurricane, by which we have been threa- 
 tened, our laws and constitution, have been seen, as 
 seated on a rock, against which the boisterous billows of 
 faction have broke their force, and as a superiour being, 
 shielding us from that storm, which has laid so many 
 other nations in ruins. 
 
 As far as the constitution of Spain relates to Spanish 
 America, many of its clauses are not only opposed to 
 common justice,' but are likely to prove the causes of con- 
 tinual discord aijd dissention. Such are articles 18 and 
 22, which exclude from the rights of citizenship, and 
 from even that of being included in a governmental census, 
 all classes of persons, who may, in the remotest manner, 
 be derived, or reputed to be derived, from African 
 blood; so that all the mixtures of whites and Indians 
 with the former, and many Indians who have passed for 
 mulattoes, in order to be exempt from tribute, as well as 
 many coloured families, who have been free for many 
 generations, constituting the most hardy and industrious 
 of the lower orders, are divested of this most sacred of 
 all rights. And let it again be well considered, that this 
 privation extends to a numerous, rich, and respectable, 
 class of citizens, for they are all artists, artificers, and 
 farmers; so that whilst, in Spain, even the gypsies are 
 granted the full rights of citizens, in Spanish America, 
 some millions of its most useful population, are stripped 
 of that right, because a drop of African blood circulates 
 in their veins, notwithstanding it may have long ago been 
 absorbed, by successive mixtures with whites and In- 
 
335 
 
 (Itans. Were this clause to be carried into effect, m 
 Spanish America, it would create more confusion and 
 more animosity, than the most arbitrary imposts forcibly 
 levied by the crown. The public offices, besides, would 
 be filled with nothing but tables of genealogy. Little do 
 the Spaniards of the 18th century recollect, what has 
 been their own origin, particularly those provinces bor- 
 dering on the Mediterranean. Little do they reflect, 
 that the best times of Spain, were those when she was in 
 the hands of the Moors ; and, that if she has yet any 
 remains of architecture, tillage, civilization, and even 
 courage, it is from them that they are derived. 
 
 Such is article 23, by which persons of the above 
 description, by not being citizens, are excluded from tlie 
 right of voting for members of the municipality. Article 
 25, which deprives of the rights of citizenship, all la- 
 bourers receiving wages, by which, not only the casts are 
 excluded, but also the greatest part of the Indians, who, 
 having been deprived of their lands by the conquest, 
 now cultivate them for their dispossessors. Articles 27, 
 35, and 75, purporting, that citizens only, with the exer- 
 cise of certain rights, can be electors, and elected as de- 
 puties for the Gortes. Such is article 92, which besides 
 requires for each deputy an annual income, proceeding 
 from fixed property, by which the Indians are excluded, 
 as the laws deprive them of the means of acquiring any. 
 Article 91, by which a residence in America of seven 
 years, confers the right of being elected deputy, by 
 which the Americans will be eventually excluded, -from 
 the greater influence of the Europeans who may go over 
 and settle there. Article 30, by which it is stated, that 
 the scale of populationy which is to regulate the number 
 
336 
 
 of representatives for Spain, is to be established by the 
 censirs list of 1797, the largest ever made ; and conse- 
 quently, not including the ravages of the present war'; 
 but with regard to America, the basis is to be a census, 
 hereafter made. Article 222, which stipulates, two mi- ' 
 nisters for the great continent of America, and six for 
 Spain. Article 231, which says, that out of forty coun- 
 sellors of state, twelve only are to be Americans. 
 
 "The experience of Venezuela,*' says the editor of 
 El Espanol, *' practically proves, that this constitution^ 
 which the Spaniards seek to establish by force of arms, may 
 be liberty in Spain, but it is a mere slavery in America. 
 With the constitution in his hand, Monteverde has been 
 able to kill, persecute, imprison, and commit all kinds 
 of horrors, which have eventually caused a new revolu- 
 tion in Venezuela ; and with the constitution before his 
 eyes, Venegas has acted in such a manner, as to receive 
 the name of Tiberius, in the loyal city of Mexico. It 
 is consequently evident, that in practice, the constitu- 
 tion, with all its apparent equality, leaves the American 
 provinces in a condition very inferiour to those of Spain ; 
 and it thence results, that a war, which has for object 
 to enforce this constitution, without any modification 
 that may constitute it the true support and the defence 
 of the liberty of that countr}', is a measure, unjust and 
 tyrannical*.** 
 
 I have gone into these few particulars respecting the 
 constitution of Spain, in order to answer those partizans 
 of the conduct of the Cortes, who conceive, that in no- 
 minally admitting the Spanish Americans into a partici- 
 
 ♦ ^ Espanol, No. 4^, -page 31S. 
 
837 
 
 { pation of its benefits, as much has been done for thein, as 
 they are entitled to. And is this constitution alone, ca- 
 pable of securing the happiness of the ultramarine pro- 
 vinces ? What guarantees have they, that even what 
 little it stipulates in their favour, will be duly executed ? 
 Without a local assembly, or some other check over the 
 acts of despotic viceroys, it is not possible to expect, at 
 such a distance, impartial justice j for even the constitu- 
 tion, a general indult, and the liberty of the press, have 
 been suspended at the will of the Spanish chiefs, on the 
 most trivial pretexts. And from this, where is the ap- 
 peal ? At a distance of 2000 leagues, and before a na- 
 tional legislature, filled with rancour and prejudice. A 
 viceroy abroad, even with this constitution in his hand, 
 will be as much a tyrant as before : since the governing 
 system is the same, since he has the command of the mi- 
 litary, influences all the inferiour departments, and to no 
 one, is answerable for his conduct. The constitution pro- 
 ' claims, that the nation is the reunion of all the Spaniards 
 of both hemispheres, and that all are equal. Yet in so 
 doing, part of the most interesting population of Spanish 
 America, is excluded from the right of citizenship, and 
 the disproportion in the general legislature, is great. Ar- 
 ticle 27, states, " that the Cortes are a reunion of all the 
 deputies representing the nation," and can any thing be 
 more ridiculous, than that one or two hundred deputies, 
 are to be annually sent over from Spanish America and the 
 Philipine islands, to meet a body of men in Europe, with 
 whom their interests materially clash ? What respectable 
 man, however patriotic, would run the risk of a long voy- 
 age, and undergo every inconvenience, to serve his con- 
 stituents; and then, see, that prejudice' and partiality 
 
 Y 
 
338 
 
 carry every thing before them ? And, besides, the e'k* 
 fence 1 Tf Spanish America, for example, has 143 depu- 
 ties in the Cortes, their salary alone, amounts to 1,706,000 
 dollars. And in case of a war, how are they to come? 
 Perhaps, nothing was ever dreamt of, more extravagant, 
 than this manner of governing two parts of one empire, 
 ivith an immense ocean between. The American deputies- 
 were sensible of this fact, and they, consequently, pro- 
 tested on behalf of their constituents. 
 
 "Of little," says the editor of £1 Espanol, " has the 
 experience of the whole world, served in its formation. 
 The same principles of liberty Wrongly understood, 
 'Which the Trench made fashionable, but of which, they 
 "are now ashamed, are what form the free or liberal part 
 of i\ie Spanish constitution. The same intolerance 
 which oppressed Europe, four centuries ago, has therein 
 dictated those articles, in which the enemies of excessive 
 liberty, now glory. The royal power, is therein encuih* 
 bered with inconsistent chains ; and there, religious ty- 
 ranny, still appears with the dagger in its hand. On one 
 side, the fountain of the laws, is exposed to be troubled 
 'and soiled, by the multitude by which it is surrounded; 
 and on the other, the people are deprived of a most 
 'sacred right — viz. that of a direct influence in the nomi- 
 nation of their representatives."* 
 
 § Tile late Cortes of Spain, have spent most of their 
 time, in wandering in pursuit of visionary theories, as did 
 the revolutionists of France. Instead of correcting abuses, 
 tiy those safe and cautious steps, which gradually intro- 
 duce ireform without ruin ; which may fit society for that 
 
 * ElBspanoI, No. 46, page 190v 
 
sm 
 
 better state of things, and which, by not attempting im- 
 possibilities, may enlarge the circle of human happiness, 
 they, equally, formed the mad project of throwing down 
 every thing at once, trusting to their own judgment and 
 experience, to replace it. Much, as had the Spanish go- 
 vernmg system to reform, its defects were more owing to 
 the despotism of the ancient kings, and a want of a pro- 
 per definition and security of the rights of the subjects; 
 and certainly, its reconstruction was a difficult task, dur- 
 ing a period of war and confusion, when every thing was 
 in ferment. The greatest abuses, the most galling to the 
 people and debilitating to the state, were in perfect con- 
 tradiction to the ancient laws of the realm; and to their 
 more immediate removal, the efforts of the government, 
 ought to have been directed. A reform in Spanish Ame- 
 rica, was the most urgent of all the duties of the Cortes, 
 for there still existed, whatever the most subtle tyranny 
 could devise, to torment and oppress an unoffending peo- 
 ple. Circumstances imperiously demanded, that the new 
 legislature should review the grounds on which the war 
 had been commenced, and that on this point, they should 
 adopt and pursue, with firm sincerity and good faith, a 
 conduct friendly and impartial. The Spanish Americans, 
 had a right to demand and receive, a reparation consonant 
 to the injuries they had so long sustained ; and the fra- 
 ternal voice of the Cortes, ought to have resounded to the 
 furthest shores of Columbia, and their accents ought not 
 to have been equivocal. They ought to have been pure, 
 sincere, and just, and as emanating from the hearts of un- 
 biassed patriots. The more they were blended with 
 feelings of affection and sensibility, the more effect they 
 Would have produced in the quarter to which they were 
 
340 
 
 directed ; and the more interest they would have excited^ 
 in those, who, for the first time, heard the voice of reason 
 and justice. The situation of Spanish America, and the 
 outrages there committing, opened a wide and interesting 
 field for deliberation, as involving some of the choicest 
 interests of their common country, on which it was im- 
 possible to decide well, without unprejudiced coolness. 
 They ought to have left the helm, to the guidance of rea- 
 son and disinterested philanthropy. 
 
 Every people have a right to be well governed, they 
 have alsoy defined interests as well as rights ; and it is the 
 sacred duty of the general legislature to whom they be- 
 long, to attend to these points. The imagination, when 
 warmed by discontent, often bestows on a good which is 
 withheld, advantages much greater than the reality would 
 justify, or reason warrant; but certainly in the preten- 
 sions of the Spanish Americans, there was nothing that 
 amounted to more, than the just feelings of human nature. 
 Their repeated applications to the legislature at home, 
 for redress and reform, had been treated with neglect and 
 disdain; till at last, reason and experience forbade them, 
 to continue their confidence. Long after the invasion of 
 the French, the American bosom still glowed with ardent 
 affection; every section was interested for Ferdinand, and 
 every inhabitant was indignant at the treachery he had 
 experienced. All, beheld the political birth of Spain, 
 with sincere gladness ; they thought their own, was 
 equally at hand. But, still, they beheld their old systems 
 continue, and their old privations and restraints, were 
 still the same. They still beheld themselves governed 
 by an arbitrary chief, whose powers were not only deemed 
 contrary to the common principles of liberty, but had be- 
 
341 
 
 come an engine of oppression, alike galling and vexatious. 
 They appeal, and are treated with disdain. In the bold 
 and determined language of freemen, they manifest their 
 wrongs, and seek that legal and consistent remedy within 
 their reach, and war is declared against them. The Cortes 
 of Spain assemble, under professions which revived their 
 hopes, and again their great and pressing claims, are 
 treated with contempt. They arm in their own defence, 
 and are condemned as rebels, and even the animated man- 
 ner in which they repel aggressions, furnishes additional 
 motives to Spain, to perpetuate the horrors into which 
 she had inconsiderately rushed. Influenced by vindictive 
 passions, the agents of Spain, recur rather to artifice and 
 force, than to the guidance of reason ; and their hostility 
 was consequently exerted in a cruel and insidious policy, 
 w^hich unfeelingly doomed individuals to chains, and in- 
 volved them in ruin, without having any tendency to ef- 
 fect any national object. They only sought to indulge a 
 malignant and unprofitable revenge, till at last, every 
 remnant of affection, was torn asunder. 
 
 The Cortes calmly beheld this storm, which had long 
 been gathering, burst upon them with a fury which 
 spread desolation wherever it reached; and they heard of 
 scenes of the greatest misery and suffering, without being 
 moved. They looked, with cold composure, on a war, 
 which took its origin in nothing less than a flagrant vio- 
 lation of the most sacred rights, and even in an infringe- 
 ment of national justice. Not once, was a cordial dispo- 
 sition manifested, to enquire into, or strike at the root of 
 these evils, or to establish, why they ought to continue. 
 Error is the portion of humanity, the Spanish Americans 
 ijaight have erred ; if so, their error ought to have been 
 
Jftids hianifest, before they were Wantonly butchered, 
 I'he shocking barbarities committed, added motives of 
 tesehtment and humanity to those of national interest, 
 ^nd were the Cortes alone deaf to these calls } T, again, 
 leave the impartial of the whole world, to judge of those 
 iidrrors which must follow the licentiousness of a sol- 
 diery, spread through a rich and feeble country ; and I 
 ^gain ask them, whether that profusion of blood and 
 teakure, must not be condemned as idle and useless, 
 When expended for an object, that could be attained, in a 
 iiiore safe and humane manner ? It was not a cruel and 
 destructive war, that could put an end to those political 
 divisions, which, besides poisoning the source of human 
 felicity, annihilate those sweet affections which attach 
 iilembers of one common country to the other ; and 
 which, bringing debility to the state, plant the most 
 deadly hate, where nature, and a similarity of language, 
 origin, and early habits, liad sown the seeds of harmony. 
 This was not the w^y to revive those natural sympathies, 
 nor was this a plan, likely to enkindle any latent spark 
 of attachment, that might linger in the bosoms of those, 
 :^ho so lately prided themselves on belonging to Spain, 
 
 The contest of Spain with her ultramarine provinces, 
 certainly exhibits one of those singular cases of popular 
 delusion, which itifecting first the national legislature, 
 aherwardis spreading through many blasses of the cona*, 
 munity, and gaining strength by its extravagance, points 
 put the fatal consequences, which follow a deviation from' 
 Aibse sure and moral principles of rectitude and mode- 
 ration, wliich ought to actuate us in our conduct to fel- 
 low-beings. Influenced by the contagion of party feel- 
 ing, the war in Spanish Ame rica, took thai colouring at 
 
m 
 
 home, which the monopolists of Cadiz sought to give it; 
 and the asperity which so frequently mixed in the de/ 
 bates of the Cortes, w^as a certain index of the growing 
 exasperation they felt, on the dread of losing their gains. 
 In popular governments, the representatives of the peo- 
 ple, may, generally, be considered as a mirror reflecting 
 the opinions of their constituents ; but, the Cortes, ra- 
 ther reflected the passions of the trading interest?, 
 amongst whom they had takep refuge; and th^ir 4f Ut 
 berations were decided, by principles, which could nof; 
 ^xist, unless under the dominion of blind infatuation. 
 Ihe conduct of the Spanish government, relating to the 
 ultramarine provinces, may, consequently, be considered, 
 rather as the effort of a party, than the free, regular, 
 and deliherate act of the nation, who may certainly be 
 pronounced as perfectly ignorant of the question, of the 
 jeal grounds on ^hich jthe war has been continued, or 
 the immediate and chief points of the contest Neither 
 can Spain, generally, be acquainted with th^ extent of 
 that rigid and compulsive system, to which the Spanish 
 Americans have beei^ subjected, or with the horrors to 
 which they have been exposed. Scarcely masters of 
 their conduct, the Cortes were, indeed, sometimes, im^ 
 |)eHed by ^ furious multitude ; but it was on so import- 
 ^M3it an occasion as this, that they ought to have -v indicated 
 their own rights, in order to do justice to a suffering 
 party, and to evince their sincerity and zeal* But in facjt, 
 ikhey were not disponed to extend their salutary influence 
 to Spanish America, or be the means of introducing such 
 political piinciples and practice, as might tend to the im- 
 provement and regeneration of her inhabitants, and re- 
 mote from their jshouidjer?, jyt^e ^allin^ K^^S^ V^4^r 
 
344 
 
 which they had long groaned. War was the only nieansj 
 to which they chose to resort, and Neros were commis- 
 sioned to enforce unconditional subjection, by burning 
 the towns of an unoffending people, and pouring desola- 
 tion over their ravaged plains. 
 
 § With what truth, and with what justice, might not 
 the Spanish Americans, then, have addressed themselves, 
 in the following manner, to the government of the Penin- 
 sula, and to all those who contributed to the horrors by 
 which they were surrounded. — The first discoverers and 
 settlers of this vast country, brought with them, and 
 transmitted to their posterity, all the privileges and im- 
 munities, that, at any time, have been enj^/ed by the 
 people of Spain. These were secured to them, on the 
 faith of kings, and sanctioned by the most solemn legis- 
 lative acts. Yet we, their descendents, strenuously mani- 
 fest to you, tkat, gradually, by the despotism of our kings, 
 as well as by the corruption of their ministers, we had been 
 divested of the enjoyment of our charters and prerogatives, 
 till at last, we had been dragged into a system of govern- 
 ment, that could be compared to nothing else, but a de- 
 graded state of vassalage. That we have long complained of 
 our restraints and privations, but they have been aggra- 
 vated, by pointed contempt and disdain, notwithstanding 
 which, we have not failed to evince our sincere alle- 
 giance, and the veneration we had to our rightful and 
 unfortunate monarch. That, bent down by oppression, 
 and fatigued by the domestic calamities by which we 
 were harassed, we conceived, that in moments of peril 
 and uncertainty, the administration of our own concerns, 
 was safer in our own hands, than in the grasp of arbitrary 
 despots ; and that by virtue of our own inherent rights^ 
 
345 
 
 and in accord with the example of our sister provinces of 
 the Peninsula, we changed our form of government, 
 without yar}^ing our allegiance, or ceasing to be liege and 
 faithful subjects of the same monarch, to whom we 
 always belonged. That, in so doing, our object was to 
 promote our own security, and to remove the galling 
 shackles by which we were bound. That for this, a 
 cruel and devastating w^ar, was declared against us. 
 
 That, whereas, the power, but not the justice, the 
 vengeance but not the wisdom of Spain, the same which, 
 of old, nearly stripped this country of its primitive po- 
 pulation, now pursues their guiltless children and the 
 other races, who, in the course of time, have been 
 blended with them. And whereas, this land on which 
 we now live, was purchased by the toil and treasure, or 
 acquired by the blood and valour of our venerable proge- 
 nitors, who in many cases, shared their fortunes with 
 the daughters of its ancient possessors, to us they be-- 
 queathed the dear-bought inheritance ; to our care and 
 protection they consigned it, and the most sacred obli- 
 gations are upon us, to transmit the glorious purchase, 
 unfettered by undue power, and unclogged by galling 
 shackles, to our innocent and beloved offspring. From 
 fatal experience, we begin to know the value of those 
 precious rights, for which our forefathers lavished their 
 blood and treasure, which they handed down to their 
 descendants, but which, our invaded laws, could no longer 
 secure. The time is now come, when a boundless con- 
 tinent, inhabited by seventeen millions of people, can no 
 longer submit, to have their being at the arbitrary will of 
 a licentious minister, or basely yield to the despotism of 
 European chiefs, bent only on their own aggrandizement. 
 
346 
 
 and our debasement. We ask no more than a form of 
 government, suited to our circumstances, and congenial 
 to our wants. We do not seek to cease to be subjects, 
 but we will, no longer, be the tools of arbitrary power. 
 We revere the land from whence we derive our origin, 
 but we cannot, unmoved, behold the sacred inheritance^ 
 we have derived from nature, thus snatched from us. 
 We have beheld our charters, which ought to have 
 served as a sacred barrier agamst the encroachments of 
 tyranny, mutilated and trampled to the ground ; and we 
 BOW seek to replace tbem, on their ancient basis. We 
 only demand the right of being governed by our own as- 
 semblies, in the articles of taxes and internal police—^ 
 right we have never yielded up. We ask no more, tha^ 
 that practical equality, which our ancient laws, reason, 
 and even recent edicts, give us the authority to claim. 
 We ask for just and equitable laws, but we assert, that no 
 man is bound, in conscience, to obey any; in the forma- 
 tion of which, he has not given his consent, in person or 
 by representative. We cannot but express our concern, 
 that in praying for the interposition of the Cortes of 
 Spain, in favour of our violated rights, and to relieve us 
 from our galling burdens, we have not met with that at- 
 tention our situation and services deserved, and we fur- 
 ther declare, that the rigorous prosecutions by informa- 
 tion, which we have so often witnessed amongst us, are 
 insupportable grievances on the people. In short, we so- 
 lemnly avow, that the war carried on against us, is a war 
 of aggression, and that the justice of our resistance, con- 
 sequently, cannot be questioned, as far as self-preserva- 
 tion and indispensable necessity, can furnish motives to 
 take up arms. W-e deplore the horrors and ravages, hy 
 
847 
 
 which we are surrounded, but they did not originate 
 with us. As citizen-soldiers, we know, and approve the 
 cause for which we are fighting. We lament the ca- 
 lamities, by which the bosom of our common country, h 
 rent, and the course of barbarity, practised against us. 
 We appeal to that God, who searcheth the hearts of 
 men, for the rectitude of our intentions: and, in his holy 
 presence, we declare, that we are not moved by any hasty 
 symptoms of anger and revenge ; so, through every change 
 of fortune, we will adhere to the same determination, of 
 laying down our arms, as soon as our freedom and hap- 
 piness are safely secured, and properly guaranteed. — 
 
 § The object of the preceding details, has been to 
 place the Spanish American question, in a proper point 
 of view, and to state, from the best attainable data, the 
 origin and causes of those unfortunate distentions, which 
 have, so long, desolated the South Columbian continent. 
 In carrying my reader through the various stages of this 
 complicated dispute, and after giving him an idea of the 
 degraded state in which the inhabitants of that country, 
 had been kept, I have particularly endeavoured to convey 
 a just conception of the redress sought, and the manner 
 in which it was denied. I have pointed out the defects 
 of that constitution, which, from being ill-balanced, cah 
 Ttever be permanent ; manifesting that, though in its for- 
 mation, the Spanish Americans have not had an adequate 
 part, they are, nevertheless, warred upon, because they 
 refuse to give it, an unmodified admission. 1 have 
 proved the war carried on against them, to be a war of 
 aggression, to have orignated in a manifest violation Of 
 principles of right and equity; and I have stated, that it 
 is accompanied by horrors, which chill the feelings of 
 
348 
 
 humanity. These elucidations were necessary, to a fair 
 view of the question ; and I will now proceed to prove 
 the necessity, nay, the bounden duty, in which both Spain 
 and England stand, of allaying these feuds, by the ra- 
 tionahneans of mediation, and not by a continuation of 
 horrors. It will also appear, that from the commanding 
 attitude of the latter, as well as to enhance the general 
 triumphs of peace, she is particularly called upon, at the 
 present moment, to use her most strenuous exertions, to 
 stop the ravages of civil war in a country, bound to her 
 by a sacred alliance, and formerly, the object of her re- 
 peated offers and warm assurances. That it is time to 
 put an end to devastations, which have already spread 
 widely in this fair portion of the globe, which have con- 
 verted the seat of quiet, improvement, and riches, into 
 scenes of carnage, anarchy, and destruction ; and have, 
 besides, reduced the inhabitants to the greatest distress, 
 I shall found my arguments on the grounds of humanity 
 and justice, and then support them, by collateral consi- 
 derations of policy and expediency. 
 
 It cannot but afford rational and sincere satisfaction 
 to the benevolent mind, that in Europe, a period has 
 been put to a long and arduous contest ; that the great 
 effusion of human blood is stopped, and that a more splen- 
 did scene opens on the view, which, like another morn- 
 ing-star, promises the brighter era of a new day. England 
 had long risked her existence, for the preservation of her 
 station in the scale of empires, and has, at last, by rescu- 
 ing millions frqm the hand of oppression, laid the foun- 
 dation, it is to be hoped, of a great and lasting peace. 
 Arrived at the close of this anxious struggle for the li- 
 berties of mankind, she cannot but look around and feel 
 
341) 
 
 regret, that in any other quarter of the world, however 
 distant, the same horrors yet continue ; and having al- 
 ready extended the olive branch over convulsed Europe, 
 she must naturally reason, that it will not be less honoura- 
 ble and less just, to spread the blessings of peace and re- 
 generation, over Spanish America, There, as lately in 
 Europe, the ocean has been ruffled by a long arid tremen- 
 dous hurricane, and it is impossible for the waves to 
 subside on its agitated expanse, unless the discordant 
 winds are first lulled into harmony and quiet. Whilst 
 in this quarter of the globe, all is harmony and peace, in 
 the West, war yet rages, under the most savage form. 
 And can England, loaded with the blessings of all Eu- 
 rope, be unmindful of these horrid scenes, in Spanish 
 America? 
 
 Spain, also, by this time, having gained her object, 
 and succeeded in freeing her territory from invasion, is 
 particularly called upon, at the present hour, to feel to- 
 wards her sister provinces of America, that sympathy for 
 their distressed condition, with which she lately sought 
 to inspire England, and the rest of the world. Warned 
 by a superiour voice, it now becomes her, with calm judg- 
 ment and impartial feelings, to review the causes of these 
 unfortunate dissentions, of which, if the grounds are 
 found on her side, and emanating from a want of liberality 
 and just redress, it is her duty and her interest, to relin- 
 quish a war now carrying on for an object, unjust and in- 
 consistent; and which, even if attained, can only be pre- 
 served, with great difficulty and expence. Above all, it 
 is an obligation both sacred and pressing, to exchange the 
 sword for the olive-branch, and instead of incurring fresh 
 expenceSj in prosecuting hostilities, both unnatural and 
 
360 
 
 ruinous, she is bound to look to her own reform, to orga- 
 nize her own government, to retrieve her own credit, and 
 especially, to remove that anarchy and confusion, with 
 which she is secretly devouring within herself. The 
 great body of the Spanish people, is fatigued and worn 
 out by complicated calamities, experienced during their 
 long and harassing invasion ; and instead of weakening 
 herself by those fresh equipments her papers already an- 
 nounce, and the monopolists of Cadiz so intern perately 
 Mrge, Spain is called upon to use measures of conciliation, 
 and on a solid and lasting basis, to re-establish those bro- 
 therly and amicable relations, which reciprocal interests, 
 and a mutual bond, produce between kindred states, who 
 by a fair and equal interchange of good offices and sincere 
 fellowship, seek to promote the happiness, prosperity 
 and security of each other. The situation of the Spanish 
 monarchy, and the experience of the past, require, that 
 the various parts of the empire, should have their respec- 
 tive interests, so justly defined and appreciated, that jus- 
 tice may be rendered to all. In ascertaining the varioiw 
 rights of each, the supreme authority ought to be enabled 
 to apportion out the respective share of burdens, which 
 public exigence may require, and that quantum of free 
 enterprise, whereby the interests of one portion of the 
 community, may not be sacrificed to those of the other. 
 Spanish America, standing on an equal footing with the 
 mother country, is entitled to the fair reward of industry 
 and personal sacrifice, and to such a governing system, a4 
 may promote her happiness. This requital, she has a 
 Tight to demand, and she ou^ht to obtain it, in defiance 
 of private influence or arbitrary power. The very es- 
 sence of every political compact, is, the reciprocity cf 
 
351 
 
 kSvantage, conferred and received, by each part of the 
 united body. The advantages Spain receives from her 
 union w^ith Spanish America, are great and manifold ; the 
 latter, is conquently, entitled to a full requital. As an 
 Integral part of the empire, and equal in every sense, the 
 inhabitants of the ultramarine provinces of Spain, have a 
 tight to sue for ail those privileges and enjoyments, which 
 those of the Peninsula can boast, and considering that the 
 due administration of government, is the strongest cemerit 
 of all communities, it belongs to them to insist on receiv- 
 ing such a one, as may raise them from their late abject 
 condition, promote personal freedom, and invigorate all 
 the operations of agriculture and commerce. Scattered 
 on an extensive surface of country, with an intervening 
 ocean, the inhabitants of Spanish America, are possessed 
 of the right of having within themselves, the means of 
 •redress and appeal, and particularly, a check on arbitrary 
 'power; since from the bad administration of government, 
 more detriment results of the people governed, than if the 
 plan was in itself defective. If therefore, the present 
 cruel and rash hostility of Spain, is intended to preveiit 
 this reasonable and just restoration of rights, it is an ini- 
 quitous league against liberty and justice, and the high 
 minded generosity of the British character, can never ap- 
 plaud it, or continue to behold it with cold indifference. 
 
 It may, perhaps, by some, be thought too late to en- 
 quire into the justice of the grounds and principles, on 
 which the war waging against Spanish America, com- 
 menced; or to take this general review of the subject; 
 It certainly is, if Spain will no longer listen to reason, 
 xind if England refuses to embrace the opportunity now 
 before her, of putting an end to scenes, which the mind 
 cannot contemplate, without emotion. The ^ar carrying 
 
S52 
 
 on by Spain. against her offspring, is like the arbitrary 
 and imperious interference of a father, attempting to 
 meddle and dictate in the private affairs of a son, who 
 has long ago, laid aside the trammels of minority and de- 
 pendence, and who has already grown to man's estate. — 
 The people of Spanish America, may at least, rest their 
 justification in the assurance, that through their deputies 
 in the Cortes, as well as by the repeated offers of their in- 
 surrectional chiefs, they have made every effort for some 
 rational and equitable compromise, and that if these hor- 
 rors still continue, it is not they who are to blame In 
 the complication of distress, to which Spanish America 
 has been reduced, mutual sacrifices must be made on all 
 sides; a disposition to lay aside jealousy and ill-will, 
 must be manifested, and a liberal basis of perfect recipro- 
 city, must be established. This is the moment for the 
 establishment of just and equal principles, and whilst 
 England contemplates with satisfaction, the benefits 
 which the close of a tremendous revolution in Europe, 
 insures to the world, she cannot, without an impeachment 
 of her justice and humanity, consent to the prosecution 
 of an unjust war, accompanied by horrors, equal to those 
 of the tomahawk and scalping knife, which stained the 
 contest with North America. If also, peace is not re- 
 stored between Spain and Spanish America, in an honour- 
 able and consistent manner, it is much to be feared, that 
 the rich harvest of success, and the means of national fe- 
 licity, which the former has obtained through the perse- 
 verance and exertions of England, will be blasted and 
 Tendered abortive. And what is the state of warfare, 
 which does not admit of explanation and adjustment, if 
 the parties are only cordial ? 
 
 After the hostilities which have now been carrying on 
 
353 
 
 for more than four years, between European and Ameri- 
 can Spain; after the numerous examples of cruelty and 
 revenge, which, during that time, have occurred ; after 
 all the bitterness of party spirit, has poured itself out 
 into severe invective, and such a general exasperation has 
 been excited, it cannot be expected, that Spain by her- 
 self, will ever be able to tranquillize her injured and irri*- 
 tated American provinces ; and much less, can it be 
 thought, that in her present exhausted state, she can re- 
 duce them by force of arms. It is not to be supposed, 
 after a war, in which human passions and prejudices, 
 have been let loose and roused to the highest pitch of 
 phrenzy ; that the distrust, inveteiacy, and hostile feelings 
 of individuals, will easily subside ; or that men, who have 
 so long been goaded with the spur of ingratitude and in- 
 justice, will soon stifle their resentment, and forget the 
 "recent wrongs and insults, to which they have been ex- 
 posed. Alive to the oppression of such a system of po- 
 licy and of government, as that of which ^n outline has 
 been already presented ; one, that with regard to the In^ 
 dians, has made the interval that has intervened since 
 their conquest, little else than a blank and dismal void,— 
 % series of cruelty, drudgery and hardships; and with re- 
 gard to the Creoles, was illiberal, cramping and tyranni- 
 cal, how can it be imagined, that such a people, who 
 'have been driven to the extreme of asserting their rights, 
 and arming in their own defence, will again sit down un- 
 der new aggravations, and suffer their chains to be rivetted 
 afresh ? How can it be expected, that those who have 
 seen their loyalty insulted ; who have felt the horrors of 
 an unjust war waged against them; who have beheld 
 their most solemn capitulations not only infringed, but 
 
 z 
 
354 
 
 their violation sanctioned by the organ of government? 
 and who behold the yet reeking ruins of their burnt towns 
 and ravaged plains, can place confidence in their oppres- 
 sors, trust to their offers, or receive terms, unless through 
 the mediation of a third power? During the crisis of so 
 great a political spasm, as that which now convulses the 
 Spanish American people, how can it be expected, that 
 social order can be restored, by those hands which are so 
 deeply tinged in blood; or how can this people be made 
 contented and happy, unless it is, by firm and efficient 
 laws, being secured and guaranteed to them? And in 
 the actual posture of affairs, can this be effected by Spain 
 alone ? 
 
 Although, in the course of this expose, general allusion 
 has been made, to the cruel and inhuman war now prose- 
 cuted by the agents of Spain, against the inhabitants of 
 Spanish America, little idea can be, nevertheless, enter- 
 tained, by the British public, to whom this appeal is made, 
 of its extent, and of the complicated calamitie/5, with 
 which that unfortunate country overflows. Under the 
 plea of reducing insurgents, every species of excess is 
 <:ommitted; and particularly in New Spain, it nearly 
 amounts to a war of extermination, one, that in the annals 
 of history, is unequalled in cruelty and wanton havoc. — 
 Yet the Spaniards begin to find, that opinions, deep- 
 rooted as they are in the minds of the people, cannot be 
 extracted by the sword, or overawed by scaffolds and 
 persecutions. This is a war of brigandage, worse than 
 occurred in St. Domingo, atid with the exception of 
 blood hounds, bears every feature of the cruelties the 
 French exercised there, against the coloured natives, of 
 which, they afterwards felt the dreadful retaliation Fire 
 
355 
 
 and the sword are alternately, applied ; parents are mur- 
 dered by their children, and brothers by the hands of bro- 
 thers. It were, here, possible to paint scenes, at which hu- 
 man nature would recoil. Alas ! of what crimes is not man 
 capable, when the torch of civil discord is once lighted up, 
 and all the endearing and social ties w^hich sweeten life, 
 are made to yield to phrenzy and political fury ! A re- 
 spectable letter, dated Mexico, February 18, 1811, ob- 
 serves, " the unheard of cruelties are such, that posterity 
 will suppose them fabulous,'* 
 
 Great, however as are the horrors, and immense the 
 surrounding ruin that has been occasioned, their details 
 seldom or ever meet the eye of the British public, from 
 our prints containing only partial extracts from those of 
 Cadiz, in which, for the most part, the occurrences of 
 Spanish America, are mutilated or misrepresented.— 
 These horrors, are, nevertheless, confessed in the Mexico 
 gazettes, in private correspondence from that city, and 
 frequently, the most horrid butcheries, constitute the 
 boasts of Spanish chiefs, in their despatches to the vice« 
 roy. It would not be possible, here, to detail the nume- 
 rous and extensive cruelties committed by the Spaniards, 
 since this inhuman war commenced, or to enumerate the 
 scenes of devastation. But I have conceived it my duty, 
 to subjoin a variety of facts, that may at least explain the 
 nature of this warfare, and evince in what manner it is 
 carrying on. Those relating to Mexico, are taken from 
 government gazettes, printed in that city, and indeed all 
 are substantiated by corresponding documents, princi- 
 pally obtained through Spanish channels. 
 
 In examining the grounds on which so many cruelties 
 have been committed in Mexico, the proclamation of 
 
 Z2 
 
356 
 
 Viceroy Venegas, deserves the first place. The follow^ 
 ihg are extracted articles : 
 
 1st. " All rebels who have resisted the king*s troops, 
 are criminals, and subject to a military jurisdiction. " 
 
 6th. '' All insurgent chiefs, in whatever number they 
 may be, are to be shot, without allowing them more time, 
 than to prepare for death in a christian manner. " 
 
 loth. " Ecclesiastics taken with arms in their hands, to 
 be executed in the same manner, ** 
 
 Article 2, authorises the division or detachment making 
 prisoners, to execute these orders. The scenes which 
 this and similar orders have given rise to, in such a 
 country as the one to which I allude, are such as would 
 disgrace the annals of a Tiberius. 
 
 D° Ignacio Garcia Revollo, in his despatch to the vice* 
 roy, dated Queretaro, November 23, 1811, recommends 
 Serjeant Francisco Montes, " as deserving the grade of 
 an officer, for amongst other gallant actions, he killed one 
 of his own nephews^ who making himself known to him, 
 received for answer, that he knew no nephew amongst in- 
 surgents,'^ 
 
 Commandant Bustamante, in his despatch to the vice- 
 roy, dated Zitaquaro, October 23, 1811, recommends 
 Mariano Ochoa, a dragoon, *' who in pursuing the insur* 
 gents, had a brother who knelt to him to beg his life, which 
 lie took, with his own hand.'* 
 
 When two such acts as these, become the boast of a 
 despatch to a viceroy, I leave my reader to judge of 
 the other atrocities; but of these, history has no pa- 
 rallel. 
 
 General Truxillo, in a similar despatch, boasts, that 
 he admitted a flag of truce from Hidalgo, composed of 
 
357 
 
 various persons, in front of his line that was drawn up, 
 and having received from them a banner of the Virgin 
 Mary, " he ordered his soldiers to fire on the bearers, by 
 which means, he expected not to be troubled any more with 
 themy The persons composing the flag of truce, were 
 thus, all murdered. Even the Cadiz papers, cried out 
 against this atrocity. 
 
 General Calleja, informs the viceroy, that in the affair 
 of Aculco, he had one man killed and two wounded ; but 
 that he put to the sword, 5000 seduced Indians, and that 
 their total loss amounted to 10,000. The most of these 
 were Indians, kneeling for mercy ! The same general 
 entered Goanaxoato, with fire and sword, where 14,000 
 old men, women, and children, perished, and this, because 
 the insurgent army had taken up its quarters there, and, 
 by a timely retreat, had escaped his fury. In his des- 
 patch, he adds, " To-morrow and the following days, I 
 intend to shoot a quantity of the criminals who have been 
 taken of the insurgent army , of all grades, even up to a 
 brigadier,^ This measure, was afterwards approved by 
 the viceroy himself. Calleja soon after, received from 
 the Cadiz Regency, the gradeof Tzzamca/ de campo, and 
 the viceroy the cross of Charles III. as remunerations for 
 this distinguished service. 
 
 In the action of Zamora, all the prisoners were, also, 
 put to the sword. 
 
 Feliu, deputy in the Cortes for Lima, speaking there- 
 in on the proposed mediation of England, observes/' that 
 in order to prove the tyranny with which the inhabitants 
 of Mexico, are treated, it would suffice to present some 
 of the measures, daily taken by the governors in that 
 country." He adds, " I will here only mention the 2d 
 
' 368 
 
 and 11th articles of the proclamation, issued by Brigadier 
 D° Joze de la Cruz, on the 23d February, 1811. Article 2, 
 imposes the punishment of death, on all persons of every 
 class and condition, who within twenty-four hours, do 
 not deliver up all the arms of which they may be pos- 
 sessed, including axes and knives. To forbid any one 
 to carry on their persons, even a small knife, has been 
 before seen ; but to deprive people of knives for their 
 domestic use, under the penalty of death, is what even 
 Murat did not do in Madrid, or has been before heard 
 of. Article 11, orders, that a tenth of all the inhabitants 
 shall be shot, of whatever town or city; that may be 
 kriown to have given provisions to an insurgent, or where 
 any intercourse has been had with them, even between a 
 father and his son :'* and, " if thus," subjoins the deputy, 
 ** a faithful father, attempts to bring back a wandering 
 son, is he, on this account, to die ? Well and good ; but 
 is it not the extreme of barbarity, that for this same rea-» 
 son, the tenth of a whole town is to be shot B" These 
 were the arguments, the American deputies brought for-^ 
 ward to urge a mediation, whilst England, with all her 
 weight of influence and services, was merely asking a 
 favour. 
 
 Had these been threats only consigned to paper, had 
 they been the hasty breathings of revenge, but barren in 
 deeds, they might, perhaps, have been overlooked 
 by the politician, who considers the highly increased 
 degree of acrimony, which had been infused into the 
 dispute, and the general character of the nation from 
 whom they issued. But when we see the terrible terms 
 and latitude of such decrees, carried into full and frequent 
 effect 5 when we see threats, horrid in their wording, 
 
359 
 
 still aggravated by the inhuman manner in whicb tbey 
 are executed, and when we, at the same time, reflect 
 what this unfortunate people is contending for, the poli- 
 tician, as well as the moralist, and the philosopher, can- 
 not but shudder and exclaim, with the venerable Las 
 Casas, speaking of the first conquerors, ** that these are 
 not men, but devils in human flesh.'' This threat of Ge- 
 neral Cruz, was executed in two towns on the Lake of 
 Chapala, where he shot every tenth inhabitant, and then 
 burnt their dwellings, for having harboured the insur- 
 gents, when, possibly, they could not resist. 
 
 This same General Cruz, thirsting as it were for blood 
 and destruction, had already burnt the town of the Ira- 
 puato, in which the insurgents had resisted his attacks, 
 and made a public parade of shooting six priests; in 
 short, wherever he went, indiscriminate murder, fire, 
 and desolation, followed his footsteps. The prisoners 
 who are not put to the sword, in cold blood, were sent 
 to perish in the dungeons of Mexico, or in those of St. 
 Juan de Ulua. 
 
 Captain Blanco, in July, 1811, announces, " that as 
 soon as he entered Match uala, and the insurgents saw 
 they were attacked on all sides, and the havoc made 
 amongst them, they fled into the fields, but his troops 
 eager for blood (encarnizada) pursued, till they found no 
 more to pursue. 
 
 D^ Caetano Quintero, 29th August, 1811, says, 
 " that in the attack of Amoladeras, which lasted two 
 hours, no quarter was given. " 
 
 Commandant Villaescusa, 91st December, 1811, ob- 
 serves, " that the rebels of S" Ignacio, headed by an an- 
 cient officer, hoisted a flag of truce, and their chief lieute- 
 nant Hernandez, having expressed a desire to parley with 
 
360 
 
 Montaiio, chief of the Opata Indians, a Spanish soldier 
 named Manuel Ramirez, feigned he was the person, 
 assuring Hernandez, that if he would advance in front of 
 the lines, without arms, he would do the same. " On 
 their meeting, Hernandez was treacherously murdered. 
 
 General Cruz, in his letter to Hidalgo, 28th February, 
 1811, says, " that many thousands of men, tiiken by the 
 king's troops, were then groaning, in prisons, waiting 
 their last end." Yet few were taken in the field of bat-» 
 tie, or otherwise apprehended, they being, in general, 
 shot or hung on the spot. 
 
 General Calleja, from Zitaquaro, which he had just 
 taken, after a stout resistance, writes the viceroy, that he 
 will make it disappear from the face of the earth ; and 
 in conformity to this resolve, he issued a proclamation, 
 whose articles, in substance, are as follows. 
 
