Mechanics' Society Library.
ON 24077
DETROIT,
R213
1788
A
PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL
H IS T O RY
OF THE
SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
OF THE
EUROPEANS
IN THE
EAST AND WEST INDIES.
REVISED, AUGMENTED, AND PUBLISHED,
IN TEN VOLUMES,
By the ABBÉ RAYNA L.
Newly tranflated from the French,.
By J. O. JUSTAMOND, F. R. S.
WITH A
NEW SET OF MAPS ADAPTED TO THE WORK,
AND A COPIOUS INDEX.
IN EIGHT VOLUMES.
VOLUME THE FOURTH.
LONDON:
STRAHAN; AND T. CADELL,
THE STRAND.
MDCCLXXXVIII.
PRINTED FOR A.
IN
·
CONTENTS
OF THE
FOURTH VOLUM E.
BOOK VII.
CONQUEST of Peru by the Spaniards.
Changes that have happened in this Empire
Since that Revolution,
Can the conquefts of the Spaniards in the New World be
approved of,
Extravagances and cruelties that mark the firſt ſteps of
the Spaniards in South America,
The Spaniards acquire the firſt notion of Peru,
Three Spaniards undertake the conqueft of Peru, without
any affistance from government,
Manner in which Pizarro, the chief of the expedition,
makes himſelf mafter of the empire,
Page
Origin, religion, government, manners, and arts of
Peru, at the arrival of the Spaniards,
The ſubjection of Peru is the epocha of the moſt bloody
contefts between its conquerors,
. I
ib.
3.
8
11
15
23
42
An aged priest at length puts an end to the effufion of
Spanish blood,
52
Notions concerning the province of Darien. Inquiry
whether that country be of importance enough to ex-
cite divifions among the nations,
Extent, climate, foil, fortifications, harbour, population,
manners, and trade of Carthagena,
A 2
229666
57
58
Caufes
1
CONTENT S.
Caufes of the oblivion into which the province of St.
Martha is fallen,
Firſt events that happened at Venezuela,
The cocoa hath always fixed the attention of the Spa-
- niards upon Venezuela,
Page
66
68
70
The province of Venezuela is ſubjected to a monopoly.
Profperity of the company,
73
The court of Madrid gives up Cumana to the care of Las
Cafas. Ineffectual attempts of this celebrated man, to
render this diſtrict flouriſhing,
Of the river Oroonoko,
Former and prefent condition of the women on the
banks of the Oroonoko,
83
86
88
State of the Spanish colony formed on the banks of the
Oroonoko,
94
Short description of the kingdom of Grenada,
96
What the new kingdom of Grenada hath been, what it
is, and what it may become,
98
Remarkable fingularities in the province of Quito,
Reaſons why the country of Quito is fo populous as it
103
1
is. Labours of its inhabitants,
106
The bark comes from the province of Quito. Reflec-
tions upon this remedy,
108
Digreffion upon the formation of mountains,
Natural organization of Peru, properly fo called,
Circumftances in which the mountains, plains, and val-
lies of Peru differ from each other,
122
113
1'19
The few Peruvians who have eſcaped the fword or ty-
ranny of the conquerors, are fallen into the moſt de-
graded and brutal ſtate,
129
Prefent ftate of Peru,
132
Singularities refpecting the lama, the pacos, the gua-
naco, and the vicuna,
142
Deſcription of the mines of Peru, and particularly thoſe
of platina and quickfilver,
151
Subverfion and rebuilding of Lima. Manners of this ca-
pital of Peru,
169
Panama was for a long time the
channel of communi-
cation between Peru and Spain.
trade was carried on,
Manner in which this
179
The
CONTENT S.
The Spaniards have fubftituted the route through the
ftreights of Magellan, and by Cape Horn, to that of
Panama,
Is Peru as rich as it was formerly,
Page
186
190
воок
VIII.
Conquest of Chili and Paraguay by the Spaniards.
Account of the Events that have accompa-
nied and followed the Invafion of theſe Coun-
tries. Principles on which Spain regulates
ber Colonies,
Have the Europeans had right to found colonies in the
New World,
Firft irruptions of the Spaniards into Chili,
The Spaniards have been obliged to be continually en-
gaged in hoftilities with Chili. Manner in which their
enemies make war,
192
ib.
196
199
Settlements formed by the Spaniards at Chili,
Fertility of Chili, and its preſent ſtate,
201
205
Trade of Chili with the favages, with Peru, and with
Paraguay,
207
The Spaniards diſcover Paraguay. Extravagance of their
conduct during two centuries,
213
Such of the Indians who will not fubmit to the yoke of
Spain take refuge at Chaco,
219
The Spaniards fucceed in founding three large provinces.
Peculiarities in each of them,
220
Of the capital of Paraguay, and of the difficulties which
navigators muſt furmount to get there,
223
Of the herb of Paraguay, the chief riches of the co-
lony,
225
Connections of Paraguay with the neighbouring coun-
tries, and with Spain,
228
A fortunate innovation, which muft improve the ſtate of
Paraguay,
232
Principles
CONTENT S.
Principles on which the Jefuits founded their miffions in
Paraguay,
Reaſons that have prevented the increaſe of population in
Page
233
theſe celebrated miffions,
238
Examination of the reproaches made to the Jefuits con-
cerning their miffions,
246
Whether the people were happy in thefe miffions; and
whether they have regretted their legiſlators,
Preliminary, ſteps taken by the court of Spain for the go-
251
vernment of theſe miſſions,
253
People who inhabit Spaniſh America, and the firſt of the
Chapetons,
1
255
The Creoles,
256
The Meftees,
257
The Negroes,
258
Ancient and prefent ftate of the Indies,
263
Civil government eſtabliſhed by Spain in the New
World,
275
Nature of the ecclefiaftical government adopted in Ame-
rica,
277
Diftribution of the lands in the New World at the time
of the conqueft. Mode of acquiring thefe poffeffions
at prefent,
279
Regulations made at different periods for the working
of the mines,
283
'Faxes eſtabliſhed in Spanish America,
285
Deftructive principles upon which Spain first founded its
connections with the New World,
291
Reaſons why the court of Madrid perfevered in their er-
roneous fyftem,
294
Confequences with which the fatal combinations of the
Spanish miniftry were attended, even in the mother-
country,
296
Calamities which the infatuation of the court of Spain
hath accumulated on its colonies,
309
Spain begins to recover from its lethargy
316
Means that Spain ought to employ to haften her pro-
fperity in Europe and in America,
319
Enquiry whether the Spanish empire be founded upon a
folid bafis in the New World,
345
BOOK
CONT TEN T S.
воок IX.
Settlement of the Portugueſe in the Brazils.
The Wars they have fuftained there. Produce
and Riches of that Country,
Whether the Europeans have been well acquainted with
the art of founding colonies,
Page
358
ib.
