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THE
HISTORY
O F
AMERICA.
VOL. in.
THE
HISTORY
OF
AMERICA,
By WILLIAM ROBERTSON, D. D.
PRINCIPAL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, HISTORIOGRAPHER
TO HIS MAJESTY FOR SCOTLAND, AND MEMBER OF THE
ROYAL ACADEMY OF HISTORY AT MADRID.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
THE SIXTH EDITION.
LONDON:
Printed for A. STRAHAN ; T. CADELL, in the Strand
and J. BALFOUR, at Edinburgh.
MDCCXCII.
2325
E
\ A
THE
HISTORY
OF
BOOK VI.
FROM the time that Nugnez de Balboa difco- BOOK
vered the great Southern Ocean, and received ^, V ->_/
the firft obfcure hints concerning the opulent Sch *vg' {
countries with which it might open a commu-nica- discovering
tion, the wifhes and fchemes of every enterprifmg
perfon in the colonies of Darien and Panama were
turned towards the wealth of thofe unknown re-
gions. In an age when the fpirit of adventure was
fo ardent and vigorous, that large fortunes were
wafted, and the mofl alarming dangers braved, in
purfuit of difcoveries merely poffible, the fainteft
ray of hope was followed with an eager expectation,
and the 'flighted information was fufficient to in-
fpire fuch perfect confidence, as conducted men to
the moft arduous undertakings a .
See NOTE I.
VOL. III. B ACCORD-
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
ACCORDINGLY, feveral armaments were fitted
out in order to explore and take pofleffion of the
countries to the eaft of Panama, but under the
conduct of leaders whofe talents and refources
were unequal to the attempt b . As the excurfions
of thofe adventurers did not extend beyond the
limits of the province to which the Spaniards have
given the name of Tierra Firme, a mountainous
region covered with woods, thinly inhabited, and
extremely unhealthy, they returned with difmal
accounts concerning the diftrefies to which they
had been expofed, and the unpromifing afpect of
the places which they had vifited. Damped by
thefe tidings, the rage for difcovery in that direc-
tion abated ; and it became the general opinion,
that Balboa had founded vifionary hopes, on the
tale of an ignorant Indian, ill underflood, or cal-
culated to deceive.
Undertaken
by Pizarro,
Almagro,
and Luque.
1524.
BUT there were three perfons fettled in Panama,
on whom the circumftances which deterred others
made fo little impreffion, that, at the very mo-
ment when all confidered Balboa's expectations of
difcovering a rich country, by fleering towards
the eaft, as chimerical, they refolved to attempt
the execution of his fcheme. The names of thofe
extraordinary men were Francifco Pizarro, Diego
de Almagro, and Hernando Luque. Pizarro was
the natural fon of a gentleman of an honourable
b Calancha Coromca, p. 100.
family
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 3
family by a very low woman, and, according to BOOK
the cruel fate which often attends the offspring of v. <~-~J
unlawful love, had been fo totally neglected in his
youth by the author of his birth, that he feems
to have deflined him never to rife beyond the con-
dition of his mother. In confequence of this unge-
nerous idea, he fet him, when bordering on man-
hood, to keep hogs. But the afpiring mind of
young Pizarro difdaining that ignoble occupation,
he abruptly abandoned his charge, enlifted as a
foldier, and, after ferving fome years in Italy, em-
barked for America, which, by opening fuch a
boundlefs range to active talents, allured every
adventurer whofe fortune was not equal to his am-
bitious thoughts. There Pizarro early diftinguim-
ed himfelf. With a temper of mind no lefs daring
than the conflitution of his body was robufl, he
was foremofl in every danger, patient under the
greatefl hardfhips, and unfubdued by any fatigue.
Though fo illiterate that he could not even read,
he was foon confidered as a man formed to com-
mand. Every operation committed to his conduct
proved fuccefsful, as, by a happy but rare con-
junction, he united perfeverance with ardour, and
was as cautious in executing, as he was bold in
forming his plans. By engaging early in active
life, without any refource but his own talents and
induftry, and by depending on himfelf alone in his
flruggles to emerge from obfcurity, he acquired
fuch a thorough knowledge of affairs, and of
men, that he was fitted to aHume a fuperior part
B 2 in
4 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK in conducting the former, and in governing the
v^-v~*J latter c .
i SM-
ALM AGRO had as little to boafl of his defcent
as Pizarro. The one was a baftard, the other a
foundling. Bred, like his companion, in the
camp, he yielded not to him in any of the
foldierly qualities of intrepid valour, indefatigable
activity, or infurmountable conftancy in enduring
the hardfhips infeparable from military fervice in
the Ne.w World. But in Almagro thefe virtues
were accompanied with the opennefs, generofity,
and candour, natural to men whofe profeffion is
arms ; in Pizarro, they were united with the ad-
drefs, the craft, and the diffimulation of a politi-
cian, with the art of concealing his own pur-
pofes, and with fagacity to penetrate into thofe of
other men.
HERNANDO DE I.UOJJE was an ecclefiafric, who
acted both as prieft and fchoolmafter at Panama,
and, by means which the contemporary writers
have not defcribed, had amafied riches that in-
fpired him with thoughts of rifing to greater emi-
nence.
Terms of SUCH were the men deflined to overturn one of
aaon. affod " *he ,moft extenfive empires on the face of the
earth. Their confederacy for this purpofe was
c Herrera, dec. I & 2, paffim. dec. 4. lib. vi. c. 107.
Goraara Hilt. c. 144. Zarate, lib. iv. c. 9.
authorifed
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 5
authorifed by Pedrarias, the governor of Panama. B VI K
Each engaged to employ his whole fortune in the u -v >
adventure. Pizarro, the leafl wealthy of the
three, as he could not throw fo large a fum as his
affbciates into the common flock, engaged to take
the department of greateft fatigue and danger, and
to command in perfon the armament which was to
go firft upon difcovery. Almagro offered to con-
dudt the fupplies of provifions and reinforcements
of troops, of which Pizarro might ftand in need.
Luque was to remain at Panama to negociate with
the governor, and fuperintend whatever was carry-
ing on for the general intereft. As the fpirit of
enthufiafm uniformly accompanied that of ad-
venture in the New World, and by that ftrange
union both acquired an increafe of force, this con-
federacy, formed by ambition and avarice, was
confirmed by the mofl folemn acl: of religion.
Luque celebrated mafs, divided a confecrated hofl
into three, and referving one part to himfelf, gave
the other two to his affociates, of which they par-
took ; and thus, in name of the Prince of Peace,
ratified a contract of which plunder and bloodfhed
were the objects *.
THE attempt was begun with a force more fuit- Their fira
ed to the humble condition of the three affociates,
than to the greatnefs of the enterprife in which they
were engaged. Pizarro fet fail from Panama with NOV. 14.
d Herrera, dec. 3. lib. vi. c. 13. Zaratc, lib. i. c. i.
63 a fmgle
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
VI.
u. - -J and twelve men. But in that age, fo little were
the Spaniards acquainted with the peculiarities of
climate in America, that the time which Pizarro
chofe for his departure was the moft improper in
the whole year ; the periodical winds, which were
then fet in, being directly adverfe to the courfe
jrt S . which he purpofed to fleer e . After beating about
for feventy days, with much danger and incelfant
fatigue, Pizarro's progrefs towards the fouth-eaft
was not greater than what a fkilful navigator will
now make in as many hours. He touched at fe-
veral places on the coaft of Tierra Firme, but
found every where the fame uninviting country
which former adventurers had defcribed ; the low
grounds converted into fwamps by an overflowing
of rivers ; the higher, covered with impervious
woods ; few inhabitants, and thofe fierce and ho-
ftile. Famine, fatigue, frequent rencounters with
the- natives, and above all, the diftempers of a
moift, fultry climate, combined in wafting his
flender band of followers. The undaunted refo-
withlfute lution of their leader continued, however, forfome
fuccefs. time, to fuftain their fpirits, although no fign had
yet appeared of difcovering thofe golden regions to
which he had promifed to conduct them. At
length he was obliged to abandon that inhofpi-
table coaft, and retire to Chuchama, oppose to
e Hcrrera, dec. 4. lib. ii. c. 8. Xercz, p. 179.
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 7
the pearl iflands, where he hoped to receive a fup- BOOK
ply of provifions and troops from Panama. u v- J
15*5.
BUT Almagro having failed from that port with
feventy men, flood direftly towards that part of
the continent where he hoped to meet with his af-
fociate. Not finding him there, he landed his fol-
diers, who, in fearching for their companions, un-
derwent the fame diftrefles, and were expofed to the
fame dangers, which had driven them out of the
country. Repulfed at length by the Indians in a
fharp conflict, in which their leader loft one of his
eyes by the wound of an arrow, they likewife were
compelled to reimbark. Chance led them to the
place of Pizarro's retreat, where they found fome
confolation in recounting to each other their ad-
ventures, and comparing their fufferings. As Al- j une ^
magro had advanced as far as the river St. Juan,
in the province of Popayan, where both the coun-
try and inhabitants appeared with a more promif-
ing afpect, that dawn of better fortune was fuffici-
ent to determine fuch fanguine projectors not to
abandon their fcheme, notwithstanding all that they
had fuffered in profecuting it f .
ALMAGRO repaired to Panama, in hopes of re- r 1526.
cruiting their mattered troops. But what he and
Pizarro had fuffered, gave his countrymen fuch an
unfavourable idea of the fervice, that it was with
'Hen-era, dec. 3. lib. viii. c. u, 12. See NOTE II.
B 4 , difficulty
8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.'
B v K difficulty he could levy fourfcore men s . Feeble as
c. v --> this reinforcement was, Almagro took the com-
mand of it, and having joined Pizarro, they did
not hefitate about refummg their operations. Af-
ter a long feries of difaflers and difappointments,
not inferior to thofe which they had already expe-
rienced, part of the armament reached the Bay of
St. Matthew, on the coaft of Quito, and landing at
Tacamez, to the fouth of the river of Emeraulds,
they beheld a country more champaign and fertile
than any they had yet difcovered in the Southern
Ocean, the natives clad in garments of woollen
or cotton fluff, and adorned with feveral trinkets
of gold and filver.
BUT, notwithstanding thofe favourable appear-
ances, magnified beyond the truth, both by the
vanity of the perfons who brought the report from
Tacamez, and by the fond imagination of thofe
who liflened to them, Pizarro and Almagro durft
not venture to invade a country fo populous with a
handful of men enfeebled by fatigue and difeafes.
They retired to the fmall ifland of Gallo, where
Pizarro remained with part of the troops, and his
aflbciate returned to Panama, in hopes of bringing
fuch a reinforcement as might enable them to take
pofleffion of the opulent territories, whofe exiflencq
feemed to be no longer doubtful l! .
Zarate, lib. i. c. I.
h Xerez, 181. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. viii. c. 13.
BUT
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 9
BUT fome of the adventurers, lefs enterprifmg, BOOK
or lefs hardy than their leaders, having fecretly u. /--^
conveyed lamentable accounts of their fufferings pi Z arn> 6 re-
and lories to their friends at Panama, Almagro met governor of*
with an unfavourable reception from Pedro de los Fanama
Rios, who had fucceeded Pedrarias in the govern-
ment of that fettlement. After weighing the mat-
ter with that cold ceconomical prudence which ap-
pears the firft of all virtues to perfons whofe limit-
ed faculties are incapable of conceiving or execut-
ing great defigns, he concluded an expedition, at-
tended with fuch certain wade of men, to be fo
detrimental to an infant and feeble colony, that he
not only prohibited the raifmg of new levies, but
difpatched a veffel to bring home Pizarro and his
companions from the iiland of Gallo. Almagro
and Luque, though deeply affected with thofe
meafures, which they could not prevent, and durft
not oppofe, found means of communicating their
fentiments privately to Pizarro, and exhorted him.
not to relinquifh an enterprife that was the founda-
tion of all their hopes, and the only means ofre-
eftabliftnng their reputation and fortune, which
were both on the decline. Pizarro's mind, bent
with inflexible obftinacy on all its purpofes, needed
no incentive to periifl in the fcheme. He per- p er /ms ,- n
emptorily refufed to obey the governor of Pana- hls dcflsn>
ma's orders, and employed all his addrefs and elo-
quence in perfuading his men not to abandon him.
But the incredible calamities to which they had
been expofed were flill fo recent in their memories,
17 and
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B vi K anc * t ^ ie thoughts of revifiting their families and
friends after along abfence, ruflied with fuch joy
into their minds, that when Pizarro drew a line
upon the fand with is fword, permitting fuch as
wifhed to return home to pafs over it, only thirteen
of all the daring veterans in his fervice had refolu-
tipn to remain with their commander '.
THIS fmall, but determined band, whofe names
the Spanim hiftorians record with deferved praife,
as the perfons to whofe perfevering fortitude their
country is indebted for the mofl valuable bf all its
American pofleflions, fixed their refidence in the
ifland of Gorgona. This, as it was farther re-
moved from the coaft than Gallo, and uninhabited,
they confidered as a more fecure retreat, where,
unmolefted, they might wait for fupplies from Pa-
nama, which they trufled that the activity of their
aflbciates would be able to procure. Almagro and
Luque were not inattentive or cold folicitors, and
their inceflant importunity was feconded by the
general voice of the colony, which exclaimed
loudly againft the infamy of expofmg brave men,
engaged m the public fervice, and chargeable with
no error but what flowed from an excefs of zeal
and courage, to perifli like the mod odious cri-
minals in a defert ifland. Overcome by thofe en-
treaties and expoftulations, the governor at lafl
confented to fend a fmall veflel to their relief. But
* Herrera, dec. 3. lib. x. c. 2, 3. Zarate, lib. i. c. 2.
181. Gomara Hift. c. 109.
that
HISTORY OF AMERICA. n
that he might not feem to encourage Pizarra to any BOO
new enterprife, he would not permit one landman c >~.
to embark on board of it.
BY this time, Pizarro and his companions had
remained five months in an ifland, infamous for
the mod unhealthy climate in that region of Ame-
rica k . During all this period, their eyes were
turned towards Panama, in hopes of fuccour from
their countrymen ; but worn out at length with
fruitJefs expectations, and difpirited with fuffering
hardmips of which they faw no end, they, in de-
fpair, came to a refolution of committing them-
felves to the ocean on a float, rather than continue
in that deteflable abode. But, on the arrival of
the veiTel from Panama, they were tranfported with
fuch joy, that all their fufferings were forgotten.
Their hopes revived, and, with a rapid transition,
not unnatural among men accuflomed by their
mode of life to fudden viciffitudes of fortune, high
confidence fucceeding to extreme dejection, Pizarro
eafily induced not only his own followers, but the
crew of the vefiel from Panama, to refume his for-
mer fcheme with frefh ardour. Inftead of return-
ing to Panama, they flood towards the fouth-eaft,
and more fortunate in this than in any of their paft
efforts, they, on the twentieth day after their de-
parture from Gorgona, difcovered the coaft of Peru. Difcoven
After touching at feveral villages near the fhore, Peru<
k See NOTE III.
which
12 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK which they found to be no wife inviting, they landed
t^^-y^.j at Tumbez, a place of fome note, about three
I52>6> degrees fouth of the line, diflinguifhed for its (lately
temple, and a palace of the Incas or fovereigns of the
country '. There the Spaniards feafled their eyes
with the firft view of the opulence and civilization
of the Peruvian empire. They beheld a country
fully peopled, and cultivated with an appearance of
regular induftry ; the natives decently clothed, and
poflefled of ingenuity fo far furpaffing the other in-
habitants of the New World, as to have the ufe of
tame domeftic animals. But what chiefly attracted
their notice, was fuch a mow of gold and iilver, not
only in the ornaments of their perfons and temples,
but in feveral veflels and utenfils for common ufe,
formed of thofe precious metals, as left no room
to doubt that they abounded with profufion in
the country. Pizarro and his companions feem-
ed now to have attained to the completion of their
mod fanguine hopes, and fancied that all their
wifhes and dreams of rich domains, and inexhauft-
ible treafures, would foon be realized.
Returns to BUT with the flender force then under his com-
mand, Pizarro could only view the rich country of
which he hoped hereafter to obtain poffeffion. He
ranged, however, for fome time along the coaft,
maintaining every where a peaceable intercourfe
\yith the natives, no lefs aftonifhed at their new
1 Calancha> p. 103.
vifitants,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 13
vifitants, than the Spaniards were with the uniform BOOK.
appearance of opulence and cultivation which they i . ^j
beheld. Having explored the country as far as
was requifite to afcertain the importance of the dif-
covery, Pizarro procured from the inhabitants fome
of their Llamas or tame cattle, to which the Spa-
niards gave the name of {heep, fome veifels of gold
and filver, as well as fome fpecimens of their other
works of ingenuity, and two young men, whom
he propofed to mflruct in the Caftilian language,
that they might ferve as interpreters in the expedi-
tion which he meditated. With thefe he arrived
at Panama, towards the clofe of the third year from
the time of his departure thence m . No adventurer
of the age fuffered hardfliips or encountered dan-
gers which equal thofe to *which he was expofed
during this long period. The patience with which
he endured the one, and the fortitude with which
he furmounted the other, exceed whatever is re-
corded in the hiflory of the New World, where fo
many romantic difplays of thofe virtues occur.
NEITHER the fplendid relation that Pizarro gave , 52 j.
of the incredible opulence of the country which he n^mes
had difcovered, nor his bitter complaints on ac- f at ^ aflb "
count of that unfeafonable recal of his forces, which
had put it out of his power to attempt making any
m Herrera, dec. 3. lib. x. c. 3 6. dec. 4. lib. ii. c. 7, 8.
Vega, 2. lib. i. c. 10 14. Zarate, lib. i. c. 2. Benzo Hilt.
Novi Orbis, lib. iii. c. i.
fettlement
H HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fettlement there, could move the governor of Pa-
v^^-v-^j nama to fwerve from his former plan of conduct.
I5a8 * He ftill contended, that the colony was not in a
condition to invade fuch a mighty empire, and re-
fufed to authorife an expedition which he forefaw
would be fo alluring that it might ruin the province
in which he prefided, by an effort beyond its
ftrength. His coldnefs, however, did not in any
degree abate the ardour of the three aifociates ; but
they perceived that they could not carry their
fcheme into execution without the countenance of
fuperior authority, and mud folicit their fovereign
to grant that permiffion which they could not extort
from his delegate. With this view, after adjufting
among themfelves that Pizarro mould claim the
flation of governor, Almagro that of lieutenant-
governor, and Luque the dignity of bimop in the
country which they purpofed to conquer, they fent
Pizarro as their agent to Spain, though their for-
tunes were now fo much exhaufled by the repeated
efforts which they had made, that they found fome
difficulty in borrowing the fmall fum requifite
towards equipping him for the voyage ".
Pizarro fent PIZARRO loft no time in repairing to court, and
negotiate. tO new as tne fcene might be to him, he appeared be-
fore the emperor with the unembarrafled dignity of
a man confcious of what his fervices merited ; and
he conducted his negociations with an infmuating
n Herrera, dec. 4. lib. ill. c. I. Vega, 2. lib. i. c. 14.
dexterity
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 15
dexterity of addrefs, which could not have been BOOK
expected either from his education or former ha- u -v~v-j
bits of life. His feeling defcription of his own fuf- Isz8t
ferings, and his pompous account of the country
which he had difcovered, confirmed by the fpeci-
mens of its productions which he exhibited, made
fuch an impreffion both on Charles and his mini-
fters, that they not only approved of the intended
expedition, but feemed to be interefted in the fuc-
cefs of its leader. Prefuming on thofe difpofitions
in his favour, Pizarro paid little attention to the
interefl of his aflbciates. As the pretenfions of Ne( , lels his
Luque did not interfere with his own, he obtained aff ciates,
for him the ecclefiaftical dignity to which he afpir-
ed. For Almagro, he claimed only the command
of the fortrefs which mould be erected at Tumbez.
To himfelf he fecured whatever his boundlefs am-
bition could defire. He was appointed governor, j u i y 2 e.
captain-general, and adelantado of all the country th e d KJ^emJ
which he had difcovered, and hoped to conquer, hS. nd to
with fupreme authority, civil as well as military ;
and with full right to all the privileges and emolu-
ments ufually granted to adventurers in the New
World. His jurifdiction was declared to extend
two hundred leagues along the coaft to the fouth
of the river St. Jago ; to be independent of the
governor of Panama ; and he had power to nomi-
nate all the officers who were to ferve under him.
In return for thofe concemons, which coft the court
of Spain nothing, as the enjoyment of them de-
pended upon the fuccefs of Pizarro's own efforts,
he
16 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B VI K he engaged to raife two hundred and fifty men,
v-^-v *J and to provide the fhips, arms, and warlike (lores
requifite towards fubjecting,to the crown of Caftile,
the country of which the government was allotted
him.
sienderforce INCONSIDERABLE as the body of men was which
he was able t J
to raife. Pizarro had undertaken to raife, his funds and cre-
J 5 Z 9
dit were fo low that he could hardly complete half
the number ; and after obtaining his patents from
the crown, he was obliged to deal privately out of
the port of Seville, in order to elude the fcrutiny
of the officers who had it in charge to examine,
whether he had fulfilled the ftipulations in his con-
tract . Before his departure, however, he received
fome fupply of money from Cortes, who having
returned to Spain about this time, was willing to
contribute his aid towards enabling an ancient com-
panion, with whofe talents and courage he was well
acquainted, to begin a career of glory fimilar to
that which he himfelf had finiflied P.
HE landed at Nombre de Dios, and marched
acrofs the iflhmus to Panama, accompanied by his
three brothers, Ferdinand, Juan, and Gonzalo, of
whom the firft was born in lawful wedlock, the two
latter, like himfelf, were of illegitimate birth, and
by Francifco de Alcantara, his mother's brother.
Herrera, dec. 4. lib. vii. c. 9.
P Ibid. lib. vii. c. 10.
They
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 17
They were all in the prime of life, and offuchabi- B o o K
lities and courage, as fitted them to take a diflin- u v-*-*
guifhed part in his fubfequent tranfadions.
ON his arrival at Panama, Pizarro found Alma- ,o.
TJ" "
gro fo much exafperated at the manner in which he liati
had conducted his negociation, that he not only Alma s ro
refufed to aft any longer in concert with a man, by
whofe perfidy he had been excluded from the power
and honours to which he had a juft claim, but la-
boured to form a new aflbciation, in order to
thwart or to rival his former confederate in his dif-
coveries. Pizarro, however, had more wifdom and
addrefs than to fuffer a rupture fo fatal to all his
fchemes, to become irreparable. By offering vo-
luntarily to relinquifti the office of adelantado, and
promifmg to concur in foliciting that title, with an
independent government, for Almagro, he gra-
dually mitigated the rage of an open-hearted fol-
dier, which had been violent, but was not im-
placable. Luque, highly fatisfied with having
been fuccefsful in all his own pretenfions, cordially
feconded Pizarro's endeavours. A reconciliation
was effected ; and the confederacy renewed on its
original terms, that the enterprife mould be carried
on at the common expence of the affociates, and
the profits accruing from it mould be equally di-
vided among them <J.
i Herrera, dec. 4. lib. vii. c. 9, Zarate, lib. i. c. 3.
Vega, 2. lib. i. c." 14..
VOL. III. C EVEN
i8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
K EVEN after their re-union, and the utmoft efforts
of their intereft, three fmall veflels, with a hun-
Their 53 a 'ma- dred and eighty foldiers, thirty-fix of whom were
horfemen, compofed the armament which they
were able to fit out. But the aflonifhing progrefs
of the Spaniards in America had infpired them
with fuch ideas of their own fuperiority, that Pi-
J 53*- zarro did not hefitate to fail with this contemptible
February. . . '
force to invade a great empire. Almagro was leit
at Panama, as formerly, to follow him with what
reinforcement of men he mould be able to mufter.
As the feafon for embarking was properly chofen,
and the courfe of navigation between Panama and
Peru was now better known, Pizarro completed
the voyage in thirteen days ; though, by the force
of the winds and currents, he was carried above a
hundred leagues to the north of Tumbez, the place
o,f his deflination, and obliged to land his troops
Lands in in tne bay of St. Matthew. Without lofmg a mo-
*' eru> ment, he began to advance towards the fouth,
taking care, however, not to depart far from the
lea-more, both that he might eafily effect a junc-
tion with the fupplies which he expefted from Pa-
nama, and fecure a retreat in cafe of any difafter,
by keeping as near as poflible to his mips. But
as the country in feveral parts on the coafl of Peru
is barren, unhealthful, and thinly peopled ; as the
Spaniards^ , had to pafs all the rivers near their
mouth, where the body of water is greateft ; and
as the imprudence of Pizarro, in attacking the na-
tives
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
tives when he mould have fludied to gain their
confidence, had forced them to abandon their ha-
bitations ; famine, fatigue, and difeafes of various
kinds, brought upon him and his followers cala-
mities hardly inferior to thofe which they had en-
dured in their former expedition. What they now
experienced correfponded fo ill with the alluring
defcription of the country given by Pizarro, that
many began to reproach him, and every foldier
muft have become cold to the fervice, if even in
this unfertile region of Peru, they had not met
with fome appearances of wealth and cultivation,
which feemed to juftify the report of their leader.
At length they reached the province of Coaque ; April
and, having furprifed the principal fettlement of
the natives, they feized there veflels and ornaments
of gold and filver, to the amount of thirty thqm-
fand pefos, with other booty of fuch value, as di$
pelled all their doubts, and infpired the mod de-
fponding with fanguine hopes r .
PIZARRO himfelf was fo much delighted with
this rich fpoil, which he confidered as the firfl-
fruits of a land abounding with treafure, that he
inflantly difpatched one of his mips to Panama
with a large remittance to Almagro ; and another
to Nicaragua with a considerable fum to feveral
perfons of influence in that province, in hopes of
alluring adventurers, by this early difplay of the
r Hen era, dec. 4. lib. vif. c. 9. lif>. ii, c. 1. Xeres 182,
C a wealth
20 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK wealth which he had acquired. Meanwhile, he
<^ v- J continued his march along the coaft, and difdain-
ing to employ any means of reducing the natives
but force, he attacked them with fuch violence in
their fcattered habitations, as compelled them
either to retire into the interior country, or to fub-
mit to his yoke. This fudden appearance of in-
vaders, whofe afpedt and manners were fo ftrange,
and whofe power feemed to be fo irrefiflible, made
the fame dreadful impreffion as in other parts of
America. Pizarro hardly met with refiflance until
he attacked the ifland of Puna in the bay of Guay-
quil. As that was better peopled than the country
through which he had patted, and its inhabitants
fiercer and lefs civilized than thofe of the conti-
nent, they defended themfelves with fuch obftinate
valour, that Pizarro fpent fix months in reducing
them to fubje&ion. From Puna he proceeded to
Tumbez, where the diflempers which raged
among his men compelled him to remain for
three months f .
-WHILE he was thus employed, he began to reap
advantage from his attention, to fpread the fame
Receives of his firft fuccefs at Coaque. Two different de-
corutnues to tachments arrived from Nicaragua, which, though
neither exceeded thirty men, he confidered as a re-
inforcement of great confequence to his feeble
band, efpecially as the one was under the com-
s P. Sancho ap. Ramuf. iii. p. 371, F. Herrera, dec. 4.
lib. vii. c. 18. lib. ix. c. I. Zarate, lib. ii. 0.2,3. Xeres,
p. 182, &c.
mand
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 21
mand of Sebaftian Benalcazar, and the other of BOOK
VI.
Hernando Soto, officers not inferior in merit and v. *j
reputation to any \vho had ferved in America.
From Tumbez he proceeded to the river Piura, May 16,
and in an advantageous ftation near the mouth of
it, he eftablifhed the firft Spanifh colony in Peru ;
to which he gave the name of St. Michael.
As Pizarro continued to advance towards the
center of the Peruvian empire, he gradually re-
ceived more full information concerning its extent
and policy, as well as the fituation of its affairs at
that juncture. Without fome knowledge of thefe,
he could not have conducted his operations with
propriety ; and without a fuitable attention to
them, it is impoffible to account for the progrefs
which the Spaniards had already made, or to un-
fold the caufes of their fubfequent fuccefs.
AT the time when the Spaniards invaded Peru, state of the
the dominions of its fovereigns extended in length,
from north to fouth, above fifteen hundred miles
along the Pacific Ocean. Its breadth, from eaft
to weft, was much lefs confiderable ; being uni-
formly bounded by the vaft ridge of the Andes,
flretching from its one extremity to the other.
Peru, like the reft of the New World, was origi-
nally poflefled by fmall independent tribes, dif-
fering from each other in manners, and in their
forms of rude policy. All, however, were fo
little Civilized, that, if the traditions concerning
C 3 their
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, their mode of life, preferred among their defcend-
u- v > ants, deferve credit, they mufr. be clafied among
the moil unimproved favages of America. Stran-
gers to every fpecies of cultivation or regular in-
duftry, without any fixed refidence, and unac-
quainted with thofe fentiments and obligations
which form the firfl bonds of focial union, they
are faid to have roamed about naked in the foreils,
with which the country was then covered, more
like wild beads than like men. After they had
ftruggled for feveral ages with the hardfhips and
calamities which are inevitable in fuch a ftate, and
when no circumflance feemed to indicate the ap-
proach of any uncommon effort towards improve-
ment, we are told that there appeared on the banks
of the lake Titiaca, a man and woman of majeftic
form, and clothed in decent garments. They de-
clared themfelves to be children of the Sun, fent
by their beneficent parent, who beheld with pity
the miferies of the human race, to inftruct and to
reclaim them. At their perfuafion, enforced by
reverence for the divinity in whofe name they were
fuppofed to fpeak, feveral of the difperfed favages
united together, and receiving their commands as
heavenly injunctions, followed them to Cuzco,
where they fettled, and began to lay the founda*
tions of a city.
MANGO CAPAC and Mama Ocollo, for fuch
were the names of thofe extraordinary perfonages,
having thus collected fome wandering tribes,
formed
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 23
formed that focial union, which, by multiplying BOO
the defires, and uniting the efforts of the human u >-^
fpecies, excites induftry, and leads to improve-
ment. Manco Capac inftrufted the men in agri-
culture, and other ufeful arts. Mama Ocollo
taught the women to fpin and to weave. By the
labour of the one fex, fubfiflence became lefs pre-
carious ; by that of the other, life was rendered
more comfortable. After fecuring the objeds of
firfl neceffity in an infant (late, by providing food,
raiment, and habitations, for the rude people of
whom he took charge, Manco Capac turned his
attention towards introducing fuch laws and policy
as might perpetuate their happinefs. By his infti-
tutions, which mall be more particularly explained
hereafter, the various relations in private life were
eftablifhed, and the duties refulting from them
prefcribed with fuch propriety, as gradually formed
a barbarous people to decency of manners. In
public adminiftration, the functions of perfons in
authority were fo precifely defined, and the fubordi-
nation of thofe under their jurifdi&ion maintained
with fuch a fteady hand, that the fociety in which
he prefided, foon aiTumed the afpect of a regular
and well-governed ftate.
THUS, according to the Indian tradition, was
founded the empire of the Incas or Lords of Peru.
At ftrft its extent was fmall. The territory of
Manco Capac did not reach above eight leagues
from Cuzco. But within its narrow precin&s he
C 4 exercifed
24 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B v ? K exercifed abfolute and uncontrolled authority. His
v ~^ -^ fucceflbrs, as their dominions extended, arrogated
a fimilar jurifdiction over the new fubjedts which
they acquired ; the defpotifm of Afia was not
more complete. The Incas were not only obeyed as
monarchs, but revered as divinities. Their blood
was held to be facred, and, by prohibiting inter^
marriages with the people, was never contaminated
by mixing with that of any other race. The fami-
ly, thus feparated from the reft of the nation, was
diflinguifhed by peculiarities in drefs and orna-
ments, which it was unlawful for others to affume.
The monarch himfelf appeared with enfigns of roy-
alty referved for him alone ; and received from his
fubjecls marks of obfequious homage and refpecl:,
which approached almoft to adoration.
BUT, among the Peruvians, this unbounded
power of their monarchs feems to have been uni-
formly accompanied with attention to the good of
their fubjeds. It was not the rage of conqueft, if
we may believe the accounts of their countrymen,
that prompted the Incas to extend their dominions,
but the defire of diffufing the bleffings of civiliza-
tion, and the knowledge of the arts which they
poflefled, among the barbarous people whom they
reduced. During a fucceffion of twelve monarchs,
it is faid that not one deviated from this beneficent
charader l ,
1 Cieca de Leon, Chron, c. 44. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. x.
p. 4. dec. 5. lib. iii. c. 17.
WHEN
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 25
WHEN the Spaniards firft vifited the coaft of B o o K
Peru, in the year one thoufand five hundred and
twenty-fix, Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch
from the founder of the ftate, was feated on the
throne. He is reprefented as a prince diftinguifhed
not only for the pacific virtues peculiar to the race,
but eminent for his martial talents. By his victo-
rious arms the kingdom of Quito was fubje&ed, a
conqueft of fuch extent and importance as almoft
doubled the power of the Peruvian empire. He
was fond of refiding in the capital of that valuable
province, which he had added to his dominions ;
and, notwithstanding the ancient and fundamental
law of the monarchy againfl polluting the royal
blood by any foreign alliance, he married the
daughter of the vanquiihed monarch of Quito.
She bore him a fon named Atahualpa, whom, on
his death at Quito, which feems to have happened
about the year one thoufand five hundred and
twenty-nine, he appointed his fucceffor in that
kingdom, leaving the reft of his dominions to
Huafcar, his eldeft fon, by a mother of the royal
race. Greatly as the Peruvians revered the memory
of a monarch who had reigned with greater repu-
tation and fplendour than any of his predeceflbrs,
the deftination of Huana Capac concerning the
fucceffion, appeared fo repugnant to a maxim coe-
val with the empire, and founded on authority
deemed facred, that it was no fooner known at
uzco than it excited general difguft. Encouraged
by
26 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K by thofe fentiments of his fubjects, Huafcar re-
* v^> quired his brother to renounce the government of
Quito, and to acknowledge him as his lawful
fuperior. But it had been the firfl care of Atahualpa
to gain a large body of troops which had accom-
panied his father to Quito. Thefe were the flower
of the Peruvian warriors, to whofe valour Huana
Capac had been indebted for all his victories. Re-
lying on their fupport, Atahualpa firfl eluded his
brother's demand, and then marched againfl him
in hoflile array.
THUS the ambition of two young men, the title
of the one founded on ancient ufage, and that of
the other aflerted by the veteran troops, involved
Peru in civil war, a calamity to which, under a
fucceilion of virtuous princes, it had hitherto
been a ftranger. In fuch a contefl the iflue was
obvious. The force of arms triumphed over the
authority of laws. Atahualpa remained victorious,
and made a cruel ufe of his victory. Confcious of
the defect in his own title to the crown, he at-
tempted to exterminate the royal race, by putting
to death all the children of the Sun defcended
from Manco Capac, whom he could feize either
by force or ftratagem. From a political motive,
the life of his unfortunate rival Huafcar, who had
been taken prifoner in a battle which decided
the fate of the empire, was prolonged for fome
time, that, by ifluing orders in his name, the
ufurper
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 27
ufurper might more eafily eftablifh his own au- BOOK
thority u .
1531.
WHEN Pizarro landed in the bay of St. Mat- Favourable
thew, this civil war raged between the two bro- gre^of 1 ??-'
thers in its greateft fury. Had he made any hortile
attempt in his former vifit to Peru in the year one
thoufand five hundred and twenty-feven, he niuft
then have encountered the force of a powerful
ftate, united under a monarch, poffeffed of capa-
city as well as courage, and unembarrafTed with
any care that could divert him from oppofmg his
progrefs. But at this time, the two competitors,
though they received early accounts of the arrival
and violent proceedings of the Spaniards, were fo
intent upon the operations of a war, which they
deemed more interefling, that they paid no attention
to the motions of an enemy, too inconfiderable in
number to excite any great alarm, and to whom,
it would be eafy, as they imagined, to give a
check when more at leifure.
BY this fortunate coincidence of events, whereof He avails
Pizarro could have no forefight, and of which, itT*^ i-
from his defective mode of intercourfe with the
people of the country, he remained long ignorant,
he was permitted to carry on his operations un-
molefted, and advanced to the centre of a great
empire before one effort of its power was exerted
u Zarate, lib. i. 0.15. Vega, i. lib. ix. c. 12 and 32-
40. Htrrera, dec. 5. lib. i. c. z. lib. iii. c. 17.
to
28 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
%. L K to flop his career. During their progrefs, the Spa-
niards had acquired fome imperfect knowledge of
this ftruggle between the two contending factions.
The firft complete information with refpect to it,
they received from meflengers whom Huafcar fent
to Pizarro, in order to folicit his aid againfl Ata-
hualpa, whom he reprefented as a rebel and an
ufurper ". Pizarro perceived at once the import-
ance of this intelligence, and forefaw fo clearly all
the advantages which might be derived from this
divided ftate of the kingdom, which he had in-
vaded, that, without waiting for the reinforcement
which he expected from Panama, he determined
to pufh forward, while inteftine difcord put it out
of the power of the Peruvians to attack him with
their whole force, and while, by taking part, as
circumflances mould incline him, with one of the
competitors, he might be enabled with greater
eafe to crum both. Enterprifmg as the Spaniards
of that age were in all their operations againft Ame-
ricans, and diftinguifhed as Pizarro was among his
countrymen for daring courage, we can hardly
fuppofe, that after having proceeded hitherto flowly,
and with much caution, he would have changed at
once his fyftem of operation, and have ventured
upon a meafure fo hazardous, without fome new
motive or profpeft to juftify it.
state of his As he was obliged to divide his troops, in
order to leave a garrifon in St. Michael, fufficient
Zaratc, lib, ii. c. 3,
to
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 29
to defend a ftation of equal importance as a place BOOK
of retreat in cafe of any difafler, and as a port for v,^ v~- J
receiving any fupplies which fhould come from
Panama, he began his march with a very (lender
and ill-accoutred train of followers. They con-
fided of fixty-two horfemen x , and a hundred and
two foot-foldiers, of whom twenty were armed
with crofs-bows, and three with mufkets. He di-
recled his courfe towards Caxamalca, a fmall town
at the diftance of twelve days march from St.
Michael, where Atahualpa was encamped with
a confiderable body of troops. Before he had pro-
ceeded far, an officer difpatched by the Inca met
him with a valuable prefent from that prince,
accompanied with a proffer of his alliance, and
affurances of a friendly reception at Caxamalca.
Pizarro, according to the ufual artifice of his coun-
trymen in America, pretended to come as the am-
baflfador of a very powerful monarch, and declared
that he was now advancing with an intention to
offer Atahualpa his aid againfl thofe enemies who
difputed his title to the throne y.
As the object of the Spaniards in entering their ideas of the
Peruvians
country was altogether mcompreheniible to the concerning
Peruvians, they had formed various conjectures figns.
concerning it, without being able to decide whe-
ther they mould confider their new guefts as beings
of a fuperior nature, who had vifited them from
* See NOTE IV.
r . Hen-era, dec. 5. lib. i. c. 3. Xerez, p. 18.9.
fome
30 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fome beneficent motive, or as formidable avengers
u- v o of their crimes, and enemies to their repofe and
liberty. The continual profeffions of the Spa-
niards, that they came to enlighten them with the
knowledge of truth, and lead them in the way of
happinefs, favoured the former opinion ; the out-
rages which they committed, their rapacioufnefs
and cruelty, were awful confirmations of the lat-
ter. While in this date of uncertainty, Pizarro's
declaration of his pacific intentions fo far removed
all the Inca's fears, that he determined to give him
a friendly reception. In confequence of this refo-
lution, the Spaniards were allowed to march in
tranquillity acrofs the fandy defert between St.
Michael and Motupe, where the moil feeble ef-
fort of an enemy, added to the unavoidable dilV
trefles which they fuffered in palling through that
comfortlefs region, mufl have proved fatal to
them z . From Motupe they advanced towards
the mountains which encompaffed the low country
of Peru, and patted through a defile fo narrow and
macceffible, that a few men might have defended
it againft a numerous army. But here likewife,
from the fame inconfiderate credulity of the Inca,
the Spaniards met with no oppofition, and took
quiet pofleffion of a fort creeled for the fecurity of
that important ftation. As theynowapproached near
to Caxamalca, Atahualpa renewed his profeffions
of friendfhip j and as an evidence of their fince-
z Sec NOTE V.
rity,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 3*
rity, fent them prefents of greater value than the BOOK
former. v v -J
153*-
ON entering Caxamalca, Pizarro took poffeflion Arrive at
of a large court, on one fide of which was a houfe
which the Spanifli hiftorians call a palace of the
Inca, and on the other a temple of the Sun, the
whole furrounded with a ftrong rampart or wall of
earth. When he had pofted his troops in this ad-
vantageous ftation, he difpatched his brother Ferdi-
nand and Hernando Soto to the camp of Ata-
hualpa, which was about a league diftant from the
town. He inftructed them to confirm the declara-
tion which he had formerly made of his pacific dif-
pofition, and to defire an interview with the Inca,
that he might explain more fully the intention of
the Spaniards in vifiting his country. They were
treated with all the refpeclful hofpitality ufual
among the Peruvians in the reception of their moft
cordial friends, and Atahualpa promifed to vifit the
Spanifli commander next day in his quarters. The
decent deportment of the Peruvian monarch, the
order of his court, and the reverence with which his
fubjecls approached his perfon and obeyed his com-
mands, aftonifhed thofe Spaniards, who had never
met in America with any thing more dignified than
the petty cazique of a barbarous tribe. But their
eyes were ftill more powerfully attracled by the vaft
profufion of wealth which they obferved in the. In-
ca' s camp. The rich ornaments worn by him and
his attendants, the veffels of gold and filver in
2 1 which
32 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK which the repaft offered to them was ferved up, the
t_ ,-, , lu j multitude ofutenfilsof every kind formed of thofe
precious metals, opened profpects far exceeding
any idea of opulence that a European of the fix-
teenth century could form.
Perfidious ON their return to Caxamalca, while their minds
. were yet warm with admiration and defire of the
wealth which they had beheld, they gave fuch a
defcription of it to their countrymen, as confirmed
Pizarro in a refolution which he had already taken.
From his own obfervation of American manners
during his long fervice in the New World, as well
as from the advantages which Cortes had derived
from feizing Montezuma, he knew of what confe-
quence it was to have the Inca in his power. For
this purpofe, he formed a plan as daring as it was
perfidious. Notwithftanding the character that he
had aflumed of an ambaffador from a powerful mo-
narch, who courted an alliance with the Inca, and
in violation of the repeated offers which he had
made to him of his own friendfhip and affiftance,
he determined to avail himfelf of the unfufpicious
fimplicity with which Atahualpa relied on his pro-
feffions, and to feize the perfon of the Inca during
the interview to which he had invited him. He
prepared for the execution of his fcheme with the
fame deliberate arrangement, and with as little
compunction, as if it hard reflected no difgrace
on himfelf or his country. He divided his cavalry
into three fmall fquadrons, under the command of
17 his
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 33
his brother Ferdinand, Soto, and Benalcazar j his BOOK
infantry were formed in one body, except twenty
of moft tried courage, whom he kept near his own
perfon to fupport him in the dangerous fervice
which he referved for himfelf ; the artillery, con-
fitting of two field-pieces a and the crofs-bowmen,
were placed oppofite to the avenue by which Ata-
hualpa was to approach. All were commanded
to keep within the fquare, and not to move until
the fignal for action was given.
EARLY in the morning the Peruvian camp was NOV. 16.
all in motion. But as Atahualpa was folicitous to
appear with the greateft fplendour and magnifi-
cence in his frrft interview with the flrangers, the
preparations for this were fo tedious, that the day
was far advanced before he began his inarch.
Even then, left the order of the proceffion mould
be deranged, he moved fo flowly, that the Spa-
niards became impatient, and apprehenfive that
fome fufpicion of their intention might be the
caufe of this delay. In order to remove this, Pi-
zarro difpatched one of his officers with frefh aflu-
rances of his friendly difpofition. At length the
Inca approached. Firft of all appeared four hun-
dred men, in an uniform drefs, as harbingers to
clear the way before him. He himfelf, fitting on
a throne or couch, adorned with plumes of various
colours, and almoft covered with plates of gold
* Xerez, p. 194.
VOL. III. D and
34 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK and filver enriched with precious ft ones, was car-
ried on the moulders of his principal attendants.
Behind him came fome chief officers of his court,
carried in the fame manner. Several bands of
fingers and dancers accompanied this cavalcade j
and the whole plain was covered with troops,
amounting to more than thirty thoufand men.
near tne Spanifh quarters, fa-
verde Vai " t ^ ier Vincent Valverde, chaplain to the expedition,
advanced with a crucifix in one hand, and a bre-
viary in the other, and in a long difcourfe explain-
ed to him the doctrine of the creation, the fall of
Adam, the incarnation, the fufferings and refur-
rection of Jefus Chrift, the appointment of St.
Peter as God's vicegerent on earth, the tranfmif-
fion of his apoftolic power by fucceflion to the
popes, the donation made to the king of Caftile
by pope Alexander of all the regions in the New
World. In confequence of all this, he required
Atahualpa to embrace the Chriftian faith, to ac-
knowledge the fupreme jurifdiction of the pope,
and to fubmit to the king of Caflile as his lawful
fovereign ; promiling, if he complied inftantly
with this requifition, that the Caitilian monarch
would protect his dominions, and permit him to
continue in the exercife of his royal authority ; but
if he mould impiouily refufe to obey this fummons,
he denounced war againft him in his matter's name,
and threatened him with the molt dreadful effects
of his vengeance.
Tnis
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 35
THIS ftrange harangue, unfolding deep myf-
teries, and alluding to unknown fads, of which
no power of eloquence could have conveyed at Reply of the
once a diftincl: idea to an American, was fo lamely
tranflated by an unfkilful interpreter, little ac-
quainted with the idiom of the Spanifh tongue, and
incapable of expreffing himfelf with propriety in
the language of the Inca, that its general tenor
was altogether incomprehenfible to Atahualpa.
Some parts in it, of more obvious meaning, filled
him with aftonilhment and indignation. His re-
ply, however, was temperate. He began with
obferving, that he was lord of the dominions over
which he reigned by hereditary fucceffion j and
added, that he could not conceive how a foreign
pried mould pretend to difpofe of territories which
did not belong to him ; that if fuch a prepoflerous
grant had been made, he, who was the rightful
pofTefibr, refufed to confirm it ; that he had no in-
clination to renounce the religious inflitutions efta-
blifhed by his anceftors ; nor would he forfake the
fervice of the Sun, the immortal divinity whom he
and his people revered, in order to worfhip the
God of the Spaniards, who was fubject to death ;
that with refpect to other matters contained in his
difcourfe, as he had never heard of them before,
and did not now underftand their meaning, he de-
fired to know where the prieft had learned things
fo extraordinary. " In this book,'* anfwered Val-
Verdej reaching out to him his breviary. The
Inca opened it eagerly, and turning over the leaves,
D 2 lifted
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
lifted it to his ear: " This," fays he, " is filent;
it tells me nothing ;" and threw it with difdain to
the ground. The enraged monk, running towards
his countrymen, cried out, " To arms, Chriftians,
to arms ; the word of God is infulted ; avenge this
profanation on thofe impious dogs V
Pizarro at- PIZARRO, who, during this long conference,
Peruvian*, had with difficulty retrained his foldiers, eager to
feize the rich fpoils of which they had now fo near
a view, immediately gave the fignal of aflfault. At
once the martial mufic (truck up, the cannon and
mufkets began to fire, the horfe fallied out fiercely
to the charge, the infantry rufhed on fword in
hand. The Peruvians, aftonifhed at the fudden-
nefs of an attack which they did not expect, and
difmayed with the deftru&ive effects of the fire-
arms, and the irrefiftible impreffion of the cavalry,
fled with univerfal confternation on every fide,
without attempting either to annoy the enemy, or
to defend themfelves. Pizarro, at the head of his
chofen band, advanced diretly towards the Inca ;
and though his nobles crowded around him with
officious zeal, and fell in numbers at his feet, while
they vied one with another in facrificing their own
lives, that they might cover the facred perfon of
their fovereign, the Spaniards foon penetrated to
atd feizes the royal feat ; and Pizarro feizing the Inca by the
arm, dragged him to the ground, and carried him
> S NOTE VI.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 37
as a prifoner to his quarters. The fate of the mo- BOOK
narch increafed the precipitate flight of his follow- u ^J
crs. The Spaniards purfued them towards every
quarter, and with deliberate and unrelenting bar-
barity continued to (laughter wretched fugitives,
who never once offered to refill. The carnage did
not ceafe until the clofe of day. Above four thou-
fand Peruvians were killed. Not a fmgle Spaniard
fell, nor was one wounded but Pizarro himfelf,
whofe hand was flightly hurt by one of his own
foldiers, while flruggling eagerly to lay hold on the
Inca e .
THE plunder of the field was rich beyond any
idea which the Spaniards had yet formed concern-
ing the wealth of Peru, and they were fo tranfport-
ed with the value of the acquifition, as well as the
greatnefs of their fuccefs, that they pafled the night
in the extravagant exultation natural to indigent
adventurers on fuch an extraordinary change of
fortune.
AT firft the captive monarch could hardly be- Dejcaion of
lieve a calamity which he fo little expected to be
real. But he foon felt all the mifery of his fate,
and the dejection into which he funk was in pro-
portion to the height of grandeur from which he
had fallen. Pizarro, afraid of lofmg all the ad-
vantages which he hoped to derive from the pof-
feflion of fuch a prifoner, laboured to confole him
See NOTE VII.
D 3 with
65093
3 8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK with profeflions of kindnefs and refpect, that cor-
i_ T __j refponded ill with his actions. By refiding among
* S3i * the Spaniards, the Inca quickly difcovered their
ruling paffion, which, indeed, they were no-wife
folicitous to conceal, and by applying to that,
His offtr cf made an attempt to recover his liberty. He offer-
ed as a ranfom what aflonifhed the Spaniards, even
after all they now knew concerning the opulence
of his kingdom. The apartment in which he was
confined was twenty-two feet in length and fixteen
in breadth ; he undertook to fill it with veflels of
gold as high as he could reach. Pizarro clofed
eagerly with this tempting propofal, and a line was
drawn upon the walls of the chamber, to mark the
ftipulated height to which the treafure was to rife.
ATAHUALPA, tranfported with having obtained
fome profpect of liberty, took meafures inftantly
for fulfilling his part of the agreement, by fending
meffengers to Cuzco, Quito, and other places,
where gold had been amafled in largefl quantities,
either for adorning the temples of their gods, or the
houfes of the Inca, to bring what was neceffary for
completing his ranfom direclly to Caxamalca.
Though Atahualpa was now in the cuflody of his
enemies, yet fo much were the Peruvians accuf r
tomed to refpecl every mandate iffued by their fo-
yereign, that his orders were executed with the
greateft alacrity. Soothed with hopes of recover-
ing his liberty by this means, the fubjefts of the
Inca were afraid of endangering his life by forming
any
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 39
any other fcheme for his relief; and though the BOOK
force of the empire was ftill entire, no prepara- c. ->.*
tions were made, and no army aflembled to avenge
their own wrongs or thofe of their monarch d . The
Spaniards remained in Caxamalca tranquil and un-
molefled. Small detachments of their number The s pa -
, , . r . i j nhrds vifit
marched into remote provinces or the empire, and, d.fferent
inftead of meeting with any oppofition, were every l
where received with marks of the moll fubmiffive
refpecl: e .
' INCONSIDERABLE as thofe parties were, and de-
firous as Pizarro might be to obtain fome know- reinforce-
ledge of the interior ftate of the country, he could
not have ventured upon any diminution of his main
body, if he had not about this time received an December.
account of Almagro's having landed at St. Michael
with fuch a reinforcement as would almoft double
the number of his followers f . The arrival of this
long-expected fuccour was not more agreeable to
the Spaniards, than alarming to the Inca. He faw
the power of his enemies encreafe ; and as he knew
neither the fource whence they derived their fup-
plies, nor the means by which they were conveyed
to Peru, he could not forefee to what a height the
inundation that poured in upon his dominions
might rife. While difquieted with fuch apprehen- 1533.
r u i j u o V Huaftar put
lions, he learned that lome Spaniards, in their way t death.
Xerez, 205. e See NOTE VIII. ,
f Xerez, 204. Herrera, dec. 5. lib, iii, c. I, z.
D 4 to
40 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K to Cuzco, had viiited his brother Huafcar in the
VI.
u- ^-j place where he kept him confined, and that the
captive prince had reprefented to them the juftice
of his own caufe, and as an inducement to efpoufe
it, had promifed them a quantity of treafure greatly
beyond that which Atahualpa had engaged to pay
for his ranfom. If the Spaniards mould liften to
this propofal, Atahualpa perceived his own de-
ftru&ion to be inevitable ; and fufpecling that their
infatiable third for gold would tempt them to lend
a favourable ear to it, he determined to facrifice his
brother's life, that he might fave his own ; and
his orders > for this purpofe were executed, like all
his other commands, with icrupulous punctu-
ality s .
the spa- MEANWHILE, Indians daily arrived at Caxa*
fliarrfs m.ike r i i i
a divi.ionof malca from different parts or the kingdom, loaded
the fpoil. . ' . A r rvn-
with treafure. A great part or the itipulated
quantity was now amafled, and Atahualpa allured
the Spaniards, that the only thing which prevented
the whole from being brought in, was the remote-
nefs of the provinces where it was depofited. But
fuch vaft piles of gold prefented continually to the
view of needy foldiers, had fo inflamed their ava-
rice, that it was impoffible any longer to reftrain
their impatience to obtain pollefiion of this rich
booty. Orders were given for melting down the
* Zarate, lib. ii. c. 6. Gomara Hift. c t 1 15. Jlerrera,
dec. 5. lib. iii. c. 2.
whole,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 41
whole, except fome pieces of curious fabric, re- B o yi o
ferved as a prefent for the emperor. After fetting c .-
apart the fifth due to the crown, and a hundred
thoufand pefos as a donative to the foldiers which
arrived with Almagro, there remained one million
five hundred and twenty-eight thoufand five hun-
dred pefos to Pizarro and his followers. The fe-
itival of St. James, the patron faint of Spain, was jui y2 $.
the day chofen for the partition of this enormous
fum, and the manner of conducting it flrongly
marks that ftrange alliance of fanaticifin with ava-
rice, which I have more than once had occafion to
point out as a flriking feature in the character of
the conquerors of the New World. Though aflem-
bled to divide the fpoils of an innocent people,
procured by deceit, extortion, and cruelty, the
tranfaftion began with a folemn invocation of the
name of God h , as if they could have expected the
guidance of Heaven in diitributing thofe wages of
iniquity. In this divifion above eight thoufand
pefos, at that time not inferior in effective value
to as many pounds Sterling in the prefent century,
fell to the mare of each horfeman, and half that
fum to each foot foldier. Pizarro himfelf, and
his officers, received dividends in proportion to the
dignity of their rank.
THERE is no example in hiftory of fuch afudden The d&o
' T C 111 J. f lt
actjuifition of wealth by military fervice, nor was
h Herjrera, dec, 5. lib, iii. c. 3.
ever
42 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK ever a fum fo great divided among fo fmall a num-
u.- v^-J ber of foldiers. Many of them having received a
recompence for their fervices far beyond their moft
fanguine hopes, were fo impatient to retire from
fatigue and danger, in ordey to fpend the remain-
der of their days in their native country, in eafe and
opulence, that they demanded their difcharge with
clamorous importunity. Pizarro, fenfible that from
fuch men he could expect neither enterprife in ac-
tion nor fortitude in fuffering, and perfuaded that
wherever they went, the difplay of their riches
would allure adventurers, lefs opulent but more
hardy, to his ftandard, granted their fuit without
jreluctance, and permitted above fixty of them to
accompany his brother Ferdinand, whom he fent
to Spain with an account of his fuccefs, and the
prefent deftined for the emperor '.
The inca THE Spaniards having divided among them the
hfs liberty in treafure amaffed for the Inca's ranfom, he infifted
with them to fulfil their promife of fetting him at
liberty. But nothing was farther from Pizarro's
thoughts. During his long fervice in the New
World, he had imbibed thofe ideas and maxims of
his fellow-foldiers, which led them to confider its
inhabitants as an inferior race, neither worthy of
the name, nor entitled to the rights, of men. In
his compact with Atahualpa, he had no other ob-
ject than to amufe his captive with fuch a profpect
5 Hen-era, dec. 5. lib. in. c, 4. Vega, p. 2. lib. i. c. 38*
of
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 4.3
>f recovering his liberty, as might induce him to B o o K
lend all the aid of his authority towards collecting ^-^/
the wealth of his kingdom. Having now accom-
plimed this, he no longer regarded his plighted
faith ; and at the very time when the credulous
prince hoped to be replaced on his throne, he had
fecretly refolved to bereave him of life. Many
circumftances feem to have concurred in prompting
him to this action, the mod criminal and atrocious
that ftains the Spanifh name, amidft all the deeds
of violence committed in carrying on the conqueil
of the New World.
THOUGH Pizarro had feized the Inca, in imita- Hc a . rd the
. r . Spaniards
tion of Cortes's conduct towards the Mexican mo- mutually
narch, he did not poflefs talents for carrying on
the fame artful plan of policy. Deflitute of the
temper and addrefs requifite for gaining the confi-
jdence of his prifoner, he never reaped all the ad-
vantages which might have been derived from be-
ing matter of his perfon and authority. Atahualpa
was, indeed, a prince of greater abilities and dif-
cernment thanMontezuma, and feems to have pe-
netrated more thoroughly into the character and
intentions of the Spaniards. Mutual fufpicion and
diftruft accordingly took place between them. The
flrict attention with which it was necefTary to guard
a captive of fuch importance, greatly increafed the
fatigue of military duty. The utility of keeping
}iim appeared inconfiderable j and Pizarro felt him
44
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK as an incumbrance, from which he wifhed to be
y|
i_, -.- j delivered *.
1533-
Aima$ro
and his fol-
lowers de-
mand his
life.
Motives
which in-
dgced Pi-
zarro to
content.
ALMAGRO and his followers had made a demand
of an equal mare in the Inca's ranfom ; and though
Pizarro had beftowed upon the private men the
large gratuity which I have mentioned, and en-
deavoured tofooth their leader by prefents of great
value, they ftill continued diifatisfied. They were
apprehenfive, that as long as Atahualpa remained
a prifoner, Pizarro' s foldiers would apply whatever
treafure fhould be acquired, to make up what was
wanting of the quantity ilipulated for his ranfom,
and under that pretext exclude them from any part
of it. They infifted eagerly on putting the Inca
to death, that all the adventurers in Peru might
thereafter be on an equal footing '.
PIZARRO himfelf began to be alarmed with ac*
counts of forces afiembling in the remote provinces
of the empire, and fufpected Atahualpa of having
iifued orders for that purpofe. Thefe fears and
fufpicions were artfully increafed by Philippillo,
one of the Indians whom Pizarro had carried off
from Tumbez in the year one thoufand five hun-
dred and twenty-feven, and whom he employed as
an interpreter. The function which he performed
admitting this man to familiar intercourfe with the
* Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iii. c, 4.
1 Zarate, lib. n, c. 7. Vega, p. 2. 'lib. i. c. 7. Herrera,
dec. 5. lib. iii. c. 4.
14 captive
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 45
captive monarch, he prefumed, notwithftanding BOOK
the meannefs of his birth, to raife his affections to i. . .._f
a Coya, or defcendent of the Sun, one of Atahual-
pa's wives ; and feeing no profpect of gratifying
that paffion during the life of the monarch, he en-
deavoured to fill the ears of the Spaniards with fuch
accounts of the Inca's fecret defigns and prepara-
tions, as might awaken their jealoufy, and incite
them to cut him off.
WHILE Almagro and his followers openly de-
manded the life of the Inca, and Philippiilo la-
boured to ruin him by private machinations, that
unhappy prince inadvertently contributed to haften
his own fate. During his confinement he had at-
tached himfelf with peculiar affection to Ferdinand
Pizarro and Hernando Soto ; who, as they were
perfons of birth and education fuperior to the rough
adventurers with whom they ferved, were accuf-
tomed to behave with more decency and attention
to the captive monarch. Soothed with this refpect
from perfons of fuch high rank, he delighted in
their fociety. But in the prefence of the governor
he was always uneafy, and overawed. This dread
foon came to be mingled with contempt. Among all
the European arts, what he admired mofl was that
of reading and writing ; and he long deliberated
with himfelf, whether he mould regard it as a na-
tural or acquired talent. In order to determine
this, he defired one of the foldiers, who guarded
him, to write the name of God on the nail of his
thumb.
46 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
thumb. This he fhewed fucceffively to feveraf
Spaniards, aiking its meaning ; and to his amaze-
ment, they ail, without hefitation, returned the
fame anfwer. At length Pizarro entered ; and on
prefenting it to him, he bluflied, and with fome
confufion was obliged to acknowledge his igno-
rance. From that moment, Atahualpa confidered
. him as a mean perfon, lefs inftru&ed than his own
Ibldiers ; and he had not addrefs enough to conceal
the fentiments with which this difcovery infpired
him. To be the object of a barbarian's fcorn, not
only mortified the pride of Pizarro, but excited
fuch refentment in his breaft, as added force to all
the other considerations which prompted him to
put the Inca to death m .
His trial. BUT in order to give fome colour of juftice to
this violent action, and that he himfelf might be
exempted from Handing fmgly refponfible for the
commiffion of it, Pizarro refolved to try the Inca
with all the formalities obferved in the criminal
courts of Spain. Pizarro himfelf, and AlmagrOj
with two affiftants, were appointed judges, with
full power to acquit or to condemn ; an attorney-
general was named to carry on the profecution in
the king's name ; counfellors were chofen to af-
fift the prifoner in his defence ; and clerks were
ordained to record the proceedings of court. Be-
fore this flrange tribunal, a charge was exhibited
. m Herrcra, dec* 5. lib, iii. c. 4. Vega, |>. II. lib. L C. 38;
ftili
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 47
Hill more amazing. It confifted of various ar- B
tides ; that Atahualpa, though a baftard, had dif-
poireffed the rightful owner of the throne, and 1533<
ufurped the regal power ; that he had put his bro-
ther and lawful fovereign to death ; that he was
an idolater, and had not only permitted, but
commanded the offering of human facrifices ; that
he had a great number of concubines ; that fmce
his imprifonment he had wafted and embezzled the
royal treafures, which now belonged of right to the
conquerors ; that he had incited his fubje&s to
take arms againft the Spaniards. On thefe heads
of accufation, feme of which are fo ludicrous,
others fo abfurd, that the effrontery of Pizarro, in
making them the foundation of a ferious proce-
dure, is not lefs furprifmg than his injuftice, did
this ftrange court go on to try the fovereign of a
great empire, over whom it had no jurifdiclion.
With refpect to each of the articles, witneffes were
examined ; but as they delivered their evidence in
their native tongue, Philippillo had it in his power
to give their words whatever turn befl fuited his
malevolent intentions. To judges predetermined
in their opinion, this evidence appeared fufficient.
They pronounced Atahualpa guilty, and con- He ; co
demned him to be burnt alive. Friar Valverde demned
proftituted the authority of his facred function to
confirm this fentence, and by his fignature war-
ranted it to be juft. Aitonimed at his fate, Ata-
hualpa endeavoured to avert it by tears, by pro-
mifes, and by entreaties, that he might be fent to
2 i Spain,
48 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK Spain, where a monarch would be the arbiter of
u v *-> his lot. But pity never touched the unfeeling heart
I533 ' of Pizarro. He ordered him to be led inftantly
to execution ; and, what added to the bitternefs
of his laft moments, the fame monk who had juft
ratified his doom, offered to confole, and attempted
to convert him. The moil powerful argument
Valverde employed to prevail with him to embrace
the Chriftian faith, was a promife of mitigation in
his punifhment. The dread of a cruel death ex-
torted from the trembling victim a defire of receiv-
ing baptifm. The ceremony was performed ; and
and execut- Atahualpa, inftead of being burnt, was flrangled at
ed< the flake n .
Several Spa- HAPPILY for the credit of the Spanifh nation,
lit aganft even among the profligate adventurers which it
fent forth to conquer and defolate the New World,
there were perfons who retained fome tincture of
the Caililian generofity and honour. Though, be-
fore the trial of Atahualpa, Ferdinand Pizarro had
fet out for Spain, and Soto was fent on a feparate
command at a diftance from Caxamalca, this odious
tranfaction was not carried on without cenfure
and oppofition. Several officers, and among thofe
fome of the greatefl reputation and moft refpeclable
families in the fervice, not only remonftrated, but
protefted againfl this meafure of their general, as
n Zaratff, lib. ii. c. 7. Xeres, p. 233. Vega, p. il.
lib. i. 0.36, 37. Gomara Hift. c. 117. Herrera, dec. 5.
3jb. ill. c. 4.
difgraceful
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 49
difgraceful to their country, as repugnant to every BOOK
maxim of equity, as a violation of public faith, and
an ufurpation of jurifdiclion over an independent
monarch, to which they had no title. But their
laudable endeavours were vain. Numbers, and the
opinion of fuch as held every thing to be lawful
which they deemed advantageous, prevailed. Hif-
tory, however, records even the unfuccefsful exer-
tions of virtue with applaufe ; and the Spanifh writ-
ers, in relating events where the valour of their na-
tion is more confpicuous than its humanity, have
not failed to preferve the names of thofe who made
this laudable effort to fave their country from the
infamy of having perpetrated fuch a crime .
ON the death of Atahualpa, Pizarro inverted
r i r i_ L. re 1 U f E overn -
one or his ions with the enligns ot royalty, hoping fremandor
1 I ' dcr in Peru.
that a young man without experience might prove
a more paflive inftrument in his hands, than an
ambitious monarch, who had been accuftomed to
independent command. The people of Cuzco,
and the adjacent country, acknowledged Manco
Capac, a .brother of Huafcar, as Inca P. But
neither poffefied the authority which belonged to a
fovereign of Peru. The violent convulfions into
which the empire had been thrown, firfl by the
civil war between the two brothers, and then by
the invafion of the Spaniards, had not only de-
Vega, p. n. lib. i. c. 37. Xeres, i. 235. Herrera,
dec. 5. lib. iii. c. 5.
f Vega, p. n. lib. ii. c. 7.
VOL. III. E ranged
50 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
vi
ran g e d the order of the Peruvian government, but
ahnofl diflblved its frame. When they beheld
533 ' their monarch a captive in the power of flrangers,
and at laft fufiering an ignominious death, the
people in feveral provinces, as if they had been
let free from every reflraint of law and decency,
broke out into the moil licentious exceffes q . So
many defcendents of the Sun, after being treated
with the utmoffc indignity, had been cut off by
Atahualpa, that not only their influence in the flate
diminifhed with their number, but the accuflomed
reverence for that facred race fenfibly decreafed.
In confequence of this flate of things, ambitious
men in different parts of the empire afpired to in-
dependent authority, and ufurped jurifdiciion to
which they had no title. The general who com-
manded for Atahualpa in Quito, feized the brother
and children of his mafler, put them to a cruel
death, and difclaiming any connection with either
Inca, endeavoured to eflablifh a feparate kingdom
for himfelf r .
ad- THE Spaniards, with pleafure, beheld the fpirit
of difcord diffufing itfelf, and the vigour of go-
vernment relaxing among the Peruvians. They
confidered thofe diforders as fymptoms of a flate
haftening towards its diffolution. Pizarro no longer
hefitated to advance towards Cuzco, and he had
received fuch confiderable reinforcements, that he
i Herrera, dec. 5. lib. ii. c. 12. lib. iii. c. 5.
1 Zarate, lib. ii. c. 8. Vega, p. n. lib. ii. c. 3, 4.
could
HISTORY OF AMERICA; 51
could venture, with little danger, to penetrate fo B o^o K
far into the interior part of the country. The c v- *
account of the wealth acquired at Caxamalca
operated as he had forefeen. No fooner did his
brother Ferdinand, with the officers .and foldiers
to whom he had given their difcharge after the
partition of the Inca's ranfom, arrive at Panama,
and difplay their riches in the view of their
aftoniihed countrymen, than "fame fpread the ac-
count with fuch exaggeration through all the
Spanifh fettlements on the South Sea, that the
governors of Guatimala, Panama, and Nicaragua,
could hardly rellrain the people under their jurif-
didion, from abandoning their pofleffions, and.
crowding to that inexhauftible fource of wealth
which feemed to be opened in Peru 3 . In fpite of
every check and regulation, fuch numbers reforted
thither, that Pizarro began his march at the head
of five hundred men, after leaving a confiderable
gafrifon in St. Michael, under the command of
Benalcazan The Peruvians had affembled fome
large bodies of troops to oppofe his progrefs*
Several fierce encounters happened. But they
terminated like all the actions in America ; a few
Spaniards were killed or wounded ; the natives
were put to flight with incredible flaughter. At
length Pizarro forced his way to Cuzco, and took
quiet poffeffion of that capital. The riches found
Gomara Hift. 0.125. Vega, p. II, lib. ii. c. I. Her-
rera, dec. 5. lib. iii. 0.5.
- E 2 there,
52 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK there, even after all that the natives had carried off
L- * - J and concealed, either from a fuperftitious venera-
tion for the ornaments of their temples, or out of
hatred to their rapacious conquerors, exceeded in
value what had been received as Atahualpa's ran-
fom. But as the Spaniards were now accuftomed
to the wealth of the country, and it came to be
parcelled out among a greater number of adven-
turers, this dividend did not excite the fame fur-
prife either from novelty, or the largenefs of the
fum that fell to the fhare of each individual r .
DURIKG the march to Cuzco, that fon of Ata-
hualpa whom Pizarro treated as Inca, died ; and
as the Spaniards fubftituted no perfon in his place,
the title of Manco Capac feems to have been uni-
verfally recognized".
?5ered by" WHILE his fellow-foldicrs were thus employed,
Benaicarar. Benalcazar, governor of St. Michael, an able and
enterprifing officer, was afhamed of remaining in-
active, and impatient to have his name diltin-
guilhed among the difcoverers and conquerors of
the New World. The feafonable arrival of a frefh
body of recruits from Panama and Nicaragua, put
it in his power to gratify this paffion. Leaving a
fufficient force to protect the infant fettlement en-
trufted to his care, he placed himfelf at the head
of the reft, and fet out to attempt the reduction of
* See NOTE IX. - Hcrrera, dec. 5. lib. v. c. 2.
Quito,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 53
Quito, where, according to the report of the BOOK
natives, Atahualpa had left the greateft part of u.- ,~..w
his treafure. Notwithftanding the diftance of
that city from St. Michael, the difficulty of march-
ing through a mountainous country covered with
woods, and the frequent and fierce attacks of the
beft troops in Peru, commanded by a Ikilful
leader, the valour, good conduct, and perfeverance
of Benalcazar furmounted every obftacle, and he
entered Quito with his victorious troops. But
they met with a cruel mortification there. The
natives, now acquainted, to their forrow, with the
predominant paffion of their invaders, and know-
ing how to difappoint it, had carried off all thofe
treafures, theprofpecl: of which had prompted them
to undertake this arduous expedition, and had
fupported them under all the dangers and hard-
fhips wherewith they had to flruggle in carrying
it on x .
BENALCAZAR was not the only Spanifh leader Aivarado's
who attacked the kingdom of Quito. The fame
of its riches attracted a more powerful enemy.
Pedro de Alvarado, who had diftinguifhed him-
felf fo eminently in the conqueft of Mexico, hav-
ing obtained the government of Guatimala as a
recompence for his valour, foon became difgufted
with a life of uniform tranquillity, and longed to
x Zarate, lib. ii. c. 9. Vega, .p. II. lib. ii. c. 9. Her-
rera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. ii, 12. lib. v. c. 2, 3. lib. vi. c. 3.
E 3 be
54. HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o p K. be again engaged in the buflle of military fervice.
The glory and wealth acquired by the conquerors
pf Peru heightened this paflion, and gave it a de-
termined direction. Believing, or pretending to
believe, that the kingdom of Quito did not lie
within the limits of the province allotted to Pi-
zarro, he refolved to invade it. The high reputa-
tion of the commander allured volunteers from
every quarter. He embarked with five hundred
men, of whom above two hundred were of fuch
diftinction as to ferve on horfeback. He landed at
Puerto Viejo, and without fufficient knowledge of
the country, or proper guides to conduct him,
attempted to march directly to Quito, by follow-
ing the courfe of the river Guayquil, and croffing
the ridge of the Andes towards its head. But in
this route, one of the mod impracticable in all
America, his troops endured fuch fatigue in forcing
their way through forefts and marfhes on the
low grounds, and fuffered fo much from excefiive
cold when they began to afcend the mountains,
that before they reached the plain of Quito, a fifth
part of the men and half of their horfes died, and
the reft were fo much difpirited and v/orn out, as
to be almofl unfit for fervice y. There they met
with a body, not of Indians but of Spaniards,
drawn up in hoflile array againfl them. Pizarro
having received an account of Alvarado's arma-
pient, had detached Almagro with fome troops to
* See NOTE X.
pppofe
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 55
BOOK
VI.
oppofe this formidable invader of his jurifdiclion ;
and thefe were joined by Benalcazar and his victo-
rious party. Alvarado, though furprifed at the
fight of enemies whom he did not expect, advanced
boldly to the charge. But, by the interpofition of
fome moderate men in each party, an amicable
accommodation took place ; and the fatal period,
when Spaniards fufpended their conquers to em-
b'rue their hands in the blood of their countrymen,
was poftponed a few years. Alvarado engaged to
return to his government, upon Almagro's paying
him a hundred thoufand pefos to defray the expence
of his armament. Mod of his followers remained
in the country ; and an expedition, which threat-
ened Pizarro and his colony with ruin, contributed
to augment its flrength z .
BY this time Ferdinand Pizarro had landed in .. 5W-
"'. ' Honours
Spain. The immenfe quantities of gold and filver conferred on
..... A i.i I'izairo and
which he imported % filled the kingdom with no
lefs aftonimment than they had excited in Panama
and the adjacent provinces. Pizarro was received
by the emperor with the 'attention due to the
bearer of a prefent fo rich, as to exceed any idea
which the Spaniards had formed concerning the
value of their acquifitions in America, even after
they had been ten years mafters of Mexico. In
z Zarate, lib. ii. c. 10 13. Vega, p. it. lib. ii. c. 1,2.
9, &c. Gomara Hift. c. 126, &c. Remefal Hift. Guatimal.
lib. in. c, 6. Herrera, dec. 5. lib. vi. c. I, 2. 7, 8.
a See NOTE XL
E 4 recompence
56 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, recompence of his brother's fervices, his authority
< . ^ i was confirmed with new powers and privileges,
and the addition of feventy leagues, extending
along the coaft, to the fouthward of the territory
granted in his forme'r patent. Almagro received
the honours which he had fo long defired. The
title of Adelantado, or governor, was conferred -
upon him, with jurifdiclion over two hundred
leagues of country, flretching beyond the fouthern
limits of the province allotted to Pizarro. Ferdi-
nand himfelf did not go unrewarded. He was ad-
mitted into the military order of St. Jago, a dif-
tinftion always acceptable to a Spanim gentleman,
and foon fet out on his return to Peru, accompa-
nied by many perfons of higher rank than had yet
ferved in that country b .
Beginning of SOME account of his negociations reached Peru
difienfions
between Pi- before he arrived there himlelr. Almagro no
fooner learned that he had obtained the royal grant
of an independent government, than, pretending
that Cuzco, the imperial refidence of the Incas,
lay within its boundaries, he attempted to render
himfelf mafter of that important ftation. Juan
and Gonzalez Pizarro prepared to oppofe him.
Each of the contending parties was fupported by
powerful adherents, and the difpute was on the
point of being terminated by the fword, when
Francis Pizarro arrived in the capital. The recon-
b Zarate, lib. iii. c. 3. Vega, p. II. lib. ii. c. 19. Her-
rcra, dec. 5. lib. vi. c. 13.
ciliation
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 57
dilation between him and Almagro had never been BOOK
cordial. The treachery of Pizarro in engroffing w v--^
to himfelfall the honours and emoluments, which
ought to have been divided with his affociate, was
always prefent in both their thoughts. The former,
confcious of his own perfidy, did not expect for-
givenefs ; the latter, feeling that he had been de-
ceived, was impatient to be avenged ; and though
avarice and ambition had induced them not only
to diflemble their fentiments, but even to aft in
concert while in purfuit of wealth and power, no
fooner did they obtain poffeffion of thefe, than the
fame paffions which had formed this temporary
union, gave rife to jealoufy and difcord. To each
of them was attached a fmali band of interefted
dependents, who, with the malicious art peculiar
to fuch men, heightened their fufpicions, and mag-
nified every appearance of offence. But with all
thofe feeds of enmity in their minds, and thus
affiduoufly cherifhed, each was fo thoroughly ac-
quainted with the abilities and courage of his rival,
that they equally dreaded the confequences of an
open rupture. The fortunate arrival of Pizarro at
Cuzco, and the addrefs mingled with firmnefs
which he manifefted in his expoftulations with
Almagro and his partizans, averted that evil for
the prefent. A new reconciliation took place ; the
chief article of which was, that Almagro mould
attempt the cbnqueft of Chili; and if he did not
find in that province an eftablifhment adequate to
his merit and expectations, Pizarro, by way of in-
demnification,
58 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, demnlfication, fhould yield up to him a part of
v.^r-v ^y Peru. This new agreement, though confirmed with
june 34 T;. t ' le f ame facred folemnities as their firil contract,
. was obferved with as little fidelity c .
Relations SOON after he concluded this important tranf-
Of PiZalTO. ,._,. 1111 i
achoft, rizarro marched back to the countries on
ihe fea-coaft, and as he now enjoyed an interval of
tranquillity, undifturbed by any enemy, either
Spaniih or Indian, he applied himfelf with that
perfevering ardour, which diftinguifhes his cha-
racter, to introduce a form of regular government
into the extenfive provinces fubjed to his autho-
rity. Though ill qualified by his education to
enter into any difquifition concerning the principles
of civil policy, and little accuflomed by his former
habits of life to attend to its arrangements, his
natural fagacity fupplied the want both of fcience
and experience. He diftributed the country into
various diflricts ; he appointed proper magiftrates
to prefide in each ; and eftablimed regulations con-
cerning the admimftration of juftice, the collection
of the royal revenue, the working of the mines,
and the treatment of the Indians, extremely fimple,
but well calculated to promote the public profpe-
rity. But though, for the prefent, he adapted his
plan to the infant ftate of his colony, his afpiring
mind looked forward to its future grandeur. He
e Zarate, lib. ii. c. 13. Vega, p. n. lib. ii. c. 19. Benzo,
lib. Hi. o. 6. Herrera, dec. c. lib. yii. c. #
confideretl
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 59
ccnfidered himfelf as laying the foundation of a BOOK
vj.
great empire, and deliberated long, and with much * v *
iblieitude, in what place he mould fix the feat of Foundat'iou.
, ... . of Luna.
government. Cuzco, the imperial city or the
Incas, was fituated in a corner of the empire, above
four hundred miles from the fea, and much farther
from Quito, a province of whofe value Jie had
formed an high idea. No other fettlement of the
Peruvians was fo confiderable as to merit the name
of a town, or to allure the Spaniards to fix their
refidence in it. But, in marching through the
country, Pizarro had been ftruck with the beauty
and fertility of the valley of Rimac, one of the
mofl extenfive and befl cultivated in Peru. There,
on the banks of a fmall river, of the fame name
witb 'he vale which it waters and enriches, at the
diftance of fix miles from Callao, the moft com-
modious harbour in the Pacific Ocean, he founded
a city which he deftined to be the capital of his
government. He gave it the name of Ciudad de .. "w _
January iff.
los Rey ,-s, either from the circurnftance of having
.laid the firfl ftone, at that feafon when the church
celeb v '.ites the feftival of the Three Kings, or, as
is more probable, in honour of Juana and Charles,
the joint ibvereigns of Caftile.. This name it ftill re-
tains among the Spaniards, in all legal and formal
deeds ; but it is better known to foreigners by that
of/,:'.-. 1 /.?, a corruption of the ancient appellation of
the valley in which it is fituated. Under his in-
fpeclion, the buildings advanced with fuch rapi-
dity, that it foon aifumed the form of a city, which,
by
60 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
O OK by a magnificent palace that he erected for himfelf,
and by the (lately houfes built by feveral of his
officers, gave, even in its infancy, fome indication
of its fubfequent grandeur d .
^ N con f e( l uence f wnat na d Deen agreed with
Pizarro, Almagro began his march towards Chili ;
and as he poffeffed in an eminent degree the virtues
moft admired by foldiers, boundlefs liberality and
fearlefs courage, his flandard was followed by five
hundred and feventy men, the greateft body of
Europeans that had hitherto been aflembled in
Peru. From impatience to finifh the expedition,
or from that contempt of hardfhip and danger
acquired by all the Spaniards who had ferved
long in America, Almagro, inftead of advancing
along the level country on the coaft, chofe to
march acrofs the mountains by a route that was
fhorter indeed, but almoft impracticable. In this
attempt his troops were expofed to every calamity
which men can fuffer, from fatigue, from famine,
and from the rigour of the climate in thofe elevated
regions of the torrid zone, where the degree of
cold is hardly inferior to what is felt within the
polar circle. Many of them perifhed ; and the
furvivors, when they defcended into the fertile
plains of Chili, had new difficulties to encounter.
They found there a race of men very different from
the people of Peru, intrepid, hardy, independent,
* Herrera, dec. 5. lib. vi. c. 12. lib. vii. c. 13. Calanchb
Coronica, lib. i. c. 37. Bavnuevo, Lima fundata, ii. 294.
and
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 61
and in their bodily conflitution, as well as vigour BOOK
of fpirit, nearly refembling the warlike tribes in
North America. Though filled with wonder at IS35 '
the firft appearance of the Spaniards, and flill
more aftonimed at the operations of their cavalry
and the effects of their fire-arms, the Chilefe foon
recovered fo far from their furprize, as not only to
defend themfelves with obftinacy, but to attack
their new enemies with more determined fiercenefs
than any American nation had hitherto difcovered.
The Spaniards, however, continued to penetrate
into the country, and collected fome conliderable
quantities of gold ; but were fo far from thinking
of making any fettlement amidft fuch formidable
neighbours, that, in fpite of all the experience and
valour of their leader, the final ifiue of the expedi-
tion ftill remained extremely dubious, when they
were recalled from it by an unexpected revolution
in Peru c . The caufes of this important event I
mall endeavour to trace to their fource.
So many adventurers had flocked to Peru An infur
from every Spanifh colony in America, and all the "p" '
with fuch high expectations of accumulating inde-
pendent fortunes at once, that, to men pofiefled
with notions fo extravagant, any mention of ac-
quiring wealth gradually, and by fchemes of pa-
tient induftry, would have been not only a dif-
e Zarate, lib. iii. c. I. Gomara Hift. c. 131. Vega, p. 2.
lib. ii. c. 20. Ovalle Hilt, de Chile, lib. iv. c. 15, &c.
Herrera, dec. 5. lib. vi, c. 9. lib. x. c. I, &c.
appoint-
62 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK appointment, but an infult. In order to find
v^_v~^j occupation for men who could not with fafety
* S3S ' be allowed to remain inactive, Pizarro encouraged
fome of the mod diftinguifhed officers who had
lately joined him, to invade different provinces of
the empire, which the Spaniards had not hitherto
vifited. Several large bodies were formed for this
purpofe ; and about the time that Almagro fet out
for Chili, they marched into remote diftricts of
its rife, the country. No fooner did Manco Capac, the
Inca, obferve the inconfiderate fecurity of the Spa-
niards in thus difperfmg their troops, and that only
a handful of foldiers remained in Cuzco, under
Juan and Gonzalez Pizarro, than he thought that
the happy period was at length come for vindicat-
ing his own rights, for avenging the wrongs of his
country, and extirpating its oppreffors. Though
ftridly watched by the Spaniards, who allowed
him to refide in the palace of his anceftors at
Cuzco, he found means of communicating his
fcheme, to the perfons who were to be entrufted
with the execution of it. Among people ac-
cuftomed to revere their fovereign as a divinity,
every hint of his will carries the authority of a
command ; and they themfelves were now con-
vinced, by the daily increafe in the number of
their invaders, that the fond hopes which they
had long entertained of their voluntary departure
were altogether vain. All perceived that a vi-
gorous effort of the whole nation was requiiite to
expel them, and the preparations for it were car-
ried
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 63
tied on with the fecrecy and filence peculiar to B o o K
Americans. v v^j
J 53.v
AFTER fome unfuccefsful attempts of the Inca
to make his efcape, Ferdinand Pizarro happening
to arrive at that time in Cuzco, he obtained per- 1536
million from him to attend a great feftival which
was to be celebrated a few leagues from the capi-
tal. Under pretext of that IbJemnity, the great
men of the empire were aflembled. As foon as
the Inca joined them, the ftandard of war was
erected ; and in a fhort time all the fighting men,
from the confines of Quito to the frontier of Chili,
were in arms. Many Spaniards, living fecurely
on the fettlements allotted them, were maiTacred.
