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 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
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Cornell University Library 
 F 2233.M91S7 1908 
 
 South America on the eve of emancipation 
 
 3 1924 021 102 714 
 
BY BERNARD MOSES 
 
 Democracy and Social Growth in 
 America. 8° . . . . $i.oo 
 
 The Establishment of Spanish Rule 
 in America. 8° . . . $1.25 
 
 South America on the Eve of Eman- 
 cipation. 8° . . . . 
 
 G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 NEW YORK & LONDON 
 
South America 
 
 on the 
 
 Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The Southern Spanish Colonies in the Last 
 Half-Century of their Dependence 
 
 By 
 
 Bernard Moses, Ph.D., LL.D. 
 
 Professor in the University of California 
 
 G. P. Putnam's Sons 
 
 New York and London 
 
 Xibe 'Knicltecbocftet ptess 
 
 1908 
 
CbpYKIGBT, 1908 
 BY 
 
 BERNARD MOSES 
 
 Ube fuiicAerboclier pteea, new IBocft 
 
PREFACE 
 
 IN a book called The Establishment of Spanish 
 Rule in America, published in 1898, the pre- 
 sent writer gave some account of the origin and 
 earlier history of the institutions framed for the 
 government of Spanish America. This volume 
 aims to present some phases of colonial history and 
 social organization in the last part of the eight- 
 teenth century, particularly as they appear in the 
 southern half of South America. The annals 
 of the colonies furnish interesting episodes, but 
 not material for a sustained dramatic narrative. 
 There are periods in the history of some of the 
 colonies, during which one observes few social 
 changes. Men Hve as their fathers .lived and 
 die as their fathers died; and the history of their 
 communities for generations may be told in a 
 few sentences. In attempting to make a connected 
 story of the events of these periods, a writer runs 
 the risk of producing merely a chronicle, or of 
 doing violence to the perspective of time. The 
 task here undertaken is to present certain con- 
 spicuous events, institutions, and phases of life, 
 that may illustrate the state of the southern 
 Spanish colonies on the eve of the revolution 
 which gave them independence. 
 
iv Preface 
 
 Many of the statements of these chapters apply 
 generally to Spain's possessions in America. 
 But the physical environment of the colonies 
 within the tropics made prominent certain fea- 
 tures of social growth unlike those which appeared 
 in the temperate regions. The state of society 
 in the northern part of South America, during 
 the later decades of the colonial period, is thus 
 a subject by itself, and is put aside for another 
 volume. 
 
 B. M. 
 University op California, 
 April,_i9o8. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTBR 
 
 I. The Capital of South America 
 
 II. The Viceroyalty op Rio de la Plata 
 
 III. An Interior Province 
 
 IV. The Colonial City . 
 
 V. The Social Classes . 
 
 VI. The Church and its Relation to the 
 Civil Power 
 
 VII. A Colonial University 
 
 VIII. An Official Report on the Indians 
 
 IX. The Indian Revolt under Tupac 
 Amaru ..... 
 
 X. The Captaincy-General of Chile 
 
 XI. The Taking of Buenos Aires by the 
 English .... 
 
 XII. The Reconquest 
 
 XIII. Colonial Industry and Commerce 
 
 XIV. The Public Revenue 
 Index . . . ,. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I 
 
 32 
 
 S8 
 75 
 
 TOO 
 119 
 
 167 
 
 193 
 218 
 
 280 
 300 
 328 
 341 
 
SOUTH AMERICA ON THE 
 EVE OF EMANCIPATION 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE CAPITAL OF SOUTH AMERICA 
 
 THE Spanish colonial settlements established 
 within the limits of the territory now 
 claimed by the republics of Argentine, Bolivia, 
 Chile, and Paraguay, were politically subordinated 
 to the viceroy of Peru during their first two hund- 
 red years. In fact, down to nearly the middle 
 of the eighteenth century all the territory under 
 Spanish rule in South America was subject to 
 this authority. The political centre, the capital 
 in which resided the government recognized 
 throughout this vast domain, was the city of 
 Lima. By the final establishment of the vice- 
 royalty of Santa Fe, in 1739, the northwestern 
 part of this territory was brought under a new 
 viceroy. The southeastern part of the continent 
 continued under the jurisdiction of the viceroy 
 
2 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of Peru, until 1776, when the viceroyalty of 
 Rio de la Plata was created. This distribution 
 of territory was modified in 1796, by withdraw- 
 ing certain districts northwest of Lake Titicaca 
 from the viceroyalty of Rio de La Plata and 
 adding them to the viceroyalty of Peru. In 
 1802 Peru acquired from the viceroyalty of 
 Santa F6 the districts of Maynas and Quijos, 
 except the town of Papallacta; and, in 1804, it 
 was determined that the provinces of Guayaquil 
 and Chilo6 should be subject to the government 
 of Lima. In 1810 Peru embraced eight inten- 
 dancies: Lima, Tarma, Cuzco, Huancavelica, 
 Huamanga, Arequipa, Trujillo, and Puno; its 
 control extended also over the detached govern- 
 ments of Guayaquil, Chilo6, Maynas, Quijos, 
 Huarochirl, and Callao. Guayaquil subsequently 
 became independent and Chilo6 was added to the 
 republic of Chile. 
 
 As the residence of the highest political and 
 ecclesiastical authorities of South America, Lima 
 acquired many of the features of an old-world 
 capital. All persons wishing to achieve social 
 distinction, and all persons who had achieved 
 such distinction, found it desirable to live in 
 Lima. The presence of the highest officers of 
 the government and the dignitaries of the Church 
 made it the social centre of South America. 
 
 In Mexico the Spaniards established their 
 capital at the centre of the dominant Indian 
 
The Capital of South America 3 
 
 community. To have followed this example 
 in Peru would have placed the new city at an 
 inconvenient elevation, and in a position difficult 
 of access from the sea. In Mexico the Spaniards 
 wished to get away from the vmhealthful coast. 
 In Peru the valley of the Rimac near the coast 
 offered an agreeable and healthful climate and 
 an abundance of pure water for the uses of a 
 city and for irrigation in a rainless region. Lima 
 was, therefore, founded here in January, 1535. 
 At the close of the eighteenth century, when Tadeo 
 Haenke wrote his description of the city, it was 
 surrounded by walls, which had been built as 
 a means of defence against attacks of pirates. 
 The inhabitants had been especially aroused 
 to undertake this work by the report of the 
 sacking of Vera Cruz, in 1683. Previously they 
 had exhausted their energies in the fruitless 
 discussion of various projects; but this event 
 turned their efforts to practical action. In 
 October of this year, the viceroy, the Duke of La 
 Palata, wrote to the cabildo, or ayuntamiento, of 
 Lima, and asked it to consider the question 
 of building the proposed wall, and to decide 
 what means for carrying on the work would be 
 the least burdensome. He wrote also to the 
 consulado, the university, the religious orders, 
 and to various other organizations. After these 
 negotiations it was finally determined how much 
 each association should pay, or what part of the 
 
4 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 wall it should build, and what tax should be 
 levied on certain wares in order to secure the 
 funds necessary for the undertaking. * The writer 
 of A True and Particular Relation of the Dreadful 
 Earthquake of 1746 says that these walls were 
 between eighteen and twenty-five feet high; that 
 there was neither ditch nor outworks; and that 
 they were built by a Flemish priest, whose name 
 was Don John Ramond.^ 
 
 At the beginning of the eighteenth century 
 Lima had about 30,000 inhabitants. In 1764 
 there were 54,000; and the population is estimated 
 to have increased in the following years so that 
 it amounted to 87,000 in 1810. Of the latter 
 number, 20,000 were whites, while the rest were 
 Indians, negroes, and various classes of mixed 
 blood. The city was about a mile in extent from 
 north to south, and about the same extent from 
 east to west. It was divided into two parts by 
 the river Rimac. Communication between these 
 two parts passed over the stone bridge which 
 was built during the administration of Montes 
 Claros. At first there was a wooden bridge, and 
 later the Marquis of Cafiete, while viceroy, caused 
 a bridge to be constructed of brick near the site 
 of the present stone bridge. This was built 
 with seven arches, and was subsequently de- 
 stroyed by the force of the water. After its 
 
 ' Memorias de los Vireyes, ii., 365-375. 
 2 Ramond died in Lima in July, 1 709. 
 
The Capital of South America 5 
 
 destruction several years passed before the present 
 structure was undertaken. It was, however, 
 finally begun in 1608, and completed in 1610. 
 The plans were made by Friar Geronimo Villegas, 
 a native of Lima, and the work was carried on 
 under the direction of Don Juan del Corral. The 
 expenses of the construction were met in part by a 
 tax of two reals on every sheep consumed, and by 
 certain contributions required of other cities in 
 the viceroyalty. Some of these were unable to see 
 any evidence of justice in being required to 
 pay for work that lay entirely beyond the limits 
 of their jurisdiction; and Quito, in particular, 
 complained at being compelled to furnish this 
 assistance. The total cost of the structure, 
 including the replacing of the arch that was 
 thrown down by the earthquake of 1746, was 
 seven hundred thousand pesos. The bridge rests 
 on five stone arches. 
 
 The principal plaza, which is now only a breath- 
 ing place for the citizens, a place of rest and 
 recreation, appears to have been used as a market 
 at the end of the eighteenth century, and was 
 supplied abundantly with products of Europe 
 and America, which were generally sold by 
 negresses, "and judging from their good clothing 
 and the manner in which they conduct themselves 
 one may conclude that many of them pass a life 
 of comfort and the most of them acquire wealth." ^ 
 
 ' Haenke, Descripcion del Peru, 3. 
 
6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The principal streets were broad and straight, 
 dividing the city into blocks one hundred and 
 fifty yards square, and were paved and kept 
 notably clean. Many of the houses were large, 
 built about one or more patios, or courts, and 
 were constructed of adobes and of studs inter- 
 woven with cane or bamboo, and covered with 
 plaster or stucco. The roofs, in the absence of 
 rain, were of little importance, except to keep out 
 the sun, and were in many cases formed of a 
 framework' of timber and reeds covered with 
 earth. This form of construction, particularly 
 the basket-work walls covered with plaster, were 
 thought to be well adapted, by their lack of 
 rigidity, to withstand the shocks of the frequent 
 earthquakes. There were, in the last decade 
 of the eighteenth century, 3641 houses in the city, 
 which was divided into thirty-five wards, in each 
 of which there was an alcalde elected to watch 
 over the particular interests of his ward, and 
 who was subject to the central authority. 
 
 The inhabitants of Lima entered upon the 
 second half of the eighteenth century with 
 the task of reconstructing the city only partially 
 accomplished. The earthquake of 1746 had 
 transformed a large part of the buildings into 
 masses of ruins, and those persons who had 
 occupied the houses destroyed had sought safety 
 in the public squares and in the suburbs. At 
 the time of the earthquake, after the first 
 
The Capital of South America 7 
 
 stupefying effect of the shock had passed, and 
 the inhabitants had learned that a tidal wave 
 had completely destroyed Callao, and even carried 
 ships from the harbor directly over the town, 
 they were seized by an unreasonable fear that the 
 same calamity might overtake them. A rumour 
 was spread through all the city that the sea was 
 rising and advancing towards Lima. Apparently 
 forgetting that the city was six miles from Callao 
 and five hundred feet above the level of the sea, 
 they were seized by a panic that prevented all 
 sober reflection, and sent them in wild confusion 
 towards the neighboring mountains. 
 
 " The hurry with which every one pushed forward 
 was so irresistible, that even those who, from 
 the circumstances of the report which rendered 
 it incredible, and the knowledge of much such 
 another incident which had happened in the 
 year 1686, did not believe it, suffered themselves, 
 however, to be carried on; or rather were impelled 
 by the general torrent, which formed a kind of sea, 
 while the people, who resembled rolling waves, went 
 on almost dead with fright and fatigue. In reality 
 some of them actually died, notwithstanding the 
 daylight, which yet remained, might have convinced 
 them of their error." ^ 
 
 Important features of the social character of 
 Lima were due to the fact that it was the residence 
 of the viceroy of Peru, who was the highest civil 
 
 ' A True and Particular Relation of the Dreadful Earthquake, 
 London, 1748, 175-181. 
 
8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and military authority, and the "supreme judge 
 of all the tribunals who aided him in the admin- 
 istration of justice and the conduct of affairs." ^ 
 He was appointed by the king, and the king 
 also fixed the term of his service. In the last 
 decade of the viceroyalty the sum of all the 
 revenues that constituted his salary amounted 
 to $60,500. Representing the king, he main- 
 tained much of the style of royalty. He was 
 attended by two companies of guards, one of 
 cavalry and one of halberdiers. Before 1784 the 
 cavalry company contained one hundred and 
 forty-seven men, but in that year it was reduced 
 to a captain and thirty-four men, and the halberd- 
 iers were reduced to a captain and twenty-four 
 men. When the viceroy drove out, four of the 
 cavalrymen preceded him and four followed. 
 
 The viceregal court was made to resemble that 
 of a European monarch by the presence, in 
 Lima, of a considerable number of noble families 
 whose wealth and privileges gave them a distinct 
 position in the society of the capital. The high- 
 est title created was that of duke, which was 
 conferred upon Don Formin de Carvajal y Vargas, 
 who was bom in Chile in 1722, his father being 
 Don Luis de Carvajal, a regidor of Concepcion. 
 Don Formin was later an alcalde of Lima, a famil- 
 iar of the inquisition, and the incumbent of other 
 important offices. With the of&ce of correo 
 
 • Haenke, Descripcion del Peru, ii. 
 
The Capital of South America 9 
 
 mayor he received the revenues of the post-office, 
 and when these were resumed by the crown, in 
 1768, Charles III. granted him as compensation 
 an annual income of fourteen thousand dollars. 
 Eleven years later, in 1779, he was made Duke 
 of San Carlos, a grandee of Spain of the first 
 class, and field marshal. In 1791 he received 
 the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III. 
 
 Some of the other institutions of the capital 
 were the following: 
 
 1. The royal Audiencia which was established 
 in 1 546 was the most conspicuous of these institu- 
 tions. This cotirt at the period in question was 
 composed of a regent, eight judges, four alcaldes 
 de corie, and two prosecuting attorneys. The vice- 
 roy was the president. For the administration 
 of justice, the audiencia was organized in three 
 divisions. Two divisions, composed of the judges 
 (oidores), considered civil cases, while the third 
 division, composed of the alcaldes de corte, dealt 
 with criminal cases. The annual expense of 
 maintaining the audiencia was $90,900. 
 
 2. There was also the Superior Council of the 
 Royal Treasury, composed of the viceroy, as 
 president, and five members, including the 
 regent of the audiencia. This body was created 
 in 1784. Its principal object was to supervise 
 the government and the administration of justice 
 in the provinces, with reference to the affairs of 
 the treasury and the economical affairs of the 
 
lo The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 department of war. According to law its sessions 
 were held one day in each week. 
 
 3. Another tribunal was a Court of Accounts, 
 which examined the accounts of the royal treasury. 
 It was properly a bureau of auditing. It con- 
 sisted of three principal accountants and such 
 others, with various other ofificials, as might be 
 necessary. The annual expenses of this bureau 
 amounted to $42,692. 
 
 4. There was also a bureau charged with 
 making a census of Indians. It was composed of 
 a judge, an attorney, an accountant, and various 
 other officials whose salaries amounted to $13,083. 
 This court held a fund which yielded an annual re- 
 venue of $44,287. From this sum the salaries were 
 paid, and the balance was reserved for additions to 
 the fund, and to meet contingent expenses, such as 
 assisting the Indians to pay their tribute, furnish- 
 ing succor to the Indians, and rebuilding churches. 
 
 5. A commercial tribunal known as the Con- 
 sulado had existed in Lima since 1613. It was 
 supported by one per cent, of the import duties. 
 The ordinary expenses of this tribunal amounted 
 to $36,443, and $18,676 were set aside for extra- 
 ordinary expenses. 
 
 6. There was a Court of Mines which was created 
 in Lima in 1786. This tribunal was composed of 
 a judge of appeals, an administrator, a director, 
 a secretary, and a bureau of accounts. Its 
 expenses amounted to $17,913. It had various 
 
The Capital of South America 1 1 
 
 agencies in the mining districts, as at Huarochiri, 
 Huallanca, Pasco, Huancavelica, and at other 
 places. 
 
 7. There was, moreover, the Commission of the 
 Royal Physicians, for examining and licensing 
 students of medicine, which was composed of 
 one chief physician, an assistant, two examiners, 
 an attorney, and a secretary. 
 
 8. The Royal Mint was founded in Lima in 
 1565, and was incorporated in the crown in 
 1753. It employed a superintendent and the 
 necessary subordinates, the annual salary roll 
 amounting to $48,000. 
 
 Besides these, there were in Lima various other 
 offices or institutions, the presence of which helped 
 to give to the city the appearance and character 
 of an important capital. Among these were the 
 University of San Marcos and various colleges, 
 the central post-oflfice, the commission for 
 managing the royal monopolies, the custom- 
 house, and the commission for managing the 
 royal monte de piedad, or pawnshop. 
 
 At the close of the eighteenth century the 
 religious orders in Lima had acquired a large 
 amount of property, and were receiving extensive 
 annual revenues. The following tabular state- 
 ment presents the religious houses in Lima at the 
 period in question, together with the numbers of 
 the members and the amounts of their annual 
 revenues stated in dollars : 
 
12 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 
 No 
 
 .of 
 
 
 OMINICA.NS: 
 
 members 
 
 Revenues. 
 
 Convento grande del Rosario 
 
 . 
 
 146 
 
 835.389 
 
 Santa Rosa 
 
 
 9 
 
 2.S19 
 
 Magdalena .... 
 
 . 
 
 19 
 
 8,869 
 
 Santo Tomds 
 
 . 
 
 30 
 
 6,802 
 
 Franciscans, three monasteries: 
 
 Convento grande de Jesus . . 161 
 
 College of San Buenaventura de Guade- 
 
 lupe ..... 
 
 Recoleccion .... 
 
 AuGusTiNiANS, three houses. 
 
 Casa grande .... 
 
 Recoleccion de Guia 
 University of San Ildefonso . 
 
 Mercedarios, three houses: 
 
 Casa grande .... 
 
 Recoleccion de Bethlem 
 College of San Pedro Nolasco 
 Order of San Francisco de Paula . 
 Hospitalarios de San Juan de Dios 
 
 Agonizantes, two houses: 
 
 Convento de Nuestra Senora de la Buena 
 Muerte ..... 
 
 Santa Liberata .... 
 Oratorio de San Felipe Neri 
 Hospitium of St. Benedict 
 
 Belbtmitas, two houses: 
 
 Casa grande .... 
 
 Casa de Incurables 
 Fourteen Convents of Nuns 
 Beaterios, or houses inhabited by pious 
 women : 
 Real Casa de Amparados de la Purisima 
 
 Concepcion . . . . 210 
 
 Nuestra Senora de Copacabana . 12 
 
 20 
 
 
 33 
 
 
 129 
 
 34,150 
 
 9 
 
 1,928 
 
 30 
 
 4,104 
 
 140 
 
 19,922 
 
 16 
 
 2.945 
 
 34 
 
 3.900 
 
 42 
 
 7.139 
 
 43 
 
 4,561 
 
 S3 
 
 19,724 
 
 S 
 
 2,500 
 
 41 
 
 3.283 
 
 a 
 
 1,630 
 
 33 
 
 3.640 
 
 3 
 
 1,630 
 
 573 
 
 "9.504 
 
 5.300 
 
The Capital of South America 13 
 
 No. of 
 
 
 members 
 
 Revenues 
 
 Santa Rosa de Viterbo ... 12 
 
 1,141 
 
 Patrocinio . . . . . 11 
 
 
 Camilas ..... 5 
 
 
 Real Casa de Ejercicios, retreat for re- 
 
 
 ligious women .... 
 
 1,200 
 
 Besides these houses devoted exclusively to the 
 life of the religious, there were also many hospitals 
 and other institutions having charitable or public 
 purposes, the revenues and expenditures of which 
 were controlled by the Church. 
 
 The large amount of wealth held by the religious 
 orders may not be taken as evidence that the 
 King of Spain and the Council of the Indies 
 favored the accumulation of real property in the 
 hands of the Church. There are, in fact, certain 
 indications that they opposed this policy. The 
 following extract from the Laws of the Indies 
 points to such opposition: 
 
 "Let the lands be distributed reasonably among 
 the discoverers and colonists, and their descendants, 
 who may remain in the country, and let them not be 
 able to sell them either to the Church or to a monas- 
 tery or to any other ecclesiastical person, under pain 
 of the lands reverting to the King and being conferred 
 upon other persons." ^ 
 
 This law, however, like many others made for 
 the Indies with excellent intentions, was not 
 effective; for the real property was brought into 
 
 i Leyes de Indias, lib. 4, tit. 12, ley 10. 
 
14 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the hands of ecclesiastics to such an extent that 
 "secular persons came to be mere administrators 
 of estates possessed by the Church." ^ In Lima 
 and some other cities the monasteries had a 
 very large part of all the real estate, and 
 the laity were reduced to movable property; and 
 in the middle of the eighteenth century it was 
 said "there are but few who do not pay rent to 
 the Church, either for their houses or farms "^ 
 The Tribunal of the Inquisition had its most 
 important colonial seat in Lima. It was estab- 
 lished here under a decree issued by Philip II., 
 in 1569. It embraced twelve familiars in Lima 
 and one for each town with Spanish inhabitants. 
 The Indians were exempt from its jurisdiction. 
 Its annual revenue in the last decade of the 
 eighteenth century amounted to $93,917, which 
 was produced by a fund granted by Philip II., 
 and by the suppression of a canonicate in each 
 of the eight cathedrals of Lima, Quito, Trujillo, 
 Arequipa, Cuzco, La Paz, Chuquisaca, and Santi- 
 ago de Chile. ^ The first auto-de-fe in Lima was 
 celebrated in November, 1573. Another was 
 celebrated in 1578. On this occasion, as it was 
 customary later, the viceroy and the judges of the 
 audiencia were present. 
 
 ' Oliveira, La Politica Economica de la MetropoU, 27, 28. 
 2 A True and Particular Relation of the Dreadful Earthquake, 
 279, 280. 
 
 ' Haenke, Descripcion del Peru, 10. 
 
The Capital of South America 15 
 
 "There was a procession of sixteen victims with 
 ropes around their necks, including six priests, a law- 
 yer, and a merchant, the sentences being two hundred 
 lashes on some, burning on others, confiscation on all. 
 The next auto-de-fi was in 1581, when there were 
 twenty victims; and so the ghastly work continued 
 during the centuries of Spanish domination, creating 
 a sensation of terror through the land, spreading 
 misery and sorrow broadcast, benumbing thought, 
 and gradually, but very surely, exciting hatred and 
 repulsion."! 
 
 The Tribunal of the Inquisition, as organized 
 in Lima, was composed of three inquisitors, two 
 secretaries, bailiffs, and porters. 
 
 "The inquisitors were secular priests, and dis- 
 tinguished from the others by wearing a pale blue 
 silk cuff, buttoned over that of the coat. They were 
 addressed as lords spiritual, and when speaking, 
 although individually, used the plural pronoun we."''' 
 
 There were also certain lay brothers of the order 
 of Dominicans, called brothers of punishment, 
 whose duty it was to attend when requested 
 and inflict corporal punishment when it had 
 been prescribed by the inquisitors. In addition to 
 these there were brothers of charity of the order 
 of San Juan de Dios, who cared for the sick. 
 In order to be able to obtain information from 
 all quarters, the inquisition had a large number of 
 
 » Markham, History of Peru, 172. 
 
 2 Stevenson, Twenty Years' Residence,!., 185. 
 
1 6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 commissaries in the larger towns of its jurisdiction. 
 There were in the service of the inquisition a 
 number of persons, called qualifiers, who were 
 required to examine books, prints, and images, 
 with the view of finding whether they contained 
 any passages or had any features that might make 
 them offensive to the Church. The qualifiers 
 were required also to report to the tribunal 
 their opinion on new books and other publica- 
 tions. 
 
 The sessions of the inquisition were secret, and 
 all persons who attended them were sworn not 
 to divulge any knowledge they had of the pro- 
 ceedings. The tribunal could impose fines, con- 
 fiscate goods, and condemn to banishment or the 
 flames. During the period of its activity, between 
 1570 and 1 76 1, it caused forty persons to be 
 burned; and three times this number escaped 
 this fate by recanting. The portraits of those who 
 had suffered death in the flames were exhibited, 
 with their names attached, in the passage leading 
 from the Cathedral to the Sagrario; The names 
 of those who had recanted were also placed there, 
 but instead of the portrait over the name, the 
 panel contained a large red cross. This exhibi- 
 tion was continued until 181 2. 
 
 The inquisition held its sessions not only at 
 Lima, but also at Mexico and Carthagena; and in 
 the later decades it maintained rigid supervision 
 over the introduction, publication, sale, and use 
 
The Capital of South America 1 7 
 
 of all forms of literature. Every bookseller was 
 required to furnish lists of books offered for 
 sale by him, and to take a solemn oath that he 
 had no others than those named in the lists. He 
 was obliged to own and have in his shop a catalogue 
 of the works condemned by the inquisition, and 
 he was forbidden to purchase or sell any of them. 
 For the first offence his business was suspended 
 for two years; he was, moreover, banished for the 
 same period, and required to pay to the profit of 
 the inquisition a fine of two hundred ducats. For 
 later offences he was punished with increased 
 severity. He was not permitted to offer a private 
 library for sale without furnishing the inquisition 
 lists of the titles of the books, of their authors, and 
 of the dates and places of publication. No person 
 was allowed to import books or to take them from 
 the custom-house without permission from the 
 officers of the inquisition. If books were smuggled 
 into the colonies, they were liable to be discovered 
 on domiciliary visits which the commissioners of 
 the inquisition were free to make at any time. 
 It was, however, conceived that there were some 
 persons whose principles were so unalterably 
 grounded that they might be safely permitted 
 to read books prohibited to others. Priests 
 and monks were assumed to be of this class; 
 but there were certain books on the prohibited 
 Hsts which even priests, except in very rare 
 instances, were not permitted to read. In case 
 
1 8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 only a few passages were found to be objectionable, 
 these were removed, and the work was thus ren- 
 dered innocuous. 
 
 An instance of the malevolent activity of the 
 inquisition in the later decades of Spanish rule 
 is foiond in the persecution of Francisco Moyen, 
 who was bom in Paris in 1720. His father and 
 grandfather had been musicians attached to the 
 French court. His education had given him a 
 knowledge of music, mathematics, architecture, 
 and drawing and painting. For a number of 
 years he supported himself by his teaching 
 and his music in various cities. On the death 
 of his grandfather in 1742, he was enabled by 
 his inheritance to purchase goods costing three 
 thousand dollars, which he took to the Indies, 
 and thus gave up the life of a wandering teacher 
 and became a merchant. He remained, however, 
 an artist in temperament ; and although accepting 
 his proper place in the Church he had little sym- 
 pathy with the gloomy views of many of the 
 devotees among his associates. He had read 
 Voltaire, and many phases of the awakening 
 spirit of France appealed to him. Going from 
 Buenos Aires to Potosi, in 1749, with a number 
 of companions, one of them, Jos6 Antonio Soto, 
 a devoted servant of the Church, was careful to 
 make note of any frivolous or liberal utterances 
 made on the long journey. Four months after 
 leaving Buenos Aires, the little caravan of mer- 
 
The Capital of South America 19 
 
 chants arrived at Potosi, March 27, 1749. Two 
 days later Soto reported his list of heretical 
 propositions to the commissary of the inquisition. 
 Moyen having been thus denounced, other de- 
 nunciations followed; and these latter came from 
 persons who had not, as well as from persons who 
 had, known him. Then, on May 14, 1749, after 
 he had resided two months in Potosi, a warrant 
 was issued for his arrest and imprisonment.^ 
 
 For two months Moyen had enjoyed the hospi- 
 tality extended to him in the city, and carried on 
 his work and studies; then suddenly the war- 
 rant for his arrest was presented and he was 
 conducted to a dungeon and kept in strictest 
 confinement. In the course of time a few persons 
 were allowed to visit him, but their principal 
 object was to lead him into discussions and to 
 draw out from him expressions that might be 
 made the basis of further charges. He was 
 furnished with brandy, and the hypocrites who 
 drank with him carried utterances from the 
 
 ' The warrant issued was in the following terms : 
 "We, Doctor Joseph de Lizarazu Beaumont y Navarra, 
 Senior Rector of the Holy Metropolitan Church of this city, 
 and commissary of it and the jurisdiction of its district, in 
 the absence for cause of sickness of the proprietor. For 
 the very Illustrious Senores Apostolical Inquisitors who 
 reside in the city of the kings of Peru; we command you 
 Don Bernardo Barragan, Alguazil of this Holy Office, that 
 immediately this mandate is delivered to you, to go to the 
 house of the Colonel Don Antonio Rodriguez de Guzman, 
 or to others in whatever places, that is, or may appear to be 
 
20 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 heated debates to the authorities of the inquisition. 
 A year had passed and still his request to be 
 informed of the cause of his imprisonment had 
 not been answered. In 1750 the commissary of 
 the inquisition at Potosi made arrangement to 
 transfer Moyen from Potosi to Lima, and deliver 
 him into the hands of the Holy Office in that city. 
 Amuzquibar, the inquisitor at Lima, in a letter 
 to the commissary of Cuzco, dated February 17, 
 1752, directed that he should be brought in irons 
 but Moyen had left the city before the arrival of 
 this message. This journey, including the delays 
 by the way, lasted about two years, and on 
 March 26, 1752, a muleteer delivered Moyen to 
 the authorities of the Holy OfEce at Lima. The 
 muleteer, Ventura Bejar, received sixty-five dollars 
 for conducting him from Cuzco. 
 
 necessary within or without this city, and take into custody 
 the body of Don Francisco Moyen, native of Paris, of France, 
 and residing in this city, wherever he may be found, although 
 it may be in a church or other sacred place, fortified or 
 privileged, and as a prisoner and well secured, take him 
 to the public prison of this said city, and deliver him to 
 the chief Alcalde Alguazil, whom we command to receive 
 him from you in the presence of the notary of this Holy 
 Office, and keep him confined and well secured, and not to 
 let him go free, not even with a bond of security, without 
 our license and mandate. And you will cause that the 
 said Don Francisco Moyen leaves his goods with the care 
 necessary for their safety and guard, giving them in charge to 
 the person whom he may choose, and by an inventory before 
 the notary of this Holy Office, that from them he may be 
 -naintained. And for the better execution and compliance 
 
The Capital of South America 21 
 
 At Lima, Moyen was shut up in the vaults of 
 the inquisition. The persecution of the three 
 years that had passed since his arrival at Potosi 
 had broken his body and his spirit. Though 
 young in years, the marks of age were already 
 upon him. On the fourth of May, 1752, Moyen 
 was brought to trial. With postponements and 
 delays of every sort, the case was kept undecided 
 for twelve years ; and during this time the accused 
 was wearing chains in one of the miserable 
 dungeons of Lima. His emaciated body covered 
 with filth and vermin, and afflicted with sores 
 caused by his chains, made him an object of pity 
 
 ■with the contents of this our mandate, should you require 
 favor or help, we exhort and request, and if necessary in 
 virtue of holy obedience, and under the penalty of excom- 
 munication major, late sententie, trina canonica monitioni 
 and one thousand dollars essayed, for the extraordinary 
 expenses of this Holy Office, we command all and whatever 
 judges and justices, whether ecclesiastical or secular of this 
 city, or of any other places of the kingdoms or dominions 
 of his Majesty, that being by you required, they give and 
 cause to be given to you all the favor and help that you de- 
 mand. Should you have need of men for a guard, or beasts to 
 carry the aforesaid, and his bed and clothes with the fetters or 
 chains, and maintenance of which you may require at the 
 cvirrent prices of their value without making them dearer. 
 Given in the Imperial City of Potosi, the fourteenth of the 
 month of May, of the year one thousand seven hundred forty 
 and nine. 
 
 " Joseph de Lizarazu Beaumont y Navarra, 
 "by command of the Holy Office. 
 
 "Manuel Antonio Galvete y Varela, 
 
 " Familiar and Notary of the Holy Office." 
 
2 2 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and horror. During the first part of his perse- 
 cution he had not been informed of the charge 
 against him; but finally, in 1752, he was accused 
 of being "a heretic, formal, obstinate, and sequa- 
 cious of the sects of Luther, Calvin, Jansenius, 
 Quesnel, Manichaeus, and Mohammed, and most 
 vehemently suspected of Judaism, and an ap- 
 prover of other errors and heresies." ' 
 
 Nine years later, on the eighteenth of February, 
 1 761, the Council of Qualifiers of the Inquisition 
 pronounced their definite and final sentence. 
 This sentence was in the following form: 
 
 "Christi nomine invocato. We find, taking into 
 consideration the acts and merits of the said process, 
 that the said Promoter-Fiscal has not proved his 
 intention, according and as it ought to be proved 
 for the said Don Francisco Moyen to be declared a 
 heretic, but for the fault which results against the 
 said Don Francisco Moyen, and we desiring to act 
 favorably and mercifully towards him, and not with 
 the rigor of justice, being moved thereto by certain 
 reasons and motives, in penalty and punishment 
 for what he has done, said and committed, we order 
 and command that he present himself in a public 
 auto-de-fS, if there is shortly one to be celebrated, and 
 if not, in a particular auto in a church, or in the hall 
 of this tribunal, in the form of a penitential, with 
 a sambenito, on which is half a cross, a cap on his 
 head, a rope round his neck, a gag in his mouth, 
 
 ' Vicuna Mackenna, Francisco Moyen; or the Inquisition 
 as it was in South America, 112. 
 
The Capital of South America 23 
 
 and a taper of green wax in his hand, and thus our 
 sentence is to be read; and for the vehement sus- 
 picion resulting against this criminal of the said 
 process, we command him to abjure, and that he 
 abjure publicly and vehemently the errors of which 
 by the said process he has been accused and witnessed 
 against, and from which, and being gravely sus- 
 pected, he is absolved ad cautelam, and also gravely 
 advised, censured and threatened, and we condemn 
 him to the confiscation and loss of half his goods, 
 and which we adjudge to the Royal Fiscal of his 
 Majesty, and in his royal name to the Receiver- 
 General of this Holy Office, and we banish him per- 
 petually from both the Americas and the Islands 
 adjacent, subject to the crown of Spain, and from 
 the city of Madrid, the court of his Majesty, for the 
 term of ten years, which time must be passed in one 
 of the garrisons of Africa, Oran, Ceuta, or Melilla, 
 or else in the penitentiary-house of the tribunal of 
 the Holy Office of the Inquisition at Seville, at 
 the discretion of the illustrious Sefior Inquisitor- 
 General, and of the Senors of the Supreme Council 
 of the Holy General Inquisition, to whose disposal 
 he be remitted, duly registered, and for the space 
 of the said ten years he must confess and receive 
 the sacrament at Easter, on Whit Sunday, and Christ- 
 mas day, and also repeat a part of the rosary to the 
 most Holy Mary. And the day following the said auto, 
 he must go out to be disgraced in the public streets, 
 placed upon a beast of burden, and with the same 
 marks of infamy as in the said auto, and the voice of 
 the crier is to make public his crime, and although 
 we have condemned him to receive two hundred 
 
24 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 lashes, we command that they be not given, in 
 consideration of the complaint he suffers, and that 
 this sentence be executed notwithstanding any 
 supplication, and for this it is our definite sentence, 
 and so we pronounce it, and command it in these 
 writings and by them." * 
 
 After twelve years of imprisonment Francisco 
 Moyen was formally tried by the inquisition, 
 but was not found guilty of the charges brought 
 against him. He was consequently absolved, 
 but the members of the Holy Office refused to 
 abandon their suspicions, and these suspicions 
 remained as the only ground for this far-reaching 
 condemnation. 
 
 In Peru, the cruelty and inhumanity of the 
 authorities, moreover, found expression in the 
 construction and use of horrible subterranean 
 dungeons in Lima. They were built "in such a 
 manner that a man could not place himself in any 
 natural position whatever. Many persons, victims 
 of despotism, were confined in these holes for 
 years; and when at length let out, it was only 
 to bewail their existence, being rendered useless 
 and helpless for the rest of their lives." These 
 dungeons, popularly known as little hells (in- 
 fiernillosj, were maintained as long as Lima 
 remained under the rule of Spain, but were 
 abolished by San Martin, in 182 1.2 
 
 ' Vicuna Mackenna, Francisco Moyen, i68. 
 ' Hall, Journey, ii., 250-253. 
 
The Capital of South America 25 
 
 From contemporary records we are able to 
 derive a sufficiently clear idea of the personal 
 qualities of the inhabitants of Lima as well as 
 of their general activity, during the last years of 
 Spanish rule. They were generous, and spent their 
 money lavishly, often going beyond reasonable 
 Umits even to their ruin. This was particu- 
 larly true of the Creoles, who, perhaps recogniz- 
 ing their social inferiority, sought to overcome 
 this prejudice by extravagant display. There 
 was Httle crime among them, but, when a crime 
 had been committed, their inclination to mercy 
 led them to seek to protect the culprit. This 
 hvunanity was manifested also in their treatment 
 of their slaves. It was very rare that slaves 
 complained of severe treatment by their masters. 
 Living in a society dominated by the viceroy, the 
 inhabitants of Lima acquired somewhat of the 
 refinements and formality of manners character- 
 istic of dwellers near a royal court. Their desire 
 for wealth and its uses led even members of 
 illustrious houses to oppose the prejudices that 
 existed in Spain, and engage openly in trade. 
 They possessed a peculiar pride, or vanity, which 
 tended to manifest itself in extravagant sentiments 
 and statements concerning their surroundings. In 
 their language every white man was a caballero; 
 every instrumental concert was an opera; every 
 man with the elements of education was a savant; 
 and any one showing any evidence of devotion was 
 
26 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 a saint or an angel. They were given to pleasure 
 and gambling, and in general to a life of enter- 
 tainment and idleness. Idolizers of women, they 
 almost always held their own wives in little esteem. 
 The youth were easily corrupted, and the luxury 
 of the demi-monde indicated that a large number 
 of contributions were made to their wealth. 
 
 "Lima," says Haenke, "like the cities of Spain, 
 has its bull -ring where bull-fights are held at appointed 
 times. The bull-fighters, the most active and daring, 
 have the custom of hamstringing the bull if he will 
 not attack. The people of Lima count among their 
 public amusements the drama, for the representation 
 of which they have a sufficiently capacious theatre. 
 Good order and neatness are maintained in the 
 theatre in spite of the fact that the spectators smoke 
 during the play. The decorations are mediocre, 
 and the actors are ordinary. Generally no other 
 plays are given than those which we call magic or 
 religious plays. The public applauds them heartily, 
 and the time appears still very remote when these 
 coarser productions will be driven from the stage, 
 which, far from instructing, vitiate the understanding 
 and confirm bad taste. 
 
 "Before the year 1771 cafds were not known in 
 Lima. To-day there are several, and they are much 
 frequented early in the morning and at noon. All 
 kinds of drinks and ices are found in them, and each 
 has its table for trucks or billiards. 
 
 "There is also a public place for the playing of 
 pelota, or hand-ball, where much money is risked; 
 
The Capital of South America 27 
 
 but among all the diversions cock-fighting is that 
 which most attracts the attention of the people of 
 Lima, and may be regarded as the favorite amuse- 
 ment of the natives." ^ 
 
 The city was, moreover, enlivened by balls and 
 church processions, and the conspicuous activity 
 of the brotherhoods established in connection 
 with churches or monasteries. But perhaps 
 the greatest public ceremony was that attend- 
 ing the reception of a newly arrived viceroy. 
 
 "As soon as the viceroy lands at Payta," says 
 Ulloa, "two hundred leagues from Lima, he sends 
 a person of distinction as ambassador to inform 
 the preceding viceroy of his arrival in Peru. The 
 Corregidor of Piura receives the viceroy at the port, 
 furnishes him with whatever may be necessary for 
 his journey, and accompanies him to the border of 
 the neighboring Corregidor's district, constructing 
 temporary structures for sheltering him in the unin- 
 habited country where it may be necessary for him 
 to stop. He finally arrives at Lima, and, without 
 stopping, passes incognito to Callao, where he is 
 received with all possible ceremony by one of the 
 ordinary alcaldes of Lima, appointed for this pur- 
 pose, and by the military officers. 
 
 "The next day all the courts, secular and ecclesi- 
 astical, wait on him from Lima, and he receives 
 them under a canopy in the following order: the 
 audiencia, the chamber of accounts, the cathedral 
 chapter, the magistracy, the consulado, the inqui- 
 
 ' Descripcion del Peru, 29. 
 
28 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 sition, the tribunal de crusada, the superiors of 
 the religious orders, the colleges, and other persons 
 of eminence. On this day the judges attend the 
 viceroy to an entertainment given by the alcalde: 
 and all persons of note take a pride in doing the 
 like to his attendants. At night there is a play, to 
 which the ladies are admitted veiled, and in their 
 usual dress, to see the new viceroy. 
 
 "The second day after his arrival at Callao he goes 
 in a coach provided for him by the city, to the chapel 
 de la Legua, so called from its being about half-way 
 between Callao and Lima, a league from either city, 
 where he is met by the late viceroy, and both alight- 
 ing from their coaches, the latter delivers to him 
 a truncheon as the ensign of the government of the, 
 kingdom. After this, and the usual compliments, 
 they separate. 
 
 "If the new viceroy intends to make his public 
 entry into Lima, in a few days he returns to Callao, 
 where he stays till the day appointed ; but as a longer 
 space is generally allowed for the many preparatives 
 necessary to such a ceremony, he continues his 
 journey to Lima, and takes up his residence in his 
 palace, the fitting up of which on this occasion is 
 committed to the junior auditor, and the ordinary 
 alcalde. 
 
 " On the day of public entry, the streets are cleaned 
 and hung with tapestry, and magnificent triumphal 
 arches erected at proper distances. ^ At two in the 
 
 > It is reported that when the Duke de la Palata entered 
 Lima as viceroy the merchants caused the streets through 
 which he was to enter the plaza to be paved with ingots of 
 silver for two squares. These ingots or bars were between 
 
The Capital of South America 29 
 
 afternoon the viceroy goes privately to the church 
 belonging to the monastery of Montserrat, which is 
 separated by an arch and a gate from the street 
 where the cavalcade is to begin. As soon as all 
 who are to assist in this procession are assembled, 
 the viceroy and his retinue mount their horses, 
 provided by the city for this ceremony, and the 
 gates being thrown open, the procession begins in 
 the following order: 
 
 "The militia; the colleges; the university with 
 the professors in their proper habits; the chamber of 
 accompts; the members of the audiencia on horses 
 with trappings; the magistracy, in crimson velvet 
 robes lined with brocade of the same color, and a 
 particular kind of caps on their heads, a dress only 
 used on this occasion. Some members of the corpo- 
 ration who walk on foot support the canopy over 
 the viceroy, and the two ordinary alcaldes, which 
 are in the same dress, and walk in the pro- 
 cession, act as equerries, holding the bridle of his 
 horse. 
 
 "This procession is of considerable length, the 
 viceroy passing through several streets till he comes 
 to the great square, in which the whole company 
 alights, and is received by the archbishop and chapter. 
 The Te Deum is then sung before the viceroy, and the 
 officers placed in their respective seats ; after which he 
 again mounts his horse and proceeds to the palace gate , 
 where he is received by the audiencia, and conducted 
 to an apartment in which a splendid collation is 
 
 twelve and fifteen inches long, four or five in breadth, and 
 two or three in thickness. One writer estimates that the 
 value involved was eighty millions of crowns. 
 
30 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 provided, as are also others for the nobility in the 
 antechambers. 
 
 "On the morning of the following day, he returns 
 to the cathedral in his coach, with the retinue and 
 pomp usual on solemn festivals, and public ceremonies. 
 He is preceded by the whole troop of horse-guards, 
 the members of the several tribunals in their coaches, 
 and after them the viceroy himself with his family, 
 the company of the halberdiers bringing up the 
 rear. On this occasion all the riches and ornaments 
 of the church are displayed, the archbishop celebrates, 
 in his pontificial robes, the mass of thanksgiving; 
 and the sermon is preached by one of the best orators 
 of the chapters. From thence the viceroy returns 
 to the palace attended by all the nobility, who omit 
 nothing to make a splendid figure on the occasion. In 
 the evening of this, and the two following days, the 
 collations are repeated, with all the plenty and deli- 
 cacy imaginable. To increase the festivity, all women 
 of credit have free access to the halls, galleries, and 
 gardens of the palace. 
 
 "To all this ceremony follow bull- fights which last 
 for five days. The first three days are in honor of 
 the viceroy; the last two are for the ambassador sent 
 to announce his arrival. After the bull-fights come 
 the ceremonies of reception by the university, the 
 colleges, and all the religious communities, with 
 addresses and disputations which are subsequently 
 published. The rector gathers those delivered by 
 members of the university into a volume, which, 
 bound in velvet and gold, he presents to the viceroy, 
 accompanied by a piece of jewelry that is never of 
 less value than eight hundred or a thousand dollars. 
 
The Capital of South America 31 
 
 Essentially the same procedure as that of the uni- 
 versity is followed by the colleges and religious houses 
 in the order of their establishment, and when the 
 viceroy goes to visit them, they present him with 
 the most notable things made by them." ^ 
 
 After all this ceremony the viceroy entered 
 upon the routine of his administration, which 
 was continued during the pleasure of the king. 
 The average term of the later viceroys of Peru 
 was seven and a half years. 
 
 ' Ulloa, Voyage to South America, ii., 46-50. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE VICEROYALTY OP RIO DE LA PLATA 
 
 LIMA was not only the social and govern- 
 mental centre of South America, but, for the 
 greater part of the colonial period, it was also 
 the commercial centre; and the interests of the 
 south-eastern colonies were sacrificed to the privi- 
 leges of the Peruvian merchants. The beginning 
 of the last quarter of the eighteenth century 
 witnessed, however, a significant revolution in the 
 affairs of these colonies. The most important 
 events of this revolution were the foundation 
 of the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, in 1776; the 
 introduction of a large measure of commercial 
 freedom, in 1778; and the reorganization of the 
 administration by the publication of the Ordinance 
 of Intendants. 
 
 At this time the two original viceroyalties of 
 Mexico and Peru retained their rigidity of form 
 and rule, but certain signs of territorial disinte- 
 gration had already appeared. These consisted 
 in demands for an increase in the number of 
 audiencias, or supreme courts ; in the establishment 
 of the viceroyalty of Santa F6; and in the pre- 
 
 32 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 33 
 
 tension of the captaincies-general to be independ- 
 ent of the viceroys. The growth of the population 
 in the different quarters of the continent, and 
 the development of local interests and local am- 
 bitions, made necessary a more effective admin- 
 istration than could be furnished from any single 
 centre. This difficulty found its normal solution 
 in the division of the original South American 
 viceroyalty. This division was first carried into 
 effect, as already suggested, by establishing a 
 separate viceregal government for the territory 
 now embraced in the republics of Colombia and 
 Ecuador. 
 
 In the southern part of the continent the need 
 of a new administrative organization had become 
 imperative. There was wanted a more effective 
 agency not only for the better management of 
 internal affairs, but also for repelling foreign 
 encroachments, particularly those of the Portu- 
 guese from the side of Brazil. As a capital for 
 the new government, Buenos Aires had the great 
 advantage of its geographical position. It was 
 near the southern coast, where the Spaniards 
 were attempting to plant colonies : and it was the 
 gateway to the interior of the continent, which 
 was reached by the great rivers of Paraguay, 
 Parand, and Uruguay. The Cordillera, impass- 
 able during a large part of the year, made it 
 necessary that the eastern and western shores 
 should have different centres of governmental 
 
34 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 authority. The province of Cuyo, east of the 
 Andes, formerly attached to Chile, had more 
 intimate geographical relations with the provinces 
 of Rio de la Plata than with the territory of the 
 Pacific coast, and, therefore, needed to be politi- 
 cally united with the provinces of the southeast. 
 
 The viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, when created, 
 was in all its legal features like those that had 
 been previously established in Mexico, Peru, and 
 the present territory of Colombia and Ecuador. 
 In Mexico and Peru, at the beginning of the last 
 quarter of the eighteenth century, the succession 
 of viceroys already extended over more than two 
 hundred years. A complex social organization 
 had grown up in their capitals ; elaborate forms and 
 ceremonies were observed both in the government 
 and in private life ; and the class distinctions that 
 were recognized gave the society an appearance of 
 maturity. But in Buenos Aires, a frontier town, 
 there was comparatively little wealth, less recog- 
 nition of forms and ceremonies, and, in every 
 respect, a simpler mode of existence. While the 
 viceroy of Buenos Aires stood under the same 
 law as the viceroy of Mexico or Lima, his real 
 position was widely different from that of the 
 viceroy in either of the older capitals. 
 
 The powers and duties of a viceroy were in 
 general such as devolved upon him as the imme- 
 diate representative of the king. He considered 
 petitions of all sorts addressed to him, and in this 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 35 
 
 he was assisted by a legal adviser, called asesor 
 general. The asesor prepared the decisions, or 
 replies to the petitions, and submitted them to the 
 viceroy for his signature. From these decisions 
 there was an appeal to the audiencia. The vice- 
 roy stood at the head of both civil and military 
 affairs. He was the commander-in-chief of the 
 colonial military and naval forces, but in emergen- 
 cies he was assisted by a council of war. He called 
 courts-martial, and reviewed for confirmation the 
 sentences imposed by the courts before they were 
 carried out. As president of the audiencia he 
 might attend its sessions, and he had the power 
 of veto over all its decisions.^ In this capacity 
 he made an annual report to the king through 
 the Council of the Indies, and took this occasion 
 to give the king all necessary information concern- 
 ing the public and private characters of the mem- 
 bers of this court. His conduct was, however, 
 
 • Sometimes the viceroy attended the meetings of the 
 audiencia in state. The ceremony of these occasions in 
 Lima has been described by a contemporary observer. When 
 it had been announced that the viceroy would thus be present, 
 a deputation of the judges "attended him from his palace 
 to the hall; on his arrival at the door, the porter called aloud 
 'the president! ' when all the attorneys, advocates, and others 
 met him and conducted him to his chair; the judges continued 
 standing until he was seated and nodded permission for them 
 to resume their seats." At the end of the session all the 
 members of the audiencia "accompanied him to the door 
 of his apartment in the palace, the regent walking on his 
 left, and the other members preceding him two and two". — 
 Stevenson, Twenty Years' Residence, i., 175. 
 
36 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 subjected to restrictions. He was forbidden 
 to marry within the limits of the viceroyalty 
 without the express permission of the sovereign. 
 He might not engage in commercial affairs, 
 acquire property, become a god-father to an 
 infant, or visit a private family. He was the 
 royal vice-patron. All appointments to benefices 
 in the Church required his confirmation. In 
 exercising his power with reference to these 
 appointments, he selected one of three persons 
 proposed by the archbishop. The viceroy of 
 Peru was governor-general of Callao, and twice 
 every year he visited the fortifications, receiving 
 for each visit an addition to his salary of five 
 hundred dollars. 
 
 The creation of the viceroyalty of Buenos 
 Aires was the most important act of the Spanish 
 authorities in the later decades of the century. 
 A step towards this event is seen in the king's 
 declaration of 1766, that the governor of Buenos 
 Aires should have supervision over the eastern 
 shore, including the Straits and Cape Horn. ' 
 Another step was taken by the fiscal of the royal 
 audiencia of Charcas, Tomds Alvarez de Acevedo. 
 He foresaw the necessity of a change, and urged 
 that the government of a province as far away 
 as Buenos Aires was from the centre of power 
 would, almost of necessity, be inefficient and 
 expensive. In spite of the great difficulties of 
 
 ' Quesada, Vireinato del Rio de la Plata, 38. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 37 
 
 communication, the supreme tribunal for the 
 province of Buenos Aires had its seat nearly 
 two thousand miles away, in the city of Charcas. 
 In order to remedy the evils and promote the 
 pubhc welfare, it appeared to Acevedo impera- 
 tively necessary to create a viceroyalty and 
 audiencia at Buenos Aires. The audiencia of 
 Charcas adopted this view, and on the 12 th of 
 January, 177 1, made a report, and sent it to the 
 king, advising the creation of a new viceroyalty, 
 urging that the province of Cuyo should be sepa- 
 rated from Chile, and united with the provinces 
 of Tucuman, Buenos Aires, and Paraguay and 
 the whole be made to constitute the territory 
 of the new viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. ^ 
 The prompt action that was taken in this case was 
 in a large measure due to the hostility that had 
 broken out between the Spaniards and the Portu- 
 guese. The king of Spain determined not only 
 to meet the hostile Portuguese with an effective 
 force, but also to create a new centre of viceregal 
 power. Both the viceroy of Peru and the governor 
 of Buenos Aires favored the project; and in July, 
 1776, Ceballos was informed that he would be 
 placed in command of the military expedition 
 against the Portuguese in the Rio de la Plata, 
 and that he would be entrusted with the superior 
 authority over this district and all the territories 
 under the jurisdiction of the audiencia of Charcas, 
 
 ' Quesada, Vireinato, 40. 
 
3? The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 as well as those of the cities of Mendoza and San 
 Juan del Pico ; and that there would be conceded 
 to him the status of viceroy, governor, captain- 
 general, and president of the audiencia, with all 
 the powers and duties pertaining to this status. 
 Ceballos was then governor of Madrid, and the 
 king provided that this office should be held for 
 him, in order that he might return to it when 
 the object of the expedition should have been 
 attained. 
 
 Under the date of August i, 1776, the king 
 issued to Ceballos his commission in the following 
 form: 
 
 "Whereas, being well satisfied with the repeated 
 proofs which you have given me of your love and 
 zeal for my royal service, and having appointed you 
 to command the expedition that is made ready at 
 Cadiz for South America, instructed to obtain satis- 
 faction for the insults offered by the Portuguese, in 
 my provinces of Rio de la Plata, I have appointed 
 you my viceroy, governor, and captain -general of the 
 provinces of Buenos Aires, Paraguay, Tucuman, 
 Potosi, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Charcas, and of all the 
 districts, towns, and territories, to which is extended 
 the jurisdiction of that audiencia, over which yoti 
 will preside when present, with the appropriate 
 powers and privileges which the other viceroys of my 
 dominions in India enjoy, according to the laws of 
 the Indies, thus embracing under your command and 
 jurisdiction the territories of the cities of Mendoza, 
 and San Juan del Pico, which at present are depend- 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 39 
 
 ent on the government of Chile, with absolute inde- 
 pendence of my viceroy of the kingdom of Peru, 
 while thus you remain in those countries, with respect 
 to the military as well as to the civil government, and 
 the general superintendency of the royal treasury, 
 in all its branches and products; wherefore I command 
 the said viceroy of Peru, the presidents of Chile 
 and Charcas, the ministers of their audiencias, the 
 governors, corregidors, alcaldes, ministers of my 
 royal treasury, officers of my royal army and navy, 
 and other persons whom it may concern, that they 
 may have, recognize, and obey you as such viceroy, 
 governor, and captain-general of the provinces men- 
 tioned, in virtue of this my order and testimonial of 
 that which you will be obliged to direct on your 
 arrival, to the chiefs, tribunals, and others who may 
 be concerned, so that without the least reply or 
 contradiction they may comply with your orders and 
 that they may comply with them punctually in their 
 respective jurisdictions, which is thus my will, 
 and that as soon as you are prepared to leave 
 Cadiz you make yourself known as viceroy and 
 captain -general to all persons on all the warships 
 and transports, in order that they may act in accord- 
 ance with this knowledge and may be under your 
 orders when they embark, 'and to the effect that you 
 may not be placed in embarrassment in the absolute 
 service and authority, and with regard to the high 
 character of my viceroy, governor, and captain- 
 general, in virtue of this my royal decree, I excuse 
 you from all the rest of the formalities of other 
 expeditions, oath, payment of half-year annats, 
 assimiing possession, judgment of residencia, and 
 
40 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of whatever other requisites are customary and pre- 
 scribed by the laws of the Indies, in case of the 
 appointment of viceroys to those dominions, for 
 thus entering my royal service; and I command 
 equally the officers of the royal treasury of Buenos 
 Aires and the rest of the districts of your government, 
 that they may pay you punctually from the funds 
 of my royal treasury to the amount of forty thousand 
 pesos current in America, which I assign to you in 
 Cadiz, in virtue of your receipts, or letters of payment 
 which will serve for them, of proper date without 
 any^ other security whatsoever. 
 
 " Given in San Ildefonso, August i, 1776." 
 
 The king's instructions concerning the govern- 
 ment to be established were issued under date 
 of August 15, 1776. The new viceroyalty was 
 independent of that of Peru, and the power con- 
 ferred upon Ceballos was the absolute power of 
 the king. At this time the governor of Rio de 
 la Plata was Juan Jos6 de Vertiz, who, having 
 handed over to the new viceroy the command of 
 the troops and the superior authority over all the 
 cities and territory under his control, was ordered 
 to remain as governor of this province, subordi- 
 nated to the viceroy as the viceroy was subject to 
 the king. The sixteenth article of the instructions 
 commands the viceroy to raise all the militia 
 possible in the "district of the new viceroyalty," 
 to commission officers, and to make effective 
 regulations for clothing, arming, and disciplining 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 41 
 
 the troops to be maintained; and at the con- 
 clusion of the expedition to make arrangements 
 under which the established armed force may- 
 be continued. It was not difficult to foresee that 
 the irritation caused by Spain's commercial 
 policy was destined, sooner or later, to make a 
 considerable miUtary force needed to ward off 
 foreign encroachments. 
 
 The fleet appointed to carry the nine thousand 
 soldiers placed under the command of Ceballos 
 left Cadiz in November, 1776. After crossing the 
 Atlantic, it assembled at Montevideo. Ceballos 
 did not go to the colony of La Plata as to a strange 
 country. He had been governor of Buenos 
 Aires for a period of ten years, from 1756 to 1766, 
 and in his military expeditions to Missiones and 
 against Colonia he had become familiar with the 
 country over which he was to rule as viceroy. He 
 knew, moreover, the territory in dispute between 
 the Spaniards and the Portuguese, as well as the 
 merits of the pretensions of the parties involved. 
 He landed his forces at Montevideo, and led them 
 along the shore to Colonia. At the same time he 
 sent some of his war-ships to command that town 
 and fort from the river. Beset by both the land 
 and naval forces, Colonia surrendered on the 
 fourth of June, 1777. One hundred and forty 
 pieces of ordnance and a large quantity of arms and 
 munitions fell into the hands of the Spaniards. 
 The officers were sent to Rio Janeiro, while the 
 
42 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 common soldiers and the colonists were transported 
 to Mendoza. The colonists and common soldiers 
 had been brought to America from the Azores, 
 the Portuguese government expecting that their 
 experience in the vineyards of their native islands 
 would be utiUzed in developing the culture of the 
 vine in the region about the mouth of the great 
 river. But, the climatic conditions there had 
 been found unfavorable to this undertaking. 
 In the interior of the country at the foot of the 
 Andes there was a better prospect, and the later 
 important development in the cultivation of the 
 grape in that region was furthered by the prisoners 
 of war from Colonia. 
 
 The continuance of the war against the 
 Portuguese was prevented by despatches from 
 Madrid, announcing that, by an agreement with 
 Portugal, hostilities had been suspended. Portu- 
 guese diplomacy had put an end to the military 
 undertaking. These despatches also brought to 
 Ceballos the information that he had received mili- 
 tary promotion. Under these circumstances, the 
 only course open to him was to return with his 
 army to Montevideo. Here he placed General 
 Vertiz in immediate command of the forces, and 
 went to Buenos Aires. 
 
 The cessation of hostilities was followed by the 
 treaty of San Ildefonso, October i, 1777, which 
 aimed to establish a line of demarkation between 
 the Spanish and Portuguese possessions in this 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 43 
 
 part of America. Colonia passed into the hands 
 of the Spaniards, who remained in exclusive control 
 of the Rio de la Plata. The line of separation 
 having been described, it was provided that the 
 Portuguese inhabitants of all territory ceded to 
 Spain should be at liberty to withdraw or remain, 
 and the same privilege was extended to Spaniards 
 resident on territory transferred to Portugal; 
 and aU persons were to enjoy equal freedom with 
 reference to the disposition of property. 
 
 The navigation of the rivers was to be in com- 
 mon when the boundaries of the two nations lay 
 in them, but the use of the rivers when both 
 shores belonged to one nation was private and 
 belonged to the nation owning the banks. In 
 order that this rule might be observed, monuments 
 with proper inscriptions were required to be placed 
 where the boundary lines came to the river. 
 The islands should belong to the nation holding 
 the nearer shore. But in case the islands were 
 equally distant from the shores, they should 
 be neutral, unless they were very large, in which 
 case they should be divided. For the purpose 
 of fixing the line of demarkation, provision was 
 made for the appointment of expert commissioners 
 by the two governments, under such conditions 
 that the work of actually fixing the boundary 
 might be carried on at different parts of the line 
 at the same time. Moreover, inasmuch as the 
 wealth of the country depended upon the slaves 
 
44 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 who cultivated the lands, the governors were 
 required to agree on a method of returning them 
 in case they ran away from their owners, so 
 that the fact of passing tmder foreign dominion 
 might not give them their liberty. 
 
 The enemy against whom the king had made 
 war was, after all, the most beneficent factor in 
 the life of the colony of Rio de la Plata; for 
 smuggling by the Portuguese had relieved the 
 inhabitants of that colony, in a large measure, 
 from the consequences of Spain's commercial 
 restrictions. Not only Portuguese wares, but 
 also wares from other countries were smuggled 
 over the border to Buenos Aires. English goods, 
 received at Colonia under relatively low duties, 
 were smuggled across the river and brought to the 
 Spanish settlers. The low prices at which they 
 could be obtained naturally diminished the im- 
 portations by the overland route from Peru. 
 When Charles III. became aware of the deplorable 
 state of things that had prevailed in this southern 
 colony, he was convinced that the fundamental 
 error lay in the economic legislation to which 
 the colonists had been subjected. Under this 
 conviction he issued the commercial code of 1778. ^ 
 This applied alike to all the Spanish colonies in 
 America. It had been preceded by a decree 
 issued by CebaUos, in 1777, making free the trade 
 
 ' Reglamento para el comercio libre de Espaiia d Indias de 
 12 de Octubre de 1778. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 45 
 
 of Rio de la Plata with Spain and the rest of 
 the colonies. This act was approved by the 
 king and prepared the way for the more general 
 law of the following year, the commercial code 
 of 1778. 
 