When, and by whom, Brazil was difcovered,
361
Account of the firft inhabitants conveyed by Portugal into
the Brazils,
363
Brazil divided between ſeveral noblemen by the court of
Liſbon,
367
Character and cuftoms of the people whom the Portu-
guefe wished to ſubdue,
368
Afcendant of the miffionaries over the natives of Brazil,
and over the Portugueſe, at the firſt exiſtence of the
colony,
380
Irruption of the French into the Brazils,
385
Conquefts of the Dutch in the Brazils,
387
Complaints of a Portugueſe preacher, upon the fuccefs
of a heretic nation,
392
Situation of the Portugueſe in the Brazils, after they had
expelled the Dutch,
4.07
Settlement of the Portugueſe on the river of the Ama-
zons,
408
The Portugueſe wiſh to form fettlements on the river
Plata. Their difputes with Spain,
Accommodations between the two powers,
422
423
Portugal had ſettled its connections with the Brazils up-
on a bad plan; to which a fyftem of monopoly, ftill
more deftructive, was fubftituted,
}
427
Civil, military, and religious government, eftabliſhed in
the Brazils,
431
Former and preſent ſtate of the Indians ſubject to Portu-
gal in the Brazils,
436
Preſent ſtate of the government of Para,
441
State of the government of Maragnan,
445
State
CONTENT S.
State of the government of Fernambucca,
Page
448
State of the government of Bahia,
451
State of the government of Rio Janeiro,
458
State of the three inland governments where the mines
are fituated,
468
Hiſtory of the gold mines found in the Brazils. Manner
of working them,
469
Hiftory of the diamond mines diſcovered in the Brazils.
Remarks upon the nature of this ſtone,
474
Preſent ſtate of Brazil,
486
Foreign connections of Brazil,
488
Portugal, and its diftant fettlements, are fallen into a ftate
of the utmoſt degradation. Reaſons of this,
Means which the court of Liſbon ought to employ to ex-
tricate the mother-country, and her colonies, from
their languid ftate,
49!
500
Is it reaſonably to be expected, that Portugal will im-
prove its ſtate, and that of her colonies,
521
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A
PHILOSOPHICAL AND POLITICAL
OR Y
H IS T TOR
OF THE
SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
OF THE
EUROPEANS
IN THE
EAST AND WEST INDIES.
:
BOOK VII.
Conquest of Peru by the Spaniards. Changes
that have happened in this Empire fince
that revolution.
I
VII.
conquefts of
niards in
the New
World be
approved of?
T has not been my intention to be the panе- в OOK
gyrift of the conquerors of the other hemi-
ſphere. I have not fuffered my judgment to Can the
be fo far miſled by the brilliancy of their fucceffes, the Spa-
as to be blind to their crimes and acts of injuftice.
My view is to write hiftory, and I almoft always
write it with my eyes bathed in tears.
tears. Aftoniſh-
ment hath fometimes fucceeded grief. I have
been furpriſed that none of theſe favage warriors
ſhould have preferred the more certain mode of
mildneſs and humanity, and that they ſhould
have rather chofen to fhew themfelves as tyrants.
VOL. IV...
B
than
N
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK than as benefactors. What ftrange infatuation
hath prevented them from perceiving, that while
they deſtroyed the countries which they feized
upon, they were injuring themſelves, and that
their cruelties obliged them to give up a more
quiet and more lucrative poffeffion of them? It
hath been afferted, that in countries where man
had not yet appeared, the moft timid animals
came near him without fear. I can never be per-
fuaded, that at the firſt aſpect of an European, the
favage man can have been more wild than the ani-
mals. It was undoubtedly a fatal experience which
informed him of the danger of fuch familiarity.
WHAT then! fhall nations be more cruel among
themſelves, than the moft oppreffive fovereigns
are towards their ſubjects? One fociety must then
devour another! Man will be more fierce than
the tyger! Shall reafon have been given to him
merely as a fubftitute in him to every maleficent
inftinct; and ſhall his annals be nothing more
than the annals of his perverfenefs? O God! why
didft thou create man? Thou certainly didſt know,
that for one inftant in which thou ſhouldt be
able to look upon thy work with complacency,
thou ſhouldſt turn thine eyes away from it a hun-
dred times? Thy prefcience certainly forefaw the
atrocious acts which the Spaniards were to com-
mit in the New World!
WE are here going to diſplay ſcenes, ftill more
terrible than thofe which have fo often made us
fhudder. They will be uninterruptedly repeated
in thofe immenfe regions which remain for us to
go over. The fword will never be blunted; and
we
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
3
we ſhall not ſee it ſtop till it meets with no more
victims to ftrike.
BOOK
VII.
Extravagan-
ces and
cruelties
that mark
that ma
rica.
We fhall again begin our accounts with Co-
lumbus. This great man had difcovered the
continent of America without ever landing upon
it. It was not till after the island of San Do- fteps of the
Spaniards in
mingo was firmly eſtabliſhed, that he thought South Ame
proper to extend his enterpriſes. He imagined
that beyond this continent there was another
ocean, which muft terminate at the Eaft Indies;
and that theſe two feas might have a communi-
cation with each other. In order to diſcover it,
he failed, in 1502, as cloſe along the coaft as
poffible. He touched at all places that were ac-
ceffible; and, contrary to the cuſtom of other
navigators who behaved in the countries which
they viſited in fuch a manner as if they were
never to return to them, he treated the inhabit-
ants with a degree of kindness that gained their
affection. The gulph of Darien particularly en-
gaged his obfervation. He thought that the
rivers, which poured into it, were the great canal
he had been in fearch of through fo many immi-
nent dangers and exceffive fatigues. Difappoint-
ed in thefe expectations, he wished to leave a
ſmall colony upon the river Belem, in the country
of Veragua. The avidity, the pride, and the
barbarifm of his countrymen prevented him from
having the fatisfaction of forming the firſt Euro-
pean eſtabliſhment upon the continent of the new
hemifphere.
SOME years elapfed after this, and fill the
Spaniards had not fixed themfelves upon any ſpot,
B 2
As
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK As theſe adventurers only received from govern-
VII.
71
ment the permiffion of making difcoveries, it
never once entered their minds to employ them-
ſelves in agriculture or commerce. The profpect
of diftant fortunes that might have been made
by theſe prudent means, was far above the preju-
dices of thefe barbarous times. There was no-
thing but the allurement of immediate gain that
could ftimulate men to enterpriſes fo bold as thoſe
for which this century was diftinguiſhed. Gold
alone attracted them to the continent of America,
and made them brave dangers, diſeaſes, and death,
which they were expofed to in the courſe of their
voyage, at their arrival, or on their return; and,
by a terrible but juft vengeance, the cruelty of
the Europeans, and their luft of gold, exhauſted at
once the two hemifpheres of their inhabitants,
and deſtruction raged equally among thoſe who
were the plunderers and affaffins, as among the
plundered people.
It was not till the year 1509 that Ojeda and
Niqueffa formed, though feparately, the defign of
making folid and lafting conquefts. To encourage
them in their refolution, Ferdinand gave to the
firſt the government of the countries that begin
at Cape de la Vela, and terminate at the gulph
of Darien; and to the ſecond, that of all the ſpace
extending from this famous gulph to Cape
Gracias à Dios. They were both of them to an-
nounce to the people, at their landing, the tenets
of the Chriſtian religion, and to inform them of
the gift which the Roman pontiff had made of
their country to the king of Spain. If the favages
refufed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
5
VII.
refuſed to ſubmit quietly to this double yoke, BOOK
the Spaniards were authoriſed to purfue them with
fire and fword, and to reduce whole nations to
flavery.
