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diff --git a/17877.txt b/17877.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..39a513f --- /dev/null +++ b/17877.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9929 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of South America, by W. H. Koebel + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: South America + +Author: W. H. Koebel + +Release Date: February 27, 2006 [EBook #17877] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AMERICA *** + + + + +Produced by Dave Morgan, Taavi Kalju and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + +[Illustration: CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. + +_From the portrait in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The gift +of Mr. Pierpont Morgan._ + +_The painting bears the words "Sebastian Venetus, fecit 1519"._ + +_A. Rischgitz._] + + + + +THE MAKING OF THE NATIONS + + +SOUTH AMERICA + +BY + +W.H. KOEBEL + +AUTHOR OF "SOUTH AMERICA" IN BLACK'S SERIES OF COLOUR BOOKS, "MODERN +ARGENTINA," "MODERN CHILE," ETC. + +WITH THIRTY-TWO FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, ETC., AND MAPS +AND PLANS IN THE TEXT + + +ADAM & CHARLES BLACK +LONDON MCMXIII + + + + +PREFACE + + +The history of a continent such as South America, confined to the limits +of a single volume of moderate size, must of necessity contain some +elements of mere survey. Nevertheless, since in no other but a condensed +form could the respective strides achieved by the various nations of +this continent be satisfactorily judged and compared, the author is +encouraged to hope that this small work may fill in one of the most +obvious of the many gaps in the English versions of South American +history. He has endeavoured to lay stress on the trend of the +authorities and peoples in question rather than to emphasize the rigid +succession of Governors and Presidents. In the same way, since space has +had to be considered, it was thought desirable to introduce at any +length only those personalities notable for their actions and intrinsic +influence, leaving in the background those others whose only claim to +the interest of posterity lies in the weight of the office they held. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE CONTINENT IN PRE-SPANISH DAYS 1 + + II. COLUMBUS 14 + + III. THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORES 26 + + IV. THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRAZIL 36 + + V. THE CONQUEST OF PERU 47 + + VI. SPANIARD AND NATIVE 56 + + VII. THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH 64 + + VIII. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIES 74 + + IX. FOREIGN RAIDS ON THE SPANISH COLONIES 83 + + X. FOREIGN RAIDS ON PORTUGUESE COLONIES 95 + + XI. THE COLONY OF PERU 110 + + XII. THE COLONY OF CHILE 121 + + XIII. THE COLONIES OF PARAGUAY AND THE RIVER PLATE 130 + + XIV. THE NORTHERN COLONIES 142 + + XV. THE LAST DAYS OF EMPIRE 151 + + XVI. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--I 159 + + XVII. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--II 176 + + XVIII. BRAZIL: FROM COLONY TO EMPIRE 185 + + XIX. THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL 201 + + XX. FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC 211 + + XXI. MODERN BRAZIL 220 + + XXII. THE INDEPENDENCE OF SPANISH AMERICA 228 + + XXIII. THE REPUBLIC OF PERU 237 + + XXIV. THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY 245 + + XXV. THE PARAGUAYAN WAR 255 + + XXVI. THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE 264 + + XXVII. THE REPUBLICS OF THE RIVER PLATE 272 + +XXVIII. THE NORTHERN REPUBLICS 283 + + INDEX 295 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + PRINTED SEPARATELY FROM THE TEXT. + +CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS _Frontispiece_ + + TO FACE PAGE + +MANCO-CAPAC COLLECTING HIS PEOPLE FOR THE WORK OF BUILDING +THE CITY OF CUZCO 5 + +DIEGO DE ALMAGRO 12 + +JORGE CABRAL 16 + +COLUMBUS LANDING IN AMERICA 37 + +VASCO DA GAMA 44 + +THE DEFEAT OF THE PERUVIANS OUTSIDE CUZCO 49 + +PIZARRO AND ATAHUALPA 53 + +DEATH OF ATAHUALPA 60 + +ATAHUALPA 65 + +SUGAR-MAKING 69 + +BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS 76 + +FRANCISCO PIZARRO 80 + +SECTIONS OF A SLAVE-SHIP 85 + +OLINDA DE PERNAMBUCO 92 + +FERDINAND MAGELLAN 101 + +DUTCH VESSELS SAILING THROUGH THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN 108 + +DUTCH AND SPANISH VESSELS ENGAGED OFF CALLAO 116 + +ACAPULCO 125 + +AN ISLAND PASSAGE OF THE RIVER AMAZON 144 + +POTOSI 149 + +BRITISH WARSHIPS UNDER ANSON'S COMMAND PLUNDERING PAYTA 156 + +SIMON BOLIVAR 164 + +DON FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ 173 + +PEDRO I., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL 193 + +THE OPENING OF THE SENATE HOUSE, RIO DE JANEIRO 196 + +PALACE AND GREAT SQUARE IN RIO DE JANEIRO 205 + +PEDRO II., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL 208 + +THOMAS, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B. 261 + +BERNARDO O'HIGGINS 268 + +STATUE OF GENERAL MANUEL BELGRANO 277 + +BRIGADIER-GENERAL BARTOLOME MITRE 284 + + +PRINTED IN THE TEXT. + + PAGE + +MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA, SHOWING THE DISTRICTS OF THE +ABORIGINAL TRIBES AT THE TIME OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST 9 + +A PERUVIAN CASSE-TETE AND A PIPE OF PEACE 50 + +THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN, CUZCO 53 + +INDIAN HUTS ON THE RIVER CHIPURANA 54 + +THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN, AS KNOWN AT THE TIME OF CORDOVA'S +VOYAGE 91 + +PEASANTS OF ST. MICHAEL PROCEEDING TO DEL GADO 158 + +ARMS OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL 192 + +ARMS OF UNITED KINGDOMS OF PORTUGAL, THE ALGARVES, AND +BRAZIL 192 + +CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, RIO DE JANEIRO 197 + +SKETCH-MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA 293 + + + + +SOUTH AMERICA + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CONTINENT IN PRE-SPANISH DAYS + + +The discovery of South America stands as one of the most dramatic events +in history. From the time of its occurrence until the present so deeply +has this event impressed itself on men's minds that the previous state +of the Continent has been a somewhat neglected topic. The Incas and +their civilization, it is true, have attracted no small share of +attention to themselves, and the subject has become more or less +familiar to the average English reader through the medium of the work of +Prescott, who has been followed by a number of later writers, many of +whom have dealt very exhaustively with this subject. Yet, after all, the +Incas, for all their historical importance, occupied but a very small +portion of the territories of the Southern Continent. Beyond the western +fringe of the Continent which was theirs by heritage, or by conquest, +were other lands--mountainous in parts, level in others, where the great +river basins extended themselves--which were the chosen hunting and +fishing grounds of an almost innumerable number of tribes. + +The degree of civilization, or, more accurately speaking, of savagery +which characterized these as a whole necessarily varied to a great +extent in the case of each particular tribe. Nevertheless, from the +comparatively high culture of the Incas down to the most intellectually +submerged people of the forests and swamps, there were certain +characteristics held in common by all. This applied not only to a marked +physical likeness which stamped every dweller in the great Continent, +but to customs, religious ceremonies, and government as well. Concerning +the origin of the South American Indians interminable disputes have now +raged for generations, but that in the case of all the various tribes +the origin was the same has never, I think, been controverted. The most +common theory concerning the origin of the South Americans is that this +was Mongolian. + +This idea would certainly seem one of the most feasible of the many put +forward. Those who have delved sufficiently deeply into the matter have +found many striking analogies in customs, religious ceremonies, and even +in language between the inhabitants of South America and those of +Eastern Asia; and there are even those who assert that the similarity +between the two peoples extends to the designs on domestic pottery. The +majority of those who have devoted themselves to this subject of the +South American aborigines have been obliged to work largely in the dark. +Considering the great extent of the ruins bequeathed by the Incas to the +later ages, it might be thought curious that so few precise data are +available. The reason for this lies in the zeal which the +_conquistadores_ displayed in the stamping out of the various pagan +religions. No sooner had the Spaniards obtained possession of the chief +cities of the Incas than every symbol, image, or, indeed, any object +suggestive of sun-worship or anything of the kind, was smashed into +fragments, and every trace of its significance so far as possible +obliterated. + +There is no doubt that in the course of this wholesale destruction a +multitude of objects perished which would have given an historical clue +to much of what now remains doubtful. It is owing to this obliterative +enthusiasm that such scanty historical knowledge exists concerning the +earlier period of the Inca race, and of that highly civilized nation +which preceded the later Children of the Sun. + +It is, moreover, largely on account of this vagueness and uncertainty +that some curiously wild theories have been propounded concerning the +origin of the South Americans, and more especially of the Incas. Thus, +in 1843, George Jones, a writer who had indulged in some extraordinarily +enthusiastic researches, published a work the object of which was to +prove that not only the Mexicans, but all the tribes of Southern +America, were the descendants of some old Tyrians who, fleeing from +their enemies, abandoned Phoenicia and, sailing westward, landed in +Central America, some 332 years before the birth of Christ! It must be +admitted that the structure--even though it is purely of the +imagination--thus built up by the fertile author is sufficiently +ingenious, and the number of Biblical data, similarities, and general +phenomena, which he has brought to bear on the subject are impressive, +if not convincing. + +Peru was admittedly the richest country of South America, so far as +historical relics are concerned. Yet even here it is difficult in the +extreme to glean any accurate information concerning the actual +primitive inhabitants of the country. Astonishingly little tradition of +any kind exists, and the little to be met with is rendered comparatively +valueless by the vivid imagination of the Indian; thus this period +cannot be considered as historical in the real sense of the word. A +number of relics, it is true, prove the existence of an early form of +civilization, the most numerous being found, as would naturally be +expected when the nature of the country is considered, in the valleys +and the coasts. These relics take the forms of food substances and +kitchen utensils, and are known as "kitchen-middens," and beyond these +rude fireplaces have been found. + +In 1874 the skeleton of a tall man was discovered in a volcanic layer +which is supposed to have belonged to a later period. The dwelling in +which it was found showed a distinct advance in civilization. It was +constructed of rocks joined together by means of clay, and roofed with +plaited straw. One of the most notable objects found by the side of this +man was a well-fashioned cotton purse, filled with wheat and other +grain. In various neighbourhoods remnants of pottery and cloth gave +evidence of these later stages. After this it is supposed that a great +invasion of Peru occurred, and that the race which preceded the Incas +took possession of the land. + +It will be most fitting to deal first of all with the Incas, the most +highly civilized race of the Continent. The head-quarters of this nation +were to be found in Peru and Bolivia. The capital of the whole Empire +was Cuzco, a town situated at some distance to the north of Lake +Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is generally held to have been the cradle of the +race, and it is in this neighbourhood and on the shores of the lake that +some of the most notable of the Inca ruins are to be met with. + +There is no doubt that the great majority of these stupendous monuments +of a former age were not the actual handiwork of the Incas. It is now +considered practically certain that these Incas, themselves enlightened +and progressive, were merely using the immense structures both of +material masonry and of theoretical civilization left behind by a +previous race whom the Children of the Sun had conquered and subdued. It +is not improbable that this race was that of the Aymaras; in any case it +is certain that the Empire of the Incas was not of old standing, and +that they had not occupied the countries they held for more than a few +hundred years before the advent of the Spaniards. + +[Illustration: MANCO CAPAC, THE LEGENDARY FOUNDER OF THE INCA EMPIRE, +COLLECTING HIS PEOPLE FOR THE WORK OF BUILDING THE CITY OF CUZCO.] + +The Incas possessed a very definite theory concerning the origin of +their tribe. Sun-worshippers, they loved to think that they themselves +were descended from a chance fragment of that terrible and blazing +luminary. Thus their religion had it that the first Inca was a child of +the Sun who came down to earth in company with his sister-wife. The spot +they chose was an island on Lake Titicaca. Here they alighted in all +their brilliancy, and the Indians of the neighbourhood gathered about +them and fell at their feet, receiving them as rulers with infinite +gratitude. This first Inca, whatever may have been his real origin, was +undoubtedly known as Manco-Capac, and his sister-wife was known as +Mama-Oclle. Manco-Capac represented the first of a dynasty of thirteen +Emperors, the last of whom suffered at the hands of Pizarro. Until the +end of their race these Incas had retained a considerable degree of the +sacred character with which tradition had invested the first of their +line. The person of the Emperor was, indeed, worshipped as a demi-god. +Justified by tradition, he had the privilege of marrying his sister. It +is curious to remark here the resemblance in the customs of the Incas +and the Pharaos. + +An alternative theory of the origin of the Inca race, although not +authoritative, is worthy of note. W.B. Stevenson, in a work published in +1825, states that a curious tradition was related to him by the Indians +in various parts of Peru. According to this the progenitor of the royal +Incas was an Englishman who was found stranded on the coast by a certain +cacique of the name of Cocapac! The cacique took the stranger to his +home, and the Englishman married the chieftain's daughter. From this +union sprang a boy, Ingasman Cocapac, and a girl, Mama-Oclle. These +were both of fair complexion and hair. + +Shortly after the birth of these children their parents died, and the +boy and girl were left in the care of their grandfather, Cocapac. The +nature of this latter appears to have been extraordinarily calculating +and astute. He saw in the children a phenomenal opportunity for the +glorification of his family. First of all he instructed the youngsters +for years in the playing of their parts; then, when adult, he took them +to Cuzco and posted them on the side of a mountain of that important +district. After this he went among the tribesmen, and announced that the +Sun-god had sent two of his children to govern the race as a special +mark of his favour. The Indians streamed out to the point he indicated +as their resting-place, and, sure enough, they found the strangers at +the spot. + +To the chagrin of Cocapac, however, the tribesmen refused to accept them +in the light of gods; on the contrary, they condemned the pair as a +wizard and a witch, and banished them from the neighbourhood. Cocapac, +undaunted by this failure, accompanied his grandchildren, and repeated +his performance on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Here complete success +marked the attempt: the young people were received by the Indians with +enthusiasm as the children of their god, and, once established, the +belief spread all round, until it included all the centre of the Inca +Empire, not excepting the once sceptical Cuzco. To quote from Stevenson: + + "Thus," said the Indians, "was the power of the Incas established, + and many of them have said that, as I was an Englishman, I was of + their family. When H.B.M. ship _Breton_ was at Callao, some of the + officers accompanied me one Sunday afternoon to the Alameda at + Lima. On our way we were saluted by several Indians from the + mountains, calling us their countrymen and their relations, begging + at the same time that we would drink some chicha with them." + +It is unnecessary to point out the dubiousness of this theory! For all +the obvious difficulties in the way of credibility, the main story has a +certain convincing ring, if for no other reason than the utterly prosaic +attempt at an explanation of the alleged miraculous and mystical episode +of the native mythology. + +In the course of time the Inca Empire had sent its wave of influence and +dominion to roll widely to the north and to the south. In the north its +government extended beyond Quito; in the south its progress had been +arrested by the warrior Indians of Southern Chile, the Araucanians on +the banks of the River Maule. + +On the whole, the rule of the Incas over the conquered races was +beneficent, and these latter, sensible of the advantages offered them, +were quite willing to weld themselves into the common Empire. Almost the +sole respect in which they showed themselves merciless was in the manner +in which their religious sacrifices were carried out. The Sun frequently +proved himself greedy of human blood, and he was never stinted by his +priests; human life, indeed, in the more populous centres was held +rather more cheaply than is usual among people who had attained to the +civilization of the Incas. + +In the Civil Government every symptom of this kind was absent. Indeed, +the methods of the Inca Government, on the whole, were of the benevolent +order; at the same time laws applying to the conduct of the populace +were in many respects stringent, and were wont to be carried out to the +letter. A number of socialistic doctrines were embodied in these strange +constitutions of the past. The work of the people was mapped out for +them, and, although it may be said with justice that no poverty existed, +this very admirable state of affairs was frequently brought about by the +enforcing of labour on the would-be idle. + +The lands of the Inca Kingdom from frontier to frontier were divided +into three classes of territory. The first was the property of the +Sun--that is to say, the proceeds of its harvests were applied to the +temples, priests, and all the other requirements of religion. The land +appertaining to the second category was the property of the Royal +Family; and the third belonged to the people. It is interesting to note +in connection with this system of land distribution that in the later +centuries the Jesuits in Paraguay adopted a very similar procedure, and +divided their lands into three sections which corresponded exactly with +those of the Incas. Thus, according to these regulations, every +inhabitant of the Inca Empire was a landowner. This, however, merely in +a limited sense, for, although the land was his to work, he was not +permitted to obtain any advantage from its possession other than that +which he obtained by his own labour, and, as has been explained, the +refraining from work was a heavily punishable offence. When the spirit +in which these laws were framed is taken into consideration, it is not +surprising that no man was allowed to sell his land, a procedure which +would, of course, have rendered the general working of the community +inoperative. The land, in fact, represented a loan from the State which +lasted the lifetime of the agriculturist. + +[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICA + +SHOWING THE DISTRICTS OF THE + +ABORIGINAL TRIBES + +AT THE TIME OF THE SPANISH CONQUEST.] + +Perhaps the civilization of the Incas and of their predecessors is most +of all evident in the industrial monuments which they have left behind +them. In irrigation they had little or nothing to learn from the most +advanced European experts of the time. Many of their aqueducts, indeed, +showed an astonishing degree both of ingenuity and of labour. The +nature of the country across which it was necessary to construct these +was, of course, sufficiently mountainous to test the powers of the most +capable engineer. The Inca roads, in many respects, rivalled their +aqueducts. From the point of view of the modern highway, it is true that +they may be considered as somewhat slender and unimportant affairs. +Certainly in the absence of any wheeled traffic no surface of the kind +as was necessary in Europe and Asia was to be met with here. Provided +that the road stretched in an uninterrupted length along the peaks, +valleys, and chasms of the rugged mountain country, no question of close +and intricate pavement was concerned, since for the troops of +pack-llamas anything of the kind was quite superfluous. Thus, as +imposing structures, these highways impress the modern traveller but +little. Nevertheless, they served their purpose efficiently, and +extended themselves in triumph over one of the most difficult +road-making countries in the world. + +This road network of the Incas spread itself little by little from the +central portion of the Empire to the far north and south; for during the +comparatively short imperial status of the race their rule had extended +itself steadily. They were in many respects a people possessed of the +true colonizing instincts. Their able and liberal Government was of a +kind which could not fail to be appreciated by the tribes which they had +conquered. Indeed, the various sections of these subjugated Indians +appear to have become an integral part of the Inca Empire in a +remarkably short time. + +In their conquest the rulers appear to have strained every point to +effect this end. Thus they were not averse from time to time to receive +into their temples new and strange gods which their freshly made +subjects had been in the habit of worshipping. These were received +among the deities of older standing, and were wont to be acknowledged, +and so, after a short while, were considered as foreign no longer. + +A nation of which far less has been heard, but which in many respects +resembled the Incas, was that of the Chibchas. The Chibchas inhabited +the country which had for its centre the valley of the Magdalena River. +The country of this tribe, as a matter of fact, is now part of the +Republic of Colombia; thus the Chibchas were situated well to the north +of the Inca Empire. The religion of these people closely resembled that +of the more southern Children of the Sun. Like these others, they +worshipped the masculine Sun and the female Moon, and a certain number +of deities in addition. + +The Chibchas have left some ruins of temples behind them, although these +are not of the same magnitude as the Inca edifices. They were an +agricultural people, and, in addition, were skilled in weaving and in +the manufacture of pottery; they were, moreover, supposed to have been +clever workers in gold. The costume of the race showed very similar +tastes to those of their more southern brethren. The men of rank wore +white or dyed cotton tunics, and the women mantles fastened by means of +golden clasps. The warlike splendour of the men was characteristically +picturesque, their chief decorations being breast-plates of gold and +magnificent plumes for the head. They, too, employed as weapons darts, +bows and arrows, clubs, lances, and slings. The fate of the Chibchas +was, of course, the same as that of the Incas. Their bodies decked with +their brilliant feathers and pomp sank into the mire of despond, never +again to attain to their former state. + +This very brief study of the Incas and Chibchas concludes the civilized +elements of the Aboriginal South American. To the east of the Andes were +a number of tribes, all of which were, to a greater or lesser degree, +still in a state of sheer savagery. Near the eastern frontier of the +Inca Empire resided such peoples as the Chiriguanos, Chunchos, Abipones, +Chiquitos, Mojos, Guarayos, Tacanas; while to the north were similar +tribes, such as the Ipurines, Jamamaries, Huitotos, Omaguas. These +appear to have absorbed some crude and vague forms of the Inca religion, +and were addicted to the worship of the Sun, but more frequently of the +Moon. + +On the east of the Continent, ranging from the territory which is now +known as Misiones in Argentina, and Southern Paraguay to the north-east +of the Continent, were various branches of the great Guarani family, a +nation that some consider should be more correctly known as Tupis, and +whose northernmost section are known as Caribs. It is impossible to +attempt to give an account of the very great number of the tribes which +went to make up this powerful and great nation. Many of these remain to +the present day, and sixteen are still accounted for in the +comparatively insignificant district of the Guianas alone. + +It is, indeed, only feasible to deal with the main characteristics of +these various peoples--mostly forest-dwellers. Naturally enough, the +tribesmen were hunters and fishers. The majority were given to paint +their bodies and to pierce their ears, noses, and lower lips, in order +to insert reeds, feathers, and similar savage ornaments. In the more +tropical forest regions the blowpipe constituted one of the most +formidable weapons. Bows and arrows were in general use, the points of +these latter being of bone or hardened wood. The barbs of the spears +were similarly contrived, many of these weapons being beautifully +decorated in the more northern territories. The greater part of these +tribes still remain in the forest districts of the Continent. + +[Illustration: DIEGO DE ALMAGRO. + +The fellow-_conquistador_ and rival of Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, +and pioneer explorer of Chile.] + +In Chile and in the River Plate Provinces an entirely different type of +Indian prevailed; great warriors these, for the most part, who roamed +the plains of the River Plate Provinces, or, like the Araucanians, lived +a turbulent and fierce existence among the forests and mountains of the +far south to the west of the Andes Chain. + +It was these Southern Indians who disputed the soil with the Spaniards +with the courage and ferocity that frequently spilled the Castillian +blood in torrents on the mountains or plains. To the end, indeed, they +remained unconquered, and death was almost invariably preferred to +submission to the hated white invaders of their land. + +Even here prevailed the socialism which so strongly characterized the +races of the centre and north of the Continent. Despotism was unknown, +and even the chieftain, in the proper sense of the word, had no +existence. In times of war an elder was chosen, it is true, but with the +laying down of the weapons he became again one of the people, and was +lost in their ranks. Such crude organization as existed was left to the +hands of a Council of Elders. There is no doubt that witch-doctors +attained to a certain degree of power, but even this was utterly +insignificant as compared with that which was wont to be enjoyed by the +savage priests of Central Africa. + +Taken as a whole, the Indians of Southern America represented some of +the most simple children who ever lived in the lap of Nature. +Unsophisticated, credulous, and strangely wanting in reasoning powers +and organized self-defence, they fell ready victims to the onslaughts of +the Spaniards, who burst with such dramatic unexpectedness on their +north-eastern shores. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +COLUMBUS + + +Columbus was admittedly a visionary. It was to the benefit of his fellow +Europeans and to the detriment of the South American tribes that to his +dreams he joined the practical side of his nature. Certainly the value +of imagination in a human being has never been more strikingly proved +than by the triumph of Columbus. + +The enthusiasm of the great Genoese was of the kind which has tided men +over obstacles and difficulties and troubles throughout the ages. He was +undoubtedly of the nervous and highly-wrought temperament common to one +of his genius. He loved the dramatic. There are few who have not heard +the story of the egg with the crushed end which stood upright. But there +are innumerable other instances of the demonstrative powers of Columbus. +For instance, when asked to describe the Island of Madeira, he troubled +not to utter a word in reply, but snatched up a piece of writing-paper +and, crumpling it by a single motion of his hand, held it aloft as a +triumphant exhibition of the island's peaks and valleys. + +Fortunately for the adventurers of his period, his belief in his mission +was unshakable. It was, of course, a mere matter of chance that Columbus +should have found himself in the service of the Spaniards when he set +out upon his voyage which was to culminate in the discovery of the New +World. He himself had been far more concerned with the Portuguese than +with their eastern neighbours. Indeed, until the discovery of America, +the Spaniards, fully occupied with the expulsion of the Moors from +within their frontiers in Europe, could give but little attention to the +science of navigation. + +The Portuguese, on the other hand, had for a considerable period been +specializing in seamanship. From his castle at Faro, on the southernmost +shores of Portugal, where Prince Henry the Navigator had founded his +maritime school, that royal scientist had watched with pride the +captains whom he had trained as they sailed their vessels over the gold +and blue horizon of the Far South, and had exultantly drunk in on their +return the tales of new shores and of oceans ploughed for the first +time; of spices, riches men, and beasts, all new and strange, and, all +appealing strongly to the imagination of the learned Prince, who only +restrained himself with difficulty from plunging into the unknown. + +It was with men such as these of Prince Henry's with whom the Genoese +had been brought into contact on his first visit to Portugal. That he +had been received by this set as one of themselves is sufficiently +evidenced by the fact of his marriage with a daughter of Bartholomew +Perestrello. It was naturally, therefore, to the Portuguese Government +that Columbus first applied for the assistance in men and ships which +were to bear him to the land which he so fiercely promised. + +As has been said, there is no doubt that Columbus was a visionary who +possessed a large amount of practical knowledge and experience, from +which the indulgence in these visions sprang. That his theories were the +result of something more than the merest speculation is certain. +Maritime legend and lore were rife in Genoa and the Mediterranean, and +certainly abounded in Portugal under the benevolent and strenuous +encouragement of Prince Henry the Navigator. That some vague echoes of +the feats performed by the Norsemen and others who had long before won +their way to the Western Continent had penetrated to these parts of +Europe there is no doubt. Columbus, moreover, had stayed for many months +at one of those half-way houses between Europe and the western mainland, +Porto Santo, and the neighbouring Island of Madeira. + +His father-in-law was at the time Governor of the lesser island, that of +Porto Santo. In such a spot as this the requirements of Columbus were +naturally few, and he had gained a livelihood with ease by the making of +maps. His father was a carder of wool at Genoa, and young Christopher, +rebelling at the monotony of this trade, commenced his maritime life +before he was fifteen years old. + +It was doubtless while at Porto Santo that Columbus had thought out his +theories, aided by not a little evidence of the material order, such as +floating logs and other objects, which had sailed, wind and current +borne, from the unknown lands across the Atlantic. Columbus, of course, +was not actually the first to feel convinced of the possibility of +gaining India by sailing to the West; the theory had been held by +Aristotle, Seneca, Strabo, and others. The sole mistake Columbus made in +his calculations was concerning the size of the world. He had +overestimated the extent of the Continent of Asia, and underestimated +the extent of the Atlantic Ocean; he seems to have been convinced that a +very few days' sailing to the west of Madeira would bring him to the +shores of India. It was this error in calculation that undoubtedly was +responsible for many long and agonizing hours spent on the actual +voyage. + +[Illustration: JORGE CABRAL. + +_From a coloured drawing in a Spanish MS. in the Sloane Collection in +the British Museum._] + +Columbus's proposals, it is true, were received with a certain interest +by the Portuguese; but for the jealousy of some officials it is very +probable that he would, in the first instance, have seen his cherished +plans carried into effect. As it was, a vessel was secretly fitted out, +and was sent in command of a rival navigator to test the theories of +Columbus. After a while the ship returned, battered and worn, having +discovered nothing beyond a series of exceptionally violent tempests. + +This attempt was in any case destined to prove equally adverse to the +fortunes of Columbus. Had it succeeded, he would have undoubtedly been +deprived of the credit which should have been his by right; since it +failed, the venture was considered to have proved the fallacy of +Columbus's theories. When, disgusted with experiences such as these, +Columbus left Portugal and took up his residence near the Court of Spain +in company with this great idea of his, which followed him everywhere, +and was in a sense bigger than himself, he met with an equal lack of +success in the first instance. Queen Isabella was sympathetic, but her +cautious husband Ferdinand showed himself cold. Dreading the utter +destruction of his plans, Columbus determined to wash his hands of the +Iberian Peninsula and its over-cautious rulers and statesmen. + +He was actually on his way to England, whither one of his brothers had +already preceded him, when a message from the Court of Spain caused him +to hasten back. It is possible that the Court had been in a haggling +mood, and had given the discoverer credit for a similar phase; at all +events, it was not until his person was almost out of reach that the now +complaisant authorities called him back. + +Ferdinand himself had given his consent, although in a grudging fashion. +Isabella, however, proved herself enthusiastic, and it was she who +signed the bargain with the famous Genoese, which gave a continent to +the Royal Family of Spain. The signing of the bargain, however, did not +necessarily end the friction. The authorities were now fully prepared to +recognize Columbus as their messenger to the unknown world; but they +were reluctant in the extreme that the intrepid navigator should be +carried in too comfortable or costly a fashion. In the end Columbus, +conceding that half a fleet was better than no ships, gave way and took +what was offered him. He himself as Admiral was given charge of the +_Santa Maria_, the largest vessel, while two diminutive craft, the +_Pinta_ and the _Nina_, made up this very humble fleet. Nevertheless, +Columbus now had his desire; he had obtained in the main all that he had +asked, although some of it in a lesser degree. + +The concessions granted to Columbus for his first voyage were that he +was to be made Admiral of the seas and countries to be discovered, a +dignity which was to descend to his heirs; that he was to become Viceroy +of all those islands and continents; to have the tenth part of the +profits of the total undertaking; to be made sole mercantile judge; to +have the right to contribute one-eighth part of the expenses of all the +maritime ventures, and in return to be given an eighth part of the +profits. + +He carried with him a letter from Ferdinand and Isabella to any chance +sovereign whom he might meet, which ran to this effect: + + "Ferdinand and Isabella to King ... The Sovereigns having heard + that he and his subjects entertain great love for them and for + Spain. They are, moreover, informed that he and his subjects very + much wish to hear news from Spain, and send therefore their + Admiral, Christopher Columbus, who will tell them that they are in + good health and perfect prosperity." + +Prester John, who was still considered to be ruling in some mystical +fashion over an imaginary country, might have welcomed this species of +circular communication. It was certainly wasted on the inhabitants of +Hispaniola, who were considerably more concerned with their own health +and prosperity than with that of Ferdinand and Isabella, and who +certainly had more reason when the adventurers had once landed. + +So to a certain extent armed and prepared against any chance that he +might encounter, Columbus set sail from Spain on August 3, 1492. + +Much has been said concerning the character of the crews with which he +had been provided. It is true the American natives were destined in the +first instance, by some peculiarly hard stroke of fortune, to make their +acquaintance with Europeans largely through the intermediary of +criminals. It is often held to have been one of the greatest hardships +of Columbus that his ships should have been manned so largely by +desperadoes and malefactors pardoned especially in order to take part in +the expedition. In the peculiar circumstances of his first and +exceptionally daring adventure the nature of his crew became of great +and even of vital importance. It is certain, however, that Columbus +himself obviously suffered no permanent discouragement on account of the +men of his first crew, for he subsequently advocated the transportation +of criminals to the Indies, and, further, urged that any person having +committed a crime (with the exception of those of heresy, _lese +majeste_, and treason) should have the option of ordinary imprisonment, +or of going out at his own expense to Hispaniola to serve under the +orders of the Admiral. + +These edicts were actually brought into force, and although Columbus +some years afterwards bitterly complained of the type of European whom +he found at Hispaniola, there is no doubt that he himself was largely +responsible for their presence. Nevertheless, speaking generally, +Columbus was not alone in being served by this species of retainer, for +the custom, borrowed from the Portuguese, was a general one, and where +volunteers failed, their places were supplied by the dregs of the +prisons. One of the principal charges brought against Columbus was that, +in addition to his alleged maltreatment of his own men, he had refrained +from baptizing Indians, and this because he had desired slaves rather +than Christians. He was accused, moreover, of having made many slaves in +order to send them to Castile. Of course, there is no doubt whatever as +to the truth of this latter charge; but Columbus was not alone in this +respect--indeed, at that time there was no single adventurer who had +penetrated to these new regions without making slaves whenever the +opportunity arose. And it may be said in common fairness to the +individual explorers that no other method was understood, and that this +procedure was considered entirely legitimate. + +It is unnecessary to enter here into the troubles and tribulations of +Columbus's first voyage. The details of the men's discontent and of the +leader's courage, persistence, and strategy have been the subject of +thousands of works. The great contrition, moreover, of his mutinous +crew, when after five weeks' sailing they sighted land, and their sudden +admiration and almost worship of the great navigator, afford too +familiar a subject to be dealt with here. Suffice to say that Columbus +took possession of this first land--the island which he believed to form +part of a continent--in the name of the Crown of Castile and Leon, +christening this herald of a new world San Salvador. + +For a while the shock of this triumph appears to have deadened all other +considerations, but only for a while. Columbus, like every other +navigator of the period, had gone out in search of glory, and of gilded +glory for preference. The very first thought, therefore, which took +possession of the minds of both the Admiral and his men, when the first +exultation had died away in favour of more practical affairs, was that +of gold. To this end they cruised about the new seas, visiting Cuba, +Haiti (or Hispaniola), and other islands. + +After a while Columbus discovered some traces of the coveted metal, but +these to his heated imagination were mere chance fragments of the golden +mountains and valleys which lay somewhere beyond. It was time, he +determined, to seek for further assistance. Leaving a small company of +the Spaniards in the Island of Haiti, the inhabitants of which had +proved themselves friendlily disposed, he sailed for Europe, taking with +him such specimens of the New World as he thought would chiefly appeal +to the Spanish Court. Among this merchandise were samples of the +products of the Western Islands, small nuggets of gold, and human +merchandise in the way of captive Indians. + +When his heavily-laden ships arrived in Spain the entire nation broke +out into thunders of acclamation. Queen Isabella received him with even +more than her accustomed amount of graciousness, while the coldness +which had characterized Ferdinand's attitude towards him had now become +altered to fervent enthusiasm. + +The Court of Spain, convinced of the value of these new possessions, +lost no time in applying to Pope Alexander VI. for his sanction of their +dominion over the New World. This the Pope granted, drawing the famous +line from Pole to Pole, which was to serve as a dividing line between +the colonies of Spain and Portugal. + +Columbus, in the meanwhile, was preparing for his second voyage. +Naturally enough, this was conducted under very different auspices from +the first. It was now a proud fleet which, favoured by the trade winds, +ploughed its way to the south-west, manned by a numerous, influential, +and in many cases aristocratic, company. The advent of this second fleet +to Haiti brought about the first of the innumerable collisions between +the Europeans and the natives of America. Of the garrison which Columbus +had left in the island none remained. There was scarcely a trace, +moreover, of the existence of the rough fort which had been constructed. +The manner of the natives had altered; they received the new-comers with +marked evidences of fear and distrust. + +After a while the truth came out. Some members of the European garrison +had taken upon themselves to maltreat the natives, and these, resenting +this, had turned upon their aggressors and slaughtered them to a man, +after which they had burned the fort to the ground. In order to +inculcate the necessary terror into the unfortunate inhabitants a +fearful revenge was wreaked on them by Columbus's men, and the unhappy +people of Haiti paid for their act in floods of blood and tears. This +continued until the Indians became for the time being thoroughly cowed. +Subsequently they were set to work to dig for gold and other metals in +order to enrich the pioneers. + +As time went on the natives were ground down more and more, and set to +tasks for which they were temperamentally quite unsuited. Death became +rife among their ranks, and the hardships endured drove them to open +rebellion. The armour and weapons of the Spaniards rendered any attempts +of the kind abortive, and massacres and torturing completed the +enslaving process of the wretched race. + +Communication between the New and Old World was at that time, of course, +slow and precarious in the extreme. Nevertheless, tidings of what was +going on in the island of Hispaniola at length found their way to the +ears of Ferdinand and Isabella. To these were added a number of +reports, for the most part fabricated by Columbus's enemies, of the +tyranny of the Admiral and of his ill-treatment of Spaniards of good +birth. Columbus, leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge of the new +dominions, returned to Spain, confronted his enemies, and was able to +refute the accusations brought against him. As regards the allegations +of ill-treatment of the Spaniards this was easily enough disproved; as +regards the Indians the matter was not so simple, for, to do them +justice, Ferdinand and Isabella were keenly anxious to prevent any +tyranny or ill-treatment of their new and remote subjects. + +Columbus, having regained the confidence of his Sovereigns, started on +his third voyage in the beginning of 1496. On this occasion he +discovered Trinidad, coasted along the borders of Guiana, and saw for +the first time the Islands of Cubagua and Margarita. In Haiti the +Admiral found a discontented community. His two brothers, Bartholomew +and Diego, had become unpopular with the Spaniards, who were chafing +beneath their authority. The arrival of Columbus caused a temporary lull +in the disputes, but after a while the power of the malcontents grew +steadily, and their accounts of what was to the fore in Haiti, although +wilfully garbled and exaggerated, began to bear weight with the Royal +Family of Spain. + +Columbus, in the first instance, had stipulated for the sole command of +the fleets of the New World. This was well enough in theory, but in +practice the concession was almost immediately broken into. Other +expeditions started out from Spain to the New World. Alonso Ojeda, who +had accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, now came out in command +of an expedition of his own. In his company was Amerigo Vespucci, whose +graphic and fanciful account of his own particular doings resulted +eventually in the naming of the entire continent after him. In 1499 +Alonso Nino led an expedition out from Spain, followed shortly after by +another commanded by Pinzon. In the meantime Brazil was being explored +by the great Portuguese, Pedro Alvarez Cabral. + +To return to Columbus, the glory of the great navigator had now waned. +As the years intervened between the date of his great feat and his less +glorious present, his record became stale and forgotten, while the power +and influence of his enemies grew. In the year 1500 Columbus was sent to +Spain--in chains this time. On his arrival Ferdinand and Isabella, +shocked at this state of affairs, endeavoured to make some minor +reparation to the greatest man of his age. They were nevertheless firm +in refusing to allow him to continue as Governor of Hispaniola and the +new territories, and to this post was appointed Nicolas de Ovando. + +This latter took out the first really imposing expedition which had set +sail for Hispaniola. The welfare of the Indians had been strictly +committed to his charge by Ferdinand and Isabella. Numerous humane laws +had been drawn up for the protection of the natives, and these, it was +intended, should be rigidly enforced. Nevertheless, the thousands of +miles of intervening ocean rapidly deprived these of any semblance of +authority, and the misery and mortality of the men of Hispaniola +continued unabated. + +Although to a certain extent deserted and discredited, Columbus +determined to make one more desperate effort to draw himself clear of +the oblivion which was now enveloping him. With a fleet of four small +vessels he set sail from Cadiz on May 9, 1502. Perhaps on this occasion +his mortification was greater than ever before. Ovando, the Governor, +would have nothing to do with him. Having suffered shipwreck and +numerous other calamities besides, the great navigator, embittered and +downcast, turned the bows of his ships towards Spain. On landing he +learned of the death of Queen Isabella, the only person of influence who +had shown him a consistent friendship. Realizing now that his influence +and chances had finally departed, he retired into seclusion in the +neighbourhood of Vallodolid, where he died in his sixtieth year on May +20, 1506. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SPANISH CONQUISTADORES + + +The pioneer _conquistadores_ of South America afford an interesting +study. Such men as those who took their lives in their hands and sailed +out into the unknown were actuated by two motives--the love of adventure +and the desire of gain. There is no doubt that the second consideration +by far outweighed the first. A man of the period left Spain or Portugal +for the New World for one cogent reason only, to seek his fortune. If he +won fame in the achievement of this, so much the better. Indeed, as a +matter of fact, it was generally impossible to achieve the one without +the other, although this fame might frequently have its shield sullied +and blackened by a number of wild and terrible acts; for circumstances +tended to make the _conquistador_ what he almost invariably became, a +daring being who let the lives of no others stand in the way of his own +interests. + +He was not, as was the case with corresponding officials of a later +epoch, sent out on an accurately defined mission for which his +emoluments were definitely fixed and guaranteed by the Home Government. +The _conquistador_ nearly always risked much of his own before he set +sail from his native land. A man was seldom given a Governorship, even +of an unknown region in the New World, unless he showed himself prepared +to finance in part an expedition which should be of sufficient +importance to furnish the new territory with men and live-stock, and +everything else of the kind. + +The _conquistador_, in fact, was generally the active partner in an +enterprise which was largely commercial. Sometimes his sleeping partners +were the merchants of Spain; sometimes it was the King himself who +joined in the venture; at others it was both King and merchants who +jointly assisted the pioneer. But it was very seldom that an adventurer +of the kind succeeded in obtaining an important concession unless he +were prepared to subsidize it heavily from his own pocket. + +We may instance Pedro de Mendoza. It was the part he had played in the +sack of Rome which enabled this wealthy adventurer to organize the great +expedition which set sail for the Provinces of the River Plate. Here we +have the curious anomaly of the Church being robbed by a mercenary, and +the money obtained by the loot employed in an object which was +ostensibly in the interests of the Church in the New World. In order to +satisfy the public nearer home, it is true that the _conquistadores_ +were almost invariably accompanied by priests; but once well without the +jurisdiction of Rome, Spain, and Portugal, they took very good care that +the priests should not interfere in their concerns. Having been accepted +as a guarantee of good faith, their sphere of utility had ended with the +arrival in the New World so far as the _conquistadores_ were concerned. +Many of them became active participants in the wild deeds of the +_conquistadores_. Did they, on the other hand, show themselves desirous +of protesting, the more reckless pioneers made strenuous attempts to +muzzle their eloquence. + +When the spirit of the age and the circumstances in which these +adventurers sailed to the South-West are considered, many of the +atrocities committed are less to be wondered at than would otherwise be +the case. It may be taken for granted, in the first place, that the +temperament of these men was sufficiently wild and reckless to cause +them to embark in any extraordinarily perilous enterprise of the kind. +With all they had in the world sunk in the venture, they would move +heaven and earth, and squander countless human beings, before admitting +defeat. The failure of Indian labour meant financial ruin; this was +frequently staved off at the cost of thousands and tens of thousands of +lives. Such characteristics as these were by no means confined to the +Spaniards and Portuguese. We have some terribly vivid examples of it on +the part of the Welzers, the German merchant princes who contracted with +Charles V. to subdue and settle Venezuela. Sir Clements Markham relates +that the first Governor of the new colony, an official of the name of +Alfinger, came out with a strong force in 1530. On his marches he would +employ many hundreds of native porters; these men were chained together +in long lines, each slave having a ring round his neck made fast to the +chain. When one of the slaves was too ill or too exhausted to proceed +any farther, Alfinger had the unfortunate wretch's head severed from his +body, so that the body dropped away from the chain without the march +being hindered. It is difficult to imagine a more callous or atrocious +proceeding than this, but undoubtedly financial considerations lay at +the bottom of it. The thing was done, perhaps, _pour encourager les +autres_, and certainly many a poor staggering wretch marched on mile +after mile, when under ordinary circumstances he would have dropped +exhausted at an earlier stage. Thus the last atom of physical energy was +wrenched by terror from the slaves--a species of economy which, if +worked out wholesale, may have proved sufficiently profitable from their +owner's point of view! + +Long even after the passing of the pioneer _conquistadores_ the methods +of the Spanish Court encouraged abuses of authority and many acts of +tyranny. Officials, such as Governors and even Viceroys, were wont to +pay certain sums down for the transference of the tenure of office, and +it was then their task to wring as much from the governed territory as +possible in order that they might retire from the New World to the Old +the owners of vast fortunes. + +To expect fair government under conditions such as these was to conceive +human beings on a higher plane than that on which they are wont to be +planned. Indeed, notwithstanding the atrocities and financial iniquities +which were rife throughout Spanish and Portuguese Colonies, to imagine +the various officials as necessarily inhuman and criminal is, of course, +absurd. Many of these were men of talent, and of merciful and gentle +disposition; but in many even of these cases the altogether +extraordinary influence and atmosphere of the Southern Continent ended +by driving them to acts from which in Europe they would have shrunk +whole-heartedly. The dispositions of the men were not invariably at +fault; but the system under which they worked was never anything else. + +It is time, however, to forsake generalization, and to return to the +Spanish pioneers who first colonized Haiti, and then set foot on the +mainland itself. In the ill-fated island the drama, begun with the +advent of the Spaniards, was being continued in deeper and bloodier +shades. The royal edicts came pompously out from Spain, commanding that +the welfare of the Indians should be the first consideration on the part +of the Colonial Government; but the thunder of such edicts, worn out by +the voyage, died away ere they reached the island. Ovando, it is true, +made some endeavours to act up to the spirit of these enactments; but in +view of the condition of the labour market and the clamourings of the +settlers it was, humanly speaking, impossible to carry this out. + +As time went on both settlers and Governors accustomed themselves to +treat the aborigines rather as beasts of burden than as men, and they +were hunted, slain, or driven to labour with as little compunction as if +they had been pack-mules. The slightest sign of revolt was wont to be +punished by an outlet of blood which left the unfortunate folk cowering +in deeper terror and despair than before. The utter misery of the +Indians may be imagined when the measures they took to free themselves +are taken into consideration, for in the end they adopted the plan of +committing suicide as the only means of cheating the rapacity of their +white oppressors. Native families, and even entire villages, found +gloomy consolation in a self-sought death. Even in this they were not +invariably successful. Perhaps never has the irony of fate been more +strongly illustrated than in the tale that is told of one large +slave-owner and his human chattels. + +These latter, having come to the end of their endurance, had determined +to follow the example of so many in the neighbourhood, and to do away +with themselves in a body. The Spaniard, however, received notice of the +intention of these people in time. Hastening to the spot, he came upon +them just as they were preparing to effect their end. He was undoubtedly +a crafty being, this. Proceeding into the midst of the distraught folk, +he called for a rope. This, he explained, was in order that he, too, +might hang himself and thus accompany the Indians to the next world, +where they would thus still remain his slaves. The ruse proved entirely +successful. The credulous Indians became, as it were, horrified back to +life at the idea; they abandoned the attempt upon their lives, and +continued in sorrowful despair to serve their Spanish owner. + +In 1509 Ovando sailed back to Spain, and some return was made to +Columbus's family for the part he had played in the discovery of the new +Colonies. His son, Diego, came out, having been endowed with the titles +of Viceroy and Admiral. Thus the Court of Spain had at last conceded +some of the privileges which had been so effectually won by his father. +It is certain enough that the experiences of Diego's generation were +very different from those of his father's. The new Commander took up his +residence in state in Haiti, where he lived with great pomp and style. +The Indians, however, it is said, suffered more under his Governorship +than had been their lot under that of his predecessor. + +The tide of conquest was flowing past the islands, and beginning to +spend itself on the continent. In 1508 began the actual colonization of +the Spanish Main. The first territories to which the Spaniards made +their way were those which gave on the Gulf of Darien. Here a companion +of Columbus in his second voyage, Alonso de Ojeda, was given the +district extending from the Cape de la Vela to the Gulf of Uraba, and +this territory was termed the Land of New Andalusia. Another adventurer, +Nicuesa, came as his neighbour, holding the Governorship of the coast +from the Gulf of Uraba to the Cape Gracias a Dios. These two +_conquistadores_, although as jealous of each other as was usual with +almost all these pioneer explorers, joined forces against the Indians, +whom they attempted to subdue by means of an iron hand rather than by a +silk glove. The Indians, however, proved themselves of a very warlike +disposition, and the joint forces of the Spaniards were unable to crush +the power of the aborigines. After a while the leaders were obliged to +withdraw their forces from the district they had occupied. + +Some while afterwards Nunez de Balboa took charge of Uraba. On his +arrival he found that matters on the Gulf of Darien had reached a +desperate pitch. As the fortunes of the Spaniards had waned, the +confidence of the Indians had increased. There is no doubt that the +majority of men would have recoiled from the task which faced Balboa +when he found himself at the head of a number of starving Spaniards, +scarcely able to maintain their precarious foothold in a hostile +country. + +Balboa gathered together the despairing remnants, and contrived to put +fresh heart into his men. He then turned to the Indians, and won their +esteem by his considerate treatment. He proved himself, in fact, in +every respect an able and successful leader. It was in 1512 that he set +out on his famous expedition across the Isthmus, and won his way to the +shores of the Pacific Ocean. It was certainly not the least dramatic +moment in the history of early America when Balboa, in a frenzy of joy, +seized the flag of Castile, and, holding it aloft, plunged his body into +the waters of the ocean, claiming it for his King. As was the fate of so +many able men of that period, it was not long before Balboa was +superseded. The fine governmental structure he had built up was very +soon wrecked by his successor and superior, Pedrarias. Friendly +communication with the Indians was ruthlessly broken off. The natives +were chased unmercifully by bloodhounds, and numbers slain. + +Balboa, chafing beneath a situation which must have been keenly +distressing to him, was suspected by Pedrarias, and arrested. The +Bishop, Quevado, however, intervened in favour of the single-minded +ex-Governor; a reconciliation of a kind was patched up, and, in order to +strengthen this, Balboa was officially betrothed to the daughter of +Pedrarias--a purely political move this, since Balboa was already united +to the dusky daughter of Careta, an aboriginal chief. There is matter +for the novelist here and to spare; few situations can be found which +hold more possibilities. In this case they led to the death of Balboa, +which would probably have happened irrespective of the strange situation +in which he found himself. The cause, however, was merely renewed +jealousy on the part of the Governor. Balboa had prepared a further +expedition of discovery, so thoroughly, indeed, that the suspicions of +Pedrarias were again needlessly aroused. A mock trial brought about a +real catastrophe, which ended in the beheading of Balboa in 1547, at the +age of forty-two. + +In the meanwhile much had been happening in the neighbourhood. Charles +V. found himself in some danger of running short of men in the face of +these tremendous additions to his empire. He farmed out a portion of +these new Colonies, contracting with the Welzers, merchant princes of +Augsberg, in Germany, to take charge of and to extend the settlements in +that part of the continent which is now known as Venezuela. + +An official of the name of Alfinger was appointed as the first Governor +of this new settlement. He is said to have practised the most barbarous +cruelties on the unfortunate Indians, some of which have already been +referred to. Alfinger was succeeded by other officials of his +nationality, who are said to have proved themselves somewhat less cruel +rulers. But, on the whole, this colonizing scheme of the Welzers proved +a dreary failure; they had little interest in the permanent occupation +of the country, and sought merely for the gold and precious metals. +Thus, with the knowledge that their occupation would be shortlived, they +forced the Indians to ever more strenuous labours than those to which +they were accustomed even at the hands of the Spaniards. In the end the +country became depopulated. The Welzers shrugged their shoulders, and +admitted that their utility was at an end in that district. With this +the Spaniards took possession of the country once again. + +Gonzalo Jimines de Quesada now became prominent as a _conquistador_ in +the territory to the north of Peru, known then as New Granada. Quesada +himself, although he lacked nothing of the courage and determination +(frequently of a merciless order) of the average _conquistador_, was +undoubtedly endowed with certain attributes which were possessed by very +few of these hardy pioneers. For one thing he was scholarly; he had been +given an elaborate education, and knew well how to put it to the best +purposes. Quesada led an expedition up the Magdalena River. He had for +companion Benalcazar. They approached the country from the south, +occupied Popagan and Pasto, and founded Guayaquil. They also penetrated +the Valley of Curacua and Bogota, and thus traversed the whole Province. +This brought them into contact with the Chibcha Indians. In the end +these unfortunate beings were completely subdued, their civilization +destroyed, and they themselves divided as slaves among the Spaniards. + +Quesada, accompanied by a band of mercenary Indians, started on his +journey in order to seek for gold. He was, in the first place, received +in a friendly way by the natives; but in the end these, dreading the +greed which the invaders took no trouble to conceal, attacked them. The +warfare between the Spaniards and the natives commenced, with the +conquest of the natives as the result, as given above. It has already +been explained that many of the characteristics of the Incas and of the +Chibchas were curiously alike. In history this extended even to the fate +of the respective Royal Families. Pizarro slew Atahualpa; Quesada was +even more thorough. For not only did he destroy the Prince of the +Chibchas, but the whole of the Royal Family as well. + +These acts do not appear to have lain very heavily on the conscience of +Quesada, if fruitful years be any test. The tough old _conquistador_ +lived to the age of eighty, expiring in the year 1579. In 1597 it is +said that his body was taken to Bogota Cathedral. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF BRAZIL + + +It still remains a point of dispute between the Spanish and Portuguese +nations as to who was the discoverer of Brazil. There is, moreover, +Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo Vespucci may be said to have been more +successful in his accounts of his voyages than in the feats which he +actually accomplished. To have succeeded on such slender foundation in +causing an entire Continent to be christened by his name was in itself +no mean performance, and this was probably his greatest claim to +distinction. + +Some historians take him more seriously than this. Southey, for one, +appears to accept Vespucci very much at his own valuation, and states +that the honour of having formed the first settlement in Brazil is due +to Amerigo Vespucci. + +The Spaniards claim this distinction for their famous seaman, Vicente +Pinzon. Pinzon sailed from Spain in December, 1499. He shaped a more +southerly course than any previous navigator in the Spanish service, and +he appears to have made his landfall in the neighbourhood of Pernambuco. +He went ashore, it would seem, at a spot he named Cape Consolation, and +of this he took possession in the name of the Spanish Crown. His voyage, +however, appears to have had very little practical result, for almost +immediately afterwards he returned to Europe, and no steps seem to have +been taken by the Spanish Court for the colonization of the land which +he had discovered. + +[Illustration: COLUMBUS LANDING IN AMERICA. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +The Portuguese, for their part, assert that the territories of Brazil +were first sighted by their great navigator, Pedro Alvarez Cabral. The +discovery was in one sense something of an accident. It was necessary +for the seamen who were setting their course for the East Indies to +steer well to the west, in order to avoid the zones of calms which +prevail in the neighbourhood of the African coast. Cabral appears to +have steered so boldly into the west that he fell in with the coast of +Brazil. This was in 1500. Word of this event was sent to Portugal, and +the enterprising little kingdom, at that time at the height of her +maritime power, made preparations to colonize the country. + +The auspices under which the Spaniards and the Portuguese arrived in the +New World were curiously different. The Spaniards were frankly in quest +of gold, and in many cases ransacked the fertile agricultural lands in +search of minerals which were non-existent. The Portuguese, on the other +hand, had no reason to suspect the presence of precious metals in their +new colony, and it was in the first instance for its vegetable products +that the land, so rich in minerals, became famed. + +It was only natural that the pioneer Portuguese should have been struck +with the admirable quality of the valuable Brazilian woods. Shipments of +timber were the first to be sent from the new colony to the Mother +Country. It was from this very wood that Portuguese South America took +its name, since much of it, being of a brilliant red colour, was known +in the Portuguese language as "brasa." + +Just about this time the Portuguese fitted out the most imposing fleet +which had ever left their shores. It was commanded by one of the +greatest of Portuguese explorers, Vasco da Gama, and was destined to +sail round the Cape of Good Hope to the Indies--the new and marvellous +land of spices. The fleet was worthy of its commander; it was made up of +no fewer than thirteen vessels, and was manned by some 1,200 men. + +With pomp and ceremony this imposing Armada sailed away from the blue +waters of the Tagus, and, rounding the sunlit bluff, stood away to the +south. It made the Canaries in the usual way, passed the Cape Verde +Islands, and struck out to the west, lighting on the Brazilian coast in +latitude 17 deg. south--that is to say, not far from the spot where stands +the present town of Bahia. From this point Vasco da Gama sailed +southward, keeping touch with the coast. He eventually established +communication with the Indians, who were, as was usual in these +latitudes, quite naked, their bodies being painted, and who wore great +bones in their ears and in their slit lips and noses. + +A criminal, one of the type which seems to have been brought out for +purposes such as this, was landed in order to dwell among the natives, +to test their temper and habits--a somewhat precarious profession this! +After a while the fleet sailed from the place they named Port Seguro, +leaving two of these criminals or _degradados_--professional +pioneers--behind. These "were seen lamenting and crying upon the beach, +and the men of the country comforting them, demonstrating that they were +not a people devoid of pity." + +This was the scene which presented itself to the eyes of the more +fortunate mariners as they sailed away. Nevertheless, the criminals seem +to have survived. No small advertisement, this, of the courtesy of the +Indian tribe, for the people composing it must have belonged to one of +the coastal races who afterwards were grimly famed for their ferocity. + +As a matter of fact, human instruments of the kind, which, it must be +admitted, were of small merit, played no small part in the colonization +of Brazil. In some respects these unfortunate folk were undoubtedly +useful. They resembled the candles carried by underground miners. If the +candle continued to burn, all was well; but if the candle went out, +there was obviously danger in the air. Quite a number of these human +candles went out in the course of the early Iberian explorations. In a +sense there was sufficient justice in this, since they were criminals +whose offences had been usually those of murder and violence. If, +therefore, they escaped in the first instance with their lives, their +penitence had been consummated, and they were free to take advantage of +the land. + +People of this kind had been set ashore to pave the way for their +betters in Africa and in India, and this system was now extended to +Brazil. When friendly relations were once established, it may be +imagined that the influence of these criminals upon the savages was not +of the best. According to Southey: "The Europeans were weaned from that +human horror at the blood-feasts of the savages, which, ruffians as they +were, they had at first felt, and the natives lost that awe and +veneration for the superior races, which might have proved so greatly to +their advantage." + +In 1503 the Portuguese sent out an important expedition under Duarte +Coelho. This leader explored the country in the neighbourhood of the Bay +of Bahia. After this he proceeded southwards, and landed men in order to +establish a small colony. + +The first really important attempt at colonizing the country was +undertaken by Martin Affonso de Souza. This navigator set out from +Portugal in command of many ships and men. Like Coelho, he struck the +Brazilian coast at Bahia; but, instead of proceeding to the south, as +his predecessor had done, he remained for some while at the spot. It is +said that when De Souza landed he fell in with a Portuguese of the name +of Correia. This worthy is supposed to have formed one of Cabral's +expedition. For some reason or other he was marooned at that place. The +Indians, instead of slaying him, had conceived a great veneration for +this white man, who had, as it were, dropped from the clouds into their +midst. The marooned sailor had become a kind of professional adviser, +whose counsel was sought by the natives on every important occasion. +Many of the early navigators maintain that the comparatively easy +colonization of this portion of the Brazilian coast was due to the +presence of the much-esteemed Correia. + +Bahia rapidly became the most important of these early Portuguese +settlements. In the first instance it was, of course, extremely +difficult for the few bands of daring Portuguese to make any practical +impression on the huge slice of coast which had fallen to their share. +The experiences of the first colonists, moreover, were destined to +differ considerably from those of the pioneer Spaniards. The latter had +their field of exploration practically to themselves. The Portuguese, on +the other hand, found rivals in the South Seas almost as soon as the +prows of their ships had pierced the waters. The Dutch eventually were +destined to become by far the most formidable of these; but in the first +instance the chief friction occurred with the French. + +Just at this period the Gallic sailors awoke to a strong interest in +Brazil, and the French vessels carried numbers of warlike and industrial +adventurers to the tropical shores. Even before 1530 a French factory +had been established at Pernambuco, but a circumstance of far greater +importance was that these French rovers discovered the magnificent +harbour of Rio de Janeiro, sailed into the narrow entrance between the +lofty peaks, and founded a colony there before the Portuguese had +obtained the opportunity of a permanent footing in that place. + +The leader of these troops was Nicolas Durant de Villegagnon, and his +men comprised a number of Huguenots who were abandoning France. +Villegagnon's own character appears to have been complex and curious in +the extreme. He was apparently a true blade of the old swashbuckling +type; he employed religion for such ends as he might have in view at the +moment, regarding its tenets cynically, tongue in cheek. Thus he came +out in command of the Huguenots, ostensibly himself a Huguenot; but his +convictions appear to have changed on various occasions, and he is seen +now as their abettor, now as their oppressor. In the end he clearly +showed himself antagonistic to the convictions of his followers, and +took to denouncing them as heretics. With the exception of this leader, +the circumstances and motives of the expedition were somewhat similar to +those which caused the first emigration of the English Puritans to North +America. + +Once established in Rio de Janeiro, the Huguenots succeeded in making +friends with the Indians of the neighbourhood, who became their firm +allies and proved of great assistance to the French in their struggles +against the Portuguese, who came down in force to evict the intruders. +The Huguenots were defeated in 1560 by Mem de Sa, the third Governor of +Brazil; but, although dispersed for a while, the power of the invaders +was by no means broken. Shortly afterwards they came together again, and +succeeded in establishing themselves more firmly than before in the +place. They were again fiercely attacked by the Portuguese, but the +number of islands in the bay afforded excellent points of defence, and +it was not until 1567 that the Portuguese sea and land forces combined +were able to expel the last Frenchmen from the mountains which lay about +the harbour of Rio de Janeiro. This, as a matter of fact, was merely a +foretaste of much of the active and aggressive competition in matters of +colonization from which the Portuguese were destined to suffer. + +Before arriving at the subject of the predatory expeditions of the +various nations in South America, it would be as well to consider the +initial methods taken by the early Portuguese settlers. In the first +instance the partition of so vast an extent of territory among so small +a number of colonists was necessarily effected in a crude and tentative +fashion. The great colony was divided into _capitaneas_, or counties, +each of which possessed a coast-line of 150 miles. A Governor was +appointed to each _capitanea_. As was perhaps natural, the powers of +each of these officials, more or less isolated as each was, grew +rapidly--to such an extent, indeed, that the home authorities in +Portugal became anxious to curb the occasional eccentricities of some of +the more despotic of these. In order to effect this, Thome de Souza was +made Captain-General of Brazil, and was sent out to that country +provided with numerous officials and troops. He established his +headquarters at Bahia, and the size of the town increased in +consequence. In 1572 Brazil was divided into two governmental areas, +Bahia being recognized as the capital of the north, and Rio de Janeiro +as the capital of the southern portion. This division, however, only +lasted for five years. Brazil in the meanwhile was becoming populous, +and had taken its place as the largest among the regular Portuguese +colonies throughout the world. + +It was not long before the jealousies between the Spanish and Portuguese +led to various outbreaks and to troubles on the frontiers. From a purely +practical point of view, there is no doubt whatever that such +bickerings were a sheer absurdity, since the territories at the disposal +of both nations were far too great to be effectively dealt with by any +forces which either the Spanish or Portuguese could introduce into the +Continent. As it was, the era was one of moulding and experiments. Even +at the present day it would seem difficult to decide whether many of +these latter have proved themselves definite successes or undoubted +failures. The general conditions of the New World at this period are +well worthy of note. + +No doubt South America has been more widely experimented upon in the +colonizing sense than any other Continent. The methods of the Spaniards +and Portuguese were by no means similar throughout. Indeed, the +principles adopted by the four greatest colonizing nations of the +age--the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English, and the Dutch--were all +distinguished from each other by various important features. + +The British, where they came into contact with dark-skinned races of +inferior vigour and individual power, made a point of holding aloof, so +far as the more important social points were concerned. Thus in India +and in Africa the gulf between the white and the black has continued +unbridged. The representatives of the British have remained as a +governing race, relying upon the strict justice of their rule for its +preservation. They have refrained from interference in the thousand +jealousies and caste regulations with which the East Indies were, and +are, honeycombed, becoming active only when oppression became barefaced. +These officials, that is to say, have made a point of respecting the +religions of the various tribes, and have even encouraged them to +continue unmolested. + +As a result, the Governors, as a body, won the respect, and even the +reverence, of a great mass of the populace, but gained comparatively +little actual and personal affection. They were subjected to the +jealousy of the fakirs in India, of the witch-doctors in Africa, and of +other dusky fanatics who had been accustomed to oppress the rank and +file of the populace before the advent of the European civilization. + +The Dutch pursued a policy very similar to that of the English. They +were essentially just in their rule, and they won the wholesale respect +of the subject races. Their methods of governing, however, were usually +more severe than those of the British, and as a rule the discipline they +enforced was considerably stronger. This has been evidenced in Africa +and elsewhere. + +The Iberian system of colonization was in general totally different. +Even the Spaniards, far less spontaneously genial than the Portuguese, +encouraged an intimacy between their colonists and the subject races of +a kind unknown in the Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic circles. It is true that +in the first instance the Spaniards slaughtered hundreds of thousands of +natives. But these wholesale killings were on account of no social +convictions; they were merely the result of an overpowering greed for +gold and of too harsh a method of enforcing labour. The colour question, +as between Spaniard and native, scarcely ruffled the social surface of +the colonies. This was not altogether to be wondered at when the +antecedents of these bold Spanish colonial pioneers are taken into +consideration. + +A dusky tide from Africa had flooded the half of Spain, and had remained +there for centuries, until the southern Spaniard, who lived in the midst +of Moorish conquerors, tolerantly treated and allowed almost entire +religious freedom, forgot the hostility towards his traditional enemy, +and became oblivious of questions of colour. So much so was this the +case that the Christian services were wont, after a time, to be +conducted in Arabic, a system which evoked horrified protests from +Bishops in other parts. Be that as it may, it is certain that the +Spaniards had, with the sole exception of the Portuguese, been more +concerned with the African races and dark blood than any other nation in +Europe. Thus, once in South America, although the actual helplessness of +the Indians was immediately remarked and taken advantage of, no question +of inferiority from a mere racial point of view arose. The Indian went +to the wall, not because he was an Indian, but because his powers were +less than those of the European who had invaded his lands. + +[Illustration: VASCO DA GAMA. + +_From a portrait in colour in a Spanish MS. (Sloane, 197, fol. 18) in +the British Museum._] + +If this was the case with the Spaniard, it was far more marked in the +case of the Portuguese. In some respects, perhaps, no nation colonized +with quite the same amount of enthusiasm as this. Its pioneers once +definitely settled in the country, whichever it might be, there arose no +question of looking upon the new conquest as a place to be resided in +for a certain number of years and no more. The Portuguese went to the +east and to the south-west to make themselves part and parcel of the +soil of the country they had annexed. To this end they mingled from the +very start with the natives, and inter-married with an entire want of +restraint with the Indian women. + +Thus from the very inception of the Portuguese colonial era we are +confronted with a race of half-castes, and we see the forces brought +about by a mixture of blood and climatic conditions working more +powerfully in the Portuguese colonies than in any others. The result +was, in one sense, the formation of a new race, and an almost complete +absence of rebellion and native unrest in those parts where genuine +civilization had been attempted. That the race as a whole lost its +European vigour and its northern principles was inevitable. This was the +price of peace. + +The subject is one into which climatic influence enters largely. Many +of the districts of Brazil were not, and are not, in the least suited as +a permanent place of residence for the white man. Were an attempt to be +made to populate such places as these by Europeans, it could only be +done by means of a continual change of inhabitants. That is to say, each +resident, having spent a certain number of years in the spot, must be +succeeded by another in order to preserve the integrity and vigour of +the race. + +Portugal, with an extraordinary generosity, flung her handful of white +colonists into the vast lands she had discovered, and hoped by this +means to raise the leaven of the whole. In India, as exemplified in Goa, +the result has met with scant success. In Brazil, however, where the +proportion of white to black was greater, a race of intellect and +culture has been developed, although occasionally subject to the mental +paroxysms of the dwellers in the tropics. In any case it may be said +that the colour question has never existed in Brazil--so far, at all +events, as the Indian is concerned. It was necessarily in evidence to a +certain extent upon the first introduction of the negro slave, but even +here the question has become of less and less importance, until, at the +present day, the negro has in Brazil probably a more congenial +resting-place than anywhere else in the world. + +It must never be forgotten that these remarks as regards the Spanish +colonies, and to almost as great an extent as regards the Portuguese, +apply to the general run of the population. The majority of the leaders, +both social and political, in all the South American colonies have been +in the first instance, and have continued, men of good blood, and +generally of ancient lineage, who have floated along with the rest, +until they met with the inevitable current which bore them to the +topmost of the new social layers. And once there, having been found the +most fitting, they have remained. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE CONQUEST OF PERU + + +The story of Pizarro and the Incas has been told many hundreds of times, +yet owing to the sheer audacity of which its elements are composed it +would seem to retain its interest almost unimpaired. That a mere handful +of men should have banded themselves together to conquer a nation which +counted its subjects by the hundred thousand, and which could claim a +civilization that included great armies, remains almost beyond belief. +The Incas themselves, moreover, were a conquering race, and their troops +had marched to the north and to the south in their thousands, conquering +nations less important than their own, and thus adding to the extent of +the one formidable Empire of the Southern Continent. + +Yet the downfall of these armies in this victorious State was achieved +by less than two hundred European soldiers, led by the two fearless +adventurers, Francisco Pizarro and Diego Almagro. These, accompanied by +Hernando Luques, had begun to explore the neighbourhood of Panama in +1524. Every member of the force, it may be taken for granted, had a keen +nose for gold, and it was not long before they came across some treasure +of the kind which determined the leaders to possess themselves the +country where the metal was to be found. + +At this period the number of men commanded by Pizarro and Almagro was +fewer even than the band with which they entered Peru. When it came to +the knowledge of the Spaniards that the country of their desire was in +reality so formidable an Empire, Pizarro sailed to Spain in search of +reinforcements, and returned accompanied by his brothers and by a force +of 180 men. It was on Pizarro's arrival in America that the first +serious breach occurred between Almagro and himself. This was brought +about by the arrangements which Pizarro had concluded in Spain, and in +which Almagro considered, doubtless rightfully, he had not been fairly +dealt with by his partner. + +After a while a truce was patched up between the pair, and in 1531 an +expedition, carried in three small vessels, set sail for the South. The +troops were landed on the Peruvian coast, and they marched inland, +defeating such small forces as endeavoured to oppose their progress. The +valour and greed of the little army were every day becoming more deeply +stirred by the trophies of gold and silver which they captured as they +went. Fate was fighting strongly in favour of these desperate Spaniards. +No circumstances could have been better adapted to successful invasion +than those which obtained when Pizarro and Almagro entered the country, +although these adventurous spirits knew nothing of this at the time. The +land was divided against itself, for the first time in the comparatively +short Inca history. Atahualpa and Huasca, the two sons of the recently +dead Inca, Huana Capac, were engaged in a fierce struggle for the +throne. + +This in itself was something of a shock to the devout subjects of the +Inca race, looking as they did upon the Imperial Children of the Sun as +superhuman beings. It was thus a war of demigods waged by doubting and +diffident mortals. The arrival of the Spaniards increased, of course, +the drama of the situation. At the period of their advent Huasca was +obtaining the worst of the struggle, and, seeing the possibility of +salvation in the arrival of the newcomers, he sent to these beseeching +their help. It can be imagined with what avidity Pizarro seized upon +this pretext to enter into the domestic affairs of the nation. Atahualpa +unconsciously helped to play the fate of the unfortunate Inca race still +further into the hands of the Spaniards. Learning of the warlike might +of the white man, he also sent an embassy of friendship to Pizarro, and +a little later, in 1532, he started out in order to effect his first +meeting with the strangers. This took place at Caxamalca. + +[Illustration: THE DEFEAT OF THE PERUVIANS OUTSIDE CUZCO. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +In an evil moment for himself Atahualpa had determined to do his utmost +to impress these foreigners from overseas with the evidence of his +wealth and power. His body was covered with golden plates, armour, and +decorations which shone with a strange brilliance as they flashed back +the rays of the sun from its worshipper. He was attended, moreover, by a +chosen company of nobles, whose adornments, although by comparison less +splendid, were sufficient to cause the Spaniards' eyes to start from +their heads with wonder and freshly-awakened lust. + +Had the Inca come as a humble suppliant, the fate of the nation might +have been postponed, if not altogether altered. The appearance of these +resplendent beings signalled its instant doom. As Atahualpa was borne on +his litter of state towards where Pizarro stood expectant in front of +his soldiers, a priest strode forward, and, approaching him, urged him +heatedly to embrace the religion of the Cross. + +It is certain that the Inca understood nothing whatever of what was +going on. What might have been his state of mind when he was handed the +breviary is unknown; in any case he flung it to the ground. This was the +signal for the attack on the part of the Spaniards. Drawing their +swords, they flung themselves furiously upon the altogether unprepared +Indians, slaying thousands of their numbers. Pizarro himself, hacking +and striking as he went, fought his way to the Inca's litter of state, +and it was his own hand which dragged the unfortunate ruler from his +golden chair. The next moment he was guarding his captive fiercely from +the chance blows which were rained upon the dusky monarch by the +Spaniards who went charging by. He knew well enough the value of the +Inca alive and captive in his hands. It was for this reason alone that +he warded off the blows which his men would have dealt the fallen Child +of the Sun. + +[Illustration: A PERUVIAN CASSE-TETE AND A PIPE OF PEACE. + +_From "Histoire des Yncas."_] + +The main onslaught had now died away. The field of the massacre was +covered with the bodies of the dead and dying Peruvians; the rest had +fled. Pizarro lost no time in improving the occasion from a financial +point of view. A gallant knight, Fernando de Soto, was sent to the +marvellous city of Cuzco--authorized both by the Inca and Pizarro--to +despoil the temples of their treasures. Thus enormous hoards of gold and +silver were obtained from the sacred buildings and from Atahualpa's +loyal subjects as his ransom. + +Even here Pizarro showed his want of good faith, for when the treasure +demanded had been given up and amassed, he still retained the person of +the Inca. Matters of policy and personal dislike soon sealed the fate +of this latter. In 1533 he was tried for his life. After a parodied +performance of justice he was executed, although Fernando de Soto and a +number of other Spaniards protested vigorously against the act. + +From a purely political point of view it is likely enough that the crime +was profitable; in any case it sent a shock throughout the bounds of the +Inca Empire from which its dusky inhabitants never afterwards fully +recovered. There was now no powerful claimant to the Inca throne. The +wrongs suffered by the race at the hands of the Spaniards need not cover +the fact that the Indians themselves frequently proved capable of +tyrannical and sanguinary acts. Thus on the news of Atahualpa's capture +his enraged adherents had slain Huasca, who by that time had become a +prisoner in their hands. + +Pizarro now determined to take an active share in the government of the +country. Placing a son of Atahualpa's on the throne, and having received +reinforcements of men and arms, he marched throughout the Province at +the head of 500 men, carrying with him the puppet King upon whom he +placed great hopes. The latter disappointed these, since he died in the +course of the expedition. In some respects this was doubly unfortunate +for Pizarro, as there now remained one clear claimant to the throne of +the Children of the Sun--Manco Capac, the brother of Huasca. + +Manco Capac was by no means prepared to yield tamely to the situation. +For a considerable time very little was effected on either side. The +Incas were slowly recovering from the shocks and tribulations which they +had undergone; the Spaniards, on the other hand, found their attention +occupied by the unexpected arrival of a Spanish expedition commanded by +Pedro de Alvarado. This leader had performed his part in the conquest +of Mexico, and had now hastened to the South in order to ascertain what +chances of enrichment were to be met with in the land, the reputation of +which was now spreading itself abroad. For a while it looked very much +as if open warfare would result between the rival parties. In the end, +however, Pizarro consented to buy the departure of Alvarado, and this +leader retired heavy in pocket. On the whole his visit had not proved +unprofitable to the astute Pizarro, since many of Alvarado's men had +remained in Peru to throw in their lot with him. + +Pizarro and Almagro were now left in occupation of the Inca Empire. It +was inevitable that jealousy should arise between the pair, and it was +not long before the situation grew strained. Pizarro, true to his own +interests, had insisted on returning to Spain in order to give an +account of the doings in Peru. Needless to say, he employed the +opportunity to obtain the royal sanction to advance still further his +official position--somewhat at the expense of Almagro, of course. Almost +directly after his return he founded the city of Lima, intending this to +supersede Cuzco as the future capital of the country. + +All this while the breach between Pizarro and Almagro had widened. In +1535 the latter, realizing that even the Empire of the Incas was not +sufficiently large to hold the pair of Spanish leaders, determined to +make for the South. The expedition was a tragic one. Almagro, though his +spirit was undaunted, was now aged in years, and the barren country of +the Atacama Desert and the attacks of the hostile Indians rendered the +enterprise a failure from a monetary point of view. Almagro had invested +all his fortune in this, and his affairs now became desperate. + +[Illustration: PIZARRO AND ATAHUALPA. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +In the meantime the crafty Pizarro had been permitted to enjoy very +little peace and tranquillity in Peru. Manco Capac had bided his time, +and his Indian subjects, fervently loyal to the sacred dynasty, had +crowded about him in their thousands. The Peruvians now assumed the +aggressive. Thousands of Inca troops scoured the country, and, falling +on remote and unprepared bands of Spaniards, obtained some modicum of +revenge in slaughtering all they found. + +[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN. CUZCO. + +_From "Histoire des Yncas," Amsterdam, 1737._] + +Encouraged by such minor successes, the Inca army advanced against the +main bodies of the Spaniards. Some historians place the numbers of the +native troops at no fewer than 200,000. With astonishing suddenness the +situation became altered. Pizarro found himself besieged in Lima, while +his brothers, shut up in Cuzco, experienced an equal difficulty in +beating off the attacks of the serried native ranks. Had the Spanish +army in Peru been left to its own devices, there is no doubt but that +their doom would have been sealed. The irony of fate, however, chose +this very moment for the return of Almagro. Marching up with his grim +and travel-worn band, he found himself before Cuzco, surveying the +beleaguered Spaniards and the investing Incas. + +Manco Capac had gleaned something of the disputes between the European +leaders. He made advances to Almagro, and did all he could to win him to +his side; but Almagro, little cause though he had to love Pizarro, +proved himself stanch. He was in consequence attacked by the Inca +troops, but these he repulsed with heavy losses, and then entered Cuzco +in triumph. Manco Capac himself escaped, and retired to the other side +of the Andes. + +[Illustration: INDIAN HUTS ON THE RIVER CHIPURANA.] + +Almagro was destined to receive small thanks for his intervention. The +aged _conquistador_ laid claim to the city as part of his own dominions, +and this woke into fresh activity the warfare between himself and +Francisco Pizarro. Almagro, defeated, lost his head, a white and +seventy-year-old head though it was. His fate by no means ended the +tragedies in Peru. The current of sinister events was running here in a +strangely full flood. It was only three years afterwards that Pizarro +himself was murdered by his enemies, the adherents of Almagro's son, +whom they wished to see elevated to the Governorship of the country, an +event which actually occurred, although it proved of very short +duration. + +By the time this had come about, the power of the Incas had been broken +for good and all, so far as practical purposes were concerned. Driven +from their temples and strongholds, certain sections of the race +survived, although among them were remarkably few of the noble families +who had formed the salt of the land. Great numbers of the rank and file +of the race met with the fate which was at that time so universal +throughout the country, or rather in its metal-bearing lands. They were +sent to the mines, and, worked and flogged to death, their numbers +diminished with a ghastly rapidity. Some sections, more fortunate, were +at a rather later age set to agriculture, and, forced to somewhat more +congenial tasks than the first workers, they continued to serve the +Spaniards. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +SPANIARD AND NATIVE + + +The collisions with the various peoples of the Continent had now +afforded the _conquistadores_ an opportunity of testing the power of +each. The force of the impact had, it is true, swept into the background +the first peoples with whom they had come into contact; but, as the +scanty numbers of the pioneers filtered across the new territories, they +found that the task of annexation was by no means so easy in every case. + +So far as a warlike spirit was concerned, the difference between the +aboriginal tribes of the tropics and those of the southern regions was +most marked. The Incas were, in many respects, a warlike race--that is +to say, they had possessed themselves by force of arms of the country in +the neighbourhood of Lake Titicaca, wresting this from whatever tribe of +the Aymaras it was which, highly civilized, had held the land before +them. This nucleus of empire, once obtained, they had spread to the +south and to the north, and to a certain extent to the east, conquering +all with whom they had come into contact, with the notable exception of +the Araucanians in Southern Chile. + +The Chibchas, too, in the far north, whose civilization in some respects +equalled that of the Incas, might be termed a conquering race. They +dominated the north of the Continent, and upheld their empire securely +by force of arms. Yet it is curious that both these nations, +representing the chief civilizing and inventive powers of the Continent, +presented nothing beyond the most futile resistance to the invaders. +Their gods desecrated, their faith outraged, stung to utter fury and +hate, even these passions failed to lead them to a single victory of +consequence, notwithstanding the fact that their tens of thousands of +warriors were faced by no more than a few dozen Spaniards. Disheartened +by the terrifying onslaught of the men in mail mounted on gigantic +horses, they appear to have reconciled themselves with melancholy +submission to a fate which only on two or three occasions during the +following centuries they endeavoured with any earnestness at all to +disturb. + +How different were the battles of the south! The Spaniards who found +themselves face to face with the Araucanian Indians, and with those of +the Pampa on the other side of the Andes, had a far more strenuous tale +to tell. The armour which had resisted with such contempt the more +delicate weapons of the Peruvians and of the northern warriors in +general was crushed in and dented beneath the tremendous blows dealt by +the clubs of the muscular and warlike Araucanians, who charged into the +battle with a wild joy that left them as drunk with triumph at the end +of the combat as they had been with their native spirit at the +beginning. + +These Araucanians were, indeed, born fighters. In common with the +general run of mankind, it was their lot to be defeated from time to +time. Nevertheless, they repaid the defeats frequently with very tragic +interest; in any case, subdued by force of arms they certainly never +were. Much the same may be said of the Indians of the Argentine and +Uruguayan plains. The aggressive tactics here were by no means confined +to the Spaniards. On the first landing of the _conquistadores_, these +found themselves, after having given provocation in the first instance, +cooped up within the flimsy walls of their new settlements, surrounded +by fierce and vindictive enemies, who charged on them from time to time +with bewildering fury, choosing as often as not for the purpose the hour +just before dawn, which they would make horrid with their warlike cries +and shrill yells. These, too, remained entirely unsubdued to the last. +They had the ill-fortune to be favoured with fewer natural advantages +than the Araucanians. They had neither woodland valleys nor mountains in +which to take shelter in the time of need. They fought on a plain which +was as open as day, and as flat as a table from horizon to horizon. No +crude strategy was possible--at all events, in the daytime--and the +attack of the charging Indians was necessarily visible from a distance +of leagues. + +From time to time a certain number of these fierce tribesmen were +captured, but their fiery spirits could brook no domestic tasks, and +when, at a very much later date, some of them were shipped upon a +Spanish man-of-war with the purpose of testing their value as sailors, +they rose in mutiny and slew many officers and men, and, indeed, +obtained temporary control of the ship, until, seeing the uselessness of +further efforts, they flung themselves overboard in a body. + +It was the ancestors of such men as these who had in the first instance +disputed the soil with the Spaniards. There is no doubt that, while the +metal-bearing lands fell into the opened mouths of the Spaniards as +easily as over-ripe plums, the maintaining of a foothold in the southern +plains was a precarious and desperate matter. As has been said, the +natural topographical advantages of Southern Chile made the wars here +the grimmest and fiercest of all those waged throughout the Continent. +The mere names of Caupolican and Lautaro suffice to recall a galaxy of +Homeric feats. The deeds of the two deserve a passing word of +explanation. + +It was the Chief Caupolican who organized the first resistance to the +invaders on a large scale, and who led his armies with a marvellous +intrepidity against the Spaniards. He initiated a new species of attack, +which proved very trying to the white troops. He would divide his men +into a number of companies, and send one after another to engage the +Spanish forces. Thus the first company would charge, and would engage +for awhile, fighting desperately. Then they would retire at their +leisure, to be succeeded without pause by the second, and so on. +According to some of the older historians, it was by this method that +Valdivia's forces were overcome on the occasion when the entire Spanish +army, including its brave leader, was massacred. + +The other famous chief, Lautaro, received his baptism of spears and of +fire under the leadership of Caupolican. Lautaro was probably the +greatest scourge from which the Spaniards in Chile ever suffered. Twice +he demolished the town of Concepcion, and once he pursued their +retreating forces as far as Santiago itself. In an engagement on the +outskirts of this city the victorious chief was killed, and after his +death a certain amount of the triumphant spirit of the Indians deserted +them. But only for a while. The indomitable spirit of the race awoke +afresh, and asserted itself with renewed ardour in the course of the +next series of the interminable struggles. + +Compared with all this, the sun-bathed peaks of the centre and of the +north breathed dreams and soft romance. Naturally the temperament of the +inhabitants had tuned themselves to fit in with this. The few savage +customs which had intruded themselves among the quaint rites and +mysticism of these peoples had failed to inculcate a genuine warlike +ardour or lust for blood. Their dreamily brooding natures revolted +against the strain of prolonged strife. What measure of violent +resistance was to be expected from the dwellers on the shores of Lake +Guatavita? + +The Lake of Guatavita had been a sacred water of the Indians of Colombia +before the advent of the Spaniards. It was on this peaceful sheet that +the cacique and his chiefs were rowed out in canoes while the people +clustered in their thousands about the mountainous sides of the lake. + +When the canoes had arrived at the centre of the lake the chiefs were +accustomed to anoint the cacique, and to powder him with a great +profusion of gold-dust. Then came the moment for the supreme ceremony. +The multitude turned their backs on the lake, and the cacique dived from +the canoe and plunged into its waters; at the same time the people threw +over their shoulders their offerings of gold and precious stones, which +fell with a splash into the waters. + +The lake was further enriched after the arrival of the _conquistadores_, +when the natives, tortured and ill-treated in order that gold should be +wrung from them, conceived such a hatred of the metal that they threw +all they had wholesale into the sacred waters. It is said that some +Indians, goaded beyond endurance, taunted their conquerors and told them +to search at the bottom of the lake, where they would find gold. They +had no idea that the Spaniards would actually attempt this, but this the +_conquistadores_ did, and were digging in order, apparently, to drain +the water off when the sides fell in and put an end to the attempt. It +is said that even then they procured a large amount of gold and some +magnificent emeralds. + +[Illustration: DEATH OF ATAHUALPA. + +The final tragedy as shown in a seventeenth-century engraving.] + +As may well be imagined, it was people such as these who suffered most +of all from the violence of the strange, pale beings who had descended +into their midst to subdue them, first of all by means of the sword, and +then by the ceaseless wielding of the more intimate and degrading thong. +Since, notwithstanding all that has been urged to the contrary, the +average Spaniard of those days--even those of his number who had to do +with the Americas--was provided with the ordinary sentiments and +passions of humanity, it was inevitable that in the course of the +oppression and warfare waged against the natives some devoted being +should sooner or later rise up to espouse the cause of the Indians. + +This intermediary, of course, was Bartolome de las Casas, so widely +known as the Apostle of the Indies. There are many who fling themselves +heart and soul into a cause of which they know nothing, and who, from +the sheer impetus of good-hearted ignorance, cause infinite mischief. +The case of Las Casas was different. Before he took up his spiritual +labours he had lived for years at the theatre of his future work, and +understood the conditions of the colonial and native life. + +As a matter of fact, Las Casas' mission did not dawn upon him until he +had enjoyed a very considerable practical experience in the industrial +affairs of the New World. His connection with this latter did not begin +with his own generation. He was the son of a shipmate of Columbus, who +had sailed with the great explorer in his first voyage, and who had +accompanied Ovando when that knight sailed out from Spain to take up his +Governorship of the Indies. + +It was in Hispaniola, it appears, that Las Casas was ordained priest. In +the first place he lived the ordinary life of the Spanish settler in the +island. In common with everyone else, he accepted a +_repartimiento_--that is to say, a supply of Indian labourers--and was +undoubtedly on the road to riches when, little by little, the +inhumanity of slave-owning became clear to him. To one of his +enthusiastic temperament no half measures were possible. He gave up his +Indians forthwith, allowed his estate to revert to Nature, and began his +strenuous campaign, that had as its object the freedom of the native +races. + +By 1517 he had succeeded in attracting a wide attention to his efforts. +Journeying to Spain, he persisted in his cause, and gave the high +authorities of that country little peace until they lent an ear to the +grievances of his dusky proteges. Las Casas was endowed to an unusual +extent with both eloquence and fervour, and both these attributes he +employed to the utmost of his powers in the service of the American +aborigines. Thus he painted the sufferings and the terrible mortality of +these unfortunate people with a fire and a force that left very few +unmoved. Nevertheless, as was only to be expected, he met with +considerable opposition from various quarters where the financial +interests dependent on the New World outweighed all other +considerations. In the end, rendered desperate by this opposition and by +the active hostility which he encountered in these quarters, he +determined to lead the way by the foundation of a model colony of his +own in South America. + +He obtained the cordial sanction of the Spanish King to this end. +Nevertheless, when put into practice, the scheme failed utterly. The +reasons for this were to be sought for in the poorness of the soil +chosen and in the intrigues of the white settlers rather than in any +fundamental fault of the plan itself. For all that, its failure came as +a severe blow to Las Casas. After experiences such as these, the +majority of men would probably have given up the attempt in despair. Las +Casas, it is true, sought the refuge of a monastery for a while in order +to recover his health and spirits, which had suffered from the shock. +Once again in possession of these, he returned to the field, and, +undaunted, continued to carry on his work. + +This campaign of Las Casas is famous for a curious anomaly. That his +work of mercy should have resulted in the introduction into the +Continent of a greater number of dusky labourers than before appears on +the face of it paradoxical. Yet so it was. For Las Casas, determined +that the mortality among the Indians should cease, advocated the +importation of African slaves into Central and South America. His idea +was that the labours spread over so many more thousands of human bodies +would prove by comparison bearable, and would thus end in fewer +fatalities. It is certain enough that this introduction of the sturdy +negro tended considerably to this end, and that many thousands of lives +were prolonged, if nothing more, by this plan. For all that, it must be +admitted that the venture was a daring one to emanate from the mind of a +preacher who was fighting against the slave trade. But Las Casas, urged +by his own experience, took a broad view, and none even of his +contemporaries were able for one moment to impugn his motives. + +Las Casas was as much a product of the period and place as were the wild +and daring _conquistadores_ themselves. The new Continent undoubtedly +exerted a curious influence over its visitors from the Old World. It +seemed to possess the knack of bringing out the virtues as well as the +defects with an amazing and frequently disconcerting prodigality. +Several of Las Casas' biographers have wondered at the reason why the +Apostle of the Indies was never made a saint. Certainly hundreds of +lesser heads have been kept warm by a halo which has never graced that +of Las Casas. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTH + + +It was natural that after the first occupation of the New World the +tendency of the explorers should have been to turn their attention to +the south and to the still undiscovered lands. At the first glimpse the +aspect of the Atlantic coast to the south of Brazil gave little promise +of the wealth--that is to say, of the gold--sought by the pioneers, +since its shores were low, marshy, and alluvial. + +In 1515 Juan de Solis sailed to the mouth of the River Plate, and landed +on the coast of Uruguay. His party were immediately attacked by Charrua +Indians, and the bodies of De Solis himself and of a number of his crew +were stretched dead on the sands. This ended the expedition, for the +survivors left the place in haste and returned to Spain. + +In 1526 Sebastian Cabot explored the River Plate, and, sailing +up-stream, investigated the Parana, and discovered the waters of the +Paraguay River itself. In these inland waterways his fleet was met by +that of another pioneer, Diego Garcia. This latter, doubtless from +chivalrous motives, gave the _pas_ to Cabot, and turned the bows of his +vessels down-stream. It was Cabot's intention to establish himself +permanently on the shores of this great river system. Near the present +site of the town of Rosario he built the fort of Sancti Spiritus. +Seeing, however, that his appeals to Spain for assistance remained +unanswered, he eventually abandoned his attempt. There seems little +doubt that he withdrew practically all his forces from the River Plate; +but there are legends of some survivors who remained in the district +after the main expedition had left. Some old historians allege that +these underwent strange experiences and hardships, but the veracity of +such narratives is more than doubtful. + +[Illustration: ATAHUALPA. + +The last Chief of the Peruvians.] + +It was in 1535, the year when Valdivia marched southward from Peru to +conquer Chile, that the conquest and actual colonization of the River +Plate was first seriously undertaken. Pedro de Mendoza, a soldier of +fortune, ventured on the attempt. Mendoza's career as a mercenary +soldier had proved quite unusually profitable even for those days, and +he had acquired a large fortune at the sack of Rome alone. His purse +provided a really formidable expedition. + +The voyage to the mouth of the River Plate on this occasion was more +productive of incident than was usual, even in those days of adventurous +pioneers. The halts at Teneriffe and at Rio de Janeiro had resulted in +some dissensions among Mendoza's men, and the execution by the orders of +the Chief of one of his most popular leaders had all but caused open +mutiny at the latter place. Nevertheless, when his forces landed at the +site of the present town of Buenos Aires, they constituted a formidable +company of men, admirably equipped with everything that the science of +the age could devise for the purpose of conquest and colonization, +particularly the former. + +Having founded his settlement, Mendoza set himself to deal with the +Indians and to bring them into subjection. In a very short while he +found out that it was a very different tribe of aborigines with which he +had to deal to the peace-loving inhabitants of Peru and the north-west. +The agile, hardy, and fierce Pampa Indians, having once fallen foul of +the invaders, allowed them no respite. Attacked by day and night, +deprived of all supplies of food, Mendoza's troops began to suffer from +exhaustion and hunger, to say nothing of the wounds inflicted by their +enemies. + +In the end, the leaders had to admit to themselves that the place was no +longer tenable. Nevertheless, neither Mendoza nor his men had any +intention of abandoning permanently these fertile plains through which +ran the great rivers. The scarcity of minerals in these districts had +now become sufficiently obvious to them; yet even to men in quest of +little beyond gold the extraordinary fertility of the alluvial soil was +not altogether lost. With a courage and pertinacity which does the +adventurers every credit, they determined, instead of abandoning the +river and putting out to sea, to sail far up-stream into the unknown, +and to seek their fortune inland. + +Mendoza's expedition first of all established itself for a while on the +site of Sancti Spiritus, Cabot's old abandoned fort, which they now +rechristened Corpus Christi. Shortly after their arrival at the place, +Mendoza himself, who had doubtless suffered many disillusions concerning +the gold and precious stones of these districts, and whose health had +given way beneath the stress of the hardships and of the numerous +precarious situations in which he had found himself, set sail for Spain. +It was to be his fate never to return to his native land, since he died +on his way home. + +Juan de Ayolas was now left in command of the Spanish force. He was an +able commander, and a man of determined character, eminently fitted to +conduct an expedition such as this. Without hesitation, the new leader +purposed to make his way farther up the stream. He got together the +ships once again, and, manning them, he made his way from point to +point along the great river system, attacked here and there by the +Indians on the banks, and occasionally challenged by flotillas of +canoes, which boldly came out to assume the aggressive. But in every +case the lesson taught the Indians was a severe one, and, undeterred by +the hostility shown him, Ayolas sailed inland until he came to Asuncion +in Paraguay. At this spot the expedition came to a halt, and the weary +pioneers landed, and immediately became lost in admiration of the +fertile and delightful country in which they now found themselves. + +There is no doubt that to the new-comers the country in the +neighbourhood of Asuncion, with its pleasant valleys, rolling country, +and forest-covered hills, must have come in the shape of a relief after +the apparently interminable passage of the plains. It was the spot at +which the pioneer would naturally halt, and endeavour to found his +settlement. + +The Guarani Indians extended but a cold welcome to the daring +adventurers. Their temperament was by nature far less warlike than that +of the savage and intrepid natives in the regions of the coast. These +Guarani Indians, nevertheless, made some show of aggression, and would +doubtless have been glad to scare away these undesired strangers. Owing +to this, a collision between the two forces occurred; but so crushing +was the defeat of the Indians that they resigned themselves submissively +to the Spaniards, and henceforth became a vassal tribe, lending +assistance to their white masters in both civil and warlike occupations. + +Immediately after the victory, the Guaranis were set by the Spanish to +assist in the construction of the new town, which was to be the +head-quarters of the Imperial power in the south-east of the Continent. +Once definitely settled here, the _conquistadores_ set themselves to +extend the frontiers of their dominions, which in the first place were +confined to the neighbourhood of the new town of Asuncion itself. + +The tribes in the immediate neighbourhood were now more than merely +friendly: they were actively servile. But the case was different with +the other native peoples, more especially with the Indians in the Chaco, +the wooded and swampy district on the opposite side of the river. These +showed themselves fiercely inimical to the new-comers, and it was seldom +that the Spaniards were without a feud of some kind to suffer at their +hands. + +The new colonists had now time to look about them. Much had happened +since they had first landed on the shores of the River Plate, but the +main object of the expedition still remained clear to them. This was the +discovery of a road from the south-east to Peru. Ayolas determined to +take up this fascinating quest in person. Accompanied by a number of +men, he sailed up the river until he came to a spot at which he judged +that an attempt at the overland journey might well be attempted. Leaving +Domingo Martinez de Irala, his lieutenant, in charge of the ships and of +a force of men, Ayolas marched into the forest and disappeared into the +unknown. It was his fate never to return. His company, ambushed and cut +up by a tribe of hostile Indians, perished to a man. + +It was months before Irala learned of the catastrophe. In the belief +that his chief was still in the land of the living, he waited with his +ships and men at the point where Ayolas had disembarked, varying his +vigil from time to time by a cruise down-stream in search of provisions. +The news came to him at length, shouted out by hoarse defiant voices +from the recesses of the forest on the banks. For a while the Spaniards +would not believe the surly message of death given by the unseen +Indians. In the end, however, its truth could not be doubted, and Irala +assumed command of the party. Returning to Asuncion, he was unanimously +appointed Governor by the settlers of the place. + +[Illustration: SUGAR-MAKING. + +A seventeenth-century representation of the whole of the processes of +the manufacture of sugar. + +_From "Historia Antipodum."_] + +The character of Domingo Martinez de Irala was eminently suited to the +post he now held. His courage was high, his determination inflexible, +and his energy abundant. It is true that, in the same manner as his +colleagues of the period, he was frequently totally careless of the +means employed so long as the end was achieved. Nevertheless, he was in +many respects an ideal leader, and his vigorous personality kept in +check both the ambitions of the Spanish cliques and the dissatisfaction +of the less friendly Indians. + +Irala was destined to undergo many vicissitudes in the course of his +Governorship. Very soon after he had been elected to this post it was +his fate to be superseded for a while. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, +having obtained the appointment in Spain itself, came out by Royal +Licence to govern the new province of which Asuncion was the capital. +Cabeza de Vaca was essentially a humanitarian Governor, who proved +himself extremely loth to employ coercion and the sword, which means, in +fact, he only resorted to with extreme reluctance as a very last +resource. His courage and determination were evidenced by his overland +journey; for, instead of sailing up the great river system from the +mouth of the River Plate, he brought his expedition overland from Santa +Catalina in Brazil, advancing safely through the numerous tribes and +difficult country which intervened between the coast and Asuncion. + +The temperament of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, however, was of too +refined and trusting an order to deal with the turbulent and somewhat +treacherous elements which abounded at Asuncion. After a while a revolt +occurred, brought about probably by the Governor's objection to the +wholesale plundering and enslavement of the Indians by the Spaniards. +The populace turned strongly against the Governor. Cabeza de Vaca was +flung into prison, and sent a prisoner to Spain, after which drastic +procedure Irala was once again elected Governor by the colonists. +Doubtless Cabeza de Vaca possesses the chief claim to sympathy of all +those who had to do with Paraguay at this early period of its existence; +yet at the same time it is impossible to refrain from admiration of the +sheer determination and willpower with which Irala pursued his career. + +For years Irala's position remained utterly precarious. He was the +chosen of the colonists, but not of the Court of Spain, which alone +possessed any legal right to appoint a person to so high an office as +his. No exalted personages were more jealous of their privileges than +these. Several times Irala was on the point of losing his Governorship, +but on each occasion the measures he adopted, aided by good fortune, +tided him over the crisis, and left him continuing in the seat of +authority. In the end, after undergoing innumerable anxieties, Irala at +last succeeded in obtaining the Royal Licence for the Governorship of +Paraguay. + +All the while his energy continued undiminished, and it was due to him +that the colonization of the country made such rapid strides. The means +by which this end was effected were, from the modern point of view, +entirely dubious, for it was Irala who instituted in Paraguay +_encomiendas_, or slave settlements, into which the natives of the +country were congregated in order that their labour might be employed in +agriculture and similar occupations. This, however, was the ordinary +procedure of the period, and, as historians have already pointed out, +Irala's faults, although serious enough, were really nothing beyond +those of his age. In any case, his name stands as that of one of the +most powerful of the _conquistadores_. During the later years of his +office a comparatively undisturbed era obtained, and he held the reins +of the Paraguayan Government with a firm hand till his death, which +occurred at the age of seventy-one. + +On Irala's death, it was only natural that those elements of discord and +jealousy which his strong personality had kept in check should break +out, and cause no little confusion and strife. For a while the +Governorship of Paraguay was sought by many, and the conflicting claims +led to numerous disputes, and even occasional armed collisions. One of +the most notable of the Governors who succeeded Irala was Juan de Garay. +It was this _conquistador_ who was responsible for the second and +permanent founding of the city of Buenos Aires. Garay was a far-seeing +man, who, having established a number of urban centres inland, saw +clearly the importance of a settlement at which vessels from Europe +could touch on their first arrival at the Continent. + +So the stream of white men, having been in the first instance swept by +the force of circumstances rather than its own desire from the coast in +a north-westerly direction, began now to roll back towards the coast +once again, without, however, yielding up any of the territories which +it had occupied in the interior. + +In 1580 Juan de Garay determined that the supreme effort should be made. +He led an expedition down the stream, and on the spot where Pedro de +Mendoza had founded his first ill-fated settlement he built the pioneer +structures of the second town of Buenos Aires. The wisdom of this move +was evident to all, provided the place were able to withstand the +attacks of the surrounding Indians. In this the garrison succeeded, and +Buenos Aires, having now taken firm root, began the first slow growth +of its development, which eventually made of it the greatest city in +South America. + +In the meantime much had been effected towards the colonization of the +land to the west of the Andes. As has been related, Almagro's +unfortunate expedition returned, dejected and diminished in numbers, +from the apparently inhospitable soil in the south. This disaster lent +to Chile an unenviable but entirely undeserved notoriety. Pedro de +Valdivia was the next to venture into these regions. Valdivia naturally +enjoyed several advantages over his predecessor, for he knew now, by the +other's experiences, the dangers and perils against which he had to +guard. In consequence of this his expedition met with considerably more +success than had been anticipated. Marching southward across the great +Atacama Desert, he penetrated to the fertile regions of the land, and +founded the town of Santiago. + +All this was not effected without encountering the hostility of the +local Indians, and the inhabitants of the new town carried their lives +in their hands for a considerable while after the foundation of the +city. Perhaps, indeed, no pioneers experienced greater hardships than +did those of Chile. For the first few years of its existence every +member of the new colony became accustomed to live in an unceasing +condition of short rations, and it was on very poorly furnished stomachs +that the garrison was obliged to meet and to repel the attacks of the +natives. In the end, however, the seeds which had been brought by the +adventurers took root and grew. Provisions became fairly abundant, and +the settlements in the neighbourhood of Santiago were now firmly +established. + +Valdivia, determined to extend his frontiers, marched to the south. It +was in the neighbourhood of the Biobio River that he first encountered +the Araucanian warriors of the true stock. Here his forces met with a +rude awakening. In discipline and fighting merit the companies of the +Araucanians stood to the remaining tribes of South America in the same +relation as did the Zulu regiments to the other fighting-men of Africa. +A furious struggle began which was destined to last for generations and +for centuries. But at no time were the fierce Araucanians subdued, +although it fell to their lot to be defeated over and over again, as, +indeed, proved the fate of the Spaniards likewise. + +Some notion of the tremendous vigour with which these wars of the south +were waged may be gathered from "La Araucana," the magnificent epic +written by Ercilla, the Spanish poet, who composed his verses hot from +the fight, his arms still weary from wielding the sword. + +One of the first of the notable Spanish victims in the course of these +wars was Valdivia himself. Attacked by furious hordes of Araucanians and +overwhelmed, the intrepid European and his army perished to a man; while +the Araucanians in triumph swept northwards, to be hurled to the south +again by the next wave of battle which chanced to turn in favour of the +Spaniards. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN COLONIES + + +Having now definitely obtained possession of the enormous territories of +South America, it was equally the policy of both Spain and Portugal to +retain the enjoyment of the new lands and of their produce for +themselves alone. In order to effect this, stringent laws were laid down +from the very inception of the colonization of the Continent. In a +nutshell, they amounted to this: none but Spaniards might trade with the +Spanish possessions of South America, and none but Portuguese with the +Colony of Brazil. In the case of the latter country the regulations were +by no means so strictly carried out as in the former. One of the chief +reasons for this, no doubt, was the old-standing and traditional +friendship existing between Portugal and England. With so many interests +in common, and such strong sentimental bonds uniting the pair in Europe, +it was difficult to shut out the English commerce altogether from +Brazil. + +In the Spanish colonies the enactments of the Court of Spain were far +more rigorously carried out. Here, since the laws were so strict, the +rewards for their breaking were naturally all the greater. Tempted by +the magnitude of these latter, a great number of the officials made a +lucrative profession of giving clandestine assistance to foreign +commerce in direct contravention of the regulations laid down. + +It is rather curious to remark that at the very height of her colonial +commerce, when the riches of South America were pouring at the greatest +rate into her coffers, how little actual wealth was accumulated by the +Mother Country. Indeed, a monumental proof of the inefficiency of her +organization is that, although she bled the filial nations with an +almost incredible enthusiasm, Spain remained in debt. The influx of gold +from her colonies demoralized and ruined such industries as she had +possessed, and such goods as she sent out to South America and elsewhere +were now almost devoid of any proportion of her own manufactures. The +merchandise which she sent to the New World she purchased from other +countries, principally from Great Britain, and the English merchants saw +to it that their profit was no small one. Thus Spain at this period, +from a mercantile point of view, was very reluctantly serving as a +general benefactor to Europe. + +All this, of course, was in spite of most extraordinary efforts to +effect the contrary. As early as 1503 the Casa de Contratacion de las +Indias had been established in Spain. This institution was practically +the governing body of the colonies. It possessed numerous commercial +privileges, since it held the monopoly of the colonial trade. These +privileges were continued until as late as 1790. + +The Casa de Contratacion, although in many respects a purely mercantile +body, was endowed with special powers. So wide was its authority that to +be associated with this body was wont to prove of enormous financial +benefit. Thus, it was entitled to make its own laws, and it was +specially enacted by Royal Decree that these were to be obeyed by all +Spanish subjects as implicitly as any others of the nation. + +So far as the commercial world was concerned, the powers of the Casa de +Contratacion were sheerly autocratic. The institution, in fact, held the +fortunes of all the colonials in its hand. It possessed, in the first +place, the privilege of naming the price which the inhabitants of the +New World should pay for the manufactured goods of the Old. In addition +to this, it lay within its domain to arrange the rates at which the +produce sent from the colonies was to be sold in the Spanish markets. +From this it will be evident that, commercially speaking, its powers +were feudal. + +It was inevitable that frequent evils should have sprung from the +inauguration of a system such as this. It became almost a religion to +every Spanish official and trader to batten upon the unfortunate +colonial, quite regardless of the fact that the pioneer settler was +being strangled during the process. Since the hapless dweller in South +America was not allowed to bargain or haggle, and was forced to take +whatever was graciously sent out to him at a rate condescendingly fixed, +it frequently happened that this latter was five or ten times the +legitimate price. + +The disadvantages endured by the humble oversea strugglers, however, did +not end here, for their own produce received the coldest of financial +greetings in Europe, and the prices realized from these frequently left +the agriculturalists in despairing wonder as to whether it was worth +while to continue with their various industries. Added to all these were +further regulations which proved both irksome and costly to the men of +the south. Twice a year the Casa de Contratacion sent out a formidable +fleet from Cadiz, escorted by men-of-war. It was this fleet which +carried the articles of which the colonials were in urgent need. Now, +the main settlements of the Spanish merchants and officials, as +distinguished from the colonial, were in Panama and the north, and it +was largely in order to benefit these privileged beings that the +ridiculous regulations were brought into force which made the fleet of +galleons touch at the Isthmus of Panama alone. By this means it was +insured that these goods should pass through the commercial +head-quarters, and leave a purely artificial profit to the Spaniards +concerned, instead of being sent direct to the various ports with which +the coasts of the Continent were now provided. + +[Illustration: BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS. + +"The Apostle of the Indies," who took up the cause of the much afflicted +natives of South America. + +_From the portrait in the Bibliotheque Nationale._ + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +In these circumstances it was necessary for colonial merchants and +traders from all parts of South America to journey to this far northern +corner in order to carry out their negotiations, and to attend to the +fresh transport of the wares. The hardships and the added cost brought +about by regulations such as these may be imagined, and, as was only to +be expected, a system such as this recoiled upon the heads of those who +were responsible for its adoption. + +Occasionally circumstances arose in connection with these official +fleets which bore with almost equal hardship upon Spaniard and colonial +alike. Thus, when the English, Dutch, and French buccaneers took to +harassing the South American coast in earnest, there were periods when +the galleons of the Indies were kept within their harbour for a year and +more. Then the Spaniards went perforce without the South American gold, +and the colonial's life was shorn of the few comforts which the wildly +expensive imported articles had been wont to bring. + +The home authorities invariably appeared loth to take into account the +possibility of human enterprise. It was not likely that the colonials +would submit tamely to such tremendous deprivations as those intended by +Spain. Foreign traders, moreover, notwithstanding the ban and actual +danger under which they worked, were keenly alive to the situation, and +to the chances of effecting transactions in a Continent where so +handsome a profit was attached to all commerce. The result was the +inception of smuggling on a scale which soon grew vast, and which ended +in involving officials of almost all ranks. The Governors of the various +districts themselves were usually found perfectly willing to stand +sponsors for all efforts of the kind, and, viewing the matter from the +modern point of view, they are scarcely to be blamed for their +complaisant attitude. + +Here is a narration written in 1758 of the manner in which these +transactions were carried on. The author, referring to it in an account +of the European settlements in America, asserts that the state of +affairs was one likely to prove extremely difficult to end-- + + "While it is so profitable to the British merchant, and while the + Spanish officers from the highest to the lowest show so great a + respect to presents properly made. The trade is carried on in this + manner: The ship from Jamaica, having taken in negroes and a proper + sortement of goods there, proceeds in time to the place of a + harbour called the Groute within the Monkey-key, about four miles + from Porto-Bello, and a person who understands Spanish is directly + sent ashore to give the merchants of the town notice of the arrival + of the vessel. The same news is carried likewise with great speed + to Panama, from whence the merchants set out disguised like + peasants, with their silver in jars covered with meal to deceive + the officers of the revenue.... There is no trade more profitable + than this, for their payments are made in ready money, and the + goods sell higher than they would at any other market. It is not on + this coast alone, but everywhere upon the Spanish Main, that this + trade is carried on; nor is it by the English alone, but by the + French from Hispaniola, and the Dutch from Curassoo, and even the + Danes have some share in it. When the Spanish Guardacostas seize + upon one of these vessels, they make no scruple of confiscating the + cargo and of treating the crew in a manner little better than + pirates." + +From all this, the shortcomings of the Spanish attempts at a protective +system are sufficiently evident. + +In view of the hostile reception extended to them in all parts of the +Continent by the Spanish officials, it was only to be expected that +foreigners, whenever they had the opportunity, should have rendered a +whole-hearted assistance to this business of smuggling. Moreover, since +there was seldom peace between the Portuguese and the Spaniards, the +former were only too glad to foster this trade, and thus defeat the +object of the Spanish authorities, and incidentally line their own +pockets. It was all the more difficult for the Spanish Colonial +Government to maintain a consistent attitude when the introduction of +the slaves, on whom the welfare of so many districts depended, was in +the hands of foreigners. + +This state of affairs applied in a far lesser degree to Brazil, since +that country was frequently able to obtain its human consignments in +Portuguese vessels from its fellow-colony of Portuguese West Africa. The +Spaniards, on the other hand, were dependent upon other nations for the +importation of their slaves, and they were from time to time accustomed +to grant special licences for this purpose. It was the reverse of likely +that men of a temperament which urged them to raid the African shores in +search of their human quarry, and to sail their black cargoes through +the tropics, would abstain from making the fullest and most general use +of an opportunity thus offered, as the Spanish officials invariably +found was the case to their cost, and occasionally, as has been said, to +their profit! + +The rivalry which characterized the relations between Spain and Portugal +did not fail to be carried across the ocean, nor, when transferred to +the colonies of either nation, did the mutual jealousies grow less +bitter. Indeed, scarcely had the colonization of Brazil and of the +Spanish territories commenced in earnest when the struggle between the +two nationalities began. + +The area of the strife, fortunately, was confined. The enormous +territories of tropical Brazil forbade anything in the nature of +thorough exploration on the part of the few and slender bands of the +pioneers, to say nothing of any attempt at expansion. It was in the +south, where the narrow strip of Brazil projected itself downwards into +the temperate latitudes, that the desire for aggrandizement raged. The +Portuguese considered that the natural southern frontier of their great +colony was the River Plate. The Spaniards, having already possession of +the northern bank, fiercely resented any such pretension, with the +result that the Banda Oriental, by which name the Republic of Uruguay is +still locally known, as well as the southern part of the Province of +Paraguay, became the scene of many battles. It may be said that the +warfare between the two nations continued here, with but rare and short +peaceful interludes, for centuries. + +The fortified town of Colonia, on the north bank of the Uruguay River, +represented one of the chief bones of contention. Its possession +constituted a strategic advantage of no small importance, and Spanish +and Portuguese flags waved alternately over its shattered ramparts. The +situation was accentuated by the characteristics of the inhabitants of +the Portuguese city of Sao Paolo. These people, who lived in the town +loftily placed upon its rock, had acquired for themselves, almost from +the inception of the colony, a somewhat sinister and reckless +reputation. The Portuguese and half-breeds here, their vigour unimpaired +by a temperate and bracing climate, would sally out to the west and to +the south on slave-raiding expeditions, which they conducted with +extraordinary ferocity and enterprise. Matters of boundaries and +frontiers possessed no interest whatever for these Paolistas or +Mamelucos, by which latter name the swashbuckling members of this +community were better known. + +[Illustration: FRANCISCO PIZARRO. + +The Conqueror of Peru. + +_From an engraving after the original portrait in the Palace of the +Viceroys at Lima._ + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +In the first instance, these forays were responsible for comparatively +little friction, since the number of Indians near at hand was as +plentiful as the neighbouring white men were rare. When the nearer land +became depopulated, however, it began to be necessary to extend the +expeditions farther afield from Sao Paolo, and it was then that the +Mamelucos came into contact with the growing numbers of the Spanish +settlers, and with the Indians who now resided beneath the protection of +the Spanish power. When the Jesuit missionaries arrived in Northern +Uruguay and in Southern Paraguay their advent had the effect of +embittering the feud between the frontiersmen; for the Jesuits, forming +the Indians into companies of their own, withdrew them still farther +from the onslaughts of the Paolistas. These latter determined at all +costs to capture and to drive back their gangs of slaves, became more +and more emboldened, and pushed forward to the south and west well into +the Spanish territories, harrying the missionary settlements, and laying +waste the countryside. + +For years the Guarani Indians, unarmed, were helpless in the face of +such attacks. Eventually, however, the influence of the Jesuits obtained +permission from the Court of Spain for these latter to be provided with +firearms, and after this the Indian regiments, trained and disciplined, +offered such effective resistance to the Mamelucos that these were +forced to cease their slave-raids. + +In 1574, when the importation into Brazil of negro slaves from West +Africa had become a regular affair, the demand for slaves on the part of +the Paolistas naturally became less active. Even with this item of +discord removed, such intervals of peace as were patched up between the +rival Powers were of short duration. The fertile and temperate lands to +the north of the River Plate still remained in dispute, and although the +Spaniards succeeded in retaining the possession of the bulk of these, +there were times when the Portuguese penetrated as far as the waters of +the great river, and in the end they managed to detach several of the +most northerly districts from Spanish control, and in adding these to +their own colonies. + +It was consistent with the curious irony of fate which seemed to direct +the operations of the Continent at that period, that while the +Portuguese and Spaniards, actual lords of the soil, were at daggers +drawn, the foreign seawolves, who had been gathering together, surveying +with longing eyes the fold of riches so rigorously banned from them, +were now making preparations for active aggression. But the history of +the expeditions on the part of these formidable rovers is worthy of more +than one chapter to itself. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +FOREIGN RAIDS ON THE SPANISH COLONIES + + +Had the laws of the Indies been differently framed, there is no doubt +that the hardy sailors and reckless buccaneers who plundered these +coasts would have had no existence, and that South America would have +remained unprovided with much of its grim romance. As it was, Spain, by +her imperious policy of "hands off," had flung a challenge to every +adventurer of the other nations throughout Europe. + +During the earliest periods of its colonization the reports from the New +World were naturally somewhat nebulous in character, and the Spanish +authorities themselves saw to it that as little authentic news as +possible should be allowed to filter beyond their own frontiers. This +policy succeeded for a while in restraining the undesired enterprise of +the rival peoples who were, so far as South America was concerned, +groping in the dark. This phase was naturally only fleeting. At the +first evidence of a desire on the part of the other nations to +participate in the benefits accruing from South America, the Spanish +Court thundered forth threats and edicts. + +Thus on December 15, 1558, King Philip II. decreed that any foreign +person who should traffic with Spanish America should be punished by +death and confiscation of property. The edict was emphatic and stern, +and contained a clause which deprived the Royal Audiences in Spanish +America of any powers of dispensation in the execution of these +penalties: + + "If anyone shall disobey this law, whatever his state or condition, + his life is forfeit, and his goods shall be divided in three parts, + of which one shall go to our Royal Treasure, one to the judge, and + one to the informer." + +It is, of course, notorious that the distance which separated the +colonies from the motherland prevented the enforcing of many laws, +whether good or bad, and that the Spanish-American local +expression--"The law is obeyed but not carried out"--was common to +nearly every district. At the same time, the mischief caused by decrees +such as these may readily be imagined. A rich bribe to an informer was +in itself an incentive to the stirring up of mischief where frequently +none was intended. Such official bribes as these, however, were wont to +be more than counteracted by the private inducements held out by many of +the foreign adventurers and traders themselves, and after a while a +great number of the officials found it very much to their profit not +only to wink at the wholesale commerce and smuggling that was being +carried on, but even actively to promote it and to participate in its +benefits. + +This method of keeping Spanish America as the close property of the +Crown was one which grew more and more difficult to preserve as time +went on. In the first place the authorities had merely to cope with the +foreign seamen and the fleets of adventurous traders who were +determined, at all costs, to win their share of financial profit from +these golden shores. After a while, with the growing population of the +Continent, a new situation asserted itself, and the influence of the +colonists themselves had to be considered. + +[Illustration: SECTIONS OF A SLAVE SHIP. + +Typical of the small vessels employed in taking African slaves to South +America. The hundreds of negroes were packed between decks in the +incredible fashion shown in the sectional views.] + +In order that the full financial profit, as it was then understood, of +the colonies should continue to be passed on to Spain, it was essential +that the colonists should continue a negligible factor. The permanence +of this state of affairs could only be affected in one way: it was +necessary that no equipment such as would provide independence of +thought or action should be allowed to be at their service. Books, of +course, were considered as one of the most mischievous potential engines +of the kind. The Spaniards determined that none of the learning of their +country should pass into the colonies. A certain number of volumes were +permitted to cross the sea, it is true, but these were of the species +that might be readily understood by a child of a few summers, and were +ridiculously inadequate to the most ordinary intellect of adults in +civilized regions. These themselves were subjected first of all to a +close inspection on the part of the Inquisition in Spain. After this +they had to pass the Board of Censors appointed by the Council of the +Indies. Even here the precautions did not end, for on their arrival in +the colony they were once again inspected as a safeguard, lest any +secular matter or work of fiction should by any chance be overlooked and +suffered to remain. + +In short, the policy by which the motherland endeavoured to retain for +her own benefit the riches of her colonies was undoubtedly one of the +most benighted ever conceived by a European nation. It amounted to +nothing less than a consistent checking and deadening of the +intelligence of her sons oversea in order that their atrophied senses +should fail to detect the true manner in which they were being shorn of +their property and privileges. + +On the other hand, in conformity with the same theory, superstition was +encouraged to an extraordinary degree. The Royal Seal, when it arrived +from Spain, was greeted as though it were a symbol of Deity, and the +royal audience would chant an oath to obey it as implicitly as though +it were a command of God. Every conceivable care was taken to foster +this frame of mind throughout the colonies, and, since the intellectual +occupations were religiously kept to themselves by the officials, it is +not astonishing to find how far this method succeeded, and for how long +it continued. Thus, even as late as 1809, when a portrait of King +Ferdinand arrived at Coquimbo, the oil-painting was received with the +honours accorded to a symbol of Deity. A special road was made for it +from Coquimbo to La Serena, the capital of the province. This task +occupied many days. Volunteer citizens filled up the holes, made wooden +culverts, and, in fact, acted as enthusiastic road repairers, in order +that the portrait might suffer no discomfort. When it was judged that +the highway was sufficiently repaired, the portrait set out upon its +astonishing journey. It was surrounded by cushions and placed in a +flower-filled carriage. The inhabitants kneeled as the picture passed, +and when it had been placed in the cathedral, salvos of artillery +sounded, and the people shouted in delirious joy. The occasion, +moreover, was marked by a fete which lasted three days. + +All this, however, is anticipating by some centuries the period under +review. In the first instance, largely owing to the ignorance concerning +the New World which prevailed in other parts of Europe--which ignorance +had been greatly fostered by Spain--the Spaniards succeeded in retaining +the undisputed possession of their portion of the Continent for nearly +three-quarters of a century. Then came the first of the maritime +swallows, which made many dismal summers for the Court of Spain. In 1565 +Drake voyaged to the Guianas on the Spanish Main. He was followed by +Hawkins, Raleigh, and a host of others, including the Dutch navigators. + +These hardy seamen, it must be said, had in the first instance proceeded +to the Continent with the idea of engaging in legitimate trade. In +justice to the many desperate acts which the majority subsequently +committed, it must be remembered that in the case of the early +collisions, they only let loose their guns when they found themselves +attacked by the Spanish authorities in the distant ports, or intercepted +on the high seas by the guardian fleets of Spain. + +An experience or two of the kind sufficed to rouse the hot blood of the +seamen. Knowing now that they were braving the anger of the King of +Spain, they determined to continue in this undaunted, even, if +necessary, "to synge his bearde," as, indeed, was accomplished on one +notable occasion. So they continued their voyages to these ostensibly +closed coasts of South America and the general run of the territories +known at the time as the West Indies. Frequently they found riches in +the venture, sometimes disaster and death. The former proved an +incentive to these breathless voyages, with which no dread of the latter +fate could interfere. + +It would be as well to refer briefly to the careers in South America of +a certain number of the most notable of these early adventurers. One of +the first was Sir John Hawkins, who set out in 1562 with three ships: +the _Salomon_, the _Swallow_, and the _Jonas_. Having touched at +Teneriffe, he then landed at Sierra Leone, "where by the sworde and +other means" he obtained some 300 negroes. He shaped his course to the +west, and sailed with his cargo to the Spanish Indies. + +Notwithstanding the stern official prohibitions, Hawkins succeeded in +trading with the residents at Port Isabella, in Hispaniola, and the tall +sides of his vessels, empty now of their dark human freight, soon held +an important cargo of hides, ginger, sugar, and pearls. So successful +was he, indeed, that he added two more ships to his flotilla and sent +them to Spain. This daring procedure was intended as something in the +light of a challenge and of a proof of his good faith in his right to +barter in Spanish South America--a right, he claimed, which was ratified +by an old treaty between Henry VII. and the Archduke Philip of Spain. + +The Spanish officials, doubtless open-mouthed at this somewhat subtle +and startling confidence of Hawkins, promptly confiscated the vessels by +way of definitely proving it ill-founded. Notwithstanding this, Hawkins +was more than satisfied with the cargo brought home by his three +original ships, and two years later he set out again, accompanied by the +Earl of Pembroke and the Earl of Leicester, with a larger fleet than +before. + +On this occasion he again visited Africa, collected a cargo of slaves, +and endeavoured to trade with the Spaniards, more especially in +Venezuela. This time the expedition found the authorities, warned by +threatening prohibitions from Europe, in a less enterprising mood. +Hawkins, persisting in the attempt, succeeded in bartering a certain +number of slaves for hides, gold, silver, pearls, and other commodities. +After a while the Spanish officers attempted to interfere and to put a +stop altogether to the traffic, on which Hawkins, ever a friend to free +trade, gathered his men together and marched down to the market-place, +incidentally firing off guns, which procedure destroyed the last +scruples of the inhabitants, and an important exchange and barter now +took place. Thus the triumphant Hawkins returned with a second valuable +cargo to England. + +In 1567 Hawkins was accompanied on his next voyage by his young cousin, +Francis Drake. The incidents of this voyage strongly resemble those of +the previous ones. Negroes were collected in West Africa, and were +disposed of in Spanish America, notwithstanding the protest, whether +genuine or simulated, of the officials. The ending of the voyage, +however, was destined to introduce a tragic note. On the way home the +small English expedition fell in at the Port San Juan de Ulloa with a +great Spanish fleet. In the first instance the mutual overtures were +friendly, and hostages were exchanged on both sides. In the end, +however, the English force was, without warning, attacked by the +Spaniards as they lay at anchor. The majority of the men who had gone on +shore were slain, and those who remained on the ships were assailed by +overwhelming numbers. After a strenuous tussle with the Spaniards, Drake +in the _Judith_, followed some time afterwards by Hawkins in the +_Minion_, got away. The condition of Hawkins's crew, unprepared as was +this ship for the voyage, was pitiful. A lengthy spell of contrary winds +served to accentuate the terrible dearth of provisions which prevailed. +The following is a contemporary account of some of the incidents. The +vessel had wandered about the ocean + + "tyll hunger inforced us to seek the lands for birdes were thought + very good meate, rattes, cattes, mise and dogges, none escaped that + might be gotten, parrates and monkayes that we had in great prise + were thought then very profitable if they served the tourne one + dinner." + +The return home in this instance was truly a sorry one, for the +survivors had left not only gold behind them, but the corpses of so many +brave comrades. + +On the whole, the exploits of Hawkins were considerably overshadowed by +those of his young relative, Sir Francis Drake, who had begun to +adventure on his own account in 1570, and who haunted the Spanish +Indies, determined to avenge the treatment he and his comrades had +received at San Juan de Ulloa. He ransacked Nombre de Dios and +Cartagena, explored the Gulf of Darien, made friends with the Indians +who inhabited the place, and captured many Spanish merchantmen, +repulsing the attacks of the Spanish men-of-war. + +Drake now crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and--the first foreigner to +accomplish the feat--set eyes on the Pacific Ocean, in which he swore to +cruise before he had finished his career. Here, moreover, having failed +to capture one royal treasure convoy, his good fortune led him to meet +with a second, and the gold and silver borne by the laden mules became +the property of himself and his men. + +Drake started out on his next voyage in 1577, and fulfilled his purpose +of breasting the waters of the Pacific; for, after various adventures on +the east coast of the Continent, he sailed through the Straits of +Magellan, and found himself in the ocean that, until then, had been +traversed by Spanish vessels alone. His arrival came as a bolt from the +blue to the Spaniards, who had not dreamed of the possibility of the +invasion of the Pacific, the waters of which they had grown to consider +as sacred to themselves. The alarm spread like wild-fire along the whole +length of that great coast. All the while Drake cruised up and down, +capturing and destroying wherever he might. Indeed, of all the +adventurers of this period, Drake was the one whose name conveyed the +greatest terror to the Spanish colonists. This was evident in all parts +of the Continent. Thus the impetuosity of his attacks and incursions in +the neighbourhood of the Guianas and Venezuela was sufficient utterly to +startle and dismay the unfortunate Spaniards. + +[Illustration: THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN.] + +The taking of Caracas in 1595 showed him as not only an able leader, +but as an extraordinarily gifted tactician. It was in the course of this +attack, by the way, that the fine old hidalgo, Alonso Andrea de Ledesma, +mounted his horse, and, shield on arm, lance in rest, charged full tilt +single handed against the English force, who would have spared him had +he permitted it. But his onslaught was too impetuous for that. All the +invaders could do for the gallant old knight was to give him an +honourable and reverent burial. + +After a while, Queen Elizabeth herself now lending open support to the +adventurers, Drake's expeditions became more and more daring, and, until +he died of fever at Porto Bello, his personality was one which gave +sleepless nights from time to time to responsible persons on the coasts +of the great Continent. + +The name of Raleigh, "poet, statesman, courtier, schemer, patriot, +soldier, freebooter, discoverer, colonist, castle-builder, historian, +philosopher, chemist, prisoner, and visionary," is, of course, from the +romantic point of view, principally associated with El Dorado, and his +quest of the magic and imaginary land of gold. It was for this reason +that Raleigh's dealings with the Spaniards in South America were more +circumscribed than those of many of his colleagues. Led to the belief, +both by his own fanciful convictions and by the legends brought him by +the Indians, he had conceived El Dorado as situated somewhere in the +Guianas, and thus his operations were chiefly confined to this part of +the world and to the neighbourhood of the Orinoco River. + +Raleigh's quest, on paper, certainly sounds one of the most fascinating +and entrancing of those undertaken in the great Continent. That which +the average reader hears of less are the fevers, noxious insects, heat, +and the general climatic hardships and perils involved in one of the +most tropical of all countries, to say nothing of the brushes with the +Spaniards; for Raleigh, courtier, poet, and philosopher though he was, +was no more gentle in his dealing with his enemies than any other +freebooter of his period. + +[Illustration: OLINDA DE PERNAMBUCO, NOW PERNAMBUCO. + +Attacked by Dutch war vessels.] + +In the end Raleigh returned from the Orinoco laden with no gold, but +with heavy tales of the countless booty which he had failed to obtain, +and in the existence of which he implicitly believed, as his spirited +defence against the charges of his disappointed critics and would-be +profit-sharers proves. + +Once again, after many years, and after he had endured many wrongs, +hardships, and imprisonment in England, Raleigh succeeded in 1617 in +making his way to Guiana. His health had now become shattered, and he +found himself unable to explore the Orinoco River in person, with the +result that the absence of his powerful and charming personality, which +had effected so much in these regions in the past, was much felt, to the +disadvantage of the expedition. A portion of his forces made its way +inland; but it was attacked by the Spaniards, and young Walter Raleigh, +the only son of the explorer, was slain. On this occasion the party +actually discovered four gold refineries. Spain, however, had increased +the strength of her position in this neighbourhood enormously, and the +expedition failed. + +Raleigh, broken-hearted at the death of his son, returned to England. He +had procured no gold; all that he had won for himself was the enmity of +Spain, which, in the end, through the instrumentality of King James I., +cost him his head. So much for some of the most important of the early +English adventurers in the seas which the Spaniards claimed as their +own. + +To refer to the whole company of notable buccaneers in detail is +impossible, although so many others, from Cavendish to Sharpe, Davis, +Knight, and the rest, are worthy of note. There were, moreover, the +Dutch freebooters, such as Van Noorte, de Werte, Spilsbergen, and +others, as Jaques l'Ermite, Francois l'Ollonais, and Bartolomew +Portugues, who ransacked and burned every town which failed to resist +their fierce onslaughts, from the Gulf of Darien in the north all round +the coast to the Pacific Ocean on the west. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +FOREIGN RAIDS ON PORTUGUESE COLONIES + + +The rivalry which had existed between the Portuguese and the French in +the early days of Brazilian colonization has already been referred to. +With this exception, the first era of the Colony of Brazil was +comparatively peaceful--that is to say, the Portuguese, proving +themselves of a more liberal temperament than the Spaniards, did not +suffer from the fierce aggressions of the English and the Dutch to the +same extent as did their Castilian neighbours. In 1580, however, the +situation altered itself abruptly--in a most unpleasant fashion so far +as the Portuguese were concerned. + +In that year Portugal became subject to Spain, and thus the Portuguese +Colonies were now controlled by Spain. As a result of this Brazil had to +undergo the enmity of the English and the Dutch in addition to that of +the French. This latter was now of comparatively old standing. The +forays and raids of the French had, indeed, continued almost without +cessation, Pernambuco and Paraiba being two of the chief spots attacked. +In many of these incursions the French were assisted by the natives, +with many tribes of whom they had succeeded in establishing good +relations. In the course of time, however, it became evident that the +French, like the British, were to be feared in these neighbourhoods +rather on account of their raids than for the danger of a permanent +settlement. + +Until 1580 several English expeditions had proceeded to Brazil, and had +succeeded in trafficking with the Portuguese in complete amity. One or +two of the English are even said to have established themselves near +Bahia in the quite early days of the colony, and to have lived on good +terms with the Iberian lords of the soil. Afterwards, through the +instigation of the European officials, this cordiality became lessened, +and in 1580, as has been said, the nations proceeded to open warfare in +South America. + +In 1582 Edward Fenton visited the coast of Brazil, and was attacked by a +Spanish squadron. One of the latter vessels was sunk, and a decided +victory was obtained by Fenton, who, after this, put out to sea. This +was the first hostile action undertaken by the English on the Brazilian +coast. + +In 1591 Cavendish came to raid the various settlements. He ravaged many +places, and eventually came to Espiritu Santo, where he landed a force, +which, through bad generalship, was much cut up by the defenders of the +place. Cavendish after this left the coast, and died on the way home to +England--some say of a broken heart. + +In 1595 James Lancaster's expedition arrived off Brazil. Lancaster had +been brought up among the Portuguese in Europe. He understood their +temperament, and was thus especially well equipped to command an +enterprise such as this. After taking a number of prizes on the high +seas, he fell in with another expedition commanded by Captain Venner, +and the two forces united, Lancaster remaining in chief command. The +English fleet now sailed for Recife. In this port they discovered three +large Dutch ships, which permitted them to attack the port without +interference. Lancaster, who displayed admirable generalship, landed his +forces. These surrounded and captured Recife, and the English found +themselves masters of a large amount of booty. Lancaster, who was a +tactician as well as a fighter, now made terms with the Dutch, and +offered them freight to take to England on terms which caused the Dutch +ships to abandon their attitude of benevolent neutrality in favour of an +active alliance. + +Shortly afterwards a squadron of five vessels hove in sight; these +proved to be French. By presenting them with a gift of Brazil wood, +Lancaster won these to his cause as well. So now a fleet of three +nations--English, Dutch, and French--were simultaneously occupied in +plundering Recife. Against this force the Portuguese could do little. +Fire-ships and blazing rafts were sent down the river by the garrison +who had taken refuge inland; but these attempts were frustrated, and, +after some few weeks spent at Recife, Lancaster sailed away with his +rich plunder, and the gathering of the hawks dispersed. It is worthy of +note that Lancaster exhibited a trait sufficiently rare in his comrades. +He apparently remained content with his booty, and determined to enjoy +it, for he does not appear any more in the character of a buccaneer. + +The Dutch now gave serious attention to South America, and a West India +Company was formed in Holland for no other purpose than to capture and +exploit Brazil. The first fleet, commanded by Jacob Willikens, sailed +from Holland in 1623. Both the authorities in the peninsula and Brazil +had received warning of what was threatening, but no adequate steps +would seem to have been taken for the defence of the colonies. The Dutch +fleet anchored off Bahia, where a force was landed, which succeeded in +obtaining possession of the town. The Dutch were welcomed by the +European Jews, who had taken up their abode in that place, and also by +the negroes, both of whom appeared to live in dread of the Inquisition. + +The Portuguese themselves, in the first instance, fled to the woods, +under the impression that the raid was merely temporary, and that a day +or two would see their waters free of the marauding bands, and would +restore the sacked town to its rightful owners. When it became evident +that the Dutch were fortifying the town and meant to retain possession +of it for good, the national spirit of the Portuguese proved equal to +the occasion, and Bishop Marcos Teixeira, after assuming the garb of a +penitent, took command of the army, and hoisted the crucifix for his +standard. The Bishop proved an able commander, and the Dutch were +closely invested in Bahia, finding themselves unable to stir outside +their fortifications. + +In the meanwhile the news of the capture of the capital of Brazil had +produced a tremendous shock in the peninsula, and the greatest fleet +which had ever sailed south was prepared to assist Bahia. Dom Manoel +Menezes commanded the Portuguese section of the forces, which consisted +of 4,000 men in twenty-six ships, while Fadrique de Toledo commanded the +Spanish fleet of forty sail, which carried 8,000 soldiers. + +On March 28, 1625, this formidable array of vessels appeared off Bahia. +The Portuguese colonists had continued to besiege their captured +capital, and the Bishop, who had striven and fought nobly, died, worn +out by too great exertions. At the sight of the Iberian fleet, the +Brazilians made a fresh attack upon the capital with enthusiasm, but the +rash attempt was repulsed with great loss. + +Several encounters now took place, and the Dutch sent out fire-ships by +night in the hope of destroying their enemy. The attempt, however, +failed, and in the end the French and English mercenaries in the Dutch +service, becoming tired of the struggle, worked their influence in the +cause of surrender. Shortly after this occurred, a powerful fleet of +Dutch ships, under Baldwin Henrick, came in sight, but on seeing the +Spanish standards flying instead of the Dutch, sailed away to the north. +Had it remained, it would undoubtedly have gained a decisive victory, +since the Iberian forces were in much confusion. The Dutch prisoners +were honourably treated, and in the end returned to Holland, where they +met with a somewhat contemptuous reception on the part of their +fellow-countrymen. + +In 1627 the Dutch West India fleet fell in with a Mexican treasure +fleet, captured this in its entirety, and the enormous wealth thus +gained gave great impetus to the enterprises of this kind. The Dutch now +raided the north of the Continent, and in 1629 prepared an important +expedition against Pernambuco. Fifty vessels sailed from Holland for +this purpose. The force landed under the Dutch commander Wardenburg, and +commenced operations in earnest. First the town of Olinda, and then the +neighbouring town of Recife, were captured, after very severe fighting. +It was some while, however, ere the position of the Dutch became secure, +and even the short passage between the twin towns could only be effected +in circumstances of great danger and difficulty, owing to the raids of +the investing Portuguese. + +Soon after this the Dutch captured other neighbouring ports, such as +Nazareth and Paraiba. The dominion of Holland in Northern Brazil now +appeared assured. At the same time the counter attacks of the Portuguese +were ceaseless, and the leaders of the Dutch garrisons in South America +made representations to the Netherlands in favour of reinforcements and +a commander of real note. In response, Prince Mauritz, Count of Nassau, +was sent out to take supreme control of the Dutch ventures on Brazilian +soil. A personality more fitted for this particular purpose could +scarcely have been lighted upon. For Prince Mauritz was not only a brave +soldier, but a tactful and chivalrous enemy; indeed, his figure stands +out in glowing colours in this campaign among the woods of the far +southern coast, and the continuance of the Dutch dominion was no doubt +largely due to his individuality. His arrival with nearly 3,000 men +inspired the worn soldiers of Holland with new confidence. Ceara was +captured, and Sao Jorge da Mina was attacked and taken as well. + +In his few moments of leisure Count Mauritz gave his attention to the +improvement of the town of Recife, Olinda being now utterly destroyed, +as a result of the numerous battles of which it had stood as the unhappy +centre. He drained the marshy ground, and planted it with oranges, +lemons, and groves of coconut-trees, thus embellishing the country in +the neighbourhood. Very little leisure was permitted for undertakings of +this kind, for the Portuguese, persevering in their determination to +regain their coastal territories, persisted in their attacks whenever an +opportunity offered. A certain number, whose patriotism was less dear to +them than their purses, consented to traffic with the Dutch, and the +Jews upheld with enthusiasm the interests of the new-comers in this +matter; but the Portuguese, on the whole, remained steadfast to their +ideals, and refused to have any dealings with the intruders. + +By this time the Dutch had every right to consider themselves as likely +to remain the permanent possessors of Northern Brazil. The circumstance, +as a matter of fact, which was destined seriously to disturb their +dominion came in the light of a totally unexpected happening. Throughout +the history of South America, when its lands were the colonies of +Spain and Portugal, events in the European Peninsula had nearly always +been echoed in the Southern Continent. The event, of course, which had +so great an influence on the affairs of both Brazil and the Spanish +possessions was the revolt in 1640, when, after her eighty years' +captivity, Portugal freed herself from the Spanish yoke. + +[Illustration: FERNAO DE MAGALHAES (FERDINAND MAGELLAN). + +Who first discovered the passage to the Pacific named after him.] + +In the north of the colony the new situation led to a somewhat curious +and paradoxical state of affairs. The Dutch had overrun Northern Brazil +for the sole ostensible reason that it was a possession of Spain. Now +that Portugal had freed herself from Spain, and that Brazil in +consequence was once again a purely Portuguese possession, all reason +for the Dutch occupation of the coast of Brazil was at an end. In Europe +the situation was this: The Dutch and the Spaniards had been for +generations at deadly enmity, while the rivalry between the Portuguese +and the Spaniards had induced a hostility rather less deadly, it is +true, but, nevertheless, sufficiently keen for the purposes of war. +Thus, with the freedom of Holland from Spain, and with the liberation of +Portugal from Spain, the situation of the two, once vassal countries, +was identical. They had an interest in common in preserving themselves +from the rapacity of Spain. + +This was all very well in Europe, but in South America matters worked +out very differently in actual practice. The Dutch were now firmly +established in Northern Brazil, having their headquarters at the town of +Recife, or Pernambuco. It was not in human nature to give up the fruits +of their conquest merely because the Portuguese had driven out the +Spanish officials from their territories in Europe. The situation from +the point of view of Holland was simple, and could be put in a nutshell. +The Dutchmen were willing enough to enter into friendly relations with +the Portuguese, but not at the cost of the Brazilian possessions of the +Dutch West Indian Company, which had been especially formed for the +purpose of acquiring these. + +Count Mauritz of Nassau had proved himself an able administrator, and it +was now the turn of the Dutch to intrigue where before they had fought +openly. In June, 1641, an agreement was negotiated in Europe between +Portugal and the United States of the Netherlands, which concluded a +truce for ten years. A year was allowed in order to carry this +intelligence to the Dutch commanders in South America and elsewhere. In +order to cement this new friendship, the Dutch further agreed to supply +Portugal with arms and ammunition to aid in the common fight against +Spain. + +The Brazilian policy of Holland was, however, quite different from that +proposed in Europe. Instructions were sent to Count Mauritz of Nassau +ordering him to continue in the command, to extend the sphere of the +Dutch dominion, and, if possible, to capture Bahia. These instructions +were largely due to the belief held in Holland that Portugal would be +unable to maintain her independence for any length of time. + +When the news of the truce was first brought to Count Mauritz at Recife, +all the outward marks of festivity and great rejoicings were exhibited. +A general fraternization ensued, and the late enemies and temporary +friends regaled each other at various banquets. Thus Paulo da Cunha, the +Brazilian patriot, upon whose outlawed head the Count had put a price of +500 florins (to which da Cunha had retorted by placing a price of 2,000 +cruzados upon the Count's), was now invited to feast with Nassau, and +the two entered into an intimate and rather chaffing discussion upon the +respective prices they had put upon each other's heads. + +Very shortly, however, the Brazilians found reason to suspect the +sincerity of the Dutch professions of friendship. A Dutch fleet sailed +north, captured Sao Christovao, and in other places seized a number of +Portuguese vessels. The Portuguese now found themselves in something of +a dilemma, owing to the very fact of the independence they had won. +During the Spanish dominion the ports had been manned by the Spaniards +as well as by the Portuguese. This, of course, was no longer the case. +Bahia, for instance, had now lost a great part of its garrison. The 700 +Spaniards and Neapolitans who had served there were honourably treated +by the Portuguese, and were sent on their way to Europe, but were +captured by the Dutch ere they had left the coast. + +The Dutch aggression, as a matter of fact, was not confined to South +America. A Dutch force of 2,000 regular troops had entered Sao Paul de +Loanda, the capital of Angola. The loss of this important Portuguese +possession on the west coast of Africa produced a direct effect on South +America, for it was from here that the Brazilians had imported all their +African slaves. Thus the whole of this traffic passed entirely into the +hands of the Dutch for the time being. Mauritz of Nassau went the length +of suggesting that the territory of Angola should become an appendage of +that of Dutch Brazil, as the two were bound so closely by this traffic! +The Dutch had also captured the Island of St. Thomas. In that place, +however, the climate avenged the Portuguese to the full, and the +mortality among the Dutch from fever in this island was appalling. + +The Dutch in Brazil now sent an expedition to the north to obtain +possession of the Province of Maranhao. They captured and plundered the +capital, pillaging churches and ransacking the sugar factories. The +Governor, Maciel, appears to have behaved very badly, and with no +little treachery towards his fellow-countrymen. Nassau, when Maciel +surrendered, treated him with contempt, and imprisoned him. The +situation had now become grimly farcical. In Europe the Dutch were +supplying the Portuguese with arms and stores, and acting in general as +their allies; while in Brazil the two nations were openly at war, and +the Dutch were sending hostile expeditions in all directions! + +Just at this period, indeed, the ambition of the Dutch appeared to swell +to the highest point. Count Mauritz determined to push his conquests far +to the south, and had even prepared an expedition for the capture of the +Spanish town of Buenos Aires; but the attempt was frustrated by the +hostility of the Portuguese and Indians nearer home. All this time, of +course, Dutch fleets had been harrying the Pacific coast, and the Dutch +had actually obtained a footing in Southern Chile, although this was not +destined to prove permanent. With the extension of their boundaries, +however, it was but natural that the difficulty of preserving their +dominion should increase. + +In Maranhao, freshly conquered as it was, rebellion broke out almost as +soon as the Dutch had established themselves. Desperate fighting took +place in the neighbourhood of the capital, and many barbarities were +committed on both sides. The Dutch Governor, in a fit of exasperation, +delivered twenty-five Portuguese to the savages of Ceara, and sent fifty +to the Barbadoes to be sold as slaves. The English Governor, however, +after he had received these latter on shore, set them at liberty, and +administered a severe reproof to the agent who had offered white men for +sale in this way. Owing to happenings such as these the bitterness +between the two races increased. + +In the end Maranhao was regained by the Portuguese, and the Fort of +Ceara itself was surprised by a force of Tapuya Indians and its garrison +massacred. These occurrences were ominous, and the turn of the tide +seemed to have set in. Prince Mauritz of Nassau now sent in his +resignation, and, after leaving everything in a state of complete +preparedness, set out for Europe, accompanied by no fewer than 1,400 +persons all told, a force which could ill be spared from Brazil at that +period. Among them were a few Indians who were taken to Holland to +demonstrate to the inhabitants of that country the accomplishments of +their countrymen, and the nature of the new subjects. + +Nassau had governed the captured territories in a liberal and +imperialistic spirit, and his personality had been popular to a certain +extent even among the Portuguese. His absence was severely felt, and the +policy of the West India Company, in itself parsimonious and somewhat +petty, undoubtedly suffered much from the want of his presence; for +during the time that he was in power he had restrained the excesses of +his own people, and used no little tact towards the Portuguese. His +rank, moreover, counted not a little in winning their esteem. The new +authorities had not the influence over the soldiery that Prince Mauritz +had enjoyed, and lacked not only experience but judgment. + +Shortly after this Dirk van Hoogstraten, a Dutch officer, offered his +services to the Portuguese, and various other symptoms portended a break +up of the organization of the Dutch West India Company. Several attempts +at insurrection took place in the neighbourhood of Recife itself, and +the methods of the Dutch in repressing these became increasingly harsh. +Some of the malcontents were hanged, and in several cases their hands +were lopped off before death. + +The Brazilian patriot, Joao Fernandes, now became very prominent, and +the Dutch in consequence began to be more and more harassed. The woods +in the neighbourhood of the town sheltered numbers of discontented +Portuguese and Indians, who had collected stores and weapons, and had +hidden themselves in the recesses of the forests until the time came for +them to sally out for the attack. Several expeditions sent out by the +Dutch to break up these bands were unsuccessful. The Portuguese either +eluded them, or the Dutch fell into the ambushes prepared for them, and +suffered loss without being able to retaliate. + +Every month the Portuguese grew stronger in numbers, and attacks were +now frequent on the Dutch isolated settlements, many of which were +captured and the inhabitants massacred. The Portuguese were determined +to surrender none of the advantages which the nature of the country +offered them, and thus the warfare still remained of a guerilla order, +and upon the sallying out of a formidable Dutch force, the Portuguese, +with their Indian allies, would disperse in the dense forests, and come +together again when the Dutch had concluded their march. + +The retaliatory methods of the Dutch served to enrage the Portuguese +beyond all bearing. The Council of the Dutch West India Company issued a +proclamation to the effect that all women and children in the towns, +whose husbands and fathers were rebels, were to be evicted from their +houses and left to fend for themselves. The idea seems to have been that +these people would flock to the insurgents and thus hamper their +movements. The result was that the unfortunate women and children were +exposed to the mercy of the weather and the forests. + +Joao Fernandes had now collected a formidable number of men, and, +posting these about nine leagues to the westward of Recife in a spot of +great strategic advantage, he awaited the Dutch advance. One thousand +five hundred Dutch troops, aided by a number of native auxiliaries, came +on to the attack. Three times they advanced and drove the Portuguese and +their Indian allies some way up the hill on the sides of which they were +posted, but each time the Dutch lost more and more men from the ambushes +in the thick cane-brake which covered the ground. In the end the Dutch +retired, having suffered very severe casualties. It is said that 370 of +their force were found dead upon the field. Beyond this a number died on +the retreat, while many hundreds were wounded. The Portuguese assert +that their army consisted of 1,200 whites, aided by about 100 Indians +and negroes. This fight had very important consequences, since it +enabled the Portuguese forces to arm themselves with the weapons left on +the field by the dead and wounded Dutch. + +During all this time the authorities at Bahia had remained quiescent, +since officially no state of war existed, and in the eyes of the +Government the Dutch were supposed merely to be quelling some +revolutionary movements ere they departed for Europe! Now the time came +for this farce to be ended, and the Governor of Bahia sent troops to the +north to join the insurgents in their struggle against the Dutch. The +traitor Hoogstraten now definitely joined these forces, and the whole of +the country south of Recife fell once more into the hands of the +Portuguese. During this period the bitterness between the two armies was +still further accentuated by the massacre of Portuguese by the Tapuya +Indians at Cunhau. This atrocity, as a matter of fact, was perpetrated +on the initiative of the Indians alone, but at the time the +Dutch--unjustly, as it turned out--were blamed for it. This circumstance +induced retaliation, and eventually caused many barbarous acts to be +done on both sides. + +After the fortunes of war had fluctuated on various occasions and the +Dutch had alternately been defeated, received reinforcements, and become +temporarily victorious again, the war came to an end. The Dutch +consented to withdraw entirely from Brazil, to surrender Recife and all +the remaining forts which they possessed, as well as the Island of +Fernando de Noronha. In return they were granted an amnesty, which was +extended to the Indians in their service. + +Arrangements had been carried almost to a conclusion when the Dutch +showed themselves prepared to continue the campaign in South America. +This threat of renewed aggression had the effect of increasing the +liberality of the Portuguese terms. The ensuing negotiations were +considerably assisted by Charles II. of England, who, about to marry +Catherine of Portugal, strongly took up the cause of the Portuguese in +South America, and announced to the Dutch his intention to ally his +forces with those of the Portuguese, and, if necessary, proceed to +extremities. These representations of Charles were taken up by France +and Portugal, and the Dutch, as a result, decided to waive some of their +wilder claims. Before, however, the treaty was finally concluded, it was +found necessary to pay certain sums in the nature of a ransom to the +Dutch. These consisted of 4,000,000 cruzados, in money, sugar, tobacco, +and salt, which were to be paid in sixteen annual instalments. All the +artillery taken in Brazil, which was marked either with the arms of the +United Provinces of the Netherlands or of the West India Company, were +to be restored to their former owners. + +[Illustration: DUTCH VESSELS SAILING THROUGH THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +Thus, although Portugal may be said in one sense to have cooped the +Dutch up within a narrow strip of remaining territory, and to have +been on the point of expelling them from Brazil by the sword, actually +the withdrawal was only effected by the payment of this heavy ransom. As +Southey has it: "The Portuguese consented to pay for the victory which +they had obtained." + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE COLONY OF PERU + + +With South America now definitely settled, we may glance at the various +provinces which constituted the Spanish American Continent. For a long +while after the first establishment of the Spanish dominion the +divisions between the various districts remained far fewer in number +than was later the case. South America may be said to have been +partitioned off in the early days into four main divisions. The +northernmost of these was commonly known as Terra Firma, and comprised +New Granada and the neighbouring districts. This area is now occupied by +the Republics of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. + +To the south of Terra Firma the Viceroyalty of Peru extended itself, +bordered on the south by the Province of Chile; while to the east, +occupying the remainder of the Continent as far as the Brazilian +frontier, and stretching over the fertile plains to the south, was the +great Province of Paraguay, which included the territories now contained +in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and part of Bolivia. + +Seeing that the head-quarters of the Colonial Government was vested in +Peru, it would be as well to deal with this portion of the Continent +first. Peru constituted in the first place the sole Viceroyalty, and +subsequently the senior Viceroyalty, of Spanish South America. Lima, its +capital and the seat of government, took care to distinguish itself +from any other colonial city of the Continent. Certainly no other town +possessed such buildings and architectural decorations as those of which +Lima could boast. The home of the Viceroy, it was a city of pomp, +processions, and stately movements. These, as a matter of fact, were by +no means out of place, when the great importance of the spot from a +governmental point of view is considered. Every matter of consequence, +in whatever province it may have had its origin, was referred for +settlement to Lima, and it was here that the Viceroy and his Court gave +judgments, the effects of which were echoed thousands of miles away. + +Of all the Viceroyalties in the world, that of Peru was undoubtedly the +proudest during the earlier Spanish colonial period, for the holder of +the high office governed not merely a country, but the greater half of a +vast Continent. Seeing that the colonial policy of Spain invariably +tended to pit one of her subordinate Powers against another in order to +avoid the acquirement of too much authority on the part of any special +person, it was only natural that the authority of the Viceroy, although +great, was not supreme even in his own dominion. There were matters +which had to be referred to the Court of Spain, but even in these the +importance of Lima remained in one sense unimpaired, for Lima then +became the mouthpiece of the Continent, and it was through her officials +that the case was presented for the deliberations which pursued their +leisurely course in Europe. + +The palace of the Viceroy represented, naturally, one of the chief +buildings in the capital. Impressive as was the authority of this high +official, he was wont to live even his private life in great state. As a +rule he would set apart a short while in the morning and afternoon for +the personal reception of petitions. There were, of course, numerous +public functions in which it was his duty to take part. Thus, on the +arrival of any new laws or decrees from Spain, the Viceroy was +accustomed to proceed to the Council Hall, where these were delivered to +him. He would then salute the documents by kissing the King's signature +and by laying the paper on his head. + +Many of these Viceroys were notably honourable men, who refrained from +taking a greater share than was necessary in the financial arrangements +of the New World. At the same time, the opportunities for +self-enrichment during the five years' tenure of office were quite +unusually numerous. Not a few of the occupants of this post took +advantage of these, and the extravagant manner of their subsequent life +in Spain upheld to the full the popular tales which were current +concerning the fabulous wealth of the Americas. + +To go back to the early days of Peru, the inception of this colony, as +has been said, was attended by even more violent disturbances than those +common to its neighbours. We have already seen how, each the victim of +strenuous jealousies, Almagro was executed at the instance of Pizarro, +and how Pizarro himself a few years later was assassinated by the +adherents of the dead Almagro's party, who now succeeded in raising to +power his son, the younger Almagro. + +This, however, by no means ended the era of catastrophe and chaos into +which the great but youthful colony of Peru was now plunged. Very +shortly after the death of Pizarro, Cristobal Vaca de Castro arrived in +Peru on a mission from the Court of Spain to investigate the causes of +the disturbances and warlike rumours which had reached the Mother +Country. De Castro found himself in opposition to the younger Almagro, +and a battle was fought. Almagro's forces were defeated, and he himself, +although he escaped for a while to Cuzco, was captured and executed. + +In 1543 Blasco Nunez Vela, the first Viceroy appointed by Spain, arrived +in Peru, where he found de Castro in charge of the Government. Nunez +Vela's methods proved themselves arbitrary in the extreme. Scarcely had +he landed when he sent an abrupt command to de Castro to resign his +post, and to place himself forthwith in attendance on the new Viceroy. +This action roused the anger of the Pizarro faction. Its adherents +revolted and established themselves at Cuzco. + +It was precisely at this moment that a totally new factor in the way of +officialdom presented itself in Peru. With the advent of the Royal +Audience, a court of judges, newly founded and sent out from Spain, the +situation grew still more wildly complicated. The Royal Audience, its +dignity and unanimity shattered by the turmoil in the midst of which it +found itself, divided its forces equally on either side. A battle was +fought between the Viceroy and the forces of Gonzales Pizarro, in the +course of which the latter obtained a decided victory, and Blasco Nunez +de Vela was slain. + +Having witnessed an almost continuous process of downfall of the various +authorities, it is only natural that the sense of loyalty to Spain +should have become somewhat obscured in the minds of the Peruvians. As a +result, many of the colonists now urged independence of government, and +begged Gonzales Pizarro to accept the throne of Peru. + +Spain, judging that the matter had gone too far to be dealt with by any +force but one of a magnitude which would have been inconvenient in the +extreme to dispatch to so great a distance, now had resource to +diplomacy. An ecclesiastic, Pedro de la Gasca, famed for his subtle +methods and diplomatic strategy, was despatched to the disturbed colony. +Gonzales Pizarro refused to acknowledge this new official, although a +command to this effect was impressed upon him by a letter sent by the +King of Spain. + +The rupture was now complete. In the first instance the loyal troops +were decisively defeated by Gonzales Pizarro; but very shortly +afterwards the deep methods of La Gasca bore fruit. He was joined by +troops from Chile, and by numerous forces from various other districts, +while Pizarro's men began to desert him, continuing the process until +the bold leader was left practically alone. Seeing there was no help for +it, Gonzales Pizarro surrendered, and was in turn beheaded. + +It is curious to remark that in these early and disturbed days of Peru +no single leader was left to die a natural death. A second Viceroy, +Antonio de Mendoza, was now appointed. He proved himself an able ruler, +but, unfortunately, he died before he had occupied his post for two +years. A further epoch of rebellion now followed, until Don Andres +Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis de Canete, was sent out from Spain to occupy +the Viceroyalty. It was undoubtedly due to the strong rule of this +important noble that affairs in Peru promised to settle themselves +definitely. After his death, however, in 1561, his successor, Don +Zuniga, Count de Nieva, was assassinated almost as soon as he took +possession of his post. + +It was during the government of one of Zuniga's successors, Toledo, that +the young Inca, Tupac-Amaru, was executed in the great central square of +Cuzco. The horror which this act is said to have instilled in the minds +of the Indians is indescribable. The race had now sunk into a permanent +state of melancholy. + +All this while Spain had been unceasing in her demands for gold and +silver, and it was necessary to work the mines strenuously in order to +satisfy the greed of the Mother Country. As time went on, indeed, the +difficulties which lay in the path of a conscientious Viceroy tended to +increase rather than to diminish. It is true that the country did not +now depend entirely for its prosperity upon its gold, for the valuable +drugs and other natural products were now obtaining some recognition, +and the cereals and general agricultural growths introduced from Europe +were now becoming of genuine importance. Other matters, however, were +beginning to cause deep anxiety to the ruling Powers. The buccaneers had +now made their appearance in the Pacific, and the alarm spread by their +presence frequently caused an entire cessation of trade. The jealousies, +moreover, between the Spaniards and the colonials tended to increase, as +the arrogance of the former grew and the resentment of the latter +deepened. + +True to her policy to discourage any attempt at authority on the part of +the colonists, Spain had continued strenuously to refuse to appoint any +but Spaniards to the highest posts. No single Viceroy, for instance, +from first to last, was American born, although the holders of this high +office included in their numbers four grandees, two priests, one Bishop, +one Archbishop, three licentiates, and a number of military officers. + +After a while, as was only natural, the tendency arose to split up the +main areas of colonial government. Thus, in 1718, the Viceroyalty of +Santa Fe de Bogota was established, and in 1777 that of Buenos Aires. +Neither of these innovations had occurred a day too soon. With the +growing population and the increasing political and commercial +importance of the Continent, the strained machinery with which it had +been attempted to govern all matters from a single centre had broken +down and become useless so far as the remoter provinces were concerned. +In the course of the settlements and of the industrial progress, such as +it was, the claims and rights of the aborigines had become a negligible +factor. Indeed, from any but an industrial point of view, the existence +of the descendants of the Incas had practically been ignored. + +In 1632 a minor revolution of Indians occurred, which resulted in a +quaint species of naval engagement on Lake Titicaca, with the native +_balsas_, or rafts, posing as diminutive battleships. In 1661 there was +another outbreak. This was organized by Antonio Gallado, who succeeded +in gaining possession of the town of La Paz, in which neighbourhood the +Spanish authority became almost extinct for three years. + +It was not until 1780, however, that the Spaniards met with the first +really serious shock of Indian insurrection since the first extinction +of the power of the Incas. This belated attempt was destined to be the +last. The revolution had its origin in the system of forced labour +which, despite the warnings and commands that from time to time were +received on the subject from Spain, was continued to be imposed on the +Indians. + +In addition to this the unfortunate people were made to suffer further +wrongs sufficient to rouse the most meek to rebellion. Thus by the laws +of the Indies officials were appointed to provide the Indians with goods +at certain prices. This system became abused to the point that the +Spanish officials would distribute as much of these goods as they +thought fit among the Indians at a price arbitrarily named by +themselves. In consequence of this the impoverished folk were obliged to +pay enormous and unfair prices for goods of which they were probably in +no need of whatever, and did not desire. + +An intelligent Indian, Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, determined on a +desperate effort to alleviate the condition of his people. Condorcanqui +had received a far more generous education than the majority of his +fellows, and had studied at the College of San Bernardo, in Cuzco. He +spoke the Castilian tongue perfectly, and was thus enabled to hold a +minor official post in the Spanish service. Claiming descent from the +Royal Incas, he subsequently added the name of Tupac-Amaru to his own. + +[Illustration: DUTCH AND SPANISH VESSELS ENGAGED OFF CALLAO, THE PORT OF +LIMA. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +It was on November 4, 1780, that Tupac-Amaru, by which name he was now +universally known, made his first move. Gathering some trusty men about +him, he captured a Spanish _corregidor_, Arriaga, and, charging that +official with offences against the Indians, caused him to be executed. +On this the Indians flocked to their new defender's standard, and he was +soon at the head of 6,000 men. Tupac-Amaru now determined on an +extensive campaign. After an attack on Cuzco, he marched with 60,000 +Indians to besiege La Paz itself, while the isolated Spanish forces were +overwhelmed in all directions. + +La Paz succeeded in resisting the desperate onslaught of the Indian +army, and the tide of fortune now turned against the Inca leader. After +a battle waged in the open, he was captured and put to a horrible death. +His tongue was torn out by the executioner; each of his limbs was +attached to a horse, then, the four horses being furiously driven in +different directions, his body was torn into four portions. It was in +this way that the unfortunate Tupac-Amaru died, the last of the Inca +race who attempted to assert the rights of his people. + +With the exception of rare revolts such as these, and of the periodical +onslaughts which the buccaneers of all nations made upon the Pacific +ports, it is a little remarkable to consider how few dramatic episodes +took place during the colonial era in Peru. It is true that one or two +events occurred deserving of note. Thus, in 1551, the University of San +Marcos was established at Lima, and was the first institution of the +kind to be founded in the New World. In 1573 occurred the first +_auto-da-fe_, followed by numerous other such grim ceremonies, for Lima +was naturally the head-quarters of the Inquisition. In 1746 the capital +suffered from a terrible catastrophe, being visited by an earthquake +which shattered the senior city of the Continent, while at the same time +a great tidal wave swept away the port of the capital, Callao. + +Beyond this one Viceroy succeeded another; the mines continued to be +worked, and, in response to the incessant clamourings of Spain, the +miners were flogged and driven willy-nilly to their unwelcome task. As +time went on the relative importance of Peru compared to the +neighbouring States tended to diminish rather than to increase. The most +profitable and most easily worked of the then known gold and silver +mines had been practically denuded of their treasure. There were others +in plenty, but these were more remote, and the difficulty of +communication which then prevailed was sufficiently great to render +impossible any attempt at a remunerative working of these. With the +decrease in the working of minerals greater attention was now paid to +the pastoral and agricultural industries, and with the growth of these +the value and importance of the neighbouring countries increased vastly. +This state of affairs was at length acknowledged by the Court of Spain, +and was emphasized in 1776 when Buenos Aires was made the seat of a +Viceroyalty, and was thus released from the last shred of supervision on +the part of the Peruvian officials. + +We are now approaching the stage of the War of Independence. This, in +Peru, as elsewhere, was heralded by the newly-acquired liberal spirit of +the colonials, which, in spite of repressions and precautions on the +part of Spain, could no longer be kept in check. It is true that in +Peru, the chief centre of Spanish officialdom in the Continent, these +manifestations were rather slower in asserting themselves than in the +neighbouring countries, but this was inevitable when the extent of the +moral influence employed by the numerous officials, and the active +discouragement exerted by the important garrison of the Spanish +headquarters of the Continent, are taken into consideration. + +Curiously enough, the history of one of Peru's last Viceroys is +permeated with an atmosphere of romance in which the careers of his +predecessors were almost entirely lacking. Ambrose O'Higgins, the most +striking figure of all the lengthy line of Viceroys, had started life as +a bare-footed Irish boy. He is said to have been employed by Lady +Bective to run errands at Dangan Castle, Co. Meath. Through the +influence of an uncle in Spain, a priest, the lad was sent to Cadiz. +From there, having in the meanwhile become familiar with the Spanish +tongue, he proceeded to South America, landed in Buenos Aires, and then +travelled westwards across the Andes, arriving in safety on the Pacific +coast. Here he appears to have adopted the profession of an itinerant +trader, journeying to and fro through the territories of the Viceroyalty +of Peru and the Government of Chile. His career during this period of +his existence was unbrokenly humble, and certainly the adventurous +Irishman himself, even in his wildest moments, could scarcely have +possessed any inkling of the marvellous future which awaited him. + +The first step in this direction was made in one of his excursions to +the south, when by a fortunate chance he obtained an opportunity to +demonstrate his inherent warlike qualities in the battles against the +Araucanian Indians. Having once got his foot upon the official ladder, +O'Higgins never stepped back. The Home Government of Spain appeared to +regard his career with a benevolent interest. He obtained the rank of +Colonel; from this he was promoted to that of Brigadier-General, and +was made Count of Balenar. A little later he was made Major-General, and +in 1792 he attained to the rank of Captain-General of Chile, and the +title of Marquis of Osorno was conferred upon him. Two years later he +was promoted once again, this time to the rank of Lieutenant-General. + +The progressive policy of O'Higgins occasionally brought him into +collision with some of the more retrogressive officials; but the +strength of his character appears to have prevailed throughout, and it +is certainly to the credit of Spain that it singled out and upheld so +courageous and broad-minded an official. + +O'Higgins's greatest office, however, was still before him. In 1796 he +was created Viceroy of Peru, and thus became the highest official +throughout the New World. No fairy story has ever produced a more +startling study of career and contrast than that which had fallen to the +lot of the erstwhile bare-footed Irish boy. + +The remarkable history of the family of O'Higgins, however, does not end +even here. Ambrose O'Higgins was undoubtedly the most brilliant Viceroy +who had ever served Spain in the New World. The candle of this high +office, as it were, flamed up in a great, but transient, flicker ere it +was for ever extinguished, and it was O'Higgins who fed this flame. With +the passing of Ambrose O'Higgins we are confronted with the next +generation of his family. As the father had done in the interests of +regal Spain, so did the son in the service of the southern patriots. +Bernardo O'Higgins, indeed, was destined to accomplish yet greater +things in the cause of the Independence of South America. Ambrose +O'Higgins was one of Spain's last Viceroys; his son Bernardo became one +of the first Presidents of the New Republican World. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE COLONY OF CHILE + + +In Chile, as has been said, the conquest of the land was effected under +far more strenuous circumstances than those which applied to any other +part of South America, with the exception, perhaps, of the coasts in the +neighbourhood of the estuary of the River Plate. In the early days of +Chile it is literally true that the colonists were obliged to go about +their labours with a handful of seed in one hand and a weapon of defence +in the other. It was owing to this constant warlike preoccupation that +the early cities of Chile were of so comparatively mean an order, for, +harassed by continuous Indian attacks as they were, the settlers could +find no leisure to devote their energies to anything of a pretentious or +even reasonably commodious order in the way of town-building. + +In the north of the Continent the enervating climate, facile conquest, +and easy life had naturally tended to atrophy the energy of the +Spaniards. In Chile, on the other hand, the constant and fierce +struggles of the warlike natives, the hardships and frugal living, and +the temperate and exhilarating atmosphere, tended not only to preserve +the energy, but even to increase the virility of the settler in the +south. + +It is true that in the central provinces of the country, where the +Indians were less numerous and less warlike than the Araucanians of the +south, a certain number of the natives were distributed into +_encomiendas_, and set to work at enforced tasks, but the number of +these, compared with those which existed in the centre and north of the +Continent, remained utterly insignificant. As to the Araucanians +themselves, their indomitable nature absolutely forbade an existence +under such conditions. + +It was not only with the aborigines of their new country that the +Spanish settlers in Chile had to contend. Nature had in store for them a +species of catastrophe which was admirably adapted to test their +fortitude to an even greater degree. Thus in 1570 the newly-founded city +of Concepcion was brought to the ground by an earthquake, and some +eighty years later the larger centre of Santiago became a heap of +smoking ruins from the same cause. Indeed, throughout the history of +both the colonial and independent eras Chile has been from time to time +visited by such terrible calamities as these. In every instance, +however, the disaster has left the inhabitants undismayed, and new and +larger towns have risen upon the sites of the old. + +Chile, probably owing to the comparatively limited area of its soil, was +never raised to the rank of a Viceroyalty; nevertheless the Governorship +of the province was, of course, one of the most important on the +Continent. After the death of Valdivia on the field of battle, Francisco +Villagran was elected as chief of the new colony. At the period when he +assumed command there had come about one of the most severe of the many +crises through which the young colony was destined to pass. The +Araucanians, emboldened by their victories, now pressed on to the attack +from all sides with an impetuosity and confidence which proved +irresistible. The south was for the time being abandoned, and the +Spanish women and children were hurriedly sent by sea to Valparaiso, +while the harassed army retired towards the north. + +Presently Lautaro, the famous Araucanian chief, at the head of his +undefeated army, marched in the track of the retreating Spaniards, and +threatened Santiago itself. But for an access of over-confidence on the +part of the natives, it is likely enough that the Spanish power would +have been completely swept from Chile. Villagran, returning to the +capital with reinforcements, found the investing Araucanian army in a +totally unprepared condition. Some were carousing, many slept, and in +any case the majority were drunk, a state to which, as a matter of fact, +these southern Indians were only too prone at all times. Villagran, +perceiving his opportunity, fell upon the demoralized native army, and +defeated them utterly with great slaughter. Lautaro himself, the flower +of the Araucanian warriors, perished in the ensuing struggle. + +Villagran had thoroughly deserved this success, which had crowned one of +the most exhausting periods of the terrific struggle. He possessed, in +the first place, many fine qualities as a leader, and was one of the +toughest, bravest, and most honest of the _conquistadores_. +Unfortunately for himself, these qualities did not appear to suffice in +the eyes of the highest Spanish official in South America. Shortly after +his victory Villagran was superseded by Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, son +of the Viceroy of Peru. Mendoza possessed many good points; at the same +time, he had to a full degree many of the faults which characterized so +great a number of the Spanish noblemen of the period. Thus, he was +unduly arrogant and autocratic towards his comrades of inferior rank, +flinging Villagran into prison on his first arrival in the country as +the result of little beyond a whim. On the other hand, it must be +admitted that Mendoza spared no endeavours to conciliate and treat with +kindness the Araucanian Indians. + +Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza had some reason for his arrogance. At twenty +years of age, when sent by his father to Chile at the head of his force, +he had already distinguished himself by his bravery, and, according to +one biographer, had already fought in Corsica, Tuscany, Flanders, and in +France. Even in that age there were not many who could boast of having +effected all this when still in their teens. It was little wonder that +he was high-spirited, wilful, and impetuous. Ercilla represents him as +very ardent in battle, sometimes fighting himself, sometimes urging on +his soldiers, always in movement. At the time of the Araucanian invasion +he addressed his troops in the most humane terms. One of his sayings was +to the effect that--"An enemy who surrenders is a friend whom we ought +to protect; it is a greater thing to give life than to destroy it." +Sentiments of this kind were doubly commendable when, judging from their +rarity, they could scarcely have been popular. + +Notwithstanding his good intentions towards the Araucanians, Mendoza +soon found himself involved in a struggle to the death with the now +hereditary foes of his race, for the southern Indians--maintaining their +reputation--proved themselves implacable, and would hear nothing of +compromise. After many fierce battles, in the course of which fortune +ebbed either way, Mendoza succeeded in capturing Caupolican, who was +tortured to death, an episode which caused a short lull in the fevered +activities of the Spanish forces. + +In 1560 Mendoza was abruptly ordered by King Philip II. of Spain to +surrender his post as Governor to Francisco Villagran. That fine old +_conquistador_ was now worn out in body and a wreck of his former self. +The furious combats with the Araucanians broke out afresh, and continued +unabated. A series of disasters shattered the spirit of Villagran, and +sent him to his grave. Following this came the usual succession of +Governors, and the unbroken continuance of the Indian wars, victory +and disaster alternately succeeding each other to an extent which would +prove monotonous if an attempt at description were made. + +[Illustration: ACAPULCO, ON THE PACIFIC COAST. + +One of the chief points of sailing of the great East Indian trading +galleons of Spain. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +There is only one instance, I believe, of a white man having gained the +complete confidence of the Araucanians, and this did not occur until a +century after the two races had first come into contact with each other. +It is said that in 1642--thirty-nine years after the town of Valdivia +had been captured from the Spaniards and destroyed--Colonel Alonzo de +Villanueva, who had been sent to the south with the object of regaining +possession of the city, effected this without bloodshed by the +employment of an extraordinary amount of tact and patience. He landed at +a point a little to the south of Valdivia, and boldly made his +appearance quite alone among the astonished warriors. He remained with +them for two years, when, having won their respect and confidence, he +proposed that they should appoint him their Governor at Valdivia, +explaining that by this move they would effect a reconciliation with the +Spaniards, and, in consequence, obtain many material benefits. The +Araucanians readily fell in with the idea, and in 1645 Valdivia was +rebuilt, and was again populated. Undoubtedly in the middle of the +seventeenth century time was of very little value in Chile, and in any +case it would seem that to effect so brilliant a result at so little +cost was worth the two years' wait! + +In 1577 Sir Francis Drake made his appearance in the Pacific, and was +the pioneer of the adventurers who were to follow in the wake of his +keel. Thus new anxieties were added to the minds of the Chilean +officials, although it must be said that the colonists, when they once +became accustomed to the visits of these foreigners, gave them an +increasingly friendly reception, notwithstanding the hostility evinced +towards them by the Spaniards. It was not long before this new and grim +type of visitor increased in numbers and grew cosmopolitan. + +The Dutch, always on the look out for a weapon with which to flog their +enemies the Spaniards, had managed to glean intelligence of the +successful warfare which the Araucanians in Southern Chile were waging +against the Spanish troops. When the news of the separation of Portugal +from Spain reached Holland, the position of that country's forces in +Brazil became automatically somewhat unsettled--at all events in theory, +and finally in practice. It was then that the idea occurred to them to +establish settlements in equally fertile and less tropical climates. + +A squadron was fitted out by the Dutch navigator, Brouwer, and in 1642 +it sailed into the Pacific Ocean, and the troops effected a landing on +the Island of Chiloe. Here they succeeded in inflicting a defeat upon +the Spanish forces. It was now the policy of the invader to establish +friendly relations with the Araucanians. Before long they persuaded a +number of the chiefs to enter into an alliance with them; this brought +about, they prepared to establish themselves permanently in the south of +Chile. + +First of all they erected a fort at Valdivia without encountering any +opposition on the part of the natives. After this they began to trade; +but they permitted their lust of gain to outweigh their discretion. So +eager did they show themselves to obtain gold in exchange for weapons +and other objects coveted by the dusky races, that the Araucanians +became suspicious, and in the end awoke to the fact that the presence of +the Dutch in their country was due to precisely the same causes as had +attracted the Spanish. Disillusioned, they withdrew their hastily +extended friendship, and retired to their own haunts, lending a passive +rather than an active resistance to those strangers with whom they still +remained on outward terms of friendship. The relations, however, became +more strained when, on the rare occasions when the two races came into +contact, the Indians refused to supply the Dutch with provisions. This +policy of the Araucanians won them their object, for in the end the +Dutch, unable to subsist without the supplies for which they depended on +the Indians, were forced to relinquish their settlements and to abandon +the country. + +An English expedition, with more peaceful intent, under the command of +Sir John Narborough, set sail from England towards the end of 1669, and +arrived in Valdivia in 1670. On this occasion the hands of the Commander +were strictly tied, since he had received implicit injunctions not to +fall foul of the Spaniards; thus, when he endeavoured to trade with the +Indians, the Spaniards took prisoner his lieutenant and three of his +men, whom they detained. + +Sir John, it is said, contemplated rescuing his men by force, but the +fate of the unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh, according to some ancient +historians, stayed his hand, and he reluctantly sailed from the coast, +leaving these four members of his crew prisoners of the Spaniards. + +Rolt, who published a "History of South America" in 1766, has a rather +curious account of the methods by which the inhabitants of the town of +Concepcion in Chile carried on their business with the Indians. + + "There is a beneficial trade carried on by the inhabitants of the + city of Conception, with the Indians behind them, who trade with + the Spaniards in a very peculiar manner, though they have never + negociated a peace with Spain. These Indians are called Aucaes, and + inhabit the mountains, where they retain the primitive customs and + manners of their ancestors. When a Spaniard comes to trade with + them, he addresses himself to the Cacique, or Chief, who, on + perceiving a stranger, cries out, _What, are you come?_ The + Spaniard answers, _Yes, I am come._ Then the Cacique says, _Well? + What have you brought me?_ The merchant answers, _A present._ And + the prince replies, _Then you are welcome._ He then provides a + lodging for the merchant near his own, where all the family go to + visit the stranger, in expectation of some present; and, in the + meantime, a horn is sounded to give notice to the Indians who are + abroad that a merchant has arrived. This soon assembles them + together about the merchant, who exhibits his treasure, consisting + of knives, scissors, pins, needles, ribbands, small + looking-glasses, and other toys, which the Indians carry away, + after settling the price, without getting anything in exchange; + but, after a certain time has elapsed, the horn is sounded again, + by the direction of the Cacique; when the Indians immediately + return, and punctually perform their respective engagements, the + goods they deal in being cattle, skins of wild beasts, and some + gold; but they bring very small quantities of the latter, as they + are sensible how dear the possession of that metal cost their + ancestors and their neighbours." + +In the various treaties which were engineered from time to time between +the Spaniards and the Araucanians, one of the most important clauses +which the Spaniards invariably endeavoured to insert was to the effect +that the Indians were to oppose to the utmost of their power by force of +arms the founding of any foreign colony in the territories occupied by +them. Thus the attitude of the Araucanians towards foreigners was apt to +depend to some extent on whether they happened to be at peace or at war +with their Spanish neighbours. It was owing to this, moreover, that the +European adventurers found themselves attacked when they had very little +reason to fear an onslaught. One of these instances occurred in 1638, +when the natives murdered the survivors of a shipwrecked Dutch crew. +There were times, on the other hand, when the enmity between the Indians +and the Spaniards induced the former to render every assistance to the +rovers who came, whether by accident or design, to their coasts. It is +certain that the accounts of these foreigners retailed by the Spaniards +to the natives were not of a nature to render the intruders popular in +the eyes of the dusky southern dwellers. + +During the chief part of the colonial era the town of Valdivia, in +Southern Chile, was employed as a sort of convict station for the white +criminals of Peru and Chile, and incidentally for a number of persons +whose sole crimes were of a political order. These prisoners were +employed in the erection of the fortifications of the spot, and the +ruins which still exist attest the solidarity and the extent of the +buildings. A large annual sum was wont to be allotted for the +maintenance of these fortifications, and for other objects connected +with the sustenance of both the prisoners and the garrison. It seems to +have been necessary to expend only a very small proportion of this sum +on the objects for which the allowance was originally intended, and from +its enormous financial opportunities the post of Governor of Valdivia +was one of the most sought after of any on the west coast of South +America. + +The later colonial era of Chile, like that of Peru, is very little +concerned with dramatic episode, with the exception, of course, of the +raids on the part of foreigners which took place from time to time along +the coast. Yet it is curious to remark that in Chile, at the same time +as these buccaneers were burning, plundering, and fighting, other +vessels, more especially those of the French, were carrying on a trade +in peace with the various ports of the state. This commerce, moreover, +continued growing steadily, and the influence of the foreigners upon the +Chileans in time became marked, and was largely responsible for the +broad-minded views which prevailed among the colonials. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE COLONIES OF PARAGUAY AND THE RIVER PLATE + + +We have seen how the Spaniards, having in the first instance attempted +without success to establish themselves in Buenos Aires, had made their +way up the great river system to Asuncion, and, having become firmly +settled there, had in the end extended their dominions to the south +again, and had founded the town of Buenos Aires for the second time. In +the early days of these particular settlements, notwithstanding this +extension to the south-east, Asuncion remained the capital of the +province, which was known as that of Paraguay. The two currents of +civilization, the one advancing from the south-east, and the other +proceeding from the north-west, at length met in the territory which is +now occupied by the north-western Territories of Argentina. + +It may be said that Argentina of to-day was colonized from three +directions--the first by means of the River Plate and its tributaries, +the second by the passage of the Andes from the west, and the third by +an advance from the direction of Bolivia. Thus the north-western section +of present-day Argentina had become, as it were, the centre towards +which all the Castilian forces were converging. + +As time went on, the balance of importance tended to assert itself in +the direction of Buenos Aires. Little by little the city of Asuncion, +although remaining notable from the administrative point of view, became +of less and less standing as a commercial centre. That which +undoubtedly helped to retard the progress of Asuncion was the almost +continual strife which prevailed in that town between the Jesuits and +the members, not only of the laity, but of the rival clergy as well. The +Jesuits, moreover, were the reverse of popular with the Spanish +landowners of Paraguay, for the reason that the missionaries had +collected together the Indians in self-supporting communities and towns, +thus depriving the colonists of the enforced labour which they now +looked upon as one of their rights. + +These Jesuit settlements in Paraguay have been too fully dealt with to +need anything in the way of an elaborate description here. Let it +suffice to say that the famous communities were in many respects +socialistic. The land, for instance, throughout the mission areas was +held for the common good, and its produce was wont to be divided into +three parts--one of which was devoted to the Church, the second to the +State, and the third to the private use of the Indian agriculturalists. +It is now generally conceded that, in consideration of the gross, +sensual, and totally unintelligent human clay with which the Missionary +Fathers had to deal, their efforts were astonishingly successful. At the +same time, the labours of these Jesuits were carried on largely in the +dark--that is to say, fearing the influence of the white man upon their +converts, they refused admission to their land to any Spaniards. This +method, as has since been proved, was fully justified by the colonizing +circumstances which prevailed at the time; nevertheless, it was only +natural that it should have provoked a deep anger on the part of the +Spanish settlers, in whose eyes these missions of the Jesuits had as +their chief end the enriching of the pockets of the Order at the expense +of those of the colonists. + +Towards the middle of the seventeenth century matters reached a crisis +in Asuncion. The newly-appointed Bishop, Don Bernardino de Cardenas, +showed himself most actively opposed to the works of the Jesuits in +Paraguay. An open hostility soon manifested itself between the two +powers, and the strife grew more and more bitter until, not only the +entire body of the clergy, but the Governor, the officials, and the +laymen were involved as well. Whatever were the faults which the Jesuits +may have committed in Paraguay--and to what extent these have been +exaggerated is now patent--it is quite certain that Cardenas was a being +totally unfitted to be invested with the dignity and responsibility of a +Bishop's office. + +It is true that his eloquence in preaching was superb; this, however, +undoubtedly arose rather from an acutely developed artistic sense than +from any profound religious convictions. Cardenas, in fact, showed +himself upon occasions hysterical and wayward to a point which was +absolutely childish. This peculiarity in a person holding so important a +position as his naturally produced utter confusion in Paraguay. +According to Mr. R.B. Cunninghame Graham, these were some of the methods +by which the Bishop in the end utterly scandalized the more sober of his +congregation: + + "The Bishop, not being secure of his position, had recourse to + every art to catch the public eye: fasting and scourging, prayers + before the altar, two Masses every day, barefooted + processions--himself the central figure carrying a cross--each had + their turn. Along the deep red roads between the orange gardens + which lead from Asuncion towards the Recoleta on Campo Grande, he + used to take his way accompanied by Indians crowned with flowers, + giving his benediction as he passed, to turn away (according to + himself) the plague, and to insure a fertile harvest. Not being + content with the opportunities which life afforded, he instituted + an evening service in church in order to prepare for death." + +These, however, were only some of the milder uses to which the Bishop +put his histrionic talents in order to prove his claim to sainthood. + +The fortunes of Cardenas varied considerably, but on the whole his +extraordinary versatility kept him afloat in the public estimation. He +at one time, however, very nearly incurred the popular resentment owing +to his having taken up the body of a suicide, and caused it to be +interred in holy ground from the force of a mere whim. The uproar +consequent on this he managed to overrule, and having got the better of +Don Gregorio, the Civil Governor, the Bishop actually elected himself +Governor in his place, and now became supreme in Asuncion, from which +place the Jesuits were forced to flee in haste to their establishments +in the country. + +Each side now brought endless charges against the other, and in the +middle of the wordy warfare the validity of Cardenas's appointment to +the Bishopric was questioned. Nevertheless, Cardenas succeeded in +retaining his office, and after a while issued a declaration +excommunicating the entire Order of the Jesuits, after which, having +sworn to the people that he possessed a Decree from the King of Spain, +he issued an order commanding the expulsion of the Jesuits from +Paraguay. This was carried into effect at Asuncion, and the College of +the Order was sacked and gutted by fire. Outside the boundaries of the +capital, however, this command had no effect whatever, and the great +settlements of the Jesuits far away in the forests were totally +unaffected by any mandate given at Asuncion. + +The Bishop had now gone too far in his policy of aggression. The High +Court at Charcas summoned him to appear before its tribunal at once, and +to give his reasons for the expulsion of the Jesuits and his appointment +of himself as Governor of Paraguay. At the same time a new Governor, +Don Sebastian de Leon, was appointed to Paraguay. Cardenas determined to +resist. He raised an army, and, claiming Divine inspiration, promised +his followers an undoubted victory, and ordered them to supply +themselves with cords in order to bind the prisoners which should fall +to their share. The rival forces met just outside Asuncion. The +unfortunate troops of Cardenas found no use for their cords, since, +totally defeated, they fled in haste. Judging mercy to be most +seasonable at this juncture, the new Governor commanded his men to march +to the capital, but to desist from pursuing the defeated forces. + +In the meanwhile Cardenas had lost no time. Realizing his complete +defeat, he had fled secretly to Asuncion. Arriving there ahead of Don +Sebastian de Leon's forces, he had dressed himself in his finest robes +and seated himself on the throne of the cathedral. It was there that Don +Sebastian de Leon found him when he entered. + +The new Governor acted with supreme courtesy; he kissed the Bishop's +hand, and ceremoniously requested him to spare him the baton of the +civil power. In silence Cardenas complied with his request, and then +retired, accompanied by his retinue. After this Asuncion knew him no +more. Naturally the days of his supreme power were over, but he was +still provided with an ecclesiastical office. He was made Bishop of La +Paz, a benefice he continued to hold until his death. + +Owing largely to their situation, these provinces in the south-east of +the Continent continued from time to time to elude some of the stricter +regulations and restrictions which were supposed to be applied to the +whole Continent. Thus at the end of the sixteenth century the +Governorship of the River Plate was entrusted to Hernando Arias de +Saavedra, who is more familiarly known as Hernandarias. He was the first +colonial-born subject of Spain to be gratified by such an honour. The +appointment, as a matter of fact, was somewhat remarkable, as without a +doubt it was strictly against the spirit of the Laws of the Indies, +which utterly forbade any appointment of the kind to be entrusted to a +colonial-born person. + +Hernandarias, it must be said, makes one of the most remarkable figures +of all the high officials of the River Plate. He proved himself a +strenuous warrior, and, anxious to extend his frontiers, he carried on a +tremendous warfare with the fierce Indians of the Pampa. The Governor, +moreover, was gifted with no little foresight and practical common +sense. Finding it impossible to establish a footing among the implacable +natives of Uruguay, he caused a number of cattle, horses, and sheep to +be sent across the great river, and to be let loose among the rich +pastures of that country. He knew, he said (and it was not long before +the future proved him right), that this land would one day be the +property of the Spaniards, and thus these cattle which he sent over +would, when the time came, be found to have multiplied themselves to an +infinite extent, which, of course, fell out as he had anticipated. + +Hernandarias, moreover, led an expedition to the south, and endeavoured +to take possession of Patagonia. Here, after various disasters, he +inflicted a severe defeat on the Indians; but few definite steps towards +the practical colonization of the far south appear to have been taken at +this period. + +Hernandarias, enthusiastic soldier though he proved himself, by no means +confined his energies to the arts of war; in statesmanship his ideas +were progressive. Having once subdued the wilder Indians, he led the way +to peaceful co-operation. According to Senor J.M. Estrada-- + + "Hernandarias devoted his whole soul to the development of a + species of colonization which he terms the spiritual + conquest--that is to say, he inculcated into the country the + Christian spirit of discipline, civilization, and concord. He awoke + the soul of the savage, and turned his instincts in search of + better things than he had known. He closed the barracks of the + soldiers and opened the Colleges of the Missionaries." + +In some respects Hernandarias's tenure of office resembled that of +Irala, for, although unanimously elected by the colonists, in whose eyes +he was estimated at his true value, the official ratification of Spain +of his appointment was many years in forthcoming, the principal reason +for the delay being, of course, due to the fact of his colonial birth. +On several occasions his government was interrupted owing to this, and, +indeed, Hernandarias may be said to have ruled for various distinct +periods. It was only on November 7, 1614, that he received the definite +appointment as Governor from the Court of Spain. + +It was at this period that the Government of the River Plate was +separated from that of Paraguay, Buenos Aires being made the capital of +the former, while Asuncion remained the capital of the latter. This +process of subdivision was continued until, at the period when the +Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires was constituted, it consisted of the +provinces of Paraguay, Tucuman, Cuyo, the River Plate, Santa Cruz de la +Sierra, and Charcas. + +The value of these River Plate provinces was now become apparent to +Spain. Lacking in minerals though they were, these south-eastern +territories of the Continent were now exporting an amazing quantity of +horns, hides, tallow, and other such produce of the pastoral industry. +So abundant, indeed, had become the wild herds of cattle which roamed on +the plains of the alluvial country that a stray buccaneer or two landed +a force with the object of collecting horns and hides. + +At a later period a French adventurer of the name of Moreau endeavoured +to establish himself permanently on the Uruguayan shore for this +purpose. He had already fortified himself, and had collected a +considerable store of hides, when he was attacked by the Spaniards and +driven from the spot. He returned to attempt the venture for the second +time, but his force was again defeated, and on this occasion he lost his +life. + +The Indians in these provinces had now become expert horsemen. They, +too, possessed their share of the enormous quantities of live stock with +which the country abounded; but if from drought or any other such cause +the numbers of their animals grew uncomfortably diminished, they would +raid the European settlements, and, taking the colonists by surprise and +slaughtering without mercy, would sweep the country-side clear of live +stock, and scamper away to their own haunts at top speed. + +Thus the hatred between the natives and the colonials grew ever more +bitter, and weapons, ambushes, and massacres constituted the sole means +of communication between the two. These Indians of the open plains +proved themselves formidable enemies, and, utterly merciless as they +showed themselves to the vanquished, they rapidly became a continual +source of dread to the pioneers living in the remoter settlements. + +In 1767, when the order was received from Spain to expel the Jesuits +from the Spanish colonies in South America, the expulsion took place +unattended by any untoward circumstances in such places as Cordoba, +Corrientes, Montevideo, and Santa Fe. In these places the buildings that +had been devoted to the objects of the Order were ransacked, and, +unfortunately, many valuable collections of books and similar objects +were destroyed. + +The authorities regarded with more hesitation the carrying out of the +orders from Spain in the province of Paraguay. Many tens of thousands +of Indians formed part of the Jesuit settlements, and the influence of +the Company was supreme throughout all the territories which now +constitute North-West Uruguay, South-East Paraguay, and South-West +Brazil. + +Don Francisco de Paula Bucareli y Ursua, the Governor of Buenos Aires, +marched north in order to effect the eviction. Bucareli's few companies +of troops would, of course, in actual warfare have stood no chance +whatever against the numerous Indian regiments which the Jesuit missions +now possessed. Bucareli relied on his gifts of tact and diplomacy, of +which he gave no small evidence during the negotiations which ensued. As +it turned out, the employment of neither of these qualities, nor of the +troops which he brought with him, proved necessary, for the Jesuits +expressed themselves ready and willing to comply with the order, and, +having obeyed it, they were escorted to Buenos Aires. From thence they +were sent by ship to Europe, and the great social structure they had +erected fell forthwith to the ground. + +The districts which had formerly been occupied by the mission Indians +became after a while practically depopulated, and the Portuguese, +remarking this state of affairs, decided that the moment was favourable +for aggression. Thus, in 1801, Portuguese troops from the town of San +Pedro advanced against the Spanish port on the western shore of the Lake +Patos, whilst others advanced towards the River Prado. + +The majority of these invaders appear to have been more or less of the +freebooting order. One of the most notable bodies was commanded by Jose +Borges do Canto, who assembled a small army of forty men, which he armed +at his own expense. Learning that the Indians, bereft now of their +Jesuit Fathers and discontented with the Spanish rule, would take the +first opportunity of rising against the Spaniards, he determined to +push on towards the site of the old missions. + +At San Miguel the band of desperadoes came across an entrenchment manned +by Spaniards. These, entirely deceived as to the real importance of the +force which attacked them, retired after the exchange of a few shots, +and capitulated on condition of permission to retreat unmolested. This +was granted, but the retiring Spanish garrison was almost immediately +afterwards taken prisoner by another roving Portuguese body. It was some +while before their protests caused them to be liberated. + +In the end the Portuguese obtained possession of much territory by means +of this invasion, including that of the seven famous missions of San +Francisco Borja, San Miguel, San Joao, San Angelo, San Nicolau, San +Laurenco, and San Luiz. + +We arrive now at an event which exercised an even greater influence on +the destiny of South America in general than was suspected at the time. +This was the invasion of the River Plate Provinces by the British. +Undoubtedly, one of the prime causes of this invasion was the presence +of the famous South American patriot, Miranda, in England, and the +antagonism which existed at the time between Great Britain and Spain. + +Urged by Miranda, Pitt determined to lend active military assistance to +the South American colonists. Many of these were now openly +demonstrating their sense of discontent, yet none, it must be said, had +so far shown any inclination or desire to go to the length of taking up +arms against the Mother Country. It was, nevertheless, entirely on this +latter supposition that the British forces sailed for the River Plate. + +The first expedition consisted of some 1,600 troops, under the orders of +General Beresford, which were transported to Buenos Aires by a fleet +under Admiral Home Popham. On June 27, 1806, Buenos Aires was captured. +The Viceroy, Sobremonte, demonstrated remarkably little warlike ardour, +fleeing in haste before the advancing British. A French naval officer in +the service of the Spanish, Don Santiago Liniers, organized an army of +relief at Montevideo, to which all the South American volunteers, +officers and troops, flocked. The local forces, now powerfully +recruited, crossed the River Plate, attacked Buenos Aires, and won the +city back for the Spanish Crown on August 12. Admiral Popham, +notwithstanding this, remained in the River Plate with his fleet, and, +having blockaded the estuary, received reinforcements from the Cape of +Good Hope. By means of these the town of Maldonado was captured. A +little later more important bodies of British troops arrived on the +scene. Commanded by General Auchmuty, these attacked Montevideo, which +fell into the hands of the invaders on February 3, 1807. + +Determined to pursue its operations in this quarter of the world, the +British Government now despatched General Whitelocke with a formidable +army to the River Plate. Twelve thousand of the finest British troops +were now established at Montevideo preparing for the expedition which +was to bring Buenos Aires within the British Empire. The attempt, +however, failed completely, and a terrible disaster ensued, the cause of +which is imputed entirely to the crass folly of Whitelocke, who sent his +regiments to march through the streets of the town, to be shot down in +hundreds by the determined defenders congregated on the housetops. + +In many instances the result of this extraordinary piece of strategy was +mere slaughter, since the British troops, many of whom had been charged +to use nothing beyond the bayonet and to refrain from firing, could +adopt no retaliatory measures whatever. In the circumstances total +defeat was inevitable, and at the end of the engagement the General +found himself a prisoner in the hands of the South Americans. On this +Whitelocke signed a treaty agreeing to evacuate the River Plate +Provinces altogether, and within two months not a British soldier was +left in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. On his arrival home Whitelocke +underwent a court-martial, and was cashiered with well deserved and +bitter censure. + +Apart from the extraordinary incompetence--to call it by no worse +name--shown by General Whitelocke, there is some doubt as to whether the +British would have succeeded in permanently retaining possession of the +territory they had captured. For one thing, their expectations that the +colonials would join them were not realized. The inherent loyalty of the +South American to the motherland forbade any such move at the time. +Nevertheless, it is freely acknowledged that this English expedition +played no small part in the ultimate liberation of South America, since +it was owing to the invasion that the South Americans, deserted by their +Viceroy, had only themselves on whom to rely for the expulsion of the +expeditionary army. From the force of no initiative of their own, they +had been left to their own resources, and had found that their strength +did not fail them. Amid the doubts and hesitations of later days the +knowledge of this played an important part. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE NORTHERN COLONIES + + +It is, to a certain extent, difficult for one familiar with the South +America of to-day to realize the New Granada of the Spanish colonial +period. From Guiana westward along the northern coast was an extensive +and, for the most part, unexploited stretch of territory, devoid of such +arbitrary boundaries as characterize it to-day, and limited only on the +north and west by the sea, and on the south by the Portuguese colony of +Brazil and the great Spanish territory of Peru. Venezuela, Colombia, and +Ecuador, and the sharply defined limits these names represent, are, of +course, modern creations, comparatively speaking. For centuries the +landward boundaries of Spanish New Granada remained shadowy, indefinite +limits. There was a Viceroyalty of New Granada, so named from the +resemblance between the plains around Bogota and the _Vega_ of the +Moorish capital, and there was a Captain-Generalship of Venezuela. New +Granada was estimated as comprising all the country between 60 deg. and 78 deg. +west longitude, and between 6 deg. to 15 deg. north latitude. In this was +included Venezuela, under which name was comprised an extent of +territory far less important than is at present the case. + +As has been related, Ximines de Quesada, together with Benalcazar, the +Governor of Quito, conquered the district of Bogota, and founded that +city in 1538. After this followed the banishment of Quesada by the +Spanish authorities, his return and his wise rule of the country--over +which he was appointed Marshal--from 1551 onwards. Later, after his +appointment as Adelantado, he devoted three years of toil and an +enormous amount of wealth to the quest of El Dorado. Three hundred +Spaniards, 2,000 Indians, and 1,200 horses set out on this quest; 24 men +and 32 horses only returned. The costly myth of El Dorado, from the +earliest days of its conception, was insatiable in the matter of human +lives. + +Quesada died, like one or two other great figures of medieval times, of +leprosy, after having founded the city of Santa Aguda in 1572. He left +behind him a will in which he requested that no extravagant monument +should be erected over his grave--a rather superfluous request as it +turned out, since he also left debts to the value of 60,000 ducats! The +city of Bogota holds his remains, which were conveyed to that city after +his death. + +The value of New Granada in the eyes of Spain lay in its being the chief +emerald-producing centre of the world. The _conquistadores_ of Peru had +met with emeralds, and had gathered the impression that the real emerald +was as hard as a diamond, a belief which led them to submit all the +green gems they found to the test of hammering--with disastrous results +to the stones. The loss occasioned by this procedure was intensified by +the fact that for a long while it was found impossible to discover the +mine from which the Incas had procured their emeralds. It was not until +the discovery of New Granada that the source was revealed from which the +stones had been obtained. The wealth of the land did not end here. From +Popayan and Choco, provinces of the north-west, "placer" gold was +obtainable in fairly large quantities by the simple expedient of +washing. Thus, on the whole, New Granada promised the Spaniards ample +supplies of the minerals which they coveted, and which they sought +without intermission. + +By reason of these things the Spanish Government, ever fearful of undue +colonial strength, came to the conclusion that the Viceroyalty of Peru +was quite powerful enough and wealthy enough without these newer +possessions. In the year 1718 the limits of the Viceroyalty of New +Granada were defined, rendering the tract of land which now forms the +republics of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador, quite independent of the +Peruvian Viceroyalty; for, notwithstanding the fact that the Peruvian +authority had every claim to the retention of the inland province of +Quito, that also was assigned to the newer government. + +The conquests of Quesada and Benalcazar had established centres of +Spanish influence, but they had not gone far towards organizing the +control of the country. Consequently, the establishment of a central +authority at Bogota, independent of all but the Spanish Crown, was a +decidedly advantageous move. As was the case elsewhere in the Continent, +one of the chief evils requiring stringent treatment was that of +smuggling. It was said, for instance, that in the early days half the +great gold output of the colony was smuggled abroad by way of the Rivers +Atrato and Hacha. The first Viceroy of New Granada caused forts to be +erected on these and other streams, with a view to stopping the illegal +traffic, and this measure mitigated the evil which nothing--in view of +the half-settled state of the country--could quite subdue. + +So little under control was the greater part of New Granada, that the +good results of establishing a separate Viceroyalty only became apparent +slowly. The conquest of the Chibchas, effected as it was with all the +refinements of cruelty familiar to the _conquistadores_, had added +fierce resentment to the natural racial antipathy already existing in +the savage tribes of the country, and communication between provinces +and towns was difficult in all cases, while in many it was altogether +impracticable. There remained numerous bands of roving savages, fierce +and predatory, to render travel unsafe; and though the efforts of the +missionaries and others brought gentler ways to some in course of time, +the whole of the colonial era was characterized by the presence of +utterly fierce and vindictive bodies of aboriginals, while sufficient +reprisals were indulged in by the Spaniards to keep alive the flame of +hostility. + +[Illustration: AN ISLAND PASSAGE OF THE RIVER AMAZON. + +_From the "Narrative of a Journey from Lima to Para, 1836."