 Hitherto Seville and Cadiz had held the mo- 
 nopoly of Spain's commerce with America. The 
 advantages of this trade were now extended to the 
 principal ports of Spain and of the Canary Islands. 
 In Spanish America practically all of the impor- 
 tant ports, including Buenos Aires and Montevideo, 
 were admitted to the privileges previously en- 
 joyed exclusively by Vera Cruz and Porto Bello. 
 
 The war between England and Spain, which 
 broke out in 1779, prevented the full realization of 
 the expected results of the enlarged commercial 
 freedom. This commercial emancipation, more- 
 over, came too late to revive the loyalty of the col- 
 onists of Buenos Aires. They were well aware that 
 they had been neglected for decades, and that this 
 neglect had been permitted in the interests of the 
 residents of other ports. They were now free from 
 the commercial as well as the political domination 
 of Lima. Seville's monopoly was broken, and the 
 rich products of Upper Peru, Chile, Paraguay, and 
 the provinces of the interior were brought to 
 Buenos Aires, and shipped thence to Cadiz, Barce- 
 lona, Malaga, Santander, Vigo, Gijon, San Lucar, 
 Havana, Lima, Guayaquil, and Guiana; and 
 these ports sent back to Buenos Aires whatever 
 
46 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 wares were demanded to further the advancement 
 and well-being of that colony. 
 
 From San Lorenzo, October 27, 1777, the king 
 issued an order declaring the viceroyalty perma- 
 nent. By this order General Vertiz was appointed 
 to succeed Ceballos, but it was left to Ceballos to 
 determine when this appointment should become 
 effective. This order, moreover, introduced an 
 important reform, by creating the office of 
 General Superintendent of the Army and the 
 Treasury, the occupant of which was to have 
 general direction and management of all the 
 departments of the treasury. The creation of 
 this office fixed a limitation on the power of the 
 viceroy which had not existed during the ad- 
 ministration of Ceballos; for he had performed 
 the functions of general superintendent of the 
 royal treasury, and "to him was subordinated 
 the intendant appointed for the military expedition 
 and all his subordinates of the auditor's office 
 and the treasury." ^ The intendancies were made 
 to embrace all the inhabited districts of the 
 viceroyalty and all those that might be inhabited 
 in the future, and the power to be exercised by 
 the intendant under the new viceroy and his 
 successors was in some sense a counterpoise to the 
 authority of the viceroy ; for in the order appoint- 
 ing Vertiz the king informed him that while 
 he had made him viceroy, governor, and captain- 
 
 1 Quesada, Vireinato, 134. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 47 
 
 general, he had left the supervision and regulation 
 of the royal treasury in all its branches and 
 proceeds to the care, direction, and management 
 of the intendant of the army whom he had 
 appointed. * 
 
 During the administration of Vertiz settle- 
 ments were made on the southeastern coast, in 
 the region formerly known as Patagonia, and 
 these were recognized as part of the viceroyalty 
 of Buenos Aires, and thus under the jurisdiction 
 of the viceroy. But these establishments were 
 found to cost the government large sums, and, 
 with the exception of that of Rio Negro, were 
 later abandoned by the authority of the king. 
 At the same time the king directed that a column 
 should be left there, on which should be fixed 
 the royal arms and an inscription affirming the 
 Spanish sovereignty over the region; and that 
 this territory should be visited or otherwise 
 recognized every year. 2 
 
 At the head of the political hierarchy stood 
 the viceroy, governor, and captain -general ; under 
 him the secretary of the viceroyalty; and there 
 were the following provinces with civil or military 
 governors: Montevideo, Tucuman, Paraguay, 
 Charcas, Potosi, Paz, Chucuito, Santa Cruz de 
 
 ' The list of viceroys of Buenos Aires with the periods of 
 their service is given in The Establishment of Spanish Rule in 
 America, 218. 
 
 2 Inform.e del Virey Vertiz, -para que se abandonen los estable- 
 cimientos de la Costa Patagonica, Angelis, v., 122-127. 
 
48 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 la Sierra, Mojos, Chiquitos, Missiones de Indios 
 Guaranies. The coast of Patagonia was under 
 the immediate direction of the commissary- 
 superintendent, Francisco de Viedma, as Com- 
 andante de Armas in Rio Negro, and Antonio de 
 Viedma, as Gohernador de Armas in San Julien. 
 
 In Peru and New Granada, the viceroy on 
 retiring from office was required to make, for 
 the benefit of his successors, a somewhat detailed 
 account of his administration, and of the questions, 
 solved and unsolved, that had engaged his official 
 attention. This practice was introduced into the 
 viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, and General Vertiz 
 at the close of his term prepared such an account 
 for the use of his successor, the Marquis of Loreto. ' 
 
 Throughout the eighteenth century it was 
 generally known that the Spanish colonial system 
 had failed to reach the ends for which it was 
 designed by the king and his council. The 
 Indians suffered a barbarous and destructive 
 oppression at the hands of practically irresponsi- 
 ble officials. Yet before the middle of the century 
 the Spanish king had in his possession the Noticias 
 Secretas de America, which left no ground for 
 doubting the necessity of reform. The estabhsh- 
 ment of the liberal conmiercial code of 1778 
 magnified the difficulties of administering the 
 colonies under the old organization; and in the 
 presence of the complicated and difficult problem 
 
 ' Quesada, Vireinato, 160-170. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 49 
 
 the monarchs before Charles III. had been helpless, 
 and their helplessness made more evident the 
 need of a modification of the existing system. 
 
 In the governmental reform introduced by the 
 appointment of Ceballos, there was established the 
 single authority of the viceroy for the whole vice- 
 royalty, while subordinate governors remained 
 in the several provinces. This was an adaptation 
 of the order prevailing in Spain. There Ceballos, 
 as governor of Madrid, held the position of a local 
 governor, tinder the central or national authority. 
 In Buenos Aires as viceroy he held the central 
 power, while Vertiz then held the position of a 
 local or provincial governor. The viceroy was, 
 however, always under the laws of the Indies, and 
 such other orders as might be issued by the king 
 and his Council of the Indies. These constituted 
 the supreme law under which the viceregal 
 government existed. Notwithstanding this dis- 
 tribution of power, the several political entities 
 remained only parts of an absolute monarchy; 
 and all power exercised by any government of 
 whatever grade descended to it from the single 
 source of absolute power — the king of Spain. 
 The viceroy was not assisted by ministers, but 
 there was a secretary of the viceroyalty. 
 
 The several provinces, such as Cuyo and those 
 formerly constituting Upper Peru and Paraguay, 
 after the organization of this viceroyalty sent 
 their accounts to the auditor's office and the 
 
So The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 tribunal of accounts, of the capital of the vice- 
 royalty. In this respect the form of government 
 was assimilated to that of any well-organized 
 state. In the beginning, the viceroy was the 
 single superior, in whom all the authority of the 
 viceroyalty was centred; but when it had been 
 determined to make the viceregal organization in 
 this part of the continent permanent, it was thought 
 advisable to create a general superintendent of 
 the treasury with important powers, and repre- 
 senting, in matters relating to the treasury, the 
 supreme authority in Spain. This order became 
 effective with the appointment of Vertiz to 
 be the viceroy. At this time Manuel Ignacio 
 Fernandez was made general intendant of the 
 army and the royal treasury in the provinces of 
 Rio de la Plata and all other provinces subject to 
 the viceregal government. There was thus in- 
 troduced a form of dualism, the inconveniences 
 of which showed themselves very early. Under 
 this system the viceroy's government was without 
 a revenue which it could control ; and the intendant 
 lacked the power necessary to give his orders 
 executive force. But all doubts or confusion with 
 respect to the jurisdiction of these two function- 
 aries were set aside by the publication of the 
 Ordenanza de Intendentes. ^ 
 
 ' The complete title of this law was, Real Ordenanza para 
 el Establecimiento S Instruccion de Intendentes de Exercito y 
 Provincia en el Vireinato de Buenos Aires. Ano de 1 782. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 51 
 
 By this law the viceroyalty of Buenos Aires 
 was divided into eight intendancies, each to take 
 the name of its principal city. The territory of 
 each was, moreover, with certain exceptions, 
 made to coincide with that of the bishopric in 
 which lay the capital city. These exceptions 
 refer to certain districts that were parts of a 
 bishopric but not subject to the corresponding 
 intendant. Mojos and Chiquitos were included 
 in the diocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, but were 
 military governments in immediate subordination 
 to the viceroy. Montevideo and Missiones were 
 other exceptions of a somewhat similar kind.* 
 They were in the bishopric of Buenos Aires, but 
 not under the intendant of Buenos Aires or any 
 other intendant. On the other hand the bishop- 
 ric of Paraguay had the same limits as the inten- 
 dancy of Paraguay 
 
 The capitals named in the ordinance were 
 Buenos Aires, Asttncion, Tucuman, Santa Cruz 
 de la Sierra, La Paz, Mendoza, La Plata, and 
 Potosi. The powers of the viceroy were not to 
 be curtailed, except that the supervision and 
 control of the royal treasury was to be vinder 
 the general intendant, who in this matter was to 
 act with absolute independence of the viceroy. 2 
 
 • Quesada, Vireinato, 574. 
 
 2 Lopez, Historia Argentina, i., 403; Ordenanm de Inten- 
 dentes. Art. 2; Quesada, 387-519; for the dates of the 
 establishment of the bishoprics and the territory of each see 
 Zinny, Gobernadores, i., xcvi. 
 
52 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The next year, in 1783, the audiencia of Buenos 
 Aires was created. It embraced within its 
 jurisdiction the provinces of Buenos Aires, Tucu- 
 man, Paraguay, and Cuyo. The inhabitants of 
 the viceroyalty were thus subject to the superior 
 authority of the viceroy, which reached every 
 part of his kingdom; to the authority of the 
 governors-intendants, Hmited to their several 
 intendancies ; to the authority of the audiencia 
 of Buenos Aires, which was exercised in the prov- 
 inces of Buenos Aires, Tucuman, Paraguay, and 
 Cuyo, and to that of the audiencia of Charcas, 
 which was exercised in the provinces of Upper Peru. 
 To these several civil authorities must be added 
 the ecclesiastical authority of the bishops, whose 
 respective jurisdictions had in general the same 
 territorial limits as the authority of the intendants. 
 
 Under this organization the officers of the 
 viceroyalty may be considered as apportioned 
 to two departments under the king, the heads 
 of which were made responsible to him. These 
 might be called the department of the interior 
 and the department of the treasury. At the 
 head of the first stood the viceroy. At the 
 head of the second stood the general intendant 
 of the army and the treasury. In each of the 
 eight intendancies the chief official had the 
 double title of govemor-intendant ; for he was 
 subordinated to the viceroy in affairs relating 
 to the police, instruction, worship, and the 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 53 
 
 judiciary, while he was the agent of the general 
 intendant in his province, or intendancy, with 
 reference to revenues, expenditures, and all other 
 fiscal matters. 
 
 This distribution of power did not create local 
 governments, as that term is applied to a con- 
 stitutional state. The divisions of the vice- 
 royalty were merely administrative districts; and 
 the officers who exercised power in them did not 
 derive their authority from ^ local constituents, 
 but from the king. They were not parts of a 
 federation, but agents of an absolute centralized 
 superior, or rather of two superiors that were 
 expected to work along different but parallel lines ; 
 and "what made the application of the ordinance 
 of intendants, of 1782, inconvenient and impossible 
 in practice was the hierarchical administrative 
 subdivision which it introduced. A viceroy of 
 the treasury and a viceroy of political government 
 were two incompatible terms." ' The inconven- 
 ience of this bifurcated administration was soon 
 set aside, and the two functions which the ordi- 
 nance had separated were united in the viceroy. 
 This was done by suppressing the independence 
 of the general intendant and making him subject 
 to the viceroy. The chiefs remained independent 
 of one another oilly during the administration of 
 Vertiz, and while Fernandez was general in- 
 tendant. On the appointment of Francisco de 
 
 ' Lopez, Historia Argentina, i., 408. 
 
54 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Paula Sanz, as general intendant, he was subor- 
 dinated to the viceroy, and became at the same 
 time govemor-intendant of the province of 
 Buenos Aires, and in this capacity he exercised 
 the same functions as the govemor-intendants 
 of the other provinces; but in his character as 
 general intendant, sub-delegate of the treasury 
 and the army, he had general jurisdiction in the 
 whole territory of the viceroyalty, and as govemor- 
 intendant of Buenos Aires, his jurisdiction was 
 limited to the territory of the bishopric, coexten- 
 sive with the intendancy. ^ This organization of 
 the intendancies of the royal treasury of the vice- 
 royalty of Buenos Aires was not confined to this 
 political division. These high functionaries 
 had the same powers and duties in Peru and 
 Mexico. 2 
 
 It was natural that there should be many 
 changes in the law of the Indies, since it required 
 only the will of the king and his council to amend 
 or abrogate any existing law. From the beginning 
 to the end of Spanish rule in America, therefore, 
 the laws controlling the colonial administration 
 were constantly undergoing changes. The or- 
 dinance relating to intendancies furnished no 
 exception. The organization and procedure es- 
 tablished by the royal Ordinance of Intendants 
 of 1782 was modified by the General Ordinance 
 of 1803. The full title of this ordinance was : 
 
 ' Qnesada, Vireinato, 449. 2 Ibid., 464. 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 55 
 
 Ordinanza General formada de orden de S. M. y 
 mandada imprimir y puhlicar para el gobierno 6 
 instruccion de intendentes subdelegados y demas 
 empleados de Indias. 
 
 The later ordinance superseded the earlier, and 
 the first article of it declared that each province 
 should be in charge of a single person with the 
 title of intendant, reuniting the political with 
 the military government. It also provided that 
 the intendant should be appointed by the king. 
 The fourth article designated the intendancies 
 constituting the viceroyalty. They were Para- 
 guay, Cordova del Tucuman, Salta, Cochabamba, 
 La Paz, La Plata, and Potosi. The province of 
 Buenos Aires does not appear in this list; but 
 provision was made for establishing in Mexico, 
 Lima, Bogota, and Buenos Aires intendentes de 
 provincia. The viceroy in no case acted as 
 governor of a province or the governor of a 
 province as a viceroy. By this ordinance it was 
 established that the viceroy should exercise his 
 functions under the laws and the royal instructions. 
 This ordinance appears as a constitution for the 
 colonial governments in America, and embraces 
 the superior government, the subordinate govern- 
 ments, and the whole hierarchical order of em- 
 ployees, pointing out to each one his powers and 
 duties, and in a word, his jurisdiction. ^ It provides 
 for the establishment of superior councils in all of 
 
 > Quesada, Vireinato, 486. 
 
56 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the capitals of the viceroyalties and the captain- 
 cies-general. One of these superior councils, or 
 courts, with the title of contensiosa, took account of 
 private cases, everything that involved a point 
 of law that could be settled by a trial; the other, 
 the junta superior de gobierno, of which the 
 intendant of the capital was an ex-officio member, 
 rendered opinions in cases involving govern- 
 mental matters, everything relative to the rev- 
 enues, the method, manner, and time of collecting 
 them, as well as to the employees and their powers 
 and obligations. In so far as the members of 
 these two courts were in sympathy with the in- 
 habitants of the capital where they resided and 
 shared their aspirations with respect to local 
 affairs, they formed a counterpoise to the cen- 
 tralized power exercised by the viceroy. But 
 all of these functionaries of the capitals were 
 under the superior jurisdiction of the audiencias, 
 whose powers lay above the range of these reforms 
 and who still were authorized to assume the vice- 
 regal functions in case of the death of the viceroy 
 without provision made for an immediate succes- 
 sor. Subject to the viceregal superiority and 
 the jurisdiction of the audiencia, the intendants, 
 as provincial governors by royal appointment, 
 continued to exercise those large powers which 
 naturally devolved upon them as the agents of 
 the viceroy and as important members of an 
 administrative hierarchy, where the head was 
 
The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 57 
 
 absolute and the other members too isolated 
 to be effectively under practical control.* 
 
 ' For a general statement concerning the condition of 
 aflEairs in the viceroyalty at the end of the eighteenth century 
 see the Memoria of the viceroy Avil6s addressed to his succes- 
 sor, Joaquin del Pino, dated at Buenos Aires, May 21, 1801, 
 and printed in Zinny, Gobernadores, i., xlvii-xcvi. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 AN INTERIOR PROVINCE 
 
 IT is noteworthy that while the EngUsh colonies 
 of North America were preparing for an 
 independent national life, the Spanish colonies 
 were drifting toward social anarchy. In one 
 case the colonists were passing to a new phase 
 of political organization under the inspiration of 
 the principles of liberty that had their origin 
 in the mother country. In the other case, the 
 colonists, incapable of self-reformation, were 
 reorganized by a power that shaped their destiny 
 without consulting their will. The new organi- 
 zation of the southern colonies, which created the 
 intendancies, took account of certain political 
 entities that had been maintained during the 
 two centuries and a half of colonial existence. 
 The ancient province was the historical antece- 
 dent of the intendancy, although the limits of 
 the two political divisions may not have been 
 the same in all cases. In fact, the territorial limits 
 of the old provinces were not carefully established. 
 The settlements in the heart of the continent, 
 including the cities of Cordova, Tucuman, and 
 
 58 
 
An Interior Province 59 
 
 Santiago del Estero, might very well be treated 
 as a province without fixing a definite boundary 
 line through the vast unoccupied regions that 
 separated them from the settlements of Para- 
 guay and the Rio de la Plata. There was no need 
 of definite botmdaries when it was a journey of 
 many weeks from one centre of population to 
 another. But since certain groups of provinces 
 have become independent and self-conscious 
 nations, this lack of definite boundary lines has 
 given rise to numerous international controversies 
 respecting territorial limits. Those countries that 
 lay on the shore of the Atlantic or the Pacific were 
 sure of their boundaries on at least one side; 
 and that was about the extent of their certain 
 knowledge concerning the lines that limited 
 their territorial possessions. 
 
 The province of Tucuman, as we have seen, 
 became an intendancy under the ordinance of 
 1782. Twenty-one years later, in 1803, a new 
 ordinance was issued that modified somewhat 
 the distribution of the territory of the viceroyalty. 
 The ancient province of Tucuman was divided by 
 this later ordinance between two intendancies. 
 These were the intendancies of Cordova and 
 Salta, the former embracing the southern part of 
 the province, and the latter the northern part. 
 This organization lasted till the overthrow of the 
 colonial r6gime. The thirty years that cover the 
 history of the intendancies have been described 
 
6o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 as a period of incubation, a period of peaceful 
 internal development. Through the opportunities 
 offered by the freedom of trade established in 
 1778, the province increased in wealth and social 
 importance, but Buenos Aires, favored by its 
 situation, had outgrown the interior cities, and 
 assumed the political leadership of the south- 
 eastern settlements. 
 
 A glance at the history of the province of 
 Tucuman reveals some of the difficulties that 
 attended the development. The first European 
 to take formal possession of the territory was 
 Nunez de Prado, who received his commission 
 for this purpose from Pedro de la Gasca, after 
 the suppression of the rebellion led by Pizarro. 
 Subsequently Nunez de Prado was compelled 
 to recognize the jurisdiction of Valdivia, and the 
 province was thus nominally brought under the 
 government of Chile. But the inclination of 
 Prado to be loyal to Peru rather than to Chile 
 led Valdivia to seek to make Chilean authority 
 effective in Tucuman. To this end Valdivia sent 
 Francisco de Aguirre to supersede Nunez de 
 Prado. It had been the policy of Prado to seek 
 to bring the Indians to civilization by peaceful 
 means, but the coming of Aguirre was the begin- 
 ning of a reign of terror. " The Lules Indians in 
 the province, forty-seven thousand in number, were 
 distributed among fifty-six encomenderos ; that 
 is to say, each one of these adventurers, by the 
 
An Interior Province 6i 
 
 fact of having landed on the continent, claimed 
 and realized the right to deprive more than eight 
 hundred of his fellow-men of their lands, their 
 homes, and their liberty " ^ an act of tyranny 
 and injustice that introduced a long series of 
 crimes. For the Indians rose in rebellion against 
 the cruelty of their new masters, destroyed the 
 Spanish town of Barco de Avila, and compelled 
 the inhabitants to retire beyond the river Dulce, 
 where they founded the town of Santiago del 
 Estero. Hostile relations once established be- 
 tween the Spaniards and the Indians, there ap- 
 peared to be no alternative to the arbitrary 
 exercise of force, and the Spaniards very naturally 
 adopted the policy of repression that had been 
 carried out elsewhere. There appeared to be little 
 prospect of peace or progress under the jurisdiction 
 of Chile," and Peru was persuaded to assert its 
 supremacy and assume control over the province. 
 The advance of the Spanish arms was now followed 
 by the extension of settlements. The towns that 
 were here organized were established under a more 
 or less close adherence to the legal regulations 
 governing this act. The first step in establishing 
 jurisdiction was the erection of a gibbet (picota), 
 or tree of justice. Then the streets and squares 
 and lots were marked out in accordance with a plan 
 the main features of which were fixed by law. 
 The point of beginning was the principal square. 
 > Memoria de la Provincia de Tucuman, 39, 
 
62 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Around this sites were set apart for the erection 
 of the church, the town hall, and other public 
 edifices. The lots not required for public build- 
 ings were distributed among those who were to 
 become the inhabitants. The plans of the towns 
 as originally formed were often retained per- 
 manently without essential modification. The 
 plan of the present city of Tuctunan, with respect 
 to the width of the streets and all other essential 
 features, is that in accordance with which the 
 ancient town was laid out. 
 
 The houses in the provincial towns or cities 
 were generally large, with two or three patios, 
 or courts, in one of which the horses and other 
 working animals were kept. The laborers em- 
 ployed in their construction were for the greater 
 part Indians, and more stress was laid on rapidity 
 of the work than on the beauty or convenience 
 of the structures. The walls were generally of 
 adobe and the roofs were covered either with 
 straw or palm leaves, the places of building de- 
 termining which should be employed. "Later, 
 certain features of luxury were added to what 
 was strictly necessary : a cornice of clay was con- 
 structed ; the grating for the windows was made of 
 turned pieces of wood; fiat stones or tiles were 
 laid for the sidewalk in front; and the walls 
 were whitewashed."' Lest some one with a 
 little invention might arise and introduce modi- 
 
 > Mem., 63. 
 
An Interior Province 63 
 
 fications in the style of building, it was provided 
 by law that houses " should be of one form for the 
 adornment of the town." Through adherence to 
 this paternal advice the builders of the old cities 
 of Spanish America gave them a wearisome 
 monotony. 
 
 It became early evident to the settlers in 
 Tucuman that precious metals were not to be 
 found there, and that most of their Indian 
 dependents must be turned to agriculture. In 
 this occupation they were driven like slaves, and 
 "the encomenderos refused to the Indians even 
 the smallest part of the harvests of grain, which 
 with the sweat of their brows they had drawn 
 from the land. They were obliged to gather 
 algarrobas as their only means of support; it 
 might even be said that they were pastured 
 in the mountains like animals."^ They were 
 not only driven to agricultural work, they 
 were also required, imder severe penalties, to 
 gather the products of the forests, such as pitch, 
 honey, and wax. Others were employed in har- 
 vesting and weaving cotton. They were, more- 
 over, held to a strict account, and 
 
 "whoever failed to perform exactly what was required 
 of him was whipped or put in the stocks for his neglect ; 
 and in inflicting these punishments the majordomos 
 and their assistants were horribly cruel. They had 
 charge of the workshops where the Indians lived 
 ' Mem., 71. 
 
64 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 deprived of their liberty, without being able to control 
 their property, or even to care for their own children 
 and wives. . . . And the wretched creatures 
 had no one to whom they could look, since all persons, 
 the judges as well as the encomenderos, were united 
 in these extortions. . . . And at the same time 
 numberless Indians were perishing, worn out with 
 work merely to satisfy foreign avarice, "^ 
 
 doomed to slavery and deprived of all advantage 
 of their labor and the fertility of their country. 
 Although the Indians as a class derived little 
 or no profit from their work, they furthered culti- 
 vation in the province and helped to build up 
 certain primitive industries; and it was largely 
 through their efforts that the province was ad- 
 vanced from the barbarism of the early decades 
 to a social state having many of the features of 
 civilization. The towns of Salta, Tucuman, and 
 Cordova increased in population, and became 
 the more important centres of provincial trade, 
 while Santiago del Estero, the ancient capital, 
 declined. With the establishment of the College 
 of Monserrat and the University at Cordova, 
 that town began to assume the character for 
 which, as a centre of learning, it later became 
 famous. The instruction here, as in all the higher 
 educational institutions of South America, was 
 almost entirely devoted to ecclesiastical subjects. 
 In the University of Buenos Aires, even as late as 
 
 - Lozano, i., 3; see Mem., 72. 
 
An Interior Province 65 
 
 187 1, two thirds of all the professorships were 
 foundations for teaching the ciencias edesiasticas. 
 The earthquake of 1692 also contributed to 
 change the relative importance of the provincial 
 towns. Santiago del Estero was destroyed, and 
 it is reported that two-thirds of the inhabitants 
 were buried beneath the ruins. The survivors, 
 instead of attempting to reconstruct their dwell- 
 ings and business houses, abandoned the wreck 
 and joined the inhabitants of the more prosperous 
 towns of the province. 
 
 The governor of the province was practically 
 an absolute ruler. Paul Groussac says : 
 
 "The governors acted with entire independence 
 within and without the sphere of their prerogatives. 
 TheAudienciaof Charcas seldom interfered effectively, 
 and with regard to the decrees of the Royal Council 
 of the Indies, there was invented this exquisite 
 formula, which, when these decrees were not agreeable 
 to the governors, was gravely placed on the margin of 
 the document: 'Se obedece, pero no se ejecuta.' " 
 
 This absolute power of the governor rendered 
 his character a factor of vital importance for 
 the welfare of the province. When he was strong 
 and wise and patriotic, the province flourished 
 and the people enjoyed peace and hopeftd pros- 
 pects. When he was weak or unscrupulous in the 
 pursuit of his own pecuniary advantage, he inter- 
 fered seriously with the prosperity of his subjects. 
 Gaspar de Baraona became governor in 1700. 
 
66 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 He abandoned the policy of his predecessors, 
 who had sought to maintain peaceful relations 
 with the Indians, and "entered Tucuman like 
 a pirate in a galleon. " ^ He had a salary of six 
 thousand dollars a year, yet in five years he ac- 
 cumulated three hundred thousand dollars. He 
 was removed from office in 1707. But during 
 the term of his service the affairs of the province 
 fell into disorder. The Indians, knowing the 
 inefficiency of the government, became bold 
 enough to attack the towns, and it is affirmed 
 that they "were accustomed to go through the 
 streets sacking and killing with impunity. "^ 
 
 It was clear that governors of another sort 
 were required to insure the peace and prosperity 
 of the province. Fortunately Baraona's successor, 
 Est6ban Urizar Arespacochega, possessed the 
 qualities needed, but the conduct of the Indians, 
 grown accustomed to making depredations, im- 
 posed upon him a difficult task. He raised an 
 armed force of fifteen hundred men ; and to main- 
 tain the security of the eastern frontier provision 
 was made for a permanent body of militia. 
 
 This last measure involved heavy expenses, 
 and led the provincial government to impose a 
 certain duty on articles exported to Peru, particu- 
 larly on mules. The administration of Est6ban 
 Urizar Arespacochega proved to be so satisfactory 
 that Philip V., in 1724, made him governor of 
 
 ' Mem., 98. 2 Ibid., 98. 
 
An Interior Province 67 
 
 Tucumaoi for life. In this respect and with 
 reference to the wisdom and honesty of his ad- 
 ministration he was an exception among the 
 governors of Tucuman. He was succeeded by 
 Isidoro Ortiz, Marquis of Aro, whose administra- 
 tion was of such a character that it was said of it, 
 " the excesses of Governor Baraona appeared Hke 
 Puritanism by the side of the corruption now 
 erected into a system." ^ The cabildo of Salta 
 resented the outrageous conduct of the governor, 
 and demanded and obtained his dismissal. His 
 immediate successor was Baltazar de Abarca, a 
 man of unobjectionable character, but a weak 
 administrator, and unable to prevent the ravages 
 of the Indians. 
 
 Hitherto the campaigns against the Indians 
 had been carried on with large bodies of troops, 
 whose movements were necessarily difficult and 
 slow and expensive. They were, moreover, gen- 
 erally fruitless, since the savages, with no pro- 
 vision train or heavy equipment, were able to 
 keep out of reach, and gather where they were 
 not expected. Felix de Avache, who became 
 governor in 1730, introduced a system of guerilla 
 warfare, which, considering the character of 
 the enemy and the circumstances under which 
 the fighting had to be done, was much less ex- 
 pensive and much more effective than the system 
 that had been employed hitherto. The effective- 
 
 ' Mem., 100. 
 
68 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 ness of this system is seen in the fact that the 
 province was kept free from invaders and its pros- 
 perity restored. But the alternation of efficient 
 and inefficient governors brought evil times again 
 with the appointment of Ivan de Armasa. The 
 civilized inhabitants were again afifected by the 
 encroachments of their savage neighbors. In 
 fact, the Indians of the Chaco were for the province 
 of Tucuman what the Araucanians were for Chile; 
 they were never overcome or destroyed by force 
 of arms, but in the course of time they were 
 weakened and decimated by the vices and dis- 
 eases which they acquired by their contact with 
 civilization. 
 
 The points of contact between the civilized 
 inhabitants of the province and the Indians of 
 the Chaco were increased during the last half of 
 the eighteenth century by the various expeditions 
 which penetrated that region with the view of 
 exploring the course of the river Bermejo and of 
 finding a way out to the Atlantic coast easier 
 than across the dreary plain of the Argentine. 
 
 The most notable event in the province during 
 the last half-century of the southern colonies was 
 the expulsion of the Jesuits. The decree of ex- 
 pulsion was executed in Tucuman in August, 
 1767, by Juan Adrian Cornejo. It was expected 
 that this act would reveal large accumulations 
 of wealth, and that some part of it would come 
 to the secular uses of the province. It was found, 
 
An Interior Province 69 
 
 however, that the Jesuits had regtilarly sent the 
 money and precious metals that had come into 
 their hands to Europe under the pretence of 
 paying for articles of European manufacture 
 needed in the reductions, and that what had been 
 retained had been successfully concealed. 
 
 It might well have been supposed that the 
 Jesuits in the province of Tucuman had much 
 wealth; for the legitimate acquisition of property 
 was not in opposition to the pretensions of 
 the society. "The renunciation of the mem- 
 bers was absolute; but the company had not 
 taken a vow of poverty."^ They were neither 
 agents bestowing charity, nor beggars. They 
 received compensation for their instruction, and 
 payment for the products of their estates, their 
 factories, or their mines. The inventory of their 
 property confiscated included a number of valu- 
 able estates, with mills and slaves. Although the 
 furniture of their houses was not especially 
 valuable, their books and manuscripts, consider- 
 ing the time and place, were important. The 
 schools which they had established and con- 
 ducted passed into the hands of the Franciscans. 
 
 The province of Tucuman during the last 
 decades of the eighteenth century derived great 
 profit from the enlarged commercial freedom 
 which Spain had granted to her American depend- 
 encies. Tobacco and sugar-cane became more 
 
 ' Mem., 119. 
 
70 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 extensively cultivated and brought increasing 
 wealth ; and this wealth made itself manifest in the 
 improvement of the cities, noted especially in the 
 construction of better public and private buildings, 
 and in the establishment of public schools for sec- 
 ondary education. The province enjoyed, more- 
 over, a certain advantage from its position on the 
 great overland route between Buenos Aires and 
 Upper Peru. Besides furnishing places for the tem- 
 porary deposit of wares passing over this route, it 
 had also, among other manufactories, important es- 
 tablishments for making carts that were used in 
 this transportation. That there must have been 
 a considerable and persistent demand for these 
 carts may be inferred from the extent of the over- 
 land trade and from the fact that even those of 
 the best construction lasted only two years, that 
 is to say, they served for only two round trips. 
 
 The trip with these great ox-carts from Salta 
 to Buenos Aires took usually three months, and 
 a little less to return. This period in almost all 
 cases was extended by delays in loading and by 
 the necessity of making frequent repairs. Four- 
 teen or fifteen carts usually went together, and 
 the arrival of the caravan in the province, at 
 Cordova or Tucuman, from Buenos Aires, was the 
 chief event of the year. By it the inhabitants 
 received news from Paraguay, Buenos Aires, and 
 Spain, but the most recent of the events referred 
 to were already several months past. It also 
 
An Interior Province 71 
 
 brought information of attacks of brigands or 
 Indians on the road, and these incidents, discussed 
 and retold a hundred times around the camp- 
 fires on the journey, lost nothing by repetition; 
 and, when they were finally told in Tucuman, they 
 had grown into elaborate chapters of an unwritten 
 history. The peons, or drivers, of the caravan 
 who had been involved in these encounters be- 
 came heroes in the eyes of the cholas of the 
 province. The coming of the caravan was thus 
 anticipated with popular interest, and its arrival 
 was remembered as an event by which the province 
 had been placed temporarily in touch with the 
 world beyond its borders. 
 
 But in the north, beyond the cities and the 
 plains and the fertile valleys, there was a phase 
 of provincial life that was passed in the obscurity 
 of the mountains. This region, extending be- 
 yond the limits of Tucuman into the provinces of 
 Upper Peru, was a part of the high table-land 
 which constitutes the northern boundary of the 
 great Argentine plain. By reason of its broken 
 surface, it offered few inducements to agricul- 
 ture ; but there were abundant opportunities for 
 mining, and in the colonial period the Jesuits, in 
 particular, made use of these opportunities. In 
 some instances they constructed costly plants 
 for exploiting the mines on a large scale. But 
 with their expulsion in 1767, the mines they had 
 worked were abandoned. The most thorough 
 
72 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 collapse of mining in this region came, how- 
 ever, with the war of independence. Both the 
 owners and the laborers were called away; the 
 means of communication were destroyed; and 
 the works were plundered. After the events 
 which attended the fall of the colonial regime, 
 operations were continued at a few mines, but 
 the majority were closed, some doubtless because 
 of the failure of a profitable product, and others 
 because of the Creole's inferiority to the Spaniard 
 as a miner. 
 
 It would be interesting to follow the fate of 
 this interior country which the indomitable energy 
 of the early Spanish colonists, in spite of almost 
 insurmountable difficulties, started on the way to 
 civilization. Such an attempt would show at the 
 outset that these vigorous pioneers have had no 
 successors. - Moreover, the representatives of the 
 pure Spanish stock have disappeared completely. 
 They have either become crossed with the Indians 
 or mestizos, or have emigrated to the cities. 
 
 The Jesuits were not only successful miners, 
 they were also the first explorers to enter these 
 valleys of the Andean country. They brought the 
 Indian under their control, but they did not 
 teach him the habit of personal saving or the 
 rights of private property. They required him 
 to work, but neither the field which he cultivated 
 nor the house which he occupied was his. His 
 labor and all the property with which he had to 
 
An Interior Province 73 
 
 do was at the disposal of his Jesuit masters. The 
 Indian neophyte under the Jesuits 
 
 "was a perpetual ward, restrained from the enjoy- 
 ment of all civil liberties, without training for the 
 transaction of business on his own account, even for 
 maintaining social relations with his fellows. He 
 was always a child and a semi-savage, so that when 
 the Jesuits were expelled, and he found himself sub- 
 ject to the new government of violent corregidors 
 and corrupt parish priests, he scorned the liberty that 
 was offered to him and to which he was not accus- 
 tomed, and returned to the wilds." 1 
 
 The combination of the Indian stock with that 
 of the arrogant, adventurous Spaniard produced 
 the mestizo, who had some of the qualities of 
 both races, but whatever of the Spaniard was re- 
 produced was belittled and vulgarized. Neither 
 the Indian nor the mestizo was capable of origi- 
 nating and carrying on great enterprises, and 
 consequently on the withdrawal of the Europeans 
 there came necessarily a social decline. In the 
 last years of Spanish rule the inhabitants of the 
 highlands' included many families of respectable 
 standing, that have disappeared leaving degen- 
 erate successors. In the colonial period there was 
 a certain degree of progress, as also an improve- 
 ment in the quality o' the inhabitants through 
 the immigration of Spaniards, who came as 
 
 • Paredes, La Provincia de Inquisivi, 7S> 7^- 
 
74 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 priests,^ public officials, and seekers of fortune. 
 With the independence of the colonies, Spanish 
 immigration ceased, and no other superior race 
 has furnished a substitute. 
 
 ' " Es un hecho digno de mencionarse, que en los cantones, 
 es rara la familia acomodada 6 blanca que no descienda de al- 
 glin cl^rigo. El prestigio de acaudalado que gozaba el pdrroco, 
 era tal en el coloniaje y durante los primeros tiempos de la 
 republica, que mujeres de familias distinguidas, no tenian d 
 menos pertenecerles, y estar en mancebia publica con cl6rigos; 
 & eso se agrega, que los sacerdotes que iban A las provincias, 
 eran gentes alegres y de vida licenciosa, que supieron aprove- 
 char ventajosamente de la favorable predisposici6n que 
 encontraron, dejando numerosa prole en las distintas locali- 
 dades que les cabia permanacer." — Paredes, 80, note. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE COLONIAL CITY 
 
 THE circumstances of the establishment of 
 the southern colonies furnished a certain 
 basis for the separate existence of Argentina, 
 Chile, Peru, and Paraguay, and for the later 
 federal organization of Argentina. Chile, cut off 
 from Peru by the desert of Atacama and receiving 
 a governor or captain-general by the direct ap- 
 pointment of the king, was practically independent 
 of the viceroyalty long before its independence 
 was formally decreed by royal authority, in 1778. 
 The provinces east of the Andes took their origin 
 from three sources. Cuyo, embracing the cities 
 of Mendoza, San Juan, and San Luis, was settled 
 from Chile, and maintained its connection with 
 that colony until the creation of the viceroyalty 
 of Rio de la Plata ; Tucuman, embracing the cities 
 of Cordova, Salta, Rioja, Jujuy, Santiago del 
 Estero, and Catamarca, was occupied by colonists 
 from Peru ; and the provinces in the valleys of the 
 great rivers, Buenos Aires, Santa F6, Corrientes, 
 and Entre Rios, had a still different origin, de- 
 riving their inhabitants directly from Spain. 
 
 75 
 
76 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The separatist tendency was intensified by their 
 commercial isolation and by the fact that Buenos 
 Aires was a closed port, which made both Cuyo 
 and Tucuman look to other sources for imported 
 wares. But the removal of the trade restrictions 
 on Buenos Aires, in 1778, tended to draw the 
 several provinces together, to share the common 
 advantages of the new commerce. Under the 
 viceroy these three groups of provinces were 
 drawn together politically, but their individuality 
 continued to be recognized by the existence of 
 the govemors-intendants.i 
 
 Many of the forces that maintained the indi- 
 viduality of the colonies and the provinces operated 
 to preserve the cities as distinct and self-sufficing 
 centres. Asuncion, Buenos Aires, Potosi, and 
 Cordova had to manage their local affairs without 
 any reference to one another, and these were the 
 most important affairs with which they were 
 concerned. They were in a great measure au- 
 tonomous, because what concerned one city did not 
 involve the interests of the others. The gov- 
 ernors, or corregidors, were accustomed to assume 
 much power in the municipal governments of 
 the cities where they resided. This was a direct 
 interference with the autonomy of the cabildo, 
 or ayuntamiento, or the local organization under 
 whatever name it was formed. 
 
 The laws of the Indies, in keeping with their 
 
 'See Ramos Mejia, El Federalismo Argentina, cap. ii. 
 
The Colonial City 77 
 
 regard for details in general, prescribed the forms 
 to be observed in founding a town. In the Eng- 
 lish colonies of America the town grew up to meet 
 the the needs of the inhabitants of the country ; 
 but in the Spanish colonies the population of 
 country grew to meet the needs of the towns. 
 The primary plan of the English colonist was to 
 live on the land, and to derive his support from 
 its cultivation. The primary plan of the Spanish 
 colonist was to live in the town, and to derive 
 his support from the labor of the Indians and of 
 such other persons as found themselves compelled 
 by unfavorable circumstances to turn to agricul- 
 ture, or the work of the mines. The Spanish 
 colonial town was created consciously, in accord- 
 ance with a plan of action predetermined. In 
 most cases the town had an individual f otmder who 
 went about his undertaking as one might proceed 
 to found a fortress or fix the site of a manufactur- 
 ing establishment. The English colonial town 
 grew up where it was found, by the experience of 
 many persons, that commercial or other agencies, 
 gathered in a more or less compact community, 
 would be able to be of service to a large number 
 of persons or families. The Spanish founder 
 selected a site, and indicated the place for the 
 principal plaza. Here he erected a monument 
 as a sign of possession and royal jurisdiction. He 
 gave a name to the future city, marked out its 
 plan, distributed the lots, and determined the 
 
78 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 limits of its jurisdiction. This having been done, 
 all those persons present who were to become mem- 
 bers of the municipality signed the act of organi- 
 zation, and took an oath to support it. The 
 founder then appointed the alcaldes and regidors, 
 or members of the municipal council, administered 
 to them an oath, and when the ayuntamiento, 
 or corporation, was thus installed, the founder him- 
 self took an oath before it. This body, when 
 organized, exercised legislative and, through its 
 alcaldes, judicial and executive powers. Having 
 been created in the first instance by appointment, 
 it was provided that subsequently the members 
 should be elected; and the time for election, the 
 term of service, and the limits of its authority 
 were already fixed by a general law. 
 
 In some of the larger cities there were officers 
 not found in the smaller organized towns. In 
 Lima, besides the two alcaldes and the twelve 
 councilmen, the law provided for a prosecuting 
 attorney, a secretary, a sheriff, and a legal ad- 
 viser; and among the officers appointed by the 
 cabildo, there was a police magistrate and a juez 
 de aguas. The last-named officer decided all 
 questions relating to the water-works belonging 
 to the city and the suburbs. The fact that a 
 city was the capital of the viceroyalty led to 
 certain unusual forms and practices in the city 
 government. The viceroy was, for example, 
 president of the cabildo, and the alcaldes took 
 
The Colonial City 79 
 
 cognizance of cases that ordinarily were decided 
 by the governors. 
 
 The ancient Spanish charters of municipal 
 liberties established and guaranteed certain im- 
 portant privileges, or rights: i. EquaUty before 
 the law; 2. Inviolability of the domicile; 3. 
 Justice administered by judges elected either by 
 the people or by their council, except in certain 
 special cases which fell under the royal juris- 
 diction; 4. Participation in public affairs, which 
 was realized by the election of members of the 
 council by the citizens ; 5 . Responsibility of public 
 functionaries. The municipalities established in 
 America did not possess all of these ancient 
 guarantees. The members of the council were, 
 however, elected every year, on the first of Jan- 
 uary. By royal decree of 1594, it was provided 
 that the inhabitants of the city should elect their 
 cabildos freely, the right to vote being exercised 
 by resident householders of the city, provided 
 they had not shops for the sale of merchandise, 
 in which they were personally engaged. This 
 phase of the constitution of the cabildo, or 
 council, was from time to time modified by the 
 interference of the superior authority. The first 
 cabildo of Buenos Aires was organized by the 
 founder, Garay, who affirmed his right to appoint 
 the members, to indicate the beginning of the 
 year, the end of their service, and also the time 
 when other members should be elected to fill 
 
8o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 vacancies. The intervention of the governors in 
 appointing municipal officials was in opposition to 
 the will of the king, and the cabildo of Buenos Aires 
 was led to send to him protests against the practice. 
 The governor, moreover, under his right to confirm 
 the result of the elections, sometimes assumed the 
 right to nullify them and order a new election. 
 
 The original plan of constituting the cabildos 
 was further violated by the practice of selling the 
 places of members. This was in keeping with 
 the earlier practice of selling offices and titles 
 in Spain. In some instances the offices became 
 liable to attachment for debt, like other property. 
 The sale in Buenos Aires was by public auction 
 held in the plaza near the entrance to the munici- 
 pal building. This practice naturally took away 
 from office-holding all idea of duty, patriotism, or 
 sacrifice for the good of the community. The 
 system of purchasing offices having been estab- 
 lished, the purchasers made a business of politics, 
 and were careful that their investments should 
 not be unprofitable. They trampled the laws 
 of the kingdom underfoot, if thereby they could 
 gain a pecuniary advantage. They regarded their 
 personal interest as the only good, and for this 
 they were willing to sacrifice all other interests. 
 "This policy," says an Argentine writer, "vio- 
 lated all notions of good order and administration. 
 By selling offices, the government admitted 
 implicitly that its affairs were exploitable, that 
 
The Colonial City 8i 
 
 they were articles of commerce. The evil which 
 this tradition has wrought is incredible. It is the 
 root of our political decadence." * 
 
 There were thus three ways by which one might 
 attain the honor of membership in the cabildo: 
 by appointment, by election, and by purchase at 
 public auction. By whatever way they may have 
 come to their positions, the members enjoyed 
 certain privileges and advantages aside from the 
 legitimate powers of their offices, but the superior 
 authorities did not regard them or treat them 
 with great consideration. The governor not infre- 
 quently traversed their will. He might call them 
 to a meeting at an appointed time, direct their 
 debates, or close the discussion when it pleased 
 him. He sometimes sent them as prisoners to 
 their houses or to the prison, when their conduct 
 seemed to him to require punishment. The in- 
 habitants of the city were practically affected only 
 by the acts of these two authorities: the cabildo, 
 or ayuntamiento, and the governor of the prov- 
 ince or his deputy. Beginning as civilized camps in 
 a savage wilderness, the question as to the amount 
 of power which the law gave to these two authori- 
 ties was of little importance. The needs of the 
 common life of the city in its isolation and not 
 the terms of a charter determined their action. 
 
 In no city should the number of alcaldes exceed 
 two, but the number of regidors, or councilmen, 
 
 • Garcfa, La Ciudad Indiana, 169, 170. 
 6 
 
82 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 might vary, with the size of the city, from six to 
 twelve. In cases where they were elected, where 
 the posts had not as yet been sold, persons with 
 certain degrees of relationship with the candidates 
 for these places were prohibited from voting for 
 their kinsmen,* and the persons elected must 
 be residents of the towns in which they were to 
 serve. The election was held annually on the 
 first of January, and in the presence of the gov- 
 ernor. By this election, the members of the 
 cabildo, or ayuntamiento, were selected, and the 
 alcaldes were chosen by this body. The alcaldes 
 exercised judicial power and were invested with this 
 authority for only one year, in order that this honor 
 might be shared by a greater number of the in- 
 habitants, and it was recognized that appointments 
 made for this short period would be less harmful 
 in case the selection resulted in elevating to of- 
 fice an inefficient and unworthy person. 2 
 
 The justice administered by the alcaldes in the 
 city and the surrounding territory subject to its 
 jurisdiction was patriarchial in character. The 
 judge might or might not be able to read and 
 write ; this was not a matter of prime importance, 
 
 » "Mandamos h, las justicias, cabildos y regimientos, que 
 no consientan ni dSn lugar que en las elecciones de oficios se 
 elijan ni nombren padres d hijos, ni hijos d padres, ni hermanos 
 &. hermanos, ni suegros & yernos, ni yemos & suegros, ni 
 cunados d cunados, ni los casados con dos hermanas, que 
 asiesnuestra voluntad." — Leyesde Indias, lib. 4, tit. 10, ley 5, 
 
 'Libras Capitularis de Santiago del Estero, i., vi. 
 
The Colonial City 83 
 
 but it was important that he should have the 
 sense to discern what decision would secure 
 essential justice in the usually simple cases that 
 were brought before him. The primitive form 
 of settling petty cases appears to have been 
 satisfactory; and there was strong opposition 
 to the introduction of a system that would in- 
 volve the service of lawyers and the consequent 
 emphasizing of legal technicalities. The policy 
 of the king and the council of the Indies had 
 been to oppose the establishment of lawyers in 
 the colonies, and the colonists themselves enter- 
 tained the same view. As early as 1613, the 
 cabildo of Buenos Aires had under considera- 
 tion the advisibility of admitting three lawyers, 
 who had proposed to come to the city. The 
 opinions expressed in the discussion were decidedly 
 adverse to their coming. The treasurer affirmed, 
 "that lawyers are not needed in this country, 
 since those who have come to it have only served 
 to excite disturbances between the royal officials 
 and the governors and all the other inhabitants of 
 the town." 
 
 The ordinary alcalde acted as judge of first 
 instance. Fronr^ his decision there were three 
 forms of appeal, depending upon the nature of 
 the questions involved. The first appeal was to 
 the cabildo, or municipal council, and might 
 be had when the amount involved did not exceed 
 6000 maravedis ; the second was to the audiencia j 
 
84 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and the third, in Rio de la Plata, was to the 
 governor, from whom the alcalde had received 
 his commission. 1 Here, as at many points in 
 the colonial government, there is observed a 
 mingling of judicial and general executive func- 
 tions. 
 
 The municipal corporations administered the 
 limited funds that were left under their control; 
 cared for the repairing and cleaning of the streets ; 
 regulated the price of grain ; and inspected the pris- 
 ons and institutions of charity.2 They exercised, 
 in fact, general control over municipal afifairs; 
 held whatever local autonomy was recognized as 
 existing under the colonial system; and disposed 
 of the regular revenues of the city. The tribute, 
 however, which was due from persons who were 
 in most respects under the jurisdiction of the 
 city was paid to the corregidor or governor, and 
 the tax called the alcavala was also collected 
 by officers of the crown.' In so far as the 
 cabildos acted independently, particularly in 
 managing the revenues, they generally acted 
 not only without foresight, but without ordi- 
 nary discretion. They were attentive to pro- 
 vide the luxuries, and left the necessities to be 
 secured if there should happen to be a surplus 
 of funds in the treasury. They were wasteftal 
 
 ' Estrada, Historia de la Repuhlica Argentina, i., 159. 
 
 2 Garcia, La Cmdad Indiana, 190. 
 
 ' Leyes de Indies-, lib. viii., tit. 10, ley 10; lib. viii., tit. J. 
 
The Colonial City 85 
 
 and concerned more with outward appearances 
 than with having the needful things well done. 
 If it was a question between repairing a breach 
 in a street that impeded traffic and paying for fire- 
 works or a bull-fight, the street remained unre- 
 paired and the celebration was held. But even 
 in the narrow field marked out for the municipal 
 corporations by law, they were not independent, 
 whatever might be the position which the law 
 seemed to accord to them. They were often 
 practically subordinated, as already indicated, 
 to the executive officer of the district called in 
 different parts of the dominion governor, cor- 
 regidor, or alcalde mayor, and the relation be- 
 tween the corporation and the governor was a 
 subject of frequent disputes between the two 
 authorities. The corporation, exercising power 
 in civil and economical affairs, came into conflict 
 almost inevitably with the military force that was 
 in the hands of the governor. In some cases 
 "every resolution of the cabildo provoked bitter 
 debates between the military chief and the civil 
 corporation, in which the military usually tri- 
 umphed since it was supported by force ; and by 
 this it imposed silence." ^ The cabildo of the 
 town where the governor resided usually suffered 
 most from interference. This is noteworthy in 
 the case of Montevideo as compared with the 
 
 » Bauza, Historia de la Dominacidn Espanola en el Uruguay, 
 ii-> 637. 
 
86 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 three other cabildos of Soriano, Colonia, and 
 Maldonado in Uruguay. 
 
 In December, 1749, Jos6 Joaquin de Viana be- 
 came governor with his residence in Montevideo. 
 According to his instructions, he was subordinated 
 to the government and captaincy-general of 
 Buenos Aires, especially with respect to all military 
 affairs. In political and economical affairs, his 
 government was like that of the other provinces 
 of Rio de la Plata: the governor of Buenos Aires 
 might intervene whenever he should decide that 
 laws and regulations touching any point were 
 not followed. He might also remove him from 
 office, if, in his opinion, the good of the public 
 service required such action. In the conflict 
 between the governor and the cabildo, Vertiz, 
 the governor of Buenos Aires, removed La Rosa, 
 and appointed Viana to occupy temporarily the 
 position of governor of Montevideo.^ The new 
 governor was required to visit the several towns 
 of his province at least once during the term of 
 five years for which he was appointed, but 
 before leaving his capital he was required to notify 
 the governor of Buenos Aires, and to await his 
 reply, in order that the royal service might not 
 be impaired by his absence. 
 
 In spite of the satisfaction which the people 
 of Montevideo felt in having a person of rank 
 at the head of their government, their political 
 
 *- Bauza, ii., 205. 
 
The Colonial City 87 
 
 ideas as civilians were destined to clash with the 
 military ideas of their governor. While Viana 
 was preparing to enter upon the war of the Seven 
 Reductions, he appointed Pedro Leon de Romero 
 as his general deputy. In doing this he had 
 failed to observe some of the provisions of the 
 law which had created the office. Then followed 
 the ordinary civil-military controversy. The peo- 
 ple were right, but the governor had the power. 
 The correspondence between the governor and 
 the cabildo was characterized by the incivilities 
 that seem to belong to such a debate; Romero, 
 however, supported by the governor, continued 
 to exercise his functions. Governor La Rosa 
 interfered in the affairs of the cabildo, attempt- 
 ing to control the votes of the members, and, 
 failing in this, apprehended them and ordered 
 them to prison. Pino banished them, and Feliii 
 used the armed force to secure the adoption of 
 resolutions. The struggle, however, did nol 
 always turn out to the advantage of the governor. 
 In some instances he was defeated, and even 
 driven out of the city. These conflicts were in 
 many cases the means through which the towns 
 learned how to defend their autonomy, and ac- 
 quired that experience which enabled them to 
 assume an attitude of independence in the later 
 general movement for emancipation. 1 
 
 In 1530 Mexico was recognized by Charles 
 
 ' Montes de Oca, Cuestiones constitucionaks, 37. 
 
88 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 V. as holding the first place among the cities 
 of New Spain, "as the city of Burgos holds it in 
 our kingdoms.' ' i This meant that as Burgos held 
 the political primacy in Castile, a certain preced- 
 ence in the Cortes over all the other cities, the same 
 distinction was accorded to the city of Mexico, 
 among the cities of New Spain. The personality 
 of the cities of Spain presented itself for recog- 
 nition like the individual personality of all lands 
 and times. The king issued to cities patents of 
 nobility, in essentially the same spirit as to 
 individual persons. After this they bore a coat 
 of arms, and in all official matters they enjoyed 
 a precedence over cities that had not been thus 
 honored. Through a subsequent law issued by 
 Philip II. the city of Ctizco became the political 
 primate "of all the cities and towns that 
 are or may be in the whole province of New 
 Castile." 2 
 
 A city sometimes held a meeting that was 
 called an open cabildo, which was a meeting of the 
 official members with the people for the purpose 
 of deliberating on public affairs. In Montevideo, 
 from its foundation, the inhabitants of the city 
 regarded with great favor open meetings of the 
 cabildo, and in them the imposition of taxes was 
 always determined, and all important measures 
 touching the general welfare were settled. In 
 
 ' Leyes de Indies, lib. iv., tit. 8, ley a. 
 'Ibid., ley 4. 
 
The Colonial City 89 
 
 such a meeting was decreed the political inde- 
 pendence of Uruguay.^ 
 
 "To the cabildo is due," as affirmed by Bauza, "the 
 idea of the representative system and the first glimpse 
 of the division of power. From the time that they 
 took upon themselves the conduct of public affairs , 
 the people observed that not everything depended 
 upon the comprehensive authority of the military 
 chief, and, as a consequence, the rudiments of a 
 system of government more complex than the one-man 
 power began to permeate all minds. Soon the exer- 
 cise of the right of petition before the cabildos became 
 customary, and from this they advanced to the 
 practice of petitioning the governors. The election 
 of members of the corporation, although carried out 
 in an imperfect way, succeeded in awakening an in- 
 creasing interest among the citizens, who even if they 
 only contributed to the election as spectators, did not 
 by this fail to show their satisfaction in so far as the 
 act and its result agreed with their views. The con- 
 duct of the members of the cabildo will always be a 
 subject for applause, that although authorized during 
 many years by law to elect their successors, they 
 never nominated such as were traitors to the common 
 interests. Thus by means of these humble and per- 
 secuted corporations public spirit in Uruguay was born, 
 and among its inhabitants was formed the criterion 
 in accordance with which power should be exercised for 
 all in a regulated, equitable, and beneficent form." 2 
 
 The nucleus of the city of Buenos Aires vs^as 
 
 • Bauza, ii., 639. ' Ibid., 639, 640. 
 
go The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the fort. It was constructed not only as a means 
 of defence but also as a place of refuge for the 
 inhabitants. It was flanked by monasteries, and 
 surrounded by the straw and mud houses of the 
 new town, "where lived the families protected 
 by the soldiers of the presidio, while the men 
 went out to their farms to work, as they might do 
 every day without difficulty." Like the colonists 
 of New England later, the settlers of Buenos 
 Aires lived surrounded by Indians, and were 
 therefore expected to keep arms, and now and 
 then they were called out for review in the plaza. 
 In laying out the city, Juan de Garay provided 
 that it should extend twenty-four squares from 
 north to south, divided in the middle on the side 
 towards the river by the plaza. It was made 
 to extend back from the river eleven squares. 
 Around this tract which was specially set apart 
 for the buildings of the city, a certain amount of 
 land was reserved as commons, a place for the 
 recreation of the inhabitants. This was designed 
 to be inalienable. Beyond this was the common 
 pasture. The lands surrounding these tracts 
 were early conveyed to private persons for 
 cultivation. The municipal property was thus 
 enclosed by a zone of private property, so that 
 when the population had covered this interior 
 portion, later settlers encountered the high 
 prices demanded by the private owners of the 
 surrounding territory. This led to the illegal 
 
The Colonial City 91 
 
 occupancy of the lands that had been reserved 
 for the commons. In its growth the city met 
 an obstacle not only in the high price demanded 
 by those who had a monopoly of the available 
 land but also in the spirit of a dominant class 
 of citizens. This class "was composed of a 
 certain number of persons whose proverbial 
 Spanish pride fovind in Buenos Aires an adequate 
 and better field for development than in the 
 mother country." ^ They held to the feudal idea, 
 and regarded themselves as the lords and the 
 Indians and Creoles as the vassals. This was the 
 fateful idea that very largely contributed to the 
 unfortunate result of Spain's great| colonial un- 
 dertaking. It prevented the growth of a demo- 
 cratic society, without which it is impossible to 
 maintain a democratic government. 
 
 At the beginning of Viceroy Vertiz's adminis- 
 tration, the city of Buenos Aires showed the 
 results of shameftd neglect. Many of the streets 
 were impassable the greater part of the year. 
 The heavy rains carried off the loose material, 
 leaving deep irregular gullies and stagnant 
 pools. From the west a stream entered the city, 
 which separated into two branches, formed deep 
 water-courses that cut off almost completely differ- 
 ent districts from one another. The inhabitants 
 enjoyed few of the faciHties which the size of the 
 city and the wealth of the country entitled 
 
 • Garcia, La Ciudad Indiana, 74. 
 
92 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 them to expect. There was no hospital; no 
 public lighting; no police; and the streets were 
 unpaved. There was abundant wealth, but it 
 was largely in the hands of persons whose ignorance 
 or whose meanness prevented the public from 
 deriving any advantage from it. Even the idea 
 of placing a light in front of their houses at night 
 seems not to have occurred to the inhabitants 
 as desirable. 
 
 Vertiz undertook to remedy some of these 
 most evident defects. In spite of the lack of the 
 co-operation of the inhabitants, he began to 
 improve the streets; he founded a hospital, 
 established a home for foundlings, created an 
 orphan asylum, and took steps towards intro- 
 ducing a system of street-lighting. The foundling 
 asylum was supported in part by rents derived 
 from estates confiscated from the Jesuits; in 
 part from the proceeds of bull-fights ; in part from 
 the income from the theatre ; and in part from 
 the gains of the printing office. The municipal 
 lighting was supported by a door tax of two 
 reals on each street door. Recognizing that the 
 life of the city was barren and that there were 
 few social influences except those making for 
 degeneracy, he determined to establish a theatre 
 which might furnish a certain degree of inspira- 
 tion through the heroic characters it would 
 present, and the cultivated language of the 
 plays. In carrying out this project he naturally 
 
The Colonial City 93 
 
 encountered the opposition of the clergy. A 
 Franciscan friar, Jos6 Acosta, went so far as to 
 censure, from the pulpit, these public amusements 
 which the viceroy had patronized; "and declared 
 in the name of the Holy Spirit that those who 
 attended them would incur eternal damnation."' 
 The viceroy, having learned of the attitude as- 
 sumed by the friar, required him to be expelled 
 from the monastery, and another preacher to 
 repudiate his utterances. 
 
 The superiority of Buenos Aires over the other 
 cities of the viceroyalty at this time lay solely 
 in its geographical position. It was in no sense 
 a centre of wealth or cultivation. It had an old 
 fort, a town organization, and an old market. 
 The suggestion that it would absorb the life of 
 the other towns did not seem to point to a real 
 danger. The cities of Cordova, Tucuman, and 
 Salta seemed then so firmly established as not 
 likely to be affected by the rivalry of the port. 
 These cities were richer and more populous 
 than Buenos Aires. Cordova had a university, 
 while no such institution existed at Buenos Aires 
 in the colonial period. Cordova, was, moreover, 
 the residence of a bishop ; and it was an important 
 point on the line of trade between the eastern 
 provinces and Chile, Cuyo, and Peru. In some 
 respects Chuquisaca was even more important 
 than Cordova. It was the seat of an audiencia, 
 
 ■- Lopez, Historia de la Republica Argentina, i., 372. 
 