 1. That all the property, public or private, belong-* 
 ing to the inhabitants of this town and jurisdiction, shall 
 be confiscated to the crown, and the Indians deprived of 
 their privileges. 
 
 2. Likewise the property of all those Spaniards, who 
 have joined in the insurrection, or were absent when the 
 king's troops entered, 
 
 5. This faithless and criminal town, that three distinct 
 times, has resisted the arms of the king, being to be 
 rooted up, burnt and destroyed, the inhabitants of every 
 age and sex, shall leave it within six days. 
 
 6. All the individuals and families who may leave 
 this town, shall have a certificate, bearing their name, 
 descent, number of each, and day of their departure, 
 it being well understood, that whoever may be found 
 without this certificate, or remain in the town, longer 
 than the time prefixed, having no weighty impediment 
 
361 
 
 '^ to allege therefore, shall be treated as a rebel, and shot, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 The above passages, principally extracted from offi-» 
 cial despatches and Mexico gazettes, will convey a good 
 idea of the nature of the warfare, now carrying on in 
 New Spain. It is not only because such scenes occur, 
 that the feelings of humanity recoil, but because they 
 should afterwards constitute the public boast of a com- 
 mander of a division or detachment. A lieutenant com- 
 manding twent3^-five men, can shoot his insurgents, and 
 then pride himself for so doing, in his report to his com- 
 manding officer. To such a pitch has the phrensy at last 
 risen, that clergymen, chaplains of regiments, friars, &c. 
 are now shot and murdered, with no more ceremony, 
 than laymen, notwithstanding this is not only against the 
 canons, but also, in direct opposition to the constitution 
 of the Spanish monarchy. During the revolutionary 
 struggle of North America, politeness and respect, uni- 
 formly accompanied the acts of the contending chiefs. 
 Lord Cornwallis, always addressed General Washington 
 by the title of Excellency; and humane and personal at- 
 tentions, were never forgotten. But here, men who have 
 recurred to the only means left them of asserting rights, 
 which in the abstract must be deemed just, are murdered 
 like banditti, and treated as vagrants. It is melancholy 
 sin the extreme, to behold the deadly animosity that has 
 thence arisen, and to contemplate such scenes as result, 
 from indiscriminately putting men to death, whom the 
 .chance of war has left in the hands of the victor, and 
 consequently, at his mercy. 
 
 It would not be possible, with any degree of accu- 
 Tacy, to point out the extent to which this havoc of bu^ 
 
362 
 
 man lives, has been carried, or to convey an exact idea of ^ 
 the general destruction that has been occasioned. The 
 author of the Revolucion de Mexico, has taken some 
 pains to add up the results of an irregular file of fifty- 
 nine daily gazettes of that city, for the years 1811 and 
 12, principally containing various despatches of com- 
 manders, acting in different quarters of the viceroyalty. 
 These few gazettes alone, officially, confess 25,344 in-* 
 surgents killed, 3556 prisoners, besides 697, shot after 
 surrendry. And this is in addition to a variety of vague 
 terms, such as the field of battle loas covered with the 
 slain — heaps of dead covered the plain y §c. — -to which no 
 numerical amount could be given. I would here aik my 
 reader, to figure to himself, what would be the results of 
 a regular file, complete, from the time the war com- 
 menced, up to the present day, that is nearly five years ; 
 since, in the fifty-nine numbers above alluded to, the most 
 bloody actions are not contained, and many detached 
 affairs, were never made the subject of a report. With 
 regard to destruction, scarcely a farm is left standing, 
 the cattle, beasts of burden, and implements of agricul- 
 ture, have all disappeared ; and the ravages of two con- 
 tending armies, have desolated, the hitherto safe and 
 peaceful dwellings of the Mexican people. Agriculture, 
 mining, and commerce, are all at a stand. 
 
 The following is an extract of a letter written from 
 Mexico, under a recent date, by a person of whose re- 
 spectability I can vouch, and it is, also, found in El Es- 
 panol for last February, No. 45. It gives a very good 
 idea of the state of New Spain, and it deserves the more 
 credit, from its author being a person of high station and 
 repute. — " All the commanders of detachments arrived 
 
363 
 
 from Spain, as well as the aids de camp of Venegas, have 
 become rich. Some of those who arrived a year and a 
 half ago, are masters of 80 to 100,000 dollars. T. and C. 
 have had to give considerable securities, before they 
 could leave the kingdom. The first, in consequence of 
 an enormous complication of charges; and the latter, for 
 having robbed a large quantity of money in Guardamino, 
 besides jewels, cattle and produce, belonging to a farm 
 through which he passed with his troops. The simple 
 fact of a merchant being found to be his security, for a 
 sum larger than 80,000 dollars, proves that he has them; 
 and if this is the case, where have they come from ? — 
 But why talk about things of such little consequence, 
 when others might be mentioned, which rend the heart. 
 The plague is, at present, desolating this kingdom, 
 wherever the insurrection has left men to be killed. * A. 
 has received a letter from Mexico, in which it is said, 
 that 25,000 persons have been buried without the walls, 
 besides many who have been buried in private; and it 
 adds, that on calculations by no means exaggerated, the 
 loss of the whole kingdom, during the last three years, 
 amounts to one million of persons. Two years and some 
 months ago, N. wrote me, that the insurrection was then 
 supposed to have cost 200,000 persons, and at that time, 
 the war was no more than a shadow of what it has been 
 since." 
 
 And can the British public, hear of these horrors, and 
 
 * The plague in Mexico, originated from the privations inciden- 
 tal to the war, want of provisions, crowded dungeonjS, &c. ; the same 
 as did lately at Dantzic, Dresden, Konnigsberg, &c. owing to their 
 sieges. 
 
o 
 
 64 
 
 still be unmoved ? Can the British government behold, 
 with calm indifference, and without an effective effort 
 on their behalf, this unheard of mass of destruction, 
 amongst its faithful and unoffending allies! Can England 
 still look, with obstinate composure, on such a scene ? — > 
 These accounts to some, may appear magnified, yet they 
 no more than correspond to the result of the Mexico pa- 
 pers I can produce; and they will be found confirmed, 
 through channels which cannot be suspected. When a 
 general can boast in a public report, that with the loss of 
 one man and two wounded, he left 5(XX) natives extended 
 on the field of battle, it cannot be supposed he was fight- 
 ing against armed men, but that he had fallen on bands 
 of unarmed Indians, whahad collected round the banners 
 of their just rights, but who had nothing to present in 
 their defence, than their naked breasts. Can this be li- 
 kened to any thing else, than to the entry of Cortes into 
 Mexico ? Does not this equal the horrors of an Alva, in 
 the Netherlands? 
 
 The editor of El Espanol, in his last number for Aprils 
 remarks, " that the war between Spain and her ancient 
 colonies, still continues, under the most shocking symp^ 
 toms. The Spanish people of the other hemisphere, are 
 still murdering each other, with the greatest fury; and as 
 it happens, in similar cases, the war is carried on, di- 
 vested of those laws and rules, which diminish its evils, 
 amongst civilized nations. The governors and chiefs, 
 sent out by Spain, are horribly satiating themselves in the 
 blood of that unhappy people, making a parade of cruel- 
 ties, which even in the most barbarous nations, would 
 excite horror. In one of the last despatches from Mexico, 
 the general, after giving the details of the action, says. 
 
365 
 
 with the most terrific indifference,'* — " Two hundred pri^ 
 sorters are now in the act of being shot, by way of ex- 
 «mjo/e."— Yet this is the confession of a Spaniard, here 
 on the spot, and with whose liberality and veracity we 
 are well acquainted. 
 
 § Nor are these scenes, alone, confined to the vice- 
 royalty of Mexico. Other sections of Spanish America, 
 present similar ones, which if possible, exceed them in 
 horror. Those of Caracas, merit a particular review. I 
 cannot better describe them, than by giving the substance 
 of General Bolivar's manifest, respecting the conduct of 
 General Monteverde and the agents of Spain, dated Va- 
 lencia, September 20, 1813. — The united provinces of Ve- 
 nezuela, in conformity of their manifest, dated July 30, 
 1811, containing a full detail of the urgent motives which 
 drove them to such a measure, that is, after war, undet 
 every species of aggravations, had been waged against 
 them, by the Cadiz Regency, declared their independence 
 of the mother country. They organized a provisional 
 government, and a desultory war was carried on against 
 them. On the 12th of March, 1813, Caracas, and several 
 other cities of the interiour, were visited with a most 
 dreadful earthquake, which left the former in ruins, and 
 spread consternation throughout the provinces. The 
 clergy, irritated at being deprived of their privileges and 
 immunities, by one of the articles of the new constitution, 
 (that is, they were made subservient to the civil law,) in 
 the confessional and in the pulpit, preached, that this ca- 
 lamity was a signal vengeance from God, for having sepa- 
 rated from the mother-country. General Monteverde, at 
 the head of a handful of Spaniards, advanced from Coro, 
 and encouraged by the distress and consternation, so ge- 
 
366 
 
 nerally spread around, and in secret understanding with 
 many Europeans in the capital, marched forward. Most 
 of the inhabitants, were then dispersed in the country, 
 many had fled to the woods for shelter, and all were ter- 
 rified at the horrors and murders, committed by the 
 agents of the Spanish chiefs, in the progress of their 
 march. 
 
 Such was the situation of Venezuela, when on the 
 windward coast, the negroes, both slaves and free, were 
 revolutionized and set loose on the inhabitants, to spread 
 through the country, all kinds of violence and plunder. 
 The towns of Guatiri, Calabozo, and San Juan de los 
 Moros, thereby witnessed the greatest horrors. Many of 
 their peaceful inhabitants, were murdered without more 
 ceremony, than being ordered to kneel down, and others 
 were whipped in the public squares. Thus, Caracas in 
 ruins by a most dreadful earthquake ; to the East, alarmed 
 by the black banditti let loose on its defenseless inhabit- 
 ants ; and on the West, threatened by an army, whose 
 numbers had been swelled by fanaticism and seduction, 
 and seeing the only troops of the confederation com- 
 manded by a chief who never possessed the public confi- 
 dence, w^as under the necessity of capitulating, with 
 General Monteverde, in San Mateo, on 25th July, 1812, 
 
 The basis of this ratified convention, was, that the 
 lives, property, and persons of every citizen, should be 
 held sacred ; that no one, should be persecuted for the 
 past; general oblivion and amnesty were, in short, 
 granted. No sooner was Monteverde in possession of 
 the town, and the revolutionary troops disarmed, than 
 he put some inhabitants in dungeons, others in irons, 
 and public stocks ; parties of dissolute soldiery, were 
 
367 
 
 sent out to different parts of the interiour to collect 
 more; most respectable persons were torn from the arms 
 of their wives and children ; many, bound to horses' tails, 
 were led on foot into town, exposed to the scoffs and 
 mockery of the troops ; and persons were placed over the 
 victims as keepers, who had been tried during the admi- 
 nistration of the late provincial government. Property 
 was seized ; outrages and insults,^ were heaped on many 
 individuals of both sexes, many were cast inlo hot and 
 damp dungeons, resembling the black-hole at Calcutta ; 
 the streets were crowded with unhappy wives, crying 
 out for their husbands, mothers for their sons, and sisters 
 for their brothers. Monteverde and his fellow islanders, 
 the Canarians, feasted on such a spectacle, and rejoiced 
 in the humiliation of the Creoles. Enfuriated by bloody 
 fanaticism, and thirsting for plunder, the Spanish troops, 
 every where forgot the dictates of humanity, and to the 
 desolation caused by one of the severest visitations of na- 
 ture, every thing that can be committed by a dissolute 
 and uncontrolled soldiery, was added. In this manner, 
 more than 1500 individuals, were thrown into dungeons, 
 though they had rested their personal security, on the 
 faith of a solemn capitulation, regularly exchanged and ra- 
 tified, and which they considered as binding, even 
 amongst the most uncivilized nations. * 
 
 ♦ It can scarcely be thought, that the achievement of the above 
 horrors, was made the subjectof a British bulletin, the following is a 
 copy. — 
 
 " Downing street, Oct, 5, 1812. 
 
 ** By accounts from Curacoa and St. Thomas, dated the 5th and 
 ^th August, it appears the City of Caracas capitulated to the Royalist 
 
368 
 
 The walls of the dungeons, into which these unftjf- 
 tuiiate victims were indiscriminately huddled, were in 
 many places, rent with the late earthquake, and those of 
 La Guira and Puerto Cavello, were a foot deep in watef, 
 from being situated near the sea* Some persons were 
 shut up in pontoons and castles, generally without food 
 and medical aid, and this in the hot season of the year. 
 Some were manacled* to negroes, to laugh to scorn the 
 equality the late government had proclaimed; others, 
 under a burning sun. Were put with their heads in the 
 stocks, in the public squares ; and in short, eveiy refine- 
 ment in cruelty, was practised, as vengeance on some, 
 and to extort money from others. In the night, some 
 were taken out of their cells, and were no more heard of; 
 others were found stabbed in the streets, on the high 
 Toads, aad in their own houses. Nay, European Spa- 
 niards, were heard to cry out, that all the partizans of the 
 revolution, were to be exterminated, and the ignorant 
 and fanatic populace, were led to believe, that the earth- 
 quakes would not cease, till they were all extinct. 
 
 The above statement is extracted from a public docu- 
 ment, addressed to all the nations of the world, and its 
 contents, are more than confirmed, by eye-witnesses who 
 have lately visited London. If my limits permitted me, I 
 could here add, the reports of a French gentleman and of 
 two Englishmen who were on the spot; and, certainly. 
 
 Array, under General Monteverde, on the 28th July, and thai La 
 Guira surrendered at discretion on the 21st. 
 
 *• General Miranda is closely imprisoned at the latter place. The 
 greatest distress has been experienced at the CaracaV' 
 
 Can this b« called strict neutrality ? 
 
369 / 
 
 Ihieir details exceed those just stated, in their strength of 
 colouring, and in the mention of scenes, which the mind 
 cannot contemplate without the keenest emotion. Many 
 appeals, have been made to the British commanders on 
 the neighbouring stations, to endeavour by indirect means, 
 to stop these and the successive horrors which have fol- 
 lowed, but to no effect. They have always answered, 
 that their instructions, ^^proAziz^, in so pointed a manner, 
 all interference hettveen the contending parties on the friainf 
 that they conceive, that no case whatever , can icarrant a de- 
 parture fro?n them.'* Yet can it be considered just, that 
 these horrors and atrocities should be carried on, with the 
 very resources, England has given in trust to Spain, to 
 use against a legal enemy, and to free her territory from 
 invasion.^ Several pieces which have been printed, as- 
 sert, that whilst the strictest care was taken to hinder 
 any of the revolutionary parties, from getting even a mus- 
 ket, the governor of Cura^oa supplied General Monteverde 
 with arms. Yet, when Caracas fell, in the manner just 
 described, that same island was not allowed to be an asy- 
 lum to some most respectable individuals, who were fly- 
 ing from scenes of carnage and desolation. Amongst the 
 sufferers of Caracas, were eight individuals of great re- 
 spectability and talents, who were put on board a ship, 
 in irons, and sent to Cadiz. They w^ere confined in the 
 holdj during their passage. Amongst them, w^as the ve- 
 nerable canon of Chili, who by his humane attentions, 
 had made himself ktiow^n to Lord Camelsford and others, 
 who accompanied Vancouver, in his voyage to the South 
 seas. In vain, did these unfortunate victims, plead the 
 amnesty of a solemn capitulation, it w^as of no avail. — 
 They implored the humanity of the British minister in Ca- 
 
370 
 
 diz, they were unheard. At length on the 10th of A pril, 1813, 
 the Cortes decreed, that it was derogatory to the majesty and 
 dignity of the national congress, to validate a capitulation 
 made with malignant insurgents \ and these sufferers were 
 thus sent to drag a miserable existence, in the prisons of 
 .Ceuta. Their friends, indignant at such a breach of na- 
 tional faith and humanity, used every exertion to aid in 
 their escape, which they effected to Gibraltar, where they 
 were delivered up to their persecutors, bound hand and 
 foot, according to recent accounts, from Madrid. I have 
 mentioned these particulars, relating to eight respectable 
 individuals, comprehended in the capitulation made be* 
 tween Generals Monreverde and Miranda, above alluded 
 to, in order to introduce the correspondence, which took 
 place between the governor of Curacoa, and General Boli- 
 var, in the month of September, 1813, on the subject of 
 some demonstrations made by the first, in favour of suf- 
 fering Spaniards. — From the great length of these letters, I 
 h^ve placed them in my Appendix, under the head of I, 
 and I now ask the question, whether in cases of this kind, 
 the Creoles are not equally deserving of the interference 
 of our officers, as the Spaniards, who are the aggressors? 
 § But, of all the scenes of horror ever before heard of, 
 perhaps the one which has just occurred in Caracas, is 
 the most shocking. The manner, in which the Creoles of 
 that country, were treated by the Spaniards, on their en- 
 try, has been just stated, in language by no means corres- 
 ponding to the reality. These excesses were so great, 
 and from them such fatal consequences were anticipated, 
 that even the audiencia, a court that is composed of Eu- 
 ropeans, and has always been one of the stoutest pillars of 
 Spanish tyranny, in America, sent over to the government 
 
371 
 
 at home, a strong remonstrancie respecting the conduct of 
 Monteverde and the impolitic horrors committing in Ca- 
 racas, which may be found in No. 39, of El Espahol. — 
 Such proceedings, could not fail lo excite indignation, and 
 exasperate the minds of an outraged people. The neigh- 
 bouring section of Santa F^, which had also asserted its 
 independence, sympathized with the sufferers of Caracas, 
 and resolved to march a force to their relief; Bolivar, at 
 the head of a small band, penetrated from Carthagena by 
 land, a distance of 600 leagues; his numbers increased, 
 as soon as he reached the confines of Venezuela, and he, 
 eventually, regained the country, from which he had 
 lately emigrated, and which had been the tomb of so many 
 fellow citizens. Monteverde retreated to, and shut him- 
 self up in Puerto Cavello. He had in his possession, about 
 three or four hundred Creole prisoners. Bolivar sought to 
 effect an exchange for those Spaniards he held, and con- 
 sequently sent several flags of truce, with proposals. The 
 Spanish commanders of Puerto Cavello, refused to treat 
 with insurgents, and threw the bearers of the proposals 
 and flags of truce, into dungeons. iVt last, Bolivar sent 
 a Spanish officer whom he had taken, but he was again 
 refused, and the commander of La Guira, brought on the 
 ramparts of Puerto Cavello, four Creole officers, whom he 
 had shot in front of the lines of the revolutionary army, 
 and then sent their names, with a threat to continue the 
 same scenes, to its commander. Exasperated at such con- 
 duct, Bolivar ordered all the Spanish prisoners, instantly 
 to be shot, which was executed ; whereby, upwards of 
 1300 persons, were murdered in cold blood. — The par- 
 ticulars of this enormous scene, as well as of the horrors 
 now committing, by the armed negroes in the province 
 
 A A 2 
 
372 
 
 of Caracas, will be found in the words of an eye witness, 
 in my Appendix, under the head of J. I feel the greater 
 confidence in inserting this document, from the known 
 abilities and experience of the writer, who has been an 
 eye witness of what he describes. So interesting was this 
 statement of facts considered, that it has been sent to one 
 of our ministers and the Admiralty, by one of the com- 
 manders of a station in the West Indies, from whence I 
 have just received it. 
 
 However, the most alarming, as well as the most dis- 
 tressing of all the appendages of this unnatural and bloody 
 contest, is, the measure lately resorted to by the agents of 
 Spain, of revolutionizing, freeing, and arming the negroes 
 in Venezuela. Out of a kind of desperation, some of the 
 greatest cut-throats, were commissioned to collect a black 
 banditti, in order to put the whites to the sword, and to 
 carry plunder and violence through all the provinces. In 
 the preceding document, marked J, to which allusion has 
 been just made, a minute account is given, of the manner 
 in which these slaves have been freed and organized into 
 a horde of savages, pouring desolation wherever they go. 
 The full and able manner, in which the fatal consequences 
 that will, eventually, result to our West India islands, 
 from rendering these provinces of the main, the theatres 
 of horror and licentiousness, similar to what has so long 
 deluged the French part of St. Domingo, preclude the ne- 
 cessity of any further remarks in this place ; but the present 
 situation of Caracas, now interests every British planter, 
 merchant, or creditor connected with the West Indies, 
 and all are imperiously called upon to arrest this flame of 
 insurrection, before it reaches their own property. With 
 these facts before them, can the ministers of England still 
 
 
373 
 
 continue to look on with indifference, and can their 
 agents still answer, that no case whatever, will warrant 
 their interference ? 
 
 In order the better to explain the nature of the war 
 carried on by this black banditti, I here present a copy of 
 one of the commissions given to Captain Joze Rufiiio 
 Jorralba, by Boves, one of the chiefs charged with freeing 
 and arming the slaves of the provinces of Caracas. It is 
 translated from the Caracas Gazette, No. 13, for Novem- 
 ber ^9, 1813, and was found on the person of the said 
 Captain Jorralba, when taken a prisoner.— 
 
 Don Joze Boves, Commander-in-Chitf of the 
 Windward Army, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 " By these presents, I commission Captain Joze 
 Rufiho Jorralba, to collect all persons fit for the public 
 service, and placing himself at their head, that he may 
 pursue and follow up all traitors, and punish them with 
 death ; it being well understood, that no more time is to 
 be granted to them, than is necessary to say a creed, in 
 order to recommend their souls to their Creator : and di- 
 recting, at the same time, that all property taken from 
 jsuch traitors, shall be divided between the soldiers who 
 defend the just and hjoly cause; and the merit thereby 
 acquired by each individual, shall be recommended to 
 the Commander General of the province; and I further 
 require and charge all commanders of His Majesty's 
 troops, to aid him in whatever may be necessary." 
 
 (Signed) Joze Tomas Boves. 
 Head Quarters, Gayabal, 
 Nor. 1, 1813. 
 
374 
 
 Could it ever have been thought, that the nineteenth 
 century would have witnessed such a commission, given 
 by an individual known only by his crimes, to a captain 
 placing himself at the head of a band of armed negroes ? 
 The traitors^ herein alluded to, are the Creoles, the 
 owners of their country, and the objects of Spanish ven- 
 geance from the time of its discovery. The holy cause, 
 is pretty well depicted in the description of Monteverde*s 
 entry into Caracas, and as may be collected from the con- 
 tents of the preceding pages. It amounts to a furious 
 and bloody despotism, trampling on every right, and 
 sporting with human life. I leave my reader to judge of 
 the consequences, of a captain commanding a black band, 
 just freed from slavery, by the incentives of plunder and 
 licentiousness, being empowered over the lives of indivi- 
 duals, scattered over a wide and defenceless country, thus 
 leaving them at his mercy, and their property at his will. 
 Some of these results, are also depicted in Document I. 
 But this is not all. As a refinement of cruelty, those who 
 escape the murdering steel of this black banditti, have 
 their ears or noses cut off, or are marked with the letter F 
 (for Ferdinand) on their faces, in the same manner, as they 
 brand cattle, or as the Dutch brand their slaves at Suri- 
 nam, on the arm. * What monsters, have not been ge- 
 nerated, from this unnatural contention ! 
 
 And does not this remind us of the horrors of the to- 
 mahawk and scalping-knife, which once covered the 
 western frontiers of the United States, with so many 
 
 * Letter from a respectable commercial house, dated St. Pierre, 
 Martinique, Jan. 30th, 1814; and confirmed through many other 
 channels. 
 
375 
 
 horrors? Does it not also call to our recollection, the 
 speech made by the venerable Earl Chatham, when Lord J 
 Suffolk, then Secretary of State, contended in the House 
 of Peers, for the employment of Indians in the war. 
 •* Besides its policy and necessity," his Lordship said, 
 <• that the measure was, also, allowable on principle, for 
 that it was perfectly justifiable, to use all the means that 
 God and nature had put into our hands. " 
 
 The indignation of Lord Chatham was moved, and he 
 suddenly rose and gave full vent to his feelings, in one of 
 the most extraordinary bursts of eloquence, the pen of 
 history ever recorded. — " I am astonished," exclaimed 
 his Lordship, " shocked to hear such principles con- 
 fessed; to hear them avowed in this hous?, or even iii 
 this country. My lords, I did not intend to have en- 
 croached again on your attention, but I cannot repress 
 my indignation. I feel myself impelled to speak. My 
 lords, we are called upon, as members of this house, as 
 men, as Christians, to protest against such horrible bar- 
 barity. That God and nature had put into our hands / 
 What ideas of God*s nature, that noble Lord may enter- 
 tain, I know not ;- but I know, that such detestable prin- 
 ciples, are equally abhorrent to religion and humanity. 
 "What, to attribute the sacred sanction of God and nature, 
 to the massacres of the Indian scalping-knife ! to the can- 
 nibal savage, torturing, murdering, devouring, drinking 
 the blood of his mangled victims ! Such notions, shock 
 every precept of morality, every feeling of humanity, 
 every sentiment of honour. These abominable princi- 
 ples, and this more abominable avowal of them, demand 
 the most decisive indignation. I call upon the right re- 
 verend, and this most learned bench, to vindicate the re-. 
 
376 
 
 ligion of their God, to support the justice of their coun-r 
 try. I call upon the bishops, to interpose the unsullied 
 sanctity of their lawn, upon the judges, to interpose the 
 purity of their ermine, to save us from this pollution. I 
 call upon the honour of your Lordships, to reverence the 
 dignity of your ancestors, and to maintain your own. I 
 call upon the spirit and humanity of my country, to vin- 
 dicate the national character. I invoke the genius of the 
 constitution. From the tapestry that adorns these walls, 
 the immortal ancestor of this noble Lord, frowns with in- 
 dignation, at the disgrace of his country. In vain, did he 
 defend the liberty, and establish the religion of Britain 
 against the tyranny of Rome, if these worse than Popish 
 cruelties and inquisitorial practices, are endured amongst 
 us. To send forth the merciless cannibal, thirsting for 
 blood! — And against whom? Your Protestant brethren j 
 to lay waste their country ; to desolate their dwellings, 
 and extirpate their race and name, by the aid and instru* 
 mentality of these horrible hell-hounds of war ! Spain, 
 armed herself with blood -hounds, to extirpate the 
 wretched natives of Mexico, but we, more ruthless, loose 
 these dogs of war against our countrymen in America, 
 endeared to us by every tie that should sanctify hu- 
 manity. My Lords, I solemnly call upon your Lord- 
 ships, and upon every order of men in the State, to 
 stamp upon this infamous procedure, the indelible stig* 
 ma of public abhorrence. More particularly, I call upon 
 the holy prelates of our religion, to do away this ini- 
 quity; let them perform a lustration to purify their 
 country, from this deep and deadly sin. My Lords, I 
 am old and weak, and at present unable to say more ; 
 but my feelings and indignation, were too strong, to have 
 
 
377 
 
 said less. I could not have slept this night in my bed, 
 nor reposed my head upon my pillow, without giving 
 this vent to my eternal abhorrence of such enormous and 
 preposterous principles." 
 
 And will not the feelings of every Briton, who sees 
 the recital of these horrors, correspond with the above 
 words of Lord Chatham ? Nay, will not the true Spa- 
 niard, equally revolt, on beholding such scenes, and in 
 listening to the enumeration of horrors, which the pen 
 refuses to trace? Not horrors, inseperable from a. state 
 of warfare, but enormities, which nothing but wicked- 
 ness could invent, or barbarity execute. Enormities, not 
 only committed, but afterwards boasted of. Spanish 
 America, even by the confession of Spanish writers, dur- 
 ing its conquest, was the grand repository of plunder, and 
 a monument of ever living crimes. Three centuries af- 
 terwards, their recital makes us shudder, and we scarcely 
 believe man could be so degraded. Yet, greater enor- 
 mities are now committing, and we are still silent. I say 
 greater, because this contest, is between Christians and 
 fellow-citizens. By the general conventions of mankind, 
 the afflictions of war are softened and relieved, but, here 
 they are aggravated by every thing infernal, which the 
 malice of the heart, can sugjs^est. Alas ! and for what 
 is not the Spanish government answerable in the con* 
 duct of its agents ? Do these ever remember, that when 
 they gain a victory, their banners are crimsoned with the 
 blood of fellow-citizens ; and that it is the duty of mo* 
 rality, as well as of religion, to diminish the calamities of 
 war ? When the prisoners on both sides, are respect- 
 ively murdered in cold blood, when a war of extermina- 
 jlion is thus provoked, when the slaves of a country are 
 
378 
 
 armed for the murder and plunder of their masters, and 
 when besides these outrages, the human invention is racked 
 to find out new and additional torture, what are the con- 
 sequences that may not be expected ? Can we look for 
 less, than to behold that country a heap of ruins, which 
 is still bound to us by a treaty of alliance, and which we 
 have deluded by our former promises ? And what can 
 Spain say to these her agents, who have been the 
 causes of all these horrors^ ravages, and disasters ? Can 
 she expect, that no dreadfid punishment will follow at 
 the heels of such offenders ; or can she suppose, that the 
 tide of war and vengeance, will not be rolled back upon 
 Ihem, with aggravations, like those of which they have 
 been the inventors. 
 
 § Mexico and Caracas, however, are not the only sec- 
 tions of Spanish America, that have witnessed scenes, 
 such as those, of which an outline has just been given. 
 The march of Goyeneche into Upper Peru, has been at- 
 tended with similar instances of cruelty and vengeance, 
 though on a smaller scale. In Cochabamba, upwards of 
 a hundred persons were murdered in cold blood, some 
 with tortures, and one was quartered. La Paz, Potosi, and 
 Oruro, had to weep over excesses equally great. Their 
 crime, also, was common with the rest of the inhabit- 
 ants of the insurgent provinces ; that is, it consisted in a 
 resolve to seek within themselves, that redress, which 
 was denied them at home. The stages, through which 
 the contest in Buenos Ay res and Chili, has gone, being 
 more generally known amongst us, they are passed over 
 for the sake of brevity. On the 2d August, 1810, forty 
 persons of the first families, were destroyed in cold blood 
 in the prisons of Quito, by the dissolute soldiery of 
 
^79 
 
 Lima; and the inhabitants of the same city, were fired 
 upon, and murdered in the streets, in the same cruel 
 manner. In November 1812, Governor Montes, entered 
 the city of Quito, abandoned it to pillage, according to 
 his own letter of 11th of same month, and detached par- 
 ties of soldiers, to pursue those w^ho had fled, even the 
 bishop and nuns. Those who remained, and they w^itli^ 
 out having made any resistance, were placed in lines, 
 and every fifth person shot, as appears from the pastoral 
 letter, dated 31 March, 1813, of the Bishop of Epifania, 
 governor of the bishopric of Chili, himself an European 
 Spaniard. 
 
 Such is the gloomy picture of the horrors now com- 
 mitting in the various sections of Spanish America, and 
 at which, human nature has so much reason to shudder. 
 Horrors, committing against the unfortunate inhabitant* 
 of that country, not because they have revolted against 
 their lawful sovereign, not because they have leagued 
 with the enemies of Spain, but because they have de- 
 manded those rights, which the laws accord them, and 
 that amendment, which from imperious circumstances, 
 they required. In what 1 have here adduced, I have 
 not been guided by any hearsay and conjecture; all can 
 be supported by abundance of positive, consistent, and 
 admissible testimonies. Most of the instances of cruelty 
 and slaughter, here brought forward, are taken from offi- 
 cial papers, mostly Spanish gazettes ; and to them I 
 could add hundreds more, were I to descend to individual 
 cases. Many of these same facts, have resounded in the 
 saloon of the Cortes ; some of them are taken from the 
 speeches of Alcocer and Feliu, on the mediation ques- 
 tion. Detached cases, however, by no means, warrant 
 
380 
 
 general conclusions ; but, in scenes like those, I have 
 here sketched, all Spanish America, shares. 
 
 And is it not, then, time to put an end to such a vast 
 and fruitless effusion of human blood, and to staunch the 
 horrors of so destructive and protracted a vv^ar ? Does 
 HOt the recital of such enormities, committing by fellow- 
 countrymen, fill the heart of every friend of his own spe- 
 cies, with terror and alarm, and chill every feeling of hu- 
 manity ? Have not sufficient victims, been already im- 
 molated on the altars of vengeance ; have not sufiicient 
 towns and cities been plundered and destroysd, and have 
 not sufficient families been ruined ? Prisoners, as we 
 now see, in Mexico and Caracas, are no longer made, 
 but butchered on the spot, where they have thrown down 
 their arms, or mutilated by practices, that would even 
 disgrace the Algerines. At length, also, in one section,* 
 the agents of Spain, have resorted to that most dreadful 
 of all alternatives, that of freeing and arming of slaves 
 ■•gainst their masters, and which, besides bringing local 
 ruin, will eventually spread destruction to the neighbour- 
 ing settlements. To let loose hordes, worse than fierce 
 and irresistible Tartars, on the scattered and defenseless 
 natives of a feeble country, is renewing the menacing 
 "horrors of St. Domingo, and turning those regions into 
 a lair of wild beasts, which providence had destined, to 
 be the seat of man*s happiness and enjoyment. The pro- 
 
 * In addition to what is occurring in Caracas, the Junta of Po- 
 fayan, in 1811, in a letter addressed to the Junta of Santa Fe, ob- 
 serves, that the inhabitants had resolved to form a Junta, in conse- 
 quence of Tacon, governor of that province, oflfering to give free- 
 dom to the slaves, on condition of their falling on the white Creoles* 
 
381 
 
 vinces of Caracas, contain about 60,000 slaves, besides a 
 large proportion of free persons of colour, and if the 
 Spanish Americans, roused by the injuries inflicted upon 
 them, and driven to extremes, should retaliate, and also 
 arm their servile bands, in defense of freedom, can it be 
 expected, that an European Spaniard, will be left in the 
 country ? If we recollect, such a plan during the North 
 American contest, had its advocates and panegyrists, even 
 amongst ourselves ; but, we had not, then, before us, the 
 example of St. Domingo. 
 
 In whatever light this inhuman and bloody contest is 
 viewed, it would seem, as if the agents of Spain, were at- 
 tempting to secure a new conquest, by the extermination 
 of the Creoles, in like manner, as they did with the pri- 
 mitive Indians. The nations of Europe, have often shud- 
 dered to hear, that the Russians put 30,000 Turks to the 
 sword, in Ismail ; and that Buonaparte, made away with 
 his sick in Egypt, and will they not be equally shocked, 
 at those scenes just depicted ? Will they not shudder at 
 those enormous details, which so often fill the columns of 
 the Spanish American prints ; acts, not committed against 
 enemies, but against neighbours, countrymen, fellow- 
 brethren and relations ? Even the manner in which they 
 are announced by their perpetrators, and the boasts by 
 which they are often accompanied, tends to heighten and 
 aggravate their reality. The venerable Las Casas, when 
 he beheld the carnage inflicted by the first conquerors, on 
 the helpless and innocent Aborigenes, ventured to predict, 
 that God would some time or other, punish Spain for her 
 savage cruelty in the new world ; and might not the same 
 prediction, be now applied to the instruments of those 
 enormities, committing on the same soil? Can these 
 
382 
 
 cruelties ever be forgotten; will they not be remembered, 
 even to the third and fourth generations, and will not Eng- 
 land, equally, share in their stigma? When the injured 
 and unredressed inhabitants of that ill-fated quarter of 
 the world, enumerate the assurances formerly made them, 
 by the ministers of England, and when they now see 
 troops sent against them, armed with British muskets 
 and accoutrements ; when they behold them equipped in 
 iBritish cloathing, and that indirect aid is given them on 
 the other side of the Atlantic ; that British officers insult 
 their cause, and consequently their sufferings, and at 
 home, hear that no effective measure is carried in their 
 behalf, what can be their conclusions? Nay, what are 
 the impressions, these facts have not already excited ? 
 
 The more the grounds, on which the existing dissen- 
 tions between European and American Spain, are exa- 
 mined, the more manifest will, they appear, to have ori- 
 ginated in a wish to impose unnatural chains on the 
 inhabitants of the latter; and the means to effect this, to 
 which the agents of Spain have resorted, will be equally 
 found derogatory to the honour, inconsistent with the in- 
 terests, and hostile to the liberty of their fellow country- 
 men. They have been impelled by a blind infatuation, 
 treating reason as criminal, and stimulated by a rancour, 
 ■which made them forget they were contending with men. 
 Language will scarcely afford terms of greater outrage, 
 than that, by which the Spanish Americans have been 
 addressed ; nor can the imagination figure to itself any 
 thing more affecting, than the scenes, to which they have 
 been repeatedly exposed. The horrors of the Wyoming 
 settlements, as described by Mr. Gordon, in Mexico, 
 have been often witnessed. And let me ponder here to 
 
383 
 
 ask, what Spain has, hitherto, been able to effect by til 
 her menaces, numerous and ferocious as they have been, 
 or by all her murders, bloody and unnatural as they have 
 been experienced? Has the desorder, she sought to re- 
 medy, in any way, abated ? Mexia told the Cortes, " that 
 if, instead of 4000, they sent out 40,000 Spaniards, they 
 might then, perhaps, be able to boast being the second 
 conquerors; but so small a number, at the same time, 
 that it evinced the weakness of their resources,servedonly 
 to embitter the minds of the people against the Europe- 
 ans, and implicate the honour of the national congress, 
 who, by this means, sanctioned a war, that, hitherto, 
 might be considered as a war of the viceroys." " Is it 
 not," said deputy Alcocer, ** a terrible thing, to send 
 troops out, which we want so much at home, and when 
 we even require aa English garrison in Cadiz? To equip 
 them against brethren, with the very same succours, they 
 have themselves liberally sent over to us, for our defence 
 against the French ! To arm them with the very arms 
 and cloathing, which the British have supplied us with, to 
 ilght the enemy at home ; and which they would, by no 
 means give against America, for whom they are now me- 
 diating " 
 
 Such, was the strenuous language, by which the Ame- 
 rican deputies sought relief for their suffering country; 
 such were the arguments, on which they founded their 
 claims. But the order of the day in Cadiz, was war, and 
 the danger immediately before them, was forgotten for a 
 distant object. Motives of interest and revenge, urged 
 them on, even the common soldiers, seemed to join in the 
 enthusiasm displayed, they anticipated scenes of plunder 
 and pillage. But, when officers, rusj^^jng through thick 
 
 •VO-^ OF THE 
 
384 
 
 and thin, have been able to make rapid fortunes, in the 
 manner of which some examples have been adduced, we 
 need not wonder, that there was such a readiness to go 
 over to the scene of action. It was an old principle of ty- 
 ranny, for an arbitrary monarch, to attempt to beggar his 
 subjects into submission, but Spain seeks to murder hers 
 into subjection. She seems to endite a whole people, as if 
 she would proceed against the criminal conduct of a few 
 individuals. Are, then, the feelings of millions, thus to 
 be insulted ? The manner in which Spain has, hitherto, 
 legislated for Spanish America, more particularly since 
 her own revolution, has been by sending over an armed 
 force ; but can there be any thing more inconsistent, or 
 more unjust, than for the head of a political union of 
 equal communities, to insist on, and enforce a measure, 
 the justice and expediency of which, has not been proved 
 by the representative body of all ? If resisted, and if the 
 act is proved both illegal and vexatious, can there be any 
 thing more criminal, than for such presiding power, thus 
 arrogating to itself, the authority confided solely for the 
 purposes of general welfare and defence ; instantly to pro- 
 claim rebellion, beat to arms, and put the offending par- 
 ties, under the ban? Will they not soon discover, that a 
 government which treats a claim of liberty and equity, as 
 an offence of high treason, is a government, to which sub- 
 mission is equivalent to slavery ? Did the conduct of the 
 Spanish Americans, in point of law and right, amount to 
 a criminal rebellion, it would only warrant and authorize 
 the presiding power, to apprehend and bring the culprits 
 to condign punishment ; but it would not give its agents, 
 the right of rushing into indiscriminate murder and deso- 
 lation, thus confounding innocence with guilt. The pre* 
 
385 
 
 «ent coercion of Spain, is a qualified hostility carried on 
 against 17 millions of people, rather than the punishment 
 of rebellious subjects. It is rather a war to exterminate, 
 than to promote the slow solemnities of justice. 
 
 § So extensive, and compared with Spain, so populous 
 a country a? Spanish America, is not to be treated as a 
 mean dependant, who may be neglected without damage, 
 or provoked without danger. It is not a partial, narrow, 
 and occasional system, that is suited to the governnient of 
 17 millions of distant people; and if their complaints 
 against the late exercise of authority, have been founded, 
 they have a right to be heard, and amply redressed. It 
 is unjust, in the extreme, thus to sport with so large a 
 mass of the feelings and interests of the human race. It 
 is not from theory, or a wanton spirit of innovation, that 
 the Spanish Americans have complained of the badness 
 of those principles, by which they were governed. They 
 fairly judge of them, by actual grievances, against which, 
 to the despotic monarchs, and to their arbitrary ministers, 
 they had often remonstrated, in vain. Their ideas of 
 misgovernment, did not originate in any hasty or wicked 
 propensity to change ; but, in the badness of the existing 
 constitution of things, and in fatal experience. They, 
 forcibly, felt the truth of that established axiom of poli- 
 tics, that in large bodies, the circulation of power, is al- 
 ways weakest at the extremities. They experienced the 
 galling and vexatious hardships, of having no local check 
 over the acts of despotic chiefs; and the misery and de- 
 gradation of a people, who have no redress, but a dis- 
 tance of 2000 leagues. Placed as they were, remote from 
 the first mover of power, they shared all its defects, 
 without enjoying any of its advantages. They conceived 
 
 B B 
 
386 
 
 it unjust to be governed by laws, interpreted at the will 
 of judges who were estranged to them : and in the for- 
 mation of which, they had no part. They considered it 
 illegal to be stripped of their property by the arbitrary 
 edict of a premier, and still more so, for that property, 
 to be squandered on a corrupt court, or in prosecuting 
 wars in which they had no interest, and this without any 
 account being rendered in to them of its disbursement. — 
 In short, they judged it inconsistent, not to be allowed to 
 legislate and administer in their own concerns, since this 
 has always been held, as the immutable condition and 
 eternal law, of every extensive and detached empire. 
 