Several detachments, as they marched carelefly
through a country which feemed to be tamely fub-
miffive to their dominion, were cut off to a man.
An army amounting (if we may believe the Spa-
nifh writers) to two hundred thoufand men, at-
tacked Cuzco, which the three brothers endea-
voured to defend with only one hundred and
feventy Spaniards. Another formidable body in-
verted Lima, and kept the governor clofely fhut
up. There was no longer any communication be-
tween the two cities ; the numerous forces of the
Peruvians fpreading over the country, intercepted
every meflenger ; and as the parties in Cuzco and
Lima were equally unacquainted with the fate of
their countrymen, each boded the word concerning
21 the.
64 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, the other, and imagined that they themfelves were
u -v~ > the only perfons who had furvived the general ex-
tinction of the Spanifh name in Peru d .
Siege of J T was at Cuzco, where the Inca commanded
Cuzco. .
in perfon, that the Peruvians made their chief
effort. During nine months they carried on the
fiege with inceffant ardour, and in various forms ;
and though they difplayed not the fame undaunted
ferocity as the Mexican warriors, they conducted
fome of their operations in a manner which difco-
vered greater fagacity, and a genius more fufcep-
tible of improvement in the military art. They
not only obferved the advantages which the Spa-
niards derived from their difcipline and their wea-
pons, but they endeavoured to imitate the former,
and turn the latter againft them. They armed a
confiderable body of their braved warriors with
the fwords, the fpears, and bucklers, which they
had taken from the Spanifh foldiers whom they
had cut off in different parts of the country. Thefe
they endeavoured to marfhal in that regular com-
pact order, to which experience had taught them
that the Spaniards were indebted for their irre-
fiflible force in action. Some appeared in the field
with Spani(h mufkets, and had acquired fkill and
refolution enough to ufe them. A few of the
boldeft, among whom was the Inca himfelf, were
e Vega, p. ii. lib. ii. c. 28. Zarate, lib. iii. c. 3. Cieca
<k Leon, c. 82. Gomara Milt. c. 135. Herrera, dec. 5.
lib. viii. c. 5.
mounted
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 65
mounted on the horfes which they had taken, and BOOK
VI.
advanced brifkly to the charge like Spanifh cava- v ^ J
liers, with their lances in the reft. It was more by
their numbers, however, than by thofe imperfect
eflays to imitate European arts and to employ Eu-
ropean arms, that the Peruvians annoyed the Spa-
niards e . In fpite of the valour, heightened by
defpair, with which the three brothers defended
Cuzco, Manco Capac recovered poflefiion of one
half of his capital ; and in their various efforts to
drive him out of it, the Spaniards loft Juan Pizar-
ro, the beft beloved of all the brothers, together
with fome other perfons of note. Worn out with
the fatigue of inceffant duty, diftrefled with want
of provifions, and defpairing of being able any
longer to refift an enemy whofe numbers daily in-
creafed, the foldiers became impatient to abandon
Cuzco, in hopes either of joining their country-
men, if any of them yet furvived, or of forcing
their way to the fea, and finding fome means of
efcaping from a country which had been fo fatal to
the Spanifh name f . While they were brooding
over thofe defponding thoughts, which their officers
laboured in vain to difpel, Almagro appeared fud-
denly in the neighbourhood of Cuzco.
THE accounts tranfmitted to Almagro concern- Arrival of
ing the general infurredion of the Peruvians, were Almasro>
* See NOTE XII.
r Herrera, dec. 5. lib, viii. c. 4.
VOL. III. F fuch
66 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
fuch as would have induced him, without hefita-
tion, to relinquilh the conqueft of Chili, and
and 'motives haften to the aid of his countrymen. But in this
duft. refolution he was confirmed by a motive lefs gene-
rous, but more interefting. By the fame meflen-
ger who brought him intelligence of the Inca's
revolt, he received the royal patent creating him
governor of Chili, and defining the limits of his
jurifdiction. Upon confidering the tenor of it, he
deemed it manifefl beyond contradiction, that
Cuzco lay within the boundaries of his govern-
ment, and he was equally folicitous to prevent the
Peruvians from recovering pofleffion of their capi-
tal, and to wreft it out of the hands of the Pizarros.
From impatience to accomplim both, he ventured
to return by a new route ; and in marching through
the fandy plains on the coaft, he fuffered, from
heat and drought, calamities of a new fpecies,
hardly inferior to thofe in which he had been in-
volved by cold and famine on the fummits of the
Andes.
His arrival at Cuzco was in a critical moment.
The Spaniards and Peruvians fixed their eyes upon
him with equal folicitude. The former, as he
did not ftudy to conceal his pretenfions, were, at a
lofs whether to welcome him as a deliverer, or to
take precautions againft him as an enemy. The
latter, knowing the points in conteft between him
and his countrymen, flattered themfelves that they
had more to hope than to dread from his opera-
21 tions.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 67
tions. Almagro himfelf, unacquainted with the BOOK
detail of the events which had happened in his c. ^*j
abfence, and folicitous to learn the precife pofture
of affairs, advanced towards the capital flowly,
and with great circumfpection. Various negocia-
tions with both parties were fet on foot. The
Inca conducted them on his part with much ad-
drefs. At firft he endeavoured to gain the friend-
fhip of Almagro ; and after many fruitlefs over-
tures, defpairing of any cordial union with a Spa-
niard, he attacked him by furprife with a nume-
rous body of chofen troops. But the Spanifh difci-
pline and valour maintained their wonted fuperiori-
ty. The Peruvians were repulfed with fuch flaugh-
ter, that a great part of their army difperfed, and
Almagro proceeded to the gates of Cuzco without
interruption.
THE Pizarros, as they had no longer to make Takes pof.
head againfl the Peruvians, directed all their at- c u o.
tention towards their new enemy, and took mea-
fures to obftruct his entry into the capital. Pru-
dence, however, restrained both parties for fome
time from turning their arms againft one another,
while furrounded by common enemies, who would
rejoice in the mutual ilaughter. Different fchemes
of accommodation were propofed. Each endea-
voured to deceive the other, or to corrupt his
followers. The generous, open, affable temper of
Almagro gained many adherents of the Pizarros,
who were difgufted with their harfh domineering
F 2 manners.
68 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK manners. Encouraged by this defection, he ad-
u .- -J vanced towards the city by night, furprifed the
centinels, or was admitted by them, and inverting
the houfe where the two brothers refided, compel-
led them, after an obftinate defence, to furrender
at difcretion. Almagro's claim of jurifdi&ion over
Cuzco was univerfally acknowledged, and a form
of adminiflration ertablifhed in his name ?.
civil war, Two or three perfons only were killed in this
cefsof A!- firft act of civil hoflility ; but it was foon followed
by fcenes more bloody. Francis Pizarro having
difperfed the Peruvians who had inverted Lima,
and received fome confiderable reinforcements from
Hifpaniola and Nicaragua, ordered five hundred
men, under the command of Alonfo de Alvarado,
to march to Cuzco, in hopes of relieving his bro-
thers, if they and their garrifon were not already
cut off by the Peruvians. This body, which, at
that period of the Spaniih power in America, murt
be deemed a confiderable force, advanced near to
the capital before they knew that they had any
enemy more formidable than Indians to encounter.
It was with aftoniihment that they beheld their
countrymen ported on the banks of the river Aban-
cay to oppofe their progrefs. Almagro, however,
wifhed rather to gain than to conquer them, and
by bribes and promifes endeavoured to feduce their
Zarate, lib. iii. c. 4. Vega, p. II. lib. ii. c. 29. 31.
Gomara Hift. c. 134. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. ii. c. i 5'.
leader.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 69
leader. The fidelity of Alvarado remained un- B V1
iliaken ; but his talents for war were not equal to
his virtue. Almagro amufed him with various
movements, of which he did not comprehend the
meaning, while a large detachment of chofen J uly *
foldiers pafled the river by night, fell upon his
camp by furprife, broke his troops before they had
time to form, and took him prifoner, together
with his principal officers h .
BY the fudden rout of this body, the conteft but does not
between the two rivals mud have been decided,
if Almagro had known as well how to improve as
how to gain a victory. Rodrigo Orgognez, an
officer of great abilities, who having ferved under
the conftable Bourbon, when he led the Imperial
army to Rome, had been accuftomed to bold and
decifive meafures, advifed him inftantly to iffue
orders for putting to death Ferdinand and Gon-
zalo Pizarros, Alvarado, and a few other perfons
whom he could not hope to gain, and to march
directly with his victorious troops to Lima, be-
fore the governor had time to prepare for his de-
fence. But Almagro, though he difcerned at once
the utility of the counfel, and though he had cou-
rage to have carried it into execution, fufFered him-
felf to be influenced by fentiments unlike thofe of a,
foldier of fortune grown old in fervice, and by
h Zarate, lib. iii. c. 6. Com. Hift. c. 138. Vega, p. II.
lib. ii. c. 33, 34. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. ii. c. 9.
F 3 fcruples
7 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B VJ K fcruples which fuited not the chief of a party who
u. .-^.0 had drawn his fword in civil war. Feelings of hu-
manity reftrained him from fhedding the blood of
his opponents ; and the dread of being deemed a
rebel, deterred him from entering a province
which the king had allotted to another. Though
he knew that arms mufl terminate the difpute be-
tween him and Pizarro, and refolved not to mun
that mode of decifion, yet, with a timid delicacy
prepofterous at fuch a juncture, he was fo felicitous
that his rival mould be confidered as the aggreffor,
that he marched quietly back to Cuzco, to wait
his approach j .
Diftrefs of PIZARRO was ftill unacquainted with all the in-
terefting events which had happened near Cuzco.
Accounts of Almagro's return, of the lofs of the
capital, of the death of one brother, of the impri-
fonment of the other two, and of the defeat of
Alvarado, were brought to him at once. Such a
tide of misfortunes almoft overwhelmed a fpirit
which had continued firm and erecl: under the
rudeft {hocks of adverfity. But the neceffity of
attending to his own fafety, as well as the defire
of revenge, preferved him from finking under it.
His artful ^ e to ^ mea f ures for both with his wonted faga-
eondudt. c ity. As he had the command of the fea-coaft,
and expected confiderable fupplies both of men
and military ftores, it was no lefs his intereft to
1 Herrera, dec. 6. lib. ii. c. 10, n.
gain
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 71
gain time, and to avoid action, than it was that of B o o K
Almagro to precipitate operations, and bring the
conteft to a fpeedy iflue. He had recourfe to arts
which he had formerly practifed with fuccefs, and
Almagro was again weak enough to fuffer himfelf
to be amufed with a profpecl: of terminating their
differences by fome amicable accommodation. By
varying his overtures, and fhifting his ground as
often as it fuited his purpofe, fometimes feeming
to yield every thing which his rival could defire,
and then retracting all that he had granted, Pizarro
dexteroufly protradted the negociation to fuch a
length, that though every day was precious to
Almagro, feveral months elapfed without coming
to any final agreement. While the attention of
Almagro, and of the officers with whom he con-
fulted, was occupied in detecting and eluding the
fraudulent intentions of the governor, Gonzalo
Pizarro and Alvarado found means to corrupt the
foldiers to whofe cuftody they were committed,
and not only made their efcape themfelves, but
perfuaded fixty of the men who formerly guarded
them to accompany their- flight k . . Fortune having
thus delivered one of his brothers, the governor
fcrupled not at one aft of perfidy more to procure
the releafe of the other. He propofed, that every
point in controverfy between Almagro and himfelf
fhould be fubmitted to the decifion of their fove-
reign ; that until his award was known, each
fhould retain undiflurbed pofleffion of whatever
k Zarate, lib. iii. c. 8. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. ii. c. 14.
F 4 part
72 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK part of the country he now occupied ; that Ferdi-
{^-v~^.> nand Pizarro Ihould be fet at liberty, and return
'537' inftantly to Spain, together with the officers, whom
Almagro purpofed to fend thither to reprefent the
juftice of his claims. Obvious as the defign of
Pizarro was in thofe propofitions, and familiar as
his artifices might now have been to his opponent,
Almagro, with a credulity approaching to infatua-
tion, relied on his fincerity, and concluded an
agreement on thefe terms '.
His prepa- THE moment that Ferdinand Pizarro recovered
. his liberty, the governor, no longer fettered in his
operations by anxiety about his brother's life,
threw off every difguife which his concern for it
had obliged him to alfume. The treaty was for-
gotten ; pacific and conciliating meafures were no
more mentioned ; it was in the field, he openly
declared, and not in the cabinet ; by arms, and
not by negociation ; that it muft now be deter-
mined who mould be mailer of Peru. The rapi-
dity of his preparations fuited fuch a decifive refo-
lution. Seven hundred men were foon ready to
march towards Cuzco. The command of
'538' thefe was given to his two brothers, in whom
he could perfectly confide for the execution
of his mod violent fchemes, as they were urged
on, not only by the enmity flowing from the
rivalihip between their family and Almagro, but
J Hen-era, dec. 6. lib. iii. c, 9. Zarate, lib. iii. c. 9.
Goraara Hill. c. 140. Vega, p. n. Jib. ii. c. 35.
ammate4
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 73
animated with the defire of vengeance, excited by O y o K
recollection of their own recent difgrace and fuf- u...-.~..j
ferings. After an unfuccefsful attempt to crofs
the mountains in the direct road between Lima
and Cuzco, they marched towards the fouth along
the coaft as far as Nafca, and then turning to the
left, penetrated through the defiles in that branch
of the Andes which lay between them and the
capital. Almagro, inftead of hearkening to fome
of his officers, who advifed him to attempt the de-
fence of thofe difficult paiTes, waited the approach
of the enemy in the plain of Cuzco. Two reafons
feem to have induced him to take this refolution.
His followers amounted hardly to five hundred,
and he was afraid of weakening fuch a feeble
body by fending any detachment towards the
mountains. His cavalry far exceeded that of the
adverfe party, both in number and difcipline, and
it was only in an open country that he could avail
himfelf of that advantage.
THE Pizarros advanced without any obftru&ion, His army
but what arofe from the nature of the deiert and Cuzco.
horrid regions through which they marched. As
foon as they reached the plain, both factions were
equally impatient to bring this long-protrafted con-
teft to an iffue. Though countrymen and friends,
the fubjedls of the fame fovereign, and each with
the royal ftandard difplayed ; and though they be-
held the mountains that furrounded the plain in
which they were drawn up, covered with a vaft
multitude
74 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK multitude of Indians, afiembled to enjoy the fpec-
<- * tacle of their mutual carnage, and prepared to at-
tack whatever party remained matter of the field ;
ib fell and implacable was the rancour which had
taken pofTeflion of every breaft, that not one pa-
cific counfel, not a fmgle overture towards accom-
modation proceeded from either fide. Unfortu-
nately for Almagro, he was fo worn out with the
fatigues of fervice, to which his advanced age was
unequal, that, at this crifis of his fate, he could
not exert his wonted activity ; and he was obliged
to commit the leading of his troops to Orgognez,
who, though an officer of great merit, did not
poffefs the fame afcendant either over the fpirit or
affe&ions of the foldiers, as the chief whom they
had long been accuftomed to follow and revere.
April 26. THE conflict was fierce, and maintained by each
defeated" party with equal courage. On the fide of Alma-
gro, were more veteran foldiers, and a larger pro-
portion of cavalry ; but thefe were counterbalanced
by Pizarro's fuperiority in numbers, and by two
companies of well-difciplined muiketeers, which,
, on receiving an account of the infurredion of the
Indians, the emperor had fent from Spain m . As
the ufe of fire-arms was not frequent among the
adventurers in America", haftily equipped for
fervice, at their own expence, this fmall band of
foldiers, regularly trained and armed, was a no-
m Herrera, dec. 6. lib. iii. c. 8.
" Zarate, J>'h- iii. c. 8.
velty
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 75
velty in Peru, and decided the fate of the day. B op K
Wherever it advanced, the weight of a heavy and v. v J
well-fuflained fire bore down horfe and foot before 153 '
it ; and Orgognez, while he endeavoured to rally
and animate his troops, having received a dangerous
wound, the rout became general. The barbarity
of the conquerors flamed the glory which they ac-
quired by this complete vidory. The violence of
civil rage hurried on fome to flaughter their coun-
trymen with indifcriminate cruelty ; the meannefs
of private revenge infligated others to fingle out
individuals as the obj efts of their vengeance. Or-
gognez and feveral officers of diftin6tion were maf-
facred in cold blood ; above a hundred and forty
foldiers fell in the field ; a large proportion, where
the number of combatants were few, and the heat
of the conteft foon over. Almagro, though fo
feeble that he could not bear the motion of a
horfe, had infifted on being carried in a litter to an
eminence which overlooked the field of battle.
From thence, in the utmofl agitation of mind, he
viewed the various movements of both parties, and
at lafl beheld the total defeat of his own troops,
with all the paffionate indignation of a veteran
leader long accuflomed to victory. He endea- and taken '
voured to fave himfelf by flight, but was taken
prifoner, and guarded with the ftri&eft vigilance .
Zarate, lib. iii. c. n, 12. Vega, p. n. IiE>. ii. c. 36
38. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. iii. c. 10 12. lib. iv. c. I 6.
THE
76 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
THE Indians, inftead of executing the refolution
which they had formed, retired quietly after the
battle was over ; and in the hiflory of the New
World, there is not a more ftriking inftance of the
wonderful afcendant which the Spaniards had ac-
quired over its inhabitants, than that after feeing
one of the contending parties ruined and difperfed,
and the other weakened and fatigued, they had
not courage to fall upon their enemies, when for-
tune prefented an opportunity of attacking them
with fuch advantage P.
dlfions* xpe " Ouzco was pillaged by the victorious troops, who
found there a confiderable booty, confiding partly
of the gleanings of the Indian treafures, and partly
of the wealth amaffed by their antagonifts from
the fpoils of Peru and Chili. But fo far did this,
and whatever the bounty of their leader could add
to it, fall below the high ideas of the recompence
which they conceived to be due to their merit, that
Ferdinand Pizarro, unable to gratify fuch extra-
vagant expectations, had recourfe to the fame ex-
pedient which his brother had employed on a fimi-
lar occafion, and endeavoured to find occupation
for this turbulent affuming fpirit, in order to pre-
vent it from breaking out into open mutiny. With
this view, he encouraged his mod active officers to
attempt the difcovery and reduction of various
provinces which had not hitherto fubmitted to the
P Zarate, lib. iii. c. II. Vega, p. n. lib. ii. c. 38.
Spaniards,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 77
Spaniards. To every ftandard ere&ed by the
leaders who undertook any of thofe new expedi-
tions, volunteers reforted with the ardour and hope
peculiar to the age. Several of Almagro's foldiers
joined them, and thus Pizarro had the fatisfa&ion
of being delivered both from the importunity of
his difcontented friends, and the dread of his an-
cient enemies 1.
ALMAGRO himfelf remained for feveral months
in cuftody, under all the anguiih of fufpence. For
although his doom was determined by the Pizarros
from the moment that he fell into their hands,
prudence conftrained them to defer gratifying their
vengeance, until the foldiers who had ferved under
him, as well as feveral of their own followers in
whom they could not perfectly confide, had left
Cuzco. As foon as they fet out upon their differ-
ent expeditions, Almagro was impeached of trea-
fon, formally tried, and condemned to die. The condemned,
fentence aftonifhed him, and though he had often
braved death with undaunted fpirit in the field, its
approach under this ignominious form appalled
him fo much, that he had recourfe to abjecl: fup-
plications, unworthy of his former fame. He be-
fought the Pizarros to remember the ancient friend-
fnip between their brother and him, and how much
he had contributed to the profperity of their fa-
mily ; he reminded them of the humanity with
<J Zarp.te, lib. in. c. 12 Oornara Hill. c. 141, Hen-era,
dec. 6. lib. if. c. ~.
which,
78 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK which, in oppofition to the repeated remonftrances
u~-v~ of his own mofl attached friends, he had fpared
15381 their lives when he had them in his power; he
conjured them to pity his age and infirmities, and
to fuffer him to pafs the wretched remainder of his
days in bewailing his crimes, and in making his
peace with Heaven. The intreaties, fays a Spa-
nifh hiflorian, of a man fo much beloved, touched
many an unfeeling heart, and drew tears from
many a flern eye. But the brothers remained in-
flexible. As foon as Almagro knew his fate to be
inevitable, he met it with the dignity and fortitude
of a veteran. He was ftrangled in prifon, and af-
terwards publicly beheaded. He fufFered in the
feventy-fifth year of his age, and left one fon by
an Indian woman of Panama, whom, though at
that time a prifoner in Lima, he named as fucceffor
to his government, purfuant to a power which the
emperor had granted him r .
As, during the civil diflentions in Peru, all in-
tercourfe with Spain was fufpended, the detail of
the extraordinary tranfaftions there did not foon
reach the court. Unfortunately for the victorious
faction, the firft intelligence was brought thither
by fome of Almagro's officers, who left the coun-
try upon the ruin of their caufe ; and they related
what had happened, with every circumftance un-
f Zarate, lib. iii. c. 12. Gomara Hifl. c. 141. Vega, p. n.
lib. ii. c. 39. Herrera, dec, 6. lib. iv. c. 9. lib. v. c. I.
favourable
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 79
favourable to Pizarro and his brothers. Their BOOK
ambition, their breach of the moft folemn engage-
ments, their violence and cruelty, were painted
with all the malignity and exaggeration of party
hatred. Ferdinand Pizarro, who arrived foon af-
ter, and appeared in court with extraordinary fplen-
dor, endeavoured to efface the impreilion which
their accufations had made, and to juftify his bro-
ther and himfelf by reprefenting Almagro as the
aggrefibr. The emperor and his mini Her s, though
they could not pronounce which of the contending
factions was moft criminal, clearly difcerned the
fatal tendency of their diflentions. It was obvious,
that while the leaders, entrufted with the conduct
of two infant colonies, employed the arms which
mould have been turned againft the common ene-
my, in deftroying one another, all attention to the
public good mud ceafe, and there was reafon to
dread that the Indians might improve the advan-
tage which the difunion of the Spaniards prefented
to them, and extirpate both the vi&ors and yan-
quifhed. But the evil was more apparent than the
remedy. Where the information which had been
received was fo defective and fufpicious, and the
fcene of adion fo remote, it was almoft impoflible
to chalk out the line of conduct that ought to be
followed ; and before any plan that mould be ap-
proved of in Spain could be carried into execution,
the fituation of the parties, and the circumflances
of affairs, might alter fo entirely as to render its
effects extremely pernicious.
NOTHING
8o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK NOTHING therefore remained but to fend a per-
vi.
*. * -> fon to Peru, vefled with extenfive and difcretionary
Vaca de' power, who, after viewing deliberately the pofture
Caftro fent r r ^ . . . , . J . .
thither with of affairs with his own eyes, and enquiring upon
powers. the fpot into the conduct of the different leaders,
mould be authorifed to eflablifh the government
in that form which he deemed mofl conducive to
the interefl of the parent flate, and the welfare of
the colony. The man felected for this important
charge was Chrifloval Vaca de Caflro, a judge in
the court of royal audience at Valladolid; and his
abilities, integrity, and firmnefs, juftified the choice.
His inftructions, though ample, were not fuch as
to fetter him in his operations. According to the
different afpect of affairs, he had power to take
upon him different characters. If he found the
governor flill alive, he was to affume only the title
of judge, to maintain the appearance of acting in
concert with him, and to guard againfl giving any
jufl caufe of offence to a man who had merited fo
highly of his country. But if Pizarro were dead,
he was entrufled with a commiffion that he might
then produce, by which he was appointed his fuc-
ceffor in the government of Peru. This attention
to Pizarro, however, feems to have flowed rather
from dread of his power, than from any approbation
of his meafures ; for at the very time that the court
feemedfo folicitous not to irritate him, his brother
Ferdinand was arrefted at Madrid, and confined to
a prifon, where he remained above twenty years s .
s Gomara Hift. c. 142. Vega, p. 1 1. lib. ii. c. 40. Her-
rera, dec. 6. lib. viii. c. 10, n. lib. x. c. i.
17 WHILE
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 81
WHILE Vaca de Caftro was preparing for his BOOK
voyage, events of great moment happened in Peru, c .~^j
The governor, confidering himfelf, upon the death Pte*mfdi-
of Almagro, as the unrivalled pofleflbr of that vaft lmln s his*
empire, proceeded to parcel out its territories followers *
among the conquerors j' and had this divifion been
made with any degree of impartiality, the extent
of country which he had to beftow, was fufficient to
have gratified his friends, and to have gained his
enemies. But Pizarro conducted this tranfaclion, .
not with the equity and candour of a judge atten-
tive to difcover and to reward merit, but with the
illiberal fpirit of a party leader. Large diftridls,
in parts of the country mod cultivated and popu-
lous, were fet apart as his own property, or grant-
ed to his brothers, his adherents and favourites.
To others, lots lefs valuable and inviting were af-
figned. The followers of Almagro, amongft whom
were many of the original adventurers to whofe va-
lour and perfeverance Pizarro was indebted for 'his
fuccefs, were totally excluded from any portion in
thofe lands, towards the acquifition of which they
had contributed fo largely. As the vanity of every
individual fet an immoderate value upon his own
fervices, and the idea of each concerning the re-
compence due to them rofe gradually to a more
exorbitant height in proportion as their conquefls
extended, all who were difappointed in their ex-
pectations exclaimed loudly againft the rapaciouf-
nefs and partiality of the governor. The partifans
VOL. III. G of
Progrefs of
the Spani/h
arms.
82 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK of Almagro murmured in fecret, and meditated
c* v-^^j revenge r .
1540.
RAPID as the progrefs of the Spaniards in South
America had been fince Pizarro landed in Peru,
their avidity of dominion was not yet fatisfied.
The officers to whom Ferdinand Pizarro gave the
command of different detachments, penetrated into
feveral new provinces, and though fome of them
were expofed to great hardfhips in the cold and
barren regions of the Andes, and others fuffered
diftrefs not inferior amidft the woods and marmes
of the plains, they made difcoveries and conquefts
which not only extended their knowledge of the
country, but added confiderably to the territories
of Spain in the New World. Pedro de Valdivia
reaflumed Almagro's fcheme of invading Chili,
and notwithftanding the fortitude of the natives in
defending their poifefllons, made fuch progrefs in
the conqueft of the country, that he founded the
city of St. Jago, and gave a beginning to the efta-
blimment of the SpanifTi dominion in that pro-
RemarkaWe vince ". But of all the entcrpHzcs undertaken
about this period, that of Gonzalo Pizarro was
the moft remarkable. The governor, who feems
to have refolved that no perfon in Peru mould pof-
fefs any ftation of diftinguifhed eminence or autho-
1 Vega, p. n. lib. iii. c. 2. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. viii.
c. 5.
" Zarate, lib. iii. c. 13. Ovalle, lib. ii. c. I, &c.
rity
of Gonzalo
Piiarro.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 83
rity but thofe of his own family, had deprived Be- BOOK
* vi
nalcazar, the conqueror of Quito, of his com- t_ -,-^j
mand in that kingdom, and appointed his brother
Gonzalo to take the government of it. He in-
ftru&ed him to attempt the difcovery and conqueft
of the country to the eaft of the Andes, which,
according to the information of the Indians,
abounded with cinnamon and other valuable fpices.
Gonzalo, not inferior to any of his brothers in
courage, and no lefs ambitious of acquiring dif-
tinclion, eagerly engaged in this difficult fervice.
He fet out from Quito at the head of three hun-
dred and forty foldiers, near one half of whom
were horfemen, with four thoufand Indians to
carry their provifions. In forcing their way
through the defiles, or over the ridges of the
Andes, excefs of cold and fatigue, to neither of
which they were accuflomed, proved fatal to the
greater part of their wretched attendants. The Hard/hips
Spaniards, though more robuft, and inured to a '
variety of climates, fuffered confiderably, and loft
fome men ; but when they defcended into the low
country their diftrefs increafed. During two
months it rained inceflantly, without any interval
of fair weather long enough to dry their clothes x .
The immenfe plains upon which they were now
entering, either altogether without inhabitants, or
occupied by the rudeft and lead induftrious tribes in
x Zarate, lib. iv. c. 2.
G 2 the
S* HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK the New World, yielded little fubfiftence. They
L^-V---J could not advance a ftep but as they cut a road
*54- through woods, or made it through marines. Such
incefiant toil, and continual fcarcity of food, feem
more than fufficient to have exhaufted and difpirited
any troops. But the fortitude and perfeverance of
Spaniards in the fixteenth century were infuper-
able. Allured by frequent but falfe accounts of
rich countries before them, they perfifted in flrug-
gling on, until they reached the banks of the Coca
or Napo, one of the large rivers whofe waters
pour into the Maragnon, and contribute to its
grandeur. There, with infinite labour, they built
a bark, which they expected would prove of great
utility, in conveying them over rivers, in procur-
ing provifions, and in exploring the country.
This was manned with fifty foldiers, under the
command of Francis Orellana, the officer next in
rank to Pizarro. The flream carried them down
with fuch rapidity, that they were foon far a-head
of their countrymen, who followed flowly and with
difficulty by land.
Deferted by AT this diflance from his commander, Orellana,
Orellana. .
a young man or an aipirmg mind, began to fancy
himfelf independent, and tranfported with the pre-
dominant paffion of the age, he formed the fcheme
of diflinguiming himfelf as a difcoverer, by fol-
lowing the courfe of the Maragnon, until it joined
the ocean, and by furveying the vaft regions
through
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 85
through which it flows. This fcheme of Orel- BOOK
lana's was as bold as it was treacherous. For, if u -.~ ~j
he be chargeable with the guilt of having violated
his duty to his commander, and with having aban-
doned his fellow-foldiers in a pathlefs defert, where
they had hardly any hopes of fuccefs, or even of
fafety, but what were founded on the fervice which
they expected from the bark ; his crime is, in fome
meafure, balanced by the glory of having ventured
upon a navigation of near two thoufand leagues,
through unknown nations, in a veflel haftily con-
flructed, with green timber, and by very unlkilful
hands, without provifions, without a compafs, or
a pilot. But his courage and alacrity fupplied
every defect. Committing himfelf fearlefsly to the sails down
guidance of the flream, the Napo bore him along no e n.
to the fouth, until he reached the great channel of
theMaragnon. Turning with it towards the coaft,
he held on his courfe in that direction. He made
frequent defcents on both fides of the river, fome-
times feizing by force of arms the provifions of the
fierce favages feated on its banks ; and fometimes
procuring a fupply of food by a friendly intercourfe
with more gentle tribes. After a long feries of
dangers, which he encountered with amazing for-
titude, and of diflrefles which he fupported with
no lefs magnanimity, he reached the ocean y , where
new perils awaited him. Thefe he likewife fur-
mounted, and got fafe to the Spahifli fettlement in
y See NOTE XIII.
G 3 the
86 HISTORY OF AMERICA,
V| K jthe ifland Cubagua ; from thence he failed to Spain.
*-^ x The vanity natural to travellers who vifit regions
unknown to the reft of mankind, and the art of an
adventurer, folicitious to magnify his own merit,
concurred in prompting him to mingle an extraor-
dinary proportion of the marvellous in the narra-
tive of his voyage, He pretended to have difco-
vered nations fo rich, that the roofs of their
temples were covered with plates of gold ; and de?
fcribed a republic of women fo warlike and power-
ful, as to have extended their dominion over a con-
fiderable tract of the fertile plains which he had
_ ' vifited. Extravagant as thofe tales were, they gave
rife to an opinion, that a region abounding with
gold, diftinguifhed by the name of El Dorado^ and
a community of Amazons, were to be found in
this part of the New World ; and fuch is the pro-
penfity of mankind to believe what is wonderful
that it has been flowly and with difficulty that rea-
fon and obicrvation have exploded thofe fables.
The voyage, however, even when ilripped of every
romantic embellifhment, deferves to be recorded,
not only as one of the mod memorable occurrences
in that adventurous age, but as the firfl event
which led to any certain knowledge of the exten-
five countries that Itretch eaflward from the Andes
to the ocean y.
T Zarate, lib. 5y. 0.4. Gomara Hift. c. 86. Vega, p. n.
lib. iii. c. 4. Hcrtera, dec. 6. lib. ix. c. 2 5. Rodriguez El
Maragnon y Amazonas, lib. i. c. 3.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 87
mt*--
No words can defcribe the confirmation of Pi- B o^o K
zarro, when he did not find the bark at the con-
fluence of theNapo and Maragnon, where he had Dfflreff
ordered Orellana to wait for him. He would not
allow himfelf to fufpeft that a man, whom he had
intrufted with fuch an important command, could
be fo bafe and fo unfeeling, as to defert him at
fuch a juncture. But imputing his abfence from
the place of rendezvous to fome unknown accident,
he advanced above fifty leagues along the banks
of the Maragnon, expecting every moment to fee
the bark appear with a fupply of provifions. At I541 '
length he came up with an officer whom Orellana
had left to perim in the defert, becaufe he had the
courage to remonftrate againft his perfidy. From,
him he learned the extent of Orellana's crime, and
his followers perceived at once their own defperate
fituation, when deprived of their only refource.
The fpirit of the ftouteft hearted veteran funk with-
in him, and all demanded to be led back inftantly.^
* J ' ' ""
Pizarro, though he aflumed an appearance of tran-
quillity, did not oppofe their inclination. But he
was now twelve hundred miles from Quito ; and in
that long march the Spaniards encountered hard-
fhips greater than thofe which they had endured in
their progrefs outward, without the alluring hopes
which then foothed and animated them under their
fufferings. Hunger compelled them to feed on
roots and berries, to eat all their dogs and horfes,
to devour the mod loathfome reptiles, and even to
G 4 gnaw
88 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK gnaw the leather of their faddles and fword-befts.
v. s^ > Four thoufand Indians, and two hundred and ten
Spaniards, perifhed in this wild difaftrous expedi-
tion, which continued near two years ; and as fifty
men Were aboard the bark with Orellana, only
fourfcore got back to Quito. Thefe were naked
like favage's, and fo emaciated with famine, or
worn out with fatigue, that they had more the ap-
pearance of fpeclres than of men 7 .
Nnmh-r of BUT, iiiftead of returning to enjoy the repofe
m^iecoti- -I i i > i TV
tents in which his condition required, 1 izarro, on entering
Quito, received accounts of a fatal event that
threatened calamities more dreadful to him than
thofe through which he had pafied. From the
time that his brother made that partial divifion of
his . conquefts which has been mentioned, the ad-
herents of Almagro, confidering themfelves as pro-
fcribed by the party in power, no longer enter-
tained any hope of bettering their condition.
Great numbers in defpair reforted to Lima, where
the houfe of young Almagro was always open to
them, and 'the (lender portion of his father's for-
tune, 'which the governor allowed him to enjoy,
\vas fpent in affording them fubfiftence. The
warm attachment with which every perfon who
had ferved under the elder Almagro devoted
Jiimfelf to his interefls, was quickly transferred to
z Zarate, lib. iv. c. 2 5. Vega, p. 1 1 . lib. Hi. c. 3,4,5.
54. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. viii. 0.7,8. lib. ix. c. 2 5. dec.
7. lib. iii. c. 14. Pizar. Vurones, liluflr. 349, &c.
his
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 89
his fon, who was now grown up to the age of B o o K.
manhood, and poffeffed all the qualities which u ^-^^
captivate the affections of foldiers. Of a graceful conVfdcV
appearance, dexterous at all martial exercifes, bold, ^"o t!~
open, generous, he feemed to be formed for com- tlleir le * dcr *
mand ; and as his father, confcious of his own
inferiority, from the total want of education, had
been extremely attentive to have him inftrufted in
every fcience becoming a gentleman ; the accom-
plifhments which he had acquired heightened the
refpect of his followers, as they gave him diilinciion
and eminence among illiterate adventurers. In
this young man the Almagrians found a point of
union which they wanted, and looking up to him
as their head, were ready to undertake any thing
for his advancement. Nor was affection for Al-
magro their only incitement ; they were urged on
by their own diftreffes. Many of them, deflitute
of common neceffaries % and weary of loitering
away life, a burden to their chief, or to fuch of
their aiTociat.es as had faved fome remnant of their
fortune from pillage and confifcation, longed im-
patiently for an occafion to exert their activity and
courage, and began to deliberate how they might
be avenged on the author of all their mifery.
Their frequent cabals did not pafs unobferved ; confpVe
and the governor was warned to be on his guard ?$'"? i'il*
again (I men who meditated fome defperate deed, 2arro '
and had relblution to execute it. But either from
See NOTE XIV.
the
9 o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, the native intrepidity of his mind, or from con-
v ^- i tempt of perfons whofe poverty feemed to render
their machinations of little confequence, he dif-
regarded the admonitions of his friends. " Be in
no pain," faid he carelefsly, " about my life; it
is perfectly fafe, as long as every man in Peru
knows that I can in a moment cut off any head
which dares to harbour a thought againfl it." This
fecurity gave the Almagrians full leifure to digeft
and ripen every part of their fcheme ; and Juan de
Herrada, an officer of great abilities, who had the
charge of Almagro's education, took the direc-
tion of their confultations, with all the zeal which
this connection infpired, and with all the authority
which the afcendant that he was known to have
over the mind of his pupil gave him.
ON Sunday, the twenty-fixth of June, at mid-
day, the feafon of tranquillity and repofe in all
fultry climates, Herrada, at the head of eighteen
of the mod determined confpirators, fallied out of
Almagro's houfe in complete armour ; and draw-
ing their fwords, as. they advanced haftily towards
the governor's palace, cried out, " Long live the
king, but let the tyrant die !" Their aflfociates,
warned of their motions by a fignal, were in arms
at different flations ready to fupport them. Though
Pizarro was ufually furrounded by fuch a nume-
rous train of attendants as fuited the magnificence
of the mod opulent fubjeft of the age in which he
lived, yet ashewasjult rifen from table, and mod
of
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 91
of his domeftics had retired to their own apart- BOOK
merits, the confpirators paiTed through the two s-~- v-^-*
outer courts of the palace unobferved. They were
at the bottom of the ftaircafe, before a page in
waiting could give the alarm to his matter, who
was converfmg with a few friends in a large hall.
The governor, whofe fleady mind no form of dan-
ger could appal, ftarting up, called for arms, and
commanded Francifco de Chaves to make faft the
door. But that officer, who did not retain fo much
prefence of mind as to obey this prudent order,
running to the top of the ftair-cafe, wildly afked
the confpirators what they meant, and whither
they were going ? Inftead of anfwering, they flab-
bed him to the heart, and burft into the hall.
Some of the perfons who. were there threw them-
felves from the windows ; others attempted to fly ;
and a few drawing their fwords, followed their
leader into an inner apartment. The confpirators,
animated with having the object of their vengeance
now in view, ruihed forward after them. Pizarro,
with no other arms than his fword and buckler,
defended the entry, and fupported by his half-
brother Alcantara, and his little knot of friends,
he maintained the unequal conteft with intrepidity
worthy of his paft exploits, and with the vigour of
a youthful combatant. " Courage,'* cried he,
" companions, we are yet enow to make thofe
traitors repent of their audacity." But the armour
of the confpirators protected them, while every
thruft they made took effect. Alcantara fell dead
at
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, at his brother's feet ; his other defenders were
mortally wounded. The governor, fo weary that
1541.
}=<i ? eci as
hi 5
New ap-
peai a nc- s
ol difcoid.
he could hardly wield his fword, and no longer
able to parry the many weapons furioufly aimed at
him, received a deadly thruft full in his throat,
funk to the ground, and expired.
As foon as he was flain, the aiTafrms ran out
into the itreets, and waving their bloody fwords,
proclaimed the death of the tyrant. Above two
hundred of their aifociates having joined them,
they conducted young Almagro in folemn pro-
ceilion through th^ city, and affembling the magi-
flrates and principal citizens, compelled them to
acknowledge him as lawful fucceffor to his father
in his government. The palace of Pizarro, toge-
ther with the houfes of feveral of his adherents,
were pillaged by the foldiers, who had the fatif-
faftion at once of being avenged on their enemies,
and of enriching themfelves by the fpoils of thofe
through whofe hands all the wealth of Peru had
paiTed \
THE boldnefs and fuccefs of the confpiracy, as
well as the name and popular qualities of Alma-
gro, drew many foldiers to his ilandard. Every
adventurer of defperate fortune, all who were
qiffatisfied with Pizarro, ?nd from the rapaciouf-
b Zarate, lib. iv. c. 6 8. Gomarti HHK c. 144, 145.
Vega, p. 1 1. lib. iii. c. 5 7. Hcrrera, dec, 6. lib. x.c. 4 7.
F.zarro Var. llluft. p. 183.
nefs
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 93
nefs of his government in the latter years of his B
life, the number of malcontents was confiderable,
declared without hefitation in favour of Ahnagro, I54I<
and he was foon at the head of eight hundred of
the moft gallant veterans in Peru. As his youth
and inexperience difqualified him from taking the
command of them himfelf, he appointed Herrada
to act as general. But though Almagro fpeedily
collected fuch a refpectable force, the acquiescence
in his government was far from being, general.
Pizarro had left many friends to whom his memory
was dear ; the barbarous affaffination of a man to
whom his country was fo highly indebted, filled
every impartial perfon with horror. The ignomi-
nious birth of Almagro, as well as the doubtful
title on which he founded his pretenfions, led
others to confider him as an ufurper. The officers
who commanded in fome provinces refufed to re-
cognize his authority, until it was confirmed by
the ernperor. In others, particularly at Cuzco,
the royal ftandard was erected, and preparations
were begun in order to revenge the murder of their
ancient leader.
THOSE feeds of difcord, which could not have Arrival of
Vaca de
lain long dormant, acquired great vigour and acti- Cartro
vity, when the arrival of Vaca de Caftro was
known. After a long and difaftrous voyage, he
was driven by ftrefs of weather into a fmall har-
bour in the province of Popayan ; and proceeding
from thence by land, after a journey no lefs tedious
than
9 4 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK t h an difficult, he reached Quito. In his way he
c -v i received accounts of Pizarro's death, and of the
whdalnlmes events which followed upon it. He immediately
governor. ' produced the royal commiffion appointing him
governor of Peru, with the fame privileges and
authoritv ; and his jurifdiction was acknowledged
without hefitation by Benalcazar, Adelantado or
lieutenant-general for the emperor in Popayan,
and by Pedro de Puelles, who, in the abfence of
Gonzalo Pizarro, had the command of the troops
left in Quito. Vaca de Cadro not only aflumed
the fupreme authority, but mewed that he pof-
fefled the talents which the exercife of it at that
juncture required. By his influence and addrefs he
foo'n aflembled fuch a body of troops, as not only
fet him above all fear of being expofed to any in-
fult from the adverfe party, but enabled him to
advance from Quito with the dignity that became
his character. By difpatching perfons of confi-
dence to the different fettlements in Peru, with a
formal notification of his arrival and of his com-
miffion, he communicated to his countrymen the
royal pleafure with refpect to the government of
the country. By private emiffaries, he excited
fuch officers as had difcovered their difapprobation
of Almagro's proceedings, to manifeft their duty
to their fovereign by fupporting the perfon honour-
ed with his commiffion. Thofe meafures were pro-
ductive of great effects. Encouraged by the ap-
proach of the new governor, or prepared by his
machinations, the loyal were confirmed in their
principles,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 95
principles, and avowed them with greater bold- BOOK
nei's ; the timid ventured to declare their fenti- c_ ^-^
ments ; the neutral and wavering, finding it ne-
ceffary to chufe a fide, began to lean to that which
now appeared to be the fafeft, as well as the moft
juft c .
ALMAGRO obferved the rapid progrefs of this conduct of
. . Almagro.
fpirit or difaffection to his caufe, and in order to
give an effectual check to it before the arrival of
Vaca de Caflro, he fet out at the head of his troops 54*
for Cuzco, where the mod confiderable body of
opponents had erected the royal flandard, under
the command of Pedro Alvarez Holguin. During
his march thither, Herrada, the ikilful guide of
his youth and of his counfels, died ; and from that
time his meafures were confpicuous for their vio-
lence, but concerted with little fagacity, and exe-
cuted with no addrefs. Holguin, who, with forces
far inferior to thofe of the oppofite party, was de-
fcending towards the coafl at the very time that
Almagro was on his way to Cuzco, deceived his
unexperienced adverfary by a very fimple flrata-
gem, avoided an engagement, and effected a junc-
tion with Alvarado, an officer of note, who had
been the firft to declare againfl Almagro as an
ufurper.
SOON after, Vaca de Caflro entered their camp p r0 g re f s O f
with the troops which he brought from Quito,
e Benzon, lib. iii. c. 9. Zarate, lib. iv. c. 1 1 . Gomara,
C. 146, 147. Herrera, dec. 6. lib. jc. c. I, 2, 3. 7, 8cc.
and
9 5 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK- and erecting the royal fhndard before his own
^ - .^ j tent, he declared, that as governor, he would dif-
charge in perfon all the functions of general of
their combined forces. Though formed by the
tenour of his pad life to the habits of a fedentary
and pacific profeffion, he at once affumed the acti-
vity and difcovered the decifion of an officer long
accuftomed to command. Knowing his ftrength to
be now far fuperior to that of the enemy, he was
impatient to terminate the conteft by a battle.
Nor did the followers of Almagro, who had no
hopes of obtaining a pardon for a crime fo atro-
cious as the murder of the governor, decline that
Sept. 16. mode of decifion. They met at Chupaz, about two
hundred miles from Cuzco, and fought with all
the fierce animofity infpired by the violence of
civil rage, the rancour of private enmity, the
eagernefs of revenge, and the laft efforts of defpair.
Defeats Ai- Victory, after remaining long doubtful, declared
raa s ro - at laft for Vaca de Caftro. The fuperior number
of his troops, his own intrepidity, and the martial
talents of Francifco de Carvajal, a veteran officer
formed under the great captain in the wars of
Italy, and who on that day laid the foundation of
his future fame in Peru, triumphed over the
bravery of his opponents, though led on by young
Almagro with a gallant fpirit, worthy of a better
caufe, and deferving another fate. The carnage
was great in proportion to the number of the com-
batants. Many of the vanquifhed, efpecially fuch
as were confcious that they might be charged with
2 1 being
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 97
being acceflbry to the aflaffination of Pizarro, rufh- BOOK
ing on the fwords of the enemy, chofe to fall like t_ T L_J
foMiers, rather than wait an ignominious doom. 1542t
Of fourteen hundred men, the total amount of com-
batants on both fides, five hundred lay dead on
the field, and the number of the wounded was (till
greater d .
IF the military talents difplayed by Vaca de severity of
Caftro, both in the council and in the field, fur- ings?' 01
prifed the adventurers in Peru, they were flill more
aftonifhed at his conduct after the victory. As he
was by nature a rigid difpenfer of juflice, and per-
fuaded that it required examples of extraordinary
feverity to reftrain the licentious fpirit of foldiers
fo far removed from the feat of government, he
proceeded dire&ly to try his prifoners as' rebels.
Forty were condemned to fuffer the death of trai-
tors, others were banifhed from Peru. Their
leader, who made his efcape from the battle, be-
ing betrayed by fome of his officers, was publicly
beheaded in Cuzco ; and in him the name of
Almagro, and the fpirit of the party, was ex-
tind e .
DURING thofe violent convulfions in Peru, the confuita-
cmperor and his minifters were intently employed emperor
concerning
his domi-
d Zarate, lib. Iv. c. 12 19. Gomara, c. 148. Vega, niors in
p. II. lib. iii. c. u^r-i8. Hen-era, dec. 7. lib. k c. 1,2, 3.
lib. iii. c. I 1 1 .
e Zarate, lib. iv. c. 21. Gomara, c. 150. Herrera, dec. 7.
lib. iii. c. 12. lib. vi. c. I.
VOL. III. H in
9 8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K in preparing regulations, by which they hoped not
only to re-eftablifh tranquillity there, but to intro-
I54 *' duce a more perfect fyflem of internal policy into
all their fettlements in the New World. It is ma-
nifeft from all the events recorded in the hiflory of
America, that rapid and extenfive as the Spanifh
conquefts there had been, they were not carried
on by any regular exertion of the national force,
but by the occafional efforts of private adventurers.
After fitting out a few of the firfl armaments for
difcovering new regions, the court of Spain, during
the bufy reigns of Ferdinand and of Charles V.,
the former the moft intriguing prince of the age,
and the latter the mod ambitious, was encumbered
with fuch a multiplicity of fchemes, and involved,
in war with fo many nations of Europe, that it had
not leifure to attend to diftant and lefs interefling
objects. The care of profecuting difcovery, or of
attempting conqueft, was abandoned to individuals ;
and with fuch ardour did men pufh forward in
this new career, on which novelty, the fpirit of
adventure, avarice, ambition, and the hope of
meriting heaven, prompted them with combined
influence to enter, that in lefs than half a century
almoft the whole of that extenfive empire which
Spain now poflefles in the New World, was fub-
jeded to its dominion. As the Spanifh court con-
tributed nothing towards the various expeditions
undertaken in America, it was not entitled to claim
much from their fuccefs. The fovereignty of the
conquered provinces, with the fifth of the gold
and
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 99
and filver, was referved for the crown ; every BOOK
thing elfe was feized by the aflbciates in each ex- u~-v--*>
pedition as their own right. The plunder of the
countries which they invaded ferved to indem-
nify them for what they had expended in equip*
ping themfelves for the fervice, and the con--
quered territory was divided among them, accord-
ing to rules which cuftom had introduced, as
permanent eftablifhments which their fuccefsful
valour merited. In the infancy of thofe fettlements^
when their extent as well as their value were un-
known, many irregularities efcaped obfervation,
and it was found neceifary to connive at many ex-
cefles. The conquered people were frequently pil-
laged with deftru&ive rapacity, and their country
parcelled out among its new matters in exorbitant
mares, far exceeding the highefl recompence due
to their fervices. The rude conquerors of America,
incapable of forming their eflablifhments upon any
general or extenfive plan of policy, attentive only
to private intereft, unwilling to forego prefent gain
from the profpect of remote or public benefit, feem
to have had no object but to amafs fudden wealth,
without regarding what might be the confequences
of -the means by which they acquired it. But
when time at length discovered to the Spanifh.
court the importance of its American pofleffions,
the neceffity of new-modelling their whole frame
became obvious, and in place of the maxims and
practices, prevalent among military adventurers,
H 2 it
ioo HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K it was found requifite to fubftitute the inflitutions
^.J^^j of regular government.
1541.
ONE evil in particular called for an immediate
remedy. The conquerors of Mexico and Peru
imitated the fatal example of their countrymen
fettled in the iflands, and employed themfelves in
fearching for gold and filver with the fame incon-
fiderate eagernefs. Similar effects followed. The
natives employed in this labour by matters, who in
impofing taiks had no regard either to what they
felt or to what they were able to perform, pined
away and perilhed fo faft, that there was reafon to
apprehend that Spain, inflead of pofleffing coun-
tries peopled to fuch a degree as to be fufceptible
of progreilive improvement, would foon remain
proprietor only of a vafl uninhabited defert.
THE emperor and his minifters were fo fenfible
of this, and fo folicitous to prevent the extinction
of the Indian race, which threatened to render their
acquisitions of no value, that from time to time
various laws, which I have mentioned, had been
made for fecuring to that unhappy people more
gentle and equitable treatment. But the diftance
of America from the feat of empire, the feeblenefs
of government in the new colonies, the avarice and
audacity of foldiers unaccuftomed to reflraint, pre-
vented thefe falutary regulations from operating
with any confiderable influence. The evil conti-
nued
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 101
nued to grow, and at this time the emperor found B VJ
an interval of leifure from the affairs of Europe to * *
1542.
take it into attentive confideration. He confulted The perf
,-.,,. . . n 11 i r i with whom
not only with his mmiiters and the members or the
council of the Indies, but called upon feveral
perfons who ha.d refided long in the New World, to
aid them with the tefult of their experience and
obfervation. Fortunately for the people of Ame-
rica, among thefe was Bartholomew de las Cafas,
who happened to be then at Madrid on a miffion
from a Chapter of his order at Chiapa f . Though,
fmce the mifcarriage of his former fchemes for the
relief of the Indians, he had continued (hut up in
his cloifter,. or occupied in religious functions, his
zeal in behalf of the former objects of his pity
was fo far from abating, that, from an increafed
knowledge of their fufferings, its ardour had aug-
mented. He feized eagerly this , opportunity of
reviving his favourite maxims concerning the
treatment of the Indians. With the moving elo-
quence natural to a man on whofe mind the
fcenes which he had beheld had made a deep
impreffion, he defcribed the irreparable wafte of
the human .fpecies in the New World, the Indian
race almoft. totally fwept away in the iflands in
lefs than fifty years, and haftening to extinction on
the continent with the fame rapid decay. With
the decifive tone of one ftrongly prepoflefled with
the truth of his own fyfterri, he imputed all this
i
s Remefal Hift. de Chiapa, p. 146.
H 3 to
loi HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K to a fmgle caufe, to trie exa&ions and cruelty of
u v-*-> his countrymen, and contended that nothing could
prevent the depopulation of America, but the de-
claring of its natives to be freemen, and treating
them as fubjects, not as flaves. Nor did he con-
fide for the fuccefs of this propofal in the powers
of his oratory alone. In order to enforce them, he
compofed his famous treatife concerning the de-
ftruclion of America s , in which he relates, with
many horrid circumftances, but with apparent
marks of exaggerated defcription, the devaftation
of every province which had been vifited by the
Spaniards.
THE emperor was deeply afflicted with the re-
tude to in- . A * J
tioduce a cital of fo many actions mocking to humanitv.
general re- _ , . , J J
formation of But as his views extended far beyond thofe of Las
government. -, r , i i ,. . t T i- e
L.aias, ne perceived that relieving the Indians from
oppreffion was but one ftep towards rendering his
pofleffions in the New World a valuable acquifi-
tion, and would be of little avail, unlefs he could
circumfcribe the power and ufurpations of his own
fubjetts there. The conquerors of America, how-
ever great their merit had been towards their coun-
try, were moftly perfons of fuch mean birth, and of
fuch an abject rank in fociety, as gave no diflinc-
tion in the eye of a monarch: The exorbitant
wealth with which fome of them returned, ^tve
umbrage to an age not accuflomed to fee men in
* Remefal, p. 192. 199.
inferior
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 103
inferior condition elevated above their level, and B y p K
riling to emulate or to furpafs the ancient nobility - v -J
in fplendour. The territories which their leaders
had appropriated to themfelves were of fuch enor-
mous extent h , that if the country mould ever be
improved in proportion to the fertility of the foil,
they muft grow too wealthy and too powerful for
fubjecls. It appeared to Charles that this abufe
required a remedy no lefs than the other, and that
the regulations concerning both muft be enforced
by a mode of government more vigorous than had
yet been introduced into America.
WITH this view he framed a body of laws, New regu-
. . r , . . , lations for
containing many lalutary appointments with re- this
fpect to the conftitution and powers of thefupreme
council of the Indies ; concerning the ftation and
jurisdiction of the royal audiences in different parts
of America; the adminiftration of juftice ; the
order of government, both ecclefiaflical and civil.
Thefe were approved of by all ranks of men. But
together with them were iflued the following regu-
lations, which excited univerfal alarm, and occa-
fioned the moft violent convulfions : " That as the
repartimientos or (hares of land feized by feveral
perfons appeared to be exceffive, the royal
audiences are empowered to reduce them to a
moderate extent : That upon the death of any
conqueror or planter, the lands and Indians granted
* See NOTE XV.
H 4 to
104- HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOO K to him fhall notdefcend to his widow or children,
w-^,-1..^ but return to the crown : That the Indians fhall
I542t henceforth be exempt from perfonal fervice, and
fhall not be compelled to carry the baggage of
travellers, to labour in the mines, or to dive in
the pearl nfheries : That the ftated tribute due by
them to their fuperior fhall be afcertained, and
they fhall be paid as fervants for any work they
voluntarily perform : That all perfons who are or
have been in public offices, all ecclefiaftics of every
denomination, all hofpitals and monafteries, fhall be
deprived of the lands and Indians allotted to
them, and thefe be annexed to the crown : That
every perfon in Peru, who had any criminal con-
cern in the contefls between Pizarro and Almagro,
mould forfeit his lands and Indians '."
fters'Smon- ALL tlle Spanifli minifters who had hitherto
?he a m. againft been entrufled with the direaion of American
affairs, and who were beft acquainted with the ftate
of the country, remonftrated againfl thofe regula-
tions as ruinous to their infant colonies. They
reprefented, that the number of Spaniards who
had hitherto emigrated to the New World was fo
extremely fmall, that nothing could be expected
from any effort of theirs towards improving the
vaft regions over which they were fcattered ; that
the fuccefs of every fcheme for this purpofe muft
1 Herrera, dec. 7. lib. yi. c. 5. Fernandez Hift. lib. i,
C. I, 2.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 105
depend upon the miniftry and fervice of the In- B o o K
dians, whofe native indolence and averfion to la- u .-~.j
hour, no profpeft of benefit or promife of reward
could furmount ; that the moment the right of im-
pofmg a tafk, and exacting the performance of it,
was taken from their matters, every work of
induftry muft ceafe, and all the fources from
which wealth begun to pour in upon Spain muft
be ftopt for ever. But Charles, tenacious at all
times of his own opinions, and fo much imprefied
at prefent with the view of the diforders which
reigned in America, that he was willing to ha-
zard the application even of a dangerous remedy,
perfifted in his refolution of publifhing the laws.
That they might be carried into execution with
greater vigour and authority, he authorifed Fran-
cifco Tello de Sandoval to repair to Mexico as
Vijttador or fuperintendant of that country, and to
co-operate with Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy,
in enforcing them. He appointed BlafcoNugnez A v ; ceroy
Vela to be governor of Peru, with the title of K^
Viceroy ; and in order to ftrengthen his admini-
ftration, he eftablifhed a court of royal audience i 543 .
in Lima, in which four lawyers of eminence were
to prefide as judges k .
THE viceroy and fuperintendant failed at the Effeflsof
fame time ; and an account of the laws which they l ! ie r . e s" 1 T a -
tion in New
were to enforce reached America before them. s P ain -
k Zarate, lib. Hi. c. 24. Gomara, c. 151. Vega, p. 2.
lib. iii. c. 20.
The
106 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK The entry of Sandoval into Mexico was viewed as
the prelude of general ruin. The unlimited grant
of liberty to the Indians affected every Spaniard in
America without diftindion, and there was hardly
one who might not on fome pretext be included
under the other regulations, and fuffer by them.
But the colony in New Spain had now been fo
long accuftomed to the reftraints'of law and autho-
rity under the fteady and prudent adminiftration
of Mendoza, that how much foever the fpirit of
the new flatutes was detefted and dreaded, no at-
tempt was made to obftruct the publication of
them by any aft of violence unbecoming fubjects.
The magiftrates and principal inhabitants, how-
ever, prefented dutiful addrefles to the viceroy
and fuperintendent, reprefenting the fatal confe-
quences of enforcing them. Happily for them,
Mendoza, by long refidence in the country, was
fo thoroughly acquainted with its (late, that he
knew what was for its intereft as well as what it
could bear j and Sandoval, though new in office,
difplayed a degree of moderation feldom pofleiTed
by perfons jufl entering upon the exercife of
power. They engaged to fufpend, for fome time,
the execution of what was offenfive in the new
laws, and not only confented that a deputation of
citizens mould be fent to Europe to lay before the
emperor the apprehenfions of his fubjefts in New
Spain with refpeft to their tendency and effects,
but they concurred with them in fupporting their
fentiments. Charles, moved by the opinion of
men
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 107
men whofe abilities and integrity entitled them to BOOK
decide concerning what fell immediately under w- .-.^ *
their own view, granted fuch a relaxation of the
rigour of the laws as re-eftablifhed the colony in
its former tranquillity '.
IN Peru the ftorm gathered with an afpecl: flill in Peru.
more fierce and threatening, and was not fo foon
difpelled. The conquerors of Peru, of a rank
much inferior to thofe who had fubjecled Mexico
to the Spanifh crown, farther removed from the
infpeclion of the parent flate, and intoxicated with
the fudden acquifition of wealth, carried on all
their operations with greater licence and irregula-
rity than any body of adventurers in the New
World. Amidft the general fubverfion of law
and order, occafioned by two fucceffive civil wars,
when each individual was at liberty to decide for
himfelf, without any guide but his own intereft or
paffions, this turbulent fpirit rofe above all fenfe
of fubordination. To men thus corrupted by
anarchy, the introduction of regular government,
the power of a viceroy, and the authority of a re-
fpeftable court of judicature, would of themfelves
have appeared formidable reftraints, to which they
would have fubmitted with reluctance. But they re-
volted with indignation againft the idea of comply-
ing with laws, by which they were to be dripped at
1 Fernandez Hift. lib. i. c. 3, 4, 5. Vega, p. n. lib. iii.
c. 21, 22. Herrera, dec. 7. lib. v. c. 7. lib. vii. c. 14, 15.
Torquem, Mond. Ind. lib. v. c. 13.
once
io8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK once of all they had earned fo hardly during many
v, s-^, years of fervice and fuffering. As the account of
the new laws fpread fucceffively through the dif-
ferent fettlements, the inhabitants ran together,
the women in tears, and the men exclaiming
againft the injuftice and ingratitude of their fove-
reign in depriving them, unheard and unconvicled,
of their pofieflions. " Is this," cried they, " the
rccompence due to perfons, who, \vithout public
aid, at their own expence, and by their own va-
lour, have fubjected to the crown of Caftile terri-
tories of fuch immenfe extent and opulence ? Are
thefe the rewards bellowed for having endured un-
paralelled diitrefs, for having encountered every
fpecies of danger in the fervice of their country ?
Whofe merit is fo great, whofe conduct has been
fo irreproachable, that he may not be condemned
by fome penal claufe in regulations, conceived in
terms as loofe and comprehenfive, as if it had
been intended that all mould be entangled in their
fnare ? Every Spaniard of note in Peru has held
fome public office, and all, without diftinction,
have been conflrained to take an active part in the
contefl between the two rival chiefs. Were the
former to be robbed of their property becaufe they
had done their duty ? Were the latter to be pu-
nifhed on account of what they could not avoid ?
Shall the conquerors of this great empire, inflead
of receiving marks of diftinction, be deprived of
the natural confolation of providing for their wi-
dows and children, and leave them to depend for
fubfiflence
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 109
fubfiftence on the fcanty Yupply they can extort BOOK
from unfeeling; courtiers m ? We are not able now, u- v~-J
O
continued they, to explore unknown regions in
queft of more fecure fettlements ; our conftitu-
tions debilitated with age, and our bodies cover-
ed with wounds, are no longer fit for adive fer-
vice ; but ftill we poifefs vigour fufficient to aflert
our juft rights, and we will not tamely fuffer them
to be wrefled from us V
BY difcourfes of this fort, uttered with vehe- An infur-
mence, and liflened to with univerfal approbation, vented P by"
their paffions were inflamed to fuch a pitch, that rado^of 6 *
they were prepared for the mod violent meafures ; Caftro
and began to hold confultations in different places,
how they might oppofe the entrance of the viceroy
and judges, and prevent not only the execution
but the promulgation of the new laws. From this,
however, they were diverted by the addrefs of
Vaca de Cafl.ro, who flattered them with hopes,
that, as foon as the viceroy and judges mould ar-
rive, and had leifure to examine their petitions and
remonftrances, they would concur with them in
endeavouring to procure fome mitigarion in the
rigour of laws which had been framed without due
attention either to the ftate of the country, or to
the fentiments of the people. A greater degree of
accommodation to thefe, and even fome concefftons
m Herrera, dec. 7. lib. vii. c. 14, 15.
n Gomara, c. 152. Herrera, dec. 7. lib. vi. c. 10, M.
Vegi, p. n. lib. iii. c. 20. 22. lib, iv. c, 3, 4.
on
1543-
uo HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK on the part of government, were now become re^
quifite to compofe the prefent ferment, and to
foothe the colonifts into fubmiffion, by infpiring
them with confidence in their fuperiors. But with-
out profound difcernment, conciliating manners,
and flexibility of temper, fuch a plan could not be
carried on. The viceroy pofleffed none of thefe.
Of all the qualities that fit men for high command,
he was endowed only with integrity and courage ;
the former harlh and uncomplying, the latter bor-
dering fo frequently on rafhnefs or obflinacy, that
in his fituation they were defeats rather than vir-
tues. From the moment that he landed at Tum-
bez, Nugnez Vela feems to have confidered him-
felf merely as an executive officer, without any dif-
cretionary power ; and, regardlefs of whatever he
obferved or heard concerning the flate of the
country, he adhered to the letter of the regulations
with unrelenting rigour. In all the towns through
which he pafied, the natives were declared to be
free, every perfon in public office was deprived of
his lands and fervants j and as an example of obe-
dience to others, he would not fuifer a fmgle In-
dian to be employed in carrying his own baggage
in his march towards Lima. Amazement and
confirmation went before him as he approached ;
and fo little felicitous was he to prevent thefe from
augmenting, that, on entering the capital, he
openly avowed that he came to obey the orders
of his fovereign, not to difpenfe with his laws.
This harm declaration was accompanied with what
rendered
HISTORY OF AMERICA. m
rendered it flill more intolerable, haughtinefs in BOOK.
deportment, a tone of arrogance and decifion in c ~v^-J
difcourfe, and an infolence of office grievous to 1S43>
men little accuftomed to hold civil authority in
high refpect. Every attempt to procure a fuf-
penfion or mitigation of the new laws, the viceroy
confidered as flowing from a fpirit of difaffection
that tended to rebellion. Several perfons of rank
were confined, and fome put to death, without
any form of trial. Vaca de Caftro was arrefted,
and notwithftanding the dignity of his former
rank, and his merit in having prevented a general
infurrection in the colony, he was loaded with
chains, and fhut up in the common jail .
BUT however general the indignation was againft The mai-
fuch proceedings, it is probable the hand of autho- chufe c'on-
rity would have been ftrong enough to fupprefs it, to be t[
or to prevent it burfting out with open violence,
if the malcontents had not been provided with a
leader of credit and eminence to unite and to di-
rect their efforts. From the time that the purport
of the new regulations w r as known in Peru, every
Spaniard there turned his eyes towards Gonzalo
Pizarro, as the only perfon able to avert the ruin
with which they threatened the colony. From all
quarters, letters and addreffes were fent to him,
conjuring him to ftand forth as their common pro-
tector, and offering to fupport him in the attempt
Zarate, lib. iv. c. 23, 24, 25. Gomara, c. 153 155.
i* p. II. lib. iv. c. 4, 5. Fernandez, lib. i. c. 6 10.
with
U2 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
with their lives and fortunes. Gonzalo, though
inferior in talents to his other brothers, was equally
'S43- ambitious, and of courage no lefs daring. The
behaviour of an ungrateful court towards his bro-
thers and himfelf, dwelt continually on his mind.
Ferdinand a ftate prifoner in Europe, the children
of the governor in cuftody of the viceroy, and fent
aboard his fleet, himfelf reduced to the condition
of a private citizen in a country, for the difcovery
and conqueft of which Spain was indebted to his
family. Thefe thoughts prompted him to feek for
vengeance, and to aflert the rights of his family,
of which he now confidered himfelf as the guar-
dian and the heir. But as 'no Spaniard can eafily
furmount that veneration for his fovereign which
feems to be interwoven in his frame, the idea of
marching in arms againft the royal flandard filled
him with horror. He hefitated long, and was (till
unrefolved, when the violence of the viceroy, the
univerfal call of his countrymen, and the certainty
of becoming foon a viftim himfelf to the feverity of
the new laws, moved him to quit his refidence at
Chuquifaca de la Plata, and repair to Cuzco. All
the inhabitants went out to meet him, and re-
ceived him with tranfports of joy as the deliverer
of the colony. In the fervour of their zeal, they
eleded him procurator-general of the Spaniih na-
tion in Peru, to folicit the repeal of the late regu-
lations. They empowered him to lay their re-
monftrances before the royal audience in Lima,
and upon pretext of danger from the Indians,
1 7 authorifed
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 113
authorifed him to march thither in arms. Under BOOK
VI
fan&ion of this nomination Pizarro took poffeffion u ^-~j
of the royal treafure, appointed officers, levied
foldiers, feized a large train of artillery which
Vaca de Caftro had depofited in Gumanga, and
let out for Lima, as if he had been advancing
againft a public enemy. Difaffection having now
afiumed a regular form, and being united under
a chief of fuch diftinguifhed name, many perfons
of note reforted to his ftandard ; and a confider-
able part of the troops, raifed by the viceroy to
oppofe his progrefs, deferted to him in a body .
BEFORE Pizarro reached Lima, a revolution had
happened there, which encouraged him to proceed
with almoft certainty of fuccefs. The violence of
the viceroy's adminiftration was not more formi-
dable to the Spaniards of Peru, than his overbear-
ing haughtinefs was odious to his afibciates, the
judges of the royal audience. During their
voyage from Spain, fome fymptoms of cold-
nefs between the viceroy and them began to
appear P. But as foon as they entered upon the.
exercife of their refpe&ive offices, both parties
were fo much exafperated by frequent contefls,
arifmg from interference of jurifdidtion, and con-
trariety of opinion, that their mutual difguft foon
Zarate, lib. v. c. i. Gomara, c. 156, 157. Vega, p. u.
lib. iv. c. 4 12. Fernandez, lib. i. c. 12 17. Herrera,
dec. 7. lib. vii. c. 18, &c. lib. viii, c. 15.
P Gomara, c. 171,
VOL. III. I grew
ii4 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
K grew into open enmity. The judges thwarted the
viceroy in every meafure, fet at liberty prifoners
whom he had confined, juflified the malcontents,
and applauded their remonftrances. At a time
when both departments of government mould have
united againft the approaching enemy, they were
contending with each other for fuperiority. The
The viceroy judges at length prevailed. The viceroy, univer-
imprifontd, Jo or j '
Sept. is. fally odious, and abandoned even by his own
guards, was feized in his palace, and carried to a
defert ifland on the coaft, to be kept there until
he could be fent home to Spain.
view* of r J^ IE judges, in confequence of this, having
aflumed the fupreme direction of affairs into their
own hands, iflued a proclamation fufpending the
execution of the obnoxious laws, and fent a mef-
fage toPizarro, requiring him, as they had already
granted whatever he could requeft, to difmifs his
troops, and to repair to Lima with fifteen or
twenty attendants. They could hardly expect that
a man fo daring and ambitious would tamely com-
ply with this requifition. It was made, probably,
with no fiich intention, but only to throw a de-
cent veil over their own conduct ; for Cepeda, the
prefident of the court of audience, a pragmatical
and afpiring lawyer, feems to have held a fecret
correfpondence with Pizarro, and had already
formed the plan, which he afterwards executed,
of devoting himfelf to his fervice. The imprifon-
6 ment
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 115
mcnt of the viceroy, the ufurpation of the judges, BOOK
together with the univerfal confufion and anarchy w v~ j
confequent upon events fo fmgular and unexpected, I544>
opened new and vafl profpects to Pizarro. He
now beheld the fupreme power within his reach.
Nor did he want courage to puili on towards the
object which fortune prefented to his view. Car*
vajal, the prompter of his refolutions, and guide
of all his actions, had long fixed his eye upon it
as the only end at which Pizarro ought to aim.
Inftead of the inferior function of procurator for
the Spanifli fettlements in Peru, he openly de-
manded to be governor and captain-general of the
whole province, and required the court of audi-
ence to grant him a commiiTion to that effect. At
the head of twelve hundred men, within a mile of
Lima, where there was neither leader nor army to
oppofe him, fuch a requell carried with it the au-
thority of a command. But the judges, either
from unwillingnefs to relinquifh power, or from
a defire of preferving fome attention to appear-
ances, hefitated, or feemed to hefitate, about com-
ply inff with what he demanded. Carvajal, impatient Hc ^"m"
the {.-overn-
of delay, and impetuous in all his operations, march- menc *
ed into the city by night, feized feveral officers of
diftinction obnoxious to Pizarro, and hanged them
without the formality of a trial. Next morning the
court of audience iiuied a commiflion in the empe-
ror's name, appointing Pizarro governor of Peru,
with full powers, civil as well as military, and he
I 2 entered
n6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK entered the town that day with extraordinary pomp$
-^J to take pofleffion of his new dignity J.
1544.
oa. *s. B UT amidft the diforder and turbulence which
The viceroy .
recovers his accompanied this total dinolution of the frame
of government, the minds of men, fet loofe from
the ordinary reftraints of law and authority, acted
with fuch capricious irregularity, that events no
lefs extraordinary than unexpected followed in a
rapid fucceffion. Pizarro had fcarcely begun to
exercife the new powers with which he was in-
vefted, when he beheld formidable enemies rife up
to oppofe him. The viceroy having been put on
board a veflfel by the judges of the audience, in
order that he might be carried to Spain under
cuflody of Juan Alvarez, one of their own num-
ber ; as foon as they were out at fea, Alvarez,
either touched with remorfe or moved by fear, kneel-
ed down to his prifoner, declaring him from that
moment to be free, and that he himfelf, and every
perfon in the fhip, would obey him as the legal
reprefentative of their fovereign. Nugnez Vela
ordered the pilot of the veflel to fhape his courfe
towards Tumbez, and as foon as he landed there,
erected the royal flandard, and refumed his func-
tions of viceroy. Several perfons of note, to whom
the contagion of the feditious fpirit which reigned
at Cuzco and Lima had not reached, inilantly
i Zarate, lib. v. c. 8 ro. Vega, p. n. lib. iv. 0.13
19. Gomara, c. 159 163. Fernandez, Kb. i. c. 18 25,
Herrera, dec. 7. lib. viii. c. 10 20.
avowed
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 117
avowed their refolution to fupport his authority r . B op K
The violence of Pizarro's government, who ob- u-~-v *
ferved every individual with the jealoufy natural to
ufurpers, and who punifhed every appearance of
difaffeclion with unforgiving feverity, foon aug-
mented the number of the viceroy's adherents, as it
forced fome leading men in the colony to fly to him
for refuge. While he was gathering fuch ftrength
at Tumbez, that his forces began to aflume the ap-
pearance of what was confidered as an army in
America, Diego Centeno, a bold and adive offi-
cer, exafperated by the cruelty and oppreflion of
Pizarro's lieutenant - governor in the province of
Charcas, formed a confpiracy againfl his life, cut
him off, and declared for the viceroy s .
PIZARRO, though alarmed with thofe appear- us-
ances of hoitility in the oppofite extremes of the marches
empire, was not difconcerted. He prepared to him.
affert the authority to which he had attained, with
the fpirit and conduct of an officer accuftomed to
command, and marched directly againfl the vice-
roy as the enemy who was neareft as well as moft
formidable. As he was mafler of the public re-
venues in Peru, and moft of the military men were
attached to his family, his troops were fo nume-
rous, that the viceroy, unable to face them, re-
r Zarate, lib. v. c. 9. Gomara, c. 165. Fernandez, lib. i.
0.23. Herrera, dec. 7. lib. viii. c. 15.
4 Zarate, lib. v. c. 18. Gomara, c. 169. Herrera, dec. 7.
lib. ix, c. 27.
I 3 treated
ii8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o^o K treated towards Quito.' Pizarro followed him ;
<- v- i and in that long inarch, through a wild moun-
tainous country, fullered hard (hips and encoun-
tered difficulties, which no troops but ihofe ac-
cuilomed to ferve in America could have endured
or ftirmounted u . The viceroy had fcarcely reached
Quito, when the van-guard of Pizarro's forces ap-
peared, led by Carvajal, who, though near four-
Icore, was as hardy and active as any young fol-
clier under his command. Nugnez Vela inilantly
abandoned a town incapable of defence, and with
a rapidity more refembling a flight than a retreat,
marched into the province of Popayan. Pizarro
continued to purfue ; but finding it impoflible to
overtake him, returned to Quito. From thence
he difpatched Carvajal to oppofe Centeno, who
was growing formidable in the fouthern provinces
of the empire, and he himfelf remained there to
make head againft the viceroy x .
BY his own activity, and the afliftance of Be-
nalcazar, Nugnez Vela loon afiembled four hun-
dred men in Popayan. As he retained, amidft all
his difafters, the fame elevation of. mind, and the
fame high fenfe of his own dignity, he rejected with
difdain the advice of fome of his followers, who
urged him to make overtures of accommodation
" See NOTE XVI.
x Zarate, lib. v. c. 15, i& -24. Gomara, c. 167. Vega,
p. 11. lib. iv, c. 25 28. Fernaiule/, lib, i. v. 34, 40,
Tierreiv., dec. 7. lib. viii. c, 16. 2Q 27.
to
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 119
to Pizarro, declaring that it was only by the fword BOOK
that a conteft with rebels could be decided. With v^v^j
this intention he marched back to Quito. Pizarro,
relying on the fu peri or number, and flill more on
the difcipline and valour of his troops, advanced
refoluteiy to meet him. The battle was fierce and January is,
bloody, both parties fighting like men who knew
that the poffeilion of a great empire, the fate of
their leaders, and their own future fortune, de-
pended upon the imie of that day. But Pizarro's
veterans pumed forward with fuch regular and
well-directed force, that they foon began to make
impreflion on their enemies. The viceroy, by ex-
traordinary exertions, in which the abilities of a
commander and the courage of a foldier were
equally difplayed, held victory for fome time in,
fufpence. At length he fell, pierced with many and nai n .
wounds ; and the rout of his followers became
general. They were hotly purfued. His head
was cut off, and placed on the public gibbet in
Quito, which Pizarro entered in triumph. The
troops aflembled by Centeno were difperfed foon
after by Carvajal, and he himfelf compelled to fly
to the mountains, where he remained for feveral
months concealed in a cave. Every perfon in
Peru, from the frontiers of Popayan to thofe of
Chili, fubmitted to Pizarro ; and by his fleet, un-
der Pedro de Hinojofa, he had not only the unri-
valled command of the South-Sea, but had taken
p.oflcffion of Panama, and placed a garrifon in
Nombre de Dios, on the oppofite fide of the
I 4 ifthmuSj
I2O
154 6 -
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
K ifthmus, which rendered him matter of the only
avenue of communication between Spain and Peru,
that was ufed at that period ?.
AFTER this decifive victory, Pizarro and his
followers remained for fome time at Quito, and
during the firfl tranfports of their exultation, they
ran into every excefs of licentious indulgence, with
the riotous fpirit ufual among low adventurers
upon extraordinary fuccefs. But amidft this dif-
fipation, their chief and his confidents were obliged
to turn their thoughts fometimes to what was fe-
rious, and deliberated with much folicitude con-
cerning the part that he ought now to take. Car-
vajal, no lefs bold and decifive in counfel than in
the field, had from the beginning warned Pizarro,
that in the career on which he was entering, it was
vain to think of holding a middle courfe ; that he
mutt either boldly aim at all, or attempt nothing.
From the time that Pizarro obtained pofleffion of
the government of Peru, he inculcated the fame
maxim with greater earneftnefs. Upon receiving
an account of the viftory at Quito, he remonftrated
with him in a tone ftill more peremptory. " You
have ufurped (faid he, in a letter written to Pizarro
on that occafion) the fupreme power in this coun-
try, in contempt of the emperor's commhTion to
* Zarate, lib. v. c. 31, 32. Gomara, c. 170. Vega, p. u.
lib. iv. c. 33, 34. Fernandez, lib. i. c. 51 54. Herrera,
dec. 7. lib. x. c. 12. 1922. dec. 8. lib. i. c. 13. Benzo,
lib. iii. c. 12.
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 121
the viceroy. You have marched, in hoftile array, B VI
againfl the royal ftandard ; you have attacked the v- ^
reprefentative of your fovereign in the field, have
defeated him, and cut off his head. Think not
that ever a monarch will forgive fuch infults on his
dignity, or that any reconciliation with him can be
cordial or fmcere. Depend no longer on the pre-
carious favour of another. Affume yourfelf the
fovereignty over a country, to the dominion of
which your family has a title founded on the rights
both of difcovery and conqueft. It is in your
power to attach every Spaniard in Peru of any
confequence inviolably to your intereft by liberal
grants of lands and of Indians, or by inftituting
ranks of nobility, and creating titles of honour
fimilar to thofe which are courted with fo much
eagernefs in Europe. By eftabliming orders of
knighthood, with privileges and diflinftions re-
fembling thofe in Spain, you may beftow a grati-
fication upon the officers in your fervice, fuited to
the ideas of military men. Nor is it to your coun-
trymen only that you ought to attend ; endeavour
to gain the natives. By marrying the Coya, or
daughter of the Sun next in fucceffiori to the crown,
you will induce the Indians, out of veneration for
the blood of their antient princes, to unite with
the Spaniards in fupport of your authority. Thus,
at the head of the antient inhabitants of Peru, as
well as of the new fettlers there, you may fet at
defiance the power of Spain, and repel with eafe
any feeble force which it can fend at fuch a di
tance."
I22 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK tance." Cepeda, the lawyer, who was no\v Pi-
v^^X-J zarro's confidential counfellor, warmly feconded
15461 Carvajal's exhortations, and employed whatever
learnino- he poffefied in demonftrating, that all the
founders of great monarchies had been raifed to
pre-eminence, not by the antiquity of their lineage,
or. the validity of their rights, but by their own
afpiring valour and perfonal merit 7 .
Btchofes PIZARRO liftcned attentively to both, and could
10 negotiate not conce i the fatisfacttoii with which he contem-
with the
court of plated the object that they prefented to his view.
But happily for the tranquillity of the world, few
men poflefs that fuperior ftrength of mind, and
extent of abilities, which are capable of forming
and executing fuch daring fchemes, as cannot be
accomplished without overturning the eftablifhed
order of fociety, and violating thofe maxims of
duty which men are accuitomed to hold facred.
The mediocrity of Pizarro's talents circumfcribed
his ambition within more narrow limits. Inftead
of afpiring at independent power, he confined his
views to the obtaining from the court of Spain a
confirmation of the authority which he now pof-
feffed ; and for that purpofe, he Tent an officer of
dillindion thither, to give fuch a reprefentation of
his conduct, and of the ftate of the country, as
might induce the emperor and his minifters, either
z Vega, p. ii. lib. iv. 0.40. Fernandez, lib. i. c. 34.
lib. ii. c. i. 49. Herrera, dec. 8. lib. ii. c. 10.
from
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 123
from inclination or from neceffity, to continue him BOOK
VI.
in his prefent nation. c~-v~-j
1546.
WHILE Pizarro was deliberating with refpeft to Cor.fuita-
r tions * l ' ie
the part which he fhould take, confultations were spanifli mi-
held in Spain, with no lefs folicitude, concerning the
meafures which ought to be purfued in order to re-
eftablifh the emperor's authority in Peru. Though
unacquainted with the laft excefles of outrage to
which the 'malcontents had proceeded in that coun-
try, the court had received an account of the infur-
reclion againft the viceroy, of his imprifomnent,and
the ufurpation of the government by Pizarro. A
revolution fo alarming called for an immediate inter-
pofition of the emperor's abilities and authority.
But as he was fully occupied at that time in Ger-
many, in conducting the war againfl the famous
league of Smalkalde, one of the moft interefting and
arduous enterprifes in his reign, the care of providing
a remedy for the dilbrders in Peru devolved upon
his fon Philip, and the counfellors whom Charles
had appointed to affifl him in the government of
Spain during his abfence. At firft view, the ac-
tions of Pizarro and his adherents appeared fo re-
pugnant to the duty of fubjects towards their fo-
vereign, that the greater part of the minifters in-
filled on declaring them inftantly to be guilty of
rebellion, and on proceeding to punifh them with
exemplary rigour. But when the fervour of their
zeal and indignation began to abate, innumerable
obftacles to the execution of this meafure prefented
themfelves.
I24 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, themfelves. The veteran bands of infantry, the
u ^- / ftrength and glory of the Spanilh armies, were
then employed in Germany. Spain, exhaufted of
men and money by a long feries of wars, in which
me had been involved by the refllefs ambition of
two fuccemve monarchs, could not eafily equip an
armament of fufficient force to reduce Pizarro. To
tranfport any refpe&able body of troops to a
country fo remote as Peru, appeared almoft im-
poilible. While Pizarro continued mailer of the
South Sea, the direct route by Nombre de Dios
and Panama was impracticable. An attempt to
inarch to Quito by land through the new kingdom
of Granada, and the province of Popayan, acrofs
regions of prodigious extent, defolate, unhealthy, or
inhabited by fierce and hoftile tribes, would be at-
tended with unfurmountable danger and hardfhips.