94 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 or supreme court, the residence of the archbishop 
 of La Plata, and the place of residence of many 
 persons of wealth. In fact, the centres of wealth 
 and cultivation were not at the shore or in the 
 valley of the great rivers of the eastern part of the 
 continent, but in the mountains near the mines 
 of Upper Peru. But Buenos Aires had one point 
 of advantage, that was destined to become ap- 
 preciated when the significance of its agriculture 
 and foreign commerce with respect to progress 
 in civilization should become known. The Span- 
 iards were under the delusion that civilization could 
 be developed in isolation ; that it was a matter of 
 precept, not a result of social contact and imita- 
 tion. In the last quarter of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury, the society of the river country and that 
 of the mountain country were too different to 
 permit a great degree of sympathy to exist between 
 them; and Paraguay with the large Indian ele- 
 ment in the population and its traditions of 
 theocratic government had also a character pecu- 
 liar to itself. 
 
 Finding Buenos Aires without facilities for 
 printing and consequently without the desired 
 means for distributing information among the 
 people, Vertiz sought to supply this deficiency. 
 He fortunately discovered that the Jesuits, on 
 their expulsion, had left a full-equipped printing 
 office in the College of Nuestra Senora de Mon- 
 serrat, in Cordova, the machinery and other 
 
The Colonial City 95 
 
 materials of which the viceroy caused to be 
 brought to Buenos Aires. Here he met a new 
 difficulty; he knew no one competent to set up 
 the press and use it. He then sent inquiries to 
 all the provinces for such a person, and was finally 
 informed by the governor of Montevideo that 
 there was in that city a young sergeant who had 
 worked in a printing house in Cadiz. The viceroy 
 called him to Buenos Aires to assume immediate 
 charge of the new undertaking ; he offered him for 
 a wife any one of the inmates of the orphan 
 asylum. The young man with marvellous mod- 
 esty expressed his desire to accept the choice of 
 his patron, which is reported to have been made 
 with satisfactory discretion. Thus was founded 
 a printing house, and at the same time an import- 
 ant family of the viceregal capital. The printing 
 house continued to be known for many years 
 under the designation of Imprenta de los Ninos 
 Expositos. 
 
 But around the colonial city was the colonial 
 country, furnishing a varying background for 
 the municipal life. Behind Potosi lay the rough 
 and barren summits of the eastern Andes, with 
 their rich mines of silver. On either side of the 
 deep ravine in which lies the city of La Paz 
 stretched the inhospitable plain of central Bolivia. 
 Santiago flourished in the delightful valley of 
 central Chile. Back of Buenos Aires were spread 
 out the vast and fertile plains of Argentina, 
 
96 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 occupied by a few land-holders and the multitude 
 of a homeless proletariat. In 1744. for 186 pro- 
 prietors there were 5897 dependents. The latter 
 were without some of the fundamental ideas of 
 civilization. To them the plains and their herds 
 appeared like the gift of God to the race. If 
 they were hungry, there were the animals pro- 
 vided for man's support. If they needed shelter, 
 there was the land on which they might erect 
 their habitations. The new order of things 
 under which the lands were claimed as private 
 property, and the herds had individual owners, 
 had been brought about by decrees of persons, 
 who, from the view-point of the dweller on the 
 plains, had no right to either. Why should the 
 favoritism of a governor deprive them of their 
 ancient privilege of wandering or settling at will? 
 As the generations passed and the blood of the 
 white man flowed in the veins of the proletariat of 
 the plains, their views remained practically un- 
 changed. The savages had not become civilized, 
 but the descendants of the white man had moved 
 towards the savage state. The cheapness of 
 slave labor on the great estates drove the free 
 men to the desert, or made them the unpaid 
 dependents of the proprietors. If endowed with 
 energy and daring, some of them moved beyond 
 the limits of the territory that had been granted 
 to private persons, and established themselves 
 on the unappropriated lands, and made there 
 
The Colonial City 97 
 
 little centres of cultivation. Their peace was not 
 long; for a new grant brought a new proprietor 
 to claim the results of their labor, or they were 
 swept away by the nomadic savages. 
 
 The absence of a minute division of the land 
 was in a large measure due to the persistence of 
 the feudal ideal in the colonies. Such a division 
 if it had been carried out might have furnished 
 an independent possession to every man seeking a 
 permanent home and property for himself and 
 his descendants, and filled the country with a self- 
 respecting population, democratic because of the 
 essential equality of wealth, and fitted in good 
 time to lay the foundation of a republic. Instead 
 of this, the feudal notion of superior and inferior 
 survived, making, when carried into practice, the 
 great body of the people in the country either 
 miserable dependents or free men who could find 
 no place for a permanent home. This was the 
 undemocratic state of society, on which it was 
 later proposed to erect a dertiocratic government. 
 
 The cities were undoubtedly weak and their 
 administration often unwise, yet they contained 
 a germ that might have been developed into 
 a well-ordered government. Legally the people 
 had a voice in the construction of the municipal 
 corporations, and for this reason they might 
 continue to act even if the power of the king were 
 set aside and all the royal officers withdrawn. 
 In the beginning of the period of emancipation 
 
98 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 they alone stood between the people and social 
 chaos. The judgment of Sir Woodbine Parish 
 concerning the r61e played by the municipal 
 corporations in this period has been quoted with 
 approval. The inquiries of nearly three quarters 
 of a century have tended to confirm his views. 
 
 "But for the cabildos and municipal institutions," 
 he wrote, "which still existed in most of the principal 
 towns of the interior when the Spanish government 
 was broken up, I believe every semblance of a legiti- 
 mate authority would have ceased. They retained 
 to a certain extent powers not only for the preserva- 
 tion of the public peace, but for the administration 
 of justice ; and although, perhaps, under the circum- 
 stances, they afforded facilities for confirming the 
 establishment of the federal system in opposition 
 to a more centralized form of government, there is 
 no doubt they saved the isolated towns in the in- 
 terior from worse consequences. 
 
 " Those institutions were by far the best part of the 
 colonial system planted by the mother country, 
 and they were framed upon principles of liberality 
 and independence which formed a singular exception 
 to her general colonial policy. I doubt whether those 
 which in most cases have been substituted for them 
 have been so wisely cast, or are so suitable to the 
 state of society in those countries. The people at 
 large were habituated and attached to them, and had 
 they been retained, with some reforms adapting 
 them to the new order of things, they might have been 
 made the very best foundations for the new republican 
 
The Colonial City 99 
 
 institutions of the country. But the truth was, they 
 were essentially too democratic for the military power 
 which arose out of the change; they succumbed to 
 that, and the people having no real voice in their 
 new governments, made no struggle to preserve 
 them."i 
 
 1 Parish, Buenos Aires, 320. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE SOCIAL CLASSES 
 
 THE characteristic feature of society in the 
 Spanish colonies at the close of the eigh- 
 teenth century was its lack of homogeneity. The 
 Europeans, the Indians, and the negroes repre- 
 sented three distinct races. Besides the representa- 
 tives of these races, there were various classes with 
 mixed blood. The most important of the mongrel 
 classes were the mestizos, the offspring of the 
 union of Europeans and Indians; the mulattoes, 
 the offspring of the Europeans and negroes; and 
 the sambos, the offspring of the union of Indians 
 and negroes. The legal and other obstacles that 
 were opposed to the emigration of unmarried 
 Spanish women to America and the lack of any 
 sentiment hostile to the union of the Spanish 
 and the Indians led to the development of a large 
 class of mestizos, greatly exceeding in numbers 
 any other mixed class. The same freedom, , 
 however, did not exist with respect to the union 
 of the Indians and the Africans. In fact, the 
 government sought to prevent the amalgamation 
 of these races, and prohibited their union by 
 cruel and unusual penalties. 
 
The Social Classes loi 
 
 Sambo's contemporaries appear not to have 
 thought very much of him, particularly of his 
 moral qualities. Depons, writing at the end 
 of the eighteenth century, says he 
 
 "is well formed, muscular, and able to endure fatigue ; 
 but all his tastes, all his inclinations, all his faculties, 
 are turned to vice. The mere name of Sambo signifies 
 in the country a good-for-nothing idler, drunkard, 
 cheat, thief, and even an assassin. Of ten crimes 
 that are committed eight always appertain to this 
 cursed class of Sambos. Immorality is their charac- 
 teristic. It is not perceived in the same degree, either 
 in negroes, mulattoes, or any other race pure or 
 mixed."! 
 
 Through the arrogance of the Spaniards, the 
 Creoles, persons of pure European blood born 
 in America, came to be regarded as a class by 
 themselves. The character of the creole was 
 developed under very unfavorable conditions. 
 As a child he was turned over to the care of a 
 confidential negro slave, and he remained under 
 this barbarian tutelage for five or six years. Then 
 he passed into the hands of a mulatto instructor, 
 "with whom he neither saw nor heard anything 
 worthy of imitation." He acquired a slave's 
 notion of duty, which recognized little or no 
 spontaneous effort for others, but whose rule 
 of action is the command of the master enforced 
 
 • Travels, ii., 249. 
 
I02 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 by the lash. From his teachers he acquired 
 notions of reUgion that were full of paganism, 
 without the grace and poetry of pagan worship. 
 Outwardly he adapted himself to the forms of 
 civilized life, but his mind was full of the super- 
 stitions acquired from the barbarous companions 
 of his childhood. ^ The Spaniards, who had been 
 bom and educated under more favorable condi- 
 tions, had little sympathy with the Creole, and 
 apparently concluded that no worthy characters 
 could rise out of his unfortunate circumstances. 
 They regarded him as essentially inferior to 
 themselves, and nothing more was wanting but 
 the ambition of the Creole to give rise to a bitter 
 antagonism between these two classes. Through 
 this antagonism the Creoles were ultimately driven 
 into an attitude not only of social, but also of 
 political, hostility to the Europeans. The prac- 
 tical expression of Spanish hatred which the 
 Creole resented most vigorously was his exclusion 
 from the higher offices of the colony in which he 
 lived. Of the i66 viceroys and 588 captains- 
 general, governors, and presidents who had held 
 office in the colonies, in all 754, only 18 were 
 Creoles. There was, however, no lack of men 
 of this class fitted to perform the duties of these 
 offices; for many had been educated in Europe, 
 and even those who had resorted to the colonial 
 colleges were sufficiently well trained to admin- 
 
 ' Garcfa, La Ciudad Indiana, 84. 
 
The Social Classes 103 
 
 ister successfully the local affairs of the colonies. 
 But they lacked the influence necessary to obtain 
 these positions. The gravest evil resulting from 
 this exclusion of Americans was not merely that 
 the native inhabitants of European descent were 
 deprived of the privilege of having a part in 
 governing themselves, but "the moral degrada- 
 tion consequent upon the absence of all motive 
 to generous exertion, and the utter hopelessness 
 that any merit could lead to useful distinction." * 
 But there were some persons who saw clearly 
 that even the despised Creole, using all available 
 opportunities to improve his standing, would ulti- 
 mately turn and demand recognition. In a 
 memorial addressed to PhiUp V., Don Malchor 
 Macanaz pointed out the effect of this exclusion. 
 He called the king's attention not only to the 
 injustice of the policy of exclusion but also to its 
 evil political consequences. 
 
 "As the natives of those, your Majesty's dominions, 
 are equally deserving of filling the principal offices of 
 their own country, it appears reasonable, that they 
 should not be divested of all management in their 
 own homes. I am fully persuaded, that in those 
 countries there are many discontented persons, not 
 because they are under the control of Spain; but 
 because they are cast down, and tyrannized by the 
 very persons, who are sent over to exercise the duties 
 of the judicature. Let your Majesty give these 
 
 1 Basil Hall, Journey, n., 237. 
 
I04 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 offices to subjects of that country, and by this means 
 disturbances will be avoided." * 
 
 In the course of time hostility between the Creoles 
 and the Europeans became a noteworthy feature 
 of Hfe in the colonies. The Creoles resented the 
 neglect they experienced under the Spanish 
 government, and made common cause with the 
 mestizos and all the subject classes. In this 
 manner a line separating one party from another 
 was drawn, leaving the majority on the side of the 
 Creole. This was the breach leading to the 
 struggle which ended in independence. 
 
 The Europeans, the Indians, and the negroes, 
 representatives of distinct races, had different 
 antecedents, and consequently different social 
 aims. The attitude of the Spaniards towards 
 the Indians and the negroes, as well as their 
 attitude towards the Creoles, did not indicate that 
 the prejudice of race was to be laid aside. In 
 spite of the rise of the Creole, and the increase 
 of the mixed races, the Europeans were de- 
 termined to maintain their position as the 
 dominant element in the population. They 
 
 "were the lords of the soil, the owners of the mines 
 and the factories, the great political, ecclesiastical, and 
 military functionaries; they monopolized the riches 
 and the honors. The Indians were the Pariahs 
 of the colonial regime ; they were overworked in every 
 
 • See Walton's ExposS, 48. 
 
The Social Classes 105 
 
 kind of labor, without ever profiting by the fruit 
 of their toil. The negroes, in the lamentable con- 
 dition of slaves, were removed from the protection 
 of the law."i 
 
 As early as 1501 the Spaniards were permitted 
 to take negroes to America, but the decree granting 
 this privilege provided that only such negroes 
 should be taken as had been bom under the power 
 of Christian masters. After the introduction of 
 sugar-cane into Cuba in 1506, and the determina- 
 tion of a number of persons to take advantage 
 of the very favorable climatic conditions for 
 its cultivation, negroes were introduced in such 
 great numbers that the colonists feared an uprising. 
 Later in this year further importation of negroes 
 was prohibited; at the same time permission 
 to marry was extended to those already in the 
 colonies. This prohibition to take negroes to 
 America was subsequently removed, and in 
 1517 it was required that one third of those im- 
 ported should be women. With the increase 
 in numbers the fears that had been entertained 
 of an uprising were seen to be well founded. From 
 the beginning the negroes were the cause of 
 serious social disturbances, and in 1550 they 
 committed great atrocities, and burned the city of 
 Santa Marta. Five years later a negro calling 
 himself king headed an insurrection, which was 
 
 « Oliveira, La PoUtica Econdmica de la Metrdpoli, s, 6. 
 
io6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 marked by all sorts of crime, and was put down 
 only after strenuous exertions on the part of the 
 authorities. These and similar disturbances led the 
 king again to prohibit taking negroes to the Indies. 
 At this point Las Casas appeared on the scene 
 with his petition that the importation of negroes 
 should be permitted to relieve the Indians ; and 
 as a consequence of his advocacy four thousand 
 negroes were admitted to Cuba, Porto Rico, 
 Jamaica, and San Domingo, on the payment of 
 an import duty, which was devoted to the con- 
 struction of the palaces at Madrid and Toledo. 
 This action established the policy which was later 
 carried out through contracts with various com- 
 panies for introducing negro slaves into the 
 Spanish colonies of America. 
 
 It is probable that the brutality of the negro 
 as displayed on many occasions had much to do 
 in determining the manner in which he was treated. 
 "No difference was made between a negro and 
 any animal whatsoever. He was a beast of 
 burden that the master disposed of at any moment 
 in the same manner as a mule."* The following 
 advertisements appeared in the Diario de Lima, 
 May 1 6, 1792: 
 
 "Venta. — Quien quisiere comprar una criada pre- 
 fiada en dias de parir, bozal, reformada, ocurra, a la 
 calle de Bodegones la primera casa, donde i\i6 ca.i6. 
 
 ' Romero, C. A., Negros y Caballos, ii. 
 
The Social Classes 107 
 
 Arriba en los altos vive su ama en la segunda 
 mampara." 
 
 "Venta. — Quien quisiere comprar una pareja de 
 mulas de coche de siete cuartas, bien altas y 
 nuevas, que acaban de llegar de Piura, ocurra i. la 
 barberia de la plazuela vieja de San Juan de Dios 
 donde dar^n razon de su dueno, con quien se tratar^ 
 del precio en que se venden." 
 
 The following advertisements of slaves for sale 
 are taken from the papers of Buenos Aires : 
 
 " Se vende, una criada sana y sin vicios, en cantidad 
 de 300 pesos. En esta oficina dar^n razon." 
 
 "Se vende, una mulatilla sana, sin vicios, primeriza, 
 con leche de cuatro meses. En la casa de Esp6sitos 
 dar^ razon." 
 
 In 1536 negroes were prohibited from appearing 
 on the streets of Lima at night, except when 
 accompanying their masters. The penalty for 
 violating this ordinance v/as a hundred lashes for 
 the first offence, and brutal mutilation for the 
 second offence. A Spaniard meeting a negro at 
 night in the street might take away his arms; 
 and if the negro dared to defend himself, the 
 Spaniard might kill him. The negro who ran 
 away from his master for a period of six days 
 might be mutilated, and if he was absent for 
 a longer time might be killed. For even the 
 minor offence of stealing com, negroes were 
 punished with one hundred lashes for the first 
 
io8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 offence and mutilation for the second.* The 
 severest regulations were established to prevent 
 members of the Indian and negro races from living 
 together. 2 The severity of these penalties was 
 not lessened when Pedro de la Gasca assumed full 
 authority over Peru. The disposition of some 
 of the negroes to resume the practices of savagery 
 induced the authorities to offer a reward of from 
 five to twenty-five dollars for hunting down the 
 unruly negroes. If they could not be taken 
 they might be killed; and in order to get the 
 reward it was only necessary to present the 
 head of the negro at the cabildo, or city council. ^ 
 The negroes might not wear fine clothing, silk, 
 or jewels; it was forbidden to sell them wine or 
 chicha; they might not ride on horseback; and 
 when they died, whether free or slave, their re- 
 mains might not be carried away in a coffin. 
 
 At the end of the century, the king undertook 
 to improve the relations then . existing between 
 the Spaniards and the negroes, and on the 31st 
 of May, 1789, he issued an order relating to the 
 education, treatment, and occupations of the 
 slaves in all the Spanish dominions of the Indies. 
 
 - Romero, Negros y Caballos, 12; for the ordinances cover- 
 ing these cases, see Revista de Archives y Bibliotecas, v. 
 
 ' "No podfan los negros tener tratos ni contratos con los 
 indios, y el que tuviese manceba india habia de ser castrado, 
 y d la negra que accediese d los requilorios de algun indio, 
 habfanle de cortar lasorejas." — Romero, Negros y Caballos, 13. 
 
 ' Romero, 14. 
 
The Social Classes 109 
 
 Under this order every owner of slaves was re- 
 quired to instruct them in the principles of the 
 Catholic religion, that they might be baptized; 
 and to this end he should explain to them the 
 Christian doctrine on certain feast days, on which 
 neither the slaves nor their owners should work. 
 All the owners of slaves were required to comply 
 strictly with their obligation to feed and clothe 
 the slaves, as also their wives and children, 
 although these might be free. All the slaves of 
 both sexes, between the ages of seventeen and 
 sixty, should be assigned tasks suited to their age, 
 sex, and strength, and they should be required to 
 work from sunrise to sunset, with the exception 
 of two hours each day which might be employed 
 in occupations for their own personal advantage. 
 On the feast days, after the mass and the Christian 
 instruction, the slaves might have simple 
 amusements, in which the sexes should be kept 
 apart; and they shotild be had, moreover, in 
 the presence of the owner or overseer; and they 
 were required to avoid the excesses of eating 
 and drinking, and to conclude their amusements 
 before nightfall. The owners were required to 
 furnish distinct apartments for the two sexes 
 except in the cases where they were married, and 
 also the necessary beds and clothing; and the 
 sick should be supported by the owner, or sent 
 to the hospital at his expense, and in case of death 
 the owner should bear the expense of burial. 
 
no The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The owners were, moreover, required to support 
 the old slaves and the children of both sexes, 
 and they might not set them at liberty without 
 at the same time assigning them perpetual support, 
 to the satisfaction of the prosecuting attorney. 
 The owners might not prevent the slaves from 
 marrying, whether with a slave of the estate to 
 which he belonged or with a slave from another 
 estate. In the latter case the wife should follow 
 the husband, and the owner of the husband was 
 required to purchase the wife. In view of the 
 fact that the owner held a paternal relation to the 
 slave, if the slave failed to fulfil his filial obligation, 
 he might and ought to be given reformatory 
 punishment either by the owner or the overseer; 
 only, however, with imprisonment, fetters, chains, 
 a club, stocks, or lashes, and the lashes might not 
 exceed twenty-five. In case the slave committed 
 a crime against his master, the master's wife 
 or children, or any other person, he should be 
 turned over to the civil judiciary and be sub- 
 jected to the same trial as a free person. If an 
 owner or overseer should violate any of these 
 provisions, he would be liable to a fine of fifty 
 dollars for the first offence, one hundred dollars 
 for the second offence, and two hundred dollars 
 for the third offence ; and if a more severe punish- 
 ment should be inflicted than that designed by 
 the royal order the prosecuting attorney should 
 proceed against the owner or overseer who had 
 
The Social Classes m 
 
 given the punishment. If the owner or overseer 
 should injure, wound, or kill a slave, he should 
 be subjected to the same penalty as if the violation 
 affected a free person. Each owner was required 
 to make an annual sworn statement as to the 
 number, sex, and ages of the slaves on his estate. 
 This law, like many others proceeding from the 
 king and council of the Indies, encountered 
 practices too thoroughly established to be re- 
 formed by a decree from Spain. It, moreover, 
 came too late to be of great historical significance. 
 The traditions that had been created by centuries 
 of misrule were destined to continue without 
 important abatement until the end. The slave 
 had become a part of the social organism, and 
 convenience or the will of the dominant social 
 factor had determined his place, his treatment, 
 and his uses. In the face of established custom 
 no sudden change was possible. Slaves had often 
 been held for ostentation, and this practice and 
 the desire underlying it could not be abolished 
 with a single stroke. Ladies of distinction wished 
 to be attended by slaves while going to church, 
 and they naturally sought to rival one another 
 in the number of their attendants. They used 
 them as a means of indicating their social standing. 
 But slaves were also employed as a source of 
 profit. The house was a kind of workshop, in 
 which the slaves produced various articles for the 
 market. One hundred or two hundred dollars 
 
112 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 invested in a slave returned through his labor 
 eight or ten dollars a month. Thus, a gain of 
 from forty-eight to one hundred and twenty per 
 cent, a year was a stifficient profit to maintain 
 the institution in favor. But the impression 
 which the system of slave labor made, as carried 
 out here, whether in the house or in the fields, 
 was essentially the same as that observed where- 
 ever in an industrial community slavery has 
 existed. Children growing to maturity in the 
 presence of its practice came to despise work as 
 they despised the position of the only workers they 
 had seen. Add to this the other forms of corrup- 
 tion that were fostered by the association of the 
 youth and the slaves, and it becomes evident 
 that the dominant element in the population 
 acquired a character that unfitted it to lay 
 successfully the foundation of a new society, a 
 character many of the features of which are 
 clearly seen in this latest generation. 
 
 Besides the families that were able to maintain 
 slaves and the slaves who served them, there was 
 another element that constituted a ragged fringe 
 of the society, an element that had ceased to 
 entertain expectations of improvement in its state. 
 It embraced those who were personally free; but 
 their material condition was not better than that 
 of the slaves. They lived wherever they could 
 find shelter, in huts erected on the unoccupied 
 lands, or wherever there were vacant quarters 
 
The Social Classes 113 
 
 which they could appropriate. The exploitation 
 by slave labor of all of the sources of profit that 
 had been opened left them no field of enterprise, 
 and their hopeless misery had deprived them 
 of the power to initiate undertakings of their own. 
 Their fate was that of the free poor usually in the 
 presence of a system of slavery. 
 
 The antagonism between the Europeans and 
 the Creoles was hardly less severe than that which 
 existed between groups of different races. The 
 fact that the Creoles were of the same blood or 
 of the same family as the Europeans did not seem 
 to abate the hostility. The differences were 
 class differences, and were naturally stronger in 
 the isolated centres of population, than in those 
 towns frequented by foreigners. Among the 
 influences tending to maintain the breach be- 
 tween the Europeans and the Creoles, UUoa 
 found two that were more powerful than the rest : 
 
 "The excessive vanity and overbearing manners 
 of the Creoles, and the forlorn and penniless condition 
 of the Europeans who emigrate to that country. 
 The latter accumulate a fortune with the aid of 
 relatives and friends, as well as by dint of labor and 
 industry, so that within a few years they are enabled 
 to form an alliance with ladies of distinction; but 
 the low condition in which the Creoles first knew them 
 is not wholly effaced from remembrance; and on 
 the first occasion of misunderstanding between the 
 European and his relatives, the latter expose, without 
 
 8 
 
114 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the least reflection, the mean origin and profession 
 of the former, and kindle the flames of discord in all 
 hearts. The Europeans espouse the cause of their 
 injured countrymen, and the Creoles that of the native 
 women, and thus the seeds of dissension spring up, 
 -which had been sown in the mind from the remote 
 period of the conquest." ' 
 
 The pretensions of the Creoles were stimulated 
 by the policy that had been carried out "of 
 granting patents of nobility to all Spaniards 
 who would go and take up their residence in 
 America." 2 The descendants of these spent 
 much time in 
 
 " discussing the order and line of their descent ; so that 
 it would appear, as it respects nobility and antiquity, 
 they have nothing to envy in the most illustrious 
 families of Spain; and, treating the subject with the 
 ardor of enthusiasm, they make it the first topic of 
 conversation with the newly-arrived Europeans, in 
 order to acquaint them with their noble origin; but 
 when this is investigated impartially, we are met at 
 the first step we take, with so many difficulties, that a 
 family can rarely be found that has no mixed blood, 
 not to mention objections of minor importance. 
 In such cases it is amusing to observe how they 
 become mutually the heralds of one another's low 
 birth, so that it is needless to investigate the subject 
 for one's self."^ 
 
 ' Noticias Secretas, 417. » Ihid, 423. » Ibid., 4iy. 
 
The Social Classes 115 
 
 The vanity of the Creoles, moreover, led them to 
 avoid labor and to refuse to engage in trade. This 
 left them to a life of inaction and, in many cases, 
 to a life of vice. 
 
 " Hence it is they soon see the end of all that which 
 their parents have left them, by wasting their money, 
 and neglecting the cultivation of their estates; and 
 the Europeans, availing themselves of the advan- 
 tages which the neglect of the Creoles affords them, 
 turn them to account, and amass an estate; for by 
 engaging in trade they soon succeed in getting upon 
 a good footing, enjoy credit, accumulate money, and 
 are solicited for marriage by noble families; for the 
 Creole women themselves, aware of the wasteful and 
 indolent habits of their countrjmien, hold Europeans 
 in high esteem, and prefer to be allied with them."' 
 
 Through the antagonism of the Europeans and 
 Creoles arising from these and other circum- 
 stances, the social life of the cities of Peru was 
 marked by tumults and bitterness of spirit. 
 Under conditions "where they might pass the 
 most agreeable and tranquil life that could be 
 desired," 2 they led a wretched existence, kept in 
 a state of perpetual commotion by uncontrolled 
 passions. 
 
 Another element of importance in the social 
 life of the southern colonies was the clergy. 
 In the eighteenth century they had ceased to be 
 
 « Noticias Secretas, 418, 419. 'Ibid., 422. 
 
1 16 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 a force making for righteousness, if we may 
 accept UUoa's observations; for in his report con- 
 cerning them he found it necessary to emphasize 
 their vices and not their virtues. 
 
 "The persons," he wrote, "who compose the two 
 orders of the clergy are guilty of such licentiousness, 
 that, making due allowance for the frailties to which 
 human nature is liable, and the weaknesses to which 
 men of every class are subject, it would appear 
 that those ecclesiastics regard it as their peculiar 
 privilege to go before all others in the career of 
 vice; for while they are under the most sacred ob- 
 ligations not only to practise virtue, but to correct 
 the errors incident to frail nature, it is they who, by 
 their pernicious example, sanction the practice of 
 iniquity, and in a measure divest it of its heinous 
 nature. 
 
 "The parish priests are extremely vicious in their 
 habits; but, whether it happen that an error or 
 crime in them attracts less notice, or whether they 
 are more careful to conceal it, or for both reasons, 
 which is the more probable, disgraceful as the con- 
 sequences are known to be, they never reach such a 
 degree of scandal as do those of the monks; for 
 the latter, from the fixst step they take, and even 
 without leaving the monasteries, pursue a course of 
 conduct so notorious and shameful that it becomes 
 offensive in the extreme, and fills the mind with 
 horror. 
 
 "Concubinage is so general that the practice of 
 it is esteemed a point of honor; and when a stranger 
 arrives and continues his residence there for some 
 
The Social Classes 117 
 
 time without having adopted the customs of the 
 country, his continence is attributed not to a principle 
 of virtue, but to the passion of avarice, as it is gen- 
 erally supposed that he lives so in order to save 
 money. 
 
 "In large cities, the greater part of the monks live 
 in private houses, for the convents furnish an asylum 
 to those only who cannot keep house, or to the 
 choristers, novitiates, and such like, who live there 
 from choice. The same is true of the small cities, 
 villages, and hamlets. The doors of the monasteries 
 are kept open, and the monks live in their cells, 
 accompanied by their women, and lead in every re- 
 spect the life of married persons." ^ 
 
 "The fandangoes or balls are usually devised by 
 the members of the religious orders, or more properly 
 by those who call themselves religious, although, in 
 fact, they are far from being so; for it is they who 
 pay the expense, who attend in company with their 
 concubines, and who get up the fray in their own 
 houses. Simultaneously with the dance, the im- 
 moderate use of ardent spirits begins, and the en- 
 tertainment is gradually converted into acts of 
 impropriety so unseemly and lewd, that it would be 
 presumption even to speak of them, and a want 
 of delicacy to stain the narrative with such a record of 
 obscenities; and, letting them lie hid in the region 
 of silence, we shall, only remark, that whatever the 
 spirit of malice could invent in respect to this subject, 
 great as it might be, it could never fathom that 
 abyss into which those corrupt minds are plunged, 
 
 ^ Noticias Secretas, 490, 491, 492. 
 
1^8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 nor give any adequate idea of the degree of excess 
 to which debauchery and crime are carried." i 
 
 ' Noticias Seer etas, 497; an elaborate presentation of this 
 phase of Peruvian society as it appeared in the eighteenth 
 century may be found in Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 
 Pt. II, chapter viii. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE CHURCH AND ITS RELATION TO THE CIVIL 
 POWER 
 
 THE peciiliar relation of the Church to the 
 King of Spain and to the Spanish colonial 
 government in America was due, in a great meas- 
 ure, to the fact that independently the pope was 
 unable to occupy the great missionary field that 
 was opened to the Church by the discovery 
 of America. He "could do nothing by himself 
 in this immense territory; he had not the means 
 of establishing in it the institutions necessary 
 for the propagation of religion, nor was it even 
 possible for an order by him to reach that region 
 unless carried by a costly expedition." What- 
 ever ecclesiastics or other persons went thither 
 had to foUow the direction of the Spanish court, 
 or the captain to whom they were subordinated.' 
 It was impossible for the Holy See to proceed in 
 Christianizing the inhabitants of the New World 
 without abiding by the rules, and soliciting the 
 aid, of the civil power. The pope had subjects 
 
 > Sarsfield, Derecho Publico Eclesiastico, Buenos Aires, 
 1889, 18. 
 
I20 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 who were not Spaniards, whom he might wish 
 to employ in the work of converting the Indians, 
 but the execution of such a plan was prevented 
 by the order of the king limiting the emigration 
 to the colonies to Spanish subjects. Whatever 
 power over America the pope may have claimed, 
 whether with or without valid ground, had been 
 transferred to the crown of Spain by the bull of 
 Alexander VI. in 1493. This transfer with respect 
 to the territories in question was absolute and 
 entire: "We give, concede, and assign them in 
 perpetuity to you and the Kings of Castile and of 
 Leon, your heirs and successors: and we make, 
 constitute, and depute you and your heirs and 
 successors, the aforesaid, lords of these lands, 
 with free, full, and absolute power, authority, 
 and jurisdiction." 1 The subsequent recognition 
 of this cession became a necessary part of the 
 papal policy. The position assumed by the crown 
 under this cession set aside the grounds of the 
 medieval debate between the Church and State. 
 With respect to Spain's dominions in America, 
 papal action was subject to criticism and veto by 
 royal authority. That this power was not used 
 to hinder the work of the Church may be inferred 
 from the fact that, as new settlements were made 
 the field of practical activity of the Church was 
 expanded. The conversion of the Indians every- 
 where attended the conquests of the civil power; 
 ' See Montes de Oca, Cuestiones Constitucionales , 4. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 121 
 
 the Church even encountered no opposition in 
 erecting its peculiar tribunals of the inquisition. 
 The king was dominant, but he was in sympathy 
 with the purposes and methods of the Church; 
 and it was this sympathy which made peaceful 
 co-operation possible where the relations of the 
 Church with the sovereign had "no precedents 
 either in law or in ecclesiastical usages or cus- 
 toms." ^ In this phase of American history we 
 have to do not with the ecclesiastical law 
 of Europe transplanted, but with laws and pon- 
 tificial briefs and bulls framed for America and 
 aj new body of civil legislation which compre- 
 hends the administration and government of the 
 Church of the New World.2 
 
 At the beginning of the conquest the plan for 
 converting the Indians was only partially formed. 
 Any ecclesiastics available were employed, and 
 these served as priests for the Spaniards and 
 Indians without obtaining or even asking a 
 license from the bishop; in fact, there were at the 
 time no bishops whose jurisdiction embraced 
 any part of America. "The whole region was 
 governed by the king, and was subject to his 
 direction, administration, or nomination, or to 
 those who acted in his stead in virtue of the 
 commission and delegation which they held for 
 this purpose from the Apostolic See." ^ The 
 
 > Sarsfield, 22. ' Ibid., 23. 
 
 3 Sol6rzano, Politica Indiana, ii., 122. 
 
122 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 same complete authority was exercised by the 
 king with respect to the territorial limits of the 
 jurisdiction of the different grades of ecclesiastics. 
 He, for example, fixed the boundaries of the 
 bishoprics, and issued orders which ecclesiastical 
 assemblies obeyed. "All causes between the 
 bishops, the parish priests, the canons, and the 
 dignitaries concerning their benefices, or concern- 
 ing the canonical capacity to obtain them, were 
 decided alone by the sovereign of the Indies, 
 although it might be regarded as a spiritual 
 matter, and be between persons under ecclesiasti- 
 cal jurisdiction." ^ And whatever powers the 
 ecclesiastical prelates exercised in the spiritual 
 government of the Church of America were con- 
 ferred by the king. Similar extensive powers 
 had already been granted to the king of Portugal 
 with reference to his possessions in the East, and 
 this fact is recalled in the bull of 1493, in which 
 Alexander VI. "concedes to the kings of Spain 
 in the New World all the favors, privileges, ex- 
 ceptions, faculties, liberties, and immunities con- 
 ceded to the crown of Portugal." ^ Some of the 
 earlier writers, members of the council of the 
 Indies, and among others, Sol6rzano, refer to 
 the king as holding not merely the rights of 
 patronage but also the office of papal delegate. ■* 
 
 » Sarsfield, 27. = Ibid., 29. 
 
 ' "De lo cual se colige que Vuestra Magestad goza en las 
 Indias de mayor derecho, que el derecho de patronato concede 
 al patron, porque goza de oficio de delegado del Papa para el 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 123 
 
 It was, however, through the right of patronage 
 that the kings of Spain made practical their great 
 power in ecclesiastical affairs; and they claimed 
 and exercised this right even before any formal 
 cession of it was made by the pope. It was 
 formally granted by the bull of July 28, 1508. 
 Sixty-six years later the right of patronage of the 
 Church in America was established by a civil 
 decree, dated July 10, 1574. This decree sets 
 forth with sufficient clearness the position of the 
 king, in the following form : 
 
 "The king. — Our viceroy of the provinces of Peru, 
 or the person or persons who for the time being may 
 hold the government of the country. As you know, 
 the right of ecclesiastical patronage belongs to us, 
 in the whole state of the Indies, for having discovered 
 and acquired that part of the world, and built and 
 endowed churches and monasteries in it at our ex- 
 pense, and at the expense of the catholic kings, our 
 ancestors; also for its having been conceded to us 
 by bulls of the supreme pontiffs, given voluntarily; 
 and in order to preserve it and the justice by which 
 
 dicho fin de la conversion de los Indies, y asi aprieta nid,s 
 esta obligacion d los Reyes de Espana, pues si v6 claro haber 
 Su Santidad descargado en este particular su conciencia y 
 obligacion, y puestola en la diligencia y cuidado de esta 
 corona" (Padre Juan de Silva, Advertencia para et Gohierno 
 de las Ifidias, 67). Dr. Araciel, of the council of the Indies, 
 says: " Particularmente que V. M. se considera en las Indias 
 mas que patrono, y como delegado de la Sede Apost61ica 
 y £ quien estan concedidas las veces de Su Santidad en 
 todo lo eclesidstico, asi por Bulas como por costumbre." — 
 ■ Quoted by Sarsfield, 31. 
 
1 24 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 we hold it, we order and command that said right of 
 patronage, one and undivided in all the state of the 
 Indies, may be always reserved to us and to our 
 royal crown, without the possibility of losing it 
 wholly or in part, and that we may not be seen to 
 concede the right of patronage by grace or mercy, 
 or by statute, or by any other disposition which we 
 or the kings, our successors, shall make. 
 
 "And, moreover, that neither by custom, nor by 
 prescription nor by any other title, shall any person 
 or persons, or ecclesiastical or secular communities, 
 churches, or monasteries, be able to use the right of 
 patronage, except the person who in our name and 
 with our authority and power shall exercise it; and 
 that no person either secular or ecclesiastical, order, 
 convent, religion, community of whatever state, 
 condition, quality, and pre-eminence it may be, judi- 
 cially or extrajudicially, on whatever occasion, or by 
 whatever reason, may dare to intermeddle in any 
 affair that may concern our royal patronage, neither 
 to prejudice us respecting it, nor to appoint to any 
 church or benefice, or ecclesiastical office, nor to 
 receive such appointment that may be made in any 
 part of the state of the Indies, without our nomina- 
 tion or the nomination of the person whom we by law 
 or by patent shall have authorized; and he who shall 
 act contrary to this, being a secular person, shall incur 
 a loss of the favors which he shall hold from us in the 
 whole of the state of the Indies, and he shall be 
 incompetent to hold others, and shall be forever ban- 
 ished from all our kingdoms and dominions, and, if 
 he should be an ecclesiastical officer, he shall be 
 regarded as a stranger and an alien in all our kingdoms 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 125 
 
 and dominions, and shall not be able to hold any 
 benefice or ecclesiastical office in them, and shall, 
 moreover, incur the other penalties established 
 against such acts by the laws of these kingdoms; and 
 our viceroys, audiencias, and royal justices shall pro- 
 ceed with all rigor against those who shall be or act 
 in opposition to our right of patronage, proceeding on 
 the charge or petition of our fiscals, or of any party 
 whatsoever who may request it ; and great care shall 
 be had in the conduct of the case. We wish and 
 command that there shall not be created, instituted, 
 founded, or constituted any cathedral or parochial 
 church, monastery, hospital, votive church, or any 
 other pious or religious place without our express 
 consent, or that of the person who shall have our 
 authority and commission for this purpose. And 
 again, that there shall not be instituted or established 
 any archbishopric, dignity, canonry, prebend, bene- 
 ficed curacy, or any other benefice, or ecclesiastical 
 or religious ofiice, without our consent or presentation, 
 or that of the person who shall have our commission, 
 and that such presentation or consent shall be written 
 in the usual form." 
 
 Under the order of things thus established, 
 any persons appointed to an ecclesiastical position 
 in the Indies was required to give notice to the 
 viceroy, president, audiencia, or to whatever 
 person might be at the head of the government 
 of the province in question, and show him his 
 certificate of appointment, in order that he might 
 receive whatever favor or assistance might be 
 
126 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 necessary to enable him to perform the functions of 
 his office. The right of patronage held by the king 
 excluded the existence of a similar right in any 
 other person. Every ecclesiastical office in Amer- 
 ica was, therefore, filled by the king's nomination. 
 By law, however, as in the Ordinance of Intend- 
 ants, in Buenos Aires, the right of patronage might 
 be vested in a vice-patron. In this case the right 
 of patronage in the viceroyalty of Buenos Aires 
 was made to reside in vice-patrons, and these 
 were the viceroy in the metropolis and the gover- 
 nor-intendants in the provinces. 
 
 In maintaining practically the right of patron- 
 age, the courts of the civil government and not 
 the ecclesiastical authorities considered all cases 
 of violation of the rules involved. They con- 
 sidered all questions involving the limits of bishop- 
 rics, the rights and prerogatives of the holders 
 of benefices, controversies between ecclesiastical 
 councils and their bishops or archbishops con- 
 cerning the administration of the Church, all 
 disputes between parish priests and their parishes, 
 in a word, all cases that in any manner touched 
 the royal patronage. Even matters spiritual 
 and cases between persons of a privileged tribunal 
 were not excepted from the civil jurisdiction; 
 but certain cases might be brought before the 
 viceroy, and, if desired, an appeal might be taken 
 from the viceroy's decision to the audiencia.* 
 
 ''Sarsfield, $i, 52. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 127 
 
 There was, however, in each bishopric an 
 ecclesiastical court. Although the bishop, the 
 fiscal proctor, and the provisor were the members 
 of the court, all ordinary cases were tried by the 
 provisor, and the decisions were rendered by 
 him. The more important cases were decided by 
 the bishop. An appeal from any of the decisions 
 might be taken to the archbishop. In case the 
 appellant won, the defeated party might make 
 a final appeal to the nearest bishop, and the 
 decision on this appeal was executed. In case 
 the appellant lost, no further appeal was permitted. 
 Cases that might be brought before the eccle- 
 siastical courts were such as concerned benefices, 
 patronages, tithes, marriages, legitimation, funer- 
 als, donations to churches and to other pious uses, 
 legacies to churches by will or contract, and all 
 those matters which fall within the scope of pious 
 works. If a civil, or temporal, case arose between 
 priests, or a case arose in which a layman brought 
 action against a priest, these were tried before 
 an ecclesiastical court; but if a priest brought 
 action against a layman in a civil, or temporal, 
 suit, the case was tried before a secular tribunal. 
 In the ecclesiastical courts essentially the same 
 form of procedure prevailed as in the secular 
 tribtinals. 
 
 In the general organization, the Church had not 
 only a hierarchy of officers, but also several grades 
 of assemblies. The highest of these was the 
 
128 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 general council. It was composed of the arch- 
 bishops, who, as judges of the faith, were called 
 to constitute this great assembly, but other mem- 
 bers were called sometimes, cardinals and generals 
 of the regular orders, by reason of their high 
 position, to participate in these meetings. The 
 bishops were admitted as procuradores. The 
 conclusions of a general council were not applicable 
 solely to the countries from which there were 
 representatives present. In the council of Trent 
 there was no bishop or archbishop from America, 
 yet the pope held that "the state of the Indies " 
 was comprehended under the decisions. Such 
 councils were under the presidency of the pope, 
 who was generally expected to present the subjects 
 for deliberation. The conclusions were ordinarily 
 reached by the members voting as individuals, 
 but sometimes the vote was taken by nations. 
 Having been adopted by the council, these con- 
 clusions were passed to the pope, who held the 
 power to veto them. If they were confirmed by 
 him, they might still be rejected by the Church 
 of any given nation. Spain, for instance, did not 
 accept the decisions of the Lateran council held 
 trader Alexander III., and France refused to 
 carry out certain resolutions of the council of 
 Trent. Although the general council was a council 
 of the Church as a whole, it is noteworthy that the 
 individuality of nations was recognized in it, as when 
 on certain occasions the vote was taken by nations. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 129 
 
 In the general administration of ecclesiastical 
 affairs, the individuality of the nations was 
 furthermore recognized by the Church in holding 
 national councils, that is to say, councils of the 
 Church, all the members of which were drawn from 
 within the limits of the nation. Such a council 
 was composed of all the bishops and archbishops 
 of the Church whose jurisdictions were embraced 
 within the national boundaries. Such a council 
 was held tinder the presidency of the patriarch * 
 or primate; for instance, in Spain a national 
 council w;as held under the presidency of the arch- 
 bishop of Toledo, the primate of Spain. But 
 this title of primate, although sometimes applied 
 to the archbishop of San Domingo and to the 
 archbishop of Lima, never existed by authority 
 in America. 
 
 A provincial council in the Church is a meeting 
 of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province under 
 the presidency of the metropolitan archbishop. 
 Such a province is formed by a union of several 
 dioceses and at the head of it stands an arch- 
 bishop. It appears to have been the design of 
 the Church to have the ecclesiastical divisions 
 correspond with the civil divisions of the territory 
 
 ' The title of Patriarch of the Indies which we encounter 
 in accounts of Spanish affairs was merely a title of honor held 
 by the first chaplain of the king, "to whom was given the 
 general vicariate of the Spanish army and navy; but this 
 vicariate was not extended to the troops and armies of 
 America." — Sarsfield, 60. 
 9 
 
130 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of the state, thus making the political capitals 
 the seats of the metropolitan archbishops. The 
 organization in Spanish America has not always 
 followed this plan. After the bishopric of La 
 Plata, or Chuquisaca, was made an archbishopric, 
 the province under the archbishop embraced the 
 bishoprics of Upper Peru, Salta, Cordova, Para- 
 gujay, and Buenos Aires. This province, although 
 there was in it a subordinate court or audiencia, 
 was nevertheless subject to the viceroy of Peru. 
 The viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata was created 
 in 1776, and Buenos Aires became the capital, but 
 the archbishop of Chuquisaca continued to be 
 the metropolitan and the bishop of Buenos Aires 
 a suffragan. The captaincy-general of Chile 
 became independent of the viceroyalty of Peru, 
 except in matters of war, yet the bishop of San- 
 tiago, the capital of Chile, remained a suffragan 
 of the archbishop of Lima. In the beginning it 
 was not permitted to hold a provincial council 
 in the Indies without first notifying the king and 
 receiving his consent. Later the holding of such 
 a council might be authorized by a viceroy or a 
 captain-general. These councils might be held 
 regularly every twelve years. If it was desirable 
 that there should be a meeting in the intervening 
 period, it might be had, if specially ordered by the 
 pope and approved by the proper civil authority. 
 The call for a provincial council proceeds from 
 the metropolitan ; but if the metropolitan church 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 131 
 
 is vacant, the call may be issued by the senior 
 bishop of the ecclesiastical province. Not only 
 the bishops but also the canons and the digni- 
 taries are invited, and the viqeroy is present 
 representing the king; but the bishops alone 
 have an authoritative vote, which is taken by 
 the bishops present voting individually. The 
 conclusions of the provincial councils of America 
 under the rule of Spain were remitted to the 
 council of the Indies, and if the council of the 
 Indies approved them for publication, it sent them 
 to the pope. These conclusions of the provincial 
 councils when properly confirmed were authori- 
 tative only within the limits of the ecclesiastical 
 province where the council was held. 
 
 The Church in America recognized the provision 
 of the cotmcil of Trent which required the bishop 
 to hold every year a synod of the prelates and 
 clergy of his diocese. The bishop, who was in 
 the full exercise of his episcopal powers, issued the 
 call for such a meeting. The resolutions of the 
 synod, having been approved by the bishop, were 
 sent to the viceroy and the governor of the 
 district, who finding nothing in them controvert- 
 ing the rights of the sovereign, or likely to produce 
 any inconvenience, ordered their execution, and 
 the bishop then caused them to be published. But 
 if they did not meet the viceroy's approval, they 
 were overruled, and sent to the council of the 
 Indies for such action as that body might see fit 
 
132 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 to take concerning them. Thus at every step in 
 the administration of ecclesiastical affairs in 
 America the presence and dominance of the civil 
 power were recognized. 
 
 This general control of ecclesiastical affairs by 
 the king and his council of the Indies is made 
 evident and emphasized by the law which re- 
 quired all bulls, briefs, rescripts, and despatches 
 of the Roman Curia which contained laws, 
 rules, or general statements to be presented to 
 the council of the Indies before their publication, 
 in order that their execution might be sanctioned 
 in so far as they were not in opposition to the 
 regalias, concordats, customs, laws, or decrees of 
 the nation; or did not stand in the way of the 
 nation's achieving its proper purposes.^ 
 
 In case the king refused to aUow a bull to pass 
 and be published in America, he made no report 
 to the pope of the grounds of his objection, nor 
 did he suggest any course of papal action that 
 would be acceptable to him. The attorney who 
 had examined the bull for the king simply begged 
 his Holiness to retain the document. But in 
 practice this formal petition of the attorney 
 never reached the pope; it was retained by the 
 council of Spain, and the government conveyed 
 
 ' Sarsfield, 77, 78; when these documents were brought 
 before the council, they were copied in the record books of 
 the secretaries and the originals were placed in the archives 
 of the council or in the archives of Simancas, authorized 
 copies being made for convenient use. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 133 
 
 the information it contained at such time and 
 under such circumstances as appeared to it 
 opportune; usually by an oral statement to a 
 diplomatic officer. 1 
 
 The monks who came to America required the 
 consent of the viceroy or governor, together with 
 that of the prelate of the diocese, before they 
 were able to construct a monastery; in fact, 
 these officers determined the towns in which the 
 monasteries should be established. The several 
 orders distributed their members into different 
 provinces, but the permission of the governor of 
 the state was needed to form these provinces. 
 Prom time to time the padres of a province 
 assembled to elect their provincials, guardians, 
 and friars of the monasteries; and these early 
 applications of political methods were sometimes 
 attended by serious conflicts. They furnished an 
 instance of democratic procedure without the 
 laws democracy has found it necessary to es- 
 tablish to preserve order at the polls. In view 
 of this state of things, the law finally provided 
 that the viceroy should be present at these meet- 
 ings to preserve the peace and cause the constitu- 
 tions of the order to be respected; but if the 
 viceroy was absent from the place of holding the 
 meeting and unable to attend, he was required 
 to write to the monks admonishing them and 
 charging them to abide by and preserve their 
 
 » Sarsfield, 86. 
 
134 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 institutions. In case of disturbance, he might 
 even cause them to be arrested, and taken out of 
 the province ; and when the election had been held, 
 the bishop or archbishop might exercise the power 
 of veto, if in his opinion the person elected was 
 not fitted to fill the office for which he had been 
 selected. 1 
 
 The consent of the civil authority was also 
 required for the erection of cathedral or paro- 
 chial churches, temples, monasteries, and other 
 places for religious exercises.^ 
 
 " And if in fact or by dissimulation any person shall 
 make or begin to make any of these edifices, without 
 this prerequisite, the viceroys, audiencias, or governors 
 shall cause them to be demolished, and everything 
 reduced to its previous state, without excuse or 
 delay."3 
 
 And the substance of this injunction was always 
 contained in the general instructions given to the 
 viceroys of Mexico and Peru.* 
 
 The expenses of erecting the cathedral churches 
 were in three parts; the first part was con- 
 tributed by the royal treasury, the second part 
 by the Indians of the bishopric or archbishopric, 
 and the third part by the encomenderos of the 
 diocese. These three parties were, moreover, 
 
 ' Leyes de Indias, lib. i, tit. 13, ley 2; lib. i, tit. 14, leyes 
 60, 61. 
 
 2 Ibid., tit. 6, ley i. 'Ibid., tit. 3, ley i. 
 
 * Sol6rzano, lib. 4, cap. 23. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 135 
 
 the contributors to the funds by which the paro- 
 chial churches were built, but it was understood 
 that the contribution from the royal treasury 
 was simply for the first construction of the 
 church, not for later enlargements or modifications. 
 The archbishops, bishops, and abbots were re- 
 quired to report to the king the number of churches 
 that had been erected; and when the building 
 of churches had been undertaken, the viceroys 
 and prelates were to take care to have them 
 completed as soon as possible. 
 
 The license for building a church or monastery 
 having been issued to one of the regular orders, 
 the viceroy, pi-esident, or governor, each in his 
 district, was required to prohibit more space 
 being taken for the building than was necessary 
 for the convenient accommodation of the occu- 
 pants. A term, moreover, was set for the comple- 
 tion of the establishment, and if it was not 
 completed within this term, the viceroy might 
 transfer it to another order. 
 
 In the first century of the colonial period, the 
 archbishop of Lima was the metropolitan for all the 
 territory of South America that was under Span- 
 ish rule. His jurisdiction was thus coextensive 
 with that of the earlier viceroys. In 1609 the 
 bishop of La Plata, or Chuquisaca, was made an 
 archbishop, and within his province were included 
 the bishops of Upper Peru, Salta, Cordova, Para- 
 guay, and Buenos Aires. In Europe the pope 
 
136 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 sometimes created archbishops, under whom 
 there were no bishops, archbishops who were 
 given their titles not because there was work for 
 them to do as archbishops, but because it was 
 desired to accord honorable distinction to certain 
 persons. In America this form of ecclesiastical 
 favoritism did not appear. There were various 
 reasons for its absence. In the first place, almost 
 all the bishops and archbishops were Europeans; 
 in the second place, there were not many towns 
 in South America, in the early period, which a 
 European would select because of the opportunities 
 it afforded for luxurious living; and in the third 
 place, the king was anxious that no more of 
 his revenues than was necessary should go for 
 salaries of archbishops. If, therefore, one was 
 to be an archbishop without a province, he would 
 doubtless find it more agreeable to be archbishop 
 of Lucca or Ferrara, than archbishop of Oruro or 
 Riobamba, and he would not have the objections 
 of the king to overcome. 
 
 Besides the bishops and the chapters, the 
 curates were especially important in determining 
 the character of the religious work in the colonies. 
 In some of the parishes Spaniards constituted 
 a predominant part of the population. The curates 
 who officiated in these parishes were called 
 rectoral curates. There were other parishes com- 
 posed almost entirely of Indian villages, and the 
 religious teachers who officiated in them were 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 137 
 
 known as doctrinal curates. The differences 
 of function between these two classes were 
 chiefly only such as were made inevitable by the 
 differences of the communities concerned. There 
 was a third class of religious teachers who were 
 appointed to instruct the Indians in the catechism 
 and in the manners and customs of civilized 
 life. These were the missionaries who led the 
 advance against paganism and savage customs. 
 When the Indians had adopted the essential 
 features of civilization, they were transferred to 
 the parish of a doctrinal curate, and the mission- 
 aries moved their posts farther into the wilder- 
 ness, and renewed their crusade against ignorance 
 and unbelief. Enlistment in the ranks of the 
 missionaries was without any compulsion what- 
 soever ; those who entered upon the great under- 
 taking, in the early decades, appear to have 
 been moved by a desire to propagate the faith, 
 and thereby to redeem the race. Later, enthusiasm 
 gave way to indifference and members of the 
 religious orders, leaving Spain full of zeal for 
 the spiritual conquest of the Indians, found "the 
 lives of their brethren rather fashioned according 
 to the spirit of man than the spirit of God, " and 
 under the influence of those already in the field, 
 they came to regard a life of indolence more 
 attractive than a death of glory. ^ In the later 
 years of Spanish rule, the missionaries on the 
 
 ' Depons, Travels, i., 352. 
 
138 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 frontier made few conversions, and advanced, 
 among the Indians, but little a knowledge of the 
 ways of civilization ; and on the basis of the facts 
 observed, Depons concluded that neither the 
 cause of religion nor national sovereignty derived 
 any material advantages from their labors.' 
 
 The curate of a parish inhabited chiefly by 
 Spaniards was not entirely dependent for his 
 support on his salary. There were numerous 
 fees and perquisites to supplement the compen- 
 sation which he received from the king. The 
 missionaries, on the other hand, who ministered 
 solely to the Indians were generally obliged to 
 maintain themselves with the royal stipend, 
 since the services of the Church in these cases were 
 gratuitous. Sometimes, however, they violated 
 the spirit while they observed the letter of the 
 law. They sold the Indians various articles, 
 such as rosaries and little images of the Virgin, 
 at a thousand per cent, profit; and persuaded 
 them to work without compensation. 
 
 In America the monks were given a somewhat 
 unusual position. According to the canon law 
 they were not able to hold beneficed curacies, 
 but the extent of the American field, and the 
 limited number of the clergy available to occupy 
 it, induced Leo X., Adrian VI., Paul III., Clement 
 VIII., and Pius V. to permit them to become 
 parish priests. Under this order a very large 
 
 > Depons, i., 354. 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 139 
 
 number of the parishes in America in the first 
 century were occupied by friars. But in the 
 middle of the eighteenth century, this privi- 
 lege was withdrawn, leaving them only two 
 parishes in a conventual province. 
 
 Wherever the Spaniards established themselves 
 in America, with their Indian serfs and their 
 negro slaves, labor soon came to be regarded as the 
 proper occupation of the inferior races. Through 
 this fact it very naturally became despised by 
 the Spaniard and the creole, and yet other 
 openings for their profitable employment were not 
 numerous. The door of the monastery was, 
 however, always open. There one might lead a 
 tranquil life. If he had sufficient intellectual 
 cultivation to enable him to engage in some 
 narrow field of inquiry, there was his opportunity. 
 If he found delight in vague contemplation and 
 mystical day-dreaming, the atmosphere of the 
 monastery favored his desires. There his sup- 
 port was assured; there behind the walls that 
 enclosed him and his brethren he might have a 
 hand in directing the other social classes; and, 
 in his theoretical poverty, he might enjoy more of 
 the things of this world than fell to the ordinary 
 lot of man. 
 
 Yet at the end of the eighteenth century there 
 was observed a diminution in the number of 
 ecclesiastics. This was true both of the monks 
 and of the secular priests. Several causes have 
 
I40 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 been pointed out as contributing to this result. 
 One has been found in the greater prominence 
 given to the organized miHtia, in which there was 
 an opportunity for honorable maintenance without 
 a form of labor humiliating to Spanish pride. 
 Another was found in the multiplication of posts 
 in the civil service, which furnished attractive 
 livings to persons who might otherwise have 
 accepted places in the Church. In the beginning, 
 turning from the wars against the Moors, the 
 Spaniards were strongly moved by a desire for 
 ecclesiastical conquest; but in the course of time 
 the spread of stories of the fabulous wealth of 
 Peru and the possible spoils of other chiefs natur- 
 ally attracted to the colonies a large number of 
 persons who were more interested in the attainment 
 of wealth than in the conversion of the Indians. 
 There was observed, however, no diminution 
 of zeal on the part of the ecclesiastical organiza- 
 tions to accumulate property; and men of wealth 
 recognized that donations to churches and mon- 
 asteries furnished the surest means of securing 
 for their names a fragrant memoiy. Facing the 
 end of life, many persons did not hesitate to 
 purchase the favor and service of the Church in 
 their own behalf, even to depriving their families 
 of their expected inheritances. The government 
 recognized this evil, and sought to offer a remedy 
 by issuing a law forbidding any notary to pass 
 an act or an instrument of donation by which 
 
The Church and the Civil Power 141 
 
 a sick person, or a person on a bed of death, 
 proposed to convey his property to his confessor 
 or to an ecclesiastical organization for pious uses. 
 This law, however, found no adequate support in 
 public opinion, yet on the initiative of the Spanish 
 government it was revived in Caracas in 1802. 
 
 The monotonous routine of the monastery in 
 Spain must have often been irksome to many 
 of the more active and venturesome members of 
 the orders. It was inevitable that some men 
 should find themselves in the religious houses who 
 were better fitted by nature for the practical 
 work of pioneers than for contemplation and a 
 continuous round of religious exercises. To 
 such men the opportunities for a more adventur- 
 ous life in America appeared attractive, and made 
 them willing to respond to the call for mission- 
 aries. Fretting under a rigid discipline, they 
 looked to the colonies for a larger measure of 
 freedom. This expectation of freedom was usually 
 realized when charged in America with the duties 
 of a parish priest. While performing the functions 
 of this office they were removed from the imme- 
 diate supervision of their monastic superiors, 
 and the results of this independence with respect 
 to their conduct were such as to indicate that 
 their training had not been of a character to 
 enable them to withstand their inevitable temp- 
 tations and meet properly their responsibilities. 
 The scandalous lives of some of the regular 
 
142 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 clergy while in charge of parishes called forth 
 strong protests from many of the most zealous 
 members of the Church. The secular clergy 
 regarded the assignment of monks to parishes 
 as an encroachment on their peculiar functions. 
 This view became widely accepted, and in 1757 
 King Ferdinand VI. issued an edict, prohibiting 
 monks from taking charge of parishes, and 
 providing that, as regulars holding these positions 
 died, only members of the secular clergy would 
 be appointed to the vacancies thus created. This 
 edict made complete the change that had been 
 initiated a few years earlier. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 A COLONIAL UNIVERSITY 
 
 THE survival of medievalism in the society 
 of the Spanish colonies is very well illus- 
 trated by the history and character of the Uni- 
 versity of Cordova. In point of age this University 
 holds the third place in America. It was preceded 
 by the University of San Marcos in Lima, and by 
 the University of Mexico. It was founded by 
 Friar Fernando de Trejo i Sanabria, bishop of 
 Tucuman. Bishop Trejo was one of the few 
 Creoles who, under the Spanish regime, attained 
 to the episcopal dignity. He was bom in Asun- 
 cion in 1554, sixteen years after the foundation 
 of the city. He studied in Lima, and here became 
 a member of the Franciscan order. He had been 
 provincial of the Franciscan province of the 
 Twelve Apostles of Peru, and was guardian of 
 the principal monastery of Lima, when Philip 11. 
 appointed him bishop of Tucuman. 1 He was 
 consecrated in Quito by Bishop Luis de Solis, 
 and assumed the duties of his diocese in 1595. 
 
 » Tucuman in the seventeenth century embraced the 
 present districts of Cordova, Tucuman, Salta, Jujuy, La 
 Rioja, Catamarca, Santiago del Estero, and a part of Chaco. 
 
 143 
 
144 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Trejo held the office of bishop of Tucuman 
 for nineteen years, and during this period he made 
 his influence felt as the protector of the generally 
 despised Indians and negroes. He caused them 
 to be organized in brotherhoods in connection 
 with the churches in all the reductions and towns 
 within his jurisdiction. But his supreme claim 
 to the grateful memory of his countrymen 
 rests on his zeal in behalf of the education of 
 youth, at a time when it was difficult to pene- 
 trate the dense ignorance that overshadowed 
 them. In the heart of the continent, with long 
 stretches of the wilderness on all sides, with 
 no schools, no books, and no associations except 
 such as made for barbarism, it required more 
 than ordinary hope and courage to undertake 
 the task of educating that depraved generation. 
 In Santiago del Estero, Bishop Trejo established, 
 in 1609, a school under the name of Colegio de 
 Santa Catalina; and a few years later he carried 
 out his desire to found a university, in which 
 "Latin, the arts, and theology" would be taught. 
 By a formal document, dated June 19, 16 13, 
 he agreed to give within three years to the pro- 
 posed University forty thousand dollars. In the 
 meantime he would give fifteen hundred dollars 
 a year for the support of the instructors and the 
 building. And as there might be needed more 
 than the two thousand dollars which it was 
 supposed the forty thousand dollars would yield. 
 