 These are the principal grounds of complaint which 
 Spanish America, urged, and to refuse hier justice and re- 
 dress, Spain has had to subvert those very principles, on 
 which she has founded her new constitution ; and to prove 
 that the inhabitants of her ultramarine provinces, ought 
 not to be free, she has had to recur to base stratagem 
 and force ; and even to depreciate those very blessings, 
 for which she herself has been so long fighting. That they 
 may not be free and equal, she has had to say, they are 
 incapable of being so. To shew that these benefits, are 
 incompatible with the condition of dwellers under the tro- 
 pics, the votaries of Spanish subjection, have had to laugh 
 to scorn, the very principles in which Spain now glories, 
 and to borrow invectives from the works of a Paw. It 
 was putting the Spanish Americans, under the trammels 
 of an abject minority, to suppose that their liberty was 
 more secure, when placed in trust of a distant body, hav- 
 ing only the shadow of a general Cortes, than when given 
 in charge to themselves. Were Spain fifty times stronger 
 than she is, it would only be lawful, to govern a distant 
 
387 
 
 but equal part of her empire, in one way ; and that is, ac- 
 cording to the principles of right reason and justice. For 
 this, she is answerable to the world at large. This lesson, 
 also, she might learn from the fundamental precepts of 
 sound policy. Allegiance is the inseparable companion 
 of happiness and content. Precipitated as Spain now 
 stands, into a destructive warfare, if she seeks to conci- 
 liate, she must previously concede. If she adopts this 
 plan, she must first ask herself, whether the ultramarine 
 provinces, in fact, possess a practical equality with those 
 of the Peninsula ; and whether they enjoy all, the laws 
 grant, and their happiness and prosperity require. If not, 
 it is her duty to see that all is fully guaranteed to them; 
 and whilst every tie of gratitude and interest, lead her 
 again to cement their connection, she will find this can 
 only be done, by removing the grounds of difference.— 
 Peace, implies reconciliation, and where a violent and 
 acrimonious dispute has preceded, mutual concessions 
 must be its forerunners. Peace, as Burke said, ought to 
 be sought in the spirit of peace, and laid in principles, 
 purely pacific. 
 
 A superiour power, may offer peace to an inferiour 
 one, without implicating its honour, and without losing 
 in the eyes of the world. Nay, the offer itself, is often 
 construed into magnanimity ; and at least, it is never dis- 
 honourable, or too late, to correct an error. If Spain 
 continues to prosecute this unjust and unnatural war, 
 without checking that flood of acrimony that has been let 
 loose, she shews to the world, that she spurns all laws, 
 both human and divine ; that she is no longer bound by 
 any of those ties, which link man to his fellow species ; 
 and, in the future, she can behold nothing, but clouds and 
 
 B B 2 
 
388 
 
 darkness. If, however, by leaving tnis contest to the 
 more sober issue of moderate and healing councils, she 
 approves of conciliation, many days of peace and prosper 
 rity yet await her. It is not by force alone, that Spain can 
 preserve her altramarine provinces, in a just and profitable 
 connection, unless as Burke said, fighting a people, be 
 the best way of gaining them. She may subdue them, 
 for the moment; and again enforce the trammels of de- 
 pendence, but she cannot, in her own weak and divided 
 state, retain a numerous, scattered and growing people, 
 in a condition so contrary to the feelings of human nature, 
 particularly, where they have so many advantages of cli- 
 mate in their favour. An armament such as Spain can 
 fit out, is not a victory. After such confident hopes, as 
 those under which Spain entered on her transatlantic war; 
 after such wanton boasting, and such great exertions, 
 when so little effective has been done, it is reasonable to 
 conclude, the plan must be wrong. The desultory ex- 
 cursions of the Spaniards from the capital of Mexico, to- 
 gether with all their horrors, have had no material influ- 
 ence on the issue of the war, or produced any thing deci- 
 sive. They have, rather, only tended to protract the at- 
 tainment of a just and reasonable object, and more 
 Strongly to irritate the Creole mind, as will be seen by the 
 public document I shall presently subjoin. In short, no 
 universal effort, can be made to secure success, for when 
 the insurgents are defeated in a cold climate, they fly to 
 a hot one, where it is dangerous for the Spaniards to ad- 
 vance. The road to Vera Cruz, is still closed, and cannot 
 be travelled but with an escort of 3000 men. The insur- 
 gents are in possession of Acapulco and the best mines 
 and provinces ; the Junta of Sultepec, only forty leaguea^ 
 
389 
 
 from Mexico, long stood its ground there, then removed 
 to Zitaquaro, and lastly to Chiltapatzingo, where a 
 general congress is forming ; and, in short, to that pitch 
 have things risen in New Spain, that 20,000 stand of arms, 
 would decide the fate of the Mexican empire, and, for 
 ever, sever the sceptre of the Spaniards, The situation 
 of Caracas, has already been explained. 
 
 The forces, Spain is able to employ on the other side 
 the Atlantic^ may perhaps suffice for partial conquest, 
 or for the tenure of some particular points and districts; 
 They may produce great ravages and distress, but in a 
 country so extended^ so mountainous, and so resolved, it 
 is impossible they can ever effect perfect subjection. 
 In the invasion of Spain, we have seen the plains and for- 
 tresses in the hands of the enemy, but the mountains and 
 roads, were possessed by the guerrillas. Does Spain, 
 then, seek to organize those contending against her, into 
 a regular banditti ; yet this is one of the extremes to 
 which they will fly, sooner than be unconditionally sub- 
 dued. It is difficulty in New Spain, to make any correct 
 estimate of the numbers of the insurgents ; but it is a fact, 
 that there, the Spaniards, when all the troops lately re- 
 ceived from Spain, are mustered, cannot make up, more 
 than 24,000 mei). Their antagonists are indeed very nu- 
 merous, but they are not organized, they fight under 
 (every disadvantage, many with bows and arrows, clubs, 
 slings, lances, &c. and only few with muskets, and these 
 principally taken from their enemies : but, yet they are 
 resolved to gain their point. New Spain contains about 
 64,000 gachupines^ or European Spaniards, and can it be 
 expected, that notwithstanding their influence, the con- 
 centration of their power, and the successful manner in 
 
390 
 
 which they can wield the auath^m^s of heaven, and the 
 brands of discord, that th&y can turii the opinions of 
 nearly 7 millions of peo^)ie, penetrated with the justice 
 of their right ? Or, viewing the subject on a larger scale, 
 can it be supposed, that 17 millions of people, situated 
 ^t a distance from the arm of power, and this in a weak 
 and languishing state, with an intervening ocean of 2000 
 leagues, particularly after the inveteracy which has been 
 excited, can be held prostrate at the feet of those very 
 Cortes, who have disdained their claims and appeals ; or 
 that they will now tamely submit to have their fetters 
 again rivetted ? Conciliation, might, long ago, have re- 
 stored tranquillity to the ultramarine provinces, if redress 
 had preceded ; a mild and temperate conduct, might, 
 gradually, have allayed those irritated feelings, which 
 injuries had provoked ; but war, blockades, ravages, and 
 massacres, can never produce so desirable an event. En- 
 gland, by an early and energetic display of her influence, 
 and Spain by the exercisfe of moderation, might have 
 prevented the many horrors which have been generated; 
 and it would seem impossible, that the services of the 
 first, and the injuries of Spanish America, should not 
 • have been able to rouse all parties to a sense of duty and 
 humanity, and urge them to put an end to so criminal an 
 enterprize. 
 
 Civil wars, which have had for object, a most just 
 redress, have, indeed, sometimes ended in a worse des- 
 potism than that attempted to be removed ; and such, 
 decidedly, would be the state of subjection brought upon 
 the Spanish Americans, if they did not now succeed. 
 But independent of that dread, there is too great a fund 
 of energy in the country, to submit to an alternative so 
 
391 
 
 fatal. Treachery, bigotiy, and inconsistent measures, 
 did indeed restore Caracas to its old masters ; but, the 
 cruelty of the Spanish general, the approved violation of 
 a ratified and solemn capitulation, and the sufferings of 
 the deluded inhabitants, brought on the heads of the per- 
 petrators of so many crimes, the punishments they de- 
 served. This example, also, will serve as a beacon to 
 the other sections, and teach them, how far, they are to 
 rely on the plighted f^ith of the agents of a nation, which 
 has already inundated their country with horrors. Were 
 the partizans of the cause of redress and reform, less 
 unanimous in their object, they might, perhaps, get tired 
 of anarchy and distress ; they might despond, and seek 
 repose after so many scenes of turbulence and bloodshed, 
 but in that case, they are sensible they must resign their 
 rights as men, and even drag chains, more strongly ri- 
 vetted, than their former ones. But so general is the 
 persuasion, that their cause is just, that new armies rise 
 up to replace those in the act of defeat ; and new ener- 
 gies seem to be inspired by discomfiture. The ardour of 
 the natives, is unabated, though for want of arms, the 
 contest is unequal ; and every region of New Spain, by 
 the confession of Mexico prints, burns with the same 
 ferment. General Rayon, in his letter to the bishop of 
 -I^a Puebla, says, *' The Americans, now know their 
 rights, and they will either die, or establish their own 
 interiour government in the name of Ferdinand VII, to 
 whom they have sworn allegiance, and in whose name 
 the national Junta governs." But, in the mean time, 
 torrents of blood are flowing, and destruction and deso*" 
 lation, on every side, rear their ghastly heads. 
 
392 
 
 S In order that a more perfect idea, may be en« 
 tertained, of the pretensions of the Spanish Americans^ 
 as well as of the sentiments excited by the cruel war- 
 fare waged against them, I have conceived it highly 
 illustrative, to subjoin, in this place, a translation 
 of the manifest addressed by the National Junta of Sul- 
 tepecj^in March, IS 1-2, to the European inhabitants of ^ 
 the American continent. It is as follows; 
 " Brethren, friends, and fellow citizens, 
 
 ** The holy religion w hich we profess, sound rea- 
 son, humanity, affinity, friendship, as well as all the other 
 respectable bonds, which strongly unite us, in every 
 manner by which the inhabitants of one common coun- 
 try, who revere the same monarch, and live under the 
 «ame laws, can be united ; imperiously call up^n you, to 
 give an attentive ear to our just complaints and preten- 
 sions. War, that cruel scourge, that devastator of the 
 most flourishing kingdoms, and perpetual spring of mis- 
 fortunes, can produce us no good, let whatever party be 
 the conqueror ; to whom, when the conflict is over, no- 
 thing will remain, but the malign complacency of his 
 victory. But he will have to lament, for many years, ir- 
 reparable losses and evils, in which, perhaps, may be 
 comprehended, the dreaded event, of some foreign 
 power, out of the many ambitious of possessing this pre- 
 cious portion of the Spanish monarchy, instigated by our- 
 selves, and availing itself of our disunion, coming to im- 
 pose the law upon us, at a time when we may be unable 
 to avoid it ; and whilst we, at the same time, phrenzied 
 by a blind fury, are butchering one another, refusing to 
 hear or to examine our reciprocal rights, without know- 
 
 1 
 
303 
 
 ing x\' hat are our views ; and whilst you, on your part, 
 are obstinately bent on calumniating us in your judicial 
 proceedings and public papers, founding yourselves on 
 sn affected mistake, and absolute unwillingness to un- 
 understand the grounds of our intentions." ^ 
 
 " With equal disdain, you have outraged the principal 
 American nobility, manifesting by your acts and deeds, 
 that you have declared war against them, and what is 
 still more sensible, against the venerable clergy. You da- 
 ringly call yourselves lords, beyond whom there is no ap- 
 peal, masters of lives and property, judges of the living 
 and the dead, andj to prove it, you spare neither assassi- 
 nations, conflagrations, nor excesses of every kind ; even 
 daring to trouble the ashes of the dead, by digging up the 
 bodies of those, who have died a natural death, in order 
 to judge them. You have committed the cowardly base- 
 ness, to set a price on the lives of men, by hiring secret 
 assassins, and by offering large sums of money, in procla- 
 mations, ordered to be published in every part of the 
 kingdom, to any one, who would murder determined per- 
 sons. To such a height, did this shameful instance of 
 criminality rise, one reprobated by every right, and 
 which will be scarcely credited by posterity. Horrible 
 enormity, unexampled in the annals of our history 1 as 
 contrary to the spirit of christian morality, subversive of 
 good order, and opposed to the majesty, decorum, and 
 circumspection of our wise laws, as scandalous, even to 
 the most ignorant people, who know how to respect the 
 rights of nations and of war. You have had the temerity 
 to arrogate to yourselves, the supreme power , and, under 
 the name of our august king, to command, proudly and 
 
394 
 
 despotically, over a free people, who know no other so- 
 vereign than Ferdinand VIL, whom each one of you 
 pretend to represent, by atrocious acts, which the king, 
 himself, would never have done, or permitted, even when 
 the case in question, was opposed to his sovereignty. The 
 acts, which, in your conscience, you knoAv to refer, sole- 
 ]y, to individuals, you treat with as much severity, as if 
 they related to the king himself. You pretend to concentre 
 in your own private persons, the sacred duties of reli- 
 gion, of the king and country ; dazzling the ignorant by 
 these names, so often profaned in your mouths, accus- 
 tomed to falsehood and calumny. You have vilified 
 yourselves in the eyes of the sensible world, by attempt- 
 ing to confound this cause, which is purely of the state, 
 with one of religion. And, for this detestable purpose, 
 you have impelled many ministers of Jesus Christ, to 
 prostitute, in all their parts, the functions of their holy 
 ministry. " 
 
 '* How can you combine these iniquitous proceedings, 
 with the severe precepts of our holy rehgion, and with 
 the inviolable integrity of our laws ? And to whom, un- 
 less it is to the sword, can we now recur for justice, 
 when you who are parties, constitute yourselves into 
 judges, accusers, and witnesses ; at the same time, that 
 it is disputed, whether it is we, who constitute the true 
 American nation ; whether you are legitimate autho- 
 rities, in the absence of our monarch, or intrusive and ar- 
 bitrary ones, who seek to appropriate to yourselves, a ju- 
 risdiction which you have not, and which no one can 
 confer on you." 
 
 "This long list of great enormities, deeply imprinted 
 on our hearts, would be a terrible incentive to our fury. 
 
395 
 
 impelling us to avenge them, even with the last drop of 
 European blood existing in this country, if our religion, 
 more pure in our hearts than in yours, our humanity, 
 and the natural suavity of our character, did not lead us 
 to incline to reconciliation, rather than to a continuance 
 of a war, whose issue, whatever it may be, can never 
 promise us more happiness than peace, considering your 
 situation and circumstances." 
 
 " Likewise, if you impartially enter into account 
 with yourselves, yuu will find, that you are more Ameri^ 
 cans than Europeai*. Scarcely born in the Peninsula, 
 and at a tender age, you were transferred to this land ; in 
 it you have passed the greater part of your lives; you have 
 adaptedour customs and manners; been naturalized to 
 the benign tem})<.-ratur^ f f our climate ; contracted bind- 
 ing connections ; inht rited large fortunes from your 
 wives, or obtained them by your labour and industry; 
 having, aiso, chj'dren and tixed property. Few of you, 
 have any correspondence with your ultramarine relations, 
 or even know the fate of your fathers, since you left the 
 mother country — and, did you not, all, form the resolu- 
 tion not to return there ? What, then, is it, retains you 
 from feeling an interest for this kingdom, in which you 
 ought to act the part of natives ? Is it, perchance, the 
 dread of being injured ? If we have carried on hostilities 
 against Europeans, it has been by way of reprisal, and, 
 because they first commenced them. " 
 
 " The system of insurrection, was never sanguinary ; 
 in the beginning, the prisoners were treated kindly, and 
 with decency and decorum. Many of them, were par- 
 doned, notwithstanding they were perjured and unfaith- 
 
396 
 
 ful to their words of honour; availing themselves of 
 this our benignity, to bring upon us every evil, being af- 
 terw^ardsi even our most atrocious enemies. Till you, 
 yourselves, began to open the door to cruelties, you vv^ere 
 treated in a manner, very different to that in v^^hich you 
 acted to us. For your happiness, rather than for our 
 own, we should be desirous to terminate dissentions, 
 which are causing scandal to the whole world; and pre^ 
 paring us for misfortunes, which we may experience 
 from some foreign power, when we cannot avoid them. 
 Wherefore, in the name of our common fraternity, and 
 the other sacred bonds, which unite us, we, in the most 
 tender manner, beseech you to examine with attention, 
 and wise and christian impartiality, the plans of peace 
 and war, founded on evident principles of public and nan 
 tural right, which we now propose to you, on behalf of 
 humanity ; in order that, by choosing the one that may 
 suit you most, the advantage of the nation, may always 
 be consulted. Let the national character be our judge^ 
 and let us be guided by those urgent circumstances, 
 under which America is now groaning.'* — 
 
 The plans of peace and war, which accompanied this 
 manifest, have already been referred to, and are contain- 
 ed in my Appendix, under the head of G. And after the 
 feelings have been roused and irritated, as in the manner 
 expressed in this document; after such instances of re- 
 crimination, after the Spaniards on their part, treat every 
 overture with disdain, and the Creoles behold themselves 
 inundated with blood and vengeance, how is it possible, 
 for these parties to come together, so as to adopt some 
 basis of accommodation, unless it is through themediuni 
 apd interposing influence of a third power } When the 
 
397 
 
 mediation question was agitated, the Spanish deputies 
 in the Cortes asserted, that in New Spain, no organized 
 authority existed wherewith to treat, for the insurrection 
 consisted of nothing, but parties of banditti infesting the 
 roads. Whereas, the best organized, and the most ge- 
 nerally acknowledged Junta, had stood its ground from 
 the beginning, received the obedience of all provinces 
 divested of a Spanish force, and the manifest I have just 
 quoted, together with Document G. and others which I 
 could still bring forward, might prove, that the national 
 Junta, consisted of men, possessed of talent and ener- 
 gy, but yet, disposed to relieve suffering humanity, and 
 ready to enter into arrangements, by which tranquillity 
 might be restored. 
 
 And can the ministers of England, still behold this 
 universal and all devouring flame of civil war, already 
 spread to the shores of the Pacific, and feel na 
 sympathy for a suffering and injured people? Can 
 the allies of those very victims, can they who till now, 
 have always felt a sympathy for their degraded condi- 
 tion, and have been melted at the perusal of their con- 
 quest, hear of and behold these horrors, and this inhu- 
 man and unnatural warfare, without feeling a correspond- 
 ing anxiety for their melancholy fate? Can we any 
 longer, thus witness, the bloody convulsions and long 
 suffering of a people, who have appealed to us, and even 
 implored the common sympathies of mankind at large? 
 Is humanity, then, no longer, an appendage of the British 
 people, when not one of their public organs, has ven- 
 tured to step forward in a case like this ? Spanish Ame- 
 rica, presents a large and extensive mart for British com- 
 jiierce, and are the patrons of our mercantile interests, 
 
398 
 
 yet, silent? And, where are our philanthropists ? When 
 the slave question, was agitating in this country, every 
 body was alive to the discussion; and clubs were enthu- 
 siastically formed, to patronize the interests of natives of 
 Africa, who were deprived of their natural liberty. And 
 what was the motive of all this ? It was a noble, gene- 
 rous, and laudable principle of humanity, that will ever 
 do honour to the British character, and cast a consoling 
 gleam on the labours of the promoters, of the measures 
 adopted. And are the Indians, and other inhabitants of 
 Spanish America, less deserving of our regard ? We, 
 there, interfered for the welfare of a few thousands, con- 
 demned to labour for the profits of another, but still pos- 
 sessed of many conveniences to beguile their toil ; but 
 here, we see many thousands, annually, nay monthly, put 
 to the sword, butchered, inhumanly tortured and muti- 
 lated, and not a sigh accompanies their sufferings. And, 
 in time, what will not the fatal consequences of this ex- 
 terminating war ; shall we wait without interfering, till 
 not a White or Creole, is left standing ? The proportion 
 on an average, of the Indians and casts, to the Whites 
 and Creoles, is about six to one ; if therefore, the latter 
 become debilitated and extinct, and the former become 
 armed and warlike, possessed as they are of the idea, that 
 their lands and property have been usurped by the Spa- 
 niards, may they not regain them, by a retaliation, 
 bloody and extensive? Is it for this, that we are 
 waiting ? 
 
 § In order that the feelings, which have been excited in 
 the bosoms of the Spanish American people, may not be 
 unknown, I hereto annex an extract of a letter, from one 
 of the first characters in MexicO; dated Feb, 18^ 181l| 
 
399 
 
 and to it, I could add several more from the other sec- 
 tions. — '* It would be impossible, minutely, to explain 
 to you, the present state of this kingdom, but you may, 
 perhaps, be able to form some adequate idea of it, when 
 I say, that it is such, as the most deadly enemy of Spain, 
 might wish it to be. Destruction in every quarter, and of 
 every thing, in such manner, that let who may conquer, 
 both parties will be ruined. However / can never forgive 
 the British, for remaining cold spectators of a struggle, the 
 consequences of which y whatever they may he, cannot fail 
 to prove fatal to them ; nor will they, hereafter, he able to 
 plead, as an excuse, that they tvere deceived, by the reports 
 sent over by the Mexican government ; for, in like manner 
 as Diogenes' merit was seen through the rents of his 
 cloak, so is it equally manifest, that the Americans are 
 resolved to have another form of government, adopted in 
 these dominions, in order to free them from the great in- 
 equality, with which the hungry place hunters and mer- 
 chants from Spain* seek to treat them. And if the Bri- 
 tish (a circumstance here unknown), have not been want- 
 ing in good will, but that their exertions have been dis- 
 dained by the Cortes, they ought to be certain, that the 
 wounded pride and anger of the latter, would only be 
 momentary, for they would soon be reconciled, on seeing 
 the arrival of pecuniary succours, which, if the actual 
 Btate of things continues, never can be the case." 
 
 Such sentiments were current and general, in 1811, 
 even amongst the moderate characters of Spanish Ame- 
 rica, but they are much more pointed in the mouths of 
 those, who, to political motives, add prejudice, resent- 
 ment, and national pique. Such, do they resound in 
 every section. Will the government of that generous 
 
400 
 
 nation, add they, do nothing for us, under circumstances 
 which are to decide whetlier we are to be men or slaves ; 
 and do they abandon us in our momentous struggle, wha 
 so lately told us, in the most official manner, that even 
 independence would be consonant to their wishes ; and 
 whose friendship was pledged to us, by the positive and 
 repeated declarations of their ministers and agents > Do 
 they kiugh at our misfortunes, whose very assurances 
 emboldened us to seek redress, on a basis not only con- 
 formable with their honour, but in strict accord with our 
 own laws ? Do they behold, without even the cold sen- 
 timent of pity, our villages and towns, in ruins and in 
 flames; our slaves armed against us for murder and pil- 
 lage, our citizens mutilated in the most inhuman man-. 
 ner, dragged from their homes and wives, and buried in 
 Moorish dungeons and loathsome pontoons ? They, who 
 even promised us a shield against similar horrors, if we 
 would join in rebellion against our lawful sovereign, and 
 now, we only seek a just and equitable redress ? Are we 
 not deserving of the common sympathies of humanity, 
 or of strong remonstrances and firm stipulations, on the 
 part of that nation, which even lately, when our parent 
 state was supposed in danger, through its naval com- 
 manders on these stations, made us the most pointed 
 overtures of support and protection, if we would only 
 not follow her impending fate, or listen to the instigations 
 of the French ? Are we deserving of no acts of kindness 
 from that nation,whose subjects, on our hospitable shores, 
 have found the means of acquiring wealth, by trading in 
 the products of our genial soil, and by supplying our 
 wants? And are all our testimonies of loyalty, our suc- 
 cours in the common cause, nay all our privations, de* 
 
401 
 
 serving of no return, from the nation which has so long 
 witnessed them, when we seek nothing derogatory to its 
 honour or dignity ?. Unfortunately for us, as well as for 
 the great hopes we might at some future period, realize 
 on the great continent of Spanish America, such is the 
 language reechoed, from one extreme to the other of that 
 desolate country, and great the consequent odium attach- 
 ing to the British name, in regions, where late it was co- 
 vered with the sincerest blessings. 
 
 On the most powerful grounds of humanity, there- 
 fore, and under the hopes of stopping the continuation 
 of so many horrors, does it not behove the British go- 
 vernment, without loss of time, to turn its attention to 
 the distressed state of Spanish America, and see to the 
 relief of that valuable country, before it becomes a heap of 
 ruins ? After such a long chain of impolitic acts, as those 
 committed by Spain, in this important business, if we 
 wish her well, if we are still bound by the tenour of our 
 treaty, ought we not to seek to inspire into her, sound 
 and sober councils, to allay the acrimony of both parties, 
 and above all, to see that the world is no longer scanda- 
 lized by enormities, vi^hich would stain the annals of the 
 most barbarous nation ? If the Spanish Americans, stand 
 as culprits in the eye of the law and of justice, let theii" 
 crime be established to the whole world, but, if they are 
 not, let them be treated as men and fellow-beings, for 
 whom every nation feels an interest. If criminal process 
 cannot be established against them, if from distance, ob- 
 stinacy, or from any other reason, justice cannot be en- 
 forced in a consistent manner, what other safe plan 
 remains, but conciliation ? 
 
 § Two ways alone, can ever reestablish the authority 
 c c 
 
403 
 
 of Spain on'the other side of the Atlantic, and the time is 
 now come, for her to make her choice. The one is by 
 con(Juest, and the other by conciliation. The first, must 
 leave Spanish America, a heap of ruins, and the tomb of 
 a great proportion of its inhabitants. This must be by 
 achievements, similar tq those of a Cortes and a Pizarro, 
 or by a protraction of such scenes, as are described in the 
 preceding pages. And of what use can the country, 
 then, be to Spain, or her allies? The iron sceptre once 
 again established, and a foreign flag, no longer waves in 
 the ports of South Columbia, which in the possession of 
 the drones of Europe, would be closed against general 
 enterprize. Of what will the revolution of the Penin- 
 sula have served, if Spanish America returns to its old 
 df graded state ? And humbled at the feet of Spain, will 
 not this bethe case ? But even to effect this conquest, does 
 not Spain recollect, that it is not foreign strength she con- 
 sumes, but that of her own vitals. And again, has she 
 armies suflicient , and also fleets to cover her enterprize ? 
 In short, is her conquest secure ? She ought, also, to be 
 mindful, that if force fails, conciliation isno longer with- 
 in her reach ? An impoverished and defeated violence, 
 and reiterated acts of vengeance, no more can seek for 
 fraternal feelings ; and, besides, is she not answerable to 
 every civilized nation of the earth, for the torrents of 
 blood she thus spills? If this destruction was the 
 penalty of rebellion, she might be more at ease ; but are 
 seventeen millions of inhabitants, to be treated as ciiminals, 
 because a handful of European strangers, armed and pos- 
 sessed of power, seek to hold them in subjection, and 
 again labour to impose upon them, a dismal and cold 
 unifomity of servitude ? What, is Spain no longer tine- 
 
403 
 
 tared with humanity? Little has she profited by her own 
 late adversities, if she is not, now, anxious to soften tlie 
 miseries, and relieve the crying wrongs of her fellow 
 brethren* Hitherto Spain has, uniformly, represented the 
 insurrections of her ultramarine provinces, as the mad at- 
 tempts of faction, founded on ingratitude, partial, and 
 headed by the most depraved ; and has always endea- 
 voured to underate the means and exertions of her 
 enemy. But, in this, she has only deceived herself. It is 
 often better for a nation to be wise and ^honest, than. 
 strong and arrogant. There was a moment, w^hen if Spain 
 had possessed only cordiality, and a disposition to con- 
 cede what was just, all these horrors might have been 
 avoided.— Alas, all sober feelings were stifled by the con- 
 fidence of victory, and the wild hopes of unconditional 
 submission. Calamity is but too often, the season of re- 
 flection, and the pride and arrogance of man, are of that 
 stiff" and deluding nature, not to suffer reason to have 
 any scope, till it can be of no further service. 
 
 The other mode of restoring harmony, and, conse- 
 quently, authority, is through the medium of conciliation, 
 and it is to be hoped, when every thing is well consider- 
 ed, that Spain will give it the preference. It is to this, 
 therefore, that her attention ought particularly, to be 
 turned, as well as the eff*orts of those who wish her well. 
 In order, however, to establish a sound and substantial 
 basis, it is necessary to explore, in the most impartial 
 manner, the real origin of these dissentions, and to start 
 . with a fall determination to remedy them, if the grounds 
 have been just, and if the fault is on the part of Spain. 
 Most of the disputes, which at various periods, took 
 place between England and her transmarine settlements, 
 
 c a2 
 
404 
 
 were on the subject of taxing ; but in the one now under 
 consideration, the material cause, has been a weariness, 
 and a manifest disposition no longer to endure an arbitra- 
 ry and despotic power, under a complication of forms. 
 The Spanish Americans, became restive and untractable, 
 when they had arrived at a point of degradation, beyond 
 which they could not go; and when their feelings, were 
 besides, roused by local insults and aggravations. In the 
 revolution of Spain, they beheld a propitious moment, to 
 secure what they had, in vain, sought under their mo- 
 narchs, but their fresh remonstrances, were again treated 
 with the usual contempt. Feeling, forcibly, the weight 
 of the evils, by which they were surrounded, and possi- 
 bly by comparing their own degraded situation, with that 
 enjoyed by their more Northern neighbours, they formed 
 to themselves a point, to secure which they conceived 
 it their duty to aim, as the basis and criterion of their 
 future happiness. But, yet, there was nothing criminal in 
 tlieir calculations, or in the means employed to realize 
 them. They bad appealed to the liberality of legislative 
 reason, through those channels which were open to them ; 
 supposing, that the presiding power, ought to be guided 
 by the great principles of equity and justice ; and that 
 its acts ought to be conformable to the general sense of 
 mankind. They invoked the spirit of their ancient laws 
 and charters, but they met with nothing, but the narrow-^ 
 minded constructions of subordinate and artificial justice. 
 Under circumstances, peculiarly pressing and beyond 
 their control, they seek, within themselves, that remedy, 
 which had been denied them at home, and they are in- 
 stantly declared out of the protection of ^ the law, and are 
 warred upon as rebels, even without being heard. 
 
405 
 
 The disposition and demeanour of the Spanish Ame- 
 rican people, clearly indicated, that they sought a govern- 
 ment, iSiii ted to their wants, and in which they might find 
 full means of redress, and an ample check over arbitrary 
 power. A government, in short, founded on genuine and 
 practical civil liberty. And were they not the natural, 
 lawful, and competent judges of what they requir- 
 ed ? Were they not best acquainted with their own 
 wants ? What they sought, was a matter of moral pru- 
 dence, and natural feeling, and they acted from the 
 impulse of fatal experience, a motive of all others, the 
 most respectable. Time rolled on, danger stared them 
 in the face, their dejection daily increased, no relief 
 came to hand; Civil liberty, nevertheless, is not a thing 
 so abstruse, as only to be found with difficulty, or so 
 embarrassing, as not to be easily put in practice. It 
 is a blessing and a benefit which the Cortes sought to 
 make the fundamental pillar of their new constitution; 
 and they now boast, they have effected their purpose. If 
 so, why could it not be discovered, and equally pat in 
 practice, in Spanish America ? Her inhabitants sought 
 no pompous definitions of right, nor dived into ancient 
 books, tending to confuse, rather than, explain the social 
 footing on which they were to stand. Their civil liberty, 
 sighed for and demanded, was only a relief from burdens, 
 which as men, they could endure no longer ; being con- 
 tent to leave the perfection of their system, to more happy 
 times. To this, it was the duty of Spain, to have conformed, 
 and in all soberness, to have adapted and modelled her 
 government to the character and circumstances of those, 
 who composed the extended, but diversified mass of her 
 empire. Government is a practical thing, and not intended 
 
406 
 
 to become the speculative scheme of visionary politicians. 
 Whilst the Cortes v^^ere making laws, and framing theories 
 on a general scale, the countries they were intended to 
 govern, were dismembering, one from the other. Civil 
 liberty, besides, is not confined to one specific or precise 
 shape, nor will one form equally suit every where. It 
 -must be modified, enjoyed in different degrees, and adapt- 
 ed to the temper and circumstances of every country and 
 every community. Its form in Spain maybe perfect,when 
 on the other side of the Atlantic, it may be tyranny, or 
 too great a relaxation. The laws for one people, must 
 be different for another; hence the ancient legislators of 
 Spain, varied their laws of the Indies from those of Cas- 
 tile, and even kept them under a separate administration. 
 Civil liberty, also, must always be introduced by cautious 
 experiment, and by rational and cool endeavours, parti- 
 cularly when it has to replace the most abject despotism. 
 Yet being the vital spring of every state ; its elasticity 
 must not be broken, or its action obstructed. Still it must 
 be reared gradually, otherwise it degenerates into licen- 
 tiousness. Whilst it abhors the ruthless hand of arbitra- 
 ry power, it only flourishes, where society is on a perfect 
 equipoise. 
 
 To determine, however, the case in question, with a 
 precise and firm judgment, it is necessary for the govern- 
 ment of Spain, to divest itself of all those irritated feel- 
 ings, which have so long rankled. To produce a profit- 
 able reconciliation, and, at the same time, consistent with 
 the dignity of all parties, much is yet to be done ; but 
 those in power, ought not to shrink from the path of 
 duty, because it is thorny and rugged. Hitherto, Spain 
 has acted with precipitation and rashness, for if this had 
 
407 
 
 not been the case, she would never liave forgotten, what 
 her ultramarine provinces had so long suffered and yet 
 endured. Had her inipulse been just and equitable, she 
 would never have spurned at their urgent call for redress, 
 and she would then have endeavoured to destray the 
 sting, instead of sharpening and envenoming it still more. 
 Unfortunately, for her, she however considered liberty 
 as a negative idea, and that the man born on the other 
 side the Atlantic, had inherited no rights from his ances- 
 tors ; nor acquired them, from the hand of nature. Still 
 clinging to those ancient principles of despotism, which 
 had brought ruin and degradation on her own children, 
 she conceived that whatever property a transmarine sub- 
 ject enjoyed, was the alms of his government; and that 
 even his life, was held at its favour and indulgence. If he 
 dared to call these principles in question, or doubt the 
 supremacy of the power which acted conformably to 
 them, war with all its horrors, was the award of his con- 
 tumacy. 
 
 Alas, the legislative spirit, as well as the honour of 
 Spain, appeared totally perverted by a spirit of faction, 
 that in all affairs relating to Spanish Amel-ica, has never 
 been divested of full influence. Nay, the natural feel- 
 ings of men, appear to have been distracted and derang- 
 ed. Every progressive step has been by trampling to the 
 ground, some main principle of justice, or some chief 
 maxim of wise government. Forgetful of her own fu- 
 ture happiness and safety, Spain seemed to be impelled 
 by no other desire, than to sacrifice her adversaries ; and 
 whilst she fought for liberty at home, she was struggling 
 to effect its total eclipse, on the other shores of the Atlan- 
 tic, Whoever has fully considered the origm and pro- 
 
408 
 
 gress of these dissentions, has patiently accompaiied 
 me through their stages, and has beheld, deliberately, the 
 grounds on which the Spanish agents have acted, will 
 readily acknowlege, that they made no established quali- 
 ty of human action, the rule of their justice; or ever con- 
 sidered, that nothing is true and permanent security, but 
 the common interest of all. They never reflected, that 
 while they were rushing into a headlong course of vio- 
 lence and oppression, to destroy the liberties of their dis- 
 tant brethren, it was uncertain, how soon their own might 
 be undermined : for it was easy to apply the tendency of 
 those principles, which they sought to enforce in one sec- 
 tion of the monarchy, as well as in the other. This is al- 
 ways the case, where blind infatuation becomes the mov- 
 ing lever, and where faction and party, act as a film, that 
 renders the object in view, dark and undistinguishable. 
 Yet, where were those traces of generosity, humanity, 
 and dignity of mind, of which Spain has been so proud 
 to boast? Have they, in this case, slumbered, or are 
 they no longer found in the national character ? Even a 
 common war, particularly in modern times, suspends the 
 rules of moral obligations, and even puts them in danger 
 of being totally abrogated. But the civil discords of 
 which a review is now made, have struck deep into the 
 minds of the people, vitiated their natural feelings, cor- 
 rupted their morals, and perverted every relish for equity 
 and justice. Nay, of men, they have made savages; in 
 such manner, that even the names of affection and of^ 
 kindred, have been converted into fresh motives of hatred 
 and revenge. 
 
 When, therefore, the communion of a country, has 
 been thus dissolved, by the phrensy of civil contention ; 
 
409 
 
 and whilst the hostile mind is still in full vigour, and, in- 
 deed, daily increasing under a worse form ; when mutual 
 massacres and revenge,are the weapons to which each re- 
 sort ; and above all, where a deadly distrust has been en- 
 gendered, can peace be ever restored, by the parties 
 themselves ? How are these mortal adversaries to come 
 together, for explanation and adjustment ? Who can in- 
 spire into each, mutual confidence ? So far, we have be- 
 held Spain, rushing on in her unnatural career, not satis- 
 fied with distracting her sister provinces, and filling 
 them with blood and slaughter, but even endeavouring to 
 tear up with practical liberty, all the foundations of hu- 
 man society, even degrading and prostituting religion, 
 and pulling down the pillars of equity, justice, and 
 order. And are not these facts, daily, before the eyes of 
 the other party ; do they not form the basis of those very 
 remonstrances, I have already quoted ? In an affair of 
 this complicated and irritated nature, can Spain then^ 
 consistently, become her own judge? Nay, is not this 
 act, in itself, wrong and odious; is it not an injustice, of 
 all others, most vexatious and galling? Can any thing 
 liberal, be expected from a nation, that has, hitherto, 
 confounded the lamentable occurrences of civil dissen- 
 tions, springing solely from the hardships of the people, 
 with the most deadly crimes of high treason ? Can the 
 Spanish Americans expect justice at the hands of those, 
 who have overturned their rights and franchises, without 
 a specific charge or even a hearing. Can they look for 
 any thing humane and liberal from those, who have been 
 so often imbrued in their own blood, and who have been 
 so frequently glutted with the plunder of their defence- 
 less property ? 
 
410 
 
 Likewise, when a^people who have suffered so long 
 and so much, as those of Spanish America, and have been 
 insulted and inflamed by such repeated aggravations, 
 before they lay down their arms, they require some satis- 
 faction to their feelings, more than a theoretical specula- 
 tion on law, such as the constitution offered them, but 
 which could bring them no practical good. They have 
 a right to expect something more substantial, as their 
 guarantee, than the word of a Viceroy or Captain-General. 
 Nay, after fatal experience, will they not look for more, 
 than the verbal assurance of a restored monarch ? Of 
 what nature that satisfaction ought to be, it behoves the 
 government of Spain to consider well, if she aspires to the 
 conversation of a vast, disconeeted, and infinitely diver- 
 sified empire, whilst it is, at the same time, distant and 
 generally convulsed. The existing war, has now lasted 
 near five years, but the controversy is of an old standing. 
 It is the same that has caused every commotion in Spanish 
 America, since its settlement, and will, hereafter, agitate 
 it, if^ the proper remedy is not now applied. Some of 
 the partizans of Spanish violence, assure us, that this 
 enmity now existing, arose from the resistance of the- ul- 
 tramarine provinces, which have been alienated, by their 
 own obstinacy. They further argue, that if they could 
 only be induced to surrender at discretion, all sort of re- 
 gard and indulgence, w^ould be shewn then). But who, 
 is to be the guarantee of this ? Under the Cortes, they 
 have the example of Caracas, and under their ancient 
 kings, they have that of Tupac-Amaru, and of many 
 others. ^ And, besides, who is to be answerable to them, 
 for the future abuse of power, when at the same time, it 
 is bound by no compacts, nor restrained by any terror ? 
 
411 
 
 When they are disarmed, will they not equally become 
 the victims of their despotic rulers, as they have hitherto 
 been? And, when the case is more closely examined, 
 do not these very same people, already, denominate the 
 present war, with all its afflicting horrors, as a Jenient" 
 and merciful proceeding; and consider the massacres of 
 unoffending thousands, as a seasonable chastisement in-, 
 flicted on rebellious adversaries ? Do they not pronounce 
 all these exquisite refinements of cruelty, by which the 
 unhappy natives are tortured and put to death, as war- 
 rantable practices, authorized by a state of war ? 
 
 No, any peace between Spain and Spanish America, 
 with subjection as its basis, can be nothing but a sullen 
 pause from arms, or a meditation on fresh revenge. The 
 history of the country itself, will bear me out in my as- 
 sertion. It will be like a wound, closed, but not healed, 
 that will soon fester, with renewed rancour. The state of 
 the two countries to which I allude, has.no example in 
 the annals of history ; aud this arises from the charac- 
 ter of the people, and the peculiar circumstances of the 
 case. If the inhabitants of Spain, could once be brought 
 to look impartially at their own interests, as individual 
 citizens, they might then comprehend the hardships oj 
 their fellow brethren in America, and urge their govern- 
 ment to some rational stysem of compromise. But, alas! 
 we find that at home, they are little more than a blank, 
 and the deposition of the Cortes by an armed force, 
 proves the fact. Spain ever was, and particularly now, 
 may be considered as a military government, in which 
 eivil power is very subordinate. Such a government is 
 deeply interested in a continuance of its despotic system 
 over America, for every inferiour officer there beholds a 
 
412 
 
 fat Viceroyship, Captain-Generalship, or some other cora- 
 mand, with which to reniimerate his services, and in- 
 crease his fortune. And how many hungry mouths, has 
 not Spain now to fill, after her past campaigns ? Lett to 
 herself, Spain will consequently, attempt to affiance her 
 accustomed power, on the degradation of her American 
 provinces, in defiance of every principle of right. This, 
 is in fact, the interest of those who have lately governed, 
 as well as, of those who are about to govern. 
 
 When one community, is in any degree, subordinate 
 to another, particularly, when this subordination has been 
 produced by force, and not by consent, the danger most 
 to be dreaded, is, that the arrogance, extreme pride, in- 
 terest, or self-complacency of the ascendant, in all mat- 
 ters of mutual controversy, will decide in its own favour, 
 whenever an opportunity offers. This is, unfortunately, 
 the case, even under governments of a more perfect na- 
 ture than that of Spain ; for power in whatever hands it 
 ihay be, even in conformity to a corrupt principle in the 
 nature of man, is rarely so strict, and so delicate, as to put 
 just limitations on its own extent. Can it then be ex- 
 pected, that w^hen Spanish America is humbled, either at 
 the feet of the Cortes, or of Ferdinand, that equitable 
 jui^tice will be administered to her? Can it he expected, 
 that those who have preferred interest, and the paltry 
 views of a mercantile faction, to the substantial good of 
 their country, will then be more liberal ? If Spain is left 
 to herself, will not force, either open or disguised, be the 
 means by 'which she will attempt to re-establish her 
 power ; and of this, can any thing but degradation be the 
 consequence? Can it produce one single benefit of a 
 lasting nature, either to herself, or to the world at large .^ 
 
413 
 
 Bodies, when connected by so unnatural a bond, as ma-» 
 tual hatred and distrust, can never expect long to remain 
 in a good understanding. 
 