The paffage to the South-Sea by the Straits of
f Magellan was fo tedious, fo uncertain, and fo
little known in that age, that no confidence could
be placed in any effort carried on in a courfe of
navigation fo remote and precarious. Nothing
then remained but to relinquifh the fyftem which
the ardour of their loyalty had fir ft fuggefled, and
to attempt by lenient meafures what could not be
effefted by force. It was manifeft, from Pizarro's
folicitude to reprefent his conduct in a favourable
light to the emperor, that, notwithflanding the
exceffes of which he had been guilty, he Mill re-
tained fentiments of veneration for his Sovereign.
By a proper application to thefe, together with
1 2 fome
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 125
Ibme fuch conceflions as mould difcover a fpirit of
moderation and forbearance in government, there
was ilill room to hope that hemight be yet reclaimed,
or the ideas of loyalty natural to Spaniards might Ib
far revive among his followers, that they would no
longer lend their aid to uphold his ufurped authority.
THE fuccefs, however, of this negociation, ho Gafca ap -
lefs delicate than it was important, depended en- rcpair%o
tirely on the abilities and addrefs of the perfon to- l
whom it mould be committed. After weighing
with much attention the comparative merit of va-
rious perfons, the Spanifh minifters fixed with
unanimity of choice upon Pedro de la Gafca, a
prieft in no higher ftation than that of counfellor to
the Inquifition. Though in no public office, he
had been occafionally employed by government in
affairs of truft and confequence, and had conduct-
ed them with no lefs fkill than fuccefs ; difplaying
a gentle and infmuating temper, accompanied with
much firmnefs ; probity, fuperior to any feeling of
private intereft ; and a cautious circumfpection in
concerting meafures, followed by fuch vigour in
executing them, as is rarely found in alliance with
the other, Thefe qualities marked him out for the
function to which he was deflined. The emperor,,
fo whom Gafca was not unknown, warmly ap-
proved of the choice, and communicated it to him
in a letter, containing expreffions of good-will and
confidence, no lefs honourable to the prince who
wrote, than to the fubjeft who received it. Gafca,
notwith-
I2 6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK notwithftanding his advanced age and feeble confli-
i_^Iil_> tution, and though, from the apprehenfions natural
15461 to a man, who, during the courfe of his life, had
never been out of his own country, he dreaded the
effects of a long voyage, and of an unhealthy
climate a , did not hefitate a moment about corn-
Mis modera- plying with the will of his fovereign. But as a
proof that it was from this principle alone he acted,
he refufed a bimopric which was offered to him,
in order that he might appear in Peru with a more
dignified character ; he would accept of no higher
title than that of prefident of the court of audience
in Lima ; and declared that he would receive no
falary on account of his dii charging the duties of
that office. All he required was, that the expence
of fupporting his family mould be defrayed by the
public, and as he was to go like a minifter of
peace with his gown and breviary, and without
any retinue but a few domeitics, this would not
load the revenue with any enormous burden h .
The powers ne difcovered fuch difmterefted mo-
deration with refpect to whatever related perfonally
to him.. /
to himfelf, he demanded his official powers in a
very different tone. He infilled, as he was to be
employed in a country fo remote from the feat of
government, where he could not have recourfe to
a Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 17.
b Zarate, lib. vi. c. 6. Gomara, c. 174. Fernandez, lib. it.
c. 14 16. Vega, p. u.lib'. v. c. I. Herrera, dec. 8. lib. i.
c. 4, &c.
his
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 127
his fovereign for new mftructions on every emer- BOOK
gence ; and as the whole iuccefs of his nego- u^-v-^
ciations mud depend upon the confidence which 'S**-
the people with whom he had to treat could place
in the extent of his powers, that he ought to be
inverted with unlimited authority; that his jurif-
diclion mud reach to all perfons and to all caufes ;
that he muft be empowered to pardon, to punim,
or to reward, as circumftances and the behaviour
of different men might require ; that, in cafe of
refiftance from the malcontents, . he might be au-
thorifed to reduce them to obedience by force of
arms, to levy troops for that purpofe, and to call
for affiftance from the governors of all the Spanifh
fettlements in America. Thefe powers, though
manifeftly conducive to the great objects of his
million, appeared to the Spanifh minifters to be
inalienable prerogatives of royalty, which ought
not to be delegated to a fubjecl, and they refufed
to grant them. But the emperor's views were
more enlarged. As from the nature of his employ-
ment, Gafca muft be entrufted with difcretionary
power in feveral points, and all his efforts might
prove ineffectual if he was circumfcribed in any
one particular, Charles fcrupled not to invert him
with authority to the full extent that he demanded.
Highly fatisfied with this freffi proof of his marter's
confidence, Gafca battened his departure, and,
without cither money or troops, fet out to quell May2 6
a formidable rebellion c .
c Fernandez, lib. ii. c> 16 18.
ON
J2 8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK ON his arrival at Nombre de Dios, he found
^_Z!^ Herman Mexia, an officer of note, polled there,
jtSyt-r. by order of Pizarro, with a confiderable body of
5'p!nam a l. men, to oppofe the landing of any hoftile forces.
But Gafca appeared in fuch pacific guife, with a
train fo little formidable, and with a title of no
fuch dignity as to excite terror, that he was re-
ceived with much refpett From Nombre de Dios
he advanced to Panama, and met with a fimilar
reception from Hinojofa, whom Pizarro had en-
trufted with the government of that town, and the
command of his fleet flationed there. In both
places he held the fame language, declaring that
he was fent by their fovereign as a meffenger of
peace, not as a minifter of vengeance ; that he
came to redrefs all their grievances, to revoke the
laws which had excited alarm, to pardon paft
offences, and to re-eftablifh order and jufticemthe
government of Peru. His mild deportment, the
fimplicity of his manners, the fanctity of his profef-
fion, and a winning appearance of candour, gained
credit to his declarations. The veneration due to a
perfon clothed with legal authority, and aling in
virtue of a royal commiflion, began to revive among
men accuftomed for fbme time to nothing more
tefpectable than an ufurped jurifdiction. Hinojofa,
Mexia, and feveral other officers of diftindtion, to
each of whom Gafca applied feparately, were gained
over to his intereft, and waited only for fome de-
cent occafion of declaring openly in his favour d .
A Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 21, &c. Zarate, lib. vi. c. 6,7.
Gomara, c. iyj. Vega, p. n. lib. v. c. 3.
THIS
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 129
THIS the violence of Pizarro foon afforded them. BOOK
VI.
As foon as he heard of Gafca's arrival at Panama, i \~-~J
though he received, at the fame time, an account violent pro-
of the nature of his commiffion, and was informed Pizarro!
ofhis offersnot only to render everySpaniard inPeru
eafy concerning what was paft, by an act of general
oblivion ; but fecure with refpect to the future
by repealing the obnoxious laws ; inftead of accept-
ing with gratitude his fovereign's gracious con-
ceflions, he was fo much exafperated on finding
that he was not to be continued in his flation as
governor of the country, that he inflantly refolved
to oppofe the prefident's entry into Peru, and to
prevent his exercifmg any jurifdiction there. To
this defperate refolution he added another highly
prepofterous. He fent a new deputation to Spain
to juftify this conduct, and to infift, in name of all
the communities in Peru, for a confirmation of the
government to himfelf during life, as the only
means of preferving tranquillity there. The per-
fons entrusted with this flrange commiffion, inti-
mated the intention of Pizarro to the prefident, and
required him, in his name, to depart from Panama
and return to Spain. They carried likewife fecret
inftructions to Hinojofa, directing him to offer
Gafca a prefent of fifty thoufand pefos, if he would
comply voluntarily with what was demanded of
him ; and if he mould . continue obflinate, to cut
him off either by affaffination or poifon e .
e Zarate, lib. vi. c. 8. Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 33, 34.
Herrera, dec. 8. lib. ii. c. 9, 10
VOL. III. K MANY
I3 o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o 9 K MANY circumftances concurred in pufhing on
Pizarro to thofe wild" meafures. Having been
once accuflomed to fupreme command, he could
not bear the thoughts of defcending to a private
ftation. Confcious of his own dement, hefufpect-
ed that the emperor ftudied only to deceive him,
and would never pardon the outrages which he had
committed. His chief confidents, no lefs guilty,
entertained the fame apprehenfions. The approach
of Gafca without any military force excited no
terror. There were now above fix thoufand Spa-
niards fettled in Peru f ; and at the head of thefe
he doubted not to maintain his own independence,
if the court of Spain ihould refufe to grant what
he required. But he knew not that a fpirit of de-
fection had already begun to fpread among thofe
whom he trufted moft. Hinojofa, amazed at Pi-
zarro's precipitate refolution of fetting himfelf in
oppofition to the emperor's commiflion, and dif-
daining to be his inftrument in perpetrating the
odious crimes pointed out in his fecret inftructions,
publicly recognized the title of the prefident to
the fupreme authority in Peru. The officers under
his command did the fame. Such was the con-
tagious-influence of the example, that it reached
even the deputies who had been fent from Peru j
and at the time when Pizarro expected to hear
either of Gafca's return to -Spain, or of his death,
he received an account of his being matter of the
fleet, of Panama, and of the troops flationed there.
f Herrera, dec. 8. lib. iii. c. i .
IRRITATED
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 131
IRRITATED almoft to madnefs by events fo BOOK
VI
Unexpected, he openly prepared for war ; and in ^ -v^*
order to give fome colour of juftice to his arms, he Pizarro 7 re-
appointed the court of audience in Lima to pro- war!* '
ceed to the trial of Gafca, for the crimes of
having feized his mips, feduced his officers, and
prevented his deputies from proceeding in their
voyage to Spain. Cepeda, though acting as a
judge in virtue of the royal commiffion, did not
fcruple to proflitute the dignity of his function by
finding Gafca guilty of treafon, and condemning
him to death on that account . Wild, and even
ridiculous, as this proceeding was, it impofed on
the low illiterate adventurers, with whom Peru was
filled, by the fembknce of a legal function war-
ranting Pizarro to carry on hoftilities againfl a con-
victed traitor. Soldiers accordingly reforted from
every quarter to his ftandard, and he was foon at
the head of a thoufand men, the beft equipped
that had ever taken the field in Peru.
GASCA, on his part, perceiving that force mu'ft Preparations
be employed in order to accomplifh the purpofe of
his miffion, was no lefs aiFiduous in collecting
troops from Nicaragua, Garthagena, and other
fettlements on the continent ; and with fuch fuc-
cefs, that he was foon in a condition to detach a
fquadron of his fleet, with a confiderable body of
5 Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 55. Vega, p. n. lib. v. c. 7.
Herrcra, dec. 8. lib. iii. c. 6.
K 2 foldiers,
I 3 2
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
VI.
v^
1547;
April.
:no '
B oo & foldiers, to the coafl of Peru. Their appearance
excited a dreadful alarm ; and though they did not
attempt for fome time to make any defcent, they
did more effectual fervice, by fetting alhore in dif-
ferent places perfons who difperfed copies of the
aft of general indemnity, and the revocation of
the late edicts ; and who made known every where
the pacific intentions, as well as mild temper, of
the prefident. The effect of fpreading this in-
formation was wonderful. All who were diflatif-
fied with Pizarro's violent adminiflration, all who
retained any fentiments of fidelity to their fove-
reign, began to meditate revolt. Some openly
deferted a caufe which they now deemed to be un-
juft. Centeno, leaving the cave in which he lay
concealed, affembled about fifty of his former ad-
herents, and with this feeble half-armed band ad-
vanced boldly to Cuzco. By a fudden attack in
the night-time, in which he difplayed no lefs mili-
tary fkiil than valour, he rendered himfelf mafter
of that capital, though defended by a garriibn of
five hundred men. Mod of thefe having ranged
themfelves under his banners, he had foon the
command of a refpeftable body of troops h -
PIZARRO, though aftonifhed at beholding one
enemy approaching by fea, and another by land,
at a time when he trufled to the union of all Peru
in his favour, was of a fpirit more undaunted, and
b Zarate, lib. vi. 0.13 16. Gomara, c. 1 80, 181. Fer-
nandez, lib. ii. c. 28, 64, &c.
more
whom Pi-
zarro
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 133
more accuftomed to the viciflitudes of fortune,
than to be difconcerted or appalled. As the dan-
ger from Centeno's operations was the mod urgent,
he inflantly fet out to oppofe him. Having pro-
vided horfes for all his foldiers, he marched with
amazing rapidity. But -every morning he found
his force diminifhed, by numbers who had left him
during the night ; and though he became fufpi-
cious to excefs, and punifhed without mercy all
whom he fufpe&ed, the rage of defertion was too
violent to be checked. Before he got within fight
of the enemy at Huarina, near the lake Titiaca,
he could not mufter more than four hundred fol-
diers. But thefe he juftly confidered as men of
tried attachment, on whom he might depend.
They were indeed the boldeft and mod defperate
of his followers, confcious like himfelf of crimes
for which they could hardly expel forgivenefs,
and without any hope but in the fuccefs of their
arms. With thefe he did not hefitate to attack oaober 20,
Centeno's troops, though double to his own in
number. The royalifts did not decline the com-
bat. It was the mod obftinate and bloody that had
hitherto been fought in Peru. At length the intre- a P d
pid valour of Pizarro, and the fuperiority of Gar-
vajal's military talents, triumphed over numbers,
and obtained a complete victory. The booty was
immenfe 1 , and the treatment of the vasquimed
cruel. By this fignal fuccefs the reputation of
* See NOTE XVII.
K 3 Pizarro
1 34 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK Pizarro was re-eftablimed, and being now deemed
i^-.--'-j invincible in the field, his army increafed daily in
number k ,
BUT events happened in other parts of Peru,
which more than counterbalanced the fplendid
victory at Huarina. Pizarro had fcarcely left Lima,
when the citizens, weary of his opprefiive domi-
nion, erected the royal (landard, and Aldana, with
a detachment of foldiers from the fleet, took pof-
feffion of the town. About the fame time 1 ,
Gafca landed at Tumbez with five hundred
men. Encouraged by his prefence, every fettle-
ment in the low country declared for the king.
The fituation of the two parties was now perfectly
reverfed ; Cuzco and the adjacent provinces were
pofTefled by Pizarro ; all the reft of the empire,
from Quito fouthward, acknowledged the jurif-
diction of the Prefident. As his numbers augmented
faft, Gafca advanced into the interior part of the
country. His behaviour (till continued to be gentle
and unafluming ; he expreffed, on every occafion,
his ardent wifh of terminating the conteft without
bloodfhed. More felicitous to reclaim than to
punifh, he upbraided no man for paft offences, but
received them as a father receives penitent children
returning to a fenfe of their duty. Though defirous
k Zarate, lib.vii. 0.2,3. Gomara, c. i8t. Vega, p. u.
lib. v. c. 1 8, Sac. Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 79. Kerrera, dec. 8.
Jib. iv. c. I, 2.
1 Zarate, lib. vl. c. 17,
of
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 135
of peace, he did not flacken his preparations for B o^ o K.
war. He appointed the general rendezvous of his c -v *
troops in the fertile valley of Xauxa, on the road
to Cuzco m . There he remained for fome months, Advances
. , , . . towards
not only that he might have time to make another Cuzco.
attempt towards an accommodation with Pizarro,
but that he might train his new foldiers to the ufe
of arms, and accuflom them to the difcipline of
a camp, before he led them againft a body of vic-
torious veterans. Fizarro, intoxicated with the
fuccefs which had hitherto accompanied his arms,
and elated with having again near a thoufand
men under his command, refufed to liflen to any
terms, although Cepeda, together with feveral of
his officers, and even Carvajal himfelf n , gave it as
their advice to clofe with the prefident's offer of a
general indemnity, and the revocation of the ob-
noxious laws . Gafca having tried in vain every
expedient to avoid imbruing his hands in the blood
of his countrymen, began to move to wards Cuzco, Dec. 29.
at the head of fixteen hundred men.
PIZARRO, confident of victory, fuffered the
pi c Y '"* * *
royalifts to pafs all the rivers which lie between battle.
Guamanga and Cuzco without oppofition, and to 1548.
advance within four leagues of that capital, flat-
tering himfelf that a defeat in fuch a fituation as
m Zarate, lib. vii. c. 9. Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 77. 82.
n See NOTE XVIII.
Zarate, lib. vii. c. 6. Vega, p. n. lib. v. c. 27.
K 4 rendered
136
O O K
VI.
V
1548.
HISTORY OF AiMERICA.
rendered efcape impracticable would at once
terminate the war. He then marched out to meet
the enemy, and Carvajal chofe his ground, and
made the difpofition of the troops with the difcern-
ing eye, and profound knowledge in the art of war
confpicuous in all his operations. As the two
armies moved forwards flowly to the charge, the
appearance of each was fmgular. In that of Pi-
zarro, compofed of men enriched with the fpoils
of the moil opulent country in America, every
officer, and almofl all the private men were clothed
in fluffs of filk, or brocade, embroidered with
gold and filver ; and their horfes, their arms, their
ftandards, were adorned with all the pride of
military pomp p . That of Gafca, though not fo
fplendid, exhibited what was no lefs linking. He
himfelf, accompanied by the archbifhop of Lima,
the bifhops of Quito and Cuzco, and a great num-
ber of ecclefiaftics, marching along the lines, bleff-
ing the men, and encouraging them to a refolute
difcharge of their duty.
WHEN both armies were juft ready to engage,
Cepeda fet fpurs to his horfe, galloped off, and fur-
rendered himfelf to the prefident. Garcilaflb de la
Vega, and other officers of note, followed his exam-
ple. The revolt of perfons in fuch high rank flruck
all with amazement. The mutual confidence on
which the union and flrength of armies depend,
P Zarate, lib. vi. 'c. u.
ceafed
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
'37
ceafed at once. Diflruft and conflernation fpread BOOK.
from rank to rank. Some filentJy flipped away, u. ^-j
others threw down their arms, the greatefl number
went over to the royalifts. Pizarro, Carvajal, and
fome leaders, employed authority, threats, and
entreaties, to flop them, but in vain. In lefs
than half an hour, a body of men, which might
have decided the fate of the Peruvian empire,
was totally difperfed. Pizarro, feeing all irretriev-
ably loft, cried out in amazement to a few officers
who llill faithfully adhered to him, " What remains
for us to do ?" " Let us rum, replied one of
them, upon the enemy's firmeft battalion, and die
like Romans." Dejected with fuch a reverfe of
fortune, he had not fpirit to follow this foldierly
counfel, and with a tamenefs difgraceful to his
former fame, he furrendered to one of Gafca's taken,
officers. Carvajal, endeavouring to efcape, was
overtaken and feized.
\ i
GASCA, happy in this bloodlefs victory, did not and put to
. J _,. ~ , death.'
flam it with cruelty. Pizarro, Carvajal, and a
fmall number of the mofl diftinguifhed or noto-
rious offenders, were punifhed capitally. Pizarro
was beheaded on the day after he furrendered. He
fubmitted to his fate with a compofed dignity, and
feemed defirous to atone by repentance for the
crimes which he had committed. The end of Car-
vajal was fuitable to his life, On his trial he offer-
ed no defence. When the fentence adjudging him
to be hanged was pronounced, he carelefsly re-
plied,
13 8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK plied, " One can die but once." During the in-
W VL _ terval between the fentence and execution, he dif-
covered no fign either of remorfe for the paft, or
of folicitude about the future ; fcoffing at all who
vifited him, in his ufual farcaflic vein of mirth,
with the fame quicknefs of repartee and grofs plea-
fantry as at any other period of his life. Cepeda,
more criminal than either, ought to have fhared
the fame fate j but the merit of having deferted
his affbciates at fuch a critical moment, and with
fuch decifive effect, faved him from immediate
punifhment. He was fent, however, as a prifoner
to Spain, and died in confinement %
IN the minute detail which the contemporary
hiftorians have given of the civil diflentions that-
raged in Peru, with little interruption, during ten
years, many circumftances occur fo ftriking, and
which indicate fuch an uncommon flate of manners,
as to merit particular attention.
NO men*- THOUGH the Spaniards who firft invaded Peru
nary ioldiers * ......
in the civi were or the lowelt order in iociety, and the greater
Peru. part of thofe who afterwards joined them were per-
fons of defperate fortune, yet in all the bodies of
troops brought into the field by the different lead-
ers who contended for fuperiority, not one man
i Zaratc, lib. vii. c. 6, 7, 8. Gomara, c. 185, 186.
Vega, p. ii. lib. v. c . 30, &c. Fernandez, lib. ii. c, 86, &c.
Herrera, dec. 8. lib. iy. c. 14, &c.
afted
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 139
acted as a hired foldier, that follows his ftandard BOOK
for pay. Every adventurer in Peru confidered u-~-v^---*j
himfelf as a conqueror, entitled, by hisfervices, to IS4S '
an eftablifhinent in that country which had been
acquired by his valour. In the contefts between
the rival chiefs, each chofe his fide as he was di-
rected by his own judgment or affections. He
joined his commander as a companion of his for-
tune, and difdained to degrade himfeif by receiving
the wages of a mercenary. It was to their fword,
not to pre-eminence in office, or nobility of birth,
that mod of the leaders whom they followed were
indebted for their elevation ; and each of their
adherents hoped, by the fame means, to open a
way for himfelf to the pofleflion of power and
wealth r .
BUT though the troops in Peru ferved without. Armies >m-
, "r 3 r ilici.fely ex-
any regular pay, they were railed at immenle ex- pcnfivej
pence. Among men accuftomed to divide the
fpoils of an opulent country, the defire of obtain-
ing wealth acquired incredible force. The ardour
of purfuit augmented in proportion to the hope of
fuccefs. Where all were intent on the fame object,
and under the dominion of the fame paffion, there
was but one mode of gaining men, or of fecuring
their attachment. Officers of name and influence,
befides the promife of future eftablifhments, re-
peived in hand large gratuities from the chief with
f Vega, p. II. lib. iv. c. 38-. 41.
whom
re-
wards to in-
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, whom they engaged. Gonzalo Pizarro, in order
u y^J to raife a thoufand men, advanced five hundred
thoufand pefos s . Gafca expended in levying the
troops which he led againfl Pizarro nine hundred
thoufand pefos 1 . The diftribution of property,
beftowed as the reward of fervices, was flill more
and im- exorbitant. Cepeda, as the recompence of 'his
perfidy and addrefs, in perfuading the court of
f J * o
royal audience to give the fan&ion of its authority
to the ufurped jurifdi&ion of Pizarro, received a
grant of lands which yielded an annual income of
a hundred and fifty thoufand pefos u . Hinojofa,
who, by his early defection from Pizarro, and fur-
render of the fleet to Gafca, decided the fate of
Peru, obtained a di{lrit of country affording two
hundred thoufand pefos of yearly value x . While
fuch rewards were dealt out to the principal offi-
cers, with more than royal munificence, propor-
tional lhares were conferred upon thofe of inferior
rank.
SUCH a rapid change of fortune produced its
luxury. natural effects. It gave birth to new wants, and
new defires. Veterans, long accuftomed to hard-
fhip and toil, acquired of a fudden a tafte for pro-
fufe and inconfiderate diffipation, and indulged in
all the exceffes of military licentioufnefs. The
Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 54.
1 Zarate, lib. vii. c. 10. Herrera, dec. 8. lib. v. c. 7.
a Comara, c. 164. x Vega, p. n. lib. vi. c. 3.
riot
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 141
riot of low debauchery occupied fome ; a relifh for B o o K
expenfive luxuries fpread among others v . The ' <r*
meaneft foldier in Peru would have thought him-
felf degraded by marching on foot ; and at a time
when the prices of horfes in that country were ex-
orbitant, each infifted on being furnifhed with one
before he would take the field. But though lefs
patient under the fatigue and hardfhips of fervice,
they were ready to face danger and death with as
much intrepidity as ever ; and animated by the
hope of new rewards, they never failed, on the
day of battle, to difplay all their ancient va-
lour.
TOGETHER with their courage, they retained Ferocity
ill r i 1-11 11 T/ with which
all the ferocity by which they were originally dif- thrircon-
tinguifhed. Civil difcord never raged with a more carrhxTon ;
fell fpirit than among the Spaniards in Peru. To
all the paffions which ufually envenom contefts
among countrymen, avarice was added, and ren-
dered their enmity more rancorous. Eagernefs to
feize the valuable forfeitures expected upon the
death of every opponent, mut the door againft
mercy. To be wealthy, was of itfelf fufficient to
expofe a man to accufation, or to fubject him to
punimment. On the ilighteft fufpicions, Pizarro
condemned many of the moft opulent inhabitants
in Peru to death. Carvajal, without fearching for
any pretext to juftify his cruelty, cut off many
* Herrera, dec. 5. lib. ii. c. 3. dec. 8, lib. viii. c. 10.
more.
14-2 HISTORY OF AMERICA,
BOOK more. The number of thofe who fufFered by
v^-> v^j hand of the executioner, was not much inferior to
I543 ' what fell in the field z ; and the greater part was
condemned without the formality of any legal
trial.
and want THE violence with which the contending parties
of faith. t. i ,
treated their opponents was not accompanied with
its ufual attendants, attachment and fidelity to
thofe with whom they acled. The ties of honour,
which ought to be held facred among foldiers, and
the principle of integrity, interwoven as thoroughly
in the Spanifh character as in that of any nation,
feem to have been equally forgotten. Even regard
for decency, and the fenfe of fhame, w r ere totally
loft. During their diffentions, there was hardly
a Spaniard in Peru who did not abandon the party
which he had originally efpoufed, betray the afib-
ciates with whom he had united, and violate the
engagements under which he had come. The vice-
roy Nugnez Vela was ruined by the treachery of
Cepeda and the other judges of the royal audience,
who were bound by the duties of their function to
have fupported his authority. The chief advifers
and companions of Gonzalo Pizarro's revolt, were
the firft to forfake him, and fubmit to his ene-
mies. His fleet was given up to Gafca, by the
man whom he had fmgled out among his officers
to entrufl with that important command. On the
z Sec NOTE XIX.
day
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
day that was to decide his fate, an army of vete- B
rans, in fight of the enemy, threw down their arms
without drilling a blow, and deferted a leader who
had often conducted them to victory. Inftances
of fuch general and avowed contempt of the prin-
ciples and obligations which attach man to man,
and bind them together in focial union, rarely oc-
cur in hiftory. It is only where men are far re-
moved from the feat of government, where the
reftraints of law and order are little felt, where the
profpect of gain is unbounded, and where immenfe
weajth may cover the crimes by whiqh it is ac-
quired, that we can find any parallel to the levity,
the rapacioumefs, the perfidy and corruption pre-
valent among the Spaniards in Peru. .
ON the death of Pizarro, the malcontents in
every corner of Peru laid down their arms, and
tranquillity feemed to be perfectly re-eflablifhed. f " r '
But two very interefting objects flill remained to
occupy the prefident's attention. The one was to
find immediately fuch employment for a multitude
of turbulent and daring adventurers with which
the country was filled, as might prevent them
from exciting new commotions. The other, to
beftow proper gratifications upon thofe to whofe
loyalty and valour he had been indebted for his fuc-
cels. The former of thefe was in fome meafure ac-
complimed, by appointing Pedro de Valdivia to
profecute the conqueft of Chili ; and by empowering
1 Diego Centeno to undertake the difcovery of the
vaft
144
HISTORY OT AMERICA.
BOOK vaft regions bordering on the river De la Plata.
The reputation of thofe leaders, together with the
hopes of acquiring wealth, and of rifing to confe-
quence in fome unexplored country, alluring many
of the moil indigent and defperate foldiers to follow
their ftandards, drained off no inconfiderable por-
tion of that mutinous fpirit which Gafca dreaded.
His dlvi-
fion ot the
country <t
among his
followers.
THE latter was an affair of greater difficulty,
and to be adjufled with a more attentive and deli-
cate hand. The repartiffiientos, or allotments of
lands and Indians which fell to be diftributed, in
confequence of the death or forfeiture of the for-
mer poffeffors, exceeded two millions of pefos of
yearly rent a . Gafca, when now abfolute matter
of this immenfe property, retained the fame dilin-
terefted fentiments which he had originally pro-
feffed, and refufed to referve the fmalleft portion
of it for himfelf. But the number bf claimants
was great ; and whilft the vanity or avarice of
every individual fixed the value of his own fer.vices,
and eftimated the recompence which he thought
due to him, the pretenfions of each were fo extra-
vagant, that it was impofiible to fatisfy all. Gafca
liftened to them one by one, with the moft patient
attention ; and that he might have leifure to weigh
the comparative merit of their feveral claims with
accuracy, he retired, with the archbifhop of Lima
and a fmgle fecretary, to a village twelve leagues
Vega, p. ii. lib. vi. 0.4.
22
from
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 145
from Cuzco. There he fpent feveral days in allot- B o^ o
ting ^o each a diftrict of lands and number of In- w v
dians, in proportion to his idea of their paft fer-
vices and future importance. But that he might
get beyond the reach of the fierce ftorm of clamour
and rage, which he forefaw would burft out on the
publication of his decree, notwithftanding the im-
partial equity with which he had framed it, he fet
out for Lima, leaving the inftrument of partition
fealed up, with orders not to open it for fome days
after his departure.
THE indignation excited by publishing the de- T ^- f -
cree of partition was not lefs than Gafca had ex- tent it oc^
o i n nons.
peered. Vanity, avarice, emulation, envy, ihame,
rage, and all the other paffions which mofl vehe-
mently agitate the minds of men when both their
honour and their interefl are deeply affe&ed, con-
fpired in adding to its violence. It broke out with
all the fury of military infolence. Calumny,
threats, and curfes, were poured out openly upon
the prefident. He was accufed of ingratitude, of
partiality, and of injuftice. Among foldiers
prompt to a&ion, fuch feditious difcourfe would
have been foon followed by deeds no lefs violent,
and they already began to turn their eyes towards
fome difcontented leaders, expecting them to Hand
forth in redrefs of their wrongs. By fome vigorous
interpofitions of government, a timely check was
given to this mutinous fpirit, and the danger
VOL, III. L of
146
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o KL of another civil war was averted for the pre-
VI.
fent b .
1549.
Re-elta-
blilhes or-
der and go-
vernment,
Feb. i.
and fets out
for Spain.
GASCA, however, perceiving that the flame was
fuppreifed rather than extinguiihed, laboured with
the utmoft affiduity to foothe the malcontents, by
beftowing large gratuities on fome, by promifing
repartimientos, when they fell vacant, to others, and
by careffing and flattering all. But that the pub-
lic fecurity might reft on a foundation more (table
than their good affe&ion, he endeavoured to
ftrengthen the hands of his fucceffors in office, by
re-eftablilhing the regular adminiftration of juftice
in every part of the empire. He introduced order
and fimplicity into the mode of colle&ing the royal
revenue. He iflued regulations concerning the
treatment of the Indians, well calculated to protect
them from oppreflion, and to provide for their in-
ftru&ion in the principles of religion, without de-
priving the Spaniards of the benefit accruing from
their labour. Having now accomplished every
objeft of his'miflion, Gafca, longing to return
again to a private ftation, committed the govern-
ment of Peru to the court of audience, and fet out
for Spain. As, during the anarchy and turbulence
of the four laft years, there had been no remittance
made of the royal revenue, he carried with him
b Zarate, lib. vii. 0.9. Gomara, 0.187. Vega, p. n.
lib. vii. c. i, &c. Fernandez, p. 1 1. lib. i. c. I, &c. Herrera,
dec. 8. lib. iv. c. 17, &c.
thirteen
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 147
thirteen hundred thoufand pefos of public money, B VI
which the oeconomy and order of his adminiftra- i -"-"
tion enabled him to fave, after paying all the ex-
pences of the war.
HE was received in his native country with uni- His recep.
verfal admiration of his abilities, and of his virtue.
Both were, indeed, highly confpicuous. Without
army, or fleet, or public funds j with a train fo
fimple, that only three thoufand ducats were ex-
pended in equipping him % he fet out to oppofe
a formidable rebellion. By his addrefs and talents
he fupplied all thofe defects, and feemed to create
inftruments for executing his defigns. He ac-
quired fuch a naval force, as gave him the com-
mand of the fea. He raifed a body of men able
to cope with the veteran bands which gave law to
Peru. He vanquifhed their leader, on whofe arms
victory had hitherto attended, and in place of
anarchy and ufurpation, he eftablifhed the govern-
ment of laws, and the authority of the rightful fo-
vereign. But the praife beftowed on his abilities
was exceeded by that which his virtue merited.
After refiding in a country where wealth prefented
allurements which had feduced every perfon who
had hitherto poffefTed power there, he returned
from that trying flation with integrity not only
untainted but unfufpecled. After diflributing
among his countrymen pofleffions of greater ex-
* Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 18.
L 2 tent
148 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K. tent and value than had ever been in the difpofal of
a fubjeft in any age or nation, he himfelf remained
i n hi s original ftate of poverty ; and at the very
time, when he brought fuch a large recruit to the
royal treafury, he was obliged to apply by petition
for a fmail. fum to difcharge fome petty debts
which he had contracted during the courfe of his
fervice d . Charles was not infenfible to fuch difin-
terefted merit. Gafca was received by him with
the moft diftinguiming marks of efleem, and be-
ing promoted to the bifhopric of Palencia, he
pafied the remainder of his days in the tranquillity
of retirement, refpected by his country, honoured
by his fovereign, and beloved by all.
NOTWITHSTANDING allGafca's wife regulations,
the tranquillity of Peru was not of long continu-
-ance. In a country, where the authority of go-
vernment had beenalmoft forgotten during the long
prevalence of anarchy and mif-rule, where there
were difappointed leaders ripe for revolt, and fedi-
tious foldiers ready to follow them, it was not dif-
ficult to raife combuftion. Several fucceffive in-
furre&ions defolated the country for fome years.
But as thofe, though fierce, were only tranlient
ftorms, excited rather by the ambition and turbu-
lence of particular men, than by general or public
motives, the detail of them is not the objeft of this
hiftory. Thefe commotions in Peru, like every
d MS. penes me.
thing
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 149
thing of extreme violence either in the natural or B o
political body, were not of long duration, and by ' ^-
carrying off the corrupted humours which had
given rife to the diforders, they contributed in the
end to ftrengthen the fociety which at firft they
threatened to deftroy. During their fierce con-
tefts, feveral of the firft invaders of Peru, and many
of thofe licentious adventurers whom the fame
of their fuccefs had allured thither, fell by each
other's hands. Each of the parties, as they alter r
nately prevailed in the ftruggle, gradually cleared
the country of a number of turbulent fpirits, by exe-
cuting, profcribing, or baniming their opponents.
Men lefs enterprifmg, lefs defperate, and more ac-
cuftomed to move in the path of fober and peace-
able induftry, fettled in Peru ; and the royal autho-
rity was gradually eftabliflied as firmly there as in
the other Spanim colonies.
THE
HISTORY
OF
AMERICA,
BOOK VII.
AS the conquefl of the two great empires of
Mexico and Peru forms the mod fplendid
and interefting period in the hiftory of America, a
view of their political inftitutions, and a defcrip-
tion of their national manners, will exhibit the
human fpecies to the contemplation of intelli-
gent obfervers in a very fmgular ftage of its pro-
grefs a .
WHEN compared with other parts of the New Mexico and
World, Mexico and Peru may be confidered as
polimed ftates. Inftead of fmall, independent,
hoftile tribes, ftruggling for fubfiftence amidft
woods and marmes, ftrangers to induftry and arts,
unacquainted with fubordination, and almoft with-
out the appearance of regular government, we find
See NOTE XX.
L 4 countries
i 5 2 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK countries of great extent fubjecled to the dominion
vn.
u. -.- -> of one fovereign, the inhabitant collected toge-
ther in cities, the wifdom and forefight of ru-
lers employed in providing for the maintenance and
fecurity of the people, the empire of laws in fome
meafufe eflablifhed, the authority of religion re-
cognized, many of the arts efiential to life
brought to fome degree of maturity, and the
dawn of fuch as are ornamental beginning to
appear.
Their infe- BUT if the comparifon be made with the people
ihTnatbns of the ancient continent, the inferiority of Ame-
of the and- ... 111 r i
ent conti- rica in improvement will be conlpicuous, and nei-
ther the Mexicans nor Peruvians will be entitled
to rank with thofe nations which merit the name of
civilized. The people of both the great empires
in America, like the rude tribes around them,
were totally unacquainted with the ufeful metals,
and the progrefs which they had made in extending
^ their dominion over the animal creation was in-
confiderable. The Mexicans had gone no farther
than to tame and rear turkeys, ducks, a fpecies of
v fmall dogs, and rabbits D . By this feeble eflay of
ingenuity, the means. of fubfiflence were rendered
fomewhat more plentiful and fecure, than when
men depend foiely on hunting ; but they had no
idea of attempting to fubdue the more robuft ani-
mals, or of deriving any aid from their miniftry in
b Herrera, doc. ir. lib. vii. c. 12.
carrying
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 153
carrying on works of labour. The Peruvians feem BOOK
to have negle&ed the inferior animals, and had
not rendered any of them domeftic except the
duck ; but they were more fortunate in taming
the Llama, an animal peculiar to their country,
of a form which bears fome refemblance to a deer,
and fome to a camel, and is of a fize fomewhat lar-
ger than a fheep. Under the protection of man,
this fpecies multiplied greatly. Its wool furnifhed
the Peruvians with clothing, its flefh with food.
It was even employed as a beaft of burden, and
carried a moderate load with much patience and
docility c . It was never ufed for draught ; and the
breed being confined to the mountainous country,
its fervice, if we may judge by incidents which
occur in the early Spanifh writers, was not very
extenfive among the Peruvians in their original
ftate.
IN tracing the line by which nations proceed
towards civilization, the difcovery of the ufeful
metals, and the acquifition of dominion over the
animal creation, have been marked as fteps of ca-
pital importance in tLeir progrefs. In our conti-
nent, long after men had attained both, fociety
continued in that (late which is denominated bar-
barous. Even with all that command over nature
which thefe confer, many ages elapfe, before in-
duitry becomes fo regular as to render fubfiflence
c Vega ? p. i. lib. viii. c. 16. Zarate, lib. i. c. 14.
2 fecure,
'54
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fecure, before the arts which fupplv the wants and
vir. .
w. , / furnifh the accommodations of life are brought to
any confiderable degree of perfection, and before
any idea is conceived of various inftitutions requifite
in a well-ordered fociety. The Mexicans and Pe-
ruvians, without knowledge of the ufeful metals, or
the aid of domeflic animals, laboured under difad-
vantages which muft have greatly retarded their pro-
grefs, and in their higheft Hate of improvement their
power was fo limited, and their operations fo feeble,
that they "can hardly be confidered as having ad-
vanced beyond the infancy of civil life.
view of the AFTER this general obfervation concerning the
and manners mofl fingular and diflinguiming circumftance in
of each. i n r i i. *
the itate or both the great empires in America, I
ihall endeavour to give fuch a view of the confli-
tution and interior police of each, as may enable us
to afcertain their place in the political fcale, to allot
them their proper flation between the rude tribes in
the New World, and the polifhed dates of the an-
cient, and to determine how far they had rifen
above the former, as well as how much they fell be-
low the latter.
Jmperfeft
information
concerning
ihofe of
Mexico.
MEXICO was firft fubje&ed to the Spanifh crown.
But our acquaintance with its laws and manners
is not, from that circumilance, more complete.
What I have remarked concerning the defective
and inaccurate information on which we muft rely
with refpeft to the condition and cufloms of the
favage
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 155
favage tribes in America, may be applied likewife B V] K
to our knowledge of the Mexican empire. Cortes, <- / '
and the rapacious adventurers who accompanied
him, had not leifure or capacity to enrich either
civil or natural hiftory with new obfervations. They
undertook their expedition in quefl of one object,
and feemed hardly to have turned their eyes to-
wards any other. Or, if during fome mort inter-
val of tranquillity, when the occupations of war
ceafed, and the afdour of plunder was fufpended,
the inftitutions and manners of the people whom
they had invaded drew their attention, the inquiries
of illiterate foldiers were conducted with fo little
fagacity and precifion, that the accounts given by
them of the policy and order eflablifhed in the
Mexican monarchy are fuperficial, confufed, and in-
explicable. It is rather from incidents which they
relate occafionally, than from their own deductions
and remarks, that we are enabled to form fome idea
of the genius and manners of that people. The
obfcurity in which the ignorance of its conquerors
involved the annals of Mexico, was augmented by
the fuperftition of thole who fucceeded them. As
the memory of paft events was preferved among the
Mexicans by figures painted on fkins, on cotton
cloth, on a kind of pafteboard, or on the bark of
trees, the early miffionaries, unable to comprehend
their meaning, and flruck with their uncouth forms,
conceived them to be monuments of idolatry which
jought to be deftroyed, in order to facilitate the con-
yerfion of the Iridians. In obedience to an edict
iffued
j 5 6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK iflfued by Juan de Zummaraga, a Francifcan monk,
thefirft bifhop of Mexico, as many records of the
ancient Mexican ftory as could be collected were
committed to the flames. In confequence of this
fanatical zeal of the monks who firft vifited New
Spain (which their fucceffors foon began to la-
ment), whatever knowledge of remote events fuch
rude monuments contained was almoft entirely loft,
and no information remained concerning the an-
cient revolutions and policy of the empire, but
what was derived from tradition, or from fome frag-
ments of their hiftorical paintings that efcaped the
barbarous refearches of Zummaraga d . From the
experience of all nations it is manifeft, that the me-
mory of paft tranfactions can neither be long pre-
ferved, nor be tranfmitted with any fidelity, by
tradition. The Mexican paintings, which are fup-
pofed to have ferved as annals of their empire, are
few in number, and of ambiguous meaning. Thus,
amidft the uncertainty of the former, and the ob-
fcurityof the latter, we muft glean what intelligence
can be collected from the fcamy materials fcattered
in the Spanifh writers *.
ACCORDING
* Acofta, lib. vi. c. 7. Torquem. Proem, lib. ii. lib. iii.
c. 6. lib. xiv. c. 6.
* In the firft edition, I obferved that in confequence of the
deftru&ion of the ancient Mexican paintings, occafioned by the
zeal of Zummaraga, whatever knowledge they might have
conveyed was entirely loft. Every candid reader muft have
perceived that the expreffion was inaccurate; as in a few-
Hues
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 157
ACCORDING to the account of the Mexicans BOOK.
VII.
themfelves, their empire was not of long duration. -v~- -i
i * . . ,, - Origin of tbe
1 heir country, as they relate, was originally poi- Mexican
fefled, rather than peopled, by fmall independent
tribes,
lines afterwards I mention fume ancient paintings to be (till
extant. M. Clavigero, not fatisfied with laying hold of this
inaccuracy, which I corrected in the fubfequent editions, la-
bours to render it more glaring, by the manner in which he
quotes the remaining part of the fentence. He reprehends
with great afperity the account which I give of the fcanty
materials for writing the ancient hiftory of Mexico. Vol. I.
Account of Writers, p. xxvi. V. II. 380. My words, how-
ever, are ahnoft the fame with thofe of Torquemada, who
feems to have been better acquainted with the ancient' monu-
ments of the Mexicans than any Spanifh author whofe works
I have feen. Lib. xiv. c. 6. M. Clavigero himfelf gives a
defcription of the deilruftion of ancient paintings in ahnoft
the fame terms I have ufed ; and mentions, as an additional
reafon of there being fo fmall a number of ancient paintings
known to the Spaniards, that the natives have become fo
folicitous to preferve and conceal them, that it is " difficult,
" if not impoflible, to make them part with one of them."
Vol. I. 407. II. 194. No point can be more afcertained
than that few of the Mexican hiftorical paintings have been
preferred. Though feveral Spaniards have carried on in-
quiries into the antiquities of the Mexican empire, no en-
gravings from Mexican, paintings have been communicated
to the public, except thofe by Purchas, Gemelli Carreri, and
Lorenzana. It affords me fome fatisfa&ion, that in the
courfe of my refearches, I have difcovered two collections of
Mexican paintings which were unknown to former inquirers.
The cut which I publifhed is an exact copy of the original,
and gives no high idea of the progrefs which the Mexicans had
made in the art of painting. I cannot conjecture what could
induce M. Clavigero to exprefs fome difTatisfaction with me
for
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
K tribes, whofe mode of life and manners refembled
_> thofe of the rudeft favages which we have de-
fcribed. But about a period correfponding to the
beginning of the tenth century in the Chriftian
sera, feveral tribes moved in fucceffive migrations
from unknown regions towards the north and
north-weft, and fettled in different provinces of
Anahuac^ the ancient name of New Spain. Thefe,
more civilized than the original inhabitants, began
to form them to the arts of focial life. At length,
towards the commencement of the thirteenth cen-
tury, the Mexicans, a people more poliflied than
any of the former, advanced from the border of
the Californian gulf, and took pofleffion of the
for having publimed it without the fame colours it has in the
original painting, p. xxix. He might have recollected, that
neither Purchas, nor Gemelli Carreri, nor Lorenzana, thought
it neceflary to colour the prints which they have publimed,
and they have never been cenfured on that account. He may
reft affured, that though the colours in the paintings in the
Imperial Library are remarkably bright, they are laid on
without art, and without " any of that regard to light and
'* (hade, or the rules of perfpeftive," which M. Clavigero
requires. V. II. 378. If the public exprefs any defire to have
the feven paintings ftill in my poflefiion engraved, I am
ready to communicate them. The print published by Ge-
melli Carreri, of the route of the ancient Mexicans when they
travelled towards the lake on which they built the capital of
their empire, Churchill, Vol. IV. p. 481, is the moft fim'fhed
monument of art brought from the New World, and yet a very
flight inflection of it will fatisfy every one, that the annals
of a nation conveyed in this manner muft be very meagre and
imperfect.
5 plains
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 159
plains adjacent to the great lake near the centre of B
the country. After refiding there about fifty years,
they founded a town, fmce diftinguifhed by the
name of Mexico, which from humble beginnings
foon grew to be the mod considerable city in the
New World. The Mexicans, long after they were
eftablifhed in their new pofleffions, continued, like
other martial tribes in America, unacquainted with
regal dominion, and were governed in peace, and
conducted in war, by fuch as were entitled to pre-
eminence by their wifdom or their valour. But
among them, as in other dates whole power and
territories become extenfive, the fupreme autho-
rity centered at lafl in a fmgle perfon ; and when
the Spaniards under Cortes invaded the country,
Montezuma was the ninth monarch in order who
had fwayed the Mexican fceptre, not by hereditary
right, but by election.
SUCH is the traditional tale of the Mexicans con- Vei 7 *=*
cerning the progrefs of their own empire. Ac-
cording to this, its duration was very fhort. From
the firft migration of their parent tribe, they can
reckon little more than three hundred years. From
the eflablimment of monarchical government, not
above a hundred and thirty-years, according to
one account % or a hundred and ninety-feven, ac-
cording to another computation f , had elapfed. If,
e Acoft. Hift. lib. vii. c. 8, &c, f Purclias Pilgr. iii.
p. 1068, c,
on,
160 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
on one hand, we fuppofe the Mexican ftate to
have been of higher antiquity, and to have fub-
fifted during fuch a length of time as the Spanifh
accounts of its civilization would naturally lead us
to conclude, it is difficult to conceive how, among
a people who poflefied the art of recording events
by pictures, and who confidered it as an effential
part of their national education, to teach their
children to repeat the hiftorical fongs which cele-
brated the exploits of their ancestors g , the know-
ledge of pad tranfactions mould be fo (lender and
limited. If, on the other hand, we adopt their
own fyftem with refpect to the antiquities of their
nation, it is no lefs difficult to account either for
that improved ftate of fociety, or for the extenfive
dominion to which their empire had attained, when
firft vifited by the Spaniards. The infancy of na-
tions is fo long, and, even when every circumflance
is favourable to their progrefs, they advance fo
flowly towards any maturity of ftrength or policy,
that the recent origin of the Mexicans feems to be a
ftrong prefumption of fome exaggeration, in the
fplendid defcriptions which have been given of their
* government and manners.
F ^s whkh BUT it is not by theory or conjectures that hif-
progrefs in t;otv decides with regard to the ftate or character of
civilization. \ &
nations. It produces facts as the foundation of
every judgment which it ventures to pronounce. In
* Herrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 18.
collecting
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 161
colle&ing thofe which muft regulate our opinion B *> K
in the prefent inquiry, forne occur that fuggeft an s^-v J
idea of confuierable progrefs in civilization in the
Mexican empire, and others which feem to indi-
cate that it had advanced but little beyond the fa-
vage tribes around it. Both {hall be exhibited to
the view of the reader, that, from comparing them,
he may determine on which fide the evidence pre-
ponderates.
IN the Mexican empire, the right of private pro- The right of
property
pertv v, ; as perfectlv underftood, and eftabliflied in f u ''y efa-
blilhed.
its full extent. . Among feveral favage tribes, we
have feen, that the idea of a title to the feparate and
exclufive porTeffion of any object was hardly known ;
and that among all, it was extremely limited and
ill-defined. But in Mexico, where agriculture and
induftry had made fome progrefs, the diftinclion be-
tween property in land and property in goods had
taken place. Both might be transferred from one
perfon to another by fale or barter ; both might
defcend by inheritance. Every perfon who could
be denominated a freeman had property in land.
This, however, they held by various tenures. Some
pofieffed it in full right, and it defcended to their
heirs. The title of others to their lands was de-
rived from the office or dignity which they enjoyed ;
and when deprived of the latter, they loft poflef-
fion of the former. Both thefe modes of occupy-
ing land were deemed noble, and peculiar to citi-
zens of the higheft clafs. The tenure, by which
VOL. III. M the
162 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o^ o K the great body of the people held their property,
was very different. In every diftricl: a certain quan-
tity of land was meafured out in proportion to the
number of families. This was cultivated by the
joint labour of the whole ; its produce was depo-
fited in a common ftorehoufe, and divided among
them according to their refpective exigencies. The
members of the Calpullee^ or aflbciations, could not
alienate their mare of the common eftate j it was
an indivifible permanent property, deftined for the
fupport of their families h . In confequence of this
diflributionoftheterritory of theftate, every man had
an interefl in its welfare, and the happinefs of the
individual was connected with the public fecurity.
The number ANOTHER {Inking circumftance, which diflin-
and great. i %'.* r T r
nefs of their guiihes the Mexican empire from thole nations m
Cities. . . i i i r i i i
America we have already delcnbed, is the num-
ber and greatnefs of its cities. While fociety con-
tinues in a rude ftate, the wants of men are fo
few, and they ftand fo little in need of mutual af-
fiftance, that their inducements to crowd together
are extremely feeble. Their induftry at the fame
time is fo imperfect, that it cannot fecure fubfift-
cnce for any confiderable number of families fet- '
tied in one fpot. They live difperfed, at this pe-
riod, from choice as well as from neceffity, or at
the utmoft aflemble in fmall hamlets on the banks
of the river which fupplies them with food, or on
k Herrera, dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 1 5. Torquem. Mon. Ind.
lib. xiv, c. 7. Corita, MS.
thq
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 163
the border of fome plain left open by nature, or BOOK
cleared by their own labour. The Spaniards, ac-
cuftomed to this mode of habitation among all the
fcivage tribes with which they were hitherto ac-
quainted, were aflonifhed, on entering New Spain,
to find the natives refiding in towns of fuch extent
as refembled thofe of Europe. In the firft fervour of
their admiration, they compared Zempoalla, though
a town only of the fecond or third fize, to the ci-
ties of greatefl note in their own country. When,
afterwards, they vifited in fucceffion Tlafcala, Cho-
lula, Tacuba, Tezeuco, and Mexico itfelf, their
amazement incrcafed fo much, that it led them to
convey ideas of their magnitude and populouf-
nefs bordering on what is incredible. Even when
there is leifure for obfervation, and no intereft that
leads to deceive, conjectural eftimates of the num-
ber of people in cities are extremely loofe, and
ufually much exaggerated. It is not furprifing,
then, that Cortez and his companions, little ac-
cuftomed to fuch computations, and powerfully-
tempted to magnify, in order to exult the merit of
their own difcoveries and conquefts, mould have
been betrayed into this common error, and have
raifed their defcriptions confiderably above truth.
For this reafon, fome confiderable abatement ought
to be made from their calculations of the number
of inhabitants in the Mexican cities, and we may
fix the flandard of their population much lower
than they have done ; but flill they will appear
to be cities of fuch confequence, as are not to be
M 2 found
164 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK found but among people who have made fome
c- v ' considerable progrefs in the arts of focial life 1 .
From their accounts, we can hardly fuppofeMexico,
the capital of the empire, to have contained fewer
than fixty thoufand inhabitants.
Thefepara- THE feparation of profeffions among the Mexi-
tion of pro- . r . i r i
feifion*. cans is a iymptom of improvement no leis remark-
able. Arts, in the early ages of fociety, are fo few
and fo fimple, that each man is fufficiently mafter
of them ail, to gratify every demand of his own
limited defires. The favage can form his bow,
point his arrows, rear his hut, and hollow his ca-
noe, without calling in the aid of any hand more
fkilful than his own. Time mufl have augmented
the wants of men and ripened their ingenuity, be-
fore the productions of art became fo complicated
in their flru&ure, or fo curious in their fabric, that
a particular courfe of education was requifite to-
wards forming the artificer to expertnefs in con-
trivance and workmanfhip. In proportion as re-
finement fpreads, the diftinction of profeffions in-
creafes, and they branch out into more numerous
and minute fubdivifions. Among the Mexicans,
this feparation of the arts neceffary in life had taken
place to a confiderable extent. The functions of
the mafon, the weaver, the goldfmith, the painter,
and of feveral other crafts, were carried on by dif-
ferent perfons. Each was regularly inftructed in
his calling. To it alone his induflry was confined ;
and by afliduous application to one object, together
1 Sec NOTE XXI. '
with
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 165
with the perfevering patience peculiar to Ameri-
cans, their artizans attained to a degree of neatnefs
and perfection in work, far beyond what could have
been expected from the rude tools which they em-
ployed. Their various productions were brought
into commerce ; and by the exchange of them in
the dated markets held in the cities, not only were
their mutual wants fupplied k , in fuch orderly in-
tercourfe as characterizes an improved ftate of fo-
ciety, but their induftry was daily rendered perfe-
vering and inventive.
THE diftinaion of ranks eftablifhed in the Mexi- J h n e 3 ftins
can empire is the next circumftance that merits at- ranks -
tention. In furveying the favage tribes of Ame-
rica, we obferved, that confcioumefs of equality,
and impatience.of fubordination, are fentiments na-
tural to man in the infancy of civil life. During
peace, the authority of a fuperior is hardly felt
among them, and even in war it is but little ac-
knowledged. Strangers to the idea of property,
the difference in condition refulting from the in-
equality of it is unknown. Birth or titles confer
no pre-eminence ; it is only by perfonal merit and
accomplifiiments that diftinclion can be acquired.
The form of fociety was very different among the
Mexicans. The great body of the people was in a
moil humiliating flate. A confiderable number,
k Cortes Relat. ap. Rarauf. iii. 239, &c. Gom. Cron. c.
79. Torquem. lib. xiii. 0.34. Hen-era, dec. 2. lib. vii. c.
J5 &c -
M 3 known
iC6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
<^ p K known by the name ofMayeques, nearly refembling
in condition thofe peafants who, under various de-
nominations, were confidered, during the preva-
lence of the feudal fyftem, as inftruments of labour
attached to the foil. The Mayeques could not change
their place of refidence without permiffion of the
fuperior on whom they depended. They were
conveyed, together with the lands on which they
were fettled, from one proprietor to another ; and
were bound to cultivate the ground, and to per-
form feveral kinds of fervile work '. Others were
reduced to the loweft form of fubjection, that of do-
meftic fervitude, and felt the utmoft rigour of that
wretched ftate. Their condition was held to be fo
vile, and their lives deemed to be of fo little value,
that a perfon who killed one of thofe flaves was
not fubje&ed to any punimment m . Even thofe
confidered as freemen were treated by their haughty
lords as beings of an inferior fpecies. The nobles,
pofTefled of ample territories, were divided into
various claffes, to each of which peculiar titles of
honour belonged. Some of thefe titles, like their
lands, defcended from father to fon in perpetual
fucceflion. Others were annexed to particular of-
fices, or conferred during life as marks of perfonal
diftindion n . The monarch, exalted above all, en-
joyed extenfive power, and fupreme dignity. Thus
1 Herrera, dec. 3. lib.fr. c. 17. Corita, MS.
m Herrera, dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 7.
* Hen era, dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 15. Corita, MS.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 167
the diftindtion of ranks was completely eftablifhecl, BOOK
VII.
in a line of regular fubordination, reaching from u. -,-' *
the highefl to the loweft member of the commu-
nity. Each of thefe knew what he could claim, and
what he owed. The people, who were not allowed
to wear a drefs of the fame famion, or to dwell in
houfes of a form fimilar to thofe of the nobles, ac-
cofled them with the nioft fubmiffive reverence. In
the prefence of their fovereign, they durft not lift
their eyes from the ground, or look him in the
face . The nobles themfelves, when admitted to
an audience of their fovereign, entered bare-footed,
in mean garments, and, as his flaves, paid him ho-
mage approaching to adoration. This refpeft due
from inferiors to thofe above them in rank, was
prefcribed with fuch ceremonious accuracy, that it
incorporated with the language, and influenced its
genius and idiom. The Mexican tongue abounded
in expreflions of reverence and courtefy. The ftile
and appellations, ufed in the intercourfe between
equals, would have been fo unbecoming in the
mouth of one in a lower fphere, when he accofled a
perfon in higher rank, as to be deemed an infult P.
It is only in focieties, which time and the inftitution
of regular government have moulded into form,
that we find fuch an orderly arrangement of men
into different ranks, and fuch nice attention paid to
their various rights.
Hcrrera, dec. 3. Jib. ii. c. 14.
P Sec NOTE XXII.
M 4 THE
,68 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK THE fplrit of the Mexicans, thus familiarized
VII
and bended to fubordination, was prepared for fub-
mitting to monarchical government. But the de-
fcriptions of their policy and laws, by the Spa-
niards who overturned them, are fo inaccurate and
contradictory, that it is difficult to delineate the
form of their conftitution with any precifion. Some-
times they reprefent the monarchs of Mexico as
abfolute, deciding according to their pleafure,
with refpecl: to every operation of the date. On
other occafious, we difcover the traces of efta-
bliflied cuftoms and laws, framed in order to cir-
cumfcribe the power of the crown, and we meet
with rights and privileges of the nobles which feern
to be oppofed as barriers againft its encroachments.
This appearance of inconfiftency has arifen from
inattention to the innovations of Montezuma upon
the Mexican policy. His afpiring ambition fub-
verted the original fyftem of government, and in-
troduced a pure defpotifm. He difregarded the
ancient laws, violated the privileges held moft
facred, and reduced his fubje&s of every order to
the level of flaves r . The chiefs, or nobles of the
firil rank, fubmitted to the yoke with fuch reluc-
tance, that, from impatience to fhake it off, and
hope of recovering their rights, many of them
courted the protection of Cortes, and joined a fo-
reign power againil their domefiic oppreiTor *. It
r Herrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 14. Torquero. lib. ii. c. 69.
j Herrera, dec. 2. lib. v. c. 10, 1 1. Torquem. lib. iv. c. 49.
IS
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 169
is not then under the dominion of Montezuma, but BOOK
Vil.
under the government of his predecefTors, that we
can difcover what was the original form and genius
of Mexican policy. From the foundation of the
monarchy to the election of Mortezuma, it feems
to have fubfifted with little variation. That body
of citizens, which may be dillinguimed by the
name of nobility, formed the chief and mod re-
fpedable order in the (late. They were of various
ranks, as has been already obferved, and their
honours were acquired and tranfmitted in different
manners. Their number feems to have been great.
According to an author accuftomed to examine
with attention what he relates, there were in the
Mexican empire thirty of this order, each of whom
had in his territories about a hundred thoufand
people, and fubordinate to thefe, there were about
three thoufand nobles of a lower clafs '. The ter-
ritories belonging to the chiefs of Tezeuco and
Tacuba, were hardly inferior in extent to thofe of
the Mexican monarch ". Each of thefe poflefled
complete territorial jurifdiction, and levied taxes
from their own vaflals. But all followed theftan-
dard of Mexico in war, ferving with a number of
men in proportion to their domain, and moft of
them paid tribute to its monarch as their fuperior
lord.
IN tracing thofe great lines of the Mexican con-
ftitution, an image of feudal policy in its mod
r Hen-era, dec. 2. lib. viii. c. 12.
u Torcjuera. lib. ii. 0.57. Corita, MS.
i j rigid
I?0 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK rigid form rifes to view, and we difcern its three
diftinguifhing characteriftics, a nobility poffefling
almoft independent authority, a people depreffed
into the loweft ftate of fubjection, and a king en-
trufted with the executive power of the ftate. Its
fpirit and principles feem to have operated in the
New World in the fame manner, as in the ancient.
The jurifdiction of the crown was extremely limit-
ed. All real and effective authority was retained
by the Mexican nobles in their own hands, and the
fhadow of it only left to the king. Jealous to ex-
cefs of their own rights, they guarded with mofl
vigilant anxiety againft the encroachments of their
foVereigns. By a fundamental law of the empire,
it was provided that the king mould not determine
concerning any point of general importance, with-
out the approbation of a council compofed of the
prime nobility x . Unlefs he obtained their confent
he could not engage the nation in war, nor could
he difpofe of the moft confiderable branch of the
public revenue at pleafure ; it was appropriated to
certain purpofes from which it could not be di-
verted by the regal authority alone ?. In order to fe-
cure full effect to thofe constitutional reftraints, the
Mexican nobles did not permit their crown to de-
fcend by inheritance, but difpofed of it by election.
The right of election feems to have been originally
x Herrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 19. Id. dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 16.
Corita, MS.
* Herrera, dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 17.
veiled
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 271
vefted in the whole body of nobility, but was after-
wards committed to fix electors, of whom the
Chiefs of Tezeuco and Tacuba were always two.
From refpect for the family of their monarchs, the
choice fell generally upon fome perfon fprung
from it. But as the activity and valour of their
prince were of greater moment to a people perpe-
tually engaged in war, than a ftrict adherence to
the order of birth, collaterals of mature age or of
diftinguimed merit were often preferred to thofe
who were nearer the throne in direct defcent z . To
this maxim in their policy, the Mexicans appear
to be indebted for fuch a fucceffion of able and
warlike princes, as raifed their empire in a fhort
period to that extraordinary height of power,
which it had attained when Cortes landed in New
Spain.
WHILE the jurifdi&ion of the Mexican mo- Power and
narchs continued to be limited, it is probable that tLIrm"
it was exercifed with little oftentation. But as
their authority became more extenfive, the fplen-
dour of their government augmented. It was in
this lad ftate that the Spaniards beheld it ; and
flruck with the appearance of Montezuma's court,
they defcribe its pomp at great length, and with
much admiration. The number of his attendants,
the order, the filence, and the reverence with
z Acofta, lib. vi. c. 24. Herrera, dec. 3. lib, ii. c. 13.
Corita, MS.
which
172
forthefup-
port of it.
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
which they ferved him ; the extent of his royal
manfion, the variety of its apartments allotted to
different officers, and the orientation with which
his grandeur was difplayed, whenever he permitted
his fubje&s to behold him, feem to referable the
magnificence of the ancient monarchies in Afia,
rather than the fimplicity of the infant flates in the
New World.
BUT it .was not in the mere parade of royalty
that the Mexican potentates exhibited their power,
they manifefled it more beneficially in the order
and regularity with which they conducted the in-
ternal adminiflration and police of their dominions.
Complete jurifdidion, civil as well as criminal,
over its own immediate vaflals, was veiled in the
crown. Judges were appointed for each depart-
ment, and if we may rely on the account which
the Spanim writers give of the maxims and laws
upon which they founded their decifions with re-
fped to the diflribution of property and the punifh-
ment of crimes, juftice was adminiflred in the
Mexican empire, with a degree of order and equity
refembling what takes place in focieties highly
civilized.
THEIR attention in providing for the fupport of
government was not lefs fagacious. Taxes were
laid upon land, upon the acquifitions of induftry,
and upon commodities of every kind expofed to
fale in the public markets. Thefe duties were
confiderable,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 173
confiderable, but not arbitrary or unequal. They B o^p
were impofed according to eftabliihed rules, u y ^
and each knew what (hare of the common burden
he had to bear. As the ufe of money was unknown, ^
all the taxes were paid in kind, and thus not only
the natural productions of all the different pro-
vinces in the empire, but every fpecies of manufac-
ture, and every work of ingenuity and art, were
collected in the public (lore- houfes. From thofe the
emperor fupplied his numerous train of attendants
in peace, and his armies during war, with food,
with clothes, and ornaments. People of inferior
condition, neither poffeffing land nor engaged in
commerce, were bound to the performance of va-
rious fervices. By their Hated labour the crown-
lands were cultivated, public works were carried
on, and the various houfes belonging to the emperor
were built and kept in repair *.
THE improved ftate of government among the Their folie
Mexicans is confpicuous, not only in points eflen-
tial to the being of a well-ordered .fociety, but in
feveral regulations of inferior confequence with re-
fped to police. The inftitution which I have al-
ready mentioned, of public couriers, Rationed at
proper intervals, to convey intelligence from one
part of the empire to the other, was a refinement
in police not introduced into any kingdom of Eu
a Herrera, dec. 2. lib. vii. c. 13. dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 16, if*
See NOTE XXIII.
rope
i 7 4 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK rope at that period. The ftructure of the capital
i^ -,-.; city in a lake, with artificial dykes, and caufeways
of great length, which ferved as avenues to it from
different quarters, creeled in the water, with no
lefs ingenuity than labour, feems to be an idea that
could not have occurred to any but a civilized
people. The fame obfervation may be applied to
the ftru&ure of the aqueducts, or conduits, by
which they conveyed a flreara of frefh water, from
a confiderable diftance, into the city, along one
of the caufeways b . The appointment of a num-
ber of perfons to clean theftreets, to light them by
fires kindled in different places, and to patrole as
watchmen during the night c , difcovers a degree
of attention which even polifhed nations are late in
acquiring*
Their arts. J HE pro g re f s o f t h e Mexicans in various arts, is
confidered as the mod decilive proof of their fupe-
rior refinement. Cortes, and the early Spanifh au-
thors, defcribe this with rapture, and maintain,
that the mofl celebrated European artifts could
not furpafs or even equal them in ingenuity and
jieatnefs of workmanfhip. They reprefented men,
animals, and other objects, by fuch a difpofition
of various coloured feathers, as is faid to have pro-
duced all the effects of light and made, and to have
imitated nature with truth and delicacy. Their
See NOTE XXIV.
Herrera, dec. 2. lib. vni. c . 4. Torribio, MS,
i 8 ornaments
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
'75
ornaments of gold and filver have been defcrlbed BOOK
vu.
to be of a fabric no lefs curious. But in forming
any idea, from general defcriptions, concerning the
ftate of arts among nations imperfectly poliihed,
we are extremely ready to err. In examining the
works of people whofe advances in improvement
are nearly the fame with our own, we view them
with a critical, and often with a jealous eye.
Whereas, when confcious of our own fuperiority,
we furvey the arts of nations comparatively rude,
we are aftoniflied at works executed by them un-
der fuch manifefl difadvantages, and, in the warmth
of our admiration, are apt to reprefent them as
productions more 6nifhed than they really are. To
the influence of this illufion, without fuppofmg
any intention to deceive, we may impute the
exaggeration of fome Spanim. authors, in their ac-
counts of the Mexican arts,
IT is not from thofe defcriptions, but from con-
fidering fuch fpecimens of their arts as are flill pre-
ferved, that we muft decide concerning their de-
gree of merit. As the fhip in which Cortes fent
to Charles V. the moft curious productions of the
Mexican artifans, which were colle&ed by the
Spaniards when they firil pillaged the empire, was
taken by a French corfair d , the remains of their
ingenuity are lefs numerous than thofe of the Pe-
ruvians. Whether any of their works with fea-
* Relac, dc Cort, Ramuf. iii. 294, F.
thers,
, 7 6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK thers, in imitation of painting, be ftill extant in
V1J.
Spain, I have not learned ; but many of their or-
naments in gold and filver, as well as various
utenfils employed in common life, are depofited in
the magnificent cabinet of natural and artificial
productions, lately opened by the king of Spain ;
and I am informed by perfons on whofe judgment
and tafte I can rely, that thefe boafted efforts of
their art are uncouth reprefentations of common ob-
jects, or very coarfe images of the human and fome
other forms, deftitute of grace and propriety e .
The juftnefs of thefe obfervations is confirmed by
infpecting the wooden prints and copper-pla r es of
their paintings, which have been publifhed by va-
rious authors. In them every figure of men, of
quadrupeds, or birds, as well as every reprefenta-
tion of inanimated nature, is extremely rude and
aukwdrd *. The hardeft Egyptian ftile, ftiff and
imperfect
* See NOTE XXV.
* As a fpecimen of the fpirit and {tile in which M. Clavigero
makes his ftriflures upon my Hiftory of America, I (hall pnblifh
his remarks upon tliis paffage. *' Thus far Robertfon ; to
" whom we anfwer, firft, That there is no reafon tp believe
" that thofe rude works were really Mexican ; fecondiy,
That neither do we know whether thofe perfons in whbfe
judgment he confides, maybe perfons fit to merit our faith,
becaufe- we have obferved that Robertfon trails frequently
to the teitimony of Gage, Correal, Ibagnez, and other
fiach authors, \vho are entirely undeferving of credit. >
Thirdly, It is more probable that the arms of copper, be-
lieved by thofe intelligent judges to be certainly Oriental,
art really Mexican." Vol. II. 391. When an author,
not
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 177
imperfect as it was, is more elegant. The fcrawls BOOK
of children delineate objecls almoft as accurately.
BUT however low the Mexican paintings may
be ranked, when viewed merely as works of art,
a very
not entirely deilitute of integrity or difcernment, and who has
fome folicitude about his own character, aflerts that he re-
ceived his information concerning any particular point from
perfons " on whofe judgment and tafte he can rely ;" a very
{lender degree of candour, one mould think, might induce
the reader to believe that he does not endeavour to impofe
upon the public by an appeal to teftimony altogether unworthy
of credit. My information concerning the Mexican works of
art depofited in the King of Spain's cabinet, was received
from the late Lord Grantham, ambaffador extraordinary from
the court of London to that of Madrid, and from Mr. Arch-
deacon Waddilove, chaplain to the embafly ; and it was upon
their authority that I pronounced the coat of armour, men-
tioned in the note, to be of Oriental fabrick. As they
were both at Madrid in their public character, when the firft
edition of the Hiftory of America was publifhed, I thought
it improper at that time to mention their names. Did their
decifion concerning a matter of tafte, or their teftimony con-
cerning a point of facl, ftand in need of confirmation, I might
produce the evidence of an intelligent traveller, who, in de-
fcribing the royal cabinet of Madrid, takes notice that it con-
tains " fpecimens of Mexican and Peruvian utenfils, vafes,
" &c. in earthen-ware, wretched both in tafte and execution."
Dillon's Travels through Spain, p. 77. As Gage compofcd
his Survey of New Spam with all the zeal and acrimony of a
new convert, I have paid little regard to his teftimony with
refpect to points relating to religion. But as he refided in
feveral provinces in New Spain, which travellers feldoin vifit,
and as he feems to have obferved their manners and laws
with an intelligent eye, I have availed myfclf of his infor-
Vot. III. N matiou
1? 8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K a very different ftation belongs to theni, when
confidered as the records of their country, as hiflo-
rical monuments of its policy and tranfactions ;
and they become curious as well as interefling ob-
jects of attention. The nobleft and moft beneficial
invention of which human ingenuity can boaft, is
that of writing. But the firfl elfays of this art,
which hath contributed more than all others to the
improvement of the fpecies, were very rude, and
it advanced towards perfection flowly, and by a
gradual progreffion. When the warrior, eager
for fame, wifhed to tranfmit fome knowledge of
his exploits to fucceeding ages ; when the grati-
tude of a people to their fovereign prompted them
to hand down an account of his beneficent deeds
to pofterity ; the firfl method of accomplifhing
this, which, feems to have occurred to them, was to
delineate, in the beft manner they could, figures
reprefenting the adion of which they were folici-
tous to preferve the memory. Of this, which has
very properly been called picture-writing f , we find
traces among fome of the mofl favage tribes of
America. When a leader returns from the field,
mation with refpeft to matters where religious opinion could
have little influence. Correal I have feldom quoted, and
never refted upon his evidence alone. The ftation in which
Ibagnez was employed in America, as well as the credit given
to his veracity by printing his Regno Jefuitico among the
large colle&ion of documents publiflied (as I believe by au-
thority) at Madrid, A. D. 1767, juftifiesme for appealing to
his authority.
f Divine Legat. of Mofes, iii. 73.
he
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 179
iie ftrips a tree of its bark, and with red paint BOOK
fcratches upon it fome uncouth figures which re-
prefent the order of his march, the number of his
followers, the enemy whom he attacked, the fcalps
and captives which he brought home. To thofe
fimple annals he trufts for rertown, and foothes
himfelf with hope that by their means he mail re-
ceive praife from the warriors of future times *.
COMPARED with thofe aukward eflays of their
Favage countrymen, the paintings of the Mexicans
maybe confidered as works of compofition and de-
fign. They were not acquainted, it is true, with
any other method of recording tranfactions, than
that of delineating the objects which they wifhed
to reprefent. But they could exhibit a more com-
plex feries of events in progreffive order, and de-
fcribe, by a proper difpofition of figures, the oc-
currences of a king's reign from his acceffion to
his death ; the progrefs of an infant's education
from its birth until it attain to the years of ma-
turity ; the different recompences and marks of
diftinction conferred upon warriors, in proportion
to the exploits which they had performed. Some
fmgular fpecimens of this picture-writing have
been preferved, which are juflly confidered as the
moft curious monuments of art brought from the
New World. The moft valuable of thefe was
publifhed by Purchas in fixty-fix plates. It is di-
* SirW. JohnfonPhilof. Tranfaft. vol. Ixiii. p. 143. Mem.
dela Hontan. ii. 191. Lafitau, Mceurs de Sauv. ii. 43.
N 2 vided
i8o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK vided into three parts. The firft contains the
hiftory of the Mexican empire under its ten mo-
narchs. The fecond is a tribute- roll, reprefenting
what each conquered town paid into the royal
treafury. The third is a code of their mftitutions,
domeftic, political, and military. Another fpeci-
rnen of Mexican painting has been publimed in
thirty-two plates, by the prefent archbifhop of
Toledo. To both are annexed a full explanation
of what the figures were intended to reprefent,
which was obtained by the Spaniards from Indians
well acquainted with their own arts. The ftyle of
painting in all thefe is the fame. They reprefent
things, not 'words. They exhibit images to the
eye, not ideas to the underflanding. They may,
therefore,, be confidered as the earliefl and moft
imperfect eflay of men in their progrefs towards
difcovering the art of writing. The defects in
this mode of recording tranfactions muft have been
early felt. To paint every occurrence was, from
its nature, a very tedious operation ; and as affairs
became more complicated, and events multiplied
in any fociety, its annals muft have fwelled to an
enormous bulk. Belides this, no 'objects could
be delineated but thofe of fenfe ; the conceptions
of the mind had no corporeal form, and as long as
picture-writing could not convey an idea of thefe,
. it muft have been a very imperfect art. The ne-
ceflity of improving it muft have rouzed and fharp-
ened invention, and the human mind holding the
&me courfe in the New World as in the Old,
might
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 181
might have advanced by the fame fucceiiive fteps, BOOK
firfl, from an actual picture to the plain hierogly-
phic ; next, to the allegorical fymbol ; then to the
arbitrary character ; until, at length, an alphabet
of letters was difcovered, capable of expreffing all
the various combinations of found employed in
fpeech. In the paintings of the Mexicans we, ac-
cordingly, perceive, that this progrefs was begun
among them. Upon an attentive infpettion of the
plates, which I have mentioned, we may obferve
fome approach to the plain or fimple hieroglyphic,
where fome principal part or circumflance in the
fubject is made to (land for the whole. In the an-
nals of their kings, publifhed by Purchas, the
towns conquered by each are uniformly reprefented
in the fame manner by a rude delineation of a
houfe ; but in order to point out the particular
towns which fubmitted to their victorious arms,
peculiar emblems, fometimes natural objects, and
fometimes artificial figures, are employed. In the
tribute-roll publifhed by the archbifhop of To-
ledo, the houfe, which was properly the picture of
the town, is omitted, and the emblem alone is
employed to reprefent it. The Mexicans feem
even to have made fome advances beyond this,
towards the ufe of the more figurative and fanciful
hieroglyphic. In order to defcribe a monarch,
who had enlarged his dominions by force of arms,
they painted a target ornamented with darts, and
placed it between him and thofe towns which he
fubdued. But it is only in one inftance, the no-
N 3 tation
i82 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B v K tation of numbers, that we difcern any attempt tet
u v ' exhibit ideas which had no corporeal form. The
Mexican painters had invented artificial marks, or
Jigns of convention, for this purpofe. By means of
thefe, they computed the years of their kings
reigns, as well as the amount of tribute to be
paid into the royal treafury. The figure of a
prcle reprefented unit, and in fmall numbers, the
computation was made by repeating it. Larger
numbers were expreffed by a peculiar mark, and
they had fuch as denoted -all integral numbers,
from twenty to eight thoufand. The fhort dura-
tion of their empire prevented the Mexicans from
advancing . farther in that long courfe which con T
duels men from the labour of delineating real ob-
jects, to the fimplicity and eafe of alphabetic
writing. Their records, notwithflanding forne dawn
of fuch ideas as might have led to a more perfect
flyle, can be confidered as little more than a fpecies
of picture-writing, fo far improved as to mark their
fuperiority over the favage tribes of America ; but
itillfo defective, as to prove that they had not pro-
ceeded far beyond the firft flage in that progrefs
which muft be completed before any people can be
ranked among polifhed nations d .
Their mode THEIR mode, of computing time may be confi-
of comput- jj j-/-., r-
ing time. aereo. as a more aecilive evidence of their progrefs
in improvement. They divided their year into
eighteen months, each confifting of twenty days,
* See NOTE XXVI.
amounting
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 183
amounting in all to three hundred and fixty. But B o o K.
as they obferved that the courfe of the fun was not * v *
completed in that time, they added five days to
the year. Thefe, which were properly intercalary
days, they termed fupernumerary or <wafte / and as
they did not belong to any month, no work was
done, and no facred rite performed on them ; they
were devoted wholly to feftivity and paftime e . This
near approach to philofophical accuracy is a re-
markable proof that theMexicanshad beftowedfome*
attention upon inquiries and fpeculations, to which
men in a very rude Hate never turn their thoughts *.
SUCH are the moft finking particulars in the Fa * s indi -
cating a
manners and policy of the Mexicans, which ex- fmaii pro-
* grefs in ci-
hibit them to view as a people confiderably refined,
But from other circumflances, one is apt to fufpect
that their character, and many of their inftitutions,
did not differ greatly from thofe of the other inha-
bitants of America.
LIKE the rude tribes around them, the Mexi- Then- wars
. - , , . , , continual
cans were mceliantly engaged in war, and the mo- and ferod-
tives which prompted them to hoftility feem to
have been the fame. They fought, in order to
e Acofla, lib. vi. c. 2.
^ The Mexican mode of computing time, and every other
particular relating to their chronology, have been confiderv
ably elucidated by M. Clavigero, Vol. I. 288; Vol. II. 225,
&c. The obfervations and theories of the Mexicans concern-
ing thofe fubje&a difcover a greater progrefs in fpeculative
feience thai? we find among any people in the New World.
N 4 gratify
184. HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK gratify their vengeance, by ihedding the blood of
u-~ v j their enemies. In battle they were chiefly intent
on taking prifoners, and it was by the number of
thefe that they eilimated the glory of victory. No
captive was ever ranfomed or fpared. All were
facriftced without mercy, and their flefh devoured
with the fame barbarous joy as among the fiercefl
favages. On fome occafions it rofe to even wilder
excefles. Their principal warriors covered them-
felves with the Ikins of the unhappy victims, and
danced about the ftreets, boafting of their own va-
lour, and exulting over their enemies f . Even in
their civil inftitutions we difcover traces of that
barbarous difpofition which their fyftem of war
infpired. The four chief counfellors of the em-
pire were diftinguifhed by titles, which could
have been aifumed only by a people who de-
lighted in blood s . This ferocity of character pre-
vailed among all the nations of New Spain.
The Tlafcalans, the people of Mechoacan, and
other flates at enmity with the Mexicans, delighted
equally in war, and treated their prifoners with the
fame cruelty. In proportion as mankind combine
in focial union, and live under the influence of
equal laws and regular policy, their manners fof-
ten, fentiments of humanity arife, and the rights
of the fpecies come to be underftood. The fierce-
nefs of war abates, and even while engaged in
hoftility, men remember what they owe one to
f Hen-era, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 15. Gom. Cron. 0.217.
* Sec NOTE XXVII.
another.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 185
another. The favage fights to deflroy, the citizen BOOK
to conquer. The former neither pities nor fpares, u v~-<-J
the latter has acquired fenfibility which tempers
his rage. To this fenfibility the Mexicans feem
to have been perfect ftrangers, and among them
war was carried on with fo much of its original
barbarity, that we cannot but fufpect their degree
of civilization to have been very imperfect.
THEIR funeral rites were not lefs bloody than Their fun*.
I*Q! rites
thofe of the moft favage tribes. On the death of
any diflinguifhed perfonage, efpecially of the Em-
peror, a certain number of his attendants were
chofen to accompany him to the other world, and
thofe unfortunate victims were put to death without
mercy, and buried in the fame, tomb h .
THOUGH their agriculture was more extenfive Their agri.
than that of the roving tribes who trufted chiefly
"to their bow for food, it feems not to have fup-
plied them with fuch fubfiftence as men require
when engaged in efforts of active induflry. The
Spaniards appear not to have been ftruck with any
fuperiority of the Mexicans over the other people
of America in bodily vigour. Both, according
to their obfervation, were of fuch a feeble frame
as to be unable to endure fatigue, and the ftrength
of one Spaniard exceeded thafof feveral Indians.
This they imputed to their fcanty diet, on poor
fare, fufficient to preferve life, but not to give
-
k Hcrrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 18. Gom. Cron. c. 202.
firmnefs
!86 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK firmnefs to the conflitution. Such a remark could
^J^Jlj hardly have been made with refpedl to any people
furnifhed plentifully with the neceffaries of life.
The difficulty which Cortes found in procuring
fubfiflence for his fmall body of foldiers, who
were often conftrained to live on the fpontaneous
productions of the earth, feems to confirm the
remark of the Spanifh writers, and gives no high
idea of the ftate of cultivation in the Mexican
empire '.
A farther A PRACTICE that was umverfal in New Spain
prooiofthis. a pp ears to. favour this opinion. The Mexican,
women gave fuck to their children for feveral
years, and during that time they did not cohabit
with their hufbands k . This precaution againil a
burdenfome increafe of progeny, though necefiary,.
as I have already obferved, among favages, who,
from the hardmips of their condition, and the pre-
carioufnefs of their fubfiflence, find it impoffible
to rear a numerous family, can hardly be fuppofed
to have continued among a people who lived at
eafe and in abundance.
Doubts con- THE vafl extent of the Mexican empire, which
extent of the has been confidered, and with juftice, as the mod
decifive proof of a confiderable progrefs in regu?
J Relat. ap Ramuf. iii. 306, A. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. iv.
.17. dec. 2. lib. vi. c. 16.
k Gpm. Cron. c. 208. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 16.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 187
lar government and police, is one of thofe facts in BOOK
the hiflory of the New World which feerns to have i..,, L -'.,_r
been admitted without due examination or fuffir
cient evidence. The Spanifh hiftorians, in order
to magnify the valour of their countrymen, arc
accuftomed to reprefent the dominion of Monte-
zuma as ftretching over all the provinces of New
Spain from the Northern to the Southern Ocean.
But a great part of the mountainous country was
pofiefled by the Qtomies, a fierce uncivilized
people, who feem to have been the refidue of the
original inhabitants. The provinces towards the
north and weft of Mexico were occupied by the
Chichemecas, and other tribes of hunters. None
of thefe recognized the Mexican monarch as their
fuperior. Even in the interior and more level
country, there were feveral cities and provinces
which had never fubmitted to the Mexican yoke.
Tlafcala, though only twenty-one leagues from the
capital of the empire,, was an independent and ho-
flile republic. Cholula, though ftill nearer, had
been fubjeded only a fhort time before the arrival
of the Spaniards. Tepeaca, at the diflance of
thirty leagues from Mexico, feems to have been
a feparate (late, governed by its -own laws 1 .
Mechoacan, the frontier of which extended within
forty leagues of Mexico, was a powerful kingdom,
Remarkable for its implacable enmity to the Mexi-
J Herrera, dec. 3. 'lib. x. c. 15. 21. B. Diaz:, c, 130.
can
i88
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK can name
VII.
By thefe hoftile powers the Mexican
empire was circumfcribed on every quartel^and the
high ideas which we are apt to form of it from the
defcription of the Spanilh hiflorians, mould be con-
fiderably moderated.