A Colonial University 145 
 
 he agreed to make to the University a donation 
 
 "pure, perfect, and irrevocable, which the law 
 calls int-er vivos, of all my property real and personal, 
 which I have or may have, money, wrought silver, 
 books, slaves, and inheritances, and in particular that 
 which I have called Quimillpa, within the juris- 
 diction of the City of San Miguel, with all the lands, 
 mills, goats, asses," 
 
 and all the other property. 
 
 The bishop did not live long after making this 
 gift. Finding his health failing while in Cordova 
 in 1614, he acted on the advice of his physician 
 and set out to return to Santiago del Estero. The 
 Jesuits, to whom this donation was made and 
 with whom he was living in Cordova, opposed 
 his going; but he persisted, and on the second 
 day of the journey he was obliged to halt. Know- 
 ing his end was near, he sent Padre Vasquez 
 Trujillo on to Santiago to take possession of his 
 property, which he had donated for the estabUsh- 
 ment of the University. He died on the 24th of 
 December, 1614, and his body, in accordance 
 with his request, was taken back to Cordova and 
 buried in the church of the Jesuits. Before his 
 death, however, he issued a second document 
 confirming the gift of 1613.' 
 
 In February, 161 4, the institution founded by 
 Trejo, under the title of Colegio Maximo, opened 
 
 > Garro, Bosquejo Historico de la Universidad de Cordova, 
 29. 
 
146 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 at Cordova with fifty students, but it was not until 
 eight years later, 1622^ that it was formally au- 
 thorized by Pope Gregory XV. ^ At this time it 
 assumed the name and character of a university as 
 then conceived. Like all other documents issued 
 by the pope relating to American affairs, this bull 
 of authorization was submitted to the coun- 
 cil of the Indies. After it had been approved 
 by that body, the king ordered his officers and 
 subjects in the Indies to comply with its terms 
 and assist in its execution. 
 
 The death of Bishop Trejo before his foundation 
 had been approved left the institution without 
 a certain important force it would have had in 
 case his life had been prolonged. In fact, the forty 
 thousand dollars which he had agreed to convey 
 was never actually turned over to the Jesuits. 
 They, however, inherited at his death all, or 
 the greater part, of the articles of property which 
 formed his patrimony ; yet these did not amount 
 to the sum specified in the instrument of his gift.^ 
 
 By the approval of the pope, confirmed by the 
 king, the Colegio Maximo assumed the rank and 
 dignity of a university in 1622, and in the follow- 
 ing year it awarded its first degrees under its 
 new title. In the early period of the University 
 the degrees were conferred by the bishop of the 
 
 ' This document is printed in Garro, Bosquejo Historico 
 de la Universidad de Cordova, 42-44. 
 2 Garro, 32. 
 
A Colonial University i47 
 
 diocese, whose seat was not Cordova but Santiago 
 del Estero. The students who were prepared 
 to receive their degrees were, therefore, either 
 obHged to wait until the bishop might come to 
 Cordova, or to make a journey to the place where 
 he might then be. Both courses involved incon- 
 venience and expense. This system, moreover, 
 provided ample opportunity for fraud. It was 
 sometimes easy for a person wishing a degree, 
 although he had not made the requisite studies 
 at the University, to deceive the bishop. There 
 were serious abuses growing out of the power of 
 the bishop to confer the degrees of the Univer- 
 sity wherever he might happen to be when the 
 applicant presented himself; and knowledge of 
 these abuses came to the king, as may be seen 
 from the decree issued by Philip IV. in 1664. 
 In the introduction to this decree the king affirmed 
 that the bishop had given the degrees "some- 
 times to those who had not studied at the Uni- 
 versity, nor attended the examinations." ' As a 
 remedy he ordered that whenever the bishop 
 was absent from Cordova the "maestre-escuela" 
 might give the degrees. Somewhat later other 
 steps were taken to set aside this difficulty. In 
 1680, the king authorized the rector of the Univer- 
 sity to confer degrees in the absence of the bishop 
 and the ' ' maestre-escuela. ' ' Then, in 1 700, Cordova 
 became the seat of the bishop. 
 
 ' This decree is printed in Garro, 49. S"- 
 
148 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 In the fifty years immediately subsequent to 
 its foundation the University passed through a 
 preHminary stage of imperfect and unstable 
 organization. But in 1664 it adopted a funda- 
 mental law that determined its form and usages 
 for about one hundred and fifty years, or until 
 its reorganization in the beginning of the nine- 
 teenth century. This law is an important source 
 of information respecting the character of the 
 University during the colonial period. It recog- 
 nized Ignatius Loyola as the patron saint of the 
 University, and required that his statue or picture 
 should be assigned a conspicuous place, and that 
 the anniversary of the saint's day should be 
 solemnly celebrated, and the celebration be at- 
 tended by all the doctors and masters. 
 
 The University should keep as its archives all 
 papers, such as papal bulls, royal decrees, and 
 other provisions, relating to it, as well as all books 
 of record. It should have a chest in which to 
 keep aU of its funds and all funds entrusted to it, 
 such as the propinas, or fees to be distributed 
 on behalf of the candidates for degrees. The 
 chest should have two keys, one held by the 
 rector, and the other by the dean or the doctors 
 residing in the city, or by the treasurer; and it 
 should not be opened except in the presence of 
 the holders of both keys and of the secretary. The 
 secretary was required to make a record of the 
 amounts put into the chest, and the amounts taken 
 
A Colonial University 149 
 
 out, as well as the purpose for which they were 
 withdrawn ; and the book containing this record 
 should be kept in the chest. 
 
 The two most important ofificers of the Univer- 
 sity were the rector and the treasurer. They 
 administered the affairs of the institution. The 
 subordinate officers were the beadles and the 
 secretary, who were appointed by the rector. The 
 functions of the beadle were a combination of 
 those of a chief janitor and master of ceremonies. 
 On the secretary devolved the duty of keeping 
 all the ordinary records of the University, and of 
 acting as secretary of the meeting known as the 
 claustro. This was a meeting called by the rector, 
 and was composed of all the doctors and masters 
 who were in the city or who might wish to attend 
 though residing elsewhere, together with the 
 professors and the treasurer; or, in the terms of 
 a modem tmiversity, a meeting of the members 
 of the faculties and all the alumni residing in the 
 neighborhood of the institution, or who might 
 wish to attend wherever residing, together with 
 the principal officer of the financial administration. 
 The claustro discussed general questions of uni- 
 versity policy, and took action on them, which 
 became effective as amendments to the funda- 
 mental law. It guarded attentively the observance 
 of this law, insisted on the maintenance of dis- 
 cipline, and kept the government consistent with 
 its traditions. It constituted a broad basis of 
 
15° The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 university government, under circumstances where 
 both the church and civil affairs were subject 
 to a system of absolute rule. The first daustro 
 was held in December, 1664, and afterwards it 
 was called annually. 
 
 The students were required to matriculate an- 
 nually, and for this they were allowed forty days 
 from the beginning of the instruction. Applicants, 
 after this period, could not enter upon the courses 
 without the permission of the rector, and all were 
 required to take an oath of obedience to him. ^ 
 
 The annual courses of instruction lasted six 
 months and a day at first, but later they were 
 made to continue seven months; and, except in 
 the case of the students of Latin, no examination 
 was required in passing from one course to another. 
 Certain evidence of attendence had, however, 
 to be presented. In some courses the student 
 had to show, as a minimum, that he had heard 
 two lectures, but in other courses a more ex- 
 tensive attendance was required. 
 
 • "Ego N. juro per Sancta Dei Evangelia corporaliter 
 per me gratis tacta, quod vobis Domino Rectori meo, et pro 
 tempore futuro rectoriam exercentibus, et omnibus, et singulis 
 mandatis vestris in licitis, et honestis obedientiam, et in ne- 
 gotiis Universitatis, et factis consilium, auxilium et favorem 
 fideliter prasstabo; nee praedicta contra ipsam Universitatem, 
 seu ejus bonum alteri dabo ; et ad vocationem vestram veniam, 
 toties, quoties fuere requisitus, sic me Deus adjuvet, et haec 
 Sancta Dei Evangelia; neque ero in consilio acversus con- 
 stitutiones, et statuta prsedictae Universitatis." — See Garro, 
 443- 
 
A Colonial University 151 
 
 Like most medieval universities, the University 
 of Cordova was primarily a school of theology. 
 It embraced two faculties, a faculty of arts and 
 a faculty of theology; but the studies of the first — 
 logic, physics, and Aristotelian metaphysics — 
 constituted a preparation for those of the second. 
 A knowledge of Latin was prerequisite for the 
 study of philosophy. Of the study of Latin, here, 
 Dean Ftines, later rector of the University, said 
 it was carried on "without that accumulation of 
 trifles which makes the memory groan." It was 
 conducted with great efficiency and profit by 
 excellent instructors. The students acquired 
 familiarity with the best Latin authors, whose 
 writings became their models for compositions 
 both in prose and verse. Having shown their 
 proficiency in this subject by a public examination, 
 they were admitted to the study of philosophy 
 with the faculty of arts. The studies with this 
 faculty were continued for three years. The first 
 year was devoted to the study of logic, the second 
 to physics, and the third to metaphysics. There 
 were two lectures daily of one hour each. The 
 lecturer devoted a quarter of an hour after each 
 lecture to answering questions and solving the 
 difficulties that had arisen in the minds of the 
 students. In the course of time the discipline 
 became more strict, and the attendance of the 
 students was rigidly required. The course of 
 instruction was then concluded with an exami- 
 
152 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 nation before "five incorruptible judges," and 
 still later, examinations of greater length were 
 held.i 
 
 After three years of philosophy, the student 
 passed to the study of theology, which was con- 
 tinued at first four years, and later five years and 
 a half. Of this longer period, the student was 
 required to be in residence only three and a half 
 years. At the conclusion of two and a half 
 years of theology, he might receive the degree 
 of master of arts; and at the end of the whole 
 course, the degrees of licentiate and doctor. 
 
 Writing of the quality of this instruction. Dr. 
 Funes said that these studies were corrupted with 
 all the vices of their century. Logic suffered 
 notable defects. The ideas of Aristotle obscured 
 by the barbarous comments of the Arabs could 
 not enlighten the reason. Dialectics was a 
 science of vague notions and insignificant terms, 
 better adapted to forming sophisms than to dis- 
 coursing with effect. Metaphysics presented 
 phantasms which passed for true entities. 
 Physics, full of formalities, quiddities, forms, 
 and secret qualities, explained by these means 
 the most mysterious phenomena of nature. 
 
 " Theology was in no better state. Like philosophy 
 it was also corrupted. The philosophy of Aristotle 
 applied to theology, formed a mixture of things 
 
 • Funes, Ensayo Historico, lib. ii, chap. i6; Primeras 
 Constituciones de la Universidad ; see Garro, Appendix III. 
 
A Colonial University 153 
 
 sacred and profane. Theology had abandoned the 
 study of the Fathers to devote itself to frivolous 
 and irrelevant questions. Purely human reasoning, 
 subtleties, deceptive sophism, this was what had 
 come to form the dominant taste of these schools." * 
 
 In each of the faculties there were three degrees. 
 Those of the faculty of arts were bachelor, licen- 
 tiate, and master. Those of the faculty of theology 
 were bachelor, licentiate, and doctor, the doctor- 
 ate of theology being the highest degree conferred 
 by the University. In order to attain it, it was 
 necessary, among other things, to pass five "rigor- 
 ous ' ' examinations. The first of these covered the 
 first part of the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, and 
 dealt with the subjects, God, predestination, the 
 trinity, and angels; the second, beatitude, good 
 and evil, laws, sin, and grace; the third, faith, 
 hope, and charity, contracts and restitution; 
 the fourth, incarnation, sacraments, penitence, 
 and the eucharist, the third part of the Summa; 
 the fifth was called the ignaciana, in recognition 
 of the patron saint, and lasted five hours, divided 
 between the morning and afternoon. 
 
 The student having completed the courses of 
 study required for the degree which he sought, 
 there remained only the ceremony of his pro- 
 motion. If he was to be a doctor, this ceremony 
 began with a public procession, in which all the 
 doctors, masters, and invited guests appeared 
 
 1 Funes, i., lib. j, chap. i6. 
 
154 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 mounted, with all the insignia pertaining to their 
 rank. In the afternoon of the day preceding 
 the final ceremony, the procession passed to 
 the house of the candidate, in whose doorway 
 was placed, under a canopy, the standard of 
 the University, showing not only the arms of 
 the University but also the arms of the stu- 
 dent to be promoted. A shield also bearing his 
 arms was placed near the standard. At the 
 hour designated, the procession moved. It was 
 led by the musicians and the beadle carrying 
 the burnished mace, followed by the standard- 
 bearers and the masters, among whom was the 
 secretary; then the doctors in their gowns and 
 hoods, the city council, the principal citizens 
 of the city; and, at the end of the procession, 
 the candidate in a white gown, but without a cap, 
 between the eldest doctor and the padrino. Formed 
 in this order, the procession passed through the 
 principal streets of the city, following an itinerary 
 determined beforehand, and returned to the 
 starting-point, leaving the candidate at his house, 
 "where," the record says, "he awaited with 
 infinite anxieties the emotions of the following 
 day." 
 
 On this day the candidate was conducted by the 
 same procession to the place where he was to 
 receive his degree, usually the church of the 
 Jesuits adjoining the University, where a tribune 
 had been erected for the doctors, masters, and 
 
A Colonial University 155 
 
 other graduates. In front of this tribune, under 
 a canopy, were placed the royal arms; at the 
 right of them the arms of the bishop or of the 
 person who might confer the degree in his name ; 
 on the left the arms of the University, and, a 
 little lower, those of the candidate. On a table 
 also in front of the tribune were placed the in- 
 signia of the doctor, the bible, and the propinas, 
 which were required in case of granting the degree 
 in question. "Considering the rich hangings, the 
 luxurious carpets, the splendid chairs, the flowers, 
 and the perfumes, one will have an approximate 
 idea of the improvised temple of Minerva." 
 
 When the members of the company had taken 
 their seats in the order of their ages, the padrino 
 went up to the speaker's stand and proposed a 
 question for the candidate to discuss. At the con- 
 clusion of the candidate's discourse the beadles 
 accompanied the padrino to his seat. The master 
 or doctor who had to reply took the speaker's 
 place and made his criticism, which lasted about 
 half an hour. This address was not an extempora- 
 neous criticism, but it had been prepared before- 
 hand by the rector or by some person appointed 
 by him, and committed to memory by the speaker. 
 At the close of this reply, the beadles conducted 
 the padrino from his seat to the table, where he 
 presented the candidate to the bishop or the person 
 who was to confer the degree, who now made a 
 brief address, to which the candidate or one of 
 
iS6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the doctors replied. The candidate then knelt 
 before the bishop and took the oath that was 
 required as a part of the ceremony of granting 
 the doctor's degree. He afterwards made the 
 confession of faith, the form of which was a part 
 of the fundamental law of the University. The 
 degree was conferred by placing on the candi- 
 date's head the cap with the tassel, and the 
 bishop or the person conferring the degree made 
 use of the appropriate formula established by law.i 
 
 The padrino performed the rest of the ceremony. 
 He first bestowed the kiss of peace on the can- 
 didate's cheek, with the formula, accipe osculum 
 pads in signum fraternitatis et amiciticB. Then 
 he placed a ring on his finger saying: accipe 
 annulum aureum in signum conjugii inter te et 
 sapientiam tamquam sponsam clarissimam. Fi- 
 nally he handed to him the Maestro de las 
 Sentencias, saying: accipe librum sapientice, ut 
 possis libere et publice alios docere. 
 
 The final scene of this ceremony may be pre- 
 sented in the language of the law: 
 
 " The degree having been conferred, the padrino 
 shall come with the new doctor, who will be em- 
 braced by the rector, or the person who confers 
 the degree; then by the doctors and masters in 
 their order; first those on the right, then those on 
 the left, and finally by the padrino. Afterwards 
 they shall take their seats, the padrino on the 
 
 ' See Garro, 438. 
 
A Colonial University 157 
 
 left of the rector, and the new doctor on the right, 
 while the propinas and the gloves are distributed. 
 This last act concluded, the procession will return 
 and leave the new doctor at his house." ^ 
 
 The propinas, it may be said in explanation of 
 the use of the term here, are the fees paid to 
 certain persons who participate in the procession 
 and other parts of the ceremony. The payment 
 of these fees is imposed as an obligation on the 
 candidate for graduation. They were established 
 under the supposed necessity of furnishing com- 
 pensation for the loss of time and the expenses 
 incurred by the graduates and officers of the 
 University who took part in the ceremony. They 
 varied with the degrees conferred. For the doctor 
 of theology they were more than for the lower 
 degrees. The new doctor was, moreover, required 
 to pay most of the expenses of his graduation, 
 even the cost of arranging and decorating the 
 places of meeting. 
 
 There were other expenses that fell to the grad- 
 uate, particularly for clerical work for which the 
 secretary received payment. But a reference to 
 the fees required is sufficient to indicate that grad- 
 uation involved an expenditure which many stu- 
 dents would find it difficult, if not impossible, to 
 meet. This fact was recognized, and an effort 
 
 ' Primeras Constitttciones de la Universidad, Constitucion 
 52; see Garro, 421. 
 
iS8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 was made to establish such provisions as would 
 secure to every student, however poor, an opportu- 
 nity to acquire a degree. This was found to be 
 difficult without making the student's poverty the 
 object of public attention. 
 
 In the university community, on the occasion of 
 any public exercise, great care was taken to have 
 a definite and well-established order of precedence 
 observed. The licentiates and doctors in theol- 
 ogy preceded the masters in arts, who in their turn 
 preceded the bachelors in arts. The minor dis- 
 tinctions in dress made observable any departure 
 from this rule of precedence. After beginning 
 the studies in arts or philosophy all students 
 were required to wear the clerical dress, and with- 
 out complying with this requirement no one 
 would be approved for any degree in theology. 
 Any one who would have a doctor's degree from 
 the University, whether intending to be a priest 
 or not, was obliged to wear the clerical dress, 
 and this was, in fact, since the instructors were 
 Jesuits, the only dress that was worn in the 
 University. 
 
 At first when there were no strictly enforced 
 requirements concerning attendance and exami- 
 nations, the results of the instruction were 
 unsatisfactory. The students gave little or no 
 attention to any subjects except those on which 
 they were to be examined for their degrees. They 
 passed from one course to another with a very 
 
A Colonial University 159 
 
 imperfect knowledge of the subjects supposed to 
 constitute a necessary introduction to the course 
 before them. When they found themselves near 
 the final examination, a few tmdertook to repair 
 their deficiencies by assiduous effort, but the major- 
 ity found that the career of a scholar had not 
 the attractions they fancied, and turned away to 
 other pursuits. The evil of this state of things 
 clearly demanded correction, and this was at- 
 tempted, in 1680, by lengthening the course to 
 ten months, and insisting on attendance. Annual 
 examinations were established three years later, 
 and it became necessary to pass them with 
 approval in order to be advanced to the succeed- 
 ing courses. This tightening of the lines of 
 discipline led to acts of insubordination to the 
 part of the students. That in an institution 
 of learning they should be required to listen to 
 lectures and pass examinations seemed to them 
 an interference with their rights as students, 
 and they instituted a rebellion. The claustro, 
 however, firmly supported the other authorities, 
 and the two leaders of the rebellion were 
 expelled, and order restored. 
 
 In the course of the eighteenth century, the 
 number of students was greatly increased. They 
 came not only from Tucuman, but also from Rio 
 de la Plata, Paraguay, and even from Chile 
 and Peru. When, in the course of time, they 
 had acquired their degrees and, in considerable 
 
i6o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 numbers, attended the ceremonies of graduation, 
 the propinas, or fees, which the candidates had 
 to pay, became a greatly increased burden. In 
 order to avoid the payment of these fees many 
 students took their certificates of record and 
 apphed for degrees at other universities, in ChiU, 
 Chuquisaca, and Cuzco. But others, who wished 
 neither to bear the expense nor to undertake the 
 long and difficult journey over the mountains, 
 retired from the University without taking a 
 degree. To set aside the inconvenience of the 
 burdensome fees, it was provided that they 
 should be reduced by one third of their several 
 amounts. Even this reduction left them so great 
 as to make the degree quite beyond the reach of the 
 majority of the students; and more and more 
 of them took advantage of the special provisions 
 that had been made for the poor. This was 
 regarded as an abuse of a privilege, and steps 
 were taken to limit the number to three annually 
 in each course who might be graduated under 
 these provisions. Somewhat later greater liberal- 
 ity was shown to candidates coming from Buenos 
 Aires and Paraguay. 
 
 The primary purpose of the University in the 
 mind of the founder, a Franciscan friar, was 
 instruction in theology, to prepare young men 
 for service in the Church. In keeping with this 
 design, the fundamental law of 1664 provided that 
 the taking of holy orders was a prerequisite for 
 
A Colonial University i6i 
 
 receiving the degree of doctor. One hundred 
 years later, in 1764, seven candidates were 
 absolved from this requirement, and were given 
 their degrees, but under certain other restrictions. 
 This was the beginning of a liberal policy with 
 respect to graduates, and it was made more 
 liberal after the Franciscans came into control 
 of the University on the expulsion of the Jesuits. 
 By the end of the eighteenth century all restrictions 
 of this kind with respect to graduation had been 
 swept away. In the meantime, another restriction 
 had come into force. The early law did not 
 raise the question of the legitimacy or illegitimacy 
 of the candidate. When, therefore, in 17 10, a 
 person of illegitimate birth applied for a degree, 
 it was conferred upon him, since there was no 
 special prohibition touching the subject. It 
 was, however, later definitely provided by the 
 claustro that no degree should be given by the 
 University to any person who was not of legiti- 
 mate birth and whose legitimacy had not been 
 established. 
 
 The expulsion of the Jesuits effected important 
 changes in the affairs of the University. The 
 Instructions of March i, 1767, framed by the 
 CoTont of Aranda, required that, in the towns 
 which might have houses or seminaries of educa- 
 tion, secular priests should be substituted for the 
 Jesuit directors and masters, that the schools 
 and seminaries should be continued by these 
 
1 62 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 substitutes, and that the instructors who were not 
 priests should remain and continue their instruc- 
 tion. The provisions of Aranda's instructions 
 were, however, not carried out, and the places 
 of the Jesuits were filled by Franciscans, appar- 
 ently in direct violation of the royal will. After 
 the departure of the Jesuits, the independence 
 which the University had enjoyed under their 
 administration was in a large measure lost. The 
 superior authority in its affairs became vested 
 in the governor of Buenos Aires, and afterwards 
 in the viceroy. By virtue of his powers as vice- 
 patron, he appointed the rector and the professors 
 and almost immediately the institution began to 
 experience the baneful effects of its political depen- 
 dence. The first evidence of political scheming 
 was the project to have the University trans- 
 ferred from Cordova to Buenos Aires. Aranda 
 opposed this project, and begged the king to al- 
 low the University to remain in Cordova; and 
 when the arguments for and against removal 
 had been considered by the council of the Indies, 
 the conclusion was that it should remain in 
 Cordova, as being there in the most central 
 position. At the same time the king and his 
 council decided that the peculiar doctrines of 
 Jesuits and their books should be excluded from 
 the instruction. In another respect, the Univer- 
 sity suffered from its political connection. The 
 viceroy interfered in the internal affairs, and 
 
A Colonial University 163 
 
 sought to set aside in certain cases the established 
 prerequisites for graduation. In the presence of 
 these attempts at political aggression, the claus- 
 tro stood stoutly for the rights of the University, 
 although the rector affirmed that he was com- 
 pelled to act in accordance with the will of his 
 superior. As a political appointee the ancient 
 virtue of independence had gone out of him. 
 
 The question as to the fees to be paid by the 
 graduate continued to engage the attention of the 
 university community. In spite of all previous 
 reforms, they still remained, in 1780, sufficiently 
 burdensome to prevent many persons from 
 receiving degrees. Finally it was decreed that 
 there should be certain fixed sums for the several 
 degrees, and the sum pertaining to any given 
 degree had to be paid into the treasury of the 
 University before the degree sought would be 
 granted. The parts due individual persons under 
 the regulations were then distributed, and the 
 balance remained in the treasury. The amount 
 to be paid by the doctor was two hundred and 
 fifty dollars.* These regulations continued in 
 force with unimportant modifications until the 
 final abolition of the system of fees. 
 
 For nearly two himdred years, through all 
 the petty discussions as to forms and fees, the 
 intellectual horizon of the University remained 
 unchanged. Latin, Philosophy, Theology, these 
 
 ' See Garro, 153-156. 
 
1 64 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 constituted the whole world of thought which 
 the student was invited to survey; not the 
 philosophy or theology of an enlightened age, 
 but the semi-barbarous discussions that went 
 under the name of Aristotle, and theology as set 
 forth by Thomas Aquinas. There was no library 
 to which the students might be d';ected to pursue 
 free inquiries; on the contrary, they were prac- 
 tically confined to their notes written as dictated 
 by the lecturer. 
 
 The first important step out of the depths of 
 medievalism was the introduction of the study of 
 jurisprudence, in 1791. A practical beginning 
 was made by establishing a professorship of the 
 Institutes. With this the University ceased to 
 be purely theological; yet it was the last of the 
 universities in Spanish America to depart from 
 its primary plan. Gradually other chairs in law 
 were established and the University acquired the 
 right to confer the degrees of bachelor, licentiate, 
 and doctor of civil law. The first degree of 
 doctor of civil law was conferred in 1797. 
 
 A contest between the Franciscans and the 
 secular clergy for the control of the University 
 marked the last forty years of its history under the 
 old regime. As clearly indicated, the Instructions 
 of the Count of Aranda, of March i, 1767, ordered 
 that the Jesuits should be replaced by members of 
 the secular clergy. In spite of this expression 
 of the royal will, Bucareli, the governor of Rio 
 
A Colonial University 165 
 
 de la Plata, handed over the government of the 
 University and of the affiliated college of Mont- 
 serrat to the Franciscans. By this the expecta- 
 tions and aspirations of the secular clergy were 
 defeated. They, therefore, began a struggle to 
 acquire the authority which their rivals had 
 usurped. This little war brought into the dull 
 and monotonous life of Cordova a subject that 
 interested everybody; but, in spite of the argu- 
 ments and appeals to the law, the Franciscans 
 held their position. The governor favored them, 
 and his support was more immediately effective 
 than the will of the king in opposition. In 1800, 
 the subject was finally before the council of the 
 Indies, and that body rendered a decision justi- 
 fying the claims of the secular clergy. The 
 decree was issued on the first of December of that 
 year. It had the form of a new act of foundation. 
 The sovereign resolved that there should be 
 founded and erected anew in the city of Cordova, 
 in the edifice which belonged to the Colegio 
 Maximo of the Jesuits, "a greater university with 
 the privileges and prerogatives which are enjoyed 
 by institutions of this class in Spain and the Indies 
 with the title of Royal University of San Carlos 
 and of Our Lady of Montserrat." 'The decree 
 also provided that "the Franciscans should be 
 separated from the government and direction 
 of the new university, as had been established 
 by the royal resolution of 1778." The rector, 
 
1 66 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 vice-rector, and treasurer, and the other officials 
 were to be appointed by the claustro. This 
 action appeared to involve the immediate over- 
 throw of the friars, but the political authorities 
 of Buenos Aires again came to their rescue, and 
 succeded in burying the decree in the archives of 
 the viceroyalty. Its resurrection was, however, 
 effected seven years later by Liniers, who, on 
 November 29, 1807, ordered that it should be 
 carried into effect immediately. The reorganiza- 
 tion introduced by the decree of 1800 made the 
 beginning of a new period in the history of the 
 University. Henceforth the University of Cor- 
 dova was to be regarded as having the same 
 standing as the renowned universities of Sala- 
 manca and Alcala de Henares, in Spain, and the 
 universities of Mexico and Lima in America. But 
 before it had fully entered upon this later period 
 of its career, Spain's domination had ceased, and 
 the inhabitants of Rio de la Plata had undertaken 
 to form an independent republic. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AN OFFICIAL REPORT ON THE INDIANS 
 
 THE foundations of the viceroyalty of Buenos 
 Aires were scarcely laid before the southern 
 part of the continent was startled by a great 
 popular uprising. The Indians of Upper Peru 
 had at last turned upon their aggressors, and 
 sought relief under arms. With the results of the 
 rebellion before us, we are able to see clearly 
 what the Indians themselves dimly discerned, 
 that the resort to force carried little hope of 
 success, but it was the only hope the Indians had 
 of attaining the conditions of even a tolerable 
 existence. What their actual state was, which 
 furnished the motive and reason of revolt, has 
 almost entirely passed out of the mind of this 
 generation; and if a writer of the twentieth 
 century, not greatly influenced by Spain's ancient 
 political or ecclesiastical ideals, should tell plainly 
 the story of the Indians under the colonial admin- 
 istration, he would hardly be believed. He would 
 run the risk of having his statements attributed 
 to ignorance or prejudice. If, however, loyal 
 Spaniards and devoted churchmen speak of what 
 
 167 
 
1 68 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 they saw and what their personal investigations 
 revealed, their report ought to be accepted. 
 Fortunately we are able to listen to the testimony 
 of two Spanish witnesses whose distinguished 
 scholarly and scientific attainments, and whose 
 attachment to the interests of the Church and the 
 government have not been questioned. They 
 are George Juan and Antonio UUoa, and under 
 the king's orders they wrote of their observations 
 and investigations during their residence in 
 Ecuador and Peru just before the middle of the 
 eighteenth century. During the whole of the 
 last half of the century, the king and his council 
 of the Indies had before them this report, which 
 was finally published in London about a hundred 
 years after it was written. It is the famous 
 Noticias Secretas de America. Although it brought 
 to the king unimpeachable evidence of the op- 
 pression and misery the Indians were suffering 
 at the hands of the officials and the clergy, he 
 refused to spread abroad the information contained 
 in the report, or to make it the basis of the needed 
 reforms. This refusal was not, however, an 
 indication of sympathy with the abuses practised 
 in America; on the contrary, it was simply 
 the result of weakness, of lack of courage, of 
 helplessness in the presence of the impending 
 fall of a great governmental structure that had 
 been wrecked by the avarice and incapacity of 
 those immediately in charge of it. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 169 
 
 The writers of this report maintain that the 
 oppression under which the Indians were living 
 arose from an inordinate desire for wealth on the 
 part of their rulers. The system which required 
 the corregidors to collect the tribute, and gave 
 them the exclusive right to trade with the Indians 
 within their several districts, furnished these 
 officers an opportunity to make burdensome 
 exactions. The chiefs as well as the Indian 
 governors were exempt from the tribute, as were 
 also those Indians under a certain age, and 
 those over a certain other age; but these limits 
 were not respected, and what was collected from 
 persons legally exempt from the tribute the cor- 
 regidor might hold without being detected, since 
 it was over and above what was required of him 
 under the law. The mita Indians, those sub- 
 jected to forced labor, did not pay in person 
 directly to the corregidor, but the tribute required 
 of them was paid by the masters, who collected 
 it from the Indians in their service; and those 
 living in small villages paid their cacique, who 
 turned over the whole amount collected to the 
 corregidor. Besides the exemptions intended by 
 the law, it was further provided that Indians who 
 had been absent from their district for short 
 periods, one or two years, on returning should pay 
 only one third of the regular contribution for the 
 time of their absence. This provision of the law 
 was, however, not observed, and the returning 
 
1 70 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Indians were made to pay the full amount that 
 would have been due if they had not been absent; 
 and two thirds of this amount might be held by 
 the corregidor as not legally required from him 
 for the public treasury. When it is remembered 
 that the corregidors collected tribute from Indians 
 temporarily in their districts, it will be seen that, 
 under this practice, such as were temporarily 
 absent from their homes were obliged to pay 
 double tribute for the years of their absence. 
 
 The monopoly of trade held by the corregidor 
 in his district enabled him to prevent the Indians 
 from continuing in their accustomed occupation. 
 He took them into his service, with barely suf- 
 ficient payment for their support, and thus 
 received the profits which the Indians themselves 
 had received before this interference. Where the 
 Indians were weavers, the corregidor gave them 
 the materials and very reduced wages, and received 
 the profits of their labor as if they were slaves. 
 But while keeping them constantly employed 
 under conditions where gains on their part were 
 practically out of the question, he still exacted 
 from them the tribute money ; and as long as this 
 was not paid they might not leave his service. 
 Inasmuch as the corregidor exercised almost abso- 
 lute power in his district, the Indians had no 
 redress. If they appealed to the courts, they 
 were ruined. To meet the costs of the suit, they 
 were obliged to give up a mule or a cow, which 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 171 
 
 furnished their principal means of support. ' ' These 
 acts of extortion, which have no Umit, have 
 reduced them to a condition so deplorable that 
 the state of the most poor and miserable beings 
 that can be imagined is not to be compared with 
 that of the Indians." ^ 
 
 The Indians were also under the oppressive 
 system of repartimientos, which made the office 
 of corregidor a district commissariat. In organ- 
 izing this system it was thought that an intel- 
 ligent European would be able to supply the 
 Indians with those things which they might need, 
 but which they would not be likely to have on 
 hand when needed, on account of their lack of 
 foresight; therefore, 
 
 "it was ordered that the corregidors might introduce 
 a quantity of such articles as were suited to each dis- 
 trict and distribute them among the Indians at 
 moderate prices, in order that, having implements 
 for labor, they might shake off the apathy which is 
 innate in their constitution, and make the exertion 
 requisite for paying their tribute and supporting 
 themselves." ^ 
 
 The principal error of the system was that it 
 required for successful execution corregidors con- 
 tent with moderate profits. It presumed, more- 
 over, that they would be sufficiently intelligent 
 to discern the real needs of the Indians. 
 
 • Juan and Ulloa, Noticias Secretas, 239. 
 2 Ibid., 239. 
 
172 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The tyrannical application of this system is 
 described in the report: 
 
 " The articles of distribution are chiefly mules, 
 foreign and domestic goods, and produce. The cor- 
 regidors who are attached to the viceroyalty of 
 Lima must necessarily go to that city to take out a 
 license, and to receive their despatch from the viceroy, 
 in order to be inducted into office; and as Lima is 
 the principal depot of the trade of Peru, it is in that 
 city that an assortment of articles for distribution 
 is to be made, and for this purpose they take the 
 goods required from the shop of some merchant 
 or trader on credit, at an exorbitant price; for, as 
 the traders are aware of the enormous profits the 
 corregidors make in the sale, they raise the prices of 
 the goods, in order to have a share in the speculation. 
 The corregidors have no money before they come 
 into office, and, being unable to purchase for cash, 
 they are obliged to submit to any terms which the 
 creditor may prescribe, since they are under great 
 obligations, on account of the money which the 
 merchant is to lend them for the purchase of the 
 mules required for transportation. 
 
 " As soon as the corregidor comes within his juris- 
 diction, the first act of his administration is to take 
 a census of the Indians according to their towns and 
 villages. Proceeding to this duty in person, and 
 taking with him the articles of merchandise to be 
 distributed, he goes on, apportioning the quantity 
 and kind he selects for every Indian, and affixing to 
 each article its price, just as suits his caprice, the 
 poor Indians being wholly ignorant of what is to 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 1 73 
 
 fall to their lot, or how much it is to cost them. As 
 soon as he has finished distributing in one village, 
 he transfers the whole assortment to the cacique, 
 with an exact inventory of the articles belonging to 
 each individual, from the cacique himself to the 
 most humble of all those who are to pay tribute; 
 and the corregidor proceeds to another village, in 
 order to continue the distribution. It is a time of 
 anguish, both to the cacique and the Indians, when 
 they look at the quantity, quality, and prices of 
 these goods. In vain does the cacique remonstrate 
 and to no purpose do the Indians raise their clamors ; 
 on the one hand, they maintain that their means 
 are not adequate to such a quantity of merchandise 
 as is assigned to them, being absolutely unable to 
 pay for it; again, they urge that goods of such a 
 description are utterly useless to them, and that 
 the prices are so exorbitant as to exceed anything 
 they had ever paid before. The corregidor remains 
 inexorable, and the Indians are obliged to take 
 whatever has been allotted them, however repugnant 
 it may be to their wishes, and however straitened 
 they are for want of means to make the payments; 
 for these payments become due simultaneously with 
 the tribute money, and the same penalty is imposed 
 for failure to meet one as the other. All the pay- 
 ments of the first distribution must be made within 
 two years and a half, to make way then for the second, 
 which usually does not contain as many wares as 
 the first."! 
 
 Whenever the corregidor goes to collect debts 
 
 • Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 240, 241. 
 
1 74 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 he takes with him other goods, and those Indians 
 who have made their payments most promptly 
 are now required to receive another allotment. 
 The least useful wares are given out in the first 
 distribution, in order that the Indians may be 
 more ready to receive those of the second, and in 
 the second distribution they are permitted to 
 select the articles they will take, but the prices are 
 fixed. The Indians are not allowed to get the 
 desired articles elsewhere, and no shop is per- 
 mitted in the village but that of the corregidor. 
 A large item in the corregidor's trade is the 
 distribution of mules. They are allotted to the 
 Indians not in accordance with their need of them, 
 but in accordance with their ability to pay for 
 them. They are bought, five or six hundred at 
 a time, at from fourteen to sixteen dollars, and 
 the Indians are obliged to receive them at from 
 forty to forty-four dollars a head. The gains 
 made by the corregidor in purchasing and dis- 
 tributing goods often amount to more than four 
 hundred per cent, of the cost. If the Indian 
 would hire out the mules, he must first obtain 
 the consent of the corregidor, which means that 
 the corregidor must be permitted to have part 
 of the earnings. When hired out for transporting 
 goods 
 
 " the corregidor himself collects the amount of the 
 freight charges, keeps back one half on account of 
 the debt, delivers a quarter part to the owner of 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 175 
 
 the mules to pay what may be needed for the pur- 
 chase of hay to feed the animals on the road, and 
 with the remaining fourth part he pays the peons, 
 whose office is to drive and lade the mules; so that, 
 in consequence of this arbitrary distribution, the 
 owner is left not only without any profit, but even 
 without the means of making his expenses on the 
 journey." ^ 
 
 Of the quarter part held for the peons, one half 
 is deducted as part payment of what the peon 
 owes the corregidor. Even if there were no 
 recorded proof of the avarice and injustice of the 
 corregidors, they 
 
 " might be inferred from the consideration that all of 
 them go from Spain to the Indies so destitute that, 
 instead of carrying anything thither, they are in debt 
 on account of obligations contracted from the time 
 they leave Spain until they reach the district allotted 
 to them; and that, during their brief term of office, 
 which is limited to five years, they make a gain of 
 at least sixty thousand dollars, and many accumulate 
 even more than two hundred thousand. This is to 
 be understood as the net profits, after having paid 
 their previous debts and fees of settlement, and 
 after having spent and squandered beyond all bounds 
 during the whole term of their administration; for 
 the salary and emoluments of their office are so 
 scanty as to be almost inadequate for their current 
 expenses." ^ 
 
 ' Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 243. 
 ^Ibid., 253. 
 
176 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Protests made by the Indians did not bring 
 them relief from these abuses, but sometimes 
 resulted in their punishment as seditious persons. 
 Yet in being compelled to purchase goods which 
 they could not use, they had abundant reasons 
 for protesting, and as the courts furnished no way 
 of escape, the Indians' only hope lay in armed 
 revolt, and such revolts in the eighteenth century 
 begun or threatened kept the government in a 
 state of anxiety and alarm. 
 
 The residencia, or official investigation, of the 
 corregidor, at the close of his administration, 
 failed to attain the end designed, by reason of 
 collusion among the officers concerned. 
 
 " When the judge appointed to make the investi- 
 gation arrives at the principal town of the corregidor's 
 district, he gives public notice of his business, goes 
 through the usual forms, receiving testimony from 
 the friends and domestics of the corregidor that 
 he has ruled well, that he has injured no man, that he 
 has treated the Indians kindly, and in this way he 
 collects all the evidence which may redound to 
 the interest of the corregidor. But lest such a degree 
 of rectitude and benevolence might excite surprise, 
 three or four persons are employed to present trivial 
 charges against him, which are substantiated by 
 summoning witnesses to testify to their truth, and 
 the accused, being brought in guilty, is fined in an 
 amount proportioned to the offence. In the course 
 of these proceedings, an immense mass of writs and 
 documents is collected, and the time prescribed for 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 177 
 
 auditing the accounts gradually slips away, when 
 they are closed and presented to the audiencia for 
 approval, and the corregidor is as legally innocent 
 of the charges as he was at the time his adminis- 
 tration began, and the judge who conducted the 
 residencia is a gainer to the amount of what the 
 settlement has been worth to him."i 
 
 In some cases the new officer investigated his 
 predecessor, and reported a clean record in con- 
 sideration of a certain amount of money paid. If 
 Indians who had suffered at the hands of the 
 corregidors presented charges they were made to 
 withdraw them by such means as might be em- 
 ployed by the accused or the judge. 
 
 " If charges are made by Spaniards relative to other 
 matters, the judge acts as umpire, and urges them 
 to settle their differences amicably, and forget 
 injuries that are past; but if this method fails, the 
 suit goes on, and, as the judge is biassed in favor 
 of the corregidor, he always labors to acquit him; 
 and if he cannot do it by himself, he appeals to the 
 audiencia; and as all his investigations are so ar- 
 ranged as to present the best evidence in his favor, 
 a little exertion on his part is quite sufficient to have 
 the corregidor acquitted, and his accounts settled 
 agreeably to his wishes." ^ 
 
 The wealth yielded by the American colonies, 
 
 1 Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 255. 
 'Ibid., 257. 
 
1 78 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 from the mines, the plantations, or the cattle 
 ranges, came through the labor of the Indians, 
 yet their state was not improved nor their enjoy- 
 ment increased by the production. On the estates 
 their work was required for three hundred days 
 in the year, for which they were paid as a maximum 
 annual salary eighteen dollars. The tribute of 
 eight dollars, paid by the owner of the estate, 
 was deducted from this amount, leaving ten 
 dollars as the effective annual income. 
 
 " From this sum, two dollars and two reals are to 
 be deducted, to buy three yards of cloth, at six 
 reals a yard, that he may make a shirt for himself, 
 as decency requires, and he will have the remaining 
 seven dollars six reals, to maintain himself and his 
 wife and children, if he have any, besides clothing 
 them and paying such contributions as the curate 
 may levy upon him. Nor is this all, for the piece of 
 ground allowed him is so confined that it becomes 
 impossible for him to raise all the corn required for 
 the scanty support of his family, and he is obliged 
 to receive from the owner of the estate half a bushel 
 of corn monthly, which is charged to him at six 
 reals (more than double the usual price), because 
 the Indian cannot purchase of any one else; thus 
 twelve times six reals make nine dollars, which is 
 one dollar and two reals more than the Indian can 
 earn; so that the wretched serf, after toiling three 
 hundred days in the year, besides cultivating a garden 
 of vegetables in the remaining sixty-five, having 
 received only a shirt of coarse cloth and six bushels 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 1 79 
 
 of corn, becomes indebted to his master one dollar 
 and two reals, on account of the labor he has to 
 perform the following year. Were it no more than 
 this, the patient Indian would endure it all; but 
 his sufferings are yet greater. It frequently happens 
 (as we have witnessed) that an animal dies in the 
 paramo, or heath; the master has it brought to the 
 farm, and, in order not to lose its value, has it cut 
 to pieces, and distributes it to the Indians at so 
 much a pound — a price which, however reasonable, 
 an Indian cannot pay, and hence his debt is aug- 
 mented by being forced to receive meat which is 
 unfit to be eaten, owing to its bad condition, and 
 which he is consequently obliged to throw to the 
 dogs. 
 
 " If, as the climax of misfortune, the unfortunate 
 mitayo should lose his wife, or one of his children, 
 the cup of his anguish is full when he reflects how 
 he shall pay the inexorable fee of interment, and he 
 is driven to enter into a new contract with the owner 
 of the estate, to furnish him the money extorted by 
 the Church. If he escapes the anguish of losing any 
 of his family, the curate orders him to celebrate a 
 church festival in honor of the Virgin, or one of the 
 saints, and he is obliged on this account to contract 
 a new debt ; so that, at the close of the year, his debts 
 exceed his earnings, while he has neither handled 
 money nor got in his possession any articles of value 
 whatever. His master claims the right of his person, 
 obliges him to continue in his service until the debt 
 is paid; and as payment can never be made by the 
 poor Indian, he becomes a slave for life; and, in 
 defiance of all natural and national law, children are 
 
i8o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 required to pay, by their personal services, the un- 
 avoidable debts of their parents." ^ 
 
 When the price of com rose in an unfruitful 
 season, and the prices of all other products rose 
 also, the wages of the mitayo remained unchanged. 
 The high price induced the master to sell where he 
 had a prospect of immediate payment, and thus 
 the Indians were left without even the usual oppor- 
 tunities of procuring food. But whatever hard- 
 ships the Indians endured on the plantations, the 
 cattle ranges, and the wool-growing estates, it 
 was in the factories that their lot was hardest. In 
 the factories cloths and woollen stuffs were woven 
 by hand. 
 
 " In former years, the woollen manufactory was con- 
 fined to the province of Quito; but it has been re- 
 cently introduced into other districts, although the 
 articles manufactured in the provinces south of 
 Quito are nothing but coarse cloths of very ordinary 
 texture. In Cajamarca, there are looms for the 
 manufacture of cotton goods. "^ 
 
 " The labor of the obraje, or factory, begins before 
 the day dawns, at which time every Indian takes 
 his place at the piece which is in process of weaving 
 and the tasks of the day are distributed as may be 
 expedient; and when this process is concluded, the 
 owner of the house closes the door, and leaves them 
 immured as in a prison. At midday the door is 
 
 > Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 268-270. 
 2 Ibid., 275. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians i8i 
 
 opened for the women to go in with their scanty allow- 
 ance of food, which is soon partaken, and they are 
 again locked in. When the darkness of the night no 
 longer permits them to work, the owner goes round 
 to gather up the stints; those who have not been 
 able to finish, in spite of apologies or reasonings, 
 are punished with indescribable cruelty: and those 
 unfeeling men, as if transformed into merciless 
 savages, inflict upon the wretched Indians lashes by 
 hundreds, for they use no other method of counting; 
 and to complete the punishment, they remand them 
 again to the workshop, and although the whole 
 building is a prison-house, a portion of it is reserved 
 for fetters and instruments of torture, where they 
 are punished with greater indignity than could be 
 practised towards the most delinquent slaves." ^ 
 
 Those found delinquent during the day by the 
 overseer were chastised with a whip at once, and 
 also reserved for punishment later. All the 
 delinquencies were noted and charged to the 
 account of the laborer. From year to year they 
 became more and more deeply in debt, "until, 
 finding it impossible to make up their arrears, 
 the master acquired a right, however unfounded, 
 to reduce to slavery not only the mita Indian, but 
 all his sons." 2 Those sentenced to the factories 
 by the corregidors for failing to pay the tribute 
 underwent even greater cruelties. The food they 
 were able to get, partly rotten com and barley 
 
 • Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 276. 
 s Ibid., 277. 
 
1 82 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and the meat of cattle that died, was inadequate 
 for their support. Consequently 
 
 " their constitution being exhausted partly for want 
 of nourishment, partly by repeated punishment, as 
 well as by diseases contracted from the bad quality 
 of their food, they die before they have been able to 
 pay the tribute with the avails of their labor. Such 
 is the spectacle exhibited, when they are taken out 
 dead, that it would . excite compassion in the most 
 unfeeling heart. Only a skeleton remains of them 
 to publish the cause which doomed them to perish; 
 and the greater part of these die in the very factories 
 with their tasks in their hands." ^ 
 
 The practice of condemning the Indians to the 
 workshop, for slight offences, became very general. 
 
 " We frequently meet Indians on the highway, tied 
 by the hair to the tail of a horse, on which a mestizo 
 is mounted, who is conveying them to the workshops, 
 and perhaps for the trivial offence of having evaded 
 the tyranny of the overseer, from fear of punishment. 
 Let what will be said of the cruelty practised by the 
 patrons (encomenderos) towards the Indians at the 
 commencement of the conquest, we cannot persuade 
 ourselves, after what we have witnessed, that it 
 could ever have been carried to the extent it now is 
 by the Spaniards and mestizos." ^ 
 
 The statement that, without the forced labor 
 
 ' Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 277, 278. 
 ' Ibid., 279. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 183 
 
 of the mita, the Indians would have remained 
 idle and the plantations have fallen into ruin, 
 is sufficiently answered by the flourishing con- 
 dition of those estates where the mita was not 
 observed, and where a slight advance of wages 
 over those paid under the mita gave to such 
 plantations all the labor desired. If the Indians 
 were reluctant to labor, this was no doubt in part 
 due to the treatment which they received at the 
 hands of their employers. Of what they accom- 
 plished by their work under other conditions suf- 
 ficient remains to excite -our admiration, and to 
 furnish evidence of extraordinary activity. More- 
 over, 
 
 " all the free Indians cultivate the lands belonging to 
 them with so much care, that they leave no portion 
 of them fallow. It is true that their arable lands are 
 circumscribed ; but it is because they are not allowed 
 to possess more, and not for want of care and toil 
 to render them productive. The caciques, who have 
 a larger portion assigned them, lay out extensive 
 planting-grounds, rear cattle according to their means 
 and opportunities, and husband all they can, without 
 being compelled by force, and without using com- 
 pulsion towards those who labor for them." ^ 
 
 On the plantations, as well as in the factories, 
 there were three taskmasters who had constant 
 supervision over the workers. These were the 
 overseer, his assistant, and foreman. The last 
 
 ' Juan and Ulloa, Noticias Secretas, 288. 
 
1 84 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 was always an Indian, and while, like the rest, 
 he carried a whip, he was not accustomed to 
 strike those under him. 
 
 " Each taskmaster holds his own scourge without 
 letting it fall from his hand the whole day long : this 
 instrument of torture resembles a rope's end, about 
 a yard long, and a little less than a finger in thickness, 
 and is made of cow's hide, twisted like a cord. In 
 case the Indian has been guilty of any wrong or 
 neglect, he is required to lie fiat on his face, when 
 his thin drawers, which make up his whole dress, 
 are taken off, and he is scourged with the rod, being 
 himself obliged to count the lashes that are inflicted 
 upon him, until the number prescribed in the sentence 
 has been completed. He then gets up, and is required 
 to kneel in presence of the man with the whip, and, 
 kissing his hand, to say to him, ' May God bless you ! ' 
 the trembling lips of the wretched Indian thus giving 
 thanks in the name of God for the stripes inflicted 
 upon him, almost always unjustly. Nor are men alone 
 subject to punishment, but their wives and children, 
 and even the caciques, whose rank and dignity 
 entitle them to consideration. 
 
 " The practice of scourging the Indians so unmerci- 
 fully is not confined to the factories, plantations, 
 and mita Indians, but the priests chastize their 
 parishioners, and exact any service from them what- 
 ever by dint of blows; for if the Indian should 
 not do promptly what is required of him, it is 
 deemed sufficient motive to make him lie down, 
 and to inflict stripes upon him with a whip, or 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 185 
 
 with the reins of the horse, until his strength is 
 exhausted." ^ 
 
 But the punishment of the Indians was not 
 confined to floggings of this kind. "The most 
 insatiable spirit of revenge has never been able to 
 invent any species of punishment which the 
 Indian does not receive at the hand of the 
 Spaniards." ^ 
 
 The hardships which the Indians suffered were 
 not alone the results of corporal punishments 
 received. Their property was often the spoil of 
 the Spaniard. In laying out the townships 
 certain portions were allotted to the caciques 
 and Indians belonging to the township, but 
 
 " avarice has gradually curtailed them to such a degree, 
 that the tracts which remain to them are circum- 
 scribed within narrow limits, and the greater part 
 has been wrested from them altogether. Some 
 Indians have been despoiled of their lands by vio- 
 lence; others, because the owners of the neighbor- 
 ing estates have compelled them to sell at any price 
 they may choose to give; and others because they 
 have been induced to surrender them under false 
 pretences." ^ 
 
 While the parish priests should have been the 
 protectors of the Indians against the unrighteous 
 extortions of the corregidors, they, instead of 
 
 • Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 289, 290. 
 ^Ibid., 291. ^ Ibid., 295. 
 
1 86 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 this, went hand in hand with them in wresting 
 from the poor Indian the fruit of his incessant 
 toil. 
 
 " As soon as the parish priests are promoted to their 
 cures, they usually bend all their efforts to amassing 
 wealth; and for this purpose they have devised va- 
 rious measures, by which they appropriate to them- 
 selves the pittance which may have remained to the 
 Indian, and which has escaped the rapacity of the 
 corregidor." * 
 
 There were the fees on the occasion of a saint's 
 festival, the four dollars and a half for high 
 mass, 
 
 " and an equal amount for the sermon, which consists 
 in merely repeating a few words in praise of the saint ' ' ; 
 " to this is to be added the customary offering which 
 the overseers are compelled to make to the curate on 
 every saint's festival, which consists of two or three 
 dozen hens, as many chickens, guinea-pigs, eggs, 
 sheep, and a hog if they happen to have any; so that 
 when the saint's day arrives, the curate sweeps' off 
 all that the Indian has been able to collect in money 
 during the whole year, and also all the fowls and 
 animals which his wife and children have reared in 
 their huts, so that his family are left wholly destitute 
 of food, or have no other aliment than wild roots or 
 plants which they cultivate in their small gardens. 
 The Indian who has not been able to rear a sufficient 
 number of animals for the customary offering is 
 
 ■ Juan and Ulloa, Noticias Secretas, 335. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 187 
 
 bound of necessity to purchase them, and should he 
 not have the money, as is usually the case, he is to 
 take it upon pledge, or hire it for the time required, 
 in order to obtain it and pay it without delay. As 
 soon as the sermon of the day is concluded, the curate 
 reads a paper on which he has inscribed the names of 
 those who are to be masters of ceremonies for the 
 festival of the following year, and if any one does not 
 accept it of his free will, he is forced to give his consent 
 by dint of blows; and when his day comes, there is 
 no apology that can exonerate him from having the 
 money ready ; for, until it is all-collected and delivered 
 to the curate, mass is not said, the sermon is not 
 preached, and the whole service is deferred until 
 three or four in the afternoon, if necessary, to allow 
 time to collect the amount, as we have had occasion 
 to observe repeatedly. 
 
 " In order to be more thoroughly acquainted with 
 the excess to which this is carried, and the enormous 
 gains made by the curates at these festivals, it seems 
 proper to mention here what a curate of the province 
 of Quito told us as we were passing through his 
 curacy, which was, that, including the festivals and 
 the commemoration of departed souls, he collected 
 every year more than two hundred sheep, six 
 thousand hens and chickens, four thousand guinea- 
 pigs, and fifty thousand eggs; and it should be re- 
 marked that this curacy was not one of the most 
 lucrative. 
 
 " We are then forced to the conclusion that such 
 contributions could be sustained in no way but by 
 tasking to the uttermost not only men and women, 
 but the whole family, in order to exact the payment 
 
i88 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of the sum total of their earnings during the whole 
 year." * 
 
 When the Indian boys and girls came every 
 afternoon to be taught the Christian doctrine, 
 they were required to bring bundles of sticks 
 or hay, and by this means fuel was provided, as 
 well as feed for the cattle and horses that belonged 
 to the priests. 
 
 " By having recourse to such methods, they have 
 no occasion to spend money for anything; and while 
 they are maintained by the Indians, they become 
 rich at their expense, for all the offerings they can 
 accumulate are sent to market in the neighboring 
 cities, hamlets, and mining towns, and are converted 
 into money. By this means, they augment the revenue 
 of a curacy to such a degree, that although the 
 customary fees might not exceed seven or eight 
 hundred dollars, it gives them an income of five or 
 six thousand dollars annually." ^ 
 
 But the oppression appears to have been car- 
 ried to its utmost bounds by the monks who 
 held curacies, and not only by the monk but 
 also by his concubine. 
 
 " This woman, who is known as such, and without 
 exciting surprise, because it is everywhere so common, 
 takes under her charge all the Indian women and 
 children, and converting the whole village into a 
 
 ' Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 336, 337. 
 ^Ibid., 338. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 189 
 
 manufactory, she assigns to some tasks in spinning 
 wool or cotton, and to others pieces for weaving ; and 
 to the aged, and to those who are incapable of per- 
 forming this service, she gives hens, and imposes 
 on them the obligation of delivering to her, within 
 a definite time, ten or twelve chickens for each 
 one ; it being their duty to feed them at their own ex- 
 pense and, if the fowls should die, to replace them 
 with others ; and by these means no one is exempted 
 from contributing something to the revenue of the 
 curate." * 
 
 Moreover, the curate's farm was cultivated by 
 the Indians on Sunday; thus 
 
 " the wretched state of the Indian is to be attrib- 
 uted to the vices of the priests, the extortions of the 
 corregidors, and the bad treatment which they gener- 
 ally receive from all Spaniards. Unable to endure 
 the hardships, and longing to escape from bondage, 
 many of them have risen in rebellion, and found 
 their way to unconquered districts, there to continue 
 in the barbarous practices of their idolatrous neigh- 
 bors; and in view of the foregoing, what conclusions 
 are they to form from the scandalous lives of their 
 parish priests? especially when we reflect that the 
 Indian is but partially civilized, and taught rather 
 by example than by precept." ^ 
 
 The Indian town of Pimampiro furnished a 
 case in point. It contained more than five 
 thousand inhabitants. 
 
 ' Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 340. 
 a Ibid., 343- 
 
I go The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 "The behavior of the parish priest drove them to 
 desperation. Uniting in one body, they rose in 
 rebellion, and proceeded by night to the Cordilleras, 
 where they merged themselves with the Gentile 
 Indians, with whom they have continued until the 
 present time." ' 
 
 Similar instances were found in the disappearance 
 of the towns of Lograno and Guariboya. 
 
 The Laws of the Indies lay much stress on the 
 religious education of the Indians. A glimpse of 
 the system employed and of the results obtained 
 is presented by our report. At the ceremony 
 of instructing the Indians in Christian doctrine on 
 Sundays, 
 
 " all the Indians, male and female, great and small, 
 are to present themselves, and, gathering in the 
 cemetery or square in front of the church, they sit 
 upon the ground, arranged according to age and sex, 
 and the catechising or doctrine commences in the 
 following manner: Each curate employs a blind 
 Indian, whose duty is to repeat the doctrine to the rest. 
 The blind Indian is stationed in the centre of them 
 all and, with a kind of recitative, which is neither 
 singing nor prayer, he repeats the collects or offices 
 word for word, and the audience responds in the form 
 of a dialogue. The doctrine is sometimes rehearsed 
 in the language of the Inca (which is that of the 
 Indians), and sometimes in Spanish, which is not 
 intelligible to any of them. This saying of prayers 
 
 ' Juan and XJUoa, Noticias Secretas, 343. 
 
An Official Report on the Indians 191 
 
 lasts somewhat more than half an hour, and it com- 
 prises all the religious instruction which is given to the 
 Indians — a method from which they derive so little 
 benefit that old men of seventy know no more than 
 the little Indian boys of the age of six, and neither 
 these nor those have any further instruction than par- 
 rots would obtain if they were so taught, for they are 
 neither questioned personally, nor are the mysteries 
 of faith explained to them with the needful simplicity, 
 nor are they examined to see if they understand what 
 they say, nor do they endeavor to make it more in- 
 telligible to those who are dull of comprehension. 
 As the whole instruction is confined rather to the 
 tone of the recitative than to the sense of the words 
 it is only by singing that they are able to rehearse 
 detached portions; for, when they are questioned 
 upon any distinct point, they cannot join two words 
 together." ^ 
 
 " The curate has no other object in view than to 
 make every one bring the little presents required; 
 and when he has collected these, which consist of 
 what they may happen to have, and has taken a note 
 of those who have failed to bring any, in order after- 
 wards to call them to account, he thinks he is dis- 
 charged from any further obligation." 2 
 
 At the church festivals, which were followed by 
 
 orgies of intoxication, the priests did not interfere 
 
 to preserve order, but were apparently interested 
 
 only in the gain that was derived from them. In 
 
 view of the conduct of the Indians at these festivals, 
 
 ' Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 351. 
 2 Ibid., 352. 
 
192 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 " their religion does not resemble the Christian religion 
 any more than it resembles that which they had 
 while they were in a state of paganism; for, if we 
 examine the subject with care, it will be found that, 
 notwithstanding the nominal conversion of these 
 tribes, the progress they have made in knowledge is so 
 inconsiderable that it will be difficult to discover any 
 difference between the condition in which they now 
 live and that in which they were found at the time 
 of the Conquest." 1 
 
 In the later years of Spanish rule, after genera- 
 tions of oppression, it was difficult, from what 
 then might be seen, to form a correct idea of the 
 race as it had been ; for the Indians of the better 
 sort had largely perished in the Spanish conquest, 
 or had found it for their interest to ally them- 
 selves with the conquerors, so that those who 
 remained free from any foreign intermixture 
 were the inferior classes, and gave no adequate 
 conception of what the whole people was at the 
 period of its greatest prosperity. In spite of the 
 legislation in their favor the Indians continued to 
 be the victims of the avarice of the Spaniards. 
 Laws established to define their tasks were dis- 
 regarded, and they suffered the wrongs and bore 
 the burdens which civilized nations have seldom 
 hesitated to impose upon the inferior races. But 
 here the long subdued rage at last found expression. 
 