 Besides, the obstinacy which has hitherto marked the 
 conduct of the Spanish Government, relating to the af- 
 fairs of Spanish America, a strange incongruity has also 
 been noticed. Caracas, Mexico, and Buenos Ayres, have 
 uniformly been treated as rebellious sections, and that, as 
 has been fully manifested, for erecting Juntas, under 
 legitimate motives'; and then persisting in their continu- 
 ance. The Juntas of Chili and Quito, on the other hand, 
 though exactly similar, w^ere actually at one time, recog- 
 nized by the Cadiz government. The Spanish Americans, 
 have generally been held in the light of rebels, yet Spa- 
 nish chiefs have capitulated with them ; in the beginning 
 exchanged their prisoners, and had direct intercourse 
 with them. And after so much inconsistency and in- 
 justice, will Spain of herself, Jearn to vary her measures? 
 Governments, have sometimes been seen to issue such 
 baneful laws, as to injure a community, but that of Spain 
 rashly declared a war, that could not fail to dissolve hers. 
 The timely repeal of an obnoxious tax, and an explana- 
 tory declaration, respecting the legislative authority of 
 England over the North American colonies, would at one 
 time, have produced confidence and restored tranquillity; 
 and how much the cabinet of St. James's had to regret 
 this not being done, has. been already shewn. And could 
 not Spain here adopt a most interesting lesson? To 
 restore mutual confidence is the first step to be effected, 
 this alone can remove all difficulties, and reconcile all 
 those contradictions occuring in the complexity of au, 
 inveterate and rankled dispute, out of which, in one 
 
414 
 
 section, an exterminating death war, has originated, *and 
 in all the others, a deadly hatred and hostility, of which 
 DO adequate idea can be given. Little would have 
 sufficed ip the beginning; it then would have been suf- 
 ficient to have conceded partially, if it hacL only been 
 done with sincerity and a good grace. But, after an 
 accumulation of soreness, jealously, and distrust, and 
 particularly under such clashing pretensions and irri- 
 tated passions, as those which now actuate both parties ; 
 how can it be possible, for any compromise to be affected, 
 unless through the benign exertions of a mutual friend? 
 It is not by deciding the suit, but by adjusting the diffe- 
 rence, that peace can be restored and maintained. The 
 parental affection, in the bosom of whose authority, the 
 Spanish Americans were wont to repose their privileges, 
 and almost every thing else they had dear on earth, has 
 become estranged- and hostile, and it is not by repeated 
 and indiscriminate slaughter, made against the universal 
 sense of justice, that it can again be reconciled. Civil 
 war in the annals of no nation, ever produced scenes, such 
 as those Spanish America at this moment presents; and 
 Spain herself, ought to be ashamed, at the sad spectacle 
 which her affairs and conduqt, in that quarter, exhibit to 
 the scorn of both Europe and America, Nothing has 
 yet been subdued, either by love or terror. The Spanish 
 forces have indeed some cities, fortresses, and the ground 
 on which they encamp; but around, is anarchy and con- 
 fusion. They spread a devastatation of the wprst of 
 
 * In Caracas, where as before shewn, the prisoners have been mu- 
 tually murdered, the war is carried on, a mort, prisoners being no 
 longer made. The public acts are also signed, Sd year of the RepubliCy 
 and lit of the death war. (Guerra a muertc) 
 
416 
 
 kinds, but they do not enlarge the sphere of authority, 
 or make its basis the more substantial. Hitherto, Spain 
 has trusted to arms and the machinations of discord; 
 but by this time, she ought to have learnt, that at such 
 a distance, love and affection are the only secure holds, to 
 w^hich she can resort. She ought also to recollect, that 
 if defeated, the mass oT her weakness and violence, will 
 then appear in its full light; and besides her broken 
 power, she will have the scornful censures of the rest of 
 Europe. A moral and conscientious man, is cautious 
 how he deals in blood ; and if so, ought not nations 
 equally to feel -for the murders of unoffending thou- 
 sands? Man, also, remembers that he is amenable to 
 the most dreadful of all tribunals, on the other side the 
 grave; and though nations cannot be thus judged, theif 
 leaders ought, nevertheless, to know, that they are equally 
 answerable for that abuse of power entrusted to them; 
 and above all, no nation is totally unmindful of the 
 opinion of the rest of the world. 
 
 Can England then who has so long been the upright 
 ^nd envied arbiter of all her neighbours, and who has just 
 effected so much for the repose of Europe, continue to 
 behold these disasters, and these enormities, with which 
 Spanish America is bent down, and not make a strong, 
 an energetic exertion in behalf of suffering humanity? 
 Spain has still before her, a road intricate, dark, and full 
 of perplexed and treacherous mazes, in which, if she has 
 no helping hand, she will eventually be lost. And can 
 any one better than England, aid by her advice, or illu- 
 mine by her councils? It is certainly a delicate thing to 
 interfere in a domestic quarrel; but yet, as things stand, 
 there is no remedy, unless we wish to see Spanish Ame- 
 
410 
 
 rica become the general tomb of its inhabitants. This 
 delicacy is increased, by the peculiar character of the na- 
 tion most interested ; but still we have found, that a tame 
 subserviency has always increased the evil. Hitherto, in 
 our affairs with Spain, we have not met with that success 
 our purity of intentions deserved; this was because we 
 were thwarted by faction, betrayed by specious friends, 
 and slandered by avowed enemies. We have had to deal 
 with a people, who cherished not only the principleSy 
 but even the prejudices of their ancestors; yet this was 
 because they conceived them right* There are questions^ 
 of the most objectionable na|;ure, when fairly laid before 
 the Spanish people, and with their objects sufficiently 
 guaranteed, to which even the most prejudiced have as- 
 sented, and afterwards have experienced the benefits* 
 There are cases, also, of such a plain and manifest nature, 
 as to admit of so positive a demonstration, that even so the 
 blindest cannot be mistaken. In this number, most as- 
 suredly, was the proferred mediation of England, and it 
 was lost by nothing but the interpretations of the Cadiz 
 prints. The war with Spanish America, as may be fully 
 collected in the course of this expose, originated with 
 the governments of Spain, and not with the people; to 
 them its grounds were, and still are, as strange as a pro- 
 blem of Euclid, In them, there is still a great fund of 
 affection towards their distant brethren; and they cannot, 
 besides,divest themselves of the common feelings of men. 
 They have minds, and these are open to conviction. Be- 
 tween the two countries, there ever existed a cordial fra- 
 ternity, and one party never can forget the sufferings and 
 tservices of the other. On the other side of the Atlantic, 
 the tide of popular regard, had long continued to set to* 
 
417' 
 
 Wards the mother country, and it did not take a contrary- 
 direction, till war was declared by the Cadiz government, 
 and one unjust and impolitic act, was added to another. 
 But that government, as well as all the others to which 
 it gave origin, have been thrown down, and Spain herself 
 has pronounced their illegality. Would it, then, be dif- 
 ficult, to cause the corresponding flow of affection from 
 this side, to enter its accustomed channels ? After the 
 chequered scenes to which they have been exposed, with- 
 in these last six years, the Spanish people must be sen- 
 sible, that to continue a war of this nature, is only ex- 
 posing their arms to the possibility of disgrace, betraying 
 their own weakness, and lessening the public confidence. 
 They must be aware, besides, that this is a long and tedious 
 means, also uncertaiUj and that it must eventually lead 
 to the destruction of all parties. To erect a new empire 
 on the ruin of their fellow brethren, must be opposed to 
 the honest hopes of a people, however deluded they 
 might have been; and were they only once sensible of 
 the real situation and sufferings of the ultramarine 
 provinces, and fully acquainted with the history of the 
 past, I am not afraid to affirm, that on a basis well 
 guaranteed, they would be grateful to any power, that 
 would extricate them out of the dilemma in which they 
 now stand* 
 
 It is not only to individuals of every class, but also to 
 nations, that a continuation of so fruitless, hopeless, and 
 unnatural a civil war, asf that waging between European 
 and American Spain, must be an object of affliction and 
 regret. No one can fail to feel deep sensations of grief 
 and emotion, at its miserable consequences ; and, in his 
 heart, condemn the unjust grounds on which it com- 
 
 D JO 
 
418 
 
 menced. Etigland ought also to be proud and happy, in 
 being now possessed of such a combination of means of 
 reliefj such as is rarely obtained by the most fortuitous 
 circumstances, or the most strenuous of human exertions. 
 And is she not answerable to the whole world, if she 
 neglects them ? I have endeavoured, in the course of 
 this expose, to lay before my readers, not only the nature 
 of this warfare now carrying on, but also the extent of 
 the havoc it has produced, I have further pointed out, 
 in what particular stages, the interposition of the British 
 government would have been effectual, and I will now 
 ask, if all these ravages and horrors could have been 
 foreseen, and if they could have been prevented, by 
 merely giving offence to five illegal Regents, and creating 
 in the Spanish people a temporary disgust, would the 
 object not have been worth running the risk? It was a 
 faction of monopolists we merely had to overcome ; but 
 would not the Spanish people at large, when they were 
 fully enlightened on the subject, even have been grateful 
 for our accomplishing a peace ? As the Mexican letter al- 
 ready quoted, observes, would not even the Cortes have 
 been reconciled, on re(;eiving remittances of money and 
 other aid from Spanish America, which could not be the 
 case, as long as the war continued ? Would not Ferdi- 
 ; nand,now he is returned, if he is only actuated by those 
 humane and just principles hitherto attributed to him, 
 have felt more grateful to^us, on finding his monarchy 
 in peace and prosperity, than now divided by discord, 
 and the best half in a state of ruins ? Would he not have 
 felt more satisfied, that the dictates of justice and equity 
 had been followed, than that his unworthy agents and 
 representatives, should now be charged with the murder 
 
4iD 
 
 ibf a million and half of his meritorious and unoffending 
 subjects? And would not England have felt more satis- 
 faction in saving the lives of these, and in sparing their 
 country from universal desolation, than in fawning to a 
 faction, and being subservient to the policy of men, who 
 were dissolving that very community they were placed 
 to defend and consolidate? She could effect the nomi- 
 nation of Lord Wellington, as Generalissimo, as before- 
 stated, a measure fifty times more objectionable ; and 
 when interest and humanity pleaded in behalf of the 
 injured and oppressed, means were no longer within her 
 reach. Viewing the matter on a smaller scale, the Go- 
 Venor of Curacoa, as will be seen at the latter end of do- 
 cument I. was informed by General Bolivari that the 
 Spanish chief of Puerto Cavello> refused to exchange the 
 few American prisoners he had, comprehended in a so- 
 lemn capitulation, for 4000 Spaniards taken in action, 
 land from the conduct pursuing, it was evident that the 
 murder of all must soon result. Yet, as an agent of Eng- 
 land, he could apply to the Americans for the release ot 
 those Spaniards, who had brought all these calamities on 
 themselves, but he could not induce the latter to abide 
 by a sacred capitulation, by which all he sought, would 
 have been obtained. An active and energetic demonstra- 
 tion, on the part of the British Commanders in the West 
 Indies, would have prevented those horrors detailed in 
 document I. would have saved the lives of several thou- 
 sand unfortunate victims, sacrificed in cold blood; in 
 like manner that an early attention to the rising dissen- 
 tions in Cadiz, would have been a barrier to all the dis- 
 asters which have been generated therefrom. If so, in- 
 dividuals ought not to be ashamed, that on this, as well 
 
 D D 2 
 
420 
 
 ^s the other side of the water, they have zealously endea- 
 voured to anticipate all this to the Ministers at home, 
 and to their agents abroad. But to wish well to Spanish 
 America, even consistently with the honour and interest 
 of both Spain and England, now appears to be a crime, 
 when lately, large sums were expended on inconsistent 
 expeditions to that country, and in exploring the foulest 
 sources of information. 
 
 The menial, with equity on his side, when contending 
 to escape oppression, is an object worthy of the respect 
 of every one ; and is not an entire nation, with whose 
 sufferings and degradation we have so long sympathized 
 whilst struggling against the most despotic and unjust acts, 
 deserving of the regard of England ? Can she be deaf to 
 the calls of an interesting people, whilst the unfeeling 
 arm of a dissolute soldiery, pours out, in torrents, their 
 innocent blood, and carries fire and desolation amongst 
 the peaceful dwellings of their unoffending clans? Can 
 she behold, with unconcern, her ally, resorting only to 
 measures inevitably tending to prolong a war, which aK 
 ready makes humanity shudder ? Can she» any longer, 
 divest herself of an anxious and watchful solicitude, for 
 the welfare of a people, whom both interest and nature 
 have made so deserving of her protection? After such 
 carriage, havoc, and destruction, must not England be 
 convinced, that the plan, so far, adopted by Spain, is 
 wrong; and that the means employed to carry it into 
 execution, are illegal, unwarrantable, ai>d opposed to 
 every sense of humanity and reason ? Is it not now evi- 
 dent, that to recriminate, is not the way to reconcile j 
 and that to rail at rebels, even if the Spanish Americans 
 ioerited that name, ii not the way to subdue them ? To* 
 
421 
 
 carry on all these excesses, are not the most funda- 
 mental of the Spanish laws themselves, trampled to the 
 ground ? The most express statutes of the Indies, forbid 
 the person of an Indian, even when taken in rebellion, 
 and with arms in his hand, from being hurt, till 
 brought before a legal authority ; but, here, we see them 
 wantonly murdered in thousands, even whilst kneeling 
 for mercy. The distressed situation of Spanish America, 
 and the horrid aggravations under which it daily in- 
 creases, at this peculiar moment, presents a subject, 
 highly deserving of the contemplation of the thinking 
 part of our community ; and it becomes a question, 
 which every Briton ought to ask, whether the dawn which 
 now brightens on the old world, ought not to remove 
 the gloomy clouds which overhang the new one ? The 
 conduct of Spain to her ultramarine provinces, has been 
 equally hostile to the maxims of reason and justice, as 
 well as opposed to the common rights of mankind ; and 
 no policy whatever can warrant transactions which are 
 -flagrantly unjust. It is not only England, but the whole 
 world, that is interested in the cessation of the horrors 
 committing in Spanish America, though, as the ally of 
 Spain, England is the most interested. If, by her treaty, 
 she is withheld from this act of justice, it is an engage- 
 ment, made contrary to the common feelings of man- 
 kind, and obvious policy, and it now operates as a league, 
 against the most sacred rights of an unoffending people. 
 But if this treaty was made with the Spanish monarchy, 
 it is binding to all its parts ; and all are equally deserving 
 of a participation of the objects for which it was formed. 
 If so, is not Spanish America entitled to some share of 
 that sympathy, we have so long lavished on Spain ? Yes, 
 
422 
 
 and the impartial mind must be lead to conclude, that 
 the dictates of humanity, and the imperious calls of jus- 
 tice, urge us, at this propitious moment, to labour in a 
 most strenuous manner, to put an end to the bloody and 
 unnatural warfare, with which, that unfortunate country 
 U now desolated. 
 
 § In the preceding division of my subject, I appealed 
 to the good sense, humanity and justice of the British 
 government, as well as to the generous and sympathetic 
 feelings of the people of England, by laying before them, 
 a brief sketch of the nature and extent of the horrors and 
 enormities committing in Spanish Columbia, urging a 
 mediatory interference, that might staunch so many 
 wrongs, and put an end to such an useless and wanton 
 waste of blood and treasure. It now remains for me, to 
 bring forward those arguments of policy, which support 
 pay assumed premises, and to examine the grounds of 
 expediency, which interest the minister, merchant, and 
 politician. 
 
 In extending our views to the other side of the At- 
 lantic, the mind is filled with pleasurable wonder and 
 astonishment, on beholding the situation, extent, and va-» 
 ried resources of that immense continent, ranging from 
 the Mississcippi to Cape Horn, and washed by two great 
 oceans. Gifted with the choicest bounties of nature, if 
 we examine its numerous and diversified productions, we 
 shall discover luxuries which deceive the burden of 
 life, substantial food and drugs, which support and pro- 
 long it ; and if we refer to our imports, besides coin and 
 bullion, we shall see we are indebted to it, for most of 
 those manufacturing materials, which invigorate the 
 springs qf our national ii^dustry, and extend and animate 
 
423 
 
 some of the most interesting branches of our foreign and 
 domestic commerce. This is not a desert, such as our 
 North American settlements were, in the time of Charles 
 the 1st, and where the indigenes retired, to make room 
 for the white population. This continent, contained 
 several great and extensive empires, before it was disco- 
 vered by Europeans; rich, fertile, and highly civilized; 
 in which, the population became partly blended with the 
 conquerors and settlers. And certainly possessed of so 
 many advantages, it bids fair, at some future period of 
 time, to become an assemblage of powerful states,equally 
 rich and flourishing with many kingdoms of Europe. 
 Mexico, in particular, according to the recent and faith- 
 ful delineations of Humboldt, presents advantages, un- 
 equalled in any other section of the earth. In ceralia, it 
 is the richest country under the sun, abundant in legumi- 
 nous and bulbous plants, and besides, affords, every ar- 
 ticle of West Indian, Asiatic, and European production. 
 It possesses the convenience of whale and other fisheries, 
 on the South seas ; and from its Atlantic ports, grains 
 and meat may be supplied to the West Indies and Eu- 
 rope, and hemp and ship^timber, may be had for our 
 navy» 
 
 Nor are these advantages confined to the kingdom of 
 New Spain, Every other section, in some measure, par- 
 takes in them. Peru might supply us with cotton, wine, 
 oils, &c. Chili can present us with wheat, hemp, and flax, 
 and from the partial intercourse we have had with other 
 sections, we have already learnt the nature and value of 
 their exports. This great mass of advantages, has, in- 
 deed, hitherto, been of little or no benefit to the world at 
 large, or even to their own possessors; but still they 
 
424 
 
 exist, and it only requires a benign combination of cir- 
 cumstances, to call them forth. Roused from the le-» 
 thargy of many ages, freed from the shackles which a 
 false policy had imposed on agriculture and trade, atid 
 placed under the auspices of a beriificent, enlightened, 
 and liberal government, Spanish America divided into 
 two empires, would soon emulate a stage of strength 
 and grandeur, scarcely surpassed, in ancient or modern 
 history. 
 
 In thus taking a general view of this interesting and 
 comprehensive subject, so many are the powerful con- 
 siderations which rush upon the mind, that it would be 
 impossible, in such confined limits as these, to individu- 
 alize then,! all. Yet the hopes of the enlightened mer- 
 chant, and the real interests of the nation, at this propi- 
 tious moment, demand that they should be maturely 
 weighed, and deliberately examined. Standing, as we 
 do, at the happy close of one of the most momentous 
 struggles that ever occurred in the annals of history, by 
 which an enormous debt has been accumulated on the 
 shoulders of our children; it behoves us to lay that solid 
 groundwork, for present as well as future enterprize, that 
 may ensure its reduction, and compensate for the heavy 
 burdens, with which the present generation has been 
 loaded. Nay, it becomes of the greatest importance to 
 the whole state, to seek new sources of intercourse and 
 trade, and especially to improve every opening, which 
 under all emergencies, we can controul. The com- 
 mercial prosperity, and consequent strength and great- 
 ness of England, have long been the envy of the European 
 continent; and notwithstanding the favourable issue of 
 the war, who can insure, that it will not again become the 
 
425 
 
 same ? Commerce, also, amongst ourselves, has alwayft 
 been looked upon as the very heart-blood of our national 
 existence, and the cause and essence of our greatness. 
 And, where can we look for its increase, or combine its 
 progressive growth, with such secure prospects, as in a 
 country, yet in a virgin state, affording the products 
 of all the zones, besides precious metals, and even al- 
 ready, opening to us a large consumption of fine and 
 coarse goods? 
 
 I am induced to take this survey of the resources of 
 the continent of Spanish America, not only for the pur- 
 pose of supporting the tenour of my arguments, on the 
 grounds of policy ; but also, to con-ect many prejudices, 
 which exist in the public mind, with regard to Spanish 
 American trade in general. No sooner was the British 
 standard displayed on the shores of La Plata, than Sir 
 Home Popham, wrote his circular to the principal manu- 
 facturing towns, to urge the shipment of goods, inducing 
 them to believe, that full scope was open for their enter- 
 prize. The grounds, on which these invitations were 
 made, were extremely fallacious, and produced the fatal 
 losses, thence experienced. Notwithstanding Buenos 
 Ay res is the key to Chili, and great part of Peru, as well 
 from its geographical situation, as from the facility of 
 travelling the pampas, and the difficulty and delay df 
 doubling Cape Horn, it, nevertheless, ceased to such, ss 
 long as the town was held in a hostile manner by the 
 British ; interiour communication being cut off. Buenos 
 Ayres and its districts, cannot be reckoned to contain 
 more than 130,000 souls, and this was the whole then 
 held under control. Our consumption of goods, was, 
 therefore, limited to that quantum of population, for tht 
 
4i6 
 
 mner provinces, instead of organizing relations of trade, 
 and sending their mules loaded with dollars, and their 
 boats with productions, were actually collecting troops 
 to repel us ; nay, forces were even marching from Lima, 
 and communication with the points in our possession, 
 was held treason by the Spanish chiefs. Under impres- 
 sions very different from these facts, it was, that our mer- 
 chant* vied with each other in extensive shipments, at 
 heavy freights and great expences. Their cargoes, were„ 
 moreover, ill assorted for the market, and to such an ex- 
 cess, that at any other time, they could never have been 
 consumed^ The entire importations mto Buenos Ayres, 
 from the mother country, were never rated at more than 
 five millions of dollars, including many of her own pro- 
 ductions, and we are calculated, at that time, to have 
 shipped there, nearly that quantity of pounds sterling in 
 dry goods and hardware alone; most of which were in 
 oppos^ition to the taste of the country; and of many ar- 
 ticles, even the use was not known.* This was the 
 worst of the sections of Spanish America, for an excess 
 of dry goods, in consequence of the supplies that come 
 down from the manufacturing districts of Cochabamba, 
 where cottons suitable for the Indians and lower orders, 
 are made. This temporary glut, will, however, be of es* 
 sential service, by increasing the future consumption of 
 British articles, for these, by their cheapness, being then 
 
 * As an iustance of the want of judgraent, with which cargoes 
 were lelected. I caa quote the fact of a merchant, who, on seeing 
 blankets sent out, supposed they must want every thing else used in 
 a cold climate, and he consequently shipped a large assortment of 
 warming pans. When seen by the people of Buenos Ayres, they asked 
 vhetber the British dressed their victuals in them* 
 
427 
 
 thrown into the market, were gradually purchased by 
 the natives, who Avere thus taught new wants, and had 
 their own manufactures greatly supplanted. These be- 
 neficial effects are already becoming visible, for encou- 
 raged by the better systems of the new government, 
 Buenos Ayres, that formerly imported five millions of 
 dollars, in foreign articles, last year, exceeded twelve^ 
 and the returns have, also, doubled. Who would have 
 thought that coals and English fire grates, would become 
 articles of export to La Plata ; or, that by our inter-i 
 course, we should have taught the inhabitants the use of 
 many conveniences and wants, before unknown to them; 
 and that, in so short a time, we should have contrifiuted 
 to more than double their imports ? This instance, alone, 
 tends to shew, how much the resources of that country, 
 might be improved, and how extremely deserving it is, 
 both of the attention of government, and of our mercan- 
 tile interests. 
 
 The great avidity, with which the British merchants 
 pressed forward to reap the rich and tempting harvest, 
 which they supposed was then open to them, was the 
 great cause of their misfortunes, and they also suffered, 
 greatly, from the extravagance and dishonesty of their 
 agents, many of whom became rich, whilst the owner* 
 were made bankrupts. But the fault of all this, was not 
 in the trade of the country, but in the manner in which 
 those speculators, mistook a large and sudden flood of 
 untried benefits, which they then supposed would rush 
 on the world, without considering the actual state of the 
 country, to which they were sending out their goods. We 
 then commenced a trade with an isolated point, and in 
 consequence of our losses, we threw the whole blame ia 
 
428 
 
 a sweeping manner, on the whole of South America, 
 Yet when we come to examine the imports from Europe, 
 consumed in the various sections, we shall find, that no 
 other quarter of the globe, presents so favourable a 
 prospect, or such a field for the enterprize of man. 
 
 % Notwithstanding the degraded state in which Spanish 
 America has so long remained, the want of encourage- 
 ment, and the extortions and shackles of government, 
 the total European imports, by Humboldt, are estimated 
 at 59,200,000 dollars, independent of contraband trade, 
 as per following scale. 
 
 Humboldt's Statement of entire importations into all Spa-f 
 nish America* 
 
 Dollars. 
 
 Ca^ptain Generalship of Havana and PucFto Rico.. ..M, 000,00^ 
 
 Vicei oyalty of New Spain, and Captain Generalship) 
 
 /r. , , *^f 22,000,000 
 
 of Guatemala:.. ,-...-. -.^--^•.-1^.-..- .....V ' ' 
 
 t^iceioyalty of New Granada ...«.•.... ...^ .»-^.... 5,700,000 
 
 Captain-Generalship of Caracas . .- ^ »^»- ...^. .««.... 5,500,000 
 Viceroyalty of Peru, and Captain-Generalship of Chili 11,500,000 
 Viceroyalty of Buenos Ay res 3,500,000 
 
 Total annual importation to Spanish America. .59,200^000 
 59,200,300 dollars, at 4s. 6d.— £13,320,000 sterling.— 
 
 And, is this a trade, not worth the attention of the 
 British government; one, that by the Spanish Custom 
 House returns, under every disadvantage, independent of 
 contraband trade, which is known to amount to at 
 least one half, and at the low proportion at which the sec* 
 lions are rated by Humboldt, exceeds thirteen millions 
 sterling? In the preceding scale, Buenos Ayres is only 
 rated at 3,500,000 dollars, and its regular estimation oq 
 the spot, exceeds five millious; »o that, when we come 
 
439 
 
 to consider the immense smuggling trade, to which 
 every facility was given by the corruption of the guards; 
 and which was not only carried on from the different 
 West India islands, but also in the English and United 
 States whaling expeditions to the South Seas, and from 
 the frontiers of the latter, to the inner provinces of 
 Mexico, it is a very fair estimate to lay down the total 
 annual consumption of Spanish America, in imported 
 articles, at eighty millions of dollars, or sixteen millions 
 pounds sterling, a calculation in strict conformity with 
 the very best authorities. Still, can I aver, from my own 
 experience, as well as from official Spanish documents^ 
 that not one-third of the inhabitants of that immense 
 country, have hitherto be^n in the habits of wearing im- 
 ported goods. By an official report in my possession, 
 out of the seven millions of inhabitants contained in New 
 Spain, it appears, that only one million used foreiga 
 cloathing, from its being too dear for the poverty of the 
 iQmainder. Indeed the Indians and casts, are kept in so 
 degraded a ^state, that they have not the means to make 
 the purchase, and are obliged to content themselves with 
 rags, and the coarse homespun cottons and woollens, they 
 themselves manufacture. It has been calculated, and 
 with sufficient accuracy, that on an average, each in- 
 habitant of the United States, consumes, yearly, «£5 
 worth of British manufactures; yet a trade to a warmer 
 country, is more profitable, from a larger proportion of 
 fine goods entering into the consumption. The state of 
 war in which Spanish America had been long kept, and 
 the dear rate at which its inhabitants were obliged to 
 purchase their cloathing, drove the lower orders to the 
 expedient of manufacturing their c?otton and wool; oa 
 
430 
 
 which occasion, a native writer observed, that they were 
 indebted to England, by the war she carried on against 
 them, for having taught them to supply considerable 
 part of their own cloathing. 
 
 Thus our own impolicy, added to the monopolies of 
 the mother-country, principally gave rise to the esta- 
 blishment of manufactures in Spanish America; and the 
 cessation of these causes, and the creation of a rivalship 
 in prices, quality, and imitation, would, consequently, 
 render their continuation useless, and we might, eventu- 
 ally, secure the entire consumption of seventeen millions 
 of people. The natives of Spanish America became 
 manufacturers, from necessity, for it cannot be supposed, 
 that a people, possessed of extensive and fertile regions 
 to cultivate, and a comparatively thin population, would 
 adopt a sedentary line of life, from choice. No, they 
 have only done it, because the productions they might 
 raise, were of no value from the want of trade ; and being 
 possessed of the raw materials,they recurred to home ma- 
 nufactures, from not having wherewith to purchase im- 
 ported goods. These manufactures, are, besides, unaided 
 by machinery and aft, of course, they will die away, 
 when better and cheaper goods come into competition ; 
 and when that period arrives, the consumption of Spanish 
 America, will exceed one hundred and eighteen millions 
 of dollars, and rapidly increase as new wants are created. 
 
 The United States, have, hitherto, been very great 
 suppliers of goods in their sister continent, this being a 
 trade in which the British merchant has had little share* 
 In the year 1803, twenty millions were exported from 
 England to North America, alone; and our united ex- 
 ports, westwards, that year, did not exceed twenty- three 
 
431 
 
 millions. Ill 1S08, after the intercourse with the United 
 States, had been interrupted, five naillions only were ex- 
 ported to that country, and eighteen millions to the 
 Spanish main and the West Indies ; from which it ap- 
 peared, that out of the said twenty millions imported 
 from this country by North America, thirteen millions 
 were destined to supply the Spanish shores of the At- 
 lantic; and, indeed, it isi a fact, that only half our ex- 
 ports to the North American market, are consumed 
 there, the remainder being retehipped, and sent to the 
 Spanish main, to procure valuable returns. In IS09, 
 seven millions were exported to North America, and 
 nineteen to the Spanish settlements and West Indies; 
 and in 1810, our total exports, westwards, reached 
 twenty-eight millions, from which it may be concluded, 
 that by proper management, the trade to Spanish Ame- 
 rica might be made the most valuable of any we have, 
 might yet be considerably increased, and is, of conse- 
 quence, deserving of the most serious consideration; for 
 it might also be rendered the most secure. In the year 
 1802, Cadiz alone received from all Spanish America, 
 54,742,033 dollars in precious metals, and 27,096,814 
 do. in colonial productions.; a sum equal to the total im- 
 ports of England, in 1790, which did not exceed eighteen 
 millions sterling* 
 
 Such is the import trade and consumption of the 
 wnited sections of Spanish America; such are the im- 
 provements of which both are capable; nor are the re- 
 turns less interesting, being composed of the richest pro- 
 ductions of nature, besides forty-two millions of dollars 
 in coin, which might be easily increased. This is there- 
 fore a connection of the greatest possible importance to 
 
432 
 
 the mercantile interests of the British empire, and willy 
 in future, be of great political consequence in the affairs 
 of Europe. We have, hitherto, beheld the shutting up 
 ot one continent against us, as the precursor of ruin ; the 
 opening, therefore, of another, with such valuable re-* 
 sources, ought to be an object of national gladness. Our 
 existence, as a nation, depends on our commerce^ this 
 requires peace, it, therefore, behoves us to quench the 
 flames of war, wherever we can promote the pursuits of 
 agriculture and trade; more, especially, in the regions^ 
 out of the reach of those, who only lately were our com- 
 mon enemies. The history of commerce, in this country^ 
 records no instance of calamity, so severe and so exten^ 
 sive, as that we have lately experienced, and, on the other 
 hand, it is universally acknowledged, that we can only 
 relieve the burdens which have so long rested on the peo- 
 ple, but when our manufactures and trade increase, in a 
 corresponding degree. Whoever has viewed Spanish 
 America, with a careful eye, will readily admits that its 
 long neglected regions, contain more resources than any 
 other section of the globe; and besides its great and in- 
 creasing consumption of goods^ and valuable territorial 
 productions, it, alone, affords precious metals to the 
 world. Constant and adequate supplies, will make the 
 people agricultural; when they have wherewith to go to 
 market, their wants will increase, and to England might 
 devolve a large portion of their supplies. If there is a 
 country, in the world, that by its trade, can ever retrieve 
 our pecuniary wants, if we ever, in time, hope to wipe 
 away the enormous debt we are entailing on our poste- 
 rity, or alleviate the burden already pressing upon us, for 
 itg support, this is the only region under the sun, where 
 
433 
 
 the adequate resources, are in embryo. Yet, whilst we 
 behold our parliaments and statesmen, busied in regulat- 
 ing the India trade, that only amounts to six millions 
 yearly; whilst we see their time and talents, absorbed 
 in questions of infinitely minor import, this, alone, is 
 buried in profound silence; this, alone, is supposed un- 
 deseiTing of notice. A comparative view of the Spanish 
 ultramarine provinces, v/ith the British possessions in 
 the East Indies, will further elucidate their importance, 
 even in their degraded state, and prove, that though the 
 population is so much smaller, they, nevertheless, afford 
 more net revenue, than even our choice regions in Asia. 
 
 
 Spanish 
 America. 
 
 Eno-ljsh pos- 
 sessions in 
 A sia. 
 
 Extent in square leagues of 23 
 to the equatorial deg^ree 
 
 460,000 
 
 48,300 
 
 Population 
 
 17,000.000 
 
 32,000,000 
 
 
 Gross revenue in dollars 
 
 38,000.000 
 
 43,000,000 
 
 Net revenue in dollars 
 
 8,000,000 
 
 3,400,000 
 
 As these valuable provinces have hitherto, stood, little 
 or no trade has been carried on, excepting in partial 
 ports of the Atlantic ; but the whole of the interiour of 
 Peru and Mexico, great part of the shores of the Pa- 
 cific, as well as many other sections, are perfectly in a 
 Stagnant state ; for besides the ravages of war, what spe- 
 culations can be expected from local merchants, when 
 they are not certain, for a month together, to whom they 
 are to belong; when in their present unsettled state, they 
 
 E E 
 
434 
 
 are ignorant whether the fate of Poland awaits them, 
 whether they are to be delivered over to the fury and re- 
 venge of the Cortes, or of Ferdinand; or whether they 
 are to become an English colony; and when, at the same 
 time, they are daily exposed to the ravages of a dissolute 
 armed force. The trade of Vera Cruz, alone, is esti- 
 mated at five millions sterling, per annum. For the 
 three last years, it has been suspended, from the roads 
 being in possession of the insurgents, and has therefore 
 been a blank to the enterprize of the world. Under cir- 
 cumstances so precarious, then, the native merchant can- 
 not be expected to adventure; and though many of the 
 above dreads, at first sight, appear imaginary, they, ne- 
 vertheless exist ; for the ultramarine provinces have in 
 vain demanded of the Cortes, what was to be their ulte- 
 riour fate, ia case the Peninsula was lost. England has 
 also maintained a profound silence, whilst tlie first Re- 
 gency to whom they appealed, told them, they icere to 
 belong to the mother country^ even in the icorst event of 
 fortune* 
 
 The actual uncertainty of things, has thus destroyed 
 all confide, cf nor can it be expected, that men, whose 
 peculiar ch; acter, is precaution, will put their hidden 
 treasures v o circulation, when they have the example 
 of forced loans before them ; extremes to which the vice- 
 roys of Mexico, and other sections, have long been 
 driven, and when they are, at the same time, fearful, 
 that at no distant period, they may be transferred, by 
 sale or contract, to some European power, who may 
 have the most to throw into the scale, when a general 
 pacification comes to be agitated. Thus it is for the 
 want of confidence, as well as from extensive ravages. 
 
435 
 
 that the trade of Spanish America is ruined 5 whilst on 
 the other hand, all her resources are diying up and de- 
 stroyed. 
 
 The facts I have just stated, are of such a nature, as 
 not to admit of a contradiction, they are founded on an 
 intimate acquaintance with the countries to which they 
 refer, and are confirmed by every intelligent native and 
 traveller. Humboldt, marks the great improvement of 
 which these countries are susceptible, but instead of at- 
 tacking the principles on which they have been governed, 
 (the falsity and injustice of which, are universally ac- 
 knowledged) he confines himself to a collection of facts^ 
 and the proving of what commercial importance^ the re- 
 lations of Europe will become in Spanish America, when- 
 ever she is freed from the fetters of an odious monopoly, 
 disadvantageous even to the mother-country. A con- 
 nection, therefore, with a country like this, is of the ut- 
 most consequence; for besides its rich and almost virgin 
 resources, in proportion as it is raised from degradation, 
 its inhabitants would prosper and be happy, and bound 
 to us by the tie of gratitude, whatever be the future 
 convulsions of Europe, we might in them find a com- 
 munity of steady friends. 
 
 In order to render the preceding view of the trade 
 and resources of Spanish America, more strong and for- 
 cible, I have annexed an estimate of our imports and ex- 
 ports to Spain, for a given period of years, which, though 
 it cannot be taken for a fair and permanent criterion, 
 will, nevertheless, point out the great transcendency of 
 the one over the other; 
 
 £ Ed 
 
436 
 
 An Account of the Official Value of 
 
 the Imports and 
 
 Exports of Great Britain, from and to Sp 
 
 ain and \ 
 
 the Canaries y in each of the undermentioned Years. 
 
 Imported into. 
 
 Exported from. 
 
 
 England. 
 
 Scotland. 
 
 England. 
 
 Scotland 
 
 
 
 dj 
 
 !? 
 
 td 
 
 ►n 
 
 
 
 
 2. 
 
 o 
 g2. 
 
 2. 
 
 al 
 
 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 Years. 
 
 
 
 rt a- 
 
 II 
 
 O SLi 
 
 sr S 
 
 
 
 
 ^5 
 
 2:^ 
 
 = = 
 
 Str> 
 
 
 
 
 n 
 
 5 o 
 9 o 
 
 U9 
 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 a 
 
 • P 
 
 
 
 
 
 o. 
 
 E 
 
 §- 
 
 ^ 
 
 1800 
 
 701,307 
 
 2,882 
 
 
 3,382 
 
 
 
 1801 
 
 590,832 
 
 4,784 
 
 454,618 
 
 65,421 
 
 1,256 
 
 543 
 
 1802 
 
 786,878 
 
 21,9.53 
 
 1,040 092 
 
 349,990 
 
 8,932 
 
 801 
 
 1803 
 
 910,055 
 
 22,112 
 
 579,543 
 
 209,158 
 
 525 
 
 4,1 6^ 
 
 1804 
 
 887,742 
 
 11,237 
 
 770,936 
 
 224,561 
 
 3,200 
 
 120 
 
 1805 
 
 891,768 
 
 24,401 
 
 29,015 
 
 81,611 
 
 754 
 
 
 1806 
 
 710^16 
 
 12,666 
 
 37,154 
 
 36,153 
 
 1,754 
 
 
 1807 
 
 926,489 
 
 6,669 
 
 25,862 
 
 79,542 
 
 
 
 1808 
 
 560,275 
 
 16,828 
 
 630,972 
 
 240,500 
 
 4,435 
 
 12,794 
 
 1809 
 
 896,801 
 
 11,619 
 
 1,746 788 
 
 555,240 
 
 109,669 
 
 1,631 
 
 § The exports of Spanish America, by the custom-.' 
 house returns, amount to 69 million dollars, in precious 
 metals and territorial productions; and certainly, little 
 would be requisite to double them. The annual coinage of 
 all the sections, is calculated at 42 millions of dollars; and 
 beyond doubt, the liberty and security of mercantile re- 
 lations, would have a prodigious effect on the precious 
 metals, extracted from the mines, not only from the con- 
 sequent cheapness of iron and mercury, but also, from 
 the improvements of the mechanical and chemical parts 
 of obtaining and preparing the ores. It is a fact well 
 
437 
 
 established, that the most expensive, as well as the most 
 laborious part of mining, is the draining of the mines, 
 and the bruising and amalgamation of the mineral ; ope- 
 rations which are now performed by weak and defective 
 machinery. Consequently, the introduction of the steam 
 engine and new apparatus, would not only reduce the 
 €xpence, but would also double the annual produce of 
 the mines. The hands thus disengaged from an un- 
 healthy labour, might be turned to the cultivation of the 
 «oil. The application of the steam engine, to draining 
 and working the mines in Spanish America, is an object 
 of infinite consequence to the Spanish government, and 
 that of England is, also, greatly interested in its promo- 
 tion. Besides relieving humanity, it is to a commercia 
 people, highly advantageous to have the coinage of 
 country doubled, with which we have any relations, ana 
 the liberal manner in which this point has been attended 
 to, in a late case, is extremely honourable to the heads of 
 office. The coinage of Spanish America, by the resto- 
 ration of peace and the steam engine alone, might be 
 more than doubled, and from 42 millions it might be 
 raised to 100 millions. According to the observations 
 of Humboldt, the prosperity of New Spain, for example, 
 has increased considerably within few years, notwith- 
 standing the defects of the colonial regimen; what there- 
 fore might pot be expected, by a change of system, 
 and the introduction of the discoveries and improve- 
 ments of art ? If, according to the same authority, the 
 precious metals obtained, have tripled in 52 years, and 
 sextupled in 100; what an immense augmentation, would 
 not this branch of public industry and revenue receive, 
 fey liberal plans, and especially, by security in the ma- 
 
438 
 
 Titime communications ? According to an official report 
 in my possession, the following is the state of the mine* 
 in Peru. — 
 
 Gold mines in an active and working state 69 
 
 Silver ditto ditto 
 
 ditto 
 
 784 
 
 Quicksilver ditto -r- 
 
 ditto 
 
 4 
 
 Lead ditto ditto 
 
 ditto 
 
 12 
 
 Copper ditto ditto 
 
 ditto 
 
 4 
 
 Total active Mines in Peru, in 1793 673 
 
 Gold mines abandoned for sundry reasons 29 
 Silver ditto ditto ditto 588 
 
 Total mines in Peru, exclusive of Quito and 
 
 Buenos Ay res, 1490 
 
 In the following statement, few gold mines are stated 
 as abandoned, this is because they are, generally, found 
 in horizontal layers ; but of the silver mines, nearly al- 
 ways worked by a perpendicular bore; no less than 
 588 are left inactive, principally because' they are filled 
 with water. This scale may convey a good idea of the 
 number of mines, abandoned in the other sections, from 
 similar motives; in fact, whenever the elevation of the 
 mine, has not admitted of a side horizontal bore, for the 
 purposes of draining, as soon as the water has reached 
 a certain level, the mine ha,s been abandoned, and the 
 labour of years, as well as the expenditure, often of 
 millions, have been swallowed up in one general inunda- 
 tion. This has been the case with the celebrated mines 
 of Pasco, in Peru, for the draining of which arrangements 
 have been made, with a zeal and perseverance, that do the 
 greatest credit to the abilities of their promotors. It is 
 
439 
 
 also, extremely fortunate, that coal has been discovered, 
 for, otherwise, from the dearth of fuel, the application of 
 machinery, would have been useless. 
 
 The suspension of intercourse vi^itli Europe, has, al 
 ways, produced in Spanish America, an incredible scar- 
 city of the most necessary articles of labour, and has 
 occasionally raised the prices of iron, from four dollars, 
 to sixty and 100, per quintal ; and of steel, from twenty- 
 five dollars, as high as three hundred and twenty-five dit- 
 to. Under such circumstances, mining, and, of course, 
 agriculture, had to stand still. Quicksilver, an article 
 of such importance, that New Spain alone, consumed 
 16,000 quintals, annually, has always been held as a mo- 
 nopoly of the crown, and the quantity the mines have 
 produced, has, been in pfoportion to that of mercury 
 distributed. To render the ultramarine provinces, more 
 dependent on Spain, it was not lawful to work the quick- 
 silver mines found in America, as has been before stated ; 
 a means adopted to secure the allegiance of the country. 
 But, though America has, hitherto, been a tributary to 
 Europe, for the supply of this essential article, this can- 
 not be the case, as soon as more enlightened systems 
 and liberal regulations are adopted, of which even 
 Spain would be the gainer, for she would not then have 
 to expend in a foreign market, an annual sum for a sup- 
 ply, that is, besides, liable to many contingencies. Peru 
 contains four quicksilver mines already discovered, of 
 which the most famous, is Huancavelica ; and Mexico 
 has several others, whose united produce, whenever they 
 are put into operation, will supercede the necessity of 
 importations of mercury from Spain and Carniola. What 
 a field of industry and enterprize, even in this single 
 
440 
 
 branch, opens on the world, but particularly on England, 
 when these odious restrictions are removed, and the re- 
 lations of friendship and intercourse are cemented, by 
 stipulations of a liberal and permanent nature? 
 