IN confequence of this independence of feveral
ftates in New Spain upon the Mexican empire,
there was not any confiderable intercourfe between
its various provinces. Even in the interior coun-
try not far diflant from the capital, there feem to
have been no roads to facilitate the communication
of one diftricl: with another ; and when the Spa-
niards firft attempted to penetrate into its feveral
provinces, they had to open their way through
forefts and marmes ". Cortes, in his adventurous
march from Mexico to Honduras in 1525, met with
obftructions, and endured hardfhips, little inferior
to thofe with which he muft have llruggled in the
mod uncivilized regions of America. In fome places
he could hardly force a paflfage through impervious
woods, and plains overflowed with water. In others
he found Ib little cultivation, that his troops were
frequently in danger of perifhingby famine. Such
facts correfpond ill with the pompous defcription
which the Spanifli writers give of Mexican police
and induflry, and convey an idea of a country
nearly fmiilar to that poflefTed by the Indian tribes
m Herrcra, dec. 3. lib. if. c. 10.
* J5. Dia/., c. 1 66. c. 176.
17 in
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 189
in North America. Plere and there a trading or a BOOK
war path, as they are called in North America, led , -. ',._j
from one fettlement to another , but generally there
appeared no fign of any eftablifhed communica-
tion, few marks of induflry, and fewer monuments
of art.
A PROOF of this imperfection in their commer- Further
cial intercourfe no lefs flriking, is their want of pro
money, or fbme univerfal ftandard by which to efti-
mate the value of commodities. The difcovery of
this is among the fteps of greateft confequence in
the progrefs of nations. Until it has been made,
all their tranfaclions muft be fo aukward, fo ope-
rofe, and fo limited, that we may boldly pronounce
that they have advanced but a little way in their
career. The invention of fuch a commercial
ftandard is of fuch high antiquity in our hemi-
fphere, and rifes fo far beyond the sera of authentic
hiflory, as to appear almofl coeval with the exift-
ence of fociety. The precious metals feem to have
been early employed for this purpofe, and from
their permanent value, their divisibility, and many
other qualities, they are better adapted to ferve as
a common ftandard than any other fubftance of
which nature has given us the command. But in
the New World, where thefe metals abound moft,
this ufe of them was not known. 'The exigencies
of rude tribes, or of monarchies imperfectly civi-
lized, did not call for it. All their commercial in-
Herrera, dec. 3. lib. vii. c. 8.
tercourfe
i 9 o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK tercourfe was carried on by barter, and their igncti
ranee of any common ftandard by which to facili-
tate that exchange of commodities which contri-
butes fo much towards the comfort of life, may be
juftly mentioned as an evidence of the infant ftate
of their policy. But even in the New World the
jnconvenience of wanting fome general inftrument
of commerce began to be felt, and fome efforts
were made towards fupplying that defect. The
Mexicans, among whom the number and greatnefs
of their cities gave rife to a more extended com-
merce than in any other part of America, had began
to employ a common ftandard of value, which ren-
dered fmaller tranfactions much more eafy. As
chocolate was the favourite drink of perfons in
every rank of life, the nuts or almonds of cacao,
of which it is compofed, were of fuch univerfal
confumption, that, in their ftated markets, thefe
were willingly received in return for commodities
of fmall price. Thus they came to be confidered
as the inftrument of commerce, and the value of
what one wifhed to difpofe of, was eftimated by the
number of nuts of the cacao, which he might ex-
pect in exchange for it. This feems to be the ut-
moft length which the Americans had advanced to-
wards the difcovery of any expedient for fupplying
the ufe of money. And if the want of it is to be
held, on one hand, as a proof of their barbarity,
this expedient for fupplying that want, fhould be
admitted, on the other, as an evidence no lefs fatif-
fying, of fome progrefs which the Mexicans had
made
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 191
made in refinement and civilization, beyond the fa- BOOK
VII.
vage tribes around them.
f
IN fuch a rude (late were many of the Mexican Doubts con-
provinces when firft Vifited by their conquerors. ftl'teo
Even their cities, extenfive and populous as they
were, feem more fit to be the habitation of men
juft emerging from barbarity, than the refidence *
of a poliflied people. The defcription of Tlafcala
nearly refembles that of an Indian village. A
number of low ilraggling huts, fcattered about ir-
rcjriiarly, according to the caprice of each pro-
prie-or, built with turf and done and thatched
with reeds, without any light but what they re-
ceived by a door, fo low that it could not be en-
tered upright P. In Mexico, though, from the
peculiarity of its fituation, the difpofition of the
houfes was more orderly, the ftru&ure of the
greater parr was equally mean. Nor does the fa-
L;ic o' their temples, and other public edifices, ap- Tempk*,
p( yr to have been fuch as entitled them to the
Livh praiies beftowed upon them by many Spanifli
authors. As far as one can gather from their ob-
fcure and inaccurate defcriptions, the great temple
of Mexico, the moil famous in New Spain, which
has been represented as a magnificent building,
railed to fuch a height, that the afcent to it was by
a flight of a hundred and fourteen fleps, was a
iblid mas of earth of a fquare form, faced partly
f Herrera, dec. 2. lib. vi. c. 12.
with
I 9 2 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK with {lone. Its bafe on each fide extended ninety
VII.
u.,^ feet, and decreafing gradually as it advanced in
height, it terminated in a quadrangle of about
thirty feet, where were placed a mrine of the deity,
and two altars on which the victims were facri-
ficed q . All the other celebrated temples of New
Spain exactly refembled that of Mexico r . Such
ftru&ures convey no high idea of progrefs in art
and ingenuity ; and one can hardly conceive that
a form more rude and fimple could have occurred
to a nation in its firift efforts towards erecting any
great work.
and other GREATER fkill and ingenuity were difplayed,
EuiidTngs. if we may believe the Spanifh hiftorians, in the
houfes of the emperor and in thofe of the principal
nobility. There, fome elegance of defign was vi-
fible, and a commodious arrangement of the apart-
ments was attended to. But if buildings corre-
fponding to fuch defcriptions had ever exifted in
the Mexican cities, it is probable that fome re-
mains of them would ftill be vifible. From the
manner in which Cortes conducted the fiege of
Mexico, we can indeed eafily account for the to-
tal deftrucHon of whatever had any appearance of
fplendpr in that capital. But as only two cen-
turies and a half have elapfed fince the conquer! of
New Spain, it feems altogether incredible that in
a period fo fhort, every veflige of this boailed ele-
1 Herrera, dec. 2. lib. vii. c. 17.
' See NOTE XXVIIL
gance
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 193
gance and grandeur fhould have difappeared ; and BOOK.
that in the other cities, particularly in thcfe which
did not fuffer by the deftruclive hand of the con-
querors, there are any ruins, which can be con-
fidered as monuments of their ancient magnifi-
cence.
EVEN in a village of the rudeft Indians there
are buildings of greater extent and elevation than
common dwelling-houfes. Such as are deftined
for holding the council of the tribe, and in which
all affemble on occafions of public feftivity, may
be called (lately edifices, when compared with the
reft. As among the Mexicans the difrinclion of
ranks was eftablifhed, arid property was- unequally
divided, the number of diftinguifhed flructures in
their towns would of courfe be greater than in
other parts of America. But theie feein not to
have been either fo folid or magnificent as to merit
the pompous epithets which fome Spanifh authors
employ in defcribing them. It is probable that,
though more ornamented, and built on a larger
fcale, they were erected with the fame flight mate-
rials which the Indians employed in their common
buildings s , and Time, in -a fpace much lefs than
two hundred and fifty years, may have iwept away
all remains of them r .
FROM this enumeration of fads, it feems, upon
the whole, to be evident, that the Mate of fociety in
See NOTE XXIX. ' See NOTE XXX.
VOL. III. O Mexico
I9 4 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK. Mexico was confiderably advanced beyond that of
the favage tribes which we have delineated. But it
is no lefs manifeft, that with refpeft to many parti-
/ culars, the Spanifh accounts of their progrefs ap-
pear to be highly embellimed. There is not a more
frequent or a more fertile fource of deception in de-
. fcribing the manners and arts of favage nations, or
of fuch as are imperfectly civilized, than that of ap-
plying to them the names and phrafes appropriated
to the inftitutions and refinements of polifhed life.
When the leader of a fmall tribe, or the head of
u rude community, is dignified with the name of
king or emperor, the place of his refidence can
receive no other name but that of his palace ; and
whatever his attendants may be, they muft be called
his court. Under fuch appellations they acquire,
in our eftimation, an importance and dignity which
does not belong to them. The illufion fpreads,
and giving a falfe colour to every part of the nar-
rative, the imagination is fo much carried away
with the refemblance, that it becomes difficult to
difcern objeds as they really are. The Spaniards,
^vhen they firft touched on the Mexican coaft,
were fo much ftruck with the appearance of attain-
ments in policy and in the arts of life, far fuperior
to thofe of the rude tribes with which they were
hitherto acquainted, that they fancied they had
at length difcovered a civilized people in the New
World. This companion between the people of
Mexico and their uncultivated neighbours, they ap-
pear to have kept constantly in view, and obferving
with
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 195
with admiration many things which marked the pi*e-
eminence of the former, they employ in defcribing
their imperfect policy and infant arts, fuch terms
as are applicable to the institutions of men far be-
yond them in improvement. Both thefe circum*
fiances concur in detracting from the credit due to
the defcriptions of Mexican manners by the early
Spanifh writers. By drawing- a parallel between
them and thofe of people ib much lefs civilized,
they raifed their own ideas too high. By their mode
of defcribing them, they conveyed ideas to others
no lefs exalted above truth. Later writers have
adopted the flyle of the original hiftorians, and im-
proved upon it. The colours with which De Solis
delineates the character and defcribes the actions of
Montezuma, the fplendour of his court, the laws
and policy of his empire, are the fame that he muft
have employed in exhibiting to view the monarch
and institutions of an highly polifhed people.
BUT though we may admit, that the warm ima-
gination of the Spanifh writers, has added fome
embellifhment to their defcriptions, this will not
juftify the decifive and peremptory tone, with
which feveral authors pronounce all their accounts
of the Mexican power, policy and laws, to be the
fictions of men who wifhed to deceive, or who de-
lighted in the marvellous. There are few hitlorical
facts that can be afcertained by evidence more un-.
exceptionable, than may be produced in fupport
of the material articles, in the defcription of the
O 2 Mexican
196 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
8 v K Mexican conftitution and manners. Eye witneffes
c^v--/ relate what they beheld. Men who had refided
among the Mexicans, both before and after the
conqueft, defcribe inftitutions and cuftoms which
were familiar to them. Perfons of profeffions fo
different that objects mufl have prefented them-
felves to their view under every various afpect ;
foldiers, priefls, and lawyers, all concur in their
teftimony. Had Cortes ventured to impofe upon
his fovereign, by exhibiting to him a picture of
imaginary manners, there wanted not enemies and
rivals who were qualified to detect his deceit, and
who would have rejoiced in expofmg it. But ac-
cording to the juft remark of an author, whofe in-
genuity has illuftrated, and whofe eloquence has
adorned^ the hiftory of America u , this fuppofition
is in itfelf as improbable, as the attempt would
have been audacious. Who among the deftroyers
of this great empire was fo enlightened by fcience,
or fo attentive to the progrefs and operations of
men in focial life, as to frame a fictitious fyftem of
policy fo well combined and fo confident, as that
which they delineate, in their accounts of the
Mexican government? Where could they have
borrowed the idea of many inftitutions in legifla-
tion and police, to which, at that period, there
was nothing parallel in the nations with which they
were acquainted ? There was not, at the beginning
of the fixteenth century, a regular eftablifliinent
M. P Abbe Raynal Hift. philof. & p olit. &c. iii. 127.
of
11
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 197
of ports for conveying intelligence to the fovereign BOO
of any kingdom in Europe. The fame obfervation u y
will apply to what the Spaniards relate, with re-
fpect to the ftrudlure of the city of Mexico, the
regulations concerning its police, and various laws
eftablifhed for the adminiftration of juftice, or fe-
curing the happinefs of the community. Whoever
is accuiTiomed to contemplate the progrefs of na-
tions, will often, at very early ftages of it, difcover
a premature and unexpe&ed dawn of thofe ideas,
which give rife to inftitutions that are the pride
and ornament of its moft advanced period. Even
in a ftate as imperfe&ly poliflied as the Mexican
empire, the happy genius of fome fagacious ob-
fervef, excited or aided by circumftances unknown
to us, may have introduced inftitutions which are
feldom found but in focieties highly refined. But
it is almoft impoffible that the illiterate conquerors
of the New World mould have formed in any one
inftance a conception of cuftoms and laws, beyond
the ftandard of improvement in their own age
and country. Or if Cortes had been capable of
this, what inducement had thofe by whom he was
fuperfeded to continue the deception ? Why mould
Corita, or Motolinea, or Acofta, have amufed their
fovereign or their fellow citizens with a tale purely
fabulous ?
IN one particular, however, the guides whom R e ]j p i ono
we mud follow have reprefented the Mexicans to cans?"""
be more barbarous, perhaps, than they really were.
O 3 Their
198 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK Their relieious tenets, and the rites of their wo?-
VII
u v- ^ m ip> are defcrfbed by them as wild and cruel in
an extreme degree. Religion, which occupies no
confiderable place in the thoughts of a favage,
\vhofe conceptions of any fuperior power are ob-
fcure, and his facred rites few as well as fimple,
was formed, among the Mexicans, into a regular
fyftem, with its complete train of priefts, temples,
victims, and feflivals. This, of itfelf, is a clear
proof that the ftate of the Mexicans was very dif-
ferent from that of the ruder American tribes.
But from the extravagance of their religious no-
tions, or the barbarity of their rites, no conclufion
can be drawn with certainty concerning the degree
of their civilization. For nations, long after their
ideas begin to enlarge, and their manners to refine,
adhere to fyftems of fuperftition founded on the
crude conceptions of early ages. From the genius
of the Mexican religion we may, however, form
. a mod juft conclufion with refpect to its influence
upon the character of the people. The afpect of
fuperllition in Mexico was gloomy and atrocious.
Its divinities were clothed with terror, and de-
lighted in vengeance. They were exhibited to the
people under deteflable forms, which created hor-
ror. The figures of ferpents, of tygers, and of
other deftruclive animals, decorated their temples.
Fear was the only principle that infpired their vo-
taries. Fafts, mortifications, and penances, all ri-
gid, and many of them excruciating to an ex-
treme degree, were the means employed to appeafe
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 199
the wrath of their gods, and the Mexicans never B o^ o
approached their altars without fprinkling them
with blood drawn from their own bodies. But, of
all offerings, human facrifices were deemed the
mofl acceptable. This religious belief, mingling
with the implacable fpirit of vengeance, and adding
new force to it, every captive taken in war was
brought to the temple, was devoted as a victim to
the deity, and facrificed with rites no lefs folemn
than cruel x . The heart and head were the portion
confecrated to the gods ; the warrior, by whofe
prowefs the prifoner had been feized, carried off
the body to feaft upon it with his friends. Under
the impreflion of ideas fo dreary and terrible, and
accuftomed daily to fcenes of bloodfhed rendered
awful by religion, the heart of man muft harden,
and be fteeled to every fentiment of humanity.
The fpirit of the Mexicans was accordingly un-
feeling, and the genius of their religion fo far
counterbalanced the influence of policy and arts,
that notwithftanding their progrefs in both, their
manners, inftead of foftening, became more fierce*
To what circumftances it was owing that fuper-
ilition affumed fuch a dreadful form among the
Mexicans, we have not fufficient knowledge of their
hiftory to determine. But its influence is vifible,
and produced an effecl: that is fmgular in the hiftory
of the human fpecies. The manners of the people
x Cort. llelat. ap. Ramuf. iii. 240, &c. B. Diaz, c. 82.
Acoila, lib. v. c. 13, Sec. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 15, <;.
Gomara Cron. c. 80, &c. See N O T E XXXI,
O 4 in.
SCO
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K in the New World who had made the greateft pro-
grefs in the arts of policy, were, in feveral refpects,
themoiT: ferocious, and the barbarity of fome of their
cuftoms exceeded even thofe of the favage ftate.
Pretenfions
of Peru to
an !ii^h an-
tiquity
uncertain.
THE empire of Peru boafts of an higher anti-
quity than that of Mexico. According to the tra-
ditionary accounts collected by the Spaniards, it
had fubiifted four hundred years, under twelve fuc-
ceflive monarchs. But the knowledge of their
ancient ftory, which the Peruvians could commu-
nicate to their conquerors, muft have been both
imperfect: and uncertain z . Like the other Ame-
rican nations, they were totally unacquainted with
the art of writing, and deftitute of the only means
by which the memory of paft tranfaftions can be
preferved with any degree of accuracy. Even
among people to whom the uie of letters is known,
the sera where the authenticity of hiftory com-
mences, is much posterior to the introduction of
writing. That noble invention continued, every
where, to be long fubfervient to the common bufi-
nefs and wants of life, before it was employed in re-
cording events, with a view of conveying informa-
tion from one age to another. But in no country
did ever tradition alone carry down hiftorical know-
ledge, in any full continued ftrcam, during a pe-
riod of half the length that 'the monarchy of Peru
is faid to have fubiifted.
* See NOTE XXXII.
THE
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 201
THE Quipos, or knots on cords of different co- BOOK
VII.
lours, which are celebrated by authors fond of the u. ^--~j
marvellous, as if they had been regular annals of K^ttJwh
the empire, imperfectly fupplied the place of writ- by ^' fos '
ing. According to the obfcure defcription of them
by Acofta % which Garcilaffo de laVega has adopted
with little variation and no improvement, the qui-
pos feem to have been a device for rendering cal-
culation more expeditious and accurate. By the '
various colours different objects were denoted, and
by each knot a diflinct number. Thus an account
was taken, and a kind of regifler kept, of the inha-
bitants in each province, or of the feveral produc-
tions collected there for public ufe. But as by
theie knots, however varied or combined, no moral
or abltract idea, no operation or quality of the
mind could be reprefented, they contributed little
towards preferving the memory of ancient events
and inilitutions. By the Mexican paintings and
fymbols, rude as they were, more knowledge
of remote tranfatlions feems to have been con-
veyed, than the Peruvians could derive from their
beaded quipos. Had the latter been even of more
extenfive ufe, and better adapted to fupply the place
of written records, they perifhed fo generally, to-
gether with other monuments of Peruvian inge-
nuity, in the wreck occafioned by the Spanifh con-
quell:, and the civil wars fubfequent to it, that no
acceffion of light or knowledge comes from them.
All the zeal of Garcilaffo de la Vega, for the ho-
a Hift. lib. vi. c. 8.
nour
202 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK nour of that race of rnonarchs from whom he de-
icended, all the induftry of his refearches, and the
fuperior advantages with which he carried them on,
opened no fource of information unknown to the
Spanifli authors who wrote before him. In his Royal
Commentaries, he confines himfelf to illuftratewhat
they had related concerning the antiquities and in-
ftitutions of Peru b ; and his illuflrations, like their
accounts, are derived entirely from the traditionary
tales current among his countrymen.
VERY little credit then is due to the minute de-
tails which have been given of the exploits, the
battles, the conquefts, and private characler of the
early Peruvian monarchs. We can reft upon no-
thing in their ftory, as authentic, but a few facls, fo
interwoven in the fyftem of their religion and po-
licy, as preferved the memory of them from being
loft ; and upon the defcription of fuch cuftoms and
inftitutions as continued in force at the time of the
conqueft, and fell under the immediate obfervation
of the Spaniards. By attending carefully to thefe,
and endeavouring to feparate them from what ap-
pears to be fabulous, or of doubtful authority, I
have laboured to form an idea of the Peruvian go-
vernment and manners.
Origin of
their civil -
pojicy. ferved % had not advanced oeyond the rucleil
b Lib. 1. c. 10. ' e Book'vi. p. 21, &c.
form
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 203
form of favage life, when Manco Capac, and his BOOK
confort Mama Ocollo, appeared to inftrucl: and < >,-^ *
civilize them. Who thefe extraordinary per-
fonages were, whether they imported their fyflem
of legiflation and knowledge of arts from fome,
country more improved, or, if natives of Peru,
how they acquired ideas fo far fuperior to thole of
the people whom they addreffed, are circum-'
fiances with refpecl: to which the Peruvian tra-
dition conveys no information. Manco Gapac
and his confort, taking advantage of the pro-
penfity in the Peruvians to fuperflition, and par-
ticularly of their veneration for the Sun, pretended
to be children of that glorious luminary, and to
deliver their inftrudtions in his name, and by au-
thority from him. The multitude liflcned and be-
lieved. What reformation in policy and manners
the Peruvians afcribe to thofe founders of their
empire, and how, from the precepts of the
Inca and his confort, their anceftors gradually
acquired fome knowledge of thofe arts, and
fome relifli for that induftry, which render fub-
fiftence fecure and life comfortable, hath been
formerly related. Thofe bleffings were originally
confined within narrow precin&s ; but, in procefs
of time, the fucceflbrs of Manco Capac extended
their dominion over all the regions that flretch
to the weft of the Andes from Chili to Quito,
edablifhing in every province their peculiar policy
and religious infUtutions..
THE
204 . HISTORY OF AMERICA.
OOK THE mod fmgular and ftriking circumftance in
the Peruvian government, is the influence of reli-
gion upon its genius and laws. Religious ideas
make fuch a feeble impreffion on the mind of a
favage, that their effect upon his fentiments and
manners is hardly perceptible. Among the Mexi-
cans, religion, reduced into a regular fyftem, and
holding a confiderable place in their public infti-
tutions, operated with confpicuous efficacy in
forming the peculiar character of that people.
But in Peru, the whole fyftem of civil policy was
founded on religion. The Inca appeared not only
as a legiilator, but as the meffenger of Heaven.
His precepts were received not merely as the in-
junctions of a fuperior, but as the mandates of the
Deity. His race \vas held to be facred ; and in
order to preferve it diftinft,.without being polluted
by any mixture of lefs noble blood, the fons of
Manco Capac married their own fifters, and no
perfon was ever admitted to the throne who could
not claim it by fuch a pure defcent. To thofe
Children of the Sun, for that was the appellation
beftowed upon all the offspring of the firft Inca,
the people looked up with the reverence due to
beings of a fuperior order. They were deemed to
be under the immediate protection of the deity
from whom they iflued, and by him every order
of the reigning Inca was fuppcfed to be dic-
tated.
FROM
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 205
i
FROM thofe ideas two confequences refulted. B Ojp
The authority of the Inca was unlimited and abfo- v -.
lute, in the mo ft extenfive meaning of the words, maikabte
Whenever the decrees of a prince are confidered as thu. s
the commands of the Divinity, it is not only an act
of rebellion, but of impiety, to difpute or oppofe
his will. Obedience becomes a duty of religion ; 7 he abf -
' lute power
and as it would be prophane to control a monarch of tfcica.
who is believed to be under the guidance of Heaven,
and prefumptuous to advife him, nothing remains
but to fubmit with implicit refpect. This mud ne-
ceflarily be the effect of everygovernment eftablimed
on pretenfions of intercourfe with fuperior powers.
Such accordingly was the blind fubmiilion which the
Peruvians yielded to their fovereigns. The perfons
of higheft rank and greateft power in their do-
minions acknowledged them to be of a more exalted
nature ; and in teflimony of this, when admitted in-
to their prefence, they entered with a burden upon
their moulders, as an emblem of their fervitude,
and willingnefs to bear whatever the Inca was pleafed
to impofe. Among their fubjefts, force was not
requifite to fecond their commands. Every officer
entrufted with the execution of them was revered,
and, according to the account of an intelligent ob-
ferver of Peruvian manners d , he might proceed
alone from one extremity of the empire to another
without meeting oppofition ; for, on producing a
fringe from the royal Borla, an ornament of the
d Zarate, lib. i. c. 13.
head
2o6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK head peculiar to the reigning Inca, the lives and
u fortunes of the people were at his difpofal.
Aiimtr-es ANOTHER confequence of eftablifhing govern-
SjSJny. ment in Peru on the foundation of religion was,
that all crimes were punifhed capitally. They
were not confidered as tranfgreflions of human laws,
but as infults offered to the Deity. Each, without
any diftin&ion between fuch as were flight and
fuch as were atrocious, called for vengeance, and
could be expiated only by the blood of the offender.
Confonantly to the fame ideas, punimment follow-
ed the trefpafs with inevitable certainty, becaufe
an offence againft Heaven was deemed fuch an
high enormity as could not be pardoned e . Among
a people of corrupted morals, maxims of jurif-
prudence fo fevere and unrelenting, by rendering
men ferocious and defperate, would be more apt
to multiply crimes than to reflrain them. But the
Peruvians, of fimple manners and unfufpicious
faith, were held in fuch awe by this rigid difci-
pline, that the number of offenders was extremely
fmall. Veneration for monarchs, enlightened and
directed, as they believed, by the divinity whom
they adored, prompted them to their duty ; the
dread of punimment, which they were taught to
confider as unavoidable vengeance inflidted by of-
fended Heaven, withheld them from evil.
' e Vega, lib. ii. c. 6.
THI
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 207
THE fyftem .of fuperftition on which the Incas BOOK
ingrafted their pretenfions to fuch high authority,
was of a genius very different from that eftablifhed
among the Mexicans. Manco Capac turned the
veneration of his followers entirely towards natural
objects. The Sun, as the great fource of light, of
joy, and fertility in the creation, attracted their
principal homage. The Moon and Stars, as co-
operating with him, were entitled to fecondary ho-
nours. Wherever the propenfity in the human
mind to acknowledge and to adore fome fuperior
power, takes this direction, and is employed in
contemplating the order and beneficence that really
exift in nature, the fpirit of fuperftition is mild.
Wherever imaginary beings, created by the fancy
and the fears of men, are fuppofed to prefide in
nature, and become the objects of worihip, fu-
pdrftition always affumes a more fevere and atro-
cious form. Of the latter we have an example
among the Mexicans, of the former among the
people of Peru. The Peruvians had not, -in-
deed, made fuch progrefs in obfervation or in-
quiry, as to have attained jufl conceptions of the
Deity ; nor was there in their language any pro-
per name or appellation of the Supreme Power,
which intimated, that they had formed any idea of
him as the Creator and Governor of the World f .
But by directing their veneration to that glorious
luminary, which, by its univerfal and vivifying
energy, is the bed emblem of divine beneficence,
f Acofta, lib. v. e. 3.
the
2 o8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK the rites and obfervances which they deemed ac-
VII.
ceptable to him were innocent and humane. They
offered to the Sun a part of thofe productions
which his genial warmth had called forth from the
bofom of the earth, and reared to maturity. They
facrificed, as an oblation of gratitude, fome of the
animals which were indebted to his influence for
nourifhment. They prefented to him choice fpe-
cimens of thofe works of ingenuity which his light
had guided the hand of man in forming. But the
Incas never flamed his altars with human blood,
nor could they conceive that their beneficent father
the Sun would be delighted with fuch horrid vic-
tims g . Thus the Peruvians, unacquainted with
thofe barbarous rites which extinguifh fenfibility,
and fupprefs the feelings of nature at the fight of
human fufferings, were formed, by the fpirit of
the i'uperftition which they had adopted, to a na-
tional character, more gentle than that of any
people in America.
its influence THE influence of this fuperflition operated in the
licy, fame manner upon their civil inftitutions, and tended
to correct in them whatever was adverfe to gentlenefs
of character. The dominion of the Incas, though
the moft abfolute of all defpotifms, was mitigated
by its alliance with religion. The mind was not
humbled and depreffed by the idea of a forced
fubjection to the will of a fuperior; obedience,
* See NOTE XXXIII.
paid
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
paid to one who was believed to be clothed with B
divine authority, was willingly yielded, and im- v
plied no degradation. The fovereign, confcious ,
that the fubmiffive reverence of his people flowed
from their belief of his heavenly defcent, was Con-
tinually reminded of a diftin&ion which prompted
him to imitate that beneficent power which he
was fuppofed to feprefent. In confequence of thofe
impreflions, there hardly occurs in the traditional
hiftory of Peru, any inftance of rebellion againft
the reigning prince, and among twelve fucceflive
jnonarchs, there was not one tyrant.
EVEN the wars in which thelncas engaged, were a" d n the r
. , r . . ,.. ' f ' r military
carried on with a ipirit very different from that or
other American nations. They fought not, like
favages, to deftroy and exterminate ; or, like the
Mexicans, to glut blood-thirfty divinities with
human facrirkes. They conquered, in order to
reclaim and civilize the vanquished, and to diffufe
the knowledge of their own inftitutions and arts.
Prifoners feem not to have been expofed to the in*
fults and tortures, which were their lot in every
other part of the New World. The Incas took
the people whom they fubdued under their pro-
tedion, and admitted them to a participation of
all the advantages enjoyed by their original fub-
je&s. This practice, fo repugnant to American
ferocity, and refembling the humanity of the moft
polifhed nations, muft be afcribed, like other pe-
culiarities which we have obferved in the Peruvian
VOL. III. P manners,
210 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K manners, to the genius of their religion. The
w-^ Incas, confidering the homage paid to any other ob-
ject than to the heavenly powers which they adored
as impious, were fond of gaining profelytes to their
favourite fyitem. The idols of every conquered
province were carried in triumph to the great
temple at Cuzco h , and placed there as trophies
of the fuperior power of the divinity who was the
protector of the empire. The people were treated
with lenity, and inftrudted in the religious tenets
of their new mailers ', that the conqueror might
have the glory of having added to the number of
the votaries of his father the Sun.
^ P r P ert y ' m P eru was n lefs (in-
perty. gular than that of religion, and contributed, like-
wife, towards giving a mild turn of character to
the people. All the lands capable of cultivation
were divided into three mares. One was confe-
crated to the Sun, and the product of it was ap-
plied to the erection of temples, and furnilhing
what was requifite towards celebrating the public
rites of religion. The fecond belonged to the
Inca, and was fet apart as the provifion made by
the community for the fupport of government.
The third and largeft mare was referved for the
maintenance of the people, among whom it was
parcelled out.. Neither individuals, however, nor
communities, had a right of exclufive property in
h Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. 4. Vega, lib. r. c. 12.
1 Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. 8.
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 211
the portion fet apart for their ufe* They pofleffed B
it only for a year, at the expiration of which a new
divifion was made in proportion to the rank, the
number, and exigencies of each family. All thofe
lands were cultivated by the joint induftry of the
community. The people, fummoned by a proper
officer, repaired in a body to the fields, and per-
formed their common tafk, while fongs and mufical
inflruments cheered them to their labour k . By
this fingular diflribution of territory, as well as by Effefls of
f , i ., r . this.
the mode or cultivating it, the idea or a common in*
tereft, and of mutual fubferviency, -was continually
inculcated. Each individual felt his connection with
thofe around him, and knew that he depended on
their friendly aid for what increafe he was to reap.
A ftate thus conftituted may be confidered as one
great family, in which the union of the members
was fo complete, and the exchange of good offices
fo perceptible, as to create ftronger attachment,
and to bmd man to man in clofer intercourfe, than
fubfifted under any form of fociety eftablifhed in
America. From this refulted gentle manners, and
mild virtues unknown in the favage ftate, anc\with
which the Mexicans were little acquainted.
BUT, though the inftitutions of the Incas were inequality
fo framed as to flrengthen the bonds of affection
among their fubjects, there was great inequality in
their condition. The diftin&ion of ranks was fully
* Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. 2, Vega, lib. v. c. 5.
P 2 eftablifhed
212 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
VI K eftablifhed in Peru. A "great body of the inhabi-
tants, under the denomination of Tanaconas, were
held in a Hate of fervitude. Their garb and
houfes were of a form different from thofe of free-
men. Like the Tamemes of Mexico, they were
employed in carrying burdens, and in performing
every other work of drudgery '. Next to them in
rank, were fiich of the people as were free, but
diflinguimed by no official or hereditary honours.
Above them were raifed, thofe whom the Spaniards
call Orejones, from the ornaments worn in their
ears. They 'formed what may be denominated
the order of nobles, and in peace as well as war
held every office of power or truft m . At the head
of all were the children of the Sun, who, by their
high defcent, and peculiar privileges, were as much
exalted above the Orejones, as thefe were elevated
above the people.
SUCH a form of fociety, from the unio,rj of its
members, as well as from the diftin&ion in their
ranks, was favourable to progrefs in the arts.
But the Spaniards having been acquainted with the
improved ftate of various arts in Mexico, feveral
years before they difcovered Peru, were not fo
much ftruck with what they obferved in the latter
country, and defcribe the appearances of ingenuity
there with lefs warmth of admiration. The Peru-
! Herrera,. dec. 5. lib. Jii. c. 4. lib. x. c. 8.
fll Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. i.
vians,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 213
vians, neverthelefs, had advanced far beyond the B n K
Mexicans, both in the neceffary arts of life, and in < v - J
fuch as have fome title to the name of elegant.
Ij* Peru, agriculture, the art of primary necef- improved
. , ,. r f 3 ftateofaga-
fity m facial lire, was more extenfive, and carried culture.
on with greater ikill than in any part of America.
The Spaniards, in their progrefs through the coun-
try, were fo fully fupplied with provifions of every
kind, that in the relation of their adventures we
meet with few of thofe difmal fcenes of diftrefs oc-
cafioned by famine, in which the conquerors of
Mexico were fo often involved. The quantity of
foil under cultivation was not left to the difcretion
of individuals, but regulated by public authority
in proportion to the exigencies of the community.
Even the calamity of an unfruitful feafon was but
little felt, for the product of the lands confecrated
to the Sun, as well as thofe fet apart for the
Incas, being depofited in the Tambos, or public
ftorehoufes, it remained there as a dated proviilon
for times of fcarcity". As the extent of cultiva-
tion was determined with fuch provident attention
to the demands of the ftate, the invention and in-
duftry of the Peruvians were called forth to ex-
traordinary exertions, by certain defecls peculiar
to their climate and foil. All the vaft rivers th#
flow from the Andes take their courfe eaftward to
the Atlantic Ocean. Peru is watered only by fome
11 Zarate, lib. i. c. 14. Vega, lib. i. c. 8,
P 3 ft reams
214 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK ftreams which rufh down from the mountains like
torrents. A great part of the low country is fandy
and barren, and never refrefhed with rain. In
order to render fuch an unpromifmg region fertile,
the ingenuity of the Peruvians had recourfe tQ va-
rious expedients. By means of artificial canals
conducted, with much patience and confiderable
art, from the torrents that poured acrofs their
country, they conveyed a regular fupply of moi-
fture to their fields n . They enriched the foil by
manuring it with the dung of fea-fowls, of which
they found an inexhauflible ftore on all the iflands
fcattered along their coafts p . In defcribing the
cuftoms of any nation thoroughly civilized, fuch
practices would hardly draw attention, or be men-
tioned as in any degree remarkable ; but in the
hiftory of the improvident race of men in the New
World, they are entitled to notice as fmgular proofs
of induftry and of art. The ufe of the plough,
indeed, was unknown to the Peruvians, They
turned up the earth with a kind of mattock of hard
wood 9 . Nor was this labour deemed fo degrad-
ing as to be devolved wholly upon the women.
Both fexes joined in performing this neceflary
work. Even the children of the Sun fet an ex-
ample of induftry, by cultivating, a field near Cuzco
with their own hands, and they dignified this func-
Zarate, lib. i. c. 4, Vega, lib. v. c. I, & 24.
P Acofta, lib.iv. 0.37. Vega, lib. v. 0.3. See NOTE;
XXXIV.
1 Zarate, lib. I c. 8,
tion,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 215
tion, by denominating it their triumph over the B 0^ K -
earth r . v -v-^J
THE fuperior ingenuity of the Peruvians is ob- Their
vious, likewife, in the conftruction of. their houfes
and public buildings. In the extenfive plains
which ftretch along the Pacific Ocean, where the
iky is perpetually ferene, and the climate mild,
their houfes were very properly of a fabric extreme-
ly flight. But in the higher regions, where rain
falls, where the vichTitude of feafons is known,
and their rigour felt, houfes were confiru&ed with
greater folidity. They were generally of a fquare.
form, the walls about eight feet high, built with
bricks hardened in the fun, without any windows,
and the door low and (trait. Simple as thefe ftruc-
tures were, and rude as the materials may feem
to be of which they were formed, they were fo
durable, that many of them ftill fubfift in different
parts of Peru, long after every monument that might
have conveyed to us any idea of the domeflic flate
of the other American nations has vanifhed from
the face of the earth. But it was in the temples
confecrated to the Sim, and in the buildings de-
ftined for the refidence of their monarchs, that the
Peruvians difplayed the utmofl extent of their art
and contrivance. The defcriptions of them by
fuch of the Spanifh writers as had an opportunity
of contemplating them, while, in fome meafure,
r Vega, lib. v. c. 2.
P 4 entire,
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK entire, might have appeared highly exaggerated,
if the ruins which ftill remain, did not vouch the
truth of their relations. Thefe ruins of facred or
royal buildings are found in every province of the
empire, and by their frequency demonftrate that
they are monuments of a powerful people, who muft
have fubfifted, during a period of fome extent, in
a ftate of no inconfiderable improvement. They
appear to have been edifices various in their di-
menfions. Some of a moderate fize, many of im-
menfe extent, all remarkable for folidity, and re-
fembling each other in the ftile of architecture.
The temple of Pachacamac, together with a pa-
lace of the Inca, and a fortrefs, were fo connected
together as to form one great ftructure, above half
a league in circuit. In this prodigious pile, the
fame fingular tafte in building is confpicuous, as
in other works of the Peruvians. As they were
unacquainted with the ufe of the pulley, and other
mechanical powers, and could not elevate the large
ftones and bricks which they employed in building
to any confiderable height, the walls of this edi-
fice, in which they feem to have made their great-
eft effort towards magnificence, did not rife above
twelve feet from the ground. Though they had
not difcovered the ufe of mortar or of any other
cement in building, the bricks or ftones were join,
ed with fo much nicety, that the feams can hardly
t>e djfcerned % The apartments, as far as the difc
See NOTE XXXV f
tributictfl.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 217
tribution of them can be traced in the ruins, were BOOK
ill-difpofed, and afforded little accommodation. ;_ - w - ^
There was not a fingle window in any part of the
building , and as no light could enter but by the
door, ail the apartments of largeft dimenfion muft
either have been perfe&Iy dark, or illuminated by
fome other means. But with all thefe, and many
other imperfe&ions that might be mentioned in
their art of building, the works of the Peruvians
which ftill remain, muft be confidered as ftupen-
dous efforts of a people unacquainted with the ufe
of iron, and convey to us an high idea of the
power pofleffed by their ancient monarchs.
THESE, however, were not the nobleft or moft The ; r public
ufeful works of the Incas. The two great roads roads>
from Cuzco to Quito, extending in an uninter-
rupted ftretch above fifteen hundred miles, are en-
titled to ftill higher praife. The one was conduct-
ed through the interior and mountainous country,
the other through the plains on the fea-coaft.
From the language of admiration in which fome
of the early writers exprefs their aftonifhment when
they firft viewed thofe roads, and from the more
pompous defcriptions of later writers, who labour
to fupport fome favourite theory concerning Ame-
rica, one might be led to compare this work of
the Incas to the famous military ways which re-
main as monuments of the Roman power : But in
a country where there was no tame animal except
{he Llama, which was never ufed for draught, and
but
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK but little as a beafl of burden, where the high
roads were feldom trod by any but a human foot,
no great degree of labour or art was requifite in
forming them. The Peruvian roads were only
fifteen feet in breadth ', and in many places fo
flightly formed, that time has effaced every veftige
of the courfe in which they ran. In the low
country little more feems to have been done, than
to plant trees or to fix pofts at certain intervals, in
order to mark the proper rout to travellers. To
open a path through the mountainous country was
a more arduous talk. Eminences were levelled,
and hollows filled up, and for the prefervation of
the road it was fenced with a bank of turf. At
proper diftances, Tambos, or ftorehoufes, were
ereded for the accommodation of the Inca and his
attendants, in their progrefs through his domi-
nions. From the manner in which the road was
originally formed in this higher and more imper-
vious region, it has proved more durable ; and
though, from the inattention of the Spaniards to
every objeft but that of working their mines, no-
thing has been done towards keeping it in repair,
its courfe may ftill be traced u . Such was the ce-
lebrated road of the Incas ; and even from this de-
fcription, diverted of every circumftance of mani-
feft exaggeration, or of fufpicious afpeft, it mud
1 Cicca, c. 60.
" Xerez, p. 189. iQr. Zarate, lib. i. 0.13, 14. Vega,
Kb. ix. c. 13. Boguer Voyage, p. 105. Ulloa Entretenemien-
tos, p. 365.
be
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
be confidered as a finking proof of an extraordi- B
nary progrefs in improvement and policy. To the v.
favage tribes of America, the idea of facilitating
communication with places at a diftance had never
occurred. To the Mexicans it was hardly known.
Even in the mod civilized countries of Europe, men
had advanced far in refinement, before it became a
regular object of national police to form fuch roads
as render intercourfe commodious. It was a capital
object of Roman policy to open a communication
with all the provinces of their extenfive empire, by
means of thofe roads which are jultly confidered as
one of the noblefl monuments both of their wif-
dom and their power. But during the long reign
of barbarifm, the Roman roads were neglected or
deftroyed ; and at the time when the Spaniards en-
tered Peru, no kingdom in Europe could boafl of
any work of public utility that could be compared
with the great roads formed by the Incas.
THE formation of thofe roads introduced an- and bridges,
other improvement in Peru equally unknown over
all the reft of America. In its courfe from fouth
to north, the road of the Incas was interfered by
all the torrents which roll from the Andes towards
the Weftern Ocean, From the rapidity of their
courfe, as well as from the frequency and violence
of their inundation, thefe were not fordable. Some
expedient, however, was to be found for paffing
them. The Peruvians, from their unacquaintance
with the ufe of arches, and their inability to work in
wood,
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, wood, could not conftruct bridges either of ftone
u - n j or timber. But neceffity, the .parent of invention,
fuggefted a device which fupplied that defect. They
formed cables of great ftrength, by twitting to-
gether fome of the pliable withs or ofiers, with which
their country abounds ; fix of thefe cables they
ftretched acrofs the ftream parallel to one another,
and made them fafl on each fide. Thefe they
bound firmly together by interweaving fmaller ropes
fo clofe, as to form a compact piece of net- work,
which being covered with branches of trees and
earth, they palled along it with tolerable fecurity x .
Proper perfons were appointed to attend at each
bridge, to keep it in repair, and to aflift paflengers y .
In the level country, where the rivers became deep
and broad and ftill, they are paiTed in Balzas, or
floats ; in the conflruction, as well as navigation
of which, the ingenuity of the Peruvians appears to
be far fuperior to that of any people in America.
Thefe had advanced no farther in naval fkill than
the ufe of the paddle, or oar ; the Peruvians ven-
tured to raife a maft, and fpread a fail, by means of
which their balzas not only went nimbly before the
wind, but could vere and tack with great celerity z .
Mode of re- NOR were the ingenuity and art of the Peruvians
fining fiiver con f me d folely to objefts of eflential utility. They
* See NOTE XXXVI.
v Sancho ap. Ram. iii. 376, B. Zarate, lib. i. c. 14. Vega,
lib. Hi. c. 7,8. Herrera, dec. 5. lib. iv. c. 3,4.
* Ulloa Voy, i. 167, &c.
had
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 221
had made fome progrefs in arts, which may be B o o
called elegant. They poflefled the precious metals
in greater abundance than any people of America.
They obtained gold in the fame manner with the
Mexicans, by fearching in the channels of rivers, or
warning the earth in which particles of it were con-
tained. But in order to procure filver, they ex-
erted no inconfiderable degree of fkill and inven-
tion. They had not, indeed, attained the art of
finking a fhaft into the bowels of the earth, and
penetrating to the riches concealed there j but they
hollowed deep caverns on the banks of rivers and
the fides of mountains, and emptied fuch veins as
did not dip fuddenly beyond their reach. In other
places, where the vein lay near the furface, they
dug pits to fuch a depth, that the perfon who
worked below could throw out the ore, or hand
it up in bafkets a . They had difcovered the art of
fmelting and refining this, either by the* fimple
application of fire, or where the ore was more
ftubborn, and impregnated with foreign fub-
flances, by placing it in fmall ovens or furnaces, on
high grounds, fo artificially conftructed, that the
draught of air performed the function of a bel-
lows, an engine with which they were totally unac-
quainted. By this fimple device, the purer ores
were fmelted with facility, and the quantity of fil-
ver in Peru was fo confiderable, that many of the
utenfils employed in the functions of common life
* Ramufio, iii. 414, A.
* were
a21 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, were made of it b * Several of thofe vefifels and
trinkets are faid to have merited no fmall degree of
eftimation, on account of the neatnefs of the work-
manfhip, as well as the intrinfic value of the ma-
terials. But as the conquerors of America were
well acquainted with the latter, but had fcarcely
any conception of the former, inoft of the filver vef-
fels and trinkets were melted down, and rated ac-
cording to the weight and finenefs of the metal in
the divifion of the fpoil.
works of IN other works of mere curiofity or ornament,
their ingenuity has been highly celebrated. Many
fpecimens of thofe have been dug out of the Gua-
cas, or mounds of earth, with which the Peruvians
covered the bodies of the dead. Among thefe are
mirrors of various dimenfions, of hard mining ft ones
highly polifhed ; veflels of earthen ware of different
forms ; .hatchets, and other inftruments, fome de-
ftined for war, and others for labour. Some were
of flint, fome of copper, hardened to fuch a degree
by an unknown procefs, as to fupply the place of
iron on feveral occafions. Had the ufe of thofe
tools formed of copper been general, the progrefs
of the Peruvians in the arts might have been fuch,
as to emulate that of more cultivated nations. But
either the metal was fo rare, or the operation by
which it was hardened, fo tedious, that their inftru-
ments of copper were few, and fo extremely fmall,
b Acofta, lib. iv. c. 4, 5. Vega, p. i. lib. via. c. 25.
Ulloa Entreten. 258.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 223
that they feem to have been employed only m BOOK
flighter works. But even to fuch a circumfcribed
life of this imperfect metal, the Peruvians were in-
debted for their fuperiority to the other people of
America in various arts . The fame obfervation,
however, may be applied to them, which I for-
merly made with refpecl: to the arts of the Mexi-
cans. From feveral fpecimens of Peruvian utenfils
and ornaments, which are depofited in the royal ca-
binet of Madrid, and from fome prefer ved in different
collections in other parts of Europe, I have reafon
to believe that the workmanihip is more to be ad-
mired on account of the rude tools with which it
was executed, than on account of its intrinfic neat-
nefs and elegance ; and that the Peruvians, though
the moft improved of all the Americans, were not
advanced beyond the infancy cf arts.
BUT notwithstanding fo many particulars, which An
feem to indicate an high degree of improvement in ti e on. uvihza "
Peru, other circumitances occur that fuggeft the
idea of a fociety flill in the firft ftages of its tranfi-
tion from barbarifm to civilization. In all the do-
minions of the Incas, Cuzco was the only place that NO dues but
had the appearance, or was entitled to the name of
a city. Every where elfe, the people lived moftly
in detached habitations, difperfed over the country,
or, at the utmoft, fettled together in fmall vil-
lages d . But until men are brought to affemble in.
c Ulloa Voy. torn. i. 381, &c. Id. Entreten. p. 369, &c.
" Zarate, lib. i. c. 9, Herrera, dec. 5. lib. vi, c. 4.
*i3 numerous
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK numerous bodies, and incorporated in fugh clofe
union, as to enjoy frequent intercourfe, and to feel
mutual dependence, they never imbibe perfectly
the fpirit, or affume the manners of foeial life. In
a country of immenfe extent, with only one city, the
progrefs of manners, and the improvement either
of the neceflary or more refined arts, mufl have
been fo flow, and carried on under fuch difad-
vantages, that it is more furprifing the Peruvians
mould have advanced fo far in refinement, than
that they did not proceed farther.
IN confequence of this ftate of imperfect union,
p e rofeflions. the feparation of profeffions in Peru was not fo
complete as among the Mexicans. The lefs clofely
men aflbciate, the more fimple are their manners,
and the fewer their wants. The crafts of common
and moft neceflary ufe in life do not, in fuch a
ftate, become fo complex or difficult, as to render
it requifite that men mould be trained to them by
any particular courfe of education. All the arts,
accordingly, which were of daily and indifpenfable
utility, were exercifed by every Peruvian indifcri-
minately. None but the artifts, employed in works
of mere curiofity or ornament, conflituted a fepa-
rate order of men, or were diftinguimed from other
citizens e .
Little com- FROM the want of cities in Peru, another con-
mercial in-
fequcnce followed. There was little commercial in-
e Acofta, lib. vu c. 15. Vega, lib. v, c. 9* Herrera,
dec. 5. lib. iv. c. 4.
tercourfe
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 225
tercourfe among the inhabitants of that great em- BOOK
pire. The activity of commerce is coeval with
the foundation of cities ; and from the moment
that the members of any community fettle in con-
fiderable numbers in one place, its operations be-
come vigorous. The citizen muft depend for fub-
fiftence on the labour of thofe who cultivate the
ground. They, in return, muft receive fome equi-
valent. Thus mutual intercourfe is eftablifhed, and
the productions of art are regularly exchanged for
the fruits of agriculture. In the towns of the Mexi-
can empire, dated markets were held, and whatever
could fupply any want or defire of man was an ob-
jecl: of commerce. But in Peru, from the fmgular
mode ofdividingproperty, and the manner in which
the people were fettled, there was hardly any fpe-
cies of commerce carried on between different pro-
vinces f , and the community was lefs acquainted
with that aclive intercourfe, which is at once a bond
of union, and an incentive to improvement.
BUT the unwarlike fpirit of the Peruvians was
the molt remarkable, as well as moft fatal defect in
their character ?. The greater part of the rude na-
tions of America oppofed their invaders with un-
daunted ferocity, though with little conducl or fuc-
cefs. The Mexicans maintained the flruggle in
defence of their liberties, with fuch perfevering
f Vega, lib. vi. c. 8.
f Xerez, 190. Sancho ap. Ram. iii. 372. Herrera, dec. 5.
Jib. i. c. 3.
VOL. III. ( fortitude,
226 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, fortitude, that it was with difficulty the Spaniards
triumphed over them. Peru was fubdued at once,
and almoft without refinance ; and the moft favour-
able opportunities of regaining their freedom, and
of crufhing their oppreflbrs, were loft through the
timidity of the -people. Though the traditional
hiftory of the Peruvians reprefents all the Incas as
warlike princes, frequently at the head of armies,
which they led to victory and conqueft ; few fymp-
toms of fuch a martial fpirit appear in any of their
operations fubfequent to the invafion of the Spa-
niards. The influence, perhaps, of thofe inflitutions
which rendered their manners gentle, gave their
minds this unmanly foftnefs ; perhaps, the conftant
ferenity and mildnefs of the climate may have en-
ervated the vigour of their frame ; perhaps, fome
principle in their government, unknown to us, was
the occafion of this political debility. Whatever
may have been the caufe, the fadt is certain, and
there is not an inftance in hiftory of any people fo
little advanced in refinement, fo totally deftitute of
military enterprize. This character hath defcended
to their pofterity. The Indians of Peru are now
more tame and deprefled than any people of Ame-
rica; Their feeble fpirits, relaxed in lifelefs in-
aclion, feem hardly capable of any bold or manly
exertion.
BUT, befides thofe capital defefts in the poli-
tical ftate of Peru, fome detached circumftances
and facts occur in the Spanilh writers, which dif-
cover
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 227
cover a confiderable remainder of barbarity in their BOOK
manners. A cruel cuftom, that prevailed in fome of
the mofl favage tribes, fubfifted among the Peru-
vians. On the death of the Incas, and of other emi-
nent perfons, a confiderable number of their at-
tendants was put to death, and interred around their
Guacas, that they might appear in the next world
with their former dignity, and be ferved with the
fame refpect. On the death of Huana-Capac,. the
mod powerful of their monarchs, above a thoufand
victims were doomed to accompany him to the
tomb h . In one particular, their manners appear
to have been more barbarous than thofe of mofl
rude tribes. Though acquainted with the ufe of
fire in preparing maize, and other vegetables for
food ; they devoured both flefh and fifli perfectly
raw, and adonifhed the Spaniards, with a practice
repugnant to the ideas of all civilized people '.
BUT though Mexico and Peru are the poflellions
of Spain in the New World, which, on account
both of their antient and prefent flate, have at-
tracted the greateft attention ; her other dominions
there are far from being inconfiderable, either in
extent or value. The greater part of them was re-
duced to fubjection during the firil part of the fix-
teenth century, by private adventurers, who fitted
out their fmall armaments either in Hifpaniola or in
h Ax;ofta, lib. v. c. 7.
1 Xerez, p. 190. Sancho, Ram. iii. 372, C. Herrera,
dec. c. lib. i. c. 3.
O 2 Old
bpain in
America*
228
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK Old Spain ; and were we to follow each leader in
VII.
his p'-ogrefs, we lliould difcover the fame daring
courage,, the fame perfevering ardour, the fame ra-
pacious defire of wealth,, and the fame capacity of
enduring and furmounting every thing in order to
attain it, which diftinguifhed the operations of the
Spaniards in their greater American conquefts. But,
inftead of entering into a detail, which, from the
fimilarity of the tranfaftions, would appear almoft a
repetition of what has been already related, I lhall
fatisfy myfelf with fuch a view of thofe provinces of
the Spanifh empire in America, which have not
hitherto been mentioned, as may convey to my
readers an adequate idea of its greatnefs, fertility,
and opulence.
I BEGIN with the countries contiguous to the two
great monarchies, of whofe hiftory and inftitutions I
have given fome account, and mall then briefly de-
fcribe the other diftridts of Spanifh America. The
jurifdi&ion of the viceroy' of New Spain extends
over feveral provinces, which were not fubjecl: to
the dominion of the Mexicans. The countries of
Cinaloa and Sonora, that ftretch along the eaft fide
of the Vermilion fea, or gulf of California, as well
as the immenfe . kingdoms of New Navarre and
New Mexico, which bend towards the weft and
north, did not acknowledge the fovereignty of Mon-
' tezuma, or his predecelfors. Thefe regions, not in-
ferior in magnitude to all the Mexican empire, are
reduced fome to a greater, others to a lefs degree
of
Cinaloa and
Sonora, &c.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 229
of fubje&ion to the Spanifh yoke. They extend BOOK.
through the moft delightful part of the temperate v- .-^.j
zone ; their foil is, in general, remarkably fertile,
and all their productions, whether animal or vege-
table, are moft perfect in their kind. They have
all a communication either with the Pacific Ocean,
or with the Gulph of Mexico, and are watered by
rivers which not only enrich them, but may become
fubfervient to commerce. The number of Spa-
niards fettled in thofe vaft countries, is indeed ex-
tremely fmall. They may be faid to have fub-
dued, rather than to have occupied them. But if
the population in their ancient eftablifhments in
America mall continue to increafe, they may gra-
dually fpread over thofe provinces, of which, how-
ever inviting, they have not hitherto been able to
take full pofleffion.
ONE circumftance may contribute to the fpeedy Rich mines,
population of fome diftrits. Very rich mines both
of gold and filver have been difcovered in many of
the regions which I have mentioned. Wherever
thefe are opened, and worked with fuccefs, a mul-
titude of people refort. In order to fupply them
with the neceflaries of life, cultivation muft bein-
creafed, artifans of various kinds muft aflemble,
and induftry as well as wealth will be gradually dif-
fufed. Many examples of this have occurred in
different parts of America fince they fell under the
dominion of the Spaniards. Populous villages and
Jarge towns hare fuddenly arifen amidft -uninha-
bited
2 3 o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
K bitcd \vilds and mountains ; and the working of
mines, though far from being the mod proper ob.-
jedt towards which the attention of an infant fociety
mould be turned, may become the means both of
promoting ufeful activity, and of augmenting the
A recent number of people. A recent and fmgular inftance
abie r difco. " of this has happened, which, as it is but little
known in Europe, and may be productive of great
effects, merits attention. The Spaniards fettled in
the provinces of Cinaloa and Sonora, had been long
difturbed by the depredations of fome fierce tribes
of Indians. In the year 1765, the incurfions of
thofe favages became fo frequent, and fo deftruc-
tive, that the Spanifh inhabitants, in defpair, ap-
plied to the Marquis de Croix, viceroy of Mexico^
for fuch a body of troops as might enable them to
drive thofe formidable invaders from their places
of retreat in the mountains. But the treafury of
Mexico was fo much exhaufted by the large fums
drawn from it, in order to fupport the late war
againft Great Britain, that the viceroy could afford
them no aid. The refpect due to his virtues, ac-
complimed what his official power could not effect,
He prevailed with the merchants of New Spain to
advance about two hundred thoufand pefos for de-
fraying the expence of the expedition. The war
was conducted by an officer of abilities ; and after
being protracted for three years, chiefly by the dif-
ficulty of purfuing the fugitives over mountains and
through defiles which were almoft impaffable, it
terminated, in the year 1771, in the final fubmiffion
of
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 231
of the tribes, which had been folong the object of B o o K
terror to the two provinces. In the courfe of this
fervice, the Spaniards marched through countries
into which they feem not to have penetrated before
that time, anddifcovered mines of fuch value, as was
aftoniihing even to men acquainted with the riches
contained in the mountains of the New World. At
Cineguilla, in the province of Sonora, they entered
a plain of fourteen leagues in extent, in which, at
the depth of only fixteen inches, they found gold in
grains of fuch a fize, that fome of them weighed
nine marks, and in fuch quantities, that in a mort
time, with a few labourers, they collected a thoufand
marks of gold in grains, even without takingtime to
warn the earth that had been dug, which appeared
to be fo rich, that perfons of (kill computed that it
might yield what would be equal in value to a
million of pefos. Before the end of the year 1771,
above two thoufand perfons were fettled in Cine- tlus -
guilla, under the government of proper magiflrates,
and the infpettion of feveral ecclefiaftics. As feve-
ral other mines, not inferior in richnefs to that of
Cineguilla, have been difcovered, both in Sonora
and Cinaloa k , it is probable that thefe neglected
and thinly inhabited provinces, may foon become
as populous and valuable as any part of the Spanifh
empire in America.
THE peninfula of California, on the other fide of caiifom
the Vermilion fea, feems to have been lefs known '
k See NOTE XXXVII.
to
232 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, to the ancient Mexicans, than the provinces which
t__ T J_f I have mentioned. It was difcovered by Cortes in
the year 1536 '. During a long period it continued
to be fb little frequented, that even its form was
unknown, and in moil charts it was reprefented as
an iiland, not as a peninfula m . Though the cli-
mate of this country, if we may judge from its
fituation, muft be very defirable ; the Spaniards
have made fmall progrefs in peopling it. Towards
the clofe of the laft century, the Jefuits, who had
great merit in exploring this negleded province,
and in civilizing its rude inhabitants, imperceptibly
acquired a dominion over it as complete as that
which they poffeffed in their miffions in Paraguay,
and they laboured to introduce into it the fame po-
licy, and to govern the natives by the fame maxims,
In order to prevent the court of Spain from con-
ceiving any jealoufy of their defigns and operations,
they feem ftudioufly to have depreciated the coun-
try, by reprefenting the climate as fo difagreeable
and unwholefome, and the foil as fo barren, that
nothing but a zealous defire of converting the na-
tives, could have induced them to fettle there n .
Several public-fpirited citizens endeavoured to un*
deceive their fovereigns, and to give them a bet-
and proba- ter view of California ; but in vain. At length,
hility ot its , .
improving, on the expuliion or the Jefuits from the Spaniili
dominions, the court of Madrid, as prone at that
juncture to fufpedt the purity of the Order's in-
i Bookv. vol. ii. p. 412. m See NOTE XXXVIII.
* Venegas, Hift, of California, i. 26.
tentionSj
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 233
tentions, as formerly to confide in them with im- BOOK
VII.
plicit truft, appointed Don Jofeph Galvez, whofe < ,
abilities have fince raifed him to the high- rank of
minifler for the Indies, to vifit that peninfula. His
account of the country was favourable ; he found
the pearl fifhery on its coafts to be valuable, and
he difcovered mines of gold of a very promifmg ap-
pearance . From its vicinity to Cinaloa and So-
nora, it is probable, that if the population of thefe
provinces (hall increafe in the manner which I have
fuppofed, California may, by degrees, receive from
them fuch a recruit of inhabitants, as to be no
longer reckoned among the defolate and ufelefs
districts of the Spanifh empire,
ON the eaft of Mexico, Yucatan and Honduras yoc , tj , n
are comprehended in the government of New ^af n "
Spain, though anciently they can hardly be faid to
have formed a part of the Mexican empire. Thefe
large provinces, ftretching from the Bay of Cam-
peachy beyond Cape Gracias a Dios, do not, like
the other territories of Spain in the New World,
derive their value either from the fertility of their
foil, or the richnefs of their mines ; but they pro-
duce in greater abundance, than any part of Ame-
rica, the logwood tree, which, in dying feme co-
lours, is fo far preferable to any other material,
that the confumption of it in Europe is confider-
able, and it has become an article in commerce of
great value. During a long period 3 no European
Lorenzano, 349, 350,
nation
234 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK nation intruded upon the Spaniards in thofe pro-
vinces, or attempted to obtain any fhare in this
branch of trade. But after the conqueft of Ja-
maica by the Englifh, it foon appeared what a for-
midable rival was now feated in the neighbourhood of
the Spanifh territories. One of the firft objects
which tempted the Englifh fettled in that ifland, was
the great profit arifing from the logwood trade, and
the facility of wrefting fome portion of it from the
Their de- Spaniards. Some' adventurers from Jamaica made
the firft attempt atCapeCatoche, the fouth-eaft pro-
montory of Yucatan, and by cutting logwood there,
carried on a gainful traffic. When mo ft of the trees
near the coaft in that place were felled, they re-
moved to the ifland of Trifl, in the Bay of Cam-
peachy; and in later times, theirprincipalftationhas
been in the bay of Honduras. The Spaniards, alarm-
ed at this encroachment, endeavoured by negocia-
tion, remonftrances, and open force, to prevent
the Englifh from obtaining any footing on that
part of the American continent. But after ftrug-
gling againft it for more than a century, the dif-
afters of laft war extorted from the Court of Madrid
a reluctant confent to tolerate this fett lenient of fo-
reigners in the heart of its territories p . The pain
which this humbling conceffion occafioned, feems
to have prompted the Spaniards to devile a me-
thod of rendering it of little confequence, more ef-
fectual than all the efforts of negociation or vio
P Treaty of Paris, Art. xviii.
lence,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 235
lence. The logwood produced on the weft coaft BOOK
of Yucatan, where the foil is drier, is in quality ui-v^J
far fuperior to that which grows on the marfhy
grounds where the Englifh are fettled. By en- and revival,
couraging the cutting of this, and permitting the
importation of it into Spain without paying any
duty % fuch vigour has been given to this branch
of commerce, and the logwood which the Englifh
bring to market has funk fo much in value, that
their trade to the fray of Honduras has gradually
declined r fmce it obtained a legal fandion ; and,
it is probable, will foon be finally abandoned. In
that event, Yucatan and Honduras will become
poffeflions of considerable importance to Spain.
STILL farther eaft than Honduras lie the two Con^Riea
provinces of Cofta Rica and Veragua, which like- gua.
wife belong to the vice-royalty of New Spain ; but
both have been fo much neglected by the Spaniards,
and are apparently of fuch fmall value, that they
merit no particular attention.
THE moft important province depending on the CMJ,
vice-royalty of Peru, is Chili. The Incas had
eftablifhed their dominion in fome of its northern
diftrids ; but in the greater part of the country,
its gallant and high fpirited inhabitants maintained
their independence. The Spaniards, allured by
the fame of its opulence, early attempted the con-
1 Real Cedula, Campomancs, iii. 14.5.
' See NOTE XXXIX,
queil
236 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK queft of it under Diego Almagro ; and after his
t _,^ I !l - death, Pedro de Valdivia relumed the defign.
Both met with fierce oppofition. The former re-
linquifhed the enterprize in the manner which I
have mentioned 3 . The latter, after having given
many difplays, both of courage and military {kill,
was cut off, together with a confiderable body of
troops under his command. Francifco de Villagra,
Valdivia's lieutenant, by his fpirited conduct,
checked the natives in their career, and faved the
remainder of the Spaniards from deflruction. By
degrees, all the champaign country along the
coaft was fubje&ed to the Spanifh dominion. The
mountainous country is ftill pofieffed by the Puel-
ches, Araucos, and other tribes of its original in-
habitants, formidable neighbours to the Spaniards ;
with whom, during the courfe of two centuries,
they have been obliged to maintain almoft perpe-
tual hoftility, fufpended only by a few intervals of
infecure peace.
Excellence THAT part of Chili then, which may properly
of its climate . . .
and fou. be deemed a bpanim province, is a narrow diftnct,
extended along the coaft from the defert of Ata-
camas to the ifland of Chiloe, above nine hundred
miles. Its climate is the moft delicious in the
New World, and is hardly equalled by that of any
region on the face of the earth. Though border-
ing on the Torrid Zone, it never feels the extrq-
vi. p. 60, &c.
mity
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 237
mity of heat, being fcreened on the eaft by the BOOK
Andes, and refrefhed from the weft by cooling fea- u -v- -f
breezes. The temperature of the air is fo mild
and equable, that the Spaniards give it the pre-
ference to that of the fouthern provinces in their
native country. The fertility of the foil corre-
fponds with the benignity of the climate, and is
wonderfully accommodated to European produc-
tions. The moft valuable of thefe, corn, wine,
and oil, abound in Chili, as if they had been na-
tive to the country. All the fruits imported from
Europe attain to full maturity there. The animals
of our hemifphere not only multiply, but improve
in this delightful region. The horned cattle are
of larger fize than thofe of Spain. Its breed of
horfes furpafles, both in beauty and in fpirit, the
famous Andalufian race, from which they fprung.
Nor has Nature exhaufted her bounty on the fur-
face of the earth ; me has ftored its bowels with
riches. Valuable mines of gold, of filver, of cop-
per, and of lead, have been difcovered in various
parts of it.
A COUNTRY diflinguimed by fo many bleflings, ca-.ifeofit
we may be apt to conclude, would early become j b e a n e d by g the
a favourite ftation of the Spaniards, and muft have s P aniard -
been cultivated with peculiar predilection and care.
Inftead of this, a great part of it remains unoccu-
pied. In all this -extent of country, there are not
above eighty thoufand white inhabitants, and about
three times that number of negroes and people of
a mixed
238 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K a mixed race. The mod fertile foil in America
Vil.
lies uncultivated, and fome of its moft promifing
mines remain un wrought. Strange as this neglect
of the Spaniards to avail themfelves of advantages,
which feemed to court their acceptance, may ap-
pear, the caufes of it can be traced. The only
intercourfe of Spain with its colonies in the South
Sea, was carried on during two centuries by the
annual fleet to Porto-bello. All the produce of
thefe colonies were fhipped in the ports of Callao,
or Arica in Peru, for Panama, and carried from
thence acrofs the ifthmus. All the commodities
which they received from the mother-country, were
conveyed from Panama to the fame harbours.
Thus both the exports and imports of Chili pafied
through the hands of merchants fettled in Peru.
Thefe had of courfe a profit on each ; and in both
tranfactions the Chilefe felt their own fubordina-
tion ; and having no direct intercourfe with the
parent {late, they depended upon another province
for the difpofal of their productions, as well as for
the fupply of their wants. Under fuch difcourage-
ments, population could not ihcreafe, and induflry
of was dcflitute of one chief incitement. But now
menT. prc that Spain, from motives which I mail mention
hereafter, has adopted a new fyftem, and carries
on her commerce with the colonies in the South
Sea, by mips which go round Cape Horn, a di-
rect intercourfe is opened between Chili and the
Mother-country. The gold, the filver, and the
other commodities of the province will be ex-
changed
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 239
changed in its own harbours for the manufactures BOOK
VII
of Europe. Chili may fpeedily rife into that im- i. T A_r
portance among the Spanifh fettlements to which
it is intitled by its natural advantages. It may
become* the granary of Peru, and the other pro-
vinces along the Pacific Ocean; it may fupply
them with wine, with cattle, with horfes, with
hemp, and many other articles for which they now
depend upon Europe. Though the new fyftem
has been eftabliflied only a few years, thofe effects
of it begin already to be obferved '. If it (hall be
adhered to with any fteadinefs for half a century,
one may venture to foretel, that population, in-
duflry, and opulence will advance in this province
with rapid progrefs.
To the eaft of the Andes, the provinces of Tu- Provinces of
cuman and Rio de la Plata border on Chili, and andRiodeia
like it were dependent on the Vice-royalty of Peru.
Thefe regions of immenfe extent ftretch in length
from north to fouthr above thirteen hundred miles,
and in breadth more than a thoufand. This coun- ^ 7 orthern
, . . . , , nr- i j and fouthera
try, which is larger than molt European kingdoms,
naturally forms itfelf into two great divifions, one
on the north, and the other on the fouth of Rio de
la Plata. The former comprehends Paraguay, the
famous miffions of the Jefuits, and feveral other
diflricts. But as difputes have long fubfifted be-
tween the courts of Spain and Portugal, concern-
* Campomanes, il. 157.
22 ing
240 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B vi? K * n & i ts boundaries, which, it is probable, will be
< / -* foon finally afcertained, either amicably, or by the
decifion of the fword, I chufe to referve my ac-
count of this northern divifion, until I enter upon
the hiflory of Portuguefe America, with which
it is intimately connected ; and, in relating it, I
mall be able from authentic materials, fupplied
both by Spain and Portugal, to give a full and
accurate defcription of the operations and views of
the Jefuits, in rearing that fingular fabric of po-
licy in America, which has drawn fo much atten-
tion, and has been fo imperfectly underflood. The
latter divifion of the province contains the govern-
ments of Tucuman and Buenos-Ayres, and to thefe
I mail at prefent confine my obfervations.
view of the THE Spaniards entered this part of America by
the river De la Plata ; and though a fucceffion of
cruel difafters befel them in their early attempts to
eftablilh their dominion in it, they were encouraged
to perfifl in the defign, at firfl by the hopes of dif-
covering mines in the interior country, and after-
wards by the neceflity of occupying it, in order to
prevent any other nation from fettling there, and
penetrating by this rout into their rich pofleffions
in Peru. But except at Buenos-Ayres, they have
made no fettlement of any confequence in all the
vaft fpace which I have mentioned. There are,
indeed, fcattered over it, a few places on which
they have beflowed the name of towns, and to
which they have endeavoured to add fome dignity,
by
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 241
by ere&ing them into biihoprics ; but they are no
better than paltry villages, each with two or three
hundred inhabitants. One circumftance, how-
ever, which was not originally forefeen, has con-
tributed to render this diftrictj though thinly
peopled, of confiderable importance. The pro-
vince of Tucuman, together with the country to
the fouth of the Plata, inflead of being covered
with wood like other parts of America, forms one
extenfive open plain, almoft without a tree. The
foil is a deep fertile mould, watered by manyftreams
defcending from the Andes, and clothed in per-
petual verdure. In this rich pafturage, the horfes
and cattle imported by the Spaniards from Europe
have multiplied to a degree which almofl exceeds
belief. This has enabled the inhabitants not only
to open a lucrative trade with Peru, by fupplying
it with cattle, horfes, and mules, but to carry on
a commerce no lefs beneficial, by the exportation
of hides to Europe. From both, the colony has
derived great advantages. But its commodious
fituation for carrying on contraband trade, has
been the chief fource of its profperity. While the
court of Madrid adhered to its ancient fyftem, with
refpecl: to its communication with America, the
river De la Plata lay fo much out of the courfe of
Spanim navigation, that interlopers, almoft with-
out any rifque of being either obferved or ob-
Itrufted, could pour in European manufactures in
fuch quantities, that they not only fupplied the
wants of the colony, but were conveyed into all
VOL. III. R the
242 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K the eaftern diflricts of Peru. When the Porta-
t_ v ^' _j guefe in Brafil extended their fettlements to the
bank^ of Rio de la Plata, a new channel was
opened, by which prohibited commodities flowed
into the Spanifh territories, with ftill more facility,
and in greater abundance. This illegal traffic,
however detrimental to the parent ftate, contri-
buted to the increafe of the fettlement, which had
the immediate benefit of it, and Buenos-Ayres
became gradually a populous and opulent town..
What may be the effect of the alteration lately
made in the government of this colony, the nature
of which mall be defcribed in the fubfequent Book,
cannot hitherto be known.
other terri- ALL the other territories of Spain in the New
Spa7n. World, the iflands excepted, of whofe difcovery
and reduction I have formerly given an account,
are comprehended under two great divifions ; the
former denominated the kingdom of Tierra Firme,
the provinces of which ftretch along the Atlantic,
from the eaftern frontier of New Spain to the
mouth of the Orinoco ; the latter, the New King-
dom of Granada, fituated in the interior country.
With a fliort view of thefe I mail dole this part of
my work.
To the eaft of Veragtia, the laft province fub-
ject to the viceroy of Mexico, lies the ifthmus of
Earisn. Darien. Though it was in this part of the con-
tinent that the Spaniards nrft began to plant co-
lonies,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 243
Jonies, they have made no confiderable progrefs in B o^ o K,
peopling it. As the country is extremely moun- u- ~v ~>
tninous, 'deluged with rain during a good part of
the year, remarkably imhealthful, and contains no
rnines of great value, the Spaniards would pro-
bably have abandoned it altogether, if they had
not been allured to continue by the excellence of
the harbour of Porto-bello on the one fea, and that
of Panama on the other. Thefe have been called
the keys to the communication between the north
and fouth fea, between Spain and her moft valuable
colonies. In confcquence of this advantage, Pa-
nama has become a confiderable and thriving town.
The peculiar noxioufnefs of its climate has pre*
vented rorto-bello irom increasing in the fame pro-
portion. As the intercourfe with the fettltments
in the Pacific Ocean is now carried on by another
chann'el, it is probable that both Porto-belfo and
Panama \vrll decline, when no longer nourished
and enriched i-y that commerce to which they
were indebted for their profperity, and even their
cxiflcnce.
THE provinces of Carthaojena and Santa Martha^ c-arthagena
and Santa
fr.retch to the eafhvard of the iflhmus of Darien. Martha.
The country fail continues mountainous, but its
vallitj begin to expand, are well watered, and
extremely fertile. Pedro de Heredia fubjected this
part of America to the crown of Spain, about the
year 1532. It is thinly peopled, and of courfe jll
cultivated. It produces, however, a variety of
R 2 valuable
244 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K valuable drugs, and fome precious Hones, parti-
cularly emeralds. But its chief importance is de-
rived from the harbour of Carthagena, the fafeft
and bell fortified of any in the American dominions
of Spain. In a fituation fo favourable, commerce
foon began to flourifh. As early as the year 1544,
it feems to have been a town of fome note. But
when Carthagena was chofen as the port in which
the galeons mould firft begin to trade on their ar-
rival from Europe, and to which they were di-
rected to return, in order to prepare for their
voyage homeward, the commerce of its inhabitants
was fo much favoured by this arrangement, that
it foon became one of the moft populous, opulent,
and beautiful cities in America. There is, how-
ever, reafon to apprehend, that it has reached its
higheft point of exaltation, and that it will be fo
far affe&ed by the change in the Spanifli fyftem of
trade with America, which has withdrawn from it
the defirable vifits of the galeons, as to feel at leaft
a temporary decline. But the wealth now collected
there, will foon find or create employment for itfelf,
and may be turned with advantage into fome new
channel. Its harbour is fo fafe, and fo conve-
niently fituated for receiving commodities from
Europe, its merchants have been fo long accuf-
tomed to convey thefe into all the adjacent pro-
vinces, that it is probable they will ftill retain this
branch of trade, and Carthagena continue to be a
city of great importance.
THE
21
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
THE province contiguous to Santa Martha on
the eaft, was firft vifited by Alonfo de Ojeda, in
the year 1499"; and the Spaniards, on their
landing there, having obferved fome huts in an
Indian village built upon piles, in order to raife
them above the flagnated water which covered the
plain, were led to beftow upon it the name of
Venezuela, or Little Venice, by their ufual pro-
penfity to find a refemblance between what they
difcovered in America, and the objects which were
familiar to them in Europe. They made fome at-
tempts to fettle there, but with little fuccefs. The
final reduction of the province was accomplished
by means very different from thofe to which Spain
was indebted for its other acquifitions in the New
World. The ambition of Charles V. often en-
gaged him in operations of fuch variety and ex-
tent, that his revenues were not fufficient to defray
the expence of carrying them into execution.
Among other expedientsforfupplyingthedeficiency
of his funds, he had borrowed large fums from
the Velfers of Augfburgh, the moft opulent
merchants at that time in Europe. By way of
retribution for thefe, or in hopes, perhaps, of ob-
taining a new loan, he beftowed upon them the
province of Venezuela, to be held as an hereditary
fief from the crown of Caflile, on condition that
within a limited time they mould render them-
felyes mailers of the country, and eflablifh a co-
11 Book ii. vol. i. p. 212.
R 3* lony
546 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK lony there. Under the direction of fuch perfons,
it might have been expected, that a fettlement
'would have been eftablifhed on maxims very dif-
ferent from thofe of the Spaniards, and better cal-
culated to encourage fuch ufeful induitry, as mer-
cantile proprietors might have known to be the
mod certain fource of profperity and opulence.
. But unfortunately they committed the execution
of their plan to fome of thofe foldiers of fortune
with which Germany abounded in the lixteenth
century. Thefe adventurers^ impatient to amafs
riches, that they might fpeedily abandon a flation
which they foon difcovered to be very uncomfort-
able, inftead of planting a colony in order to cul-
tivate and improve the country, wandered from
,. diitrict to diftrict in fearch of mines, plundering
the natives with unfeeling rapacity, or oppreffing
them by the impofition of intolerable talks. In
. the courfe of a few years, their avarice and exac-
tions, in cOmparifon with which thofe of the Spa-
niards were moderate, defolated the province fo
completely, that it could hardly afford them fub-
fiftence, and the Velfers relinquifhed a property
from which the inconfiderate conduct of their
agents left them no hope of ever deriving any ad-
vantage x . When the wretched remainder of the
Germans deferted Venezuela, the Spaniards again
took pofleffion of it ; but notwithstanding many
s Civedo y Bagnos Hift. de Venezuela, p. II, c.
- natural
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 24?
natural advantages, it is one of their mofl Ian- B o o
guiming and unproductive fettlements. t- *~-
THE provinces of Caraccss and Cumana are the cai-accasa
Cumana.
kft of the Spanifh territories on this coaft ; but in
relating the origin and operations of the mer-
cantile company, in which an exclufive right
of trade with them has been vetted, I fhall here-
after have occafion to confider their ftate and pro-
ductions.
THE New Kingdom of Granada is entirely an New King
inland country of great extent. This important ad- Granada.
dition was made to the dominions of Spain about
the year 1536, by Sebaflian de Benalcazar and
Gonzalo Ximenes de Quefada, two of the braveft
and moft accomplimed officers employed in the
conqueft of America. The former, who com-
manded at that time in Quito, attacked it from
the fouth ; the latter made his invafion from Santa
Martha on the north. As the original inhabitants
of this region were farther advanced in improve-
ment, than any people in America but the Mexi-
cans and Peruvians y , they defended .themfelves
with great refolution and good conduct. The abi-
lities and perfeverance of Benalcazar and Quefada
furmounted all oppofition, though not without
encountering many dangers, and reduced the coun-
try into the form of a Spanifh province.
y Book iv. vol. ii. p. 13.9, &c.
R 4 THE
248 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K THE New Kingdom of Granada is fo far ele-
vated above the level of the fea, that though it
approaches almoft to the equator, the climate is
remarkably temperate. The fertility of its vallies
is not inferior to that of the richefl diftrids in
America, and its higher grounds yield gold and
precious flones of various kinds. It is not by
digging into the bowels of the earth that this gold
is found ; it is mingled with the foil near the fur-
face, and feparated from it by repeated warning
with water. This operation is carried on wholly
by negro flaves ; for though the chili fubterranean
air has been difcovered, by experience, to be fo fatal
to them, that they cannot be employed with advan-
tage in the deep filver mines, they are more capable
of performing the other fpecies of labour than In-
dians. As the natives in the New Kingdom of
Granada are exempt from that fervice, which has
wafledtheir race fo rapidly in otherparts ofAmerica,
the country is (till remarkably populous. Some
diftrids yieldgold with a prcfufion no Id's wonderful
than that in the vale of Cineguilla, which I have
formerly mentioned, and it is often found in large
pepitas, or grains, which manifefl the abundance
in which it is produced. On a rifing ground near
Pamplona, Tingle labourers have collected in a
,day what was equal in value to a thoufand pefos 2 f
A late governor of Santa Fe brought with him
to Spain a lump of pure gold, eftimated to be
p^iedraluta Hill, del N. Reyno, p. 481. MS. penes me.
worth
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 249
worth feven hundred and forty pounds fterling. BOOK.
This, which is, perhaps, the largeft and fineft
fpecimen ever found in the New World, is now
depofited in the royal cabinet of Madrid. But
without founding any calculation on what is rare
and extraordinary, the value of the gold uiually
collected in this country, particularly in the pro-
vinces of Popayan and Choco, is of confiderable
amount. Its towns are populous and ffourifhing.
The number of inhabitants in almoft every part of
the country daily increafes. Cultivation and in-
duftry of various kinds begin to be encouraged,-
and to profper. A confiderable trade is carried on
with Carthagena, the produce of the mines, and
other commodities, being conveyed down the great
river of St. Magdalen to that city. On another
quarter, the New Kingdom of Granada has a com-
munication with the Atlantic by the river Orinoco ;
but the country which ftretches along its banks
towards the eaft, is little known, and imperfectly
occupied by the Spaniards.
THE
O^ R Y
OF
BOOK VIII.
FTER tracing the progrefs of the Spaniards B K
in their difcoveries and conquefts during <- ~J
O View ,-.j' the
more .than half a century, I have conducted them i >olic y and
_ J trade ot the
to that period when their authority was eflablifhed
over almoit all the vaft regions in- the New World
flill fubjecl to their .dominion. The effect of their
fettlements upon the countries of which they took
poffeffion, the maxims which they adopted in
forming their new colonies, the -interior ftructure
and policy of thefe, together with the influence of
their progrefiive improvement upon the parent
ftate, arid upon the commercial intercourfe of na-
tions, are the objects to which we now turn our
attention.
THE firft vifible confecmence of the eftablifh-
. . , tion of A-
ments made by the Spaniards in America, was the
diminution of the antient inhabitants, to a aegree them!
equally
252 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B VIH K ec l ua ^y aftoniihing-and deplorable. I have already,
on different occafions, mentioned the difaftrous
influence under which the connection of the Ame-
ricans with the people of our hemifphere com-
menced, both in the iilands, and in feveral parts
of the continent, and have touched upon various
caufes of their rapid confumption. Wherever the
inhabitants of America had refolution to take
arms in defence of their liberty and rights, many
perifhed in the unequal contefi:, and were cut off
by their fierce invaders. But the greateft defola-
tion followed after the fword was meathed, and
the conquerors were fettled in tranquillity. It
ibis in the '"'* .
idands, and was i n t h e iilands, and in thofe provinces of the
tome parts of *
ttuscomi- continent which llretch from the Gulf of Tri-
ncnt.
nidad to the confines of Mexico, that the fatal
effects of the Spanifh dominion were firft and moil
fenfibly felt. All thefe were occupied either by
wandering tribes of hunters, or by fuch as had
made but fmall progrefs in cultivation and in-
duftry. When they were compelled by their new
matters to take up a fixed refidence, and to apply
to regular labour ; when talks were impofed upon
them difproportioned to their ftrength, and were
exacted with unrelenting feverity, they poffeffed
not vigour either of mind or of body to fuflairi this
unufual load of oppreffion. Dejection and defpair
drove many to end their lives by violence. Fatigue
and famine deftroyed more. In all thofe extenfive
regions, the original race of inhabitants walled
away; in fome it was totally extinguifhed. In,
Mexico,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 253
Mexico, where a powerful and martial people di- B o o i
ftinguiihcd their oppofition to the Spaniards by el- v^ v -~ ^
forts of courage worthy-erf ,a better fate, great num-
bers fell in the field ; and there, as well as in Peru,
ftill greater numbers perifhed under the hardmips
of attending the Spanifh armies in their various
expeditions and civil wars, worn out with the incef-
fant toil of carrying their baggage, provifions, and
military {lores.