 • Juan and UUoa, Noticias Secretas, 353. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE INDIAN REVOLT UNDER TUPAC AMARU 
 
 IN some respects, as already indicated, the 
 Indians were treated worse than slaves, since 
 they had no master who was economically inter- 
 ested in their preservation. But the grievances 
 which they suffered were not due to any action 
 decreed by the king, but rather to the malevolence 
 of officials in America, who did not comply with 
 the king's orders. They were the result of the 
 tyranny of the corregidors, and of the extortions 
 and other abuses practised by the curas, or parish 
 priests. The corregidor's purchases for sale in his 
 district were not always such as the Indians 
 would have selected independently. Silk stock- 
 ings and razors were among the articles they 
 were obliged to take at extravagant prices; but 
 silk stockings for men who wore no shoes and 
 razors for men who had no beards were not 
 articles of prime necessity.' 
 
 1 In the Memoirs of General Miller, i., 7, the case is cited 
 of a "foolish speculator in Europe who had sent out, amongst 
 other things, a consignment of spectacles, which lay useless 
 in the stores of a merchant in Lima. After every hope of 
 disposing of them had failed, in a coimtry in which people 
 13 193 
 
194 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Neither the king nor the viceroy was ignorant 
 of the abuses of the corregidors. Circulars and 
 royal orders were issued to prevent them, but they 
 had very little, if any, effect. A report on their 
 abuses issued by authority of the city of Cuzco, 
 in 1768, twenty years after the investigations 
 of Ulloa, showed that during this period the 
 conditions had remained unchanged. The Indian's 
 life was uninterrupted privation and suffering; 
 and he had no hope of a better fate either for his 
 wife or his children. The orders of the supreme 
 government and the decrees of the viceroys 
 brought him no relief, and the infamous conduct 
 of the corregidors and the merciless exactions 
 of the priests had become a fixed tradition. The 
 only basis of hope, and that very uncertain, lay 
 in revolt, and this fact furnishes an explanation 
 of the frequent uprisings that appeared in the 
 remote provinces during the colonial period.* 
 
 The revolt of Tupac Amaru was thus not without 
 its predecessors. He had doubtless long considered 
 his plan, but in 1780 he seized the opportunity 
 for its execution presented by the general dissatis- 
 
 retain their eyesight unimpaired to a very late period of 
 life, a corregidor was applied to, who, upon issuing an order 
 that no Indian in his district should attend divine service, 
 upon certain festivals, unless ornamented with spectacles, 
 found means to dispose of the whole of them at an enormous 
 profit.'' 
 
 - For an account of these uprisings, see Mendiburu, viii., 
 1 21-126. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 195 
 
 faction and incipient revolutions. Tupac Amaru 
 was born at Tinta in 1742, and was baptized as 
 Jos6 Gabriel Condorcanqui. As the son of a 
 chief, more attention was given to his education 
 than to that of most Indian boys. His instructors 
 were two clergymen of Upper Peru, Antonio 
 Lopez, the cura of Pampamarca, and Carlos 
 Rodriguez, the cura of Yanaoca. While still very 
 young he was admitted to the Jesuit college of 
 San Borja at Cuzco, which had been established 
 to furnish instruction to the sons of Indian chiefs.' 
 At the age of eighteen, in 1760, he was married 
 to Micaela Bastides, and before he was twenty 
 he succeeded his father as cacique of Tungasuca, 
 in the province of Tinta, and other villages that 
 overlook the valley of Vilcamayu. His pretension 
 as heir of the Incas was admitted by the Indians, 
 and about 1770 the royal audiencia acknowledged 
 his claim to the marquisate of Oropesa. This 
 honor had been conferred upon his family by 
 Philip II., and now, at the age of twenty-eight, 
 Tupac Amaru was officially declared to be the 
 lineal descendant of the Inca Tupac Amaru who 
 was executed by the viceroy Toledo, in 1571. 
 
 The recognition of the young cacique as the 
 representative of the ancient Inca family and as 
 the bearer of a Spanish title of nobility naturally 
 awakened his pride and intensified his sense of the 
 wrongs his people had suffered. The enjoyment 
 
 '- Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 135. 
 
196 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 by an Indian of the wealth and the dignity 
 that attached to the marquisate of Oropesa had 
 been regarded as a source of danger, and it had 
 been recommended that all claimants to the 
 marquisate should be obliged to live in Spain. 
 This recommendation had, however, not been 
 carried out, and Tupac Amaru remained in his 
 native district and continued to govern the vil- 
 lages of Tungasuca, Surimani, and Pampamarca. 
 His administration within this narrow field 
 showed careful attention to the interests of the 
 Indians, and made him conspicuous among the 
 caciques for his practical sense. He sought to 
 make the Spaniards of his acquaintance appre- 
 ciate the unfortunate condition of his countrymen ; 
 and at the same time he did much to relieve their 
 distresses. In some cases he paid the tribute of 
 the poor, and in other cases he supported whole 
 families that had been reduced to want.^ For 
 several years he tried every available means to 
 redress the grievances of his people, and when 
 he finally took up arms against the Spanish 
 authorities, he did it because no other course 
 appeared to offer a ray of hope. He had appealed 
 to the ecclesiastics and had petitioned the king; 
 but the opposition of the corregidors, in their 
 immediate control of affairs, was sufficient to 
 defeat all favorable reforms the king had been 
 persuaded to order. The burdens of the Indians 
 = Funes, Ensaya Historica, Buenos Aires, 1856, ii., 234. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 197 
 
 increased, and hope of peaceful relief disappeared. 
 The resort to arms was a last resort. But even 
 when hostilities had been determined upon, the 
 end sought was not independence from Spain, 
 
 " but to obtain some guarantee for the due observance 
 of the laws, and their just administration. His views 
 were certainly confined to these ends when he first 
 drew his sword, although afterwards, when his mod- 
 erate demands were only answered by cruel taunts 
 and brutal menaces, he saw that independence or 
 death were the only alternatives." ^ 
 
 The immediate occasion of active hostilities 
 was the conduct of Don Antonio Aliaga, corregidor 
 of Tinta, in oppressing the Indians within his 
 jurisdiction, which included the villages con- 
 trolled by the Inca. The unjust acts of the 
 corregidor had already called forth threats of 
 assassination, and he had yielded in individual 
 cases without modifying his general policy. He 
 had also encroached upon the jurisdiction of 
 the Church, and had been excommunicated by the 
 ecclesiastical authorities at Cuzco. Since the 
 Church had condemned him, it might be supposed 
 that the Inca would hesitate less than under other 
 circumstances in proceeding violently against 
 him. 
 
 On the 4th of November, 1780, the corregidor 
 and Tupac Amaru dined with Dr. Carlos Rod- 
 
 ' Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 139. 
 
1 98 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 riguez, the cura of Yanaoca, who by this dinner 
 celebrated his name-day. The Inca found an 
 excuse to withdraw early, and with a few atten- 
 dants ambushed the corregidor when he appeared 
 a little later, and took him as a prisoner to Tunga- 
 suca. By compelling the corregidor to sign an 
 order for the money in the provincial treasury, 
 Tupac Amaru received twenty-two thousand 
 dollars in money, and, in addition, a certain 
 amount of gold in ingots, seventy-five muskets, 
 and a number of baggage horses and mules. Tupac 
 Amaru determined that the corregidor should 
 suffer death as a punishment for the wrongs done 
 the Indians. He gathered a large force of his 
 followers about him, sent for his old teacher, 
 the cura of Pampamarca, and ordered him to 
 inform the corregidor of his fate. He also in- 
 structed him to administer to the corregidor the 
 last religious rites. The ceremonies of the execu- 
 tion, on the loth of November, were calculated 
 to impress the Indians with the idea that a new 
 power had arisen. The armed retainers of the 
 Inca were drawn up in three lines around the 
 scaffold on the plaza of Tungasuca, and the Inca 
 seized the occasion to explain his conduct and 
 policy to those who had assembled to witness the 
 remarkable scene. 
 
 The Inca's declaration moved the assembled 
 Indians to affirm their loyalty and willingness 
 to obey his orders, and the work of bringing them 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 199 
 
 together into a military force under properly- 
 appointed officers was carried vigorously forward. 
 The first expedition was directed against the 
 corregidor of the province of Quispicanchi, in the 
 valley of Vilcamayti. It was led by Tupac Amaru, 
 but before he arrived at Quiquijana, the pro- 
 vincial capital, the corregidor had fled to Cuzco, 
 carrying to that city the news of revolt. Dis- 
 appointed in not being able to capture the cor- 
 regidor, the expedition returned to Tungasuca, 
 having plundered several mills, and taken a 
 large amount of clothing for his followers, eighteen 
 thousand yards of woollen and sixty thousand 
 yards of cotton cloth, together with a quantity 
 of firearms and two pieces of artillery. The special 
 reason for hostility to the owners of these manu- 
 facturing establishments was their conduct in a 
 rigid and unmerciful enforcement of the mita, 
 and their cruelties to the women and children 
 employed. Tupac Amaru had already under 
 his command 6000 men, 300 of whom had fire- 
 arms.. After this expedition, the revolt spread 
 rapidly over the region now embraced in the 
 southeastern part of Peru and the northwestern 
 part of Bolivia, and involved practically all of 
 the inhabitants except a few Europeans and 
 Creoles. 
 
 The news of the revolt brought consternation to 
 Cuzco. The two regiments who garrisoned . the 
 city turned the Jesuit college into a citadel, and 
 
200 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 steps were immediately taken to increase the 
 forces for defence. The Spaniards and Creoles 
 in the city were enlisted, and messengers were 
 sent to other towns for assistance. On the 13th 
 of November Don Tiburcio de Landa, the governor 
 of Paucartambo, led a force of about one thousand 
 men up the valley of Vilcamayu to meet the 
 enemy. Several hundred of these were friendly 
 Indians under the command of the cacique of 
 Oropesa. This little army advanced as far as 
 Sangarara, where they found themselves sur- 
 rounded by a superior force of Indians under 
 the Inca. This fact and the appearance of a 
 severe snowstorm induced Landa to retreat and 
 take refuge in a church. Here negotiations were 
 opened between him and Tupac Amaru. Landa 
 wished to know the Inca's intentions, and to this 
 inquiry Tupac replied with the suggestion that 
 all Americans should pass over to his camp.where 
 they would be treated as patriots, since he was 
 proceeding only against Europeans, corregidors, 
 and employees of the customs. 1 These terms 
 having been rejected, the Inca wrote to the cura, 
 asking him to take away the women and children, 
 but the Spanish troops prevented this, and in the 
 struggle that ensued the powder on hand was 
 exploded, blowing off the roof and throwing down 
 one of the walls of the church. Immediately 
 
 ' A. Ferrer del Rio, Historia del Reinado de Carlos III. en 
 Espana, iii., 418. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 201 
 
 after this calamity the Spaniards charged the 
 enemy, but in spite of their heroic onslaught they 
 were nearly all cut down; there remained only 
 twenty-eight, all of whom were wounded. These, 
 however, recovered from their wounds in the course 
 of time, and were set at liberty. Among the 
 killed were Don Tiburcio de Landa, the chief in 
 command, his lieutenant Escajadillo, Cabrera, 
 the corregidor of Quispicanchi, who had fled from 
 his province to Cuzco, and Sahuaraura, the cacique 
 of Oropesa, who had led the Indian contingent 
 of the Spanish forces. 
 
 Immediately after the overthrow of the Span- 
 ish forces at Sangarara, the way to Cuzco was 
 apparently open to the victor. The city was in 
 great confusion and only imperfectly defended. 
 Tupac Amaru still believed, however, that, on 
 account of the justice of his cause, he could attain 
 his object by negotiation. With a view, therefore, 
 of treating with the enemy, he established his 
 followers in an encampment near Tinta. He then 
 issued a proclamation, setting forth the grievances 
 that led to the revolt, and denounced the tyranny 
 of the Spanish officials as cruel and impious. 
 At the same time he saw the possibility of failing 
 by peaceable means, and called upon the Indians 
 to join his forces. 
 
 In the meantime the cabildo of Cuzco prepared 
 to resist the threatened attack. It collected arms, 
 repaired six old field-pieces, and began to make 
 
202 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 powder. Reinforcements were received from 
 Urubamba, Galea, and other places. Volunteers 
 from the inhabitants were brought into the mili- 
 tary force, and the clergy, ordered out by the 
 bishop, were organized into four companies under 
 the command of Dr. Manuel de Mendieta. At the 
 end of November, Cuzco had three thousand men 
 in arms. Still the authorities felt insecure, and in 
 order to ward off the danger of a general uprising 
 of the Indians, they abolished the repartimientos 
 and the alcabala, and made known by proclama- 
 tion these and other concessions. 
 
 Instead of leading his forces directly against 
 Cuzco, Tupac Amaru visited several towns or 
 villages in the district, where he called the inhabi- 
 tants together and told them that the object of 
 his campaign was to correct abuses, punish the 
 corregidors, and release the people from their 
 burdens. He was everywhere received by the 
 Indians with enthusiasm and greeted by them 
 as their Inca and Redeemer. Mr. Markham 
 refers to a private letter, dated January, 1781, 
 which describes the Inca's entrance into Azangaro. 
 He rode a white horse, with splendidly embroidered 
 trappings; two fair men, like Englishmen, of 
 commanding aspect, accompanied him, one on the 
 right and the other on the left. 
 
 " He was armed with a gun, sword, and pistols, and 
 was dressed in blue velvet, richly embroidered with 
 gold, with a three-cornered hat, and an uncu, in the 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 203 
 
 shape of a bishop's rochet, over all, with a gold chain 
 round his neck, to which a large golden sun was 
 attached."* 
 
 News of the military preparations of the 
 Spaniards called Tupac Amaru back from the 
 south, and led him to concentrate his army in 
 the neighborhood of Cuzco. A detachment under 
 Antonio Castelo, proceeding directly to the city, 
 was defeated at Saylla, a place about two leagues 
 from Cuzco, but it finally reached the main body 
 of the Inca's army, which was stationed on the 
 heights of Picchu, overlooking the town. While 
 encamped here, Tupac Amaru wrote to the cabildo 
 and the bishop. These letters were dated January 
 3, 1 781. In the letter to the cabildo, he affirmed 
 his position as the heir of the Incas, and declared 
 that he was moved to try by all possible means 
 to put an end to abuses, and to have men appointed 
 to govern the Indians who would follow the laws 
 laid down by the Spanish authorities. He declared 
 that the punishment of the corregidor of Tinta 
 was necessary as an example to others; and 
 proclaimed the object of the rebellion to be the 
 entire abolition of repartimientos, the appoint- 
 ment of an alcalde mayor, or judge of the Indian 
 nation, in every province, and the establishment 
 of an audiencia, or court of appeal, with a viceroy 
 as president, at Cuzco, within reach of the Indians ; 
 but he did not aim to overthrow the authority 
 
 ' Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 145. 
 
204 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of the king of Spain. In the letter to the bishop, 
 he annotinced that he appeared, on behalf of the 
 nation, to put an end to the robberies and outrages 
 of the corregidors ; and at the same time he 
 promised to respect the priests, all church property, 
 the women, and the inoffensive and unarmed 
 people. 
 
 The Spanish forces in Cuzco were unwilling 
 to make terms with the Indians. They had been 
 reinforced by the cacique of Chinchero and his 
 men, and by two hundred mulatto soldiers from 
 Lima. After a period of ineffective skirmishing, 
 a bloody battle was begun, on the 8th of January, 
 in the suburbs of Cuzco and on the heights. It 
 lasted two days, and was so far unfortunate for 
 the Inca that he was obliged to withdraw his 
 forces to Tinta. The force of six thousand men 
 that had been sent to the provinces of Calca and 
 Paucartambo, under the Inca's cousin Diego, 
 was also unsuccessful. Diego was defeated near 
 Calca, and again at Yucay. The Spanish garrison 
 of Paucartambo made a desperate resistance, and 
 after the arrival of reinforcements under Don 
 Pablo Astete, Diego retired to Tinta, on the 
 1 8th of January, 1781. Here the Inca reorganized 
 his army, and, in union with Diego, made another 
 attack on Paucartambo, on the i ith of February. 
 This, like the previous attempt, was unsuccessful, 
 and five days later the Inca's army was back again 
 in Tinta. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 205 
 
 The force of 60,000 men that Tupac Amaru 
 gathered at Tinta was more notable for its numbers 
 than for its discipHne or its arms. Only a few- 
 hundreds had muskets. But the mtiltitude 
 assembled showed how strong was the feeling 
 against the abuses of the Spanish administration. 
 The Indian and mestizo inhabitants of the interior 
 of Central and Upper Peru were practically all in 
 revolt. Only sixteen caciques adhered to the 
 Spaniards. The threatening prospect alarmed 
 the Spanish officials in Peru and Buenos Aires. 
 The viceroy of Peru sent to Cuzco Don Jos6 
 Antonio Areche, as visitador, supported by a 
 military force commanded by Don Jos6 del Valle; 
 and the viceroy of Buenos Aires commissioned 
 General Ignacio Flores to put down the rebellion 
 in the southern provinces, for the inhabitants 
 of the entire region as far south as Oruro were in 
 a state of revolt. Before the arrival of Flores, 
 La Paz, which was under the command of Sebas- 
 tian de Segurola, had been besieged by the Indians 
 and subjected to almost daily attacks for four 
 months.* 
 
 At Cuzco General del Valle collected an army 
 
 ' The events of this siege are set down in the diary of the 
 commanding officer of the city. This diary was edited several 
 years ago by Vicente de Ballivian y R6xas and was published 
 in Paris in 1872, by A. Franck (F. Vieweg), in the first volume 
 of Archivo Boliviano, under the title Diario de los sucesos 
 del cerco de la Ciudad de La Paz en 1781, hasta la total Pacifi- 
 cacidn de la rebelidn general del Perli. 
 
2o6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of 15,000 men, and prepared to enter upon the 
 campaign. While this army was still at Cuzco, 
 the Inca wrote to Areche, the visitador, setting 
 forth the fact that the Spanish officials had 
 repeatedly violated the laws and had cruelly 
 oppressed the Indians, and that he had sought 
 justice for the Indians, and to this end had urged 
 the necessity of certain reforms in the administra- 
 tion. He, moreover, affirmed his willingness to 
 enter into negotiations through which these 
 reforms might be attained without further hos- 
 tilities. Areche's answer to the Inca's despatch 
 was a refusal to negotiate, accompanied by a 
 brutal declaration of vengeance and an affirma- 
 tion that if Tupac Amaru would surrender at once 
 the mode of his execution would be less cruel than 
 if further resistance was made.* 
 
 The attitude assumed by the brutal visitador 
 Areche convinced Tupac Amaru that complete 
 independence or death were the only alternatives 
 before him. But he had not hitherto indicated 
 that he was seeking independence; only that 
 he aimed at such reforms in the Spanish admin- 
 istration as would release the Indians from oppres- 
 sion. There exists a paper, however, attributed 
 to him in which he is styled ' ' Don Jos6 1., by the 
 grace of God, Inca, King of Peru, Quito, Chile, 
 Buenos Aires, and the continents of the South 
 
 > Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 148; for the fate 
 of the Inca's letter, see p. 149, note. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 207 
 
 Sea, Lord of the River of the Amazons, with 
 dominion over the Grand Pas^titi." This paper, 
 moreover, affirms that 
 
 " the king of Castile had usurped the crown and do- 
 minions of Peru, imposing innumerable taxes, tributes, 
 duties, excises, monopolies, tithes, fifths; appointing 
 officers who sold justice, and treated the people like 
 beasts of burden. For these causes, and by reason 
 of the cries which have risen up to heaven, in the name 
 of Almighty God, it is ordered that no man shall 
 henceforward pay money to any Spanish officer, 
 excepting the tithes to priests; but that tribute shall 
 be paid to the Inca, and an oath of allegiance to him 
 be taken in every town and village." 
 
 This document is without date, and Markham 
 suggested that it was forged by the Spaniards 
 to be used as written evidence against the Inca.* 
 About the middle of March, 1781, General del 
 Valla moved from Cuzco against the insurgents. 
 His army was composed of 17,116 men. His line 
 of advance led along the mountains west of the 
 VilcamayTi, where his troops suffered from snow- 
 storms, the lack of food and fuel, and the want 
 of all commissariat arrangements. Finding his 
 position here almost unendurable both for himself 
 and for his soldiers, he moved down from the 
 mountains and ascended the valley of Vilcamayu, 
 
 ' Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 149, 150. This 
 letter is given by Mendiburu, viii., 137, who endorses Mark- 
 ham's suggestion of forgery. 
 
2o8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 captured Quiquijana, and near the village of 
 Checacupe encountered the Inca's army drawn 
 up behind a trench and a parapet that stretched 
 across the valley. Flanking the Inca's forces, 
 he made an attack in front and in the rear, and 
 drove them back to another entrenchment at 
 Combapata. The Indians, routed from this 
 position, fell back to Tinta, where they were 
 overthrown by the artillery fire and a bayonet 
 charge of the Spanish troops. Tupac Amaru's 
 plans had failed because of the treachery of 
 Zunuario de Castro, and his final undoing was due 
 to the traitorous action of one of his officers, 
 Ventura Landaeta, who, assisted by the cura of 
 Lanqui, delivered him and his family into the 
 hands of the Spaniards, after he had fled to that 
 place from Tinta. With this the Spaniards began 
 their revolting course of outrage and vengeance. 
 On the day of the Inca's capture General del 
 Valle hung sixty-seven Indian prisoners at Tinta, 
 and stuck their heads on poles by the roadside.* 
 The chief prisoners were marched into Cuzco. 
 They were the Inca Tupac Amaru, his wife, his 
 two sons, Hipolito and Fernando, his uncle 
 Francisco, his brother-in-law Antonio Bastides, 
 his maternal uncle Patricio Noguera, his cousin, 
 Cecilia Tupac Amaru, with her husband, Pedro 
 Mandagure, and a number of the officers of the 
 Inca's army, and the negro slave, Antonio Oblitas, 
 - Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 152. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 209 
 
 who had served as executioner for the punishment 
 of Aliaga. They were taken to separate places of 
 confinement, and informed that their next meeting 
 would be on the day of their execution. 
 
 The visitador Areche pronounced the Inca's 
 sentence on May 15, 1781. He wished to show 
 the Indians that even the high rank of the 
 heir of the Incas cduld not deter the Spaniards 
 from imposing the extreme punishment when 
 they considered it deserved. The charge against 
 this victim of Spanish barbarity was that he had 
 rebelled against Spain, that he had destroyed 
 the mills, that he had abolished the mita, 
 that he had caused his portrait to be painted 
 dressed in the imperial insignia of the uncu 
 and mascapaicha, and that he had caused his 
 victory at Sangarara to be represented in pic- 
 tures. He was condemned to witness the exe- 
 cution of his wife, a son, his uncle, his brother- 
 in-law Antonio Bastides, and his captains; to 
 have his tongue cut out; to be torn in pieces 
 by horses attached to his limbs and driven in 
 different directions; to have his body burnt 
 on the heights of Picchu, and to have his head 
 and arms and legs stuck on poles to be set up in 
 the different towns that had been loyal to him; 
 to have his houses demolished, their sites strewn 
 with salt, his goods confiscated, his relatives 
 declared infamous, and all documents relating 
 to his descent burnt by the hangman. It was also 
 
2 lo The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 provided that all Inca and cacique dresses should 
 be prohibited, all pictures of the Incas destroyed, 
 the presentation of Quichua dramas forbidden, 
 the musical instruments of the Indians burned; 
 all signs of mourning for the Incas, the use of all 
 national costumes by the Indians, and the use 
 of the Quichua language should be prohibited.^ 
 This sentence in all its barbarity was carried 
 out on the i8th of May, 1781. 
 
 " With the death of the Inca the insurrection may 
 be considered ended; nevertheless many Indians still 
 remained under arms, whom the bloody drama of 
 Cuzco, far from discouraging, only seemed to have 
 inspired with new fury. Thenceforward it was a war 
 of extermination, so much so that the number of 
 victims of the vengeance of the Spaniards and the 
 Indians may be reckoned at 80,000." 2 
 
 The surviving leaders moved southward, and, 
 enraged by the horrible cruelty of Areche, their 
 line of march became a path of destruction. Diego 
 Cristoval Tupac Amaru, the Inca's cousin, held 
 the chief command. After the siege of Puno, 
 Andres Mandagure and Miguel Bastides overran 
 the east shore of Lake Titicaca and joined the 
 forces that were carrying on the war about 
 Sorata and La Paz. They 
 
 ' Memoirs of General Miller, Spanish ed., vol. i., Appendix 
 A; Markham, Travels in Peru and India, 153. 
 2 Mendiburu, viii., 144. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 211 
 
 " laid siege to the town of Sorata, where the Spaniards 
 of the neighboring districts had taken refuge with 
 their famiUes and wealth. The unarmed Indians 
 were unequal to the storming of fortifications, which, 
 although constructed only of earth, were lined with 
 artillery. But their leader surmounted this difficulty 
 by the adoption of a measure that would have done 
 credit to any commander. By the construction of a 
 lengthened mound he collected the waters which 
 flow from the neighboring snowy heights of Ancoma, 
 and, turning them against the earthen ramparts, 
 washed them away. The immediate result was the 
 storming of the town, and the massacre of its inhabi- 
 tants, with circumstances of horror exceeding the 
 death of Tupac Amaru." i 
 
 Practically all of the inhabitants, about twenty 
 thousand in number, were killed. The clergy 
 alone escaped. 
 
 The siege of La Paz was continued for six 
 months after the death of the Inca. Like Sorata, 
 it was a place of refuge for the Spaniards of the 
 surrounding country. In defending the city the 
 commanding officer had constructed a line of 
 fortifications, but had determined to include only 
 the principal part of the town, leaving outside 
 the suburbs and several Indian villages. During 
 the continuance of the rebellion in the north, the 
 forces supporting the insurrection had been daily 
 increasing in the south, and requests for assistance 
 
 ' Memoirs of General Miller, i., i8. 
 
212 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 from the towns near-by were sent to La Paz, 
 with which Segurola complied — as far as possible. 
 He had also used all available funds to gather 
 stores of provisions for the city, which were 
 especially needed to support the increasing number 
 of refugees. The story of the progress of the siege 
 and of the resistance offered by the besieged is 
 given in the dairy of the commanding officer, 
 Sebastian de Segurola. The following extracts 
 from this diary show under what disadvantages 
 the Indians fought; and the fact that in the 
 face of these disadvantages and of their great 
 losses they persisted in the conflict for many 
 months indicates to what a degree they had been 
 moved by their intolerable grievances. 
 
 " March 27. — This day the Indians attacked with 
 great force all parts of the city, setting fire to the 
 houses that were outside of the trenches, assaulting 
 these and the wall, from which they were repulsed 
 with great vigor. This engagement lasted from 11 
 o'clock in the morning till 4 in the evening. At this 
 hour the rebels retired with much loss, which was 
 given at more than one hundred and fifty killed, 
 without any loss on our part. 
 
 " March 28. — It was recognized to-day that the 
 number of Indians who approached us was con- 
 siderably increased. At 8 o'clock in the morning they 
 attacked all parts of the city, aided by some guns 
 which they fired, and at the same time they went 
 on burning the houses outside of the fortifications, 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 213 
 
 and we resisted them with great valor. The attack 
 lasted till 5 o'clock in the afternoon, when the enemy 
 retired with more than three hundred and fifty dead, 
 according to our calculation, and on our side we had 
 only two. 
 
 " March 29. — The Indians have been coming down 
 from all sides since daybreak, and at 10 o'clock 
 assaulted the city with desperation, and this attack, 
 repulsed by us, lasted till half-past 5 in the afternoon, 
 at which hour they retired with a loss of more than 
 150 men, and we had the misfortune, by the bursting 
 of a cannon in one of the forts, to have three killed 
 and several severely wounded, and among the killed 
 was Sergeant-major Joseph de Roxas." 
 
 After 109 days of siege, in which a besieging 
 force of 40,000 Indians, according to Segurola's 
 statement, took part, the condition of affairs in the 
 city was desperate, but no word of despair appears 
 in the diary of the commander. "By the grace 
 of God," he wrote, "we have defended ourselves 
 in spite of hunger, pest, and the enemies, even 
 from those within, who have caused not less 
 care than those without." In want of other food, 
 they had eaten the horses, mules, and asses, not 
 merely the flesh but the skins as well, and the 
 dogs and cats, the cat having a quoted price of 
 six dollars. Of the 2000 mules in the city at the 
 beginning of the siege, scarcely more than forty 
 remained at the end of it. During these months, 
 moreover, disease made rapid strides; and many 
 
214 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 persons in their incautious search for food fell 
 into the hands of the enemy, to whose treatment 
 of them ' 'we may not refer without the greatest 
 horror, grief, and compassion." 
 
 At the end of June, General Flores arrived 
 with the troops from Buenos Aires and brought 
 the desired relief.' He scattered the besieging 
 force, and caused food to be introduced into the 
 city. Under the protection of the military force, 
 many of the inhabitants left their houses in the 
 city and established themselves temporarily near 
 the camp of the soldiers. But hostilities were 
 continued at different points in the surrounding 
 country; and on the withdrawal of a part of the 
 troops to places where they seemed to be im- 
 peratively needed, the siege of La Paz was 
 renewed. This time it was continued from the 
 beginning of August until the 17th of October. 
 At noon on this day the troops from Oruro 
 
 > " The reinforcements sent to the royal army from Buenos 
 Aires, Tucuman, and Cochabamba were for the most part 
 regular troops; the Buenos Aireans were armed and equipped 
 as European soldiers ; the Tucumanos composed the cavalry, 
 and were armed with butcher-knives and lassos ; the Cocha- 
 bambinos used short clubs loaded with lead, and which, by 
 means of a string several yards in length, they could fling 
 from them, and were deadly weapons. The mode of attacking 
 the Indians was first by the fire of musketry, to throw them 
 into confusion, when, if the ground admitted, the Tucuman 
 horsemen rode among them, dragging down whole 'ranks 
 with their lassos, followed by the Cochabambinos, who des- 
 patched them with their clubs." — Temple, Travels in Various 
 Parts of Peru, ii., 175, 176. 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 215 
 
 arrived under the command of Lieutenant Josef 
 Reseguin, 
 
 " and we began to see on the brow of the hill of Plina 
 certain men who it was not doubted were ours, and in 
 a short time the rest appeared, covering in a moment 
 the top of the hill. From this position they saluted 
 the city with their artillery, filling it with the greatest 
 joy and satisfaction imaginable. The commandant, 
 Don Josef Reseguin, sent to me immediately notice 
 of his arrival with 7000 soldiers and a large quantity 
 of provisions which would supply the city. 
 
 " Thus ended the second siege of this afflicted and 
 unfortunate city, if it may not be considered the first ; 
 since during the period of the other relief the enemies 
 remained always on the heights of Potopdto, Calvario, 
 and even on the others of the environs, when the 
 troops moved their encampment some distance away. 
 In this it is seen that the rebels to the number of 
 12,000 fighting men, according to all accounts, not 
 only pursued the siege with fire and blood as before, 
 but also turned the waters against us; and although 
 it had not the same outcome as in the town of Sorata, 
 still it caused considerable destruction in the city. 
 Misery made the same inroads as the last time, and 
 want compelled the use of the same unfit food; in 
 sustaining life there was no exemption for the horses, 
 the mules, the asses, the cats, the dogs, and the most 
 despicable hides, not only of the animals killed but 
 also those furnished by the rawhide trunks and 
 the food pouches of the shepherds." ^ 
 
 ' Archivo Boliviano, i., 127, 128. 
 
2i6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 For still two years or more desultory fighting 
 continued in many parts of the country in which 
 the revolt had appeared. Although the Indians 
 were defeated, they were neither crushed nor 
 placated. From their victory the Spaniards 
 derived little profit and less honor. The Indians 
 remained hostile and in a mood to join any enemy 
 of their hated masters that might arise. Out- 
 raged by the barbarity of the Spaniards, they 
 espoused the cause of the Creoles and became a 
 powerful factor in the struggle for independence. 
 
 A recognition of the disastrous results of 
 Spain's treatment of the Indians l^d the Spaniards 
 at last to make their exactions less burdensome. 
 Under the new order the Indians might be em- 
 ployed in occupations contributing directly to the 
 general well-being of society : in raising grain and 
 cattle; in building roads, bridges, and edifices 
 for public use. They might also be employed in 
 mining; but it was not expected that they would 
 be employed in occupations that contributed 
 merely to the luxurious gratification of the 
 Spanish part of the population. The line of 
 distinction between these occupations was, how- 
 ever, only vaguely drawn, and was only imper- 
 fectly observed in practice. Service in the mines 
 was subject to restrictions that were expected 
 to obviate at least some of the evils that had pre- 
 viously existed. Only a certain number of labor- 
 ers, not to exceed one seventh of the inhabitants, 
 
Indian Revolt under Tupac Amaru 217 
 
 might be taken from any district, and these 
 were retained for a period of six months. They 
 were paid at the rate of four reals a day. The 
 provision that no Indian might be taken more 
 than thirty miles to work in a mine tended to set 
 aside the practice of taking them from the warm 
 climate of the low country to the cold regions 
 of the motmtains. But abuses were continued 
 in spite of the good intentions of the law-makers. 
 The execution of the laws was in the hands of 
 officers far removed from the supervision of their 
 legislative superiors. The great distance and the 
 difficulties of communication still left the Indians 
 practically subject to the discretion of the Ameri- 
 can end of the administration. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE CAPTAINCY-GENERAL OF CHILE 
 
 IT is impossible to derive from existing records 
 an entirely trustworthy statement concerning 
 the number of the inhabitants of Chile in the 
 eighteenth century. A reasonable estimate is 
 that there were 80,000 in 1700, 120,000 in 1740, 
 and 259,646 in 1778. The last number is that 
 given by the returns of the first census. At the 
 close of the colonial period, there were probably 
 somewhat less than half a million. Of these the 
 province, or intendancy, of Santiago had the 
 larger number. The greater part of the inhabitants 
 were engaged in agriculture and lived scattered 
 throughout the country, but later, on account 
 of the danger of attacks by the Indians, many of 
 them were induced to live in towns. 
 
 The government in Chile, as elsewhere through- 
 out South America, was continued in the spirit 
 of Spanish absolutism. "The monarchs," to 
 quote the words of the viceroy of Peru in 1796, 
 ' 'are the sacred vicegerents of God himself for the 
 temporal government of his people." * The kings 
 
 ' Memorias de los Vireyes, vi., lo. 
 218 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 219 
 
 of Spain preserved, not merely in theory but also 
 in practice, their ancient absolute power; and at 
 the close of the century they were even seeking 
 to make this power more effective. 
 
 The chief officer in the colonial government 
 was the captain-general. He was appointed by the 
 king of Spain, and he ruled the colony in the 
 spirit of his superior. He was at once the chief 
 of the militia, the head of the civil administration, 
 and president of the royal audiencia. He presided 
 also over the other superior courts, such as the 
 tribunals of the treasury, of the Cruzada, of 
 government lands, and of commerce. Like the 
 viceroy, he was the personal representative of the 
 king, and he differed from that officer very little 
 except with respect to the dignity of his office 
 and the political importance of the district, or 
 colony, under his jurisdiction. 
 
 Next to the captain-general, the most important 
 arm of the colonial government was the audiencia. 
 By a decree of Charles III. the number of members 
 in the audiencia, not only in Chile but elsewhere 
 in Spanish America, was increased, and for each 
 audiencia there was created a chief with the title 
 of regent. The ob j ect of these changes was to make 
 these bodies more efficient in the administration 
 of justice. In case of the death, absence, or 
 inability of the captain-general, the functions of 
 this office were assumed by the regent, or if there 
 was no regent, by the oldest judge. This rule 
 
2 20 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 remained in force until 1806, when it was decreed 
 that, in case of such vacancy, absence, or inabil- 
 ity, the functions of the chief executive should be 
 performed by the commanding military officer, 
 provided this officer was not of lower rank than 
 colonel. 
 
 The military department in Chile called for an 
 annual expenditure of 277,938 dollars. This was 
 somewhat more than two fifths of the total 
 expenses of the colony; yet it was not possible to 
 reduce this amount without making this arm 
 of the government inadequate for purposes of 
 defence, particularly in view of the danger of 
 foreign invasion which was then feared. Of the 
 soldiers maintained, eight companies of infantry, 
 or seven hundred men, were stationed at Con- 
 cepcion to defend the coast and the frontier. Six 
 companies, or five hundred men, were established 
 at Valdivia. There were two companies of artillery, 
 one of fifty men at Concepcion, and the other of 
 sixty men at Valparaiso. There were also two 
 bodies of cavalry : one of eight companies, or four 
 hundred men, occupied various points in the pro- 
 vince of Concepcion, while the rest of the force, 
 consisting of one company of fifty men, were 
 quartered in Santiago. The mestizo, of Spanish 
 and Indian blood, in Chile was recognized as an 
 excellent soldier, "vigorous, sober, hardy, docile 
 under discipline, quick to learn to use his weapon 
 and to understand the evolutions, patient under 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 221 
 
 the greatest privations, and endowed, moreover, 
 with courage, which, when circumstances de- 
 manded, went even to temerity."' There seems 
 to have been no regular system of conscription; 
 many enlisted voluntarily, while others were 
 brought into, the ranks, with more or less of 
 violence, from among the unemployed both in the 
 city and in the country; and still others were 
 sent into the service as a form of punishment. 
 Towards the end of the century the army was 
 brought under a somewhat stricter organization 
 and discipline. The officers and soldiers were 
 paid with greater promptness and regularity 
 than earlier; and more care was given to their 
 instruction. But the rank and file were still 
 very poorly clothed and only imperfectly armed. 
 The ecclesiastical power was exercised by two 
 bishops. The jurisdiction of the bishop of Santiago 
 extended from the desert of Atacama to the river 
 Maule ; while the authority of the bishop of Con- 
 cepcion was exercised over the region south of 
 that river, the two dioceses corresponding to the 
 two intendancies. The tithes of the diocese of 
 Santiago amotmted to 32,200 dollars in 1700, 
 59,509 in 1730, 74,700 in 1770, 87,000 in 1780, 
 102,000 in 1790, 119,000 in 1800, and 177,700 in 
 1808. In the diocese of Concepcion they were 
 very much less, amounting in 1802 to only 61,500 
 dollars. Of the ninety-five parishes in Chile, 
 ' Barros Arana, Historia jeneral de Chile, vii., 342. 
 
2 22 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 fifty-nine belonged to Santiago, and thirty-six to 
 Concepcion. The higher ecclesiastics, the bishops 
 and the canons, lived in opulence, while the parish 
 priests in the smaller towns, in so far as they 
 relied on their stipulated or legitimate stipends, 
 led an existence not far removed from misery. 
 Towards the end of the colonial period the power 
 of the ecclesiastics was diminished and they 
 became less arrogant in their relations with the 
 civil government. At the same time scepticism 
 and the spirit of free inquiry began to be manifest 
 in the colony, carried into the country on the 
 wave of revolutionary political thought proceed- 
 ing from France. 
 
 In the principal centres of population in Amer- 
 ica, the revolutionary literature of the last decade 
 of the eighteenth century exerted a marked in- 
 fluence, but the Spanish monarch was entirely 
 unaffected by it. He held to his prerogatives and 
 pretensions as if there had been no French revo- 
 lution, and his power became more than ever 
 immediately effective. The old council of the 
 Indies was often ignored, and the will of the king 
 was projected, by decrees and royal orders, 
 directly into the affairs of the colonies. 
 
 The difficulty of governing extensive territories 
 effectively under this system of extreme cen- 
 tralization led to the establishment of inten- 
 dancies like those that had been, or were to 
 be, established elsewhere in the colonies. In fact, 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 223 
 
 this reform was eflfected in Chile by applying, 
 with certain modifications, the law that had been 
 framed for the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. By 
 this law the corregidors were set aside, and the 
 minor divisions of the territory that had been 
 under their authority, and that were called 
 partidos after this change, were placed under the 
 immediate control of officials known as subdele- 
 gates, appointed by the intendants and confirmed 
 by the king. The territory north of the river 
 Maule was called the intendancy of Santiago; 
 that south of this river was called the intendancy 
 of Concepcion. The intendancy of Santiago was 
 divided in the beginning into twelve partidos, 
 while the intendancy of Concepcion had seven 
 partidos. The two intendants were subordinated 
 to the captain-general, and were subject to the 
 jurisdiction of the audiencia, or supreme court, 
 that had its seat in Santiago. 
 
 In the list of governors of Chile during the 
 last half of the eighteenth century several held 
 only provisional appointments, and performed 
 the duties of the office awaiting the arrival of 
 the king's commission, or the regularly appointed 
 captain-general. The whole list with the periods 
 of their tenure is as follows: 
 
 Domingo Ortiz de Rosas . . . 1745-1755 
 
 Manuel de Amat y Junient . . . 1755-1761 
 
 F^lix de Berroeta .... 1 761-1762 
 
2 24 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga 
 Juan de Balmaseda 
 Francisco Javier de Morales 
 Agustin de Jiuregui 
 Tomas Alveraz de Acevedo 
 Atnbrosio de Benavides 
 Tomas Alvarez de Acevedo 
 Ambrosio O'Higgins 
 Gabriel de Aviles 
 Joaquin del Pino. 
 Jos6 de Santiago Concha 
 Francisco Diez de Medina 
 Luis Munoz de Guzman 
 
 1762-1768 
 1768-1770 
 1770-1773 
 1773-1780 
 
 1780 
 1780-1787 
 1787-1788 
 1788-1796 
 1796-1799 
 1799-1801 
 1801-1802 
 
 1802 
 I 802-1 808 
 
 It is noteworthy that the most distinguished 
 person named in this list, the man who made the 
 most profound impression as captain-general of 
 Chile, entered upon the duties of his office at an 
 age when public officials are generally supposed 
 to have outlived the period of their greatest 
 usefulness. This man was Don Ambrosio O'Hig- 
 gins, who was born in Ireland in 1 7 20, and became 
 captain-general of Chile in 1788. Thus at the age 
 of sixty-eight he began the career which, on 
 account of the wisdom and energy displayed, 
 entitled him to the designation of the Great 
 Captain-General. After a vigorous administration 
 of eight years he was promoted, in 1796, at the 
 age of seventy-six, to the office of viceroy of Peru, 
 which he held five years, until his death in 1801. 
 
 In the later years of the colonies the king of 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 225 
 
 Spain sought to promote to the highest offices 
 persons who had experience in either the civil 
 or military service of the Indies. At the time of 
 his appointment to the office of captain-general, 
 O'Higgins had served many years as an engineer, 
 a military oflEicer, and an intendant, and had 
 become familiar with the character and needs 
 of the different parts of the Chilean territory. 
 While he was captain-general, moreover, he did 
 not hesitate to undertake the most difficult 
 journeys in order to attend personally to the 
 affairs of the remote districts. 
 
 The northern part of the country had not been 
 visited by any of the previous governors or cap- 
 tains-general, while the southern districts, lying 
 between the Araucanian frontier and the capital, 
 had been constantly within the range of the 
 captain-general's observation. The expeditions 
 against the Araucanians had crossed these dis- 
 tricts, and, through the numerous conferences 
 with the Indians, they had been kept in mind 
 by both parties. But the northern end of the 
 territory had remained in isolation, and both 
 the economical affairs and the affairs of the 
 administration needed the supervision and stimu- 
 lus of the central government. The fact that the 
 captain-general made this northern journey of 
 hundreds of leagues over a region with few roads, 
 studying the needs of the inhabitants and seeking 
 to promote their material interests in all possible 
 
 IS 
 
226 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 ways, is a sufficient indication of the zeal and 
 force which he brought to the task of government. 
 
 The southern districts had not suffered the 
 same neglect as the northern. Through all the 
 decades of their occupation the Spaniards had 
 appreciated the necessity of making a special 
 effort to confirm their hold on this region, and 
 they had, moreover, persistently striven to en- 
 croach upon the territory claimed by the Arau- 
 canians. At every point they had met with 
 vigorous resistance. The government had been 
 compelled to have thorough information of this 
 part of the country. 
 
 In the long course of the Araucanian war treat- 
 ies had been made from time to time, but they 
 were rarely more than temporary interruptions 
 of hostilities. They permitted the belligerents 
 to recover from their losses and make ready for 
 an attack with renewed force. In the conflict 
 the rules of warfare that prevail among civilized 
 nations were disregarded. Both parties kept 
 forces on the frontier, made raids at every oppor- 
 tunity into the enemy's territory, and committed 
 all kinds of depredations. Neither party trusted 
 the promises of the other, and time seemed only 
 to increase the bitterness of their hostility. In 
 this state of affairs the southern districts might 
 not be neglected. Moreover, the almost continu- 
 ous warfare had a very marked influence on the 
 military arm of the colony. It made the militia 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 227 
 
 a vital and active force. Imminent war made 
 military discipline possible. 
 
 As a means of establishing peace between the 
 two races, Jduregui, when he became captain- 
 general, in 1773, caused four Araucanian chiefs 
 to be brought to Santiago as ambassadors repre- 
 senting the various Indian tribes. It was intended 
 that these chiefs should be witnesses to the dis- 
 position of the Spaniards to deal fairly with their 
 neighbors, that they should be employed as 
 mediators or interpreters in future negotiations, 
 and that through them the complaints of the 
 Indians might be carried to the Spanish authori- 
 ties. They should be clothed and supported 
 at the expense of the government. They arrived 
 in Santiago in April, 1774, and were placed under 
 the protection of the local authorities, and the 
 public was solemnly ordered, under severe penal- 
 ties, not to show them any disrespect. This plan 
 received the endorsement of the viceroy of Peru, 
 but there were not wanting persons who saw 
 that it involved an overestimate of the civilization 
 of the Indians and was consequently visionary. 
 It was, nevertheless, confirmed by an agreement 
 between the Indians and the Spaniards made at 
 the conference in 1774. In this agreement it was 
 stipulated that peace should be maintained among 
 the various Indian tribes, and that the Indians 
 should send their sons to be educated in a school 
 to be opened in Santiago for this purpose. The 
 
2 28 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Araucanians, however, hesitated to comply with 
 the provision respecting the education of their 
 sons. The few who were sent to Santiago acquired 
 a certain amount of elementary knowledge; but 
 difficulties arose when attempts were made to 
 give them more advanced instruction. It was 
 found that the barbarian was only a good begin- 
 ner in learning. In 1780 the Santiago school for 
 Indians was transferred to Chilian. 
 
 With respect to agricultural reform, O'Higgins 
 entertained certain ideas and plans that, under 
 the prevailing natural conditions, could not be 
 fully carried out. He seems to have exaggerated 
 the possibilities of governmental influence in eco- 
 nomic affairs. His effort to foster the production 
 of sugar was a case in point. In some of the 
 northern valleys where it was planted on a small 
 scale, the enterprise was in a measure successful, 
 but the attempt to create larger plantations in 
 other districts encountered difficulties, and the 
 cultivation was abandoned after three or four 
 years of experiment. The effort to extend the 
 production of rice had no better result, and the 
 attempt to introduce the cultivation of tobacco 
 met with an insurmountable obstacle in a royal 
 decree of prohibition issued in the interest of the 
 existing monopoly. The motive in these and 
 other proposed agricultural reforms was the 
 betterment of the condition of the people; and, 
 although some of the specific undertakings were 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 229 
 
 unsuccessful, attention was called to the need 
 of more careful cultivation. 
 
 But more important for the social well-being 
 of the colony was the effort of the captain-general 
 to set aside the abuses of the encomiendas, and 
 even to abolish the system itself. In the begin- 
 ning this system was thought to be necessary in 
 order to provide laborers for the fields and the 
 mines; for it was understood that the Indians, 
 like all savages, lacked the habit of consecutive 
 work, and that compulsion would be necessary 
 to make them persistent laborers. The power 
 to compel the Indians to work having been 
 granted to the encomenedros, there remained no 
 practical obstacle to making them slaves ; and to 
 this position they were reduced with all the atten- 
 dant miseries that have become historic. But 
 after two hundred years and more, a class of per- 
 sons had come into existence who were accustomed 
 to obtain their livelihood by more or less regular 
 work. The reason for compulsory labor originally 
 advanced was no longer valid, and it is to the credit 
 of the captain-general as an administrator that he 
 gave a powerful impulse to the movement for 
 abolishing this system. 
 
 While the captain-general was engaged in these 
 and other internal reforms, the coming of foreign 
 vessels to participate in the trade of the colony 
 provoked the opposition of the officials both in 
 Chile and Peru. Even the presence of foreign 
 
230 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 vessels excited alarm, whether they came to 
 trade or merely halted at a Spanish-American 
 port on their way to another destination. In 
 1788 an American vessel named Columbia, bat- 
 tered by storms, put into the port of the island 
 of Juan Fernandez. The governor of the island, 
 Bias Gonzalez, permitted repairs to be made. 
 Although the vessel was bound for Alaska, and 
 had no design to trade at the ports of South 
 America, Governor Gonzalez was deposed and 
 tried for having furnished succor to the distressed 
 vessel. The viceroy had no warships with which 
 to pursue strange vessels, but a ship furnished 
 by a merchant of Lima was armed and sent to 
 Juan Fernandez; it failed to find any offenders. 
 The coming of foreign vessels, particularly vessels 
 from the United States, was opposed by the 
 authorities not merely because they would tend 
 to overthrow the ancient trade regime, but also 
 because they would help to propagate the political 
 ideas of the young republic, and thus contribute 
 to the destruction of the Spanish colonial system. 
 While the colonists of Chile were anticipating 
 evUs that might proceed from the encroachment 
 of foreigners, it was announced in Santiago, 
 April 2, 1789, that King Charles III. was dead, 
 and that his death had occurred on the four- 
 teenth of the preceding December. After elabo- 
 rate funeral ceremonies had been had in the 
 Cathedral of Santiago, preparations were made 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 231 
 
 to celebrate the accession of Charles IV. The 
 portraits of the new king and queen were placed 
 over the entrance of the captain-general's palace. 
 
 " At five o'clock in the afternoon the captain-general 
 left his palace carrying in his hands the royal stan- 
 dard, accompanied by all the corporations and notable 
 inhabitants of the city; and having mounted a large 
 platform which had been constructed in the principal 
 plaza, the secretary of the cabildo read in a loud 
 voice the royal proclamation which announced the 
 accession of Charles IV. to the throne of his ancestors." 
 
 In the company attending the captain-general 
 there were four Indian chiefs, who had been 
 brought from the frontier to render homage to 
 the king for themselves and their people. They 
 were made to kneel and take an oath of obedience 
 and vassalage. Then the captain-general ad- 
 vanced to the edge of the platform, and, dipping 
 the royal standard, cried three times in a loud 
 voice: "Spain and the Indies for King Charles 
 IV. and may God protect him." With this utter- 
 ance the bells of the twenty-six churches in the 
 city sent forth a prolonged peal, a royal salute 
 was fired from the hill of Santa Lucia, and the 
 poptdace replied with a shout, "Long live the 
 king." Medals that had been struck in commem- 
 oration of the occasion were distributed, and one 
 was hung about the neck of each of the Indian 
 chiefs. 
 
232 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 This part of the ceremony was followed by a 
 procession of the participants to another part 
 of the city, where the reading of the proclamation 
 was repeated. The procession passed between 
 two lines of soldiers, while the balconies and doors 
 on either side of the street were brilliantly deco- 
 rated. On the return to the plaza the captain- 
 general and his attendants listened to a poetic 
 eulogy delivered by a woman gorgeously attired 
 and standing on "a lofty and majestic triumphal 
 arch erected at the entrance of the palace, under 
 which the procession passed." The chronicler of 
 this ceremony, and of the banquets, the mass of 
 thanksgiving, and the Te Deum, which followed, 
 affirmed that persons familiar with the grandeur 
 of the most important courts and cities of both 
 worlds maintained that nowhere else had they 
 seen such magnificence as was here displayed.' 
 This was the last occasion of this kind on which 
 public enthusiasm was especially manifest; for 
 when Ferdinand VII., the son and successor of 
 Charles IV., ascended the throne, in 1808, the 
 Spanish monarchy was already falling under the 
 shadow of Napoleon's expanding empire, and 
 the loyalty of the people was undermined by the 
 spread of revolutionary doctrines. 
 
 Even during the presidency of Benavides the 
 fear of foreign encroachment had led the author- 
 ities of Chile to ask the king to send them arms 
 
 1 Barros Arana, Hisioria jeneral de Chile, vii., 39-41. 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 233 
 
 and ammunition. O'Higgins repeated this request, 
 and with the material received he proceeded, 
 acting on orders from Spain, to put the forts of 
 Chile in a state of defence. Active hostilities 
 appeared to be imminent in 1789 as the result of a 
 dispute between England and Spain concerning 
 the possession of a certain part of the island of 
 Vancouver. The Spaniards having taken two 
 English ships in this controversy, the English 
 government prepared for war. Fearing the con- 
 sequences of a war with England, in view of its 
 limited resources, the Spanish government with- 
 drew its pretensions and formed a treaty that 
 recognized the sovereignty of England over the 
 territory in dispute, and the right of the English 
 to fish in the Pacific and to make use temporarily 
 of certain points on the coast that were not occu- 
 pied by the Spaniards. In order to prevent this 
 concession from serving as a pretext for unlawful 
 trade with the Spanish colonies, it was expressly 
 stipulated that English subjects should not navi- 
 gate the Pacific within ten maritime leagues of 
 any point of the coast occupied by the Spanish. 
 This concession gave English vessels recognized 
 rights on the Spanish-American coast, but the 
 Spanish authorities found it difficult to confine 
 them within the limits of these rights ; for vessels 
 that came ostensibly to fish were naturally led 
 to engage in the much more profitable business 
 of smuggling, and the government of neither 
 
234 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Chile nor Peru was in a position to prevent 
 them. 
 
 In the last part of the eighteenth century, 
 Chile was almost wholly without roads, except in 
 and immediately around the cities. In fact, the 
 inhabitants, like the Spanish colonists everywhere, 
 were generally content to travel or transport 
 their goods on horseback or on the backs of 
 mules or donkeys. Even between Valparaiso 
 and Santiago there was no wagon road before 
 the last decade of the century. O'Higgins had to 
 make this journey three times during the first 
 two years of his rule as captain-general, and these 
 journeys were sufficient to make him appreciate 
 the need of a road suited to vehicles on wheels. 
 The inhabitants of the capital, as the foreign 
 trade of the country increased, recognized the 
 advantage that would accrue to them from better 
 means of transportation; but when it was pro- 
 posed to begin the construction, the captain- 
 general encountered two obstacles: the lack of 
 funds and the unwillingness of many proprietors 
 to have the road traverse their lands. Finally, 
 however, certain funds were obtained by im- 
 posing a slight additional tax on goods imported 
 and exported at Valparaiso, and some of the 
 proprietors were made to see that their prejudices 
 were groundless, and that the road would be a 
 benefit rather than an injury. The work of 
 construction was begun in 1792. 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 235 
 
 Two years later Captain Vancouver passed over 
 this road going from Valparaiso to Santiago. 
 
 "The making of the new road," he wrote, "had 
 doubtless been a work of great labor; and to a people 
 who are not very industriously inclined, and who are 
 all bigoted to former practices and original habits, 
 it is no wonder that the manifest advantages that 
 must result to the inhabitants of the country from 
 his Excellency's wise undertaking, should be over- 
 looked, or rather not be seen by them; and that 
 the execution of his judicious plan should have 
 deprived him, amongst the lower orders of the people, 
 of much of his popularity."^ 
 
 On a certain part of the road Vancouver found 
 laborers at work, but was informed 
 
 " that as a sufficient number of people could not be 
 procured to carry the whole of the design into exe- 
 cution at once, his Excellency, the President, had, 
 in order to facilitate the intercourse between these 
 two great towns, ordered the most difficult and dan- 
 gerous parts of the new line of road to be first made 
 passable and commodious." ^ 
 
 " There were about fifty men at work with com- 
 mon pick-axes and shovels; and to supply the 
 place of wheelbarrows for the removal of the earth 
 from the higher to the lower side of the road, the 
 hide of an ox was spread on the ground, and when 
 as much earth was thrown upon it as would require 
 the strength of two men to remove, the corners of 
 
 ' Vancouver, A Voyage of Discovery, vi., 258. 
 2 Ibid, 263. 
 
236 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 the hide were drawn together by each of them, and 
 in that state dragged to the depressed side of the 
 road, and emptied where requisite, to preserve a gen- 
 tle slope in the breadth ; or else discharged over the 
 brink and sent down the side of the hill."^ 
 The laborers engaged in this work received a 
 wage equivalent to fourteen cents a day.^ 
 
 Among other public works begun at the same 
 time with the road to Valparaiso was the wall 
 constructed to prevent the river Mapocho from 
 overflowing its banks and flooding the city of 
 Santiago. This river flows through the city, and 
 by reason of the nearness of the steep mountain- 
 sides it is often subject to a rapid rise. In 1783, 
 during a heavy rain which continued for nine 
 consecutive days without interruption, the river 
 rose to an unprecedented height, broke through 
 aU barriers, carried down houses, trees, and cattle, 
 and threatened the complete destruction of the 
 city. It became necessary to take steps to pre- 
 vent a repetition of this calamity, and at that 
 part of the river where coming down from the 
 north it turns sharply towards the west a dam 
 
 ' Vancouver vi., 264. 
 
 2 The country between Valparaiso and Santiago and the 
 dwellings along the road, particularly in Casa Blanca, as 
 they appeared in the last decade of the eighteenth century, 
 are described by Vancouver in his account of his journey from 
 the coast to the capital in 179s. In the same part of his 
 Voyage of Discovery, book vi., chap, v., may be found an 
 account of his reception in Santiago by the captain-general, 
 together with a description of the city. 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 237 
 
 or wall of brick and mortar was constructed to 
 turn the torrent into its channel towards the 
 west. 
 
 Prior to 1790 the road over the Andes between 
 Chile and the Argentine country was the only 
 one in this region on which any considerable 
 amount of labor had been expended. Along 
 this road, which had been widened to accommo- 
 date the increasing transportation between Buenos 
 Aires and Santiago, cabins of stone or brick had 
 been erected as places of refuge from storms. 
 Under the enlarged freedom of trade introduced 
 by the code of 1778, the increased commerce be- 
 tween Chile and the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata 
 demanded better facilities for overland transpor- 
 tation. The improvement of this road was under- 
 taken by Captain-General O'Higgins, and it was 
 brought into such a condition that, without great 
 difficulty, it could be traversed by bands of mules 
 or horses. Most of the other lines of traffic were 
 merely trails across the country marked out by 
 the mtile trains in seeking the most convenient 
 route to their destination. 
 
 The commerce of Chile, even after 1778, was 
 practically confined to trade with Spain and the 
 other Spanish colonies of America. Spain sent 
 to Chile annually articles valued at somewhat 
 more than a million dollars, and in return received 
 chiefly copper, gold, and silver. In carrying on 
 this trade four or five ships a year arrived in Chile 
 
238 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 from Spain. In Chile the association of capitalists 
 in industrial and commercial corporations was 
 unknown. The colony in this respect was fol- 
 lowing the lead of the mother country, where 
 economic corporations were rare, and where there 
 existed a strong prejudice against them. 
 
 " Down to the last years of the colonial domination, 
 the commerce of Chile embraced only individual 
 persons, who carried on their business separately 
 and for their own account, and there was no other 
 commercial association than that of certain brothers, 
 who, after the death of their fathers, continued to- 
 gether for a certain number of years in the business 
 which their fathers had established."' 
 
 There were, moreover, no companies for insuring 
 against the risks of transportation by sea, or 
 against losses by fire. In view of this fact and the 
 great risks attending the route around the southern 
 end of the continent, in the course of time more 
 and more of the wares imported from Europe 
 came by way of Buenos Aires and the Andes, 
 while the sea route was almost entirely neglected. 
 The absence of a system of credit and exchange 
 necessitated the actual transfer of coin for the 
 payment of debts, whether within or without the 
 limits of the colony. The exportation of money 
 required by this method of making payments 
 sometimes threatened to exhaust the supply of 
 
 ' Barros Arana, Hisioria jeneral de Chile, vii., 401 . 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 239 
 
 currency, although the mint of Santiago annually 
 sent out coins to the value of a million doUars. 
 This difficulty was in a measure set aside by the 
 circtilation, in Chile and also in other colonies, 
 of clipped coins that passed for their nominal 
 value but could not be exported without loss. 
 The coins of circulation were of the same system 
 as those used in Spain and the other colonies 
 but the copper coins that circulated in Spain were 
 not employed. The attempt made in 1781 to 
 introduce them met with vigorous opposition 
 and was abandoned; and it was not until after 
 the establishment of the republic that the pro- 
 ject to circulate copper coins was resumed with 
 success. Traders sometimes issued marked pieces 
 of copper for change, but the obligation to redeem 
 them rested only on the persons who issued them. 
 The original Spanish settlers in Chile, like 
 their countrymen in other parts of America, 
 expected to find their most fruitful sources of 
 wealth in mines of the precious metals. But 
 the fitness of the soil and climate for agriculture 
 made this branch of production important; and 
 its development was limited only by the demand 
 for the products. The early tendency to distribute 
 the lands among many proprietors was checked 
 later, and a large number of the estates fell into 
 the hands of the religious orders. The Jesuits 
 became the owners of about seventy estates, 
 some of them as large as a modern province. 
 
240 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Those that remained in private hands were con- 
 tinued from generation to generation in the same 
 family. This direct • descent was furthered by 
 the law upholding primogeniture. There were, 
 however, no estates to which this procedure had 
 been applied prior to the middle of the seven- 
 teenth century. In the eighteenth century they 
 were more numerous than at any other time, 
 but at the end of the colonial period there were 
 only eighteen important estates with reference 
 to which this practice obtained. There were 
 others subject to certain restrictions as to trans- 
 mission, although they were not properly under 
 the law of primogeniture. The heads of some of 
 the families holding estates under this law bore 
 titles of nobility. ^ 
 
 The system of inheritance under the law of 
 primogeniture contributed to maintain the pres- 
 tige of certain families, but it came to be regarded 
 as a cause of the backwardness of Chilean agri- 
 culture, and, in 1 789, it was decreed that no more 
 foundations of this kind should be made without 
 the express permission of the king. The titles 
 of nobility that were eagerly sought, particularly 
 by the Creoles, were conferred by the crown on the 
 
 • Some of these titles were the following: Marques de la 
 Pica, Conde de Sierra Bella, Marques de Piedra Blanca de 
 Huana, Marques de Canada Hermosa, Marques de Villa- 
 palma, Marques de Casa Real, Marques de Montepio, Conde 
 de Quinta Alegre, Conde de la Conquista, and Marques de 
 Casa Larrain. 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 241 
 
 presentation of a nobiliary, a statement of ser- 
 vices rendered, and the payment of a certain 
 amount of money, ordinarily not less than twenty 
 thousand dollars. As might very well be expected, 
 many persons not worthy to be made especially 
 prominent in the communities where they lived, 
 received titles of nobility; and this abuse led 
 the king, in 1790, to seek to make such regulations 
 as would set it aside. But the action taken was not 
 effective; still in the last years of the colonial 
 period no new titles were granted in Chile. The 
 large payment of money required was not without 
 influence in producing this result. Persons seek- 
 ing some mark of distinction limited their aspira- 
 tions to the possession of a decoration in the 
 orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara, Montera, 
 or, later, in the order of Charles III. 
 