Is it then the head of the moft holy of all re-
ligions who gives to another what does not be-
long to him? And is it a Chriftian fovereign who
accepts of the gift? And are the conditions
agreed upon between them, fubmiffion to the Eu-
ropean monarch, or flavery; baptifm or death?
Upon the bare recital of a contract fo unheard of,
we fhudder with horror, and we pronounce, that
the man who does not partake of the fame fenfa-
tion, is a ſtranger to every idea of morality, to every
fentiment, and to every notion of juſtice; a man
who is unworthy of being argued with. Abomi-
nable pontiff! And if thefe countries of which
thou dost difpofe have a lawful proprietor, is it
thy advice that he fhould be fpoiled of them? If
they have a legitimate fovereign, is it thy advice
that his ſubjects ſhould break their allegiance? If
they have Gods, is it thy advice that they ſhould
be impious? And thou, ftupid prince, doft thou
not perceive, that the perfon who confers theſe
rights upon thee, arrogates them to himſelf; and
that by accepting of them, thou doft abandon
thy country, thy fceptre, and thy religion, to
the mercy of an ambitious fophift, and of the
moſt dangerous fyftem of Machiavelifm?
BUT it was a more eafy matter to grant theſe
abfurd and atrocious privileges, than to put the
barbarous and fuperftitious adventurers, who fo-
licited ſuch rights, in poffeffion of them. The
Indians
B 3
6
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII..
BOOK Indians rejected every kind of intercourfe with a
fet of rapacious ftrangers, who threatened equally
their life and their liberty. Arms were not more
favourable to the Spaniards than their perfidious
careffes. The people of the continent, accuftom-
ed to carry on war wth each other, received them
with a boldneſs unexperienced in the iſlands that
had been ſo eaſily fubdued. Poifoned arrows
were ſhowered upon them from all quarters; and
not one of thofe that were wounded efcaped a
death more or lefs dreadful. To the arrows of
the enemy other caufes of deftruction were foon
joined; fhipwrecks unavoidable in thefe un-
known latitudes; an almoft continual want of
fubfiftence upon a country totally uncultivated;
and diſeaſes peculiar to this climate, which is the
moſt unwholefome one in America. The few
Spaniards who had eſcaped fo many calamities,
and who could not return to San Domingo, col-
lected themſelves at St. Mary's, in the province
of Darien.
THEY lived there in a ſtate of anarchy, when
Vafco Nugnès de Balboa appeared among them.
This man, who was honoured by the companions
of his crimes with the firname of Hercules, had a
robuſt conſtitution, an intrepid courage, and a
popular eloquence. Thefe qualities made them
chooſe him for their chief; and all his actions.
proved that he was worthy to command the vil-
lains whofe fuffrage he had obtained. Judging
that more gold would be found in the inland parts,
than upon the coafts, from whence it had been fo
repeatedly taken, he plunged himself among the
mountains
IN THE EAST AND WEST •
7
INDIES,
1
VII.
mountains. He found at firft in the country, it BOOK
is faid, fome of that fame fpecies of little white
men, as are to be met with in Africa and in cer-
tain of the Afiatic iflands. They are covered with
a down of a glistening white colour. They have
no hair, their eyes are red, and they only fee well
in the night-time. They are feeble, and their
faculties appear to be more circumfcribed. than
thofe of other men. Thefe favages, if it be true
that they exiſted, were few in number; but others
were found of a different fpecies, brave and hardy
enough to defend their rights. They had a very
extraordinary cuftom among them, which was,
that the huſbands on the death of their wives, and
the wives on the death of their hufbands, uſed to
cut off the end of a finger; fo that merely by
looking on their hands one might fee whether
they were widowers or widows, and how often
they had been fo.
NOTHING has hitherto been, or will probably
ever be faid, that can fatisfactorily explain the
various perverfions of reafon. If the women alone
had been obliged to practife this whimfical cere-
mony, it would be natural to ſuſpect that it had
been intended to prevent the impofture of a wi-
dow, who might wish to pafs for a virgin to her
ſecond huſband. But this conjecture would loſe
its force, when applied to the hufbands, whofe
condition could never be a matter of fuch confe-
quence, as that it fhould be carefully indicated by
indelible figns. This cuftom hath obtained in
other countries; but the following is peculiar to
Darien.
B 4
WHEN
}
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
The Spa-
niards ac-
quire the
fiſt notion
of Peru.
WHEN a widow died, fuch of her children
whofe tender age rendered it impoffible for them
to provide for their own fubfiftence, were buried
in the fame grave with her. As no one would take
the charge of theſe orphans, the nation deſtroyed
them, to prevent their being ftarved to death.
The charity of theſe barbarians extended no fur-
ther. This is the moft atrocious act to which the.
deplorable ftate of favage life was ever able to
impel mankind.
NOTWITHSTANDING theſe ferocious manners,
Balboa, fupported by the obftinacy of his dif-
pofition, ſpurred on by the infatiable cupidity of
his foldiers, and with the affiſtance of fome packs
of thoſe blood-thirfty dogs which had been of fo
much ſervice to the Spaniards in all their con-
quefts, at length fucceeded in deſtroying the in-
habitants of Darien, and in difperfing or fubduing
them.
ONE day, as the conquerors were difputing
with each other about gold, with a degree of
warmth that feemed to threaten fome act of vio-
lence, a young Cacique overturned the fcales
in which they were weighing it. Why, faid he to
them, with an air of difdain, why do you quarrel
for fuch a trifle? If it be for this useless metal that
you have quitted your country, and that you maſſacre
So many people, I will conduct you into a region where
it is fo common that it is employed for the meanest
purposes. Being urged to explain himſelf more
clearly, he affured them, that at a little dittance
from the ocean which wafhed the country of
*
Darien, there was another ocean which led to this
rich
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VII.
rich country. The opinion immediately and uni- BOOK
verfally prevailed, that this was the fea which
Columbus had fo earnestly fought after; and on
the first of September 1513, one hundred and
ninety Spaniards, attended by a thoufand Indians,
who were to ſerve them as guides, and to carry
their provifions and baggage, ſet out to recon-
noitre it.
FROM the place whence this troop began their
march, to the one they were going to, there was
no more than fixty miles; but it was neceffary
to climb fo many fteep mountains, to pass fuch
large rivers, to traverſe ſuch deep moraffes, to
penetrate into fuch thick forefts, and to difperfe,
perfuade, or deftroy, fo many fierce nations; that
it was not till after a march of five-and-twenty
days, that men accuſtomed to dangers, fatigues,
and wants, arrived at the place of their expect-
ations. Without a moment's delay, Balboa,
armed at all points, in the manner of the ancient
chivalry, advanced fome way into the South Sea.
Spectators of both hemifpheres, exclaimed this bar-
barian, I call you to witnefs that I take poſſeſſion of
this part of the universe for the crown of Caftile.
My fword fhall defend what my arm bath given to
it. Already was the cross planted upon the con-
tinent, and the name of Ferdinand infcribed upon
the bark of fome of the trees.