_] + +There is something in the transportation of the European to tropical +climates and the control of an inferior race which, in certain +circumstances, appears to loose and to intensify all the most cruel +instincts and desires of which humanity is capable. In reckoning up the +racial contests in New Granada, reader and historian alike must give the +aboriginal his due. He was by no means the gentle savage such as he is +frequently depicted. Indeed, many of his native customs were completely +brutal. Nevertheless, it is necessary to debit against the invader +numerous excesses and deeds of cruelty directed against the inferior or +subject race. And since popular feeling, which ranges on the side of the +oppressed to-day, was undoubtedly on the side of the oppressor during +the earlier centuries, there can be little doubt that the ferocity of +the Indians of New Granada, and their hesitating acceptance of the +missionary's doctrine, were not without excuse. + +Although the soil of New Granada offered endless possibilities to the +colonists, the cost of transport and the difficulties attendant on this +necessary commercial operation rendered agriculture in the interior of +little importance as an industry. Each settlement grew sufficient for +its own needs, and no more. Other factors in the slight use made of the +rich soil were the natural indolence and the improvident habits of the +people--habits not yet quite eradicated, since at the present day +Venezuela, although it possesses some of the richest and best +maize-growing lands in the world, still imports maize from the United +States. From the creation of the Viceroyalty onward, attempts were made +by the Spanish authorities to make the people industrious and thrifty, +but these met with scant success. + +The power and character of the aboriginal tribes may be estimated from +the fact that, up to the end of the colonial period, Spanish authority +in the immense territory of Quito was only exercised over a valley, +formed by two spurs of the Andes, which reached some eighty leagues in +length, with an average breadth of fifteen leagues. At the beginning of +the eighteenth century a number of towns were established by Catholic +missionaries on the Atlantic coast and on the rivers emptying into the +Gulf of San Miguel; but the Indians destroyed them all, and remained so +little dominated by the white race that a treaty of peace, concluded +between Spaniards and native chiefs in 1790, contained a clause by which +the Spaniards consented to abandon all their forts in Darien. + +Beyond these there were other foes to be feared, quite as grim and even +more dangerous. In 1670 the famous buccaneer, Captain Morgan, destroyed +the castle of San Lorenzo at Chagres. This, of course, was in addition +to his feat of capturing and burning the town of Panama. Ten years later +another party of buccaneers captured the city of Santa Maria, in +consequence of which the mines of Cana were closed in 1685. + +Towards the end of the seventeenth century William Paterson established +a Scottish colony on the Bay of Caledonia, at Puerto Escoces, but the +venture scarcely proved a success. Ill-fate seems to have pursued most +of the attempts at settlement in New Granada while the Spanish rule +lasted. Yet the town of Santa Fe de Bogota flourished, and has continued +to flourish to this day, so that no less an authority than Mr. R.B. +Cunninghame Graham has described it as the chief literary centre south +of Panama. + +The town is set at the foot of the hills, facing a vast plain, and +towards the end of the colonial period was represented as a city of +3,250 families--a population of upwards of 16,000. It was the centre of +archiepiscopal authority, with jurisdiction over the Dioceses of +Cartagena, Santa Marta, Panama, Caracas, and Quito. The route from +Bogota to Europe lay by way of Cartagena, 300 miles distant from the +capital. + +Next in order of importance was Quito. The immense province was--and is +at the present day--made up for the most part of dense jungle growth, +alternating with marshy and desert stretches, with nomadic tribes +inhabiting the more open areas. The city of Quito itself, set in +perpetual spring, is considered one of the most beautiful spots in the +world, almost its only drawbacks being the tremendous violence of the +tropical storms to which it is subject, and occasional earthquake +shocks. + +The poverty of the mines of Quito freed the Indian inhabitants from +mining labour, a form of industry which, under Spanish rule, depopulated +so many native centres. In consequence of this Quito was reputed to be +the most thickly populated province of South America. Various +manufactures were pursued, and there were several towns with populations +of over 10,000. The products of the land were exchanged for wine, oil, +and other extraneous products, but so inefficient was the colonial +administration that in 1790 Quito was one of the poorest of South +American cities. + +The article of chief value--for rubber had not then come into +prominence--was the _quinquina_, or cinchona bark, at first considered +peculiar to the territory of Loxa, but subsequently found to exist at +Bogota, Riobamba, and many other parts of New Granada. It was first +introduced to Europe by the Jesuits in 1639, and after its use had been +established at the Spanish Court in 1640, it commanded a price of 100 +crowns a pound. In these circumstances _quinquina_ was, as a matter of +course, subject to adulteration and substitution--practices which +brought their own reward, since the quinine of Loxa, at one time +considered of the highest quality, fell into disrepute when the +gatherers in that province mixed with the real article the bark of other +trees. Perpetually increasing demand led to more careful search for +supplies, and the New Granada of the colonial era owed almost all its +prosperity to the exports of the famed bark, for the output of minerals +dwindled almost to vanishing point. + +The Captain-Generalship of Venezuela was chiefly noteworthy for the +Spanish settlements on the Orinoco, where over 4,000 Spaniards were +contained in a dozen or so of villages rather indolently engaged in +cattle raising. Together with tributary Indians, the settlers made up a +total population of nearly 17,000, with over 70,000 head of cattle among +them. Their trade was with the Dutch of Curacoa, who supplied goods in +exchange for cattle, hides, and tobacco. + +Caracas was then, as it is now, the head-quarters of the colony, which +was separated from the Viceroyalty of New Granada in 1731. Three years +previously--in 1728--some merchants of Guipiscoa obtained exclusive +trading rights with Caracas, conditionally on their putting an end to +the trade with Curacoa, and landing all cargoes at Cadiz. So +successfully did they fulfil these conditions, and to such an extent did +they increase the development of the colony, that it was deemed +necessary to separate it from New Granada, and form an entirely new +administration. + +[Illustration: POTOSI, IN BOLIVIA. + +The famous centre of the silver-mining region which supplied the Spanish +Empire with bullion for three centuries. + +_From a seventeenth-century engraving._] + +Yet the climate, or some obscure effect of the mingling and +cross-breeding of conquerors and conquered, seems to have paralyzed +human effort in these colonies of the northern coast. The land was +something of an earthly paradise, and men were tempted to doze in it +rather than to develop its resources. The cacao of Venezuela takes first +place in the markets of the world, and has done so since its initial +cultivation there; but not one-tenth of the area available for the +growth of the bean has ever been utilized. + +Caracas itself, earthquake shaken from time to time, was never--even in +the most favourable periods of colonial rule--a flourishing city, but +rather a centre of trade for scattered settlements. The town could claim +little literary or educational movement to mark it as the capital of a +potentially rich country. It was concerned, moreover, with scarcely a +trace of the social and erudite development that characterized Bogota +almost from the time of its foundation by Quesada. In so far as it had +to be, Caracas existed, but there its ambition ended. + +Except for some isolated centres, this was true of the whole of New +Granada and Venezuela. Under Spanish rule the Viceroyalty and its +dependent Captain-Generalship formed a great area into which Spaniards +had come to hunt for mineral wealth, and while that wealth was +obtainable there was a vast amount of activity. The aborigines, save for +the Chibcha race, numbered among them some of the lowest types on the +Continent, and where gold or emeralds or other valuable minerals were to +be obtained these unfortunates were pressed into service, or rather into +slavery. + +When the minerals were exhausted, enterprise ceased. Sufficient +cultivation for material needs--an easy matter in this productive +land--was carried on, and in certain districts a definite amount of +cacao growing was practised. For the rest, little was achieved, while +farther south development was proceeding along the lines which have +brought into being the great republics of to-day. + +Then Venezuela gave to South America Simon Bolivar, and the storm of +revolution which swept the Continent shook these northern dependencies +into transient wakefulness and energy, until the great day of Boyaca +dawned, and New Granada and Venezuela, as Spanish colonies, ceased to +be. Fit or unfit as they might have been for self-government at the +time, these peoples set out to make histories as independent States, and +the Spanish colonial era, having lasted over two and a half centuries, +came to an end. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE LAST DAYS OF EMPIRE + + +We have now arrived at the most critical of all the periods which +Spanish South America has undergone in the course of its history, the +decade or so which preceded the actual outbreak of the revolutionary +wars. In order to arrive at a just appreciation of the situation it is +necessary to realize that, although the policy of Spain had consistently +demonstrated itself as discouraging towards learning and progress in +every direction, to such an extent had the population of the colonies +grown that this task of repression of the intelligence of a Continent +had now become Herculean and altogether beyond the powers of the +moderately energetic Spanish officials. + +Despite every precaution, the colonists had succeeded in educating +themselves up to a certain point; moreover, a number of them, flinging +restrictions to the wind, had now begun to travel abroad, and had +visited European centres. These sons of the New World had adapted +themselves admirably to the conditions of Europe. They had been received +by notable personages in England and France, who had been struck with +the intelligence and ideals of the South Americans. These latter, for +their part, had benefited from an exchange of views and from +conversations concerning many subjects which were necessarily new to +them. With an intercourse of this kind once in full swing it was +inevitable that the regulations of Spain should automatically become +obsolete and, in the eyes of the Americans, ridiculous. + +In South America itself, nevertheless, the social gap between the +Spaniard and the colonial continued entirely unbridged, and the contempt +of the European officials for the South American born was as openly +expressed in as gratuitous a fashion as ever. Indeed, as the +opportunities for education broadened for the colonists, it would seem +that their Spanish alleged brethren affected to despise them still more +deeply--no doubt as a hint that no mere learning could alter the solid +fact that their birth had occurred without the frontiers of European +Spain. + +The ban upon mixed marriages continued, and neither Viceroys, Governors, +nor high officials might lead to the altar any woman born in America, +however beautiful she might be, and however aristocratic her descent. A +few minor privileges had been accorded to these oversea dwellers, it is +true. A system of titles had been instituted throughout the colonies, +for instance. By means of this it was hoped to pander to the vanity of +the Americans, and to bring into being a new tie of interest which +should cement the link between the Old and the New World which was +proving so profitable to Spain. + +As a matter of fact, none took the trouble to grant these titles in +return for merit or service; it was necessary to buy them and to pay for +them. Their grandeur was strictly local. Thus a Marquis or a Count in +Lima or elsewhere in the Southern Continent would have been crassly +unwise to leave the shores of South America, for once in Spain his title +fell from him like a withered leaf; he became plain "Senor" and nothing +beyond, for in Spain these colonial distinctions were a matter for jeers +and mockery. What remained, therefore, for the poor local noble but to +hasten back to the spot where his nobility held good! It was better to +bask as a Marquis in the sunshine of the south than to be +cold-shouldered as a plebeian in stately Castile. + +Commercial and more material distinctions which favoured Spain as +against her colonies remained equally marked. Bartolome Mitre has +appropriately explained the situation which preceded the Revolution: + + "The system of commercial monopoly which Spain adopted with respect + to America immediately on the discovery of the Continent was as + disastrous to the motherland as to the colonies. Employing a + fallacious theory in order that the riches of the New World should + pass to Spain, and that the latter country should serve as sole + provider to her colonies, all the legislation was in the first + instance directed to this end. Thus in America all industries which + might provide competition with those of the Peninsula were + forbidden. In order that this monopoly might be centralized, the + port of Seville (and afterwards that of Cadiz) was made the sole + port of departure and of entry for the vessels carrying the + merchandise between the two continents. In order to render the + working of this system doubly efficacious, no commercial + communication was permitted between the colonies themselves, and + the movements of all merchandise were made to converge at a single + point. This scheme was assisted by the organization of the galleon + fleets, which, guarded by warships, united themselves into a single + convoy once or twice a year. Portobello (with Panama on the other + side of the narrow isthmus) was the sole commercial harbour of + South America. Merchandise introduced here was sent across the + isthmus and down the Pacific coast, and eventually penetrated + inland as far as Potosi. To this place the colonists of the south + and of the Atlantic coast were obliged to come in order to effect + their negotiations, and to supply themselves with necessities at a + cost of from 500 to 600 per cent. above the original price. These + absurd regulations, violating natural laws and the rules of good + government, as well as the colonial monopoly, could only have + emanated from the madness of an absolute power supported by the + inertia of an enslaved people.... When Spain, enlightened by + experience, wished to alter her disastrous system of exploitation, + and actually did so with sufficient intelligence and generosity, it + was already too late. She had lost her place as a motherland, and + with it America as a colony. No bond, whether of force, affection, + or of any other interest, linked the disinherited sons to the + parent country. The separation was already a fact, and the + independence of the South American colonies merely a question of + time and opportunity." + +What would have happened had the position of Spain herself in Europe +remained unimpaired is idle to conjecture, but it is practically +certain, with the new light which was now beginning to flood the new +Continent, that the struggle for independence would have been postponed +for a few years only. + +The first herald of the great struggle for liberty which was to ensue +was Francisco Miranda. The character of Miranda resembled not a little +that of Bolivar. Both men were of exalted and enthusiastic temperaments; +both were skilled in the arts of oratory and the management of men, and +both possessed a visionary side. For each the situation in the New World +formed an ample and, indeed, justifiable field. + +Long before the first outbreak of hostilities in America Miranda had +played the part of stormy petrel in other continents. Born in Venezuela, +he had the advantage of a wider knowledge of the world than many of his +compatriots; he had already taken an active part in the struggle between +North America and Great Britain, and he had joined with Lafayette in the +territories of the then British Colonies in order to assist the +revolutionaries in their campaign. + +No ill-will appears to have been borne him by the English for the part +he played in this war; for some while afterwards we find him residing in +England, and corresponding with many prominent men of the period. He is +said to have gained the friendship of Fox, and it may have been due to +his efforts, whether direct or indirect, that Canning gave such +whole-hearted support to the South American cause. As has already been +said, it was largely due to Miranda's persuasions and +assertions--somewhat premature and optimistic though these eventually +proved themselves--that the various British expeditions sailed for the +River Plate. The result was disastrous in every respect save that it +lent to the colonials a new confidence in their own powers. In any case +Miranda's good faith and honour were unquestionable, although at a later +period he appears to have fallen somewhat under the suspicion of his +fellow-patriots. + +It was not long before the efforts of Miranda began to be seconded by +those of other distinguished and high-spirited South Americans. Simon +Bolivar, the liberator himself, accompanied by a tutor, was sent by his +parents to gain an intimate knowledge of Europe and of the polite arts +of the Old Continent. Here he had plunged himself into Latin classics +and the French philosophy, and his remarkable personality is said to +have created no small impression upon those with whom he came into +contact. Venezuela has every right to be proud of the fact that, +although the seeds of liberty had already been sown throughout the +Continent, and especially in the River Plate Provinces, they first +sprouted into material activity in Venezuela, for Bolivar, having been +born at Caracas, could claim Miranda as a fellow-countryman, or rather +as a neighbour, since theoretically, in the colonial days, all South +Americans were fellow-countrymen. + +It is certain that during this early European tour of Bolivar's he had +already become strongly imbued with the idea of freeing his country and +Continent from the rule of Spain. At one period of his travels he was +at Rome, and he is said to have chosen the holy city as the spot in +which to swear a solemn oath to take his share in the liberation of his +native land--an oath which, as history proves, he fulfilled in generous +measure, since the first desperate fights in the north of the Continent +were conducted on the patriot side under his auspices and those of +Miranda. + +In the face of all the trials and injustices which they had undergone, +it is important to remember that the temperament of the South Americans +was one which urged them strongly to remain loyal to the Mother Country. +Although it had now become evident that a rupture was inevitable, the +colonists viewed the snapping of the ties which bound them to Spain with +reluctance and unease. As fate would have it, it was the situation in +Europe which arose to solve the difficulty, and to remove the last doubt +from the breasts of the South American patriots. The news of catastrophe +after catastrophe filtered slowly through from the peninsula to the +colonies. The Napoleonic armies had overrun the country; the Corsican's +talons were now fixed deeply in its soil, and the rightful Sovereign had +abdicated while the throne was being seized upon by Joseph Buonaparte. +Then came the news of a Spanish _junta_, formed as a last resource to +organize a defence of the harassed country; after this followed tidings +of dissensions among the numbers of these defenders themselves, of the +formation of other _juntas_, and, in fact, of the prevalence of complete +desolation and catastrophe and of the wildest confusion. + +In the midst of the reports and rumours, contradictions and +confirmations which followed one another at as great a pace as the +methods of communication of the period would allow, there came at last +definite proofs of the chaos which reigned in Spain. An envoy arrived +in Buenos Aires, sent by Napoleon in his capacity of Lord of Spain, in +order to announce the fact to the colonies, and to open up negotiations +for future transactions. Almost simultaneously arrived another envoy--a +special messenger this, sent from the Junta of Seville, who claimed that +Spain still belonged to the Spaniards, and that the Junta of Seville +represented Spain. + +[Illustration: BRITISH WARSHIPS UNDER ANSON'S COMMAND PLUNDERING PAYTA +(NORTHERN PERU) IN 1741.] + +In one direction the colonial authorities were enabled to act without +hesitation. Napoleon's envoy was sent packing back in haste to where he +had come from! The messenger from the _junta_, on the other hand, was +received with every consideration; but his presence failed to dispel the +doubts from the minds of the South Americans. For the downfall of Spain +was now patent to all, as well as her impotence, not only to maintain +communication with her colonies, but to move hand or foot to free +herself from the grasp of the French. + +The situation as it now presented itself would have been sufficiently +bewildering even in the case of colonies who had enjoyed fair treatment +on the part of the _Madre Patria_. Amid the chaos which prevailed in +Europe it was practically impossible to discover in whose hands the +actual authority lay in Spain. The Spanish King, his rival Prince, +Joseph Buonaparte, the Junta of Seville--all these reiterated their +claims to the supreme authority. The storm of contradictions and +disclaimers ended by proving clearly to the colonists what was actually +the case. In Spain no single supreme authority existed. This in +consequence lay with themselves. + +From the moment that this became clear the passive submission to the +local royal garrisons and to the powers of Spain set above them began to +give way to active protests. In ordinary circumstances these would +probably have continued for some while, and efforts would have been made +to avoid the actual resort to arms. So fiercely, however, were the +first claims to their rights on the parts of the colonists resented and +opposed by the Spanish officials that the South Americans, disgusted and +embittered, threw caution to the wind, drew the sword in turn, and met +force by force, while the flare of battle burst out from the north to +the south of the great Continent. + +[Illustration: PEASANTS OF ST. MICHAEL PROCEEDING TO DEL GADO.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--I + + +The analogy between the first invasions of South America by the +_conquistadores_ and the campaign of liberation undertaken by the South +Americans of a later age is curious to remark. The _conquistadores_ +undertook three separate invasions: the first in the north; the second +in Peru, and subsequently Chile; the third in the Provinces of the River +Plate. In the struggle of the South Americans against the Spanish +forces, the field of war was divided into precisely the same categories. + +Bolivar, Sucre, Miranda, and their colleagues blew up the flames of +strife and kept them alive in the north; Belgrano, San Martin, Guemes, +and their comrades maintained the fight in the River Plate Provinces; +while the Chilean O'Higgins and his companions accompanied the great San +Martin in his march from Argentina westwards over the Andes to Chile. +From there, having freed the province, the liberating army turned +northwards into Peru, eventually to fuse with the stream of patriot +forces which was flowing down from the north with the same purpose in +view. + +Since both Miranda and Bolivar had played such important parts before +the outbreak of the revolution, it will be well to deal first of all +with the progress of the wars in the north. It was in Caracas that the +plans and projects of independence were matured. When the outbreak in +the south took place, Caracas girded up its loins for war, and Bolivar +and Miranda took the field beneath the banner of independence. In no +place were the fortunes of war more varied than in the north, and the +campaign was destined to last fourteen years before the Spanish power in +the old kingdom of New Granada was finally broken. + +It is impossible here to go into the full details of the campaigns. In +the first place, the patriots, although they fought desperately, +ill-armed and undisciplined as they were, suffered numerous reverses +from the Spanish veterans who garrisoned the northern districts. More +than once the flames of revolution seemed to all practical purposes +extinguished, and Bolivar and his lieutenants, fugitives from the field +of strife, were obliged to continue their plans in other lands, among +these places of refuge being some of the British West Indian Islands. + +Even here the patriots were by no means safe from the vengeance of +Spain. Various attempts were made to assassinate Bolivar. On one +occasion a dastardly endeavour of the kind was within an ace of being +successful. Bolivar had sailed to Jamaica in order to obtain supplies +for the patriot forces. His presence in the island was noted, and some +Spaniards bribed a negro to enter the house where he was staying and to +slay him as he lay asleep at night. + +The murderous black succeeded in penetrating to the room where the +General usually slept. A figure lay upon the bed, and this the assassin +stabbed to the heart; but it was not that of the Liberator. It was his +secretary, who had died in his stead. + +Bolivar, however, was not a man to be deterred from his plans by +attempts such as these. He was possessed of a high courage, and was by +no means averse to distinguish himself on the battle-field from the rest +in the matter of costume. At Boyaca, for instance, he donned a jacket +and pantaloons of the most brilliant scarlet and gold, thus attracting +an amount of attention on the part of the enemy which was sufficiently +perilous in itself. + +The British did not long delay in taking an active interest in the +struggle for independence, and very soon volunteers came flocking to the +assistance of these northern districts of South America. Two separate +British legions fought for Bolivar. One had been raised in England, and +was commanded by General English; the other, formed in Ireland, was led +by General Devereux. Some corps of native Indian troops, it may be +remarked, were officered by the British, and there was, moreover, in the +patriot service a battalion of rifles composed entirely of British and +German troops. + +At first it appears that a marked spirit of distrust manifested itself +between the native patriots and the British; but very soon a mutual +admiration cemented a friendship between the two races. The English +volunteers found it difficult to display their true mettle in the early +days of the war. They suffered very severely on their first landing, +since they were unaccustomed to the climate, and found themselves unable +to accomplish the long marches made by the patriots. In a short while, +however, they grew used to the country and its ways, and then their +feats, instead of meeting with a certain amount of derision, provoked +the enthusiastic admiration of the Columbians. + +It is certain that the campaign was no kid-glove one. Some of the +marches were attended by almost incredible hardships and sufferings. It +was, for instance, necessary in some districts to ford rivers in which +the perai fish abounded. This fierce little creature, as is well known, +is capable of tearing off a formidable mouthful of human flesh at a +single bite, and this it never fails to do when the opportunity offers. +Many severe wounds were caused among the British ranks by these +ferocious fish, and it may be imagined that in the first instance +experiences of the kind were as startling as they were disconcerting. + +General Paez was one of the chief heroes of the north. His career was to +the full as adventurous as that of any other revolutionary leader. He +enlisted in the first place as a common soldier in the militia of +Barinos, and was soon after captured by the Spanish forces. His +execution, together with that of all the other prisoners, was ordered, +and would have taken place on the following day but for some +circumstances which enabled him to give his captors the slip. + +The manner of his release was afterwards frequently recalled with no +little awe by the superstitious. At eleven o'clock at night the alarm +was given that the Royalist forces were about to be attacked by the +patriots, whose army had been seen advancing. The Spaniards retreated in +a panic, and Paez and his fellow-prisoners effected their escape. The +following morning, when the Royalists had recovered from their alarm, +they could find no enemy within a radius of fifty miles. This incident +was put down by the populace to the intervention in his favour on the +part of the host of departed spirits known as the "ejercito de las +animas." + +Paez was extremely popular among his men, the hardy Llaneros of the +northern plains, born horsemen and fighters, corresponding in many +respects with the famous Gauchos of the south. Paez himself was a +magnificent horseman, and wielded the lance, the characteristic weapon +of the Llaneros, to perfection. He was thus doubly beloved of his +troops, since it was these qualities, of course, which appealed to them +more than the military strategy of which he gave such marked evidence. +On one occasion, when accompanied by very few of his own troops, Paez +rode up to a powerful body of Royalist cavalry. When quite close to the +enemy his men turned their horses as though in sudden terror, and +galloped away, hotly pursued by the Royalist horsemen. When Paez +considered that he had drawn these sufficiently far from their camp, he +turned upon them and cut them up in detail. + +His most extraordinary feat, however, was the capture of some Spanish +gunboats on the River Apure by means of his Llanero cavalry. This is an +account of the feat as given by an eye-witness who was attached to the +British Legion: + + "Bolivar stood on the shore gazing at these [the gunboats] in + despair, and continued disconsolately parading in front of them, + when Paez, who had been on the look out, rode up and inquired the + cause of his disquietude. His Excellency observed: 'I would give + the world to have possession of the Spanish flotilla, for without + it I can never cross the river, and the troops are unable to + march.' 'But it shall be yours in an hour,' replied Paez. 'It is + impossible,' said Bolivar; 'and the men must all perish.' 'Leave + that to me,' rejoined Paez, and galloped off. In a few minutes he + returned, bringing up his guard of honour, consisting of 300 + lancers selected from the main body of the Llaneros for their + proved bravery and strength, and, leading them to the bank, thus + addressed them: 'We must have these _flecheres_ or die. Let those + follow Tio who please' ('Tio,' or 'uncle,' was the popular name by + which Paez was known to his men), and at the same time, spurring + his horse, pushed into the river and swam towards the flotilla. The + guard followed him with their lances in hand, now encouraging their + horses to bear up against the current by swimming by their sides + and patting their necks, and then shouting to scare away the + alligators, of which there were hundreds in the river, until they + reached the boats, when, mounting their horses, they sprang from + their backs on board them, headed by their leader, and, to the + astonishment of those who beheld them from the shore, captured + every one of them. To English officers it may appear inconceivable + that a body of cavalry, with no other arms than their lances, and + no other mode of conveyance across a rapid river than their horses, + should attack and take a fleet of gunboats amidst shoals of + alligators; but, strange as it may seem, it was actually + accomplished, and there are many officers now in England who can + testify to the truth of it." + +It will be evident from exploits such as these that the Venezuelans were +fortunate in their leaders. + +After a while Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, began to see that the +materialization of his lifelong ideal was now no longer a matter of the +dim distant future. The struggle had been severe, and the fortunes of +war had proved fickle at the beginning. At one period it had seemed that +even Nature had fought against the South American cause. At Barquisimeto +an earthquake had shattered the barracks of the soldiers of the +Independence, and many hundreds of troops were crushed beneath the +ruins. + +The moral as well as the material effect of this disaster was serious in +the extreme. Miranda, moreover, although able, had proved himself an +unfortunate General. In the end he was captured by the Spaniards, and +died in captivity in Cadiz. Even when the tide of battle had definitely +turned against the Spaniards, their desperate straits induced them to +desperate measures, and the fortitude of the patriots continued to be +put severely to the test. One of the most dreaded Spanish moves, for +instance, was the freeing of the slaves and the arming of these against +their late colonial masters. + +So embittered became the struggle that prisoners were put to death on +both sides, and many terrible massacres ensued in consequence. A number +of other prominent patriot leaders now came forward to assist Bolivar +and his comrades, among these being Narino, who proved himself +victorious in many fights against the Royalists. At length, in 1821, +Bolivar and Paez effected a junction of their forces, and marched to +meet the Spanish army. On June 24 the Battle of Carabobo was fought, +which resulted in the complete defeat of the Royalist troops. + +[Illustration: SIMON BOLIVAR, "EL LIBERADOR" (AS A YOUNG MAN). + +Liberator of the Northern States of South America from Spanish Rule. + +_From an engraving by M.N. Bate._ + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +This Battle of Carabobo was one which had far-reaching effects in +Venezuela. In preparation for this fight Bolivar's army was formed in +three divisions. The first, commanded by General Paez, contained the +Cazadores Britannicus, or British Light Infantry, numbering 800 men, and +100 of the Irish Legion. This division, with the local troops, was of +3,100 men. The second, commanded by Cadeno, consisted of 1,800; and the +third, led by Ambrosio Plaza, was composed of the Rifles, a regiment +officered by Englishmen, and other regiments, in all 2,500 men. + +The army had suffered terrible privations, and, in crossing the River +Aparito some time before the battle, many men, including a number of +Englishmen, had actually perished from the attacks of that terrible +fish, the perai. Mention has already been made of this fish, which, no +bigger than a perch, is provided with teeth which will tear the flesh +from the bones in a few seconds. It was from the attacks of flocks of +these that the unfortunate men had succumbed. + +Just before the battle Bolivar rode along the front of his army, and it +is said that the English gave him three "hurrahs" that were heard a mile +off. After this, nevertheless, the attack was postponed until the next +day, and during the interval the rain came down in tropical sheets. The +Spaniards fought with extreme gallantry, and the battle was waged in the +most determined fashion on both sides before victory definitely +inclined to the patriot forces. The English took a very prominent share +in this battle, losing no less than 600 out of 900 men. + +Bolivar had now all but fulfilled the oath he had sworn years before in +Rome. The Battle of Carabobo proved one of the most decisive of the +campaign. Its conclusion marked the end of the Spanish occupation of the +north. Bolivar had now cleared his own country of the Spaniards, and was +free to turn his attention to Peru. + +In the south-east of the Continent the struggle for liberty was far less +prolonged than that in the districts of the centre, west, and north. It +may be that the wide, open, agricultural plains had infused into the +dwellers of Argentina an inherent sense of independence which had +continued to flourish and grow, notwithstanding the dominion of the +Spaniards. In any case, it was here that the revolt was, if not more +enthusiastic, at all events more rapid. + +Since 1776, moreover, the date when the provinces of the River Plate +were exalted to the condition of a Viceroyalty, a certain freedom of +intercourse had obtained which had been utterly lacking before. The +trade of the country had expanded, and imports from Europe were now +permitted access to the River Plate without first being subjected to the +supervision of Panama or Peru. When the struggle began, it found the +Argentine patriots enthusiastic and prepared. + +On August 21, 1808, an act of fealty was sworn to Ferdinand VII. This, +nevertheless, met with disapproval on the part of many Argentines, who +desired the establishment of a _junta_ similar to that of Seville. The +party in favour of this increased rapidly in strength, and shortly +afterwards the Viceroy, Liniers, resigned. Although he had to a certain +extent the support of the patriot party, his position in the face of the +complicated situation had become extremely difficult. He was succeeded +on July 30, 1809, by Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros. The latter lost no +time in giving proof of liberal intentions. He opened the ports to +English vessels, and the commercial situation of the country, which had +been deplorable, improved immediately. + +In the meanwhile some revolutionary outbreaks at Chuquisaca and La Paz +were suppressed by the Royalist troops with a brutality and wanton +slaughtering which roused a storm of indignation in Buenos Aires. +Cornelio de Saavedra, one of the patriot leaders in the capital, +succeeded, however, in preventing an open rising, since this would +undoubtedly have been premature. + +A secret society was now formed in Buenos Aires, counting in its ranks +Belgrano, Nicolas Rodriguez Pena, Manuel Alberdi, Viamonte, Guido, and +others. From this nucleus the regiment of _patricios_ was formed, and +was commanded by Cornelio de Saavedra. The chief object of this society +was the foundation of an adequate representative Government. To this end +its members worked towards the abolition of the Viceroyalty and the +formation of a new species of Constitution. On May 22, 1810, a great +meeting was held at which it was resolved that the authority of the +Viceroyalty had expired. On this it was proposed that a junta should be +created. Confusion, dispute, and intrigue followed; but the mind of the +people was made up, and its will was no longer to be denied. + +The Viceroy, de Cisneros, reluctant to oppose the now strongly expressed +popular will, on May 25, 1810, resigned his office in the presence of an +immense multitude. From this day the independence of Argentina is +officially counted, for on the spot a _junta_ was established. Its +members were Saavedra, Belgrano, Alberdi, Castelli, Azcuenaga, Matheu, +Larrea, Paso, and Moreno. + +While all this was occurring in Buenos Aires, strong Royalist sympathies +continued to prevail in the provinces. Montevideo, too, showed itself +hostile to the new Government. From this base the Royalists were able to +strike at the new republican head-quarters at Buenos Aires, and on +February 18 a Spanish fleet sailed to the spot and blockaded the +capital. The patriots now made their first important move. A force of +1,200 volunteers, commanded by Ocampo and Balcarce, marched against +Cordoba, where Liniers and Concha were in command of the Royalist +forces. These latter were defeated and their leaders executed. Flushed +by its success, the Argentine army then invaded Peru. A little later +followed the victory of Suipacha, after which all the country in the +neighbourhood declared itself openly for the revolutionists. + +Belgrano, in the meanwhile, led an army into Paraguay. He had +confidently expected the adherence of the inhabitants of that country. +These, however, remained loyal to the Crown, and Belgrano, defeated, was +obliged to retire. + +Operations were now begun against the Spanish troops in Uruguay. These +were conducted by Belgrano, and in a very short time practically the +entirety of the province was in the hands of the revolutionists. +Montevideo alone, held by its strong Spanish garrison, continued to +resist. The town was closely invested on its landward side. Very soon +after this, unfavourable news from Peru caused the Argentines to abandon +their aggressive attitude; an armistice was declared so far as +Montevideo was concerned, and the South American forces retired from +Uruguay. + +The news from the north, indeed, was sufficiently serious. After the +victory of Suipacha a truce had been agreed upon by Castelli, who was in +command of the patriot forces. This he had observed loyally, but +Gueneche, the leader of the Spanish troops, had proved himself less +scrupulous. Without warning, he had attacked the Argentine army at +Huaqui, and had obtained a decisive and sanguinary victory, at the end +of which the 800 Argentines who survived had been obliged to retire in +some confusion to Potosi. + +Gueneche now in turn took the aggressive, and, advancing, he crushed the +revolution at Cochabamba, and now prepared his forces for serious +invasion. These reverses of fortune were not sufficient to discourage +the ardour of the inhabitants of Buenos Aires. For that the idea of +independence had become too strongly engrafted in the young nation; and +on February 18, 1812, the blue and white of the Argentine flag was +decided upon to the sound of enthusiastic acclamations. + +A month later Belgrano took over the command of the army in Peru in +order to make a stand against the threatened invasion. In the first +place he found caution necessary. The Royalists, flushed with victory, +had recaptured the towns of Salta and Jujuy, and Belgrano retired for a +while in the face of their advances. The forces under the Spanish +General, Tristan, followed him. + +This was Belgrano's opportunity. Falling upon the Royalist army, he +completely defeated it in a battle at Tucuman, and the Spaniards +suffered a heavy loss in men and munitions of war. Belgrano, then in +turn advanced and made once again for Salta. In the neighbourhood of +this town the Argentine flags were carried into battle for the first +time, and their presence was welcomed as a favourable omen, for the +victory remained with the patriot forces. Belgrano showed himself +generous as a victor by liberating the great majority of his prisoners +on parole, which, it is regrettable to state, large numbers of the +Spaniards broke. + +This victory completely changed the situation in the south-east. The +patriots were enabled to resume the aggressive; their armies were sent +across once more into Uruguay, and Montevideo was again besieged. + +In the meanwhile a certain amount of rivalry had made its appearance +among the intellectual patriot leaders in Buenos Aires. The rival +parties were headed respectively by Saavedra and Mariano Moreno. Moreno +eventually retired from the _junta_, and was offered the post of +Minister Plenipotentiary to Great Britain. This he accepted, but died on +his voyage to Europe. The party he had formed, however, continued in +being after his death under the name of Morenistas. The period, of +course, was one of experiment, and just at this moment numerous forms of +government were essayed, and the pattern of the constitution frequently +changed. + +On March 9, 1812, occurred an important event in the history of +Argentina. On that date Jose de San Martin arrived in Buenos Aires in +the British frigate _George Canning_. With him came Carlos Alvear and +Matias Zapiola, whose names were likewise destined to become famous in +the annals of the Republic. On their arrival there was established in +Buenos Aires a branch of the now important secret society originally +founded in London, the "Gran Reunion Americana." This branch was +christened the "Logia de Lautaro," and exercised much influence on the +affairs of the revolution. + +San Martin was empowered by the Government to raise a force of +horse-grenadiers, which subsequently became famous. In this regiment was +Alvear in the capacity of Sargento Mayor, and Zapiola as Captain. There +was plenty of work for the newly-constituted forces. San Martin's +regiment was employed, in the first place, in the endeavour to restrain +the river-raiding expeditions which the Royalist fleet was undertaking +from its base at Montevideo. The mischief effected by these incursions +to the patriot forces was very great. On February 3, 1813, however, San +Martin dealt the Spaniards a severe blow in the neighbourhood of +Rosario. Here he surprised a landing-party and defeated it utterly. This +was San Martin's first victory, and it very nearly proved his last, for +he had his horse shot under him and all but lost his life. + +While this was going on in Argentina, the fortunes of war in Peru had +again veered from a favourable to a perilous condition. On October 1, +1813, the Argentine army was badly defeated at Vilcapuyo, and in the +same year it was again defeated at Ayouma. On this the Spaniards, seeing +that their star was again in the ascendant, resumed possession of +Chuquisaca and Potosi. + +San Martin was now sent to take charge of operations in Peru. On the +Argentine side the campaign had in one sense degenerated, since the +diminished numbers of the Republican forces now restricted them to +guerilla fighting. This species of warfare, as a matter of fact, suited +the hardy Argentines admirably, and under such brilliant leaders as +Martin Guemes, Ignacio Warnes, and Juan Antonio Alvarez de Arenales, +their feats had kept the Royalist forces fully occupied. San Martin, on +his arrival, immediately realized the advantages of this species of +resistance, and encouraged it to the utmost. By this means alone was an +invasion staved off. + +At the beginning of 1814 Montevideo was still in the hands of the +Spaniards, who continued to command the estuary of the River Plate and +the great river system generally. Ominous news arrived from Europe. An +important Royalist expedition, it appeared, was being prepared in Spain. +The outlook for the patriots was serious. A Council of State was called +in Buenos Aires, consisting of nine members, of which Alvear was the +most prominent. It was agreed that, so long as the Spanish fleet +commanded the home waters, there was very little chance of driving their +garrisons from the ports. It was resolved to establish a patriot fleet, +which should sweep the seas clear of the Royalist vessels. + +Three small vessels were in the first instance obtained--the _Hercules_, +the _Zefiro_, and the _Nancy_. The command of these was given to an +Irishman, William Brown, who lost no time in displaying his fitness for +the post, and who, indeed, played the part of a lesser Cochrane. With +his insignificant force he vanquished the Royalist fleet and captured +the Island of Martin Garcia and blockaded Montevideo. On land General +Alvear took charge of the investing patriot forces. Montevideo could now +look for no assistance from the sea, and on June 20, 1814, after having +suffered many hardships, the garrison capitulated, and with the collapse +of its gallant defence ended the power of Spain in the River Plate. + +San Martin was then appointed Governor of Cuyo, with his head-quarters +at Mendoza. The situation in general was serious. Outside Argentina and +Uruguay the Royalist cause had held its own, and in many districts had +triumphed. It was said that the Spanish expedition of 15,000 men was on +the eve of embarkation in Europe, and even in the victorious River Plate +Provinces dissensions between Artigas, the Uruguayan leader, and rival +Generals had resulted in civil war. + +It was undoubtedly necessary to obtain some recognition of the +Constitution in Europe. To this end Rivadavia and Belgrano proceeded to +the Old World and sought the assistance of various countries, +particularly that of England. On May 7, 1816, they arrived in Europe. +The harassed statesmen of Argentina had, after consideration, decided +that the best means of avoiding anarchy was to establish a monarchy. The +emissaries of the New World offered the throne to Don Francisco Paulo, +an adopted son of King Carlos IV. These negotiations and others which +succeeded them broke down and Belgrano returned to Buenos Aires. +Rivadavia went to Madrid, where he was not permitted to remain. A little +later Belgrano became possessed of the somewhat extraordinary idea of +crowning a member of the family of the Incas. This naturally enough met +with ridicule, and was rejected. + +[Illustration: DON FRANCISCO SOLANO LOPEZ. + +Third Dictator of the Republic of Paraguay. + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +But this is to anticipate. While all this was occurring, the struggle in +Peru had continued to show the fickleness of the fortunes of war. +Rondeau had been appointed General-in-Chief of the Army of Peru; he, +however, had proved himself a General of slow movements, and suffered +several defeats. He also fell out with Guemes, and a battle ensued +between the two sections of the Argentine forces. In this Rondeau once +again suffered defeat at the hands of the Gauchos. A belated peace was +now made up between the leaders, and Guemes was suffered to continue his +brilliant campaign unchecked. + +In 1816 Puyrredon was elected dictator of Argentina, which now took its +place as an independent State. The new Republic had now time to look +beyond its own frontiers. Its eyes turned first of all to the west, +where the Chileans were still struggling against the garrisons of Spain. +Events had not favoured the patriots on the western side of the Andes, +and a number of the most prominent men had fled eastwards to Argentina, +O'Higgins and many others establishing themselves at the town of Mendoza +for the time being. There, unfortunately, a certain amount of jealousy +had broken out between the Chilean leaders, for the existence of much of +which there is no doubt that the Carrera family was largely responsible. + +The three brothers Carrera were very notable personalities in the war +of independence in Chile. In 1811 Don Juan Jose Carrera, who had +attained to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of Hussars in Europe, +returned to his native country to take part in its defence. He appointed +himself Colonel of the National Guards, made his eldest brother, Jose +Miguel, a Colonel of the Grenadiers, and his younger brother, Don Luis, +Colonel and Commander of the Artillery. In 1812 Bernardo O'Higgins +joined Carrera, who at first made him Lieutenant-Colonel of the Line, +and afterwards promoted him to the rank of Brigadier-General. In 1813 +the three Carreras, with a number of other officers, were captured by +the Spaniards, and O'Higgins assumed command of the army. When the three +Carreras recovered their liberty a dispute occurred concerning the chief +command, and the forces of the opposing parties actually came to blows +on the Plain of Maipu, where an action was fought, and where O'Higgins +was made prisoner. After this a reconciliation was brought about. + +There is no shadow of doubt that a number of these patriot leaders may +be ranked among the host of great men, sometimes on account of their +qualities as leaders, sometimes for their statesmanship, but in almost +every instance for their genuine patriotism. Nevertheless, there have +been very few historical characters or temperaments which have been more +difficult to estimate from contemporary accounts of their actions and +motives. Jealousy entered very freely into the patriot ranks, and the +various chroniclers, however honestly they may have written, and however +deep their convictions may have been, were inevitably swayed to a very +great extent by this. + +Thus a partisan of the Carreras would have been a strange being, +according to the lights of these times, had he been able to discern a +spot of goodness in the personality of San Martin, and the admirer of +the heroic Cochrane would have had no higher opinion of the Argentine +Liberator. The reverse of the medal was, of course, shown by San +Martin's adherents, who might safely have been trusted to miss no defect +in Cochrane, or in any other of his party. This condition of affairs +prevailed throughout, and extended for the length and breadth of the +Continent. Bolivar, Sucre, and everyone of note, was a hero to his own +followers, and more or less a villain to the rest of the allied, yet +rival, parties. As a rule these prominent leaders suffered rather than +gained from the situation, since the calumnies of the period are more +abundant than the laudations. It is only now that the history of the +early nineteenth century is beginning to be written calmly and +dispassionately, and as a result the participants in the great deeds of +that epoch appear, with justice, greater to the modern world than they +did in the eyes of their contemporaries. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE--II + + +It was at Mendoza that the famous Argentine General, San Martin, +recruited the army destined for the campaign of Chile. In 1817 +everything was prepared, and with an army of 4,000 men San Martin set +out on one of the most extraordinary military marches that history has +known. Indeed, his passage of the Andes is considered as unique by +numerous military experts. + +The advance of San Martin was not altogether unexpected by the Royalist +forces, whose spies kept the Spanish commander informed of this latest +move on the part of the patriot army. General San Martin, becoming aware +of this, repaid these spies in their own coin. Taking them, as it +seemed, into his confidence, he informed them of the route he was about +to take, and when the time came chose another and a parallel pass. +Hastening down the tremendous rocky walls of the western side of the +Andes, San Martin engaged the Spanish forces and won an important +victory at Chacabuco. The Royalists, under General Osorio, rallied and +made a last desperate stand; but their forces were decisively and +finally defeated on April 5, 1818, at Maipu, and this action resulted in +the definite liberation of Chile. + +San Martin was now the hero of Chile, and was begged to accept the +protectorship of the new Republic. His deeds on land were rivalled by +those of Admiral Cochrane on sea. The gallant Irish sailor was at the +time busily occupied in sweeping the Pacific Ocean clear of the Spanish +vessels, and in performing those extraordinary feats of valour for which +his memory is famed. Unfortunately, misunderstandings between the pair +eventually resulted in open enmity between Cochrane and San Martin. This +became accentuated when the campaign was undertaken in Peru, when San +Martin, not content with his victories in Chile, led his armies for the +liberation of the north into Peru itself, and into the head-quarters of +the remaining Spanish power. + +It was in Peru, then, that the dispute between Cochrane and San Martin +broke out in a public fashion. Its origin in this instance was a +difference of opinion concerning the measures to be taken for the +capturing of Callao Castle. The impetuous Irishman was for storming the +place at once. The prudent San Martin, on the other hand, was desirous +of bringing about the surrender without bloodshed. The latter had his +way, but was subjected to some criticism, since a number of Royalist +soldiers who escaped were enabled to carry on the campaign in the +interior. + +The second and more violent dispute broke out on San Martin's refusal to +pay the fleet out of the funds in Lima. On this Lord Cochrane took +forcible possession of a large sum of money at the Port of Ancon, thus +widening still further the already grave breach between the two. Once or +twice, indeed, it was a mere chance which prevented an outbreak of +active hostilities between the sea and land forces. Fortunately for all +concerned, matters were not destined to reach such a pass. This, +however, is somewhat in advance of the period with which we are dealing, +and it will be necessary to return for a short while to Peru in its +colonial state. + +In Peru, during the last few years of the Spanish regime, the Royalist +authorities, bending to the urgent necessity of a concession to public +opinion which might enable them to retain their power for a little +longer, published some periodical papers, which, although of course +strongly biased in their intelligence in favour of the Royalist cause, +nevertheless gave a more or less accurate account of many of the events +which had passed into hard and fast history. Thus the inhabitants of +Lima were enabled to learn of the establishment of the Republics in +Colombia, Buenos Aires, and Chile. + +In 1812, moreover, the Inquisition had been abolished. Of this, Lima had +been the head-quarters in South America from the day of its first +institution. Here a similar stern and merciless procedure to that in +other parts of the world was carried on. Indeed, the capital of the +senior Viceroy was in every way the most reactionary spot in South +America. In 1812, when it became known that the Cortes of Spain had +abolished the Inquisition, a number of Peruvians entered the premises of +the Holy office in order to inspect them. According to one who took part +in it, the visit was unexpectedly exciting, for, on ransacking the +documents, many of those present found their own names marked down as +those of future victims. The sight of the torture-room inspired very +different feelings in the breasts of the Limanians, and the sight of the +iniquitous instruments enraged them to the point of destroying much +within the building. Many trophies and relics were carried away as +momentoes of the occasion. The following morning, however, the +Archbishop proceeded in state to the cathedral, and declared all those +excommunicated who had taken, and were retaining, any object belonging +to the Inquisition. By this means a certain proportion of the objects +were recovered. + +Nevertheless, during its latter days--doubtless from a presentiment of +the nearness of its end--the methods of the Inquisition had become +comparatively softened. Thus, when at the beginning of the nineteenth +century an old fortune-teller, accused of witchcraft, was made to stand +penitent in the chapel of the tribunal, and one of the secretaries read +out a list of the wretch's misdeeds, the result was very unusual for +anything connected with so justly dreaded an organization. For the old +fortune-teller, doubtless tickled by a recital of his feats, burst into +loud laughter, in which he was joined by the majority of the spectators. +It is said that the Viceroy Castelfuerte, when summoned before the +Inquisition, obeyed the mandate; but he brought with him his bodyguard, +and stationed two pieces of artillery outside the building of the +tribunal. After this he entered, and, placing his watch on the table, +told the Inquisitor that, unless they finished their business with him +in an hour, the place would be battered to pieces. In the face of this +information the interview terminated almost immediately. + +It has been frequently brought against the inhabitants of Lima that, +while in almost every other part of the Continent the Americans had +already freed themselves, or were fighting with that object, they had +remained in a more or less passive state. Yet this condition of affairs +was practically inevitable when it is considered that Lima was the great +stronghold of Spain, filled to overflowing with Spanish officials and +military officers. It is certain enough that, had Lima been captured in +the first place by the insurgents, the Royalist resistance in all the +other colonies would inevitably have collapsed immediately; but it did +not in the least follow that because Buenos Aires, Santiago, and other +towns had become the seats of Republican Governments, that the movement +should influence the mainspring of Spanish authority at Lima. + +The Spaniards of Lima were reputed, for that reason, the haughtiest of +any in the Continent, and their manner towards the Criollos continued as +overbearing as ever during the first stages of the revolution. It is +said that when the reinforcements came from Spain--as, for instance, +when in 1813 the regiment of Talavera arrived--the behaviour of these +Spaniards became more arrogant than ever. This attitude proved in the +end to be possessed of a disconcertingly slender foundation. As a matter +of fact, the troops which arrived from Spain during this period were for +the most part composed of very indifferent material, both officers and +men bearing the worst of characters, since every efficient soldier was +urgently required in the Mother Country at that time. + +Numbers of the Spanish troops themselves at this stage gave many signs +of insubordination, more especially when, as occasionally occurred, +their pay was delayed; and on two occasions a widespread mutiny was only +staved off by the intervention of the Viceroy. Nevertheless, the +exultation of the Spanish civilians reached its most fevered height in +April, 1818, when the news of Spanish victories over the Chileans were +succeeding each other at short intervals. According to contemporaneous +historians, the Spaniards formed themselves into groups in the streets, +and mocked and insulted every Criollo who had to pass them by. So +arrogant was their conduct that no Criollo who valued his self-respect +dared to enter a coffee-house in which a group of these Spaniards was +assembled. The total news of the defeat of the Spanish General Osorio at +Maipu came as a thunderbolt, and the shocked and humbled Spanish had to +make the most of an altogether unexpected and painful situation. + +W.B. Stevenson has an interesting account of the contrast which obtained +at this period between the state of affairs in Lima and in Santiago: + + "The contrast between the society which I had just quitted in the + capital of Peru and that which I here found in the capital of Chile + was of the most striking kind. The former, oppressed by proud + mandatories, imperious chiefs, and insolent soldiers, had been long + labouring under all the distressing effects of espionage--greatest + enemy to the charm of every society--the overbearing haughty + Spaniards, either with taunts or sneers, harrowing the very souls + of the Americans, who suspected their very oldest friends and often + their nearest relations. In this way they were forced to drain the + cup of bitterness to the last dregs, without daring by + participation or condolence to render it less unpalatable, except, + indeed, they could find an Englishman, and to him they would + unbosom their inmost thoughts, believing that every Briton feels as + much interest in forwarding the liberty of his neighbour as he does + in preserving his own. In Lima the tertulias, or chit-chat parties, + and even the gaiety of the public promenade, had almost + disappeared, and _quando se acabara esto?_--'When will this + end?'--was constantly ejaculated. + + "In Santiago every scene was reversed. Mirth and gaiety presided at + _paseos_, confidence and frankness at the daily tertulias. + Englishmen here had evinced their love of universal liberty, and + were highly esteemed. Friendship and conviviality seemed to reign + triumphant, and the security of the country, being the fruit of the + labour of its children, was considered by each separate individual + as appertaining to himself; his sentiments on its past efforts, + present change and future prosperity, were delivered with + uncontrolled freedom; while the supreme magistrate, the military + chief, the soldier and the peasant, hailed each other as + countrymen, and only acknowledged a master in their duty or the + law." + +As has already been explained, it was inevitable that the struggle which +was taking place in Peru, the Viceroyalty, where was now centred all the +remaining Spanish power of the Continent, should have been more +prolonged than that in Chile, and far more so than had proved the +contest in the provinces of the River Plate. So far as Lima was +concerned, the result was not so long in doubt. Finding his hold on the +capital no longer tenable in the face of the advance from the south of +the victorious army, the Viceroy evacuated the town on July 26, 1821, +and the patriot forces, entering the city, proclaimed from that place +the freedom of Peru. + +General Bolivar, in the meanwhile, having now cleared the northern +countries of the Spanish troops, was marching down into Peru, and thus +the stream of liberators from the south came into contact with those of +the north. An historical interview was held at Guayaquil on July 26, +1822, between the two greatest men of the Continent of that time, San +Martin and Bolivar. The details of this interview have never been made +public, but what occurred may be surmised more or less accurately from +the knowledge of the characters of the two men. + +In one sense Bolivar's horizon was wider than that of San Martin. For +practical purposes, indeed, there is no doubt that this horizon of the +northern liberator had extended itself to a somewhat dangerous and +impracticable degree. His dream was a federated South America--a single +nation, in fact, which, save for the great Portuguese possession of +Brazil, should extend from Panama to Cape Horn. + +Bolivar's enthusiasm on this point refused to be curbed at any cost--at +all events, at this period. It must be admitted that he did not take +into full consideration the differences which climatic influences and +the varying degrees of racial intermarriage had worked in the +populations of the several provinces. Thus the ethics of the northern +and equatorial countries had become widely different from those in the +southern and temperate zones. Nevertheless, such was Bolivar's faith in +the destiny of South America as a whole that he would have flung the +entire mass together, and left it to work out its complicated will. + +San Martin, as the representative of what might be termed, in one sense, +the European States of the River Plate and Chile, was keenly alive to +the defects of this plan. It is certain that the two theories were +discussed in the course of the momentous interview between San Martin +and Bolivar, and it is equally certain that San Martin realized that, +holding such divergent views from those of his colleague as he did, +friction between the leaders would in the circumstances become +inevitable. He determined, therefore, on a piece of self-sacrifice which +has few rivals in history. At the moment when he had achieved his +triumph, and when the inhabitants of three powerful new countries were +waiting to salute him with a thunder of acclamation, he laid down his +office, unbuckled his sword, travelled quietly to Chile, and from there +he crossed the Andes to Mendoza in a very different fashion to the one +in which he had come on the occasion when he had commanded the army of +liberation. From Mendoza he crossed the plains of Buenos Aires, and from +there he took ship to Europe. + +It is generally supposed that he never again returned to his native +country. This, however, was not the case, since he once again sailed +back from France with the idea of watching the progress of the land he +loved so dearly. Perceiving, to his sorrow, that the country was +temporarily lost in complete anarchy, he sailed to France again without +having descended from the deck of the ship which had borne him out. + +The remaining embers of the war had now become localized, and it was +obvious that Spain was at her last gasp. Bolivar came down with his +armies from Quito to Peru to complete the task of the destruction of the +Spanish garrisons. In 1824 the Battle of Junin was fought, which +resulted in a striking victory for the South Americans. The patriot +forces on this occasion made a particularly gallant fight, and the +brilliant cavalry charge made by Suarez is said to have been largely +responsible for the victory. + +Bolivar then gave over the command of the army to General Sucre, who on +December 9, 1824, fought the Battle of Ayacucho, completely defeating +the Royalist forces. This proved to be the final action of the war; the +last shred of Spanish authority had been torn from the Continent, the +last of the Spanish garrisons were now ploughing their sombre course +back to Europe, and it was left to Spanish America to shape its own +destiny. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +BRAZIL: FROM COLONY TO EMPIRE + + +Until the period of Napoleonic chaos which overwhelmed the two +westernmost countries of Europe, the South American colonies of Spain +and Portugal had continued their existence on similar lines. Both had +been entirely subservient to the Mother Country. The laws which governed +Brazil and the Spanish colonies were framed on the same model, and the +disadvantages under which the colonists of either nation had laboured +from the start had been practically identical. + +With the upheaval which occurred at the beginning of the nineteenth +century, a new order came into being, so far as the Spaniards and +Portuguese were concerned. The parting of the ways was now marked. It +is, indeed, curious to notice that, while Spanish South America was +strenuously engaged in transforming itself from the status of a royal +colony to that of a group of independent republics, an operation was +being carried out in Brazil, the effect of which was precisely the +reverse. + +Brazil, in fact, in place of the neglect of centuries from which she had +suffered, now underwent a sudden, dazzling, and altogether unexpected +shower of honours and distinctions. That this did not come about +spontaneously affected the colony but little; the fact remained that she +was destined in a remarkably short space of time to rise from a colony +to a kingdom, and from a kingdom to an empire. The circumstances which +led to this transformation were sufficiently dramatic in themselves. + +In order to preserve the thread of these rather complicated events, it +is necessary to transfer the scene for a short while to Western Europe, +where at the moment the armies of Napoleon were sweeping all before +them. + +In 1807, when the French troops under Junot were on the eve of entering +Lisbon, the Portuguese Royal Family embarked on a Portuguese man-of-war, +and, escorted by a Portuguese fleet, sought the protection of the +British Fleet under Sir Sidney Smith. + +The move was effected only just in time, and the Prince Regent's +confidential servant, who embarked just after the rest, left his +departure so late that he was obliged to forsake some of his papers, his +money, and even his hat, on the beach. Sir Sidney Smith convoyed the +fleet as far as latitude 37 deg. 47' north, after which he left them under +the protection of the _Marlborough_, the _London_, the _Monarch_, and +the _Bedford_. Almost at the same time Sir Samuel Hood and General +Beresford took possession of the Island of Madeira, holding it in trust +for Portugal. + +The royal party landed at Bahia on January 21, 1808. So enthusiastic was +their reception that they remained in the town for a month. While at +Bahia the Regent gave promise of his future good-will and liberality by +promulgating a _carta regia_, dated January 28, by which he opened the +ports of Brazil to general commerce, levying on imports only a moderate +duty, and permitting exports of all articles under any flag, with the +exception of one or two articles which still remained royal monopolies. + +The departure of the Royal Family from Bahia was rendered necessary by +strategic considerations, for, owing to its peculiar situation, the town +could easily have been cut off from the rest of the mainland by hostile +forces. The royal party therefore sailed south, and arrived in Rio de +Janeiro on March 7. + +The joy in the port at the arrival of the Regent and his party +manifested itself in an excitement approaching delirium on the part of +the officials and populace. The mountains and the waters of the bay were +illuminated night after night with Bengal fires, rockets, and similar +fireworks, and every possible demonstration of joy known to the +colonists was continued unbroken for nine days. In the meanwhile the +inhabitants were preparing the beautiful site of the town for its +promotion as a capital city of a kingdom and the residence of a King. + +Indeed, in material advantages Brazil benefited almost immediately from +the arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family. In the first place, as has +already been explained, on January 28, 1808, the Prince Regent abolished +the old exclusive system, and opened the ports of Brazil. A local +writer, referring with enthusiasm to this, said the edict "ought to be +written in letters of gold." + +New desires, new habits, and new objects, were now introduced, and came +crowding one after the other in haste into the wonderful tropical +regions of the Bay of Rio de Janeiro. Printing was legalized with the +arrival of the Prince Regent, who brought over with him his library, and +this, in 1814, was thrown open to the public. The progress of science +went hand in hand with that of the rest, and in 1811 vaccination was +introduced. The pleasant arts were not left out in the cold, since, in +1813, the first regular theatre was opened. In 1814 the French were +invited to come over as residents, and they accepted in numbers. + +The old Criollo families now mustered about the royal representatives of +Portugal, and rubbed shoulders with the nobility, who had come out in +attendance, taking no little pride in the contact, and desirous only of +exhibiting to the utmost possible extent the depth of their loyalty. + +The character of the Regent was such as to warrant the fervent loyalty +displayed by his American subjects. Although set free by the mental +disease of Queen Francisca Isabel, his mother, to the exercise of almost +despotic authority from his earliest years, he had developed very few of +the vices usually resulting from such lack of control and training. He +is described as having been "mild and just" in temper, and of +comparatively pure moral character. He was, however, called to the +exercise of authority in troubled times, and had not the balance which +makes the perfect statesman. To Joao VI. the nearest trouble was always +the greatest, and the courtier at hand, able to gain the royal ear, had +far more chance of success with him than the one who proffered his +request by letter. Joao found it difficult to refuse, disagreeable to +inquire, and laborious to discuss. He was, in fact, an amiable man, but +not a strong one. + +Joao used the best measures at his command for the prosperity of his +adopted kingdom, and he carried out reforms as far as he could or dared. +Free trade was completely established; foreign settlers were invited, +and artisans and mechanics encouraged in every way. English mechanics +and shipwrights, Swedish ironfounders, German engineers, and French +artists and manufacturers, crowded to this new field of action, so +suddenly opened up. In the meanwhile schools and hospitals were founded +throughout the country, and the new commerce, consequent on unrestricted +trading, was watched and regulated. Inspectors of ports and customs were +appointed to prevent fraud; Rio was made a bishopric, and the +ecclesiastical establishments of the country were carefully regulated, +while many new tribunals were established. + +The vast increase of population and trade caused a corresponding +increase in the buildings of the central and southern cities, more +especially in those of the capital. New streets and squares and +magnificent country houses rose up on all sides, while the presence of a +brilliant Court necessarily altered many of the habits of the people. +The fashions of Europe were introduced, and the Empire gained a breadth +of outlook that no mere colony of the period could ever possess. The +introduction of the Court brought to Brazil a new life and activity, new +luxuries, increased and increasing trade, a vigorous and growing +population, fresh public and private undertakings, and all the vigour of +a rising community. + +Rio de Janeiro was now the head-quarters, not only of Brazil, but of the +whole Portuguese Empire. The Papal Nuncio had taken up his residence at +the spot; Lord Strangford, the British Ambassador, and other diplomatic +representatives of the various European countries, had arrived; while +Sir Sidney Smith hovered about as a naval guardian angel. Rio, in fact, +opened its astonished eyes to a world of fashion and to functions such +as it had never known. + +As could scarcely fail to prove the case in the circumstances, it was +not long before jealousies arose between the Portuguese and the +colonists; but it was some time before these appeared on the surface, +and in the first place the atmosphere of feasting and rejoicing +dissipated all other considerations. + +One of the effects of the advent of the royal party in Brazil may easily +be conceived. The Court had always been somewhat prodigal of its Orders +and Decorations. The appetite in the Peninsula for these insignia had +always been sufficiently keen; among the cruder Brazilians the greed +for any distinction of the sort became quite overwhelming. The most +popular Portuguese Order has always been--and remained so even until the +recent ending of the Monarchy--that of Christo, and the effective state +dress of this Order, the long white robe with the great cross, has +always had a wide appeal. In Rio de Janeiro during this period this was +only one of the Orders which were scattered broadcast, and which, after +a short while, could be obtained at an increasingly cheap rate. +Eventually every tradesman in Rio was wont to appear at the official +gatherings, and, indeed, at the others as well, with his breast covered +with a blaze of Orders, all of which had been paid for, if not in actual +cash, in goods delivered. + +The tremendous enthusiasm of the colonists bade fair to add an element +of pure farce to the situation. At this period, moreover, various negro +battalions were raised, and it is noted by travellers that the black +faces of the negro officers were wont to mingle with those of the +courtiers at royal functions--a very strange and new situation for +those, many of whose relatives were undoubtedly slaves in the same +country. + +But in return for these advantages a bill--and a heavy bill at +that--mounted up steadily. As a colony Brazil had been governed simply +and inexpensively. After awhile the colonists found that a Queen, a +Regent, and a Court, were expensive luxuries. In addition to the Royal +Family there came over from Portugal more than 20,000 nobles, knights, +and gentry, each expecting to be supported out of the revenues of the +colony in the same state and circumstance as had been his own in Europe. +In order to provide for these hosts of dependents, offices and places +were created, and endowed with the most liberal salaries. + +On the arrival of the Court there were already four Ministers, four +offices, and four staffs of officials in existence. These were +continued, and to them were added a Supreme Court of Law and Equity; a +Board for the simultaneous management of the affairs and property of the +Church and of the military Orders, with the power of suspending laws; a +secondary Court of Appeal, but still a superior Court to those of +Brazil; a general Board of Police; a Court of Exchequer and the +Treasury; a mint, with a large staff of officials; a bank; a royal +printing-office; large mills and factories for the manufacture of arms +and ammunition; and a supreme military court. + +These new posts and offices were filled throughout by European +officials, and the expenses of the Court itself, added to them, made up +a burden which the new trade and increased population failed to +compensate. In order to meet the cost of these many new appointments the +Government had imposed new taxes and duties. Tobacco, cotton, sugar, +hides, and other exports, were taxed; and 10 per cent. was levied on +house rent, on the sale of real property, and harbour dues. + +All this, however, was insufficient, and as a last resort the expedient +of tampering with the currency was tried. Dollars were sent into +circulation at 20 per cent. above their commercial value. Money was +borrowed from the bank, which was in close connection with the mint, and +taxes were mortgaged in advance; while even the royal regalia was +pledged as security. Notes were issued far beyond the amount of cash +available for redemption, and a few years later the bank, its affairs +brought to irremediable confusion, stopped payment. + +While these things were occurring, public discontent was growing; and in +order to divert the attention of the populace from internal troubles, a +war was determined on. French Guiana was near, and provided an +admirable object for the purpose. In 1809, when France was fully engaged +in European struggles, Guiana was attacked and captured with little +trouble. The colony capitulated, and remained Brazilian for six years, +when the Treaty of Vienna restored it to French rule. + +The conquest was of great indirect value to Brazil, in that it led to +the introduction and free cultivation of agricultural products which had +either been non-existent in Brazil up to that time, or extirpated by the +crippling policy which Portugal pursued towards her colonies. Cinnamon, +for instance, had hitherto been destroyed wherever found in Brazil, +being regarded as a monopoly of the East Indies. + +[Illustration: ARMS OF THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL.] + +[Illustration: ARMS OF UNITED KINGDOMS OF PORTUGAL, THE ALGARVES, AND +BRAZIL.] + +The easy victory over Guiana induced the Regent to make attacks on the +Spanish colonies to the south and west of Brazil. Here, however willing +the colonists were to shake off their subjection to Spain, they by no +means desired to become subject to Brazil. It was just at this period +that the War of Independence was raging, and the Spanish colonies were +forming themselves into republics. Joao, fearing republicanism more +than he hated Spain, aided Elio, the Spanish Governor of the Plate +districts, with money and men in his attacks on the insurgents. + +[Illustration: PEDRO I., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL. + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +Elio was defeated, and the new Republicans made a hostile entry into Rio +Grande and Sao Paolo. The Regent, fearing the result of this incursion, +sent 5,000 Portuguese troops with a contingent of Brazilians to drive +the enemy over the southern frontier. In this the Brazilian force was +entirely successful, and the evacuation of Montevideo and occupation of +Misiones were followed by the chasing of the Uruguayan patriot Artigas +across the Uruguay River. + +In spite of popular and successful war, the Brazilians refused to be +entirely contented, and Joao had some reason to fear their discontent, +since Brazilian money supported the Government and Court, and ruin would +necessarily follow the withdrawal of this. In order to meet all +objections Joao determined to make Brazil his kingdom. + +On December 16, 1815, a decree was issued declaring that from the date +of its publication the State of Brazil should be elevated to the dignity +of a kingdom, and henceforth called the Kingdom of Brazil, and should +form with those in Europe the United Kingdom of Portugal, Algarves, and +Brazil. Immediately after this event the Queen, Dona Maria, died at Rio, +and the Prince Regent delayed the ceremony of his succession until the +expiration of a year of mourning. The arms of the new King consisted of +an armillary sphere of gold, in field azure, and in a scutcheon +containing the quinas of Portugal and the seven castles of Algarves. The +sphere was surmounted by the royal crown. + +On November 5, 1817, a vessel brought out the Archduchess Leopoldina, +daughter of the Emperor Francis I. of Austria, who had been married by +proxy to Dom Pedro, the son of Joao VI. + +On February 6, 1818, Joao VI. was formally crowned at Rio, a ceremony +which was emphasized-- + + "by bursts of music, peals of bells, explosions of artillery, + deafening shouts, of discharges of fireworks, and such a universal + display of extravagant joy that, as my worthy author, Goncalves dos + Santos says: 'It would require the pencil of Zeuxis and the odes of + Pindar to describe; and if anything on earth could be compared to + the joys of heaven, it was that moment.'" + +The following year Princess Dona Maria da Gloria was born, a +circumstance which rejoiced the loyal colonists not a little. +Nevertheless, in the remoter regions of the enormous colony of Brazil, +where the influence of these joyous events had been less felt, all was +not so tranquil. + +In Pernambuco and Bahia local jealousies had fermented; the revolutions +had been put down with a firm hand, and the leaders of the movements +executed. This severity was much resented, both at the time and +subsequently, and these provinces, in consequence, remained in a state +of suppressed irritation. + +In 1820 some territory was annexed in the south, when, Uruguay being +convulsed by civil war, the troops of Brazil occupied Tacuarembo and the +Arroyo-Grande. + +After a while it became evident that Prince Pedro had gained more +popularity than the King. The conservative methods of Joao VI. were in +the end responsible for protests on the part of the populace, and the +King at length was obliged to give way, and to promise more liberal +constitutions than he had endeavoured to uphold. Dom Pedro swore in his +father's name to respect these constitutions, and his example was +followed by his brother, Dom Miguel. The enthusiasm which followed the +concession was tumultuous, and the King himself found it necessary to +come from his country seat, Boa Vista. + +When he arrived at the capital his horses were taken from his carriage, +and it was dragged to the palace by the people. Fireworks and +illuminations followed, and a gala performance at the opera for the +succeeding night was ordered; but King Joao VI. was unable to attend. +The proceedings had really been adopted against the grain in his case, +and thus, when the curtains in the royal box were drawn apart, it was +seen to be occupied by the pictures of the King and Queen instead of by +royalty in the flesh; but these pictures were received with the same +enthusiasm and as hearty plaudits as though they had been royal humanity +itself. + +While all this was happening in Brazil, the French had been finally +driven out from Portugal, and King Joao VI. determined to return once +more to his native country. On April 24 he sailed with the Royal Family, +leaving his son, Dom Pedro, as Governor of Brazil. Only a day or two +before a disturbance had broken out in the capital. When the electors +assembled, they were wantonly attacked by the Portuguese soldiery, and +about thirty of them were slain, the majority in cold blood. The +atrocity would have doubtlessly been more serious had not the popular +Dom Pedro interfered. + +With the departure of the King from Brazil it was inevitable that +complications should ensue. Having once enjoyed the status of a kingdom, +and having been granted those privileges which had so benefited the +country during the past few years, it was only natural that Brazil +should resent any attempt to place her once again in the neglected +situation from which she had been rescued. It seemed, nevertheless, as +though the policy of Portugal would now be directed towards this end. It +was at this juncture that the influence of Prince Pedro began to be +felt. + +Prince Pedro possessed a personality essentially capable of commanding; +his talents, moreover, were varied. He was a good horseman, a keen +sportsman, and was addicted to music and many of the politer arts. The +part he had to play was undoubtedly a difficult one. His sentiments were +intensely Brazilian; at the same time, in the letters he wrote to the +Court of Portugal he stated distinctly that the Mother Country alone +possessed his loyalty, as was only just, and that he would make no move +whatever that would prejudice the interests of Portugal. He even went +the length of lamenting his presence in the far-away land he governed, +and swore that he longed for the day when he might return and sit upon +the steps of his father's throne. + +In the meanwhile the jealousies between the Portuguese and Brazilians +increased rapidly, the bitterness being more especially evident in the +soldiery of the respective lands. King Joao himself had behaved with +little consideration ere his departure. One of his last acts in Brazil +had been to promise the soldiery of that country double pay, yet, though +he had left the promise behind him, he had left no means whatever to +carry it out, and thus disturbances arose in many places. + +On December 9, 1821, the brig _Dom Sebastiao_ arrived, bearing a decree +to institute a provisional Government, which should again reduce the +country to the condition of a province, and another which ordered the +immediate return to Portugal of the young Prince Regent. A real crisis +now arose. The Brazilians, devoted to Dom Pedro, implored him to remain; +the Portuguese garrison spoke of removing him on a homeward-bound ship +by force. The whole city was agog, and the excitement at fever-heat. In +the midst of the turmoil the Brazilian troops surrounded the Portuguese, +and, after obtaining a great strategic advantage, ordered them to march +on board the vessels of the fleet bound for Lisbon. + +[Illustration: THE OPENING OF THE SENATE HOUSE, RIO DE JANEIRO.] + +The Portuguese were inclined to resist, when Dom Pedro himself +appeared in their midst and ordered their commanders specifically to +embark the next day and to sail for Portugal. He had now decided on his +attitude, and was determined that his orders should be obeyed. To show +that he was in earnest he even took a match in his hand and lit it, and +swore that, did the Portuguese troops refuse, he would be the first man +to fire a cannon at them. This ended the matter, and the next day the +ship sailed and carried away the Portuguese garrison. + +[Illustration: CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES, RIO DE JANEIRO.] + +On May 13, 1822, a deputation from the Rio Chamber of Deputies +approached Prince Pedro and persuaded him to assume the title of +"Constitutional Prince Regent and Perpetual Defender of Brazil." +Portugal, for its part, was now bitterly opposed to Brazil and to the +Brazilians. Decrees were enacted towards the suppression of the +independence of the great colony. One of these ran to the effect that +Prince Pedro was to return to Europe within four months, and that any +of the military who obeyed his orders, unless by compulsion, were to be +deemed traitors to Portugal. + +During all this time fresh troops were arriving to reinforce the +garrison at Bahia, which had remained Royalist. The patriots, for their +part, had collected strong forces and hemmed the Royalists in Bahia to +such an extent that they could only retain communication by sea. + +Matters grew more and more strained every day, for the Mother Country +sought to put an end to the virtual supremacy of its great colony, while +Brazil was utterly opposed to Portuguese rule. When Prince Pedro was +ordered to return to Portugal, "in order to complete his education," the +Brazilians, and especially the provincial Government of Sao Paulo, +begged him to disobey and remain in Brazil. The soldiers threatened to +mutiny if he went, and the people entreated him not to go, while every +proof of his popularity was added cause for exasperation on the part of +the Home Government, rendering his situation more dangerous. + +If Dom Pedro went to Portugal, said the Brazilians, they must choose +between an anarchical republic and the old state of dependence on +Portugal. In the matter of Sao Paulo and the requests of its citizens, +the brothers Andrada were most prominent, and they obtained a promise +from the Prince that he would not go. Together with the Andradas he +toured the States of Minas and Sao Paulo on a mission of pacification; +but the people of the country felt that the present state of affairs +could not continue, and in his absence it was determined to make him the +ruler of the country, and he was declared Defender of the Empire. On +September 7, 1822, he received a bundle of despatches from Portugal, and +his staff watched while he read letter after letter. There was one +which he read two or three times, and then destroyed. What its contents +were was never known, but after pondering and a few minutes of thought, +Pedro raised his hand and spoke his decision--"Independence or death!" + +There was no doubt that he had carried out the wishes of his father, and +probably the letter which he destroyed contained Joao's written +directions. Some idea of this seems to have been general among the +Brazilians, for both they and the Portuguese soldiers in Brazil always +spoke of Joao with affection, and regarded him rather as a prisoner of +the Cortes of Lisbon than as King of Portugal. + +The Brazilians determined that the last doubt concerning the situation +should be dissipated, and on October 12, 1822, Dom Pedro, who was at +Piranga, was made constitutional Emperor of Brazil, and all relation and +connection with Portugal was severed. + +Dom Pedro had all this time kept up a correspondence with his father, +King Joao, and in one of these letters he wrote: + + "They wish, and they say they wish, to proclaim me Emperor. I + protest to your Majesty that I will not be perjured ... that I will + never be false to you; and if they commit that folly, it will not + be till _after they have cut me to pieces_--me and all the + Portuguese--a solemn oath, which I here have written with my blood + in the following words: + + "'I swear to be always faithful to your Majesty, to the Portuguese + nation, and Constitution.'" + +These latter words were apparently actually written in his blood, and +the epistle is certainly a proof of the complicated state of affairs and +of the strange influences which were at work. + +Open warfare now broke out between Brazil and Portugal. At Bahia the +Portuguese, although their garrison was hemmed in, were masters of the +sea. The Brazilians determined to make a bold bid for the control of the +waves, and to this end sent an invitation to Lord Cochrane, who had just +freed the Pacific Ocean from the Spanish fleet, and was at the time in +Chile. + +An invitation of that kind was never refused by Cochrane. In March, +1823, he arrived and took command of the new Brazilian fleet, which was +considerably inferior to that of Portugal. He sailed immediately for +Bahia, but found his crews in no very anxious mood to fight their +compatriots. A few skirmishes ensued, and the Portuguese fleet took +refuge under the guns of the land forces. On the same day the Brazilians +entered the city and took possession of it. + +The Portuguese fleet now sailed to the north, and was pursued by Lord +Cochrane beyond the Equator. He saw to it that their voyage was an +eventful one, for he captured more than one-half of their transports, +and completely dispersed the remainder. Cochrane then returned to +Brazil, and was instrumental in releasing the north of that country from +the remaining foreign forces. + +On December 1, 1823, Dom Pedro was formally crowned. The ceremony was +dramatic, and crowns and wreaths of laurels were showered down upon the +hero of the nation, while patriotic airs were thundered out with +tremendous enthusiasm. + +Three years later (August 29, 1825) Pedro was acknowledged as Emperor of +Brazil by the Mother Country, after the last Portuguese troops in the +country had been withdrawn. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +THE EMPIRE OF BRAZIL + + +Portuguese acquiescence in Dom Pedro's sovereignty was brought about +largely by the instrumentality of Lord Cochrane, who, after harrying the +deported garrison of Bahia when on its voyage to Europe, brought about +the capitulation of Maranhao and Para, acting in concert with Grenfell, +another ocean free-lance, second only to Cochrane in daring and +versatility. + +In Montevideo the General commanding the Portuguese garrison declared +for independence, and left the soldiers to make their own choice; +whereupon they followed the remainder of the Portuguese troops to +Europe. Uruguay, left to its own choice, retained its allegiance to +Brazil until Artigas, a famous leader and partisan of liberty, stirred +up the people. The Brazilian troops entered Montevideo on January 20, +1817, and the Emperor sent his picture to the Cabildo Hall, an act which +brought about the appearance of a most extraordinary document, drawn up +by the officials of the town. When the portrait appeared they announced +that-- + + "A mixed sensation of trembling and delight seized us, as if we + were in the presence of the Lord." + +In justice to the inhabitants of Montevideo in general, it must be said +that this fulsome and despicable effusion was the work of only a few, +and was hostile to the sentiments of, and strenuously condemned by, the +general public. + +The first Brazilian Assembly, as soon as convoked, set to work to frame +its first Constitution, a matter which was found extremely difficult. +The fact that Brazil had been an independent monarchy for some years +helped to combat the views of those who shouted "Liberty!" too loudly, +and would fain have abandoned practice for theory. It was understood +that the first requisites were order and security, together with +reasonable checks on authority. Further, it was realized that there must +be sufficient elasticity to meet future needs and circumstances. + +But for the Emperor, the forming of the Constitution would have been a +failure. Almost immediately after his first opening of the Assembly he +laid before it a sketch of the Constitution that they had to form. "The +recent Constitutions," he said, "founded on the models of those of 1791 +and 1792, had been acknowledged as too abstract and metaphysical for +execution. This had been proved by the example of France, and more +recently by that of Spain and Portugal. We have need of a Constitution +where the powers may be so divided and defined that no one branch can +arrogate to itself the prerogative of another; a Constitution which may +be an unsurmountable barrier against all invasion of the royal +authority, whether aristocratic or popular, which will overthrow anarchy +and cherish the tree of liberty, beneath whose shade we shall see the +union and the independence of the Empire flourish--in a word, a +Constitution that will excite the admiration of other nations, and even +of our enemies, who will consecrate the triumph of our principles by +adopting them." + +There was, however, too much of self-denial in the Emperor's views to +meet with the approbation of the Assembly. At the head of the Ministry +were the brothers Andrada--men who in earlier days had rendered great +services to Dom Pedro, but who had grown somewhat arbitrary, +overbearing, and impatient, and now presumed on their past services in +establishing the Empire to tyrannize over both the Emperor and the +Assembly. In the end the members of the Assembly forced the brothers to +resign, at which the people rose and drew Jose Bonifacio in triumph +through the streets of Rio to his official residence. + +Fearing the people, the Assembly reinstated the Andradas for a period of +eight months, after which they were again ejected. From this time on +they became violent opponents of the Assembly and the Court, seemingly +determined that if they could not rule, nobody else should. Their +newspaper, the _Tamayo_, was a powerful organ in the capital, and proved +itself as unsparing as it was libellous in its attacks. + +It was owing to obstruction of this kind that for a long while no +advance was made in the formation of a Constitution, for as the Emperor +made suggestions, the Andradas caused them to be thrown out. Bills +brought in by members were never read, and the brothers even went so far +as to attack the Portuguese employes of the Emperor, and when one of +these wrote a scathing article against them, they used personal violence +toward him. He appealed to the Assembly, whereupon the Andradas insisted +that he and all his fellows should be dismissed. + +Week by week the _Tamayo_ grew more virulent and threatening against the +Emperor. Dom Pedro grew alarmed, for the Andradas were wealthy and +powerful, and the Emperor felt that their disaffection might be a sign +of general popular feeling--that the republican movement was gaining +ground too much for his safety. His actions against the republican +movement in various parts of the Empire, necessary though they were, +had, nevertheless, forced him into connection with, and reliance on, the +Portuguese residents and militia, a class almost as distasteful to the +liberal Brazilians as the Portuguese whom they had driven out of the +country. Thoroughly liberal in his own tendencies, Pedro yet felt that +the Andradas might be expressing a general discontent with his rule. + +The Andradas, at the head of the popular party, drove the Emperor to the +use of extreme measures by their insolence and turbulent intrigues. He +took the law into his own hands. The brothers had induced the Assembly +to declare itself permanent, but, not unlike Cromwell in a different +species of crisis, Pedro surrounded the Chamber with troops and guns, +dispersed the Deputies, and captured the three Andradas, together with +two of their principal friends. These five he deported to France without +the formality of a trial. + +At this the popular party took alarm, but the Emperor pointed out that +he had no other course left; he had acted from no desire to impair the +freedom of the people, but from necessity. The proclamation which he +issued at this time stated that "though he had, from regard to the +tranquillity of the Empire, thought fit to dissolve the third Assembly, +he had in the same decree convoked another, in conformity with the +acknowledged constitutional rights of his people." + +With regard to the forming of the Constitution, he left it no longer to +the Assembly, but appointed a committee of ten persons to settle the +sketch he had drawn up. + +The Republican and ultra-Liberal party, awed by the salutary treatment +meted out to the Andradas, grew furious at the further energetic +measures of the Emperor, for they saw in Dom Pedro's policy an attempt +to gain absolute dominance. Open rebellion broke out all over the +country, and a Republic was actually proclaimed in Pernambuco, Ceara, +the northern provinces generally, and in the south. Uruguay for the last +time revolted, and severed the tie which bound her to the Empire, having +never since been subject to Brazil. + +[Illustration: PALACE AND GREAT SQUARE IN RIO DE JANEIRO. + +A century ago.] + +The moderate people wavered between the two sides. They saw in +Republicanism only anarchy, while the Emperor's _coup d'etat_ inspired +them with fear of his government. He himself, seeing that a striking +move was necessary, sought the assistance of the Town Council of Rio, +and with their aid adopted the Constitution he had drawn up, without +submitting it to the Assembly. On March 24, 1824, he swore to the +Constitution in public, trusting to the freedom and fairness which it +embodied to gain him adherence. + +This move was perfectly successful, for wherever the Constitution was +proclaimed the Republican party fell to pieces. The principles of the +document were so simple, liberal, and practical, that the Republican +party could not ask more than the Emperor gave. By this Pedro saved his +throne, beyond doubt, and gradually the provincial authorities and the +people of the country accepted the situation, and swore to observe the +new Constitution. + +In the meanwhile a species of minor maritime warfare was carried on in +the River Plate between the Brazilian fleet and the Argentine vessels +commanded by Admiral Brown, in the course of which the Brazilians +suffered not a little, and the prestige of the Imperial fleet in +consequence diminished. + +On December 11, 1826, the Empress died in childbirth at the early age of +twenty-nine. She had come out from Austria determined to make the ways +of Brazil her own. On her first arrival she was considered lovely, and +there is no doubt that her fair, clear complexion, blue eyes, and +golden hair were immensely admired by folk themselves almost invariably +possessed of raven locks. Some while after she had arrived in the +country of her adoption the Empress is said to have neglected her +personal appearance to a rather regrettable extent, adopting the ways of +the Brazilian country-side rather than those of the capital. Thus she +accustomed herself to large heavy boots adorned with enormous spurs, and +would ride astride on a horse, her hair being suffered to hang loose +about her face and shoulders. In fact, she paid not the slightest +attention to those attractions with which Nature had endowed her. She +was a being of intense charity and love, polished to a degree, an +accomplished letter-writer, and a lover of the fine arts in general. + +Had the Empress bestowed less care on others and more upon her own +person, there is little doubt but that she would have led a happier +life, for the Emperor, surrounded by the temptations which are always in +the path of crowned heads, allowed his affections to stray. Indeed, so +wrapped up was Dom Pedro in his liaison, that the unfortunate Empress, +under pressure, found her rival attached to her Court as +lady-in-waiting. Her meek and affectionate temperament does not appear +to have resented this--at all events openly. When, however, this rival +insisted on making her way to the death-bed of the Empress, it was felt +by the attendants that all bounds had been passed. On their own +responsibility they prevented the proposed entrance, and after the death +of the Empress suffered for their pains at the instigation of the +slighted favourite. + +Towards the end of 1826 Colonel Cotter, an Irish officer in the +Brazilian Service, undertook to bring over a number of his countrymen +from their native land in order that they should become soldier +settlers--that is to say, they were promised fifty acres of land a head +if they would undertake to perform military service when needed. The +result was a fiasco. The unfortunate Irishmen came out, but found +nothing prepared for them. They were insulted, moreover, by the negroes, +who took to calling them "white slaves" as a mark of contempt for the +ragged clothes to which they found themselves reduced in the end. + +Goaded beyond endurance, not only by neglect, but by periodical assaults +on their numbers, the Irish, together with a number of Germans and other +soldiers who found themselves in a similar situation, broke out into +open mutiny, and a pitched battle took place between them and the +blacks, who had now been armed by the authorities. In the end the +Brazilians intervened, assisted by the French and the English Marines, +who were landed from the fleets of their respective nations, and the +mutiny was suppressed, but not before many foreigners quite unconcerned +with the affair had been slain. After this the Irish returned to their +native land. + +The proclamation of the Constitution marked the zenith of Dom Pedro's +popularity. The dangers he had gone through and the arbitrary measures +he had been compelled to adopt seem to have altered his views to an +extent which in the end alienated from him the sympathies of his people. +He never again trusted the Brazilians, while the success of his +arbitrary policy in connection with the Andradas, and in the troubled +times which followed, gave him a taste for absolute rule. In the +formation of the Constitution he saved his country, but ruined himself. + +After the last sparks of revolution had been put out, the people looked +for the convocation of the Assembly again, but the Emperor omitted to +bring this about for such a length of time that the nation began to +understand that he no longer viewed its claims in the same light. Soon +his preference for the Portuguese began to attract notice, and the +treaty with Portugal, into which he entered before the Mother Country +recognized the independence of Brazil, caused general indignation by its +extravagant concessions. The treaty was justly resented, for Pedro was +Emperor by successful revolt and conquest, and yet by this treaty he +forewent his just rights, and then bought them again from Portugal--with +Brazilian money. + +This error of diplomacy was followed by war against Uruguay, for the +Emperor attacked the revolted province, and declared war against Buenos +Aires for rendering assistance to the Uruguayans. The campaign was +carried on so feebly and expensively that the people regarded it as +folly, and at the same time resented the enlistment, already referred +to, of regiments of German and Irish troops, aliens, who were never +popular. + +The people of Brazil were aggravated, in addition to these causes, by +the increasing extravagance of the Emperor, and by the expense which his +establishment entailed, while his policy had reduced the nation to +poverty. There were numerous payments to be made to Portugal in +connection with the senseless treaty into which Pedro had entered; there +was the cost of the war, including the pay of the hired German and Irish +troops; and then there was the personal expenditure of the Emperor to +add to these, while the militia system of the country had developed into +a sort of conscription, an utter grievance in the sight of people who +wanted liberty and peace. + +In 1828 Uruguay was declared independent, much to the dissatisfaction of +a great number of Brazilians, who advocated the retention of the Banda +Oriental as a province of Brazil. + +[Illustration: PEDRO II., EMPEROR OF BRAZIL.] + +On March 10, 1826, Dom. Joao died. As soon as the tidings reached Brazil +the Emperor assumed the title of King of Portugal, in addition to that +of Emperor of Brazil. On May 2, six days later, he abdicated the throne +of Portugal in favour of his daughter, Dona Maria. It was resolved that +Dona Maria should marry her uncle, Dom Miguel, in order that she should +ally herself with a Portuguese of high rank. Nevertheless, a dispute +arose between the adherents of Dom Miguel and those of the Emperor of +Brazil, and a state of civil war obtained in Portugal for a time. Dona +Maria, on her arrival in England on her way to Portugal, was received +with royal honours. But Dom Miguel seized upon the throne and managed to +hold it for a while. + +Supported by the Portuguese or Absolutist party, Pedro went his way, +and, even in his latter days of rule, refused to sign Bills for the +development of the Constitution. There was undoubtedly much now to +unsettle the Brazilian populace. Disadvantageous reciprocity treaties +were concluded with various countries, while defeats of the Brazilian +soldiers were experienced at the hands of the troops of the Argentine +Republic. An indemnity was demanded by France and the United States of +America for ships captured during the blockade of Buenos Aires, and +large sums of money had to be paid to avert further war. Finally, the +English Government persuaded Brazil to make a somewhat humiliating peace +with Buenos Aires, and renounce all claim to the colony, which was +henceforth to be known as the Republic of Uruguay. + +By 1830 the policy which the Emperor pursued had alienated the national +affection to such an extent that every member of the Assembly but the +Ministers was in opposition. Wherever the Emperor went, he was treated +with coldness instead of enthusiasm. A scheme on the part of the +Republicans for adopting the Constitution of the United States, but +retaining Pedro as hereditary President, caused him to dismiss his +Ministers, and surround himself with men of the Absolutist party. At +this an immense crowd assembled in the Campo de Santa Ana, demanding the +reinstatement of the popular Ministers. + +The Emperor sent a magistrate to read a justification of his conduct to +the crowd, but the paper was snatched from the magistrate's hands and +torn to pieces almost before he had finished reading it. In their turn +the people sent messengers to the palace, insisting on the reinstatement +of the Republican Ministers. The Emperor listened to the demand, and +answered: "I will do everything for the people, nothing by the people." + +This answer exasperated the crowd still further, yet no excess was +committed. At two o'clock in the morning the last messenger of the +people was departing with the Emperor's refusal to yield to their +demands, when Pedro bade him stay, and, sitting down at his desk, wrote +his last message to the people of Brazil: + +"Availing myself of the right which the Constitution concedes to me, I +declare that I have voluntarily abdicated in favour of my dearly beloved +and esteemed son, Dom Pedro de Alcantara." + +Having handed this to the messenger, Pedro burst into tears and retired +to his private apartments. + +Six days later he sailed from the harbour of Rio in an English +man-of-war, leaving Brazil and his child for good. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC + + +Dom Pedro II. was but five years old when his father abdicated in his +favour on April 7, 1831, and, during his minority, the government of the +country was entrusted to Regents. In 1840, when he was fifteen years +old, it was officially announced that he had attained his majority, and +he was crowned in 1841. In 1843 he married Theresa Christine, sister of +Ferdinand II. of the Two Sicilies. His sons died in their childhood, and +his daughter Isabella became heiress to the crown. + +Pedro II. came to the throne at a perilous time. The people were in a +state of revolution, while the National Exchequer was practically empty, +and the National Bank was bankrupt. With the abdication of Pedro I. the +Ministry and official Service had disappeared. + +Yet the crowd that had forced the abdication of Pedro I. drew the new +boy Sovereign in triumph through the streets of the city, and, placed in +a window of the palace, he watched the great multitude throng past, +acclaiming him with immense enthusiasm. It was soon seen that, in spite +of the national upheaval, the mass of the people were fully alive to the +necessity for preserving order and preventing licence. There were riots +and disturbances for a time, as was inevitable; but the patriotic, +although turbulent, family of the Andradas again came to the front, and +suppressed all signs of revolution. Thus the boy Emperor's position was +secure. + +Still, with a country nearly bankrupt, stringent measures were necessary +to restore prosperity; official independence and peculation had to be +suppressed, and the Regents, who succeeded each other with marked +rapidity, had to be watched, while it was necessary at the same time to +maintain the executive power. These exigences led to strenuous scenes in +the Assembly, and the succession of Regents became still more rapid. In +this capacity Andrada, Carvalho, Muniz, Feijo, and Lima, succeeded each +other, while Ministers and Opposition squabbled and strove together, +denouncing each other as the worst of tyrants. + +Notwithstanding the confusion, a certain amount of progress was +effected. Abuses were remedied, reforms effected, while the national +tendency towards Republicanism strengthened the ultra-Liberal party, to +whom the old-time Absolutists allied themselves. A reactionary party, +desirous of seeing the Emperor recalled, came into being, and between +these two was the moderate party, composed of the greater part of the +population of the country, and represented politically by the Regency +and the majority in the legislative chambers. + +There was, however, sufficient strength in the Republican and +ultra-Liberal party to accomplish revolt in the provinces of such extent +as to call for military action in order to suppress it. Accordingly the +provinces became, through the various reforms introduced, self-governing +States, and, when the number of Regents had been reduced from three to +one, there was little difference between the Constitution of Brazil and +that of the United States of America. + +The old Emperor, Pedro I., died in Portugal on September 24, 1834, and +after that event a strong reaction set in among the Brazilians in favour +of the Monarchy. The democratic party asserted that the Emperor's +sister was, on attaining the age of eighteen, fully capable of +exercising the duties of Regent. Having once granted this, the natural +deduction followed that if a girl was fit to rule at eighteen, a boy was +fit to rule sooner. In 1840 the Opposition brought forward a motion to +the effect that the Emperor was of age, in spite of the article of the +Constitution which declared that the majority of the Sovereign should be +the age of eighteen. + +By that time the nation was prosperous and at peace, while moderate men +were tired of the faction struggles and the tumults caused thereby. +Lima, Regent at the time, was extremely unpopular, and, when the debates +began in the Assembly, there was a general wish that he should be +defeated. The motion of the Opposition was made, and was met by the +answer that the Constitution forbade this premature declaration of +majority. The Opposition retorted that circumstances warranted the +infringement, since in extreme evils the interests of the State required +extreme measures. + +Such a proposition as this implied that the Regent and Ministry were an +extreme evil, and the scene in the Chamber grew animated as the speech +grew more and more personal. Antonio Carlos de Andrada, one of the +younger men of that great family, as fiery tempered as he was patriotic, +led the attack, accusing the Regent and Ministry of usurpation and +unconstitutional tyranny, since the Princess had attained the age of +eighteen. + +Then Galvao, one of the most prominent of the Ministerial party, turned +against his own side, and urged the immediate proclamation of the +Emperor. Another eminent member of the Assembly, Alvares Machado, +declared "that the cause of the Emperor was the cause of the nation, and +ought to receive the approbation of every lover of his country." The +language of the Opposition grew violent and threatening. Navarro, a +Deputy representing Matto Grosso, denounced Lima and all his acts, +finishing his declamation by shouting, "Hurrah for his Imperial +Majesty's majority!" The applause from spectators and the Opposition +alarmed the Ministerialists, who tried to secure delay in bringing about +the change. Limpo de Abreo moved that a committee be appointed to +consider the matter at once, and, this being carried, the Opposition +consented to an adjourning of the Assembly. + +On the next day the Regent prorogued the Assembly until November, and +appointed Vasconcellos, a man of great standing and political power, but +factious, selfish, and immoral, as Minister of the Empire. These +unpopular movements brought about actual revolt in the Assembly, for +Antonio Andrada called on the members of the Assembly to follow him to +the Senate. The two Houses conferred, and appointed a deputation to the +Emperor himself, urging his consent to being immediately proclaimed. The +deputation returned, bearing His Majesty's consent, and an order to the +Regent to revoke his decrees, pronouncing the Chamber to be again in +session. These powerful measures ended the controversy. In 1841 the +coronation ceremony was performed, and Pedro II. assumed actual rule +over Brazil. + +He was in almost every sense an efficient ruler. His personality was +viewed with confidence in Europe, and so long as he occupied the throne +the very important question of foreign loans presented few difficulties. +The influence of the Emperor was especially notable at the conclusion of +the Paraguayan War, when the finances of Brazil were in an exhausted +condition. Pedro II. was no autocrat; of a gentle and exceptionally +unselfish character, he governed in a simple and most painstaking +fashion, manifesting his patriotism in every possible direction. + +Exterior events were of little importance during the first years of +Pedro's reign. The chief happenings were a certain amount of civil war +in the Rio Grande, and the partaking of the Brazilian forces in the +battles between Uruguay and Rosas, the tyrant of Argentina, varied with +occasional fights with Uruguay itself. In 1842 revolts broke out in the +provinces of Sao Paulo and Minas Geraes, but these, together with +similar insurrections in Rio Grande in 1845, and in Pernambuco in 1849, +were suppressed. In 1851 Brazil espoused the cause of Urquiza, the +Governor of Entre Rios, against that of Rosas, and the aid of the +Brazilian troops was largely instrumental in bringing about the fall of +the tyrant. + +Dom Pedro's administration, moreover, was conducted with tact and good +judgment. His presence acted as a check upon the experimental tendencies +of the more effervescent of his subjects. He believed in slow and sure +progress, and undoubtedly during his reign Brazil responded to the care +and thought expended on her. Indeed, the policy of the Emperor was +liberal to a degree, and as such very welcome to a populace whose ideas, +if not instincts, had grown more or less democratic. + +In 1865 the Five Years' War with Paraguay was commenced, a struggle in +which, under the tyrant Lopez, the tiny Republic held at bay the armies +of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, to the utter ruin of Paraguay itself, +and the virtual destruction of its male population. The struggle +terminated with the death of Lopez at the Battle of Cerro Cora in 1870, +after exhausting the resources of Brazilian finance. Meanwhile, in 1867, +Dom Pedro opened the Amazon to the commerce of all nations, and in 1871 +passed a law for the gradual abolition of slavery. + +Had Pedro been gifted with a child of a character resembling his own, it +is reasonable to suppose that the Empire would have continued for far +longer than was the case. Unfortunately, however, neither his daughter, +the Princess Isabel, nor her husband, the Conde d'Eu, had succeeded in +winning the sympathies of the Brazilians. Princess Isabel was markedly +cold and restrained in manner, and these unfortunate traits appear to +have been fully shared by her husband. The latter was somewhat deaf, +which added to the apparent reserve of his manner; he was, moreover, +credited with the possession of a miserly disposition. + +These qualities, when viewed by an impetuous and mercurial people, whose +lightning sympathies demanded as rapid a response, inevitably threw +their supposed possessors into disfavour. The situation was doubly to be +regretted, in that both the Princess and her husband were in reality +devoted to Brazil and to the best interests of the Brazilians. It may +truly be said that nothing beyond the lack of demonstrative power cost +them their throne. + +This factor in the general situation appeared at the time to be more +than counterbalanced by the great popularity of the Emperor himself. The +Republican spirit was growing, it is true, and the progressive State of +Sao Paolo headed the movement. After a while this tendency was shorn of +all disguise, and the formation of a Republic was openly advocated; but +the universal desire appeared to be that the form of government should +not be changed during the lifetime of the popular Emperor, Pedro II. In +the meanwhile the commercial and industrial resources of Brazil were +rapidly becoming extended, and the wealth of the planters increased +steadily. + +Dom Pedro on various occasions visited Europe for the purposes of the +State, and, in 1886, he started on his third journey to the Old World +since the conclusion of the Paraguayan War. At no time in the history +of South America has it been found prudent for the head of a State to +leave his country for too long in the hands of a Regent or deputy. In +this case the powers of Regent were handed over to Princess Isabel, and +this lady lost little time in putting some admirable intentions into +effect. This, however, she managed to effect in a manner, as is +frequently the case with well-intentioned persons, which wrought no +little mischief to her own interests. + +Humane and of advanced ideas, Princess Isabel had always regarded the +slave trade with abhorrence. The Emperor Pedro himself had approved of +the conditions very little more. It is certain, indeed, that he had +intended ultimately to do away with this state of affairs by a gradual +series of moves, so as to leave the general industrial situation +unaffected. Princess Isabel, on the other hand, favoured the idea of an +immediate uprooting of the evil. + +As it happened, some steps had already been taken which must in the end, +of themselves, have done away with slavery; thus, it had been decreed in +1871 that every child of a slave born after that time was free. This was +not sufficient for the warm-hearted daughter of the Emperor. In her +impatience to free the older generation from their shackles, Princess +Isabel determined on a general abolition forthwith. In 1888, +notwithstanding the entreaties and warnings of her Ministers, she issued +a decree to this effect, by which it is said that 720,000 slaves became +emancipated. + +At the time remarkably little stir was caused by this upheaval of the +industrial status; but there is no doubt that the measure alienated the +sympathies of the most important class of all--that of the landowners, +who were now quite determined that the Princess and her husband should +never come to the throne of Brazil. While all this was occurring, +matters had cropped up in Europe which had caused the Emperor's absence +to be prolonged unduly so far as home matters of State were concerned. +His health was bad, and his suite were anxious to save him as much as +possible from the anxieties of politics. In order that this should be +effected, he was persuaded to stay away from his country for a +considerable while. At length it became evident that his return was +imperative, and in August, 1888, he landed again in Rio, where he was +received with genuine enthusiasm. His loved personality, however, could +no longer stand between the throne and popular opinion, for, in addition +to the discontent aroused by the acts of the Princess, the centralized +system of government, and the general prevalence of corruption in the +provincial administration, had excited a widespread feeling of +discontent, especially in the Assembly and among the Republican party. + +In May, 1889, occurred the resignation of the Cabinet which was in power +when the Act of Emancipation had been passed. A new Cabinet was formed +on June 7, under the Presidency of the Vizconde de Ouro Preto, a +statesman much respected by the Emperor. The liberal policy of this new +Cabinet was resented by the landowners, and a serious agitation, which +now began, shortly after received the support of the army. + +General Deodoro da Fonseca and General Floriano Peixoto placed +themselves at the head of the military malcontents, and it became clear +to the inhabitants of Brazil that a crisis was not far off. On November +14, 1889, some fifteen months after the Emperor had returned to his +country, the Imperial residence at Petropolis was surrounded by +soldiers, while the palace at Rio was taken possession of by other +troops. + +The revolution was conducted in the simplest fashion. Beyond the arrest +of the Emperor and the wounding of the Baron de Ladario, the solitary +Minister who resisted, nothing happened--nothing, that is to say, of a +dramatic nature. Indeed, after the arrest, the chief work of the +revolutionists appears to have lain in the obliteration of Imperial +badges and the cutting out of similar tokens from their uniforms and +flags. The main population of the country appears to have regarded the +change with a most complete indifference. + +Dom Pedro's personality appears to have retained somewhat of its +popularity up to the very last. He was sent to Portugal a few days after +the successful revolt, it is true, but it seems that this move was taken +rather because it appeared to be the traditional and proper thing to do +than from any dread of plotting on the part of the deposed monarch, who +was allowed to retain the whole of his property. In fact, in order to +show that no personal malice was intended, the new Republic pressed a +pension on the deposed monarch, which, however, was refused. Pedro II. +quitted the harbour of Rio on November 16, 1889, and with his person the +last trace of Iberian Monarchy vanished from South America. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +MODERN BRAZIL + + +After the deportation of their third Monarch, the Brazilians settled +down to enjoy the advantages of an ideal and much-exalted Republican +Government; but it was not long before they encountered some sharp +disillusions. Their first President, General Don Manuel Deodoro de +Fonseca, who had been mainly responsible for the expulsion of the +Emperor, was installed immediately after Pedro's departure as head of +the Brazilian Government. He began by proving that a Republic in the +midst of unsettled political circumstances is, from its very nature, +almost invariably more autocratic than the ordinary empire. + +Fonseca, a character sufficiently striking to merit individual mention, +was born at Algoas in Brazil, was educated at the military school in Rio +de Janeiro, and received his commission as a Lieutenant of Artillery in +1849. The chief feature of his military career was the prominent part he +took in the war with Paraguay in 1868-1870, where he distinguished +himself sufficiently to be promoted to the rank of Divisional-General. +It was not until 1881 that he became definitely known as an ardent +Republican, but from that time onward he continued to be actively +associated with the ultra-Liberal and Republican movement, and he was +responsible for the organization of the Military Club at Rio de +Janeiro, an institution which had other objects in addition to those +implied by its name. + +Although Fonseca was a warm personal friend of the Emperor, his activity +and very obvious Republican sentiments led to his being appointed +Governor of a frontier province in 1887. This measure, of course, was +adopted in order to remove him from the capital, where his influence was +considered the reverse of helpful to the Imperial cause. In 1889 he +returned to Rio de Janeiro, and entered actively into the schemes of the +Republican party, more especially in army circles. In the recently +established Republican League, moreover, he was the leading spirit in +the movement which culminated in the overthrow of the Empire. + +On November 21, 1889, the provisional Government conceded to all +Brazilians who could read and write universal suffrage, and this was +followed by the appointment of a Commission for the providing of a +Federal Constitution. Republican measures came quickly. On January 10, +1890, the separation of Church and State was decreed by the provisional +Government; and on June 23 of the same year the new Constitution was +promulgated. + +In February of 1891 General Fonseca was elected first President of the +new Republic, for a four years' term. He was set at the head of a +Government depending largely on its troops, and these found themselves +suddenly possessed of a power which they had not known previously. The +new citizens of Brazil writhed uneasily under the restraints and +affronts which were now for the first time put upon them; the Press was +muzzled, and a tribunal established with the power of summarily trying +persons suspected of being guilty of want of respect to the new order of +things. + +There is no doubt that the first establishment of the Brazilian +Republic was followed by measures of severe repression, not directed +against the Royalists--for this party, to all intents and purposes, +disappeared from existence as soon as the Emperor had left the shores of +Brazil--but against the dissatisfied citizens who were clamouring +against the autocratic methods pursued by the Government. Some definite +accusations were shortly brought against the President. He was accused +of several acts which much exceeded the authority vested in him; he was +charged in particular with numerous deeds of tyranny, violence, and +corruption. + +Following on so many precedents of the kind in South America, Fonseca +retaliated by the inauguration of more stringent methods than any which +he had hitherto employed. A state of siege was declared in the capital, +and Fonseca caused himself to be invested with every right and privilege +of a dictator. These methods of terrorism he justified by the pretext of +monarchical plots. Very soon, however, General Peixoto became prominent +as a rival to the Presidency, and shortly a definite revolt arose in the +State of Rio Grande do Sul; while in the far north the State of Para +armed itself in preparation for the struggle against the central power. + +The Navy declared itself against the Government. On November 23, 1891, +the fleet, commanded by Custodio de Mello, took up its position in front +of Rio de Janeiro, and actually fired a shot or two into the town. +President Fonseca was now convinced that the powers against him were too +strong to be successfully coped with; he resigned his office, and +retired into private life, surviving his fall only by a few months, +since he died in August of the following year. + +Fonseca's fall was due not only to the measures employed in the +government of the country, but also to the financial state of Brazil at +the time of his election. Reckless extravagance and unscrupulous +handling of the public funds by the various political parties, together +with a too liberal use of the printing-press for the purpose of turning +out paper money when funds were needed, had caused a condition of +affairs which was very near bankruptcy. This condition, moreover, was +largely artificial, since Brazil is almost the first among the States of +South America in the matter of natural resources and general aptitude +for prosperity. Nevertheless, the costly wars carried on under the +Monarchy had left a large burden for the Republic to manage, and in +spite of the strictest economy, the people of the country found that the +inauguration of the Republic did not bring about the establishment of so +prosperous a paradise as they had hoped. Naturally, the blame for this +fell upon Fonseca, and added itself to the autocratic methods of his +government to render him unpopular. + +Fonseca was succeeded by the Vice-President, according to the +regulations of the Constitution. This was Floriano Peixoto, who at first +gave promise of a liberal and progressive government. Very soon, +however, it became evident that the abuses of authority encouraged by +him were becoming even more violent than those of the previous regime, +and that the military despotism was even more accentuated. Any Governor +who did not bend without question to the will of the President was +instantly deposed, and in this way the Governors of Matto Grosso, Ceara, +and Amazones were deprived of their posts. Every official, in fact, who +did not show himself disposed to serve the new autocrat with a blind +obedience was deprived of whatever office he had held. The discontent +grew rapidly, while numerous Ministers resigned, and once again the +flames of revolt broke out in Rio Grande do Sul. + +On September 6, 1893, Admiral Custodio de Mello, after various abortive +attempts, anchored again in front of the capital, and prepared his +cruiser _Aquidaban_ for action. Peixoto, however, determined to defend +his position, and prepared himself to face the dozen or more warships +which comprised the fleet of the insurgents. On September 12 the first +serious fight took place, the town being bombarded heavily by the fleet, +to which the guns of the forts responded on behalf of the Government. + +The struggle continued in a desultory fashion, and a daily interchange +of shots was wont to take place between the naval and military forces. +This situation continued for the remainder of the year 1893, and, as +time went on, the position of the Government became rather more +strengthened, especially when it was reported that some war vessels +ordered by Peixoto in Europe were on their way to Brazil. + +In the meanwhile, however, the position in the south became far more +favourable to the insurgents. The revolutionary forces under Saraiva +began a march to the north, when his movement was aided by a portion of +the fleet, under Admiral Donello, which had sailed to the south in order +to co-operate. Curitiba was captured, and the march up from the south +bade fair to be triumphant. This was to a certain extent neutralized by +the interference of the United States warships in the harbour of Rio on +behalf of some merchant vessels of their nationality threatened by the +revolutionary squadron. By this means the rebels lost prestige, and the +situation of Admiral da Gama, who had been left in command of the rebel +fleet, became serious. + +On March 7 the vessels ordered by Peixoto from Europe arrived off Rio, +and da Gama, hearing no news from Mello, took refuge, with his officers +and men, on some Portuguese men-of-war. The authorities of Rio demanded +that these crews should be given up, but the Portuguese refused to +surrender them, and sailed away from the harbour with the insurgents on +board, a proceeding which caused a diplomatic rupture between Portugal +and Brazil. + +A few days after this a misunderstanding occurred between the Government +and the Commander of the British vessels, and the _Cirius_ threatened to +open fire on the Brazilian vessels. The matter was, however, settled +without a shot being expended. + +In the meanwhile affairs had not been favouring the revolutionists in +the south. Admiral de Mello's silence had been due to a breakdown in the +machinery of his ships, and not to any lack of initiative of his own. +After some time the Admiral arrived at Curitiba, from which point he +journeyed inland to Punto Grosso, where he met General Saraiva. At a +council held between the two, a Governor was named for the State of +Parana, and Southern Brazil was declared independent of Peixoto's +Government. When the news of Admiral da Gama's surrender came to +Curitiba, the unexpected blow tended greatly to the disorganization of +the movements of the insurgents, and when a division of 5,000 Government +troops marched from Sao Paulo to Curitiba, it met with no resistance. + +While this was occurring, the revolutionist cruiser _Republica_ and +three armed transports, having 1,500 men on board, had sailed for the +harbour of Rio Grande. The summons to surrender was ignored by the town, +and Mello, after bombarding the place, landed a force which in the end +was repulsed. After this, despairing of success, Mello sailed to the +Argentine port of La Plata, where he surrendered to the Argentine +Government, who at once handed his vessels over to Brazil. The +_Aquidaban_, the remaining insurgent warship, was torpedoed a little +later by a Government vessel, and the stricken ship was run ashore and +abandoned. + +General Saraiva in the south was shot in the course of a skirmish, and +the revolution was now finally crushed. The numbers who paid the fullest +penalty for their active discontent were very great, and the final +embers of the insurrection were extinguished to the tune of wholesale +executions. + +It was now supposed that General Peixoto would reign unhampered as +dictator, and in peaceful circles no small alarm was felt. In 1894, +however, the President resigned, and was succeeded by Dr. Prudente de +Moraes Barros. Moraes was a stanch upholder of civil and peaceful +authority, and although a certain section, both of the army and navy, +manifested some discontent, the country progressed rapidly under his +administration. + +The unrest in the Southern States, nevertheless, although it had been +temporarily quelled by force, was not long in reasserting itself. The +struggle which occurred here between the Government troops and the +revolutionary forces was sanguinary in the extreme. After a desperate +action, Admiral da Gama, wounded, committed suicide, and his death +practically ended the revolution. Towards the end of 1895 the President, +true to his pacific policy, granted a general amnesty in favour of the +insurgents, which went far to establish his popularity. In the south, +subsequent to a demonstration of local unrest, an attempt to assassinate +President Moraes occurred on November 4, 1897, in the course of which +the Minister of War was killed, and several other officials wounded. +People in general execrated the act, thus demonstrating the President's +popularity. + +Towards the end of 1898 the Presidential election took place, and Dr. +Manuel Campos Salles, whose candidature received the support of Moraes, +was elected President. Dr. Campos Salles proved himself perfectly able +to cope with the modern developments of the Republic. Before taking +charge of his office he had journeyed to Europe and concluded financial +arrangements in London and elsewhere, and subsequently a commercial +treaty was ratified between Brazil and Argentina. In 1902 Campos Salles +was succeeded in the Presidency by Dr. Rodriguez Alves. + +Meanwhile, in 1900, the northern Brazilian frontier, in the direction of +French Guiana, had been finally determined by a decision of the Swiss +Federal Council. A dispute with Great Britain over the British Guiana +frontier was referred to the King of Italy, who rendered his award in +June, 1904, allotting about 19,000 square miles to Guiana, and 14,000 +square miles to Brazil. + +A more important matter was the dispute with Bolivia respecting the Acre +territory, on the settlement of which Bolivia gave up all claims to +Acre, a district embracing about 73,000 square miles, in return for a +surrender of about 850 square miles on the Madeira and Abuna Rivers, 330 +square miles on the left bank of the Paraguay River, and a cash sum of +10,000,000 dollars for the purpose of constructing a railway in the +borderland of the two countries. Subsequently Peru disputed the claim of +Brazil to the Acre territory, and this, no doubt, forms a matter for +future arbitrators to settle. The Presidential election raised Dr. +Affonso Penna to the head of the State in 1906, since when Brazil has +been steadily engaged in strengthening its financial position and in the +development of its internal resources. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +THE INDEPENDENCE OF SPANISH AMERICA + + +Having followed the course of the Brazilian fortunes from the elevation +of the province to a kingdom, from its promotion to an Empire, and from +its Imperial status to its modern Republican condition, it is necessary +to revert again to the Spanish-speaking territories of the Continent. + +It must be admitted that the epoch that immediately followed the war of +liberation was one of strife and bitter disillusion. A certain number of +the leaders had foreseen the chaotic phase which had necessarily to be +undergone before the benefits of independence and enlightenment could be +enjoyed. These, however, were restricted to the very small intellectual +minority. The great bulk of the population of the late provinces, now +nations, had anticipated nothing of the kind. In their eyes the period +of transition had been pictured as fleeting and as of no account. It +had, indeed, been popularly considered as but a step from a condition of +oppression and dependence to that of complete freedom and +self-government. + +It was not long before the fallacy of all such theories was shattered. +Indeed, the very earliest periods of independence were ominously +prophetic of what Spanish South America was destined to suffer before it +emerged from the chaos of blood and strife, and before its various +nations were enabled to stand firmly on their own feet. + +In some respects, but only in some, South America, freed from the +Spaniard, resembled the ancient Britain deprived of its Roman rulers and +garrison. It is true that the Spanish army had been forced, struggling, +from the Continent by means of battle and blood, and that the Roman +legions had left the coasts of Britain amid the lamentations of the +natives. One thing, however, is quite certain, that neither race was +prepared to govern itself. Washington was duplicated in the south by +Bolivar and San Martin, but the influence of Bolivar and San Martin died +very shortly after the dramatic events in which they took part. + +It would be more correct, perhaps, to say that this influence was +overlooked for the time being and forgotten, since, those periods of +all-absorbing anarchy notwithstanding, the influence of Bolivar and San +Martin has manifested itself strongly from time to time during every +generation which has succeeded. + +That the age of petty and local tyrants should have followed so closely +on the skirts of the great national and Continental revolution was +inevitable in the circumstances. Spanish South America was Royalist by +custom and tradition. Whatever the nations might in the first instance +term themselves, their inhabitants were bound by these very traditions +and instincts to find some leader whom they could put in the place of +the once revered, but never seen, monarch. + +Thus the rather curious circumstance arose that South America flung off +the Spanish dominion (which during its last decade had grown by +comparison with the past considerate and beneficent), in order to +replace it by the far more tyrannical Governors of their own creation. +It was doubtless the fact that these despots who ruled so unmercifully +over the South Americans were men of their own race and country that +tended to reconcile the private citizens to the very real perils and +oppressions which they now had to endure. The social upheaval had been +such that, although many of these _caudillos_ or despotic chieftains +were descended from aristocratic Spanish colonial families, others were +mere children of opportunity, whose ancestry and origin could bear no +comparison with their feats, dark though these latter may have been. + +In the eyes of many European contemporaries, and even in those of a +multitude of their own people, the condition of the erstwhile Spanish +South American colonists showed no glimmer of hope for a considerable +time after the much-desired liberation had actually been obtained. Yet +all this time the leaven was working very slowly, but very surely. The +fact, indeed, was that, although the acts and circumstances, politically +speaking, of the River Plate provinces grew wilder and more desperate, +the human substance of the nation was steadily improving and becoming +enlightened--a somewhat curious paradox! Even during the tyranny of the +most remorseless of the _caudillos_ the enlightenment was working its +way among the mass of the people. + +The influx of foreigners alone worked an enormous influence in this +direction. A country which until the revolution had been governed in a +more autocratic fashion than probably any other in the modern history of +the world had suddenly opened its doors, and its people stood blinking +in the powerful light shining from the European civilization--an outer +world, of which the majority of the colonists had had no previous +conception. + +That many of these should have lost their heads was quite inevitable. A +number of intellectuals took France's Jean-Jacques Rousseau and her +other contemporary prophets as models, or rather as gods, before whom +they fell down and worshipped. The trend of the nation became strongly +and even curiously materialistic. In this respect it must be confessed +that Argentina and Uruguay more especially have continued to follow the +French school of thought. + +This departure in itself was enough to cause a profound disturbance in +the breasts of the majority of those in themselves neither leaders nor +intellectuals, but plain men imbued with the very true, if intensely +narrow, devotion and piety of the old-fashioned Spaniard. The force of +the convulsion was doubled from the mere fact of its astonishing +suddenness, and the religious and political earthquake, once started, +went rumbling and roaring ceaselessly the length of the startled +Continent. + +Speaking quite frankly, there seems very little doubt that in the two +countries mentioned the influence of religion died in the birth +struggles of the Republics. In the course of the innumerable civil wars +which tortured these lands for half a century and more afterwards, +religious emblems were from time to time employed, and priests were +occasionally attached to one faction or the other; but the records of +these latter are such as to show that they had entirely lost to sight +their sacred calling, and a number, such as Felix Aldao, became +politicians and leaders of these bands, and executed and drank with the +wildest of their men. On a few occasions a religious pretext was +actually seized upon by one or two _caudillos_, who in the most +barefaced fashion endeavoured to make this cloak serve their ends. + +A notable instance of this was afforded by the famous Argentine +chieftain Quiroga. This worthy was altogether one of the wildest of his +kind. Indeed, at one period he stood self-confessed as a land pirate by +the ensign which he adopted--a black flag, with a skull and cross-bones. +On one occasion, however, when a religious dispute had broken out among +his more intellectual neighbours, Quiroga determined to intervene on +behalf of religion. So, when he next made his appearance at the head of +his cavalry, not a little amazement was mingled with the dread with +which the spectators were wont to regard his grim personality. For the +skull and cross-bones had disappeared from the chieftain's banner, and +in their place floated the words, "Religion or death." It was evident +that Quiroga was determined that whatever he took up should be seriously +undertaken! + +On several occasions Rome endeavoured to intervene, but on each occasion +was met with rebuff. Leaders, such as Francia of Paraguay, appointed +their own clergy, and, quite regardless of any outside authority +whatever, made or unmade priests, and, in fact, dealt in sacred things +to their hearts' content. Francia retained his Bishop in a capacity +which was little more than that of a body-servant. This Bishop he had +himself promoted from the most ignorant country priest of a most +ignorant country. + +Probably no other portion of the history of the modern world shows such +unbridled licence as was exercised in almost every Republic of the +Continent during the first half of its freedom. + +Perhaps one of the most curious phenomena of the post-revolutionary era +of South America was the rapidity with which the majority of the +original leaders disappeared from the stage of public life. San Martin +had voluntarily forsaken the scene of his triumphs. In one sense he was +fortunate, since the fierce rivalry which arose at the conclusion of the +War of Independence left his colleagues little chance of making their +_conge_ with a similar amount of dignity. + +Bolivar died impoverished and exiled, one of the most sublime and tragic +figures of the revolution. O'Higgins, it is true, divested himself of +his insignia of office by a spontaneous act. This, however, only came +about when the opposing parties had stretched forth their hands to +clutch at each other's throats. In the majority of cases the ending of +the careers of these early patriots was equally abrupt. + +Nothing of this, however, was foreseen when the age of liberty first +dawned; then the men who had organized the campaign and who had won the +battles were still heroes in the eyes of the people. Bolivar was +frenziedly acclaimed as the deliverer of Peru, an honour which, in the +absence of San Martin, none could dispute with him. Although it was +obvious that the circumstances about him were changing, and that the +once high ideals of many were becoming affected by sordid +considerations, Bolivar's exaltation of spirit seems to have continued +unimpaired. That he had become sterner and more imperious there is no +doubt. + +Many anecdotes are told of him at this period, one of which shows him in +a light rather uncommon in South America, where gallantry towards ladies +is apt to be carried to the extreme. It is said that at a ball a lady +insisted on singing his praises with an admiration that was positively +fulsome. Bolivar, according to the story, reproved her by these words: +"Madam, I had previously been informed of your character, and now I +perceive it myself. Believe me, a servile spirit recommends itself to no +one, and in a lady is highly to be despised." No doubt the reproof was +well earned, but at the same time the language reveals a gruffness which +scarcely tallies with Bolivar's usual conduct. + +Another anecdote will suffice to show the various situations with which +the Liberator had to contend. At a public dinner given to Bolivar at +Bogota a fervent admirer of his uttered an incautious toast: "Should at +any time a Monarchical Government be established in Colombia, may the +Liberator, Simon Bolivar, be the Emperor!" A stern patriot, Senor Paris, +then filled his glass and exclaimed: "Should Bolivar at any future +period allow himself to be declared Emperor, may his blood flow from his +heart in the same manner as the wine now does from my glass!" With these +words he poured the wine from his glass upon the floor. + +Bolivar, far from being offended, sprang up and, approaching Senor +Paris, embraced him, exclaiming: "If such feelings as those declared by +this honourable man shall always animate the breasts of the sons of +Colombia, her liberty and independence can never be in danger." + +The story is pretty enough, and doubtless it occurred much in the way +related at the moment; but it must not be forgotten that convictions on +the part of public men must frequently wait on policy, since it is well +known that Bolivar's own views for the independence of South America ran +rather in the direction of Empires than Republics. + +Simon Bolivar, indeed, worked on large and Imperialistic lines. As has +been said, he dreamed of a single State of Spanish South America, of a +great community with a single heart. It is not surprising that he found +opponents to this scheme, the chief of these being Chile and Buenos +Aires. Even in his own country these stupendous plans of his, though +they were conceived in a disinterested and loyal spirit, led to troubled +and harassing times. Thus revolutions against his authority broke out in +Venezuela, and even in parts of Colombia itself. International +complications followed. In 1827, Peru declared war against Colombia, +alleging that Bolivar was attempting to place her in a state of +vassalage to Colombia. + +Discord was now arising on every side. Bolivar saw the majestic turrets +of his castle of state fall with a crash to the ground almost ere they +had had time to rear themselves against the darkening horizon. The +tragedy was too much even for his enthusiastic spirit. Broken and spent, +he retired to Santa Marta in New Granada, where his grief brought him to +a death in solitude in 1830. Thus his fate supplied yet another link +between his career and that of San Martin, whose death in Boulogne on +the French coast, when it occurred, scarcely occasioned a passing +notice. + +In Chile, as has been said, the career of the famous Bernardo O'Higgins, +although shorn of so many of the tragic elements that attended that of +Bolivar, had ended with almost equal abruptness. It is true that the +great Chilean for his part had the satisfaction of performing one of the +greatest acts of his life at the close of his official existence. When, +faced by the deputation of those who were in revolt against his +authority, he stepped forward to confront them, and, with deliberation +and calmness, tore from his person his insignia of office, he knew that +his deed had been echoed through the whole length of Chile, and that it +had caused a shock of astonishment and sympathy in the breasts of even +those most strenuously opposed to his policy. In other respects the +results were much the same as in the case of Bolivar. The great +O'Higgins had retired from the eye of the nation and from the scene of +his struggles and self-sacrifice. + +In Argentina the tale was similar, notwithstanding the enlightened and +progressive influence of intellectual men, such as Belgrano, Rivadavia, +and numerous others. The tide of civil strife burst out, and its mad +eddies swept away many of those who had proved themselves heroes in the +cause of independence. The severing of ties and of friendship was +necessarily abrupt, and occasionally claimed a victim. Among these was +Liniers, who in the last days of the Spanish regime had gathered +together a local force on the River Plate, and had dislodged the British +forces from Buenos Aires. This, however, did not prevent his execution +by the patriots soon after the outbreak of the war. + +To enter into the details of individual cases is impossible here, since +volumes could be written on every separate decade, and on a score and +more of the personalities of this particular epoch in Argentina alone. +Paraguay stood out as an exception to the rest. In that State the reins +of power fell into the hands of Dr. Francia, a merciless autocrat, who +suffered nothing whatever to be disturbed within the frontiers of his +country, and who now ruled with a ferocious tyranny, such as had +scarcely been approached even in the darkest days of the early colonial +age. After that Paraguay was destined to undergo its baptism of fire as +well as the rest; the process seemed inevitable. In Paraguay it had not +been avoided; it had merely been postponed. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE REPUBLIC OF PERU + + +With the end of the Spanish power the centres of importance--hitherto +quite arbitrarily and artificially chosen--tended to drift to their +natural situations. From time to time it is true that the balance +continued to be disturbed by political considerations, but in the main +the true order of progress was permitted to proceed unchecked. Thus the +importance of Peru fell to its intrinsic and industrial level, and the +States of the north, artificially buoyed up for generations as these had +been by the Spaniards, now assumed a secondary place in the affairs of +the Continent. + +Each State, in fact, had now to rely upon its own population and +resources alone. Of the number there were few enough who were not +generously provided with the latter; it was in the former asset that so +many were found acutely wanting, of course through no fault of their +own. Thus it was that when the new division of territories took place, +many of those countries which Nature had provided with an almost +extraordinary degree of wealth found themselves in a state of poverty +through the mere want of labour which might develop these resources. In +some cases this disadvantage has been overcome to a greater or lesser +extent; in others the situation continues practically unaltered to the +present day. + +In the north, as has been said, the era of chaos was not long in +asserting itself. New Granada had been divided into three Republics, +those of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador; while the new State of +Bolivia had been set up between the frontiers of Paraguay and Peru. +General Sucre, one of the chief military heroes of the war of liberation +in the north, was, appropriately enough, made the first President of +this new Republic of Bolivia. At the start unease and fretfulness marked +the relations of each of the new States with the others. It seemed +almost as if the Continent had become so imbued with warlike ideas that +it had forgotten how to lay down the sword. + +There was, moreover, lamentably small inducement to a life of peaceful +labour. The industrial situation of the north was as gloomy as elsewhere +in the Continent. The labouring classes found that their condition, +instead of becoming bettered by the revolution, had suffered to no small +degree. It was not surprising, indeed, that at the time these +unfortunate folk could discern no benefit, but only added curses from +this state of liberation of which they had heard so much, and of which +they were now in the so-called enjoyment. Very great numbers of the men +had been killed in the course of the war, and their wives and children +were left behind in a condition of misery and starvation. + +Curiously enough, too, although the goods which now entered these +countries from abroad had, owing to the intelligent methods of the new +Governments, become so reduced in price that in ordinary circumstances +they should have been within the range of all, the peasant could no +longer afford to pay even for these cheap luxuries. The rich Spaniards, +the employers of labour, were now no longer on the spot to give out work +and to pay wages. In the industrial confusion the peasant only on the +rarest occasions found anyone capable of occupying his labour. He was +thus reduced to attempt the formation of a self-contained establishment +of his own, a matter which, in the majority of cases, was sufficiently +difficult. Nevertheless, the peasant contrived to support himself on the +maize and vegetables which he grew in the neighbourhood of his hut and +by the pigs which he reared. He knew well enough, nevertheless, that, +although he might expect to maintain a precarious existence by this +means, he could anticipate nothing whatever beyond. + +It was many years before the financial benefits of the rebellion +filtered through to these humble classes. The greater part of the +peasants, being fond of show and amusement, were Royalist at heart, and +were more adapted for a Monarchy than for a Republic. As is usually the +case with folk of a peaceful and tractable disposition, they were not +consulted in the matter at all. They had groaned on occasion under the +Monarchy, and on the first establishment of the Republic they continued +to groan from an even greater cause. + +The matter was very different with the superior classes of colonists. +The cause for which they had fought was of vital importance to them, and +by the change from the status of a colony to that of a Republic they had +gained everything. Before, they had been mere colonials, slighted by the +Spaniards on every possible occasion, and permitted no say in public +affairs; now they had leaped at a bound to their proper place, and were +at the head of their new State. With pardonable eagerness they plunged +into the campaign of speculation which was now open to them, and many of +their number rapidly grew rich. Thus after a time they became employers +of labour on a large scale, incidentally solving the labour question of +the peasantry of the country. + +Among brand-new States who have yet to prove their worth and importance +the intervention of mutual jealousies may safely be counted on. In South +America the appearance of these disturbing factors was not long delayed. + +It was not three years after the last Spanish troops had been driven +from South America that war broke out between the Republics of Bolivia +and Peru. Sucre proved himself as able a leader as ever, and was as +successful against his fellow-Republicans as he had been against the +Royalist forces. The Peruvians were utterly defeated. As a consequence, +the President, Lamar, was banished from his country, and a new official, +Gamarra, was elected as provisional President. + +The first war, however, did not succeed in clearing the battle-laden +air, and for some while Peru was destined to suffer considerably at the +hands of its neighbours. Very shortly after the conclusion of the first +war a second broke out between Bolivia and Peru. The day of Sucre was +then at an end, and the President of Bolivia was Andreas Santa Cruz. +Santa Cruz was a powerful Chief-of-State, a born leader of men, who +managed to hold his somewhat wild adherents in check. + +Since no man of any other temperament could have succeeded in retaining +his post in this age of turmoil and unrest, Santa Cruz proved himself a +despot, but in many respects a benevolent despot, who showed an interest +in genuine progress. Realizing, for instance, the serious disadvantage +under which his country laboured on account of its lack of an adequate +population, he devoted much of his thought and time to the amendment of +this state of affairs, which he was inclined to alter somewhat +arbitrarily. He urged, for instance, the taxing of celibates and their +exclusion from the magistracy in order that their want of patriotism +might be singled out and punished. Whatever might have been the result +of measures such as these, the Bolivians proved themselves sufficiently +numerous to defeat the Peruvians once again. Peru was invaded, and Santa +Cruz entered Lima as its protector. + +A few years later--in 1837--Peru fell into a dispute with Chile on +account of the Guano provinces of Atacama and Tarapaca. Peru was again +invaded, but eventually the Chileans abandoned the country and returned +to their own. + +After this, no little confusion prevailed in the internal affairs of +Peru. Various leaders came, fought, and went, until civil war was +followed by a conflict with Bolivia, in the course of which Gamarra, the +Peruvian President, was killed, and the Peruvian forces were totally +defeated in 1841. In 1845 there seemed a prospect of improvement in the +affairs of the Republic, when Ramon Castilla was elected President. +Castilla was a man of strong and progressive views, and commerce began +to flourish under his guidance. He was followed by President Echenique, +but returned to public life, and succeeded the latter as President after +a lapse of ten years, in the course of which considerable official +corruption had been shown. + +In 1864 occurred the first collision with Spain since the conclusion of +the war of liberation. In that year Spain sent out Admiral Pinzon to the +Pacific coast in command of three war vessels. The objects of the +expedition were avowedly scientific, but it met with a suspicious +reception from the first on the Pacific coast. The conduct of Admiral +Pinzon decidedly did not tend to allay any anxiety on the part of the +Republicans. Both Peru and Chile felt that their independence was +endangered, and prepared to resist. + +On April 14, 1864, the Spanish vessels gave the signal for war by +seizing the Chincha Islands. Hostilities, however, were staved off for +a while by the action of the Spanish authorities, who stated that +Admiral Pinzon had exceeded his instructions. In the meanwhile the +capture of one of his smaller vessels by the Chileans had so preyed upon +the Admiral's mind that he committed suicide. He was succeeded in his +command by Admiral Pareja. + +At the beginning of 1866 war with Spain was officially declared. The +Spanish fleet had now been strongly reinforced, and some naval +engagements took place between the Spaniards and the allied Peruvians +and Chileans, in the course of which the Spanish squadron was repulsed. +On April 25 the Spanish vessels, having already attacked Valparaiso, +appeared before Callao, and a week later they began vigorously to +bombard the town, which returned the fire. In this engagement both land +and sea forces suffered considerably. After this the Spanish fleet +sailed back to Europe, and the war came to an end. Peace, however, was +not declared for two years afterwards. + +General Prado now became President of Peru, and proved himself an able +statesman. Nevertheless, the political disturbances continued, and after +a while the rival parties became too strong to permit him to remain in +office, and, resigning, he took refuge in Chile. The period which +follows is one of great unrest. At the same time, notwithstanding the +political disturbances, the commercial and industrial status of Peru was +advancing rapidly. The next President who was destined to remain for +some while in his seat was Manuel Pardo. He was elected in 1872, and +although various revolutions occurred during the tenure of his office, +these were successfully crushed by his authority. Indeed, he actually +completed his term of office--an exceedingly rare occurrence for a +President just at that period. Pardo was succeeded by General Prado, +who had returned from Chile for the purpose of the election, and proved +the popular candidate. + +So complicated were the internal affairs of the nations at this time +that it would be impossible to follow them adequately without devoting +various chapters to this purpose alone. One of the blackest events of +the period was the assassination of the ex-President Prado, who had +proved himself a high-minded and efficient leader. This, as a matter of +fact, was the act of a dissatisfied non-commissioned officer, and not of +any political party. + +During Prado's Presidency war broke out between Chile and Peru over the +question of the nitrate fields, which were claimed by both countries. +Prado being both the President and General-in-Chief, took command of the +Peruvian army. Although a man of personal courage, he appears to have +been utterly hopeless of victory from the start; and in December, 1879, +when various disasters had overtaken the Peruvian arms, he abandoned the +country, and, taking ship at Callao, sailed for Europe. + +The resistance to Chile was continued by Nicolas de Pierola, who, rising +in armed rebellion against the constituted authority of Peru, caused +himself to be declared President. His efforts, however, did not succeed +in stemming the Chilean advance, and the end of the war saw Peru +deprived of the nitrate provinces which she had claimed. Bolivia, who +had been associated with her as her ally in the struggle, was now +reduced to the position of an inland State, her strip of coast-line +having been taken away by the victorious Chileans. + +The history of Peru following on the disastrous war with Chile is one of +internal strife, when a host of would-be leaders, each with a following +of greater or lesser importance, came into conflict and prevented any +settled political action. In 1886 President Andreas Caceres came into +power, and, seeing that the populace of the Republic was now exhausted +by the continuous state of conflict, he was permitted to rule unchecked +until 1890. Caceres established a species of military dictatorship, and +remained the power behind the throne until 1894, when, the acting +President having died, he found it necessary to come to the front again, +and after some confusion and fighting he was proclaimed President for +the second time. + +In 1895 a revolution occurred, headed by the same Pierola who had +distinguished himself in the war against Chile. After some severe +fighting the party of Caceres was defeated, and Pierola, declared +President, began to govern in a constitutional fashion. His advent to +power marked the end of the political turbulence which had been so +prominent a feature of Peruvian history during the latter half of the +nineteenth century. Although the revolutionary movement continued, it +had lost its fierce and almost continuous character. Since that period +it has become merely intermittent, and thus of secondary consideration; +for, following the example of the neighbouring and progressive Republics +of South America, the political strife in Peru has, to a large extent, +given way to the practical considerations of industrial and commercial +progress. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE REPUBLIC OF PARAGUAY + + +We have seen how Paraguay, having in the early days of the war of +liberation compelled the retirement of the Argentine army commanded by +General Belgrano, was left to its own resources. It is said by some that +Belgrano, during the intercourse he maintained with the Paraguayans +subsequent to the defeat of his force and previous to his definite +retreat, contrived to inculcate some ideas of independence into the +heads of the officials of the inland province. These seeds of liberty +may or may not have borne fruit, but in any case it is certain that +public opinion in Paraguay rapidly veered round in favour of +independence, and as early as 1811 the Spanish Government was replaced +by a Junta, which consisted of a President, two Assessors, and a +Secretary. The person appointed to the latter office was Don Jose Gaspar +Rodriguez de Francia, whose name was destined to become dreaded +throughout the length of the Republic which was now to establish itself. + +It was not long before the strong personality of Francia dominated the +Junta. The history of Paraguay at this period differs widely from those +of the more progressive nations surrounding it. In Paraguay a certain +_opera bouffe_ element, together with a series of grimly farcical +incidents, continually mingled themselves with some of the darkest +tragedies that have been known in any age. From the very start something +of the kind had become evident. The members of the Junta, for instance, +finding their own means insufficient to support the pomp and state which +was suddenly thrust upon them, and which they had grown to love, began +to adopt some extraordinary measures in order to maintain their +position. Any portable national assets were sold without the least +compunction for this purpose, and they even went to the length of +compelling State prisoners to purchase their liberty--an idea which +undoubtedly ranks as one of the most extraordinary schemes for raising +money ever employed. Measures such as this constituted a sufficiently +ominous beginning; they provided, indeed, an only too true augury of +what was to come and from what species of wrongs the unfortunate country +was doomed to suffer for generations. + +In justice to Francia himself it must be said that he took no part in +these first minor acts of oppression. His grim and proud nature cared +but little for mere matters of pomp and ceremony. Money and possessions, +curiously enough, affected him little. Messrs. Rengger and Longchamps +vouch for it that, having once discovered that he was the possessor of +800 piastres, he thought this sum a great deal too much for a single +person, and he spent it. A remedy such as this seems simple enough for +an unusual complaint! + +By the year 1813 all but the most powerful elements of the Junta had +been weeded out. The power was now confined to the two remaining +members--Dr. Francia and his colleague, Fulgencio Yegros. These were now +endowed with the titles of Consul. Two curule chairs were specially +manufactured for them. These classical seats were covered with leather. +On one was the name of Caesar, on the other that of Pompey. It is +possible that Francia had some faint smattering of Latin and of Roman +history; at all events, he is said to have pounced on the first and +eagerly to have taken possession of it. The two Consuls began their +reign by employing a vast amount of ceremony and form in order to +accomplish a few quite arbitrary acts. The majority of these were +directed against the Spaniards, who, suffering now from the swing of the +pendulum of fate, were as much oppressed as they had formerly oppressed. +Indeed, the situation of those Spaniards who still remained in Paraguay +was now pitiable in the extreme. Persecuted on all sides by the high +officials, they could expect, in the face of an example such as this, +scant consideration from the populace. + +In the year 1814 Francia determined that the time had come when he could +dispense with the services of his colleague, Yegros. By means of a _coup +d'etat_ he packed the Congress, and succeeded in intimidating his +adversaries. As a result, he was named Dictator of Paraguay for a period +of three years, notwithstanding a counter-move on the part of the +military followers of Yegros. This was calmed by Yegros himself. In a +moment of considerable generosity this latter pacified the officers and +the troops, and thus left the way clear for Dr. Francia. + +At this period the new Dictator again gave evidence of his curiously +complex character. Congress, anxious to please the new ruler, whose +power of domination had already become so evident, had allotted to His +Excellency the Dictator an annual allowance of 9,000 piastres. Francia +definitely refused to accept more than one-third of this, and, moreover, +continued firm in his refusal, alleging that the State was far more in +need of money than he. On paper, never was the start of a +Chief-of-State's career more fraught with promise than that of +Francia's. He had given evidence of despotism, but also of an earnest +spirit. No sooner had the reins of absolute power fallen to his lot than +he altered entirely the mode of his life. From a comparative libertine +he became a man of austere habits, displaying a most extraordinary +industry in his attention to the matters of State. His manner, moreover, +was affable to poor and rich alike, and the claims of the humblest met +with a courteous consideration rare in any State at any time, but doubly +amazing in a period of chaos such as was reigning throughout the +Continent at the time. + +In 1817 his period of Dictatorship expired. It was then that Francia +made his supreme effort. Intrigues, persuasions, and veiled threats +strengthened the position which his cautious and cleverly conceived +conduct had created for him. Numbers of his creatures now came forward +with suggestions. Congress fell into the trap, and Francia was appointed +Dictator of Paraguay for life. This was the moment for which Francia had +waited so patiently and so long. With the last obstacle to his full +power now removed, the change in the Dictator's conduct was as complete +as it was sudden. Had he sat at the right hand of Nero his refinements +of tyranny could not have been more successful. In a very short while +his methods had terrorized Asuncion. + +When Dr. Francia and his hussar escort rode abroad, the streets through +which the cavalcade passed resembled a desert, for anyone who had the +misfortune to find himself anywhere near the line of route was set upon +and beaten with the flat of their swords by the hussars for the mere +fact of daring to be in the neighbourhood of the Dictator in a public +place. At the outset there were some who protested. The fate of every +one of these was, at the lightest, to be flung into dungeons and loaded +with massive and torturing chains. + +Following the inevitable progress of tyranny, as time went on Francia's +vigilance and cruelty increased, while as the discontent of the populace +became evident his suspicions grew more and more on the alert. +Conceiving the possibility of an assassin lurking behind one of the +orange-trees with which the streets of the capital were so liberally and +beautifully planted, Francia cut them down, and it is said that when his +horse once shied at the sight of a barrel before a door, the owner of +the cask was made to suffer severely on account of the nerves of the +Dictator's steed! + +Paraguay gradually became more and more a hermit State under the rule of +this despot. It was difficult in the extreme to enter the country, but, +having once passed its frontiers, it was harder still to return. Forts +were established along the borders, and the rivers were strictly +policed. A strict watch was kept on all travellers, and none might move +from spot to spot without being in possession of a passport especially +granted by the Dictator. Some there were who attempted to make their way +from the now dreaded country through the vast swamps of the Chaco, but +death at the hands of the Indians or the teeth of the wild beasts was +the usual result. + +It was inevitable that stagnation of commerce should have ensued, but +the traders by this time no longer dared to complain openly. Francia +himself, so long as he had the State to govern, cared little whether its +people were rich or poor. As for the unfortunate Spaniards in Paraguay, +the enactments against them became more and more severe. As evidence of +his supreme contempt for these Europeans, Francia issued a decree by +which they were forbidden to intermarry with a white woman. This +extraordinary measure shows the length to which this strange man carried +his tyranny, and how deeply was the hatred of the Spaniard implanted in +his queer and grim mind. + +It is impossible, however, to go fully into the details of Francia's +autocratic reign, incredible as many of these are. The destruction of +the Church, the secularization of the monks, wholesale executions and +torturings, the suppression of the Post Office, and a hundred other acts +of irresponsible and childish tyranny--these are only some of the +episodes which characterized the days of his rule. + +During all this while the power of the army grew until militarism became +rampant--militarism, that is to say, instigated by Francia, since no +officer or man of his troops dared move hand or finger unless commanded +by the Dictator himself. His title was now "Supremo Dictator Perpetuo de +la Republica del Paraguay" (Supreme and Perpetual Dictator of the +Republic of Paraguay). + +This he retained until the day of his death, no man daring to dispute +for a single instant his perfect right to the title. Grim and +implacable, he continued his career unchallenged to the last. +Considering the circumstances, his vitality remained unimpaired for a +strangely long period, for Francia died at the advanced age of eighty +years, after a virtual reign of nearly thirty years. + +Francia was succeeded by Carlos Antonio Lopez, who showed himself, by +comparison, a liberal-minded and progressive ruler. During his reign few +events of real importance occurred, although the trading facilities +permitted by the new Dictator were responsible for the increasing +intercourse between Paraguay and the outer world. On the death of Carlos +Antonio Lopez the chief office of the State of Paraguay was occupied by +his eldest son, Francisco Solano Lopez. + +Francisco Solano had seen more of the outer world than was usual in the +case of the Paraguayan of that period. He had resided in Paris, where he +had carried out a diplomatic mission, and where his intelligence had won +golden opinions from all those who came into contact with him. Indeed, +the impression he had produced on all sides was favourable in the +extreme, and great things were expected as the outcome of his government +in Paraguay. + +On the death of his father Lopez showed no small sense of initiative, +for the only office to which he could assume any shadow of a right to +claim at the moment was that of Vice-President. Acting in this capacity, +he obtained immediate control of the army, summoned a meeting of the +Deputies, and told them it was their task to elect a new President. +Seeing that the building was surrounded by troops in the pay of Lopez, +the great majority took the hint. Two only of their number did not +acclaim Francisco Solano as the new autocrat of Paraguay, and as these +two disappeared on the following night, and were never seen again, the +unwisdom of opposition was strongly inculcated from the start. The +Dictator's full title was "Jefe Supremo y General de los Exercitos de la +Republica del Paraguay"; his familiar title, and the one he most +encouraged, was "Supremo." + +With the power once in his hands, Francisco Solano Lopez changed his +tactics as completely and as abruptly as had Francia in his day. Tyranny +once more became the accepted order of things. Lopez had brought with +him from France his mistress, Madame Lynch, a Parisian of Irish descent, +and it was this latter alone who possessed the slightest influence over +the new autocrat. Indeed, once firmly established on his throne--for his +Dictator's seat was in reality nothing less--Lopez II. showed a most +callous disregard for the lives of any of his subjects, whether great or +small. Ever since his visit to France Napoleon had constituted his ideal +of manhood, and it was upon the conduct of the great Corsican that he +loved to think he modelled his own. + +Certainly Lopez was utterly free from any dread of holocaust. In a very +short while the prisons had been filled to overflowing, and the red soil +of Paraguay grew redder with the blood of hundreds of executions. Once +again the barriers began to be set up between Paraguay and the outer +world, and once again it became almost impossible for one who had +crossed its frontiers to return to his native land. But, since it was +the fate of Lopez to have lived in a later age than Francia, the +ambitions of this third Dictator were correspondingly enlarged. It was +not his design ultimately to shut off Paraguay from the rest of the +Continent; it was his plan rather to cause the frontiers of his country +to spread until they had enveloped all the other lands. Thus he +considered he was acting in conformity with the true Napoleonic +tradition, and also, incidentally, with his own desires and dreams. + +In order to be prepared for the great day which was to come to Paraguay, +the army was increased, trained, and drilled until it became one of the +most important and efficient military organizations in the Continent. +This army was completely and entirely the toy of Lopez. The men were his +to be shot or promoted at his slightest whim, and the officers were +subjected to precisely the same irresponsible but merciless discipline. + +Even at this period in no other country of South America, perhaps, would +such a state of affairs have continued. Paraguay, however, as has been +explained, differed in its ethics from any of the neighbouring States. +The population was largely composed of civilized Guarani Indians, and +the section of this great family in these latitudes had from the +earliest days of the Continent been noted for its easy-going and +somewhat indolent qualities. + +The result of the intercourse between the Spaniards and Indians had +produced a small minority of _mestizos_, whose enterprise scarcely +exceeded that of the natives. The soft and enervating climate was, of +course, largely responsible for this; indeed, it was inevitable that a +beautiful and lotus-eating land of the kind should have produced +inhabitants to match. A few only of the Paraguayans had had the +advantage of travelling in Europe, and on their return to their native +land its atmosphere very seldom permitted them to remain for long +without the local and somewhat demoralizing influences. + +Had Lopez been content to continue to act as supreme and all-powerful +lord of every man and thing within his own frontiers, the affairs of +Paraguay, enlivened at intervals by those salutary orgies of executions, +might have drowsed on indefinitely. For a man of the temperament of +Francisco Solano Lopez such comparative repression was impossible. He +had dreamed himself Emperor of South America, and this he was determined +to be. + +Of all the neighbouring countries, Brazil was the first to be alarmed. +She had the most reason, since her frontiers ran to the greatest length +side by side with those of the land which held the ambitious Dictator. +Ere Francisco Solano Lopez had reigned two years the inevitable had +occurred. Arrogance and threats of aggression on the part of the inland +State, resentment and profound mistrust on the part of the Brazilian +Empire, led to open breach. The pretext lay in the joint interference on +the part of Brazil and Paraguay in the internal affairs of Uruguay, +which troubled Republic was just then in a more than usually violent +state of revolution. + +Lopez, in a moment of somewhat artificial exaltation, protested solemnly +against the Brazilian policy as directed against Uruguay. Since this +protest was ignored, Lopez resolved on war. He commenced hostilities by +the capture of the _Marques de Olinda_, a Brazilian steamer which +conveniently found itself at the moment at Asuncion, on its way up the +great river system to the Imperial territory of Matto Grosso. + +The crew and the passengers of the _Marques de Olinda_ were taken ashore +as prisoners. These included the Brazilian Governor of Matto Grosso, +who, together with the great majority of his fellow-passengers, was +destined never to see his native land again. This decisive act lit up +the flames of war, and the most important struggle between the races of +its own soil which the Continent had ever seen now commenced; for in the +end, not only were Brazil and Paraguay involved, but the neighbouring +States of Argentina and Uruguay as well. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +THE PARAGUAYAN WAR + + +Although four States were involved in the struggle, South American +historians are unanimous in giving the strife which broke out in 1864 +the name of the Paraguayan War. This is appropriate enough, for a number +of reasons, one of them being that, after the first invading expedition +on the part of the Paraguayan armies, the war was fought out on +Paraguayan soil. + +The capture by the Paraguayans of the Brazilian steamer _Marques de +Olinda_ demonstrated to South America that the moment of contest had +arrived. The position of the neighbouring States was far less +satisfactory from a military point of view than that of Paraguay. During +the two years of his reign Lopez had steadily continued to prepare his +forces for this event. At the time the Paraguayan army was, numerically, +the most formidable in South America. It had, moreover, been brought to +an unusual degree of efficiency. + +The condition of the Brazilian forces was very different. In the first +place, little heed had been taken to make ready for anything of the +kind, and another factor which proved greatly to the disadvantage of the +fighting material involved lay in the difficulty of communication +between Rio de Janeiro and those portions of the great Empire which +bordered on Paraguay. Thus Lopez's invading army, when it swept through +the Brazilian province of Matto Grosso, met with practically no +resistance worthy of the name, and, in the absence of defending troops, +it might, undoubtedly, have taken possession of vast tracts of country, +and have continued to hold these indefinitely. + +It was Lopez's bizarre and wild ambition which frustrated his own +schemes. A single tide of invasion was not sufficient to satisfy a mind +such as his. Gathering together a second powerful army, he determined to +strike at the south-eastern portion of Brazil in addition to its +province of Matto Grosso. In order to effect this he demanded in +arrogant tones from Argentina permission for his troops to cross the +Argentine province of Corrientes. To this, as neutrals, it was +impossible for the Argentines to consent. As a result, Lopez in a fury +declared war upon Argentina, and, as though even this did not suffice, +he next found himself at grips with the Uruguayan forces. + +Thus Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay were now leagued together against +the armies of the despot Lopez. With a view of alienating the sympathies +of the oppressed subjects of the Dictator from their tyrannical leader, +the allies caused it to be widely proclaimed that the war they were +waging was not directed against the Paraguayan people in general. It was +against Lopez alone that they were fighting, they asserted. The claim +was true enough, since this was in reality the position of affairs. +Nevertheless, owing to the methods of Lopez, the proclamation carried +far less weight than had been anticipated. + +The Paraguayan forces now penetrated into the Argentine province of +Corrientes, seized the capital, Corrientes itself, and took possession +of a couple of steamers--the _Gualeguay_ and the _25 de Mayo_--which +were anchored in the river opposite to that town. The Paraguayan fleet +now held command of the river system up-stream of Corrientes. On June +11, 1865, the allied naval forces, steaming up the Parana, came into +contact with the hostile fleet. A battle was fought, which ended in the +defeat of the Paraguayan squadron, which was forced to retreat, crippled +and damaged, to the north. + +A succession of actions now took place on land, and the Paraguayans, +although fighting with a desperate heroism, were gradually beaten back +and driven across their own frontiers. At the same time, the army which +had invaded Brazil retired in sympathy, and the scene of the war changed +to Paraguay itself, which was in its turn invaded by the forces of the +triple alliance. One of the most sanguinary battles of the war was +fought on May 24, 1866--very nearly a year after the first naval action +off the river port of Corrientes. + +At this Battle of Tuyuti the Paraguayans lost no fewer than 8,000 men, +and the casualties of the allies amounted to an equal number. Another +important action was fought at Curupaiti two months later, when the +progress of the allies was abruptly checked, and they were compelled to +retire to some distance with a loss of 9,000 men. This was only one of a +fair number of Paraguayan victories, for the defenders, although in the +main they preserved an attitude of strenuous resistance, were +occasionally enabled to exchange this for active aggression. + +The history of this war, which lasted for four years, is one of the most +remarkable in the whole category of struggles of the kind. Undoubtedly +one of the most extraordinary features to be met with is the tremendous +courage and grim determination with which the Paraguayans opposed the +forces of the allies. Every yard of the country was contested with a +fierceness which left the entire countryside covered with dead and +wounded. When, moreover, the modern arms in the possession of which the +Paraguayan armies had commenced the war had become lost and depleted in +numbers, their place was taken by improvised weapons of all kinds, and +it was frequently with the crudest firearms and lances that these +devoted armies continued to fight. + +The encouragement these troops received from their leaders--or, rather, +from Lopez--was in one sense of a negative order. Rewards for valour +were unknown, but punishments for defaults, on the other hand, whether +real or imaginary, were abundant and terribly severe. Men were shot for +having in the course of private conversation uttered words which the +suspicious mind of Lopez classed as discouraging. Thus a trooper was on +one occasion executed for having ventured the remark that, although the +Paraguayans rejoiced over the numbers of their enemies who were slain, +they invariably forgot to count their own dead. A second soldier met +with a similar fate for having, on his return from a reconnaissance, +stated that the enemy lay in great strength to the front. Lopez +conceived that a report such as this could serve no good end, and +ordered its maker to be executed forthwith. + +It is curious to remark that even with the astonishing proofs of their +bravery and devotion which the army had shown, Lopez could never bring +himself to repose any real confidence in his troops. The tasks which +were set them were frequently superhuman. Indeed, as a rule they +received the treatment of beasts rather than of men, and in order to +insure the winning of his battles Lopez encouraged his officers to treat +their men in a fiendish manner. Thus, when a body of men had been placed +face to face with an infinitely superior force of the enemy, and were +being mowed down in hundreds by deadly volleys at close range, a line of +Paraguayans were frequently stationed at the rear of their own fighting +forces, with the strictest orders to pour a volley into their comrades +should they show any signs of retreat. + +In circumstances such as these it is not to be wondered at that the +ranks of the sublime Lopez dwindled and became thin to the point of +extermination; nevertheless, the gaps were caused by death and disease +rather than by desertion. One of the most pathetic circumstances of the +campaign was the deep fidelity of the Paraguayans. This was as a rule +sufficiently ill-requited, as will be evident from the fate of a number +of troops who, having been made prisoners by the allies, succeeded after +a time in escaping and in rejoining their suffering and starving +comrades. In order to keep faith in this manner they had left a +neighbourhood of peace and comparative plenty. But Lopez gave them no +thanks. On the contrary, he ordered them to be executed for not having +returned to their regiments before! + +Towards the end of the war scarcely a man of mature age and whole body +was left in the ranks. These were filled largely now by youths and, +indeed, mere boys. Many children of twelve and fourteen were to be found +in the later stages of the war carrying their rifles and fighting with +the rest, while the women of the country, including in their numbers all +those of good estate and of gentle birth were, under the guardianship of +lancers, set to march through the desolate forest tracts and over the +countryside in order to establish new agricultural colonies. Here they +were made to dig the soil and to plant cereals and sweet potatoes in +order that the armies might be fed; and should any one of these women on +the march fall by the wayside, her body was transfixed by the spear of +one of the escort as an example to the rest. Thus the roadway was +littered with the corpses of these slain women. + +All this while Lopez was sufficiently busy in his own way. His dreams of +Empire appear to have died hard, and not until the very end came could +he be brought to believe that his armies could effect no more. He +permitted his own comforts to be very little affected by the dire +hardships which his troops--and, indeed, the entire nation--were +undergoing. Although he refrained as much as possible from entering into +the neighbourhood of the battles themselves, he took an important share +in the direction of the campaign, and it was undoubtedly owing largely +to his crass ineptitude in all strategical matters that many of the +disasters came about. Although some of his moves were of the nature to +render surrender or death inevitable to the actual combatants engaged in +the grim struggle, a capitulation on the part of one of his officers +was, in the eyes of Lopez, an unpardonable crime, and not only was the +offending officer himself wont to be executed on account of the deed, +but on several occasions his family was made to share his fate. + +Seeing that the male members and connections of his own family had +suffered tortures and execution at his hands, and that even his sisters +had been flogged by his orders, it was not to be expected that the +average Paraguayan would meet with mercy from Lopez. Certainly it is no +exaggeration to say that none was ever shown unless with some special +object in view. There is no doubt that a Paraguayan field-officer had, +if anything, rather more to dread from his own Dictator than from his +official enemy. + +The end of the war, unduly protracted, came at last. The capital, +Asuncion, had fallen into the hands of the allies, and Lopez, failing +any other refuge, had taken his place with the last remaining body of +the defenders--a ragged and tragic army, many of whom were practically +nude, and very few of whom could boast anything beyond the remnants of a +shirt or a hide loin-cloth. Others flaunted a crude poncho or a leather +cap, while many possessed no weapons but an old flint-lock rifle or a +worn lance. Although nominally an army of a thousand and odd men +composed this last hope, they were little more than fugitives. +Nevertheless, these last atoms of the once great Paraguayan host turned +and resisted grimly each time the pursuing forces came within reach of +them and delivered an attack. + +[Illustration: THOMAS COCHRANE, TENTH EARL OF DUNDONALD, G.C.B., + +Who reorganized the Chilian and Peruvian navies and destroyed Spanish +naval power in the Pacific. + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +At last the few remnants of even this remnant found themselves at a +spot--Cerro Cora, in the forests of Paraguay--where they were overtaken +and brought to bay. There, in the face of an attack on the part of +overwhelmingly superior Brazilian forces, the little party finally lost +its grim determination and broke up, leaving Lopez, Madame Lynch, and +their family to shift for themselves. + +Madame Lynch escaped for the time being in a carriage. She had not, +however, travelled far before her pursuers came up with her, and she was +eventually brought back to Asuncion. Lopez, attempting to follow her +from the battle-field on horseback, became bogged in the midst of some +treacherous country. Here he was overtaken and, showing resistance, was +slain by the pursuing Brazilians. With his death ended the first and +last reason for the invasion of Paraguay. + +The condition of Paraguay at the conclusion of the war was utterly +deplorable. Indeed, the state of the country was one which very few +lands have experienced since the beginning of history. The natural +resources of Paraguay lay in agriculture. Since all the men had been +engaged in fighting, and merely a few itinerant bands of weak women had +been employed in this occupation in the meanwhile, the cessation of +hostilities disclosed the fact that agriculture was to all practical +purposes no more. + +One of the few really wise moves which Lopez had made during the war was +the wholesale planting of orange-trees, the growth of which was wont to +flourish to an extraordinary degree in Paraguayan soil. The numerous new +groves now proved, to a certain extent, the salvation of the +population, and the fruit was eagerly devoured. For the time being there +was little else upon which the unfortunate people could live. It is true +that there were fewer mouths to feed, since the population of the land +at the close of the war was insignificant compared to that which the +country had supported at its beginning. Thus, in 1863, the people of +Paraguay had been estimated roughly as numbering 1,340,000 souls. When +peace was declared there were less than a quarter of a million +Paraguayans left to enjoy its benefits, and of these only 28,000 were +men! + +A holocaust such as this would scarcely seem to come within the range of +sane and modern history. When it is realized that, roughly, only one +Paraguayan out of five was left of the entire population at the end of +the five years' war, the extent of the deep horrors of that period may +begin to be understood, although its full tragedy can scarcely be +imagined by the dwellers in more settled and peaceful countries. + +It was the women of Paraguay who, having been driven at the point of the +lance to labour in the fields in order to feed the army, now came +forward of their own free-will in the time of peace and utter need, and +heroically set themselves to agricultural toil. After a while the rich +soil of the Republic yielded sufficient harvest to satisfy the +attenuated population of the land, but it was many years ere anything +approaching a normal state of affairs was able to assert itself. + +The war, indeed, had caused every nation involved a heavy amount of +blood and treasure. In some respects it is said to have served a useful +purpose. The Argentines, for instance, claim that this struggle +intensified the national spirit of the Republic, since it was the first +modern war on a large scale in which the South American States had been +concerned. It seems likely enough that there is some justification for +this claim. The result was, perhaps, evident in a rather lesser degree +in the case of both Brazil and Uruguay. + +The political effect of the campaign upon Paraguay was, of course, still +more important. The allies had announced that they were fighting, not +against the Republic, but against the personality of its despot, Lopez. +His death marked the end of the despotic era, and, although Paraguay has +suffered greatly from revolutions from that day to this, there has been +no attempt at a repetition of a reign of terror. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI + +THE REPUBLIC OF CHILE + + +It has already been said how, at the conclusion of the War of Liberation +in Chile, Bernardo O'Higgins found himself at the head of the State. The +first President was in every respect admirably fitted for his office. +The post, moreover, was nothing beyond his deserts, since he, more than +the majority of the other patriots, had suffered for the cause. + +The youth of Bernardo O'Higgins was far more chequered than that which +falls to the lot of most young men. Owing to the peculiar circumstances +of his birth--his father, as a high official under the Spanish rule, had +not dared perform the marriage ceremony with his colonial lady-love, +Bernardo's mother--his childhood had been somewhat neglected, and his +early youth largely deprived of a normal share of paternal affection. +His father, nevertheless, had seen to it that the boy's education should +be of a liberal order. + +Bernardo O'Higgins had been one of the South Americans who, during the +last days of the Spanish dominion, had been sent to study in Europe. +There he came into contact with Miranda, who appears to have been almost +ubiquitous at this period, and whose terrific energies seem to have +absorbed all those with whom he came into contact. In any case, it is +certain that Bernardo O'Higgins rapidly became a devoted adherent of +Miranda, and joined with enthusiasm the society that Miranda had formed +for the liberation of South America; indeed, he was admitted into this +before Simon Bolivar had joined it. + +On his way back to South America he endured various rebuffs at the hands +of the Court of Spain. Possibly he was made to suffer vicariously on his +father's account, since undoubtedly there were times when the latter's +policy was strongly resented by the Spanish officials. It is, on the +other hand, quite possible that some suspicions of Bernardo O'Higgins's +notions of independence had filtered through to Madrid. It was owing to +complications of this kind that coolness ensued between him and his +father, the famous Ambrose O'Higgins. On the latter's death Bernardo +applied for his rights of succession to his father's titles. These were +abruptly refused him. Thus, when he entered into public life in Chile it +was in a comparatively humble capacity, serving as he did as Alcalde of +Chillan. From this it will be seen that Bernardo O'Higgins had not only +achieved much, but had suffered much in his own person. + +During the War of Liberation the capacities of Bernardo O'Higgins were +almost ceaselessly tried, and it must be said that they were never found +wanting. The triumph of the patriot cause and the foundation of the new +Republic of Chile entailed for him no period of repose. On the contrary, +he now felt himself loaded with an infinitely greater weight of cares +and responsibilities. + +His post as President of Chile was no sinecure. He had not only to +attend to the organization of the new State, but also to employ to the +utmost his judgment, tact, and diplomacy, with which qualities he was so +well endowed, in allaying the disputes and jealousies between the +patriot leaders. There is no doubt, for instance, that but for the +calming influence of O'Higgins the breach between San Martin and +Cochrane would have been attended with more violent results than was +the case. It was the work of a veteran in statecraft to deal alone with +the machinations of the brothers Carrera, those irresponsible firebrands +who, although ostensibly enthusiastic in the Chilian cause, were in +reality fighting for nothing beyond their own hand, and hastened to +sacrifice any cause or person to their own interests. There were times, +moreover, when it was necessary to suppress actual attempts at +revolution, while, as though this were not sufficient, external +difficulties tended to render the situation still more complicated. + +Diplomatic incidents occurred with Great Britain and the United States. +These arose owing to the seizure of British and American ships by the +fleet of the new Republic. These captures, as a matter of fact, were +perfectly justified, since the vessels in question were laden with +stores and war material destined for the Spanish forces. Nevertheless, +the authorities of Great Britain and the United States, although their +sympathies from the very beginning of the struggle had lain so openly +with the revolutionists, found it difficult to reconcile themselves to +the capture of their vessels by a Power concerning the permanence of +which they were not completely satisfied. No sooner were these matters +settled than there broke out serious manifestations of discontent on the +part of the citizens of the young State. + +The cause which actually brought matters to a head, and which was +responsible for the revolution which drove O'Higgins from power, was of +a reactionary nature. With a considerable section of the Chilians +neither O'Higgins nor the Republic was popular. Both, in fact, at this +period were considered an evil second only to the detested Spanish rule. +The majority of the ladies of the aristocratic classes worked +strenuously against O'Higgins, and in the end revolutions burst out in +Concepcion and in Coquimbo, and eventually rioting occurred in Santiago +itself. + +O'Higgins met the situation with a characteristic calm and intrepidity. +Visiting the barracks, his presence had the almost immediate effect of +restoring to him the allegiance of the military. After which, invited to +attend a meeting of the dissatisfied party, he hastened to the spot. +Here a spokesman of the malcontents demanded in plain words that he +should tender his resignation. O'Higgins, in his reply, first of all +made it perfectly clear that he was in no mood to be terrorized by force +or superior numbers. This latter advantage, indeed, he asserted that the +gathering, however great its influence, could not claim as regards the +sections it represented. After discussion, however, seeing that his own +motives were purely disinterested, he consented to yield to the wishes +of the meeting. + +A Junta of three of the organizers of this latter was appointed, and +O'Higgins initiated these into their new office, receiving from them +their oath of allegiance to the constitutions of the new Republic. He +then tore off his own insignia and declared himself a private citizen. +The scene which followed has been admirably translated by Mr. +Scott-Elliot, and his words may well be reproduced here. O'Higgins had +turned to face the meeting, and addressed it in the following words: + + "'Now I am a simple citizen. During my government, that I have + exercised with full authority, I may have committed mistakes, but + believe me when I say that they were due to the very difficult + circumstances when I took up my charge, and not to evil passions. I + am ready to answer any accusations which are made against me. If + these faults have caused evils which can only be purged by my + blood, take what revenge you will upon me. Here is my breast.' The + people cried out: 'We have nothing against you, Viva O'Higgins!' 'I + know well,' he added, 'that you cannot justly accuse me of + intentional faults. Nevertheless, this testimony alleviates the + weight of those which I may have unknowingly committed.' Turning to + the Junta, he added: 'My presence has ceased to be necessary here.' + It was in this noble and dignified manner that the great hero of + Chilian independence retired into private life. It was, perhaps, + the most glorious action of his career. He could certainly have + plunged Chile in a civil war, and perhaps retained the power." + +After this Chile underwent a period of that unrest from which no single +one of the independent States of South America succeeded in escaping. In +Chile, nevertheless, although civil war occurred, and much blood was +spilled, the anarchy and chaos were of far shorter duration than +elsewhere. Doubtless the barrier of the Andes, which had shut off the +country to such a large extent from the rest of the world, had added not +a little to the tranquillity and self-reliance of the Chilian character, +determined as this has always shown itself. + +In any case, such revolutions as occurred failed to exercise the same +baneful influence on Chilian affairs as was the case with almost every +other State at that period. The condition of the Republic, although far +from tranquil, might be considered as peaceful when compared with that +of its neighbours. In financial matters, moreover, the Republic made +astonishing progress, paying the interest on the loans raised abroad +with a praiseworthy regularity, and thus maintaining her financial +credit unimpaired. + +The short war which occurred between Spain and the allied forces of Peru +and Chile has already been referred to. Officially, the four Republics +of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia were leagued together into an +alliance to resist this aggression on the part of Spain. Owing to their +lack of warships, however, the two latter States were unable to take +any active share in the operations. On the whole the part played by the +Chilian navy was entirely satisfactory; nevertheless, the naval force of +the young Republic was not sufficient to drive the aggressor's vessels +from the coast, and Valparaiso was bombarded on March 31, 1866. This +misfortune, like so many others, eventually proved itself something of a +blessing in disguise, for from that time may be said to date the modern +Chilian navy. Determined to allow no foreign nation the opportunity of +bombarding any of its ports with impunity again, the Chilians +energetically betook themselves to the forming of efficient national +squadrons--a feat which was simple enough in the case of a nation of +born sailors as are the Chilians. + +[Illustration: BERNARDO O'HIGGINS. + +The first President of the Republic of Chile. + +_A. Rischgitz._] + +From that day onwards the Chilian navy maintained its status, and +continues to rank as one of the most efficient in the world. This was +proved shortly after its reorganization in the war which broke out in +1879 between the Chilians and the allied Peruvians and Bolivians. +Hostilities were brought about by the vexed question of the ownership of +the valuable nitrate provinces. These, Chile claimed, constituted the +northernmost of her territory, to which Peru retorted that they formed +the southernmost portion of her land. + +The naval engagements which ensued demonstrated to the utmost the high +spirit of the Chilian sailor and the efficiency of the school in which +he had been trained. The action in which the two small Chilian vessels, +the _Esmeralda_ and the _Covadonga_, fought so heroically against the +Peruvian ironclads, _Huascar_ and _Independencia_, was, of course, the +most famous of the war, and the memory of this is jealously guarded by +the Chilian navy of to-day. No question of victory on the part of Chile +was ever involved in this particular action, since the miniature guns of +the small Chilian vessels could, under no circumstances, take effect on +the Peruvians, giants by comparison. It was merely a sublime +demonstration of the extent to which Chilian resistance could be +carried. Thus the _Esmeralda_, refusing to surrender to the very last, +went down after a prolonged and desperate engagement with her colours +flying; while the tiny _Covadonga_, having lured one of her opponents +into shallow water, and thus caused the _Independencia_ to run aground, +blazed away her final volleys of small shot, and retired with all the +honours of war. + +Inspired by examples such as these, the Chilian navy maintained its +traditions to the full, and although the Peruvian sailors fought +gallantly enough, they could make no headway against their opponents. On +shore the fortune of war was similar, and the highly disciplined Chilian +army, advancing to the north, occupied Antofagasta, Cobija, and +Tocopilla. But the tide of battle was not arrested at this point. It +flowed to the north again, and the deserts in that neighbourhood +witnessed a number of engagements, in all of which the Peruvians and +Bolivians were worsted and forced to continue their retreat. The +important town of Arica was captured on June 7 after a peculiarly +sanguinary engagement. Port Pisco was the next to fall, and now Lima +itself, the capital of Peru, was threatened. So resolute was the Chilian +advance that no efforts of the defenders could succeed in preserving the +city, and on January 7, 1881, Lima fell into the hands of the Chilians. + +After this the war was continued in a desultory and discouraged fashion +by the allies until at the end of 1883 peace was signed, and, as has +been explained in a previous chapter, Bolivia lost her coast-line, while +the Chilians took over the definite ownership of the provinces of +Antofagasta and Tarapaca. This latter country gained, moreover, the +right of dominion over the neighbouring provinces of Tacna and Arica +for ten years, after which period the inhabitants of these two provinces +were to decide by vote whether they should remain Chilian subjects or +become Peruvians. This portion of the treaty has formed the basis of a +series of disputes between Chile and Peru, but the provinces in question +have continued Chilian. + +In 1891 the internal peace of Chile was shattered for a while, since in +that year occurred the only civil war in the modern history of the +Republic. The struggle succeeded an era of some political confusion, and +Balmaceda, who was President of the Republic at the time, went the +length of proclaiming himself Dictator, a step which his opponents--and, +indeed, the nation in general--refused to sanction. Balmaceda's party, +however, was powerful, and the war which succeeded was hotly contested. +After various fluctuations, Balmaceda's followers met with defeat, and +the President, yielding to the inevitable, blew out his brains. + +Following this last period of unrest, which the Chilians rightly +maintain was both fleeting and exceptional, we come upon the quite +modern history of the Republic, which shows that the Chilians, although +admirably equipped for war, are now as anxious as any other country for +peace and progress. This they have proved on more than one occasion, +notably when the question of frontier delimitations brought about a +dispute with Argentina, a dispute which both nations consented to refer +to arbitration, and, an award having been given, both nations maintained +it with equal loyalty. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII + +THE REPUBLICS OF THE RIVER PLATE + + +The history of no other Republic immediately following on the period of +the Wars of Liberation is quite so complicated as that of Argentina. The +circumstances in the River Plate Provinces differed somewhat from those +of any other part of Spanish South America. From the outset Argentina +loomed more largely in the eye of Europe than did any other of the +sister States. No sooner were the ports thrown open by the newly +constituted Republics than the foreigners flocked to Argentine soil in +numbers which were quite unknown elsewhere. The chief reasons, of +course, for this influx were the temperate climate, the now acknowledged +riches of the land, and the comparative ease with which access to the +country was obtained. + +Owing to this latter circumstance, Argentina possessed a great advantage +over Chile, notwithstanding the peculiarly fine climate of the latter +Republic; for the journey over the Andes was strenuous and costly in the +extreme, while the voyage from Europe to the western Republic through +the Straits of Magellan occupied exactly double the time required to +reach Buenos Aires. + +These strangers, of course, introduced many progressive ideas and new +habits and luxuries into the land. In non-political matters a +cosmopolitan result was soon evident. At the same time, these foreigners +failed to exercise any but a most indirect influence on the internal +policy of the nation. This was undoubtedly perfectly correct, but in the +face of the curious political situation which prevailed at this period +we have the remarkable spectacle of rapid and definite progress in +commercial, industrial, and private life, while at the same time the +official methods of the public authorities were degenerating with a +rapidity that soon brought the circumstances of government almost to a +point of actual savagery. + +In the first instance, men of weight and intellect, such as Rivadavia, +Pueyrredon, and their numerous colleagues, had strained every nerve to +place this new nation of theirs on a par with those of Europe in matters +of intelligence and scientific progress. They had opened colleges, +Universities, hospitals, scientific institutions, libraries, and, +indeed, had endeavoured to provide the community with every instrument +which could further its general progress. Every species of science was +encouraged, even to the introduction of the then novel process of +vaccination. + +It was all in vain; the move turned out to be premature. The Spanish +policy of the suppression of education and intelligence was now destined +to show its baneful results. A wave of ignorance and anarchy swept over +the devoted leaders of the revolution, and overwhelmed them completely, +and for the time being even their work. For half a century rival +chieftains rose up one after the other to contend for power. Many of +them employed every conceivable means, whether human or inhuman, to +retain it when once they had succeeded in grasping the coveted +Dictator's throne. + +So numerous were these men, and so extensive is the catalogue of their +callous doings, that it is impossible to refer to them in any other but +the briefest fashion here. So extensive, moreover, was the new Republic +of Argentina--or, rather, at that time the collection of frequently +antagonistic provinces which then occupied the area now filled by the +modern Republic--that a single ruler seldom succeeded in maintaining his +authority from frontier to frontier. + +In general, the main strife may be said to have been waged between the +provinces of the littoral and those of the Far West. Of all the men who +fought on either side, the greatest leader was, of course, Juan Manuel +Rosas. This astonishing being, as a matter of fact, was by no means one +of the first of these tyrannical Dictators. He was, on the contrary, the +last, so far as Argentina is concerned, but his deeds continued to +savour of an early period to the end. + +Although at the time of his advent to power Rosas was merely one of a +type, and found himself surrounded by a number of rival leaders, none +proved himself a match for his extraordinary astuteness and influence +over his neighbours. The Dictator stood out head and shoulders above any +other Argentine despot of his kind. Certainly far more has been written +concerning Rosas than concerning any other South American ruler of his +period--that is to say, so far as Spanish literature is concerned--for, +although his rule attracted a very great deal of attention in England +and elsewhere in Europe for as long as it lasted, the topic appears to +have been allowed to slumber since his banishment and death. + +To revert, however, to the first period of the actual independence of +Argentina. This was marked by almost continual warfare on the shores of +the River Plate. Brazil, taking advantage of the confusion in the +territories of her neighbours, had sent her armies to the south, and had +occupied Uruguay, thus extending her frontiers to the long-coveted +shores of the River Plate. This aggression was followed by war between +Buenos Aires and Brazil, while a large section of the Uruguayans, +headed by Artigas, whose name is famed as the great patriot of the Banda +Oriental, by which name the Republic of Uruguay is still familiarly +known, fought desperately against the Portuguese troops. + +Notwithstanding the very real perils which the situation held for the +Spanish-speaking folk in these districts, it was not long before serious +jealousies broke out between the leaders. In the end an open breach +occurred between the Argentine army and a section of the Uruguayans. +Artigas flung his devoted bands of soldiery alternately against the +Brazilians and against the soldiers from Buenos Aires, and the more +peaceful inhabitants of Uruguay watched with dismay the advent of a +period of chaos. + +During this period, as has been said, the Argentine statesman, +Rivadavia, was working whole-heartedly towards the intellectual +betterment of his country, and in this he was assisted by Alvear and +others. But the warlike stress of the period cut short the majority of +these endeavours. The Brazilians, anxious to conclude the war, had +brought down their entire fleet to the River Plate, and they were +blockading the entrance to the river and the port of Buenos Aires. At +the sight of the hostile vessels the local differences were for the time +being laid aside, and, war vessels being an urgent necessity, public +subscriptions were eagerly forthcoming for the purchase of these. + +The small Argentine fleet, when completed, was placed under the orders +of that gallant Irishman, Admiral Brown, and the naval leader lost no +time in forcing his attacks home upon the hostile fleet. Owing to the +fury of these, the efficiency of the blockade was destroyed, although +the Brazilian vessels continued in the neighbourhood for some while. + +General Alvear was now appointed commander of the land force operating +against Brazil, and in conjunction with the Uruguayan General, +Lavalleja, he assumed the aggressive, defeated the Imperial army, and +was in turn about to invade the Brazilian province of Rio Grande, when +he found himself obliged to abandon the project owing to the want of +horses from which his army suffered. + +In 1827 Rivadavia's Government fell, and after a while Manuel Dorrego, a +gifted soldier and politician, found himself at the head of the State. +Peace was now signed with Brazil, but on terms which the great majority +of the Argentines resented bitterly, and the unrest in the Republic +rapidly came to a head. Dorrego was opposed by General Lavalle, one of +the most famous personalities of the period. Both parties resorted to +arms. Dorrego's force was defeated and its leader captured. On this +Lavalle, a brilliant and liberal-minded man, committed the gravest error +of his career--one, moreover, the nature of which was entirely foreign +to his character--for, after capturing Dorrego, he executed his +prisoner. Reasons of State were the cause of this political crime, since +no personal animosity was involved. + +This act was fiercely resented by Dorrego's party in general. It brought +upon Lavalle more particularly the enmity of Juan Manuel Rosas, the man +of blood and iron, whose fierce star had now begun its definite ascent. +An active warfare took place between the two, and although it was +interrupted now and again by truces, these were of short duration, and +the struggle continued almost without intermission until the death of +Lavalle in 1840, when fleeing after his ultimate defeat at the hands of +the opposing party. This, however, is to anticipate somewhat, since it +was as early as 1829 that Rosas first took charge of the Argentine +Government. While this famous leader was in the act of gradually +consolidating his power, the country had become divided into two main +parties--the Federals and the Unitarians. + +[Illustration: STATUE OF GENERAL MANUEL BELGRANO.] + +Rosas stood as the chief of the Federal party, while Lavalle and his +colleagues represented the Unitarians. After a while it became evident +that, so far as the capital was concerned, the influence of Rosas was +supreme, and it was not long before Buenos Aires began to feel the +weight of that grim personage's hand. Very soon a reign of terror +commenced. The alarmed citizens discovered that all personal security +was now at an end, and that the laws of the Constitution were replaced +by the enactments and degrees made at the will of Rosas. All this time +the latter was strengthening his position, and when the dreaded leader +succeeded in establishing himself firmly in the Dictator's chair, the +severity of his rule increased still more. He laid down laws, not only +concerning public affairs, but also affecting the intimate private life +of the citizens. Red being the Dictator's favourite colour, it followed +in his mind that the nation must mould itself upon his tastes +completely. Thus every citizen of Buenos Aires, in order to show his +loyalty to the autocratic Governor, was obliged to wear a rosette or +band of red. + +This wearing of the red naturally became the custom. It was the result +of no special decree, but the unwritten law was not to be denied. +Indeed, did any rash inhabitant of Buenos Aires refrain from obeying it, +the result of his independence was that he betrayed himself an open +enemy of the Dictator, and he met with the inevitable punishment for +this, which was in any case imprisonment, and possibly death. The +blood-like hue, moreover, was encouraged not only in dress, but in +general decorations, and even in the walls of houses, and every other +object in which it could be employed. + +The executions during the twenty and odd years which Rosas held office +amounted to many thousands. The melancholy total, indeed, would +assuredly have been still further increased had not the majority of the +more intellectual and of the more important colonial families fled +across the frontiers and taken refuge either in Chile or in Uruguay. + +The character of Rosas was strangely complex. It must not be supposed +that he was nothing beyond a mere brigand and tyrant, who busied himself +with executions and plunder, to the exclusion of all other occupations. +He was, indeed, in many respects a man experienced in the ways of the +broader world, and was able, after his particular fashion, to hold his +own with European diplomats and others of the kind. + +The great naturalist, Darwin, for instance, when on his visit to the +Argentine Provinces, was brought into contact with Rosas, and admits +that he was very struck with the personality of the leader, who in +conversation was "enthusiastic, sensible, and very grave. His gravity," +he continues, "is carried to a high pitch." General Rosas, as a matter +of fact, appears to have possessed the happy knack of impressing +favourably almost everyone whom he met, and the explanation of his +policy, when recorded from his own lips, was wont to ring very +differently from that given by his opponents. It is probable enough that +in many respects his views were truly patriotic. His methods, on the +other hand, were callous to an altogether inhuman point. It is, in any +case, quite certain that the value he placed on life was altogether +infinitesimal. + +As time went on the power of Rosas steadily increased, and the rival +chieftains one by one withdrew from the contest or met with their death +in one of the wars of the age. Garibaldi himself had broken a lance in +the cause of the Unitarians. Rivera and other progressive leaders had +fought against him in vain. There were others of the type of Quiroga, +who, brought up in the same school as Rosas, although of lesser +birth--for the family of the Dictator was patrician--joined him for a +while in a species of tentative alliance, and then broke away--usually +to their cost. + +This Quiroga was one of the most noted chieftains of the interior of the +distraught Republic. He had swept the western provinces with fire and +sword, executing, burning, and plundering wherever he went. Had he not +fallen foul of Rosas, he might have continued his grim career unchecked +for years. As it was, he came in contact with a master-mind, and, as was +inevitable, perished. + +There are many Argentines even to-day who claim that, for all the +tyranny of the Dictator, the country was none the worse for his rule, +and that the regime which he introduced, however bloodthirsty and +horrible, was at all events one of discipline such as the distracted +collection of provinces had never known since the days of the Spanish +rule. There is no doubt whatever concerning the existence of this +discipline. So severe was the phase, and so vague was the slender amount +of liberty left to the private citizens, that many of these latter lived +at periods immured within their houses, lest by sallying forth into the +street they should unwittingly offend the powers and pay the penalty. + +The relations of Rosas with the foreign Powers soon grew strained. He +fell foul of the French and British nations, and as a result the allied +fleets arrived off the mouth of the River Plate and blockaded Buenos +Aires. The outcome of this, however, was purely negative. Although the +Republic suffered inconvenience from the cessation of trade, the +community was self-supporting, while it was impossible, of course, for +the European forces to attempt to carry on land operations. Thus, after +a prolonged stay in the waters of the River Plate, the blockade was +raised, and the French and British fleets sailed away, having to all +intents and purposes failed to achieve their object. + +The extraordinary force of Rosas's character is best instanced by the +length of his rule. This, as has been said, continued for over twenty +years, until the year 1852. That a Dictator should have continued to +hold the reins of power for this length of time in the face of the +opposition and hatred which, although smothered, were rampant on every +side of him was undoubtedly a most amazing feat. His political end, when +it came, was a rapid one. After having humbled every aspirant who strove +to challenge his power, he was confronted by General Urquiza, who had +for years dominated the province of Entre Rios. + +The numbers of the actively discontented had now reached truly +formidable dimensions. Brazil and Uruguay both came to the assistance of +those Argentines who were disposed to attempt rebellion afresh, after +years of enforced and trembling peace. A large army composed of +Argentines, Brazilians, and Uruguayans, under the joint command of the +Brazilian Marquis de Caxias and General Urquiza, crossed the Parana +River, invaded the province of Buenos Aires, defeated Rosas's troops, +and advanced on the capital. On February 3, 1852, the fateful Battle of +Caseros was fought, rather less than ten miles from the town of Buenos +Aires. The terrified civilian inhabitants of the town awaited the result +in profound suspense. All the while the fight was raging a succession of +messengers came galloping through the streets bearing contradictory +fragments of news. After some hours the citizens were no longer left in +doubt. The stragglers of Rosas's beaten army came pouring into the town, +and it became known that the Dictator, completely defeated, had fled. +General Rosas and his daughter were received on a British warship, and +sailed for Southampton, in which town the famous leader remained until +the day of his death. + +Urquiza was received by the inhabitants of Buenos Aires with delirious +joy as the deliverer of the Republic. By means of the proclamations +which he showered upon the populace he endeavoured to make it clear that +he would continue in that capacity. It was not long, however, before his +actions aroused the suspicions of the townsfolk. In fact, after a while +it became fairly evident that Urquiza, having once found himself in the +full enjoyment of power, was by no means indisposed to follow the +example so grimly set by Rosas--although this possibly in a minor +degree. It is true that the new chief of the Republic passed some +progressive measures, including one which opened the waters of the River +Plate (closed during the rule of Rosas) to foreign commerce; but the +general tendency of his government was popularly held to be of the +reactionary order. + +Revolutions against his authority broke out, and in July of 1853, some +eighteen months after the Battle of Caseros, General Urquiza was +conveyed from Buenos Aires in a United States man-of-war to his +head-quarters in his own province of Entre Rios, where he remained, +leading a semi-private life in the enjoyment of his vast estates. + +With the retirement of Urquiza we come practically to the modern +conditions of the great Republic of Argentina, for General Bartolome +Mitre now came into power, and with the advent of the famous Argentine +President the Republic began to assume something of its present +importance. It was, however, not until thirty years later that the final +differences between Buenos Aires and the other provinces were completely +adjusted. + +The effect of this settlement was remarkable and immediate, for +simultaneously with the removal of the jealousies which had hitherto +reigned between the great province of Buenos Aires and its neighbours +the last impediment in the path of progress vanished, and the Republic +advanced with an almost startling rapidity to the importance of its +present position in the world's affairs. + +During all this while the small Republic of Uruguay, which had cut +itself adrift from Argentina in the course of the War of Independence, +had continued on a somewhat chequered and stormy career. After +innumerable struggles, the dauntless little State succeeded in freeing +itself from the aggressions of its powerful neighbours to the north and +south. This did not suffice to put an end to internal unrest, and the +rival parties--the _Colorados_ and the _Blancos_--made a battle-ground +of the Republic for generation after generation. Notwithstanding this, +the intellectual progress of the Uruguayans has continued throughout, +and the development of the national industries on a fitting scale is now +proceeding. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII + +THE NORTHERN REPUBLICS + + +Such history as can be claimed by the remaining Republics of South +America has been achieved, from the political point of view, on a far +smaller and less conspicuous scale than that of the great southern and +central states. In many respects the happenings have been more strictly +local, although, of course, there have been a certain number of +incidents, such as that of President Castro in Venezuela, whose +irresponsible conduct roused half the European Powers to take action +against his country, and whose childish obstinacy was responsible for +temporarily strained relations between Great Britain and the United +States. This may serve as an example of what weighty influences may be +brought to bear by totally insignificant causes. + +Of this group of lesser Republics, however, Venezuela may well enough be +taken among the last, since that State still remains one of the rapidly +declining number of Republics whose affairs continue in a really +backward condition. Of the remaining countries of the north, Bolivia is, +it scarcely need be said, by far the most important. That the interests +of this country have up to the present not been of a more cosmopolitan +character is due mainly to the fact of the great difficulty experienced +in the establishing of modern communications in so wealthy yet so +mountainous a land. + +According to F. Garcia Calderon-- + + "Bolivia sprang, armed and full-grown as in the classic myth, from + the brain of Bolivar. The Liberator gave to her a name, a + Constitution, and a President. In 1825 he created, by decree, an + autonomous Republic in the colonial territory of the district of + the Charcas, and became its Protector. Sucre, the hero of Ayacucho, + succeeded him in 1826. During the War of Independence this noble + friend of Bolivar resigned from power, disillusioned; he was the + Patroclus of the American Iliad." + +Sucre's name is one of those most intimately and gloriously associated +with the history of the youthful State. After his passing and that of +Bolivar, Andreas Santa Cruz became the virtual ruler of Bolivia. Santa +Cruz was a powerful chief, who feared not to shed blood in the cause of +civilization, as he understood it, and who, considering the +circumstances in which he found himself, proved an extremely able and +enlightened President. Under his fostering care the national security +became a little more assured, and the treasury of the Republic waxed. + +Santa Cruz is said by some to have cherished Imperialistic ambitions. It +is certain that his talents were recognized to some extent in Europe, if +from no other evidence than from the fact that he received the Order of +the Legion of Honour from Louis Philippe of France. There is no doubt +that the new Chief-of-State realized to the full the benefits which the +influx of foreigners must bring to his country. On this account he +encouraged immigration from Europe. Santa Cruz, indeed, did his utmost +to introduce every measure likely to increase the population of Bolivia, +and, as has been explained in another place, carried his policy to the +length of proposing the exclusion of celibates from all public offices. + +[Illustration: BRIGADIER-GENERAL BARTOLOME MITRE.] + +The powerful personality of Santa Cruz soon enabled him to become the +virtual Protector of Peru, in addition to President of Bolivia, and he +now began to organize the fusion of the two Republics into a single +State. These measures were regarded with great uneasiness by the +Chilians, who ultimately invaded the territory of Santa Cruz. The first +Chilian expedition was defeated, but the second gained a decisive +victory at Yungai in 1838, and, as a result of this battle, the star of +Santa Cruz became totally eclipsed in South America. He retired to +Paris, where he became the friend of Napoleon III., and where he died in +1865. + +With the exile of Santa Cruz ended the first period of tranquillity +enjoyed by the youthful Republic. His powerful figure was followed by +many others, the majority of whom were tyrannical, some incapable, and a +few whose aims were really progressive. Progress, indeed, in the vortex +of the whirlpool of events which ensued was practically an +impossibility. It is said that from 1825 to 1898 more than sixty +revolutions burst out in Bolivia, to say nothing of intermittent foreign +wars! In the course of these various struggles no less than six +Presidents were assassinated, and it was not until the advent to power +of Colonel (now General) Pando that the situation of the country changed +definitely for the better. + +In the year 1899 President Pando inaugurated civil government, and, +having proved himself an able and powerful soldier, now turned his +attention to the industrial and commercial status of the country. These +desirable features he fostered by modern and liberal methods, which +proved eminently successful, and it was during the period of his office +that the first really important plans were matured for the opening up of +the remoter districts by means of the railway. + +The most severe blow with which Bolivia has met since the foundation of +the Republic in that country has been the loss of her coast-line, as the +result of the unsuccessful war waged against Chile. Negotiations have on +several occasions been initiated with a view to an attempt to recover +some strip of the lost territory, even if no more than sufficient for +the building of a port and for the accommodation of a railway-line to +connect this point on the seaboard with the interior of the Republic; +but, so far, none of these negotiations have been brought to a +favourable issue. + +Bolivia thus remains an inland State. But in spite of a disadvantage +such as this, there is no doubt that the extraordinary natural wealth of +the country, which must in the near future be exploited, will rapidly +bring the Republic into the forefront of the South American nations from +the commercial and industrial point of view. + +With the exception of this and one or two other circumstances of the +kind, the majority of the South American States have suffered very +little frontier alteration since their first foundation. Such, however, +has not been the case with the Northern States of Colombia, Ecuador, and +Venezuela. Here, for almost half a century after the liberation of the +provinces, a process of alternate fusion and disintegration continued. +Thus, in 1832, the three States of Venezuela, Ecuador, and New Granada +were formed. In 1863 the latter country became the United States of +Colombia; but it was not until 1886 that the Republic of Colombia as it +now stands was instituted. + +Colombia has suffered from as many revolutions as the majority of its +neighbours. General Santander, one of the many of Bolivar's lieutenants +who became Presidents, was the first Chief-of-State of Venezuela. A +strong ruler, he governed in comparative peace until 1831. The next +important President to follow him was General Mosquera, who likewise +held the reins of power with a firm hand, and, with two or three breaks, +ruled from 1845 to 1867. Dr. Rafael Nunez succeeded him, and proved +himself an intellectual President, who became more and more autocratic +as his years of office increased. He continued, indeed, whether in the +actual tenure of office or not, to exercise an influence of personal +absolutism over the Republic until 1894, when he died. + +His death was the signal for the breaking out of internal disturbances +which his long rule had steadily kept in check. It was in 1903 that, +owing to the negotiations in progress for the enterprise of the Panama +Canal, the portion of Colombia which had been chosen for the purpose of +the cutting seceded from the Republic, and established itself as a +separate State--that of Panama. The new Republic immediately concluded +arrangements with the United States of America, and granted concessions +for the immense enterprise which is now in the act of being completed. + +The history of Ecuador since the establishment of the Republic requires +very little comment. In this State the proportion of the white races to +the coloured is unusually small; nevertheless, this has not had the +effect of checking the revolutions, of which the Republic has been +extremely prolific. + +General Juan Jose Flores stands as the chief hero of Ecuador. He it was +who actually founded the Republic in 1830. Flores provides one more +instance of the power of the men who stood at the helm of these new +States when they were first of all launched on the stormy waters of +their careers. When his fifteen years of power ended came the inevitable +flock of revolutions, and Ecuador went the way of her neighbours. + +A military Dictatorship endured until 1860, when Garcia-Moreno, being +declared President, supported the clerical influence and established a +species of Dictatorship. His influence continued for many years after he +had ostensibly resigned his office, and the sincerity of his acts was +unquestionable. Considering that the situation of the country rendered +it necessary, he resumed power and arrested various attempts at +revolutions. In 1875, however, he was assassinated. A statesman of +disinterested merit and high ideals, he was generally mourned by the +populace. + +Venezuela began its fateful career under the guardianship of General +Paez, one of the principal heroes of the revolution. It was Paez who had +led his Llanero cavalry so often to victory against the Spaniards, and +who, as already related in these pages, had achieved the unique feat of +capturing a flotilla of Spanish gunboats--or, to be more accurate, +gun-barges--by means of this very cavalry. Those were certainly +remarkable men who swam their horses into the river where the flotilla +was anchored, and succeeded in this most extraordinary onslaught! + +Paez, whose strain was half Spanish and half Indian, was intensely +practical in his views of government. Caring nothing for idealists and +for those who indulged in abstract theories, he severed himself abruptly +from Bolivar shortly after the final patriot victories, and in the end +was the chief cause of the exile of the Liberator. There is no doubt +that both his views and those of the Liberator had changed considerably +in the interval, for it is said that in 1826 General Paez had implored +Bolivar to mount the throne of the new kingdom which it was proposed to +found. The career of Paez fluctuated between a tenure of the office of +President and an apparent retirement into private life, in the course of +which, however, his influence and actual power remained as great as +ever. + +Eventually Jose Tadeo Monagas, who had long enjoyed the support of +Paez, revolted against the authority of the old chief. Paez, nothing +loath, accepted the challenge, rallied his followers, and marched to +battle. Here he was defeated and subsequently exiled, while Monagas was +left in power. + +Paez eventually made his way to the United States. In his absence the +condition of Venezuela became chaotic, and its populace writhed in a +ceaseless frenzy of civil strife. Paez returned from the United States +in 1861, and at the spectacle of the terrible condition of his country +he resolved, though eighty years and more of age, to enter once again +the arena of public life. He succeeded in obtaining power, but only for +a short while. The spirited but tottering old man was followed by +Guzman-Blanco, and died in 1873. + +Guzman-Blanco was a man of education, who had enjoyed the advantage of +travel in various parts of the world, and proved himself an able leader. +It was not long, however, before the party of the Monagas rose in +rebellion against his authority. These adherents of the Monagas were now +known as the "Blues," and the party of Guzman-Blanco was christened the +"Yellows." + +In 1870, after various victories and defeats, Guzman-Blanco caused +himself to be declared Dictator. He enjoyed immense popularity until his +resignation in 1877. He was succeeded by General Alcantara, and left for +Europe. On his return he found that his influence and power had already +been destroyed. Placing himself at the head of a revolution, he again +became chief of the State, which he continued to govern, either from +within the Republic itself, or from the banks of the Seine, until 1889, +when his power was finally overthrown. Blanco himself made no attempt to +return to the country. He remained in Paris, where he died in 1898. + +In 1895, when President Crespo was in power, a diplomatic incident +occurred between Great Britain and Venezuela, owing to the arrest of two +British police officers, who had been detained by the Venezuelan +authorities. The actual cause of the dispute resolved itself into the +question of frontier delimitation, and soon the excitement in Venezuela +had reached fever heat. This was by no means allayed when it became +known that the United States were inclined to intervene on behalf of the +minor Republic. President Crespo himself displayed admirable tact, and +it was largely due to his policy that the incident had a pacific ending. +It was in 1899, not long after these events, that General Crespo was +slain in a skirmish with insurgents. + +After a period of anarchy General Castro was elected President. Not long +after his accession this President succeeded in embroiling the State +with Great Britain, Germany, and Italy. The main reason for the breaking +off of friendly relations was his arbitrary refusal to consider the +claims of these nations on account of the damage done to the property of +their subjects in Venezuela in the course of the numerous revolutions +which had recently occurred. + +The result of the obstinacy of General Castro was the establishment of a +blockade of the port of La Guayra by the naval forces of Great Britain, +Germany, and Italy in 1902. The Custom-House was seized, and the three +Powers signified their intention of retaining this until satisfaction +could be obtained. Upon this the matter was referred to the Hague +tribunal, and awarded in favour of the three European Powers concerned. + +International incidents of the kind have occurred, naturally enough, far +more rarely in the history of South America than revolutions and civil +war. Indeed, in the popular mind the chief feature of the Continent was, +until quite recently, represented by internal strife. How far from the +truth is this estimate can only be judged by one who enjoys a personal +acquaintance with Republics such as Argentina and Chile. + +The sole centres where the phase of revolution has lingered on with an +intermittent flourishing are those of the Northern Republics referred to +in this chapter and the inland State of the centre of the Continent, +Paraguay. + +A work of history, however slight and condensed though its form may be, +is no place in which to indulge in prophecy. Yet it may safely be +supposed that even in these less settled Republics the age of +tranquillity is now at hand. In order to justify this assertion, it is +merely necessary to take a glimpse into the past, and to investigate the +actual causes of these numerous revolutions which have splashed their +marks so thickly on the clear road of South American progress. + +A country of great natural riches and of wonderful opportunities for +mankind, a dearth of population, an unusual lack of facilities of +communication, and, finally, an urgent need of ready cash in the midst +of material plenty--all these circumstances must necessarily tend to +unrest in a land populated by inhabitants whose temperament contains an +unusual measure of imagination and theoretical creative power. With the +removal of these factors, the political situation tends to become +tranquil, as has been proved in the case of the more progressive +Republics. + +It may safely be said that the South American temperament is, in itself, +no more revolutionary than any other. When the material circumstances of +one of these States have been brought to resemble those which prevail in +a European country, the conditions of politics necessarily grow to +resemble each other as well. Thus the difficulty with which the more +advanced Republics are confronted is no longer one connected with rapid +and disorderly changes of Government and Presidents. The States in +question are now too wealthy in themselves and too loaded with serious +responsibilities for the possibility of such casual recurrences. The +strife, in consequence, tends rather to centre itself, as in Europe, to +a contest between capital and labour, and, as elsewhere in the world, +strikes have taken the place of more sanguinary battles. + +All this, of course, applies with greater force to some of the South +American countries than to others. The vitality and power of the +Continent in general is now, at all events, beginning to assert itself +to the full, and in the minds of a certain number of its educated and +intelligent inhabitants South America is destined in the future, however +distant this may be, to become the rallying-ground of the Latin races. + +[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP: SOUTH AMERICA.] + + + + +INDEX + + +Abipones, 12 + +Aboriginal tribes, 145, 146 + +Alberdi, Manuel, 167 + +Alfinger, 28, 33 + +Almagro, 47, 48, 52, 54 + +Almagro, Diego (the Younger), 112 + +Alvarado, Pedro de, 51, 52 + +Alvear, 170, 172, 255, 276 + +Andradas, the, 198, 203, 204, 211-214 + +"Araucana, La," 23 + +Araucanians, 13, 56, 58, 122, 128 + +Artigas, 172, 193, 201, 275 + +Asuncion, 67, 69, 73 + +Atahualpa, 48-51 + +Ayacucho, Battle of, 184 + +Aymaras, tribe of the, 56 + +Ayolas, Juan de, 66-68 + + +Bahia, 40, 42, 96-98, 103, 107, 186, 194, 198, 200 + +Balboa, Nunez de, 31, 32, 33 + +Balcarce, 168 + +Balmaceda, 271 + +Belgrano, 159, 167-170, 173, 245 + +Benalcazar, 34 + +Bogota, Santa Fe de, 115, 147, 149, 223 + +Bolivar, Simon, 154-156, 159-166, 175, 182-184, 229, 232-235 + +Bolivia, 283-285 + +Brazil, 36-46, 79, 80, 185-227 + +Brazil wood, 37 + +British mariners, 95-98 + +British, hardships endured on northern campaign, 161, 162 + +British settlers, methods of, 43 + +British invasion of the River Plate, 139-141 + +Brouwer, 126 + +Buccaneers, 93, 94, 146 + +Buenos Aires, first settlements at, 65 + +Buenos Aires, 71, 115, 118, 167-173, 208, 209, 234, 236 + +Buonaparte, Joseph, 156, 157 + +Buonaparte, Napoleon, 156, 157 + + +Cabot Sebastian, 64 + +Cabral, Pedro Alvarez, 24, 37 + +Caceres, 244 + +Carabobo, Battle of, 165, 166 + +Caracas, 90, 147-149, 159 + +Caribs, 12 + +Carrera, the Brothers, 173, 174, 266 + +Casa de Contratacion de los Indias, 75, 76 + +Casas, Bartolome de Las, 61, 63 + +Caseros, Battle of, 280 + +Castelfuerte, Viceroy, 179 + +Castelli, 167, 168 + +Castilla, Ramon, 241 + +Castro, Cristobal Vaca, 112, 113 + +Castro, President, 290 + +Caupolican, Araucanian Chief, 58, 59, 124 + +Cavendish, 93, 96 + +Chacabuco, Battle of, 176 + +Charles I. of England, 108 + +Charles V. of Spain, 28, 33 + +Chibcha, Indians, 11, 34, 56, 149 + +Chile, 13, 64-71 + +Chiquitos, 12 + +Chiriguanos, 12 + +Chunchos, 12 + +Cisneros, Baltasar, Hidalgo de, 167 + +Cocapac, 5, 6 + +Cochabamba, 169 + +Cochrane, Lord, 175, 177, 200, 201 + +Coelho, Duarte, 39 + +Colombia, 186, 187 + +Colonia, 80 + +Columbus, Bartholomew, 23 + +Columbus, Christopher, 13-25 + +Columbus, Diego, 31 + +Conquistadores, 2, 26-31, 57, 58, 60, 67, 68, 159 + +Correia, 40 + +Crespo, President, 289, 290 + +Criminals used to explore fresh countries, 19, 20, 38, 39 + +Cuzco, 4, 6, 50, 53 + + +Da Cunha, Paulo, 102 + +Darwin, 278 + +Davis, 93 + +Devereux, General, 161 + +Dorrego, 276 + +Drake, Sir Francis, 86, 89, 90, 125 + +Dutch, 40, 44, 95, 97-109, 126, 127, 129, 148 + +Dutch method of colonization, 44, 45 + + +Earthquakes, 122, 166 + +Ecuador, 286-288 + +Encomiendas, 70, 121 + +English, General, 161 + +Ercilla, 73, 124 + + +Fenton, Edward, 96 + +Ferdinand of Spain, 17-19, 21-24 + +Fernandes, Joao, 106 + +Fernando de Noronha, 108 + +Flores, General Juan Jose, 287 + +Fonseca, General Deodoro, 218, 220-223 + +Francia, Jose Gaspar Rodriguez de, 236, 245-250 + +French in Brazil, 40, 98 + + +Gallado, Antonio, 116 + +Gama, Admiral da, 224, 225 + +Gama, Vasco da, 38 + +Gamarra, President, 240 + +Garay, Juan de, 71 + +Gasca, Pedro de la, 113, 114 + +Gran Reunion Americana, the, 170 + +Guarani, Indians, the, 11, 67, 81 + +Guarayos, Indians, 12 + +Guatavita, Lake of, 60 + +Guemes, 159, 171, 173 + +Gueneche, 168, 169 + +Guianas, the, 12 + +Guido, 167 + +Guzman-Blanco, 289 + + +Hawkins, Sir John, 87-89 + +Henry, Prince, the Navigator, 15 + +Hernandarias, 135, 136 + +Hispaniola, or Haiti, 19, 21-23, 29, 61 + +Hoogstraten, Dirk van, 105, 107 + +Huasca, 48, 51 + +Huguenots, 41 + +Huitotos, 12 + + +Iberian, colonization system of, 44, 45 + +Incas, 1, 2, 4-11, 56 + +Incas, origin of, 4-7 + +Incas, revolt of, 53, 54 + +Inquisition, 128, 129 + +Inter-marriage, 45 + +Ipurines, 12 + +Irala, Domingo Martinez de, 68-71 + +Isabella, Princess of Brazil, 211, 213, 215-218 + +Isabella of Spain, Queen, 16, 17, 21, 23, 24, 34 + + +Jamamaries, 12 + +Jesuits, 8, 81, 148 + +Jews in Brazil, 97, 100 + +Joao VI., 186-196, 199, 209 + +Junin, Battle of, 183, 184 + +Junot, 186 + +Junta of Argentina, 167 + + +Knight, 93 + + +Lancaster, James, 96 + +Lautaro, 59, 123 + +Lavalle, General, 276 + +Lavalleja, General, 276 + +Ledesma, Alonso, Andrea de, 92 + +Leopoldina, wife of Pedro I. of Brazil, 193, 205, 206 + +L'Ermite, Jaques, 94 + +Lima, Regent of Brazil, 212, 213 + +Lima, town of, 52, 110, 111, 117, 118, 182, 270 + +Liniers, General, 140, 166, 168, 236 + +L'Ollonais, Francois, 94 + +Lopez, Carlos Antonio, 250 + +Lopez, Francisco Solano, 215, 250-263 + +Luques, Hernando, 47 + +Lynch, Madame, 251, 261 + + +Maciel, 103 + +Maipu, Battle of, 174, 176, 180 + +Mamelucos, 81 + +Manco-Capac, 5 + +Manco-Capac, brother to Huasca, 51, 52, 54 + +Maranhao, 103, 104 + +Marie I. of Portugal, 188, 193 + +Marie II. of Portugal, 194, 209 + +Mauritz, Prince of Nassau, 99, 100, 102-105 + +Mello, Admiral Custodio de, 223, 225 + +Mendoza, Andres Hurtado de, 114 + +Mendoza, Garcia Hurtado de, 123, 124 + +Mendoza, Pedro de, 27, 65, 66 + +Miguel, Dom, of Portugal, 194, 209 + +Miranda, Francisco, General, 154-156, 159-160, 164, 264, 265 + +Mitre, Bartolome, General, 153, 281 + +Mojos, 12 + +Monagas, Jose Tadeo, 288, 289 + +Monte Video, 168, 170-172, 193, 201 + +Moraes, Prudente Barros de, Dr., 226 + +Moreau, 137 + +Moreno, Garcia, 288 + +Moreno, Mariano, 170 + +Morgan, Captain, 146, 209 + + +Narborough, Sir John, 127 + +Navarro, Deputy, 213, 214 + +Negro slaves, 81 + +New Granada, 145, 148, 160, 238, 286 + +Nicuesa, 31 + +Noorte, van, 94 + +Nunez, Raphael, 287 + + +O'Higgins, Ambrose, 119, 120, 265 + +O'Higgins, Bernardo, 120, 173, 174, 233, 235, 264, 268 + +Ojeda, Alonso, 23, 31 + +Olinda, capture of, 99 + +Omaguas, Indians, 12 + +Origin of the Incas, 2, 3 + +Ovando, Nicolas de, 24, 29, 31 + + +Paez, General, 162-165, 288-289 + +Pampa Indians, 57, 66 + +Panama, exploration of, 47 + +Pando, General, 185 + +Paraguay, 67-71, 215, 245-263 + +Pardo, Manuel, 242, 243 + +Pedrarias, 32, 33 + +Pedro I. of Brazil, 194-210, 212 + +Pedro II. of Brazil, 210-219 + +Peixoto, General Floriana, 218, 223, 226 + +Pena Nicolas Rodriguez, 167 + +Penna, Affonso, Dr., 227 + +Pernambuco, 95, 194, 205, 215 + +Peru, 3-5, 47-55, 65, 110-114, 237-244 + +Pierola, Nicolas de, 243, 244 + +Pinzon, Admiral, 241, 242 + +Pinzon, Vincente, 24, 36 + +Pizarro, Francisco, 47-54 + +Pizarro, Gonzales, 113, 114 + +Popham, Admiral Home, 139, 140 + +Portugues, Bartholomew, 94 + +Portuguese settlers, methods of, 42, 45, 46 + +Prado, General, 242, 243 + +Puyrredon, 173 + + +Quesada, Gonzalo Jimines de, 34, 35, 142-144 + +Quiroga, 231, 232, 279 + +Quito, 7, 146, 147, 148 + + +Raleigh, Sir Walter, 92, 93 + +Recife, 96, 97, 99, 100, 102, 105, 108 + +Repartemiento, 61 + +Rio de Janeiro, 41, 42, 65, 187-190, 205, 221-223 + +Rio Grande, 215, 222, 223-225 + +Rivadavia, 172, 235, 275, 276 + +Rivera, 278 + +River Plate, 12, 27, 64, 65, 69, 82, 159, 166, 205, 230, 272-281 + +River Plate, colonization of, 65 + +River Plate, discovery of, 64 + +Rolt, extract from, 127 + +Rondeau, General, 173 + +Rosario, 65, 171 + +Rosas, 215, 274, 276-281 + +Royal audience, 113 + + +Saavedra, Cornelio de, 167, 170 + +Salles, Campos, Dr., 226, 227 + +San Martin, General, 159, 170-172, 175-177, 182, 183, 229, 232, 233, 235 + +Santa Cruz, Andreas, 240, 241, 284, 285 + +Santander, General, 286 + +Santiago, town of, 72, 180, 181 + +Sao Paulo, town of, 80, 81, 198, 215, 216 + +Sharpe, 93 + +Slave trade abolished in Brazil, 217 + +Smith, Sir Sydney, 186, 189 + +Smuggling, 78, 79 + +Sobremonte, Viceroy, 140 + +Socialism of the tribes, 13 + +Solis, Juan de, 64 + +Sousa, Martin Affonso de, 39 + +Souza, Thome de, 42 + +Spanish gunboats captured by cavalry, 163, 164 + +Spanish methods of settling, 44, 45 + +Suarez, 184 + +Sucre, General, 159, 175, 184, 284 + +Suipacha, victory of, 168 + +Sun, worship of the, 5, 7, 8, 11 + + +Tacanas, 12 + +_Tamayo_, newspaper, 203 + +Teixeira, Bishop Marcos, 98 + +Terra Firma, 110 + +Titicaca, Lake, 4, 5, 56 + +Titles, 152 + +Treaties with Araucanians, 128 + +Tribes, names of, 12 + +Tupac-Amaru (Condorcanqui), 114, 116, 117 + +Tupis, 12 + +Tuyuti, Battle of, 257 + + +Uraba, 31, 32 + +Urquiza, 215, 280, 281 + +Ursua, Francisco de Paula Bucareli y, 138 + +Uruguay, disputed territory, 80 + +Uruguay, rival parties, 282 + + +Vaca, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de, 69, 70 + +Valdivia, Pedro de, 59, 65, 72 + +Valdivia, town, 125, 127, 129 + +Vasconcellos, 214 + +Vela, Blasco Nunez, 113 + +Venezuela, 148, 150, 155, 288-290 + +Venner, Captain, 96 + +Vespucci, Amerigo, 23, 36 + +Viamonte, 167 + +Viceregal functions, Peru, 110-112 + +Villagran, Francisco, 122, 124 + +Villanueva, Colonel Alonzo de, 125 + +Villegagnon, Nicolas Durant de, 41 + + +War of Independence, 118, 159-184 + +Welzers, the, 28, 33 + +West India Company (Dutch), 97, 99, 105, 106 + +Whitelocke, General, 140, 141 + +Willikens, Jacob, 97 + + +Yegros, Fulgencio, 246, 247 + + +Zapiola, Matias, 170 + + + + +ERRATA.--Page 188, lines 6 and 7, _for_ "Queen Francisca Isabel," _read_ +"Queen Maria." + + +THE END + +BILLING AND SONS, LTD, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of South America, by W. 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