 For a long period the post-office in Spain was a 
 monopoly conferred by a decree of the king on a 
 private person; and when it appeared to be 
 advisable to organize this branch of the admin- 
 istration in the Indies the same plan was followed. 
 But this system was set aside in the reign of 
 Charles III. and the postal service was brought 
 directly under the crown and extended so as to 
 embrace places that hitherto had not been 
 reached. During the last quarter of the century 
 a vessel left Corufia, in Spain, every two months 
 carrying the mail to Montevideo for the viceroyalty 
 of Rio de la Plata, Chile, and the southern part 
 
242 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 of the viceroyalty of Peru, as far as Lima. The 
 voyage required ordinarily two months, and the 
 journey from Buenos Aires across the pampas 
 and over the mountains to Chile took another 
 month. 
 
 Within the Hmits of Chile there was at first one 
 post a month between Santiago and Concepcion, 
 but this service was doubled under the admin- 
 istration of Captain-General O'Higgins, and at 
 the same time a semi-weekly post was established 
 between Santiago and Valparaiso. The people in 
 general were slow in accustoming themselves 
 to the use of these public means of communication. 
 They continued to send letters by travellers and 
 by muleteers in charge of freight transportation. 
 In order to set aside this practice and make the 
 government monopoly effective a heavy fine 
 was imposed upon the unauthorized carrying of 
 letters between points where the government had 
 established postal communication. But this 
 prohibition was not immediately successful in 
 spite of the fact that the private carrying of let- 
 ters was irregular, insecure, and illegal. 
 
 The manufactures of Chile in the later decades 
 of the century were chiefly such as were auxil- 
 iary to agriculture : the making of wine, brandy, 
 jerked beef, drying fruits, preparing the fat of 
 animals for exportation, and tanning hides. As 
 long as the restrictions on trade existed there were 
 certain rude textile fabrics produced, but when 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 243 
 
 foreign nations were able to introduce their wares 
 there was a marked diminution in the production 
 of these things in Chile. In the production of 
 coarse pottery in the form of plates, jugs, and 
 jars, the Chileans encountered no foreign com- 
 petition, and manufactures of these articles sprang 
 up in many parts of the country. But the lack 
 of knowledge and skill on the part of artisans 
 of all classes was an effective hindrance to indus- 
 trial progress. This state of things was, however, 
 somewhat relieved by the introduction of foreign 
 workmen, and by the coming of other persons 
 who, in order to carry out their enterprises, 
 undertook to instruct their employees. The 
 Jesuits brought numbers of men to work on their 
 churches, and the example of these workmen 
 furnished a certain stimulus to others. Near 
 the end of the century the distinguished archi- 
 tect Toesca came to direct the construction of 
 important public buildings, and he was obliged 
 to instruct the masons and carpenters who worked 
 on them. 
 
 There existed here as elsewhere in the dominions 
 of Spain industrial guilds, and before a person 
 was permitted to work at a trade he was required 
 to give proof of his competence and obtain 
 permission from the proper public authority. This 
 system was carried out rigorously in Europe, but 
 it was maintained with great laxity in the colonies, 
 particularly in Chile. By a decree issued by 
 
244 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Charles IV., in 1789, industry was freed from the 
 tyrannical restraints exercised through the guilds, 
 but the guilds were not abolished. 
 
 In spite of the effort that had been made to 
 cause the inhabitants of Chile to live in cities, 
 particularly those that might be subject to incur- 
 sions by the Indians, at the end of the colonial 
 period two thirds of them were still living scat- 
 tered about the country, on the estates or at the 
 mines. Except Santiago, no city had more than 
 six thousand inhabitants. Concepcion had about 
 five thousand. The cities next in size were Val- 
 paraiso and Serena. After these came Chilian and 
 Talca. Each of the last two had about four 
 thousand inhabitants, and the other cities were 
 still smaller. In general the dwellers in the cities 
 had few opportunities for getting information of 
 events in other countries, and at the same time 
 very little interest in such events. They were, 
 however, intensely interested in local factions and 
 feuds. These arose naturally where the towns 
 were isolated, and where large numbers of persons 
 were idle and without incentives to higher aspira- 
 tions. There were no amusements but card-play- 
 ing, bowling, cock-fighting, and horse-racing. 
 
 Santiago was the capital of the colony, the 
 residence of the governor, or the captain-general, 
 the seat of the audiencia, and the centre of the most 
 pretentious society of Chile. It had about thirty 
 thousand inhabitants. With respect to its public 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 245 
 
 buildings, it was not below the standard of Lima 
 or Mexico. But the private houses were generally 
 simple, one-story structures, and the interior 
 furnishings were necessarily plain, on account of 
 the expensiveness of European wares and the rude- 
 ness of nearly aU colonial products. The streets 
 were usually dirty, but this feature of the city's 
 affairs was greatly improved under the republic. 
 The practice of burying large numbers of bodies 
 in the churches led to "the propagation of epi- 
 demics that made great ravages among the inhab- 
 itants. The churches in which the soil was con- 
 stantly removed for new burials emitted an 
 unhealthy and pestiferous odor, which made it 
 necessary to open and ventilate them every 
 morning before the faithful assembled." ^ 
 
 In Santiago, as in the other important Spanish- 
 American capitals, there was a limited class of 
 men who had acquired titles of nobility, and whose 
 wealth enabled them to live in luxury as compared 
 with the bulk of the inhabitants. Corvallo, de- 
 scribing them, said : " They use costly carriages and 
 fine liveries, and show themselves on the public 
 drives, and visiting and at balls with rich cos- 
 tumes and valuable jewels. ' ' ^ The 6ity had no pub- 
 lic market, but the plaza in front of the cathedral 
 was used for this purpose. The streets were not 
 lighted, except as those who went out at night or 
 
 > Barros Arana, Historia jeneral de Chile, vii., 459. 
 2 Descripcion histdrico-geogrdfica, part ii., chap. 4. 
 
246 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 their servants carried lanterns. The state of 
 the city in this respect was an incentive to vice 
 and disorder. But the character of many of the 
 lower class made any incentive of this kind 
 superfluous, for "drunkenness was a vice much 
 more common than in our day, as were also rob- 
 bery, brawls, and assassinations."^ Begging had 
 attained such alarming proportions that many 
 persons were inclined to seek a remedy, and 
 hoped to find it in the development of industries; 
 and to this end they sought to suppress the ob- 
 stacles that had stood in the way of industrial 
 progress. 
 
 While life in the cities was without doubt un- 
 attractive, the country presented much less 
 favorable conditions. On the estates of even the 
 more wealthy families, there were few conven- 
 iences for comfortable living. The houses of the 
 proprietors were in some cases large, but they 
 contained only a few rooms. They had very little 
 furniture, and this was usually in the last stages 
 of its usefulness. The windows were without 
 glass. A few plates and other dishes, which often 
 gave evidence of rough usage, made up the table 
 service, and everywhere there was a lack of 
 cleanliness. The food was only such as was pro- 
 duced on the estate. Fresh meat was available 
 only at the annual period of slaughtering, for it 
 was found to be too expensive to kill an ox or 
 
 - Barros Arana, vii., 463. 
 
' The Captaincy-General of Chile 247 
 
 other animal in order to provide fresh meat for 
 half a dozen persons for four or five days. Each 
 house had an oratory, where the missionaries 
 arriving from time to time were expected to 
 celebrate mass; but this apartment was often 
 kept in such a filthy and neglected state that the 
 priests refused to use it for religious services. 
 
 In the last years of the colonial period a few 
 of the more wealthy owners, particularly those 
 in the neighborhood of Santiago, showed a dis- 
 position to increase the conveniences of living in 
 the country. The proprietors, who lived on their es- 
 tates for only a few months in the year, constituted 
 only a small part of the country population. The 
 large majority was composed of tenants, who 
 were nominally free, but whose condition was 
 not greatly different from that of the vassals of a 
 medieval landlord. Each of them received a 
 certain plot of ground, which he cultivated and 
 on which he might keep a certain number of 
 animals; and in return for this he was required 
 to work for the owner. 
 
 "There were without doubt," as Barros Arana says, 
 "kind and charitable proprietors who treated their 
 tenants humanely, who helped them in their times of 
 need, and who were interested in their well-being; 
 but the greater number maintained with respect to 
 their dependents a regimen which was very little 
 different from that to which the Indians of the encom- 
 ienda were subjected."^ 
 
 1 Hisloria jeneral de Chile, vii., 466. 
 
248 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The great proprietors frequently exercised the 
 power of public officials, either as agents of the 
 subdelegates or as merely owners of the soil, 
 and their orders had practically the authority 
 of law. They arrogated to themselves the right 
 to administer justice and even to impose punish- 
 ments. Although the tenant might legitimately 
 leave the estate on which he lived, few of them 
 did it voluntarily, for they either acquired a 
 sentimental attachment to the places where they 
 had spent many years, or they saw nothing to be 
 gained in going from one estate to another. Like 
 the very poor everywhere, who have some per- 
 manent abiding-place, they hesitated to move 
 lest they should lose the very small advantage 
 of their actual state, and fall into the more 
 miserable condition of the floating population 
 that wandered over the country seeking work 
 wherever they fancied it might be found. The 
 feudal relations that thus came into existence 
 were generally characteristic of the later colonial 
 society, especially of that portion of it outside of 
 the cities, in the southern part of the continent. 
 
 The filth, the vice, the ignorance, the burial 
 of the dead in the churches, and the lack of proper 
 medicinal remedies, both in the country and in 
 the cities, in spite of the general healthfulness of 
 the climate, made it possible for diseases to 
 become epidemic and to carry off large numbers 
 of the inhabitants, not only of the Indians but 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 249 
 
 also of the Spaniards and mestizos. In the records 
 of the municipal council of Santiago, the presence 
 of the epidemics was carefully noted, as was also 
 the action taken to provide prayers, offerings, and 
 processions to allay the evil. But the records 
 give no pathological indications sufficient to 
 inform us of the character of the diseases in 
 question. From other sources, however, it is 
 known that syphilis and smallpox were two of 
 the diseases that spread their ravages through 
 the colony. Smallpox was first introduced into 
 Chile in 1561, and from time to time throughout 
 the colonial period it appeared and carried off 
 its victims by thousands. In 1765 the municipal 
 council recorded the fact that, in the few pre- 
 ceding months, smallpox had caused the death 
 of more than five thousand persons. In 1788-1789 
 the city of Concepcion, having a population of 
 not more than six thousand, lost fifteen hundred 
 by smallpox. The ravages of the disease, as it 
 swept through the cities and over the country, 
 left horror and desolation in its path. Those 
 persons who escaped death were often greatly 
 disfigured, and many of them were left blind. 
 Its appearance in one province, Santiago or 
 Concepcion, led the other province to establish 
 a quarantine line along the river Maule, but the 
 precautions were always ineffective. In the 
 last half of the century successful vaccination was 
 introduced, but it could not be made general. 
 
250 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Except among the cultivated classes, it met with 
 insurmountable opposition. 
 
 In the society of Chile where a small minor- 
 ity of the inhabitants — the Spaniards and the 
 Creoles — sought to preserve the lines of class 
 separation, the mestizo constituted a large lower 
 class, the members of which found it difficult 
 to keep above the line of positive misery. They 
 inherited vices as well as virtues from both of the 
 races from which they were descended. The 
 mestizos, like their ancestors on the side of the 
 Indians, were both physically and mentally 
 strong; yet they were rough, malicious, super- 
 stitious, given to gambling, intoxicating drinks, 
 and robbery, and they were easily drawn into 
 bloody quarrels. They might have become a 
 powerful factor in the material progress of the 
 country, if the political authorities and the 
 upper class had known how to provide the con- 
 ditions in which their labor would have been de- 
 manded. But in the isolation imposed by nature 
 and under the restrictive legislation imposed by 
 Spain, there was only a limited market for the 
 wares which the country might most readily pro- 
 duce, and as a consequence those persons who 
 might have become most effective laborers were 
 wasted, without employment, in recklessness and 
 poverty. 
 
 "Nothing is more common," said Manuel de Salus, 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 251 
 
 "than, in the same fields which have just produced a 
 rich harvest, to see the very hands that have gathered 
 the crop stretched out begging bread, and sometimes 
 in the place itself where wheat has just been sold 
 at a very low price. Persons who at first observe 
 this state of afEairs are disposed to solve the enigma 
 by concluding that the cause is the innate indolence 
 which they have believed to be characteristic of the 
 Indians, and that this has contaminated all persons 
 born on the continent; and, moreover, that this 
 indolence has been encouraged and increased by 
 abundance. Or, more indulgent persons, seeking 
 occult and mysterious causes, attribute this state 
 of things to the climate ; but no one takes the trouble 
 to examine the matter carefully, or stoops to seek 
 more simple and probable reasons. To attribute 
 laziness and inefficiency to the people is an error 
 which I have appreciated many times and have 
 shown it to be such to unprejudiced persons. Every 
 day robust laborers may be seen in the plazas and 
 streets offering their extensive services in exchange 
 for wares, many of them useless and very high in 
 price. They may be seen appearing at the doors 
 of houses in the country begging for work, while the 
 proprietors are under the sad necessity of turning 
 them away. I am a constant spectator of this same 
 thing in connection with the public works of the 
 capital, where crowds of these unhappy persons 
 present themselves soliciting work, and pra3ang 
 with such effectiveness that it may be given them, 
 that in order not to augment their misery by a rebuff, 
 or in order to put them off without harshness, I 
 
252 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 offered them a silver real for a day's work, and a half 
 a real to the boys,"i 
 
 and the applications under these conditions 
 exhausted the funds. There was, moreover, 
 no lack of laborers to complete promptly the 
 wheat harvest in spite of its abundance, or to 
 perform the work of the vintage. The market 
 was inadequate to receive the wares that would 
 have been produced if all the laborers had been 
 employed, and the circumstances made the 
 increase of vagrancy inevitable. 
 
 Negroes formed only a small part of the colonial 
 population of Chile. The first colonists, instead 
 of buying negroes, availed themselves of the 
 labor of the Indians, with little or no cost. There 
 were, however, three or four thousand African 
 slaves in Chile before the middle of the seventeenth 
 century, but a later rise in their price caused many 
 to be transported to Peru and there sold, and, 
 but for the prohibition of the governor, all of them 
 would probably have been taken away. Val- 
 paraiso was the port from which the slaves were 
 shipped; and with this beginning, it became a 
 somewhat important market for slaves brought 
 from Africa by way of Buenos Aires. Many 
 negroes and mulattoes born in Chile were also 
 sold here for . transportation to Peru. The low 
 wages of free laborers in Chile made it unprofit- 
 able to keep slaves, particularly since the price 
 
 ' Quoted by Barros Arana, Historia jeneral de Chile, vii. , 442. 
 
The Captaincy-General of Chile 253 
 
 had risen from 250 to 600 dollars. Yet at the 
 close of the eighteenth century, there were in 
 Chile ten or twelve thousand negroes and mulat- 
 toes, including both sexes. Of this number only 
 four or five thousand were slaves, and these were 
 almost all in domestic service. They were kept 
 by the wealthy families largely for ostentation. 
 They were generally dressed well, sometimes in 
 showy livery, and were treated with kindness. 
 Some of them who appeared to be sufficiently 
 intelligent and trustworthy were made super- 
 intendents on estates in the country, while others 
 were taught trades. They became tailors and 
 shoemakers, and made the clothing and shoes 
 for the famUy of their masters. Among the 
 negroes and mulattoes who were free, there were 
 tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, silversmiths, and 
 some who followed other trades. Those living 
 in Santiago formed a small battalion, under 
 officers of the white race; and in the struggle for 
 independence they rendered important service in 
 the battle of Maipo. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE TAKING OF BUENOS AIRES BY THE ENGLISH 
 
 THE battle of Trafalgar, in 1805, against the 
 allied fleets of France and Spain left Great 
 Britain the mistress of the seas. The loss of her 
 thirteen colonies in North America had naturally 
 awakened a desire for compensation in some 
 other part of the world. The limitation of her 
 trade, caused by the French Revolution and the 
 Napoleonic wars, made acceptable the oppor- 
 tunity to bring under her control markets outside 
 of the field of the great European conflict. Not 
 less urgent was the plan to prevent the loss of her 
 power and prestige in the East Indies, which were 
 menaced by the Dutch in possession of Cape 
 Colony. The British determined to take this 
 colony, and sent thither an expedition under 
 Sir Home Popham, in command of the naval 
 forces, and General David Baird, in command of a 
 land force of 6600 men. 
 
 The government of Mr. Pitt had had in con- 
 templation as early as 1796 action that would bring 
 South America, or some part of it, under English 
 control, to be made available as a market for 
 
 254 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 255 
 
 England. It was for this purpose that Sir Home 
 Popham was appointed to the ship Diadem in 
 1804. 
 
 " He was appointed to that ship," to quote Lord 
 Melville, then at the head of the Board of Admiralty, 
 "with a view of co-operating with General Miranda, 
 to the extent of taking advantage of any of his pro- 
 ceedings, which might lead to our obtaining a position 
 on the continent of South America, favorable to the 
 trade of this country. "^ 
 
 In giving his testimony at the trial of Popham, 
 Lord MelviUe said: 
 
 " At all times and in every conversation that I had 
 with Mr. Pitt on the subject, I make no doubt Buenos 
 Aires was often the subject of discussion. My reason 
 for being confident in that opinion is, that in all the 
 considerations I ever gave to the subject of South 
 America, whether the attack was to be made on a 
 smaller or larger scale, I always considered the Rio 
 de la Plata as the most important position for the 
 interest of Great Britain upon that side of South 
 America." 2 
 
 The expedition to the Cape, under General 
 Baird with Brigadier-General Beresford second 
 in command, sailed from Cork in August, 1805; 
 touched at Madeira, then at the Bay of All 
 
 1 Minutes of a Court-^martial for the Wrial of Sir Home 
 Popham, London, 1807, 139. 
 ^Ibid., 140. 
 
256 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Saints, and arrived at its destination on January 
 4, 1806. The Cape fell into the hands of the 
 English without great cost, and soon afterwards 
 it was determined to make an attempt on Buenos 
 Aires. Sir Home Popham and Brigadier-General 
 Beresford commanded the expedition to the Rio 
 de la Plata, which consisted of three frigates, 
 three corvettes, and five transports, carrying in all 
 one hundred and seventy-eight guns. The Board 
 of Admiralty took the view that this expedition 
 to Buenos Aires was undertaken by the officers 
 at the Cape without any superior "direction or 
 authority whatever," leaving the Cape, "which 
 it was Sir Home Popham's duty to guard, not 
 only exposed to attack and insult, but even without 
 the means of affording protection to the trade of 
 his Majesty's subjects, or of taking possession of 
 any ships of the enemy, which might have put 
 into any of the bays or harbors of the Cape or 
 ports adjacent." * 
 
 Sir Home Popham had been directed, however, 
 by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty 
 to send a frigate to cruise on the east coast of 
 South America between Rio de Janeiro and Rio 
 de la Plata, as soon as he should have accomplished 
 the object of the expedition on which he was 
 about to proceed, for the purpose of procuring 
 intelligence of the enemy's motions, in order 
 that he might be prepared against any attack they 
 
 • Admiralty Order in Trial of Sir Home Popham, 4. 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 257 
 
 might be disposed to make on the settlement. ' 
 And in September he was directed from the 
 Admiralty Office to retain all the transports 
 under his command at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 after the reduction of that settlement, until he 
 should receive further orders. ^ 
 
 This expedition against the Cape of Good Hope 
 was undertaken on information furnished the 
 government by Sir Home Popham. "While at 
 Portsmouth in 1805, he received information of 
 the weak state of the garrison at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 "This intelligence," he said, "appeared to me so 
 important, not only from the advantage to be derived 
 from the capture of the Cape of Good Hope itself, but 
 from the facility which the possession of that settle- 
 ment would afford to the projected conquest of the 
 dependencies on the east coast of South America, 
 that I lost no time in coming up to town and com- 
 municating it to Mr. Pitt." 
 
 The communication was made through Mr. 
 Sturges Bourne, then one of the Secretaries of the 
 Treasury, whom "Mr. Pitt immediately authorized 
 to make further inquiries on the subject in the 
 quarter from which the communication was 
 stated to be derived." The result of the informa- 
 tion obtained by this means "was a complete 
 
 1 John Barrow to Sir Home Popham, Aug. 2, 1805 see 
 Trial, p. 17. 
 ' Ibid., 18. 
 17 
 
258 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 confirmation of the statement made by Sir Home 
 Popham, and Mr. Pitt instantly determined to 
 take the necessary measures for the execution of 
 an expedition against the Cape." ' The suggestion 
 by Sir Home Popham appears thus to have been 
 the origin of Pitt's plan; for Sturges Bourne said 
 before the court-martial: "I am quite sure that 
 Mr. Pitt had no such expedition in his contem- 
 plation at the time Sir Home Popham made his 
 proposal, and I have no reason to believe that any 
 other of the king's ministers had such an object 
 in view." 
 
 Giving testimony at the trial of Popham, Mr. 
 Huskisson said: 
 
 " Mr. Pitt stated to me generally, as he had frequently 
 stated before, the views he entertained with respect 
 to South America; that he conceived it a most essen- 
 tial object for this country to use its naval superiority, 
 and the facility that superiority afforded in extensive 
 operations against South America, in case we should 
 be obliged to continue the war, as he apprehended 
 we should if the success of the confederacy then 
 forming on the continent did not correspond with 
 his wishes on that subject; that he thought his plan 
 of operations most essential not only to the interests 
 of this country separately considered, but also with a 
 view to prevent the French themselves from doing 
 that which he did not doubt they would do in case of 
 any neglect, namely, getting possession of the princi- 
 
 ■ Lord Melville in Trial of Sir Home Popham, 142. 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 259 
 
 pal positions and revenues to that extensive empire; 
 that he therefore gave general credit to the person 
 who furnished that plan and the information but 
 hoped we should be beforehand with the enemy, 
 as our naval means were so much superior to theirs." ^ 
 
 It is evident the views of Mr. Pitt with respect 
 to South America were not confined to introducing 
 British manufactures, but took a wider range. 
 
 The origin of the plan to take Buenos Aires 
 which was carried out at this time may be seen 
 in the correspondence produced at the trial of 
 Popham. In a letter written by him to William 
 Marsden, of the Admiralty Office, and dated 
 April 9, 1806, he announced that, on account of 
 the unsettled weather, he proposed to remove 
 his squadron from its position in Table Bay, and 
 that he considered the coming of Admiral Wil- 
 leaumez very improbable. As it was expected that 
 the French fleet would be obliged to resort to 
 Rio de la Plata or the coast of Brazil for supplies, 
 he thought "employing the squadron in cruising 
 a short time off that coast, instead of remaining 
 idle, wiU be a disposition fraught with some 
 advantages, and which I hope will appear so 
 evident to their Lordships as to induce them 
 to approve of the measure." Starting on the loth, 
 the lack of the requisite breeze led him to anchor 
 in the outer bay, and here he received "intelli- 
 gence respecting the weak state of defence which 
 
 ' Trial of Sir Home Popham, 146. 
 
26o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Montevideo and Buenos Aires were in." With 
 this information, confirming what he had already 
 learned from other sources, he "suggested the 
 expediency of sparing a few troops for a short 
 time, to enable us to bring a question of such 
 importance to an immediate issue. "i Popham 
 urged this tmdertaking, "from a conviction of the 
 great and splendid benefit which the country 
 would derive by a conquest of such a nature 
 at this moment." Sir David Baird after consider- 
 ing the subject seriously and consulting with 
 General Beresford acceded to the proposition 
 and ordered that the 71st regiment should be 
 embarked under the direction of General Beres- 
 ford. The main advantage of the conquest 
 suggested at this time was the opporttinity "to 
 supply several millions of inhabitants with the 
 manufactures of the United Kingdom." ^ 
 
 The conquest, moreover, was not expected to 
 be difficult, for Popham was convinced as the 
 
 ' Popham to William Marsden, April 13, 1806. 
 
 2 Sir Home Popham, writing in 1806, finds " that Buenos 
 Aires is the best commercial situation in South America. It 
 is the grand centre and emporium of the trade of all its pro- 
 vinces, and is the channel through which a great proportion 
 of the wealth of the kingdom of Chile and Peru annually 
 passes." " About six hundred coasters enter inwards annu- 
 ally at Montevideo, and one hundred and thirty European 
 ships; and about the same number clear outwards; but in 
 this commercial intercourse the exactions, duties, and re- 
 strictions are so arbitrary, that the natives are in a state not 
 many removes from open revolt." — Popham to William 
 Marsden, April 30, 1806. 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 261 
 
 result of his examinations that there were "not 
 above five hundred regular troops at the two 
 places, some provincial cavalry and militia; that 
 the walls of Montevideo are in a very ruinous 
 state ; and the inhabitants disaffected beyond any 
 calculation." In his letter of April 13, 1806, 
 Popham expressed the hope that his superiors 
 in London would consider the undertaking "as 
 far preferable to the alternative of allowing the 
 squadron to moulder away its native energy, by 
 wintering in False Bay, and eventually become 
 paralyzed, after remaining so long as it has done 
 in a state of cold defensive inactivity. "^ 
 
 While still at the Cape Sir Home Popham's 
 views were confirmed by a letter received from 
 Mr. Waine, the master of an American ship. The 
 letter was dated March 28, 1806, and was in the 
 following form: 
 
 "I beg leave to represent to you, that I have been 
 three times to Buenos Aires and Montevideo; that 
 both places have the greatest abundance of wheat, 
 flour, and indeed every sort of provision. From my 
 knowledge of the minds and dispositions of the 
 inhabitants, I can assure you that his Majesty's 
 squadron, under your command, would, with ease, 
 take possession of either of those places; and if 
 permanent possession could be effected, there is not 
 the slightest doubt of procuring any quantity of 
 flour ; and to prove to you that it is not an idle sug- 
 
 > Trial of Sir Home Popham, London, 1807, 46. 
 
262 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 gestion to mislead the British, I could have no ob- 
 jection to be one of five hundred men to attack either 
 place. I am sure the inhabitants are so ridden by 
 their government, that to prevent a shot being 
 fired at Montevideo, if they had any threat from 
 the men of war, they would send out any quantity 
 of flour or buscuit, to prevent mischief; but the 
 places may be taken as I describe; and if the trade 
 is thrown open, all the inhabitants would willingly 
 acquire and keep the place for the British nation 
 without troops, which would be a mine of wealth; 
 I hope you will not make mention of my name im- 
 properly, as it may injure me greatly. I myself, 
 with my ship Elizabeth, are at your service to do 
 what you please to get possession of Buenos Aires. "^ 
 
 While on the voyage Popham had a plan to take 
 Montevideo as soon as he reached the coast, and 
 then to pass on to Buenos Aires. But information 
 received from an English pilot who fell into his 
 hands as he entered the river persuaded him that 
 it would be expedient to move immediately 
 against the latter city. Of his approach to 
 Buenos Aires he gave the following accotmt in a 
 dispatch dated July 6, 1806. 
 
 "On the 8th of June we anchored near the island 
 of Flores; and, after passing Montevideo the following 
 day, we detained a Portuguese schooner, by whom 
 the intelligence we had formerly received was generally 
 confirmed. On the nth we fell in with the Encounter 
 
 ' Trial of Sir Home Popham, 43. 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 263 
 
 and Ocean transport,' near the south coast of the 
 river; and on the thirteenth we joined the squadron. 
 
 "It was immediately determined to attack the 
 capital ; and no time was lost in removing the marine 
 battalion to the Narcissus, the Encounter, and the 
 transports, for the purpose of proceeding to Buenos 
 Aires, while the Diadem blockaded the port of 
 Montevideo, and the Raisonable, the Diomede, by 
 way of demonstration, cruised near Maldonado 
 and other assailable points. 
 
 " Our progress up the river was very much retarded 
 by the shoalness of the water, adverse winds, and 
 currents, continual fogs, and the great inaccuracy 
 of the charts; but by the unremitting and laborious 
 exertions of the officers and men I had the honor 
 to command, these difficulties were surmounted, and 
 the squadron anchored on the afternoon of the 25th 
 off point Quelmes, about twelve miles from Buenos 
 Aires. 
 
 "As it was impossible for the Narcissus to approach 
 the shore, on account of the shoalness of the water, 
 the Encounter was run in so close as to take the 
 ground, the more effectually to cover the debarkation 
 of the army in case of necessity, the whole, however, 
 was landed in the course of the evening without the 
 least opposition; consisting of the detachment of his 
 Majesty's troops from the Cape, and that from St. 
 Helena, with the marine battalion under the orders 
 of Captain King, of his Majesty's ship the Diadem, 
 which was composed of the Marines of the squadron, 
 augmented by the incorporation of some seamen, 
 
 » These vessels had parted from the fleet previous to its 
 arrival at St. Helena, 
 
264 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and three companies of royal blues from the same 
 source of enterprise, which had been regularly- 
 trained for that duty, and dressed in an appropriate 
 uniform." 
 
 A dispatch from General Beresford, who led the 
 landing forces, dated July 2, 1806, gives an 
 account of the movements by land against the 
 city. The extract deaUng with this advance is 
 as follows: 
 
 "It was eleven o'clock in the morning of the 26th 
 before I could move off my ground, and the enemy 
 could, from his position, have counted every man I 
 had. He was drawn up along the brow of a hill, 
 on which was the village of Reduction, which covered 
 his right flank, and his force consisted principally 
 of cavalry (I have been since informed two thousand), 
 with eight field-pieces. The nature of the ground 
 was such, that I was under the necessity of going 
 directly to his front; and to make my line, as much 
 as I could, equal to his, I formed all the troops into 
 one line, except the St. Helena infantry, of one 
 hundred and twenty yards in the rear, with two 
 field-pieces, with orders to make face to the right or 
 left, as either of our flanks should be threatened 
 by his cavalry; I had two six-pounders on each 
 flank, and two howitzers in the centre of the first 
 line. In this order I advanced against the enemy, 
 and after we had got within range of his guns, a 
 tongue of swamp crossed our front, and obliged me 
 to halt while the guns took a small circuit to cross, 
 and which was scarcely performed when the enemy 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 265 
 
 opened their field-pieces on us, at first well pointed, 
 but as we advanced at a very quick rate, in spite of 
 the boggy ground, that very soon obliged us to leave 
 all our guns behind, his fire did us but little injury. 
 The 71st regiment reaching the bottom of the heights 
 in a pretty good line, seconded by the marine bat- 
 talion, the enemy would not wait their nearer approach 
 but retired from the brow of the hill, which our troops 
 gaining, and commencing a fire of small arms, he 
 fled with precipitation, leaving to us four field-pieces 
 and one timibril, and we saw nothing more of him 
 that day. 
 
 "I halted two hours on the field to rest the troops, 
 and to make arrangements for taking with us the 
 enemy's guns and our own, which had now, by the 
 exertions of Captain Donnelly, of his Majesty's ship 
 Narcissus, been extricated from the bog. He had 
 accidentally landed and accompanied the troops, on 
 seeing them advance to the enemy, and I am much in- 
 debted to him for his voluntary assistance. 
 
 "I then marched in hopes of preventing the de- 
 struction of the bridge over the Riachuelo, a river 
 at this season of the year not fordable and which lay 
 between us and the city; distant from it about three 
 miles, and eight from our then situation ; and though 
 I used every diligence, I had the mortification to see 
 it in flames long before I could reach it. I halted 
 the troops for the night a mile from it, and pushed 
 on three companies of the 71st, under Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Pack, with two howitzers, to the bridge, to 
 endeavor to prevent its total destruction. I accom- 
 panied this detachment, but on reaching the bridge 
 
266 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 found it entirely consumed; and as the enemy during 
 the night was heard bringing down guns, I withdrew 
 the detachment before Hght, as their position was 
 thought too open and exposed to the enemy's fire, 
 who had at nine o'clock, on hearing some of our 
 soldiers go to the river to get water, opened a fire 
 from their guns, and a considerable line of infantry. 
 
 "As soon as it was light I sent Captain Kennet of 
 the engineers to reconnoitre the sides of the river, 
 and found that on our side we had little or no cover 
 to protect us, whilst the enemy were drawn up behind 
 hedges, houses, and in the shipping on the opposite 
 bank, the river not thirty yards wide. As our situation 
 and circumstances could not admit of the least delay, 
 I determined to force the passage, and for that purpose 
 ordered down the field-pieces, which with the addi- 
 tion of those taken from the enemy the day before, 
 were eleven (one I had spiked and left, not being 
 able to bring it off), to the water's edge, and ordered 
 the infantry to remain in the rear, under cover, 
 except the light company and grenadiers of the 71st. 
 As our guns approached, the enemy opened a very 
 ill-directed fire from great guns and musketry; the 
 former soon ceased after our fire opened, the latter 
 was kept up for more than half an hour, but though 
 close to us, did us but little or no injury, so ill was it 
 directed. We then found means, by boats and 
 rafts, to cross a few men over the Riachuelo, and on 
 ordering all fire to cease, the little of them that 
 remained ceased also. 
 
 "The troops which had opposed us during these 
 two days appear to have been almost entirely pro- 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 267 
 
 vincial, with a considerable proportion of veteran 
 officers. The numbers that were assembled to 
 dispute our passage of the river, I have been since 
 informed, were about two thousand infantry. I had 
 no reason from their fire to suppose their numbers 
 so great; their opposition was very feeble; the only 
 difficulty was the crossing the river to get at them. 
 
 "By eleven o'clock a.m. I had got some guns and 
 the greatest part of the troops across the river, and 
 seeing no sjmiptoms of further opposition, and learn- 
 ing that the troops in general had deserted the city, 
 motives of humanity induced me to send, by the 
 honorable ensign Gordon, a summons to the governor 
 to deliver to me the city and fortress, that the ex- 
 cesses and calamities which would most probably oc- 
 cur if the troops entered in a hostile manner might be 
 avoided; informing him that the British character 
 would insure to them the exercise of their religion, 
 and protection to their persons and all private prop- 
 erty. He returned to me an officer to ask some hours 
 to diraw up conditions; but I could not consent to 
 delay my march, which I commenced as soon as the 
 whole had crossed the Riachuelo; and, on arriving 
 near the city, an officer from the governor again met 
 me with a number of conditions to which I had not 
 then time to attend; but said I would confirm by 
 writing what I had promised, when in possession of 
 the city; and the terms granted and signed by Sir 
 Home Popham and myself I have the honor to 
 annex." 
 
 Major-General Baird in his instructions to 
 Brigadier-General Beresford directed him to 
 
268 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 assume the office of lieutenant-governor, "and 
 to draw whatever salary and allowances may 
 have been enjoyed by the Spanish Governor, his 
 immediate predecessor, until his Majesty shall be 
 graciously pleased to make known his pleasure. "^ 
 During the advance of the English the city was 
 in confusion, and the authorities displayed only 
 weakness and indecision. After the vessels had 
 been observed entering the river, Jos6 de la Pena, 
 the chief pilot of the royal fleet, went along the 
 coast in search of definite information concerning 
 these vessels. On the night of the 23d of June, 
 1806, in accordance with Sobremonte's orders, 
 he reported to the viceroy at Buenos Aires. But 
 the viceroy refused to adopt Pena's advice, and 
 held that the vessels were only cruising, and had 
 not come to attack the colony. On the 24th, 
 Pena returned to Ensenada to await the viceroy's 
 orders. At daybreak, on the 25th, English 
 vessels appeared off Buenos Aires. The viceroy 
 now caused a call to arms to be sounded, and 
 between seven and nine o'clock the inhabitants 
 gathered at the fort. "But in spite of all this, 
 still no preparations were made; on the con- 
 trary, the viceroy remained inactive, notwith- 
 standing the fact that the ships of the enemy were 
 seen approaching Quilmes, three or four leagues 
 from the city, and disembarking in boats and 
 
 ' Major-General Baird to Right Hon. Lord Castlereagh, 
 April 14, 1806, Trial of Sir Home Popham, 59. 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 269 
 
 launches."! Finally as a result of persistent 
 urging the viceroy caused arms to be distributed 
 to the militia of Buenos Aires. This force, hav- 
 ing been joined by 800 lancers under the com- 
 mand of Nicolas de la Quintana, was sent to 
 Quilmes to attack the enemy, and was to be under 
 the command of Sub-Inspector Pedro de Arcs. In 
 the meantime 1000 citizens had been given arms 
 at the fort, but they had no cartridges and their 
 guns had no flints. These things they were to 
 get from their respective captains in the after- 
 noon. On the 26th, at eleven o'clock in the 
 morning, 600 of the provincial militia with their 
 officers marched to Barracas, with the viceroy 
 as their rear-guard.2 In the meantime the Eng- 
 lish had landed ; the Argentines after firing from 
 a distance fled, leaving three cannon and a how- 
 itzer which were immediately taken possession of 
 by their enemy. 
 
 During this skirmish a second call to arms was 
 sounded in the city, announcing to the rest of the 
 inhabitants who remained in the town that their 
 compatriots found themselves in great need of 
 assistance. 
 
 During these operations the alarm had spread 
 through all parts of the city. The inhabitants 
 were terrified by the news of the arrival of the 
 British forces. The panic was moreover inten- 
 sified by the ringing of the bells ; and the viceroy, 
 
 < Calvo, Tratados, iv., 387. ' Ibid., iv., 388. 
 
2 70 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 abandoning all hope of effective resistance, was 
 fully occupied in contemplating the possibility of 
 successful flight. But before his departure he 
 published, June 26, 1806, the following manifesto: 
 
 "I make known to all the inhabitants and faithful 
 vassals of our master the King in all this country and 
 frontier, that our enemies the English are disem- 
 barking in Quilmes, where many persons of the 
 neighborhood, full of valor and patriotism, have 
 gathered manifesting a desire to conquer and destroy 
 them, and to the end that all others, without dis- 
 tinction of persons, may unite with them as soon as 
 possible, with as many horses and arms as they may 
 have or the officers be able to collect, and march to 
 the bridge of Galvez, where there is another body of 
 troops; and for all this I authorize Lieutenant of 
 Blandengues D. Jos6 Ruiz, of the Lancers, to proceed 
 instantly, sending men as well as horses, in order that 
 the arms of the King may triumph, and the faithful 
 inhabitants of this country may have the glory of 
 having conquered the enemy of their sacred religion, 
 of their property and families, as this superior govern- 
 ment hopes, placing its confidence in the God of 
 armies and in the love of these vassals for the wel- 
 fare of the sovereign." 
 
 There were in the city no disciplined troops, and 
 no competent leaders to command. In the com- 
 panies that were formed to ward off the impending 
 invasion, the officers were as ignorant as the rank 
 and file. On the 27th of June the British troops, 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 271 
 
 numbering fifteen hundred and sixty men, entered 
 Buenos Aires. The population of the city at this 
 time was about 45.000, and the more spirited of 
 the inhabitants felt deeply the humiliation of 
 their subjugation, particularly when they saw 
 how small was the body of the conquerors who 
 took possession of the streets and squares, and 
 proceeded to make their power effective in the 
 government.^ 
 
 Having taken possession of the city, and raised 
 the British flag, with much firing of cannon both 
 by the fleet and the artillery on shore, Beresford 
 ordered the public treasure to be put into his 
 hands. Under the circumstances compliance with 
 this demand was inevitable. The money was sur- 
 rendered and transferred to London. A large 
 amount of merchandise also fell into the hands 
 of the British. It consisted principally of cin- 
 chona and quicksilver, and was estimated to be 
 worth between one million and two million 
 
 » In his Autobiography Belgrano makes the following state-' 
 ment respecting the taking of the city by the British : 
 
 "Confieso que me indign6,.y que nunca sentf m^s haber 
 ignorado, como ya dije anteriormente, hasta los rudimentos 
 de la milicia; todavia fu6 mayor mi incomodidad cuando vi 
 entrar las tropas enemigas, y su despreciable niimero para una 
 poblaci6n como la de Buenos Aires : esta idea no se apart6 
 de mi imaginaci6n, y poco falt6 para que me hubiese hecho 
 perder la cabeza: — me era muy doloroso ver &. mi patria bajo 
 otra dominaci6n, y sobre todo en tal estado de degradaci6n 
 que hubiese sido subyugada por una empresa aventurera, 
 cual era la del bravo y honrado Beresford, cuyo valor 
 admiro y admirar6 siempre en esta peligrosa empresa." 
 
272 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 dollars, namely, $1,438,514. The arrival of the 
 spoils in London aroused general joy, and filled 
 the British nation with extravagant expectations 
 of commercial gains. The government of Eng- 
 land had not authorized this conquest, but now it 
 approved and confirmed it. 
 
 The effect of the fall of Buenos Aires and of 
 the plan of the English to invade Chile was to 
 stimulate the government in Peru to tindertake 
 preparations for the defence of the western coast 
 of South America. The viceroy Abascal sent 
 forces and supplies to Chilo6, aroused the Peru- 
 vians to enlist in the militia, and proposed to 
 lead a body of troops to Chile, and, if necessary, 
 to Buenos Aires. The struggle of the inhabitants 
 of Buenos Aires to drive out the English and regain 
 the city moved the Peruvians under the leader- 
 ship of Abascal to lend assistance. They sent 
 100,000 pesos by way of Cuzco and 200,000 from 
 the treasuries of Arequipa and Puno. From 
 Chile were sent 1800 quintals of powder, 200,000 
 cartridges and 200 quintals of balls, and other 
 munitions and supplies. 
 
 After the surrender of the funds, the intentions 
 of the British government were made known 
 to the inhabitants through proclamations, dated 
 June 28th, and June 30th, and issued by the com- 
 manding officers. These proclamations affirmed, 
 among other things, that a free trade should be 
 opened and permitted to South America, similar 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 273 
 
 to that enjoyed by all others of his Majesty's 
 colonies, particularly the island of Trinidad, the 
 inhabitants of which had felt peculiar benefits 
 from being under the government of a sovereign 
 powerful enough to protect them from any insult, 
 and generous enough to give them such commer- 
 cial advantages as they could not enjoy under the 
 administration of any other coimtry. 
 
 The terms granted to the inhabitants of Buenos 
 Aires by Popham and Beresford were published 
 on the second of July . They provided that the 
 troops belonging to the king of Spain, who were 
 in the town at the time of the entry of the Brit- 
 ish troops, should be allowed to meet in the for- 
 tress of Buenos Aires, to march out of the fort 
 with aU the honors of war, and should then lay 
 down their arms and become prisoners of war; 
 but such officers as were natives of the country, 
 or legally domiciled, should be at liberty to con- 
 tinue in the province as long as they behaved 
 themselves properly, taking the oath of allegiance 
 to his Britannic Majesty; or they might proceed 
 to Great Britain with regular passports, having 
 previously passed their parole of honor not to 
 serve until they should be regularly exchanged. 
 Moreover, aU bona fide private property, whether 
 belonging to individual persons, the churches, 
 or public institutions, should be unmolested; 
 all the inhabitants should receive protection; 
 the different taxes should be collected by the 
 
2 74 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 magistrates, as usual, until his Majesty's pleasure 
 should be known; every protection should be 
 afforded to the exercise of the Roman Catholic 
 religion; the coasting vessels in the river should 
 be delivered to their owners; and all public 
 property should be surrendered to the captors. ^ 
 
 ' The document setting forth these tenns, dated July 
 2, 1806, is printed in Wilcocke, History of Buenos Aires, 
 352; see Annual Register, 1806, 599; the original, printed in 
 Spanish and English, is found in Colec. Carranza: Invasiones 
 Inglesas, 1806-1807, i., Biblioteca Nacional, Buenos Aires; 
 the English version being in the following form: 
 
 "Terms granted to the Inhabitants of Buenos Ayres and 
 its dependencies by the Commanders in Chief of His Britan- 
 nick Majesty's Forces by Land and Sea. 
 
 "The troops belonging to his Catholic Majesty, who were in 
 the town at the time of the entry of the British troops, shall 
 be allowed to meet in the Fortress of Buenos Aires, march 
 out of the fort with all the honors of war, and shall then 
 lay down their arms, and become prisoners of war; but such 
 officers as are natives of the country, or regularly domiciliated, 
 shall be at liberty to continue here so long as they behave 
 themselves as becometh good subjects and citizens, taking 
 the oath of allegiance to his Britannick Majesty, or proceed 
 to Great Britain with regular passports, having previously 
 passed their parole of honor, not to serve until they are 
 regularly exchanged. 
 
 "All bona fide private property, either belonging to the 
 civil or military servants of the late government, to the 
 magistrates, burghers, and inhabitants of the town of Buenos 
 Aires, and its dependencies, to the illustrious the bishop, the 
 clergy; to the churches, monasteries, colleges, foundations, 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 275 
 
 By proclamation, dated August 4, 1806, Major- 
 General Beresford made known the conditions 
 
 and other public institutions of that kind, shall remain free 
 and unmolested. 
 
 "All persons of every description belonging to this city 
 and its dependencies shall receive every protection from the 
 British government, and they shall not be obliged to bear 
 arms against his most Catholic Majesty, nor shall any person 
 whatever in the city, or its dependencies, take up arms, or 
 otherwise act inimicably against his Majesty's troops or 
 government. 
 
 "The cabildo, magistrates, burghers, and inhabitants 
 shall preserve all their rights and privileges which they 
 have enjoyed hitherto, and shall continue in full and free ex- 
 ercise of their legal functions, both civil and criminal, under 
 all the respect and protection that can be afforded them 
 by his Majesty's government until his Majesty's pleasure 
 is known. 
 
 "The publick archives of the town shaU receive every pro- 
 tection from his Britannick Majesty's government. 
 
 "The different taxes and duties levied by the magistrates 
 to remain for the present, and to be collected by them in 
 the same manner and applied to the same purpose as hereto- 
 fore for the general good of the city, until his Majesty's 
 pleasure is known. 
 
 7- 
 
 "Every protection shall be given to the full and free 
 
276 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 under which trade with Buenos Aires and its 
 dependencies might be carried on. He informed 
 the people 
 
 "that the system of monopoly, restriction, and op- 
 pression has already come to an end; that the people 
 will be able to enjoy the products of other countries 
 at a moderate price; that the manufactures and 
 productions of their country are free from the hin- 
 drance and oppression that has burdened them, and 
 prevented the country from becoming what it is 
 
 exercise of the Holy Catholic religion, and all respect shown 
 to the most illustrious bishop and all the holy clergy. 
 
 8. 
 
 "The ecclesiastical court shall continue in the full and 
 free exercise of all its functions and be precisely on the same 
 footing as it was heretofore. 
 
 "The coasting vessels in the river will be given up to their 
 owners according to the proclamation issued the 30 ultimo. 
 
 "All publick property of every description belonging to 
 the enemies of his Britannick Majesty shall be faithfully 
 delivered up to the captors; and as the commanders in chief 
 bind themselves to see the fulfilment of all the preceding 
 articles for the benefit of South America, so do the cabildo 
 and magistrates bind themselves to see that this last article 
 is faithfully and honorably complied with. 
 
 "Given under our hands and seals in the Fortress of 
 Buenos Aires this second day of July 1806 — W. C. Beres- 
 FORD. Major General — [seal] Home Popham, Commodore 
 Commanding in Chief, [seal]." 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 277 
 
 capable of being, the most flourishing in the world; 
 and that the object of Great Britain is the happiness 
 and prosperity of these countries." 
 
 The regulations announced by this proclamation* 
 provided that a lawful trade in all merchandise, 
 fruits, manufactured articles, and products from 
 
 ' The original proclamation is found in Colec. Carranza; 
 Invasionas Inglesas, i8o6-l8oy. The order of the king in 
 council affirtaing possession of the conquered city and terri- 
 tory and confirming the terms of Beresford's proclamation 
 luade it clear that the British government had adopted 
 the results of the conquest, and held the city and the ter- 
 ritory as a part of the dominions of the British sovereign. 
 The order of the king in council was issued September 17, 
 1806, and was as follows: 
 
 "Whereas the Capital city, town, and fortress, of Buenos 
 Aires, and its dependencies, have been conquered by his 
 Majesty's forces, and the territory and forts of the same 
 are delivered up to his Majesty; and the same are now in his 
 Majesty's possession ; his Majesty is thereupon pleased to order 
 and declare and it is hereby ordered and declared, that all his 
 loving subjects may lawfully trade to and from the said 
 capital city, town, and fortress, of Buenos Aires, and its de- 
 pendencies, including therein all and every the territories 
 belonging to or forming a part of the government of the same, 
 in British ships, owned by his Majesty's subjects, and navi- 
 gated according to law, or in ships bona fide belonging to any 
 of the subjects, or native inhabitants, of the said city, town, 
 or territories, such native inhabitants being peaceably resident 
 within the same, and under the obedience of his Majesty's 
 government there; and that such trade shall be subject to 
 the same duties, rules, regulations, conditions, restrictions, 
 penalties, and forfeitures, to which the trade to and from 
 his Majesty's Colonies, plantations, and islands, in the West 
 Indies and South America, is or shall be subject by law 
 except as hereinafter specified. 
 
278 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Great Britain, Ireland, and her colonies might be 
 carried on with Buenos Aires and its dependen- 
 cies, in British ships owned by his Majesty's 
 subjects, or by inhabitants of that country, 
 upon paying, in general, a duty of twelve and 
 
 "And his Majesty is further pleased to order and declare, 
 and it is hereby ordered and declared, that all commodities 
 being the growth, produce, or manufacture of the said city, 
 town, and fortress, of Buenos Aires, and its dependencies, 
 including therein all and every the territories belonging to or 
 forming a part of the government of the same, or which have 
 been usually exported therefrom, shall be permitted to be 
 imported into any of the ports of the United Kingdom, in 
 British ships, owned by his Majesty's subjects, and navigated 
 according to law, or in ships bona fide belonging to any of the 
 inhabitants of the said city, town, or territories, such native 
 inhabitants being peaceably resident within the same, and 
 under the obedience of his Majesty's government there; and 
 that such commodities shall be subject to the same duties, 
 orders, regulations, restrictions, conditions, penalties, and 
 forfeitures, as articles of the like sort are subject to, coming 
 from his Majesty's colonies, plantations, or islands, in the 
 West Indies or South America. 
 
 "And whereas information has been received that the com- 
 mander of his Majesty's forces, to whom the said city, town, 
 and fortress, have surrendered, has reduced the duties on im- 
 portation into the same from about thirty four and a half 
 per cent., ad valorem, to ten per cent, ad valorem, and two 
 and a half per cent, for the consulate or municipal duties, 
 making in the whole twelve and one-half per cent., on all 
 articles imported into the said place and its dependencies, in 
 British ships, owned by his Majesty's subjects, and navigated 
 according to law, or in ships bona fide belonging to any of the 
 subjects or native inhabitants of the said city, town, or ter- 
 ritories, such native inhabitants being peaceably resident 
 within the same, and under the obedience of his Majesty's 
 government there : — 
 
English Take Buenos Aires 279 
 
 one half per cent, ad valorem, on entering any 
 port of Rio de la Plata; and that all commodi- 
 ties produced in that country should be per- 
 mitted to be imported into the United Kingdom, 
 in the ships already mentioned, under the same 
 terms as from the West India Islands. 
 
 "His Majesty is thereupon pleased to order and declare, 
 that the said reduced duties shall be continued to be levied, 
 and no other, on all articles so imported with the exception of 
 German linens, which are to continue to be subject to the same 
 duties as were paid thereon before the conquest of the said 
 place by his Majesty's arms, until his Majesty's pleasure shall 
 be further signified. And it is hereby further ordered that it 
 shall not be lawful for any slave or slaves to be landed, im- 
 ported, or brought into the said city, town, and fortress, of 
 Buenos Aires, and its dependencies, including therein all and 
 every the territories belonging to or forming a part of the 
 government of the same, as aforesaid; upon pain that all 
 slaves so landed, imported, or brought, together with the 
 vessels bringing the same, or from which the same shall be 
 landed, and their cargoes shall become forfeited to his Maj- 
 esty, his heirs and successors. Provided always that this 
 prohibition shall not extend to the several cases of slaves 
 bona fide employed in navigating any ship trading to or from 
 the said place; or of slaves bona fide employed as domestic 
 slaves, and coming into the said place with their masters; or 
 of slaves in any manner employed in his Majesty's naval or 
 military service. And the Right Honorable the Lords Com- 
 missioners of the Admiralty are to give the necessary direc- 
 tions herein, as to them may respectively appertain." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE RECONQUEST 
 
 BERESFORD was not ignorant of the pre- 
 parations a part of the inhabitants were mak- 
 ing to resist the invaders and to drive them out of 
 the city. Through his spies he was kept informed 
 of the steps taken to organize a patriotic force 
 at Perdriel, a place about fifteen miles from the 
 city. Against these patriots, who had raised 
 their standard of blue and red, Beresford led a 
 body of five hundred men, with six pieces of 
 artillery. In spite of the brave resistance of 
 Pueyrredon and his followers Beresford was 
 victorious. The killed and wounded on both 
 sides, however, did not amount to more than a 
 dozen persons. Although those who had deter- 
 mined on the reconquest of the city were tempora- 
 rily scattered, they were not discouraged nor were 
 their plans changed. They were almost imme- 
 diately united with certain forces under Liniers, 
 that had been collected at Colonia, and had left 
 that town for the southern shore on the third of 
 August. 
 
 On the eve of his departure from Colonia, 
 280 
 
The Reconquest 281 
 
 Liniers issued a proclamation to his troops, in 
 which he expressed his confidence in their zeal 
 and patriotism, but affirmed "that if, contrary 
 to his expectations, some forgetting their princi- 
 ples should turn their face from the enemy, 
 they should know that there will be a cannon in 
 the rear charged with grape-shot, with orders to 
 fire on fugitive cowards." 
 
 "Valor without discipline," this proclamation 
 continues, "only leads to immediate ruin; forces 
 united and subordinated to the voice of those 
 who direct them furnish the most secure means 
 of attaining victory; therefore I order and com- 
 mand that the most scrupulous obedience be 
 observed, under the most severe penalties of the 
 ordinances for such cases." ^ 
 
 In crossing from Colonia the Spanish forces 
 took advantage of a gale that swelled the waters 
 on the bank of Palmas permitting their ships 
 to pass over in safety. They were favored, 
 moreover, by the violent rains that set in, making 
 the roads practically impassable by any force 
 but cavalry; and they were abundantly supplied 
 with horses, while the English had only a few 
 they were able to obtain in the city. Recognizing 
 his disadvantageous position, Beresford deemed 
 
 • This proclamation was dated August ist, and the forces 
 left Colonia on the 3d. (Liniers to the Prince of Peace, 
 August 16, 1 806) ; for this and other documents relating to the 
 English invasion, see Calvo, Tratados de la America Latino, 
 v., 1-118. 
 
282 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 it advisable to withdraw from the centre of the 
 town to the right bank of the Riachuelo. He 
 sent over the wounded and the treasure, but 
 here the Spaniards intervened and prevented his 
 retreat. 
 
 General Beresford had expected to be able 
 to keep Liniers's forces at a distance from the 
 town, but his inadequate means of communica- 
 tion and the condition of the roads prevented the 
 execution of his plan. On the loth of August 
 the Spaniards had closed in upon the town, and 
 occupied the principal avenues, while the in- 
 habitants had armed themselves and taken 
 possession of the housetops and the churches, 
 prepared to carry on guerilla warfare from their 
 posts of advantage. Only a part of the force 
 that had been collected under Liniers was armed ; 
 and as it entered the city it continued to be 
 attended by a large number of persons who had 
 neither the arms nor the discipline of soldiers. 
 The people were aroused to do what they might, 
 either with or without arms, to further the cause 
 of their emancipation; and the unarmed were 
 especially helpful in assisting to bring up the 
 artillery. 
 
 Liniers's success in life had hitherto been limited 
 by his personal character. He was a man, accord- 
 ing to General Mitre's description, of 
 
 "high spirit, sensitive imagination, reckless tempera- 
 ment, with more good-nature than energy, and with 
 
The Reconquest 283 
 
 more zeal in taking up projects than perseverance in 
 canying them out; he was intelligent, active, and 
 brave, uniting to an heroic yet vacillating ambition 
 the frivolous passions of a superficial man; although 
 he was not wanting in moral elevation and had the 
 characteristics of a gentleman, he was guided rather 
 by his emotions than his judgment."* 
 
 On the loth of August Liniers demanded from 
 Beresford the surrender of the city. To his re- 
 quest the British General replied that he would 
 defend it as long as it might be done without over- 
 whelming the inhabitants in calamity. Liniers 
 received this answer at eleven o'clock at night, and 
 three hours later his forces began the march; 
 at five o'clock in the morning they occupied 
 the square, Retiro, and here the contest for the 
 possession of the city began. The result of the 
 fighting which followed in the streets and from 
 the housetops was the unconditional surrender 
 of Beresford and his troops, on the 12th of August. 
 The lost in killed and wounded was three hundred ; 
 twelve hundred laid down their arms and became 
 prisoners of war. The victors lost two hundred in 
 killed and wounded.^ 
 
 After the overthrow of the English the fate 
 of Buenos Aires was in the hands of the popular 
 army. The viceroy, the representative of the 
 
 •- Mitre, Historia de Belgrano, i., 128. 
 
 2 Liniers to the Prince of Peace, August 16, 1806; Sir 
 Home Popham to W. Marsden, August 25, 1806. 
 
284 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 sovereign, had fled before the invaders, and was 
 hopelessly discredited. Under the circumstances 
 it devolved upon the municipality to initiate 
 a movement to effect an organization. This was 
 done by calling a congress of one hundred persons 
 known as notables. This congress was opened, 
 according to Mitre, "in the presence of more 
 than four thousand spectators resolved to inter- 
 vene in the discussion if it was necessary."' 
 Under the strong pressure of a clamorous public, 
 the chief military command was formally con- 
 ferred upon Liniers, and a committee carrying a 
 notification of this appointment was sent to 
 Sobremonte. The viceroy was found about forty 
 leagues from Buenos Aires at the head of a force 
 of three thousand men, and he professed to be 
 advancing to reconquer the city which had 
 already been reconquered by the citizens them- 
 selves. At first he refused to assent to the appoint- 
 ment of Liniers, but was soon convinced by the 
 attitude of the municipality that opposition was 
 useless. He was also convinced that the period 
 of his service as viceroy was ended. 
 
 This change left the civil and military power 
 distributed among the audiencia, the cabildo, 
 or municipal corporation, and Liniers, as the 
 military chief. Under this new order, two of the 
 authorities, the cabildo and the military chief, 
 had a popular basis for their power. It was the 
 
 • Historia de Belgrano, i., 141. 
 
The Reconquest 285 
 
 voice of the populace which had insisted that 
 Liniers should be formally recognized as the 
 leader of the armed forces; and the cabildo was 
 the representative body of the municipal repubUc. 
 In the process of colonial emancipation the 
 audiencia, whose members were appointed by the 
 king, and represented absolute power, appeared 
 destined to diminish relatively in influence as the 
 people grew in power. 
 
 After the surrender of the troops in the city 
 tinder Beresford, the fleet remained in the river 
 blockading the ports of both shores. The first 
 reinforcements to arrive were 1400 men from 
 Cape Colony; the next were 4300 men sent from 
 England under the command of General Samuel 
 Auchmuty. Admiral Stirling, who was in com- 
 mand of the convoying fleet from England, was 
 ■ ordered to relieve Sir Home Popham. Both 
 of these expeditions were dispatched before it was 
 known in London that Beresford had been de- 
 feated ; and they were originally designed to assist 
 him in holding the position he had won. An- 
 other expedition of 4400 men had been prepared 
 to invade Chile, but was ordered to the Rio de la 
 Plata when the result of the popular uprising in 
 Buenos Aires had become known to the English 
 government. A little later stiU another body of 
 1630 men was sent, under the immediate command 
 of Major-General Lewison Gower. In the begin- 
 ning of the year 1807, the English had assembled 
 
286 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 near Buenos Aires an army of about 12,000 men, 
 a fleet of eighteen war vessels, and more than 
 eighty transports. The chief command over all 
 the land forces serving in this region was conferred 
 upon Lieutenant-General Whitelbcke. ' General 
 Whitelocke was commanded, in case the English 
 succeeded in establishing their authority in the 
 southern provinces of South America, to assume 
 and exercise the civil government of the con- 
 quered territory, and to pay himself a salary of 
 four thousand pounds sterling per annum out of 
 any revenues that might be collected in these 
 provinces. 2 
 
 Before the news of the disaster reached London 
 an order was issued for the recall of Sir Home 
 Popham. The Lords Commissioners of the Ad- 
 miralty had before them Popham' s letter of July 
 6th, containing information that the city of Buenos 
 Aires and its dependencies had surrendered to 
 his Majesty's arms: and they found it advisable 
 to take note of the irregularity of the conquest. 
 On September 2Sth, their secretary, William 
 Marsden, wrote to Popham: 
 
 "I have received their Lordships' commands to 
 acquaint you, that although they have judged it 
 necessary to mark their disapproval of a measure 
 of such importance being undertaken without the 
 
 ' Whitelock's military commission was dated February 24, 
 1807; see Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix i., p. v. 
 2 Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix i., p. v. 
 
The Reconquest 287 
 
 sanction of his Majesty's government, and of your 
 having left the station which it was your duty to 
 guard without any naval defence, they are neverthe- 
 less pleased to express their entire approbation of the 
 judicious, able, and spirited conduct manifested by 
 yourself, the officers, seamen, and mariners employed 
 under your orders on the above occasion." 
 