THESE ceremonies gave to the Europeans in
thoſe days the dominion of all the countries in the
New World, where they could introduce their
fanguinary ſteps. Accordingly, the Spaniards
thought they had a right to exact from the neigh-
bouring
10
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK bouring people a tribute in pearls, metals, and
provifions. Every teftimony was united in con-
firming what had been at firft faid of the riches.
of the empire that was called Peru, and the rob-
bers who meditated the conqueft of it, returned
to Darien, where they were to collect the forces
neceffary for fo difficult an enterpriſe.
t
BALBOA expected that he ſhould be employed
to conduct this great defign. His companions
had placed their confidence in him. He had
thrown into the public coffers more treaſure than
any one of theſe adventurers. In the opinion of
the public, the difcovery he had juft made, had
put him on a level with Columbus. But by an
inftance of that injuſtice and ingratitude fo com-
mon in courts, where merit cannot prevail againſt
favour; where a great commander is fuperfeded
in the midſt of his triumphs by an unfit perfon;
where a diffipating and rapacious favourite dif-
places an œconomical miniſter of finance; where
the general good, and fervices done, are equally
forgotten; and where revolutions in the great
offices of ftate often become objects of mirth and
pleaſantry; Pedrarias was chofen in his ftead.
The new commander, as jealous as he was cruel,
had his predeceffor confined; he ordered him to
take his trial, and afterwards caufed him to be
beheaded. His fubalterns, by his orders, or with
his confent, pillaged, burnt, and maffacred on all
fides, without any diftinction of allies or enemies;
and it was not till after they had deftroyed to the
extent of three hundred leagues of the country,
that in 1518 he transferred the colony of St.
Mary,
9
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
II
+
VII.
Mary, on the borders of the Pacific ocean, to a воок
place that received the name of Panama.
niards un-
Peru with-
SOME years paffed away without this eſtabliſh- Three Spa-
ment having been able to fulfil the great and im- dertake the
portant purpoſes for which it was deftined. At
length, three men of obfcure birth undertook, at
their own expence, to fubvert an empire that had
fubfifted with glory for ſeveral ages.
FRANCIS PIZARRO, who is the moſt known
among them, was the natural fon of a gentleman
of Eftramadura. His education had been fo neg-
lected, that he could not read. The tending of
flocks, which was his firft employment, not being
fuitable to his character, he embarked for the
New World. His avarice and ambition inſpired
him with inconceivable activity. He joined in
every expedition, and fignalized himſelf in moſt
of them; and he acquired, in the feveral fitua-
tions in which he was employed, that knowledge of
men and things, which is indifpenfably neceffary
to advancement, but efpecially to thofe who by
their birth have every difficulty to contend with.
The ufe he had hitherto made of his natural and
acquired abilities, perfuaded him that nothing was
above his talents; and he formed the plan of ex-
erting them againſt Peru.
To theſe deſigns he affociated Diego de Al-
magro, whofe birth was equivocal, but whofe
courage was proved. He had ever been found
temperate, patient, and indefatigable, in thofe
camps in which he had grown old. In this fchool
he had acquired a frankneſs which is more fre-
quently learnt here than in other fituations; as
well
conqueft of
out any af
government,
fiftance from
12
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK well as that obduracy and cruelty which are but
Vil.
too common.
THE fortune of two foldiers, though confider-
able, being found infufficient for the conqueft
they meditated, they joined themfelves to Fer-
nando de Luques. He was a mercenary priest,
who had amaffed prodigious wealth by all the
methods which fuperftition renders eaſy to his
profeffion, and by fome means peculiar to the
manners of the age he lived in.
As the bafis of their affociation, the confederates
mutually agreed, that each fhould engage the
whole of his property in this enterprife; that the
wealth accruing from it fhould be equally fhared,
and that they should reciprocally obferve an in-
violable fidelity. The parts that each of them
were to take in this great fcene were diftributed
as the good of the common caufe required. Pi-
zarro was to command the troops, Almagro con-
duct the fuccours, and Luques prepare the means.
This plan of ambition, avarice, and ferocioufnefs,
was completed by fanaticifm. Luques publicly
confecrated a hoft; part of which he ate, and di-
vided the reft between his two affociates; all
three fwearing, by the blood of God, that, to en-
rich themſelves, they would not ſpare the blood of
1
man.
THE expedition, commenced under thefe hor-
rible aufpices, towards the middle of November
1524, with one veffel, one hundred and twelve
men, and four horfe, was not fortunate. It was
feldom that Pizarro was able to land; and in the
few places where it was poffible for him to come
on
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
13
воок
VII.
on ſhore, he met with nothing but plains deluged BOOK
with water, impenetrable forefts, and fome fa-
vages, little difpofed to treat with him. Almagro,
who brought him a reinforcement of feventy
men, did not meet with more encouraging ad-
ventures; and he even loft an eye in a very ſharp
engagement he was obliged to fuftain againſt the
Indians. More than one half of theſe intrepid
Spaniards had perifhed by hunger, by the fword,
or by the climate; when Los Rios, who had fuc-
ceeded to Pedrarias, fent orders to thoſe who had
eſcaped ſo many calamities, to return to the co-
lony without delay. They all obeyed; all of them,
except thirteen, who, faithful to their chief, re-
folved to follow his fortune to the end. They
found it at firit more adverſe than it had hitherto
been; for they were obliged to paſs fix whole
months in the island of Gorgon, the moft un-
wholeſome, moſt barren, and moſt dreadful ſpot
there was perhaps upon the globe. But at length
their deſtiny grew milder: with a very ſmall vef-
fel, which had been fent thern merely from mo-
tives of compaffion, to remove them from this
place of defolation, they continued their voyage,
and landed at Tumbez, no inconfiderable village
of the empire which they propoſed one day to in-
vade. From this road, where every thing bore
the marks of civilization, Pizarro returned to Pa-
nama, where he arrived at the latter end of the
year 1527 with foine gold duft, fome vafes of that
precious metal, fome vicunas, and three Peru-
vians, deftined, fooner or later, to ferve as inter-
preters.
FAR
14
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
FAR from being difcouraged by the misfortunes
that had been experienced, the three affociates
were inflamed with a more ardent paffion for trea-
fures which were now better known to them. But
they were in want of foldiers and of fubfiftence;
and the colony denied them both thefe fuccours.
The miniſtry, whofe fupport Pizarro himſelf had
come into Europe to folicit, were more favour-
ably inclined. They authoriſed, without reſerve,
the levying of men, and the purchaſe of provi-
fions; and added to this indefinite liberty every
favour which drew nothing from the treaſury.
NEVERTHELESS, the affociates, by combining
all their means, could not equip more than three
fmall veffels; nor collect any more than one hun-
dred and forty-four infantry, and thirty-fix horſe.
This was very little for the great views that were
to be fulfilled; but in the New World the Spa-
niards expected every thing from their arms and
their courage; and Pizarro did not heſitate to
embark in the month of February 1531. The
knowledge he had acquired of theſe feas, made
him avoid the calamities that had thwarted his firft
expedition; and he met with no other misfortune
than that of being obliged, by contrary winds, to
land at the diſtance of one hundred leagues from
the harbour where he had intended to difem-
bark. The Spaniards were therefore obliged to
go to the place by land. They followed the coaſt
with great difficulty, compelling the inhabitants.
on their march to furnish them with provifions,
plundering them of the gold they poffeffed, and
giving themſelves up to that fpirit of rapine and
cruelty
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
15
VII.
cruelty which diftinguished the manners of thofe BOOK
barbarous times. The iſland of Puna, which de-
fended the road, was taken by ftorm, and the
troops entered victorious into Tumbez, where
diforders of every kind detained them for three
whole months. The arrival of two reinforcements,
that came from Nicaragua, afforded them fome
confolation for the anxiety they felt on account of
this delay. Theſe reinforcements, indeed, con-
fifted only of thirty men each; but they were com-
manded by Sebaſtian Benalcazar and by Ferdinand
Soto, who had both of them acquired a brilliant
reputation. The Spaniards were not diſturbed
in their firft conqueft, and we must mention the
reafon of it.
which Pi-
zarro, the
chief of the
expedition,
makes him-
felf maſter
of
the em
pire.