BUT neither the rage nor cruelty of the Spa- [ n New
/ sp.iinand-
niards were fo definitive to the people of Mexico Feiu -
and Peru, as the inconfiderate policy with which
they eftablifhed their new fettlements. The for-
mer were temporary calamities, fatal to individuals ;
the latter was a permanent evil, which, with gra-
dual confumption, wafted the nation. When the
provinces of Mexico and Peru were divided among
the conquerors, each was eager to obtain a dii-
trier., from which he might expect an inftanta-
neous recompence for all his fervices. Soldiers,
accuftomed to the careleflhefs and diffipation of a
military life, had neither induftry to carry on any
plan of regular cultivation, nor patience to wait
for its flow but certain returns. Inflead of fet-
tling in the vallies occupied by the natives, where
the fertility of the foil would have amply rewarded
the diligence of the planter, they chofe to fix their
ftations in fome of the mountainous regions, fre-
quent both in New Spain and in Peru. To fearch
for mines of gold and filver, was the chief object
of
254- HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K of their activity. The profpecrs which this opcris,
and the alluring hopes which it continually pre-
fents, correfpond wonderfully with the fpirit of en-
terprize and adventurtp that animated the firft
emigrants to America an every part of their con-
duct. In order to pula forward thofe favourite
projects, fo many hands were wanted, that the fer-
vice of the natives became indiipenfably requifite.
They were accordingly compelled to abandon their
ancient habitations in the plains, and driven in
crowds to the mountains. This fudden tranfition
from the fultry climate of the vallies, to the chill
penetrating air peculiar to high -lands in the torrid
zone ; exorbitant labour, fcanty or unwholfome
nourifhment, and the defpondency occafioned by a
fpecies of oppreffion to which they were not ac-
cuftomed, -and of which they faw no end, affected
them nearly as much as their lefs induflrious coun-
trymen in the iilands. They funk under the united
preffure of thofe calamities, and melted away with
almoft equal rapidity z . In confequence of this,
together with the introduction of the fmall-pox, a
malady unknown in America, and extremely fatal to
the natives % the number of people both in New
Spain and Peru was fo much reduced, that in a few
years the accounts of their ancient population ap-
peared almoft: incredible b .
* Torquemada, i. 613.
a B. Diaz, c. 124. Herrera, dec. 2. lib. x. c. 4. Ullda
Entreten. 206.
" Torqucm. 615. 642, 643. See NOTE XL.
20 SUCH
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 255
SUCH are the moil confiderable events and caufes
which, by their combined operation, contributed
to depopulate America. Without attending to fu?toff*2f
thefe, many authors, aflonifhed at the fuddennefs policy's
of the deiblation, have afcribed this unexampled
event to a fyftem of policy no lefs profound than
atrocious. The Spaniards, as they pretend, con-
fcious of their own inability to occupy the vaft
regions which they had difcovered, and forefeeing '
the impoffibility of maintaining their authority over
a people infinitely fuperior to themfelves in num-
ber, in order to preferve the poifeffion of America,
refolved to exterminate the inhabitants, and by con-
verting a great part of the country into a defert, en-
deavoured to fecure their own dominion over it c .
But nations feldom extend their views to objects fo
remote,' or lay their plans fo deep ; and, for the ho-
nour of humanity we may. obferve, that no na-
tion ever deliberately formed fuch an execrable
fcheme. The Spanifh monarchs, far from acting
upon any fuch fyftem of deftrudion, were uniformly
folicitous for the prefervation of their new fubjech.
With Ifabella, zeal for propagating the Chriflian
faith, together with .the defire of communicating
the knowledge of truth, and the confolations of
religion to people deftitute of fpiritual light, were
more than oftenfible motives for encouraging Co-
lumbus to attempt his difcoveries. Upon his fuc-
cefs, (he endeavoured to fulfil her pious purpofe,"
< See' NOTE XLI.
and
256 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K. and manifefled the moft tender concern to fecure
not only religious inftruction, but mild treatment,
to that inoffenfive race of men fubjected to her
crown d . Her fucceflbrs adopted the fame ideas ;
and, on many occafions, which I have mentioned,
their authority was interpofed in the moft vigorous
exertions, to protect the people of America from
the oppreffion of their Spanifh fubjects. Their re-
gulations for this purpofe were numerous, and often
repeated. They were framed with wifdom, and
dictated by humanity. After their poiTeffions in
the New World became fo extenfive, as might have
excited fome apprehenfions of difficulty in retaining
their dominion over them, the fpirit of their regu-
lations was as mild as when their fettlements were
confined to the iilands alone. Their folicitude to
protecl: the Indians feems rather to have augmented
as their acquifitions increafed ; and from ardour to
accomplifh this, they enacted, and endeavoured to
enforce the execution of laws, which excited a for-
midable rebellion in one of their colonies, and fpread
alarm and difaffection through all the reft. But
the avarice of individuals was too violent to be con-
trouled by the authority of laws. Rapacious and
daring adventurers, far removed from the feat of
government, little accuftomed to the reftraints of
military difcipline while in fervice, and ftill lefs
difpofed to refpec~b the feeble jurifdiction of civil
power in an infant colony, defpifed or eluded every
d See NOTE XLII.
regulation
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 257
regulation that fet bounds to their exactions and B o o .
tyranny. The parent ftate, with perfevering atten-
tion, ifTued edicts to prevent the oppreilion of the
Indians ; the colonifts, regardlefsofthefe, or truft-
ing to their diftance for impunity, continued to
Conlider and treat them as Haves. The governors
themfelves, and other officers employed in the co-
lonies, feverat of whom were as indigent and ra-
pacious as the adventurers over whom theyprefided,
were too apt to adopt their contemptuous ideas of
the conquered people; and inftead of checking, en-
couraged or connived at their excefles. The defo-
lation of the New World mould not then be charged
on the court of Spain, or be confidered as the effect
of any fyftem of policy adopted there. It ought to
be imputed wholly to the indigent and often un-
principled adventurers) whofe fortune it was to be
the conquerors and firfl planters of America, who,
by meafures no lefs inconfiderate than unjuft, coun-
teracted the edicts of their fovereign, and have
brought difgrace upon their country.
WITH {till greater injuftice, have many authors
reprefented the intolerating fpirit of the Roman
Catholic religion, as the caufe of exterminating the
Americans, and have accufed the Spanifh ecclefiaf-
tics of animating their countrymen to the ilaughter
of that innocent people, as idolators and enemies of
God. But the firft miffionaries who vifited Ame-
rica, though weak and illiterate, were pious men.
They early efpoufed the defence of the natives, and
VOL. III. S vindicated
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK vindicated their character from the afperfions of
their conquerors, who, defcribing them as inca-
pable of being formed to the offices of civil life,
or of comprehending the doctrines of religion, con-
tended, that they were a fubordinate race of men,
on whom the hand of nature had fet the mark of
fervitude. From the accounts which I have given
of the humane and perfevering zeal of the Spanifh
miflionaries, in protecting the helplefs flock com-
mitted to their charge, they appear in a light which
reflects luflre upon their function. They were mi-
nifters of peace, who endeavoured to wreft the rod
from the hands of oppreffors. To their powerful
interpofition, the Americans were indebted for every
regulation tending to mitigate the rigour of their
fate. The clergy in the Spanifh fettlements, regu-
lar as well as fecular, are flill confidered by the
Indians as their natural guardians, to whom they
have recourfe under the hardfhips and exactions to
which they are too often expofed e .
BUT, notwithstanding the rapid depopulation of
s am re- America, a very confiderable number of the na-
mainmg. *
tive race ftill remains both in Mexico and Peru,
efpecially in thofe parts which were not expofed
to the firft fury of the Spanifh arms, or defolated
by the firft efforts of their induflry, flill more rui-
nous. In Guatimala, Chiapa, Nicaragua, and the
other delightful provinces of the Mexican empire,
See NOTE XLTII.
which
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 259
which ftfetch along the South-fea, the race of In- B o o
dians is flill numerous. Their fettlements in fome '
places are fo populous, as to merit the name of ci-
ties f . In the three audiences into which New Spain
is divided, there are at lead two millions of In-
dians ; a pitiful remnant, indeed, of its ancient po-
pulation, but fuch as flill forms a body of people
fuperior in number to that of all the other inha-
bitants of this extenfive country s . In Peru feveral
diflricts, particularly in the kingdom of Quito, are
occupied almoft entirely by Indians. In other pro-
vinces they are mingled with the Spaniards, and in
many of their fettlements are almoft the only per-
rons who practife the mechanic arts, and fill mofl
of the inferior flations in fociety. As the inhabi-
tants both of Mexico and Peru were accuftomed
to a fixed refidence, and to a certain degree of
regular induflry, lefs violence was requifite in
bringing them to fome conformity with the Euro-
pean modes of civil life. But wherever the Spa-
niards fettled among the favage tribes of America,
their attempts to incorporate with them have been
always fruitlefs, and often fatal to the natives. Im-
patient of reftraint, and difdaining labour as a mark
of fervility, they either abandoned their original
feats, and fought for independence in mountains
and forefts inacceffible to their oppreflbrs, or pe-
rifhed when reduced to a ftate repugnant to their
ancient ideas and habits. In the diftricts adjacent
f See NOTE XLIV. E See NOTE XLV.
S2
a6o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B vii? K to Carthagena, to Panama, and to Buenos- Ayres,
the defolation is more general than even in thofe
parts of Mexico and Peru, of which the Spaniards
have taken moft full pofleflion.
General
ideas of the
policy of
Spain in its
colonies.
BUT the eftablifhments of the Spaniards in the
New World, though fatal to its ancient inhabi-
tants, were made at a period when that monarchy
was capable of forming them to beft advantage.
By the union of all its petty kingdoms, Spain was
become a powerful ftate, equal to fo great an un-
dertaking. Its monarchs, having extended their
prerogative far beyond the limits which once cir-
cumfcribed the f egal power in every kingdom ef
Europe, were hardly fubjeft to controul, either in
concerting or in executing their meafures. In
every wide extended empire, the form of govern-
ment muft be fimple, and the fovereign authority
fuch, that its refolutions may be taken with promp-
titude, and may pervade the whole with fufficient
force. Such was the power of the Spanifh mo-
narchs, when they were called to deliberate concern-
ing the mode of eftablifhing their dominion over
the moft remote provinces, which had ever been
fubjected to any European ftate. In this delibera-
tion, they felt themfelves under no conftitutional
reftraint, and that, as independent maflers of their
own refolves, they might iflue the edids requifite
for modelling the government of the new colonies,
by a mere act of prerogative.
THIS
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 261
THIS early interpofition of the Spanifh crown, in BOOK
order to regulate the policy and trade of its co-
lonies, is a peculiarity which diftinguimes their
progrefs from that of the colonies of any other
European nation. When the Portuguefe, theEng-
lifh, and French, took poflefiion of the regions
in America which they now occupy, the advan-
tages which thefe promifed to yield were fo re-
mote and uncertain, that their colonies were fuf-
fered to flruggle through a hard infancy, almo/l
without guidance or protection from the parent
flate. But gold and filver, the firfl productions of
the Spanifh fettlements in the New World, were
more alluring, and immediately attracted the atten-
tion of their monarchs. Though they had contri-
buted little to the difcovery, and almoft nothing
to the conquefl of the New World, they inftantly
aflumed the function of its legiflators ; and hav-
ing acquired a fpecies of dominion formerly un-
known, they -formed a plan for exercifing it, to
which nothing fimilar occurs in the hiftory of hu>
man affairs.
THE fundamental maxim of Spaniih jurifpru- AH power
i i r r, t r j i and property
dence with relpect to America, is to coniider what ve e d in the
has been acquired there as vefted in the crown,
rather than in the flate. By the bull of Alex-
ander VI. on which, as its great charter, Spain
founded its right, all the regions that had been,
or mould be discovered, were beflowed as a free
gift upon Ferdinand and Ifabella. They and their
S 3 fuccefibrs
262 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fucceflbrs were uniformly held to be the univerfal
i -^ proprietors of the vaft territories, which the arms
of their fubjects conquered in the New World.
From them, all grants of land there flowed, and
to them they finally returned. The leaders who
conducted the various expeditions, the governors
who prefided over the different colonies, the of-
ficers of juftice, arid the minifters of religion, were
all appointed by their authority, and removable at
their pleafure. The people who compofed infant
fettlements were intitled to no privileges inde-
pendent of the fovereign, or that ferved as a bar*
rier againft the power of the crown. It is true,
that when towns were built, and formed into bo-
dies corporate, the citizens were permitted to elecl:
their own magiflrates, who governed them by laws
which the community enacted. Even in the mod
clefpotic dates, this feeble fpark of liberty is not ex-
tinguifhed. But in the cities of Spanifh America,
this jurifdiftion is merely municipal, and is con-
fined to the regulation of their own interior com-
merce and police. In whatever relates to public
government, and the general interefl, the will of the
fovereign is Jaw. No political power originates
from the people. All centers in the crown, and in
the officers of its nomination.
AH the new WHEN the conquefls of the Spaniards in Ame-
dominions of . 111- i r
1 Spain fub. nca were completed, their monarchs, informing
yicoroy*, w ' the plan of internal policy for their new dominions,
divided them into two immenfe governments, one
fubject
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 263
fubject to the viceroy of New Spain, the other to BOO:
the viceroy of Peru. The jurifdiction of the for-
mer extended over all the provinces belonging to
Spain in the northern divifion of the American
continent. Under that of the latter, was compre-
hended whatever me poffefled in South America.
This arrangement, which, from the beginning, was
attended with many inconveniencies, became in-
tolerable when the remote provinces of each vice-
royalty began to improve in induflry and popu-
lation. The people complained of their fubjec-
tion to a fuperior, whofe place of refidence was
fo diftant, or fo inacceffible, as almofl excluded
them from any intercourfe with the feat of govern-
ment. The authority of the viceroy over diftricts
fo far removed from his own eye and obfervation,
was unavoidably both feeble and ill directed. As
a remedy for thofe evils, a third viceroyalty has
been eftablimed in the prefent century, at Santa Fe
de Bogota, the capital of the new kingdom of Gra-
nada, the jurifdiftion of which extends over the
whole kingdom of Tierra Firme, and the province
of Quito h . Thofe viceroys not only reprefent the Their
perfon of their fovereign, but poflefs his regal pre- f
rogatives within the precincts of their own govern-
ments, in their utmofl extent. Like him, they ex-
ercife fupreme authority in every department of go-
vernment, civil, military, and criminal. They have
the fole right of nominating the perfons who hold
h Voy. de Ulloa, i. 23, 255,
S 4 many
264 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK many offices of the higheft importance, and the oc-
cafional privilege of fupplying thofe which, when
they become vacant by death, are in the royal gift,
until the fucceffor appointed by the king mail ar-
rive. The external pomp of their government is
fuited to its real dignity and power. Their courts
are formed upon the model of that at Madrid, with
horfe and foot guards, a houfehold regularly efta-
blimed, numerous attendants, and enfigns of com-
mand, difplaying fuch magnificence, as hardly re-
tains the appearance of delegated authority ',
BUT as the viceroys cannot difcharge in perfoa
f . r _ ... .
the functions or a iupreme magiltrate in every part
of their extenfive jurifdidion, they are aided in their
government by officers and tribunals fimilar to
thofe in Spain, The conduct of civil affairs in the
various provinces and diftri&s, into which the Spa-
nifh dominions in America are divided, is com-
mitted to magiflrates of various orders and denp-
minations ; fome appointed by the king, others by
the viceroy, but all fubjecl to the command of the
latter, and amenable to his jurisdiction. The admi-
raftrationofjufliceis vetted in tribunals, known by
the name of Audiences, and formed upon the model
of the court of Chancery in Spain. Thefe are ele-
ven in number, and difpenfe juitice to as many dif-
tricts, info which the Spanifh dominion^ in Ame-
rica are divided k . The number of judges in the
* Ulloa, Voy.' i. 432. Gage 61.
* pe NOTE XLV1.
court
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 265
court of Audience is various, according to the ex- B o o K.
tent and importance of their jurifdidion. The fta-
tion is no lefs honourable than lucrative, and is
commonly filled by perfons of fuch abilities and
merit as renders this tribunal extremely refpedable.
Both civil and criminal caufes come under their
cognizance, and for each peculiar judges are fet
apart. Though it is only in the moft defpotic go-
vernments, that the fovereign exercifes in perfon
the formidable prerogative of adminiflering juflice
to his fubjedts, and in abfolving, or condemning,
confults no law but what is depofited in his own
bread ; though, in all the monarchies of Europe,
judicial authority is committed tomagiflrates, whofe
decifions are regulated by known laws and efta-
bliiiicd forms, the Spanifh viceroys have often at-
tempted to intrude themlelves into the feat of juf-
tice, and with an ambition which their diftance
from the controul of a fuperior rendered bold, have
aipired at a power which their matter does not ven-
ture to affume. In order to check an ufurpation
which muft have annihilated juftice and fecurity in
the Spanifh colonies, by fubje&ing the lives and
property of all to the will of a fmgle man, the vice-
roys have been prohibited, in the moft explicit
terms, by repeated laws, from interfering in the ju-
dicial proceedings of the courts of Audience, or
from delivering an opinion, or giving a voice with
refpecl to any point litigated before them '. la
1 Recop. lib. ii. tit. xv. 1. 35. 38. 44. lib. iii. tit, iii.
?: 3<5 37-
fome
266 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
vn? K f me particular cafes, in which any queftion of ci-
~ ' vil right is involved, even the political regulations
of the viceroy may be brought under the review
of the court of Audience, which, in thofe in-
flances, may be deemed an intermediate power
placed between him and the people, as a confti-
tutional barrier to circumfcribe his jurifdi&ion.
But as legal reftraints on a perfon who reprefents
the fovereign, and is clothed with his authority, are
little fuited to the genius of Spanifh policy ; the
hefitation and referve with which it confers this
power on the courts of Audience are remarkable.
They may advife, they may remonftrate ; but, in
the event of a direct collifion between their opinion
and the will of the viceroy, what he determines
mud be carried into execution, and nothing re-
mains for them, but to lay the matter before the
king and the council of the Indies m . But to be
intitled to remonflrate, and inform againft a per-
fon, before whom all others muft be filent, and
tamely fubmit to his decrees, is a privilege which
adds dignity to the courts of Audience. This is
farther augmented by another circumftance. Upon
the death of a viceroy, without any provifion of a
fucceffor by the king, the fupreme power is veiled
in the court of Audience refident in the capital of
the viceroyalty, and the fenior judge, affifted by
his brethren, exercifes all the functions of the vice-
m Solorz. dejure Ind. lib. iv. 0.3. 0.40,41. Recop. lib. ii.
tit. xv. 1.36. lib. iii. tit. iii. 1. 34. lib, v. tit. ix. 1. I.
21 roy
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 267
roy while the office continues vacant n . In matters BOOK.
which come under the cognizance of the Audi- *- >*-
ences, in the courfe of their ordinary jurifdiction,
as courts of juftice, their fentences are final in
every litigation concerning property of lefs value
than fix thoufand pefos j but when the fubjed in
difpute exceeds that fum, their decifions are fub-
jecl to review, and may be carried by appeal before
the royal council of the Indies .
IN this council, one of the moft confiderable in council of
, , r ,. n , , the Indie*.
the monarchy for dignity and power, is velted the
fupreme government of all the Spanim dominions
in America. It was firft eftablimed by Ferdinand,
in the year 1511, and brought into a more perfect
form by Charles V. in the year 1524. Its jurif- i
diction extends to every department, ecclefiaftical,
civil, military, and commercial. All laws and
ordinances relative to the government and police
of the colonies originate there, and mufl be ap-
proved of by two-thirds of the members, befoue
they are iflued in the name of the king. All the
offices, of which the nomination is referved to the
crown, are conferred in this council. To it each
perfon employed in America, from the viceroy
downwards, is accountable. It reviews their con-
duct, rewards their fervices, and inflicts the pu-
nifhments due to their malverfations i". Before it,
n Recop. lib. if. tit. xv. 1. 57, &c.
Recop. lib. v. tit. xiii. 1. i, &c.
t Recop. lib. ii. tit. ii. L I, 2, Sec.
is
s68 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK i s l a id whatever intelligence, either public or fe
cret, is received from America, and every fcheme
of improving the adminiflration, the police, or the
commerce of the colonies, is fubmitted to its con-
fideration. From the firft inftitution of the coun*
cil of the Indies, it has been the. conftant object of
the catholic monarchs to maintain its authority,
and to make fuch additions from time to time,
both to its power and its fplendor, as might render
it formidable to all their fubjects in the New
World. Whatever degree of public order and
virtue ftill remains in that country, where fo many
circumftances confpire to relax the former, and to
corrupt the latter, may be aicribed in a great mea-r
fure to the wife regulations and vigilant infpe&ion
of this refpe&able tribunal q .
Ca<a de
Contiata-
cion.
Its func-
tions.
As the king is fuppofed to be always prefent in
his council of the Indies, its meetings are held in
the place where he refides. Another tribunal has
been inftituted, in order to regulate fuch com-
mercial affairs as required the immediate and per-
fonal infpe&ion of thofe appointed to fuperintend
them. This is called Cafa de la Contratation, or
the houfe of trade, and was eftablifhed in Seville,
the port to which commerce with the New World
was confined, as early as the year 1501. It may be
confidered both as a board of trade, and as a court
of judicature. In the former capacity, it takes
* Solorz. dc Jure Ind. lib, iv. 1. J2 f
cognizance
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 269
Cognizance of whatever relates to the intercourfe BOOK
of Spain with America, it regulates what commo-
dities fhould be exported thither, and has the in-
fpection of fuch as are received in return. It de-
cides concerning the departure of the fleets for the
Weft Indies, the freight and burden of the mips,
their equipment and deftination. In the latter
capacity, it judges with refpect to every quef-
tion, civil, commercial, or criminal, arifmg in
confequence of the tranfaftions of Spain with Ame-
rica ; and in both thefe departments, its decifions
are exempted from the review of any court but that
of the council of the Indies r .
SUCH is the great outline of that fyftem of go-
vernment, which Spain has eflabliflied in her
American colonies. To enumerate the various
fubordinate boards and officers employed in the
adminiflration of juftice, in collecting the public
revenue, and in regulating the interior police of the
country ; to defcribe their different functions, and
to enquire into the mode and effect of their opera-
tions ; would prove a detail no lefs intricate than
minute, and uninterefling.
THE firft object of the Spanifh monarchs was to
fecure the productions of the colonies to the parent exclude
ftate, by an abfolute prohibition of any intercourfe
with foreign nations. They took pofleflion of
' Recop. lib. ix. tit. i. Veitia Norte dc la Contratacion,
lib. i. c. J.
America
trade.
270 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK America by right of conqueft, and, confcious hot
v _ r y -'_f only of the feeblenefs of their infant fettlements,
but aware of the difficulty in eftablifhing their do*
minion over regions fo extenfive, or in retaining fo
many reluctant nations under the yoke, they dread-
ed the intrufion of ftrangers ; they even fhunned
their infpection, and endeavoured to keep them at
a diftance from their coafts. This fpirit of jea-
loufy and exclufion, which at firfl was natural,
and perhaps neceffary, augmented as their poffef*
lions in America extended, and the value of them
came to be more fully underflood. In confequence
of it, a fyftem of colonizingwas introduced, to which
there had hitherto been nothing fimilar among man-
kind. In the ancient world, it was not uncom-
mon to fend forth colonies. But they were of two
kinds only. They were either migrations, which
ferved to difburden a ftate of its fuperfluous fub-
jects, when they multiplied too fafl for the terri*
tory which they occupied : or they were military
detachments ftationed, as garrifons, in a conquered
province. The colonies of fome Greek republics,
and the fwarms of northern barbarians which fettled
in different parts of Europe, were of the firflfpecies.
The Roman colonies were of the fecond. In the
former, the connection with the mother-country
quickly ceafed, and they became independent dates.
In the latter, as the disjunction was not complete,
Regulations the dependence continued. In their American
purpofc. fettlements, the Spanifh monarchs took what was
peculiar to each, and fludied to unite them. By
fending
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 271
fending colonies to regions fo remote, by eflablifh- BOO
ing in each a form of interior policy and admini- L "-^,
flration, under diftinct governors, and with pecu-
liar laws, they disjoined them from the mother-
country. By retaining in their own hands the
rights of legiflation, as well as that of impofmg
taxes, together with the power of nominating the
perfons who filled every department of executivego-
vernment, civil or military, they fecured their de-
pendence upon the parent ftate. Happily for Spain,
the fituation of her colonies was fuch, as rendered it
pofiible to reduce this new idea into practice. Al-
moft all the countries which fhe had difcovered ,and
occupied, lay within the tropics. The productions
of that large portion of the globe are different from
thofe of Europe, even in its moft fouthern provinces.
The qualities of the climate and of the foil naturally
turn the induftry of fuch as fettle there into new chan-
nels. When the Spaniards firft took poffeffion of
their dominions in America, the precious metals
whichthey yielded, werethe only object that attracted
their attention. Even when their efforts began to take
a better direction, they employed themfelves almoft
wholly in rearing fuch peculiar productions of the
climate, as, from their rarity or value, were of chief
demand in the mother-country. Allured by vaft
profpects of immediate wealth, they difdained to
xvafte their induftry onwhatwas lefs lucrative, but of
fuperior moment. In order to render it impoffible to
correct this error, and to prevent them from making
any efforts in induftry which might interfere with
thofe
272 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K thofe of the mother-country, the eftablimment of
v-^w feveral fpecies of manufactures, and even the cul-
ture of the vine, or olive, are prohibited in the
Spanifh colonies % under fevere penalties r . They
muft truft entirely to the mother-country for the
objects of primary neceffity. Their clothes, their
furniture, their inftruments of labour, their luxu-
ries, and even a confiderable part of the provifions
which they confume* were imported from Spain.
During a great part of the fixteenth century, Spain,
poflefling an extenfive commerce and flourifhing
manufactures, could fupply with eafe the growing
demands of her colonies, from her own ftores.
The produce of their mines and plantations was
given in exchange for thefe. But all that the co-
lonies received, as well as all that they gave, was
conveyed in Spanifh bottoms. No veflel belong-
ing to the colonies was ever permitted to carry the
commodities of America to Europe. Even the
commercial intercourfe of one colony with another ^
was either abfolutely prohibited, or limited by
many jealous reftridtions. All that America yields
flows into the ports of Spain ; all that it confirmes
muft iflue from them. No foreigner can enter its
colonies without exprefs permiffion ; no veifel of
any foreign nation is received into their harbours ;
and the pains of death, with confifcation of move-
ables, are denounced againft every inhabitant who
See NOTE XLVII.
* B. Ulloa Retab. des Manuf. Sec. p. 206.
prefumes
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 273
prefumes to trade with them ". Thus the colonies
are kept in a ftate of perpetual pupillage ; and by
the introduction of this commercial dependence, a
refinement in policy of which Spain fetthe firft ex-
ample to the European nations, the fupremacy of
the parent ftate hath been maintained over remote
colonies during two centuries and a half.
SUCH are the capital maxims to which the Spa- slow pro-
nifh monarchs feem to have attended in forming Ration p< *~
their new fettlements in America. But they could rope,
not plant with the fame rapidity that they had de-
ftroyed : and, from many concurring caufes, their
progrefs has been extremely flow, in filling up the
immenfe void which their devastations had occa-
fioned. As foon as the rage for difcovery and adven-
ture began to abate, the Spaniards opened their eyes
to dangers and diftreffes, which at firft they did not
perceive, or had defpifed. The numerous hard-
ihips with which the members of infant colonies
have to Struggle, the difeafes of unwholefome cli-
mates, fatal to the constitution of Europeans ; the
difficulty ofbringinga country, covered with forefts,
into culture j the want of hands neceffary for labour
in fome provinces, and the flow reward of induflry,
in all unlefs where the accidental difcovery of mines
enriched a few fortunate adventurers, were evils
univerfally felt and magnified. Difcouraged by
the view of thefe, the fpirit of migration was fo
u Recopil. lib, ix. tit. xxvii. 1. 1.4. 7, &c.
VOL. III. T much
-HISTORY OF AMERICA,
BOOK much damped, that fixty years after the difcovery
of" the New World, the number of Spaniards in all
its provinces is computed not to have exceeded fif-
teen thoufand x .
XHE mode in which property was diflributed in
by i he ftate . 11
i property, the Spanifh colonies, and the regulations eftablim-
ed with refpeft to the tranfmiflion of it, whether
by defcent or by fale, were extremely unfavourable
to population. In order to promote a rapid in-
creafe of people in any new fettlement, property
in land ought to be divided into fmall mares, and
the alienation of it mould be rendered extremely
eafy y. But the rapacioufnefs of the Spanifh con-
querors of the New World paid no regard to this
fundamental maxim of policy ; and, as they pof-
feffed power, which enabled them to gratify the
utmoft extravagance of their wifhes, many feized
diftricls of great extent, and held them as encomi-
endas. By degrees they obtained the privilege of
converting a part of thefe into Maycrafgos, a.
fpecies of fief, introduced into the Spanifh fyftem
of feudal jurifprudence % which can neither be
divided nor alienated. Thus a great portion of
landed property, under this rigid form of en-
tail, is withheld from circulation, and defcends
from father to fon unimproved, and of little
value either to. the proprietor or to the commu-
nity. In the account which I have given of
* Sse NOTE XLVIII. r Dr. Smith's Inquiry,^. 166.
* Recop. lib. 'fv. tit. Hi. 1. 24.
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 275
the reduction of Peru, various examples occur of s o o K
enormous tradls of country occupied by fome of
the conquerors '. The exceffes in other provinces
were fimilar, for as the value of the lands which
the Spaniards acquired, was originally eftimated ac-
cording to the number of Indians which lived upon
them, America was in general fo thinly peopledj
that only diftricts of great extent could afford fuch
a number of labourers as might be employed in the
mines with any profpeQ: of confiderable gain. The
pernicious effects of thofe radical errors in the dif-
tribution and nature of property in the Spanifh
fettlementSj are felt through every department of
induftry, and may be confidered as one great caufe
of a progrefs in population fo much flower than
that which has taken, place in better conflituted
colonies b .
To this we may add, that the fupport of the eri- anrl the
ormous and expenfive fabric of their ecclefiaftical Sfil
eftablifhment, has been a burden on the Spanim P licy4
colonies, which has greatly retarded the progrefs
of population and induftry. The payment of
tythes is a heavy tax" on induftry ; and if the ex-
action of them be not regulated and circumfcribed
by the wifdom of the civil magiftrate, it becomes
intolerable and ruinous. But, inftead of any re-
flraint on the claims of ecciefiaflics* the inconfi-
derate zeal of the Spanifh legiflators admitted them
* Bookvi. p. 139. b See NOTE XLIX.
T 2 into
176 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK i n to America in their full extent, and at once im-
pofed on their infant colonies a burden which is in
no flight degree oppreffive to fociety, even in its
moft improved ftate. As early as the year i5oij
the payment of tythes in the colonies was enjoined,
and the mode of it regulated by law. Every ar-
ticle of primary neceffity, towards which the at-
tention of new fettlers muft naturally be turned, is
fubjefted to that grievous exaction *. Nor were the
demands of the clergy confined to articles of fimple
and eafy culture. Its more artificial and operofe
productions, fuch as fugar, indigo, and cochineal,
were foon declared to be tythable d ; and thus the
induflry of the planter was taxed in every ftage of
its progrefs, from its rudeft eflay to its higheft im-
provement. To the weight of this legal impofi-
tion, the bigotry of the American Spaniards has
made many voluntary additions. From their fond
delight in the external pomp and parade of reli-
gion, and from fuperftitious reverence for ecclefi-
aftics of every denomination, they have beftowed
profufe donatives on churches and monafteries, and
have unprofitably wafted a large proportion of that
wealth, which might have nourifhed and given vi-
gour to productive labour in growing colonies.
|f * BUT fo fertile and inviting are the regions of
?* America which the Spaniards have occupied,
that, notwithftanding all the circumftances which
c Recop. lib. i. tit. xiv. L 2.
J Recop. lib. i. tit. xiv. 1. 3 and 4.
have
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 2 77
have checked and retarded population, it has gra- BOOK
dually increafed, and filled the colonies of Spain \_ -* __j
with citizens of various orders. Among thefe, the
Spaniards, who arrive from Europe, diftinguifhed
by the name ofChapefones, are the firft in rank and chapctones
power. From the jealous attention of the Spanifh
court to fecurethe dependence of the colonies on the
parent ftate,all departments ofconfequence are fitted
byperfons fent from Europe ; and, in order to pre-
vent any of dubious fidelity from being employ-
ed, each muft bring proof of a clear defcent from a
family o^OldChri/iians^ untainted with any mixture
of Jewifh or Mahometan blood, and never difgraced
by any cenfure of the inquifition e . In fuch pure
hands, power is deemed to be fafely lodged, and
almofl every public function, from the viceroyalty
downwards, is committed to them alone. Every
perfon, who by his birth, or refidence in America,
may be fufpected of any attachment or intereft ad-
verfe to the mother-country, is the object of dif-
truft to fuch a degree, as amounts nearly to an ex-
clufion from all offices of confidence or authority f .
By this confpicuous predilection of the court, the
Chapetones are raifed to fuch pre-eminence in
America, that they look down with difdain on every
other order of men.
THE character and ftate of the Creoles, or de- creoiw the
fcendants of Europeans fettled in America, the
e Recopil. lib. ix. tit. xxvi. 1. 15, 1 6.
< See NOTE I~
T 3 fecond
278 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
op K fecond clafs of fubjecls in the Spanifh colonies, have
enabled the Chapetones to acquire other advan*
tages, hardly lefs confiderable than thofe which
they derive from the partial favour of government.
Though foine of the Creolian race are defcended
from the conquerors of the New World ; though
others can trace up their pedigree to the nobleft
families in Spain ; though many are poflefled of
ample fortunes, yet, by the enervating influence of
a fultry climate, by the rigour of a jealous govern-
ment, and by their defpair of attaining that diftinc-
tion to which mankind naturally afpire, the vigour
of their minds is ib entirely broken, that a great
part of them wafte life in luxurious indulgencies,
mingled with an illiberal fuperftition flill more der
bafmg. Languid and unenterprifing, the opera-
tions of an active extended commerce would be to
them fo cumberfome and oppreilive, that in almoft
every part of America they decline engaging in it,
The interior traffic of every colony, as well as any
trade which is permitted with the neighbouring
provinces, and with Spain itfelf, are carried on
chiefly by the Chapetones z ; who, as the .recom-
pence of their induftry, amafs immenfe wealth,
while the Creoles, funk in floth, are fatisned with
the revenues of their paternal eflates.
FROM this dated competition for power and
wealth between thofe two orders of citizens, and
S Voy. dc Ulloa, i. 27. 25!. Voy. de Frezler, 227.
2Q the
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
279
the various paflions excited by a rivalfhip fo inte- BOOK.
retting, their hatred is violent and implacable. On __ *~~-i
very occafion, fymptoms of this averfion break
out, and the common appellations which each be-
ftows on the other, are as contemptuous as thofe
which flow from the moll deep-rooted national an-
tipathy h . The court of Spain, from a refinement
of diftruftful policy, -chenilles thofe feeds of dit-
cord, and foments this mutual jealoufy, 'which not
only prevents the two mofl powerful clafies of its
fubjeds in the New World from combining againft
the parent ftate, but prompts each, with the mofl
vigilant zeal, to obferve the motions and to coun-
teract the fchemes of the other,
THE third clafs of inhabitants In the Spanffh co- A mixed
... .1 i rr i r iace 'onus
lomes is a mixed race, the offspring either or an the third
European and a negro, or of an European and citizens.
Indian, the former called Mulattoes, the latter
Meftizos. As the court of Spain, felicitous to in-
corporate its new vaffals with its ancient fubjects,
early encouraged the Spaniards fettled in America
to marry the natives of that country, feveral alli-
ances of this kind were formed in their infant co-
lonies '. But it has been more owing to licentious
indulgence, than to compliance with this injunc-
tion of their fovereigns, that this mixed breed has
h Gage's Survey, p. 9. Frezler, 226.
J Recopil. lib. vi.tit. i. 1. 2. Herrera, dec. I. Kb. v. c. 12,
J3ec. 3. lib. yii. c.
T 4
multiplied
2 8o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK multiplied fo greatly, as to conftitute a confiderable
w g%-'J part of the population in all the Spanim fettle-
ments. The feveral ftages of defcent in this race,
and the gradual variations of (hade until the Afri.-
can black, or the copper colour of America,
brighten into an European complexion, are accu-
rately marked by the Spaniards, and each diftin-
guiflied by a peculiar name. Thofe of the firft
and fecond generations are confidered, and treated as
mere Indians and Negroes ; but in the third defcent,
the character! ft ic hue of the former difappears ;
and in the fifth, the deeper tint of the latter is fo
entirely effaced, that they can no longer be diftin-
guifhed from Europeans, and become entitled to
all their privileges k . It is chiefly by this mixed
race, whofe frame is remarkably robufl and hardy,
that the mechanic arts are carried on in the Spanifh
fettlements, and other active functions in fociety are
difcharged, which the two higher clafles of citizens,
from pride,][or from indolence, difdain to exercife '.
THE negroes hold the fourth rank among the
inhabitants of the Spanifh colonies. The intro-
duction of that unhappy part of the human fpecies
into America, together with their fervices and fuf-
ferings there, mail be fully explained in another
place ; here they are mentioned chiefly, in order
to point out a peculiarity in their lituation under
k Voy. de Ulloa, u p. 27.
1 Voy. de Ulloa, i. 29. Voy. de Bouguer, p. 104. Mc-
l^ndcz, Teforos Verdaderos, i, 354.
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 281
the Spanim dominion. In feveral of their fettle- BOOK
. , , . XT . VIII.
ments, particularly in .New bpain, negroes are
moflly employed in domeftic fervice. They form
a principal part In the train of luxury, and are
cherifhed and carefied by their fuperiors, to whofe
vanity and pleafures they are equally fubfervient.
Their drefs and appearance are hardly lefs fplendid
than that of their matters, whofe manners they imi-
tate, and whofe paflions they imbibe m . Elevated by
this diftindion, they have afiumed fuch a tone of
fuperiority over the Indians, and treat them with
fuch infolence and fcorn, that the antipathy be-
tween the two races has become implacable.
Even in Peru, where negroes feem to be more
numerous, and are employed in field-work as well
as domeftic fervice, they maintain their afcendant
over the Indians, and the mutual hatred of one to
the other fubfifts with equal violence. The laws
have induftrioufly fomented this averfion, to which
accident gave rife, and, Ly mofl rigorous injunc-
tions, have endeavoured to prevent every inter-
courfe that might form a bond of union between
the two races. Thus, by an artful policy, the
Spaniards derive ftrength from that circumftance
in population which is the weaknefs of other Eu-
ropean colonies, and have fecured as aflbciates and
defenders, thofe very perfons who elfewiiere are
objects of jealoufy and terror n .
171 Gage, p. 56. Voy. de Ulloa, i. 451.
n Recopil. lib. vii. tit. v. 1. 7. Hen-era, dec. 8. lib. vii.
c. 12. Frczier, 244.
THE
282 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o
VIII.
THE Indians form the laft, and the moft de-
preffed order of men in the country, which be-
longed to their anceftors. I have already traced
the progrefs of the Spanifh ideas with refpeft to
the condition and treatment of that people, and
have mentioned the moft important of their more
early regulations, concerning a matter of fo much
confequence in the adminiftration of their new do-
minions. But fince the period to which I have
brought down the hiftory of America, the informa-
tion and experience acquired during two centuries,
have enabled the court of Spain to make fuch im-
provements in this part of its American fyftem, that
a fhort view of the prefent condition of the Indians
may prove both curious and interefting.
BY the famous regulations of Charles V. in 1542,
which have been fo often mentioned, the high
pretenfions of the conquerors of the New World,
who confidered its inhabitants as flaves, to whofe
fervice they had acquired a full right of property,
were finally abrogated. From that period, the
Indians have been reputed freemen, and entitled
to the privileges of fubjects. When admitted into
this rank, it was deemed juft, that they mould
contribute towards the fupport and improvement
of the fociety which had adopted them as mem-
bers. But as no confiderable benefit could be ex-
pected from the voluntary efforts of men unac-
quainted with regular induftry, and averfe to la-
bour, the court of Spain found it neceffafy to fix
and
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 283
and fecure, by proper regulations, what it thought BOOK
reaibnable to exacl from them. With this view, "*'
an annual tax was impofed upon every male, from
the age of eighteen to fifty ; and at the fame time,
the nature as well as the extent of the fervices
which they might be required to perform, were
afcertained with precifion. This tribute varies in
different provinces ; but if we take that paid in
New Spain as a medium, its annual amount is
nearly four millings a head ; no exorbitant fum in
countries where, as at the fource of wealth, the
value of money is extremely low . The right of
levying this tribute likewife varies. In America,
every Indian is either an immediate vaffal of the
crown, or depends upon fome fubject to whom the
diflrict in which he refides has been granted for a
limited time, under the denomination of an enco-
mienda. In the former cafe, about three-fourths of
the tax is paid into the royal treafury ; in the lat-
ter, the fame proportion of it belongs to the holder
of the grant. When Spain fir ft took poffemon of
America, the greater part of it was parcelled out
among its conquerors, or thofe who nrft fettled
there, and but a fmall portion referved for the
crown. As thofe grants which were made for two
lives only P, reverted fucceflively to the fovereign, he
had it in his power either to diffufe his favours by
See NOTE LI. Recopil. lib. vi. tit. v. 1. 42. Hack-
luyt, vol. iii. p. 461.
f Recopil. lib. vi. tit. viii. 1. 48. Solorz. de Ind. Jure,
lib. ii. c. 1 6.
grants
284 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, grants to new proprietors, or to augment his own
^ - _> revenue by valuable annexations 1. Of thefe, the
latter has been frequently chofen ; the number of
Indians now depending immediately on the crown,
is much greater than in the firft age after the con-
queft, and this branch of the royal revenue conti-
nues to extend.
The femces THE benefit arifmg from the fervices of the In-
dians accrues either to the crown, or to the holder
of the encomienda, according to the fame rule ob-
ferved in the payment of tribute. Thofe fer-
vices, however, which can now be legally exact-
ed, are very different from the talks originally im-
pofed upon the Indians. The nature of the work
which they mud perform is defined, and an equi-
table recompence is granted for their labour. The
ftated fervices demanded of the Indians, may be
divided into two branches. They are either em-
ployed in works of primary neceility, without which
fociety cannot fubfift comfortably, or are com-
f pelled to labour in the mines, from which the
Spanilh colonies' derive their chief value and im-
portance. In confequence of the former, they are
obliged to affift in the culture of maize, and other
grain of neceflary confumption ; in tending cattle ;
in erecting edifices of public utility ; in building
bridges ; and in forming high roads r ; but they
i See NOTE LIT.
r Recopil. lib. vi. tit. xiii. 1. 19. Solorz. de Ind. Jure, ii.
lib. i. c. 6, 7. 9.
cannot
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 285
cannot be conftrained to labour in raifmg vines, BOOK
olives, and fugar-canes, or any fpecies of culti- ^^"-_,
vation, which has for its object the gratification
of luxury, or commercial profit s . In confequence
of the latter, the Indians are compelled to un-
dertake the more unpleafant tafk, of extracting
ore from the bowels of the earth, and of refining it
by fucceffive procefies, no lefs unwholfome than
operofe l .
THE mode of exacting both thefe fervices is the The mode
fame, and is under regulations framed with a view
of rendering it as little oppreffive as poflible to the
Indians. They are called out fucceffively in divi-
fions, termed Mitas, and no perfon can be com-
pelled to go but in his turn. In Peru, the num-
ber called out mufl not exceed the feventh part of
the inhabitants in any diftrict u . In New Spain,
where the Indians are more numerous, it is fixed
at four in the hundred w . During what time the
labour of fuch Indians, as are imployed in agri-
culture, continues, I have not been able to learn \
But in Peru, each Mita, or divifion, deftined for
the mines, remains there fix months ; and while
engaged in this fervice, a labourer never receives
lefs than two millings a day, and often earns more
than double that fum y. No Indian, refiding at a
-* Reeopil. lib. vi. tit. xiii. 1.8. Solorz. lib. i. c.7.N4i,&c.
' See NOTE LIII. Recop. lib.vi, tit. xii. 1. 21.
* Recopil. lib.vi. 1. 22. * See NOTE LIV.
y Ulloa Entreten. 265, 266.
2 1 greater
2 86 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK, greater diftance than thirty miles from a mine$
^_ ^ 1 j is included in the Mita, or divifion employed in
working it z ; nor are the inhabitants of the low
country expofed now to certain deflruction, as they
were at ftrfl, when under the dominion of the con-
querors, by compelling them to remove from that
warm climate, to the cold elevated regions where
minerals abound a .
HOW go- THE Indians who live in the principal towns,
are entirely fubjet to the Spaniih laws and magi-
flrates ; but in their own villages, they are go-
verned by Caziques, fome of whom are the de-
fcendants of their ancient lords, others are named
by the Spanifh viceroys. Thefe regulate the petty
affairs of the people under them, according to
maxims of juftice, tranfmitted to them by tra-
dition from their anceftors. To the Indians, this
jurifdiftion lodged in fuch friendly hands, affords
fome confolation ; and fo little formidable is this
dignity to their new mailers, that they often allow
it to defcend by hereditary right b . For the far-
ther relief of men fo much expofed to oppreffion,
the Spaniih court has appointed an officer in every
diftrict, with the title of Protector of the Indians.
It is his function, as the name implies, to affert
the rights of the Indians ; to appear as their de-
fender in the courts of juftice; and, by the inter-
pofition of his authority, to fet bounds to the en-
z Recopil. lib. vi. tit. xii. 1. 3.
a Ibid. 1. 29. and tit. i. 1. 13. See NOTE LV.
k Solorz. de Jure Ind. lib. i. c. 26, Recopil; lib. vi. tit. vii.
croachments
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 287
croachments and exactions of his countrymen c . A B o o K
certain portion of the referved fourth of the annual
tribute, is deflined for the falary of the caziques
and protectors ; another is applied to the main-
tenance of the clergy employed in the inflruclion of
the Indians d . Another part feems to be appro-
priated for the benefit of the Indians themfelves,
and is applied for the payment of their tribute in
years of famine, or when a particular diftrict is af-
fected by any extraordinary local calamity c . Be-
fides this, provifion is made by various laws, that
hofpitals mall be founded in every new fettlement
for the reception of Indians f . Such hofpitals have
accordingly been erected, both for the indigent
and infirm, in Lima, in Cuzco, and in Mexico,
where the Indians are treated with tendernefs and
humanity s .
SUCH are the leading principles in the jurifpru-
dence and policy by which the Indians are now go-
verned in the provinces belonging to Spain. In
thofe regulations of the Spanifh monarchs, we dif-
cover no traces of that cruel fyftem of extermina-
tion, which they have been charged with adopting ;
and if we admit, that the neceility of fecuring fub-
fiftence for their colonies, or the advantages de-
c Solorz. lib. i. c. 17. p. 201. Recop. lib. vi. tit. vi.
A Recop. lib. vi. tit. v. 1. 30. Tit. xvi. 1. 12 15.
e Recopil. lib. vi. tit. iv. 1. 13.
f Ibid. lib. i. tit. iv. 1. I, &c.
* Voy. de Ulloa, i. 429. 509. Churchill, iv. 496.
rived
2 S8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK rived from working the mines, give them a right
c^-v-L^ to avail themfelves of the labour of the Indians, we
muft allow, that the attention with which they re-
gulate and recompence thai labour, is provident and
fagacious. In no code of laws is greater folicitude
difplayed, or precautions multiplied with more pru-
dent concern for the prefervation, the fecurity, and
the happinefs of the fubject, than we difcover in
the collection of the Spanim laws for the Indies.
But thofe later regulations, like the more early
edicts which have been already mentioned, have
too often proved ineffectual remedies againfl the
evils which they were intended to prevent. In every
age, if the fame caufes continue to operate, the
fame effects muft follow. From the immenfe dif-
tance between the power entrufted with the execu-
tion of laws, and that by whofe authority they are
enacted, the vigour even of the moft abfolute go-
vernment muft relax, and the dread of a fuperior,
too remote to obferve with accuracy, or to punifh
with difpatch, muft infenfibly abate. Notwithftand-
ing the numerous injunctions of the Spanim mo-
narchs, the Indians ftill fuffer on many occafions,
both from the avarice of individuals, and from the
exactions of the magiftrates, who ought to have
protected them ; unreafonable tafks are impofed ;
the term of their labour is prolonged beyond the
period fixed by .law, and they groan under many of
the infults and wrongs which are the lot of a de-
pendent people h From fome information on which I
* See NOTE LVI.
can
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
can depend, fuch oppreflion abounds more in Peruj BOOK
than in any other colony. But it is not general. Ac- '
tording to the accounts, even of thofe authors who
are moft difpofed to exaggerate the fufferings of the
Indians, they, in feveral provinces, enjoy not only
eafe, but affluence ; they pofiefs large farms ; they
are maflers of numerous herds and flocks ; and, by
the knowledge which they have acqdired of Euro-
pean arts and induftry, are fupplied riot only with
the neceffaries, but with many luxuries of life '.
AFTER explaining the form of civil government
in the Spanifh colonies, and the ftate of the va- tuuonof
i r f r i ^ i i colonies.
nous orders or perlons lubject to it, the peculiarities
in their ecclefiaftical conftitutidn merit confidera-
tion. Notwlthftanding the fuperftitious veneration
with which the Spaniards are devoted to the Holy
See, the vigilant and jealous policy of Ferdinand
early prompted him to take precautions againft the
introdil&ion of the papal dominion into America;
With this view, he folicited Alexander VL for a
grant to the crown of the tythes in all the newly-
difcovered countries k , which he obtained on condi-
tion of his making provifion for the religious in-
ftrudion of the natives. Soon after Julius II. con-
ferred on him, arid his fucceffbrs, the right of pa-
tronage, and the abfolute difpofal of all ecclefiaftical
1 Gage's Survey, p. 85. 90. 104. 119, &c.
^ Bulla Alex. VI. A; D. 1501, ap. Solorz. <k Jure Ind. ii.
p. 498.
VOL. Ill, U benefices
290 HISTORY OF AMERICA. -
B " vi?i K ^ ene ^ lces there '. Both thefe pontiffs, unacquainted
U" ->-"- w ith the value of what he demanded, beflowed
thofe donations with an inconflderate liberality,
which their fucceffors have often lamented, and
wifhed to recal. In confequence of thofe grants,
the Spanifh monarchs have become in efFecl: the
heads of the American church. In them the ad-
mimftration of its revenues is. veiled. Their no-
mination of perfons to fupply vacant benefices is
inftantly confirmed by the pope. Thus, in all
Spanifh America, authority of every fpecies centers
in the Crown. There no collifion is known be-
tween fpifhual and temporal jurifdiftion. The
king is the only fuperior, his name alone is heard
of, and no dependence upon any foreign power has
been introduced. Papal bulls cannot be admitted
into America, nor are they of any force there, until
they have been previoufly examined, and approved
of by the royal council of the Indies ra ; and if any
bull mould be furreptitioufly introduced, and cir-
culated in America without obtaining that appro-
bation, ecclefiaftics are required not only to prevent
it from taking effect, but to feize all the copies of
it, and tranfmit them to the council of the Indies ".
To this limitation of the papal jurifdiclion, equally
fingular, whether we confider the age and nation, in
which it was devifed, or the jealous attention with
\vhich Ferdinand, and his fucceflbrs, have fludied to
1 Bulk JuHi, Ji. 1508, ap. Solorx. de Jure Ind. JiVjop.
m KecopiL lib. i. tit. ix. 1. 2. and Autas del Confejo de las
, clxi. n Recap, lib. i. tit. vii. 1. 55.
maintain
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
maintain it in Full force % Spain is indebted, in a
great meafure, for the uniform tranquillity which
has reigned in her American dominions.
o o
VIII.
m and
wments
THE hierarchy is eftablimed in America in (he Fo , rn
/ enoo
fame form as in Spain, with its full train of arch- ?r the church
in the Spa-
biihops, bifhops, deans, and other dignitaries. The m(h colonies,
inferior clergy are divided into three clalfes, un-
der the denomination of Curas^ Doftrlmros, and
Mijfioneros. The firft are parifh-priefts in thofe
parts of the country where the Spaniards have fet-
tled. The fecond have the charge of ftich diftricts
as are inhabited by IndiansTubjeded to the Spanifh
government, and living under its protection. The
third are employed in mftructing and converting
thofe fiercer tribes, which difdain fubmiilion to. the
Spanifh yoke, and live, in remote or inacceffible
regions, to which the Spanifh arms have not pe-
netrated. So numerous are the ecclefiaftics of
all thofe various orders, and fiich the profufe li-
berality with which many of them are endowed,
that the revenues of the church in America are
immenfe. The Romifh fuperftition appears with
its utrnofl pomp in the New World. Churches
and convents there are magnificent, and richly
adorned ; and on high feflivals, the difplay of
gold and filver, and precious flones, is fuch as ex-
ceeds the conception of an European p . An eccle-
fiaftical eftablilhment fo fplendid and expenfive,
* Rccop. lib. i. tit; vii. 1. 55. p^flim.
P Voy. dc Ulloa, i. 430.
U 2 is
29* HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o o K is unfavourable, as has been formerly obferved, to
C t*J the progrefs of rifmg colonies j but in countries
where riches abound, and the people are fo de-
lighted with parade, that religion muft aflame it,
in order to attract their veneration, this propen*
iity to oftentation has been indulged, and becomes
lefs pernicious.
Slas'of * THE early inflitution of monafteries in the Spa-
itituSons. m * m '^ colonies, and the inconfiderate zeal in mul-
tiplying them, have been attended with confe-
quences more fatal. In every new fettlemerit, the
firft object mould be to encourage population, and
to incite every citizen to contribute towards aug-
menting the number and flrengthof the community,.
During the youth and vigour of fociety, while
there is room to fpread, and fuftenance is procured
with facility, mankind increafe with amazing ra-
pidity. But the Spaniards had hardly taken poffef-
iion of America, when, with a mod prepoflerous
policy, they began to erect convents, where perfons
of both fexes were mut up, under a vow to defeat
the purpofe of nature, and to counteract the firfl
of her laws. Influenced by a mifguided piety^
which alcribes tranfcendant merit to a ftate of celi-
bacy, or allured by the profpect of that liftlefs eafe,
which, in fultry climates, is deemed fupreme feli-
city, numbers crowded into thofe manfions of floth
and fuperftition, and are loft to fociety. As none
but perfons of Spanifh extract are admitted into the
monafteries of the New World, the evil is more
fenfibly
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 293
fenfibly felt, and every monk or nun may be cqn- BOOK
fidered as an active perfon withdrawn from civil < '*
life. The impropriety of fuch foundations in any
fituation where the extent of territory requires ad-
ditional hands to improve it, is fo obvious, that
fome catholic dates have exprefsly prohibited any
perfon in their colonies from taking the monaftic
vows i. Even the Spanifh monarchs, on fome occa-
fions, feem to have been alarmed with the fpread-
ing of a fpirit fo adverfe to the increafe and pro-
fperity of their colonies, that they have endea-
voured to check it r . But the Spaniards in Ame-
rica, more thoroughly under the influence of fu-
perftition than their countrymen in Europe, and
directed by ecclefiaftics more bigotted and illiterate,
have conceived fuch an high opinion of monaflic
fan&ity, that no regulations can reflrain their zeal ;
-and, by the excefs of their ill judged bounty, re-
ligious houfes have multiplied to a degree no lefs
amazing than pernicious to fociety *.
IN viewing the ftate of colonies, where not only Changer of
, ? . n r i / n. r ecclefiafticf
the number but influence ot ecclefialtics is fo great, in s P amfh
the character of this powerful body is an object that
merits particular attention. A confiderable part
of the fecular clergy in Mexico and Peru are na-
tives of Spain. As perfons long accuftomed, by
i Voy. de Ulloa, n. 124.
r Herrera, dec. v. lib. ix. c. I, 1. Recop. lib. I. tit. iii.
1. i, 2. Tit. iv. c. ii. Solorz. lib, iiii c. 23.
See NOTE LVII.
U 3 their
$94
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK their education, to the retirement and indolence of
u- ^-- ' academic life, are more incapable of active enter-
prize, and lefs difpofed to ftrike into new paths,
than any order of men, the ecclefraftical adven-
turers by whom the American church is recruited,
are commonly fuch as, from merit or rank in life,
have little profpeft of fuccefs in their own coun-
pfthefecu- try. Accordingly, the fecular priefts in the Nevy
lars * World are (till lefs diftiiiguiflied than their brethren
in Spain, for literary accomplifhments of any fpe-
cies ; and though, by the ample provifion which
has been made for the American church, many of
its members enjoy the eafe and independence which
are favourable to the cultivation of fcience, the
body of fecular clergy has hardly, during two
centuries and a half,, produced one author whofe
works convey fuch ufeful information, or poffefs
fuch a degree of merit, as to be ranked among thofe
v/hich attract the attention of enlightened nations.
of theregu- But the greateft part of the ecclefiaftics in the Spa-
nifii fettlements are regulars. ^ On the difcovery of
America, a new field opened to the pious zeal of
the monaftic orders; ancj, with a becoming alacrity,
they immediately fent forth mifuonaries to labour. in
jt. The iirft attempt to inftruct and convert the
Americans, was made by monks ; and, as foon
as the concmeft of- arjy province was complete^
and its' ecclefiaftical eftablimment began to arTiime
fome form, the popes permitted the miflionaries of
the four mendicant orders, as a reward for their
ferviceSj to accept of parochial charges in America,
1 tQ
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
to perform all fpiritual functions, and to rec<L.
the tythes, and other emoluments of the benefice,
without depending on the jurifdiction of the biihop
of the diocefe, or being' fubject to his cenfures. In
confequence of this, a new career of ufefulnefs, as
well as new objects of ambition prefented them-
felves. Whenever a call is made for a frefh fup-
ply of mimonaries, men .of the mod ardent and
afpiring minds, impatient under the reftraint of a
cloifter, weary of its infipid uniformity, and fa-
tigued with the irkfome repetition of its frivolous
functions, offer their fervice with eagernefs, and
repair to the New World in queft of liberty and
diftinction. Nor do they purfue diftinclion with-
out fuccefs. The higheft ecclefiaflical honours, as
well as the moft lucrative preferments in Mexico
and Peru, are often in the hands of regulars ; and
it is chiefly to the monaftic orders that the Ame-
ricans are indebted for any portion of fcience which
is cultivated among- them. They are almoft the
only Spanifh ecclefiaftics, from whom we have
received any accounts, either of the civil or na-
tural hiftory of the various provinces in America.
Some of them, though deeply tinged with the in-
delible fuperflition of their profeflion, have pub-
limed books which give a favourable idea of
their abilities. The natural and moral hiftory
of the New World, by the Jefuit Acofla, contains
more accurate obfervations, perhaps, and more
ibund fcience, than are to be found in any de-
ll 4 fcription
* 9 6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fcription of remote countries published in the fif-
teenth century.
BUT the fame difguft with monaftic life,, to which
America is indebted for fome inftructors of worth
and abilities, filled it with others of a very differ*
ent character. The giddy, the profligate, the ava-
ricious, to whom the poverty and rigid difcipline
of a convent are intolerable, confider a million
to America as a releafe from mortification and
bondage. There they foon obtain fome parochial
charge, and far removed, by their fituation, from
the infpectian of their monaftic fuperiors, and ex-
empt, by their character, from the jurisdiction of
their diocefan", they are hardly fubject to any
controul. According to the teflimony of the moft
zealous catholics, many of the regular clergy in
the Spanifli fettlements are not only deftitute of
the virtues becoming their profeffion, but regard-
lefs of that external decorurn and refpect for the
opinion of mankind, which prefer ve a femblance
of worth where the reality is wanting. Secure
of impunity, fpme regulars, in contempt of their
vow of poverty, engage openly in commerce; an4
are fo rapacioufly eager in amafTmg wealth, that
they become the moj(l grievous oppreffors of the
Indians, whom it was their duty to have protected.
Others, with no lefs flagrant violation of their yoy?
u Avendano Thef. Indie. ii v 253.
Of
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 097
of chaftity, indulge with little difguife in the moft B o o K.
diflblute iicentioufnefs x . y__ ^ - _/
VARIOUS fchemes have been propofed for re-
drefling enormities fo manifeft and fo offenfive.
Several perfons, no lefs eminent for piety than dif-
cernment, have contended, that the regulars, in
conformity to the canons of the church, ought to
be confined within the walls of their cloifters, and.
fhould no longer be permitted to encroach on the
functions of the fecular clergy. Some public-
fpirited magiftrates, from conviction of its being
neceflary to deprive the regulars of a privilege be-
ftowed at firft with good intention, but of which
time and experience had difcovered the pernicious
effects, openly countenanced the fecular clergy in
their attempts to afiert their own rights. The l6l8
prince D'Efquilache, viceroy of Peru under Phi-
lip III. took meafures fo decifive and effectual
for circumfcribing the regulars within their pro-
per fphere, as flruck them with general confter-
nation ?. They had recourfe to their ufual arts.
They alarmed the fuperftitious, by reprefenting
the proceedings of the viceroy as innovations fatal
to religion. They employed all the refinements of
intrigue, in order to gain perfons in power ; and
feconded by the powerful influence of the Jefuits,
who claimed and enjoyed all the privileges which
belonged to the Mendicant orders in America,
5c? NOTE LV1II. y See NOTE LIX.
they
298 HISTORY OF AMERICA,
HOOK they made a deep impreffion on a 'bigotted prince,
and a weak miniftry. The ancient practice was
tolerated. The abufes which ic occafioned conti-
nued to increafe, and the corruption of monks,
exempt from the reftraints of difcipline, and the
infpe&ion of any fuperior, became a difgrace to
religion. At laft, as the veneration of the Spa-
niards for the monaftic orders began to abate, and
the power of the Jefuits was on the decline, Fer-
dinand VI. ventured to apply the only effectual
remedy by ifliiing an edict, prohibiting Regulars
of every denomination from taking the charge of
any parifh with the cure of fouls ; and declaring,
that on the demife of the prefent incumbents, none
but fecular priefts, fubject to the jurifdiction of
their diocefans, fhall be prefented to vacant bene-
fices ". If this regulation is carried into execution
with fteadinefs in any degree proportional to the
wifdom with which it is framed, a very confiderable
reformation may take place in the ecclefiafticai
ftate of Spanifli America, and the fecular clergy
may gradually become a refpeclable body of men.
The deportment of many ecclefiaftics, even at pre-
fent, feems to be decent and exemplary, otherwife
we can hardly fuppofe that they would be held ia
fuch high eflimation, and polfefs fuch a wonderr
ful afcendant over the minds of their countrymen
jthroughout all the Spanifli fettlements.
Real Cedula M?. penes me.
.
BUT
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BUT whatever merit the Spanifh ecclefiaftics in B O TJ] O K
America may poffefs, the fuccefs of their endea- i~ -v ^
. i i i i r SmaJJ pro-
vours in communicating the knowledge or true ? res in >.
... ITT 11 rr> vertins; the
religion to the Indians, has been more imperfect Indians to
than might have been expected, either from the
degree of their zeal, or from the dominion which
they had acquired over that people. For this, va-
rious reafons may be affigned. The firft miffion-
aries, in their ardour to make profelytes, admitted
the people of America into the chrittian church,
without previous inftrudlion in the doctrines of re-
ligion, and even before they themfelves had ac-
quired fuch knowledge of the Indian language, as
to be able to explain to the natives the myfteries of
faith, or the precepts of duty. ' Retting upon a
fubtle diftinction in fcholaftic theology, between
that degree of aflent which is founded on a com-
plete knowledge and conviction of duty, and that
which may be yielded when both thefe are imper-
fect, they adopted this ftrange practice, no lefs in-
eonfiftent with the fpirit of a religion which ad-
dreffes itfelf to the underftanding of men, than re-
pugnant to the dictates of reafon. As foon as any
body of people, overawed by dread of the Spanifh
power, moved by the example of their own chiefs,
incited by levity, or yielding from mere ignorance,
'expreiTed the flighted defire of embracing the reli-
gion of their conquerors, they were inftantly bap-
tized. While this rage of converfion continued, a
fingle clergyman baptized in one day above five,
jhoufand Mexicans, and did not defift until he was
fo
3 oo HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fo exhaufted by fatigue, that he was unable to lift
u.-y-j his hands a . In the courfe of a few years, after
the redu&ion of the Mexican empire, the facra-
ment of baptifm was adminiftered to more than
four millions b . Profelytes adopted with fuch in-
confiderate hade, and who were neither inftru&ed
in the nature of the tenets to which it was fuppofed
they had given afient, nor taught the abfurdity of
thofe which they were required to relinquifh, re-
tained their veneration for their ancient fuperfti-
tions in full force, or mingled an attachment to its
doctrines and rites with that flender knowledge of
Chriflianity which they had acquired. Thefe fen-
timents the new converts tranfmitted to their pof-
terity, into whofe minds they have funk fo deep,
that the Spanifh ecclefiaftics, with all their induftry,
have not been able to eradicate them. The reli-
gious inftitutions of their anceflors are ftill remem-
bered, and held in honour by many of the Indi-
ans, both in Mexico and Peru ; and whenever they
think themfelves out of reach of infpection by the
Spaniards, they affemble and celebrate their idola-
trous rites c
BUT this is not the moft unfurmountable ob-
flacle to the progrefs of Chriftianity among the In-
dians. The powers of their uncultivated under-
a P. Torribio, MS. Torquem. Mond. Ind. lib. xvi. c. 6
fc Torribio, MS. Torquem. lib. xvi. c. 8.
e Voy. de Ulloa, i. 341. Torquem. lib. xv. c, 23. lib,
yvl. c.28. Gage, 171.
1 5 {landings
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 301
Handings are fo limited, their observations and B n
reflections reach fo little beyond the mere objects
of fenfe, that they feein hardly to have the capa-
city of forming ab (tract ideas, and poflefs not lan-
guage to exprefs them. To fuch men, the fublime
and fpiritual doctrines of Chriftianity muft be, in
a great meafure, incomprehenfible. The nume-
rous and fplendid ceremonies of the popiih worfhip
catch the eye, pleafe and intereft them ; but when
their inflructors attempt to explain the articles of
faith, with which thofe external obfervances are con-
nected, though the Indians may liften with patience,
they fo little conceive the meaning of what they
hear, that their acquiefcence does not merit the name
of belief. Their indifference is ftill greater than their
incapacity. Attentive only to the prefent moment,
and ingrofled by the objects before them, the In-
dians fo feldom reflect upon what is paft, or take
thought for what is to come, that neither the pro-
mifes nor threats of religion, make much im-
preflion upon them ; and while their forefight
rarely extends fo far as the next day, it is almoft
impoffible to infpire them with folicitude about
the concerns of a future world. Aftonifhed equally
at their ilownefs of comprehenfion, and at their in-
fenfibility, fame of the early miffionaries pro-
nounced them a race of men fo brutifh, as to be
incapable of underftanding the firft principles of
religion. A council held at Lima decreed, that,
on account of this incapacity, they ought to
be excluded from the facrament of the Eucha-
rift.
3 6z HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o OK. rift d . Though Paul III. by his famous bull,
iflued in the year 1537, declared them to be ra-
tional creatures entitled to all the privileges of
Chriflians c ; yet, after the lapfe of two centuries,
during which they have been members of the
church, fo imperfect are their attainments in know-,
ledge, that very few poffefs fuch a portion of fpi-
ritual difcernment, as to be deemed worthy of be-
ing admitted to the holy communion f . From this
idea of their incapacity and imperfect knowledge
of religion, when the zeal of Philip II. eftablifhed
the inquifition in America in the year 1570, the
Indians were exempted from the jurifdiction of
that fevere tribunal ?, and (till continue under the
infpeclion of their diocefans. Even after the mod
perfecl inftrudion, their faith is held to be feeble
and dubious ; and though fome of them have been
taught the learned languages, and have gone
through the ordinary courfe of academic education
with applaufe, their frailty is (till fo much fuf-
pected, that few Indians are either ordained prieftsj
or received into any religious order h .
FROM this brief furvey, fome idea may be form*
of the Spa- ^ ' ' '
e d o f the interior (rate of the Spanifh colonies-
The various productions with which they fupply
d Torquem. lib. xvi. c. 20.
e Torquem. lib. xvu c. 25. Garcia origin. 311.
f Voy. de Ulloa, i. 343.
s Recop. lib. vi. tit. i. 1. 35.
* Torquem. lib. xvii. c. 13. See NOTE LX.
and
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 303
and enrich the mother-country, and the fyftem-of BOO
commercial intercourfe between them, come next L---,-'-
in order to be explained. If the dominions of
Spain in the New World -had been of fuch mode-
rate extent, as bore a due proportion to the pa-
rent ftate, the progrefs of her colonizing might
have been attended with the fame benefit as that
of other nations. But when, in lefs than half a
century, her inconfiderate rapacity had feized on
countries larger than all Europe, her inability to
fill fuch vaft regions with a number of inhabitants
fufficient for the cultivation of them, was fo obvi-
ous, as to give a wrong direction to all the efforts
of the colonifls. They did not form compact fettle-
ments, where induftry, circumfcribed within pro-
per limits, both in its views and operations, is
conducted with that fober perfevering fpirit, which
gradually converts whatever is in its poffeilion to a
proper ufe, and derives thence the greatefl ad-
vantage. Inftead of this, the Spaniards, feduced
by the boundlefs profpect which opened to them,
divided their poffeffions in America into govern-
ments of great extent. As their number was too
fmall to attempt the regular culture of the immenfe
provinces, which they occupied rather than peopled,
they bent their attention to a few objects, that al-
lured them with hopes of fudden and exorbitant
gain, and turned away with contempt from th
humbler paths of induftry, which lead more ilowly,
but with greater certainty, to wealth and increafe
of national ftrength.
OF
304. HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B o K OF all the methods by which riches may be ac-
t -v~-J quired, that of iearching for the precious metals is
K)nes. the one of the mod inviting to men, who are either
unaccuftomed to the regular afliduity with which
the culture of the earth and the operations of com-
merce muft be carried on, or who are fo enterprifmg
and rapacious as not to be fatisfied with the gradual
feturns of profit which they yield. Accordingly,
as foon as the feveral countries in America were
fubjected to the dominion of Spain, this was al-
moft the only method of acquiring wealth which
occurred to the adventurers, by whom they were
conquered. Such provinces of the continent as
did not allure them to fettle, by the profpeft of
their affording gold and filver, were totally neg-
lefted. Thofe in which they met with a difap-
pointment of the fanguine expectations they had
formed, were abandoned. Even the value of the
tflands, the firfl-fruits of their difcoveries, and the
firil object of their attention, funk fo much in their
eftimation, when the mines which had been opened
in them were exhaufled, that they were deferted
by many of the planters, and left to be occupied
by more induftrious pofleflbrs* All crowded
to Mexico and Peru, where the quantities o
gold and filver found among the natives, who
fearched for them with little induftry and lefs
Ikill, promifed an unexhaufted ftore* as the re-
compence of more intelligent and perfevering
efforts,
DURING
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 305
DURING feveral years, the ardour of their re- B o o K
fearches was kept up by hope, rather than fuccefs. c - v ->
At length, the rich filver mines of Potofi, in Peru, thofc'ofPo^
were accidentally difcovered in the year 1 545 ',
by an Indian, as he was clambering up the moun-
tain, in purfuit of a Llama which had flrayed front
his flock. Soon after the mines of Sacotecas, in
New Spain, little inferior .to the other in value,
were opened. From that time, fucceffive difco-
veries have been made in both colonies, and iilver
mines are now fo numerous, that the working of
them, and of fome few mines of gold in the pro-
vinces of Tierra Firme, and the new kingdoili of
Granada, has become the capital occupation of the
Spaniards, and is reduced into a fy'ftem no lefs
complicated than interefting. To defcribe the na-
ture of the various ores, the mode of extracting
them from the bowels of the earth, and to explain,
the feveral precedes by which the metals are fepa-
rated from the fubftances with which they are
mingled, either by the action of firej or the at-
tractive powers of mercury, is the province of the
natural philofopher or chymift, rather than of th
hiftorian.
THE exuberant profufion with which the moun-
tains of the New World poured forth their treafures; Jjjg h the '
aftonimed mankind, who had been accuftomed hi-
therto to receive a penurious fupply of the precious
1 Fernandez, p. i. lib. xi. c: ir-
VOL. Ill, X metals,
306 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
8 vnP K metals, from the more fcanty (lores contained in the-
Ui .J mines of the ancient hemifphere. According to
principles of computation, which appear to be ex-
tremely moderate, the quantity of gold and filver
that has been regularly entered in the ports of
Spain, is equal in value to four millions fterling
annually, reckoning from the year 1492, in which
America was difcovered, to the prefent time.
This, in two hundred and eighty-three years,
amounts to eleven hundred and thirty-two millions.
Immenfe as this fum is, the Spanilh writers contend,
that as much more ought to be added to it, in con-
fideration of treafure which has been extracted from
the mines, arid imported fraudulently into Spain,
without paying duty to the king. By this account,
Spain has drawn from the New World a fupply of
wealth, amounting at leaft to two thouiand millions
of pounds fterling k .
Spirit to THE mines, which have yielded this ama2insr
wh,ch this . e e
gives rife. quantity or trealure, are not worked at the expence
of the crown, or of the public. In order to encou-
rage private adventurers, the perfon who difcovers
and works a new vein, is intitled to the property of it.
Upon laying his claim to fuch a difcovery before the
governor of the province, a certain extent of land is
meafured off, and a certain number of Indians allot-
ted him,under the obligationof hisopeningthe mine
k Uztariz Theor. y Pral. de Commercia, c. 3. Herrera,
dec. viii. lib. xi. 0.15. See NOTE LXI.
within
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 307
within a limited time, and of his paying the cuf- BOOK
ternary duty to the king, for what it mail produce.
Invited by the facility with which fuch grants are
obtained, and encouraged by fome flriking ex-
amples of fuccefs in this line of adventure ; not
only the fanguine and the bold, but the timid and
diffident enter upon it with aftoniming ardour.
With vaft objects always in view, fed continually
with hope, and expecting every moment that for-
tune will unveil her fecret ftores, and give up the
wealth which they contain to their wifhes, they deem
every other occupation infipid and uninterefting.
The charms of this purfuit, like the rage for deep
play, are fo bewitching, and take fuch full pofleffion.
of the mind, as even to give a newbent to the natural
temper. Under its influence, the cautious become
enterprifing, and the covetous profufe. Powerful
as this charm naturally is, its force is augmented by
the arts of an order of men known in Peru by the
cant name offearchers. Thefe are commonly per-
fons of defperate fortunes, who availing them-
felves of fome {kill in mineralogy, accompanied
with the infmuating manner, and confident pre-
tenfions peculiar to projectors, addrefs the wealthy
and the credulous. By plaufible defcriptions of
the appearances which they have difcovered of rich
veins hitherto unexplored j by producing, when re-
quifite, fpecimens of promifmg ore ; by affirming,
with an impofmg aflurance, that fuccefs is certain,
and that the expence muft be trifling, they feldom
fail to perfuade. An affbciation is formed j a fmall
X 2 fuci
308 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B viih K ^ um * s advanced by each copartner ; the mine is
w-"J opened j thefearcher is entrufted with the fole di-
rection of every operation ; unforefeen difficulties
occur ; new demands of money are made ; but,
amidft a fucceflion of difappointments and delays,
hope is never extinguifhed, and the ardour of ex-
pectation hardly abates. For it is obferved, that
if any perfon once enter this feducing path, it is
almoil impoilible to return ; his ideas alter, he
feems to be poflefled with another fpirit, vifions
of imaginary wealth are continually before his
eyes, and he thinks, and fpeaks, and dreams of
nothing elfe '.
Fatal effedis SUCH is the fpirit that mutt be formed, wherever
of it. . _ . .
the active exertions, or any lociety are chiefly em-
ployed in working mines of gold and filver. No
fpirit is more adverfe to fuch improvement in agri-
culture and commerce, as render a nation really
opulent. If the fyftem of adminiftration in the
Spanifh colonies had been founded upon principles
of found policy, the power and ingenuity of the
iegiflature would have been exerted with as much
ardour* in reftraining its fubje&s from fuch perni-
cious induftry, as is now employed in alluring
them towards it. " Projects of mining," (fays a
good judge of the political conduct of nations),
" infcead of replacing the capital employed in
** them, together with the ordinary profit of flock,
1 Ultoa Entreten. p223-
" commonly
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 309
" commonly abforb both capital and profit. They BOOK
e * are the projects, therefore, to which, of all
" others, a prudent lawgiver, who defired to in-
" creafe the capital of his nation, would leaft
" chufe to give any extraordinary encouragement,
" or to turn towards them a greater mare ofthat
" capital than would go to them of its own ac-
" cord. Such, in reality, is the abfurd confidence
66 which all men have in their own good fortune,
" that wherever there is the lead probability of
" fuccefs, too great a mare of it is apt to go to
" them of its own accord m ." But in the Spanifh
colonies, government is ftudious to cherifh a fpirit
which it mould have laboured to dfprefs, and, by
the fandion of its approbation, augments that in-
confiderate credulity, which has turned the adive
induflry of Mexico and Peru into fuch an impro-
per channel. To this may be imputed the flender
progrefs which Spanifh America has made during
two centuries and a half, either in ufeful manu-
factures, or in thofe lucrative branches of cultiva-
tion, which furnifh the colonies of other nations
with their ftaple commodities. In comparifon
with the precious metals every bounty of nature
is fo much defpifed, that this extravagant idea of
their value has mingled with the i4iom of lan-
guage in America, .and the Spaniards fettled there
denominate a country, ricfi, not from the fertility
of its foil, the abundance of its crops ? or the exu-
m Dr. Smith's Inquiry, &c, ii. 155.
X 3 berance
3 io
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK berance
nerals which its
i fs paftures, but on account of the mi-
mountains contain. In queft of
thefe, they abandon the delightful plains of Peru
and Mexico, and refort to barren and uncomfort-
able regions, where they have built fome of the
largeft towns which they poflefs in the New World.
As the activity and enterprife of the Spaniards ori-
ginally took this direction, it is now fo difficult to
bend them a different way, that although, from
various caufes, the gain of working mines is much
decreafed ; the fafcination continues, and almoft
every perfon, who takes any active part in the
commerce of New Spain or Peru, is flill engaged
in fome adventure of this kind n .
Other com-
modities of
the Spani/h
colonies.
BUT though mines are the chief object of the
Spaniards, and the precious metals which thefe yield,
form the principal article in their commerce with
America; the fertile countries which they poflefs
there, abound with other commodities of fuch
value or fcarcity, as to attract a confiderable de-
gree of attention. Cochineal is a production al-
moft peculiar to New Spain, of fuch demand in
commerce, that the fale is always certain, and it
yields fuch profit, as amply rewards the labour
and care employed in rearing the curious infects of
which this valuable drug is compofed, and pre-
paring it for the market. Quinquina, or Jefuits
Bark, the moil falutary fimple, perhaps, and of
See NOTE LXII.
moft
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 311
moft reftorative virtue, that Providence, in com- BOOK.
paffion to human infirmity, has made known unto
man, is found only in Peru, to which it affords a
lucrative branch of commerce. The Indigo of
Guatimala is fuperior in quality to that of any pro-
vince in America, and cultivated to a confiderable
extent. Cacoa, though not peculiar to the Spa-
nifh colonies, attains to its higheft flate of perfec-
tion there, and from the great confumption of
chocolate in Europe, as well as in America, is a
valuable commodity. The Tobacco of Cuba, of
more exquifite flavour than any brought from the
New World ; the Sugar raifed in that ifland, in
Hifpaniola, and in New Spain, together with
drugs of various kinds, may be mentioned among
the natural productions of America, which enrich
the Spanifh commerce. To thefe muft be added,
an article of nq inconfiderable account, the ex-
portation of hides ; for which, as well as for many
of tho.fe which I have enumerated, the Spaniards
are more indebted to the wonderful fertility of the
comitry than to their own forefight and induftry.
The domeftic animals of Europe, particularly
horned cattle, have multiplied in the New World
with a rapidity which almoft exceeds belief. A
few years after the Spaniards fettled there, the
herds of tame cattle became fo numerous, that
their proprietors reckoned them by thoufands %
* Ovicdo ap. Ramuf. iii. 101, B. Hackluyt, iii. 466.
511.
X 4 Lefs
3 i2 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK Lefs attention being paid to them, as they con-
VIII
tinued to encreafe, they were fuffered to run wild,
and fpreading over a country of boundlefs extent,
under a mild climate, and covered with rich paf-
ture, their number became irhmenfe. They range
over the vaft; plains which extend from Buenos
Ayres, towards the Andes, in herds of thirty or
forty thousand ; and the unlucky traveller who
once falls in among them, may proceed feveral
days before he can difentangle himfelf from among
the crowd that covers the face of the earth, and
feems to have no end. They are hardly lefs nu-
merous -in New Spain, and in leveral other pro-
vinces : they are killed merely for the fake of their
hides ; and the flaughter at certain feafons is fo
great, that the ftench of the carcafes, which are
left in the field, would infect the air, if large
packs of wild dogs, and vaft flocks of gallinazos,
or American vultures, the moft voracious of all
the feathered kind, did not inftantly devour them.
The number of thofe hides exported in every fleet
to Europe is very great, and is a lucrative branch
of commerce p .
ALMOST all thefe may be cpnfidered as ftaple
commodities peculiar to America, and different,
if we except that laft mentioned, from ihe pro-
ductions of the mother-country.
P Acofta, lib. iii. c. 33. Ovallo Hift. of Chili. Church.
Colleft. iii. 47. fep. Ibid. v. p. 680. 692. Lcttrcs Edif. xiii.
335. Feuille, i. 249.
WHEN
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 313
WHEN the importation into Spain of thofe va- B o p K
rious articles from her colonies, firft became active
and confiderable, her interior induflry and manu-
factures were in a ftate fo profperous, that with
the product of thefe me was able both to purchafe
the commodities of the New World, and to an-
fwer its growing demands. Under the reigns of
Ferdinand and Ifabella, and Charles V. Spain was
one of the moil induflrious countries in Europe.
Her manufactures in wool, and fiax, and filk,
were fo extenfive, as not only to furnifii what was
fufficient for her own confumption, but to ;ifford
a furplus for exportation. When a market for
them, formerly unknown, and to which me alone
had accefs, opened in America, me had recourfe
to her domeftic flore, and found there an abundant
fupply q . This new employment mufl naturally
have added vivacity to the fpirit of induflry.
Nourifhed and invigorated by it, the manufac-
tures, the population, and wealth of Spain might
have gone on increaling in the fame proportion with
the growth of her colonies. Nor was the ftate of
the Spanifh marine at this period lefs flourifhing
than that of its manufactures. In the beginning
of the fixteenth century, Spain is faid to have
pofleffed above a thoufand merchant mips r , a
number probably far fuperior to that of any nation
in Europe in that age. By the aid which foreign
trade and domeftic induftry give reciprocally to
s See NOTE LXIII. r Campomanes, K. 140.
each
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK each other in their progrefs, the augmentation of
vm.
^^ r ,-^ both muft have been rapid and extenfive, and
Spain might have received the fame acceffion of
opulence and vigour from her acquifitions in the
New World, that other powers have derived from
their colonies there.
why fhe BUT various caufes prevented this. The fame
now derive thing happens to nations as to individuals. Wealth,
ihe fame. w hich flows in gradually, and with moderate in-
creafe, feeds and nourifhes that activity which is
friendly to commerce, and calls it forth into vigor-
ous and well-conduted exertions ; but when
opulence pours in fuddenly, amd with too full a
flrearn, it overturns all fober plans of induftry,
and brings along with it a tafte for what is wild
and extravagant, and daring in bufinefs or in ac-
tion. Such was the great and fudden augmenta-
tion of power and revenue, that the pofleffion of
America brought into Spain, and fome fymptoms
of its pernicious influence upon the political opera-
tions of that monarchy foon began to appear. For
a confiderable time, however, the fupply of trea-
fure from the New World was fcanty and preca-
rious, and the genius of Charles V. conducted
public meafures with fuch prudence, that the effects
of this influence were little perceived. But when
Philip II. afcended the Spanifh throne, with talents
far inferior to thofe of his father, and remittances
from the colonies became a regular and confider-
able branch of revenue, the fatal operation of this
rapid
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 315
rapid change in the ftate of the kingdom, both on BOOK
the monarch and his people, was at once confpi-
cuous. Philip, pofTeffmg that fpirit of unceafmg
afliduity, which often characterifes the ambition of
men of moderate talents, entertained fuch an high
opinion of his own refources, that he thought no-
thing too arduous for him to undertake. Shut up
himfelf in the folitude of the Efcurial, he troubled
and annoyed all the nations around him. He
waged open war with the Dutch and Englifh ; he
encouraged and aided a rebellious faction in
France ; he conquered Portugal, and maintained
armies and garrifons in Italy, Africa, and both
the Indies. By fuch a multiplicity of great and
complicated operations, purfued with ardour
during the courfe of a long reign, Spain was
drained both of men and money. Under the
weak adminiftration of his fucceflbr, Philip III.
the vigour of the nation continued to decreafe,
and funk into the lowed decline, when theincon- A.D.
fiderate bigotry of that monarch expelled at once
near a million of his moft induftrious fubjects, at
the very time when the exhaufted ftate of the
kingdom required fome extraordinary exertion of
political wifdom to augment its numbers, and to
revive its ftrength. Early in the feventeenth cen-
tury, Spain felt fuch a diminution in the number
of her people, that from inability to recruit her
armies, me was obliged to contract her operations.