 Rear-Admiral Stirling, appointed to succeed 
 Popham, was authorized to determine in which 
 ship Popham should return to England and, in 
 performing this duty, he indicated the Sampson 
 which had a convoy in charge for the Cape of 
 Good Hope; and was then to proceed to Saint 
 Helena on the way to Europe. In protesting 
 against this order Sir Home Popham wrote: 
 
 "It is natural. Sir, for me to feel mortified at the 
 idea of having, by any act of mine, given their Lord- 
 ships cause to supersede me in this country ; but when, 
 in addition to this, I learn that it is proposed that I 
 should be subject to all the aggravation of a voyage 
 lengthened by proceeding from South America to 
 South Africa, thence to Saint Helena for convoy, on 
 my way to England, I cannot but say it is the severest 
 punishment that could be inflicted on me. To a 
 mind sensible, as I trust mine is, to every reproach — 
 to any man of proper feeUng — ^it is that sort of punish- 
 ment which I consider secondary to scarcely any 
 but death: it is carrying me in a situation humbled 
 in the extreme to the place which, in conjunction 
 with Sir David Baird, I had the honor to capture. 
 
2 88 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 There are also reasons, too evident to need any 
 explanation, which would make a visit to Saint 
 Helena, situated as I am, equally galling to my 
 feelings." ^ 
 
 The subsequent correspondence on this subject 
 showed Stirling's meanness of spirit under cir- 
 cumstances where he could have aflEorded to be 
 generous. 
 
 After his arrival in England Sir Home Popham 
 was tried by a court-martial, held on the Gladiator; 
 and at the conclusion of the trial the following 
 verdict was rendered : 
 
 "The Court is of opinion, that the charges have 
 been proved against the said Captain Sir Home 
 Popham. That the withdrawing, without orders 
 so to do, the whole of any naval force from the place 
 where it is directed to be employed, and the employing 
 it in distant operations against the enemy; more 
 especially if the success of such operations should be 
 likely to prevent its speedy return, may be attended 
 with the most serious inconvenience to the public 
 service, as the success of any plan formed by his 
 Majesty's Ministers for operations against the enemy, 
 in which such naval force might be included, may 
 by such removal be entirely prevented. And the 
 Court is further of opinion, that the conduct of the 
 said Captain Sir Home Popham, in the withdrawing 
 the whole of the naval force under his command 
 
 » Sir Home Popham to Rear-Admiral Stirling, December 
 7, 1806. 
 
The Reconquest 289 
 
 from the Cape of Good Hope, and the proceeding 
 with it to the Rio de la Plata, was highly censurable ; 
 but in consideration of circumstances doth adjudge 
 him to be only severely reprimanded; and the said 
 Captain Sir Home Popham is hereby severely repri- 
 manded accordingly." 1 
 
 The English forces took possession of Monte- 
 video, Maldonado, and Colonia, and appeared to 
 have estabhshed their authority firmly on the left 
 bank of the river. 
 
 "Merchant vessels had followed in the wake of 
 the ships of war, and the river, lately so deserted, 
 was encumbered with vessels having on board 
 more merchandise than the country would be 
 able to consume in five years. Montevideo had all 
 the appearance of an English city; English placards 
 covered the walls; in all the streets English shops 
 were opened, where English cloth was sold at half 
 the price which had hitherto been paid for it, on 
 account of the thousand hindrances of the Spanish 
 customs, and the unreasonable demands of the 
 smugglers. Finally a Spanish-English journal. The 
 Star of the South, was established under the patronage 
 and with the assistance of the English administration, 
 with the purpose of undermining the authority of 
 Spain, whose decadence and weakness it was pleased 
 to expose." 2 
 
 About three months after the taking of Monte- 
 
 « Trial of Sir Home Popham, 179, 180. 
 2 Arcos, La Plata, 2 14. 
 
 i9 
 
290 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 video, Whitelocke and Crawford arrived. In 
 view of the firm footing that had been gained on 
 the left bank of the river, and the fact that 
 1600 men had previously taken the city, the 
 task of the commander-in-chief, at the head of 
 an army of twelve thousand men, did not appear 
 difficult. On the 28th of June, 1807, the Enghsh 
 forces landed at Ensenada, a little port about six- 
 teen leagues southeast of Buenos Aires. Since 
 Beresford's easy victory the spirit of the inhabi- 
 tants of Buenos Aires had undergone a great 
 change, which was in a measure manifest in their 
 expulsion of the invaders, and they now fotmd 
 themselves directed by leaders of energy and 
 foresight. Alzaga stood at the head of the 
 municipality, and the national battalions were 
 commanded by Saavedra, Belgrano, Esteban 
 Romero, Balcarce, Viamont, and Martin Rodri- 
 guez. The bulk of the inhabitants, in view of 
 the force and skill that were brought against them, 
 appreciated the difficulties of the situation ; but at 
 the same time they felt confident of success. 
 
 The English, advancing towards the city, 
 crossed the Riachuelo, and inflicted upon the 
 Spaniards a partial defeat. This defeat destroyed 
 the hopeful expectations of the people and spread 
 a pall of evil foreboding over the city. In the 
 night which followed, Alzaga caused the city to 
 be placed in a condition of defence. The streets 
 around the plaza were cut by deep trenches; 
 
The Reconquest 291 
 
 the troops were distributed on the roofs of the 
 churches and other buildings; and the artillery- 
 was placed behind street barricades, and where it 
 might command the trenches. Confidence re- 
 turned to the defenders of the city. The leader 
 of the attacking party appeared also to be confi- 
 dent of victory, for in summoning the city to 
 surrender he offered the following conditions : 
 
 "i. All British subjects detained in South America 
 must be delivered up, and sufficient hostages placed 
 in the power of the British commander till their 
 arrival at Buenos Aires. 
 
 "2. That all persons holding civil offices dependent 
 on the government of Buenos Aires, and all military 
 officers and soldiers become prisoners of war. 
 
 " 3. That all cannon, stores, arms, and ammunition 
 be delivered up uninjured. 
 
 " 4. That all public property of every description 
 be delivered up to the British commanders. 
 
 "5. That free and unrestrained exercise of the 
 Roman Catholic religion be granted to the inhabitants 
 of Buenos Aires. 
 
 "6. That all private property on shore shall be 
 respected and secured to its owners." 
 
 In replying to this proposition, the Spaniards 
 refused to consider any terms which involved 
 the laying down of their arms. The day following 
 the date of this reply, namely, the fourth of July, 
 General Whitelocke wrote to Liniers, stating 
 that he had another column of troops awaiting 
 
292 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 his orders within little more than a league of the 
 capital; that he had considerable reinforcements 
 on board ship; and that the navy was ready to 
 support such military operations as might be 
 adopted. But Liniers appears not to have 
 been profoundly impressed by the assurance of the 
 invader, and replied, on the same day, that whilst 
 he had ammunition and whilst the spirit which 
 animated the garrison and the people continued 
 to exist, he would not think of delivering up the 
 post which had been confided to him, convinced 
 that he had more than sufficient means to resist 
 all the forces that were ready to be brought 
 against him. Active hostilities began in the city 
 on the fifth of July; and as the result of this day 
 for the English there were 1130 killed and 
 wounded, including 70 officers, and 120 officers 
 and 1500 private soldiers made prisoners. It 
 was now the Spaniard's turn to assume a tone of 
 confidence. At five o'clock on the evening of the 
 conflict, Liniers wrote the following letter to 
 General Whitelocke : 
 
 " The same sentiments of humanity which induced 
 your Excellency to propose to me to capitulate, lead 
 me, now that I am fully acquainted with your force, 
 that I have taken 80 officers and upwards of 1000 
 men, and killed more than double that number, 
 without your having reached the centre of my posi- 
 tion; the same sentiments I say, lead me in order to 
 avoid a greater effusion of blood, and to give your 
 
The Reconquest 293 
 
 Excellency a fresh proof of Spanish generosity, to 
 offer to your Excellency, that if you choose to re- 
 embark with the remainder of your army, to evacu- 
 ate Montevideo, and the whole of the River Plate, 
 leaving me hostages for the execution of the treaty, I 
 will not only return all the prisoners which I have 
 now made, but also all those which were taken from 
 General Beresf ord : at the same time I think it neces- 
 sary to state, that if your Excellency does not admit 
 this offer, I cannot answer for the safety of the pris- 
 oners, as my troops are so infinitely exasperated 
 against them, and the more so, as three of my Aids-de- 
 Camp have been wounded bearing flags of truce ; and 
 for this reason I send your Excellency this letter by an 
 English Officer, and shall wait your answer one hour. " ^ 
 
 Whitelocke's reply was dated July 6th, and in it he 
 affirmed that the idea of surrendering the advan- 
 tage which the army had gained was quite in- 
 admissible; but the tone of this communication 
 did not suggest a boasting spirit on the part of 
 the writer, and in the treaty which was signed 
 on the following day, he acceded to virtually all of 
 the demands made by Liniers. What the condi- 
 tions of the final agreement were, can hardly be 
 more succinctly stated than in the language of 
 the treaty itself: 
 
 "I. There shall be from this time a cessation of 
 hostilities on both sides of the River Plata. 
 
 « Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix, vol. i., p. 
 
2 94 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 "II. The troops of his Britannic Majesty shall 
 retain for the period of two months the fortress and 
 place of Montevideo, and as a neutral country there 
 shall be considered a line drawn from San Carlos on the 
 west to Pando on the east, and there shall not be on 
 any part of that line hostilities committed on any 
 side, the neutrality being understood only that the 
 individuals of both nations may live freely under 
 their respective laws, the Spanish subjects being 
 judged by theirs, as the English by those of their 
 nation. 
 
 " III. There shall be on both sides a mutual resti- 
 tution of prisoners, including not only those which have 
 been taken since the arrival of the troops under 
 Lieutenant-General Whitelocke, but also all those his 
 Britannic Majesty's subjects captured in South 
 America since the commencement of the war. 
 
 "IV. That for the promptest dispatch of the 
 vessels and troops of his Britannic Majesty, there 
 shall be no impediment thrown in the way of the 
 supplies of provisions which may be requested for 
 Montevideo. 
 
 "V. A period of ten days from this time is given 
 for the reembarkation of his Britannic Majesty's 
 troops to pass to the north side of the River La Plata, 
 with the arms which may actually be in their power, 
 stores, equipage, at the most convenient points 
 which may be selected, and during this time pro- 
 visions may be sold to them. 
 
 "VI. That at the time of the delivery of the 
 place and fortress of Montevideo, which shall take 
 place at the end of the two months fixed in the second 
 article, the delivery will be made in the terms it was 
 
The Reconquest 295 
 
 found, and with the artillery it had when it was 
 taken. 
 
 "VII. Three officers of rank shall be delivered 
 for and until the fulfilment of the above articles 
 by both parties, being well understood that his 
 Britannic Majesty's officers who have been on their 
 parole cannot serve against South America until 
 their arrival in Europe." ^ 
 
 This treaty was signed, by Lieutenant-General 
 Whitelocke and Rear-Admiral George Murray, 
 on the part of the English, and by Santiago Liniers, 
 Cesar Balbiani, and Bernardo Velasco for Spain. 
 The English were required to evacuate Buenos 
 Aires within forty-eight hours, and Montevideo 
 within two months, and they complied strictly 
 with these requirements. At the expiration of 
 the term fixed, the posts which they had held on 
 the Plata were abandoned. 
 
 The complete victory won by the inhabitants of 
 Buenos Aires had come after brief periods during 
 the conflict when it was feared that all was lost; 
 and the announcement of peace, with these 
 extraordinary and unexpected conditions, was 
 received with many signs of public joy. The 
 patriots owed their deliverance not merely to their 
 own bravery, but also, in large part, to the stupid- 
 ity of the English leader. Their loss during the 
 days of fighting was 302 killed and 514 wounded, 
 of whom 37 were officers. 
 
 1 Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix, vol. i., p. xxv. 
 
296 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Concerning the attitude of the Spanish towards 
 the English in Montevideo, an English resident 
 of that city made the following statement in a 
 volume published in 1808: 
 
 "The intercourse which subsisted between the 
 Spaniards and English in Montevideo, gave them an 
 idea of our character, conduct, and liberal intentions, 
 so different from what they had been taught to ex- 
 pect, that could they have followed their own wishes, 
 and what they knew to be their own interest, by far 
 the greater part of them would have rejoiced at our 
 continuance among them. They confessed that they 
 had never before seen such commerce, that they had 
 never enjoyed under their former government such 
 security and happiness, or known such strict im- 
 partiality in the administration of justice. 
 
 "It indeed seemed, without exaggeration, that 
 the inhabitants of Montevideo, on the news of our 
 repulse at Buenos Aires, felt even more severely 
 than ourselves, and lamented, instead of rejoicing, 
 at the successes of their countr5mien. As the period 
 of our departure approached, and when they found 
 by our preparations that the place was really to be 
 abandoned, which was a circumstance that they 
 for a long time thought incredible, a gloom seemed to 
 pervade every countenance. Not the most distant 
 appearance of exultation could anywhere be discov- 
 ered. They took leave of us with regret, and seemed 
 by the tears that were shed, to be parting from their 
 friends and relations, rather than from enemies." * 
 
 ' Notes on the Viceroyalty of La Plata in South America, 
 London, 1808, 104-106. 
 
The Reconquest 297 
 
 Whitelocke returned to England, and was 
 there tried by a court-martial on four distinct 
 charges. The essential points of these charges 
 were as f oUows : 
 
 1 . That Whitelocke had sent a message to the 
 Spanish commander, demanding, among other 
 things, "the surrender of all persons holding 
 civil offices in the government of Buenos Aires 
 as prisoners of war." 
 
 2. That during the march from Ensenada to 
 Buenos Aires he " did not make the military 
 arrangements best calculated to ensure the success 
 of his operations against the town," and ordered 
 the forces to enter the city with arms unloaded, 
 and on no account to fire, thus unnecessarily 
 exposing the troops to destruction, without the 
 possibility of making effectual opposition. 
 
 3. That he "did not make, although it was 
 in his power, any effectual attempt, by his own 
 personal exertion or otherwise, to co-operate 
 with or support the different divisions of the 
 army under his command, when engaged with the 
 enemy in the streets of Buenos Aires, on the 5th 
 of July." 
 
 4. That he, subsequently to the attack on the 
 town of Buenos Aires, and at a time when the 
 troops under his command were in possession of 
 posts on each flank of the town, and of the prin- 
 cipal arsenal, with a communication open to the 
 fleet, and having an effective force of about five 
 
298 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 thousand men, did enter into, and finally conclude 
 a treaty with the enemy, whereby he acknow- 
 ledged in the public dispatch of the loth July, 
 1807, that he resolved to forego the advantages 
 which the bravery of his troops had obtained, 
 and which advantages had cost him about two 
 thousand five hundred men in killed, wounded, 
 and prisoners, and by such treaty he unnecessarily 
 and shamefully surrendered all such advantages, 
 totally evacuated the town of Buenos Aires, and 
 consented to deliver, and did shamefully abandon 
 and deliver up to the enemy the strong fortress 
 of Montevideo, which had been committed to 
 his charge, and which, at the period of the treaty 
 and abandonment, was well and sufficiently 
 garrisoned and provided against attack, and 
 which was not, at such period, in a state of 
 blockade or siege. ^ 
 
 General Whitelocke was found guilty of these 
 charges, with the exception of that part of the 
 second charge which relates to the order prohibit- 
 ing firing on entering the city. He was in conse- 
 quence "cashiered and declared totally unfit and 
 unworthy to serve his Majesty in any military 
 capacity whatsoever." 
 
 The city of Buenos Aires, by its heroic achieve- 
 ments in expelling Beresford and resisting the 
 assault of Whitelocke, won marked distinction. 
 By the king it was ennobled and permitted to 
 
 ' Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke, Appendix, vol i., i-iv. 
 
The Reconquest 299 
 
 employ the title of Excellency; and all the other 
 cities of the viceroyalty sent deputations con- 
 gratulating it on its heroism.* 
 
 Although this episode cost Buenos Aires many 
 lives and not a little destruction of property, 
 by it the inhabitants acquired a valuable experi- 
 ence. It showed that the authority of Spain in 
 this part of America might be easily overthrown ; 
 at the same time it made manifest the fact that a 
 new society already stood prepared to assert itself. 
 By this struggle the inhabitants of these provinces 
 had moved forward to a new position. They had 
 been deserted by their official ruler, and, in the 
 presence of a powerful enemy, they had been 
 obliged to take up the reins of public power 
 which the cowardly viceroy had thrown down in 
 his flight. By their experience, gained in success- 
 fully defending themselves, they had been politi- 
 cally transformed. They had acquired the spirit 
 of an independent commonwealth. They had 
 the power to be free, and wanted only the 
 will to be free. The revolt against Spain was 
 therefore destined to come whenever the com- 
 munity should become conscious of its real posi- 
 tion. The events of the two years past had 
 tended to arouse their self-consciousness. The 
 English carried off the spoils of the colony, but 
 they contributed to the development of a nation. 
 
 ' See Trial of Lieut.-Gen. Whitelocke; also Watson, Spanish 
 and Portuguese South America, ii., chap, xviii., and 
 Appendix. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 COLONIAL INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE 
 
 THE afifirmation that the Spanish colonies in 
 America were governed under a protective and 
 restrictive policy is a commonplace of political 
 discussion. This affirmation is, however, little 
 more than a statement that the Spanish colonies 
 were governed in accordance with ideas which 
 were generally accepted at the time. The Spanish 
 system of colonial administration was not an 
 entirely isolated instance of commercial restriction. 
 England, in dealing with her foreign possessions, 
 reserved to herself monopolies, limited the indus- 
 trial and commercial freedom of her dependencies, 
 and aimed to have her will and not the normal 
 laws of social activity determine the economic 
 destiny of the colonists. She expected, by 
 monopolizing the raw material produced in her 
 colonies, to cheapen the cost of her manufactures, 
 to dominate the foreign markets, and thus to 
 establish her economic supremacy at the expense 
 of her dependencies. Like England, Spain aimed 
 to prevent the industrial independence of her 
 
 300 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 301 
 
 colonies. But she went a step farther than 
 England. England sought from her colonies the 
 greatest possible amount of raw material, the 
 products of agriculture. Spain's action even 
 tended to discourage rather than to promote 
 agriculture. Whatever extension was made in 
 the number of articles ctiltivated in the Spanish 
 colonies, or whatever improvement was effected 
 in the method of production was due to individual 
 initiative instead of governmental encouragement ; 
 and whatever laws were formed respecting this 
 subject contributed to restrict rather than to 
 advance production. 
 
 In 1 61 8, the viceroy, Don Francisco de Borja, 
 issued an order prohibiting the establishment of 
 sugar mills within six leagues of Lima. At the 
 same time he commanded the immediate closing 
 of those already established. 1 Down to 1792 the 
 introduction of material for the equipment of 
 such mills was prohibited, and prior to 1794 the 
 construction of sugar refineries in Peru was not 
 permitted. The cultivation of cane was further 
 discouraged by preventing the making of brandy 
 from cane in Peru. This order not proving 
 effective, a tax of twelve per cent, was imposed 
 upon this article, and later it was definitely 
 decreed that the Indians might not work in the 
 sugar mills, and they might not be employed 
 in cutting and carting the cane without express 
 
 I Mendiburu, ii., $8. 
 
302 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 governmental authorization.' "If in forming 
 this law the well-being of the Indian was had in 
 view, there is no doubt that the principal object 
 of it was to suppress the sugar mills of Peru." 2 
 The cultivation of the grape was also discour- 
 aged, and the kings of Spain and the viceroys gave 
 various reasons for their hostile attitude towards 
 this form of agriculture. Philip II. prohibited 
 the use of Indian labor in cultivating the vine 
 "on account of the great inconveniences which 
 have been encountered in employing Indians in 
 this work"; and the viceroy Don Francisco de 
 Toledo was instructed not to consent to the 
 establishment of vineyards for many reasons of 
 great importance, and principally in order not to 
 "diminish the trade and commerce with these 
 kingdoms." The viceroy Don Luis de Velasco 
 was also instructed not to grant licenses for 
 planting vineyards nor for restoring those that 
 had already been planted. The Peruvian wines, 
 moreover, might not be sold in the American 
 markets. The market of Guatemala was closed 
 to them in order to favor Spanish wines. But the 
 reason given for this action was that " being strong 
 and new, they would injure the Indians." * They 
 might not be introduced into Panama, and after 
 1620 they might not be exported from Peru to 
 
 1 Leyes de Indias, lib. 6, tit. 13, ley 11. 
 
 " Oliveira, La Politica Economica de la MetrdpoU, 34. 
 
 'Leyes de Indias, lib. 4, tit. 18, ley 18; Oliveira, 37 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 303 
 
 Mexico. 1 All these acts of prohibition had one 
 general purpose, namely, to prevent the pro- 
 duction and constunption of Peruvian wines, 
 and to leave the markets of America open to 
 Spanish wines. It was, however, seen in the 
 course of time that these restrictions were disad- 
 vantageous to Spain as well as to the colonies, and 
 they were relaxed; yet even while the laws 
 existed without modification they were not com- 
 pletely effective, they frequently were not obeyed. 
 But as long as they stood unrepealed the produc- 
 tion of wine was necessarily a precarious business, 
 for it could not with entire safety be presumed 
 that the policy of one viceroy to allow planters to 
 ignore the law would be followed by his successor. ^ 
 This was practically a general prohibition, 
 and later the action of the king left no doubt as 
 to his design. In the thirteenth article of his 
 instructions to the new viceroy, the previous 
 injunctions to the viceroys were repeated, that 
 the colonists should not manufacture cloth or 
 plant vines or olives. Yet, in spite of this pro- 
 hibition, the vineyards had greatly increased; 
 and, in the thirty-first article of the instructions, 
 the king recommended that in the future such 
 increase should be prevented, and that no per- 
 mission should be given to plant vines or 
 olives, or to renew the fields that had already 
 
 » Leyes de Indias, lib. 4, tit. 18, ley 15. 
 2 Oliveira, 41. 
 
304 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 been planted, without special application to the 
 king.* 
 
 This prohibitive action of the government, 
 provoked by the complaints of Spaniards in 
 Spain, ran directly counter to the purpose of the 
 Spaniards settled in America, whose attention, 
 in the beginning, was directed to the cultivation 
 of the various grains and other food products 
 with which they had become familiar in Spain. 
 The lack of frequent communication with any 
 civilized country made such cultivation necessary 
 to their existence; and already in 1501 "there 
 were cultivated on this continent wheat, rice, and 
 all the nutritious grains of Spain ; there had been 
 introduced the Spanish domestic fowls, sheep, 
 hogs, goats; the ox and the ass and the horse 
 aided man in the cultivation of the fields, where 
 before he had worked alone"; sugar cane flour- 
 ished, and among the other products which had 
 been introduced from Spain were the fruit of the 
 vine, the olive, silk, and linen.^ 
 
 Not less decisive was the governmental opposi- 
 tion to the cultivation and use of the coca plant. 
 This was the sacred tree of the Incas, and was 
 employed in their religious ceremonies. To it was 
 ascribed 
 
 "the magical virtue of placating the anger of the 
 tutelary gods. In order that the sacrifices offered 
 
 ' Quesada, Vineinato del Rio de la Plata, 139, 140. 
 - Benzoni, History of the New World, 91. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 305 
 
 to the Peruvian divinities might be agreeable to them, 
 it was necessary that the coca should be converted 
 into spirals of smoke before the altars ; and the priest 
 could not hear the voice of the gods in consulting the 
 oracles if he did not chew the sacred leaf. The Inca, 
 son of the Sun, Supreme King and Supreme Priest, 
 was the only one who might plant, on his estate, the 
 sacred tree. 
 
 "The Indians, preserving their tradition, made of 
 the coca, during the colonial period, the same use as 
 their ancestors; and on account of this the Spaniards 
 regarded it with disfavor. A law affirmed, that the 
 Indians used coca ' for their superstitions, ceremonies 
 of witchcraft, and other evil and depraved ends.' 
 And Toledo, himself, maintained that the coca 
 plantations ought to be extirpated, since this product, 
 by devilish practices, promoted the superstition of 
 the infidels. 
 
 "The legislation concerning coca was not merely 
 the child of religious fanaticism, but also of Christian 
 piety. The plant grew in unhealthy regions, and 
 experience had taught that the Indians who went 
 to the coca plantations, if they did not lose their 
 lives, came back to their homes with weakened 
 bodies. To seek to abolish the coca plantations 
 was, therefore, in a certain way, to spare the suffer- 
 ings of the oppressed race."^ 
 
 The public action at first taken with respect to 
 coca was thus taken under the influence of ideas 
 of reHgion and charity. By an ordinance issued 
 by viceroy Toledo under royal authority, it was 
 
 1 Oliveira, 42,43. 
 
3o6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 provided that no person might plant coca. As 
 penalty in case of violation of this ordinance, it 
 was ordered that the plants should be pulled up 
 and burned, a fine of two thousand dollars should 
 be paid, and the culprit should be banished for 
 four years. And it is noteworthy that while the 
 Indians were prevented from working on the coca 
 plantations, they were permitted to work under 
 the much more destructive conditions of the 
 mines. The reason of this discrimination is found 
 in the fact that the mines contributed one fifth 
 of their product to the king, while, in the view 
 of the authorities, "coca was the diabolical 
 instrument of superstition." * Working in the 
 mines might kill the body, but the use of coca 
 tended to demoralize the spirit. The absurdity 
 of this legislation appears to have been perceived 
 at last by the viceroy himself, for he subsequently 
 issued an ordinance permitting the establishment 
 of new coca plantations. ^ 
 
 If the government of the viceroys of Peru sought 
 to discourage the cultivation of wine and coca, it 
 was equally active in promoting the cultivation 
 of wheat. During the earlier decades of the 
 Spanish occupation the amount of wheat pro- 
 duced in Peru increased to such an extent as not 
 only to supply the domestic demand, but also to 
 provide a surplus which was exported to Guaya- 
 quil and Panama. But by the earthquake of 1687 
 
 ' Oliveira, 45. 2 Ibid., 46. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 307 
 
 an important change was effected in the coast 
 lands of Peru. Much of their productiveness was 
 destroyed, and the inhabitants became dependent 
 on Chile for their required supply of wheat. This 
 state of things continued until 1722, after which 
 wheat was again extensively produced in the val- 
 leys of Peru. With this revival of production 
 arose the policy of protecting the Peruvian 
 wheat market from the more abundant and 
 cheaper production of Chile. The first step 
 towards this end was to reduce the tax burden 
 on Peruvian farmers who raised wheat. Then 
 it was ordered that dealers should sell Chilean 
 and Peruvian wheat in equal quantities, and, 
 later, that Chilean wheat should be sold only 
 after the Peruvian wheat had been exhausted. 
 These measures, however, appear not to have 
 been entirely satisfactory, for it was found that 
 in 1 81 5 a tax of a dollar per "fanega" was im- 
 posed on wheat from Chile. Finally, under vice- 
 roy O'Higgins, action was taken that suggests 
 one phase of the culture system of Java. The 
 farmers of central and western Peru were required 
 to devote a part of their estate to wheat cultiva- 
 tion, the amount to be sown to vary with the size 
 of the estate.^ 
 
 Yet in spite of these protective measures, Peru 
 had not great expectations regarding her agri- 
 culture. A large part of her territory was com- 
 
 ' Oliveira, 47-49. 
 
3o8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 posed of mountains, and another large part was 
 made up of deserts. More might have been 
 done if systematic and persistent efforts had been 
 devoted to irrigation. But with - profitable mines 
 at hand and with an energetic part of the popu- 
 lation in eager search for others, it was not to be 
 expected that large sums would be invested in 
 carrying out elaborate plans for irrigation, when 
 the profits of such undertakings wotild be realized 
 only after some years. There was wanting both 
 an adequate local demand for the products and 
 also the requisite labor to stimulate and develop 
 agricultural production. The devastating scourge 
 of smallpox, the violent and unaccustomed 
 efforts of the Indians taken to work in the mines 
 under the oppressive 'system of the mita, and the 
 introduction and immoderate use of spirituous 
 liquors destroyed a large part of the original 
 inhabitants, and the immigration was not suffi- 
 cient to compensate for the loss. A savage people 
 unused to the regular tasks which civilized man 
 imposes upon himself appears to be unable to 
 maintain itself when subjected to the conditions 
 of civilized life. The mere fact, therefore, that 
 savages disappear when brought into contact 
 with civilized society does not necessarily involve 
 a condemnation of the superior race. Unneces- 
 sary hardships imposed upon the inferior may 
 hasten the inevitable declines. For imposing 
 such hardships a nation may be justly blamed. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 309 
 
 and on this point the verdict has been rendered 
 against the Spaniards. 
 
 Agricultural production was embarrassed not 
 only by lack of internal consumption but also by 
 the difficulties of transportation. Sugar shipped 
 from Havana to Spain brought the owner a clear 
 profit of fifty cents a quintal. The white sugar 
 of Martinique sold in France brought a profit of 
 sixty-two and a half cents a quintal. On account 
 of the larger freight charges, sugar from Peru 
 sold in Europe in competition with that from 
 Havana caused the owner a very considerable 
 loss. In the same way cotton from Peru could not 
 successfully compete in Holland with that from 
 other parts of the world. In view of these facts, 
 Peru had to rely on gold and silver as exports. 
 
 Other causes leading to the decline of agriculture 
 were the diminution of the number of inhabitants, 
 the lack of an organized and effective system of 
 cultivation especially needed in a country where 
 much depended on irrigation, and the general 
 aversion of the natives to work on being released 
 from the authority of their traditional rulers. 
 Under these conditions the support of the popula- 
 tion became increasingly difficult. 
 
 The importation of the African negro, as an 
 agricultural laborer, did not greatly improve the 
 condition of affairs. As a slave laborer, he had all 
 the economic defects of his class. But the defects 
 of colonial agriculture was not all due to the 
 
3IO The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 laborers. The proprietors were only interested 
 in spending their income in ease. They brought 
 to their undertakings a minimum of that.practical 
 intelligence which should manifest itself in new 
 appliances and improved methods of cultivation. 
 With respect to those who tilled the soil inde- 
 pendently on a small scale, the circumstances 
 were hardly more favorable. Under the com- 
 munism of the Inca period, the work of the Indian 
 was prescribed by a superior authority. When, 
 therefore, this authority was removed the Indian 
 was deprived of his accustomed direction, and 
 he did not possess sufficient power of initiative to 
 make his efforts extend much beyond the satis- 
 faction of his immediate wants. The early gains 
 in gold and silver and the hope of finding rich 
 mines made the Spanish and Creole population 
 impatient of the meagre returns from cultivating 
 the soil, and the presence of slave laborers brought 
 the work of the agriculturist into disrepute. 
 Furthermore, the arid lands of the rainless coast 
 and the broken region of the Sierra offered few 
 attractions to agricultural undertakings, and the 
 Spanish government took no steps towards storing 
 the waters of the mountain streams, or system- 
 atically utilizing them in irrigation, a work 
 clearly transcending individual effort. 
 
 Although the mines were one of Peru's most 
 important sources of wealth, this industry was 
 subject to certain inconveniences. It could not 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 311 
 
 be carried on advantageously without the mita, 
 while the continuance of the enforced labor of 
 the mita caused the rapid destruction of the 
 Indians. It was moreover carried on without 
 adequate scientific knowledge. It was burdened 
 with the payment of a fifth of the product to the 
 king. It suffered from lack of credit, or from 
 credit obtained iinder onerous conditions. Banks 
 for assisting mining enterprises either did not 
 exist, or when created were opposed and dis- 
 credited. Stock companies that might have 
 brought together the requisite capital were, if 
 formed at all, of little importance. The bank 
 proposed in Arequipa in 1792, with a capital 
 stock of fifty thousand dollars divided into five 
 hundred shares, found that the country was not 
 accustomed to such projects and failed for lack of 
 support. Progress in mining was, moreover, 
 hindered by the Spaniard's lack of initiative; 
 also by the desire of the Creole who had a fortune 
 to consume it in ease instead of increasing it 
 by means of work; or, if he invested it, by his 
 search for such investments as would cause him 
 the least trouble. The ill-success that attended 
 the quicksilver mine of Huancavelica at certain 
 periods was due to maladministration and the 
 neglect or hostility of the government favoring 
 the Spanish mine of Almaden. 
 
 While prices in Spain were rising as a conse- 
 quence of the importation of gold and silver from 
 
312 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 America, the Spanish government, not knowing 
 the cause of this rise, sought to prevent it in 
 certain cases by diminishing the demand for 
 articles for sale in Spain. The inhabitants of the 
 colonies in America were, therefore, prohibited 
 from purchasing cloth in Spain, and this action, 
 taken by the Cortes in Valladolid, in 1548, fur- 
 nished protection for the manufacturer of the 
 articles in question in America. Whatever 
 advantage was derived by the American manu- 
 facturer was not designed by the Spanish authori- 
 ties, but accrued as a consequence of an act taken 
 in ignorance of the influences affecting their 
 trade. Later ordinances were issued to further 
 manufactures in different parts of America, and 
 to make the wares produced cheaper. 
 
 This direct reversal of the original policy was 
 not maintained subsequently without vacillation. 
 Philip II. sought to encourage trade in wool 
 between Spain and America, "hoping that the 
 textile industry of the colonies would be destroyed 
 in being deprived of one of its most essential 
 materials."^ The great distance and the diffi- 
 culties of transportation furnished, however, 
 sufficient protection to keep the industry alive. 
 Yet a little later it was dealt a severe blow by 
 an ordinance issued by Philip II. in 1595, which 
 provided that "in no province or part of the 
 Indies may the Indians work in the mUls for 
 
 « Oliveira, 92, 93. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 313 
 
 making woollen, silk, or cotton cloth." * But 
 this ordinance did not apply to those manu- 
 factories belonging to communities of Indians 
 and worked by them exclusively; it also did not 
 apply to those belonging to the king. It affected 
 only those owned by private persons and those 
 in which Indians and Spaniards were engaged 
 to work together. The motive of these acts of 
 prohibition was revealed in the instructions to the 
 viceroy Velasco, when it was required "that he 
 should prohibit the manufacture in order that 
 the trade and commerce in cloth might not be 
 weakened." The Marquis of Salinas was unwill- 
 ing to carry out this policy and affirmed 
 
 "that the manufactories are so necessary and the 
 cloth made in them is of so great importance and 
 service for the poor people, and that which comes 
 from Spain is so dear, that the Indians, the negroes, 
 and even the Spaniards would go naked if the manu- 
 factories were closed; and this could not be done 
 without great resentment from many private persons 
 in this kingdom, who have them and who are sup- 
 ported by them." 2 
 
 With the coming of the Austrian kings in the 
 beginning of the eighteenth century the vacillating 
 policy that had been pursued came to an end, 
 and the textile manufactures of Peru were doomed. 
 The viceroy and audiencia were ordered to destroy 
 
 • Sol6rzano, PoUtica Indiana, libre ii., cap. 12. 
 sMendiburu, viii., 288 ; Oliveira, 95. 
 
314 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 all the factories and mills which had not been 
 established by the express permission of the 
 king, and to give an account of those demolished 
 and of those that remained.' 
 
 The policy here initiated was maintained until 
 permission granted by the crown to the English 
 and the French to trade with the colonies finally 
 brought about the complete destruction of the 
 textile industries in Spanish America. With this 
 permission ruin was inevitable. England, France, 
 and Holland, less hampered by legal restraints, 
 were able to furnish the desired wares at lower 
 prices, if they could only break through the 
 cordon which Spain had undertaken to draw 
 around her American possessions. Here had 
 been a motive for smuggling, and the great 
 gains possible in case of success more than 
 balanced the risks of contraband trade. Santo 
 Domingo was for a time an important empor- 
 ium, to which traders from Havana, Vera 
 Cruz, Guatemala, Carthagena, and Venezuela 
 resorted to purchase European wares. The 
 colonists preferred French goods, and the French 
 merchants relied on this preference to maintain 
 
 ' On November 4, 1711, the viceroy Ladron de Guevara 
 received a royal order which provided: "Que se demoliesen 
 todos los batanes, obrajes, trapiches y chorrillos que se 
 hubiesen fabricado sin expresa licencia del rey: y que a los 
 que la tuviesen se les prohibiese trabajar con indios. Que 
 los corregidores y curas no pudiesen emplearlos en sus tratos, 
 comerciosy tragines" (Mendiburu, iv., 372). 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 315 
 
 their trade, and required cash pajonents in 
 all transactions. After the social collapse of 
 Santo Domingo contraband trade carried on 
 through Jamaica received a new impulse. The 
 English, unlike the French, did not insist on cash 
 payments, but allowed their Spanish customers 
 credit, and assisted them in the transportation 
 of their wares, either by carrying their merchan- 
 dise to the mainland or escorting their vessels, 
 going sometimes to the extent of stationing armed 
 vessels off the coast to protect the contraband 
 traders. 
 
 The island of Curagao fell into the hands of the 
 Dutch in 1634, and immediately became an im- 
 portant trading post. Here the colonists from the 
 mainland found they could get European com- 
 modities for their agricultural products, and by 
 this an impetus was given to the cultivation of the 
 soil, which had been neglected in the fruitless 
 search for mines. The principal ports that traded 
 with Curagao were Coro, Porto Cabello, and 
 La Guayra. The commodities sent to the island 
 were hides, indigo, coffee, and sugar but these 
 amounted rarely to more than six tenths of the 
 value of the articles purchased from the Dutch, 
 and the balance was paid in money. 
 
 During the period of contraband trade, the 
 viceroy of Peru maintained a most inhospitable 
 attitude towards foreign ships off the coast of his 
 dominions. This attitude is illustrated by his 
 
3i6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 views respecting the treatment an American 
 ship from Boston had received. This vessel hav- 
 ing lost one of her masts, sprung her rudder, and 
 run short of fire-wood and water, touched at the 
 island of Juan Fernandez. The governor of the 
 island discovered her distress, allowed her to 
 get the supplies needed, and to make the necessary 
 repairs. This manifestation of hospitality dis- 
 pleased the viceroy. He was surprised at the 
 ignorance of the governor in not knowing "that 
 every strange vessel which anchored in these 
 seas, without a license from our court, ought to 
 be treated as an enemy, even though the nation 
 to which she belonged should be an ally of Spain." 
 Moved by this event, the viceroy ordered the 
 intendants and all other officers along the whole 
 coast of Peru to allow no foreign vessel whatever 
 to anchor; and if any such vessel should enter 
 a port, "to use every artifice to take possession 
 of her and her crew." The viceroy, moreover, 
 urged that "lest strangers should demand sup- 
 plies, and threaten to use force, the cattle and 
 other articles in the neighboring farms, which 
 might afford relief to them, are to be carried off 
 to the interior upon these occasions." He also 
 wished sentinels and watchmen placed on all the 
 hills overlooking the coast, who might send him 
 information whenever a vessel was sighted. 
 
 The popular awakening in the English colonies 
 of America and in France during the last half 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 317 
 
 of the eighteenth century made the restrictions 
 imposed by Spain on her colonies appear more 
 burdensome than ever before. The colonists 
 became distinctly conscious that Spain's short- 
 sighted policy hindered their prosperity. By 
 withholding adequate opportunities for direct 
 trade with the mother country, the Spanish 
 government had made the inhabitants of some of 
 the colonies largely dependent on contraband 
 trade with members of other nations. The re- 
 strictions imposed on shipping to the port of 
 Buenos Aires gave the neighboring Portuguese 
 an opportunity to smuggle their goods over the 
 border, and build up an illicit trade, which not 
 only supplied the Spanish settlement on the Rio 
 de la Plata, but also threatened to diminish the 
 trade of Lima, by way of the Isthmus. The 
 effect of this restrictive policy, except in a few 
 favored places, like Lima and the city of Mexico, 
 was to prevent the use of European wares, and to 
 compel the settlers to accept such substitutes as 
 they were able to produce or obtain from the 
 Indians. In other words, the trade restrictions 
 which were imposed upon the colonists, instead 
 of permitting them to start with the advantages 
 of the achievements of European civilization, in 
 many cases drove them back to the barbarism of 
 the aborigines, and doomed them to go over again 
 the painful way up to civilization which their 
 ancestors had already trod in Europe. 
 
3i8 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 The commercial aggression of the Portuguese 
 was one of the circumstances that urged the 
 establishment of the viceroyalty of Buenos Aires. 
 Under the conditions "contraband trade was a 
 natural function of the economic organization, 
 a fact beyond the control of the king of Spain 
 and of his subordinates in America; and in the 
 conflict of vital interests, the natural law haid nec- 
 essarily to prevail, and this in effect happened."^ 
 It was expected that in making Buenos Aires 
 a centre of more important political power, a 
 counterpoise to Portuguese influence would be 
 created. 
 
 Thus the ultimate effect of the commercial 
 freedom established in the early years of the 
 viceroyalty was a noteworthy growth of the 
 trade of Buenos Aires. In the three years from 
 1792 to 179s forty-seven vesels left the port of 
 Buenos Aires, and fifty-three vessels arrived from 
 Spain. The value of the exportations and impor- 
 tations for this period amounted to somewhat 
 more than $8,000,000. The internal trade had 
 also greatly increased. Mendoza, during this 
 time, sold annually about 7300 barrels of wine; 
 San Juan more than 3000 barrels of brandy; and 
 Tucuman great quantities of hides and textile 
 fabrics. Paraguay's trade was chiefly in yerba- 
 mat6, tobacco, and lumber. This province sent 
 also large numbers of mules to Peru. Of the 
 
 ' Mitre, Historia de Belgrano, i., 50. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 319 
 
 mat6 exported, Chile consumed annually about 
 4,000,000 pounds and exported in payment gold 
 and silver. 
 
 The mules sent to Peru were driven by easy 
 stages from the eastern provinces to Salta where 
 they were kept over the winter ; and in the spring 
 they were taken to Potosi. In the province of 
 Buenos Aires they cost at that time between 
 three and four dollars a head, but at Potosi they 
 brought eight or nine dollars a head. In case 
 they were taken farther into the country, they 
 brought a larger price, amounting in some places 
 to forty or fifty dollars apiece. They were re- 
 quired in Peru for use in the mines, but the hard 
 conditions under which they worked caused 
 many of them to be short-lived, thus making 
 the demand for them greater than it would have 
 been if they had been employed under more 
 favorable circumstances. 
 
 Tucuman had also an important trade with 
 Peru. It sent annually to that country 18,000 
 head of cattle, 4000 horses, and a considerable 
 number of mules. From Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 
 Peru derived, moreover, about 20,000 mules a 
 year. 
 
 Cordova, Salta, and Jujui lay on the main 
 route from Buenos Aires to Peru, and the inhabi- 
 tants of these towns, by furnishing means of 
 transportation, derived important advantages 
 from this overland trade. The goods were gener- 
 
32 o The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 ally carried in carts drawn by four or more oxen, 
 and the freight rate from Buenos Aires to Jujui 
 was four dollars a quintal, or approximately 
 four cents a pound. For transportation beyond 
 Jujui mules were substituted for oxen and carts, 
 and the charges varied according to the season 
 and the abundance or scarcity of mules. 
 
 The early policy to make Buenos Aires depend- 
 ent on Lima for European wares was checked, as 
 has been indicated already, by the rise of contra- 
 band trade with the Portuguese, and the eman- 
 cipation of the eastern provinces was finally 
 completed by the increase of importations at 
 Buenos Aires directly from European ports. In 
 this later trade with Peru, therefore, Buenos 
 Aires, having a cheaper source from which to 
 obtain European wares, received in return for her 
 exportations large quantities of gold and silver, 
 products of the Peruvian mines. 
 
 The trade between Buenos Aires and the west- 
 em coast by sea was inconsiderable. Now and 
 then a vessel arrived at Montevideo from Callao 
 with wares intended for shipment to Spain. 
 Ships were also occasionally sent from Monte- 
 video to Arica with quicksilver for the mines, and 
 they carried at the same time small quantities of 
 yerba-mat6 and tallow. 
 
 The principal trade of Buenos Aires with Chile 
 was with the province of Cuyo, on the eastern 
 side of the Andes. This province having been 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 321 
 
 settled from the west remained under the captain- 
 general of Chile until after the establishment of 
 the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. The exports 
 from Chile and Cuyo to the eastern provinces 
 were woollen goods, particularly ponchos, wines, 
 brandy, and oil; raisins and dried peaches; 
 apples, snuff, and sugar; and copper, gold, and 
 cordage. 
 
 Before the close of the eighteenth century 
 Talcahuano had become noted for its shipment 
 of wheat to points in the colonies outside of 
 Chile. The average annual amount exported 
 was two thousand four hundred tons. Nearly 
 all of this was sent to Lima. Of the other articles 
 exported, the principal were jerked beef, tallow, 
 and wine. There was also a certain amount of 
 trade in raw hides, wool, dried fruits, salt fish, 
 and pulse. The articles imported were European 
 manufactured goods, sugar, salt, and tobacco. 
 
 To what extent the establishment of freedom of 
 trade in 1778, carried into general effect in 1783, 
 stimulated shipping to the colonies may be seen 
 from the fact that in 1785 sixteen vessels arrived 
 at Callao with cargoes estimated at twenty-four 
 million dollars. At this time the annual pro- 
 duction of gold and silver in the country was only 
 about four million dollars; and these were the 
 principal commodities produced that might be 
 exported to pay for imports. Thus the zeal to 
 embrace the new opportimities for trade brought 
 
32 2 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 to Peru goods to the value of twenty-four million 
 dollars in a period when four million dollars 
 represented the normal consumption of im- 
 ports. The result of this oversupply was to glut 
 the market completely and to cause a temporary 
 interruption of trade. In some cases the wares 
 could not find a market at any price, and were 
 committed to the flames. This was a warning 
 to shippers, and caused them to withhold their 
 shipments, thus reducing the imports to the 
 quantities of the various commodities needed.^ 
 The enlarged freedom of commerce, moreover, 
 gave an increased value to the products of the 
 herds of Buenos Aires. Hides and salted beef 
 
 ' The Present State of Peru, 108-110; at the beginning of 
 the nineteenth century a large part of the wares in use in 
 Lima were English. Writing from his observations made at 
 the time, Stevenson says "the windows were glazed with 
 English glass — ^the brass furniture and ornaments on the 
 commodes, tables, and chairs were English — the chintz or 
 dimity hangings, the linen and cotton dresses of the females, 
 and the cloth coats and cloaks of the men were all English; 
 the tables were covered either with plates or English earthen- 
 ware, and English glass, knives, and forks; and even the 
 kitchen utensils, if of iron, were English; in fine, with very 
 few exceptions, all was either of English or South American 
 manufacture. Coarse cottons, nankeens, and a few other 
 articles were supplied by the Philippine company. Spain 
 sent some iron, broadcloth, Barcelona prints, linen, writing 
 paper, silks, and ordinary earthenware. From the Italians 
 they had silks and velvets; from the French, linens (platillas), 
 common cutlery, and glass; ever3rthing else was either Eng- 
 lish or of home manufacture." — Twenty Years' Residence in 
 South America, i., 349. 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 323 
 
 could now be profitably exported in the numerous 
 vessels that brought European wares. The 
 wealth of the inhabitants increased rapidly, and 
 justified the expenditures of large sums on private 
 houses; and the viceroy took advantage of this 
 prosperity to embellish the city with important 
 public buildings. The city hall, the mint, and 
 the buildings of the university were begun in the 
 last quarter of the eighteenth century. 
 
 While the original commercial policy of Spain 
 was maintained, it was sometimes fotmd that 
 Spain could not furnish the wares imperatively 
 needed in certain parts of America. Under such 
 circumstances special permission had been given to 
 persons needing the wares in question to procure 
 them from other Spanish colonies. An instance 
 of this may be seen in the permission granted 
 Mexican miners to procure mercury from the 
 mines of Huancavelica in Peru, when the supply 
 from Almaden in Spain was inadequate. The 
 freedom of trade that was established in 1778 
 removed the need of obtaining special permission 
 for intercolonial trade, and brought the colonies 
 into normal commercial relations with one another. 
 In 1789 there were thirty-two ships of all classes 
 belonging to the port of Callao. The largest of 
 these was the galleon, San Miguel, of eighteen 
 hundred tons; the smallest was the packet boat, 
 San Antonio, of one hundred and twenty-three 
 tons. The total amount of tonnage was sixteen 
 
324 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 thousand three hundred and seventy-five tons. 
 The population of Peru at this time was about one 
 million, and of this number four hundred thou- 
 sand were Indians, who did not increase materially 
 the demand for foreign wares. ^ 
 
 Among the exports from Peru were a small 
 
 ' The following is a brief statement of the trade of Peru 
 through Lima with the other colonies in 1 789 : 
 
 Exports to Buenos Aires $2,034,980 
 
 Imports from Buenos Aires 864,790 
 
 In favor of Lima $1,170,190 
 
 Exports to Chile $458,31 7 
 
 Imports from Chile 629,800 
 
 Against Lima $1 71 ,483 
 
 Exports to Chiloe $30,000 
 
 Imports from Chiloe 51,200 
 
 Against Lima $21 ,200 
 
 Exports to Guatemala $ 28,350 
 
 Imports from Guatemala 1 24,500 
 
 Against Lima $96,1 50 
 
 Exports to Santa F^ $128,295 
 
 Imports from Santa F6 284,460 
 
 Against Lima $156,165 
 
 Total amount of exports $2,679,942 
 
 Total amount of imports 1,954,750 
 
 In favor of Lima, total $725,192 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 325 
 
 quantity of vicuna wool and a certain amount of 
 cinchona, or Peruvian bark. The value of the 
 wool did not exceed ten thousand dollars, but 
 the value of the annual export of cinchona was 
 estimated at fifty thousand dollars. Although 
 the wool at the place where it was sheared was 
 worth only about four cents a pound, the expenses 
 involved in shearing and transporting it, including 
 commissions and duties, were so great that it could 
 not compete successfully with the wool of Spain. 
 
 As the port of the political and commercial 
 capital of South America CaUao had more shipping 
 than any other point on the Pacific, except, per- 
 haps, Panama. A pier was constructed at Callao, 
 in 1779, by running an old ship on shore, and 
 filling her with stones, and driving piles about 
 her to prevent the waves from breaking her in 
 pieces. The town at this time, thirty-three 
 years after its destruction by the great earth- 
 quake and tidal wave of 1746, presented a mean 
 appearance. The houses were "generally about 
 twenty feet high, with mud walls, flat roofs, and 
 divided into two stories; the under one forming 
 a row of small shops open in front. " ^ 
 
 Buenos Aires had grown very slowly iinder the 
 severe restriction which Spain had placed upon 
 her trade. In 1608 the town contained 2000 
 inhabitants. During the following one hiindred 
 and seventy years its population increased from 
 
 1 Stevenson, i., 135. 
 
32 6 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 2000 to 24,205, an average addition of only about 
 130 persons a year. The progress was more 
 rapid after the organization of the viceroyalty 
 and the estabHshment of commercial freedom. 
 The last quarter of the eighteenth century added 
 somewhat more than 15,000 persons to the city's 
 population, so that at the beginning of the nine- 
 teenth century Buenos Aires contained 40,000 
 inhabitants, and 46,000 in 1810. 
 
 The route from Buenos Aires to Peru was more 
 frequented during the colonial period than any 
 other long route in South America. The fact that 
 Buenos Aires was for a long time a closed port 
 made it necessary for the inhabitants of this 
 region to get many articles of commerce from 
 Peru; and, on the other hand, Portuguese 
 smuggling made it advantageous for the Peruvians 
 to resort to the valley of La Plata for certain 
 articles that could not be procured as cheaply 
 elsewhere. Thus, in the course of time, a line of 
 communication was established across the plains 
 and over the mountains between Buenos Aires 
 and Lima, a distance of somewhat more than two 
 thousand eight hundred geographical miles. In 
 the early decades the journey was made by 
 caravans of explorers or traders over a more or 
 less trackless wilderness, but in 1748 posthouses 
 were established at intervals along the way, at 
 which travellers might obtain horses and carts or 
 carriages. The route passed through Cordova, 
 
Colonial Industry and Commerce 327 
 
 Santiago del Estero, Tucuman, Salta, Jujui, 
 Potosi, Oruro, La Paz, Juli, Pucara, Santa Rosa, 
 Cuzco, Abancay, and Huancavelica. The diffi- 
 culties, the delays, and the expenses of making 
 this journey or transporting goods were very 
 great; and in the last decade of the eighteenth 
 century Don Fernandez Comejo sought to find 
 some way by which they might be lessened. 
 To this end he explored the river Bermejo. In 
 1790, taking a small vessel and two canoes, and 
 accompanied by twenty -six persons, he passed 
 in forty-four days, without encotintering any 
 obstacles, from the mouth of the tributary Centa 
 to the junction of the Bermejo and the Paraguay, 
 a distance of about a thousand miles. The 
 knowledge of the practicability of this route did 
 not cause it to be used; the communication 
 between Buenos Aires and Lima continued to be 
 maintained by land, notwithstanding the great 
 expense and all the other inconveniences. ' 
 
 ' The names of all the stations and the distances are given 
 by Wilcocke, History of Buenos Aires, 104-118. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE PUBLIC REVENUE 
 
 IF we turn to the subject of public revenue, we 
 find that in the Spanish colonies, in the last 
 decades of their dependence, it was derived from 
 many sources, but chiefly from taxes that fell 
 on profits and rent. The most productive of all 
 the taxes was the alcavala. This was a tax that 
 had been known in Spain since the middle of the 
 fourteenth century. It was originally imposed 
 to provide ftmds for carrying on the wars against 
 the Moors. Having been established for a long 
 time, its collection came to be regarded almost 
 as a prerogative of the crown; and when the 
 question arose as to the propriety of introducing it 
 into America, it was assumed that without any 
 new grant it might be extended by the king to all 
 possessions annexed to the Spanish empire. It 
 was thus established in Mexico in 1574, and in 
 Peru in 1591. The rate fixed for the colonies was 
 two per cent., and this rate was maintained for a 
 number of years; but about the middle of the 
 eighteenth century it was raised to five per cent. 
 The alcavala was a percentage tax on the price 
 
 328 
 
The Public Revenue 329 
 
 of every article sold, and was due at every sale of 
 the article in question, whether this article was a 
 bundle of fagots or a great estate. In the case of a 
 retail dealer it would have been evidently incon- 
 venient to collect the tax on the occasion of each 
 sale. An account of such a trader's stock was, 
 therefore, taken annually, and the annual sales 
 estimated. The tax was then collected on the 
 estimated sales for the year. On land or other 
 property that was seldom sold this tax was not 
 burdensome; but it tended to absorb the value 
 of wares that passed from hand to hand many 
 times during the year. Under this system, if 
 trade was dull and few exchanges were made, 
 the annual profits were naturally small; if the 
 trade was brisk, the profits were absorbed by the 
 public treasury. 
 
 The import and export duties varied with the 
 articles involved and with the ports where they 
 were landed, the larger ports having a higher 
 rate than the smaller.* The impost known as 
 the armada was a tax collected for the purpose 
 of maintaining government vessels designed to 
 protect the coast from pirates. In the course of 
 time it was found that smaller vessels than those 
 af first employed were better adapted to this 
 purpose, and an additional impost was established 
 for maintaining them. This tax was called 
 
 « See the writer's Establishment of Spanish Rule in 
 America, 170, 291. 
 
33° The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 armadilla. Later the pirates ceased to infest the 
 coast, but the tax to provide means for warding 
 them off continued to be collected. 
 
 A small special import and export tax was 
 levied to pay the salaries and other expenses 
 connected with the consulate. It amounted to an 
 average duty of one per cent, on all articles 
 brought from Spain and from different parts of 
 Spanish America, or shipped to these regions. 
 The import and export taxes levied for this 
 purpose on trade with foreign countries were 
 much higher, averaging about three per cent. 
 There were some exceptions to these rates; 
 horses and mules paid a specific duty of one 
 dollar a head, while horned cattle paid one per 
 cent. 
 
 In the larger cities there was a license for the 
 sale of intoxicating liquors. The amount of this 
 license for saloons, or shops, for this traffic was 
 fixed in proportion to estimated sales; but this 
 payment did not release the dealers from the 
 alcavala, which they were obliged to pay, in 
 addition, as retail traders. 
 
 The practice of selling titles, which had been 
 resorted to in Spain as a means of increasing the 
 royal revenues, was extended to the colonies. A 
 resident of Spanish America who wished the 
 distinction of a title of nobility paid the king 
 a prescribed sum ; or he might even enter into an 
 agreement to pay annually interest on the sum 
 
The Public Revenue 33 1 
 
 prescribed. The interest on these obligations 
 constituted a source of revenue for the king- 
 Back of this practice lay the desire and purpose of 
 the king to maintain in America social conditions 
 similar to those of Spain. 
 
 There was a long list of other sources from 
 which revenues flowed more or less abundantly 
 into the royal treasury. The following were the 
 most important: 
 
 1. The media anata, which was the half of the 
 salary, or yearly product, of places or offices under 
 the government to which appointments were made. 
 It was paid into the treasury for the first year. In 
 case of increase of salary by promotion or other- 
 wise, the half of the increase was paid for the 
 first year after it was granted. 
 
 2. There was the source of revenue known 
 as the royal ninths, which comprised the parts of 
 the tithes not allotted to ecclesiastical or other 
 institutions. The tithes, established in America 
 by an edict of Charles V., October 5, 1501, were 
 at first applied solely to the support of the Church. 
 Forty years later, it was provided that they 
 should be divided into four parts. One part, or 
 one quarter of the whole amount, was given to the 
 bishop of the diocese; and one part to the chap- 
 ter. Of the remaining half of the whole amount 
 collected, two ninths (one ninth of the whole) 
 went to the crown; three ninths were set apart 
 for the foundation of churches and hospitals; 
 
332 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 and the remainder, four ninths, was devoted to the 
 support of curates and other officiating ecclesias- 
 tics. Later this last amount was increased to 
 seven ninths of the half of the whole amount, 
 absorbing the three ninths previously devoted to 
 founding churches and hospitals. 
 
 3. The tribute paid by the civilized Indians 
 constituted an important contribution to the 
 royal revenue. This was the annual tax imposed 
 upon every male Indian between the ages of 
 eighteen and fifty, over whom the Spaniards 
 had acquired jurisdiction. The amount of the 
 tribute varied both with respect to persons and 
 with respect to provinces. It was collected by 
 the corregidors, or governors of districts, who 
 were allowed six per cent, of the sums collected 
 in accordance with the assessment as placed in 
 their hands. In the colonial system established 
 by Spain, every Indian was regarded as a vassal 
 either immediately subject to the king or depen- 
 dent on an encomendero. During the years in 
 which the inhabitants were being brought into 
 subjection to Spanish authority, the ■ king made 
 numerous and extensive grants, and large num- 
 bers of Indians were assigned to the various 
 holders of these grants. Making these grants 
 was a part of the policy of conquest; for a Span- 
 iard on whom had been bestowed an extensive 
 territory, together with a large number of Indians, 
 would necessarily be disposed to dominate his 
 
The Public Revenue 333 
 
 possessions and maintain peace among his depen- 
 dents. In the course of time these grants, which 
 were for only one or two lives, reverted to the 
 crown, and the tribute which had been paid 
 previously to the encomendero was, after this 
 reversion, paid into the king's treasury. The 
 effect of this change was to increase the king's 
 revenue and to make a larger part of the in- 
 habitants dependent immediately on him. This 
 tax caused dissatisfaction; for those who paid it 
 regarded it as a sign of personal subordination, 
 or bondage. 
 
 4. The royal treasury received also a large 
 sum from the sale of offices, particularly mtinicipal 
 offices, to which appointments were frequently 
 made after a considerable payment to the crown 
 by the candidate. 
 
 5. The income derived from the sale of 
 stamped paper increased with the increase of the 
 poptdation and the growth of official business. 
 
 6. The royal treasury received, moreover, a 
 certain increment from lost property and strays, 
 which, having been found and held for a year, 
 belonged to the king. 
 
 7. The fifth part of the product of the mines 
 was, perhaps, the most noteworthy element of 
 the royal income. A large part of the income 
 from the mines, though not strictly as a royal 
 fifth, was derived from the quicksilver mine of 
 Huancavelica. This mine was discovered about 
 
334 The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 1566, but it was not of great importance until 
 after 1571, when Pedro Fernandez Velasco intro- 
 duced the process of refining silver by the use of 
 mercury. It was purchased by Philip II. from 
 Amador de Cabrera, in 1570, and it continued 
 to be the property of the crown until the begin- 
 ning of the nineteenth century. The office of 
 governor or superintendent of the mine was 
 sometimes held by a member of the royal au- 
 diencia, but in 1790 the duties of this office 
 were added to the functions of the viceroy of Peru. 
 During the two hundred and nineteen years 
 from 1570 to 1789, the mine of Huancavelica pro- 
 duced 1,040,469 quintals of mercury, making 
 an average annual product of 4751 quintals.^ 
 The price of the metal extracted was sixty dollars 
 per quintal in 1786, and seventy-three dollars in 
 1 7 91. At a fair average of the prices that 
 prevailed during the whole period in question, 
 the value of the product was 67,629,396 dol- 
 lars. After deducting the expenses of the mine, 
 there remained a profit for the crown of about 
 65,000,000 doUars. The prosperity of this un- 
 dertaking was in part due to the fact that the 
 mine held a monopoly for furnishing mercury 
 to the silver mines of Peru. Sometimes, more- 
 over, when the mines of Almaden in Spain did 
 not provide an adequate supply of mercury for 
 the silver mines of Mexico, a special privilege 
 
 ' Mendiburu, iv., 428-431. 
 
The Public Revenue 33s 
 
 was granted to the Mexicans, as has been seen, 
 permitting them to purchase it from Huan- 
 cavehca. 
 