 §The increase of population, under a regular and sta- 
 ble government, capable of securing interiour and exte- 
 riour relations, would, in like manner, increase in rapid 
 progression, and soon raise the strength of Spanish Ame- 
 rica, to a respectable height. According to the calcula- 
 tions of Humboldt, the population of New Spain, ought 
 to double itself in nineteen years, so that if peace is once 
 restored to Spanish America, and a paternal government 
 created, one that may secure it from internal convul- 
 sions, and favourable to emigration, to what a degree of 
 splendour and improvement, will not that country rise? 
 Under the operation of causes less favourable, we have 
 seen these calculations verified in the United States; which 
 present both to England and Spain, the results of a grand 
 experiment, in their power to realize, by the regenera- 
 tion of Spanish America, In 1774, the exports from the 
 United States, then British Colonies, were .£3,607,000 
 sterling; and in 1799, they reached 72,663,332 dollars, or 
 ^15,925,021 sterling. From 2f millions, the popula- 
 tion, has, also, risen to near 7. The independence of 
 the United States, in point of trade, has been more pro- 
 fitable to England than their submission ; for prior to 
 Mr. Jefferson's plan of destroying the trade of the union. 
 Great Britain exported more goods of her own growth 
 and manufacture to that country, than she did to the 
 whole of Europe. And has not Spain an infinitely 
 greater scope for advancement, in her immense and di- 
 versified continent of America ? For this, it is not ne- 
 cessary to create an absolute independence, she has only 
 
441 
 
 to alter her plans, to remove her restrictions and mono- 
 polies, and to establish a paternal and beneficent go- 
 vernment, suited to the wants of an extensive, diversified 
 and distant range of country, abounding in commodities, 
 for which Europe presents an eager demand. 
 
 But this is not all, the free cultivation of the vine and 
 olive, the growth of the mulberry, the distillation from 
 sugar, rice, and the grape, the exportation of flour, the 
 increase of the plantation of sugar, cotton, tobacco, as 
 well as of many other productions, and the working of 
 the mercury mines, will, one day, not only add to the 
 circulation of trade, but will become more inexhaustible 
 sources of wealth, than the united mines of gold and 
 silver. Spanish America, appears^ at some future time, 
 to be destined to supply us with wine, oils, and raw 
 silk, for which we are so dependent on the continent of 
 Europe; as well as flax seed, for which Ireland has to 
 recur to the United States. Ship timber, of the finest 
 quality, can there be had in any quantity, as well as hemp. 
 In short, in a progressive manner, will increase the agri- 
 cultural and metallic productions of a country, that has, 
 hitherto, been almost as a blank to the rest of the world; 
 and, consequently, its consumption of merchandize 
 would be doubled, thus affording to the supplying 
 channels, a safe and ready market for manufactures, 
 larger than any single section of the globe, presents. 
 France is calculated to have taken from us, annually, no 
 more than 7,600,000 dollars in goods, and the section of 
 New Spain alone, affords a vent for not less than twenty 
 millions. But it is not ourselves alone, who would be 
 benefited, by the opening and amelioration of Spanish 
 America. Our West India islands, will also, greatly 
 
442 
 
 participate in the benefits. During the absence of sup- 
 plies of flour from the United States, Jamaica has been 
 supplied, in a precarious manner, with provisions from 
 Haiti, according to the late report of its assembly. Yet 
 in the neighbouring sections of New Spain, the finest in 
 the world for cerealia, this article, has been rotting in the 
 warehouses. 
 
 And, if such is the picture of the resources of Spanish 
 America, if such the brilliant prospect capable of being 
 opened on the world, can either the people or ministers 
 of England, feel indifferent as to its present misfortunes or 
 future fate ? Do not both interest, policy, and humanity, 
 strongly urge us to look, with anxious, eye, to the present 
 state of this ill-fated, but interesting country ? Have its 
 long sufferings, no hold on the sympathy of a people 
 like that of England, or have we, entirely, fortjotten the 
 inhabitants of those distant regions, at the details of 
 whose conquests, we have so often felt emotion, and over 
 whose history, we have so frequently shed the tear of 
 sensibility ? Lord Grenville, in his late admirable speech 
 on the East India question, thus expressed himself with 
 regard to Spanish America. 
 
 " A free trade with India, a free trade with China ; 
 with the Eastern islands, the latest acquisition of British 
 valour; and through them, with the rich kingdoms of 
 South America; a country hitherto indeed barred against 
 us, as much by the monopolies of its parent government 
 as by our own, but now at last by the course of events, 
 no longer within the controul of man, opened, in every 
 case I trust infallibly opened, to the commerce of the 
 world." 
 
443 
 
 ** What a scene does this present to our imagination! 
 We are told that when the Spanish discoverers first over- 
 came, v^^ith labour and peril almost unspeakable, the 
 mighty range of mountains which divides the Western 
 :from the Atlantic shores of South America, they stood 
 fixed in silent admiration, gazing on the vast expanse of 
 the Southern Ocean, which lay stretched before them in 
 boundless prospect. They adored, even those hardened 
 and sanguinary adventurers adored, the gracious Provi- 
 dence of Heaven, which, after the lapse of so many cen- 
 turies, had opened to mankind so wonderful a field of 
 untried and unimagined enlerprize. They anticipated 
 in prophetic enthusiasm, the glory of their native country^ 
 the future extent of its sovereignty and power, and the 
 noble prize presented to its ambition. But theirs was 
 .the glory of conquest, the ambition of war, the prize of 
 iunjust dominion. As vast as theirs, but infinitely more 
 honourable, far higher both in purpose and in recom- 
 pense, are the hopes with which the same prospect now 
 elevates our hearts. Over countries yet unknown to sci- 
 ence, and in tracts which British navigation has scarcely 
 yet explored, we hope to carry the tranquil arts, the so- 
 cial enjoyments, the friendly and benevolent intercourse 
 of commerce. By the link of mutual interest, by the 
 bond of reciprocal good will, we hope to connect together 
 the remotest regions of the earth; humble, and weak, 
 but not rejected instruments of that great purpose of our 
 Creator, by which He has laid, in the reciprocal necessi- 
 ties both of individuals and of nations, the firmest ground- 
 work of all human society. Let this be our glory, and 
 what conqueror will not have reason to envy it?*' 
 
444 
 
 The fervid imagination, either examining the resear- 
 ches of a Humboldt, Molina, or Depons, would, likewise, 
 there, court scenes, vast and romantic; would admire 
 the sublime outlines, which nature has bestowed on the 
 Andes and other places, and worship the powerful hand 
 of a Creator, in their varied mineral and vegetable produc- 
 tions. We venerate the remains of Greece and Rome ; 
 Spanish America, also presents fragments, of an infinite- 
 ly curious nature. We know all this, as it were, by hear- 
 say; we have, in those secluded regions, sources unex- 
 plored, to which our most important interests are allied, 
 and yet it would seem, as if we scarcely remembered that 
 they exist. Hitherto, our writers complained, that this 
 immense and diversified country, was closed to their 
 researches; yet we have been six years in alliance with 
 Spain, and our government has not promoted a discovery 
 of a philosophical or commercial nature. The late 
 government of France, was eager to avail itself of every 
 means of obtaining information; and aided and supported 
 the exertions of travellers, to whom the world is so much 
 indebted. But the government of England, with infinitely 
 l)etter opportunities, beholds these pursuits, with an eye 
 of indifference. Yet, would our expeditions there, have 
 ended as they did, or our merchants have been so duped, 
 if we had known any thing of the country ? Would not 
 a scientific and exploring expedition to Peru, be deserv- 
 ing of the promotion of the Regent of England ; might 
 we not be ambitious, that a knowledge of, at least, one 
 section of that great continent, was due to our 
 exertions ? 
 
 In whatever light we view the great sections of Sp 
 nish America, sentiments of the deepest interest are ex- 
 
445 
 
 cited ; nor can the British heart be divested of sympathy. 
 We there behold an extensive continent, rich in every 
 thing that ministers to the wants or luxuries of man, yet 
 v^Tctched from the time of its settlement, in consequence 
 of the degraded system, by which it was governed ; and 
 now, desolated by extensive murder, conflagration, pil-. 
 lage, and all the scourges of an unnatural war. Though 
 distant, we are yet bound to its fate, and disengaged from 
 the great contest in which we were so lately plunged, not a 
 moment ought to be lost, in affording it relief. Nay, 
 many of our vital interests are implicated in its future 
 welfare ; nor do I hesitate to say, that if the great body 
 of the British people, were sutficientiy enlightened on 
 this subject, they would, with a firm and decided voice, 
 pronounce the necessity under which England, at this 
 moment stands, of causing the blood flowing between 
 brethren to cease, and the furrows of anarchy and civil 
 war, to be closed. 7'he affections, also, of seventeen mil- 
 lions of people, cannot be indifferent to us ; yet with 
 the prejudices existing against us, and if after giving 
 peace to Europe, we abandon them, what will not be 
 their reflections, and what their feelings ? Our former 
 captures and attacks on their shores, are not forgotten ; 
 and there may yet be cases, in which the animosity of 
 Spanish America, may be seriously felt. If the equi- 
 poise of power, should be ever again broken, let us hope 
 never to have the inhabitants of that country, as our 
 enemies. 
 
 Our present hold on Spanish America is of a most 
 fragile nature ; for though we may have effected a par- 
 tial overthrow of the prejudices which existed in the 
 Western continent, against our manufactures ; though we 
 
446 
 
 have, in some measure, succeeded to rival French andGer** 
 man goods, this has been attained through necessity, and 
 not from preference; nor could v^e ever, at the prices to 
 which our goods have risen, particularly linens, suc- 
 cessfully support a competition. Our Scotch and Irish 
 imitations of the above description af goods, are not al- 
 together devoid of success ; but the practical merchant 
 must be fully sensible, that they would not long stand 
 their ground, vv^ere the old continental channels agaia 
 opened, and supplies congenial to therir wants, would 
 greatly enter into the political calculations of the Spanish 
 Americans, if ever they are enabled to fix their own des- 
 tinies. This is a tie of a much stronger nature, thaa 
 would at first, be conceived ; and added to the rest, 
 iTiight be successfully handled to our exclusion, and at 
 a future moment, might lead us into hostilities with a 
 country, that, by care, could be converted into a safe and 
 plentiful harvest. 
 
 The only means of severing this bond, would have 
 been, to have acted with a just and firm dignity, when 
 called upon by one half of a monarchy, with which we 
 were equally allied : to have helped m the relaxation of 
 the oppressive system, of the otner ; to have urged for 
 redress, where it was due ; to have prevented, by a 
 timely interposition, the horrors of a cruel and desolating 
 civil war ; to have listened to the voice of justice ; to 
 have improved the display of loyalty and fidelity early 
 evinced ; to have consulted our lasting, instead of our 
 temporary interests; and, in short, to have thereby added 
 to this bond, the double one of gratitude. The Spanish 
 Americans, not only conceive themselves linked to the 
 continent of Europe, by their old relations, connections. 
 
447 
 
 alid supply of suitable goods; but also, by that being the 
 great mart for their territorial productions, which, it is 
 not in our power, to consume. But yet, happily for 
 England, much is still within her reach, if timely and 
 proper measures, are only adopted. These consist, in 
 procuring for Spanish America, the peace its inhabl'r-nts 
 so much require ; and aiding them to establish a govern- 
 ment suited to their ^.vants, on which they may found 
 their future welfare and prosperity. 
 
 § Having borne so grt 'u: a portion of that war, which 
 has secured the throne of Spain to its rightful possessor, 
 and restored peace to the continent of Europe, it is na- 
 tural for Great Britain, to seek some remuneration to 
 compensate for her great sacrifices, and the burdens 
 which have rested on her people. In the exhausted state 
 of the Peninsula, no other than opening the trade to Spa- 
 nish America presents itself; and from the memorials 
 forwarding from the chief manufacturing and trading 
 towns, it would appear that this is generally expected. 
 Hitherto, the Spanish cabinet, has manifested no dispo- 
 sition to relax the rigour of its pretensions, on this im- 
 portant subject; nor has it evinced a friendly attachment 
 to this country, corresponding to the demonstrations 
 made in its favour. That hostility to us, coeval almost 
 with the landing of our troops in Spain, may have been 
 considerably diminished, b}^ the important events just 
 achieved; but, though diminished, it is not subdued; 
 and under the present smooth exteriour, there is con- 
 cealed a mass of enmity, which, though it may not in- 
 trude on the superficial observer, will, hereafter, be ex- 
 tremely active in its rancourous workings. But yet for 
 this, the British government is not to despair, or fail to 
 
448 
 
 solicit a boon, due to us in gratitude; essential as a 
 means of pacification ; within the right of the ultramarine 
 provinces, as integral parts of the monarchy; and, more- 
 over, advantageous to Spain herself. On these four 
 grounds, it is, that England has now to found her claims 
 of remuneration; and as no trade can be carried on with 
 a country in a state of warfare, divided by discord, and 
 divested of ever kind of confidence, conciliation, on a 
 liberal basis, must be the forerunner. As shewn in the 
 body of this work, to obtain one, is to obtain the other; 
 andif ever, it is in the enthusiastic moments of Spain,, 
 that this is to be effected. Her general conduct, during 
 the period of our long and sincere co-operation, furnishes 
 no foundation for a hope, that the remembrance of past 
 services, will long continue ; much less since the recent 
 changes which have taken place. The king is not sur- 
 rounded by our friends, and if faction is allowed to gain 
 his ear, we shall be frustrated in our views. To the 
 British government it is of the greatest importance, to 
 keep the public mind of Spain, in a correct and straight 
 line; and not to suffer it to be warped by misrepresen- 
 tations, circulated by our enemies, to cause a wrong im« 
 pression, and who, if they could, would divest all our 
 services of merit, because interest and jealousy are the 
 levers of their conduct. To this party, England has long 
 acted with tame subserviency, but she has not on that 
 account, inspired more grateful sentiments. She has 
 claims of a loud and imperious nature, and both interest 
 and humanity call upon her, to establish them in a strong 
 and imposing manner. Instead of bending to the servile 
 and the depraved, let her promote her interests, with the 
 people at large. 
 
449 
 
 Of the four groimds, on which I have stated, England 
 may demand a free trade to all Spanish America; the three 
 first, are sufficiently explained in the general texture of my 
 preceding arguments. The one asserting^ that this will 
 be advantageous, even to Spain herself, requires some 
 further discussion, as being the principal one, on which 
 England has to rest her claim, and use in order do away 
 the prejudices, which may still linger in the minds of the 
 mass of the Spanish people. 
 
 If the great sections of Spanish America, are in future 
 to be kept in the same degraded state as that in which 
 they have been, since their discovery, the fruits of a revo* 
 iution, through which Spain has passed, as well for her own 
 improvement, as to throw off the yoke of an insidious 
 enemy, would not only be lost, but most of the sacri- 
 fices made, will have been fruitless. Also, if so great a 
 continent, as that we owe to the enterprize of Columbus, 
 were to afford no more benefits to the world, than hi- 
 therto obtained, mankind would scarcely have to felici^ 
 tate themselves on its discovery. Spain, as it were, built 
 her happiness on the exclusive possession of a country, 
 of whose resourses a faint outline has been given j and, 
 unmindful of that permanent truth, that commerce and 
 * industry are the best mines of a people, she rather stifled 
 than promoted, the pursuits of agriculture and enter- 
 prise. The bond, by which she governed was jealousy ; 
 this sprung from a sense of weakness she was ashamed 
 to avow, whilst, if her plans had been liberal, and her 
 political and economical systems, enlightened, with such 
 resources, and with such an empire as America, she 
 might have become the most powerful of the states 
 of Europe, Ever needy, and always dependent, she waa 
 
450 
 
 possessed of resources incalculable, which she trembled 
 to call forth, least they should excite the envy of her 
 neighbours, whose attacks she was too weak to repel. 
 Hence, generated a system of monopoly and exclusion, 
 which, whilst it rendered her ultramarine provinces de- 
 based and enslaved, prevented that mutual exchange of 
 commodities, alone capable of improving the bountiful 
 gifts of nature, and adding revenue to her own crown. 
 In short, Spain adopted the erroneous and extravagant 
 plan of treating a whole continent, more populous and 
 infinitely larger than herself, as a colony ; and for this 
 she had not only to sacrifice the most sacred rights of 
 its inhabitants, but she had even to trample to the ground, 
 one of the most fundamental laws of nature. On these 
 principles, she sought to enrich her own government and 
 its dependants, by impoverishing a distant half of her 
 monarchy; thus rendering its inhabitants more unhappy 
 than if they had been born on a sandy desert, for in vain 
 did they behold precious fruits around them, which it 
 was unlawful to pluck. Almost the only nation pos- 
 sessed of precious metals, these were scarcely landed on 
 her own shores, than they were paid over to foreigners, 
 to whom she had been even indebted for credit. 
 
 This illiberal and dastardly plan, it was, that first 
 created a clashing between the interests of American ^nd 
 European Spain; and the oppression necessary to enforce 
 and sustain it, rendered it still more galling. At one 
 time, it was not only foreigners who were restricted, but 
 even Spaniards; and certain trading ports, enjoyed the 
 monolopy of receiving ships from the other side of the 
 Atlantic. The great gain centering in the hands of a iew, 
 sen'cd to prolong this unequal system of trafic, and even* 
 
451 
 
 tually organized that strong party, which during all our 
 late transactions, beheld us as rivals, and also closed 
 every avenue, by which justice could be had for a suffer- 
 ing people. At one time, Seville held the monopoly, 
 then Cadiz, other ports not being privileged, till the time 
 of Charles III. These parts consequently became the 
 very focus, where enmity reigned against us, and Spa- 
 nish America; for early sensible that nothing but a free 
 trade could relieve her wants, she had adopted this es- 
 sential measure of cloathing her inhabitants, and giving 
 value to her territorial productions. A system of mono- 
 poly so cramping and confined, thus served to enrich a 
 few, at the expence of many; and means were always 
 found, to interest the ministers in its support. That 
 equilibrium, which commerce ought to keep with the 
 wants and industry of a people, was destroyed ; and ge- 
 neral prosperity became absorbed in the gains of a few, 
 and these, also, often foreigners, who retired to their own 
 country, when their fortunes were made. Flattered with 
 the brilliant prospects America presented, every one was 
 anxious to embark in the general adventure; whereby few 
 capitals were laid outjn tillage at home, and in improving 
 the many benefits the genial soil of the Peninsula would 
 afford to industry. Even the government supported the 
 infatuation, supposing that the contingencies of a distant 
 but lucrative trade, and the digging of gold and silver 
 out of the bowels of the earth, were the safest means 
 of obtaining riches. Thus, a state of war always pro* 
 duced a general stagnation, and disproportionate for- 
 tunes, destroyed the equipoise of society. The prices of 
 every thing lost their level, and extreme and bloated 
 riches, or squalid poverty, were all Spain presented 
 
 F F 2 
 
452 
 
 to the eye of the traveller. The government, in the 
 mean time, was deluded by a fact it never sought to de- 
 velope, and this was, seeing that the trade to Spanish 
 A merica was the chief branch of its support, all others 
 being extremely subordinate, it judged it, alone, deserv- 
 ing of encouragement. 
 
 Insensible of that positive axiom, that trade is always 
 disadvantageous, when unaccompanied by manufactures 
 and agriculture, Spain was cherishing a trade, to support 
 which she was indebted to the industry of others, unaware 
 that it is the just equilibrium of all these branches, which 
 render a country rich and peopled. Instead of leaving 
 the choice of pursuits to the citizen, she left but one 
 road open, and impolitically closed all the rest. Thus 
 she sacrificed the rights and views of a whole society, to 
 give a preference to a detached part. It was by a long 
 chain of inconsistencies so great, that Spain, surrounded 
 as it were by light, had become the darkest nation of Eu- 
 rope; and with the most resources, bad become the 
 poorest. But what was worst, she was under a different 
 impression ; she was insensible of this glaring fact. But 
 it is time, if she wishes to profit by past adversities, for 
 Spain to become sensible of her late eiTors, and try to 
 remedy them. From the present era, she ought to 
 seek a new existence. She ought to vary a system, that 
 has uniformly brought upon her misery, dependence and 
 depopulation. Above all, without wandering from my 
 object in view, she must remove her extravagant and 
 oppressive system of custom-houses, her trade laws must 
 be established, equal in Spain and in America v and in 
 both, the greatest freedom ought to reign. Local and 
 personal monopolies, ought to be destroyed. Instead of 
 
463 
 
 cmbarrassing^ commerce with heaps of old regulations 
 and laws, disproportionate duties, and clashing prohibi- 
 tions, would it not be better to relieve it from all its 
 •hackles, by establishing one general, substantial, and clear 
 system, founded on permanent, reciprocal, and well 
 defined grounds. Guided by the principles of justice 
 and wisdom, the Spanish government would find this due 
 to the ultramarine provinces in point of right, and the 
 best means of insuring their tranquillity and consequent 
 security. Divested of prejudice, and grateful for the 
 exertions in her cause, Spain would likewise feel this due 
 to her ally, and moreover, she will be the first to expe- 
 rience the wonderful benefits of fixing her own national 
 interests, on a solid basis, subject to no contingency. A 
 new era must now necessarily break on the Spanish mo- 
 narchy of both hemispheres, and the rise, if not the inde- 
 pendence of Spanish America, is one of those inevitable 
 events, against which, human wisdom would in vain 
 attempt to provide. As it is for the first of these eases, 
 that the preceding reflections are adapted, let Spain be 
 ambitious of inspiring those sentiments of gratitude, 
 which alone can consolidate her union ; and may England 
 also, be ever mindful, that there is as much satisfaction 
 in aiding to regenerate a continent, as in rescuing one 
 from tyranny* 
 
 But to descend to more minute particulars. The en- 
 lightened age in which we live, has considerably changed 
 our ideas of the government of distant possessions, 
 either as integral parts, or dependent colonies. The gro- 
 velling and jealous plans of the European metropoles, are 
 now proved, only to have rendered their colonies sub- 
 servient to individual aggrandizement^ and to fatten a 
 
4U 
 
 short-sighted and corrupt government, at the expence of 
 its subjects. To render them united, it is now seen they 
 must be prosperous and contented, and so identified must 
 their feelings be with those of the mother-countr}^ and 
 incorporated their wishes and wants, that they must con- 
 sider her sway is to their advantage, and consequently 
 bear it with sentiments of satisfaction. Spanish America 
 can never be happy under rebtrictions, which render her 
 productions of no avail, and Spain can never be rich and 
 great, till these are adequately called forth. The'opening 
 of a free trade might, by Spain, be viewed under the fol- 
 lowing heads. — 
 
 1. Those who have hitherto been accustomed to wear 
 national goods, from routine, will continue to use them, 
 as long as they are as good and cheap as foreign ones; and 
 if these outrival them, the capitals employed in home 
 manufactures, may be then laid out on agriculture, with 
 more advantage to the state. 
 
 2. It promotes not only the exportation of cottons, 
 and a variety of other raw materials, but it gives an ad- 
 ditional revenue, to the king, as well as the subject. 
 
 3. By this means, productions are raised to equal the 
 imports, and coin it thus retained. 
 
 4. The progress of civilization and the increase of 
 population, will ever be in a direct ratio, with agricul- 
 ture and trade. 
 
 5. This is the only means of introducing into se- 
 cluded countries, arts and science, and creating a future 
 navy. 
 
 6. By this means, contraband is destroyed, and the en- 
 tire dues of the king come into his own coffers, without 
 e^^orbitant expences. 
 
455 
 
 To be convinced of tlie preceding facts, Spain has 
 only to examine the beneficial results of breaking up 
 her syj^tem of flotas, and the advantages she has derived 
 from the reforms of a Galvez. A passive trade, has ever 
 been considered as the death of a state, and Spanish 
 America, presents the most melancholy confirmation of 
 this truth. Her inhabitants, have, hitherto, been the 
 miners of the whole world, they have been, for three 
 centuries, digging gold and silver out of the bowels of 
 the earth, and after all, what better are they for it? No 
 experiment, could prove the advantages Spain herself 
 would derive, from throwing open her trade, better, 
 than what resulted from the removal of some of her re- 
 strictions in 3 778. The port of Cadiz, was violently op- 
 posed to this measure, but what was the result? In 
 that single year, as many ships were fitted out, as had 
 been in the five preceding ones. In that same year, 
 Spain shipped to America, in articles of her own growth 
 and manufacture, 28,236,620 rials; in foreign goods, 
 46,669,236 ditto, and the duties thereon were equal to 
 3,770,954 rials. The returns for this amount, were 
 74,559,256 rials, which paid in America 2,924,884 ditto 
 in duties. In the 1784, national goods to the amount of 
 188,049,504 rials, were shipped to America, and in fo- 
 reign goods 229,365,984 ditto ; an increase equal to five 
 times, on the last sum; and six on the first. The duties 
 collected on this amount, were 17,164,880 rials, by which 
 the revenue gained 13,393,836 ditto. The duties on ex- 
 ports from America, this same year, reached 50,632,632 
 rials, shewing an advance of 48^704,768 ditto, equal to 
 17 times what they were in 1778. Yet this was the 
 effect of only a partial removal of restrictions, what may 
 
456 
 
 not then be expected, when complete freedom is granted, 
 and when the agriculture of Spanish America, is carried 
 to the pitch of which it is susceptible ? 
 
 In the course of this expose, frequent allusion has 
 been made, to the jealous manner in which the Cadiz 
 merchants have, uniformly, opposed all attempts to open 
 a free trade with Spanish America. It was the same in 
 1778, and they considered the opening of other ports, as 
 productive of their destruction. Yet at that period, they 
 shipped to America, 50,209,960 rials, per annum, in 1784 
 they exported 86,914,63-2 ditto, and in 179'^, 272,000,000 
 ditto; nevertheless, this experience has not su diced to 
 destroy their errors and prejudices. 
 
 It would take me too far out of my way, to enter on 
 details, in order to prove the great advantages, which 
 both European and American Spain derived from these 
 8:alutary measures, though of a very confined nature ; 
 suffice it to say, that from the above period, both re- 
 ceived a new existence, by the proportionate increase of 
 their trade, navigation, agriculture, &c. ; and the crown, 
 in a particular manner, was benefited. 
 
 Jn establishing a foreign trade, it is not here attempt- 
 ed to destroy that of Spain, The Peninsula, produces 
 many articles which foreigners cannot supply, these 
 ought not to be interfered with, as long as they are ade^ 
 quate to the deraarjd. Indeed, prejudice will always 
 give them a preference, By the manner, also, in which 
 the duties are regulated, such distinctions may be made, 
 as not to be onerous to either p«arty. But if the Spanish 
 Americans are equal in rights, they ought to be equally 
 allowed to navigate to any part of the world, in their 
 own bottoms, and to death themselves at the same rates. 
 
457 
 
 as the natives of Spain. And as long as both countriei 
 belong to the same sovereign, is it not the same for him 
 to receive his dues, on one side of the water, as on the 
 other? Spanish America cannot death herself with the 
 manufactures of Spain, and has consequently to recur to 
 foreign channels. Why then are her natives to pay for 
 their necessaries, four times dearer than those of Spain, 
 when this is a measure only favourable to a few indivi- 
 duals ? What would their boasted declarations ef equal- 
 ity avail, if this were the case? This is a double mono- 
 poly, for the level of the prices of their productions, is 
 thereby destroyed. 
 
 If, then, a free trade to Spanish America, on a liberal, 
 Avell defined, and well guaranteed basis, would be a mean* 
 of tranquillizing that desolated country ; would promote 
 its conservation; is due to it, as an integral and equal 
 part of the monarchy, and would even be advantageous 
 to Spain herself, what objections can she have, to grant it 
 to England, as a remuneration for past services ? After 
 the war of Succession, the French were allowed it; and in 
 consequence of the services rendered to King Philip of 
 Spain; the assiento trade, and several other valuable 
 licences, were granted to England. And are the modern 
 Spaniards less liberal? Spanish America, is, also, stated 
 to consume about ten millions of dollars, in East India 
 goods; what an additional field might not be here opened? 
 If banks were established in Linia, Mexico, and Buenos 
 Ay res, connected with that of England, what an influx 
 of precious metals might not be promoted ? 
 
 § A connection with Spanish America, consequently, 
 is of that interesting nature, that nothing ought to deter 
 the British government, from embracing every opporlu* 
 
458 
 
 mty to secure it* It is, moreover, now fully proved, that 
 iKrthinsr but the councils and ofuarantee of England, can 
 give repose to that unfortunate country, an I at a future 
 period, preserve it. Considerations of the moment, ia- 
 duced us, as it were, to turn our backs on exertions, 
 which we could not but respect; and independent ctf 
 other circumstances, the governments of the various sec- 
 tions, have been of so fluctuating a nature, as rather to 
 decrease, than inspire confidence in the ministers of 
 England. But, this is not the fault of the caus3, in which 
 Spanish America has embarked. Her inhabitants now 
 fight in defence of the most just and honest rights, as 
 well as in the most holy cause, in which the sword was 
 ever drawn. Though, in some instances, they have been 
 the dupes of individual ambition, and in others, the tools 
 of blind fanaticism; this, however, is no stigma on their 
 general undertaking. It is not, on this account, less vir- 
 tuous and less honourable, nor has it been from principle 
 or conviction, that England has been ashamed of the 
 means employed to carr^'^ it through. It is not because 
 the powers of Europe, have given them no sympathetic 
 9.id^ that they have not deserved it. Every nation, that 
 has, hitherto, sought to throw off the shackles of oppres- 
 sive dependence, has found support, in one way or ano- 
 ther. Without it, perhaps, their own attempts would 
 have been frustrated. We have had before us the exam- 
 ples of Switzerland, Holland, the United States, &c. 
 Not that I would urge the government of England to act 
 towards Spain, as she did to us, during the North Ame- 
 rican struggle. No, the order of the present day, is 
 generosity and magnanimity; and instead of separating, 
 I would aid to connect the uliramarine Brovinces still 
 
459 
 
 i:loser to Spain; but I would see, that the bond was ra- 
 tional and just, and capable of giving to an extensive and 
 diversified continent, the means of its own happiness and 
 prosperity. Having said this, my reader, may, perhaps, 
 wish me to say more. The subject before me, is almost 
 inexhaustible; and although I have already swelled my 
 volume to double the limits I at first proposed, I am, 
 nevertheless, involuntarily impelled to hazard a few 
 speculations, on what I consider the best means of giving 
 permanent quiet, happiness, and prosperity to Spanish 
 Columbia, in a way consistent with the honour and dig- 
 nity of Spain, and the interests of the rest of the world. 
 
 § All legislators have agreed, that a body of political 
 laws, to be sound and durable, must, in all countries, 
 grow out of the character, situation, and habits of a peo- 
 ple ; they must be adapted to their peculiarities, and in- 
 corporated with their customs and usages. To establish 
 a government on any other grounds, were to destroy the 
 salutary effects it was intended to promote, and to pre- 
 pare materials for the constant return of anarchy and 
 confusion. In considering, therefore, what species of 
 government, is best adapted and most suitable to the 
 state of society in Spanish America, it is necessary to 
 examine its component parts, the general stages of men- 
 tal improvement to which it has arrived, as well as the 
 climate, and the leading features of the inhabitants. 
 
 The Spanish Americans, in general, cannot be said to 
 have received any other political education, than that 
 which agrees with the establishment of a monarchy. In 
 vain, should we there seek for that essential union of 
 circumstances, which is necessary for the formation of a 
 Republic. The principles of democracy, implicate many 
 
46u 
 
 complex, and some highly refined ideas, neither suited 
 to the taste, nor within the general coinprehension of a 
 class of inhabitants, so backward in every species of li- 
 terature, as are all the lower orders of the continent to 
 which I allude- Its forms, also, are too simple for a na- 
 tion, so long accustomed to pomp, pageantry, and show; 
 of ronsequence. its adoption would be incongruous, 
 where the habits and customs are so opposed, where 
 public virtue does not abound, and where, in short, the 
 political education is not congenial. The Mexicans, 
 more than any other people of America, are accustomed 
 to see the chief authority, surrounded by the show and 
 parade of courts, and would not, easily, be reconciled to 
 the simplicity and moderation of any opposite form. 
 Any other species of government, or any other principles, 
 tvould not therefore, be consonant to their wishes, or 
 accord with their habits; and it is generally allowed, 
 that all governmental establishments, to be lasting, re- 
 quire the support of public opinion, for this has ever 
 considered as the firmest basis, as well as the strongest' 
 sanction of moral law. 
 
 To effect a revolution in the governing systems of 
 Spanish America, consequently, can never be completed 
 with success, unless the laws, and also the manners and 
 customs of the people, are made congenial to the new 
 order of things. If the old ones remain, they will con- 
 tinually clash ; at each moment, they will be remembered 
 and regretted, and should a favourable opportunity occur, 
 a restoration would be sought, by those most immedi- 
 ately interested, and whom the change had most materi- 
 ally affected. At once to alter the laws, manners, cus- 
 toms, and habits of the people of that country, firm and 
 
461 
 
 deep-rooted as they are, is a work too dangerous and too 
 gigantic, to be accomplished, but by a series of years, 
 and by the preparation of a successive generation. A 
 Republican form of government, would, under the pre- 
 valence of opinions they could not discard, sit awkwardly 
 on the shoulders of the Spanish Americans, and they 
 would, continually, sigh for its removal. The histories of 
 England ^nd France, afford two striking instances, to 
 bear me out in the truth of the above assertions. On the 
 restoration of Charles II., the Republican form of govern- 
 ment expired, without a groan, and was changed, with- 
 out a struggle; because the usages, laws, and manners of 
 the people, had been left untouched, and that interval 
 had produced a forced and dishabitual state of things. 
 The instance in France, has been recently before our eyes, 
 and does not require comment. In countries^ therefore, 
 where education and principles are so much opposed, 
 democracy cannot prevail, unless established and sup- 
 ported by a force, capable of insuring subjection. 
 
 One material impediment to the establishment of a 
 democracy in Mexico, at least, is the great disparity of 
 fortunes amongst the inhabitants of that kingdom. Hum- 
 boldt tells us, that besides the advantages of population. 
 New Spain has still another very important one, which 
 arises from the enormous mass of capitals in the posses- 
 sion of the proprietors of mines, and in the hands of per- 
 sons retired from trade. The absence of a monarch, would 
 tend to give an undue preponderance to the influence of 
 this rich class of citizens, and produce a tyrannical aris- 
 tocracy, the worst of all governments. Besides, if in 
 the form of government, it should be found necessary to 
 give any share to the inferiour classes, in order to guard 
 
462 
 
 against the inconvenience just stated, it might be feared, 
 for the want of this third power destined to produce and 
 to support the political equilibrium, that the struggle 
 between these two opposite parties, would be attended 
 by the most fatal consequences, and eventually, end in 
 anarchy. In New Spain, there are a great number of 
 persons who hold titles, immunities and distinctions, the 
 whole of which class, would, consequently, be opposed 
 to any new order of things, which might tend to level 
 and confound them with the other classes of the commu- 
 nity* It is for this reason, that they stand neuter in the 
 present struggle. 
 
 The formidable influence of the clergy over every 
 part of the population, and especially over the Indians, 
 who constitute the inferiour class of New Spain (there 
 being few blacks in the country), has never been so 
 strongly demonstrated as in the present events and revo- 
 lutions of Spanish America. It may easily be imagined, 
 that they would not be favourable to a governmental 
 structure of a republican form, as it sooner or later, 
 would reduce* their ascendency to very narrow limits ; 
 whereas, should they be enabled to withstand encroach- 
 ments aimed against them, in the reverse of the case, and 
 in the course of time, the clergy would, themselves, be- 
 come the administrators of law. For example, suppos- 
 ing the Indians of New Spain, or of any other section, 
 are allowed a part in the general body of the representa- 
 tives, proportioned to their numbers, an act of justice, it 
 would not be possible to prevent* as they would, conse- 
 quently, elect ecclesiastics, from their greater influence 
 and talents, the number of the latter, would, in that 
 »f!e, form a third or more of the whole body of dele- 
 
463 
 
 gates. If to these are added the ecclesiastics who wotiid, 
 for the same reasons, be deputed by the other classes, ^it 
 becomes evident, that tliey would soon possess a veiy 
 disproportioned influence over the operations of govern- 
 ment. In whatever form of government, therefore, to be 
 proposed for New Spain, or indeed for any other part of 
 the Spanish American continent, the ascendant power of 
 these two bodies, must, in a particular manner, be cal- 
 culated upon^ for everywhere, their influence is great. 
 The great cause of no insurrection having yet takei) plfW5e 
 in Lima, has been, that there, also, are to be found titled 
 characters and great slave holders, who are fearful of los- 
 ing their property in the confusion that must necessarily 
 ensue, in case of insurrection. This inaction in the ca- 
 pital, has not arisen out of content, or a preference to 
 the present system of things, for in Upper Peru, where 
 the same causes do not exist, there has been as muck 
 movement as in any section of America; and in Lima, 
 not long ago, notwithstanding the great caution of the 
 inhabitants, there was a conspiracy, in which eight hun- 
 dred negroes were implicated. The influence of the cler- 
 gy in Caracas, has in a most particular manner, been 
 evinced ; for as soon as they were divested of their pri- 
 vileges and immunities, by the eighty-fourth article of the 
 new constitution, they abandoned the cause, and have 
 been the chief contributors to its late overthrow. 
 
 The stages at which the insurrections of Spanish 
 America now stand, as well as the language which has 
 been hitherto used by the new governments, by np means 
 prove, that in the different sections there is a strong or de- 
 cided disposition in fevour of democracy, notwithstand- 
 ing many of their features have been of that cast. The 
 
464 
 
 chiefs, who have been in general, charged with the ne\y 
 powers, finding nothing in the old legislation of Spain, 
 that would apply to the new system of things, have 
 fought information in French political writers, so that, 
 gradually, their systems would have become prevalent 
 amongst the people, without their having an opportunity 
 of judging of the merits of any other* 
 
 By the newly constituted chiefs, also, the position 
 of Spanish America, was, in many respects, thought 
 to resemble that of the American provinces in the 
 North, at the time of their separation from England ; 
 and without a proper discrimination, they judged that 
 the same measures would produce the same success. It 
 is, however, well known, that amongst the higher and 
 powerful circles, as well as amongst those who consult 
 more than the momentary good of their country, the ge- 
 neral opinion is, that a limited and well equipoised mo- 
 narchy, is the only government suited to their w^ants ; 
 nay, there even exists a great prevalence of superstitious 
 opinions, in favor of its establishment. It has been 
 proved, that this has been the favourite idea of the In- 
 dians of Peru, that they have uniformly wished it ; and 
 it was an attempt under Tupac Amaru, to re-establish 
 the ancient throne of the Incas, that at one time, inun- 
 dated that great portion of the Spanish dominions 
 with blood, and filled it with confusion. The Indiana 
 in general, and the same may be said of all the other in- 
 feriour classes, have no other idea of a social body, than 
 that of king, nobles, and commons; indeed king and go- 
 vernment, are synonymous terms, to at least, four-fifths 
 of the Spanish American population. Such is the force 
 
465 
 
 6f custom, and such the general tincture of prejudices, 
 which have arisen from the long depressed state in which 
 these countries have been kept, and the want of a gene- 
 ral circulation of liberal ideas. 
 
 These facts are not only deducible from the situation 
 6f society in Spanish America, but also tend to prove, 
 the very great influence which must rest in the hands of 
 the upper classes, all of whom, as I have before stated,, 
 both from opinion and interest, are decidedly opposed 
 to the establishment of democracy. The republican 
 language of the revolutionary Juntas, consequently^ 
 proves no more, than the particular ideas arid opinions of 
 individuals, who by their talents, and the public confi- 
 dence, have been called upon to exercise, for the time 
 being, the first duties of the magistracy ; and whose li- 
 braries contained no other than French and Latin works ; 
 of course, such systems and such ideas as were contained 
 therein^ were applied to existing circumstances. But 
 even the facts which may be deduced froiyi these applica- 
 tions, and the circumstances they have given rise to, 
 amount to irrefragable proofs,that there was little dispo- 
 sition on the part of the people^ at large, for so violent a 
 transition, as that of from despotism to democracy ; and, 
 as it were, from a state of abject slavery, to the extremes 
 of freedom. The caution observed in the beginning by 
 the Junta of Caracas, and the reserve and precautions, still 
 practised by the governments of Buenos Ayres, fully 
 evince, that a total and radical overthrow of the ancient 
 and habitual principles, is tery far from according with 
 the general state of society in Spanish America. The 
 overthrow of the government of Caracas, which has been 
 so wrongly attributed to the Spanish arms, was no other 
 
 & Q 
 
466 
 
 than the reaction of the people, who by the wild intro- 
 duction of a system of government, in the extreme de- 
 mocratical, and of consequence, uncongenial to their 
 wishes, abondoned a cause, on which they previously 
 enteredwithcordiaUty, under the hopes of seeking re- 
 dress, which all were sensible wag wanted. Yet they 
 despaired, as soon as it was discovered, that their chiefs 
 were preparing systems beyond their comprehension; 
 and, against which, they entertained long and inveterate 
 prejudices. It is the abstaining from the premature esta- 
 blishment of similar systems, in the other sections, that 
 helps to consolidate their cause; and it is, as I have be* 
 fore observed, this dread of democracy, which yet keeps 
 so many of the upper classes, neutral. There is attach- 
 ed to the Spanish character, and that of the Spanish 
 American equally partakes of it, something of grandeur 
 and n ajestic pomp, that is opposed to the simplicity of 
 republican manners ; they conceive nothing grand or 
 dig.iified, to be attached to any other form, than monar- 
 chy- It would require the evolution of ages, before the 
 natives of Spanish America, could acquire sentiments 
 congenial to the Swiss cantons, to the Republics of HoU 
 land, or of the United States; notwithstanding the chiefs 
 of the late insurrections, have not been, sufficiently, sen- 
 sible of this existing fact. 
 
 In proposing, therefore, after the present dissentions 
 are removed, to give permanent comfort and happiness 
 to so large a portion of the globe, as the great sections of 
 Spanish America, constitute, it will naturally occur to 
 the umpires of their fate, that to insure stability by ade- 
 quate an^ sound establishments, it is, in the first place, 
 necessary, for the reasons already stated, to examine 
 
467 
 
 with the greatest scrutiny, what form of government is 
 most congenial to tlieir wishes, and suited to their wants. 
 Applying, therefore, the relative terms of happiness and 
 misery to human beings, it is first necessary to consider 
 well, the capacity and disposition, as well as the habits 
 of thinking and of feeling, prevalent in the majority of 
 the classes whose benefit we are desirous to promote, 
 before we lay the basis of a work, which if opposed to 
 their wishes, and not consonant to their wants, they, 
 Jthemselves, would be the first to pull down. In con- 
 formity then, ,to the general principles of human nature, 
 and in union with the circumstances and sentiments of 
 the major part of the community in Spanish America, a 
 Republican form of government, would not only be in- 
 congruous, but also obnoxious. Nay, I could even sup- 
 port my argument, by a parallel taken from the recent oc- 
 currences of Spain. 
 