Her flourifhing manufactures were fallen into de-
fay. Her fleets, which had been the terror of all
15 Europe,
S i6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
OOK. Europe, were ruined. Her extenfive foreign com-
rnerce was loft. The trade between different parts
of her own dominions was interrupted, and the
mips which attempted to carry it on, were taken
and plundered by enemies whom me once de-
fpifed. Even agriculture, the primary object of
xnduftry in every prosperous Hate, was neglected,
and one of the mod fertile countries in Europe
hardly raifed what was fufficient for the fupport of
its own inhabitants.
'
Rapid de- IN proportion as the population and rqanufac-
tures of the parent (late declined, the demands of
her colonies continued to increafe. The Spaniards,
like their monarchs, intoxicated with the wealth
which poured in annually upon them, deferted the
paths of induftry, to which they had been ac-
cuftomed, and repaired with eagernefs to thofe
regions from which this opulence iifued. By this
rage of emigration, another drain was opened, and
the ftrength of the colonies augmented by exhauft-
ing that of the mother-country. All thofe emi-
grants, as well as the adventurers who had at firft
fettled in America, depended abfolutely upon Spain
for almoft every article of neceflary coniumption.
Engaged in more alluring and lucrative purfuits,
or prevented by refiraints which government in>
pofed, they could not turn their own attention to-
wards eftabliming the manufactures requifite for
comfortable fubfiitence. They received (as I have
obferved in another place) their clothing, their
furniturej
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 317
furniture, whatever minifters to the eafe or luxury B
of life, and even their inftruments of labour, from
Europe. Spain, thinned of people, and decreafmg
in induftry, was unable to fupply their growing de-
mands. She had recourfe to her neighbours. The
manufactures of the Low Countries, of England,
of France, and of Italy, which her wants called
into exiftence, or animated with new vivacity, fur-'
nifhed in abundance whatever (he required. In
vain did the fundamental law, concerning the cx-
clufion of foreigners from trade with America,
oppofe this innovation. Neceffity, more powerful
than any flatute, defeated its operations, and
conftrained the Spaniards themfelves to concur
in eluding it. The Englim, the French, and
Dutch, relying on the fidelity and honour of Spa-
nifla merchants, who lend their names to cover the
deceit, fend out their manufactures to America,
and receive the exorbitant price for which they are
fold there, either in fpecie, or in the rich commo-
dities of the New World. Neither the dread of
danger, nor the allurement of profit, ever induced
a Spanifh factor to betray or defraud the perfon
who confided in him s ; and that probity, which is
the pride and diftinction of the nation, contributes
to its ruin. In a mort time, not above a twentieth
part of the commodities exported to America was
of Spanifh growth or fabric '. All the reft was
the property of foreign merchants, though entered
* Zarala Reprefcntacion, p. 226. ' Campomanes, ii. 138.
in
3 ,8 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK in the name of Spaniards. The treafure of the
New World may be faid henceforward not to have
belonged to Spain. Before it reached Europe, it
was anticipated as the price of goods purchafed
from foreigners. That wealth which, by an in-
ternal circulation, would have fpread through each
vein of induflry, and have conveyed life and move-
ment to every branch of manufacture, flowed out
of the kingdom with fuch a rapid courfe, as neither
enriched nor animated it. On the other hand, the
artizans of rival nations, encouraged by this quick
fale of their commodities, 'improved fo much in
ikill and induftry, as to be able to afford them at
a rate fo low, that the manufactures of Spain,
which could not vie with theirs, either in quality
or cheapnefs of work, were (till farther deprefled.
This deflruclive commerce drained off the riches
of the nation fafler and more completely, than
even the extravagant fchemes of ambition carried
on by its monarchs. Spain was fo much aftonim-
ed and diflreffed, at beholding her American trea-
iures vanilh alr^oft as foon as they were imported,
that Philip III. unable to fupply what was requifite
in circulation, iffued an edict, by which he endea-
voured to raife copper money to a value in cur-
rency nearly equal to that of filver u ; and the lord
of the Peruvian and Mexican mines was reduced
to a wretched expedient, which is the laft refource
of petty impoverimed flates.
Uztarez, c. 104.
THUS
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 319
THUS the pofTeffions of Spain in America have BOOK
not proved a fource of population and of wealth < -/-L^
to her, in the fame manner as thofe of other na-
tions. In the countries of Europe, where the fpi-
rit of induftry fubfifts in full vigour, every per-
fon fettled in fuch colonies as are fimilar in their
fituation to thofe of Spain is fuppofed to give em-
ployment to three or four at home in fupplying
his wants x . But wherever the mother-country can-
not afford this fupply, .every emigrant may be con-
fidered as a citizen loft to the community, and
(hangers mufl reap all the benefit of anfwering his
.demands.
SUCH has been the internal ftate of Spain from i nc reafed by
the clofe of the fixteenth century, and fuch her in- 'egu'iaifngii
ability to fupply the growing wants of her colo- SSTJIi
nies. The fatal effects of this difproportion be- nca *
tween their demands, and her capacity of anfwer-
ing them, have been much increafed by the mode
in which Spain has endeavoured to regulate the in-
tercourfe between the mother country and the co-
lonies. It is from her idea of monopolizing the
trade with America, and debarring her fubjecls
there from any communication with foreigners, that
all her jealous and fyftematic arrangements have
arifen. Thefe are fo fmgular in their nature and
confequences as to merit a particular explanation.
In order to fecure the monopoly at which me aimed,
* Child on trade and colonies.
Spain
$* HISTORY OF AMERICA.
g. o K Spain did not vefl the trade with her colonies in ait
exclufive company, a plan which has been adopted
by nations more commercial, and at a period when
mercantile policy was an object of greater atten-
tion, and ought to have been better understood.
The Dutch gave up the whole trade with their
colonies, both in the Eaft and Weft Indies, to ex-
clufive companies. The Englilh, the French, the
Danes, have imitated their example with refpecl:
to the Eaft Indian commerce j and the two former
have laid a fimilar reftraint upon fome branches
of their trade with the New World. The wit of
man cannot, perhaps, devife a method for check-
ing the progrefs of induftry and population in a.
new colony more effectual than this. The intereft
of the colony, and of the exclufive company, muft
in every point be diametrically oppofite j and as
the latter polfeffes fuch advantages in this unequal
conteft, that it can prefcribe at pleafure the terms
of intercourfe, the former muft not only buy dear
and fell cheap, but mult fuffer the mortification of
having the increafe of its furplus ftock difcouraged
by thole very perfons to whom alone it can difpofe
of its productions
y
this con- SPAIN, it is probable, was preferved from fall-
pon to ne * n 5 * nto l ^ s error ' m policy, by the high ideas
which me early formed concerning the riches of
the New World. Gold and filver were commo-
y Smith's Inquiry, ii. 171.
dities
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 3 2
dities of too high value to veft a monopoly of B o o K
, i rpi .,, , r ; VIII.
them in private hands. 1 he crown wilhed to retain u> T j
the direction of a commerce fo inviting ; and, in
order to fecure that, ordained the cargo of every
fhip fitted out for America, to be infpecled by the
officers of the Cafa de Contratadon in Seville, be-
fore it could receive a licence to make the voyage;
and that on its return, a report of the commodities
which it brought mould be made to the fame board,
before it could be permitted to land them. In con-
fequence of this regulation, all the trade of Spain
with the New World centered originally in the port
of Seville, and was gradually brought into a form,
in which it has been conducted, with little varia-
tion, from the middle of the fixteenth century al-
moft to our own times. For the greater fecurity of
the valuable cargoes fent to America, as well as for
the more eafy prevention of fraud, the commerce
of Spain, with its colonies, is carried on by fleets
which fail under flrong convoys. Thefe fleets con-
fifling of two fquadrons, one diftinguifhed by the
name of the Ga/eons, the other by that of the Flota,
are equipped annually. Formerly they took their
departure from Seville j but as the port of Cadiz
has been found more commodious, they have fail-
ed from it fmce the year 1720.
THE Galeons deftined to fupply Tierra Firme, Carried o
. . . ^ by the Ga-
and the kingdoms of Peru and Chili, with almoft icons,
every article of luxury, or neceffary confumption,
that an opulent people can demand, touch firft
VOL. III. Y at
322 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o^o K at Carthagena, and then at Porto-bello. To the
.-.y.-lo former, the merchants of Santa Martha, Caraccas,
the New Kingdom of Granada, and feveral other
provinces, refort. The latter is the great mart for ]
the rich commerce of Peru and Chili. At the feafon
when the Galeons are expected, the product of all
the mines in thefe two kingdoms, together with their
other valuable commodities, is tranfported by fea
to Panama* From thence, as foon as the appear-
ance of the fleet from Europe is announced, they
are conveyed acrofs the iflhmus, partly on mules,
and partly down the river Chagre to Porto-bello.
This paltry village, the climate of which, from the
pernicious union of exceffive heat, continual moi
ture, and the putrid exhalations arifmg from a rank
foil, is more fatal to life than any perhaps in the
known world, is immediately filled with people.
From being the refidence of a few negroes and mu-
lattoes, and of amiferable garrifon relieved every
three months, Porto-bello arTumes fuddenly a very
different afpect, and its ftreets are crowded with
opulent merchants from every corner of Peru, and
the adjacent provinces. A fair is opened, the wealth
of America is exchanged for the manufactures of
Europe ; and, during its prefcribed term of forty
days, the richeft traffic on the face of the earth i$
begun and fmifhed, with that fimplicity of tranf-
action and that unbounded confidence, which ac-
Fiota, company extenfive commerce 2 . The Flota holds
its courfe to Vera Cruz. The treafures and som-
* See NOTE LXIV.
modities
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 323
modifies of New Spain, and the depending pro-
vinces, which were depofited at Puebla de los An-
geles in expectation of its arrival, are carried thither,
and the commercial operations of Vera Cruz, con-
dueled in the fame manner withthofe of Porto-bello,
are inferior to them only in importance and value.
Both fleets, as foon as they have completed their
cargoes from America, rendezvous at the Havanna,
and return in company to Europe.
THE trade of Spain with her colonies, while Badeffea
thus fettered and reftri&ed, came neceflarily to be rangemcn
conducted with the fame fpirit, and upon the fame
principles, as that of an exclufive company. Be-
ing confined to a fmgle port, it was of courfe
thrown into a few hands, and almoft the whole of
it was gradually engrofied by a fmall number of
wealthy houfes, formerly in Seville, and now in
Cadiz. Thefe by combinations, which they can
eafily form, may altogether prevent that competi-
tion which preferves commodities at their natural
price ; and by acting in concert, to which they are
prompted by their mutual intereft, they may raife
or lower the value of them at pleafure. In confe-
quence of this, the price of European goods in
America is always high, and often exorbitant. A
hundred, two hundred, and even three hundred
per cent, are profits not uncommon in the com-
merce of Spain with her colonies a . From the
B. UJloa Retabliflf. part ii. p. 191.
Y 2 fame
324 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK fame ingrofTmg fpirit it frequently happens, that
traders of the fecond order, whofe warehoufes do
not contain a complete affortmenc of commodities
for the American market, cannot purchafe from
the more opulent merchants fuch goods as they
want, at a lower price than that for which they
are fold in the colonies. With the fame vigilant
jealoufy that an exclufive company guards againfl
the intntfion of the free trader, thofe overgrown
monopolies endeavour to check the progrefs of
every one whofe encroachments they dread b . This
reftraint of the American commerce to one port,
not only affefts its domeflic ftate, but limits its
foreign operations. A monopolifl may acquire
more, and certainly will hazard lefs, by a confined
trade which yields exorbitant profit, than by an
extenfive commerce in which he receives only a
moderate return of gain. It is often his intereft
not to enlarge, but to circumfcribe the fphere of
his activity ; and, inflead of calling forth more
vigorous exertions of commercial induflry, it may
be the object of his attention to check and fet
bounds to them. By fome fuch maxim, the mer-
cantile policy of Spain feems to have regulated its
intercourfe with America. Inftead of furniming
the colonies with European goods in fuch quantity
as might render both the price and the profit mo-
derate ; the merchants of Seville and Cadiz feem
to have fupplied them with a fparing hand, that
b Smith's Inquiry, ii. 171. Campomanes, Educ. Popul.
i. 436-
the
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 325
the eagernefs of competition amongft cuftomers BOOK
obliged to purchafe in a fcanty market, might en- c - v '
able the Spanifh factors to difpofe of their cargoes
with exorbitant gain. About the middle of the laft
century, when the exclufive trade to America from
Seville was in its mod flouriming (late, the burden
of the two united fquadrons of the Galeons and
Flota, did not exceed twenty-feven thoufand five
hundred tons c . The fupply which fuch a fleet could
carry, muft have been very inadequate to the de-
mands of thofe populous and extenfive colonies,
which depended upon it for all the luxuries, and
many of the neceflaries of life.
SPAIN early became fenfible of her declenfion Remedies
J propofed.
from her former profperity, and many refpectable
and virtuous citizens employed their thoughts in
devifmg methods for reviving the decaying in-
duflry and commerce of their country. From the
violence of the remedies propofed, we may judge
how defperate and fatal the ' malady appeared.
Some, confounding a violation of police with cri-
minality againft the ftate, contended, that in or-
der to check illicit commerce, every perfon con-
victed of carrying it on, mould be punimed with
death, and confifcation of all his effects d . Others,
forgetting the distinction between civil offences and
acts of impiety, infifted, that contraband trade
c Campomanes, Educ. Popul. i. 435- U IIO<
d M. de Santa Cruz Commercia Suelto, p. 142.
y 3 fhould
326 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
vn? K
moll ld be ranked among the crimes referved for
the cognizance of the Inquifition ; that fuch as
were guilty of it might be tried and punimed, ac-
cording to the fecret and fummary form in which
that dreadful tribunal exercifes its jurifdi&ion c .
Others, uninflrucled by obferving the pernicious
effects of monopolies in every country where they
have been eftablifhed, have propofed to veft the
trade with America in exclufive companies, which
intereft would render the moft vigilant guardians of
the Spanilh commerce againfl the incroachment of
the interlopers f ,
BESIDES thefe wild projects, many fchemes, bet-
ter digefted and more beneficial, were fuggefled.
But under the feeble monarchs, with whom the
reign of the Auftrian line in Spain clofed, inca-
pacity and indecifion are confpicuous in every de-
partment of government. Inftead of taking for
their model the active adminiftration of Charles V.
they affected to imitate the cautious procraftinating
wifdom of Philip II. and deflitute of his talents,
they deliberated perpetually, but determined no-.
thing. No remedy was applied to the evils under
which the national commerce, domeflic as well as
foreign, languilhed. Thefe evils continued to in*
creafe, and Spain, with dominions more extenfive
and more opulent than any European ftate, po
' Moncada ReftauracJon politica de Efpagna, p. 41.
y Augnon Reprefentacion, &c. p. 190.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 327
feffed neither vigour, nor money h , nor induflry. BOOK
At length, the violence of a great national con- \^- T *j
vulfion rouzed the ilumbering genius of Spain.
The efforts of the two contending parties in the
civil war, kindled by the difpute concerning the
fucceffion of the crown at the beginning of this
century, called forth, in fome degree, the ancient
fpirit and vigour of the nation. While men were
thus forming, capable of adopting fentiments more
liberal than thofe which had influenced the coun-
cils of the monarchy during the courfe of 3 cen-
tury, Spain derived from an unexpected fource the
means of availing itfelf of their talents. The va-
rious powers who favoured the pretenfions either
of the Auftrian or Bourbon candidate for the Spa-
nilh throne, fent formidable fleets and armies to
their fupport ; France, England, and Holland re-
mitted immenfe fums to Spain. Thefe were
fpent in the provinces which became the theatre
of war. Part of the American treafure, of which
foreigners had drained the kingdom, flowed back
thither. From this asra, one of the moft intelli-
gent Spaniih authors dates the revival of the mo-
narchy ; and, however humiliating the truth may
be, he acknowledges, that it is to her enemies his
country is indebted for the acquifition of a fund
of circulating fpecie, in fome meafure adequate tp
the exigencies of the public '.
J Sc NOTE LXV. l Campomanes, i, 420.
Y 4 As
328
Step towards
improve-
ment by the
Bourbon
monarchs,"
by excluding
foreigners
from trade
with Peru ;
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
As foon as the Bourbons obtained quiet pofTef-
fion of the throne, they difcerned this change in
the fpirit of the people, and in the (late of the na-
tion, and took advantage of it ; for although that
family has not given monarchs to Spain remark-
able for fuperiority of genius, they have all been
beneficent princes, attentive to the happinefs of
their fubje&s, and felicitous to promote it. It
\vas, accordingly, the firft object of Philip V. to
fupprefs an innovation which had crept in during
the courfe of the war, and had overturned the
whole fyftem of the Spanifh commerce with Ame-
rica. The Englifh and Dutch, by their fupe-
riority in navai power, having acquired fuch com-
mand of the fea, as to cut off all intercourfe be-
tween Spain and her colonies, Spain, in order to
furnim her fubjecls in America thofe neceflaries of
life, without which they could not exift, and as
the only means of receiving from thence any part
of their treafure, departed fo far from the ufual
rigour of its maxims as to open the trade with
Peru to her allies the French. The merchants of
St. Malo, to whom Louis XIV. granted the pri-
vilege of this lucrative commerce, engaged in' it
with vigour, and carried it on upon principles very
different from thofe of the Spaniards. They fup-
plied Peru with European commodities at a mode-
rate price, and not in ftinted quantity. The goods
which they imported were conveyed to every pro-
vince of Spanifh America, in fuch abundance as
had never been known in any former period. If
this
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
329
VIII.
1713.
this intercourfe had been continued, the exportation B o^p K.
of European commodities from Spain muft have
ceafed, and the dependence of the colonies on the
mother-country have been at an end. The mod
peremptory injunctions were therefore ifiued, pro-
hibiting the admiffion of foreign veflels into any
port of Peru or Chili k , and a Spanifh fquadron
was employed to clear the South Sea of intruders,
whofe aid was no longer neceffary.
BUT though, on the ceffation of the war, which by checking;
o ' contraband}
was terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, Spain trade >
obtained relief from one encroachment on her
commercial fyftem, me was expofed to another,
whicri me deemed hardly lefs pernicious. As an
inducement that might prevail with Queen Anne
to conclude a peace, which France and Spain de-
fired with equal ardour, Philip V. not only con-
veyed to Grea,t Britain the AJJiento^ or contract for particularly
fupplying the Spanifh colonies with negroes, which ii(h Affiento
had formerly been enjoyed by France, but granted
it the more extraordinary privilege of fending an-
nually to the fair of Porto-bello, a fhip of five
hundred tons, laden with European commodities.
In confequence of this, Britifh factories were efla-
blimed at Carthagena, Panama, Vera Cruz, Bue-
nos Ayres, and other Spanifh fettlements. The
veil with which Spain had hitherto covered the
{late and tranfactions of her colonies was removed.
k Frezier Voy. 256. B. Ulloa Rctab. ii. 104, c. Alcedo
y Herrera. Avifo, &c. 236.
The
33 o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK. The agents of a rival nation, refiding in the town*
i of mod extenfive trade, and of chief refort, had
the bed opportunities of becoming acquainted with
the interior. condition of the American provinces,
of obferving their dated and occafional wants, and
of knowing what commodities might be imported
into them with the greatefl advantage. In confe-
quence of information fo authentic and expedi-
tious, the merchants of Jamaica and other Eng-
lifh colonies who traded to the Spanifh main, were
enabled to aflbrt and proportion their cargoes fo
exaclly to the demands of the market, that the
contraband commerce was carried on with a faci-
lity, and to an extent unknown in any former pe-
riod. This however was not the mod fatal confe-
quence of the Affiento to the trade of Spain. The
agents of the Britifh South-Sea company, under
cover of the importation which they were autho-
rifed to make by the Ihip fent annually to Porto-
bello, poured in their commodities on the Spanifh
continent, without limitation or reftraint. Indead
of a mip of five hundred tons, as (lipulated in the
treaty, they ufually employed one which exceeded
nine hundred tons in burden. She was accom-
panied by two or three fmaller veflels, which,
-mooring in fome neighbouring creek, fupplied her
clandedinely with frefh bales of goods, to replace
fuch as were fold. The infpeclors of the fair, and
-officers of the revenue, gained by exorbitant pre-
fents, connived at the fraud '. Thus, partly by
' See NOTE LXVI,
tfe
33
the operations of the company, and partly by the BOOK;
activity of private interlopers, almofl the whole < v^
trade of Spanifh America was ingrofled by fo-
reigners. The immenfe commerce of the Ga-
leons, formerly the pride of Spain, and the envy
of other nations, funk to nothing, and the fqua- J737 .
dron itfelf reduced from fifteen thoufand to two
thoufand tons m , ferved hardly any purpofe but to
fetch home the royal reyenue arifmg from the fifth
on filver.
WHILE Spain obferved thofe encroachments,
r ... . tas employed
and felt fo fenfibly their pernicious effects, it was for f this P ur -
jmpoflible not to make fome effort to reftrain
them. Her firft expedient was to ftation mips of
force, under the appellation ofGuarda Co/las, upon
the coafts of thofe provinces, to which interlopers
mod frequently reforted. As private mtereft con-
curred with the duty which they owed to the pub-
lic, in rendering the officers who commanded thofe
veffels vigilant and active, fome check was given
to the progrefs of the contraband trade, though in
dominions fo extenfive, and fo acceflible by fea,
Jiardly any number of cruifers was fufficient to guard
againft its inroads in every quarter. This interrup-
tion of an intercourfe, which had been carried on
with fo much facility, that the merchants in the
Britifh colonies were accuftomed to confider it al-
mofl as an allowed branch of commerce, excited
f Alcedo y Herrera, p. 359. Camppmanes, i. 436,
murmurs
33 2 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK murmurs and complaints. Thefe authorised, in fome
vn i.
v_ V- J meafure, and rendered more iriterefting, by feveral
unjuftifiable acts of violence committed by the cap-
tains of the Spariifh Guarda Codas, precipitated
1739. Great Britain into a war with Spain ; in confequence
of which the latter obtained a final releafe from the
Affiento, and was left at liberty to regulate the
commerce of her colonies, without being restrained
by any engagement with a foreign power.
The ufe of As the formidable encroachments of the Eng-
[ntrotiuced. lifh on their American trade, had difcovered to
the Spaniards the vaft confumpiion of European
goods in their colonies, and taught them the ad-
vantage of accommodating their importations to
the occafional demand of the various provinces,
they perceived the neceffity of devifmg fome me-
thod of fupplying their colonies, different from
their ancient one, of fending thither periodical
fleets. That mode of communication had been
found not only to be uncertain, as the departure
of the Galeons and Flota was fometimes re-
tarded by various accidents, and often prevented
by the wars which raged in Europe ; but long
experience had fhewn it to be ill adapted to afford
America a regular and timely fupply of what it
wanted. The fcarcity of European goods in the
Spanim fettlements frequently became exceffive ;
their price rofe to an enormous height ; the vigi-
lant eye of mercantile attention did not fail to ob-
ferve this favourable opportunity, an ample fupply
was
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 333
was poured in by interlopers from the Englifh, the B o K
French, and Dutch iflands ; and when the Galeons
at length arrived, they found the markets fo glut-
ted by this illicit commerce, that there was no de-
mand for the commodities with which they were
loaded. In order to remedy this, Spain has per-
mitted a considerable part of her commerce with
America, to be carried on by regifterjhips. Thefe
are fitted out, during the intervals between the ftated
feafons when the Galeons and Flota fail, by mer-
chants in Seville or Cadiz, upon obtaining a licence
from the council of the Indies, for which they pay
a very high premium, and are deflined for thofe
ports in America where any extraordinary demand
is forefeen or expected. By this expedient, fuch a
regular fupply of the conmodities, for which there
is the greateft demand, is conveyed to the American
market, that the interloper is no longer allured by
the fame profpel of exceffive gain, or the people
in the colonies urged by the fame neceffity to engage
in the hazardous adventures of contraband trade.
IN proportion as experience manifefted the ad-
c J *U' J *u abclifhed.
vantages or carrying on trade in this mode, the
number of regifter mips increafed ; and at length,
in the year 1748, the Galeons, after having been
employed upwards of two centuries, were finally
laid afide. From that period there has been no in-
tercourfe with Chili and Peru but by fmgle mips,
difpatched from time to time as occafion requires,
and when the merchants expeft a profitable market
14 will
534 HISTORY OP AMERICA;
BOOK will open. Thefe (hips fail round Cape Horn, an4
VMT
!_, - T -'.,_? convey directly to the ports in the South Sea the pro-
ductions and manufactures of Europe, for which the
people, fettled in thofe countries, were formerly
obliged to repair to Porto-bello or Panama. Thefe
towns, ashasbeenformerlyobferved, muft gradually
decline, when deprived of that commerce to which
they owed their profperity. This difadvantage how-
ever is more than compenfated by the beneficial
effects of this new arrangement, as the whole con-
tinent of South America receives newfupplies of Eu-
ropean commodities, with fo much regularity, and
in fuch abundance, as muft not only contribute
greatly to the happinefs, but increafe the population
of all the colonies fettled there. But as all the re-
gifter mips deftined for the South Seas, muft ftill
take their departure from Cadiz, and are obliged to
return thither ", this branch of the American com-
merce,even in its new and improved form, continues
fubject to the reftraints of a fpecies of monopoly,
and feels thofe pernicious effects of it, which I
have already defcribed.
schemes for N OR has the attention of Spain been confined to
reviving
regulating the trade with its more flouriming colo-
nies, it has extended likewife to the reviving com-
merce in thofe fettlements where it was neglected,
or had decayed. Among the new taftes which
the people of Europe have acquired, in confe-
quence of importing the productions of thofe coun-
tries which they conquered in America, that for
" Campomanes, i. 434. 440.
chocolate
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 335
chocolate is one of the moft univerfal. The ufe of B o o K.
this liquor made with a pafte, formed of the nut,
or almond of the cacao-tree, compounded with
various ingredients, the Spaniards firfl learned
from the Mexicans ; and it has appeared to them,
and to the other European nations, fo palatable,
fo nourishing, and fo wholefome, that it has be-
come a commercial article of considerable import-
ance. The cacao-tree grows fpontaneoufly in fe-
veral parts of the torrid zone; but the nuts of the
bed quality, next to thofe of Guatimala, on the
South Sea, are produced in the rich plains of
Caraccas, a province of Tierra Firme. In confe-
quence of this acknowledged fuperiority in the
quality of cacao in that province, and its commu-
nication with the Atlantic, which facilitates the
conveyance to Europe, the culture of the cacao
there is more extend ve than in any diftricl: of Ame-
rica. But the Dutch, by the vicinity of their
Settlements in the fmall iflands of Curazoa and
Buen-Ayre, to the coaft of Caraccas, gradually
ingrofled the greateft part of the cacao trade.
The traffic with the mother-country for this va-
luable commodity ceafed almoft entirely ; and fuch
was the fupine negligence of the Spaniards, or the
defects of their commercial arrangements, that
they were obliged to receive from the hands of
foreigners this production of their own colonies, at
an exorbitant price. In order to remedy an evil
no lefs difgraceful, than pernicious to his fubje&s,
Philip V. in the year 1728, granted to a body of
merchants,
336 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
B K merchants, an exclufive right to the commerce
V III.
with Caraccas and Cumana, on condition of their
employing, at their own expence, a fufficient
number of armed vefiels to clear the coaft of in-
terlopers. This fociety, diftinguifhed fometimes
by the name of the Company of Guipufcoa, from
the province of Spain in which it is eftablifhed,
and fometimes by that of the Company of Carac-
cas, from the diftritt of America to which it trades,
has carried on its operations with fuch vigour and
fuccefs, that Spain has recovered an important
branch of commerce, which me had fuffered to
be wrefled from her, and is plentifully fupplied
with an article of extenfive confumption at a mo-
derate price. Not only the parent (late, but the
colony of Caraccas, has derived great advantages
from this inflitution ; for although, at the firfl
afpect, it may appear to be one of thofe monopo-
lies, whofe tendency is to check the fpirit of in-
duftry, inftead of calling it forth to new exertions,
it has been prevented from operating in this man-
ner, by feveral falutary regulations, framed upon
forefight of fuch bad effects, and of purpofe to
obviate them. The planters in the Caraccas are
not left to depend entirely on the company, either
for the importation of European commodities, or
the fale of their own productions. The inhabi-
tants of the Canary iflands have the privilege of
fending thither annually a regifter fhip of confider-
able burden ; and from Vera Cruz in New Spain,
a free trade is permitted in every port compre-
hended
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 337
hended in the charter of the company. In confe- BOOK
quence of this, there is fuch a competition, that
both with refpecl: to what the colonies purchafe,
and what they fell, the price feems to be fixed at
its natural and equitable rate. The company has
not the power of raifmg the former, or of degrading
the latter at pleafure ; and accordingly, fmce it
was eftablimed, the increafe of culture, of popu-
lation, and of live flock, in the province of Carac-
cas, has been very confiderable .
BUT as it is flowly that, nations relinquifh any Enlargement
fyftem which time has rendered venerable, and as it
is (till more flowly that commerce can be diverted pam '
from the channel in which it has long been accuf-
tomed to flow ; Philip V. in his new regulations con-
cerning the American trade, paid fuch deference to
the ancient maxim of Spain, concerning the limita-
tion of all importation from the New World to one
harbour, as to oblige both the regifler fhips which
returned from Peru, and thofe of the Guipufcoan
Company from Caraccas, to deliver their cargoes
in the port of Cadiz. Since his reign, fentiments
more liberal and enlarged begin to fpread in Spain.
The fpirit of philolbphical inquiry, which it is the
glory of the prcfent age to have turned from fri-
volous or abflrufe fpeculations,. to the bufmefs and
affairs of men, has extended its influence beyond
the Pyrenees. In the refearches of ingenious
See NOTE LXVII.
VOL. III. Z authors,
338 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK authors, concerning the police or commerce of
nations, the errors and defects of the Spanifh
fyftem with refpedl to both met every eye, arid
have not only been expofed with feverity, but are
held up as a warning to other flates. The Spa-
niards, flung with the reproaches of thefe authors,
or convinced by their arguments, and admonifhed
by feveral enlightened writers of their own coun-
try, feem at length to have difcovered the de-
flructive tendency of thofe narrow maxims, which,
by cramping commerce in all its operations, have
fo long retarded its progrefs. It is to the monarch
now on the throne, that Spain is indebted for the
firfl public regulation formed in confequence of
fuch enlarged ideas.
WHILE Spain adhered with rigour to her an-
cient maxims concerning her commerce with
America, me was fo much afraid of opening any
channel, by which an illicit trade might find ad-
miflion into the colonies, that fhe almofl fhut her-
felf out from any intercourfe with them, but that
which was carried on by her annual fleets. There
was no eflablifhment for a regular communication
of either public or private intelligence, between
the mother- country and its American fettlements.
From the want of this neceflary inflitution, the
operations of the flate, as well as the bufmefs of
individuals, were retarded or conducted unfkil-
fully, and Spain often received from foreigners her
firfl information with refpeft to very interefling
events
mem of re-
boats.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 339
Events in her own colonies. But though this de- BOO K.
fec~l in police was fenfibly felt, and the remedy for
it was obvious, that jealous fpirit with which the
Spanifh monarchs guarded the exclufive trade, re-
ftrained them from applying it. At length
Charles III. furmounted thofe confiderations which
had deterred his predeceffbrs, and in the year 1764
appointed packet-boats to be difpatched on the
firft day of each month, from Corugna to the
Havanna or Porto-Rico. From th'ence letters are
conveyed in' fmaller veiTels to Vera Cruz and
Forto-bello, and tranfmitted by pod through the
kingdoms of Tierra Firme" , Granada, Peru, and
New Spain. With no lefs regularity packet-boats
fail once in two months to Rio de la Plata, for the
accommodation of the provinces to the eaft of the
Andes. Thus provifion is made for a fpeedy and
Certain circulation of intelligence throughout the
vaft dominions of Spain, from which equal advan-
tages mud redound to the political and mercantile
intereft of the kingdom P. With this new arrange-
ment, a fcheme of extending commerce has been
more immediately connected. Each of the packet-
boats, which are veflels of fome confiderable bur-
den, is allowed to take in half a loading of fuch
commodities as are the product of Spain, and moft
in demand .in the ports whither they are bound.
In return for thefe they may bring home to Co-
? Ponz Viage de Efpagna, vi. Prol. p. 15.
Z 2 rugna
34-0 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK rugna an equal quantity of American productions 9 .
IM. V -.,.J This may be confidered as the firft relaxations of
thofe rigid laws, which confined the trade with the
New World to a fmgle port, and the firft attempt
to admit the reft of the kingdom to fome lhare
in it.
Free trade Ix was foon followed by one more decifive. In
feveraipro- the year 1765, Charles III. laid open the trade to
the windward iflands, Cuba, Hifpaniola, Porto-
Rico, Margarita, and Trinadad, to his fubjects in
every province of Spain. He permitted them to
fail from certain ports in each province, which are
fpecified in the edict, at any feafon, and with what-
ever cargo they deemed mofl proper, without any
other warrant than a fimple clearance from the
cuftom-houfe of the place whence they took their
departure. He releafed them from the numerous
and oppreffive duties impofed on goods exported
to America, and in place of the whole, fubftituted
a moderate tax of fix in the hundred on the com-
modities fent from Spain. He allowed them to
return either to the fame port, or to any other
where they might hope for a more advantageous
market, and there to enter the homeward cargo,
on payment of the ufual duties. This ample pri-
vilege, which at once broke through all the fences
which the jealous policy of Spain had been labour-
i Append, ii. alaEduc. Pop. p. 31.
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 34 i
ing, for two centuries and a half, to throw round its BOOK
commercial intercourfe with the New World, was
foon after extended to Louifiana, and to the pro-
vinces of Yucatan and Campeachy r .
THE propriety of this innovation, which may be Beneficial
confidered as the moft liberal effort of Spanifh le-
giflation, has appeared from its effects. Prior to
the edict in favour of the free trade, Spain derived
hardly any benefit from its neglected colonies in
Hifpaniola, Porto-Rico, Margarita, and Trinidad.
Its commerce with Cuba was inconfiderable, and
that of Yucatan and Campeachy was ingrofled al-
moft intirely by interlopers. But as foon as a ge-
neral liberty of trade was permitted, the inter-
courfe with thofe provinces revived, and has gone
on with a rapidity of progreffion, of which there
are few examples in the hiftory of nations. In lefs
than ten years, the trade of Cuba has been more
than tripled. Even in thofe fettlements where,
from the languiming ftate of induflry, greater ef-
forts were requifite to reftore its activity, their
commerce has been doubled. It is computed,
that fuch a number of fhips is already employed in
the free trade, that the tonnage of them far exceeds
that of the Galeons andFlota, at the moft flourifh-
ing aera of their commerce. The benefits of this
arrangement are not confined to a few merchants,
eftablifhed in a favourite port. They are diffufed
through every province of the kingdom ; and by
r Append, ii. a la Educ. Pop. 37. 54. 91.
Z 3 opening
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
opening a new market for their various produc-
tions and manufactures, mufl encourage and add
vivacity to the induilry of the farmer and artificer.
Nor does the kingdom profit only by what it ex-
ports, it derives advantage likewife from what it
receives in return, and has the profpect of being
foon able to fupply itfelf with feveral commodities
of extenfive confumption, for which it formerly
depended on foreigners. The confumption of
fugar in Spain is perhaps as great in proportion to
the number of its inhabitants, as that of any Eu-
ropean kingdom. But though pofieiTed of coun- .
tries in the New World, whole foil and climate are
nioft proper for rearing the fugar-cane ; though
the domeftic culture of that valuable plant in the
kingdom of Granada was once confiderable ; fuch
has been the fatal tendency of ill-judged inftitu-
tions in America, and fuch the preffure of impro-
per taxes in Europe, that Spain has loft almoft.
entirely this branch of induftry, which has enriched
other nations. This commodity, which has now
become an article of primary neceffity in Europe,
the Spaniards were obliged to purchafe of foreign-
ers, and had the mortification to fee their coun-
try drained annually of great fums on that ac-
count 8 . But if that fpirit, which the permiffion
of free trade has put in motion, mall perfevere in
its efforts with the fame vigour, the cultivation of
fugar in Cuba and Porto^Rico may increafe fo
inuch, that in a few years, it is probable, that
* Uztari?, c. 94.
their
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 343
their growth of fugars may be equal to the demand BOOK
of the kingdom. v^IIJ!^
SPAIN has been induced, by her experience of the Fre^tnde
beneficial confequences refulting from having re- ' ween the
laxed fomewhat of the rigour of her ancient laws
with refped to the commerce of the mother-coun-
try with the colonies, to permit a more liberal in-
tercourfe of one colony with another. By one of
the jealous maxims of the old fyflem, all the pro-
vinces fituated on the South Seas were prohibited,
under the mod fevere penalties, from holding any
communication with one another. Though each
of thefe yield peculiar productions, the reciprocal
exchange of which might have'added to the happi-
nefs of their refpe&ive inhabitants, or have facili-
tated their progrefs in induftry, fo felicitous was
the Council of the Indies to prevent their receiving
any fupply of their wants, but by the periodical
fleets from Europe, that in order to guard againft
this,, it cruelly debarred the Spaniards in Peru, in
the fouthern provinces of New Spain, in Guatimala,
and the New Kingdom of Granada, from fuch a
correfpondence with their fellow-fubjecls, as tended
manifeflly to their mutual profperity. Of alt the nu-
merous reftrictions devifed by Spain for fecuring the
exclufive trade with her American fettlements, none
perhaps was more illiberal, none feems to have been
more fenfibly felt, or to have produced more hurt-
ful effects. This grievance, coeval with the fettle-
ments of Spain in the countries fituated on the Pa-
Z 4 cific
344
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK cific Ocean, is at laft redrafted. In the year 1774,
i^, v il.^ Charles III. publifhed an edict, granting to the four
great provinces which I have mentioned, the privi-
lege of a free trade with each other 1 . What may be
the effects of opening this communication between
countries deftined by their fituation for reciprocal
intercourfe, cannot yet be determined by experience.
They can hardly fail of beingbenencial and extenfive.
The motives for granting this permiflion are mani-
feftly no lefs laudable, than the principle on which it
is founded is liberal ; and both difcover the progrefs
of a fpirit in Spain, far elevated above the narrow
prejudices and maxims on which her fyftem for re-
gulating the trade, and conducting the govern-
ment of her colonies, was originally founded.
New regu- AT the fame time that Spain has been intent
cerning c the on introducing regulations, fuggefted by more en-
Klfo- larged views of policy, into her fyftem of Ame-
*" es ' rican commerce, me has not been inattentive to
the interior government of her colonies. Here too
there was much room for reformation and improve-
ment, and Don Jofeph Galvez, who has now the
direction of the department for Indian affairs in
Spain, has enjoyed the beft opportunities, not only
of obferving the defects and corruption in the po-
litical frame of the colonies, but of discovering
the fources of thofe evils. After being employed
1 Real Cedula penes me. Pontz Viage dc Efpagr
Prologo. p. 2. NOTE LXV1II.
:na, vi.
feven
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 345
feven years in the New World on an extraordinary
miffion, and with very extenfive powers, as in-
fpedor-general of New Spain ; after vifiting in
perfon the remote provinces of Cinaloa, Sonora,
and California, and making feveral important al-
terations in the ftate of the police and revenue ;
he began his miniftry with a general reformation
of the tribunals of iuftice in America. In confe- Reformation
J 01 the emus
quence of the progrefs of population and wealth < j
in the colonies, the bufmefs of the Courts of Au-
dience has increafed fo much, that the number of
judges of which they were originally compofed, has
been found inadequate to the growing labours and
duties of the office, and the falaries fettled upon them
havebeendeemedinferiortothedignityoftheftation.
As a remedy for both, he obtained a royal edit,
eftablifhing an additional number of judges in each
court of Audience, with higher titles, and more
ample appointments u .
To the fame intelligent minifter Spain is in- New
debted for a new diftribution of government in its govem-
American provinces. Even fmce the eftablifh-
ment of a third viceroyalty in the New Kingdom
of Granada, fo great is the extent of the Spanifh
dominions in the New World, that feveral places
fubjecl: to the jurifdiction of each viceroy, were at
fuch an enormous diftance from the capitals in
which they refided, that neither their attention, nor
u Gazcta dc Madrid, T^th March, i^.
their
346 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK their authority, could reach fo far. Some pro-
v -^j vinces fubordinate to the viceroy of New Spain,
lay above two thoufand miles from Mexico. There
were countries fubject to the viceroy of Peru flill
farther from Lima. The people in thofe remote
diftricts could hardly be faid to enjoy the benefit of
civil government. The oppreffion and infolence
of its inferior minifters they often feel, and rather
fubmit to thefe in filence, than involve themfelves
in the expence and trouble of reforting to the dif-
tant capitals, where alone they can find redrefs.
New vice- As a remedy for this, a fourth viceroyalty has
Aug.^/e, been erected, to the jurifdiction of which are fub-
piafa. d jeered the provinces of Rio de la Plata, Buenos-
Ayres, Paraguay, Tucuman, Potofi, St a Cruz de
la Sierra, Charcas, and the towns of Mendoza
and St. Juan. By this well-judged arrangement, two
advantages aregained. Alltheinconveniencies occa-
fioned by the remote lituation of thofe provinces,
which had been long felt, and long complained of,
are, in a great meafure, removed. The countries
mod diftant from Lima are feparated from the vice-
royalty of Peru, and united under a fuperior, whofe
feat of government at Buenos-Ayres, will be com-
modious and acceffible. The contraband trade with
the Portuguefe, which was become fo extenfive,
as muft have put a final flop to the exportation of
commodities from Spain to her fouthern colonies,
. may be checked more thoroughly, and with greater
facility, when the fupreme magiftrate, by his vi-
cinity to the places in which it is carried on, can
view
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 347
view its progrefs and effects with his own eyes. BOOK
Don Pedro Zevallos, who has been raifed to this L - V "^-_.
new dignity, with appointments equal to thofe of
the other viceroys, is well acquainted both with
the ftate and the interefl of the countries over
which he is to prefide, having ferved in them long,
and with diflinction. By this difmemberment,
fucceeding that which took place at the erection of
the viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada,
a] moft two-third parts of the territories, originally
Subject to the viceroys of Peru, are now lopped off
from their jurisdiction.
THE limits of the viceroyalty of New Spain have v
J J i few govern-
likewife been confiderably circumfcribed, and with Ujnco/s<
no lefs propriety and difcernment. Four of its ncra > &c -
moft remote provinces, Sonora, Cinal6*a, Califor-
nia, and New Navarre, have been 'formed into a
Separate government. The Chevalier de Croix, who
is intruftedwith this command, is not dignified with
the title of viceroy, nor does he enjoy the appoint-
ments belonging to that rank, but his jurisdiction
is altogether independent on the viceroyalty of New
Spain. The erection of this laft -government feems
tohavebeenfuggefted, not only by the confideration
of the remote Situation of thofe provinces from Mex-
ico ; but by attention to the late difcoveries made
there, which I have mentioned *. Countries con-
taining the richeft mines of gold that have hitherto
? Book vii. p. 229.
been
348 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K been difcovered in the New World, and which
viii. . r .
- ^-.^ probably may ariie into great importance, required
the immediate infpection of a governor, to whom
they fiioiild be fpecially committed. As every con-
fideration of duty, ofintereft, and of vanity, mud
concur in prompting thofe new governors to encou-
rage fuch exertions as tend to diffufe opulence and
profperity through the provinces committed to their
charge, the beneficial effects of this arrangement
may be confiderable. Many diftricts in America,
long deprefled by the languor and feeblenefs natural
to provinces which compofe the extremities of an
overgrown empire, may be animated with vigour
and activity, when brought fo near the featof power,
as to feel its invigorating influence.
At- rmpts to SUCH, fince the acceffion of the princes of the
V jik' p^J Houfe of Bourbon to the throne of Spain, has been
the progrefs of their regulations, and the gradual
expanfion of their views with refpect to the com-
merce and government of their American colonies.
Nor has their attention been fo entirely engrofied
by what related to the more remote parts of their
dominions, as to render them neglectful of what was
ftill more important, the reformation of domeftic
errors and defects in policy. Fully fenfible of the
caufes to which the declenfion of Spain, from her
former profperity, ought to be imputed ; they have
made it a great object of their policy, to revive a
fpirit of induftry among their fubjects, and to give
fuch extent and perfection to their manufactures,
as
HISTORY OF AMERICA.
349
America from their own flock, and to exclude fo-
reigners from a branch of commerce which has been
fo fatal to the kingdom. This they have endea-
voured to accomplifh, by a variety of edi&s iflued
fmce the peace of Utrecht. They have granted
bounties for the encouragement of fome Branches
of induftry; they have lowered the taxes on others;
they have either entirely prohibited, or have loaded
with additional duties, fuch foreign manufactures
as come in competition with their own ; they have
inftituted focieties for the improvement of trade
and agriculture ; they have planted colonies of huf-
bandmen in fome uncultivated diftrids of Spain,
and divided among them the wade fields ; they
have had recourfe to every expedient, devifed by
commercial wifdom, or commercial jealoufy, for
reviving their own induftry, and difcountenancing
that of other nations. Thefe, however, it is not
my province to explain, or to inquire into their pro-
priety and effects. There is no effort of legiflation
more arduous, no experiment in policy more un-
certain, than an attempt to revive the fpirit of in-
duftry where it has declined, or to introduce it
where it is unknown. Nations, already poflcfl^d
of extenfive commerce, enter into competition with
fuch advantages, derived from the large capitals
and extenfive credit of their merchants, the dexte-
rity of their manufacturers, the alertnefs acquired
by habit in every department of bufmefs, that the
ftate which aims at rivalling, or fupplanting them,
mufl
3 sd HISTORY OF AMERICA.
COOK muft expect to flruggle with many difficulties, and
be content to advance flowly. If the quantity of
productive induftry, now in Spain, be compared
with that of the kingdom under the laft liftlefs
monarchs of the Auftrian line, its progrefs muft
appear confiderable, and is fufficient to alarm the
jealoufy, and to call forth the moft vigorous ef-
forts, of the nations now in poffeffion of the lucra-
tive trade which the Spaniards aim at wrefting from
them. One circumftance may render thofe exer-
tions of Spain an object of more ferious attention
to the other European powers; They are not to be
afcribed wholly to the influence of the crown and
its minifters. The fentiments and fpirit of the
people feem to fecond the provident care of their
monarchs, and to give it greater effect. The na-
tion has adopted more liberal ideas, not only with
refpect to commerce, but domeftic policy. In all
the later Spanifh writers, defects in the arrange-
ments of their country concerning both are ac-
knowledged, and remedies propofed, which igno-
rance rendered their anceftors incapable of difcern-
ing, and pride would not have allowed them to
confefs x . But after all that the Spaniards have
done, much remains to do. Many pernicious infti-
tutions and abufes, deeply incorporated with the
fyftem of internal policy and taxation, which has
been long eltablifhed in Spain, muft be abolimed,
before induftry and manufactures can recover an
extenfive activity.
* See NOTE LXIX.
STILL,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 351
however, the commercial regulations of 3 o o K
Spain with refpect to her colonies, are too rigid < * *
. r . 9 Contraband
and fyltematical to be carried into complete exe- trad e-
cution. The legiflature that loads trade with im-
pofitions too heavy, or fetters it by reftrictions too
fevere, defeats its own intention ; and is only mul-
tiplying the inducements to violate its ftatutes,
and propofing an high premium to encourage
illicit traffic. The Spaniards, both in Europe
and America, being circumfcribed in their mutual
intercourfe by the jealoufy of the crown, of
oppreffed by its exactions, have their invention
continually on the ftretch how to elude its edicts.
The vigilance and ingenuity of private interefl dif-
cover means of effecting this, which public wif-
dom cannot forefee, nor public authority prevent.
This fpirit, counteracting that of the laws, per-
vades the commerce of Spain with America in all
its branches ; and from the higheft departments in
government, defcends to the loweft.- The very of-
ficers appointed to check contraband trade, are
often employed as mftruments in carrying it on ;
and the boards inflituted to reftrain and punifh it,
are the channels through which it flows. The
king is fuppofed, by the moft intelligent Spanifh
writers, to be defrauded, by various artifices, of
more than one half of the revenue which he ought
to receive from America y ; and as long as it is the
interefl of fo many perfons to fcreen thofe artifices
y Solorz. de Ind. Jure, ii. lib. v.
from
35 2 HISTORY. OF AMERICA.
BOOK from dete&ion, the knowledge of them will never
reach the throne. " How many ordinances, fays
" Corita, how many inftructions, how many let-
" ters from our fovereign, are fent in order to cor-
c reel: abufes, and how little are they obferved,
" and what fmall advantage is derived from them !
" To me the old obfervation appears juft, that
" where there are many phyficians, and many
" medicines, there is a want of health ; where there
" are many laws, and many judges, there is want
" of juftice. We have viceroys, prefidents, go-
" vernors, oydors, corrigidors, alcaldes, and thou-
" fands of alguazils abound every where ; but not-
" withftanding all thefe, public abufes continue to
" multiply V Time has increafed the evils which
he lamented as early as the reign of Philip II. A
fpirit of corruption has infected all the colonies of
Spain in America. Men far removed from the
feat of government ; impatient to acquire wealth,
that they may return fpeedily from what they are
apt to confider as a ftate of exile in a remote un-
healthful country ; allured by opportunities too
tempting to be refilled, and feduced by the ex-
ample of thofe around them ; find their fentiments
of honour and of duty gradually relax. In private
life, they give themfelves up to a diflblute luxury,
while in their public conduct they become unmind-
ful of what they owe to their fovereign and to their
country.
z MS. penes me.
BEFORE
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 353
&EFORE I clofe this account of the Spanifh trade BOOK
, . , vin.
in America, there remains one detached, but nn- *- ^ **
portant branch of it, to be mentioned. Soon after tween New
his acceffion to the throne, Philip II. formed a ti^phiUp-
fcheme of planting a colony in the Philippine pmes *
iflands, which had been neglected fmce the time of
their difcovery ; and he accomplifhed it by means
of an armament fitted out from New Spain b . Ma- Is64 '
nila, in the ifland of Luconia, was the ftation
chofen for the capital of this new eftablifhment.
From it an active commercial intercourfe began
with the Chinefe, and a confiderable number of
jthat induftrious people, allured by the profpect of
gain, fettled in the Philippine iflands under the
Spanifh protection. They fupplied the colony fo
amply with all the valuable productions and manu-
factures of the Eaft, as enabled it to open a trade
\vithAmerica, by a courfe of navigation, thelongefl
from land to land on our globe. In the infancy
of this trade, it was carried on with Callao, on
k the coaft of Peru ; but experience having difco-
vered the impropriety of fixing upon that as the
port of communication with Manila, the ftaple
of the commerce between the eaft and weft was re-
moved from Callao to Acapulco, on the coaft of
New Spain.
AFTER various arrangements, it has been brought
into a regular form. One or two mips depart an-
nually from Acapulco, which are permitted to carry
b Torquem, I. lib. v. c. 14.
VOL, III. A a out
354 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K out filver to the amount of five hundred thoufand
pefos c , but they have hardly any thing elfe of value
on board ; in return for which, they bring back
fpices, drugs, china, and japan wares, calicoes,
chintz, muilins, filks, and every precious article,
with which the benignity of the climate, or the in-
genuity of its people, has enabled the Eaft to fup-
ply the reft of the world. For fome time the mer-
chants of Peru were admitted to participate in this
traffic, and might fend annually a (hip to Acapulco ?
to wait the arrival of the veflels from Manila, and
receive a proportional mare of the commodities
which they imported. At length, the Peruvians
xvere excluded from this trade by moft rigorous
edicts, and all the commodities from the Eaft re-
ferved folely for the confumption of New Spain.
IN confequence of this indulgence, the inhabi-
tants of that country enjoy advantages unknown
in the other Spaniih colonies. The manufactures
of the Eaft are not only more fuited to a warm cli-
mate, and more fliowy than thofe of Europe, but
can be fold at a lower price ; while, at the fame
time, the profits upon them are fo confiderable, as
to enrich all thofe who are employed, either in
bringing them from Manila, or vending them in
New Spain. As the intereft both of the buyer and
feller concurred in favouring this branch of com-
merce, it has continued to extend in fpite of regu-
c Recop. lib. is. c. 45. L 6.
lations,
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 355
lations, concerted with the mod anxious jealoufy to B o o
circumfcribe it. Under cover of what the laws
permit to be imported, great quantities of India
goods are poured into the markets of Ntew Spain d ,
and when the flota arrives at Vera Cruz from
Europe, it often finds the wants of the people al-
ready fupplied by cheaper and more acceptable com-
modities.
THERE is not, in the commercial arrangements
of Spain, any circumflance more inexplicable than
the permiflion of this trade between New Spain
and the Philippines, or more repugnant to its fun-
damental maxim of holding the colonies in perpe-
tual dependance on the mother-country, by pro-
hibiting any commercial intercourfe that might
fuggefl to them the idea of receiving a fupply of
their wants from any other quarter. This permif-
fion muft appear ftill more extraordinary, from
confidering that Spain herfelf carries on no direct
trade with her fettlements in the Philippines, and
grants a privilege to one of her American colonies,
which me denies to her fubje&s in Europe. It is
probable, that the colonifts who originally took
pofleflion of the Philippines, having been fent out
from New Spain, begun this intercourfe with a
country which they confidered, in fome meafure,
as their parent date, before the court of Madrid
was aware of its confequences, or could eftablifh
* Sec NOTE LXX.
A a 2 regulations
3 s6 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K regulations in order to prevent it. Many remon-
ftrances have been prefented againft this trade, as
detrimental to Spain, by diverting into. another
channel, a large portion of that treafure which
ought to flow into the kingdom, as tending to
give rife to a fpirit of independence in the colonies,
and to encourage innumerable frauds, againil which
it is impofiible to guard, in tranfa&ions fo far- re-
, moved from the infpeclion of government. But
as it requires no flight effort of political wifdom
and vigour to aboliih any practice which numbers
are interefted in fupporting, and to which time has
added the fanftion of its authority, the commerce
between New Spain and Manila feems to be as con-
iiderable as ever, and may be coniidered as one
chief caufe of the elegance and fplendor confpi-
cuous in this part of the Spanilh dominions.
BUT notwithstanding this general corruption in
the colonies of Spain, and the diminution of the
income belonging to the public, occafioned by the
illicit importations made by foreigners, as well as
by the various frauds of which the colonifls them-
felves are guilty in their commerce with the parent
flate, the Spanifh monarchs receive a very confi-
derable revenue from their American dominions.
This arifes from taxes of various kinds, which
may be divided into three capital branches. The
firft contains what is paid to the king, as fove-
reign, or fuperior lord of the New World : to this
clafs belongs the duty on the gold and filver raifed
from
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 357
from the mines, and the tribute exa&ed from the
Indians ; the former is termed by the Spaniards the
right of Jigniory, the latter is the duty of vajalage.
The fecond branch comprehends the numerous du-
ties upon commerce, which accompany and opprefs
it in every ftep of its progrefs, from the greateft
tranfa&ions of the wholefale merchant, to the petty
traffic of the vender by retail. The third includes
what accrues to the king, as head of the church,
and adminiftrator of ecclefiaftical funds in the New
World. In confequence of this he receives the firft
fruits, annates, fpoils, and other fpiritual revenues,
levied by the apoflolic chamber in Europe ; and is
entitled, likewife, to the profit arifmg from the fale
of the bull of Cruzado. This bull, which is pub-
limed every two years, contains, an abfolution from
paft offences by the pope, and, among other immu-
nities, a permiflion to eat feveral kinds of prohibited
food, during Lent, and on meagre days. The monks
employed in difperfmg thofe bulls, extol their vir-
tues with all the fervour of interefted eloquence ;
the people, ignorant and credulous, liflen with im-
plicit affent ; and every perfon in the Spanifh co-
lonies, of European, Creolian, or mixed race, pur-
chafes a bull, which is deemed eflential to his fal-
vation, at the rate fet upon it by government e .
WHAT may be the amount of thofe various funds, it* amount.
it is almoft impoflible to determine with preci-
f See NOTE LXXI.
A a 3 lion.
35 S HISTORY OF AMERICA.
o o K fion. The extent of the Spanifh dominions in
America, the jealoufy of government, which ren-
ders them inacceffible to foreigners, the myflerious
filence which the Spaniards are accuftomed to ob-
ferve with refpect to the interior flate of their co-
lonies, combine in covering this fubject with a
veil which it is not eafy to remove. But an ac-
count, apparently no lefs accurate than it is cu-
rious, has lately been publifhed of the royal re-
venue in New Spain, from which we may form
fome idea with refpect tp what is collected in the
other provinces. According to that account, the
crown does not receive from all the departments of
taxation in New Spain above a million of our
money, from which one half muft be deducted
as the expence of the provincial eftablimment f .
Peru, it is probable, yields a fum not inferior to
this ; and if we fuppofe that all the other regions
of America, including the iflands, furnifh a third
{hare of equal value, we mail not perhaps be far
wide from the truth, if we conclude, that the net
public revenue of Spain, raifed in America, does
not exceed a million and a half flerling. This
falls far Ihort of the immenfe fums to which fup-
pofitions, founded upon conjecture, have raifed
the Spaniih revenue in America g . It is remark-
able, however, upon one account. Spain and Por-
tugal are the only European powers, who derive
a direct revenue from their colonies. AH the ad-
' See NOTE J-XXII. * See NOTE LXXIII.
vantage
HISTORY OF AMERICA. 359
vantage that accrues to other nations, from their BOOK
American dominions, arifes from the exclufive w - T --'^J
enjoyment of their trade ; but befide this, Spain
has brought her colonies to contribute towards in- '
creafing the power of the ftate ; and in return for
protection, to bear a proportional mare of the com-
mon burden.
ACCORDINGLY, the fum which I have computed
to be the amount of the Spanifh revenue from
America, arifes wholly from the taxes collected
there, and is far from being the whole of what
accrues to the king from his dominions in the
New World. The heavy duties impofed on the
commodities exported from Spain to America h , as
well as what is paid by thofe which fhe fends home
in return ; the tax upon the negroe-flaves, with
which Africa fupplies the New World, together
with feveral fmaller branches of finance, bring
large fums into the treafury, the precife extent of
which I cannot pretend to afcertain.
BUT if the revenue which Spain draws from Exneneeof
c admimltia-
America be great, the expence of admimilration "on.
in her colonies bears proportion to it. In every
department, . even of her domeftic police and
finances, Spain has adopted a fyftem more com-
plex, and more encumbered with a variety of tri-
bunals, and a multitude of officers, than that of
* See NOTE LXXIV.
A a 4 any
3 $o HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK any European nation, in which the fovereign pof*
fefies fuch extenfive power. From the jealous fpirit
with which Spain watches over her American fettle-r
ments, and her endeavours to guard againfl fraud
in provinces fo remote from infpection ; boards;
and officers have been multiplied there with ftill
more anxious attention. In a country where the
expence of living is great, the falaries allotted to
every perfon in public office muft be high, and
muft load the revenue with an immenfe burden,
The parade of government greatly augments the
weight of it. The viceroys of Mexico, Peru, and
the New Kingdom of Granada, as reprefentatives
of the king's perfon, among people fond of often?
tation, maintain all the ftate and dignity of royalty.
Their courts are formed upon the model of that
at Madrid, with horfe and foot guards, a houfe-
hold regularly eftablifhed, numerous attendants,
and enfigns of power, difplaying fuch pomp, as
hardly retains the appearance of a delegated autho-
rity. All the expence incurred by fupporting the
external and permanent order of government is
defrayed by the crown. The viceroys have befides
peculiar appointments fuited to their exalted fta-?
tion. The falaries fixed by law are indeed ex-
tremely moderate ; that of the viceroy of Peru is
only thirty thoufand ducats ; and that of the vice-
roy of Mexico, twenty thoufand ducats ! . Of
late they have been raifed to forty thoufand.
1 Recop. lib, iii. tit. iii, c. 7?,
THESJR
HISTORY OF AMERICA. -61
tj
THESE falaries, however, conftitute but a fmall BOOK
VIII
part of the revenue enjoyed by the viceroys. The
exercife of an abfolute authority extending to every
department of government, and the power of flif-
pofing of many lucrative offices, afford them*
many opportunities of accumulating wealth. To
thefe, which may be confidered as legal and allowed
emoluments, large fums are often added by ex-
actions, which in countries fo far removed from
the feat of government, it is not eafy to difcover,
and impoffible to reftrain. By monopolizing fome
branches of commerce, by a lucrative concern in
others, by conniving at the frauds of merchants,
a viceroy may raife fuch an annual revenue, as no
fubjeft of any European monarch enjoys k . From
the fmgle article of prefents made to him on the
anniverfary of his Name-d(iy (which is always ob-
ferved as an high feftival), I am informed that a
viceroy has been known to receive fixty thoufand
pefos. According to a Spanifh faying, the legal
revenues of a viceroy are known, his real profits
depend upon his opportunities and his confcience.
Senfible of this, the kings of Spain, as I have
formerly obferved, grant a commiffion to their
viceroys only for a few years, This circumftance,
however, renders them often more rapacious, and
adds to the Ingenuity and ardour wherewith they
labour to improve every moment of power which
they know is battening fafl to a period ; and fhort
* See NOTE LXXV.
as
361 HISTORY OF AMERICA.
BOOK as its duration is, it ufually affords fufficient time
VIII. .
for repairing a (battered fortune, or for creating a
new one. But even in fituations fo trying to hu-
man frailty, there are inftances of virtue that re-
mains unfeduced. In the year 1772, the Marquis
de Croix fmifhed the term of his viceroyalty in
New Spain with unfufpe&ed integrity ; and in-
flead of bringing home exorbitant wealth, returned
with the admiration and applaufe of a grate-
ful people, whom his government had rendered
happy.
NOTES
NOTES
AND
ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTES
AND
ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE I. p. i.
TN tracing the progrefs of the Spanifh arms in New
Spain, we have followed Cortes himfelf as our moft
certain guide. His difpatches to the emperor contain a
minute account of his operations. But the unlettered
conqueror of Peru was incapable of relating his own ex-
ploits. Our information with refpecl to them, and other
tranfa&ions in Peru, is derived however from contemporary
and refpeftable authors.
THE moft early account of Pizarro's tranfaftions in
Peru, was published by Francifco de Xerez, his fecrerary.
It is a fimple unadorned narrative, carried t down no far-
ther than the death of Atahualpa, in 1533 ; for the author
returned to Spain in 1534, and foon after he landed,
printed at Seville his fhort Hiftory of the Conqueft of
Peru, addrefied to the emperor.
DON PEDRO SANCHO, an officer who ferved under
Pizarro, drew up an account of his expedition, which was
tranflated into Italian by Ramufio, and inferted in his va-
luable collection, but has never been publifhed in its ori-
ginal language. Sancho returned to Spain at the fame
time with Xerez. Great credit is due to what both thefe
authors relate concerning the progrefi and operations of
Pizarro ;
366 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Pizarro ; but th'e refidence of the Spaniards in Peru had
been fo fhorr, at the time when they left it, and their in-
tercourfe with the natives fo {lender, that their knowledge
of the Peruvian manners and cuftoms is very imperfeft.
THE next contemporary hiftorian is Pedro Cieza de
Leon, who publifhed his Cronica del Peru, at Seville, in
1553. If he had finifhed all that he propofes in the ge-
neral divifion of his work, it would have been the moft
complete hiftory which had been publifhed of any region
in the New World. He was well qualified to execute it,
having ferved during feventeen years in America, and
having vifited in perfon mofl of the provinces concerning
which he had occafion to write. But only the firft part
of his Chronicle has been printed. It contains a defcrip-
tion of Peru, and feveral of the adjacent provinces, with
an account of the institutions and cuftoms of the natives,
and is written with fo little art, and fuch an apparent re-
gard for truth, that one mufl regret the lofs of the other
parts of his work.
THIS lofs is amply fupplied by Don Augufline Zarate,
who publimed, in 1555, his Hiftoria del Defcubrimiento
y Cortquefta de la Provincia del Peru. Zarate was a man
of rank and education, and employed in Peru as comp-
troller-general of the public revenue. His hiftory, whe-
ther we attend to its matter or compofition, is a book of
confiderable merit ; as he had an opportunity to be well in-
formed, and feems to have been inquifitive with refpect to
the manners and tranfacVions of the Peruvians, great credit
is due to his teflimony.
DON DIEGO FERNANDEZ publimed his Hiftoria del
Peru, in 1571. His fole obje6l is to relate the difTenfions
and civil wars of the Spaniards in that empire. As he
ferved
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 367
ferved in a public ftation in Peru, and was well acquainted
both with the country, and with the principal aclors in
thofe fingular fcenes which he defcribes, as he poflefled
found underftanding and great impartiality, his work may
be ranked among thofe of the hiilorians moft diilinguifhed
for their induftry in refearch, or their capacity in judging
with refpecl; to the events which they relate.
THE laft author who can be reckoned among the con-
temporary hiftorians of the conqueft of Peru, is Garci-
laflb de la Vega, Inca. For though the firft part of his
work, intitled, Commentarios Reales del Origin de los Incas
Reies del Peru, was not publifhed fooner than the year
1609, feventy-fix years after the death of Atahualpa the
laft emperor, yet as he was born in Peru, and was the
fon of an officer of diftinftion among the Spanifh con-
querors, by a Coya, or lady of the royal race, on account
of which he always took the name of Inca ; as he was
mafter of the language fpoken by the Incas, and ac-
quainted with the traditions of his countrymen, his au-
thority is rated very high, and often placed above that of
all the other hiftorians. His work, however, is little
more than a commentary upon the Spanifh writers of the
Peruvian ftory, and compofed of quotations taken from
the authors whom I have mentioned. This is the idea
which he himfelf gives of it, Lib. i. c. 10. Nor is it in
the account of fafts only that he follows them fervilely.
Even in explaining the inftitutions and rites of his an-
ceftors, his information feems not to be more perfe6i than
theirs. His explanation of the Quipos is almoft the fame
with that of Acofta. He produces no fpecimen of Peru-
vian poetry, but that wretched one which he borrows
from Bias Valera, an early miffionary, whofe memoirs
have never been publifhed. Lib. ii. c. 15. As for com-
pofition, arrangement, or a capacity of diflinguiihing be-
18 tweea
368 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
tvveen what is fabulous, what is probable, and what is
true, one fearches for them in vain in the commentaries
of the Inca. His work, however, notwithftanding its
great defefts, is not altogether deftitute of ufe. Some
traditions which he received from his countrymen are
preferred in it. His knowledge of the Peruvian language
has enabled him to correct fome errors of the Spaniih
writers, and he has inferted in it fome curious fafts, taken
from authors whofe works were never publiflied, and are
now loft.
NOTE II. p. 7.
/~\NE may form an idea both of the hard/hips which
^^^ they endured, and of the unhealthful climate in the
regions which they vifited, from the extraordinary mortality
that prevailed among them. Pizarro carried out 112 men,
Almagro 70. Inlefs than nine months 130 of thefe died.
Few fell by the fword ; moil of them were cut off by dif-
eafes. Xcrez, p. 180.
NOTE III. p. il.
'"j"' HIS ifland, fays Herrera, is rendered fo uncomfort-
able by the unwholefomenefs of its climate, its im-
penetrable woods, its rugged mountains, and the multi-
tude of infecls and reptiles, that it is feldom any fofter
epithet than that of infernal is employed in defcribing it.
The fun is almoft never feen there, and throughout the
year it- hardly ever ccafes to rain. Dec. 3. lib. x. c. 3.
Dampier touched at this ifland in the year 1685 ; and his
account of the climate is not more favourable. Vol. i.
p. 172. He, during his crtrife on the coaft, vifited moft
of the places where Pizarro landed, and his defcription of
them throws light on the narrations of the early Spanifh
hiftorians.
15 NOTE
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 369
NOTE IV. p. 29.
T> Y this time horfes had multiplied greatly in the Spanifh
fettlements on the continent. When Cortes began
his expedition in the year 1518, though his armament was
more confiderable than that of Pizarro, and compofed of
perfons fuperior in rank to thofe who invaded Peru, he
could procure no more than fixteen horfes.
NOTE V. p. 30.
T N the year 1740, D. Ant. Ulloa, and D. George Juan,
travelled from Guayquil to Motupe, by the fame route
which Pizarro took. From the defcription of their jour-
ney, one may form an idea of the difficulty of his march.
The fandy plains between St. Michael de Pieura and Mo-
tupe extend 90 miles, without water, without a tree, a
plant, or any green thing, on a dreary ftretch of burning
fand. Voyage, torn. i. p. 399, &c.
NOTE VI. p. 36.
*~r* HIS extravagant and unfeafonable difcourfe of Val-
verde has been cenfured by all hiftorians, and with
juftice. But though he feems to have been an illiterate
and bigotted monk, nowife refembling the good Olmedo,
who accompanied Cortes ; the abfurdity of his addrefs to
Atahualpa mull not be charged wholly upon him. His
harangue is evidently a tranflation or paraphrafe of that
form, concerted by a junto of Spanifh divines and lawyers
in the year 1509, for explaining the right of their king to
the fovereignty of the New World, and for directing the
officers employed in America how they mould take poflef-
lion of any new country. See Vol. i. Note xxiii. The
VOL. III. B b fentiments
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
fentiments contained in Valverde's harangue mufl not then
be imputed to the bigotted imbecility of a particular man,
but to that of the age. But Gomara and Benzoni relate
one circumftance concerning Valverde, which, if authen-
tic, renders him an objeft, not of contempt only, but
of horror. They afTert, that during the whole aftion,
Va'verde continued to excite the foldiers to daughter,
calling to them to ftrike the enemy, not with the edge,
but with the points of their fwords. Gom. Cron. c. 113.
Benz. Hiftor. Nov. Orbis, lib. iii. c. 3. Such behaviour
was very different from that of the Roman Catholic clergy
in other parts of America, where they uniformly exerted
their influence to proteft the Indians, and to moderate
the ferocity of their countrymen.
NOTE VII. p. 37.
'Tp W O different fyftems have been formed concerning
the conduct of Atahualpa. The Spanifli writers, in
order to juftify the violence of their countrymen, con-
tend, that all the Inca's profeflions of friendfhip were
feigned ; and that his intention in agreeing to an inter-
view with Pizarro at Caxamalca, was to cut off him and
his followers at one blow ; that for this purpofe he ad-
vanced with fuch a numerous body of attendants, who
had arms concealed under their garments to execute this
fcheme. This is the account given by Xerez and Zarate,
and adopted by Herrera. But if it had been the plan of
the Inca to deftroy the Spaniards, one can hardly ima-
gine that he would have permitted them to march un-
molefled through the defert of Motupe, or have neglected
to defend the paffes in the mountains, where they might
have been attacked with fo much advantage. If the Pe-
ruvians marched to Caxamalca with an intention to fall
upon.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 371
upon the Spaniards, it is inconceivable, that of fo great a
body of men, prepared for a6lion, not one fhould attempt
to make refiftance, but all tamely fuffer themfelves to be
butchered by an enemy whom they were armed to attack.
Atahualpa's mode of advancing to the interview, has the
afpecl oi a peaceable proceffion, not of a military enter-
prize. He himfelf and his followers were, in their habits
of ceremony, preceded, as on days of folemnity, by un-
armed harbingers. Though rude nations are frequently
cunning and falfe, yet, if a fcheme of deception and
treachery muft be imputed either to a monarch, that had
no great reafon to be alarmed at a vifit from ftrangers
who folicited admiflion into his prefence as friends, or to
an adventurer fo daring, and fo little fcrupulous as Pizarro,
one cannot hefitate in determining where to fix the pre-
fumption of guilt. Even amidft the endeavours of the
Spariim writers to palliate the proceedings of Pizarroj
one plainly perceives, that it was his intention, as well as
his intereft, to feize the Inca, and that he had taken mea-
fures for that purpofe previous to any fufpicion of that
monarch's defigns.
GARCILASSO DE LA VEGA, extremely felicitous to
vindicate his countrymen, the Peruvians, from the crime
of having concerted the deflruclion of Pizarro and his fol-
lowers, and no lefs afraid to charge the Spaniards with
improper conduct towards the Inca, has framed another
fyftem. He relates, that a man of majeflic form, with
a long beard, and garments reaching to the ground, hav-
ing appeared in a vifion to Viracocha, the eighth Inca, and
declared, that he was a child of the Sun, that monarch
built a temple in honour of this perfon, and erefted an
image of him, refembling as nearly as poflible the fingular
form in which he had exhibited himfelf to his view. In
this temple, divine honours were paid to him, by the
B b 2 name
37* NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
name of Viracocha. P. i. lib. iv. c. 21. lib. v. c. 22.
When the Spaniards firft appeared in Peru, the length of
their beards, and the drefs they wore, {truck every per-
fon fo much with their likenefs to the image of Vira-
cocha, that they fuppofed them to be children of the
Sun, who had defcended from heaven to earth. All con-
cluded, that the fatal period of the Peruvian empire was
now approaching, and that the throne would be occupied
by new pofieffors. Atahualpa himfelf, conlidering the
Spaniards as meflengers from heaven, was fo far from en-
tertaining any thoughts of refitting them, that he deter-
mined to yield implicit obedience to their commands.
From thofe fentiments flowed his profefllons of love and
refpeft. To thofe were owing the cordial reception of
Soto and Ferdinand Pizarro in his camp, and the fub-
jniflive reverence with which he hirnfeif advanced to vifit
the Spanith general in his quarters ; but from the grofs
ignorance of Philipillo, the interpreter, the declaration of
the Spaniards, and his anfwer to it, were fo ill explained,
that by their mutual inability to comprehend each other's
intentions, the fatal rencounter at Caxamalca, with all its
dreadful confequences, was occafioned.
IT is remarkable, that no traces of this fuperftitious
veneration of the Peruvians for the Spaniards, are to be
found either in Xerez, or Sancho, or Zarate, previous
to the interview at Caxamalca ; and yet the two former
ferved under Pizarro at that time, and the latter vifited
Peru foon after the conqueft. If either the Inca himfelf,
r his meflengers, had addrefTed the Spaniards in the
words which Garcilaflb puts in their mouths, they muft
have been ftruck with fuch fubmiflive declarations ; and
they would certainly have availed themfelves of them to
accomplim their own defigns with greater facility. Gar-
cilaflo himfelf, though his narrative of the intercourfe be-
tween
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 373
tween the Inca and Spaniards, preceding the rencounter at
Caxamalca, is founded on the fuppofition of his believing
them to be Viracochas, or divine beings, p. ii. lib. i.
c. 17, &c. yet with his ufual inattention and inaccuracy
he admits, in another place, that the Peruvians did not
recolleft the refemblance between them and the god Vira-
cocha, until the fatal difafters fubfequent to the defeat
at Caxamalca, and then only began to call them Vira-
cochas. P.. i. lib. v. c. 21. This is confirmed by Her-
rera, dec. 5. lib. ii. c. 12. In many different parts of
America, if we may believe the Spanifli writers, their
countrymen were confidered as divine beings who had de-
fcended from Heaven. But in this inftance, as in many
which occur in the intercourse between nations whofe
progrefs in refinement is very unequal, the ideas of thofe
who ufed the exprefjion were different from the ideas of
thofe who heard it. For fuch is the idiom of the Indian
languages, or fuch is the fimplicity of thofe who fpeak
them, that when they fee any thing with which they were
formerly unacquainted, and of which they do not know
the origin ; they fay, that it came down from Heaven.
Nugnez. Ram. iii. 327, C.
THE account which I have given of the fentirnents and
proceedings of the Peruvians, appears to be more natural
and confident than either of the two preceding, and is
better fupported by the fails related by the contemporary
hiftorians.
ACCORDING to Xerez, p. 200, two thoufand Peru-
vians were killed. Sancho makes the number of the flaiu
fix or feven thoufand. Ram. iii. 274, D. By Gar-
cilaflb's account, five thoufand were maflacred. P. ii.
lib. i. c. 25. The number which I have mentioned,
B b 3 being
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
being the medium between the extremes, may probably
be nearefl the truth.
NOTE VIII. p. 39.
OTHING can be a more linking proof of this, than
that three Spaniards travelled from Caxamalca to
Cuzco. The diflande between them is fix hundred miles.
In every place throughout this great extent of country,
they were treated with all the honours which the Peru-
vians paid to their fovereigns, and even to their divinities.
Under pretext of amafling what was wanting for the ran-
fom of the Inca, they demanded the plates of gold with
which the walls of the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco were
adorned ; and though the priefts were unwilling to alienate
thofe facred ornaments, and the people refufed to violate
the fhrine of their God, the three Spaniards, with their
own hands, robbed the Temple of part of this valuable
treafure ; and fuch was the reverence of the natives for
their perfons, that though they beheld this aft of facri-
lege with aftonifhment, they did not attempt to prevent or
difturb the commiflion of it. Zarate, lib. ii. c. 6. Sancho
ap. Ramuf. iii. 375, D.
NOTE IX, p. 52.
A CCORDINGto Herrera, the fpoil of Cuzco, after
"^^ fetting apart the king's^/;, was divided among 480
perfons. Each received 4000 pefos. This amounts to
1,920,000 pefos. Dec. 5. lib. vi. c. 3. But as the ge-
neral, and other officers, were entitled to a mare far
greater than that of the private men, the fum total muft
have rifen much beyond what I have mentioned. Go-
mara, c. 123. and Zarate, lib. ii. c. 8. fatisfy themfelves
with
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 375
with averting in general, that the plunder of Cuzco was
of greater value than the ranforn of Atahualpa.
NOTE X. p. 54.
O expedition in the New World was conduced with
more perfevering courage than that of Alvarado, and
in none were greater hardfhips endured. Many of the
perfons engaged in it were, like their leader, veterans
who had ferved under Cortes, inured to all the rigour of
American war. Such of my readers as have not an op-
portunity of perufing the flriking defcription of their fuf-
ferings by Zarate or Herrera, may form fome idea of the
nature of their march from the fea-coaft to Quito, by
confulting the account which D. Ant. Ulloa gives of his
own journey in 1736, nearly in the fame route. Voy. V'
torn. i. p. 178, &c. or that of M. Bouguer, who pro-
ceeded from Puerto Viejo, to Quito, by the fame road
which Alvarado took. He compares his own journey
with that of the Spanifh leader, and by the comparifon,
gives a moft ftrikmg idea of the boldriefs and patience of
Alvarado, in forcing his way through fo many obftacles.-
Voyage du Perou, p. 28, &c.
NOTE XI. p. 55.
CCORDINGto Herrera, there was entered on ac-
count of the king, in gold, 155,300 pefos, and 5400
marks (each 8 ounces) of filver, befides feveral veflels and
ornaments, fome of gold, and others of filver ; on account
of private perfons, in gold 499,000 pefos, and 54,000
marks of filver. Dec. 5. lib. vi. c. 13.
NOTE
37* NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XIL p. 65.
E Peruvians not only imitated the military arts of the
Spaniards, but had recourfe to devices of their own.
As the cavalry were the chief object of their terror, they
endeavoured to render them incapable of ading, by means
of a long thong with a ftone fattened to each end. This,
when thrown by a fkilful hand, twifled about the horfe
and its rider, and entangled them fo as to obftrucl their mo-
tions. Herrera mentions this as an invention of their own.
Dec. 5. lib. viii. c. 4. But as I have obferved, vol. ii.
p. 176, this weapon is common among feveral barbarous
tribes towards the extremity of South America ; and it is
more probable, that the Peruvians had obferved the dex-
terity with which they ufed it in hunting, and on this oc-
cafion adopted it themfelves. The Spaniards were con-
fiderably annoyed by it. Herrera, ibid. Another inftance
of the ingenuity of the Peruvians deferves mention. By
turning a river out of its channel, they overflowed a valley,
in which a body of the enemy was ported, fo fuddenly, that
it was with the utmoft difficulty the Spaniards made their
efcape. Herrera, dec. 5. lib. viii. c. 5.
NOTE XIII. p. 85.
TjERRERA's account of Orellana's voyage is the
moft minute, and apparently the moft accurate. It
was probably taken from the journal of Orellana himfelf.
But the dates are not diftin&ly marked. His navigation
down the Coca, or Napo, begun early in February 1541 ;
and he arrived at the mouth of the river on the a6th of
Auguft, having fpent near feven months in the voyage.
M. de la Condamine, in the year 1743, failed from
Cuenca to Para, a fettlement of the Portuguefe at the
1 8 mouth
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 377
mouth of the river, a navigation much longer than that of
Orellana, in lefs than four months. Voyage, p. 179.
But the two adventurers were very differently provided
for the voyage. This hazardous undertaking, to which
ambition prompted Orellana, and to which the love of
fcience led M. de la Condamine, was undertaken in the
year 1769, by Madame Godin des Odonais, from con-
jugal affeftion. The narrative of the hardlhips which
fhe fuffered, of the dangers to which fhe was expofed,
and of the difafters which befel her, is one of the mod
fingular and affecting ftories in any language, exhibiting
in her conduft a ftriking pifture of the fortitude which
diftinguifhes the one fex, mingled with the fenfibility and
tendernefs peculiar to the other. Lettre de M. Godin, &
M. de la Condamine.
NOTE XIV. p. 89.
Tj ERRERA gives a ftriking picture of their indigence.
^ Twelve gentlemen, who had been officers of* diftinc-
tion under Almagro, lodged in the fame houfe, and hav-
ing but one cloak among them, it was worn alternately
by him who had occafion to appear in public, while the
reft, from the want of a decent drefs, were obliged to
keep within doors. Their former friends and compa-
nions were fo much afraid of giving offence to Pizarro,
that they durft not entertain or even converfe with them.
Qne may conceive what was the condition, and what the
indignation of men once accuftomed to power and opu-
lence, when they felt them felves poor and defpifed, with-
out a roof under which to flicker their heads, while they
beheld others, whofe merit and fervices were not equal to
theirs, living with fplendour in fumptuous edifices.
Dec. 6. lib. viii. c. 6.
NOTE
37$ NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
NOTE XV. p. 103.
TjERRER A, whofe accuracy entitles him to great cre-
dit, aflerts, that Gonzalo Pizarro poflefled domains
in the neighbourhood of Chuquefaca de la Plata, which
yielded him an annual revenue greater than that of the
archbifhop of Toledo, the beft endowed fee in Europe.
Dec. 7. lib. vi. c. 3.
NOTE XVI. p. 118.
,L the Spanifh writers defcribe his march, and the
diftreffes of both parties, very minutely. Zarate ob-
ferves, that hardly any parallel to it occurs in hiftory,
either with refpecT: to the length of the retreat, or the
ardour of the purfuit. Pizarro, according to his compu-
tation, followed the viceroy upwards of three thoufand
miles. Lib. v. c. 16. 26.
NOTE' XVII. p. 133.
T T amounted, according to Fernandez, the beft informed
hiftorian of that period, to one million four hundred
thoufand pefos. Lib. ii. c. 79.
NOTE XVIII. p. 135.
/"^ARVAJAL, from the beginning, had been an ad-
vocate for an accommodation with Gafca. Finding
Pizarro incapable of holding that bold courfe which he
originally fuggefted, he recommended to him a timely
fubmiflion to his fovercign as the fafeft meafure. When
the prefident's offers were firft communicated to Carvajal,
" By our Lady (faid he, in that ftrain of buffoonery
which was familiar to him) the prieft iflues gracious bulls.
He gives them both good and cheap, let us not only ac-
cept
cept them, but wear them as reliques about our necks."
Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 63.
NOTE XIX. p. 142.
TT\URING the rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro, feven
hundred men were killed in battle, and three hun-
dred and eighty were hanged or beheaded. Herrera,
dec. 8. lib. iv. c. 4. Above three hundred of thefe were
cut off by Carvajal. Fernandez, lib. ii. c. 91. Zarate
makes the number of thofe put to a violent death five
hundred. Lib. vii. c. I.
NOTE XX. p. 151.