 It is impossible to make an accurate statement 
 of the output of the other mines of South America, 
 from which the king drew the allotted twenty per 
 cent. It is estimated that the mines of Potosi alone, 
 in their first ninety years, produced 395,619,000 
 dollars; and that between 1545 and 1800 the 
 king's fifth from the product of these mines 
 amounted to 163,000,000 dollars. On the basis of 
 this estimate the total output of the mines of 
 Potosi for these years would appear to have been 
 815,000,000 dollars. It has been estimated, 
 moreover, that Spain received from America, 
 during two hundred and forty-eight years ending 
 in 1740, the sum of 9,000,000,000 dollars. These 
 figures are, however, only estimates, as the con- 
 dition of the accounts of the mines has always 
 made it impossible to derive from them an ac- 
 curate and trustworthy statistical statement. 
 
 8. The proceeds of the salt tax belonged to the 
 crown, but it was one of the less productive 
 sources of income. 
 
 9. The king also received the fees paid by 
 ships on entering and clearing at the ports. 
 
 10. The royal revenue embraced, moreover, the 
 sums paid for the privilege of maintaining cock 
 pits. 
 
 11. The proceeds from the sale of the bull of 
 
33^ The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 Cruzada, although this was apparently an insti- 
 tution of the Church, were gathered into the royal 
 treasury. The Cruzada mentioned here as a source 
 of revenue was a bull published every two years 
 which carried absolution from past offences and 
 contained certain privileges with respect to the 
 future. By purchasing it one might obtain 
 ecclesiastical permission to eat certain kinds of 
 food during Lent that were not ordinarily 
 allowed on meagre days. The prices paid for 
 the bulls ranged from a few cents to several 
 dollars. 
 
 12. The crown received an important addition 
 to its revenues from the tobacco monopoly. The 
 tobacco crop was received by the government 
 at a price fixed by itself and was sold from the 
 general storehouse at a price which secured to the 
 government a very large profit. But this profit 
 was in large part consumed in maintaining the 
 numerous officers who were employed in manag- 
 ing the monopoly and preventing illicit trade. 
 No one was permitted to cultivate tobacco without 
 permission from the director of the monopoly; 
 and "on delivery the planter was obliged to make 
 oath as to the number of plants which he had 
 harvested, also that he had not reserved one leaf 
 for his own use, nor for any other purpose. "' 
 The administration of this culture system created 
 
 > Stevenson, i., ipg. 
 
The Public Revenue 337 
 
 more dissatisfaction among the planters than any 
 of the other forms of taxation to which they were 
 subjected. 
 
 There was also a tax on titles of nobility. Each 
 holder of such a title paid annually five hundred 
 dollars to the king. He might be released from 
 the annual payment by a single payment of ten 
 thousand dollars. This tax was, however, of 
 very little importance except in Lima and the city 
 of Mexico. In Lima at the beginning of the 
 nineteenth century there were sixty -three persons 
 who were expected to pay this tax. 
 
 These sources of revenue may be grouped in 
 four divisions. The first division embraces the 
 payments to the king as superior, or sovereign, 
 lord of the land, comprising the tax on gold and 
 silver extracted from the mines, the profits of 
 coinage, and the tribute paid by the Indians. 
 The second division comprehends the various 
 taxes on trade: the alcavala, the minor excise 
 taxes', the stamp tax, and the customs duties. The 
 third division consists of the payments made to 
 the king as head of the Church, among which were 
 the first-fruits, the annates, the Cruzada, and the 
 other exactions imposed by the Church. The 
 fourth division is made up of the profits of various 
 monopolies reserved to the crown.* 
 
 1 From these sources the following amounts were derived 
 in Buenos Ayres just before the English invasion of 1806: 
 
33^ The Eve of Emancipation 
 
 With respect to the population, it was recognized 
 that in view of the great resources of the new 
 continent, an increasing number of inhabitants, 
 in at least the early stages of social growth, meant 
 an increasing prosperity for the community or 
 the people concerned. When, therefore, it was 
 observed that the population of the Spanish 
 dominions in America was decreasing, the authori- 
 ties were moved to seek means to prevent the 
 
 First Division 
 
 Tax on gold and silver 
 
 $650,000 
 
 
 Profits of coinage 
 
 120,000 
 
 
 Tribute of the Indians 
 
 550,000 
 
 $1,320,000 
 
 Second Division 
 
 
 
 The alcavala 
 
 $385,000 
 
 
 Minor excise taxes 
 
 200,000 
 
 
 Stamp tax 
 
 32,000 
 
 
 Customs duties . 
 
 750,000 
 
 $1,367,000 
 
 Third Division 
 
 
 
 First-fruits and annates 
 
 $ 30,000 
 
 
 Royal ninths of the tithes . 
 
 72,000 
 
 
 Crusada 
 
 160,000 » 
 
 $262,000 
 
 Fourth Division 
 
 Profits on the monopoly of quick- 
 silver, tobacco, gunpowder, and 
 paper ..... 
 
 Slave trade .... 
 
 Trade in yerba-mat6 . 
 
 Other monopolies formerly held by 
 Jesuits .... 
 
 $350,000 
 200,000 
 500,000 
 
 400,000 $1,450,000 
 
 $4,399,000 
 
The Public Revenue 339 
 
 decrease. The Marquis of Castel Fuerte, viceroy 
 of Peru from 1724 to 1736, wrote at the close of his 
 reign, that population is the basis of the state and 
 the vital part of kingdoms; it is the population 
 that produces their wealth and establishes their 
 power. It is of little advantage that there are 
 fertile fields, rich mines, and benignant climates, 
 if people are wanting to cultivate the fields, 
 work the mines, and enjoy the climates. With- 
 out population the lands are merely the corpse 
 of an empire, wanting in power to perpetuate 
 itself. The means proposed for preventing this 
 decline were to restore to the central govern- 
 ment control over trades ; to guard with care the 
 treatment of the Indians by the priests and the 
 corregidors; to prohibit the sale of spirits; to 
 transfer to the decadent provinces a sufficient 
 number of families from the more densely inhab- 
 ited provinces ; to prevent too great a number of 
 convents and monasteries; to rehabilitate the 
 arts and trades; and to oppose the increase of 
 luxury. ^ 
 
 « Memorias de los Vireyes, iiL, 133. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abarca, 67 
 
 Abascal, viceroy, sends forces 
 to Chilo6, 272 
 
 Absolute power of provincial 
 governor, 65 
 
 Absolutism, 49; 218 
 
 Accounts, 49 
 
 Acevedo urges establishment 
 of viceroyalty, 36, 37 
 
 Acosta, Friar, opposes thea- 
 tre in Buenos Aires, 93 
 
 Administration, system of, 
 33; of Tupac Amaru, 196; 
 colonial, 300 
 
 Admiralty, commissioners of, 
 286 
 
 Adrian VI., 138 
 
 Advertisements of negroes 
 and mules, 106, 107 
 
 Agonizantes in Lima, 12 
 
 Agriculture, under O'Higgins 
 in Chile, 228, 239; in Peru, 
 hindrances to, 308-310 
 
 Aguirre, Francisco de, gover- 
 nor of Tucuman, 60 
 
 Alaska, Columbia bound for, 
 230 
 
 Alcalde mayor, 85, 203 
 
 Alcaldes, de corte, 9 ; of wards, 
 6; 78, 81-84 
 
 Alcavala, 84, 202, 328, 330 
 
 Alexander III., 128 
 
 Alexander VI., bull of, 120, 
 122 
 
 Aliaga, corregidor of Tinta, 
 197 
 
 Almaden, mine of, 311, 334 
 
 Alzaga, head of municipality, 
 
 290 
 Amalgamation of races, 100 
 Ambassadors, Indian, in 
 
 Chile, 227 
 Amparados de la Purisima 
 
 Concepcion, 12 
 Amusements in Chile, 244 
 Amuzquibar, inquisitor of 
 
 Lima, 20 
 Andean road, 237 
 Andes, 75, 95 
 Apostolic See, 121 
 Appeals from bishop, 127 
 Appointment to ecclesiastical 
 
 positions, 127 
 Arab comments on Aristotle, 
 
 Araciel, Dr., on ecclesiastical 
 
 status of king, 123 
 Aranda, Count of, 161, 162, 
 
 164 
 Araucanians, 68 ; ambassa- 
 dors of, 225-227 
 Arce, Pedro de, 269 
 Archbishop, of Lima, 135; 
 
 sinecure, 136 
 Areche, visitador, 205, 206; 
 
 sentenced Tupac Amaru, 
 
 209 
 Arequipa, 2 ; sent money to 
 
 Buenos Aires, 272; bank in, 
 
 Arespacochega, governor of 
 
 Tucuman for life, 66 
 Argentine, i; plains of, 71; 
 
 75. 95 
 Argentinos fled before the 
 British, 269 
 
 341 
 
342 
 
 Index 
 
 Aristotle, 152, 164 
 
 Armada tax, 329; armadilla, 
 
 330 
 Armasa, governor of Tucu- 
 
 man, 68 
 Asesor general, 35 
 Assemblies, ecclesiastical, 127 
 Astete, reinforcements under, 
 
 204 
 Asuncion, 51, 70 
 Atacama, desert of, 75 
 Auchmuty, General Samuel, 
 
 28s 
 Audiencia, 9, 32, 35; of 
 
 Buenos Aires, 37, 52, 125, 
 
 219, 284 
 Auditing, 10 
 
 Augustinians in Lima, 12 
 Austrian kings, their policy, 
 
 . z'^z< 314 
 
 Auto-de-f^ in Lima, 14, 15 
 Autonomy of towns, 87 
 Avache, Felix de, governor of 
 
 Tucuman, 67 
 Avila, Barco de, town of, de- 
 stroyed, 61 
 Azangaro, Inca's entrance to, 
 
 202 
 Azores, settlers from, 42 
 
 B 
 
 Baird, General David, 254, 
 260; instructions to Beres- 
 ford, 267, 268 
 Balbiani, Cesar, signs treaty 
 
 at Buenos Aires, 295 
 Balcarce, 290 
 Bank in Arequipa, 311 
 Baraona, Gaspar de, 65, 67 
 Barbarity, Spanish, 209 
 Barcelona, goods shipped to, 
 
 45 
 Bark, Peruvian, exported, 325 
 Bastides, Micaela, 195, 208, 
 
 209 
 Beaterios in Lima, 12 
 Bejar, muleteer, 20 
 Beletmitas in Lima, 12 
 
 Belgrano, on loss of Buenos 
 Aires, 271 ; 290 
 
 Benavides, presidency of, 232 
 
 Beresford, at Buenos Aires, 
 2SS, 260; 264-267, 273, 
 276, 280, 281 ; his plan as to 
 Liniers, 282; 283; surren- 
 dered to Liniers, 285 ; his 
 victory, 290 
 
 Bishoprics, s^I coextensive 
 with intendency, 54 ; bound- 
 aries, 122; 130 
 
 Bishops, 52, 130 ; decisions by ; 
 127; of Upper Peru, 13s; 
 of Tucuman, 144 
 
 Bolivia, i, 95, 199 
 
 Books, prohibited, 1 7 ; of the 
 Jesuits, 69 
 
 Booksellers under Inquisi- 
 tion, 17 
 , Borja, viceroy, 301 
 
 Boundaries, between prov- 
 inces, 59 ; Argentine-Bra- 
 zil, 1777, 43 
 
 Bourne, Sturges, 257 
 
 Bowling, 244 
 
 Bridge over Rimac, 4, 5 
 
 Brigands on overland road, 
 
 71 
 
 British, enter Buenos Aires, 
 271; proclaim free trade, 
 272, 273 
 
 Brotherhoods, 27 
 
 Brothers of punishment, 15 
 
 Brutality of negroes, 106 
 
 Bucareli, 164 
 
 Buenos Aires, to Potosi, Moy- 
 en's journey, 18, 19; taken, 
 271; geographical position 
 of, 33; 34, 45 ; Patagonia 
 under, 47 ; 48, 50 ; audiencia 
 of, 1783, 52; province of, 
 
 54; 55; 70. 75; 76, 79. 80. 
 86 ; early inhabitants of, 89, 
 go ; neglected condition of, 
 91; superiority of, 93, 94, 
 95; 126, 130; under Peru, 
 130; sends Flores to Upper 
 Peru, 205; taken by the 
 
Index 
 
 343 
 
 Buenos Aires — Continued 
 British, 254; fall of, 272; 
 retaken, 283 ; summoned to 
 surrender, 291 ; after the 
 English, 298; shipping, 
 318; growth of, 318; vice- 
 royalty of, 32-57; 318; 
 growth of, 325, 326 
 
 Building churches, 134, 135 
 
 Bull, papal, disallowed by 
 king, 132 
 
 Bull-fight, 8s, 92 
 
 Burgos political primate in 
 Castile, 88 
 
 Burials in churches, 245 
 
 Cabildo, of Lima, 3 ; elected, 
 79 ; sale of places in, 80 ; 
 appeal to, 83; of Buenos 
 Aires, 284 ; character of acts 
 of, 84, 85; open, 88; 89 
 
 Cadiz, 45, 95 
 
 Callao, 2; destroyed, 1746, 7; 
 governor-general of, 36; 
 sends wares to Montevideo, 
 320; shipping of, 325 
 
 Camilas, 13 
 
 Canary Islands, 45 
 
 Cane, cultivation of, 301 
 
 Caiiete, Marquis of, 4 
 
 Canon law, 138 
 
 Cape Colony, 36; taken by 
 English, 256; men sent 
 from, 285 
 
 Captaincies-general, 3^' 5^' 
 219 
 
 Caracas, 141 
 
 Card-playing, 244 
 
 Carthagena, Inquisition in, 16 
 
 Carvajal, Luis de, 8 
 
 Cases, ecclesiastical, 12; be- 
 fore church courts, 127 
 
 Castel Fuerte, viceroy, 339 
 
 Castile, political primacy in, 
 88 
 
 Catamarca, 75 
 
 Cathedrals, erection of, 134; 
 cost of, 134 
 
 Cavalry, 220 
 
 Ceballos, 37, 38; commission 
 of, 38 ; promoted, 42 ; gov- 
 ernor of Buenos Aires, 41 ; 
 decree on free trade, 44; 
 succeeded by Vertiz, 46; 
 governor of Madrid, 49 
 
 Centralization in Chile, 222 
 
 Cession to king by pope, 120 
 
 Chaco, Indians of, 68 
 
 Charcas, seat of court, 37-39 ; 
 audiencia of, 65; 47, 52 
 
 Charges against Whitelocke, 
 297 
 
 Charles III., order of, 9; 44, 
 241 ; monarchs before, 49 ; 
 219; death of, 230; 241 
 
 Charles IV., accession cele- 
 brated in Chile, 231, 232; 
 244 
 
 Charles v., 87, 88 
 
 Charters, municipal, 79 
 
 Checacupe, battle of, 208 
 
 Chile, I, 2, ; and Cuyo, 34; 45, 
 60, 61, 68, 75, 93, 95, 130; 
 captaincy-general of, 218- 
 253; population of, 218; 
 north and south, 226; plan 
 to invade, 272; received 
 ma.t6, 319 
 
 Chilean exports, 321 
 
 Chilean soldiers, 220 
 
 Chilian, Indian school at, 228 ; 
 244 
 
 Chilo^, 2 ; received supplies, 
 272 
 
 Chiquitos, 48, 51 
 
 Christian doctrine, 188, 190 
 
 Christianizing the New World , 
 119 
 
 Chucuito, 47 
 
 Chuquisaca, 93, 130; bishop 
 
 of. 13s 
 Church, dignitaries of, 2 ; in 
 America, 122, 123; favor 
 of, 140; institutions con- 
 trolled by, 1 , 3 ; property 
 
344 
 
 Index 
 
 Church — Continued 
 
 of, 13; appointments to, 
 36; 120, 121, 128, 129 
 
 Church and State, 119, 120- 
 142 
 
 Churches, built at royal ex- 
 pense, 123; parochial, 135; 
 number of, 135; in San- 
 tiago, 24 s 
 
 Ciencias eclesiasticas, 64 
 
 Cities, monotonous, 63 ; auto- 
 nomous, 76; received pat- 
 ents of nobility, 88 
 germs of independent gov- 
 ernment, 97 ; Parish on, 98 
 in Chile, 244 ; life in, 246 
 
 City,i marked out, 61, 62 
 colonial, 75-99 
 
 Civil authority, 52 ; on build- 
 ing churches, 134 
 
 CiviUzation not by precept, 94 
 
 Civil-military controversies, 
 
 87 
 Civil power over church, 132 
 Civil service expanded, 140 
 Claros, Montes, 4 
 Classes, separation of, 104 
 Claustro, 149, 150, 166 
 Clement VIII., 138 
 Clergy, 115; subordinated to 
 
 Spanish Court, 119; of 
 
 Cuzco, in army, 202 ; in 
 
 Chile, 222 
 Cloth-making prohibited, 303 
 Cloth of Spain not to be sold 
 
 in colonies, 312 
 Coca, cultivation of, 304-306 ; 
 
 uses of, 305 
 Cochabamba, 55 
 Cock-fighting, 244 
 Cock-pits, 33 s 
 Coins in Chile, 239 
 Colegio Maximo, 145, 165 
 College of Monserrat, 64 
 Colombia, 33 
 Colonia, surrendered to Spain, 
 
 4i~43; garrison sent to 
 
 Mendoza, 42 ; 86 ; force at, 
 
 1807, 280; 281 
 
 Colonial, system, failure of, 
 48 ; policy, 300 
 
 Colonies, southern, 58; Eng- 
 lish and Spanish, 58 
 
 Columbia, American vessel, 
 230 
 
 Commandante de Armas, 48 
 
 Commander-in-chief, 35 
 
 Commerce, Spain's, with 
 America, 45 : of Chile, 237, 
 238; colonial, 300-327 
 
 Commercial Code, 1778, 44, 
 48 
 
 Commercial policy, Spain's, 
 
 41 
 
 Commissaries of the Inqui- 
 sition, 16 
 
 Commission of Ceballos, 38 
 
 Commons of Buenos Aires, 
 90, 91 
 
 Compulsory labor, when 
 needed, 229 
 
 Concepcion, 8, 220, 222, 223, 
 244, 249 
 
 Concordats, 132 
 
 Concubines, 116, 117; of 
 monks, 188, 189 
 
 Condorcanqui, 195 
 
 Conflicts among the monks, 
 
 133 
 Conquest, ecclesiastical, 140 
 Constitution of University 
 
 of Cordova, 148 
 Consulado, 10 
 Contensiosa, 56 
 Continence attributed to av- 
 arice, 117 
 Contraband trade, 314-326 
 Control of church by king ,132 
 Converting Indians, 120, 121 
 Conveyances to church lim- 
 ited, 114 
 Copacabana, Nuestra Senora 
 
 de, 12 
 Cordillera impassable, 33 
 Cordova, 55, 58; University 
 of, 64, 143; 70, 75, 76, 93, 
 94, 130; on overland route, 
 319 
 
Index 
 
 345 
 
 Cornejo, 1767, 68 
 
 Coro, 315 
 
 Corporations, municipal, 84, 
 85 
 
 Corral, Juan del, $ 
 
 Corregidors, their interfeffence 
 in municipal government, 
 76; 84, 85, 169; extortions 
 of, 185-190; abuses prac- 
 tised by, 184—190, 193 
 
 Correo major, 8 
 
 Corrientes, 75 
 
 Corruption, 66 ; through 
 slaves, 112, 113 
 
 Council, Lateran, 128; gen- 
 eral, 128; provincial, 129; 
 of Trent, 131 
 
 Council of the Indies, 13, 35, 
 49. 122, 132 
 
 Councils, superior, 55, $(>; 
 in church, 127, 128 
 
 Country life in Chile, 246 
 
 Court, viceregal, 8 ; of mines, 
 10; of accounts, 10; ec- 
 clesiastical, 127 
 
 Courts, primitive, 82, 83; 
 civil, 126 
 
 Crawford, General, at Monte- 
 video, 290 
 
 Creoles, 1 01— 104; fitness for 
 ofiSce, 103; excluded from 
 high offices, 102, 103; and 
 Europeans, 113; conduct 
 of, 113; vanity of, 115; 
 lack of thrift, 115; lack of 
 enterprise, 311 
 
 Crown of Spain received 
 papal grant, 120 
 
 Cruelty to Indians, 182 
 
 Crusaaa, 219, 336 
 
 Cuba, negroes admitted to, 
 106 
 
 Culture system, 307 
 
 Curasao, Dutch trading post, 
 315 
 
 Curates, rectoral, 136; im- 
 portance of, 136 ; doctrinal, 
 137; support of, 138; 188, 
 189 
 
 Curriculum of University of 
 
 Cordova, 151 
 Customs duties under British, 
 
 ^ ^77 , 
 Custom-house, 11 
 Cuyo, transferred from Chile 
 to Rio de la Plata, 37; 34, 
 
 ^ 49. 52. 75. 76. 93 
 
 Cuzco, 2, 88, 194, 197, 199, 
 
 201, 202; clergy of, 202; 
 
 forces in, 1780, 202; 203; 
 
 battle of, 204 ; 206, 207 
 
 D 
 
 Dances and drunkenness, 117 
 Decline of population, means 
 
 to prevent, 339 
 Decree on patronage, 123-125 
 Degeneracy in Upper Peru, 73 
 Degrees of University of 
 
 Cordova, 146, 147, 153 
 Del Valle, in command in 
 Upper Peru, 205 ; at Cuzco, 
 205 ; leaves Cuzco, 207 ; his 
 campaign, 207 ; his cruelty, 
 208 
 Democracyin religious orders, 
 
 133 
 Departments, two, under the 
 
 king, 52 
 Dependents, 96 
 Depons on Sambos, roi 
 Destruction of Indians, 182 
 Diario de Lima, 106 
 Diego, Inca's cousin, 204 
 Discontent of Creoles, 103 
 Diseases in Chile, 248 
 Disintegration of colonial 
 
 system, 32 
 Distribution of wares to 
 
 Indians, 174 
 Dominicans, 12, 15 
 Donnelly, Captain, 265 
 Dress in University of Cor- 
 dova, 158 
 Drunkenness, 117; in San- 
 tiago, 246 
 Duke of San Carlos, 8, 9 
 
346 
 
 Index 
 
 Dulce, river, 6i 
 Dungeons at Lima, 24 
 Dutch at the Cape, 254 
 Duty on articles exported to 
 Peru, 66 
 
 E 
 
 Earthquake, 1746, 4-7, 325; 
 
 of 1687, 306, 307 
 Ecclesiastical, authorities, 2 ; 
 lands opposed by king, 13 ; 
 subjects, 64; cases, 122; 
 cases in civil courts, 126; 
 ecclesiastics become fewer, 
 139; offices, 126; power 
 in Chile, 221, 222 
 Ecuador, 33; and Colombia, 
 
 34; and Peru, 168 
 Education of Indians, 190 
 Elections, municipal, 8g ; pro- 
 vincial by padres, 133; by 
 monks, 134 
 Emigration to colonies, 120 
 Encomiendas, efforts to abol- 
 ish, 229 
 Endowment of University 
 
 of Cordova, 144-146 
 England and Spain, 233 
 English, colonies, 58, 316; 
 
 colonial town, 77 
 English goods smuggled, 44 
 English privileges of trade, 
 
 233 
 
 English, overthrown at Bue- 
 nos Aires, 283, 286; at 
 Montevideo, 289, 296; ad- 
 vance on Buenos Aires, 290 
 
 English, colonial policy, 300 ; 
 trade and its effects, 314; 
 wares in Lima, 322 
 
 Ensenada, 268; English at, 
 290 
 
 Entre Rios, 75 
 
 Erection of churches, 134 
 
 Europeans, 100—104 ; and Cre- 
 oles, 113, 115 
 
 European wares, 314, 320 
 
 Execution of the Inca, 210 
 
 Expenses of church building, 
 
 134 
 Exports, from Chile and Cuyo, 
 
 321 ; from Peru, 320 
 Extortion, 177; by clergy 
 
 and civilians, 185-190, 193 
 Extravagance in Lima, 25 
 
 Factories, 180, 312-314 
 
 False Bay, 261 
 
 Familiars, 14 
 
 Fandangoes, 117 
 
 Fees at Cordova, 157-163 
 
 Feliu and the cabildo, 87 
 
 Ferdinand VI., decree against 
 
 monks, 142 
 Ferdinand VII., 232 
 Fernandez, general intendant 
 
 of army, 50, 53 
 Festivals, church, 191, 192 
 Feudal, ideal, 91, 97; rela- 
 tions in Chile, 248 
 Fifth of mine products, 333 
 Fighting in Buenos Aires, 292 
 Fleet with Ceballos, 41 
 Flogging Indians, 184, 185 
 Flores, sent from Buenos 
 Aires, 205; reaches La Paz, 
 214 
 Forces, under Ceballos, 37, 
 38, 41 ; EngUsh, at Buenos 
 Aires, 286 
 Foreign ships, how regarded 
 
 by Peru, 315, 316 
 Foreign traders to Chile, 229 
 Formin, Don, 8 
 Fort of Buenos Aires, 89, 90 
 Founding towns, 77, 79 
 France and Council of Trent, 
 
 128 
 Franciscans, 12, 143; at Cor- 
 dova, 165 
 Free trade with colonies, 272 ; 
 
 1778, 44, 45, 60, 321-323 
 Freight, rates, 320; means of 
 
 carrying, 320 
 French Revolution, 254 
 
Index 
 
 347 
 
 French trade, 314 
 
 Frontier, Araucanian, 226, 
 
 227 
 Funds, municipal, 84 
 Funes on studies at Cordova, 
 
 151. 152 
 
 G 
 
 Galleon San Miguel, 323 
 
 Garay, 79, 90 
 
 Gasca, Pedro de, 60, 108 
 
 Gibbet (Picota), 61 
 
 Gijon, 45 
 
 Gladiator, trial on, 288 
 
 Gonzalez, Bias, 230 
 
 Government of Indies, char- 
 acter of, 49 
 
 Govemor-intendant, 52, 54, 
 126 
 
 Governors intervene in muni- 
 cipal affairs, 80, 81 
 
 Governors of Chile, 223, 224 
 
 Gower, General, 285 
 
 Graduation at Cordova, 154- 
 161 
 
 Grape-gro-wing, 302 
 
 Great Captain-General, 224 
 
 Gregory XV., 146 
 
 Grievances of Indians, 196 
 
 Groussac, Paul, quoted, 65 
 
 Guards of viceroy, 8 
 
 Guariboya disappears, 190 
 
 Guatemala's market closed, 
 302 
 
 Guayaquil, 2, 45 
 
 Guiana, 45 
 
 Guilds, industrial, in Chile, 
 
 243, 244 
 
 H 
 
 Haenke, Tadeo, 3, 5, 14, 26 
 
 Halberdiers, 8 
 
 Havana, 43 
 
 Holy office at Lima, 20 
 
 Holy See, iig 
 
 Horse-racing, 244 
 
 Hospitals, 13, 92 
 
 Hostility, Europeans and Cre- 
 oles, 104; Indians and 
 Spaniards, 61; threatened 
 between English and Span- 
 ish, 233 
 
 Houses, provincial, 62; of 
 Lima, 6 
 
 Huallanca, 11 
 
 Huamanga, 2 
 
 Huancavelica, 2, 11, 311, 
 333—335 
 
 Huskisson's testimony, 258 
 
 Idleness, enforced, 251 
 Ignaciana, 153 
 Immigration, Spanish, 74 
 Immorality of priests, 141, 
 
 142 
 Import and export tax, 330 
 Import duty on negroes, 106 
 Imprenta de los Ninos Ex- 
 
 positos, 95 
 Inca, jurisdiction of, 197; 
 prisoner, 208 ; proclamation 
 forged, 206, 207 
 Incas, heir of, 195 
 Independence of Uruguay, 89 
 Indians, 14, 100, 104 ; builders, 
 62; census of, 10; com- 
 vcMmtY of, 2; conditions 
 of their work, 178; con- 
 version of, 120, 140 ; taught, 
 188; deprived of lands, 
 185; destruction of, 317; 
 education of, 190, igi; 
 employment of, 216; en- 
 slaved, 170; follow Tupac 
 Amaru, 198; grievances 
 of, 196; hard conditions of 
 work, 177; mita, 169; and 
 negroes kept apart, 108; 
 neophytes, 73; had no 
 part in harvest, 63 ; not 
 to work in sugar mills, 301 ; 
 of the Chaco, 68; of Chile, 
 250 ; official report on, 167- 
 191; oppressed, 63, 64, 
 
348 
 
 Index 
 
 Indians — Continued 
 
 206; punished by priests, 
 184; punished in factories, 
 184, 185; religion of, 192; 
 revolt, 167, 193-217; in 
 Paraguay, 94 ; sale of wares 
 to, 193; school for, in 
 Chile, 228; their misery, 
 168; their privations, 194; 
 under Jesuits, 73 ; the 
 women, 188, 189 
 
 Indies, council of, 132; laws 
 of, on church lands, 13; 
 laws of, 54; patronage in, 
 124 
 
 Industrial guilds in Chile, 
 243-244 
 
 Industry, colonial, 300-327 
 
 Infernillos, 24 
 
 Inquisition, 14; established in 
 Lima, 14; 15; at Potosi, 
 20; sessions of, 16 
 
 Inquisitors, 15 
 
 Institutions of monks en- 
 danged in election con- 
 flicts, 133, 134 
 
 Institutes, professorship of, 
 164 
 
 Instruction in University of 
 Cordova, 64 
 
 Instructions of Aranda, 164; 
 as to Jesuits, 161, 162 
 
 Instructions to Ceballos, 40 
 
 Intendancies, 46; $1; period 
 of, S9! in Chile, 222, 223 
 
 Intendants, ordinance of, ^2 
 
 Interior province, 58-74 
 
 Irrigation in Peru, 308, 309 
 
 amaica, 106 
 
 duregui, 227 
 
 esuits, sent property to 
 Europe, 69; 92 ; and the In- 
 dians, 73; they and their 
 books excluded from in- 
 struction at Cordova, 162; 
 as miners, 71, 72; bene- 
 
 ficiaries of Trejo, 145 ; their 
 college at Cuzco, 199; es- 
 tates of, 239; expulsion of, 
 68, 161, 162; in Tucuman, 
 69; their printing plant, 
 94; property in Tucuman, 
 69 
 
 Juan andUUoa, 168, 169 
 
 Juan Fernandez, island of, 
 230; governor of, 316 
 
 Judges, local, 82 
 
 Juez de aguas, 78 
 
 Jujuy, 7s; on overland route, 
 
 319 
 Junta superior degobierno, 56 
 Jurisprudence at Cordova, 
 
 1791, 164 
 
 K 
 
 Kennet, Captain, 266 
 
 King's power over church, 
 I20-I2S, 132; nomination 
 of church oflScers, 126; di- 
 rect interference, 222 
 
 Kinsmen of candidate not to 
 vote, 82 
 
 Labor, despised, 139; forced, 
 182; free, 183 
 
 La Guayra, 315 
 
 La Legua, 28 
 
 Land, for churches, 135; in 
 the country not minutely 
 divided, 97 
 
 Landa, Don Tiburcio, and 
 Tupac Amaru, 200; his 
 forces, 200, 201; death of, 
 201 
 
 Landing, English, at Buenos 
 Aires, 262-264 
 
 Lands, distribution of, 13; 
 ecclesiastical, 14; laity on 
 lands of the church, 14; 
 of Buenos Aires distri- 
 buted, 90; of Argentine, 
 96 
 
Index 
 
 349 
 
 La Palata, Duke of, 3 
 
 La Paz, SI. SS. 95 ; besieged, 
 205, 211—215 
 
 La Plata, 51, 55; archbishop 
 of, 94, 130; bishop of, 13s 
 
 La Rosa, governor of Monte- 
 video, deposed, 86, 87 
 
 Las Casas, 106 
 
 Lateran council, 128 
 
 Latin, 144, 150, 151, 163 
 
 Law, ecclesiastical, 121 
 
 Laws of Indies, 54 
 
 Lawyers, objections to, 83 
 
 Legislation on church in 
 America, 121 
 
 Leo X., 138 
 
 Library, lack of, at Cordova, 
 164 
 
 Licentiousness of clergy, 116 
 
 Life, adventurous in Amer- 
 ica, 141; in monastery, 139 
 
 Lima, i, 2, 6, 8, 14, 20; the 
 capital of South America, 
 1-31; 45,78; archbishop 
 of, 130, 135; elevation of, 7; 
 founded, 1535, 3; inhabi- 
 tants, 25; mail to, 242; 
 monasteries in, 14; popu- 
 lation of, 4; sent troops 
 to Cuzco, 204; social and 
 commercial centre, 2, 32; 
 walls of, 3 
 
 Liniers, 166, 292; at Colonia, 
 280; character of, 282; 
 crosses to Buenos Aires, 
 281; his forces, 282; made 
 military chief, 284; signed 
 treaty, 295; proclamation 
 to forces, 281; note to 
 Whitelocke, 292 
 
 Liquor license, 330 
 
 Local political development, 
 
 33 
 Logic at Cordova, 152 
 Lograno disappears, 190 
 London receives treasure 
 
 from Buenos Aires, 272 
 Lopez, Antonio, 195 
 Loreto, Marquis of, 48 
 
 Lost property, 333 
 
 Loyola patron of University 
 
 of Cordova, 148 
 Lules Indians distributed, 60, 
 
 61 
 
 M 
 
 Madrid, Ceballos, governor 
 
 of, 38 
 Mapocho, wall of, 236 
 Mail from Corufia, 241 
 Maipo, battle of, 2 53 , 
 
 Malaga, 45 
 Maldonado, 86 
 Mandagure, 208 
 Manufactures of Chile, 242 
 Market, in Lima, 5; limited 
 
 in Chile, 252 
 Markham, 202 
 Marsden to Popham, 286 
 Mat^, 318 
 Maynas, 2 
 Media anata, 331 
 Melville, quoted, 255 
 Membership in cabildo, 81 
 Memorias by viceroys, 48 
 Mendieta, Dr., 202 
 Mendoza, 38, 42, 51, 75; 
 
 wine of, 318 
 Mercedarios, 12 
 Mestizo, 73; mestizas, 100 
 Mexico, 2, 32, 54; city of, 88; 
 
 University of, 143; viceroy 
 
 of, 134 
 Military department in Chile, 
 
 220, 221; 232, 233 
 Militia, became more promi- 
 nent, 140; to be raised by 
 
 viceroy, 40 
 Miller, Memoirs, 193, 194 
 Mills plundered by Indians, 
 
 199 
 Mines, court of, 10; in Chile, 
 
 239; in Peru, 310, 311; 
 
 produce of, 335 
 Mining in Upper Peru, 71, 72 
 Miranda, 255 
 
35° 
 
 Index 
 
 Missionaries, 137, 138; in 
 trade, 138; salary of, 
 138 
 
 Missiones, 48, 51; expeditions 
 to, 41 
 
 Mita, 310, 311 
 
 Mitayo, misery of, 178 
 
 Mitre on Liniers, 282 
 
 Mojos, 48, 51 
 
 Monarchs, Spanish, 218 
 
 Monasteries, 27, 90, 116, 117, 
 123. 133. i34;of Lima, 143; 
 places of refuge, 139; rou- 
 tine of, 141 
 
 Money in Chile, 238, 239 
 
 Monks, 116, 117, 133, 139; 
 and secular clergy, 142; 
 as parish priests, 138, 139, 
 188; in America, 138 
 
 Monopolies, royal, 11; ended 
 by English, 276 
 
 Monopoly, of tobacco, 336; 
 of trade by corregidor, 
 170; Seville's, 45 
 
 Monserrat, college of, 94, 
 165; monastery of, 291 
 
 Monte de Piedad, 11 
 
 Montevideo, 41, 45, 47, 51, 
 85, 86, 88, 95 ; and Callao, 
 320; army sent to, 42; 
 condition of, 261; English 
 in, 296; mail to, 241 
 
 Moors, 140 
 
 Moyen, Francisco, 18-31; 
 warrant for, 19; in prison, 
 22; not guilty, 24; pun- 
 ished on account of sus- 
 picion, 24; sentenced, 22; 
 trial of, 2 1 
 
 Mulattoes, 100 
 
 Mules, distributed by cor- 
 regidor, 172-175; prices of, 
 174; sent to Peru, 66, 318, 
 319; in Upper Peru, 319 
 
 Municipal property, 90 
 
 Murray, Admiral, signs 
 treaty, 295 
 
 Mutilation of negroes, 107, 
 108 
 
 N 
 
 Napoleon's empire, 232 
 
 Nations in general ecclesi- 
 astical council, 128, 129 
 
 Natives disappear, 308 
 
 Negotiations, Tupac Amaru's 
 hopes in, 201 
 
 Negroes, 100; in Chile, 252; 
 transported to Peru, 252; 
 in Lima, 107; under Span- 
 iards, law of 1789, 108- 
 iio; kept for ostentation, 
 253 ; fugitive, 107 ; price of, 
 in Chile, 252; taken to 
 America, 105; sales of, 106, 
 107; as slaves in Peru, 309; 
 as soldiers in Santiago, 
 253; hunted, 108 
 
 Neri, San Felipe, 12 
 
 News from Paraguay, Buenos 
 Aires, and Spain, 70 
 
 New Granada, 48 
 
 New Spain, 88 
 
 Nobility, in Chile, 240, 241; 
 in Santiago, 245; of 'Tupac 
 Amaru, 195; pretensions 
 of Creoles, 114; tax on, 337 
 
 Nobles in Lima, 337 
 
 Notables, Congress of, 284 
 
 Noticias Secretas, 48, 168 
 
 Nuns, 12 
 
 O 
 
 Obrajes, 180; Indians not to 
 
 work in, 312-314 
 Obscenities among the clergy, 
 
 117 
 Offices, sale of, 333 
 O'Higgins, 224, 228, 237 
 Olives not to be grown, 303 
 Oppression suffered by In- 
 dians, 48, 168 
 Order in Council on Buenos 
 
 Aires, 277-279 
 Orders of decoration, 241 
 Ordinance of intendants, 32, 
 5°. S4> SS< 126 
 
Index 
 
 351 
 
 Oropesa, cacique of, 200; 
 
 marquisate of, 195, 196 
 Ortiz, Marquis of Aro, 67 
 Overland route, 70, 326, 327 
 Overland trade, 319 
 
 Pack, Colonel, 265 
 
 Padrino, 154-156 
 
 Palaces at Madrid and To- 
 ledo, 106 
 
 Palata, Duke de la, 28, note 
 
 Pampamarca, 196, ig8 
 
 Panama, 302 
 
 Papal delegate, 122 
 
 Papallacta, town of, 2 
 
 Paraguay, i, 45, 47, 49, 52, 
 SS, 59. 75. 13°; bishopric 
 of, 5; Indian population 
 of, 94 ; trade of, 318 
 
 Parish priests, 116, 141 
 
 Parish, Woodbine, quoted, 
 98 
 
 Partidos in Chile, 223 
 
 Pasco, II 
 
 Patagonia, 48 ; settlements 
 
 in, 47 
 
 Patriarcli of the Indies, 129 
 
 Patrocinio, 13 
 
 Patronage, 122, 123, 124, 126; 
 decree on, 123—125 
 
 Paucartambo, garrison of, 
 204 
 
 Paul III., 138 
 
 Paz, 47 
 
 Perdriel, battle of, 280 
 
 Peru, 32, 48, 54, 60, 61, 75, 
 93, 108, 123, 130, 199; 
 cities of, 115; imports 
 after 1778, 321-323; in- 
 tendancies of, 2; viceroy 
 of, I, 2, 7, 8, 134; viceroy- 
 alty of, 34; wealth of, 140 
 
 Peruvian merchants, 32 
 
 Peruvians assist Buenos 
 Aires, 272 
 
 Philip II., II, 14, 88, 195; 
 
 and the wool trade, 312; 
 purchases Huancavelica, 
 
 334 
 
 Philip IV., 147 
 
 Philip v., 66 
 
 Philosophy, 103; in Uni- 
 versity of Cordova, 151, 
 ,152 
 
 Picchu, 209; Inca's army at, 
 203 
 
 Pimampiro deserted, 189, 
 I go 
 
 Pino opposes cabildo, 87 
 
 Pitt's plans, 254-259; origin 
 of, 258, 259 
 
 Pizarro, 60 
 
 Political hierarchy, 47 
 
 Poor whites, 112 
 
 Pope, 132, 135; and America, 
 119; and councils, 128 
 
 Popham, 254, 257-264; his 
 account of landing at 
 Buenos Aires, 262-264; 
 charge against, 256; re- 
 lieved, 285; to Sterling, 
 287; his trial, 288 
 
 Popular uprising in Rio de 
 la Plata, 285 
 
 Population, of Chile, 218; 
 decreased, 338; growth of, 
 
 33 
 
 Port charges, 335 
 
 Porto Bello, 45 
 
 Porto Cabello, 315 
 
 Porto Rico, 106 
 
 Portugal, grants to, 122 
 
 Portuguese, 37 ; aggression of, 
 318; expedition against, 
 37; from Brazil, 33; Span- 
 ish war with, 1777, 42; 
 smuggling, 326; territorial 
 claims of, 4 
 
 Postal service in Chile, 242 
 
 Post-office, 9, 11; in Chile, 
 241 
 
 Potosi, 18, 47, 51, 55, 76, 9s; 
 output of mines of, 335; 
 receives mules, 319 
 
 Poverty in Chile, 250, 251 
 
352 
 
 Index 
 
 Powers of government not 
 
 separated, 84 
 Prado, Nunez de, 60 
 President as head of colonial 
 
 government, 125 
 Prices rise in Spain, 311, 312 
 Priests, and Indian women, 
 
 74, note; morality of, 141; 
 
 secular, 139 
 Primate of Spain, 129 
 Primogeniture in Chile, 240 
 Printing in Buenos Aires, 
 
 94, 95 
 Prisoners of war, 1777, 41, 42 
 Private houses, 117 
 Procedure in church courts, 
 
 127 
 Proclamation, of English in 
 
 Buenos Aires, 273; of So- 
 
 bremonte, 270; of Inca 
 
 forged, 207 
 Profits by corregidor, 174, 
 
 17s 
 Prohibitions, industrial, 304 
 Proletariat of the plains, 96 
 Property, accumulated by 
 church, 140; received by 
 Inca, 198; of Indians, 185 
 Propinas, 148, 157 
 Proprietors, landed, admin- 
 ister justice, 248 
 Protective system, 300 
 Protest of Popham to Ster- 
 ling, 287 
 Protests of Indians, 176 
 Province, ecclesiastical, 129; 
 conclusions of provincial 
 council, 1 29-13 1 
 Province, interior, 58-74 
 Provinces with military gov- 
 ernors, 47 
 Provisions, 127 
 Pueyrredon at Perdriel, 280 
 Punishment, of Indians, 181, 
 184, 185; by Inquisition, 
 15, 16; of negroes, 107, 108 
 Purposes of Tupac Amaru, 
 
 204 
 Puno, .2, 272; siege of, 210 
 
 Q 
 
 Qualifiers, 16, 22 
 
 Quichua dramas, 210 
 
 Quicksilver, 311 
 
 Quijos, 2 
 
 Quilmes, 268, 269 
 
 Quintana commanding lan- 
 cers, 269 
 
 Quiquijana, 199; captured, 
 208 
 
 Quispicanchi, 199 
 
 Quito, 5 
 
 R 
 
 Race prejudice, 104 
 Races in colonial society, 100 
 Ramond, Don John, 4 
 Real Casa de Ejercicios, 13 
 Rebellion of Indians, 61 
 Reconquest of Buenos Aires, 
 
 280-299 
 Reductions, Seven, 87 
 Reforms, demanded by Inca, 
 
 203; in agriculture, 228 
 Regent of audiencia, 219 
 Regidors, 78, 81, 82 
 Reinforcements at Buenos 
 
 Aires, 285 
 Religious instruction, 188- 
 
 192 
 Religious orders, 11, 12; and 
 
 balls, 117 
 Repartimientos, 202, 203; 
 system of, 171; distribu- 
 tion of wares under, 172- 
 176 
 Reprimand of Popham, 289 
 Reseguin, Lieutenant, 215 
 Residencia, 176, 177 
 Resolutions of synod, 131 
 Restriction on trade, 317 
 Retiro, fight in, 283 
 Retreat for religious women, 
 
 Revenue, 328-339; sources 
 of, 328 
 
Index 
 
 353 
 
 Revolt of Indians, 1780; ex- 
 tent of, 167, 193-217; effect 
 of, 216 
 
 Revolutionary, ideas, 230; 
 influences, 222 
 
 Riachnelo, 290 
 
 Right of patronage, 122, 123 
 
 Rimac, 4 
 
 Rio de la Plata, 32, 43, 59, 
 75, 84, 86, 223; and smug- 
 gling, 44; expedition to, 
 256; viceroy alty of, 29, 
 
 „ 32-57. 130 
 
 Rioja, 75 
 
 Rio Janeiro, 41 
 
 Rio Negro, settlement aban- 
 doned, 47 
 
 Rivers, Paraguay, Parand, 
 and Uruguay, 33 
 
 Roads, in Chile, 234-237; 
 over the Andes, 237; San- 
 tiago to Valparaiso, 236 
 
 Rodriguez, Carlos, 195, 197, 
 198 
 
 Rodriguez, Martin, of Buenos 
 Aires, 290 
 
 Roman curia, 132 
 
 Romero, deputy of Governor 
 Viana, 87 
 
 Romero, of Buenos Aires, 
 290 
 
 Route, overland, 70, 326, 327 
 
 Royal ninths, 331 
 
 Royal physicians, commis- 
 sion of, 1 1 
 
 Royal treasury, 91 
 
 Ruiz, ]os6, 270 
 
 Saavedra, 290 
 
 Sale of offices, 80, 333 
 
 Salt tax, 335 
 
 Salta, 55, 59, 64, 7S. 93. 13°: 
 
 and the mule trade, 319; 
 
 cabildo of, 67 
 Sambos, 100, loi 
 San Borja, College of, 195 
 
 San Carlos, Duke of, 8, 9; 
 
 University of, 165 
 San Francisco de Paida, 12 
 Sangarara, fight at, 200, 209 
 San Ildefonso, treaty of, 40, 
 
 42; University of, 12 
 San Juan, 7 5 ; brandy of , 3 1 8 ; 
 
 de Dios, 12, 15; del Pico, 38 
 San Julien, 48 
 San Lorenzo, 46 
 San Lucas, 45 
 San Luis, 75 
 San Marcos, in Lima, 143; 
 
 University of, 1 1 
 San Martin, in Lima, 24 
 Santa Catalina, Colegio de, 
 
 144 
 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 47, 
 
 SI. 319 
 
 Santa F6, 75; viceroyalty of, 
 
 I. 2, 32 
 Santa Lucia, hill of, 231 
 Santa Marta burned, 105 
 Santander, 45 
 Santa Rose de Viterbo, 13 
 Santiago, 95, 223, 228, 244; 
 bishop of, 130; flooded, 
 236; population of, 244- 
 
 247 
 
 Santiago del Estero, 59, 61, 
 64.65, 75, 144 
 
 Santo Domingo, 106; em- 
 porium for European wares, 
 314; archbishop of, 129 
 
 Sanz, Francisco de Paula, 
 general intendant, 54 
 
 Saylla, defeat, 203 
 
 Schools, secondary, 70 
 
 Secular clergy and University 
 of Cordova, 165 
 
 Segurola, at La Paz, 205, 
 212; diary of, 205 
 
 Sentence, of Inca, 209; of 
 Moyen, 22 
 
 Separatist tendency, 76 
 
 Serena, 244 
 
 Serfs, Indian, 139 
 
 Services of church, 138 
 
 Seville, 45 
 
354 
 
 Index 
 
 Shipping to Rio de la Plata, 
 260 
 
 Ships at Callao, 323 
 
 Silva, Juan de, 123 
 
 Silver, paving, 28, 29; re- 
 fining, 334 
 
 Sinecures, 136 
 
 Slavery, 64; effect of, on view 
 of work, 112, 113 
 
 Slaves, 43, 44; as artisans, 
 III, 112; for ostentation, 
 iii; negro, 139; part of 
 social organism, iii; re- 
 volt of, 105, 106 
 
 Smallpox, 249 
 
 Smuggling, 314; to Rio de la 
 Plata, 44 
 
 Sobremonte, 268, 284; his 
 proclamation, 270 
 
 Social standing and slaves, 
 III 
 
 Society, in Chile, 250; in 
 Spanish colonies, 100; un- 
 democratic, 97 
 
 Solis, bishop of Quito, 143 
 
 Sol6rzano, 122 
 
 Sorata destroyed, 210, 211 
 
 Soriano, 86 
 
 Soto, Jos^ A., 18, 19 
 
 South America, capital of, 
 
 1-3 1 
 
 Spaniards, and Portuguese 
 in conflict, 41; retake 
 Buenos Aires, 282, 283; 
 in relation to negroes, 107, 
 108-110 
 
 Spanish, colonies, 58; colo- 
 nial town, 77; municipal 
 charters, 79; official tyr- 
 anny, 201 
 
 Spectacles sold to Indians, 
 
 o ^93 . ^. 
 Sports m Lima, 26 
 Stamped paper, 333 
 Star of the South, 289 
 Stirling's meanness, 285, 288 
 Stock companies, 311 
 Strays, 332 
 Street-lighting, 92 
 
 Streets, in Buenos Aires, 91; 
 
 in Lima, 6 
 Students in Cordova, 158-160 
 Sugar-cane, 69; in Cuba, 105; 
 
 Peruvian, 309 
 Sugar mills in Peru, 301 
 Sumina, 153 
 Superintendent of army and 
 
 treasury, 46 
 Support of missionaries, 138 
 Surimani, 196 
 Surrender, of Beresford, 283; 
 
 of Whitelocke, 293 
 Synod, meetings of, 131 
 Syphilis in Chile, 249 
 
 Talca, 244 
 
 Tarma, 2 
 
 Taskmasters, 183; over In- 
 dians, 184 
 
 Tax, on cane-growing, 301; 
 on nobility, 337 
 
 Taxes imposed by open ca- 
 bildo, 88 
 
 Tenants, treatment of, 247, 
 248 
 
 Terms, granted Beresford, 
 274-276; of Whitelocke's 
 surrender, 293-295 
 
 Textiles of Peru, 313, 314 
 
 Theatre in Buenos Aires, 92, 
 
 93 
 Theology, 151-153, 163 
 Thomas Aquinas, 153, 164 
 Tidal wave, 7 
 
 Tinta, 67, 195, 197, 203, 204; 
 60,000 men at, 205; forces 
 at, 204; Indian defeat at, 
 208 
 Tithes in Chile, 221 
 Titicaca, Lake, 2, 210 
 Tobacco, in Tucuman, 69; 
 
 monopoly of, 336 
 Toledo, bishop of, 129; vice- 
 roy, 195, 302 
 Tonnage, Peruvian, 323, 324 
 
Index 
 
 355 
 
 Towns in English and Span- 
 ish colonies, 77 
 
 Trade, intercolonial, 327; 
 overland, 70, 319; with 
 Buenos Aires, 276, 277 
 
 Trafalgar, 254 
 
 Treachery towards Inca, 208 
 
 Treasure from Buenos Aires, 
 271, 272 
 
 Treasury, 50, 52; royal, 9; 
 under general intendant, 
 
 SI 
 Treatment of negroes, 106 
 Treaty by Whitelocke, 293- 
 
 29s 
 Trejo, death of, 145; founds 
 University of Cordova, 
 
 143-145 
 
 Trent, Council of, 128, 131 
 
 Tribute, 332; collected by 
 corregidors, 169; unjustly 
 collected, 169, 170 
 
 Troops, from heavy to light, 
 67; of viceroyalty, 40, 41 
 
 Trujillo, 2 
 
 Trujillo, Padre, 145 
 
 Tucuman, 47, 51, 52, 58-60, 
 62-64, 66-68, 70, 71, 75, 
 76, 93; bishop of, 144; ex- 
 tent of, 143; hides and 
 textiles, 318; Jesuits in, 
 69; trade with Peru, 319 
 
 Tungasuca, cacique of, 195, 
 196, 198, 199 
 
 Tupac Amaru, 193-217 
 
 Twelve Apostles of Peru, 143 
 
 U 
 
 Ulloa and Juan, 168, 169; 
 
 coming of viceroy, 27; on 
 
 the clergy, 116; on the 
 
 Creoles, 113, 114 
 Universities, 143 
 University, colonial, 143-166 
 University of Buenos Aires, 
 
 64 
 University of Cordova, 64; 
 
 approved by pope, 144- 
 
 146; projected removal, 
 162; purpose of, 160; re- 
 organized, 164-166; scope 
 of, 144; under Franciscans, 
 161, 162 
 Upper Peru, 45, 49. 52. 7°. 
 71, 94, 130; revolt in, 205 
 
 Valdivia, 6, 220 
 
 Valladolid, Cortes of, 312 
 
 Valparaiso, 220, 244 
 
 Vancouver on Chilean roads, 
 23s. 236 
 
 Vassals, gi 
 
 Velasco signs treaty at Bue- 
 nos Aires, 295 
 
 Velasco, viceroy, 302, 313 
 
 Vera Cruz, 45 ; sacked, 3 
 
 Verdict in Popham's trial, 
 288 
 
 Vertiz, 47, 49, 53, 86, 91; 
 Governor, 40 ; improves 
 Buenos Aires, 92; in com- 
 mand, 1777, 42; memoria, 
 48 ; succeeds Ceballos, 
 46-50 
 
 Veto, royal, over church, 
 120; of bishop, 134 
 
 Viamont, 290 
 
 Viana, governor, 86 
 
 Vice-patron, 36, 126 
 
 Viceroy, 55, 78, 125, 126; and 
 governor-intendant, 52, 53; 
 and the monks, 133; arri- 
 val, 27-31; of Peru, I, ■^, 
 7, 8, 218; O'Higgins as, 
 224, 225; salary, 8; his 
 guards, 8; power and du- 
 ties, 34, 35; restrictions on 
 his conduct, 36; term in 
 Peru, 3 1 ; as vice-patron, 36 
 
 Viceroyalty, oflficers of, 52 ; 
 created, 38; divisions of, 
 53 ; the old and the new, 
 34; of Rio de la Plata, 130; 
 affairs of, 36, 37, 57; of 
 Mexico and Peru, 32 
 
354 
 
 Index 
 
 Shipping to Rio de la Plata, 
 260 
 
 Ships at Callao, 323 
 
 Silva, Juan de, 123 
 
 Silver, paving, 28, 29; re- 
 fining, 334 
 
 Sinecures, 136 
 
 Slavery, 64 ; efiEect of, on view 
 of work, 112, 113 
 
 Slaves, 43, 44; as artisans, 
 III, 112; for ostentation, 
 iii; negro, 139; part of 
 social organism, in; re- 
 volt of, loj, 106 
 
 Smallpox, 249 
 
 Smuggling, 314; to Rio de la 
 Plata, 44 
 
 Sobremonte, 268, 284; his 
 proclamation, 270 
 
 Social standing and slaves, 
 III 
 
 Society, in Chile, 250; in 
 Spanish colonies, 100; un- 
 democratic, 07 
 
 Solis, bishop of Quito, i< 
 
 Sol6rzano, 122 
 
 Sorata destroyed, 210, 211 
 
 Soriano, 86 
 
 Soto, Jos6 A., 18, 19 
 
 South America, capital of, 
 
 1-3 1 
 
 Spaniards, and Portuguese 
 in conflict, 41; retake 
 Buenos Aires, 282, 283; 
 in relation to negroes, 107, 
 108-110 
 
 Spanish, colonies, 58; colo- 
 nial town, 77; municipal 
 charters, 79; ofi&cial tyr- 
 anny, 201 
 
 Spectacles sold to Indians, 
 
 o '53 . ^. 
 Sports m Lima, 26 
 Stamped paper, 333 
 Star of the South, 289 
 Stirling's meanness, 285, 288 
 Stock companies, 311 
 Strays, 332 
 Street-lighting, 92 
 
 143 
 
 Streets, in Buenos Aires, 91; 
 
 in Lima, 6 
 Students in Cordova, 1 58-1 60 
 Sugar-cane, 69; in Cuba, 105; 
 
 Peruvian, 309 
 Sugar mills in Peru, 301 
 Summa, 153 
 Superintendent of army and 
 
 treasury, 46 
 Support of missionaries, 138 
 Surimani, 196 
 Surrender, of Beresford, 283; 
 
 of Whitelocke, 293 
 Synod, meetings of, 131 
 Syphilis in Chile, 249 
 
 Talca, 244 
 
 Tarma, 2 
 
 Taskmasters, 183; over In- 
 dians, 184 
 
 Tax, on cane-growing, 301; 
 on nobility, 337 
 
 Taxes imposed by open ca- 
 bildo, 88 
 
 Tenants, treatment of, 247, 
 248 
 
 Terms, granted Beresford, 
 274-276; of Whitelocke's 
 surrender, 293-295 
 
 Textiles of Peru, 313, 314 
 
 Theatre in Buenos Aires, 92, 
 93 
 
 Theology, 151-153. 1^3 
 
 Thomas Aquinas, 153, 164 
 
 Tidal wave, 7 
 
 Tinta, 67, 195, 197, 203, 204; 
 60,000 men at, 205; forces 
 at, 204; Indian defeat at, 
 208 
 
 Tithes in Chile, 221 
 
 Titicaca, Lake, 2, 210 
 
 Tobacco, in Tucuman, 69; 
 monopoly of, 336 
 
 Toledo, bishop of, 129; vice- 
 roy, 195, 302 
 
 Tonnage, Peruvian, 323, 324 
 
Index 
 
 355 
 
 Towns in English and Span- 
 ish colonies, 77 
 
 Trade, intercolonial, 327; 
 overland, 70, 319; with 
 Buenos Aires, 276, 277 
 
 Trafalgar, 254 
 
 Treachery towards Inca, 208 
 
 Treasure from Buenos Aires, 
 271, 272 
 
 Treasury, 50, 52; royal, 9; 
 under general intendant, 
 
 Treatment of negroes, 106 
 Treaty by Whitelocke, 293- 
 
 Trejo, death of, 145; founds 
 University of Cordova, 
 
 143-145 
 
 Trent, Council of, 128, 131 
 
 Tribute, 332; collected by 
 corregidors, 169; unjustly 
 collected, 169, 170 
 
 Troops, from heavy to light, 
 67; of viceroyalty, 40, 41 
 
 Trujillo, 2 
 
 Trujillo, Padre, 145 
 
 Tucuman, 47, 51, 52, 58-60, 
 62-64, 66-68, 70, 71, 75, 
 76, 93; bishop of, 144; ex- 
 tent of, 143; hides and 
 textiles, 318; Jesuits in, 
 69; trade with Peru, 319 
 
 Tungasuca, cacique of, 195, 
 196, 198, 199 
 
 Tupac Amaru, 193-217 
 
 Twelve Apostles of Peru, I43 
 
 U 
 
 UUoa and Juan, 168, 169; 
 
 coming of viceroy, 27; on 
 
 the clergy, 116; on the 
 
 Creoles, 113, 114 
 Universities, 143 
 University, colonial, 143-166 
 University of Buenos Aires, 
 
 64 
 University of Cordova, 64; 
 
 approved by pope, 144- 
 
 146; projected removal, 
 162; purpose of, 160; re- 
 organized, 164-166; scope 
 of, 144; under Franciscans, 
 161, 162 
 Upper Peru, 45, 49, 52, 70, 
 711 94> 130; revolt in, 205 
 
 Valdivia, 6, 220 
 Valladolid, Cortes of, 312 
 Valparaiso, 220, 244 
 Vancouver on Chilean roads. 
 
 Vassals, 91 
 
 Velasco signs treaty at Bue- 
 nos Aires, 295 
 
 Velasco, viceroy, 302, 313 
 
 Vera Cruz, 45; sacked, 3 
 
 Verdict in Popham's trial, 
 288 
 
 Vertiz, 47, 49, 53, 86, 91; 
 Governor, 40 ; improves 
 Buenos Aires, 92; in com- 
 mand, 1777, 42; memoria, 
 48 ; succeeds Ceballos, 
 46-50 
 
 Veto, royal, over church, 
 120; of bishop, 134 
 
 Viamont, 290 
 
 Viana, governor, 86 
 
 Vice-patron, 36, 126 
 
 Viceroy, 55, 78, 125, 126; and 
 governor-intendant, 52, 53; 
 and the monks, 133; arri- 
 val, 27-31; of Peru, I, 2, 
 7, 8, 218; O'Higgins as, 
 224, 225; salary, 8; his 
 guards, 8; power and du- 
 ties, 34, 3S'' restrictions on 
 his conduct, 36; term in 
 Peru, 3 1 ; as vice-patron, 36 
 
 Viceroyalty, officers of, 52; 
 created, 38; divisions of, 
 S3 ; the old and the new, 
 34; of Rio de la Plata, 130; 
 affairs of, 36, 37, 57; of 
 Mexico and Peru, 32 
 
356 
 
 Index 
 
 Victims of Inca revolt, 210 
 
 Vicuna wool, 325 
 
 Viedma, 48 
 
 Vigo, 45 
 
 Villegas, 5 
 
 Vineyards of Mendoza, 42 
 
 Violation of patronage rights, 
 126 
 
 Vireyes, Memorias de los, 4 
 
 Viterbo, Santa Rosa de, 13 
 
 Voltaire, 18 
 
 Voters, 79 
 
 Voting for kinsmen pro- 
 hibited, 82 
 
 W 
 
 Wages in Chile, 1793, 236 
 
 Wame, American shipmas- 
 ter, 2tSl 
 
 Walls of Lima, 3, 4 
 
 War, England and Spain, 
 17791 4S; of 1776, ended 
 
 by treaty, 42; of Seven 
 
 Reductions, 87 
 Wealth, centres of, 94; of 
 
 colonies, 177, 178 
 Western coast trade, 320 
 West Indies, 277 
 Wheat, Chilean, in Peru, 
 
 307; cultivation of, 305, 
 
 306; encouraged in Peru, 
 
 3°7 
 
 7hi1 ' 
 
 Whitelocke, 286, 290; reply 
 to Liniers, 2 93; surrenders, 
 293; signs treaty, 295; 
 to Liniers, 291; tried in 
 England, 297-299 
 
 White man's degeneracy, 96 
 
 Wine, of Mendoza, 318; Peru- 
 vian, 302, 303; production 
 prohibited, 303 
 
 Workshops and Indians, 182 
 
 Yanaoca, cura of, 198 
 
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