 The objects of all governments, and the purposes of 
 every legislation, have been well defined, as intended to 
 shield the weak, from the oppression of the strong, the 
 peaceable from that of the lawless ; and by securing pri- 
 vate property and personal freedom^ to promote industry 
 and establish the collective strength of the national com- 
 munity. But, if, in the establishment of such govern- 
 ment, the genius and disposition of the people are not 
 consulted, eternal clashings will occur in its administra- 
 tion, and combustibles will accumulate and produce ex- 
 plosion. A congenial system of government, guaranteed 
 and upheld by public opinion, converts the selfish, as 
 well as the social passions of our nature, into the firmest 
 bands of peaceable and orderly intercourse; changes the 
 sources of discord, into principles of quiet; it discipline* 
 
 G g2 
 
468 
 
 the most ungovernable; refines the grossest, and evem 
 exalts the most sordid propensities. In short, it be- 
 comes the perpetual fountain of all that strengthens, pre- 
 serves, and adorns society; it nourishes the individual, 
 and perpetuates the human race. If I am not mistaken, 
 a short surv^ey of the history of all ancient and modern re- 
 volutions, v^^ould strongly elucidate the fact, that those 
 only have been successful in their issue, which have had 
 for object, no very considerable transition from the old, 
 to the new order of things; and in which, by varying 
 only a small part of the social edifice, its other essentially 
 component parts, have been left to stand. The example 
 of the United States, therefore, will not appear appli^ 
 cable to the present situation of the Spanish Americans, 
 for this most material of all reasons, that the former had 
 been accustomed to another colonial regimen, had been 
 educated under other circumstances, had reached a dif- 
 ferent stage of mental improvement, were composed of a 
 different race of men, and were, in short, fitted by habits, 
 customs, and dispositions, to the form of government 
 they succeeded to establish. 
 
 If I were inclined to support my premises with traits 
 of history, I would look to Ireland, which I have before 
 guoted as a corresponding parallel to the situation of 
 Spanish America, Sir John Davis, shews beyond a 
 doubt, that it was a refusal to grant to the Irish, a com- 
 munication of those rights we ourselves enjoyed, that 
 caused their conntry to be five hundred years in subdu- 
 ing; and after the vain and useless projects of a military 
 government, it was discovered, that nothing could make, 
 our sister island English, but a practical participation in' 
 pur own form* of legislature. Hence, Mr. Burke asserts. 
 
460 
 
 that it was not English arms, but the English constitu-' 
 tion, that conquered Ireland. This it was, that made her 
 the great and flourishing country she now is, and instead 
 of a disgrace and a burden, she thus became our principal 
 strength and most glorious ornament. To produce the 
 same results in Spanish America, Rowing to distance, and 
 a variety of other reasons already explained, were im- 
 possible, unless a monarch, or some other corresponding 
 power, equally resided there. For the king of Spain, to 
 have two beings, is, also, alike impossible. But yet 
 Ferdinand has brothers, and there is likewise his uncle 
 Don Antonio.* Spanish America, might be divided 
 into two great empires. New Spain ranging as far as the 
 isthmus of Panama, and the rest incorporated under one 
 sceptre, as far as Cape Horn. Let branches of the royal 
 family of Spain reign there, in a permanent manner, let 
 them only be attached to the soil. Let their title be 
 king, or viceking, the name is indifferent, as long as they' 
 have a congress, or parliament, as a check and support; 
 the form is nothing, as long as the establishment is last- 
 ing, Let a new confederation be created between Spain 
 and these two new empires; such a one, as shall at all 
 times, be more profitable to the mother-country, than a 
 state of degradation and dependence; such a one, in 
 short, as will give her both additional strength and in- 
 creasing riches. Let the relative footing and duties of 
 each, be well defined and mutually guaranteed, and let 
 England be the promoter and protector of this confeder- 
 
 * The Infante Don Francisco de Paula, has been excluded from 
 the succession, by the old Cortes, on the vague report of his being 
 the son of Godoy. He is, indeed, extremely like him, but the fact 
 was never established judicially. 
 
470 
 
 ation. Would it not be a more noble and more honour- 
 able boast, than the late one of the Rhine ? What mi- 
 nister would not consider this, as the fairest title to 
 glory, and the most deserving of the veneration of poste- 
 rity ? When the beneficial results of such a confedera- 
 tion, were experienced, would not this be a means of 
 binding both European and American Spain, to our in- 
 terests for ever ? Nay, I will ask, under every circum- 
 stance, is there any other way of raising the latter from 
 degradation ; or creating an adequate establishment that 
 may provide for the comforts and prosperity of an inte- 
 resting people, consistently with the dignity of the par- 
 ties most immediately concerned, and the interests of 
 the rest of the world ? 
 
 Self interest, and the safe and sober measures taken 
 by the individual for his own aggrandizement, constitute 
 the chief impulse which directs the industry and views 
 of every branch of the community; and in general, a re- 
 gular adhesion to these principles and to this guide^ 
 will, most effectually^ promote and secure the advantages 
 of society at large. The individual, beholds with dread, 
 the prospect of a great and desirable gain, wrenched 
 from him; and with equal regret, ought a whole nation 
 to see the means of its own elevation lost. It ought to 
 feel an instinctive alarm, at the marring af a bright and 
 lasting dawn, serenely opening on its most valuable 
 branches of enterprize. Yet nothing can realize this 
 prospect, but a restoration of peace; and nothing can 
 retain it, but systems of a liberal and permanent nature. 
 After the experience of the past, ^ let us look to the 
 future. Whilst the daring spirit of the British merchant, 
 has extended our commercial relations to both cxtremi- 
 
471 
 
 ties of the globe, Spanish America is the only country 
 with which we have no regular connection; let us, at 
 least, in an honourable and dignified manner, secure this 
 rich harvest to our posterity, on whom we have entailed 
 so many burdens. Let us ensure to them and to our- 
 selves, the good will of a distant continent, on whose 
 friendship we may, in future, rely. In promoting the 
 happiness, let us be ambitious of the gratitude of seven- 
 teen millions of people. We have the means in our 
 hands, let them be improved. Let us aim at a confe- 
 deration, to which we are urged, both by interest and 
 glory. 
 
 In our superabundant population, and in the great 
 decline of the means of subsistence, from the increasing 
 dearth of provisions, maay families are scarcely able to 
 maintain themselves, and either from these motives, 
 urged by the views of speculation, or under the influence 
 of political or religious opinions, leave their native 
 country, in order to seek a new sphere for their exer- 
 tions. Others, again, seek an asylum from misfortune, 
 and many of the Northern inhabitants of the continent of 
 Europe, fly from the turbulence of war. The United 
 States, have hitherto been the receptacle of all these 
 classes of persons, and it is an undoubted fact, that they 
 have there greatly helped to the increase of population. 
 We find it impossible to hinder emigration from Ire- 
 land, and would it not be better for them to go in search 
 of homes, to a country, allied to us as would be Spanish 
 America, under the project I propose, where their de- 
 scendants may be our friends, instead of our enemies ; 
 where they may be occupied in the cultivation of those 
 articles, we require for our manufactures ; where they 
 
472 
 
 may aid to their consumption, and where in short, if wcf^ 
 lose them out of our own bosom, we are at least sure, 
 that they are not gone to augment the number of those, 
 who at one time or another, may grow to our dread, and 
 prosper to our disadvantage. This is not a country, that 
 requires the aid of slaves to till it and make it flourish ; 
 it asks not the African inured to a scorching sun, but it 
 possesses regions, suited to the labour of the European 
 in general. There, the soft and effeminate Italian, may 
 find a congenial cliipate, as well as the hardy highlander 
 of Scotland. How easy would it be for England, to 
 collect and convey there, the sober and industrious over- 
 flowings of the population of Europe; those, who when 
 the strength and fury of conflicting passions have been 
 spent; those who when appalled by surrounding slaughter, 
 and tired of scenes of horror, may wish to go in search of 
 the peaceful abodes of industry, .quiet, and repose. Then^, 
 may they have these regions to receive them, with open 
 arms; then, may they add to the glory of these new 
 empires, and whilst war 'wages on the continent, whilst 
 distress an^ dismay stare its inhabitants in the face, the 
 ocean and this great portion of the globe, may be de^ 
 Glared inviolable, and enthroned on the watery element, 
 England may stretch her immortal trident, and there, at 
 least, bid the tempest be still. 
 
 § If therefore, an over delicacy on the part of Eugv 
 land, has been the cause of a prolongation of the horrors 
 already sketched ; if from a want of energy, and by a 
 tame subserviency to Spain, the calls of humanity, pru*- 
 dence, and interest, have been unheard ; is it not time, to 
 ponder on the distressed situation of Spanish America,, 
 and as a compensation for our past neglect, nay, as a re- 
 
473 
 
 iurn for the unprovoked aggravations we ourselves once 
 brought on the heads of its inhabitants, and also to retrieve 
 our honour, is it not time to fix the principles and basis, 
 essential to the restoration of peace ? As before inculca* 
 ted, Spain is a party, under irritated and partial feelings," 
 and consequently, cannot be her own umpire. By her 
 conduct, and by the hostile, cruel, nay inhuman, instead 
 of conciliatory measures, pursued, she has hurled the 
 arrow of defiance at every hope of reconciliation, by her 
 own means ; and oppression and narrow-minded policy, 
 have completed that baneful structure, of which politi- 
 cal hatred, the clashing of interests, and the deadly spirit 
 of monopoly, first laid the foundation. As before clearly 
 proved, for Spain to affiance her sway in the manner she 
 now seeks, it must be on the ruin or degradation of a for- 
 saken, but unoffending people. Yet still, her object is 
 not secure. She may, for a while, rivet and prolong the 
 chains of despotism ; from her fortified places, the illu- 
 sion may yet be maintained, and harrassing expeditions 
 may be fitted out to carry discord and havoc amongst 
 the persevering natives. Spain may, yet, use further 
 exertions, and send out more troops^ till the whole coun- 
 try is wrapped in a wider, and still more bloody waste of 
 anarchy and slaughter; but in all, or either of these 
 cases, does not the philanthropic mind stand appalled ; 
 does not human nature shudder at such devastations, 
 murders, and enormities ; and does not the united voice 
 of humanity and of policy, call aloud for the cessation 
 of such multiplied evils ? 
 
 The Spanish Americans, also, who have beheld all 
 their eiforts of redress, treated with disdain; who see the 
 sacred rights they have inherited from their forefathers. 
 
. 474 
 
 trampled to the ground ; and their natah solum, covered 
 with ruins, and deluged with the blood of its natives; 
 who behold that very constitution the agents of Spain 
 have been planting with the bayonets point, now revoked 
 and held up to public scorn; who have before them, 
 nothing but the prospect of a worse degradation, than 
 that they before experienced; and who, in short, see that 
 they have only to trust to an inconsistent and faithless 
 people, will consider that the Rubicon is passed, and con- 
 ceiving that they are authorised by every* law, human 
 and divine, to persist in their enterprize, will render their 
 insulted country a tomb to all Europeans; and arming 
 the colodred natives, and, as in Caracas, declaring a ge- 
 neral death war, and rushing into dreadful retaliation, 
 they will render their unfortunate country, a blot in the 
 works of the creation. Nay, do we not already see, that 
 the weapons of each are sharpening for mutual slaughter^ 
 and that a general war-yell, resounds through the untilled 
 valleys and demolished towns of New Spain, Caracas, La 
 Plata, Santa F6, Chili, Quito, &c. and that it is soon 
 likely to spread to Peru, Guayaquil, and Guatemala, the 
 only points, where the Geslers and Verres of Spain, have 
 been able to insure control. 
 
 Gradually, as the spirit of animosity has flamed 
 wider, and as local wrongs and unheard-of outrages, have 
 impelled to resistence and firm-set purposes, the Spanish 
 Americans have taken their stand; and sooner than re- 
 turn to their old degraded state ; sooner than again suffer 
 their chains to be put on, by those very hands, which 
 have torn to pieces their rights and charters ; which have 
 so long rent the bosom of their country with anarchy and 
 a mercenary civil war; and are> besides, crimsoned with 
 
475 
 
 the blood of so many of their fellow-citizens and rela- 
 tions, they are resolved to perish in the struggle, and, at 
 least, transmit to their posterity, the records of those just 
 endeavours, which ought to have insured them, the re- 
 spect of even their enemies. Roused, ^j as they are, to a 
 sense of that degradation on which Spain seeks to found 
 their subjection, no danger, nor no species of sufferings, 
 will make them acquiesce to flagrant acts of injustice. 
 Nay, neither England, nor any other just nation of the 
 earth, can wish them to change so respectable a resolve;. 
 They ask but what the laws accord, and what reason 
 warrants ; and they ought to rest assured, that the 
 strength of nations, consists far less in masses of men or 
 rich treasures, than in the impulse given them by pa- 
 triotism, and the conviction of a just cause. 
 
 But, to what fatal consequences, will not such a spirit 
 of acharnement lead ? Nay, we have to calculate, whe- 
 ther these consequences will not, equally extend to us? 
 The Spanish Americans consider, that justice is on their 
 side, that they have in vain sought redress and offered 
 equitable terms, and yet nothing but butchery and devas- 
 tation awaits them. They behold all this, without an ef- 
 fective exertion on the part of England, with whom they 
 are, equally allied ; and who lately made them so many 
 proffers of friendship and protection. It is not to Spain 
 alone, that the blame of this is wholly laid, England par- 
 takes therein, till at last, an indiscriminate odium will 
 confound the names of both. 
 
 The experience of the past, ought, particularly, to 
 make us look to the future. Though the horizon now 
 before us, is serene, we know not what unfortunate acci- 
 dent, may tend to ruffle it ; but against such events, we 
 
476 
 
 might to be prepared. If ever the transmarine provinces 
 of Spain, are again subdued, and brought under their 
 ancient system of oppression, either by force of arms or 
 by capitulation, no influence or power, whatever would 
 get them to rise, and again embark on so calamitous an 
 ocean, as that on which they have been so severely buf- 
 feted. Very peculiar circumstances, have urged them 
 to their present measures, but should they not succeed, 
 they would carefully avoid a renewal of scenes, like those 
 they have, so often, witnessed ; they would shudder at the 
 massacres, conspiracies, and counter-revolutions, to 
 which they have been exposed ; and even deprecate the 
 blessing to which they now aspire, had they again to 
 wade through such torrents of blood. An unexpected 
 combination of events, has, lately given them an im- 
 pulse of action; but should any unfortunate circum* 
 stance impede their career, and they become victims to' 
 the liberticide efforts of Spain, it would never be in the 
 power of England again to rouse them to a bold under- 
 taking. Though we have effected peace, there still exists 
 a continental policy, supposed to be opposite to the in- 
 terests of islanders possessed of a maritime power; and 
 should the same ideas, we unfortunately imbibed by the 
 Spanish Americans, we are preparing a woeful inheri- 
 tance to our children, if they are ever dragged into strug- 
 gles like those, out of which we have just emerged. 
 Should that rich and extensive continent be reared in 
 deadly hatred against us, its fate becomes linked to tn« 
 future contingencies of Europe ; whereby the wielding of 
 its opinion and the guidance of its actions, devolves to 
 those, who are our natural enemies from interest, loca- 
 lity and national prejudices. 
 
477 
 
 But, ihdependatit of the great motives of policy} 
 Ivh-ich urge us to secure the gratitude of seventeen mil-» 
 lions of interesting people, nations, Uke individuals, are 
 bound to the practice of humanity; and, certainly here^ 
 there is full scope for its benign exercise. It is now 
 proved to a positive demonstration, that Ferdinand of 
 himself, cannot conciliate> since he has destroyed thai 
 same constitution which might at least have served as a 
 pretext and an illusion; unless degradation is the basis* 
 If so, on whom does it devolve, but on England, to stop* 
 the rivers of blood now flowing, and to convert the bran-* 
 dished sword into the sickle and the sythe? Diffi-' 
 cult and embarrassing as is the undertaking, every months^ 
 delay renders it more so ; and costs some thousands of 
 lives. The magnitude of the combined interests is greats 
 they cannot foil to suggest a remedy. It is only neces-^ 
 sary for both parties to sacrifice something; this alone- 
 suffices to stop the present effusion of human blood, as 
 well as the other calamities, which follow in the rear of 
 this murderous conflict. 
 
 The chief object of my present endeavours, as may be^ 
 ijeduced from the tenour of my arguments, has been, to'' 
 prove the necessity of British interference, on the ground* 
 of humanity, policy, and justice; and to adopt some- 
 plan of pacification, conformable to the circumstances, 
 and in strict accord with the relative dignity of each con- 
 tending party. This is a question of no ordinary policy, 
 but one that embraces our most lasting welfare, as a com- 
 mercial people ; and it rests with the British Govern- 
 ment, to weigh well the various interests which its issue 
 involves. The pursuits of a large body of mercantile 
 men, .the improvement and ^ood-will of a whole quarter 
 
478 
 
 oftheglabe, and the consumption of one fourth of our 
 annual amount of manufactures, hinge on the present 
 fate of Spanish America; and even these elevated con- 
 siderations of state policy and of state necessity, and to 
 them I might, also, add those of universal philanthropy, 
 are exceeded by the paramount calls of national justice, 
 which imperiously demand our interference. The Spa- 
 niards, undoubtedly view every thing w^ do relating 
 to them, with jealousy and distrust; this arises from old 
 prejudices^ never overcome. The conduct of Spain, in 
 the particular point alluded to, resembles that of a man 
 whose house is on fire, but who refuses the engine of his 
 neighbour to play upon it, because some pique or eti- 
 quette had before made them enemies. But, impelled as 
 we are, by so many powerful motives, and with justice 
 on our side, we ought not to be remiss or over delicate. 
 A conciliatory temper, must precede and prepare every 
 plan of adjustment, and to inspire these mutual senti- 
 ments^ could a more suitable person than Lord Welling- 
 ton be found ? An object of general love and reverence, 
 could not fail of having its full weight and influence in 
 conciliating the minds of all to some liberal measure. 
 The Spanish government and people, cannot have for- 
 gotten the various scenes of toil and danger through 
 which he has conducted them; and in contemplating the 
 many trying periods of the war, they will equally re- 
 spect his new exertions, in the cause of justice and hu- 
 manity, if they are only fully acquainted with their ob- 
 ject. Such an undertaking as this, would greatly add 
 to the laurels he has acquired on the field of battle, and 
 cast a consoling gleam on the many scenes of slaughter, 
 be has had to witness. The pacificator of Spanish Ame- 
 
479 
 
 rica, is not a title less honourable than the liberator of 
 Spain ; and to a soul like his, it cannot be more glorious 
 to gain battles, tlian to extend to one of the most inter- 
 esting portions of the globe, days of gladness, security, 
 and peace. 
 
 And is the glory of such an achievement, a laurel of 
 so barren a growth, as not to be worthy of the envy of a 
 British minister; or rather, would no real satisfaction be 
 derived from an object, attended with so many advan- 
 tanges? England stands as the only umpire of this 
 dreadful dispute^ being the mutual ally of both parties; 
 and could she ask a greater glory, or derive more real sa- 
 tisfaction, than to participate to Spanish America, the 
 same blessings she has aided to obtain for Europe? Nay, 
 could Britain hope for a greater pleasure, or could she 
 seek a more consoling reflection, than to have been the 
 instrument of so much good, to have converted anarchy 
 civil dissentions, as well as all the horrors of a pro- 
 tracted and unnatural war, into peace, fraternity, and 
 and firm alliance? Do acts of justice and of humanity, 
 no longer form the boast of the British Cabinet ? Long 
 has the fate and forbearance of Spanish America, inter- 
 ested the whole world, except the nation of which it 
 formed part; and when an opportunity offers of substan- 
 tial relief, is England, no longer ambitious of weaving 
 her name in the peace and regeneration of so valuable a 
 continent, when she can do it without reproach ? What 
 association of ideas more rational and more flattering, 
 than those which arise out of the contemplation of such a 
 scene ? By stopping the ravages of war, by causing the 
 voice of justice to be heard, and by contributing to the 
 future happiness and prosperity of the people of Spanish 
 
480 
 
 America, we should engrave our names and embalm our 
 remembrance, in the memories of their grateful posterity, 
 and having helped to raise them from 'their old degra- 
 dation and chains, v^e should lay the foundation of 
 that grand edifice, they are, by nature and a multipli- 
 city of circumstances, destined, at some future period, to 
 rear. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
M^m^^^ix^ 
 
 D CVMENT A. 
 
 " By virtue of an official paper, which I, the g'overnor of this 
 island of Trinidad, have received from the Right Honourable 
 Henry Dundas, minister of His Britannic Majesty, for Foreign 
 Affairs, dated April 7, 1797, which I here publish, in obedience 
 to orders, and for the use which your Excellencies may draw 
 from its publication, in order that you may communicate its te- 
 nour, which is literally as follows. — The object which,*at present, 
 I desire, most particularly to recommend to your attention, is, 
 the means which might be most adapted to liberate the people of 
 the continent near to the island of Trinidad, from the oppressive 
 and tyrannic system, which supports, with so much rigour, the 
 monopoly of commerce, under the title of exclusive registers, 
 which their government licences demand ; also to draw the 
 greatest advantages possible, and which the local situation of 
 the island presents, by opening a direct and free communication 
 with the other parts of the world, without prejudice to the com- 
 merce of the British nation. In order to fulfil this intention 
 with greater facility, it will be prudent for your Excellency, to 
 animate the inhabitants of Trinidad, in keeping up the com- 
 munication which they had with those of Terra Firma, previous 
 to the reduction of that island, under the assurance, that they 
 will find there an entrepot, or general magazine of every sort of 
 goods whatever. To this end, His Britannic Majesty has de- 
 termined, in council, to grant freedom to the port of Trinidad, 
 with a direct trade to Great Britain, 
 
II 
 
 ''With regard to the hopes you entertain of raising the spirits 
 of those persons, with whom you are in correspondence, towards 
 animating the inabitants, to resist the oppressive authority/ of their 
 government, 1 have little more to say, than that they may he 
 certain, that ivhenever they are in that disposition, they may 
 receive at your hands, all the succours to he expected from H, B, 
 Majesty ; he it with forces, or with arms and ammunition to any 
 extent ; with the assurance, that the views of H, B, Majesty, 
 go 710 further than to secure to them their independence, witli^ 
 out pretending to any sovereignty over their country, nor even 
 to interfere in the privileges of the people, nor in their poli" 
 tical, civil, or religious rights,^' — Puerto de Espaiia, June 20, 
 ^(\^ 1^7, signed Thomas Picton, &c. &c. 
 
 Document B, 
 
 Copy of the Instructions, given by the Usurper Joseph 
 Napoleon, ^0 ^Ae Commissary, or principal ^ gent, appoint- 
 ed 1)1/ him at Baltimore (M. Desmolaiid) and to the 
 others, who, furnished with his Orders, have gone to Spanish 
 America, for the purpose of revolutionizing it. 
 
 The object, which these agents are to aim at, for the present, 
 is no other, than that of manifesting to, and persuading the Creoles 
 of Spanish America, that H. I. and R. M. has solely in view, the 
 giving liberty to a people, enslaved for so many years, without ex- 
 pecting any return for so great a boon, other than the friendship^ 
 of the natives, and the commerce with th« harbours of both 
 Americas; that, to render South America, free and independent 
 from Europe, His said Majesty offers all the necessary assis- 
 tance, of troops and warlike stores, having agreed with the United 
 States of North America, to accommodate him therewith. 
 
:S. 
 
 iLveiy commissary, or agent in chief, being acquainted with the 
 district to which he is deputed, and also with the character of its 
 inhabitants, will have no difficulty in selecting proper persons, to 
 give them the needful instructions for persuading the people, 
 and pointing out to them^ the advantages they will derive from 
 throwing off the European yoke. He will make them observe, 
 that large sums will remain and circulate in the American pro- 
 vinces, by suspending the profuse remittances which are con- 
 tinually making to Spain ; and that their commerce will be in- 
 creased, and their ports be open to all foreign nations. He will 
 dwell upon the advantages to be deiived by them, from the free- 
 dom of agriculture, and the cultivation of all those objects, at 
 present prohibited by the Spanish government, for instance, 
 that of saffron, hemp, flax, olives, vines, &c. — The benefit that 
 will accrue to them, from the establishment of manufactures of 
 every sort ; the great satisfaction and advantages of abolishing 
 the monopolies of tobacco, gunpowder, stamps, &c. To obtain 
 all which, with facility, the people being for the greatest part 
 barbarous, the agents ought to be solicitous to render themselves 
 acceptable to the governors, intendants, curates, and prelates. 
 They will spare no expence, nor any other means of gaining 
 their goodwill, especially that of the ecclesiastics, on whom 
 they are to prevail, to urge and persuade the penitents when 
 they come to confess, that they stand in need of an independent 
 government, thftt they must not lose so favourable an opportunity, 
 as that, which now presents itself, and which the Emperor Na- 
 poleon affords them, \Vho, they are to make the people believe, 
 is sent by God, to chastise the piide and tyranny of monarchs, 
 and that it is a mortal sin, admitting of no pardon, to resist 
 God's will. They will, on every occasion, c^ll to their minds, the 
 opposition they experience from Europeans, the vile manner in 
 which they are treated by them, and the contempt to which 
 they are exposed. They will also remind the Indians, circum- 
 stantially, of the cruelties which the Spaniards employed i^ 
 
their conquests, and the infamies which they committed towaicf* 
 their legitimate sovereigns, by dethroning them ; by taking 
 away their lives or enslaving them. They will depict the acts of 
 injustice which they daily eJiperience, when applying for places', 
 which are bestowed by the viceroys and governors, upon those 
 who are either more submissive or pay better, to the exclusion of 
 the meritorious. They will direct the people's attention, to the 
 superior talents of the many neglected Creoles, and people of 
 merit, contrasted with the European public officers and ecclesi- 
 astics, which will make apparent the hardships they suffer, and 
 will enable them to draw a parallel between the talents and merits 
 of the Creoles, and those of the European officers. They will set 
 before their eyes, the difference between the United States and 
 Spanish America, the comforts which those Americans enjoy, 
 their progress in commerce, agriculture, and navigation, and the 
 pleasure of living free from the Europeon yoke, and being left 
 solely to their patriotic and elective government. They will as- 
 sure them, that America, once disengaged from Spain, will be- 
 come the legislatrix of Europe. All agents, both principal and 
 subordinate, are to specify the names of those who declare them- 
 selves friends and votaries of libeity ; and the subaltern agents, 
 are to transmit the lists to the principals, who will make their 
 reports to my envoy in the United States, for my information, 
 and that I may duly reward every individual. My agents will 
 refrain from declaiming against the inquisition or the church, 
 and, in their conversations, rather insist upon the necessity of 
 that holy tribunal, and on the usefulness of the clergy. Upoa 
 the insurrectional standards or banners, is to be inscribed the 
 motto *' Long live the Cathohc, Apostolic, and Roman religion, 
 and perish the bad government.** They will, moreover, make 
 the Indians observe, how happy they will be, when thsy become, 
 once more, masters of their country, and free from the tyrannical 
 tribute which they pay to a foreign monarch. And lastly, they 
 will tell the people, that their said monarch does not so much as- 
 
«£ist in his own government, but is in the power of the restorer 
 of liberty and the universal legislator. Napoleon, In a word, 
 these agents must, by all possible means, endeavour to shew the 
 people the utility which will arise to them from the government 
 in question. The revolution having thus been prepared, and all 
 the principal members, who are to take a share in it, in every city 
 and province having been gained, it will be for the chief and sub- 
 ordinate agents to accelerate the insurrection, and give early 
 advice to the other subordinate agents, in order that the rising 
 may take place at the different points agreed upon, on the same 
 day, and at the same hour, this being a very material point, 
 which will greatly facilitate the enterprize. The principal agents, 
 in every province of their department, and the subalterns, in the 
 points assigned them, will win over the domestics of governors, 
 intendants, and other persons in power, and by means of them 
 they will poison [envenenarl those of this class, whom they con- 
 sider as hostile to the undertaking, an operation (the poisoning) 
 which is to precede the revolution, in order to remove all ob- 
 stacles. The first point to be considered, will be, how to stop 
 the remittances of treasure to the Peninsula, which may be easily- 
 effected, by having good agents at Vera Cruz, and the other ports 
 of the American continent, but principally at Vera Cruz, where 
 all the vessels arriving from Europe will be received, and their 
 officers and crews immediately confined in the fortresses, until 
 every thing shall have succeeded, and the revolution be in for- 
 wardness. The agents, are furtlfer directed to instruct their sub- 
 agents, to transmit to them frequent giccounts of the progress of 
 the revolution ; and the chief agents will communicate with the 
 Envoy in the United States, by the channels that shall be pointed 
 out to them. For this purpose, it will be proper to keep pre- 
 pared, land-conveyances to those points of the coast, which may 
 be deemed suitable, and where, there are always to lie ready, 
 vessels for any emergency. 
 
 (Signed) JOSEPH NAPOLEON, 
 
 To my Envoy, 
 
 Desmolard. 
 
VI 
 
 p. S. To promote a ceitaiu object, of which you have inti- 
 mation, three other vessels are preparing at Baltimore. There 
 are now four vessels frequenting the different points of the 
 American continent, known to the agents, who will thereby con^ 
 tinue giving information of what may occur. The points to 
 which they more especially resort, are New Santander, Tampico 
 in the kingdom of Mexico, the coast of Camayagua, Truxillo, 
 Guatimala, and the harbours of Peru, Cumana, Rio de la Hacha, 
 Cartagena, Santa F^, Caracas, &c. and the rest of the Costa 
 Firme, whither also frequently sail two vessels, pretending to be 
 smugglers from Jamaica. Desmolard, from recent advices he 
 has received from Mexico, is confident, that the number of 
 partisans, already engaged, is immense, and those all of the first 
 rank ; he makes no doubt, that the insurrection will take place 
 in that realm, that the success of the scheme at Vera Cruz, is" 
 quite certain ; which will be the principal point of the whole ex-» 
 pedition; that he, therefore, keeps ready a safe conveyance to 
 advise those in New Orleans, where all necessary succours are 
 ready, but that he thinks even these useless, from the promises 
 of success held out by the party in his interest, as well as from 
 the supineness of that government, which will not take any vi- 
 gorous steps when the moment is arrived ; that he has, besides, 
 secured the powerful co-operation of the Indian governors, of 
 the Teypares of San Juan and Santiago in Mexico, and those of 
 the provinces of Tlascala and X^peaca, which are in the strait 
 road to Vera Cruz, by which means, the remittances of treasure, 
 and all correspondence with Mexico, will be cut off completely ; 
 that he has also very encouraging intelligence from Cali- 
 fornia ; and that those from Lima are not less so. Desmo- 
 lard, from the accounts he has received, also calculates upon the 
 principal officers of the army, especially on the garrison of Vera 
 Cruz, and the detachment of the castle of Porote, which he will 
 have immediately in his interest, and which is a point that will 
 afford the means of entirely cutting off the correspondence of the 
 
til 
 
 whole kingdom from Vera Cruz ; and finally, that he flatters him- 
 self with the happy issue of his ulteriour projects. 
 
 This copy is taken from the original in the office of the Se- 
 cretary to the Supreme Junta, preserving the rights of Don Fer- 
 dinand VII. in Venezuela ; and intending to communicate the 
 present to H. E, the Admiral of the Barbadoes station, as a 
 precaution against Napoleon's intrigues, 1 have signed it at th« 
 Caracas, May 31, 1810. 
 
 (Signed) J. G. ROSEIO. 
 
 Document C. 
 
 Extract oftM Remonstrance, presented hy the MunicU 
 pality of Mexico^ on the bth of August, 1809, to Viceroy 
 Iturrigaray , for the Assembly^ of a Junta of the tribunals 
 und Constituted Authorities in the Capital, 
 
 " Juntas of the government, and respectable bodies of the 
 cities and kingdoms, are no more than in exact conformity to the 
 law,* which ordains, that all arduous cases, shall be consulted with 
 the people ; and as in existing circumstajices, in consequence of 
 the seizure of the king, the sovereignty is vested in the nation, 
 in order that its interests may.be consulted, the united authorities, 
 together with the Municipalities, which are the heads of the 
 people, do exactly the same as would the monarch himself, for 
 the general welfare." 
 
 " Mexico, as was manifested in her first remonstrance, had 
 in view, the same principles as influenced Seville, Valencia, and 
 
 * Recop.de Castilla, ley ii, tit.i. lib. 6. — By the ancient laws of 
 the monarchy, the king was not authorized to make war, without calling 
 the representatives of the cities and towns around him. 
 
VUl 
 
 ^nd the other cities of Spain ; and she was empowered, in like 
 manner, as the above two faithful capitals, to do what she con- 
 ceived was advisable in such urgent circumstances ; the difference 
 alone is, that the one only proposed, and the others carried their 
 principles into execution." 
 
 " These most innocent examples, and besides necessary and 
 useful to the public cause, point out what ought to be done to 
 organize a governing junta, composed of the Royal Audencia, 
 the Archbishop, Municipality, and Deputies from the Tribunals, 
 Ecclesiastical and Secular bodies, the Nobility, principal Citizens, 
 and Military, This Junta shall deliberate on the most weighty 
 matters which surround us, and these shall be determined as most 
 conformably to our interests.'* 
 
 " The Junta is necessaiy, for although we are at present, free 
 from the urgent danger which threatened us, on the part of France ; 
 we, nevertheless, ought not, to neglect our means of defence, till 
 we receive positive advices, which may make us perfectly easy. 
 It is, at the same time, necessary, to fill up the immense void ex- 
 isting between the governing authorities a\id the sovereignty, by 
 procuring to the subjects the means of their felicity, and satisfying 
 their hearts and wishes ; thus replacing those means of appeal they 
 before had to the council of the Indies, or to the person of the 
 king; and finally, many amendments ought to be made in the 
 nominations for secular and ecclesiastical dignities ; these being 
 the only means, by which the kingdom, thus united, and possessed 
 of the high faculties which devolve to it, in consequence of the 
 absence of the monarch, may overcome all difficulties." 
 
 *' This union of authorities, is likewise necessary, as being 
 the most admirable means to reduce the opinions of all the people 
 to one vote; which will prevent the fatal consequences which, in 
 the interiour and exteriour, will arise from disunion, and in such 
 urgent moments, every one will then be happy, their patriotism 
 and wishes, will be united by love, enthusiasm and a sense of the 
 public good." 
 
IX 
 
 " The city, particularly, dwells on this means, and calls to 
 mind, the benefits and triumphs which the monarchs thereby ac- 
 quired, and by which, it adds, " the nation, animated by unani- 
 mity in each kingdom, is now attempting the most heroic of deeds. 
 All nations, convinced, by experience, of its utility, have put it 
 in practice, and our laws establish it, as the solid barrier to save 
 the country from dangers." 
 
 " The city, consequently thinks that the time is arrived, for 
 adopting the same means as have been carried into effect, in Spain. 
 The Junta, which your Excellency is to form, for the present, of 
 the authorities, and respectable bodies, as above referred, in the 
 mean time that the representatives of the kingdom, are assembled, 
 will carefully examine its interests, &c.'* 
 
 *' But the two fundamental points on which the Junta is to 
 act, ought not to be forgotten. The first is, that the authorities 
 retain the full extent of their faculties, in the same manner, as if 
 the derangement which we deplore in the monarchy, had not 
 taken place. That is, that your Excellency still hold the same 
 power which the laws grant, and that the same be observed with 
 the other tribunals. The second is, that in order to fill up the 
 immense void, which exists between the authority of your Excel- 
 lency and the Sovereignty, it is necessary to recur to the kingdom 
 represented in the executive, by the authorities and bodies exist- 
 ing in the capital, in union with the Municipahty as Metropolitan, 
 The remonstrance proves the grounds of this demand, by the ex- 
 ample of the guardians of the king, who, when the father dies, 
 without having named them, are chosen by the kingdom, by virtue 
 of the sovereignty it exercises; and insisting that all acts ought 
 to conduce to the keeping of Mexico for Ferdinand VII. it 
 concludes, that the present moments are not to be disregarded, 
 because the least injury in existing circumstances, may produce 
 the most fatal consequences." 
 
 Observation. Herein are explained, in the most official form, 
 (this being the report of the municipality of Mexico,) the motives 
 
And grounds for preferring the authority of a Junta, to the ar^ 
 bitrary power of a viceroy. To this the audiencia was opposed, 
 with whom the Enropeans all joined ; and the viceroy was con- 
 iinced of the necessity and legality of a Junta, by the arguments 
 laid oefoi-e him, but the measure was not carried. This was the 
 original and principal ground of disaentiou, in this as in the other 
 sections, and it is melancholy to say, has caused the sacrifice of 
 more than a million of lives, and the destruction of some hun- 
 dred millioiis of property, besides that of many cities an4 
 towns* 
 
 Document D, 
 
 Rot^al Order of the Council of Regency of Spain and 
 the Indies, 
 
 August 31, 1810. 
 *• Scarcely had the Council of Regency received the unex* 
 pected and disagreeable news of the occurrences of Caracas, 
 whose inhabitants, instigated, no doubt, by some intriguing and 
 factious persons, have committed the indignity to declare them^ 
 selves independent of the mother-country, and have created a 
 governing Junta to exercise this supposed independent authority, 
 when His Majesty determined to take the most active and effica- 
 cious means to attack this evil in its origin and progress. But, 
 in order to proceed with that mature deliberation and circum- 
 spection, which a matter of such importance deserved, His Ma- 
 jesty conceived it advisable, previously to consult the supreme 
 Council of Spain and the Indies. This has been done ; and, 
 Consequently, such measures have been taken, as His Majesty 
 
does not doubt will answer their end ; particularly since, accord- 
 ing to later accounts, neither the capital or province of Maracaibo 
 or Coro, nor even the interior of that of Caracas, have taken part 
 in this criminal proceeding- ;. but have, on the contrary, not only 
 acknowledged the Council of Regency, but, animated by the best 
 spirits in favour of the people of ihe mother-counti^, have taken 
 the most efficacious measures to oppose the absurd idea of Ca- 
 racas, in declaring itself independent, without being possessed of 
 the means of maintaining its independence. His Majesty, ne- 
 vertheless, has considered it indispensable to declare, as he hereby 
 declares, that the province of Caracas, is in the state of a rigorous 
 blockade ; at the same time commanding, that no vessel shall be 
 allowed to enter its ports, under the penalty of being detained by 
 cruizers and ships of His Majesty ; and forbidding all command- 
 ers, and civil and military chiefs of all the provinces and domi- 
 nions ot His Majesty, to authorize any vessel whatever to proceed 
 to La Guira ; and ordering that they do not, on any pretext, grant 
 any permits or licences to any vessel bound there, or to any other 
 port or river of said province ; moreover, commanding, that all 
 vessels leaving the same, for whatever destination, be captured, 
 seized, and confiscated , and that this order may have full effect. 
 His Majesty sends a sufficient naval force, to hinder any vessel 
 from going in or out of the ports of said province." 
 
 " His Majesty further ordains, that all the governors and 
 chiefs of the provinces contiguous to the one above named, hinder 
 therein, the introduction of provisions, arms, or warlike imple- 
 ments ; and also the exportation of the produce of their soil or 
 industry, and that they endeavour, by every possible means, 
 to prevent any communicatioi* with the inhabitants of said 
 province." 
 
 " This royal resolution, does not extend to the districts of the 
 above captain-generalship, which, refusing to follow the perni- 
 cious example of Caracas, have manifested their constant fidelity, 
 by renouncing the project of rebellion, which only originates i» 
 
<hc unlimited ambition of some persons, and in the blind credu- 
 lity of others, who suffer themselves to be dragged away by the 
 ardent passionsof their citizens. His Majesty has taken the most 
 secure measures, in order completely to extirpate these evils, and 
 to punish the authors thereof, with all the rigour which the rights 
 of sovereignty authorise him to use, unless there is a previous 
 and voluntary submission ; in which case, His Majesty grants 
 them a general pardon. His Majesty commands, that this reso- 
 lution shall circulate in all his dominions, for the purpose of its 
 being carried into effect, as well also as in foreign countries, in 
 order that they may there act conformably to the measures taken 
 for the blockade of said coasts," &c. &c. 
 
 Observation. This decree was issued, without any previous 
 communication with Caracas, as a means to ascertain its views. It 
 is evident, that the Regency was sorely galled by its sovereignty 
 not being admitted, yet few months afterwards, Spain herself 
 declared this same to have been an illegal government. The 
 object of the blockade, was principally against the British ; and 
 was not this a ground for some demonstration on the part of a 
 minister, independent of the unjust and impolitic act, then com- 
 mitting, which could not fail to bring about a cruel and disas- 
 trous war ? In order, however, that the basis of the above de* 
 cree, may be the better understood, I here subjoin an extract of 
 the motives which induced the people of Caracas to confide their 
 administration to a Junta, instead of a Viceroy (the great crime they 
 had committed, and for which war was declared against them), 
 but the curious on this subject, will do well to read the official 
 details in No. 4 of El. Espafiol. 
 
 The revolution in Caracas, broke out on the 19th April, 1810, 
 The troops took part with the people, by which means, blood was 
 avoided. The administration was confided to a Junta, till the 
 votes were collected for the formation of a more substantial go- 
 Tcrnment : secretaries, &c. were named. On the 29th, the new 
 government published a manifest of its proceedings. This dQ"- 
 
XUl 
 
 ttiiuent contains a succinct detail of the misfortunes of the Penin* 
 sula, and describes its situation as most desperate. It declares, 
 that the object of the revolution, or rather change, is as a shelter^ 
 from the pretensions of the ether nations of Europe; the in- 
 trigues of the French cabinet, and the designs which the mem- 
 bers of the dissolved central Junta, might have on that country ; 
 to maintain political order ; to sustain, as much as possible, the 
 rightful dynasty of Spain ; to relieve the fate of Ferdinand VII. 
 in case he should be freed from his captivity ; and to preseive the 
 glory of the Spanish name, by offering an asylum to the remnants 
 of that glorious nation.— -The nevt^ government began the exercise 
 of its functions, by acts in favour of the people. The abolition 
 of the alcabala, tributes of the Indians, &c. was decreed ; and 
 agriculture and trade declared free, &c. Virtue and moderation 
 were invoked and placed as mottos, and fraternity, union, and 
 generosity, as guides to their conduct. Here rest the grounds of 
 the Cadiz Regency war decree, which, together with all its ac- 
 companying horrors, drove the inhabitants of Caracas to the ex- 
 treme of declaring their absolute independence, on the 5th of July, 
 1811, as is strongly manifested in the various acts published on 
 that occasion. This war decree, has also wrapt the rest of Span- 
 ish America in a state of civil war, and in scenes of universal des- 
 truction. Causa quoe sit, videris. 
 