T N my inquiries concerning the manners and policy of
the Mexicans, I have received much information from,
a large manufcript of Don Alonfo de Corita, one of the
judges in the Court of Audience of Mexico. In the
year 1553, Philip II. in order to difcover the mode
of levying tribute from his Indian fubje&s, that would be
mod beneficial to the crown, and leaft oppreflive to them,
add re (Ted a mandate to all the Courts of Audience in Ame-
rica, enjoining them to anfwer certain queries which he
propofed to them, concerning the ancient form of govern-
ment eflablimed among the various nations of Indians, and
the mode in which they had been accuftomed to pay taxes
to their kings or chiefs. In obedience to this mandate,
Corita, who had refided nineteen years in America, four-
teen of which he pafled in New Spain, compofed the
work of which I have a copy. He acquaints his fove-
reign, that he had made it an objeft during his refidence
m America, and in all its provinces which he had vifited,
to inquire diligently into the manners and cuftoms of the
natives, that he had converfed for this purpofe with many
aged and intelligent Indians, and confulted fev-eral of the
1 7 Spaniflj
380 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Spanifh ecclefiaftics, who underftood the Indian languages
moft perfe&ly, particularly fome of thofe who landed in
New Spain foon after the conquefl. Corita appears to
be a man of fome learning, and to have carried on his
inquiries with the diligence and accuracy to which he
pretends. Greater credit is due to his teflimony from
one circumftance. His work was not compofed with a
view to publication, or in fupport of any particular theory,
but contains fimple, though full anfwers to queries pro-
pofed to him officially. Though Herrera does not men-
tion him among the authors whom he had followed as
guides in his hiftory, I mould fuppofe, from feveral fafts
of which he takes notice, as well as from feveral expref-
fions which he ufes, that this memorial of Corita was not
unknown to him.
NOTE XXI. p. 164.
*TpHE early Spanifh writers were fo hafty and inaccu-
rate in eftimating the numbers of people in the pro-
vinces and towns of America, that it is impoflible to af-
certain that of Mexico itfelf with any degree of precifion.
Cortes defcribes the extent and populoufnefs of Mexico in
general terms, which imply that it was not inferior to the
greateft cities in Europe. Gomara is more explicit, and
affirms, that there were 60,000 houfes or families in
Mexico. Cron. c. 78. Herrera adopts his opinion,
Dec. 2. lib. vii. c. 13; and the generality of writers fol-
low them implicitly without inquiry or fcruple. Accord-
ing to this account, the inhabitants of Mexico muft
feave been about 300,000. Torquemada, with his ufual
pTOpenfity to the marvellous, aflerts, that there were a
hundred and twenty thoufand houfes or families in Mexico,
and confequently about fix hundred thoufand inhabitants.
Lib. iii. c. 23. But in a very judicious account of the
Mexican
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 3 fi
Mexican empire, by one of Cortes's officers, the population
is fixed at 60,000 people. Ramufio, iii. 309, A. Even
by this account, which probably is much nearer the truth
than any of the foregoing, Mexico was a great city.
NOTE XXII. p. 167.
| T is to P. Torribio de Benavente, that I am indebted
for this curious obfervation. Palafox, bilhop of Cm-
dad de la Puebla Los Angeles, confirms and illuftrates it
more fully. The Mexican (fays he) is the only language
in which a termination indicating refpedr., ftlavas reveren-
t tales y de cortefia, may be affixed to every word. By add-
ing the final fyllable zln or azin to any word, it becomes
a proper expreffion of veneration in the mouth of an in-
ferior. It, in fpeaking to an equal, the word Father is
to be ufed, it is Tatl^ but an inferior fays Tatzin. One
prieft fpeaking to another, calls him Teopixque ; a perfon
of inferior rank calls him Teopixcatzin. The name of the
emperor who reigned when Cortes invaded Mexico, was
Montezumay but his vaflals, from reverence, pronounced
it Montezurnazin. Torribio, MS. Palaf. Virtudes del
Indio, p. 65. The Mexicans had not only reverential
nouns, but reverential verbs. The manner in which
thefe are formed from the verbs in common ufe, is ex-
plained by D. Jof. Aug. Aldama y Guevara in his Mexican
Grammar, N. 188.
NOTE XXIII. p. 173.
comparing feveral pafTages in Corira and Her-
rera, we may colleft, with fome degree of accuracy,
the various modes in which the Mexicans contributed to-
wards the fupport of government. Some perfons of the
firft
firft order feem to have been exempted from the payment
of any tribute, and as their only duty to the public, were
bound to perfonal fervice in war, and to follow the banner
of their fovereign with their vaflals. 2. The immediate
vaflals of the crown were bound not only to perfonal mili-
tary fervice, but paid a certain proportion of the produce of
their lands in kind. 3. Thofe who held offices of honour
or truft, paid a certain {hare of what they received in con-
fequence of holding thefe. 4..- Each Capulla, or aflbjCia-
tion, cultivated fome part of the common field allotted to
it, for the behoof of the crown, and depofited the produce
in the royal granaries. 5. Some part of whatever was
brought to the public markets, whether fruits of the earth,
or the various productions of their artifls and manufac-
turers, was demanded for the public ufe, and the mer-
chants who paid this were exempted from every other tax.
6. The MayequeSy or adfcripti gkbte^ were bound to culti-
vate certain diftricls in every province, which may be
confidered as crown lands, and brought the increafe into
public ftorehoufes. Thus the fovereign received fome
part of whatever was ufeful or valuable in the country,
whether it was the natural production of the foil, or ac-
quired by the induftry of the people. What each contri-
buted towards the fupport of government, feems to have
been inconfiderable. Corita, in anfwer to one of the
queries put to the Audience of Mexico by Philip II. en-
deavours to eilimate in money the value of what each citi-
zen might be fuppofed to pay, and does not reckon it at
more than three or four rar/j, about eighteen pence or twq
fhillings a head.
NOTE XXIV. p. 174.
CORTES, who feems to have been as much aftonifhed
with this, as with any inftance of Mexican ingenuity,
gives a particular defcription of it. Along one of the
caufewaySj
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
caufeways, fays he, by which they enter the city, are
conducted two conduits, compofed of clay tempered
with mortar, about two paces in breadth, and raifed
about fix feet. In one of them is conveyed a ilream of
excellent water, as large as the body of a man, into the
centre of the city, and it fupplies all the inhabitants plen-
tifully. The other is empty, that when it is neceflary
to clean, or repair the former, the ftream of water may
be turned into it. As this conduit pafTes along two of
the bridges, where there are breaches in the caufeway,
through which the falt-water of the lake flows, it is con-
veyed over them in pipes as large as the, body of an ox,
then carried from the conduit to the remote quarters of
the city in canoes, and fold to the inhabitants. Relat.
ap. Ramuf. 241, A.
NOTE XXV. p. 176.
T N the armoury of the royal palace of Madrid, are (hewn
fuit* of armour, which are called Montezuma's.
They are compofed of thin lacquered copper-plates. In
the opinion of very intelligent judges they are evidently
eaftern. The forms of the filver ornaments upon them,
reprefenting dragons, &c. may be confidered as a con-
firmation of this. They are infinitely fuperior in point of
workmanfhip to any effort of American art. The Spa-
niards probably received them from the Philippine iflands.
The only unquestionable fpecimen of Mexican art that I
know of in Great Britain, is a cup of very fine gold,
which is faid to have belonged to Montezuma. It weighs
502. I2dwt. Three drawings of it were exhibited to
the Society of Antiquaries, June 10, 1765. A man's
head is reprefented on this cup. On one fide the full face,
pn the other the profile, on the third the back parts of the
head.
384 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
head. The relievo is faid to have been produced by
punching the infide of the cup, fo as to make the repre-
fentation of a face on the outfide. The features are grofs,
but reprefented with fome degree of art, and certainly too
rude for Spanifh workmanfhip. This cup was purchafed
by Edward earl of Orford, while he lay in the harbour of
Cadiz with the fleet under his command, and is now in
the pofleflion of his grandfon, Lord Archer. I am indebted
for this information to my refpeclable and ingenious friend
Mr. Barrington. In the fixth volume of the Archaeologia,
p. 107, is publifhed an account of fome maflcs of Terra
Cotta, brought from a burying ground on the American
continent, about feventy miles from the Britilh fettlement
on the Mofquito more. They are faid to be likenefles of
chiefs, or other emin'6nt perfons. From the defcription
and engravings of them, we have an additional proof of the
imperfect ftate of arts among the Americans.
NOTE XXVI. p. 182.
learned reader will perceive how much I have
been indebted, in this part of my work, to the gui-
dance of the bifhop of Gloucefler, who lias traced the fuc-
ceflive fteps, by which the human mind advanced in this line
of its progrefs, with much erudition, and greater ingenuity.
He is the firft, as far as I know, who formed a rational and
confident theory concerning the various modes of writing
praftifed by nations, according to the various degrees of their
improvement. Div. Legation of Mofes, iii. 69, &c.
Some important obfervations have been added by M. le Pre-
fident de Brofles, the learned and intelligent author of the
Traite de la Formation Mechanique des Langues, torn. i.
295, &c.
As
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 385
As the Mexican paintings are the rrioft curious monu-
ments extant of the earlieft mode of" writing, it will not
be improper to give fome account of the means by which
they were preferved from the general wreck of every work
of art in America, and communicated to the Public. For
the moft early and complete collection of thefe publifhed
by Purchas, we are indebted to the attention of that cu-
rious inquirer, Hakluyt. Don Antonio Mendoza, vice-
roy of New Spain, having deemed thofe paintings a pro-
per prefent for Charles V. the ihip in which tlic'y were
lent to Spain, was taken by a French cruizer, and they
came into the pofFern'on of Thevet, the king's geographer,
who having travelled himfelf into the New World, and
defcribed one of its provinces, was a curious obferver of
whatever tended to illuflrate the manners of the Ame-
ricans. On his death, they were purchafcd bv Hakluyf,
at that time chaplain of the Englifh ambafiador to the
French court ; and, being left by him to Purchas, were
publifhed at the defire of the learned antiquary Sir Henry
Spelman. Purchas, iii. 1065. They were tranflated
from Englifh into French by Melchizedeck Thevti.ot, and
publifhed in his collection of voyages, A. D. 1683.
. THE fecond fpecimen of Mexican piclture- writing, was
publifhed by Dr. Francis Gemelli Carreri, in two copper-
plates. The firft is a map, or reprefentation of the pro-
grefs of the ancient Mexicans on their firft arrival in the
country, and of the various ftations in which they fettled,
before they founded the capital of their empire in the lake
of Mexico. The fecond is a Chronological Wheel, or
Circle, reprefenting the manner in which they computed
and marked their cycle of fifty-two years. He received
both from Don Carlos de Siguenza y Congorra, a diligent
collector of ancient Mexican documents. But as it feems
now to be a received opinion (founded, as far as I know, /
VOL. III. C c on
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
on no good evidence) that Carreri was never out of Italy, and
that his famous Giro del Mundo is an account of a fictitious
voyage, I have not mentioned thefe paintings in the text.
They have, however, manifeftly the appearance of being
Mexican productions, and are allowed to be fo by Bo-
turini, who was well qualified to determine whether they
were genuine or fuppofititious. M. Clavigero, likewife,
admits them to be genuine paintings of the ancient Mexi-
cans. To me they always appeared to be fo, though, from
my defire to reft no part of my narrative upon queftionable
authority, I did not refer to them. The ftyle of painting
in the former is confiderably more perfect than any other
fpecimen of Mexican defign ; but as the original is faid to
have been much defaced by time, I fufpecl; that it has been
improved by fome touches from the hand of an European
artift. Carreri, Churchill, iv. p. 487. The chrono-
logical wheel is a juft delineation of the Mexican mode of
computing time, as defcribed by Acofta, lib. vi. c. 2.
It feems to referable one which that learned Jefuit had
feen ; and if it be admitted as a genuine monument, it
proves that the Mexicans had artificial, or arbitraiy cha-
racters,- which reprefented feveral things befides numbers.
Each month is there reprefented by a fymbol expreffive
of fome work or rite peculiar to it.
THE third fpecimen of Mexican painting was difco-
vered by another Italian. In 1736, Lorenzo Boturini
Benaducr fet out for New Spain, and was led by feveral
incidents to ftudy the language of the Mexicans, and to
collec"l the remains of their hiftorical monuments. He
perfifted nine years in his reft^rches, with the enthufiafm
of a projector, and the patience o*" an antiquary. In 1746,
he publifhed at Madrid, Idea de una Nueva Hijloria Gene*
.ral dc la America Septentrional, containing an account ol
.the rcfult of his inquiries ; and he added to it a catalogue
of
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 387
of his American Hiftorical Mufeum, arranged under
thirty-fix different heads. His idea of a New Hiftory
appears to me the work of a whimfical credulous man.
But his catalogue of Mexican maps, paintings, tribute-
rolls, calendars, &c. is much larger than one could have ex-
peeled. Unfortunately a fliip, in which he hadfent a con-
fiderable part of them to Europe, was taken by an Englifh
privateer during the war between Great Britain and Spain
which commenced in the year 1739; and it is probable that
they periflied by falling into the hands of ignorant captors*
Boturini himfelf incurred the difpleafure of the Spanifh court,
and died in an hofpital at Madrid. The hiitory, of which
the Idea^ &c^ was only a profpeftus, was- never publiihed.
The remainder of his Mufeum feems to have been difperfed.
Some part of it came into the poffeffion of the prefent arch-
bifhop of Toledo, when he was primate of New Spain, and
he publifhed from it that curious tribute-roll which I have
mentioned.
THE only other collection of Mexican paintings, as
far as I can learn, is in the Imperial Library at Vienna. /
By order of their Imperial Majefties, I have obtained fuch
a fpecimen of thefe as I defired, in eight paintings, made x
with fo much fidelity, that I am informed the copies could
hardly be diftinguifhed from the originals. According to
a note in this Codex Mexicanus, it appears to have been
a prefent from Emmanuel King of Portugal to Pope Cle-
ment VII. who died A. D. 1533. After paffing through
the hands of feveral illuflrious proprietors, it fell into thofe
of the cardinal of Saxe-Eifenach, who prefented it to the
emperor Leopold. Thefe paintings are manifeftly Mexi-
can, but they are in a ftyle very different from any of the
former. An engraving has been made o\ one of them, in
order to gratify fuch of my readers, as may deem this an
object worthy of their attention.. Were it an objed of
C c 2 fufficient
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
fufficient importance, it might, peihaps, be poflible, by
recourfe to the plates of Purchas, and the archbifhop' of
Toledo, as a key, to form plaufible conjeftures concern-
incr the meaning of this pilure. Many of the figures are
evidently fimilar. A. A. are targets and darts, almoft
in the fame form with thofe publifhed by Purchas, p. 1070,
1071, file. B. B. are figures of temples, nearly refembling
thofe in Purchas, p. 1 109 and 1113, and in Lorenzana,
Plate II. C. is a bale of mantles, or cotton cloths, the
figure of which occurs in almoft every plate ot Purchas
and Lorenzana. E. E. E. feems to be Mexican captains
in their war drefs, the fantaflic ornaments of which re-
femble the figures in Purchas, p. mo, mi, 2113. I
ihould fuppofe this picture to be a tribute-roll, as their
mode of noting numbers occurs frequently. D. D. D.
&c. According to Boturini, the mode of computation
by the number of knots, was known to the Mexicans as
well as to the Peruvians, p. 85. and the manner in
which the number of units is reprefented in the Mexican
paintings in my poffeffion, feems to confirm this opinion.
They plainly referable a firing of knots on a cord or
ilender rope.
SINCE I publifhed the former Edition, Mr. Waddi-
love, who is ftill pleafed to continue his friendly attention
to procure me information, has difcovered, in the Library
\ of the Efcurial, a volume in folio, confiding of forty
1 fheets of a kind of pafteboard, each the fize of a common
] fli'eet of writing paper, with great variety of uncouth and
whimfical figures of Mexican painting, in very frefh co-
lours, and with an explanation in Spanifh to mofl of
them. The fir ft twenty-two fheets are the figns of the
months, days, &c. About the middle of each fheet are
two or more large figures for the month, furrounded by
the figns of the days. The lad eighteen fheets are not
fa
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
fo filled with figures. They feem to be figns of Deities,
and images of various objects. According to this Calen-
dar in the Efcurial, the Mexican year contained 286 days,
divided into 22 months of 13 days. Each day is repre-
fented by a different fign, taken from fome natural ob-
jeft, a ferpent, a dog, a lizard, a reed, a houfe, &c.
The figns of days in the Calendar of the Efcurial are pre-
cifely the fame with thofe mentioned by Boturini, Idea,
&c. p. 45. Bur, if we may give credit to that Author,
the Mexican year contained 360 days, divided into 18
months of 20 days. The order of days in every month
was computed, according to him, firft by what he calls
a trldecennary progreflion of days from one to thirteen, in
the fame manner as in the Calendar of the Efcurial, and
then by a feptenary progreflion of days from one to feven,
making in all twenty. In this Calendar, not only the
figns which diftinguifh each day, but the qualities fup-
pofed to be peculiar to each month, are marked. There
are certain weakneffes which feem to accompany the hu-
man mind through every ftage of its progrefs in obferva-
tion and fcience. Slender as was the knowledge of the
Mexicans in Aftronomy, it appears to have been already
connected with judicial Aflrology. The fortune and cha-
racter of perfons born in each month are fuppofed to be
decided by fome fuperior influence predominant at the
time of nativity. Hence it is foretold in the Calendar,
that all who are born in one month will be rich, in an-
other warlike, in a third luxurious, &c. The pafteboard,
or whatever fubftance it may be on which the Calendar
in'the Efcurial is painted, feems, by Mr. Waddilove's
defcription of it, to referable nearly that in the Imperial
Library at Vienna. In feveral particulars, the figures
bear fome likenefs to thofe in the plate which I have pub-
limed. The figures marked D. which induced me to
'conjecture, that this painting .might be a tribute- roll
C c 3 fimilar
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS,
fimilar to thefe publifhed by Purchas and the Archbifhop
of Toledo, Mr. Waddilove fuppofes to be figns of days ;
and I have fuch confidence in the accuracy of his obler-
vations, as to conclude his opinion to be well founded.
It appears, from the characters in which the explanations
of the figures are written, that this curious monument of
Mexican art has been obtained, foon after the conqueft of
the Empire. It is fingular that it fhould never have been
mentioned by any Spanifh Author.
NOTE XXVII. p. j84.
fpHE firft was called, the Prince of the deathful Lance ;
the fecond, the Divider of Men ; the third, the Shed-
der of Blood ; the fourth, the Lord oi the Dark-houfe.
Acofla, Lib- vi. c. 25.
NOTE XXVIII. p. 192.
HE Temple of Cholula, which was deemed more
holy than any in New Spain, was likewife the moft
confiderable. But it was nothing more than a mount of
folid earth. According to Torquemada, it was above a
quarter of a league in circuit at the bafe, and rofe to the
height of forty fathom. Mon. Ind. Lib. iii. c. 19. Even
M. Clavigero acknowledges that all the Mexican temples
were folid ftruclures, or earthen mounts, and of confe-
quence cannot be confidered as any evidence of their having
made any confiderable progrefs in the art of building,
Clavig. II. 207.
FROM infpecling various figures of temples in the
paintings engraved by Purchas, there feems to be fome
reafon for fufpedling that all their temples were con-
ilru&ed in the fame manner. See Vol. iii. p.
ijio. 1113.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 39 i
NOTE XXIX. p. 193.
only in Tlafcala, and Tepeaca, but even in
Mexico itfelf, the houfes of the people were mere
huts built with turf, or mud, or the branches of trees.
They were extremely low, and flight, and without any
furniture but a few earthen veflels. Like the rudeft In-
dians, feveral families refided under the fame roof, with-
out having any feparate apartments. Herrera, Dec. 2.
lib. vii. c. 13. lib. x. c. 22. Dec. 3. lib. iv. c. 17.
Torquem. lib. iii. c. 23.
NOTE XXX. p. 193.
T A M informed by a perfon who refided long in New
Spain, and vifited almoft every province of it, that
there is not, in all the extent of , that vaft empire, any mo-
nument, or veftige of any building more ancient than
the conqueft, nor of any bridge or highway, except
fome remains of the caufeway from Guadaloupe 1o that
gate of Mexico by which Cortes entered the city. MS.
penes me. The author of another account in manufcript
obferves, " That at this day there does not remain even
the fmalleft veftige of the exiftence of any ancient Indian
building, public or private, either in Mexico or in any
province of New Spain. I have travelled, fays he, through
all the countries adjacent to them, viz. New Galicia,
New Bifcay, New Mexico, Sonora, Cinaloa, the New
Kingdom of Leon, and New Santandero, without hav-
ing obferved any monument worth notice, except fome
ruins near an ancient village in the valley de Cafas
Grandes, in lat. N. 30. 46. longit. 258. 24'. from
the ifland of Teneriffe, or 460 leagues N. N. W. Irom
Mexico. He d^fcribes thefe ruins minutely, and they ap-
C c 4 pear
392 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
pear to be the remains.of a paltry building of turf and ftone,
plaftered over with whire earth or lime. A miffionary
informed that gentleman, that he had difcovered the ruins
of another edifice f.milar to the former, about an hundred-
leagues towards N. W. on the banks of. the River St.
Pedro. MS. penes me.
THESE tefti monies derive great credit from one cir-
cumilance, that they were not given in fupport of any
particular fyllem or theory, but as fimple anfwers to que-
ries which 1 had propoled. It is probable, however,
that when thefe gentlemen alTert, that no ruins or monu-
ments of any ancient work whatever are now to be dif-
coveied in the Mexican Empire, they meant that there
\vere no fuch ruins or monuments as conveyed any idea
of grandeur or magnificence, in the works of its ancient
inhabitants. For it appears from the teftimony of feveral
Spaniih authors, that in Otumba, Tlafcala, Cbolula, &c.
fome veftiges of ancient buildings are ftill vifible. Villa
Segnor Theatro Amer. p. 143. 308. 353. D. Fran.
Ant. Lorenzana, formerly archbifhop of Mexico, and
now of Toledo, in his introduction to that edition of the
Cartas de Relacion of Cortes, which he publifhed at
Mexico, mentions fome ruins which are ftill vifible in
feveral of the towns through which Cortes paffed in his
\vay to the capital, p. 4, &c. But neither of thefe au-
thors give any defcription of them, and they feeni to be
fo very inconfiderable, as to fhow only that fome build-
ings had once been there. The large mount or earth at
Cholula, \vhich the Spaniards dignified witli the name .of
temple, fiill remains, but without any fleps by which to
afcend, or any facing of ftone. It appears now like a
natural mount, covered with grafs and fhrubs, and pof-
libly it was never any thing more. Torquem. lib. iii.
c. 19. I have received a minute defcrijption of the re-
mains of a temple near Cuernavaca, on the road from
Mexico
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Mexico to Acapulco. It is corr.pofed of large ftones, fitted
to each other as nicely as thofe in the buildings of the
Peruvians, which are hereafter mentioned. At the foun-
dation it forms a fquare of 2<J yards ; but as it rifes in
height, it diminifhes in extent, not gradually, butbybeina
contracted fuddenly at regular diftances, fa that it muft
have refernhicd the figure B in the plate. It terminated, it
is faid, in a fpire.
NOTE XXXI. p. 199.
*"p HE exaggeration of the Spanifh hiftorians, with re-
fpecl to the number of human victims facrificed in
Mexico, appears to be very great. According to Go-
inara, there was no year in which twenty thoufand human
vi6tims were not offered to the Mexican Divinities, and
in fome years they amounted to fiity thoufand. Cron.
c. 229. The fkulls of thofe unhappy perfons were ranged
in order in a building creeled for that purpofe, and two
of Cortes's officers who had counted them, informed Go-
mara that their number was a hundred and thirty-fix
thoufand. Ibid. c. 82. Herrcra's account is Hill more in-
credible, that the number of viclims was fo great, that
five thoufand have been facrificed in one day, nay, on
fome occafions, no lefs than twenty thoufand. Dec. iii.
lib. ii. c. 1 6. Torquemada goes beyond both in extra-r
vagance, for he afTerts, that twenty thoufand children, ex-
clufive of other viclims, were flaughrered annually. Mon.
Ind. lib. vii. c. 21. The moft refpc&able authority in
favour of fuch high numbers is that of Zurnurraga, the firlt
biihop of Mexico, who, in a letter to the chapter general
of his order, A. D. 1631, afTerts that the Mexicans facri-
ficed annually twenty thoufand viclims. Davila. Teatro
Ecclef. 126. In opposition to all thefe accounts, B. de
las
393
394 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
las Cafas obferves, that if there had been fuch an annual
wafte of the human fpecies, the country could never have
arrived at that degree of populoufnefs, for which it was re-
markable when the Spaniards firft landed there. This rea-
foning is juft. If the number of viftims in all the provinces
of New Spain had been fo great, not only muft popula-
tion have been prevented from increafing, but the human
race muft have been exterminated in a fhort time. For
befides the wafle of the fpecies by fuch numerous facrifices,
it is obfervable that wherever the fate of captives taken in
war is either certain death or perpetual flavery, as men can
gain nothing by fubmitting fpeedily to an enemy, they al-
ways refill to the uttermoft, and war becomes bloody and
deftru&ive to the laft degree. Las Cafas pofitively aflerts,
that the Mexicans never facrificed more than fifty or a hun-
dred perfons in a year. See his difpute with Sepulveda,
fubjoined to his Breviffima Relacion, p. 105. Cortes does
not fpecify what number of viftims was facrificed an-
nually, but B. Diaz del Caftello relates, than an enquiry
having been made, with refpefit to this, by the Francifcan
Monks, who were fent into New Spain immediately after
theconqueft, it was found that about two thoufand five hun-
dred were facrificed every year in Mexico. C. 207.
NOTE XXXII. p. 200.
T T is hardly necefTary to obferve, that the Peruvian
Chronology is not only obfcure, but repugnant to
conclufions deduced from the moft accurate and extenfive
obfervations, concerning the time that' elapfes during each
reign, in any given fucceflion of princes. The medium
has been found not to exceed twenty years. According to
Acofta and GarcilafTo de la Vega, Huana Capac, who
died about the year 1527, was the twelfth Inca. Accord-
ing
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
ing to this rule of computing the duration of the Peruvian
monarchy ought not to have been reckoned above two
hundred and forty years ; but they affirm that it had fub-
fifted four hundred years. Acofta, lib. vi. c. 19. Vega,
lib, i. c. 9. By this account each reign is extended at a
medium" to thirty-three years, inftead of twenty, the num-
ber afcertained by Sir Ifaac Newton's obfervations ; but fo
imperfect were the Peruvian traditions, that though the
total is boldly marked, the number of years in each reign
is unknown.
NOTE XXXIII. p. 208.
\ yfANY of the early Spanifh writers afferr, that the
Peruvians offered human facrifices. Xeres, p. 190.
Zarate, lib. i. c. II. Acofta, lib. v. c. 19. But Garci-
laffo de la Vega contends, that though this barbarous prac-
tice prevailed among their uncivilized anceftors, it was
totally abolifhed by the Incas, and that no human viftim
was ever offered in any temple of the Sun. This affer-
tion, and the plaufible reafons with which he confirms it,
are fufficient to refute the Spanifh writers, whofe accounts
feem to be founded entirely upon report, not upon what
they themfelves had obferved. Vega, lib. ii. c. 4. In
one of their feflivals, the Peruvians offered cakes ot bread
jnoiftened with blood drawn from the arms, the eye-
brows, and nofes of their children. Id. lib. vii. c. 6. This
j-ite may have been derived from their ancient practice, in
their uncivilized Hate, of facrificing human viftims.
NOTE XXXIV. p. 214.
fr'HE Spaniards have adopted both thofe cuftoms of the
ancient Peruvians. They have preferved fome of
the aqueducis or canals, made in the days ot the Incas,
and
395
396 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
and have made new ones, by which they water every field
that they cultivate. Ulioa Voyage, torn. i. 422, 477.
They hkewife continue to ufe guano^ or the dung of fea-
ibwls, as manure. UMoa gives a defcription of the al-
mofl incredible quantity of it in the fmall iflands near
the coaJft. ibid. 481.
NOTE XXXV. p. 216.
*-p H E temple of Cayambo, the palace of the Inca at
Callo in the piain of Lacatunga, and that of Atun-
Cannar, are described by Ulloa, torn. i. 286, &c. who
infpected them with great care. M. de Condamine pub-
limed a curious memoir concerning the ruins of Atun-
Cannar. Mem. de !' Academic de Berlin, A. D. 1746,
p. 435. Acofta defcnbes the ruins of Cuzco, which he
had examined. Lib. vu c. 14. Garciiaflb, in his ufual
Iliie, gives pompous and coniufed defcriptions of feveral
temples, and other public edifices. Lib. iii. c. i. c. 21.
lib. vi. c. 4. Don Zapata, in a large treatife con-
cerning Peru, which has not hitherto been publifted, com-
municates fome information with refpedt to feveral monu-
ments of the ancient Peruvians, which have not been men-
tioned by other authors. MS. penes me, Articulo xx.
Ulloa defcribes fome of the ancient Peruvian fortifica-
tions, which were likewife works of great extent and foli-
dity. Tom. i. 391. Three circumftances flruck all thofe
obfervers : the vail fize of the ftones which the Peruvians
employed in fome of their buildings. Acofta meafured
one, which was thirty feet long, eighteen broad, and fix in
thicknefs ; and yet, he adds, that in the fortrefs at Cuzco,
there were {tones considerably larger. It is difficult to
conceive how the Peruvians could move thefe, and raife
them to the height even of twelve feet. The fecond cir-
cumftance is, the imperfelion of the Peruvian art, when
applied
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 397
applied to working in timber. By the patience and perfe-
verance natural to Americans, ftones 'may be formed into
any fhape, merely by rubbing one againfl another, or by
the ufe of hatchets or other inftruments made of ftone ;
but with fuch rude tools, little progrefs can be made in
carpentry. The Peruvians could not morti/e two beams
together, or give any degree of union or ftabilny to any
work compofed of timber. As they could not form
a centre, they were totally unacquainted with the ufe of
arches in building, nor can the Spanifh authors conceive
how they were able to frame a roof for thole ample ftruc-
tures which they raifed.
THE third circumftance is a (Inking proof, which all
the monuments of the Peruvians furnifh, of their want
of ingenuity and invention, accompanied with patience
no lefs aftonifhing. None of the ftones employed in thofe
works were formed into any particular or uniform fhape,
which could render them fit for being compacted together
in building. The Indians took them as they fell from the
mountains, or were raifed out of the quarries. Some
were fquare, fome triangular, fome convex, fome concave.
Their art and induftry were employed in joining them to-
gether, by forming fuch hollows in the one, as perfectly
correfponded to the projef.iions or nfings in the other.
This tedious operation, which might have been fo eafily
abridged, by adapting the furface of the ftones to each
other, either by rubbing, or by their hatchets of copper,
would be deemed incredible, if it were not put beyond
doubt by infpecling the remains of thofe buildings. It
gives them a very fingular appearance to an European
eye. There is no regular layer or ftratum of building,
and no one ftone refembles another in dimenfions or form.
At the fame time, by the perfevering, but ill-direfled in-
duftry of the Indians, they are all joined with that minute
nicety
398 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
nicety which I have mentioned. Ulloa made this obferva-
tion concerning the form of the ftones in the fortrefs of
Atun-Cannar. Voy. i. p. 387. Pineto gives a fimilar
defcription of the fortrefs of Cuzco, the moft perfect of all
the Peruvian works. Zapata MS. penes me. According to
M. de Condamine, there were regular ftrata of building in
fome parts of Atun-Cannar, which he remarks as fingular,
and as a proof ot fome progrefs in improvement.
NOTE XXXVI. p. 220.
HE appearance of thofe bridges, which bend with
their own weight, wave with the wind, and are con-
fiderably agitated by the motion of every perfon who paffes
along them, is very frightful at firft. But the Spaniards
have found them to be the eafieft mode of paffing the tor-
rents in Peru, over which it would be difficult to throw
more folid ftruftures either of ftone or timber. They
form thofe hanging bridges fo ftrong and broad, that
loaded mules pafs alongft them. All the trade of Cuzco
is carried on by means of fuch a bridge over the river Apu-
rimac. Ulloa, torn. i. 358. A more fimple contrivance
was employed in paffing fmaller ftreams : A bafket, in
which the traveller was placed, being fufpended from a
ftrong rope ftretched acrofs the ftream, it was pufhed or
drawn from one fide to the other. Ibid.
NOTE XXXVII. p. 231.
Y information with refpedl to thofe events is taken
from Notifia breve de la expedicion militar de So-
nora y Cinaloa, fu exito feliz, y . vantojofo eftado, en que
por confecuentia de ello, fe ban puefto ambas provincias,
published at Mexico, June lyth, 177 1, in order to fatisfy
22 the
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 399
the curiofity of the merchants, who had furnimed the vice-
roy with money for defraying the expence of the arma-
ment. The copies of this Noticla are very rare in Ma-
drid ; but I have obtained one, which has enabled me to
communicate thefe curious facls to the Public. Accord-
ing to this account, there was found in the mine Yecorato
in Cinaloa, a grain of gold of twenty-two carats, wliich
weighed fixteen marks four ounces four ochavas ; this was
fent to Spain as a prefent fit for the king, and is now de-
pofited in the royal cabinet at Madrid.
NOTE XXXVIII. p. 232.
H E uncertainty of geographers with refpeft to this
point is remarkable, for Cortes feems to have fur-
veyed its coafts with great accuracy. The archbifhop of
Toledo has published, from the original, in the poffeffion
of the Marquis del Valle, the defcendant of Cortes, a
map drawn in 1541, by the pilot Domingo Caftillo, in
which California is laid down as a periinfula, ftretching
out nearly in the fame direftion which is now given to 'it
in the befl maps, and the point where Rio Colorado en-
ters the gulf is marked with precifion. Hift. de Neuva
Efpagna, 327. i
NOTE XXXIX. p. 235.
T AM indebted for this faft to M. L'Abbe Raynal,
torn. iii. 103. and upon confulting an intelligent per-
fon, long fettled on the Mofquito fhore, and who has been
engaged in the logwood trade, I find that ingenious author
has been well informed. The logwood, cut near the town
of St. Francis of Campeachy, is of much better quality
than that on the other fide of Yucatan, and the Englifh
trade in the Bay of Honduras is almoft at an end.
NOTE
400 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XL. p. 254.
T> Torribio de Benevente, or Motolinea, has enumerated
ten caufes of the rapid depopulation of Mexico, to
which he gives the name of the Ten Plagues. Many of
- thefe are not peculiar to that province. i. The intro-
duftion of the fmall-pox. This difeafe was firft brought
into New Spain iri the year 1520, by a negroe {lave who
attended Narvaez in his expedition againfl Cortes. Tor-
ribio affirms, that one half of the people in the provinces,
vifited with this diftemper, died. To this mortality occa-
fioned by the fmall-pox, Torquemada adds the deftrudtive
effects of two contagious diftempers which raged in the
years 1545 and 1576. In the former 800,000; in the
latter, above two millions perifhed, according to an exa6t
account taken by order of the viceroys. Mon. Ind. 1.642.
The fmall-pox was not introduced into Peru for feveral
years after the invafion of the Spaniards, but there too that
diftemper proved very fatal to the natives. Garcia Ori-
. gen, p. 88. 2. The numbers who were killed or died
of famine .in their war with the Spaniards, particularly
during the fiege of Mexico. 3. The great famine that
followed after the reduction of Mexico, a$ all the people
engaged, either on one fide er other, had negleted the
cultivation of their lands. Something fimilar to this hap-
pened in all the other countries conq lered by the Spa-
niards. 4, The grievous tafks impofed by the Spaniards
upon the people belonging to their Repartimientos. 5. The
opprefljve burden of taxes which they were unable to pay,
and from which they could hope for no exemption. 6. The
numbers employed in collecting the gold, carried down
by the torrents from the mountains, who were forced
from their own habitations, without any provifion made
for their fubfiflence, and fubjecled to all the rigour of cold
21 in
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 4 oi
in thofe elevated regions. 7. The immenfe labour of re-
building Mexico, which Cortes urged on with fuch preci-
pitate ardour, as deflroyed an incredible number of people.
8. The number of people condemned to fervitude,' under
various pretexts, and employed in working the filver
mines. Thefe, marked by . each proprietor with a hot
iron, like his cattle, were driven in herds to the moun-
tains. The nature of the labour to which they were fub-
jefted there, the noxious vapours of the mines, the cold-
nefs of the climate, and fcarcity of food, were fo fatal,
that Torribio affirms, the country round feveral of thofe
mines, particularly near Guaxago, was covered with dead
bodies, the air corrupted with their flench, and fo many
vultures, and other voracious birds, hovered about for their
prey, that the fun was darkened with their flight. 10. The
Spaniards, in the different expeditions which they under-
took, and by the civil wars which they carried on, de-
ilroyed many ot the natives whom they compelled to ferve
them as Tamcmcs^ or carriers of burdens. This lafl mode
of oppreflion was particularly ruinous to the Peruvians.
From the number of Indians who perifhed in Gonzalo
Pizarro's expedition into the countries to the eaft of the
Andes, one may form fome idea of what they fuffered in
fimilar fervices, and how faft they were wafted by them.
Torribio, MS. Corita in his Breve y Summaria Relacion,
illuftrates and confirms feveral of Torribio's obfervations,
to which he refers. MS. penes me.
NOTE XLI. p. 255.
ir> VEN Montefquieu has adopted this idea, lib. viii. c. 18.
But the paflion of that great man for fyflem, fome-
times rendered him inattentive to refearch ; and from his
capacity to refine, he was apt, in fome inftances, to over-
look obvious and juft caufes.
VOL. III. Dd NOTE
402 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE XLII. p. 256.
y* STRONG proof of tins occurs in the teftament of
"^ Ifabella, where (he difcovers the mofl tender con-
cern for the humane and mild ufage of the Indians. Thofe
laudable fentiments of the queen have been adopted into
the public law of Spain, and ferve as the introduction to
the regulations contained under the title of the good treat-
ment of the Indians. Recopil. lib. vi. % tit. x.
NOTE XLIII. p. 258.
T N the feventh Title of the firft book of the Recopilacion t
which contains the laws concerning the powers and
functions of archbifhops and bifhops, almofl a third part
of them relates to what is incumbent upon them, as
guardians of the Indians, and points out the various me-
thods in which it is their duty to inrerpofe, in order to
defend them from oppreffion, either with refpe6l to their
perfons or property. Not only do the laws commit to
them this honourable and humane office, but the eccle-
fiafiics of America aftually exercife it.
INNUMERABLE proofs of this might be produced from
Spaaifli authors. But I rather refer to Gage, as he was
not difpofed to afcribe any merit to the popilh clergy, to
which they were not fully entitled. Survey, p. 142, 192,
&e, Henry Hawks, an Engliih merchant, who refided
five years in New Spain,, previous to the year 1572, gives
the fame favourable account of the popifli clergy. Hak-
iuyt, iiL 466, By a law of Charles V, not only biihops,
biz* of her .ecclfliaflics, are impowered to inform and ad-
mocUfe fhe civil magi/lrates, if any Indian is deprived of
fcas juft liberty and rights : Recopilac. Jib, vi. tit. vi.
ley
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 403
ley 14 ; and thus were conftituted legal prote&ors of the
Indians. Some of the Spanifh ecclefiaftics refuted to
grant abfolution to fuch of their countrymen as pofTefled
EncomlendaS) and confidered the Indians as flaves, or
employed them in working their mines. Gonz. Davil.
Teatro Ecclef. i. 157.
NOTE XLIV. p. 259.
ACCORDING to Gage, Chiapa dos Indos contains
4000 families, and he mentions it only as one of the
largeft Indian towns in America, p. 104.
NOTE XLV. P . 259.
TT is very difficult to obtain an accurate atcount of the
ftate of population in thofe kingdoms of Europe where
the police is moft perfeft, and where fcience has made the
greateit progrefs. In Spanilh America, where knowledge
is ilill in its infancy, and few men have leifure to engage
in refearches merely fpeculadve, little attention has been
paid to this curious inquiry. But in the year 1741, Philip
V. enjoined the viceroys and governors of the feveral pro-
vinces in America, to make an a&ual furvey of the people
under their jurifdiftion, and to tranfmit a report concern-
ing their number and occupations. In confequence of
this order, the Conde de Fuen-Clara, viceroy of New
Spain, appointed D. Jof. Antonio de Villa Segnor y San-
chez, to execute that commiflion in New Spain. From
the reports of the magiftrates in the feveral diftri&s, as
well as from his own oblervations, and long acquaintance
with moft of the provinces, Villa Segnor publifhed the
refult of his inquiries in his Teatro Americano. His re-
port> however, is imperfect. Of the nine diocefes, into
D d 2, which
404 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
which the Mexican empire has been divided, he has pub-
lifhed an account of five only, viz. the archbifhopric of
Mexico, the bifhoprics of Puebla de los Angeles, Mechoa-
can, Oaxaca, and Nova Galicia. The bifhoprics of Yu-
catan, Verapaz, Chiapa, and Guatimala, are entirely omit-
ted, though the two latter comprehend countries, in which
the Indian race is more numerous than in any part of
New Spain. In hisfurvey of the extenfive diocefe of
Nova Galicia, the fituation of the different Indian villages
is defcribed, but he fpecifies the number of people only in
a fmall part of it. The Indians of that extenfive pro-
vince, in which the Spanifh dominion is imperfectly efta-
blifhed, are not regiftered with the fame accuracy as in
other parts of New Spain. According to Villa Segnor, the
actual (late of population in the five diocefes above men-
tioned is of Spaniards, negroes, mulattoes, and meflizos, in
the diocefes of
Families.
Mexico 105,202
Los Angeles 30,600
Mechoacan 30,840
V_* cl X tlC tl ^^^ . ,r f " IJ / * 2* W \J
i ' s
Nova Galicia 16,770
190,708
At the rate of five to a family, the total number is 953,540
Indian families in the diocefe of Mexico
Los Angeles
Mechoacan
Oaxaca
Nova Galicia -
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 405-
At the rate of five to a family, the total number is
1,471,955. We may rely with greater certainty on this
computation of the number of Indians, as it is taken from
the Matriculq, or regifter, accordjng to which the tribute
paid by them is collected. As four diocefes of nine are
totally omitted, and in that of Nova Galicia the numbers
are imperfectly recorded, we may conclude, that the num-
ber of Indians in the Mexican empire exceeds two millions.
THE account of the number of Spaniards, &c. feems
not to be equally complete. Of many places, Villa Seg-
nor obferves in general terms, that feveral Spaniards, ne-
groes, and people ot mixed race, refide there, without
fpecifying their number. If, therefore, we make allow-
ance for thefe, and for all who refide in the four diocefes
omitted, the number of Spaniards, and of thofe of a
mixed race, may probably amount to a million and a half.
In fome places, Villa Segnor diflinguiflies between Spa-
niards and the three inferior races of negroes, mulattoes,
and meftizos, and marks their number feparately. But he
generally blends them together. But from the proportion
obfervable in thofe places, where the number of each is
marked, as well as from the account ol the flate of popu-
lation in New Spain by other authors, it is manifeft that the
number of negroes and perfons of a mixed race far exceeds
that of Spaniards. Perhaps the latter ought not to be
reckoned above 500,000 to a million of the former.
DEFECTIVE as this account may be, I have not been
able to procure fuch intelligence concerning the number
of people in Peru, as might enable me to form any con-
jecture equally fatisfying with refpe& to the degree of its
population. , I have been informed, that in the year 1761,
the proteftor of the Indians in the viceroyalty of Peru
D d 3 computed
4 o6 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.-
computed that 612,780 paid tribute to the king. As all
females, and perfons under age, are exempted from this
tax in Peru, the total number of Indians ought, by that
account, to be 2,449,120. MS. penes me.
I SHALL mention another mode, by which one may
compute, or at lead form a guefs, concerning the ftate of
population in New Spain and Peru. According to an ac-
count which I have reafon to confider as accurate, the
number of copies of the bull of Cruzada, exported to Peru
on each new publication, is 1,171,953; to New Spain
2,649,326. I am informed, that but few Indians pur-
chafe bulls, and that they are fold chiefly to the Spanifh in-
habitants, and thofe of mixed race, fo that the number of
Spaniards, and people of a mixed race, will amount by this
mode of computation to at lead three millions.
THE number of inhabitants in many of the towns in
Spanifh America, may give us fome idea of the extent of
population, and correcl: the inaccurate, but popular notion
entertained in Great Britain, concerning the weak and
defolate ftate of their colonies. The city of Mexico con-
tains at leaft 150,090 people. It is remarkable that Tor-
quemada, who wrote his Monarquia Indiana about the
year 1612, reckons the inhabitants of Mexico at that time
to be only 7000 Spaniards and 3ooo Indians. Lib. iii.
c. 26. Puebla de los Angeles contains above 60,000 .Spa-
niards, and people of a mixed race. Villa Segnor, p. 247.
Guadalaxara contains above 30,000, exclufive of In-
dians. Id. ii. 206. Lima contains 54,000. D- Cofme
Bueno Defer, de Peru, 1764. Carthagena contains 25,000.
Potofi contains 25,000. Bueno, 1767. Popayan con-
tains above 20,000. Ulloa, i. 287. Towns of a fecond
clafs.are Hill more numerous. The cities in the moft
thriving
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
thriving fettlements of other European nations in America
cannot be compared with thefc.
SUCH are the detached accounts of the number of people
in feveral towns, which I found fcattered in authors
whom I thought worthy of credit. But I have obtained
an enumeration of the inhabitants of the towns in the
province of Quito, on the accuracy of which I can rely ;
and I communicate it to the Public, both to gratify curio-
fjty, and to reftify the mi (taken notion which I have men-
tioned. St. Francifco de Quito contains between 50 and
60,000 people of all the different races. Befides the city,
there are in the Correglmiento 29 curas or parifhes efta-
bliflied in the principal villages, each of which has fmaller
hamlets depending upon it. The inhabitants of thefe are
moftly Indians and Meftizos. St. Juan de Pafto has be-
tween 6 and 8000 inhabitants, befides 27 dependent vil-
lages. St. Miguel de Ibarra 7000 citizens, and ten vil-
lages, the diftricl of Havala between 18 and 20,000
people. The diftricl of Tacunna between jo and 12,000.
The di drift of Ambato between 8 and 10,000, be-
fides 1 6 depending villages. The city of Riobamba be-
tween 1 6 and 20,000 inhabitants, and 9 depending vil-
lages. The di drift of Chimbo between 6 and 8000.
o
The city of Guyaquil from 16 to 20,000 inhabitants,
and 14. depending villages. The diftrift of Atuafi be-
tween 5 and 6000, and 4 depending villages. The city
of Cuenza between 25 and 30,000 inhabitants, and 9
populous depending villages. The town of Laxa from
8 to io,coo inhabitants, and 14 depending villages. This
degree of population, though (lender, if we confider the
vaft extent of the country, is far beyond what is com-
monly fuppofed. I have omitted to mention, in its pro-
per place, that Quito is the only province in Spanifh
D d 4 America
40? NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
America that can be denominated a manufacturing coun-
try; hats, cotton fluffs, and coarfe woollen cloths, are
made there in fuch quantities, as . to be fufficient not only
for the confumption of the province, but to furnifh a con-
fiderable article for exportation into other parts of Spanifh
America. 1 know not whether the uncommon induftry
of this province mould be confidered as the caufe or the
efFecl: of its populoufnefs. But among the oftentatious
inhabitants of the New World, the paffion for every
thing that comes from Europe is fo violent, that I am in-
formed the manufactures of Quito are fo much under-
valued, as to be on the decline.
NOTE XLVI. p. 264.
*TpHESE are eftablifhcd at the following places. St.
Domingo in the ifland of Hifpaniola, Mexico in
New Spain, Lima in Peru, Panama in Tierra Firme,
Santiago in Guatimala, Guadalaxara in New Galicia,
Santa Fe in the New Kingdom of Granada, La Plata in
the country of Los Charcas, St. Francifco de Quito,
St. Jago de Chili, Buenos Ayres. To each of thefe are
fubjecled feveral large provinces, and fome fo far re-
moved from the cities where the courts are fixed, that
they can derive little benefit from their jurifdiclion. The
Spanifh writers commonly reckon up twelve courts of
Audience, but they include that of Manila in the Philip-
pine Iflands.
NOTE XLVil. p. 272."
/"\N account of the diflance of Peru and Chili from
Spain, and the difficulty 'of carrying commodities of
fuch bulk as wine and oil acrofs the ifthmus of Panama,
the Spaniards in thofe provinces have been permitted to
plant
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 409
plant vines and olives. But they are ftriftly prohibited
from exporting wine or oil to any of the provinces on the
Pacific Ocean, which are in fuch a fituation as to receive
them from Spain. Recop. lib. i. tit. xvii. 1. 15 18.
NOTE XLVlII. p. 274.
HIS computation was made by Benzoni, A. D. 1550,
fifty-eight year's after thedifcovery of America. Hift.
Novi Orbis, lib. iii. c. 21. But as Benzoni wrote with
the fpirit of a malcontent, difpofed to detract from the
Spaniards in every particular, it is probable that his cal-
culation is considerably too low.
NOTE XLIX. p. 275.
Y information, with refpect to the divifion and tranf-
million of property in the Spanifti colonies, is im-
perfect. The Spanim authors do not explain this fully,
and have not perhaps attended fufficiently to the effects of
their own inftitutions and laws. Solorzano de Jure Ind.
vol. ii. lib. ii. 1. 16. explains in fome meafure the intro-
duction of the tenure of Mayorafgo, and mentions fome
of its effects. Villa Segnor takes notice of a fingular con-
fequence of it. He obferves, that in fome of the beft
fituations in the city of Mexico, a good' deal of ground is
unoccupied, or covered only with the ruins of the houfes
once ere&ed upon it ; and adds, that as this ground is
held by right of Mayorafgo^ and cannot be alienated, that
defolation and thofe ruins become perpetual, Theatr.
Amer, vpl. i. p. 34.
4 io NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE L. p. 277*
/ ~T* HERE is no law that excludes Creoles from offices
-^ either civil or ecclefiaftic. On the contrary, there
are many Csdulas which recommend the conferring
places of truft indifcriminately on the natives of Spain
and America. Betancurt y Figueroa Derecho, Sec. p.
5, 6. But notwithftancling fuch repeated recommen-
dations, preferment in almoft every line is conferred on
native Spaniards* A remarkable proof of this is pro-
duced by the author laft quoted. From the difcovery of
America to the year 1637, three hundred and fixty-nine
bifliops, or archbifhops, have been appointed to the different
diocefes in that country, and of all that number only
twelve were Creoles, p. 40. This predilection for Euro-
peans feems flill to continue. By a royal mandate, iflued ,
in 1776, the chapter of the Cathedral of Mexico is direct-
ed to nominate European ecclefiaftics of known merit and
abilities, that the King may appoint them to fupply vacant
benefices. MS. penes me.
NOTE LI. p. 283.
"\!f ODER ATE as this tribute may appear, fuch is the
extreme poverty of the Indians in many provinces
of America, that the exacting of it is intolerably oppreflive.
Pegna Itiner. patParochos de Intlios, p. 192.
NOTE LII. p. 284.
T N New Spain, on account of the extraordinary merit
and fervices of the firft conquerors, as well as the fniall
revenue arifing from the country previous to the difcovery
of the mines of Sacatecas, the encomiendas were granted
for three, and fometimes for four lives. Recopil. lib. vi.
tit. ii. c. 14', &c.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE LIII. p. 285.
yv Ant. Ulloa contends, that working in mines is not
noxious, and as a proof of this informs us, that
many Meflizos and Indians, who do not belong to any
Repartimiento, voluntarily hire themfelves as miners ;
and feveral of the Indians, when the legal term of their
fervice expires, continue to work in the mines of choice.
Entreten. p. 265. But his opinion concerning the whole-
fomenefs of this occupation is contrary to the experience
of all ages ; and wherever men are allured hy high wages,
they will engage in any fpecies of labour, however fa.
-liguing or pernicious it may be. D. Hern. Carillo Alte-
mirano relates a curious fa6l incompatible with this
opinion. Wherever mines are wrought, fays he, the num-
ber of Indians decreafes ; but in the province of Cam-
peachy, where there are no mines, the number of Indians
has increafed more than a third fince the conqueft of Ame-
rica, thoucrh neither the foil nor climate be fo favourable
' o
as in Peru or Mexico. Colbert Collecl. In another
memorial prefented to Philip III. in the year 1609, Cap-
tain Juan Gonzalez de Azevedo afferts, that in every
diftricl of Peru, where the Indians are compelled to la-
bour in the mines, their numbers were reduced to the
half, and in fome places to the third, of what it was
under the viceroyalty of Don Fran. Toledo in 1581.
Colb. ColleQ.
NOTE LIV. p. 285.
y\ S labour of this kind cannot be prefcribed with legal
"^ accuracy, the tafks feem to be in a great meafure
arbitrary, and like the fervices exacted by feudal fuperiors,
in vinea prato aut meffe y from their vaffals, are extremely
burdenfome, and often wantonly oppreflive. Pegna Itiner.
par Parochos de Indies.
2 i NOTE
4 i2 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE LV. p. 286.
H E turn of fervice known in Peru by the name of
ita^ is called Tanda in New Spain. There it
continues no longer than a week at a time. No perfon
is called to ferve at a greater diflance from his habitation
than 24 miles. This arrangement is lefs oppreflive to
the Indians than that eftabliflied in Peru. Memorial of
Hern. Carillo Altamirano. Colbert Colleft.
NOTE LVI. p. 288.
'TpHE flrongeft proof of this may be deduced from the
* laws themfelves. By the multitude and variety of
regulations to prevent abufes, we may form an idea of
the number of abufes that prevail. Though the laws have,
wifely, provided that no Indian {hall be obliged to ferve
in any mine at a greater diftance from his place of refidence
than thirty miles ; we are informed in a memorial of D.
Hernan Carillo Altamirano prefented to the king, that the
Indians of Peru are often compelled to ferve in mines at the
diftance of a hundred, a hundred a'nd fifty, and even two
tundred leagues from their habitation. Colbert Collect.
Many mines are fituated in parts of the country, fo bar-
ren, and fo diftant from the ordinary habitations of the
Indians, that the neceffity of procuring labourers to work
there, has obliged the Spanifh monarchs to difpenfe with
their own regulations in feveral inftances, and to permit
the viceroys to compel the people of more remote pro-
vinces to refort to thofe mines. Efcalona Gazophyl.
Perub. lib. i. c. 16. But in juftice to them it fiiould be
obferved, that they have been ftudious to alleviate this
oppreflion as much as poflible, by enjoining the viceroys
to employ every method, in order to induce the Indians
to fettle in fome part of the country adjacent to the mines.
Id. ibid.
NOTE
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 413
NOTE LVII. p. 293.
'"pORQUEMADA, after a long enumeration, which
has the appearance of accuracy, concludes the num-
ber of monafteries in New Spain to be four hundred.
Mon. Ind. lib. xix. c. 32. The number of monafteries
in the city of Mexico alone was, in the year 1745, fifty-
five. Villa Segnor. Theat. Amer. i. 34. Ulloa reckons
up forty convents in Lima ; arid mentioning thofe for
nuns, he fays, that a fmall town might be peopled out of
them, the number of perfons (hut up there is fo great.
Voy. i. 429. Philip III. in a letter to the viceroy of
Peru, A. D. 1620, obferves, that the number of con-
vents in Lima was fo great, that they covered more
ground than all the reft of the city. Solorz. lib. iii.
c. 23. n. 57. Lib. iii. c. 16. Torquem. lib. xv. c. 3.
The firft monaftery in New Spain was founded A. D.
1525, four years only after the conqueft. Torq. lib. xv.
c. 16.
ACCORDING to Gil Gonzalez Davila, the complete
eftablifhment of the American church in all the Spanifti
fettlements was, in the year 1649, I patriarch, 6 arch-
bimops, 32 biftiops, 346 prebends, 2 abbots, 5 royal
chaplains, 840 convents. Teatro Ecclefiaftico de las
Ind. Occident, vol. i. Pref. When the order of Jefuits
was expelled from all the Spanifh dominions, the colleges,
profeffed houfes, and refidencies, which it pofleffed in the
province of New Spain, were thirty, in Quito fixteen, in
the New Kingdom of Granada thirteen, in Peru feven-
teen, in Chili eighteen, in Paraguay eighteen ; in all a
hundred and twelve. Colleccion General de Providencias
hafta .acqui tomadas fobre eftranamento, &c. de la Com-
pagnia, part i. p, 19. The number of Jefuits, priefts
and
4H NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
and novices in all thefe, amounted to 2245. MS.
penes me.
IN T the year 1644, the city of Mexico prefented a peti-
tion to the king, praying that no new monaftery might
be founded, and that the revenues of thofe already efta-
bliflied might be circumfcribed, otherwife the religious
houfes would foon acquire the property of the whole coun-
try. The petitioners requeft likewife, that the bifhops might
be laid under reftriftions in conferring holy orders, as there
were at that time in New Spain above fix thoufand
clergymen without any living. Id. p. 16. Thefe abufes
muft have been enormous indeed, when the fuperflition
of American Spaniards was fliocked, and induced to re-
monftrate againft them.
6
NOTE LVIIL p. 297.
*T^HIS defcription of the manners of the Spanifh clergy,
I fliould not have ventured to give, upon the tefti-
mony of proteftant authors alone, as they may be fufpefted
of prejudice or exaggeration. Gage, in particular, who
had a better opportunity than any proteftant, to view the
interior ftate of Spanifli America, defcribes the corrup-
tion of the church which he had forfaken, with fo much
ot the acrimony of a new convert, that I mould have dif-
trufted his evidence, though it communicates fome very
curious and (hiking fats. But Benzoni mentions the
prom'gacy of ecclefiaftics in America at a very early pe-
riod after their fettlement there. Hift. lib. ii.-'c. 19, 29.
M. Frezier, an intelligent obferver, and zealous for his
own religion, paints the diflblute manners of the Spanifh
ecclefiaftics in Peru, particularly the regulars, in ftronger
colours than I have employed. Voy. p. 51. 215, &c.
M. Gentil confirms this account, Voy. i. 34. Correal
concurs
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 415
concurs with both, and adds many remarkable circum-
ftances. Voy. i. 61. 155. 161. I have good reafoa to
believe, that the manners of the regular clergy, particu-
larly in Peru, are ftill extremely indecent. Acofla him-
felf acknowledges that great corruption of manners had
been the confequence of permitting monks to forfake the
retirement and discipline of the cloifter, and to mingle
again with the world, by undertaking the charge of the
Indian parifhes. De procur. Ind. Salute, lib. iv. c. 13,
&c. He mentions particularly thofe vices, of which I
have taken notice, and confiders the temptations' to them
as fo formidable, that he leans to the opinion of thofe who
hold that the regular clergy mould not be employed as
parifh priefts. Lib. v. c. 20. Even the advocates for
the regulars admit, that many and great enormities
abounded among the monks of different orders, when fet
free from the reftraint of monaftic difcipline ; and from
the tone of their defence, one may conclude that the
charge brought againft them was not destitute of truth.
In the French colonies, the ftate of the regular clergy is
nearly the fame as in the Spanifli fettlements, and the
fame confequences have followed. M. Biet, fuperior of
the fecular priefts in Cayenne, inquires with no lefs ap-
pearance of piety than of candour, into the caufes of this
corruption, and imputes it chiefly to the exemption of
regulars from the jurifdiclion and cenfures of their dio-
ceians ; to the temptations to which they are expofed ; and
to their engaging in commerce. Voy. p. 320. It is
remarkable that all the authors, who cenfure the licen-
tioufnefs of the Spanifh regulars with the greateft feverity,
concur in vindicating the conduft of the Jefuits. Formed
under a difcipline more pcrfeft than that of the other mo-
naftic orders, or animated by that concern for the honour
of the focicty, which takes fuch full pofTeffion of every
member of the order, the Jefuits, both in Mexico and
Peru,
4 i6 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Peru, it is allowed, maintained a raoft irreproachable de-
cency of manners. Frezier, 223. Gentil, i. 34. The
fame praife is likewife due to the bifhops and mofl of the
dignified clergy. Frez. ibid.
A VOLUME of the Gazeta de Mexico for the years
1728, 1729, 1730, having been communicated to me, I
find there a flsiking confirmation of what I have advanced
concerning the fpirit of low illiberal fuperflition prevalent
in Spanifh America. From the newfpapers of any na-
tion, one may learn what are the objects which chiefly
engrofs its attention, and which appear to it moft intereft-
ing. The Gazette of Mexico is filled almoll entirely with
O J ,
accounts of religious functions, with defcriptions of pro-
ceflions, confecrations of churches, beatifications of faints,
feftivals, autos de fe, &c. Civil or commercial affairs,
and even the tranfadions of Europe, occupy but a fmall
corner in this magazine of monthly intelligence. From
the titles of new books, which are regularly inferted in this
Gazette, it appears that two-thirds of them are treatifes of
fcholaftic theology, or of monkifh devotion.
NOTE LIX. p. 297.
OOLORZANO, after mentioning the corrupt morals
of fome of the regular clergy, with that cautious re-
ferve, which became a Spanifh layman, in touching on
a fubject fo delicate ; gives his opinion very explicitly,
and with much firmnefs, againfl committing parochial
charges to monks. He produces the teftimony of feveral
refpedtable authors of his country, both divines and
lawyers, in confirmation of his opinion. De Jure Ind.
ji. lib. iii. c. 16. A ftriking proof of the alarm excited
by the attempt of the Prince d'Efquilache to exclude the
regulars from parochial cures, is contained in the Col-
22 Vert
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 417
bert collection of papers. Several memorials were pre-
fented to the king by the procurators for the monaftic
orders, and replies were made to thefe in name of the
fecular clergy. An eager, and even rancorous, fpirit is
maniteft on both fides, in the condu.61 of this difpute.
NOTE LX. p. 302.
"VjOT only the native Indians, but the Meftizos, or
children of a Spaniard and Indian, were originally
excluded from the priefthood, and refufed admiflion into
any religious order. But by a law ilTued Sept. 28th,
1588, Philip II. required the prelates of America to or-
dain fuch meftizos born in lawful wedlock, as they
fhould find to be properly qualified, and to permit them
to take the vows in any monaflery where they had gone
through a regular noviciate. Recopil. lib. i. tit. vii. 1. 7.
Some regard feerns to have been paid to this law in New
Spain ; but none in Peru. Upon a reprefentation of this
to Charles II. in the year 1697, he iffued a new edicl
enforcing the obfervation of it, and proleffing his defire
to have all his fubjefts, Indians and meftizos as well as
Spaniards, admitted to the enjoyment of the fame privi-
leges. Such, however, was the averfion of the Spaniards
in America to the Indians, artel their race, that this feems
to have produced little effeft ; for, in the year 1725,
Philip V. was obliged to renew the injunction in a more
peremptory tone. But fo unfurmountable are the hatred
and contempt of the Indians among the Peruvian Spa-
niards, that the prefent king has been conftrained to en-
force the former edifts anew by a law, publifhed Septem-
ber II, 1774. Real Cedula, MS. penes we.
VOL. Ill, Ee M. CLA-
41* NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
M. CLAVIGERO has contradicted what I have related
concerning the ecclefiaftical ftate of the Indians, particu-
larly their exclufion from the facrament of the Eucharift, and
from holy orders, either as Seculars or Regulars, in fuch a
manner as cannot fail to make a deep hnpreflion. He, from
his own knowledge, afferts, " that in New Spain not only
are Indians permitted to partake of the facrament of the
altar, but that Indian priefts are fo numerous that they may
be counted by hundreds ; and 'among thefe have been many
hundreds of reftprs, canons, and dodlors, and, as report
goes, even a very learned bifliop. At prefent, there
are many priefts, and not a few reclors, among whom
there have been three or four our own pupils." Vol. II.
348, c. I ow it therefore as a duty to the public, as
well as to myfelf, to confider each of thefe points with
care, and to explain the reafons which induced me to
adopt the opinion which I have publifhcd.
I KNEW that in the Chriflian church there is no dif-
tinction of perfons, but that men of every nation who
embrace the religion of Jefus, are equally entitled to
every Chriftian privilege vyhich they are qualified to re-
ceive. I knew, likewife, that an opinion prevailed, not
only among mod of the Spanilh laity fettled in America,
but among " many ecclefiaftics, (I ufe the words of
Ilerrera, Dec. ii. lib. ii. c. 15.) that the Indians were
not perfeft or rational men, and were not poffefled of
inch capacity as qualified them to partake of the facrament
of the altar, or of any other benefit of our religion." It
was againft this opinion that Las Cafas contended with
the laudable zeal which I have dcfcribed in Books III. and
VI. But as the Bifliop of Darien, Doftor Sepulvida,
and other refpe&able ecclefiaftics, vigoroufly fupported the
common opinion concerning the incapacity of the Indians,
it
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 419
it became neceffary, in order to determine the point, that
the authority of the Holy See mould be interpofed ; and
accordingly Paul III. iffued a bull A. D. 1537, in which,
after condemning the opinion of thofe who held that the
Indians, as being on a level with brute beau's, mould be
reduced to fervitude, he declares, that they were really
men, and as fuch were capable of embracing the Chriftian
religion, and participating of all its blefh'ngs. My account
of this bull, notwithftanding the cavils of M. Clavigero,
muft appear juft to every perfon who takes the trouble
of perufmg it ; and my account is the fame with that
adopted by Torquemada, lib. xvi. c. 25. and by Garcia,
Orig. p. 311. But even after this decifion, fo low did
the Spaniards refiding in America rate the capacity of the
natives, that the firfl council of Lima (I call it by that
name on the authority of the beft Spanifh authors) dif-
countenanced the admiflion of Indians to the holy com-
munion. Torquem. lib. xvi. c. 20. In New Spain, the
exclufion of Indians from the facrament was flill more ex-
plicit. Ibid. After two centuries have elapfed, and not-
withftanding all the improvement that the Indians may be
fuppofed to have derived from their intercourfe with the
Spaniards during that period, we are informed by D. Ant.
Ulloa, that in Peru, where, as will appear in the fequel of
this note, they are fuppofed to be better inftrufled than
in New Spain, their ignorance is fo prodigious that very
few are permitted to communicate, as being altogether
deftitute of the requifite capacity. Voy. I. 341, &c.
Solorz. Polit. Ind. I. 203.
WITH refpeft to the exclufion of Indians from the
prieflhood, either as Seculars or Regulars, we may obferve,
that while it continued to be the common opinion that the
natives of America, on account of their incapacity, mould
E e 2 not
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
not be permitted to partake of the holy facrament, we can-
not fuppofe that they would be clothed with that facred
character which entitled them to confecrate and to difpenfe it.
When Torquemada compofed his Monarqula Indiana, it
was almoft a century after the conqueft of New Spain ; and
yet in his time, it was ftill the general practice to exclude
Indians from holy orders. Of this we have the moft
fatisfying evidence. Torquemada having celebrated the
virtues and graces of the Indians at great length, and with
all the complacency of a miffionary, he ftarts as an ob-
jection to what he had afferted, " If the Indians really
poffefs all the excellent qualities which you have defcribed,
why are they not permitted to affume the religious habit ?
Why are they not ordained priefts and bifhops, as the Jewifh
and Gentile converts were in the primitive church, efpeci-
ally as they might be employed with fuch fuperior ad-
vantage to other perfons in the inltruction of their coun-
trymen ? Lib. xvii. c. 13.
IN anfwer to this objection, which eftablifhes, in the
moft unequivocal manner, what was the geneval practice
at that period, Torquemada obferves, that although by
their natural difpofitions the Indians are well fitted for a
fubordinate fituation, they are deftitute of all the qualities
requifite in any ftation of dignity and authority ; and that
they are in general fo addicted to drunkennefs, that, upon
the flighted temptation, one cannot promife on their be-
having with the decency fuitable to the clerical character.
The propriety of excluding them from it, on thefe ac-
counts, was, he obferved, fo well juftified by experience,
that when a foreigner of great erudition, who came from
Spain, condemned the practice of the Mexican church,
he was convinced of his miftake in a public difputation
with the learned and moft religious Father D. Juan de
Gaona,
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 42*
Gaona, and his retraflation is ftill extant. Torquemada,
indeed, acknowledges, as M. 'Clavigero obferves, with
a degree of exultation, that, in his time, fome Indians
had been admitted into monafteries ; but, with the art of
a difputant, he forgets to mention that Torquemada fpe-
cifies only two examples of this, and takes notice that in
both inftances thofe Indians had been admitted by miftake.
Relying upon the authority of Torquemada with regard to
New Spain, and of Ulloa with regard to Peru, and con-
fidering the humiliating depreffion of the Indians in all the
Spanifh fettlements, 1 concluded that they were not ad-
mitted into the ecclefiaftical order, which is held in the
higheft veneration all over the New World,
BUT when M. Clavigero, upon his own knowledge,
aflerted facls fo repugnant to the conclufion I had formed,
I began to diflruft it, and to wifh for further information.
In order to obtain this, I applied to a Spamfh nobleman,
high in office, and eminent for his abilities, who, on dif-
ferent occafions, has permitted me to have the honour and
benefit of correfponding with him. I have been favoured
with the following anfwer. " What you have written
concerning the admillion of Indians into holy orders,
or into monafteries, in Book VIII. efpecially as it is
explained and limited in Note LXXXVIII, of the quarto
edition, is in general accurate, and conformable to the au-
thorities which you quote. And although the congre-
gation of the council refolved and declared, Feb. 13, A. D.
1682, that the circumftance of being an Indian, a mulatto,
or meftizo, did not difqualify any perfon from being ad-
mitted into holy orders, if he was pofleffed of what is re-
quired by the canons to entitle him to that privilege ; this
only proves fuch ordinations to be legal and valid,
of which Solorzano, and the Spanifh lawyers and hiftorians
E e 3 quoted
422 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
quoted by him, Pol. Ind. lib. ii. c. 29. were perfuaded),
but it neither proves the propriety of admitting Indians
into holy orders, nor what was then the common prac-
tice, with refpecl to this ; but, on the contrary, it fhews
that there was fome doubt concerning the ordaining of In-
dians, and fome repugnance to it.
" SI*JCE that time, there have been fome examples of
admitting Indians into holy orders. We have now at
Madrid an aged prieft, a native of Tlafcala. His name is
D. Juan JCerilo de Caftilla Aquihual catehutle, defcended
of a Cazique converted to Chriftianity foon after the con-
queft. He fludied the ecclefiaftical fciences in a feminary
of Puebla de los Angeles. He was a candidate, never-
thelefs, for ten years, and it required much intereft before
Bifhop Abren would confent to ordain him. This eccle-
fiaftic is a man of unexceptionable character, modeft, felf-
clenied, and with a competent knowledge of what relates
to his clerical functions. He came to Madrid above thirty-
four years ago, with the fole view of foliciting admiffion
for the Indians into the colleges and feminaries in New
Spain, that if, after being well inflrudled and tried, they
fhould find an inclination to enter into the ecclefiaftical
ftate, they might embrace it, and perform its functions
with the greateft benefit to their countrymen, whom they
could addrefs in their native tongue. He has obtained va-
rious regulations favourable to his fcheme, particularly that
the firft college which became vacant in confequence of
the exclufion of the Jefuits, mould be fet apart for this pur-
pofe. But neither thefc regulations, nor many fimilar
ones inferted in the laws of the Indies, has produced any
effect, on account of objections and reprefentations from
the greater part of perfons of chief confideration employed
in New Spain. Whether their oppofition be well founded
or
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 423
or not, is a problem difficult to refolve, and towards the
folution of which, feveral diftin&ions and modifications are
requifite.
" ACCORDING to the accounts of this ecclefiaftic, and
the information of other perfons who have refided in the
Spanifh dominions in America, you may reft allured that
in the kingdom of Tierra Firme no fuch thing is known as
either an Indian fecular prieft or monk ; and that in New
Spain there are very few ecclefialtics of Indian race. In
Peru, perhaps, the number may be greater, as in that coun-
try there are more Indians who poffefs the means of ac-
quiring fuch a learned education as is neceffary for perfous
who afpire to the clerical character."
NOTE LXI. p. 306.
T ] ZTARIZ, an accurate and cautious calculator, feems
to admit, that the quantity of filver which does not
pay duty may be ftated thus high. According to Herrera,
there was not above a third of what was extra6led from,
Potofi that paid the king's fifth. Dec. viii. lib. ii. c. 15.
Solorzano afferts likewife, that the quantity of filver
which is fraudulently circulated, is far greater than that
which is regularly ftamped, after paying the fifth. De
Ind. Jure, vol. ii. lib. v. p. 846.
NOTE LXII. p. 310.
HEN the mines of Potofi were difcovered in the
year 1545, the veins were fo near the furface, that
the ore was eafily extracted, and fo rich that it was re-
E e 4 fined
W
4*4 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
fined with little trouble and at a fmall expence, merely by
the aftion of fire. This fimple mode of refining by fuficn
alone continued until the year 1574, when the ufe of mer-
cury in refining filver, as well as gold, was difcovered.
Thofe mines having been wrought without interruption for
two centuries, the veins are now funk fo deep, that the
expence of extracting the ore is greatly incrcafed. Be-
fides this, the richnefs of the ore, contrary to what hap-
pens in moft other mines, has become lefs, as the vein
continued to dip. The vein has likewife diminifhed to fuch
a degree, that one is amazed that the Spaniards mould
perfift in working it. Other rich mines have been fuc-
ceflively difcovered, but in general the value of the ores
has decreafed fo much, while the expence of extracting
them has augmented, that the court of Spain, in the
year 1736, reduced the duty payable to the king from
a fifth to a tenth, All the quickfilver ufed in Peru, is ex-
trafted from the famous mine of Guancabelica, difcovered
in the year 1563. The crown has referved the property
of this mine to itfelf ; and the perfons who purchafe the
quickfilver, pay not only the price of it, but likewife a
fifth) as a duty to the king. But, in the year 1761, this
duty on quickfilver was abolifhed, on account of the in-
creafe of expence in working mines. Ulloa, Entreteni-
mientos, xii. xv. Voyage, i, p. 505, 523. In confe-
quence of this abolition of the fifth> and fome fubfequent
abatements of price, which became neceffary on account
of the increafing expence of working mines, quickfilver,
which was formerly fold at eighty pefos the quintal, is now
delivered by the king at the rate of fixty pefos. Campo-
manes Educ. Popul. ii. 132, Note. The duty on gold
i reduced to a twentieth, or five per cent. Any of my
readers, who are defirous of being acquainted with the
mode in which the Spaniards conduct the working of
their mines, and the refinement of the ore, will find an
accurate
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 425
accurate defcription of the ancient method by Acofta.
Lib. iv. c. I 13. And of their more recent improve-
ments in the metallurgic art, by Gamboa Comment, a las
ordenanz. de minas, c. 22.
NOTE LXIII. p. 313.
* ft ANY remarkable proofs occur of the advanced ftatc
of Jnduftry in Spain, at the beginning of the fix-
teenth century. The number of cities in Spain was con-
fiderable, and they weie peopled far beyond the propor-
tion that was common in other parts of Europe. The
caufes of this I have explained, Hift. of Cha. V. i. 158^
Wherever cities are populous, that fpecies of induftry
which is peculiar to them increafcs, artificers and manu-
facturers abound. The efFecl: of the American trade in
giving activity to thefe is- manifeft, from a fingular faft.
In the year I545 while Spain continued to depend on its
own induftry, for the fupply of its colonies, fo much
work was befpoke from the manufacturers, that it was
fuppofed they could hardly finifh it in lefs than fix years.
Campom. i. 406. Such a demand mufl have put much
induftry in motion, and have excited extraordinary -ef-
forts. Accordingly, we are informed, that in the begin-
ning of Philip II, 's reign, the city of Seville alone, where
the trade with America centered, gave employment to
no fewer than 16,000 looms in filk or woollen work, and
that above 130,000 perfons had occupation in carrying on
thefe manufactures. Campom. ii. 472. But fo rapid and
pernicious was the operation of the caufes which I mall
enumerate, that before Philip III. ended his reigrj> the
looms in Seville were reduced tp 400. Uztariz, c, 7.
SINCE
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
SINCE the publication of the firft edition, I have the
fatisfaction to find my ideas concerning the early com-
mercial intercourfe between Spain and her colonies con-
firmed and illuftrated by D. Bernardo Ward, of the Junta
de Comercio at Madrid, in his Proyetto Ecomtnicoy Part ii.
c. i. " Under the reigns of Charles V. and Philip II." fays
he, " the manufactures of Spain and of the Low Coun-
tries fubjedt: to her dominion were in a moft flouriming
ftate. Thofe of France and England were in their in-
fancy. The republic of the United Provinces did not then
exift. No European power but Spain had colonies of any
value in the New World. Spain could fupply her fettle-
ments there with the productions of her own foil, the fa-
brics wrought by the hands of her own artizans, and all
{he received in return for thefe belonged to herfelf alone.
Then the exclufion of foreign manufactures was proper, be-
caufe it might be rendered effectual. Then Spain might
lay heavy duties upon goods exported to America, or
imported from it, and might impofe what reftraints (he
deemed proper upon a commerce entirely in her own
hands. But when time and fucceffive revolutions had oc-
cafioned an alteration in all thofe circumftances, when the
manufactures of Spain began to decline, and the demands
of America were fupplied by foreign fabrics, the original
maxims and regulations of Spain mould have been accom-
modated to the change in her fituation. The policy that
was wife at one period, became abfurd in the other."
NOTE LXIV. p. 322.
of goods is ever opened, no chefl of treafure
is examined. Both are received on the credit of the
perfons to whom they belong ; and only one inftance of
19 fraud
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 427
fraud is recorded, during the long period in which trade
was carried on with this liberal confidence. All the
coined filver which was brought from Peru to Porto-bello
in the year 1654, was found to be adulterated, and to be
mingled with a fifth part of bale metal. The Spanifii
merchants, with fentiments fuitable to their ufual inte-
grity, fuflained the whole lofs, and indemnified the fo-
reigners, by whom they were employed. The fraud was
eletefied, and the treafurer of the revenue in Peru, the
author of it, was publicly burnt. B. Ulloa Retablif. de
Manuf. &c. liv. ii. p. 102.
NOTE LXV. p. 327.
% if AN Y ftriking proofs occur of the fcarcity of money
in Spain. Of all the immenfe fums which have'
been imported from America, the amount of which I
fhall afterwards have occafion to mention, Moncada af-
ferts that there did not remain in Spain, in 1619, above
two hundred millions of pefos, one half in coined money,
the other in plate and jewels. Reftaur. de Efpagna, Difc.
iii. c. I . Uztariz, who publifhed his valuable work in
1724, contends, that in money, plate, and jewels, there
did not remain a hundred million. Theor. &c. c. 3.
Campomanes, on the authority of a remonftrance from the
community of merchants in Toledo to Philip III. relates, as
a certain proof how fcarce cam had become, that perfons
who lent money, received a third part of the fum which
they advanced as intereft and premium. Educ. Popul.
1.417-
42S NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE LXVI. p'. 330.
account of the mode in which the factors of the
South Sea company conducted the trade in the fair
of Porto-bello, which was opened to them by the Affiento,
I have taken from Don Dion. Alcedo y Herrera, prefi-
dent of the court of Audience in Quito, and governor of
that province. Don Dionyfio was a perfon of fuch a re-
fpedtable character for probity and difcernment, that his
feftimony, in any point, would be of much weight ; but
greater credit is due to it in this cafe, as he was an eye-
witnefs of the tranfactions which he relates, and was often
employed in detecting and authenticating the frauds which
he defcribes. It is probable, however, that his repre-
fentation, being compofed at the commencement of the
war which broke out between Great Britain and Spain, in
the year 1739* may, in fome inftances, difcover a por-
tion of the acrimonious fpirit, natural at that juncture.
His detail of facts is curious ; and even Englifh authors
confirm it in fome degree, by admitting both that va-
rious frauds were practifed in the tranfactions of the an-
nual (hip, and that the contraband trade from Jamaica,
and other Britifh colonies, was. become enormoufly great.
But for the credit of the Englim nation it may be ob-
ferved, that thofe fraudulent operations are not to be
confidered as deeds of the company, but as the difhonour-
able arts of their factors and agents. The company itfeJf
fuftained a confiderable lofs by the Afliento trade. Many
of its fervants acquired immenfe fortunes. Anderfon
Chronol. dedud. ii. 388.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 439
NOTE LXVII. p. 337.
SEVERAL fads with refpeft to the inflitution, the
progrefs, and the effefts, of this company, are cu-
rious, and but little known to Englifh readers. Though
the province of Venezuela, or Caraccas, extends four
hundred miles along the coaft, and is one of the moft
fertile in America ; it was fo much neglecled by the
Spaniards, that during the twenty years prior to the efta-
blifliment 'of the company, only five {hips failed from
Spain to that province ; and during 16 years, from 1706
to 1722, not a fmgle fliip arrived from the Caraccas in
Spain. Noticias de Real Compania de Caraccas, p. 28.
During this period Spain muft have been fupplied al-
moft entirely with the large quantity of cacao, which it
confumes, by foreigners. Before the eredion of the
company, neither tobacco nor hides were imported from
Caraccas into Spain. Id. p. 117. Since the commercial
operations of the company began in the year 1731, the
importation of cacao into Spain has increafed amazingly.
During thirty years fubfequent to 1701, the number of
Fanegas of cacao (each a hundred and ten pounds) im-
ported from Caraccas, was 643,215. During eighteen
years fubfequent to 1731, the number of Fanegas im-
ported was 869,247 ; and if we fuppofe the importation
to be continued in the fame proportion during the re-
mainder of thirty years, it will amount to 1,448,746 Fa-
negas, which is an increafe of 805,531 Fanegas. Id.
p. 148. During eight years fubfequent to 1756, there
has been imported into Spain by the Company, 88,482
arrobas (each twenty-five pounds) of tobacco ; and hides
to the number of 177,354. Id. 161. Since the publica-
tion of the Noticias de Campania, in 1765, its trade feems
to be on the increafe. During five years fubfequent to
450 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
1769, it has imported 179,156 Fanegas of cacao into
Spain, 36,208 arrobas of tobacco, 75,4.96 hides, and
221,432 pefos in fpecie. Campomanes, ii. 162. The lad
article is a proof of the growing wealth of the colony.
It receives cafli from Mexico in return for the cacao,
with which it fupplies that province, and this it remits to
Spain, or lays out in purchafing European goods. But,
befides this, the mofl explicit evidence is produced, that
the quantity of cacao raifed in the province is double to
what it yielded in 1731 ; the number of its live flock is
more than treble, and- its inhabitants much augmented.
The revenue of the bifhop, which arifes wholly from
tythes, has increafed from eight to twenty thoufand pefos.
Notic. p. 69. In confequence of the augmentation of
the quantity of cacao imported into Spain, its price has
decreafed from eighty pefos for the fanega to forty. Id. '
61. Since the publication of the firft edition, I have
learned that Guyana, including all the extenfive pro-
vinces fituated on the banks of the Orinoco, the iflands
of Trinidad and Margarita are added to the countries
with which the company of Caraccas had liberty of trade
by their former charters. Real Cedula, Nov. 19, 1776.
But I have likewife been informed, that the inihtution
of this company has not been attended with all the bene-
ficial effefts which I have afcribed to it. In many of its
operations the illiberal and oppreflive fpirit of monopoly
is flill confpicuous. But in order to explain this, it would
be neceffary to enter into minute details, which are not
fuited to the nature of this work.
NOTE LXVIII. p. 344.
*-pHIS firft experiment made by Spain of opening a free
* trade with any of her colonies, has produced effects
fo remarkable, a.s to merit fome farther illuftration. The
towns
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 431
towns to which this liberty has been granted, are Cadiz
and Seville, for the province of Andalufia ; Alicant and
Carthagena, for Valencia and Murcia ; Barcelona, for
Catalonia and Arragon ; Santander, for Caftile ; Co-
rugna, for Galicia ; and Gijon, for Afturias. Append, ii.
a la Educ. Popul. p. 41. Thefe are either the ports of
chief trade in their refpective diftrifts, or thofe moft con-
veniently fituated for the exportation of their refpeclive
productions. The following fa&s give a view of the in-
creafe of trade in the fettlements to which the new re-
gulations extend. Prior to the allowance of free trade,
the duties collected in the cuftom-houfe at the Havannah
were computed to be 1 04,20 8 pefos annually. During
the five years preceding 1774, they rofe at a medium to
308,000 pefos a year. In Yucatan, the duties have arifen
from 8,000 to 15,000. In Hifpaniola, from 2,500 to
5,600. In Porto-Rico, from 1,200 to 7,000. The to-
tal value of goods imported from Cuba into Spain, was
reckoned, in 1774, to be 1,500,000 pefos. Educ.
Popul. i. 450, &c.
NOTE LXIX. p. 350.