THE empire of Peru, which, like most other Manner in
dominions, had in its origin but little extent, had
been fucceffively enlarged. It had in particular
received a confiderable aggrandizement from the
eleventh emperor, Huyana Capac, who had pof-
feffed himſelf by force of the vast territory of
Quito, and who, to legitimate as much as pof-
fible his ufurpation, had married the fole heiress
of the dethroned monarch. From this union, re-
probated equally by the laws and by prejudice,
Atabalipa was born, who after the death of his
father claimed the inheritance of his mother.
This fucceffion was contefted by his elder bro-
ther Huafcar, who was born of another bed, and
whoſe birth had no ftain upon it. Two fuch
powerful intereſts induced the competitors to take
up arms. One of them had the people in his fa-
vour, and the custom immemorial of the indivi-
fibility of the empire; but the other had previ-
ouЛly
16
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADË
воок
VII.
BOOK ouſly ſecured the beſt troops. The one who had
the troops on his fide was conqueror, put his rival
in chains, and becoming more powerful than he
had expected, was mafter of all the provinces.
THESE troubles, which for the first time had
agitated Peru, were not entirely appeafed when
the Spaniards appeared there: In the confufion
in which the whole kingdom was still involved,
no one thought of molefting them on their march,
and they arrived without the leaft obftruction at
Caxamalca. Atabalipa, whom particular circum-
ſtances had conducted into the neighbourhood of
this imperial palace, immediately fent them fome
fruits, corn, emeralds, and feveral vafes of gold
or filver. He did not however conceal from their
interpreter his defire that they ſhould quit his ter-
ritories; and he declared that he would go the
next morning to concert with their chief the pro-
per meaſures for this retreat.
J
To put himſelf in readineſs for an engagement,
without fuffering the leaft preparation of war to
be perceived, was the only difpofition that Pizarro
made for the reception of the prince. He planted
his cavalry in the gardens of the palace, where
they could not be feen: the infantry was in the
court; and his artillery was pointed towards the
gate where the emperor was to enter.
ATABALIPA came without fufpicion to the place
appointed. He was attended by about fifteen
thoufand men. He was carried on a throne of gold,
and gold glittered in the arms of his troops. He
turned to the principal officers, and ſaid to them:
Thefe ftrangers are the meſſengers of the Gods; be
careful of offending them.
!
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
17
VII.
THE proceffion was now drawing near the BOOK
pa-
lace, which was occupied by Pizarro, when a do-
minican, named Vincent de Valverdo, with a
crucifix in one hand, and his breviary in the other,
came up to the emperor. He ſtopped the prince
in his march, and made him a long ſpeech, in
which he expounded to him the chriftian religion,
preffed him to embrace that form of worſhip, and
propoſed to him to fubmit to the king of Spain,
to whom the pope had given Peru.
THE emperor, who heard him with a great deal
of patience, replied, I am very willing to be the
friend of the king of Spain, but not his vaffal; the
pope must surely be a very extraordinary man, to give
fo liberally what does not belong to him. I fhall not
change my religion for another; and if the chriftians
adore a God who died upon a cross, I worship the fun,
who never dies. He then aſked Vincent where he
had learned all that he had faid of God and the
creation? In this book, replied the monk, pre-
fenting at the fame time his breviary to the em-
peror. Atabalipa took the book, examined it on
all fides, fell a-laughing, and, throwing away the
breviary, added, This book tells me nothing of all
this. Vincent then turned towards the Spaniards,
crying out with all his might, Vengeance, my
friends, vengeance! Chriftians, do you not fee how he
defpifes the gospel? Kill thefe dogs, who trample under
foot the law of God.
THE Spaniards, who probably had with diffi-
culty reſtrained that fury, and that thirſt of blood,
which the fight of the gold and of the infidels had
inſpired them with, inftantly obeyed the domini-
VOL. IV.
C
can,
18
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK can. Let the reader judge of the impreſſion that
muſt have been made on the Peruvians by the
fight of the horfes who trampled upon them, and
by the noiſe and effect of the cannon and muf-
ketry which beat them down. They fled with
fuch precipitation, that they fell one upon an-
other. A dreadful maffacre was made of them.
Pizarro himſelf advanced towards the emperor,
made his infantry put to the fword all that fur-
rounded his throne, took the monarch prifoner,
and purfued all the reft of the day thofe who had
eſcaped the fword of his foldiers. A multitude
of princes of the race of the Incas, the minifters,
the flower of the nobility, all that compofed the
court of Atabalipa, were maffacred. Even the
crowd of women, old men, and children, who
were come from all parts to fee their emperor,
were not fpared. While this carnage continued,
Vincent ceafed not to animate the affaffins who
were tired with flaughter, exhorting them to uſe
not the edge but the point of their fwords, to in-
flict deeper wounds. When the Spaniards return-
ed from this infamous maffacre, they paffed the
night in drunkennefs, dancing, and all the exceffes
of debauchery.
THE emperor, though clofely guarded, foon
diſcovered the extreme paffion of his enemies for
gold. This circumftance determined him to of-
fer them for his ranfom as much of this metal as
his prifon, which was two-and-twenty feet in
length, and fixteen in breadth, could contain,
and to as great a height as the arm of a man could
reach. His propofal was accepted. But while
4
thoſe
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
19
воок
(VII.
thoſe of his minifters, in whom he had moft con- BOOK
fidence, were employed in collecting what was
neceffary to enable him to fulfil his engagements,
he was informed that Huafcar had promiſed three
times as much to forme Spaniards who had found
an opportunity of converfing with him, if they
would confent to reinftate him upon the throne
of his anceſtors. He was alarmed at this inci-
pient negociation; and his apprehenfions made
him refolve to ftrangle a rival who appeared fo
dangerous.
In order to diffipate the fufpicions which fuch
an action must neceffarily excite in his keepers,
Atabalipa urged with freſh zeal the collecting of
the metals ftipulated for the recovery of his liberty.
They were brought in from all fides as faft as the
diſtance of the places, and the confufion that
pre-
vailed, would allow. The whole would have been
completed in a little time; but thefe heaps of
gold, inceffantly expofed to the greedy eyes of
the conquerors, fo inflamed their cupidity, that
it was impoffible to delay any longer the diftribu-
tion of them. The fifth part of the whole, which
the government had reſerved to itſelf, was deli-
vered to the agents of the treaſury. A hundred
thouſand piaftres, or 540,000 livres *, were fet
apart for the body of troops Almagro had juſt
brought up, and which were ftill upon the coafts.
Each of Pizarro's cavalry received 43,200 livres †,
and each of his infantry 21,600. The general,
22,5001.
† 1,8001.