 Document E. 
 
 Answer of the Supreme Junta, preserving the Rights of 
 Ferdinand VIL in Venezuela ; addressed to His Excels 
 lency the Marques de las Hormazas, as Minister in 
 Spain. 
 
 Caracas, May 20, 1810. 
 
 The private letter of Y. E. of the 15th of Februajy, ult. has 
 informed us of the measure which the Couucil called the Regency, 
 
has been pleased to take, in order to remedy, as far aS possibk^ 
 the most weighty evils, caused by the scandalous abuse and arbi-i 
 trariness, with which, during the last reign, as well as for twenty 
 years back, the offices of European and American Spain hfive been 
 distributed ; whereby, the door has been shut to persons of talent, 
 patriotism, and true merit ; at the same time, that it has been 
 open to a multitude of ignorant, depraved, and immoral persons^ 
 to the manifest injury of the interests of His Majesty and the 
 public cause. 
 
 The Junta, which at present, governs these provinces, in the 
 name of the King our Lord, Ferdinand VII. cannot but applaud 
 the philanthropic views of the individuals who compose the said 
 Council ; but in doing this justice to their intentions, it would, 
 at the same time, have wished, that the election of the meansj 
 adopted by their Excellencies to suppress these abuses, and guard 
 against them in future, had authorized grounds for hopes, less 
 fallacious than those which have unfortunately hitherto deceived 
 us. Such, for example, as the hopes we were led to conceive, 
 from the decree * issued by the Central Junta, in Aranjuez, on 
 26th Oct, 1810, but which that body afterwards belied, when 
 transferred to Seville, when it acted, in this particular, as scanda- 
 lously, if not more so, than the ministry of Charles IV. 
 
 Weighed down by internal despotism, more than by the 
 onerous exactions, which, from the period of their settlement, 
 these provinces have borne ; rented out, during eighteen years^ 
 in all their branches, to the foreign house of the Welsers f ; con- 
 tinually outraged by estranged persons, who, by the distance of 
 the supreme power, were secure in the impunity of their ciimes ,% 
 
 » The first decree, declaring that the Spanish American provinces 
 ^ere not colonies, but iheir inhabitants, as free and equal as those of the 
 Peninsula, yet never practically executed. 
 
 + Charles V. granted this province to the commercial bouse of the 
 Welsers, as an heriditary fief of the croivn, to answer demands they had 
 upon him. The ferocity of their agents, is minutely described by Dc- 
 pons, vol. 1. as Bellas the sufiferings of the iohabitantg. 
 
ill-treated, from the administration of justite, being always cm* 
 fided to venal persons ; and (to use the same phrase as contained 
 in the proclamation of their Excellencies) beheld with indif- 
 ference ; harassed by avarice ; destroyed by ignorance ; and 
 bent down under a yoke, rendered more heavy, from the greater 
 distance of the centre of power ; how many times have we not 
 recurred to the supreme authority, hoping, that at length, our 
 long sufferings would be recompensed by the extirpation of 
 abuses, which could not be expected, as long a* the erroneous 
 and vicious regimen of our court lasted ; and unless it was, by 
 the punishment of all kinds of wickedness, with which the repre- 
 sentatives of the crown, have stained themselves in all the pn>» 
 vinces of America, 
 
 Notwithstanding the accusations against the Spanish ma^s- 
 trates in these dominions, were often repeated, it appeared, as if 
 the continuance of receiving them, had, by degrees, taken from 
 them, all kind of force and credit. Under the pretext of preserv- 
 ing the decorum of the authorities, and to obtain for them, sub- 
 mission and obedience, the Spanish court, has professed the con- 
 stant policy of upholding its officers at every risk, thus rejecting 
 our complaints, and endeavouring to appease them, by ambiguous 
 measures, or by multiplying the trammels and the costs, in order, 
 that the warmth of the complainants, might be gradually, re- 
 duced. 
 
 How few magistrates, have we seen, who had a true zeal 
 for our interest ; who were enlightened and impartial in the ad- 
 ministration of justice; accessible to the clamours of oppressed 
 humanity ; moderate and prudent in the exercise of their enor- 
 mous faculties ; or who have not returned to Europe, bloated 
 with the substance of the Americans ? And, notwithstanding, 
 this, when was it, that one of so many monsters, had been seen, 
 to satisfy the severity of the laws, by receiving the punishments 
 they deserved, even by their deposition, or by a solemn reproba- 
 tion? Seldom have they mat with any other chastisement, than 
 
XVI 
 
 that of being transferred to better offices, or admonished with pri- 
 vate orders, which scarcely seiTed for any thing else, than to 
 point out to them, the enemies of whom thev were to be c!aU- 
 tious, and against whom, they might in future, level their aims, 
 with more rancour and dexterity. 
 
 This has been the only satisfaction we have obtained, when 
 the ministers, or supreme tribunals, have deigned to listen to us; 
 and when time, and the great expences of the application, have 
 not buried the claims in oblivion, or when they have not obliged 
 us, patiently to suffer greater iniquities. 
 
 Their Excellencies, know well these defects, and appear dis- 
 posed to remedy them ; let us now see, what are the measures 
 they fix on, for so important a reform. The first, consists ia 
 asking of us, deputies for the meeting of the Cortes. We will 
 not, in this place, pretend to repeat, what we have already mani- 
 fested to the Council of Regency itself, respecting the dispropor- 
 tion, existing between these deputies required, and the popula- 
 tion of America ; and, also, with regard to the defective repre- 
 sentation with which they will be vested, from being named by the 
 municipalities, and not by the people ; since the former cannot 
 confer upon them a public character, they themselves do not 
 possess ; and, in short, respecting the little confidence which the 
 people must place in persons, elected under the immediate in- 
 fluence of their oppressors. 
 
 But, for a moment, let us grant to these deputies, all the 
 qualities necessary to fulfil their weighty charge ; let us suppose, 
 that they hold in the Cortes, that share in the legislature 
 which belongs to them, but which they can never exercise, 
 in consequence of their small number : from this, the most 
 that would result, is, that our code would be rendered more per- 
 fect ; so that just, wise, and impartial laws, would be esta- 
 blished. But, where is the guarantee of their observance ? 
 Who is there to assure us, that the new dispositions of the 
 national legislature, will be better complied with, than ^ many 
 
XTII 
 
 «alQtarj regTiTatioxxs wilb whicb car co^e aboimds, but wMeb. 
 have, in great meas«re> fallen into disuse > Your Excellency 
 knows, Tery well, that the national sovereignty is null, and its 
 representation imaginary, when the organization of the executiTe 
 Itt-ancb, does not consolidate the rights of the people, by placing 
 barriers to arbitrariness ; and that if oar interioiir institutions, do 
 »Qt preserve i^ from the evils we have hitherto experienced, we 
 should have to lament the inobservance of the best laws, wheaerer 
 they may be found in contradiction with avarice, pride, and tb« 
 resentments of those who are sent over to txeeuie them. 
 
 Another of the means, of whidi their Excellencies have 
 availed themselves, appears in the order to which we now giv* 
 answer, and is to require private information respecting the qua- 
 lities of all the individuals, who hold in these dominions of the 
 king, any ecclesiastical, political, military, and fiuancial offices. 
 It is, but, feebly, to know the corruption which has gangrened 
 even the heart of the Spanish government, to anticipate good 
 effects from a measure, that only rests on the word and good 
 faith of the viceroys and captain-generals. We might truly say, 
 that the capital of each of these governments, is a complete 
 sketch of our ancient court »t home, in st\l its intrigues ; that 
 each of the principal chiefs, is surrounded by a band of satellites, 
 panting after grants burdensome to the people, and strongly 
 united to the same chiefs, by the bonds of common interest ; of 
 whom the greatest part, have placed their confidence in ignorant 
 and wicked men, incapable of guiding them in a proper mannfrr, 
 and accustomed to abuse this confidence for their own private 
 ends. Black, indeed, as is this portrait, which we now lay 
 before your Excellency, we are, nevertheless, well assured, that 
 it would perfectly correspond, with the testimony of all the other 
 people of America. It, therefore, results, that the private order 
 to which we now return an answer, could not be considered in 
 any other light, than as most dangerous instrument, in the hands 
 •f viceroys and captain-generals; since it would only scrrc for 
 
 b 
 
XVlll 
 
 the advantage of favourites, and for the ruin and discredit of 
 their rivals, and, in short, to render worse, those very vices, it is 
 intended to remedy. 
 
 What report could your Excellency expect from all those 
 chiefs, who are unjustly placed in those very offices, to which 
 the order is directed for compliance? Does your Excellency 
 believe, they would do it, by beg^inning* with themselves, as 
 being unworthily elevated to the ranks they hold, by means of 
 that very same abuse and arbitrariness, to which allusion is 
 made ? Can it be believed, that none of those from whom in- 
 formation is demanded, have not themselves risen by this very 
 means, when the disorder which has uniformly reigned,' has 
 been frequent and general ? Could the captain-general of Cara- 
 cas, be exempt from this stigma. When he obtained the command 
 of these provinces, whilst yet a prisoner of war, comprehended in 
 the capitulation of Madrid, sworn to the French government, 
 named by Napoleon for this very office, and confirmed by the in- 
 trusive monarch of Spain, in the vei-y nomination, he has since 
 received from the Central Junta ? Would this chief, perchance, 
 have reported, that none of the three ministers placed in the 
 audiencia, had been raised but by leaps, being entirely destitute 
 of the merit belonging to the high dignity of the gown, and 
 without even having exercised the office of advocate, when, at the 
 same time, he promoted the deposition of an auditor of war, who 
 had served from the year 1795; and placed in his stead, an 
 Ignorant and proud person, without merit or services ? Would- 
 be have denounced the inability and arbitrary conduct of such 
 officers, who already knew no other law, than his own caprice, 
 acting with absolute independence and sovereignty ? 
 
 We repeat to your Excellency with the freedom which our 
 sacred obligations prescribe, that Spanish America, cannot rest 
 her hopes of amelioration, but in the previous reform of her in^ 
 ternal institutions. Every thing else, is in vain, precarious, 
 ^aimericalj suitable to produce only a momentary illusion, ami 
 
XIX 
 
 insB^cient lo fiH the duties ©f the Spanish goveniment. This 
 adone is capable of making^ ks bear with the privatioQ of so 
 many adyaQtag:es and so many b&Defits» which can only he 
 deriTed, from the beDeficenlE iaffueace ©f a degree of liide- 
 pendenee, sach a one as is declared m the proclamatioia^ 'which 
 Ihe new gTJTerQmeBt of Cadiz has again sent aat to us; in which, 
 considering as raised to the di-^nity of free meii, it aimounces, 
 that in selecting a representative in th« Batioaal congiess, oijr' 
 destinies are in omr own hands, and no longer depend on 
 ministers, viceroys, or governors. An independence, obtained 
 without the necessity of this nominartion, in order to avoid the 
 ahsnrdity of gianting: to the chiefs, more right and faculty than 
 to their constitaents. 
 
 The best laws will be of no avail, as Jong as a captain- 
 general can say, with impunity, that in these provinces, he 
 acknowledges no anthority sapeiionr to his own, that his will is 
 theIaw;aQ4 whilst, to make him change his tone, it is necessary 
 to recnr to a snpreme power, at such a distance from ns, and 
 which is, itself, in some measure, pledged to its own acts, and 
 the proceedings of its representatives. 
 
 Those who have been in the habits, of managing any branch 
 of the vast dependence of the Indies, cannot fail to ratify, hy 
 interionr conviction, the truth of onr assertions ; and if it were 
 allowed, or convenient, they might prove them, by innnmejable 
 facts. Let one suffice for alii The supreme tribunals, tired with 
 listening, to the clamours against the royal audiencia of this 
 capital^ find themselves under the necessity of resorting to an 
 expedient^ poiated out for similar cases, by the legislation of 
 the Indies; btit which, had been laid aside^ from being defec- 
 tive, or from the negligence of the Spanish government. 
 
 A visiting judge arrives in this capital^ cloathed with all the 
 parade generally bestuwed on such ministers, by the apparent 
 importance of their commissions, and the specious iorms so care- 
 fully conferred upon them. Hundreds of persons, hasten, to 
 
 b2 
 
XX 
 
 solicit reparation for their injuries, and as a dread to the magis- 
 trates, who, from venality, favour, or other motives, had scanda- 
 lously trampled on justice. But what happened? Did the 
 injured receive any indemnity ? Was any magistrate deposed ? 
 This entire body of complainants, was dismissed by the visiting, 
 judge, with the truly satisfactory answer, that the descisions of 
 the audiencia, were irrevocable; and before the proceedings 
 were closed, those very persons who had caused them, were 
 raised to offices of more importance than they before held. The 
 treasury had to bear a considerable expence on account of the 
 visiting judge and his clerks^ he caused many injuries in the ex- 
 ercise of the Regency, which had been conferred on him during 
 his commission, and the evils which gave rise to it, remained 
 without remedy. 
 
 We hope that your Excellency, far from attributing the fj ee- 
 dom of our language, to the motives with which, endeavours have 
 always been made to blacken American patriotism, will do us the 
 justice to think, that we would spare this exposition of our in- 
 juries, and would omit every reflection on the proper means of 
 guarding against them in future, if we did not consider it useful 
 and necessaiy to the interests of the Spanish monarchy, whose 
 integral preservation to its worthy and legitimate sovereign, is the 
 first of oi^r vows. The language with which we express ourselves, 
 although it may appear strong, is exactly conformable to facts, 
 suited to theiioble freedoni with which a people ought to demand 
 justice, and it cannot appear scandalous, but to the ears of those, 
 who compare it with the ancient system of terror which they 
 would wish to prolong. We request your Excellency to be 
 pleased to inform your government of the whole, and believe ma 
 animated with the highest consideration to your person, &c. &e, 
 (Signed) JOSE DE LAS LLAMOSAS, President, 
 
 MARTIN TQVAR PONTE, Vice-President, 
 
±X1 
 
 Document F, 
 
 Letter from the Junta of Caracas, to His Majesty 
 George III. 
 
 Caracas, June 1, 1810. 
 
 " America remembers well, that in the first moments, wh« 
 the irruption of the French troops into Spain, and the captivity 
 of her monarch, occasioned a dread that the Spanish sections of 
 the new world, might be incorporated under the French yoke; 
 jrour Majesty could not remain indifferent to the fate of so large 
 a portion of the globe; and the representatives of yoiir Majesty 
 in the Archipelago of the Antilles; iii yoiir royal name, made us 
 the most generous offers to contribute, by every means in their 
 power, to the great and sole object consistent with the august 
 beneficence of the sovereign of Great Britain, and with the honour 
 of America.'* 
 
 ** To proclaim the same cause as our brethren in Europe, to 
 swear an endless odium to France, to invoke the friendship and 
 protection of England, was the impulse of Caracas, was the lesson 
 she gave to the other provinces of America ; and such were the 
 ^enriments, unanimously manifested by the loyal inhabitants of 
 this city ; sentiments, which subsequent events, have only tended 
 to strengthen and to ratify. In such manner, did Caracas hasten 
 to testify her feelings of fidelity and patriotism, that even before 
 ^iie knew the resolution of the inhabitants of Spain, to withstand 
 the wicked arts, and to resist the powerful armie^ of France; 
 before she was aware of the benevolent and efiicacious disposition 
 of your Majesty, to save Spain and her distant dominions from 
 the catastrophe to which they were exposed, by the very last act 
 of a despotic and venal government ; before even the descision of 
 the representatives of the Spanish s<^s£xanwut mthese protinces. 
 
 0^-^ OP THB 
 
 '■[JHI7BRSIT7; 
 
had transpired, {chiefs, so filled with respect for tlie ministenai 
 forais, so dexterously employed by the usurper, that they seemed 
 to waver in the fiist moments,) yet, without any antecedent of 
 the above, Caracas lisiened to no other voice than that of honour^ 
 she was actuated by no other impulse than that ef loyalty, nor 
 did she proclaim allegiance to any other name, than that of her 
 unfortunate monarch." 
 
 ** Caracajs has been unchangeable in these her sentiments^ 
 notwithstanding, like the rest of the nation, she was weighed 
 down by the disorders of an administration, not less corrupt and 
 arbitraiy than that of Charles IV.; but which, unfortunately, had 
 obtained the consent of the provinces of Spain, in hopes, that it 
 would guide their heroic efforts against the invader. Caracas 
 was, nevertheless, sensible, that the Central Junta, possessed no 
 legitimate delegation of the sovereignly, for the authority arro- 
 gated to themselves by its members, and which they so scanda- 
 lously abused, had neither been transmitted by tlie acknowledged 
 sovereign, nor did it emanate from the great community of the 
 Spaniards of both hemispheres. Both reason and justice demand- 
 ed, that the loyal inhabitants of Ameiica, if they were really con- 
 sidered as Spanish citizens, should have in the representation of 
 the nation, an influence proportioned to their importaace and po- 
 pulation; but instead of so irrefragable a principle being observed 
 with regard to them, in the orders given for the election of the 
 American deputies, called to compleat the Central Jiinta, as well 
 as in the recent convocation of the Cortes, nothing but an insup- 
 portable pai tiality was to be found, in favour of the sad remains of 
 Sfjain, as well as a most painful reserve, in the veiy manner in 
 which we were invited to participate in that share, which legally 
 belongs to us, in the exercise of the national sovereignty, and 
 which, in the actual stGte of things, cannot but be of the greatest 
 consequence to the safety, as wtU as to the future fate of the in-* 
 habitants of the new world/* 
 
^. "America, has beheld in most of the measures emanating^ 
 from that irregular deposit of our sovereignty, a plan concerted 
 for her own subjection; how could she, therefore, any longer 
 bhndly confide in the justice and liberality of men, whose public, 
 as well as private conduct, was the object of universal censure and 
 contempt; and when, notwithstanding, the impartiality and mo- 
 deratipn of which they boasted, and the vehemence with which 
 they declaimed agaiust the ministry they supplanted, they them- 
 selves have not failed to imitate its example, by delapidating the 
 public revenue, and by equally prostituting employments and 
 honours* For the truth of this assertion, let us appeal to the 
 testimony of the provinces of Spain, even to that of some of the 
 members of the Central Junta themselves, who coiild not behold, 
 without indignation, or sanction by their silence, the sordid and 
 ambitious views, by which the plurality was actuated. Let us 
 appeal to the .testimony of your Majesty's own wise ministers, 
 and to that of the gallant generals and officers of the British 
 nation, who have joined in the contest with our European bre- 
 thren, and who have shared with them the dangers of the 
 battle, as well as the unheard of privations they had to endure, 
 from the malversation of the public treasure." 
 
 " In the midst of disorders so public and notorious. An erica, 
 nevertheless, stifled her indignation, and gave to the world, a 
 subhme lesson of moderation and disinterestedness. She beheld 
 in that same unity and fraternity to which all her wishes con- 
 spired, the only shelter that could save Spain from the tempest 
 bursting upon her; and to this precious unity it was, that she 
 continued sacrificing her own individul interests. Our hopes 
 being at length foiled, the Peninsula occupied by the tyrant, 
 and the very members of the Central Junta, shamefully dispersed 
 and branded with public detestation, what other safe line of 
 conduct was left for America, but to vindicate her injured rights, 
 by disavowing all authority at home, not emanating from the 
 real suffrage of the nation ? The rights of America, had, na 
 
ifcxiv 
 
 security in a representation, incomplete in itself, and besideii 
 illegalijr constituted; one that originated iii the necessity of the 
 moaatat, one filled with odions obstacles and divested of ail im- 
 portance; a representation, in short, in itself illusive, and, which, 
 instead of hein^ the safeguard of our liberties, might possibly 
 beconie a passive instninient in favour of ambition and tyranny. 
 ** Under such circnmstances, the inhabitants of CaraciSbs 
 have conceived, that they could no longer remain insensible to 
 the danger, to which their silence and that of the other sections of 
 America, might expose their common intei^ests; nor could they, 
 any longer, -ronfidc Ihcir security and future fate, to authorities 
 constituted by a Junta which had incurred the execration of all 
 l^od Spaniards, and which, wei«, besides, placed, by circum* 
 stances, in a degree of independence, dangerous to the adminis- 
 tmtioa of justice* The deposition of such authorities, has been 
 the unanimous wish of all classes of citizens, and it has been 
 <;flected with that order and concert, which will, at all times, 
 proye tlie true motives of our resolution. To direct the attefi* 
 tion of the Americans to the danger that threatens them ; to 
 exhort them mutually to tighten the bonds by which nature has 
 united them, bnt which the policy of the late ministry, ahvayt 
 endeavoured to relax; to invoke the powerful protection of your 
 Majesty, in order to disconcert the views of the common enemy; 
 to perfect a provisional government, which may equally guard 
 against tyranny and disorder; to await, under the shelter of 
 good order and an upright administration, the final issue of the 
 tempests which now rend the globe; bat more especially, to prft* 
 *erve these dominions entire and untouched, for the sovereign 
 whom by oath we have acknowledged ; have been the votfrs of 
 Caracas; such are the duties the governing Junta of this place, 
 imposes on itself, and such shall invariably be the object of all 
 its acts and measures. In complying with part of these said 
 duties j the government of Caracas, has considered it indispen- 
 sably necessary, to manifejit to your Majesty, its sincere dispo* 
 
!sttioii to concur in ertry measur* for the general good, abiding 
 by th€ free suffrage of al! lite parts of the Spanish nation, tliat 
 may escape from the isurpation of France, and to cling to aa 
 impartial system of fraternity and confederation." 
 
 *' Considering the want of a legitimate government in the 
 Peninsula, as well as the absolute impotence of the one that ex- 
 ists. Great Britain by her maritime power, by her political in- 
 fliience, and by the philanthropic views which direct her, is the 
 cation that appears called upon to complete the grand work of 
 confederating the scattered sections of America, and to cause 
 order, concord, and rational liberty, to reign therein ; and we 
 may Teniure to say, that nothing would be more worthy of iJreat 
 Biitain, more worthy of the wise government, as well as congenid 
 to the character and personal virtues of your Majesty; and that 
 amongst the many transcendent traits which already adorn the 
 bifitojy of your Majesty's memorable reign, none would render 
 this era more brilliant in the eyes of posterity, than the 6ne t<^ 
 Iphich we allude." 
 
 ** We confide, therefore, that your Majesty will deign to 
 receive, with your accustomed interest, the loyal and generous 
 diBScision of the inhabitants of this country, unanimously re- 
 solved to perish, rather than to submit to the odious yoke, with 
 which they are threatened by the French usurper. The conduct 
 your Majesty's cabinet has uniformly observed, the efforts and 
 sacrifices of the government, and of the British nation for th^ 
 fj-eedom of the continent of Europe, are to us the most SUre 
 guarantee of your Majesty's protection, and the best support of 
 our hopes. May your Majesty graciously accept the testimony 
 of our respectful gratitude, the blessings with which we will at 
 all times pronounce your august name, and the prayers we 
 dir^t to heaven for your glory and felicity," 
 
Wivi 
 
 Document G. 
 plan op peace. 
 
 'Natural and legal principles, on ichich it isfounded\> 
 
 1st. The sovereignty, resides in the mass of the nation. 2d. 
 Spain and America, are integral parts of the same monarchy, 
 subject to the same thing, but respectively equal, and without 
 any dependence and subordination one of the other. 3d. Ame- 
 rica, in her state of fidelity, has more right to convoke the 
 Cortes, and call together representatives of the few patriots oi 
 Spain, already infected with disloyalty, than Spain has to call 
 over deputies from America, by means of whom, we can nevet 
 be worthily represented. 4th. During the absence of the king, 
 the inhabitants of the Peninsula, have no right to appropriate to 
 themselves the sovereign power, and represent it in these do- 
 minions. 5th. All the authorities emanating from this origin, 
 are null. 6th. For the American nation to conspiie against 
 them, by refusing to submit to an arbitrary power, is no 
 more than using its own rights. 7th. This, far from being 
 a crime of high treason, is a service worthy of the king's grati- 
 tude, and a proof of patriotism, which His Majesty would ap- 
 prove, if he were on the spot. 8th. After what has occurred in 
 the Peninsula, as well as in this country, since, the overthrow of 
 the throne, the American nation, has a right to require a gua- 
 rantee for its security, and this can be no other, than putting 
 into execution the right which it has, of keeping these do- 
 minions for their legitimate sovereign, by itself, and without 
 the intervention of any European people. 
 
XXV41 
 
 From fhese incontrovertible principles, the following jtM 
 pretensions are deduced, 
 
 1st. That the Europeans, resign tbe command and thfe 
 armed force into the hands of a national congress, independent 
 of Spain, representing^ Ferdinand Vii., and capable of securing 
 iiis rights in these dominions, 2d. That the Europeans, remaia 
 in the class of citizens, living under the protection of the laws, 
 is'ithout being injured in ilieir persoi^ families, or property:. 
 -3d. That the Europeans, at present in office, remain with the 
 honoui-s, distinctions and privileges thereof, and part of theit 
 revenue, but without exercising them. 4th. That as soon as 
 this state of independency is declared, ail antecedent injuries 
 and occurrences, be buried in oblivion; the most effective mea- 
 sures for this purpose, being taken ; and dl the inhabitants dT 
 this land, as well Creoles as Europeans, shall indistinctly con- 
 stitute a nation of American citizens, vassals of Ferdinand VII., 
 and bent only on promoting the public felicity, 5th. That ia 
 such a case, America would then be able to contribute in favour 
 of the few Spaniards engaged in sustaining the war of Spain, 
 with those sums the national congress may assign, in testimony 
 of our fraternity with the Peninsula, and to prove that both 
 aspire to the same end. 6th. That the Europeans, who may be 
 desirous of quitting the kingdom, be granted passports for what- 
 ever place they may wish ; but, in that case, officers shall not be 
 allowed the portion of their pay, that might have been grjuited 
 them. 
 
 PLAN OF WAR. 
 
 Indubitable principles, on which it is founded* 
 
 1st. A war between brethren and fellow-citizens, ought not 
 to be more cruel, than between foreign nations. 2d. The two 
 contending parties acknowledge Ferdinand VII.; of this the 
 
Xxvm 
 
 Americans have g'iven evident proofs, by swearing allegiance to 
 him, and proclaiming him in every part ; by carrying bis por- 
 trait as their emblem, invoking his august name in their acts 
 and proceedings, and stamping it on their coins and money. On 
 him, the enthusiasm of dl rests, and on these grounds, the in- 
 surrectional party, has always acted. 3d. The rights of nations 
 and of war, inviolable even amongst the most infidel and savage 
 people, ought to be much more so amongst lis, who profess the 
 same creed, and who are subject to the same sovereign and 
 laws. 4th. It is opposed to christian morality, to act frclri 
 hatred, rancour, or personal revenge. 5th. Since the sword is 
 to decide the dispute, and not the arms of reason and of pru- 
 dence, by means of agreements and adjustments founded on the 
 basis of natural equity ; the contest ought to be continued in 
 «uch a manner, as to be least shocking to humanity; already 
 too much afflicted, not to nierit our most tender compassion. 
 
 Hence are, naturally, deduced, the followhig just preteri' 
 4ions, 
 
 1st. That prisoners, be not treated as criminals gtrilty of 
 high treason. 2d. That no one be sentenced to death, or ex- 
 iled for this cause, but that all be kept as hostages, for the pur- 
 pose of exchange. That they be not molested with irons and 
 imprisonment, and as this is a mere measure of precaution, let 
 them be put loose in places, where they cannot injure the views 
 of th€ paVty by whom they may be detained. 4th. That each 
 one, be treated according to his class and condition. 5th. That 
 as the rights of war, do not permit the effusion of blood, but in 
 the act of the combat, when this is once over, let no on^ he 
 killed; nor let those be fired upon who fly or throw down their 
 arms ; but let them be made prisoners by the victor. Cth. That 
 as it is contrary to the same rights, as well as those of nature, to 
 enter with fire and sword, in the defenceless towns, or to assign, 
 by tenths of fifths persons, to be shot, by which the innocent are 
 •oufounded with the guilty, Iftt fio one be allowed, under the most 
 
severe penalties, to ccmmit such enormities as these, which so 
 greatly dishonour a christian and well legislated nation. 7th. 
 That the inhabitants of the defenceless towns, through which the 
 contending armies may indistinctly pass, be not injured. 8th. 
 That, as by this time, every one is undeceived with regard to the 
 true motives of this war, and it being unwarrantable to connect 
 this contest with the cause of religion, as was attempted at the 
 beginning, let the ecclesiastical orders, abstain from prostituting 
 their ministry, by declamations, reproaches, or in any other 
 manner, within the limits of their jurisdiction; nor ought the 
 ecclesiastical tribunals to interfere, in an affair purely of the 
 state, and which does not belong to them : which, if they do not 
 do, they certainly disgrace their dignity, as experience daily 
 proves ; and expose their decrees and censures to the scorn, de- 
 rision, and contempt of the people, who, in the mass, are 
 anxiously wishing the success of the country. It being well 
 understood, that in case the clergy are not thus restrained, we 
 feel no longer answerable for the results that may be occur, 
 from the enthusiasm of the people; although, on our part, we 
 protest, now and for ever, our respect and profound veneration 
 to their character and jurisdiction, in matters relating to their 
 ministiy. 9th. That, as this is a matter of the greatest im- 
 portance, and indistinctly concerns all and every inhabitant of 
 this land, this manifest and its propositions, ought to be pub- 
 lished by means of the public prints of the capital, in order that 
 the people, composed of Americans and Europeans, being in- 
 formed of what interests them, may be enabled to point out their 
 will, which ought to be the guide of all our operations. 10th. 
 That in case none of these plans is admitted, reprisals shall be 
 rigorously observed. 
 
 Behold here, brethren and friends, the religious propositions 
 we present to you, founded on principles of natural equity; 
 alarmed, as we are, at the evils which afflict the nation. In one 
 hand, we offer you the olive-branch, and in the other, the sword, 
 
XXX 
 
 hint never losing sight of those bonds by which we are niiite<^>, 
 always bearing in mind, that European blood circulates in oiii, 
 ▼eins, and that the same blood which is now so ^i shedding to 
 the great detriment of the monarchy, and this for the purpose oi. 
 maintaining it integral during the absence of the hing^ i& aU 
 Spanish. And what objection have you to examine oui' preten- 
 sions? How can you palliate the blind obstinacy of refusing to 
 hear ns ? Are we, peichance, infcriour to the populace of a 
 single town of Spain ? And are you of a superiour hierarchy to, 
 kings? Charles. III., descended from his throne, to listen to a. 
 plebeian who spoke in th^ nanae of the people of Madrid. To 
 Charles IV., the tumult of Aranjuez, cost no less than the abdi« 
 cation of his crown. Is it, then, the Americans alone, wheo 
 they seek to speak to their brethren, to whom they are inevery 
 sense equal, and at a time, when the king no longer can be had> 
 who are to be answered with the fire of muskettry ? 
 
 If now, when we address you for the last time, since we have^. 
 ©ften in vain endeavoured to fix your attention, you refuse t(^ 
 admit any of our plans, at least, we shall rest satisfied with, 
 having proposed them, in compliance with the most sacred, 
 duties, which the good man cannot behold with indifference. In^ 
 this manner, shall we be justified in the eyes of the world, and 
 posterity will not have to accuse us of irregular proceedings. But, 
 in this case, remember there is a supreme and severe judge, to 
 whom, sooner or later, you will have to give in account of your 
 operations, and of their results and enormities, of all which, 
 hence forward, we make you answerable. Remember, that the 
 late of America, is not decided; that the combat is not always 
 favourable to you, and that reprisals, are at all times, most 
 terrible. Brethren, friends, and fellow-citizens, let us embrace, 
 and be happy, instead of mutually bringing on our heads mis- 
 fortines." 
 
DoCUMExNT H. 
 
 MITA in Peru. 
 
 The mita, is a division of the Indians by requisition, to 
 work in the mines. It was established in the following manner. 
 Viceroy Toledo, was the first who caused a regular enumeration 
 -of the Indians to be made, and exclusive of Tucuman, Chili and 
 Buenos Ay res, he reckoned in the government of Peru alone, 
 1,097,697 male Indians, from the age of 18 to 50, the ages at 
 which they begin and cease to be assessible to work in the 
 mines. He divided them into 514 allotments, or repartimientos, 
 in order that they might be under the care and training of per- 
 sons fixed upon, and out of the 17 provinces nearest to Peru, he 
 assigned a 7th part of the population, that is 4733 Indians to 
 ihe 132 works which had been established, but under certain 
 regulations. 
 
 According to them, the miiai/os, or assessed Indians, were 
 to be chosen in presence of and under the direction of thei? 
 respective caciques, in such manner, that the lot shall fall on 
 each, once in seven years. In Potosi, the mitayo is only 
 obliged to work four months. Each labourer has two others to 
 relieve him, who serve the same space of time, and he thus has 
 one week of labour and two of rest. In this manner, in the 32 
 years which intervene between 18 and 50, at which age they are 
 exempt from this requisition as well as from tribnte, they serve 
 in the mines 18 months. 
 
 From their native provinces, they are conducted by their own 
 captains, the married Indians accompanied by their wives, and 
 an exact list is made of all the effects they carry with them. No 
 variation can be made in their destination, nor can the one to 
 whose lot it has fallen to work in the mines^ exchange with him 
 
xxxh 
 
 who is destined to work at the braising mills. They receive 
 20 rials (lis. 3d.) per week. Care is taken to see that thejT 
 provisions arc not overrated, and they are allowed for tiaveiJiug 
 cxpences, half a rial for every league. The working of the 
 nines is considered very unhealthy, in consequence of the ar- 
 senic vaponre which flit in tlje air, and affect the chsst. This 
 is partly counteracted by the use of the coca^ cbew«d as the: 
 betel nat in the East Indies. To this labour^ the depopRlation. 
 of Pern, is partly attributed. This requisitioa, has lately been 
 abolished by the Cortes. 
 
 Document !• 
 
 (TRIHSLATED from the SPANISH.) 
 
 Corespondence between General Hodgson^ Governor of 
 Curagoay and General Bolivar of Venezuela^ respecting 
 certain Spa?nsh prisoners, 
 
 GavernmeDt lloose, Curagoat September 4, I8I3. 
 Sir, 
 
 Having been informed that many European Spaniards^ 
 are now confined in the prisons of La Guira and Caracas, in con* 
 sequence of the part they took in the late unfortunate disturb- 
 ances of Venezuela, and who possibly may suffer death ; I have 
 the honour to address you on this subject. Although I am per- 
 fectly sure, from the well known humanity of your character, 
 that you will take no measure of that kind, nevertheless, as 
 there may be persons vested with the authority, in the above 
 places, who may not be possessed of your generous sentiments^ 
 and who may, perhaps, from erroneous principles, recur to acts 
 
XXXlll 
 
 of cruelty, I esteem it a duty of humanity to intercede in their 
 favour, and request you to grant them passports to leave the pro- 
 vince. The brave are always merciful. I am, &c. 
 
 (Signed) J. HODGSON. 
 
 To DON SIMON BOLIVAR, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 (ANSWER.) 
 
 Head Quarters, Valencia, Octobers, 1813. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to answer your Excellency's letter, 
 of the 4ih of September, ultimo, which I have this day received, 
 delayed, without doubt, by causes of which 1 am ignorant, on 
 its way from your island to La Guira. 
 
 The attention which I ought to pay to a British officer, aud 
 to the cause of America, place me under the necessity of mani- 
 festing to your Excellency, the unhappy causes of the conduct, 
 which in spite of myself, I observe to the Spaniards, who, within 
 the last year, have wrapt Venezuela in ruins, by committing 
 crimes which ought to have been thrown into eternal oblivion, if 
 the necessity of justifying, to the eyes of the world, the death 
 war which we have adopted, did not oblige us to draw them to 
 light, from the scaffolds and horrid dungeons, with which they 
 are covered, and to place them before your Excellency. 
 
 A continent^ separated from Spain by immense seas, more 
 populous and richer than her ; subject, for three centuries, to a 
 degrading and tyrannical dependence, heaiing, in the year 1810, 
 of the dissolution of the governments of Spain, by the occupancy 
 of the French armies, placed itself in motion, to preserve itself 
 from a similar fate, and to escape the anarchy and confusion 
 which threatened it. Venezuela, the first, institutes a Junta 
 preserving the rights of Ferdinand VIL, and in order to wait the 
 descisive issue of the war. It offere to the Spaniards desirous of 
 emigrating, a fraternal asylum ; it invests many of them with the 
 
 e 
 
' XXX IT 
 
 supreme magistracy, and preseiTcs in their offices, all who were 
 placed in those of the greatest infliience'and importance. Evident 
 proofs of the views of union, which animated the people of Vene- 
 zuela : views, to which the Spaniards, deceitfully, corresponded; 
 most of whom, abused this public contidence by black perfidy. 
 
 In fact, Venezuela adopted the above measure, impelled by 
 irresistible necessity. Under circumstances less critical, provinces 
 of Spain less important than herself, had erected governing Jun- 
 tas to save themselves from disorder and tumult. And, was it not 
 equally the duty of Venezuela, to provide a shelter from so many 
 calamities and to secure her existence against the rapid vicissi- 
 tudes of Europe ? Was it not even injurious to the Spaniards of the 
 Peninsula, to remain exposed to the troubles and confusion, which 
 were about to succeed to the loss of the acknowledged government; 
 ought they not even to have been grateful, for our thus obtain- 
 ing for them a safe asylum ? Could any one have thought, that 
 a rigorous blockade and cruel hostilities, would have been the 
 returns of so much generosity ? 
 
 Confident, as was Venezuela, that Spain had been com- 
 pletely subjected, and as was also believed in every other part of 
 America, she adopted the above measure; which even, before, 
 she had a right to have done, authorized by the example of the 
 provinces of the Peninsula, with whom she was declared equal in 
 rights and in political representation. The Regency afterwards 
 was formed in a tumultuous manner in Cadiz, the only point 
 where the French eagles had not penetrated; from whence it 
 . Culminated its destructive decrees against a free people, who, 
 without any obligation, had maintained their relations and na- 
 tional integrity, Nvith a nation, of whom they were naturally in- 
 dependent. 
 
 Such was the generous spirit which animated the first revolu- 
 tion of America, one effected without blood, odium, or venge- 
 ance. Might not Venezuela, Buenos Ayres, and New Granada, 
 have displayed their just resentments for so much injury and 
 
XXXV 
 
 violence, by destroying those Viceroys, Governors, and Regents; 
 all those rulers, executioners of their own species, who gratified 
 with the destruction of the Americans, made the most illi^trious 
 and virtuous perish in horrid dungeons ; who spoiled the good 
 man of the fruit of his labour, and in general, persecuted in- 
 dustry, the useful arts, and every thing else, that could alleviate 
 the horrors of our slaveiy ? 
 
 For three centuries, did America groan under this tyranny, 
 the worst that ever afflicted the human race; three centuries, did 
 she lament her fatal riches which were so attractive to her op- 
 pressors; and when just providence presented her with the un- 
 expected opportunity, of breaking her chains, far from thinking 
 of avenging these outrages, she invites even her own enemies, by 
 offering to share with them her gifts and asylum. 
 
 On now beholding almost eveiy region of the new world, 
 busied in a cruel and ruinous war ; on seeing discord agitating 
 with its furies, even the inhabitants of the cabin; sedition fan- 
 ning the devouring flame of war, even in the remote and solitary- 
 villages, and the American fields crimsoned with human blood, 
 it is natural to enquire, the cause of all this strange confusion, 
 in this lately peaceful continent, whose docile and benevolent 
 children, had always been an example of mildness and submis- 
 sion, unknown in the histories of other nations. 
 
 The ferocious Spaniard, caitt on the shores of Columbia, to 
 convert the finest portion of the globe, into a vast and odious 
 empire of cruelty and rapine, in him may your Excellency be- 
 hold the fatal author of all the trajic scenes we have now to de- 
 plore. His entry into the new world, was marked with death 
 and desolation ; he caused its primitive inhabitants to disappear 
 from the face of the earth, and when his savage fury found no 
 more beings to destroy, he turned it against his own children, 
 whom he had in the land he had usurped. 
 
 Your Excellency might behold him, thirsting for blood; con- 
 temn things the most holy, and sacrilegiously trample on those 
 
 c2 
 
XXXVl 
 
 engagements which the world venerates, and which have re- 
 ceived the inviolable sanction of all ages and people. A capitu- 
 lation, last year, delivered np to the Spaniards, all the indepen- 
 dent territory of Venezuela ; and an absolute and tranquil sub- 
 mission OH the part of the inhabitants, convinced them of the 
 paciiication of the people, and of the total renunciation they had 
 made, of their late political pretensions. But, at the same time, 
 that Monteverde swore to the people of Venezuela, the religious 
 fulfilment of his offered promises, the most barbarous and im- 
 pious infraction was seen; the towns were sacked, buildings 
 were burnt; the fair sex outraged; nearly the whole inhabitants 
 of cities shut up in caverns; the imprisonment of an entire peo- 
 ple, being for the first time then realized. In fact, none but 
 those obscure victims, who could escape from the sight of the 
 tyrant, preserved their miserable liberty, by hiding themselves 
 in solitary huts, or by living in the woods amidst wild beasts. 
 
 How many respectable old men and venerable clerg}% were 
 bound in stocks and other infamous fetters, confounded with cri- 
 minals, and exposed to the scorn of a brutal soldiery, as well 
 as of the vilest of men ? How many expired, bent down 
 under the weight of insupportable chains, deprived of air, or 
 starved with hunger and misery ? At the time the Spanish con- 
 stitution was publishing, as a shield to civil liberty, hundreds of 
 victims were dragged away, loaded with chains, to deadly and 
 loathsome vaults, without any cause being assigned for such pro- 
 ceedings, nay, without even the origin or political opinions of 
 the victims, being known. 
 
 Your Excellency may here see, the not exaggerated, but un- 
 heard of picture of Spanish tyranny in America; a picture, 
 which at the same time, excites feelings of indignation against 
 these executioners, and of the most just and lively sensibility for 
 the victims. Ne-vertheksSf tve did not then see, any feeling 
 souls intercede Jbr suffering humanity ^ nor claim the compli- 
 ance of a compact, which interested the whole tvorld. Your 
 
xxxyii 
 
 Excellency at present interposes your respectable mediation, fot 
 the most ferocious monsters, the authors of all these evils. Your 
 Excellency may believe me, when the troops of New Granada, 
 under my command, came to avenge nature and society so much 
 outraged, neither the instructions of the beneficent government 
 of that place, nor my designs, were to exercise the right of re- 
 prisal on the Spaniards, who, under the title of insurgents, were 
 carrying all the Americans, worthy of that name, to infamous 
 execution, or to tortures still more cruel and infamous. But 
 seeing these tygers sport with our noble clemency, and secure in 
 their impunity, continue, even when conquered, the same san- 
 guinary fierceness, I then, in order to fulfil the holy commission 
 confided to my responsability, and to save the threatened lives of 
 my fellow-countrymen, made an eflTort to divest myself of my 
 natural sensibility, and to sacrifice the sentiments of a, pernicious 
 clemency, to the safety of my country. 
 