^j-i H E two Treatifes of Don Pedro Rodriguez Campo-
manes, Fifcal del real confejo y Supremo (an office in
rank and power nearly fimilar to that of Attorney Gene-
ral in England), and Director of the Royal Academy of
Hiftory, the one intitled Difcurfo fobre el Fomento de la
Induflria Popular; the other, Difcurfo fobre la Educa-
cion Popular de los Artefanos y fu Fomento ; the former
publifhed in 1774, and the latter -in 1775, afford a ftrik-
ing proof of this. Almoft every point of importance
with refpeft to interior police, taxation, agriculture, ma-
nufactures, and trade, domeftic as well as foreign, is exa-
mined
432 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
mined in the courfe of thefe works ; and there are not
many authors, even in the nations moft eminent for com-
mercial knowledge, who have carried on their enquiries
with a more thorough knowledge of thofe various fub-
jefts, and a more perfect freedom from vulgar and na-
tional prejudices, or who have united more happily the
calm refearches of philofophy, with the ardent zeal of a
public-fpirited citizen. Thefe books are in high eflima-
tion among the Spaniards, and it is a decifive evidence of
the progrefs of their own ideas, that they are capable of
reliming an author whofe fentiments are fo liberal.
NOTE LXX. p. 355.
galeon employed in that trade, inftead of the fix
hundred tons, to which it is limited by law, Recop,
lib. xlv. 1. 15. is commonly from twelve hundred to
two thoufand tons burden. The fhip from Acapulco,
taken by Lord Anfon, inftead of the 500,000 pefos per-
mitted by law, had on board 1,313,843 pefos, befides un-
coined filver equal in value to 43,611 pefos more. An-
fon's Voyage, 384.
NpTE LXXI. p. 357.
H E price paid for the bull varies according to the
rank of different perfons. Thofe in the lowed order,
who are fervants or flaves, pay two reals of plate, or one
milling ; other Spaniards pay eight reals, and thofe in
public office, or who hold encomiendas, fixteen reals.
Solorz. de Jure Ind.. vol. ii. lib. iii. c. 25. According
to Chilton, an Englifti merchant who refided long in the
Spanifh fettlements, the bull of Cruzado bore an higher
price in the year 1570, being then fold for four reals at
the loweft. Hackluyt, iii. 461. The price feems to have
varied
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
varied at different periods. That exafted for the bulls
iffued in the laft Predicacion* will appear from the enfuing
table, which will give fome idea of the proportional num-
bers of the different claffes of citizens in New Spain and
Peru.
There were iffued for New Spain,
Bulls at 10 pefos each 4
at 2 pefos each 22,601
' at i pefo each 164,220
at 2 reals each - 2,462,500
2,649,325
For Peru,
at 1 6 pefos 4^ reals each
at 3 pefos 3 reals each
at r v pefo 5* reals
at 4 reals
at 3 reals -
I I 7 1 953
NOTE LXXII. p. 358.
A S Villa Segnor, to whom we are indebted for this in-
formation contained in his Theatre Americano, pub-
limed in Mexico, A. D. 1746, was accomptant- general in
one of the moft confiderable departments of the royal re-
venue, and by that means had accefs to proper informa-
tion, his teftimony with refpedt to this point merits great
credit. No fuch accurate detail of the Spanifh revenues
in any part of America has hitherto been publiihed in the
Englim language, and the particulars of it may appear cu-
rious and mtcrelting to fome of my readers,
VOL. III. Ff FROM
434
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
FROM the bull of Cruzada, publiftied every
there arifes an annual revenue in pefos
From the duty on filver -
From the duty on gold
From tax on cards
From tax on Pulque, a drink ufed by the
Indians
From tax on ftamped paper
From ditto on ice
From ditto on leather
From ditto on gunpowder
From ditto on fait
From ditto on copper of Mechochan
From ditto on alum
From ditto on Juego de los gallos
From the half of ecclefiaftical annats
From royal ninths of bifhopricks, &c.
From the tribute of Indians
From Alcavala, or duty on fale of goods
From the Almajorifafgo, cuilom-houfe
From the mint
two years,
150,000
700,000
60,000
70,000
161,000
41,000
2,500
32,000
1,000
6,500
21,100
49,000
68,800
650,000
721,875
373>333
357>5
3,552,680
THIS fum amounts to 819,161 1. fterling; and if we
add to it the profit accruing from the fale of 5000 quintals
of quickfilver, imported from the mines of Almaden, in
Spain, on the king's account, and what accrues from the
Averia, and fome other taxes which Villa Segnor does not
eftimate, the public revenue in New Spain may well be
reckoned above a million pounds fterling money, Theat.
Mex. vol. i. p. 38, &c. According to Villa Segnor,
the total produce of the Mexican mines amounts at a
medium to eight millions of pefos in filver annually, and
to 5912 marks of gold. Ib. p. 44. Several branches of
the
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 435
the revenue have been explained in the courfe of the hifr
tory ; fome, which there was no occafion of mentioning,
require a particular illuftration. The right to the tytbes
in the New World, is vefted in the crown of Spain, by
a bull of Alexander VI. Charles V. appointed them to
be applied in the following manner : One fourth is allotted
to the bifhop of the diocefe, another fourth to the dean and
chapter, and other officers of the cathedral. The re-
maining half is divided into nine equal parts. Two of
thefe, under the denomination of los dos Novenos reales t
are paid to the crown, and conftitute a branch of the
royal revenue. The other feven parts are applied to the
maintenance of the parochial clergy, the building and
fupport of churches, and other pious ufes. Recopil.
lib. i. tit. xvi. Ley. 23, &c. Avendano Thefaur. Indie,
vol. i. p. 184.
THE Akavala is a duty levied by an excife on the
fale of goods. In Spain it amounts to ten per cent. In
America, to four per cent. Solorzano Polit. Indiana^
Jib. vi. c. 8. Avendano, vol. i. 186.
THE AlmajorifafgOy or cuftom paid in America on
goods imported and exported, may amount on an average
to fifteen per cent. Recopil. lib. viii. tit. xiv. Ley. i.
Avendano, vol. i. 188.
THE Averta, or tax paid on account of convoys to
guard the {hips failing to and from America, was firft
impofed when Sir Francis Drake filled the New World
with terror by his expedition to the South Sea. It amounts
to two per cent, on the value of goods. Avendano, vol. i.
P, 189. Recopil. lib. ix. tit. ix. Ley. 43, 44.
F f 2 I HAVE
436 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
I HAVE not been able to procure any accurate detail of
the feveral branches of revenue in Peru, later than the
year 1614. From a curious manufcript, containing a
{late of that vice-royalty in all its departments, prefented
to the Marquis of Montes-Claros, by Fran. Lopez Ca-
ravantes, accomptant-general in the tribunal of Lima, it
appears, that the public revenue, as nearly as I can
compute the value of the money in which Caravantes
ftates his accounts, amounted in ducats at 45. lid.,
to ' **' 2,372,768
Expences of government - 1,242,992
Net free revenue 1,119,776
The total in flerling money -
Expences of government 3558
Net free revenue 277,735
BUT feveral articles appear to be omitted in this com-
putation, fuch as the duty on {tamped paper, leather, ec-
clefiaflical annats, &c. fo that the revenue of Peru may be
\vell fuppofed equal to that of
IN computing the expence of government in New
Spain, I may take that of Peru as a ftandard. There the
annual eftablimment for defraying the charge of adminU
itralion, exceeds one half of the revenue collected, and
there is no reafon for fuppofing it to be lefs in New
Spain.
I HAVE obtained a calculation of the total amount of
the public revenue of Spain from America and the Philip.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
pines, which, as the reader will perceive from the two
laft articles, is more recent than any of the former.
Alcavalas (Excife) and Aduanas (Cuf-
toms), &c. in pefos fuertes
Duties on gold and filver
Bull of Cruzada
Tribute of the Indians
By fale of quickfilvef
Paper exported on the king's account,
and fold in the royal vvarehoufes
Stamped paper, tobacco, and other fin all
duties
Duty on coinage of, at the rate of one
real de la Plata for each mark
From the trade ot Acapulco, and thecoaft-
ing trade from province to province,
Affiento of negroes
From the trade of Mat he, or herb of
Paraguay, formerly monopolized by the
Jefuits
From other revenues formerly belonging
to that order
2,500,000
3,000,O0
1,000,000
2,000,000
300,000
300,000
1,000,000
500,000
200,000
500,000
403,000
Total 12,000,000
Total in flerling money . 2,700,000
Deduft half, as the expence of admini-
ftration, and there remains net free
437
revenue
L- 1,350,000
NOTE
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
NOTE LXXIII. p. 358.
A N author, long converfant in commercial fpeculation,
has computed, that from the mines of New Spain
alone, the king receives annually, as his fifth, the fum
of two millions of our money. Harris Collect, of Voy. ii.
p. 164. According to this calculation, the total produce
of the mines muft be ten millions fterling ; a fum fo ex-
orbitant, and fo little correfponding with all accounts of
the annual importation from America, that the informa-
tion on which it is founded muft evidently be erroneous.
According to Campomanes, the total product of the Ame-
rican mines may be computed at thirty millions of pefos,
which, at four millings and fixpence a pefo, amounts to
7,425,000!. fterling, the king's fifth of which (if that
were regularly paid) would be 1,485,000!. But from
this fum muft be deducted what is loft by a fraudulent
withholding of the fifth due to the crown, as well as the
fum neceflary for defraying the expence of adminiftration.
Educ. Popular, vol. ii. p. 131. note. Both thefe fums
are confiderable.
NOTE LXXIV. p. 359.
ACCORDING to Bern, de Ulloa, all foreign goods
"^^ exported from Spain to America pay duties of various
kinds, amounting in all to more than 25 per cent. As
moft of the goods with which Spain fupplies her colonies
are foreign ; fuch a tax upon a trade fo extenfive muft
yi^eld a confiderable revenue. Retablif. de Manuf. & du
Commerce d'Efp. p. 150. He computes the value of
goods exported annually from Spain to America, to be
about two millions and a half fterling, p. 97.
NOTE
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 439
NOTE LXXV. p. 361.
H E Marquis de Serralvo, according to Gage, by
a monopoly of fait, and by embarking deeply in the
Manila trade as well as in that to Spain, gained annually a
million of ducats. In one year he remitted a million of
ducats to Spain, in order to purchafe from the Conde
Olivares, and his creatures, a prolongation of his go-
vernment, p. 61. He was fuccefsful in his fuit, and
continued in office from 1624 to 1635, double the ufual
time.
Ff4 INDEX.
N D E X.
N. B. The Roman Numerals refer to the Volume,
and the Figures to the Page.
A.
an embafTy fent to that country by
" John II. king of Portugal, i. 80.
Acapulco\ the nature of the trade carried on from thence to
Manila, iii. 354. Amount of the treafure on board the
{hip taken by Lord Anfon, 432.
Acojla^ his method of accounting for the different degrees
of heat, in the old and new continents, ii. 419.
Adalr^ his account of the revengeful temper of the native
Americans, ii, 459.
Adanfori) his juftifiration of Hanno's account of the Afri-
can feas, i. 353.
Africa, the weftern coaft of, - firft explored by order of
John I. king of Portugal, i. 58. Is difcovered from
Cape Non, to Bojador, 60. Cape Bojador doubled,
66. The countries fouthward of the River Senegal
difcovered, 74. Cape of Good Hope feen by Bartho-
lomew Bias, 79. Caufes of the extreme heat of the
climate there, ii. n. Ignorance of the ancient aftro-
nomers concerning, i. 354.
Agriculture^ the ftate of, among the native Americans,
ii. 117. Two principal caufes of the defefts of, 122.
Aguado is fent to Hifpaniola, as a commiffioner to infpecl
the conduct of Columbus, i. 187.
Aguilar, Jerom de, is relieved from a long captivity
among the Indians at Cozumel, by Fernando Cortes,
ii. 243.
Albuquerque, Rodrigo, his barbarous treatment of the In-
dians of Hifpaniola, i. 304.
Alcavalay in the Spanifh cuftoms, the term explained,
iii. 435.
Alexander
INDEX.
Alexander the Great, his political character, i. 2O. His
motive in founding the city of Alexandria, 21. His dif-
coveries in India, 22, 23.
Alexander VI. Pope, grants to Ferdinand and Ifabella of
Caftile, the right of all their weftern difcoveries, i.
162. Sends miflicnaries with Columbus on his fecond
voyage, 163.
Almagro, Diego de, his birth and characler, iii. 4. Aflb-
ciates with Pizarro and de Luque, in a voyage of difco-
very, ibid. His unfuccefsful attempts, 6. Is negle&ed
by Pizarro in his Spanifh negociation, 16. Is recon-
ciled to him, 17. Brings reinforcements to Pizarro at
Peru, 39. Beginning of diflenfions between him and
Pizarro, 56. Invades Chili, 60. Is created governor
Y of Chili, and marches to Cuzco, 66. Seizes Cuzco$
out oi the hands of Pizarro, 67. Defeats Alvarado,
and takes him prifoner, 69. Is deceived by the artful
negociations of Francis Pizarro, 70. Is defeated by
the Pizarros, 74. Is taken prifoner, 75. Is tried and
condemned, 77. Is put to death, 78.
Abnagro, the fon, affords refuge to his father's followers
at Lima, iii. 88. His character, 89. Heads a con-
fpiracy againft Francis Pizarro, ibid. Pizarro aflafli-
nated, 90. Is acknowledged as his fucceffor, 92. His
precarious fituation, 93. Is defeated by Vaca de Caftro,
96. Is betrayed and executed, 97.
Almajorifajgo, in the Spanifh American cuftoms, the amount
of, iii. 435.
Aharado, Alonzo, is fent from Lima, by Francis Pi-
zarro, with a body of Spaniards to relieve his brothers
at Cuzco, iii. 68. Is taken prifoner by Almagro, 69.
His efcape, 7 1 .
Alvarado, Pedro de, is left by Cortez to command at
Mexico, while he marched againft Narvaez, ii. 328.
He is befieged by the Mexicans, 336. His imprudent
conduft, 337. His expedition to Quito in Peru, iii.
53-
Amazons, a community of, faid to exifl in South America,
by Francis Orellana, iii. 86.
America, the continent of, difcovered by Chriftopher Co-
lumbus, i. 198. How it obtained this name, 214. Fer-
dinand of Caftile nominates Uvo governments in, 272.
The
INDEX.
The propofitioiis offered to the natives, 273. Ill recep-
tion of Ojeda and Nicuefla among them, 274. The
South Sea difcovered by Balboa, 290. Rio de Plata
difcovered, 302*. The natives of, injurioufly treated
by the Spaniards, 331. The vaft extent of, ii. 2.
The grand objects it prefented to view, 3. The cir-
cumftances of, favourable for commerce and civiliza-
tion, 5. The climates of, 7, 8. Various caufes of
the peculiarity of its climates, 10. Its rude and un-
cultivated ftate when firft difcovered, 15. Its ani-
mals, 1 8. Its infects and reptiles, 20. Birds, 22. Ge-
neral account of its foil, 23. Inquiry into the firft po-
pulation of, 25. Could not be peopled by civilized na-
tions, 33. The northern extremity of, contiguous
to Afia, 38. Probably peopled by Afiatics, 47. Con-
dition and character of the native inhabitants inquired
into, 49. Were more ' rude than the natives of any
other known parts of the earth, 51. The Peruvians
and Mexicans excepted, 52. The firft difcoverers in-
capable of a judicious fpeculative examination, 54. The
various fyftems of philofophers refpefting the natives,
56. Method obferved in the prefent review of their
bodily conftitution and circumftances, 59. The venereal
difeafe derived from this part of the world, $7. Why
fo thinly inhabited, 129. The country depopulated by
continual wars, 172. Caufe of the extreme coldnefs to-
ward the fouthern extremity of, 424. The natural un-
cultivated ftate of the country defcribed, 426. Bones
of large extinct fpecies of animals difcovered under
ground near the banks of the Ohio, 427. Why Eu-
ropean animals degenerate there, 428. Suppofed to have
undergone a convulfive feparation from Afia, 432.
The vicinity of the two continents of Afia and America
clearly afcertained, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438. Caufes
of the depopulation of, traced, iii. 252. This depo-
pulation not the refult of any intentional fyftem of po-
licy, 255. Nor the refult of religion, 257. Number of
Indian natives ftill remaining in Mexico and Peru, 258.
All the Spanifli dominions there, fubjected to two vice-
roys, 262. Its third viceroyalty lately eftablifhed, 263.
See Mexico, Peru, Cortes, Pizarro, &c.
Americans,
INDEX;
American^ native, in Spaniih America, their bodily coin
flitution and complexion, ii. 60. Their ftrength
and abilities, 62. Their infenfibility with regard to
their women, 64. No deformities in their frame,
71. - This circumftance accounted for, 72. Uni-
formity of their colour, 74. A peculiar race of, de-
fcribed, 77. The Efquimaux, 80. Patagonians, 81.
The exiftence of Patagonian giants yet remaining to
be decided, 83. Their difeafes, 84. The venereal
difeafe peculiarly theirs, 86. The powers and qua-
lities of their minds, 88. Are only felicitous to
fupply immediate wants, 90. The art of computa-
tion, fcarcely known to them, 91. Have no ab-
ftrat ideas, 93. The North Americans much more
intelligent than thofe of the South, 95. Their aver-
fion to labour, 97. Their focial ilate, 100. D'o-
meftic union, 101. The women, 103. Their women
not prolific, 106. Their parental affection and filial
duty, 108. Their modes of fubfiftence, in. Fifh-
ing, 112. Hunting, 114. Agriculture, 117. The
various objels of their culture, ibid. Two principal
caufes of the defefts of their agriculture, 122. Their
want of tame animals, ibid. Their want of ufeful
metals, 125. Their political inftitutions, 128. Were
divided into fmall independent communities, -ibid. Un-
acquainted with the idea ot property, 130. Their
high fen fe of equality and independence, 131. Their
ideas of fubordination imperfet, 133. To what tribes
thefe descriptions apply, 135. Some exceptions, 1*36.
Florida, 137. The Natchez, 138. The illands, 139.
In Bogota, ibid. Inquiry into the caufes of thefe ir-
regularities, 141. Their art of war, 144. Their mo-
tives to hoftility, 145. Caufes of their ferocity, 146.
Perpetuity of their animofities, 148. Their modes
of conducting war, 149. Are not deilitute of cou-
rage and fortitude, 151. Incapable of military dif-
cipline, 153. Their treatment of prifoners, 1^4.
Their fortitude under torture, 156. Never eat hu-
man flefh but to gratify revenge, 159. How the South
Americans treated their prifoners, 160. Their mili-
tary education, 161. Strange method of chufing a
captain, among the Indians on the banks of the Ori-
noco,
INDEX.
noco, 162. Their numbers wafted by continual wars,
165. Their tribes now recruit their numbers by
adopting prifoners, 166. Are never formidable in
war, to more polifhed nations, 167. Their arts,
drefs, and ornaments, 168,169. Their habitations, 172.
Their arms, 175. Their domeftic utenfils, 177.
Conftrudion of their canoes, 178. The liftlefihefs
with which they apply to labour, 179. Their re-
ligion, 181. Some tribes altogether deRitute of any,
184. Remarkable diverfity in their religious notions,
1 88. Their ideas of the immortality of the foul, 191.
Their modes of burial, 193. Why their phyficians
pretend to be conjurers, 195. Their love of dancing,
199. Their immoderate palfion for gaming, 202. Are
extremely addicted to drunkennefs, 203. Put their
aged and incurable to death, 208. General eftirnate of
their character, 209. Their intellectual powers, 210.
Their political talents, 21 1. Powers of affection,
213. Hardnefs of heart, 214. Their infenfibility,
215. Taciturnity, 217, Their cunning, 21 8. Their
virtues, 22O. Their fpirit of independence, ibid. For-
titude, ibid. Attachment to their community, 221.
Their fatisfaclion with their own condition, 222. Ge-
neral caution with refpeft to this inquiry, 225. Two
diftinguimable claffes of, 227. Exceptions as 'to
their character, 229. Their charafteriftic features
defcribed, 439. Inftances of their perfevering fpeed,
440. An antipathy induftrioufly encouraged between
them and the negroes in America, by the Spa-
niards, iii. 280. Their prefent condition, 282. How
taxed, 283. Stated fervices demanded from them,
284. Mode of exacting thefe fervices, 285. How-
governed, 286. Protector of the Indians, his function,
ibid. Reafons why fo fmall a progrefs is made in their
converfion, 299.
Amerigo Vefpucci publifhes the firft written account of the
New World, and hence gave name to America, i. 213.
His claim as a difcoverer examined, 380.
Anacoana, a female cazique of Hifpaniola, her bafe and
cruel ufage by the Spaniards, i. 255.
Andes, ftupendous height and extent of that range of
mountains, ii. 4. Their height compafed with other
mountains,
INDEX.
mountains, 417. Gonzalo Pizarro's remarkable expe-
dition over, iii. 82.
Animals, large, very few found in America at its firft dif-
covery, ii. 18.
Ancients, caufe of the imperfection of the art of navigation
among them, i. 6. Their geographical knowledge ex-
tremely confined, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357.
Arabians peculiarly attached to the ftudy of geography,
i- 39-
Argonauts, the expedition of, why fo famous among the
Greeks, i. 16, 17.
Arithmetic, or computation, the art of, hardly known to
the native Americans, ii. 91.
Ajcolino, father, his extraordinary million to the prince of
the Tartars, i. 46.
Ajiaiic difcoveries made by the Ruffians, ii. 38.
Afliento trade, the nature of, explained, iii. 329. The
frauds in, and how put an end to, 330, 331.
Atahuatya, is left by his father Huafcar his fucceflbr in
the kingdom of Quito, iii. 25. Defeats his brother
Huafcar, and ufurps the empire of Peru, 26. Sends
prefents to Pizarro, 29. Vifits Pizarro, 33. Is perfi-
dioufly feized by him, 36. Agrees with Pizarro on a
ranfom, 38. Is refuled his liberty, 42. His behaviour
during his confinement, 45. A form of trial beflowed
on .him, 46. Is put to death, 48. Comparifon of au-
thorities relating to his tranfations with, and treat-
ment by, Pizarro, 370.
Audience of New Spain, board of, eftablifhed by the Em-
peror Charles V. ii. 411. Courts of, their jurifdi&ion,
iii. 264. *
Averia, a Spanifh tax for convoy to and from America,
when firft impofed, iii. 435. Its rate, ibid.
Azores, thofe iflands difcovered by the Portuguefe, i. 72.
B
BcJboa, Vafco Nugnez de, fettles a colony at Santa
Maria, in the gulph of Darien, i. 276. Receives intel-
ligence of the rich country of Peru, 284. His cha-
racter, 287. Marches acrofs the ifthmus, 288. Dif-
i 7 covers
INDEX.
covers the Southern ocean, 290. Returns, 291. Is
fuperfeded in his command by the appointment of Pe-
drarias Davila, 294. Is fined by Pedrarias for former
tranfaf.tions, 295. Is appointed lieutenant-governor of
the countries on the South Sea, and marries Pedrarias's
daughter, 298. Is arrefted and put to peath by Pedra-
rias, 300.
Bark, Jefnits, a production peculiar to Peru, iii. 310.
Barrere, his defcription of the conftruclion of Indian houfes,
ii. 467.
Beffaim, Martin, the honour of having difcovered America
falfely afcribed to him by fome German authors, i. 371.
Account of him and his family, 372.
Behring and Tfchirikow, Ruffian navigators, thought to
have difcovered the north-weft extremity of America
from the eaftward, ii. 41. Uncertainty of their ac-
counts, 432.
JSenahazar, governor of St. Michael, reduces the kingdom
of Quito, iii. 52. Is deprived of his command by Pi-
zarro, 83.
Benjamin the Jew of Tudela, his extraordinary travels,
i. 45-
Bernaldes^ inftance of the bravery of the Caribbees men-
tioned by him, ii. 473.
Bethencourty John de, a Norman baron, conquers and pof-
fefles the Canary iflands, i. 54.
Birds, an account of thofe natural to America, ii. 22. The
flight of, often ftretch to an immenfe diftance from land,
i- 3 6 f
Bogota in America, fome account of the inhabitants
of, i. 141. Caufes of their tame fubmiflion to the
Spaniards, 145. Their religious do&rines and rites,
201.
Bojador, cape, the firft difcovery of, i. 60. Is doubled by
the Portuguefe difcoverers, 66.
Boffh, his account of the American war-fong, ii. 462.
Bovadilla, Francis de, is fent to Hifpaniola to inquire into
the conduft of Columbus, i. 220. Sends Columbus
home in irons, 222. Is degraded, 225. 230.
Bouganvilk, his defence of the Periplus of Hanno, i.
35 2
Boupur,
INDEX.
Bouguer, M. his chara&er of the native Peruvians, ii.
445-
Brajil, the coaft of, difcovered by Alvarez Cabral, i. 216.
Remarks on the climate of, ii. 422.
Bridges, Peruvian, defcribed, iii. 398.
Buenos Ayres, in South America, fome account of that
province, iii. 240.
Bulls, papal, of no force in Spanifh America, before exa-
mined and approved by the royal council of the Indies,
iii. 290. See Crufado,
Burial of the dead, American mode of, ii. 193.
Cabral, Alvarez, a Portuguefe commander, difcovers the
coaft of Brafil, i. 216.
Cacoa, the beft in quality, produced in the Spanifh Ame-
rican colonies, iii. 311. The preparation of chocolate
from, derived from the Mexicans, 335.
Cadiz, the galeons and flota, removed thither from Seville,
iii. 321.
California, the peninfula of, difcovered by Fernando Cor-
tes, ii. 412. The true Hate of this country long un-
known, iii. 231. Why depreciated by the Jefuits,
232. Favourable account of, given by Don Jofepb
Galvez, 233.
Californians, the character of, by P. Venegas, ii. 448.
Campeacby, difcovered by Cordova, who is repulfed by the
natives, i. 340.
Campomanes, Don Pedro Rodriguez, character of his po-
litical and commercial writings, iii. 431. His ac-
count of the produce of the Spanifli American mines,
43-.
Canary iflands erected into a kingdom by pope Clement VI.
.i. 54. Are conquered by John de Bethencourt, ibid.
Cannibals, no people ever found to eat human flem for fub-
fiftence, though often for revenge, ii. 158. 462.
Canoes, American, the conflru6tion of, defcribed, ii.
j6.
22 Car ace as y
INDEX.
Cameras, eftablifliment of the company trading to that
coaft, iii. 335. Growth of the trade, 425.
Caribbee iflands, difcovered by Columbus in his fecond
voyage, i. 164.
Caribbeet, their fpirit peculiarly fierce, ii. 229. Their
character by M. de Chanvalon, 448. Probable con-
jecture as to the diftin&ion in character between them
and the natives of the larger iflands, 474.
Carpim, his extraordinary million to the prince of the
Tartars, i. 46.
Cartkagena, the harbour of, the fafeft and beft fortified
of any in all the Spanim American dominions, iii.
244. '
CarthaginianSy ftate of commerce and navigation among,
i. ii. The famous voyages of Hanno and Himilco,
. r 3-
Carvajalf Francifco de, contributes to Vaca de Caflor's
victory over young Almagro, iii. 96. Encourages
Gonzalo Pizarro to aflame' the government of Peru,
115. Advifes Pizarro to aflame the fovereignty of
the country, 120. Is feized by Gafca, and executed,
CafttilO) Bernal Diaz del, character of his Hifloria
Vardadera de la Conquifta de la Nueva Efpagna, ii.
477-
Centenoy Diego, revolts from Gonzalo Pizarro to the
viceroy of Peru, iii. 117. Is defeated by Carvajal, and
fecretes himfelf in a cave, 1 19. Sallies out and feizes
Cuzco, 132. Is reduced by Pizarro, 133. Is em-
ployed by Gafca to make difcoyerics in the regions
about the river Plata, 143.
Chanvalotiy M. de, his character of the native Caribbees,
ii. 448.
Chapetonesy in the Spanim American colonies, who thus
diilinguiflied, iii. 277.
Charles III. king of Spain, eftablifhes packet-boats be-
tween Spain and the colonies, iii. 338. Allows free
trade to the windward iflands, 340. Grants the colo-
nies a free trade with each other, 343.
Charles V. emperor, fends Roderigo de Figueroa to Hif-
paniola, as chief judge, to regulate the treatment of
the Indians, i. 319. Caufes this fubjecl to bs debated
VOL. III. C g
INDEX.
before him, 327. Equips a fquadron at the felicitation
of Ferdinand Magellan, ii. 393. Refigns his claim orr
the Moluccas to the Portugueie, 399. Appoints Cortes
governor of New Spain, 402. Rewards him on coming
home, 410. Eftablifhes a board called the Audience of
New Spain, 411. His confutations on American af-
fairs, iii. 97. Eftablifhes new regulations, 103.
Chili, is invaded by Almagro, iii. 60. How fubje&ed
by the Spaniards, 235. Excellence of its climate and
foil, 236. Caufe of its being neglected, 237. Profpet
of its improvement, 238.
Ckiquitos, political {late of that people, from Fernandez,
ii. 458.
Chocolate, the ufe of, derived from the Mexicans, iii. 335.
Cholula, in Mexico, arrival of Cortes there, with fome
account of the town, ii. 288. A confpiracy againfl
Cortes difcovered, and the inhabitants deflroyed,
291.
Cicero, inflance of his ignorance in geography, i. 358.
Cinaloa, political ftate of the people there, ii. 458. Their
mode of living, 466. Are deftitute of all religion,
470. Extraordinary large grain of gold found there,
iii. 399.
Cinegitilla, in the province of Sonora, late difcoveries of
rich mines made there by the Spaniards, iii. 231.
Probable effe&s of thefe difcoveries, ibid.
Clavigero, M. feveral of his objections anfwered, iii. 417
423.
Clement VI. pope, erects the Canary iflands into a king-
dom, i. 54.
Climates, influenced by a variety of caufes, ii. 8. Their
operation on mankind, 226. Inquiry into the caufe of
the different degrees of heat in, 4 1 9.
Cochineal, an important production, almoft peculiar to
New Spain, iii. 310.
Cold, extraordinary predominance of, in the climate of
America, ii. 8. Caufes of this peculiarity, 10.
Colonies, Spanifh American, view of the policy and trade
of, iii. 251. Depopulation the firft effedl of them,
ibid. Caufes of this depopulation, 252. The fmall-
pox very fatal to, 254. General idea of the Spanifh
policy in, 260. Early interpofition of the regal autho-
rity
INDEX.
tity in, 261. An exclufire trade the firft objecT: in,
269. Compared with thofe of ancient Greece and
Rome, 270. The great reitridions they are fubjccr,
to, 272. Slow progrefs of their population from Eu-
rope, 273. Are diicouraged by the Hate of property
there, 274. And by the nature of their eccleliartica'l
policy, 27<5. The various clafles of people in, ibid.
Ecclefialtical conititution of, 289. Form and endow-
ments of the church there, 291. Pernicious effects of
monadic inftitutions there, 292. Character of the
ecclefiaftics there, 293. Productions of, 302. The
mines, 304. Thofe of Potofi and Sacotecas, 305.
The fpirit with which they are worked, 306. Fatal
effects of this ardour, 308. Other commodities that
compofe the commerce of, 310. Amazing increafe of
horned cattle there, 311. Advantages which Spain
formerly derived from them, 313. Why the fame ad-
vantages are not Hill received, 314. Guarda Coftas
employed to check the contraband trade in, 331. The
ufe of regifter fhips introduced, 332. And galeons
laid afide, 333. Company of the Caraccas inftituted,
335. Eftabliihinent of regular packet-boats to, 338.
Free trade permitted between them, 343. New regu-
lations in the government of, 344. Reformation of
the courts of juftice, 345. New diftribution of go-
vernments, ibid. A fourth viceroyalty eftablifhed,
346. Attempts to reform domeftic policy, 348.
Their trade with the Philippine illands, 353. Reve-
nue derived from, by Spain, 356. Expence of admi-
niilration there, 359. State of population in, 404.
The number of monafteries there, 413. See Mtxto s
Peru, &c.
Columbus, Bartholomew, is fent by his brother Chrifto-
pher to negociate with Henry VII, king of England,
i. 100. The misfortunes of his voyage, 105. Fol-
lows his brother to Hifpaniola, 176. Is veiled with
the adminiflration of affairs there by his brother on hi*
return to Spain, 188. Founds the town of St. Do-
mingo, 200.
Columbus, Chriftopher, birth and education of, i. 8 3 '.
His early voyages, 86. Marries and fettles at Liibon,
88. His geographical reflcdions, 91. Conceives the
G g 2 idea
I N D E X.
idea of making difcoveries to the weflward, 93. Offers
his fervices to the Genoefe fenate, 97. Caufe of his
overtures being rejected in Portugal, 99. Applies to
the courts of Caftile and England, 100. His propofal,
how treated by the Spanifh geographers, 102. Is pa-
tronifed by Juan Perez, 106. His propofals again
reje&ed, 108. Is invited by Ifabella, and engaged in
the Spanim fervice, 113. Preparations for his voyage,
115. The amount of his equipment, 1 16. Sails from
Spain, 1 1 8. His vigilant attention to all circum-
Ilances during his voyage, 121. Apprehenfions of his
crew, 122. His addrefs in quieting their cabals, 126.
Indications of their approaching land, 128. An ifland
difcovered, 1 29. He lands, 131. His interview with
the natives, 132. Names the ifland San Salvadore,.
134. Profecutes his difcoveries fouthward, 135. Dif-
covers, and lands on, the ifland of Cuba, 136. Dif-
covers Hifpaniola, 138. Suffers fhipwreck, but is
faved by the Indians, 139. Builds a foit, 146. Re-
turns to Europe, 150. His expedient to preierve the
memory of his difcoveries during a ftorm, 152. Ar-
rives at the Azores, 153. Arrives at Lifbon, 154.
His reception in Spain, 155. His audience with Fer-
dinand and Ifabella, 157. His equipment for a fecond
voyage, 160. Difcovers the Caribbee iflands, 164.
Finds his colony on Hifpaniola deftroyed, 165, 166,
Builds a city, which he calls Ifabella, 168. Vifits the in-
terior parts of the country, 1 70. His men difcontented
and factious, 172, 173. Difcovers the ifland of Ja-
maica, 175. Meets his brother Bartholomew at Ifabella,
176. The natives ill ufed by his men, and begin to
be alarmad, 177, 178. He defeats the Indians, 182.
Exacts tribute from them, 183. Returns to Spain to
juftify his conduct, 188. Is furnifhed with a more
regular plan for colonization, 191. His third voyage,
195. Difcovers the ifland of Trinidad, 197. Difcovers
the continent of America, 198. State of Hifpaniola
on his arrival-, 200. Compofes the mutiny of Roldan
and his adherents, 203. Is diftrefled by the factious
behaviour of his men, 217. Complaints carried to
Spain againft him, 218, 219. Is fent home in irons,
222. Clears his conduft, but is not reftored to his
authority,
INDEX.
authority, 225. His felicitations neglected, 231.
Forms new fchemes of difcovery, 232. Engages in a
fourth voyage, 234. His treatment at Hifpaniola,
235. Searches after a paflage to the Indian ocean,
237. Is fhipwrecked on the coaft of Jamaica, 239.
His artifice to fecure the friendfhip of the Indians, 243.
Is delivered, and arrives at Hifpaniola, 247. Returns
to Spain, 248. His death, 250. His right to the ori-
ginal difcovery of America defended, 369.
Columbus, Don Diego, fues out his claims to his father's
privileges, i. 267. Marries, and goes over to Hifpa-
niola, 268. Eitabliihes a pearl filhery at Cubagua,
270. Projects the conquefl of Cuba, 279. His mea-
fures thwarted by Ferdinand, 303. Returns to Spain,
34-
Commerce , ' the sera from which its commencement is to
be dated, i. 3. Motives to an intercourfe among dif-
tant nations, 5. Still flourifhed in the eaftern empire
after the fubverfion of the weilern, 37. Revival of,
in Europe, 40.
Cotnpafs, mariner's, navigation extended more by the
invention of, than by all the efforts of preceding ages,
1.51. By whom invented, 52.
Condamine, M. his account of the country at the foot of
the Andes, in South America, ii. 426. His remarks
on the character of the native Americans, 446, 447.
Congo, the kingdom of, difcovered by the Portuguefe,
i. 75.
Conjlantinoplt, the confequence of removing the feat of
the Roman empire to, i. 35. Continued a commer-
cial city after the extinction of the weftern empire, 37.
Became the chief mart of Italy, 40.
Cordova, Francifco Hernandez, difcovers Yucatan, i.
339. Is repulfed at Campeachy, and returns to Cuba,
341.
Corita, Alonzo, his obfervations on the contraband trade
of the Spanifh colonies, iii. 351. Charader of his
American memoirs, 379.
Cortes, Fernando, his birth, education, and charader,
ii. 23^. Is by Velafquez appointed commander of the
armament fitted out by him againft New Spain, 234.
Velafquez becomes jealous of him, 237. Velafques
'
INDEX.
fends orders to deprive him of his commifllon, and lay
him under an arreil, 238. Is protected by his troops,
240. The amount of his forces, 241. Reduces the
Indians at Tabafco, 243. Arrives at St. Juan de
Ulua, 244. His interview with two Mexican com-
manders, 246. Sends prefents to Montezuma, 249.
Receives others in return, 250. His fchemes, 2<j6.
Eftabliihes a form of civil government, 260. Reflgns
his commiffion under Velafquez, and aflumes the com-
mand in the king's name, 263. His friendfhip courted
by the Zempoallans, 264. Builds a fort, 267. Con-
cludes a formal alliance with feveral caziques, ibid.
Difcovers a confpiracy among his men, and deilroys
his (hips, 271. Advances into the country, 274. Is
oppofed by the Tlafcalans, 277. Concludes a peace
with them, 284. His rafli zeal, 286. Proceeds to
Cholula, 288. Difcovers a confpiracy againft him
here, and deftroys the inhabitants, 291. Approaches
in fight of the capital city of Mexico, 292. His firil
interview with Montezuma, 294. His anxiety at his
fituation in the city of Mexico, 301. Seizes Monre-
zuma, 305. Orders him to be fettered, 309. Reafons
of his conduct, ibid. Prevails on Montczutna to own
himfelf a vaflal to the Spanifti crown, 313. Amount
and divifion of his treafure, 3^15. Enrages the Mexi-
cans by his imprudent zeal, 319. An armament fent
by Velafquez to fuperfede him, 323. His deliberations
on this event, 326. Advances to meet Narvaez, 330.
Defeats Narvaez, and takes him prifoner, 334. Gains
over the Spanifh foldiers to his intereit, 335. Returns
to Mexico, 338, His improper conduct on his arrival,
339. Is refolutely attacked by the Mexicans, 340.
Attacks them in return without luccefs, 341. Death of
Montezuma, 343- His extraordinary efcape from
death, 345. Abandons the city of Mexico, 346. Is
attacked by the Mexicans, 347. His great lofles in
the encounter, 348, Difficulties of his retreat, 350.
Battle of Otumba, 352, Defeats the Mexicans, 354.
Mutinous fpirit of his troops, 357. Reduces the Te-
peacans, 359. Is ftrengthened by feveral reinforce-
ments, 361. Returns to Mexico, 362. Eftablifhes
his head-quarters at Tezeuco, 365, Reduces or conci-
liates
INDEX.
Hates the (unrounding country, 366. Cabals among
his troops, 368. His prudence in fupprelfing them,
369. Builds and launches a fleet of brigantines on the
lake, 372. Befieges Mexico, 374. Makes a grand
aflault to take the city by florm, but is repulfed, 379.
Evades the Mexican prophecy, 382. Takes Guati-
mozin prifoner, 386. Gains poflellion of the city,
387. And of the whole empire, 390. Defeats an-
other attempt to fuperfede him in his command, 400.
Is appointed governor of New Spain, 402. His
fchemes and arrangements, ibid. Cruel treatment of
the natives, 403. His conduit fubjeclied to inquiry,
408. Returns to Spain to juftifyhimfelf, ibid. Is re-
warded by the emperor Charles V. 410. Goes back
to Mexico with limited powers, 411. Difcovers Ca-
lifornia, 412. Returns to Spain and dies, 413. In-
quiry into the nature of his letters to the emperor
Charles V. 475. Authors who wrote of his conqueft
of New Spain, 476, 477.
Council of the Indies, its power, iii, 267.
Crcolcsy in the Spanifh American colonies, character of,
iii. 278.
Croglan, Colonel George, his account of the difcovery of
the bones of a large extinct fpecies of animals in North
America, ii. 427.
Crufades to the Holy Land, the great political advan-
tages derived from, by the European nations, i. 42,
43-
Cruzado) bulls of, publifhed regularly every two years in
the Spanifh colonies, iii. 357. Prices of, and amount
of the fale at the laft publication, 432.
Cuba, the ifland of, difcovered by Chriftopher Columbus,
i. 136. Is failed round by Ocampo, 267. The con-
queft of, undertaken by Diego Velafquez, 278. Cruel
treatment of the cazique Hatuey, and his repartee to a
friar, 279. Columbus's enthufiailic defcription of a
harbour in, 365. The tobacco produced there, the
fineil in all America, iii. 311.
ubagiiay a pearl iHhery eftablifhed there, i. 270.
timanay the natives of, revenge their ill treatment by the
Spaniards, i. 332. The country defolutcd by Diego
Ocampo, 335.
Gg 4
INDEX.
<?, the capital of the Peruvian empire, founded by
Manco Capac, iii. 22. Is feized by Pizarro, 52. Is
befieged by the Peruvians, 64. Is furprifed by Alma-
gro, 68. Is recovered and pillaged by the Pizarros, 76,
Was the only city in all Peru, 223,
D
Dancing, the love of, a favourite paflion among the Ame-
ricans, ii. 199.
Dfirien, the iflhmus of, defcribed, i. 286, The increafe
of fettlement there, obstructed by the noxioufnefs of
the climate, iii. 242.
De Solis, his unfortunate expedition up the river Plata,
i. 302.
De So/is, Antonio, character of his Hiftoria de la Con-
quifta de Mexico, ii. 478.
jyEfquilache, prince, viceroy of Peru, his vigorous mea-
fures for retraining the exceffes of the regular clergy
there, iii. 297. Rendered ineffectual, 298.
Diazy Bartholomew, difcovers the Cape of Good Hope,
1.79.
Difcoveries, the difference between thofe made by land,
and thofe by fea, ftated, i. 357.
Dodnvell, his objections to the Periplus of Hanno ex-
ploded, i. 351.
Domingo, St. on the ifland of Hifpaniola, founded by
Bartholomew Columbus, i. 200.
Dominicans, thofe in Hifpaniola publicly remonftrate
againft the cruet treatment of the Indians, i. 305.
See Las Cafas.
J)runkennefs y flrong propenfity of the Americans to in
dujge jn, i.
Earthy the globe of, how divided into zones by the an
cients, i. 32.
Egyptians, ancient, ftate of cpmmerce 3n d navigation
them, i, 6,
/
INDEX.
El Dorado, wonderful reports of a country fo called,
made by Francis Orellana, iii. 86.
Elephant, that animal peculiar to the torrid zone, ii. 428.
Efcurlal, curious calendar difcovered in the Library there
by Mr. Waddilove, iii. 388. Defcription of that va-
luable monument of Mexican art, 389.
Esquimaux Indians, refemblance between them and their
neighbours the Greenlanders, ii. 45. Some account
of, 1 60. 468.
Eugene IV. pope, grants to the Portuguefe an exclufive
right to all the countries they mould difcover, from
Cape Non to the continent of India, i. 70.
Europe > how affccled by the difmemberment of the Ro-
man Empire by the barbarous nations, i. 36. Revival
of commerce and navigation in, 40. Political advan-
tages derived from the crufades, 43.
Ferdinand king of Caflile. See Columbus and Ifabella.
Turns his attention at length to the regulation of
American affairs, i. 261. Don Diego de Columbus
fues out his father's claims againft him, 267. Erects
two governments on the continent of America, 272.
Sends a fleet to Darien, and fuperfedes Balboa, 293.
Appoints Balboa lieutenant-governor of the countries
on the South Sea, 298. Sends Dias de Solis to difcover
a weftern paflage to the Moluccas, 302. Thwarts the
meafures of Diego Columbus, 303. His decree con-
cerning the treatment of the Indians, 307.
Fernandez, Don Diego, character of his Hiftona del
Peru, iii. 366.
Fernandez, P. his defcription of the political ftate of the
Chiquitos, ii. 458.
pigueroa, Roderigo de, is appointed chief judge of Hif-
paniola, with a commiflion to examine into the treat-
ment of the Indian natives, i. 319. Makes an expe-
riment to determine the capacity of the Indians, 333.
Florida, difcovered by Juan Ponce de Leon, i. 280. The
chiefs there hereditary, ii. 135. Account of, from Al-
yaro Nugnez Cabeca de Vaca, ii f 45?,
FIota>
INDEX.
Spanifh, fome account of, iii. 321.
Fonfecdy bifliop of Badajos, minifter for Indian affairs,
obftruls the plans of colonization and difcovery formed
by Columbus, i. 184. 195. Patronizes the expedition
of Alonzo de Ojeda, 212.
Sy Spanifh, the nature and purpofe of thefe veflels,
iii. 321. Arrangement of their voyage, 322.
Galvezy Don Jofeph, fent to difcover the true ftate of
California, iii. 233.
Gamay Vafco de, his voyage for difcovery, i. 206. Dou-
bles the Cape of Good Hope, 208. Anchors before
the city of Melinda, ibid. Arrives at Calecut in Mala-
bar, 209.
Gaming, ftrange propenfity of the Americans to, ii.
202.
Gangefy erroneous ideas of the ancients 33 to the pofition
of that river, i. 356.
Gafidy Pedro de la, fent to Peru as prefident of the Court
of Audience in Lima, iii. 125. His character and
moderation, ibid. The powers he was refted with,
126. Arrives at Panama, 128. Acquires poiTeflion
of Panama with the fleet and forces there, 130. Ad-
vances towards Cuzco, 135. Pizarro's troops defert
to him, 136. His moderate ufe of the victory, 137.
Devifes employment for his foldiers, 1 43 . His divi-
fion of the country among his followers, 144. The
difcontents it occafions, 145. Reftores order and go-
vernment, 146. His reception at his return to Spain,
147.
GftnittttSy inftance of his ignorance in geography, i. 358.
Geography^ the knowledge of, extremely confined among
the ancients, i. 31. Became a favourite ftudy among
the Arabians, 39.
GiantSy the accounts of in our early travellers, uncon-
firmed by recent difcoveries, i. 50. ii. 442, 443.
G'widy Flavio, the inventor of the mariner's compafs, i.
5 2 -
Globe t its divifion into zones by the ancients, i. 32.
Gold 3
INDEX.
Gold, why the fir ft metal with which man was acquaint-
ed, ui. 237. Extraordinary large grain of, found in
the mines at Cinaloa, 399.
Gomara, character of his Cronica de la Neuva Efparoa
11.476.
Good Hope, Cape of, difcovered by Bartholomew Diaz
r, l ~ 9 '
Government, no vifible form of, among the native Ame-
ricans, ii. 134. Exceptions, 137.
Gran Cbato, account of the method of making war among
the natives of, from Lozano, ii. 460.
Granada, new kingdom of, in America, by whom re-
duced to the Spaniih dominion, iii. 247. Its climate
and produce, 248. A viceroy lately eftablifhed. there,
263.
Greeks, ancient, progrefs of navigation and difcovery
among them, i. 16. Their commercial intercourfe
with other nations very limited, 18, 19.
Greenland, its vicinity to North America, ii. 45.
Grijalva, Juan de, fets out from Cuba on a voyage of
difcovery, i. 342. Difcovers and gives name to New-
Spain, 343. His reafons for not planting a colony in
his newly difcovered lands, 346.
Gnarda Coilas employed by Spain to check illicit trade
in the American colonies, iii. 331.
Gitatimala, the indigo there fuperior to any in America,
iii. 311.
Gitatimozin, nephew and fon-in-law of Montezuma,
fucceeds Quetlavaca in the kingdom of Mexico, ii.
364. Repulfes the attacks of the Spaniards, in Itorm-
ing the city of Mexico, 379. Is taken prifoner by
Cortes, 386. Is tortured to difcover his treafure, 389.
Is hanged, 405.
Guiana, Dutch, caufe of the exceflive fertility of the foil
there, ii. 431,
H
Hanno, his Periplus defended, with an account of his
voyage, i. 351.
Hatney, a cazique of Cuba, his cruel treatment, and me-
morable repartee to a Francifcan friar, i. 279.
INDEX.
's voyages, account of New Holland, and,
the inhabitants from, ii. 454.
Heat, the different degrees of, in the old and new
continents, accounted for, ii. 419. Eitimated,
43-
Henry Prince of Portugal, his character and fludies,
j. 61. Expeditions formed by his order, 63. Applies
for a papal grant of his new difcoveries, 69. His
death, 72. ,
Jierrada, Juan de, affaflinates Francis Pizarro, iii. 90.
Dies, 95.
Jierrera, the beft hiftorian of the conqueft ef New
Spain, ii. 478. His account of Orellana's voyage,
iii. 376.
JJifpanioIa, the ifland of, difcovered by Chriflopher
Columbus, i. 138. His tranfactions with the na-
tives, 139. A colony left there by Columbus, 148.
The colony deftroyed, 166. Columbus builds a
city called Ifabella, 168. The natives ill-ufed,
and begin to be alarmed, 177. Are defeated by
the Spaniards, 182. Tribute exacted from them,
183. They fcheme to ftarve the Spaniards, 185.
St. Domingo founded by Bartholomew Columbus,
200. Columbus fent home in irons by Bovadilla,
222. Nicholas de Ovando appointed governor, 226.
Summary view of the conduct of the Spaniards to-
wards the natives of, 254. Unhappy fate of Ana-
coana, 255. Great produce from the mines there,
259. The inhabitants diminim, 262. The Spa-
niards recruit them by trepanning the natives of the
Lucayos, 264. Arrival of Don Diego de Columbus,
269. The natives of, almoft extirpated by flavery,
278. 304. Controverfy concerning the treatment
of them, 305. Columbus's account of the humane
treatment he received from the natives of, 366.
Curious inftance of fuperftition in the Spanifh planters
there, ii. 427.
Holguin, Pedro Alvarez, erects the royal ftandard in
Peru, in oppofition to the younger Almagro, iii. 95.
Vaca 4e Caitro arrives and aflumes the command,
96, 6 Homer i
INDEX.
Homer, his account of the navigation of the ancient Greeks,
i. 17.
Honduras, the value of that country, owing to its pro-
duction of the logwood tree, iii. 235.
Horned cattle, amazing increafe of them in Spanifli Ame-
rica, iii. 311.
Horfes, aitonimment and miftakes of the Mexicans at the
firil fight of them, ii. 484. Expedient of the Peru-
vians to render them incapable of action, iii. 376.
Huatia Capac, Inca of Peru, his character and family^
iii. 25.
Huafcar Capac, Inca of Peru, difputes his brother Ata-
hualpa's fucceflion to Quito, iii. 26. Is defeated and
taken prifoner by Atahualpa, ibid. Solicits the afliftance
of Pizarro againft his brother, 28. Is put to death by
order of Atahualpa, 39.
Jamaica, difcovered by Chriftopher Columbus, i. 175.
Jerome, St. three monks of that order fent by cardinal
Ximenes to Hifpaniola, to regulate the treatment of the
Indians, i. 312. Their conduct under this commiflion,
316. Are recalled, 319.
Jefuits, acquire an abfolute dominion over California,
iii. 232. Their motives for depreciating the country,
ibid.
Jeivsy ancient ftate of commerce and navigation among
them, i. 10.
Incas of Peru, received origin of their empire, iii. 23.
202. Their empire founded both in religion and po-
licy, 204. See Peru.
India, the motives of Alexander the Great, in his expedi-
tion to, i. 2 1 . The commerce with, how carried on
in ancient times, 27, 28. And when arts began to re-
vive in Europe, 40. The firft voyage made round the
Cape of Good Hope, 207.
Indians in Spanim America. See Americans.
Indies, Weft, why Columbus's difcoveries were fo named,
i. i<5o.
Innocent
INDEX.
/w<Y;//IV.pope, his extraordinary million to the prince of
the Tartars, i. 45, 46.
Inquifitioiiy court of, when and by whom firfl introduced
into Portugal, i. 361.
Injecls and reptiles, w r hy fo numerous and noxious in
America, ii. 20.
John I. king of Portugal, the firfl who fent {hips to ex-
plore the weftern coafts of Africa, i. 58. His ion prince
Henry engages in thefe attempts, 61.
John II. king of Portugal, patronifes all attempts towards
difcoveries, i. 75. Sends an embafly to Abyflmia, 80.
His ungenerous treatment of Columbus, 99.
Iron y the reafon why favage nations were unacquainted
with this metal, ii. 125, 126.
Ifabelldy queen of Caftile, is applied to by Juan Perez in
behalf of Chriftopher Columbus, i. 1 06. Is again ap-
plied to by Quintanilla and Santangel, 1 10. Is prevailed
on to equip him, 112. Dies, 248. Her real motives
for encouraging difcoveries in America, iii. 255.
Ifabellciy the city of, in Hifpaniola, built by Chriflopher
Columbus, i. 168.
Italy y the firfl: country in Europe, where civilization and
arts revived after the overthrow of the Roman Empire,
i. 40. The commercial fpirit of, adive and enterprif-
ing, 42.
Ladrone iflands, difcovered by Ferdinand Magellan, ii.
39 6 -
Lakes, amazing fize of thofe in North America, ii. 4.
Las Cafasy Bartholomew, returns from Hifpaniola to fo-
licit the caufe of the enflaved Indians at the court of
Spain, i. 311. Is fent back with powers by cardinal
Ximenes, 313. Returns diflatisfied, 314.318. Pro-
cures a new commiflion to be fent over on this fubjecl:,
319. Recommends the fcheme of fupplying the colo-
nies with negroes, 322. Undertakes a new colony, 323.
His conference with the bifhop of Darien before the
emperor Charles V. 328. Goes to America to carry
his fchemes into execution, 330. Circumflances un-
favourable to him, 333. His final mifcarriage, 334.
Revives
INDEX.
Revives his reprefentations in favour of the Indians, at
the defire of the emperor, iii. 101. Compotes a trea-
tife on the deitruclion of America, 102.
Leon, Pedro Cieza de, chara&er of his Chronica del Peru,
iii. 366.
Lety, his defcription of the courage and ferocity of the
Toupinambos, ii. 463.
Lima, the city of, in Peru, founded by Pizarro, iii. 59.
Li/Ion, Mr. the Britifh miniiler at Madrid, his anfwer to
feveral interefting inquiries relating to the admiflion of
Indians into holy orders, iii. 421.
Logwood, the commodity that gives importance to the pro-
vinces of Honduras and Yucatan, iii. 234. Policy of
the Spaniards to defeat the Englifh trade in, ibid.
Louis, St. king of France, his embaffy to the chan of the
Tartars, i. 47.
Lozano, his account of the method of making war among
the natives of Gran Chaco, ii. 460.
Ltiqtte, Hernando de, a prielt, aflbciates with Pizarro in
his Peruvian expedition, iii. 4.
M
Madeira, the ifland of, firft difcovered, i. 64.
Madoc, prince of North Wales, ftory of his voyage and
difcoveryof North America examined, i. 373.
Magellan, Ferdinand,his account of the gigantic fize of the
Patagonians, ii. 8 1 . The exillence of this gigantic race
yet to be decided, 83. 442, 443. His introduction to
the court of Caftile, 391. Is equipped with a fquadron
for a voyage of difcovery, 393. Sails through the fa-
mous itrait that bears his name, 395. Difcovers the
Ladrone and Philippine iflands, 396. Is killed, ibid.
Magnet, its property of attracting iron known to the an-
cients, but not its polar inclination, i. 16. Extraordi-
nary advantages relulting from this difcovery, 51.
Malo, St. account of its commerce with Spanifh Ame-
rica, iii. 328.
Manco Capac, founder of the Peruvian empire, account of,
iii. 22, 23. 203.
Mandeville, Sir John, his eaftern travels, with a character
of his writings, i. 50.
Manila.
I N D E -X.
Manila, the colony of, eftablifhed by Philip II. of Spain,
iii. 353. Trade between, and South America, ibid.
Mankind, their difpofition, and manners formed by their
fituation, ii. 29. Hence refemblances to be traced in
very dittant places without communication, 30. Have
uniformly attained the greatefl perfection of their nature
in temperate regions, 226.
Marco Polo, the Venetian, his extraordinary travels in the
Eaft, i- 48.
Mare/1; Gabriel, his account of the"country between the
Illinois and Machilimakinac, ii. 455.
Mariana, Donna, a Mexican flave, her hiftory, ii. 245.
Marinus, Tyrius, his erroneous pofition of China, i. 363.
Martyr, Peter, his fentiments on the firft difcovcry of
America, i. 377.
Meftizos, in the Spanifh American colonies, diftinftion be-
tween them and Mulattoes, iii. 279.
Metals, ufeful, the original natives of America totally un-
acquainted with, ii. 125.
Mexicans, their account of their own origin, compared
with later difcoveries, ii. 47. Their paintings few in
number, and of ambiguous meaning, iii. 156. Two
collections of them discovered, 157, note. Defcrip-
tions of their hiftorical pictures, 381. Various exag-
gerated accounts of the number of human victims fa-
crificed by them, 389. Their language furnifhed with
refpetful terminations for all its words, 381. Kow
they contributed to the fupport of government, 382.
Mexico, arrival of Fernando Cortes on the coaft of, ii.
245. His interview with two Mexican officers, 246.
Information fent to Montezuma, with fome Spanifh
prefents, 249. Montezuma fends prefeives to Cortes,
with orders not to approach his capital, 2c;o. State
of the empire at that time, 1^1. The Zernpoailans
court the friendfhip of Cortes, 264. Several caziques
enter into alliance with Cortes, 267. Character of
the natives of Tlafcala, 275. The Tlafcalans re-
duced to fue for peace, 283. Arrival of Cortes at
the capital city, 294. The city defcribed, 298. Mon-
tezuma acknowledges himfelf a vaflal to the Spanifh
crown, 313. Amount of the treafure collected by
Cortes, 315. Reafons of gold being found in fuch
fatal!
INDEX.
fmall quantities, 316. The Mexicans enraged by the
imprudent zeal of Cortes, 319. Attack Alvarado
during the abfence of Cortes, 336. Their refolute
attack on Cortes when he returned, 340. Death of
Montezuma, 344. The city abandoned by Cortes,
346. Battle of Otumba, 352. The Tepeacans re-
xiuced, 359. Preparations of the Mexicans againft
the return of Cortes, 362. Cortes befieges the city
with a fleet on the lake, 375. The Spaniards re-
pulfed in ftorming the city, 379. Guatimozin taken
prifoner, 386. Cortes appointed governor, 402. His
fchemes and arrangements, ibid. Inhuman treatment
of the natives, 403. Reception of the new regula-*
tions there, iii. 105. A retrofpecl: into the form of
government, policy, and arts in, 151. Our informa-
tion concerning, very imperfect, 154. Origin of the
monarchy, 156. Number and greatnefs of the cities,
162. Mechanical profeflions there diflinguifhed from
each other, 164. Diftin6Hon of ranks, 165. Politi-
cal inftitutions, 168. Power and fplendor of their
monarchs, 171. Order of government, 172. Provi-
fion for the fupport of it, ibid. Police of, 173. Their
arts, 174. Their paintings, 177. Their method of com-
puting time, 182. Their wars continual and fero-
cious, 183. Their funeral rites, 185. Imperfection
of their agriculture, ibid. Doubts concerning the ex-
tent of the empire, 186. Little intercourfe among it*
fcveral provinces, 1 88. Ignorance of money, 189.
State of their cities, 191. Temples and other public
buildings, ibid. 192 Religion of, 197. Caufes of the
depopulation of this country, 252. The fmall-pox
very fatal there, 254. Number of Indian natives re-
maining there, 258. Lift and character of thofe au-
thors who wrote accounts of the conqueft of, ii. 476.
Defcription of the aqueduct for the fupply of the capital
city, iii. 383. See Colonies.
Michael, St. the gulph of, in the South Sea, difcovered and
named by Balboa, i. 290. The colony of, eftablifhed
by Pizarro, iii. 21.
Migrations oi mankind, why firft made by land, i. I.
Mind, human, the efforts of it pioportioned to the wants
of the body, ii. 96.
VOL. III. H h Mtntt
INDEX.
Mines oi South America, the great inducement to popu-
lation, iii. 229. Some account of, 306. Their pro-
duce, 305. The fpirit with which they are worked,
306. Fatal effects of this ardor, 308. Evidence of
the pernicious effe&s of labouring in them, 411. Of
Mexico, total produce of, to the Spanifh revenue, 436,
437>43 8 -
Molucca, Iflands, the Spanilh claims on, fold by the Em-
peror Charles V. to the Portuguefe, ii. 399.
Monajlic inflitutions, the pernicious effe&s of, in the Spa-
nifh American colonies, iii. 292. Number of convents
there, 413.
Monfoons, the periodical courfe of, when difcovered by na-
vigators, i. 27.
.Montefmoy a Dominican preacher at St. Domingo, pub-
licly remonftrates againfl the cruel treatment of the
Indians, i. 305.
Montezuma, the firft intelligence received by the Spaniards
of this prince, i. 345. Receives intelligence of the ar-
rival of Fernando Cortes in his dominions, ii. 248.
His prefents to Cortes, 250. Forbids him to approach
his capital, 251. State of his empire at this time,
ibid. His character, 252. His perplexity at the arri-
val of the Spaniards, 253. His timid negociations with
Cortes, 254. His fcheme for deftroying Cortes at
Cholula difcovered, 290. His irrefolute conduct, 294.
His firft interview with Cortes, ibid. Is feized by
Cortes, and confined to the Spanifh quarters, 306. Is
fettered, 309. Acknowledges himfelf a vaflal to the
Spanifh crown, 313. Remains inflexible with regard
to religion, 318. Circumftances of his death, 344.
Account of a gold cup of his, in England, iii. 384.
Mulattoes, in the Spanifh American colonies, explanation
of this diilin&ion, iii. 279.
N
Pamphilo, Is fent by Velafques with an arma-
ment to Mexico, to fuperfede Cortes, ii. 324. Takes
pofleffion of Zempoalla, 331. Is defeated and taken
9 prifoner
INDEX.
prifoner by Cortes, 334. How he carried on his cor*
refpondcnce with Montezuma, 491.
Natchez, an American nation, their political inftitutions,
ii. 137, 138. Caufes of their tame fubmiflion to the
Spaniards, 142. Their religious do&rines, 143.
Navigation, the arts of, very {lowly improved by man-
kind, i. 2. The knowledge of, prior 1 to commercial
intercourfe, 3. Imperfections of, among the an-
cients, 6. More improved by the invention of the
mariner's compafs, than by all the efforts of preceding
ages, 51. The firft naval difcoveries undertaken by
Portugal, 55.
Negroes, their peculiar fituation under the Spanifh domi-
nion in America, iii. 280.
Newfoundland, its fituation defcribed, ii. 418.
Neiv Holland, fome account of the country and inhabitants,
ii. 454.
Neiv Spain, difcovered and named by Juan de Grijalva,
i. 343. See Mexico.
Nigno, Alonfo, his voyage to America, i. 214.
Norwegians might in ancient times have migrated to, and
colonized America, ii. 46.
Nugnez Vela, Blafco, appointed viceroy of Peru, to enforce
the new regulations, iii. 105. His character, no.
Commits Vaca de Caftro to prifon, in. Diflenfions
between him and the court of audience, 113. Is con-
fined, 114. Recovers his liberty, 116. Refumes his
command, ibid. Is purfued by Gonzalo Pizarro, 118.
Is defeated and killed by Pizarro, 1 19.
O
Ocampo, Diego, fent with a fquadron from Hifpaniola to
defolate the country of Cumana, i. 332. 335.
Ocampo, Sebaftian de, firft fails round Cuba, and difcovers
it to be an ifland, i. 267.
Ocean, though adapted to facilitate the intercourfe between
diftant countries, continued long a formidable barrier,
i. 2. See Compafs and Navigation.
Ojeda, Alonzo de, his private expedition to the Weft In-
dies, i. 212. His fecond voyage, 227. Obtains a
government on the continent, 272.
H h ^
INDEX.
Father Bartholomew de, checks the ram zeal of
Cortes at Tlafcala in Mexico, ii. 287. Is fcnt by Cortes
to negociate with Narvaez, 327.
Orellana, Francis, is appointed to the command of a bark
built by Gonzalo Pizarro, and deferts him, iii. 84.
Sails down the Maragnon, 85. Returns to Spain with
a report of wonderful difcoveries, 86. Herrera's ac-
count of his voyage, 376.
Orgognez commands Almagro's party againfl the Pizarros,
and is defeated and killed by them, iii. 75.
Orinoco, the great river of discovered by Chriftopher Co-
lumbus, i. 197. The amazing plenty of fifhing, 11,451.
Strange method of chufing a captain among the Indian
tribes on the banks of, 162.
Otaheite, the inhabitants of, ignorant of the art of boiling
water, ii. 469.
Otumba, battle of, between Cortes and the Mexicans, ii.
35 2 -
Ovandcy Nicholas de, is fent governor to Hifpaniola, i.
228. His prudent regulations, 230. Refufes ad-
miffion to Columbus, on his fourth voyage, 235. His
ungenerous behaviour to Columbus, on his fhip-
wreck, 241. 244. Receives him at length, and fends
him home, 247. Engages in a war with the Indians,
253. His cruel treatment of them, 254. Encou-
rages cultivation and manufactures, 260. His method
of trepanning the natives of the Lucayos, 264. Is
recalled, 268.
Pacific ocean, why, and by whom fo named, ii. 395.
Packet boats, firft eftablifhment of, between Spain and her
American colonies, iii. 338.
Panama is fettled by Pedrarias Davila, i. 301.
ParmenideS) the firft who divided the earth by zones, i.
360.
Patagoniansy fome account of, ii. 8 1 . The reality of their
gigantic fize yet to be decided, 442, 443.
Pedrarias Davila is fent with a fleet to fuperfede Balboa
in his government of Santa Maria on the iilhmus of
6 Darien,
INDEX.
Darien, i. 294. Treats Balboa ill, 295. Rapacious
condud of his men, 297. Is reconciled to Balboa, arid
gives him his daughter, 299. Puts Balboa to death,
300. Removes his fettlement from Santa Maria to Pa-
nama, 301.
Penguin, the name of that bird not derived from the Welch
language, i. 374.
Perez, Juan, patronifes Columbus at the court of Caftile,
i. 1 06. His folemn invocation for the fuccefs of Co-
lumbus's voyage, 118.
Periplus of Hanno, the authenticity of that work juftified,
i- 374-
Peru, the firft intelligence concerning this country, re-
ceived by Vafco Nugnez de Balboa, i. 285. 291. The
coaft of, firft difcovered by Pizarro, iii. 1 2. Pizarro's
fecond arrival, 18. His hoftile proceedings againft
the natives, 19. The colony of St. Michael efta-
blifhed, 21 State of the empire at the time of this
invafion, ibid. The kingdom divided between Huaf-
car and Atahualpa, 25. Atahualpa ufurps the govern-
ment, 27. Huafcar folicits afliftance from Pizarro, 28.
Atahualpa vifits Pizarro, 33. Is feized by Pizarro, 36.
Agreement for his ranfom, 38. Is refufed his liberty,
42. Is cruelly put to death, 48. Confufion of the
empire on this event, 49. Quito reduced by Benal-
cazar, 52. The city of Lima founded by Pizarro, 59.
Chili invaded by Almagro, 60. InfurreUon of the
Peruvians, 61. Almagro put to death by Pizarro, 78.
Pizarro divides the country among his followers, 81.
Progrefs of the Spanifh arms there, 82. Francis Pi-
zarro afTailinated, 90. Reception of the new regula-
tions there, 107. The viceroy confined by the court
of audience, 114. The viceroy defeated and killed by
Gonzalo Pizarro, 1 18. Arrival of Pedro de la Gafca,
128. Reduction and death of Gonzalo Pizarro, 137.
The civil wars there not carried on with mercenary fol-
diers, 138. But ncverthelefs gratified with immenfe
rewards, 140. Their profufion and luxury, ibid. Fe-
rocity of their contefts, 141. Their want of faith,
142. Inftances, 143. Divifion of, by Gafca, among
his followers, 144. A retrofpect into the original go-
vernment, arts, and manners of the natives, 151. The
Hh 3 high
INDEX.
high antiquity they pretend to, 200. Their re-
cords, 201. Origin of their civil policy, 202. This
founded in religion, 204. The authority of the Incas
abfolute and unlimited, ibid. All crimes were pu-
nifhed capitally, 206. Mild genius of their religion,
207. Its influence on their civil policy, 208. And
on their military fyftem, 200.. Peculiar ftate of pro-
perty there, 210. Diftinction of ranks, 211. State
of arts, 212. Improved ftate of agriculture, 213.
Their buildings, 215. Their public roads, 217. Their
bridges, 219. Their mode of refining filver ore, 220.
Works of elegance, 222. Their civilization, neverthe-
lefs, but imperfect, 223. Cuzco the only place that
had the appearance of a city, ibid. No perfect fepara-
tion of profeflions, 224. Little commercial intercourfe,
ibid. Their un warlike fpirit, 225. Eat their flefli and
fifh raw, 227. Brief account of other provinces under
the viceroy of New Spain, 228. Caufes of the depo-
pulation of this country, 252. The fmall-pox very
fatal there, 254. Writers who gave accounts of the
conqueft of, 365. Their method of building, 396,
State of the revenue derived/rom, by the crown of Spain,
434. See Colonies.
Peter I. czar of Ruffia, his exteniive views in profecuting
Afiatic difcoveries, ii. 38.
PheniciaW) ancient, ftate of commerce and navigation,
among them, i. 8. Their trade, how conducted, 351.
Philip II. of Spain his turbulent difpofition aided by his
American treafures, i;i. 315. Eitablifb.es the colony of
Manila, 353,
Philip III. exhaufts his country by inconfiderate bigotry,
iii. 315.
Philippine iflands,difcovered by Ferdinand Magellan, ii. 396.
A colony eftabliflied fchere by Philip II. of Spain, iii.
353. Trade between, and America, ibid.
y the apt of, in America, why connected with divi T
nation, ii. 195.
o, Chevalier, his defcription of the characteriftic fea-
tures of the native Americans, ii. 439.
P/V/zw, Vincent Yanez, commands a veflel under Co-
lumbus in his firft voyage of difcovery, i. 117. Sails
to America on a private adventure with four ihips, i * 8.
Pifcoyers Yucatan, 366,
INDEX.
Pizarroy Ferdinand, is befieged in Cuzco by the Peru-
vians, iii. 65. Is furprifed there by Almagro, 68.
Efcapes with Alvarado, 71. Defends his brother at the
court of Spain, 70. Is committed to prifon, 81.
Pizarro, Francifco, attends Balboa, in his fettlement on
the ifthmus of Darien, i. 276. Marches under him
acrofs the ifthmus, where they difcover the South Sea,
289. His birth, education, and character, iii. 3. Af-
fociates with Almagro and De Luque, in a voyage
of difcovery, 4. His ill fuccefs, 6. Is recalled, and
deferted by moft of his followers, 9. Remains on
the ifland of Gorgona for fupplies, 1 1. Difcovers the
coaft of Peru, ibid. Returns to Panama, 12. Goes
to Spain to folicit reinforcements, 14. Procures the
fupreme command for himfelf, 15. Is aflirted with
money by Cortes, 16. Lands again in Peru, 18. His
hoftile proceedings againft the natives, 19. Efta-
blifhes the colony of St. Michael, 21. State of the
Peruvian empire at this time, ibid. Caufe of his eafy
penetration into the country, 27. Is applied to by
Huafcar for afliftance againft his victorious brother
Atahualpa, 28. State of his forces, ibid. Arrives at
Caxamalca, 31. Is vifited by the Inca, 33. His per-
fidious feizure of him, 36. Agrees to Atahualpa's of-
fer for his ranfom, 38. Divifion of their plunder, 40,
Refufes Atahualpa his liberty, 42. His ignorance
expofe to Atahualpa, 46. Beftows a form of trial on
the Inca, ibid. Puts him to death, 48. Advances to
Cuzco, 50. Honours conferred on him by the Spa-
nifh court, 55. Beginning of diflenfions between him
and Almagro, 56. His civil regulations, 58. Founds
the city of Lima, 59. Infurre&ion of the Peruvians,
61. Cuzco feized by Almagro, 68. Deludes Alma-
gro by negociations, 70. Defeats Almagro, and takes
him prifoner, 75. Puts Almagro to death, 78. Di-
vides the country among his followers, 81. The im-.
politic partiality of his allotments, ibid. Makes his
brother Gonzalo governor of Quito, 83. Is aflaflinated
by Juan de Herrada, 91.
Pizarroy Gonzalo, is made governor of Quito, by 'his
brother Francis, iii. 83. His expedition over the An-
des, ibid. Is deferted by Orellana, 84. His diftrefs
Hh 4 on.
INDEX.
en this event, 87. His difaftrous return to Quito, 88.
Is encouraged by the people to oppofe Nugnez Vela,
the new viceroy, 1 i 1 . Ailumes the government of
.Peru, 115. Marches againft the viceroy, 117. De-
feats and kills him, 118, 119. Is advifed by Car-
vajal to aflume the fovereignty of the country, 120.
Chufes to negociate with the court of Spain, 122.
Confultations of the court on his conduct, 123. His
violent refolutions on the arrival of Pedro de la Gafca,
129. Refolves to oppofe him by violence, 131.
Marches to reduce Centeno at Cuzco, 132. Defeats
him, 133. Is deferred by his troops on the approach
of Gafca, 136. Surrenders and is executed, 137.
His adherents men of no principle, 142.
Plata, Rio de, difcovered by Dias de Solis, i. 302. Its
amazing width, ii. 418.
Playfair, Mr. ProfefTor of mathematics in Edinburgh, the
refult of his comparifon of the narrative and charts given
in Captain Cooke's voyages publifbed in 1780; and
Mr. Coxe's account of the Ruffian difcoveries, printed
in the fame year, in which the vicinity of the two con-
tinents of Afia and America is clearly ascertained, ii,
434439-
P//V/V, the naturalift, inftance of his ignorance in geogra-
phy* i' 359-
Ponce, de Leon, Juan, difcovers Florida, i. 286. Romantic
motive of his voyage, 281.
Population of the earth, flow progrefs of, 5. r.
Porto Beilo, difcovered and named by Chriftopher Co-
lumbus, i. 238.
Porto Rico, is fettled and fubjeted by Juan Ponce de
Leon, i. 265.
Porto Santo, the firft difcovery of, i. 63.
Portugal, when and by whom the court of inquifition was
firft introduced into, i. 361,
fortitguefe, a view of the circumftances that induced
them to undertake the difcovery of unknown coun-
tries, i. 56. 59. Firft African difcoveries of, 60.
Madeira difcovered, 64, 65. They double Cape Boja-
dor, 66. Obtain a papal grant of all the countries they
fhould difcover, 70, Cape Verd lilands and the
Azores
INDEX.
Azores difcovered, 72. Voyage to the Eaft Indies by
Vafco de Gama, 207.
Potofty the rich filver mines there, how difcovered, Hi.
305. The mines of, greatly exhaufted and fcarcely
worth working, 424.
Prifoners of war, how treated by the native Americans,
ii. 154.
Property, the idea of, unknown to the native Americans,
ii. 130. Notions of the Brafillians concerning, 456.
Protector of the Indians, in Spaniih America, his func-
tion, iii. 287.
Pto/emy, the philofopher, his geographical defcriptions
more ample and exact than thofe of his predeceiTors,
i. 35. His geography tranflated by the Arabians, 39.
His erroneous polition of the Ganges, 356.
)uetlavaca, brother of Montezuma, fucceeds him as king
of Mexico, ii. 326. Conduces in perfon the fierce
attacks which obliged Cortes to abandon his capital,
363. Dies of the fmall-pox, 364.
Quevedo, Bifhop of Darien, his conference with Las Ca-
fas on the treatment of the Indians, in the prefence of
the Emperor Charles V. i. 327.
girickftl<ver> the property of the famous mines of, at Gua-
nacabelica, referved by the crown of Spain, iii. 424.
The price of, why reduced, ibid.
, or Jefuits Bark, a production peculiar to Peru,
ii. 310.
Shnposj or hiftoric cords of the Peruvians, fome account
of, iii. 20 1.
>uito, the kingdom of, conquered by Huana Capac, Inca
of Peru, iii. 25. Is left to his fon Atahualpa, ibid.
Atahualpa's general revolts after his death, 50. Is
reduced by the Spaniards under Benalcazar, 52.
Benakazar deprived, and Gonzalo Pizarro made go-
vernor, 83.
Ramufto,
INDEX.
R
Ramufio, Ins defence of Hanno's account of the coaft of
Africa, i. 353.
Regi/Jer {hips, for what purpofe introduced in the trade
between Spain and her colonies, iii. 332. Superfede
the ufe of the galeons, 333.
Religion of the native Americans, an inquiry intOj ii.
181.
Ribas, his account of the political ftate of the people of
Cinaloa, ii. 466. Of their want of religion, 470.
Rio de la Plata, and Tucuman, account of thofe pro-
vinces, iii. 239.
Rivers, the amazing fize of thofe in America, ii. 4.
Robifon, profeflbr, his remarks on the temperature of va-
rious climates, ii. 419.
Roldan, Francis, is left chief juftice in Hifpaniola, by
Chriftopher Columbus, i. 1 88. Becomes the ringleader
of a mutiny, 200. Submits, 204.
Romans, their progrefs in navigation and difcovery, i.
25. Their military fpirit averfe to mechanical arts
and commerce, 26. Navigation and trade favoured
in the provinces under their government, 27. Their
extenfive difcoveries by land, 29. Their empire and
the fciences deftroyed together, 36.
Rubruquis^ father, his embafly from France to the Chan
'of the Tartars, i. 47.
RuJJlans, Afiatic difcoveries made by them, ii. 38. Un-
certainty of, 432.
Sacotecas, the rich filver mines there, when difcovered,
iii. 305.
San Salvador, difcovered and named by Chriftopher Co-
lumbus, i. 134.
Sancho, Don Pedro, account of his Hiftory of the Con-
qvteft of Peru, iii. 365.
Sandoval, the (hocking barbarities executed by, in Mexico,
ii. 404.
INDEX.
SanJoval, Francifco Tello de, is fent by the emperor
Charles V. to Mexico, as vifitador of America, iii.
105. His moderation and prudence, 106.
Savage life, a general eftimate of, ii. 210.
Scalps, motive of he native Americans for taking them
from their enemies, ii. 461.
Serralvo, marquis de, his extraordinary gains during his
viceroyalty in America, iii. 439.
Seville, extraordinary increafe of its manufactures by the
American trade, iii. 425. Its trade greatly reduced,
426. The American trade removed to Cadiz, 321.
Silver ore, method of refining it pradtifed by the native
Peruvians, iii. 221.
Senora, late difcoveries of rich mines made there by the
Spaniards, iii. 221.
Saul, American ideas of the immortality of, ii. 191.
South Sea, firft difcovered by Vafco Nugnez de Balboa,
i. 290.
Spain, general idea of the policy of, with regard to the
American colonies, iii. 260. Early interpofition of
the regal authority in the colonies, 261. All the
American dominions of, fubje&ed to two viceroys,
262. A third viceroyalty lately eflablifhed, 263. The
colonies of, compared with thofe of Greece and Rome,
270. Advantages me derived from her colonies, 313.
Why me does not ftill derive the fame, 314. Rapid
decline of trade, 316. This decline increafed by the
mode of regulating the intcrcourfe with America, 319.
Employs guarda coflas to check illicit trade, 331.
The ufe of regifter (hips introduced, 332. Eflabliih-
ment of the company of Caraccas, 335. Enlargement
of commercial ideas there, 337. Free trade permitted
to feveral provinces, 340. Revenue derived from
America, 356. Specification, 434.
Spaniards, their curious form of taking pofleflion of new-
difcovered countries, i. 382.
Strabo, a citation from, proving the great geographical
ignorance of the antients, i. 355. His own want of
geopraphical knowledge, 360.
Siiperjlition always connected with a defire of penetrating
into the fecrets of futurity, ii. 194.
Tapia,
INDEX.
Tapicty Chrifloval de, is fent from Spain to Mexico, to
fuperfede Cortes in his command, but fails in the at-
tempt, ii. 400.
Tartars, the poffibility of their migrating to America, ii.
43-
Tlafcala, in Mexico, character of the natives of, ii. 275.
Oppofe the paflage of the Spaniards, 277. Are re-
duced to fue for peace, 283.
Tobacco, that of Cuba the bed flavoured of any in all
America, Hi. 311.
Tanpinambos, account of their ferocious courage from
Lery, ii. 463.
Trade ; free, opened between Spain and her colonies, iii.
340. Increafe of the Spanifh cufloms from this mea-
fure, 430, 431.
Trade winds, the periodical courfe of, when difcovered
by navigators, i. 27.
Travellers, ancient character of their writings, i. 50.
Trinidad, the ifland of, difcovered by Chriftopher Co-
lumbus on his third voyage, i. 197.
Titcuman, and Rio de la Plata, account of thofe provinces,
iii. 239.
Tyre, the commerce of that city, how conducted, i. 351.
Tytbes of Spanifh America, how applied by the court of
Spain, iii. 435.
Vaca de Cajlro, Chriftoval, is fent from Spain to regulate
the government of Peru, iii. 80. Arrives at Quito,
94. Aflumes the fupreme authority, ibid* Defeats
young Almagro, 96. The feverity of his proceedings,
97. Prevents an infurrection concerted to oppofe the
new regulations, 109. Is imprifoned by the new vice-
roy, in.
Valverde, father Vincent, his curious harangue to Ata-
hualpa, Inca of Peru, iii. 34. Gives his fnnclion to
the trial and condemnation of Atahualpa, 47.
Vega,
INDEX.
Vega, Garcilaflb de la, character of his commentary on
the Spanifh writers concerning Peru, iii. 367.
Vegetables , their natural tendency to fertilize the foil where
they grow, ii. 24, 2?.
Velafqnezy Diego de, conquers the ifland of Cuba, i. 278.
377. His preparations for invading New Spain, ii.
231. His difficulty in chufing a commander for the
expedition, 232. Appoints Fernando Cortes, 233.
His motives to this choice, 235. Becomes fufpicious
of Cortes, 236. Orders Cortes to be deprived of his
commiflion, and arrefted, 237, 238. Sends an arma-
ment to Mexico after Cortes, 321.
Venegas, P. his character of the native Californians, ii.
448.
Venereal difeafe, originally brought from America, i. 87.
Appears to be wearing out, ibid. Its firft rapid prc-
grefs, ii. 444.
Venezuela, hiftory of that fettlement, iii. 245.
Venice, its origin as a maritime ftate, i. 43 . Travels of
Marco Polo, 48.
Verdy iflands discovered by the Portuguefe, I. 72.
ViceroySy all the Spanifh dominions in America fubje&ed
to two, iii. 262. A third lately eftablifhed, 263.
Their powers, ibid. A fourth eftablifhed, 346.
Villa Segnor, his account of the ftate of population in New
Spain, iii. 404. His detail of the Spanifh American
revenue, 434.
Villefagna, Antonio, one of Cortes's foldiers, foments a
mutiny among his troops, ii. 368. Is difcovered by
Cortes, and hanged, 369.
Ulloa, Don Antonio de, his defcription of the charater-
iftic features of the native Americans, ii. 439. His
reafon for the Americans not being fo fenfible of pain
as the reft of mankind, 464. His account of the goods
exported from Spain to America, with the duty on
them, iii. 434.
Volcano* , remarkable number of, in the northern parts of
the globe difcovered by the Ruffians, ii. 433.
Wafer,
INDEX.
W
Wafer, Lionel, his account of a peculiar race of diminu-
tive Americans, ii. 77. Compared with fimilar pro-
ductions in Africa, 78.
War-fong of the native Americans, the fentiments and
terms of, ii. 462.
Women, the condition of, among the native Americans,
ii. 102. Are not prolific, 106. Are not permitted to
join in their drunken feails, 207. Nor to wear orna-
ments, 465.
y Francifco de, fecretary to Pizarro, the earlieft
writer on his Peruvian expedition, iii. 365.
imenesy Cardinal, his regulations for the treatment of
the Indians in the Spanifli colonies, i. 312. Patronifes
the attempt of Ferdinand Magellan, ii. 393.
Tucatan, the province of, discovered by Pinzon and Dias
de SoJis, i. 266. Defcribed, 386. From whence that
province derives its value, iii. 233. Policy of the court
of Spain with refpeft to, 234.
Zarate, Don Auguftine, character of his Hiftory of the
Conqueft of Peru, iii. 366.
Zones, the earth how divided into, by the geography of the
ancients, i. 32. By whom firft fo divided, 360.
Zummarraga, Juan de, firft bifhop of Mexico, the de-
ftroyer of all the ancient records of the Mexican em-
pire, iii. 156.
END OF THE THIRD VOLUME.
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