C 2
8831. 6s. 8d.
~and
20
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK and the officers, had fums proportioned to their
rank in the army.
THESE fortunes, the moſt extraordinary that
have ever been recorded in hiſtory, did not miti-
gate the barbarity of the Spaniards. Atabalipa
had given his gold, and his name had ferved to
keep the people in fubjection: it was now time.
therefore to put an end to him. Vincent faid
that he was a hardened prince, who ought to be
treated like Pharaoh. The interpreter Philippillo,
who had a criminal intercourſe with one of his
women, might be diſturbed in his pleaſures. Al-
magro was apprehenfive, that while he was fuf-
fered to live, the army of his colleague might be
defirous of appropriating all the booty to itſelf as
part of the emperor's ranfom. Pizarro had been
deſpiſed by him, becaufe, being lefs informed than
the meanest of the foldiers, he knew not how to
read. Theſe circumftances, even more perhaps
than political reafons, occafioned the emperor's
death to be determined upon.
THE Spaniards had the effrontery to bring him
to a formal trial; and this atrocious farce was fol-
lowed with thofe horrid confequences that muſt
neceffarily have been expected from it.
AFTER this judicial affaffination, the murderers
overran Peru with that thirſt of blood and plun-
der which directed all their actions. Had they
fhewn fome degree of moderation and humanity,
they would probably have made themſelves
maſters of this vaft empire, without drawing the
fword. A people naturally mild, accuſtomed for
a long
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
21
VII.
a long time paft to the moft blind fubmiffion, BOOK
ever faithful to the maſters it had pleaſed Heaven
to give them, and aftoniſhed at the terrible fpec-
tacle they had just been beholding; fuch a nation
would have fubmitted to the yoke without much
reluctance. The plundering of their houſes and
of their temples, the outrages done to their wives
and daughters; cruelties of all kinds fucceeding
each other without interruption: fuch a variety
of calamities ſtirred up the people to revenge, and
they found commanders to guide their reſent-
ment.
NUMEROUS armies at firſt obtained fome advan-
tages over a ſmall number of tyrants loft in theſe
immenfe regions; but even theſe trifling fucceffes
were not durable. Several of the adventurers,
who had enriched themſelves by the ranfom of
Atabalipa, had quitted their ſtandards, that they
might go elſewhere to enjoy, in a more peaceable
manner, a property fo rapidly acquired. Their
fortune inflamed the minds of men, in the Old
and in the New World, and they haftened from
all quarters to this country of gold. The confe-
quence of this was, that the Spaniards multiplied
in a leſs time at Peru, than in the other colonies.
They foon amounted to the number of five or fix
thouſand; and then all refiſtance was at an end.
Thofe of the Indians who were the moſt attached
to their liberty, to their government, and to their
religion, took refuge at a diſtance among inaccef-
fible mountains.
conqueror.
Moft of them fubmitted to the
1
C 3
A RE-
22
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
A REVOLUTION fo remarkable hath been a fub-
ject of aſtoniſhment to all nations. Peru is a coun-
try very difficult of accefs, where one muſt con-
tinually climb mountains, and perpetually march
in narrow paffes and defiles. Troops are there
obliged to be inceffantly paffing and repaffing tor-
rents or rivers, the banks of which are always
fteep. Four or five thousand men, with a mode-
rate fhare of courage and ſkill, might deſtroy the
beſt diſciplined armies. How then could it pof-
fibly happen, that a great nation did not even
venture to diſpute a territory, the nature of which
was fo well known to them, againſt a few plun-
derers, whom the ocean had just brought to theſe
fhores ?
THIS event took place for the fame reaſon that
an intrepid robber, with the piftol in his hand,
ſpoils with impunity a body of men, who are
either quietly reſting by their fire-ſides, or who,
fhut up in a public carriage, are going along the
road without miftruft. Though the robber be
alone, and though he may have only one or two
piſtols to fire, yet he ftrikes the whole company
with awe, becauſe no one chufes to facrifice him-
felf for the reft. Defence implies a mutual agree-
ment, which is the more flowly formed, as the
danger is leaft expected, as the fecurity is more
complete, and as it has lafted a longer time.
This was exactly the cafe with the Peruvians,
They lived without uneafinefs and without mo-
leſtation for ſeveral centuries. Let us add to
thefe confiderations, that fear is the offspring of
igno-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
23
VII.
ignorance and aftoniſhment; that a diforderly BOOK
multitude cannot stand againſt a ſmall number of
difciplined forces, and that courage unarmed,
cannot refift cannon-fhot. Accordingly, Peru
muſt neceffarily have been fubdued, if even the
domeftic diffenfions which then fubverted it had
not paved the way for its fubjection.
Origin, re-
ligion, g
veinment,
and arts of
manners,
Peru, at the.
THIS empire, which, according to the Spanish
hiftorians, had flourished for four centuries paft,
had been founded by Manco Capac, and by his
wife Mama Ocello, who were called Incas, or arrival of
Lords of Peru. It has been conjectured, that theſe the Spa-
two perſons might be the deſcendants of certain
navigators of Europe, or the Canaries, who had
been shipwrecked on the coafts of Brazil.
To fupport this conjecture, it has been faid,
that the Peruvians divided the year, as we do, in-
to three hundred and fixty-five days, and that they
had fome notion of aſtronomy; that they were
acquainted with the points of the horizon, where
the fun fets in the fummer and winter folftice,
and in the equinoxes; marks, which the Spa-
niards deſtroyed, as being monuments of Indian
fuperftition. It has been afferted, that the race
of the Incas was whiter than that of the natives.
of the country, and that feveral of the royal fa-
mily had beards; and it is a known fact, that
there are certain features, either ill-formed, or re-
gular, that are preſerved in ſome families, though
they do not conftantly pafs from one generation
to another. And lastly, it has been faid, that it
was a tradition generally diffuſed throughout Peru,
and tranfmitted from age to age, that there would
C 4
one
niards.
24
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK one day arrive by fea, men with beards, and of
VII.
fuch fuperiority in arms, that nothing could refift
them.
If there fhould be any of our readers difpofed
to adopt fo improbable an opinion, they muft ne-
ceffarily allow, that there muſt have elapfed a con-
fiderable ſpace of time between the ſhipwreck and
the foundation of the Peruvian empire. If this
be not admitted, we cannot explain why the le-
giflator fhould not have given the favages, whom
he collected together, fome notions of writing,
though he ſhould not himſelf have been able to
read? Or why he fhould not have taught them
feveral of our arts and methods of doing things,
and inftructed them in certain tenets of his reli-
gion? Either it was not an European who founded
the throne of the Incas, or we muft neceffarily be-
lieve, that the veffel of his anceſtors was wrecked
on the coaſt of America, at an æra fo remote,
that the fucceeding generations must have for-
gotten all the cuſtoms of the place from whence
they ſprang.
THE legiflators announced themfelves to be
children, fent by their father to make men good
and happy. They certainly thought, that this
prejudice would inflame the minds of the people
whom they meant to civilize, would elevate their
courage, and infpire them with greater love for
their country, and with more complete fubmiffion
to the laws.
It was to a fet of naked and wandering men,
without agriculture, without induſtry, without
any of thofe moral ideas that are the firft ties of
fociety,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
25
VII.
fociety that their diſcourſes were addreffed. Some B O O K
of theſe barbarians, who were imitated by others,
affembled round the legiflators in the mountainous
country of Cufco.