 May your Excellency permit me to recommend to you, the 
 perusal of the letter of the ferocious Zerveris, the idol of the 
 Spaniards in Venezuela, to General Monteverde, contained in tliQ 
 Caracas gazette, No, 3 : you will there discover, the sanguinary 
 plans which these wicked people intended to effect. Being in- 
 formed, before hand, of their sacrilegious intentions, which a 
 cruel experience, immediately afterwards, confirmed, I resolved 
 to carry on a death war, in order to deprive these tyrants, of 
 the incomparable advantage which their destructive system, 
 offered. 
 
 On my army opening the campaign in the province of Varinas, 
 unfortunately, Colonel Antonio Nicolas Briseno, and other officers 
 of distinction, were taken, whom the barbarous and cowardly 
 Tiscar had shot, in the number of sixteen. Similar spectacles, 
 were repeated in Calabozo, Espino, Cumana and other provinces, 
 accompanied by such circumstances of inhumanity, that I con- 
 ceive the repetition of such abominable sceneSj unworthy of 
 your Excellency and of this letter. 
 
XXXVllI 
 
 Your Excellency may see a slight sketch of the ferocious acts, 
 in which Spanish cruelty satiated itself, in the Caracas gazette. 
 No. 4, The general massacre rigorously committed in the 
 peaceful town of Aragua, by the most brutal of men, the detest- 
 able Zuazola, is one of those phrenzied and sanguinary acts of 
 blindness, which have seldom degraded humanity. There were 
 seen, men and women, old and young, with their ears cut off, 
 liome skinned alive, and then cast into venemous lakes, or as- 
 sassinated by painful and slow means. Nature, was even attacked 
 in its most innocent origin, and the unborn, were destroyed in 
 the wombs of their mothers, by blows and stabs of the bayonet, 
 
 San Juan de los Moros, an agricultural and innocent town, 
 presented similar spectacles and equally agreeable to the Spaniards, 
 committed by the barbarous Antonanzas and the sanguinary Boves. 
 Still, are there to be seen, in the fields of that unhappy country^ 
 the dead bodies suspended on the trees. The genius of crime, 
 there appears to hold his empire of death, to whom no one 
 could approach, without feeling the furies of his implacable 
 Vengeance. 
 
 But it is not Venezuela, alone, that has been the theatre ofv 
 these horrid butcheries. The opulent Mexico, Buenos Ayres, 
 ^nd Peru, as well as the unhappy Quito, are scarcely to be com* 
 pared to any thing else, than to so many vast charnel-houses, 
 where the Spanish government assembles the bones of those, 
 who have fallen under its murdering steel. 
 
 Your Excellency may find in gazette. No. 2, the basis on 
 which a Spaniard founds the honour of his nation. The letter 
 bf Father Vicente Marquetich affirms, that the sword of ReguIeS 
 in the field, and on the scaffold, has immolated 12,000 Americans 
 in one year, and shews, that the glory of the navy officer Rosendo 
 Porlier consists in his universal system of not giving (quarter; 
 even to the saints, wer6 they to appear before him in the dress 
 of insurgents. 
 
XXXIX 
 
 I refrain from shocking the sensibility of your Excellency, by 
 prolonging the picture of the enormities which Spanish barbarity 
 has committed against humanity, in order to establish an unjust 
 and shameful dominion over the unoffending Americans. Would 
 to God, that an impenetrable veil could hide from the know- 
 ledge of roan, the excesses of his fellow-beings. Oh ! that a 
 cruel necessity did not impose upon us, the inviolable duty of 
 exterminating such treacherous assassins ! 
 
 'Let your Excellency place yourself, for a moment, in our 
 situation, and then ask, what kind of conduct ought to be ob- 
 served towards our oppressors ? Let your Excellency then de- 
 cide, whether the freedom of America, can ever be secured, as 
 long as such obstinate enemies breathe. Fatal experience, daily 
 urges us to the harshest measures; and even I might add, that 
 humanity itself dictates them. Placed, by my strongest senti- 
 ments, under the necessity of being clement with many Spaniards, 
 after having left them amongst us at full liberty, and when their 
 heads were scarcely free from the avenging knife, they have 
 stirred up the unfortunate people, and perhaps, the atrocities 
 recently committed by them, equal the most horrid of the whole. 
 In the valleys of Tuy and Tacata, and in the towns of the West, 
 where one would have thought, that civil war could never have 
 carried its desolating ravages, these wretches have already raised 
 lamentable monuments of their savage cruelty.* Even women, 
 young children, the aged, have been found skinned, with their 
 eyes and entrails torn out ; nay, one would be induced to think, 
 that the tyrants of America, were not of the human species. 
 
 In vain, would you sohcit in favour of those who are now de- 
 tained in our prisons, passports for your island, or for any other 
 point out of Venezuela. To the great injury of the public peace. 
 
 ♦ These circumstances principally allude to the enormities com- 
 mitted by the armed slaves on their masters, whom till bow the civil 
 vrar had scarcely disturbed^ 
 
we Lave already exprieuced the fatal consequences of this mea- 
 sure ; for we can assert, that almost all who have obtained pass- 
 ports, notwithstanding the oaths by which they were bound, have 
 disembarked on the points in possession of the enemy, in order 
 again to enlist themselves in the parties of assassins, which dis- 
 turb these defenceless towns. In their very prisons, they are 
 plotting subversive projects, undoubtedly more fatal for them- 
 selves, than for a government, obliged to use its efforts, more to 
 repress the fury of the zealous patriots against the seditious who 
 threaten their lives, than to disconcert the black machinations of 
 the former. 
 
 Your Excellency may be able to judge, whether the Americans 
 ought to suffer themselves to be patiently exterminated, or whether 
 they are to destroy an iniquitous race, which as long as it breathes, 
 is incessantly labouring at our destruction. 
 
 Your Excellency is not mistaken in supposing in me, senti- 
 ments of compassion ; the same characterise all my countrymen. 
 We could compalionate the Caffres of Africa ; but Spanish 
 tyrants, contrary to the most powerful sentiments of the heart, 
 impel us to reprisals. American justice, will, nevertheless, at all 
 times, know how to distinguish the innocent from the guilty ; 
 and even the latter, shall be treated with all the humanity due 
 to the Spanish nation. 
 
 I have the honour to, &c, 
 (Signed) SIMON BOLIVAR. 
 
 To the Governor of Curacoa, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Another letter from General Bolivar to the same, dated Oct. 
 9, 1813, slates, that in vain he had proposed to exchange his 
 Spanish prisoners for Americans, whom, in spite of a sacred ca- 
 pitulation, the Governor of Puerto Cavello retained in irons and 
 pontoons, busied in ignominious works, and afflicted with hunger 
 and all kinds of misery. Bolivar adds, that the result has been 
 the detention of his emissaries, their inviolable character being no 
 
xli 
 
 longer respected, thus basely abusing the good faith, with whieh 
 they had entered the Spanish lines. 
 
 Your Excellency will have seen (he says) by my last printed 
 inclosures, my fruitless remonstrances to General Monteverde, in 
 order to effect an exchange, to save the lives of the Spaniards, 
 whom he had basely abandoned to our discretion. Above all, 
 your Excellency will be astonished, that when I had even 4000 
 of them in my power, he (Monteverde) not only refused to admit 
 the proposition to exchange them for 100 and more Americans, 
 but even never returned an answer, loading the bearer of my pro- 
 positions with chains, and putting him to the hardest work. 
 
 Notwithstanding these repeated and execrable infractions, 
 the high intercession of your Excellency, and so respectable in 
 Venezuela, made me adopt the measure of sending proposals of 
 exchange for the officers taken in the last actions, offering to ex- 
 change them for Americans, according to their rank and charac- 
 ter. Your Excellency may observe, the advantages of this pro- 
 posal for the enemy, whose prisoners in consequence of an ante- 
 riour law, dictated as well from necessity as from justice, were to 
 be beheaded, whilst our people have been buried in dungeons, 
 though covered with a capitulation which guaranteed their secu- 
 rity. The American prisoners ought to have been set at liberty, 
 the Spanish ones ought to have perished. Your Excellency may 
 judge on which side clemency now rests, and on which there 
 is a cruel obstinacy. Your Excellency cannot fail to conclude, 
 that more humane with the Spaniards, than even they with 
 their own countrymen, we have made every exertion to save 
 them ; but your Excellency will never believe that they have, even 
 made themselves the executioners of their own countrymen. 
 
 These benificent propositions, were carried by Father Salva- 
 dor Garcia de Ortigosa, a venerable priest, whose exemplaiy 
 virtue had infused respect, even into the Spaniards. He entered 
 as a flag of truce, and his only object was to favour the enemies 
 prisoners and his countrymen. The audience given to this vir» 
 
xlff 
 
 tuous emissary, and the gratitude shewn by the Puerto Cavello 
 chief, for those belonging to his army, has been, to bury him in 
 a dungeon, nay, he only saved his life, by tears and entreaties. 
 I now request your Excellency to point out whatever measures 
 can be taken with those monsters, who neither respect the rights 
 of nations, virtue, nor honour ; even self interest does not restrain 
 their wickedness. I had been desirous of being generous, even 
 to the injury of the sacred interests which I defend ; but these 
 barbarians are too obstinately bent on cruelty, even to their own 
 detriment. 
 
 (Signed) SIMON BOLIVAR. 
 
 Observation, It was on the above grounds with the addition 
 ©f further aggi avations, that Bolivar ordered all his prisoners to be 
 shot, as seen in the end of Document J. And let me now ask, 
 would the name of a British officer, have been degraded, by inter- 
 ceding for the American sufferers in the first calamities of Ca- 
 racas, since one can now implore compassion for their very au- 
 thors ? Humanity is the noblest feeling of the soul, and always 
 the appendage of a British officer ; but the feelings of humanity 
 had been spared, if justice only had been obtained. The infrac- 
 tion of the Caracas capitulation, was the cause of all these evils ; 
 this was proved to our commanders abroad, and individuals 
 sought to impress this fact on the ministers at home ; but to no 
 effect. Yet it is a fact, that a timely and proper interference on 
 the part of the British government, would have prevented all 
 these horrors. To whom, then, is not a considerable share of 
 blame to be attached ? Ample channels of information, have 
 been open to it, but they have been disregarded. 
 
xliii 
 
 Document J. 
 
 Remarks on the Disasters of the Provinces of 
 Caracas J hy an English Gentleman, an Eye-witness, 
 
 The extraordinary and melancholy events, which hare 
 taken place within the short space of six months, in the beau, 
 tiful province of Venezuela, are, perhaps, without a parallel, 
 even in this age of revolutions ; and with regard to the conse- 
 quences that may follow to the rest of South America, and to 
 the West Indies, from the present state of things in Venezuela, 
 makes it perhaps, the most serious and delicate subject, that 
 ever has been laid before the British government. 
 
 It is almost impossible to obtain correct information, from 
 the official documents, published by any of the contending 
 parties. 
 
 The European Spaniards and their chiefs, view the natives 
 of the country, as a desperate band of rebels, that must be 
 subdued by coercive measures, no matter how irreconcilable 
 those measures may be, to the dictates of humanity, and the 
 usages of civilized nations. They assert, that any measures of 
 lenity or persuasion to these people, does not comport with the 
 dignity of the Spanish monarchy, and, in fact, they have re- 
 duced this barbarous and impolitic theory to practice, by a se- 
 ries of horrors scarcely credible, but, unfortunately, well au- 
 thenticated, not by the often exaggerated statements of the na- 
 tives, but by the unerring testimony of ocular proof, afforded 
 to many respectable British subjects and other foreigners, who 
 visited or dwell in the conntry, for commercial purposes. 
 
xliv 
 
 The first and most perfidious act of cruelty and perfidy, (and, 
 indeed, that which gave birth to all the subsequent horrors) 
 was the Yiolation by General Monteverde. of the capitulation 
 he had solemnly entered into, with Miranda. The most im- 
 portant aFticle in that capitulation, was the immunity promised 
 to all persons who had borne arms against the Spanish monar. 
 chy, or who had held civil offices under the revolutionary go- 
 yernment. Scarcely had Monteverde got fixed in the seat of 
 authority, at the city of Caracas, when he indicated his inten- 
 tions to set aside the capitulation, and in a short time, publicly 
 declared it null and void. He began his dreadful system of 
 infraction and vengeance, by seizing the person of the most 
 distinguished Creole in the country. Doctor Roscio.— This indi- 
 vidual had been secretary of state under Miranda, and had ren- 
 dered himself conspicuous, by the splendour of his talents, in 
 favour of his native country. Monteverde ordered him to be 
 loaded with chains, and conducted to the public square, where 
 he was put into the stocks, and remained there twenty-four 
 hours, exposed to the insults and derision of the European 
 Spaniards ; from thence he was conveyed to a dungeon, unlii 
 an opportunity offered, to send him and some other victims to 
 Spain, 
 
 This outrage on Dr. Roscio, was the prelude to the tragic 
 scenes, which immediately followed. Monteverde caused to be 
 arrested, nearly every Creole of rank throughout the country ; 
 he then had them chained in pairs, and conducted to the dun- 
 geons of La Guayra and Puerto Cavello, where many of them 
 perished in a few weeks, by suffocation and disease. The num- 
 ber of victims, thus immured in the above two places, was, at 
 least, fifteen hundred, exclusive of those confined in the inte- 
 riour of the country, and others fled for safety to an im- 
 mense distance from the capital. While Monterverde, was 
 thus openly pursuing this system of perfidy and revenge at the 
 city of Caracas, his agents were busily employed in the same 
 
xlv 
 
 weasures, throughout every village and town over the extensive 
 country. The catalogue of horrors, committed by the said 
 agents, is of so long and disgusting a nature, that I forbear to 
 detail ; suffice it to say, that one of the common methods of 
 punishing those who had been employed under Miranda, or were 
 suspected of disaffection to the Spanish government, was to 
 mutilate their persons, by cutting off their ears or nose. 
 
 It could not be expected that such scenes of outrage, would 
 remain long unresisted by a people, who although they had 
 been used for ages to habitual oppression, had recently, tasted 
 the enjoyment of some of their natural rights. 
 
 Accordingly, symptoms of revolt against Monteverde, be- 
 gan to exhibit themseWes in the early part of last year, 
 throughout various parts of the province, which continued 
 daily to augment, in consequence of the people knowing that 
 Simon Bolivar (a distinguished native of Caracas) was at the 
 head of a considerable force from New Granada, and advan- 
 cing to their relief. 
 
 Prior to the arrival of Bolivar, in the province of Caracas, 
 Monteverde had suffered a signal defeat, at a place called 
 Maturin, in the province of Curaana, by a handful of men, 
 commanded by a young man, named Marino. — Monteverde, 
 alarmed at this defeat, and hearing of the rapid advances of 
 Bolivar, thought it prudent to retire from the capital, and shut 
 himself up in Puerto Cavello, and there wait the arrival of 
 expected succours from Spain. At his departure from Caracas, 
 he appointed a certain Colonel Fiero (a native of the Canary 
 Islands^ governor and captain-general, ad interim; but this 
 individual, with a baseness and pusillanimity beyond any 
 example on record, formed the diabolical project, not only of 
 offering a fictitious capitulation to General Bolivar, but to 
 precipitately fly from Caracas, and abandon at least fifteen 
 hundred European Spaniards to the rage of a victorious 
 armyy and to the indignation of those Creoles, who were about 
 
Xlvi 
 
 to emerge from the very dungeons and chains, under which they 
 had been so long groaning. In order to accomplish this plan, 
 Fiero sent a deputation to meet Bolivar, composed of the most 
 respectable European Spaniards in the country, who had direc- 
 tions to capitulate on the best terras they could with General 
 Bolivar. The latter, not suspecting any treachery, and confiding 
 in the personal knowledge he had of the characters of the de- 
 puties, and desirous of giving a proof of magnanimity, gene- 
 rously acceded to such terms, as the European Spaniards had 
 little right to expect from a victorious Creole chief. After the 
 capitulation was signed by Bolivar and the deputies, the latter 
 transmitted it to Monteverde for his approbation, but whether 
 from a previous understanding between him and Fiero, from 
 obstinacy, or from his fears that the Creoles might follow the 
 fatal example which he had given of had faith, in the execution 
 of a former capitulation, be it as it may, Monteverde refused 
 his approbation of the capitulation, declaring, at the same time, 
 his determination never to treat on any terms, with the insnr. 
 gents. Before this answer could be communicated to Bolivar, 
 and while the unsuspecting deputies had been labouring to pro- 
 cure an amnesty for themselves, their countrymen and property, 
 the perfidious Fiero, in union with a body of Catalans, Bis« 
 cayans, &c. determined on flight from Caracas, with all the 
 treasure, public and private, they could collect, and accordingly 
 about the last of July, departed for La Guayra, where on their 
 arrival, Fiero took the necessary measures to embark himself 
 and his illustrious companions, and departed for Cura^oa, 
 leaving behind him as before mentioned, more than fifteen 
 hundred European Spaniards. 
 
 Immediately on the departure of Fiero, the dungeons of La 
 Guayra were thrown open, and gave back to their country and 
 relations, those who had survived the horrors of a year's con- 
 finement. No language can describe the affecting scene that 
 took pUce, at the meeting between these martyrs to tyranny 
 
and their roBpective families, much kss can be depicted, the en- 
 thusiastic joy, that was manifasted by all orders ©f society, on 
 their delirerance from their oppressors. Nearly at the same 
 time, that is, on the 4th of August, Bolivar entered into the city 
 of Caracas, in a manner which,likewise, no power of description 
 can pourtray. During these moments of effervescence, it 
 might have been expected, that every European Spaniard 
 would have been sacrificed, but the principle of revenge appear, 
 ed to have been forgotten, or absorbed in the general feeling of 
 gratitude and satisfaction, which pervaded all orders of society. 
 Not a single European Spaniard lost bis life, many of them 
 walked unmolested in the streets ; but in a short time after- 
 wards, they were arrested and confined in the prisons of Cara- 
 cas, to serve as hostages for the security of those natives, 
 whom Monteverde held as prisoners at Puerto Cavello. One 
 of the first acts of General Bolivar, was to send a flag of truce, 
 to Monteverde, offering to give up all the European Spa^ 
 niards (who amounted to at \eAstJifteen hundred in number) 
 in exchange for the Creole prisoners at Puerto Cavello, who at 
 that time, or since, were not more than three hundred and fifty 
 persons. Notwithstanding this disproportion of numbers, and 
 although Monteverde knew that the life of every European 
 Spaniard in the cities of Caracas, La Guayra, and other places 
 might be sacrificed ("as will be seen hereafter was the case) in 
 consequence of this refusal; still, however, he obstinately 
 persisted in that refusal, on the simple principle, that he would 
 not treat with insurgents. The fact, however, was, that Mon- 
 teverde, was then in daily "expectation of a large force from 
 Spaiii, and flattered himself, that on its arrival, he could ea- 
 sily subdue Bolivar. About twelve hundred Spanish troops, 
 did arrive in August, but they have been repeatedly beaten by 
 Bolivar, and at this time, nearly all killed or taken prisoners. 
 Monteverde himself, has since been so severely wounded, that 
 he was obliged to give up the command to a Colonel 
 
xlviii 
 
 Salomon, who eame from Spain with the Spanish troops. 
 Bolivar has offered to the successor of Monteverde, three 
 different times, the same generous proposals as were be- 
 fore offered for the exchange of prisoners, but Salomon, 
 refining on the obstinacy of his piedecessor, has not only re- 
 fused the exchange, on any of the ordinary usages of war, but 
 in violation of a principle held sacred even among savages, he 
 seized the person whom Bolivar despatched to Puerto Cavello 
 with a flag of truce, on this humane mission, loaded him with 
 fetters, and confined him in the fortress at Puerto Gavello; and 
 what gives the highest aggravation to this outrage, is, that the 
 individual charged with this mission, is an European Spanish 
 priest, named Salvador Garcia, remarkable for the urbanity of 
 his manners, and pure character. He was particularly selected 
 by Bolivar, for the purpose of giving confit4ence and respect to 
 the mission. — This infamous act, closed all further communica- 
 tion between the parties on this subject, except reciprocal me- 
 naces, in case either sacrificed the lives of the prisoners of the 
 other. — The war, now began to assume a new and more bloody 
 aspect. — Bolivar gave no quarter in battle, nor expected any 
 from his enemies.— Puerto Cavello was besieged by land, by 
 the troops of Bolivar, and his flotilla strictly blockaded it by 
 sea. — The armies under the standard of Ferdinand VII., were 
 every where defeated, and there was every probability, that a 
 few weeks more, would place the natives in an attitude of 
 great strength and confidence.— At this juncture (November 
 and December last) the royal chiefs at Puerto Cavello, and 
 the Spanish governor oj Guayana deliberately formed the 
 infernal project^ of raising the slaves of Fejieziiela, against 
 their owners. ---This desperate plan must have originated 
 under the barbarous idea, that as Venezuela was lost to Spain^ 
 the latter or her agents, were resolved it should likewise 
 be lost to the natives of the country .—To accomplish thfi* 
 scheme, various partizans of the Spanish government, were seat 
 
xlix 
 
 into the iuteriour, to excite the slaves to insurrection, and to de- 
 solate the country. — The most conspicuous of these partizans, 
 are, Boves, Rosette, Puy, an'd Palomo.— The three first are 
 European Spaniards, the latter a negro, who has been long 
 proscribed, as an assassin and robber. 
 
 Boves and Rosette, received their supplies of arras, ammu- 
 nition, and money, from the governor of Guayana.— Puy and 
 Palomo, received their auxiliaries, from Coro and Puerto Ca- 
 vello — These desperadoes have regularly corresponded with 
 the other Spanish chiefs at Coro, Maracaybo, Puerto Gavello, 
 and Guayana.— Some of this correspondence, has been pub- 
 lished in the Curacoa Gazette, and among the papers and des- 
 patches which have fallen into Bolivar's hands, the whole abo- 
 minable plan is fully developed. It will be in vain, in future, for 
 any of the Spanish chiefs of the places before mentioned, to say, 
 that this conduct was unauthorized by them, because, without 
 their direct aid, it never would have commenced, much less con- 
 tinued. — Were I to detail all the horrid excesses, committed 
 by Boves and Rosette on their route from the river Oronoquo, 
 to the valleys of Caracas, it would be scarcely possible to find 
 a reader, who would believe such'scenes of slaughter and de- 
 vastation, credible. — Some idea, however, of the melancholy 
 facts may be conceived, when I assert, that these monsters, in 
 traversing a space of more than 400 miles, left no human 
 being alive of any age or sex, except such as joined their 
 standard.— Freedom to the slaves, and the pillage of LaGuayra 
 and Caracas, were the incentives that Boves and Rosette, held 
 out to these deluded wretches.— Wherever they came to a 
 plantation, and found any hesitation among the negroes, they 
 compelled them, by force, to join them.— In this manner, they 
 iaundated the fertile and highly cultivated valleys of Aragua 
 and Tuy^ destroying the works, and burning the produce of 
 the courttry, in every direction. 
 
 d 
 
With this overwhelming banditti, Boves and Rosette 
 reached the vicinage of Caracas, in the beginning of February, 
 The former took possession of Victoria, about 12 leagues from 
 Caracas, while Rosette occupied the town of Occumare, only 
 eight leagues distance.-— It is true, that both have since been 
 defeated by General Rivas (the Governor of Caracas) and 
 Bolivar, but they have been dear bought victories to the Creole 
 troops, because the disproportion of numbers was so great, 
 that k became necessary for Bolivar and Rivas, to sacrifice, at 
 least, one-third of their respective forces, in order to gain a 
 battle. 
 
 Boves and Rosette's forces, are entirely composed of ca- 
 valry, and these of the best horses and mules in the province, 
 because they had their choice of the immense number of these 
 animals, which abound in the vast plains laying between Ca- 
 labozo and Caracas. 
 
 Boves and Rosette, have, at least, under their orders seven 
 or eight thousand men ; of these, not more than fifty persons 
 are whites or European Spaniards, and about 100 freemea 
 of colour.— The rest are all slaves, negroes, and samboes.— 
 They are an athletic, hardy, aud desperate horde, which will, 
 and must inevitably increase, unless speedily and decisively 
 checked. 
 
 Bolivar, may be able, for a long while, to continue on the 
 defensive, and from the measures he has recently taken, to 
 fortify the cities of Caracas and La Guayra, I do not appre- 
 hend there is any immediate risque, of the white inhabitants 
 being sacrificed, but as experience has fatally demonstrated 
 the difficulty of stopping the progress of insurrection 
 among slaves, even under the most energetjc government, is 
 Yery great; it will, consequently, be rendered much more so, 
 under a government like that of Venezuela. 
 
 If, however, Bolivar and his associates, find it impossible to 
 resist this alarming evil, and likewise have to prepare for re* 
 
li 
 
 distance to any new force that may be sent from Spain ; they 
 will then adopt the only and dreadful alternative left them, \iz. 
 To declare the whole of the slaves of Venezuela free^ and to 
 enjoy the same rights as the whites, ^If ever Boiivar resort 
 to this measure, not a negro or coloured person wili remaia 
 under the banners of Ferdinand Vlf, because, in general, 
 they are attached to their Creole masters, and under tht-ai, 
 would consider themselves much more secure in their freedom, 
 than all the proclamations or offers to «he same effect, from the 
 Spanish government or its agents. — These are important and 
 serious facts, which demand the immediate attention of those 
 who are entrusted with the British military and naval com- 
 mands, in these seas.— It is not, now, a question of interference, 
 between the royalists and independents on the Spanish main.— 
 It is, simply, whether we shall passively look on, and see the 
 death blow given to every colonial possession in the West 
 Indies, as nothing can be more palpable, than that if the 
 revolt of the slaves in Venezuela, becomes general ; it will 
 take but a few years, to decide the fate of these islands, or 
 whether a prompt interference, at this moment, will not be 
 the means^ to arrest this system of destruction to British 
 interests, 
 
 f have no hesitation in saying, that a prompt and decided 
 interference on the part of His Britannic Majesty's military 
 and naval chiefs, in these seas, would produce the desired 
 effect, — I am perfectly aware, that the British government, 
 has expressly prohibited all interference, that is, the sword is 
 Dot to be unsheathed in favour of either party, but it is not to 
 be inferred, that a desire to be neutral, is to supercede the ex- 
 ercise of good ofl&ces in favour of humanity, or to be extended 
 so far, as to quietly wait, until the flames of discord and in« 
 surrection, reach our own doors. 
 
 Exclusive of imperious political reasons, for the interference 
 of the British commanders in chief, there are other grounds which 
 
strongly urge it.— There is, at this momeuf, at least half a 
 niillion of dollars of British property, at Caracas and La 
 Guayra, and likewise, a considerable number of British subjects, 
 who went to that country for commercial purposes, with the 
 knowledge and consent of the British government. They con- 
 sequently flatter themselves, with its protection to extricat* 
 themselves and property, from the perilous state they are at 
 present in, because there is no doubt in my mind, that if 
 Boves and Rosette were to succeed in getting into Caracas, 
 or if a local insurrection takes place among the slaves in the 
 cities of La Guayra and Caracas, not a single white person, 
 either Creole or stranger, would escape assassination, and every 
 farthing of property, of course, would be plundered. 
 
 If Venezuela becomes a permanent theatre of insurrection, 
 and a consequent asylum for the Negroes of these islands, the 
 £rst and almost immediate effects of such a state of things, will 
 be experienced at Tobago, Trinidad, Grenada, and every island 
 in the vicinage of the main. It will be likewise spread, with 
 electric rapidity, down toCartagena and Porto Bello,converting 
 this beautiful section of the globe, into a wide scene of devasta- 
 tion and disorder, in place of its continuing, as it has been (and 
 may hereafter be much more so) a vast and indefinite market for 
 British trade, and for the consumption of British manufactures. 
 
 Another (and surely not the least) serious motive to urge a 
 prompt interference, is the voice of suffering humanity. 
 
 Among the tragic scenes lately committed at Venezuela, 
 has been the murder, in cold blood, of several hundred Creoles 
 by the Spanish chiefs at Porto Cabello, and about 1300 Euro- 
 pean Spaniards, by order, ('tis said) of Bolivar. It is also 
 equilly unnecessary, as it is painful to enquire who began this 
 dreadful system of retaliatory vengeance. Both parties, will of 
 course, endeavour to extenuate the horror of the deed, but no 
 arguments or spirit of recrimination, can justify the excesses 
 they have both committed. It will, however, be^een from the 
 
liii 
 
 preceding narralive, that Bolivar exerted hiniself in due seasoa, 
 to prevent a resort to this unheard of method of reprisal, but I 
 should be doing him injustice to omit stating, the following im- 
 portant facts. Some time in January last, Bolivar made ano- 
 ther effort to obtain the release of some Creole officers, who 
 "Were prisoners at Puerto Cavtllo, and for this purpose, he sent 
 an European Spanish officer, whom he had made a prisoner some 
 time before, with a flag of truce to Puerto Cavello. This 
 officer, advanced from Bolivar's lines to the out posts of Puerto 
 Cavello, and although he then entreated to be permitted to pro- 
 ceed, stating that his own life was at stake on the result of his 
 mission, still he was ordered to halt, until a few minutes after- 
 wards, brought the decision of the commander of the royal forces, 
 at Puerto Cavello (a certain Istiiella^ who it appears had taken 
 the command, in consequence of Colonel Salomon having de- 
 camped) which was a refusal to admit the flag of truce, and a 
 most insulting verbal message to Bolivar. 
 
 The next day, presented the melancholy spectacle, of four 
 Creole officers being brought out on the ramparts of Puerto 
 Cavello, and there, in the view of Bolivar and his army, they 
 were shot. 
 
 The commander of the Royalists, not satisfied with the 
 deliberate murder of these four officers, officially communicated 
 their names, assigning their execution to be a measure of retali- 
 ation, and which he intended to follow up, by the death of 
 every Creole in his possession. 
 
 About the time that Bolivar received this official commu- 
 nication, he likewise was informed of the advance of Bovcs and 
 Rosette, at the head as before observed, of 7 to 8000 negroes, 
 and committing the excesses previously mentioned. 
 
 At this time, there were 13 to 1400 European Spaniards in 
 the prisons of Caracas and La Guayra. 
 
 Bolivar ('tis said) adopted the resolution to sacrifice the 
 whole of these unfortunate individuals, and sent the necessary 
 
liv 
 
 * orders to that effect, to Caracas and La Guayjra. These orders 
 were carried into such literal and prompt execution, that not 
 more than 25 or 30 European Spaniards were spared, and these 
 hold a precarious and miserable existence. 
 
 The writer of this, unfortunately with many other foreigners, 
 had occular proof of the slanghter of more than 800 victims at 
 La Guayra; they were conducted in pairs from the dungeons, 
 to a little distance from the gates of the town, and there shot, 
 after which, their bodies were burnt. Many perished by suffo- 
 cation, as a few days previous to the execution, we saw 40 to 
 50 dead bodies taken out of the dungeons each day. Thus has 
 terminated, for the present, in Velie2xiela, this scene of deliberate 
 reciprocal revenge, because it is to be presumed, that as few or 
 n ©prisoners remain now on either side, none will be made in 
 future, as a war of extermination is reciprocally proclaimed on 
 both sides — it therefore follows from this statement. 
 
 1st. That the violation of the treaty between Monteverde 
 and Miranda, is the origin of all the present disasters of 
 Venezuela, and as the Cortes and Regency of Spain, have di- 
 rectly approved the perfidy of Monteverde, by solemnly making 
 him captain general of the province, after they knew he had so 
 shamefully violated the treaty in question ; consequently, it is 
 never to be expected, that the natives will ever again trust their 
 lives and property to Spanish faith, 
 
 2ndly. As the natives are resolved to adopt any alternative^ 
 no matter however dreadful, rather than submit to Spain, it 
 becomes the duty and certainly the policy of Great Britain, to 
 prevent such an alternative taking place, as would involve in 
 general ruin^ (and at no distant period) the whole of the 
 West Indies. 
 
 Sd. Whether the Negroes are incited to insurrection, under the 
 banners of Ferdinand VII; or are proclaimed free by Bolivar, 
 the effects will be equally the same to Spain. To her the pro. 
 TiQce of Venezuela is lost for ever, and if Spain is desirous to 
 
Iv 
 
 retain any of ker remainlag possessions in South America, she 
 ought to feel grateful to Great Britain, if, by any means what- 
 ever, she can arrest the destructive flame, before it spread so 
 far, as to render all future attempts impotent and abortive, 
 
 4th, and lastly. The commercial and manufacturing interests 
 of Great Britain, as well as the interests of the civilized world 
 in general, are deeply involved in the fate of South America, 
 and whether it shall become the seat of discord and devastation 
 «r of tranquillity and prosperity, may depend on the measures, 
 ad interim, adopted by the British and military chiefs in these 
 seas, and ultimately pursued by the British ministry. 
 
 With the same frankness and impartiality, which 1 have en- 
 deavoured to keep in view in the foregoing detail, I shall con- 
 clude, by stating such measures as I can conceive would be 
 effectual, to check the present alarming state of things in Vene- 
 zuela, and likewise afford time for such future determination, as 
 the British cabinet may find necessary to resolve on. 
 
 Isf, That a person or persons should be immediately dis- 
 patched to Caracas, by the British commander in chief, to 
 enquire into the facts I have stated, and if it should be found, 
 that my conclusions are correct, as to the alarming nature of 
 the evils I have suggested, then such persons should be au- 
 thorised to request, and indeed to require of both parties, a 
 suspension of hostilities, until the determination of the British 
 and Spanish governments, should l)e ascertained. 
 
 2d. Whether the previous point is refused or acceeded to 
 by the parties, there should, at all events, be a maritime force 
 sent to La Guayra, with orders to remove the persons and pro- 
 perty of the British subjects from the country. 
 
 I feel persuaded (and I speak from a personal knowledge of 
 the character and disposition of all the leading natives of the 
 country) that on the part of the present goverment of Caracas, 
 and the people in general, they will cheerfully assent to a suspen- 
 sion of hostilities, and submit their fate to the ulteriour decision 
 
Ivi 
 
 of Great Britain, but at the same time, T am decidedly of opinion, 
 that if this salutary measure is not adopted, or if Bolivar finds 
 himself incapable of resisting the slaves already in revolt, he will 
 adopt the only alternative left him, to declare the whole of the 
 slaves free, in which case, no force from Europe, much less from 
 Spain, would ever be able to subjugate Venezuela, and the 
 adjoining empire of Ntw Grenada, whichiwo provinces, contain 
 four fflillidns of native inhabitants. 
 
 W.D.ROBINSON. 
 Se, Thomas^ March 18. 1814. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
GENERAL INDEX 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME. 
 
 ^:^ The divisUns of the matler, are marked thus §. 
 
 Dedicatory Introduction ...... from Page 1 to U 
 
 G rounds on which the first discoveries and settlenaent of 
 
 Spanish America was made ........ 14 . \Q 
 
 Situation of the Indians bettered . 16 . 18 
 
 Natives entitled to a preference of ofBces 18 . 20 , 
 
 Social footing on which the Indians and Negroes were 
 
 placed 20 . 22 
 
 How Spanish America was incorporated to the crown 
 
 of Castile . . : ih. . ib. 
 
 Why not to be considered as colonies, but kingdoms 
 
 entitled to hold Cortes ib. . 24 
 
 Governed by a supreme council, &c 24 . e&. 
 
 Relative footing established on primitive compacts . i&. . 26 
 Departure from these compacts. Present race can in-- 
 
 sist on their re-establishment 26 . 27 
 
 King, the only bond of political union 27 . 23 
 
 Spanish Americans no more colonial vassals than the 
 
 subjects of Spain 28 . 29 
 
 Unjust to consider them colonists, from Spanish proper- 
 ty being employed in the conquest of the country 29 . 31 
 Spain alone, blameable, for not improving the resources 
 
 of Spanish America - ... 31 . 33 
 
 Parallel between the colonies 6f other European powers, 
 
 and the ultramarine provinces of Spain .... 33 • 37 
 Fatal eiFects of the viceroys not obeying the king's orders 37 . 42 
 Picture of the colonial policy of Spain, &c. Hardships 
 
 and privations of the Creoles 42 . 60 
 
 Creoles have made some former attempts^! redress . . 60 . 62 
 Former plans of the British government, and its profes- 
 
 sions to Spanish America 6:2 . 70 ^^ 
 
 Projects of Bupnaparte on Spain. Her debased situation 7 ) . 74 
 British treaty with Spain. Its errors , 74 • 88 > 
 
Iviii 
 
 Origin, causes, and prowiinent features of Ihe first insiir" 
 
 rections of Spanish America Page 88 to 99 
 
 f Originaled in no want of loyalty ........ 100 . JOT 
 
 > Not actuated by views of absolute independence . . . 107 .111 
 
 Pr<ived by a parallel with Spain Ill . 114 
 
 Specicg of government prescribed by the laws for extra- 
 ordinary cases 114 .118 
 
 "f Features of the first insurrections in Mexico . . . .118 .121 
 
 -^ Despondency the principal cause 121 . 1^1 
 
 Conduct of Spain in a similar dilemma 127 . 129 
 
 Local Juntas in Spanish America, authorized by law and 
 
 usage 129 . 139 
 
 The object of those established, was reform 132 . 13T 
 
 These insurrections not founded on principles of the 
 
 French revolution 137 . 138 
 
 Spanish chiefs removed in a quiet manner 138 . 139 
 
 Cadiz Regency declares war against Caracas. Cause of 
 
 the other calamities ........... 139 . 142 
 
 Impolicy ofEngland in suffering this decree to be executed 142 . 153 
 
 Effects of this decree drive Caracas to independence . .154 .156. 
 Injustice and impolicy of this war, proved by Spanish 
 
 testimony 156 . 161 
 
 Unwarrantable conduct of the Cadiz government . .161 . Ibti! 
 New governments of Spain, no legitimate control over 
 
 Spanish America 166 . 174 
 
 Charge of ingratitude on the part of Spain, unfounded 174 .178 
 Spain deprived of her resources, by war with Spanish 
 
 America 178 . 183 
 
 Conduct of the latter arose from substantial grounds . .182 .193 
 
 Regency influenced by Cadiz monopolists 193 .197 
 
 Degraded stale of the Spanish government, proved by 
 
 Lord Wellesley 197 . 209 
 
 British government early notified of the causes ofmoye- 
 
 ments in Spanish America • • 209 . 222 
 
 Its silence principal cause of all the successive disasters 227 . 238 
 lUiberality on the part of Spain, and coldness on that of 
 
 England, gave rise to the most cruel of all wars . 238 . 349 
 England made no timely exertions with the Cortes, on 
 
 this subject 249 . 257 
 
lix 
 
 Neglected to lay it before the Spanish public, and other 
 
 means within her reach Page 256 to 262 
 
 Irregularity, and consequent illegality of the new Cortes 262 . 268 
 How the Cortes ought to have addressed Spanish'Araerica 268 . 278 
 Hedress sought by the American deputies in the Cortes 278 . 282 
 Nature of eleven propositions laid before the House . 282 . 29j 
 -Lessons Spain might have learnt from our struggle with 
 
 North America 295 . 306 
 
 Attempts on the part of England, for free trade to Spa- 
 nish America. How repelled 306 . 319 
 
 Attempts to mediate . . . , 319 . 329 
 
 Defects of the new constitution of Spain. It cannot be 
 
 lasting 330 . 338 
 
 Cortes neglect the best opportunities of redressing and 
 
 giving peace to Spanish America 338 . 344 
 
 How the Spanish Americans might have addressed Spain 
 
 and the Cortes 344 . 34T 
 
 Peace being restored to Europe, England called upon to 
 stop the effusion of blood in Spanish America. 
 Proved on the grounds of humanity and justice 347 . 354 
 Horrors committed by the Spanish armies in New Spain 354 . 365 
 Ilorrors committed in the other sections, particularly 
 
 Caracas 365 . 370 
 
 Dreadful consequences to the British islands from arming 
 the Negroes in Caracas. Murder of prisoners on 
 
 both sides * . . . 370 . 378 
 
 Motives for putting an end to these horrors ; , . . 378 . 385 
 Wants of Spanish America defined, as a basis of con- 
 ciliation. This not dishonourable to Spain .. . 385 . 392 
 Sentiments excited in the Mexicans, by the cruel war 
 waged against them. Their address to the Spa- 
 niards, inclosing plans of peace and of war . . 392 . 398 
 
 Odium accumulating on the British name 398 . Ao\ 
 
 Conquest or conciliation, the only means of re-establish- 
 ing the authority of Spain. Both considered. Any , 
 peace effected by Spain herself, must be on the ba- 
 sis of degradation. England the only arbiter . . 401 . 402 
 Arguments of policy. Great resources of Spanish America. 
 
 Remarki on the failure of trade to Buenos Ayres 422 . 428 
 
Import tra<le and. consumption of goods, in all Spanish 
 
 America. IIow it will increase compared with Spain 428 • 43fJ 
 
 Exports and coinage of Spanish America^ Susceptible of 
 
 great improvements 436 . 440 
 
 X^eneral improvements of that co'.mtry, by liberal plans 440 . 447 j 
 
 England ought to ask a free trade there, as a remunera- 
 tion. This proved even advantageous to Spain . 447 . 45T 
 \>^panisii America a most interestii^ connection to England 457 . 459 
 
 Why that country is riot suited for ademocratical govern- 
 ment. How a permanent government ought to be 
 established 459 . 472 
 
 General conclusions, urging the interference of England, 
 and representing Lord Wellington, as the most pro- 
 per person to aid in a measure of pacification . .472 . 480 
 
 Document A. Governor Picton's address to the inhabitants of the 
 Spanish main, containing offers of the British government. 
 vDitto B. Instructions given by Joseph Napoleon to revolutionize 
 Spanish America in his own favour 
 
 Ditto C. Remonstrance of the Cabildo of Mexico, explaining the 
 reasons of a change of government. 
 
 Ditto D. Regency war and blockade decree against Caracas. 
 
 Ditto E. Letter from the Junta of Caracas to the Marquez de las 
 Horraazas, explaining the defects of the Spanish system of go- 
 vernment, in America. 
 
 Ditto F. Letter from the Junta of Caracas to king George III. ex- 
 plaining the reasons of a change of government. 
 
 Ditto G. Plans of* Peace and War, sent by the insurrectional Junta 
 of New Spain to the viceroy of Mexico. 
 
 Ditto H. Description of the Mitain Peru. 
 
 Ditto I. Correspondence between the Governor of Curatjoa, and 
 General Bolivar of Caracas, respecting Spanish prisoners. 
 
 Ditto J. An account of the horrors committing in Caracas, and their 
 fatal consequences to all the West Indies. 
 
 JV.B. It hat been thought better to ask the indulgence of the reader ^ 
 for the Itfpographical errors, originating out of the hurry of publica- 
 tion, than to burden hCm with an errata list. 
 
 Lond on; Prluted by W. GLI^DON, Rupert -btrcet, Hay niaiket. 
 
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