MANCO taught his new fubjects to fertilize the
earth, to fow corn and pulfe, to wear clothes,
and to provide dwelling-places for themfelves.
Ocello fhewed the Indian women how to ſpin, to
weave cotton and wool; and inftructed them in
all the occupations fuitable to their fex, and in all
the arts of domeftic economy.
THE ftar of fire, which difpels the darkneſs
that covers the earth, which draws the curtain of
the night, and fuddenly diſplays to the eyes of
aftoniſhed man, the moft extenfive, the moſt au-
guſt, and the moſt pleaſing of all ſcenes; which is
faluted at its rifing by the cheerfulneſs of ani-
mals, by the melody of birds, and by the hymn of
the being that is endowed with the faculty of
thinking; which advances majeſtically above all
their heads; which, in its progrefs through the
regions of the ſky, traverfes an immenfity of space;
which, when it fets, plunges the univerſe again
into filence and melancholy; which diftinguiſhes.
the ſeaſons and the climates; which collects and
diffipates the ſtorms; which lights up the thun-
der, and extinguiſhes it; which pours upon the
fields the rains that fertilize them, and upon the
forefts, thofe that nourish them; which animates
every thing by its warmth, embelliſhes every
thing by its prefence, and the privation of which
produces in all parts a ftate of languor and anni-
hilation the fun, in a word, was the God of the
Peru-
26
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK Peruvians; and indeed what being is there in na-
ture more worthy of the homage of the ignorant,
man, who is dazzled with its fplendour, or of
the grateful man, on whom its benefits are la-
viſhed? The worſhip of the fun was accordingly
inftituted. Temples were built to this deity, and,
human facrifices were abolished. The defcend-
ants of the legiflators were the only priefts of the
nation.
THE laws pronounced the pain of death againſt
murder, theft, and adultery. Few other crimes,
were treated with the fame feverity. Polygamy
was prohibited. No one was allowed to have
concubines except the emperor, and that becauſe
the race of the fun could not be too much multi-
plied. Theſe concubines were ſelected from
among the virgins confecrated to the temple of
Cufco, who were all of his own race.
A MOST wife inftitution enjoined that a young
man, who ſhould commit a fault, fhould be
flightly puniſhed; but that his father ſhould be
refponfible for him. Thus it was that found mo-
rals were always inculcated by a good educa-
tion.
THERE was no indulgence for idlenefs, which
was confidered, with reafon, as the fource of all
crimes. Thoſe who, from age and infirmities,
were rendered unfit for labour, were maintained
at the public charge; but on condition that they
fhould preferve the cultivated lands from the
birds. All the citizens were obliged to make
their own clothes, to raiſe their own dwellings,
and to fabricate their own inftruments of agri-
culture.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
27
VII,
culture. Every ſeparate family knew how to BOOK
ſupply its own wants.
THE Peruvians were enjoined to love one an-
other, and every circumftance induced them to it.
Thoſe common labours, which were always en-
livened by agreeable fongs; the object itſelf of
theſe labours, which was to affift every one who
had occafion for fuccour; that apparel that was
made by young women devoted to the worſhip of
the fun, and diftributed by the emperor's officers
to the poor, to the aged, and to orphans; that
union which muft neceffarily reign in the de-
curies, where every one was mutually inſpired
with refpect for the laws, and with the love of
virtue, becauſe the puniſhments that were in-
flicted for the faults of one individual fell on the
whole body; that cuftom of regarding each other
as members of one fingle family, which was the
empire; all thefe circumftances united, main-
tained among the Peruvians concord, benevo-
lence, patriotifm, and a certain public fpirit;
and contributed, as much as poffible, to ſubſti-
tute the moſt fublime and amiable virtues, in
lieu of perſonal intereft, of the ſpirit of property,
and of the ufual incentives employed by other
legiflators.
THESE virtues were rewarded with marks of
diſtinction, as much as if they had been fervices
rendered to the country. Thoſe who had fignal-
ized themſelves by an exemplary conduct, or by
any diftinguiſhed actions of advantage to the
public good, wore, as
as a mark of ornament,
clothes wrought by the family of the Incas.
It is
very
28
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
!
t
very probable that thoſe ftatues, which the Spa-
niards pretended that they found in the temples of
the fun, and which they took for idols, were the
ftatues of men, who, by the greatnefs of their
talents, or by a life replete with illuftrious actions,
had merited the homage or love of their fellow-
citizens.
THESE great men were alſo uſually the fubjects
of poems compofed by the family of the Incas for
the inftruction of the people.
THERE was another ſpecies of poetry conducive
to morality. At Cufco, and in all the other towns
of Peru, tragedies and comedies were performed.
The firft were leffons of duty to the priests, war-
riors, judges, and perfons of diftinction, and re-
preſented to them models of public virtue. Co-
medies ferved for inftruction to perfons of inferior
rank, and taught them the exerciſe of private
virtues, and even of domeſtic œconomy.
THE whole ftate was diftributed into decuries,
with an officer that was appointed to fuperintend
ten families that were intrufted to him. A fu-
perior officer had the fame infpection over fifty
families; others over a hundred, five hundred,
and a thouſand.
THE decurions, and the other fuperintending
officers, up to the fuperintendant of a thouſand,
were obliged to give an account to the latter of all
actions whether good or bad, to folicit punifh-
ments and rewards for each, and to give informa-
tion if there were any want of provifions, clothes,
or corn, for the year. The fuperintendant of a
thouſand made his report to the minifter of the
Inca.
HE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
29
13
In a
VII.
He had feldom any cauſe of complaint againſt B OOK
the part of the nation intruſted to his care.
country where all the laws were thought to be
preſcribed by the fun, and where the leaft in-
fringement of them was confidered as a facrilege,
thefe tranfgreffions muſt have been very uncom-
mon. When fuch a misfortune happened, the
guilty perſons went of their own accord to reveal
their moft fecret faults, and to folicit permiffion
to expiate them. Theſe people told the Spaniards,
that there never had been one man of the family
of the Incas who deferved puniſhment.
THE lands of the kingdom, that were fuf-
ceptible of cultivation, were divided into three
parts, one appropriated to the fun, another to the
Inca, and a third to the people. The firft were
cultivated in common, as were likewife the lands
of orphans, of widows, of old men, of the in-
firm, and of the foldiers who were with the army.
Theſe were cultivated immediately after the lands
appropriated to the fun, and before thoſe of the
emperor. The ſeaſon of this labour was announced
by feftivals: it was begun and continued with the
found of muſical inſtruments, and the chanting of
hymns.
THE emperor levied no tribute; and exacted
nothing from his fubjects, but that they fhould
cultivate his lands; the whole produce of which,
being depofited in public magazines, was fufficient
to defray all the expences of the empire.
THE lands dedicated to the fun provided for
the maintenance of the priests, the fupport of the
temples, and of every thing that concerned pub-
lic
30
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADË
BOOK lic worſhip.
VII.
They were partly cultivated by
princes of the royal family, clad in their richeſt
habits.
WITH regard to the lands that were in the pof-
feffion of individuals, they were neither hereditary,
nor even eftates for life: the divifion of them was
continually varying, and was regulated with ſtrict
equity according to the number of perfons which
compoſed every family. There was no other
wealth but what arofe from the produce of the
fields, the temporary enjoyment of which was all
that was granted by the ftate.
THIS Cuſtom of moveable poffeffions has been
univerfally cenfured by men of underſtanding. It
has been their general opinion, that a nation would
never riſe to any degree of power or greatneſs,
but by fixed, and even hereditary property. If
it were not for the firſt of theſe, we ſhould fee on
the globe only wandering and naked favages, mi-
ferably fubfifting on fuch fruits and vegetables
as are the fole and fcanty production of rude
nature. If it were not for the ſecond, every in-
diyidual would live only for himſelf; mankind
would be deprived of every permanent advantage,
which paternal affection, the love of a family
name, and the inexpreffible delight we feel in act-
ing for the good of pofterity, urge us to purfue.
The ſyſtem of fome bold fpeculators, who have
regarded property, and particularly that fpecies
of it which is hereditary, as an ufurpation of
fome members of fociety over others, is refuted
by the fate of all thoſe inſtitutions in which their
principles have been reduced to practice. Theſe
ftates
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
31
`
VII.
ftates have all fallen to ruin, after having lan- BOOK
guiſhed for fome time in a ſtate of depopulation, prosed
and anarchy.
IF Peru hath not fhared the fame fate, it is
probably becauſe the Incas, not knowing the ufe
of impofts, and having only commodities in kind
to ſupply the neceffities of government, muft
have been obliged to ftudy how to multiply them.
They were affifted in the execution of this project
by their minifters, by inferior officers, and by
the foldiers themſelves, who received nothing but
the fruits of the earth for their fubfiftence and the
fupport of their rank. Hence aroſe a continual
folicitude to increaſe theſe productions. This
attention might have for its principal object the
introduction of plenty into the lands of the fove-
reign; but his patrimony was fo mixed and con-
founded with that of his ſubjects, that it was not
poſſible to fertilize the one without fertilizing the
other. The people, encouraged by theſe advan-
tages, which left little fcope to their induftry,
applied themſelves to labours, which the nature
of their foil, of their climate, and of their con-
ſumptions, rendered very eaſy. But notwith-
ſtanding all theſe advantages; notwithstanding
the ever active vigilance of the magiftrate; not-
withſtanding the certainty that their harveſts
would never be ravaged by a turbulent neigh-
bour; the Peruvians never enjoyed any thing
more than the mere neceffaries of life. We may
venture to affert, that they would have acquired
the means of diverfifying and extending their en-
joyments, if their talents had been excited by the
+
intro-
32
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK introduction of rented, transferable, and heredi
tary property.
THE Peruvians, though at the very fource of
gold and ſilver, knew not the uſe of coin. They
had not, properly ſpeaking, any kind of com-
merce; and the more minute arts, which owe
their exiftence to the immediate wants of focial
life, were in a very imperfect ftate among them.
All their fcience confifted in memory, all their
induſtry in example. They learned their religion
and their hiſtory by hymns, and their duties and
profeffions by labour and imitation.
THEIR legiſlation was undoubtedly very im-
perfect and limited, fince it ſuppoſed the prince
always juft and infallible, and the magiftrates
poffeffed of as much integrity as the prince;
fince not only the monarch, but his deputies, a
fuperintendant of ten, of a hundred, or of a thou-
fand, might change at pleaſure the deſtination of
puniſhments and rewards. Among fuch a people,
deprived of the inestimable advantage of writing,
the wifeft laws, being deftitute of every principle
of ſtability, muft infenfibly be corrupted, with-
out there being any method of reftoring them to
their primitive character.
THE Counterpoiſe of theſe dangers was found in
their abfolute ignorance of gold and filver coin;
an ignorance which, in a Peruvian defpot, rendered
the fatal paffion of amaffing riches impoffible. It
was found in the conftitution of the empire, which
had fixed the amount of the fovereign's revenue,
by fettling the portion of lands that belonged to
him. It was found in the extremely ſmall num-
ber
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
33
VII.
ber and moderate nature of the wants of the BOOK
people, which, being eafily gratified, rendered
them happy and attached to the government.
It was found in the influence of their religious
opinions, which made the obfervation of the laws
a matter of confcience. Thus was the defpotifm
of the Incas founded on a mutual confidence be-
tween the fovereign and the people; a confidence,
which refulted from the beneficence of the prince,
from the conſtant protection he granted to all his
ſubjects, and from the evident intereſt they had
to continue in obedience to him.
A SPIRIT of pyrrhonifm, which hath fucceeded
to a blind credulity, and hath been fometimes
carried to unjuſtifiable lengths, hath for fome time.
endeavoured to raiſe objections to what has been
juft related of the laws, manners, and happineſs,
of ancient Peru. This account hath appeared to
fome philofophers as chimerical, and formed only
by the naturally romantic imagination of a few
Spaniards. But among the deftroyers of this
diftinguiſhed part of the New World was there a
fingle ruffian fufficiently enlightened to invent a
fable fo confiftent in all its parts? Was there any
one among them humane enough to wiſh to do it,
had he even been equal to the taſk? Would he
not rather have been reftrained by the fear of in-
creafing that hatred, which fo many cruelties had
brought on his country throughout the whole
world? Would not the fable have been contra-
dicted by a multitude of witneffes, who would
have feen the contrary of what was publiſhed
with ſo much pomp? The unanimous teftimony.
VOL. IV.
D
of
34
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
BOOK of cotemporary writers, and of their immediate
VII. fucceffors, ought to be regarded as the ftrongeſt
hiftorical demonftration that can poffibly be
defired.
LET us therefore no longer confider, as the
offspring of a wild imagination, this account of a
fucceffion of wife fovereigns, and of a ſeries of
generations among mankind exifting without re-
proach. Let us rather deplore the fate of theſe
people, and not envy them the fad remembrance
of this honour. It is enough to have deprived
them of the advantages which they enjoyed, with-
out adding the bafeneſs of calumny to the mean-
nefs of avarice, the outrages of ambition, and
the rage of fanaticifm. It is to be wifhed that
this beautiful æra may be renewed, fooner or
later, in fome quarter of the globe.
WE fhall not juftify, with the fame confidence,
thoſe accounts which the conquerors of Peru
publiſhed concerning the grandeur and magnifi-
cence of the monuments of all kinds that they had
found there. The defire of adding greater luftre
to the glory of their triumphs might poffibly mif-
lead them. Perhaps, without being convinced
themſelves, they ftudied to impofe on their own
country and on foreign nations. The firft tefti-
monies, and thofe even were contradictory, have
been invalidated by fucceeding accounts, and at
length totally deftroyed, when men of enlightened
underſtandings had vifited this celebrated part of
the new hemifphere.
WE muft, therefore, confider as fabulous the
.report of that prodigious multitude of towns built
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
35
VII.
with ſo much labour and expence. If there were B O O K
fo many fuperb cities in Peru, why do none exiſt
except Cufco and Quito, befide thofe the con-
queror built? Whence comes it that we ſcarce
find any where, except in the vallies of Capillas
and of Pachacamac, the ruins of thoſe of which
fuch exaggerated defcriptions have been pub-
lifhed? The people must therefore have been dif-
perfed over the country; and indeed it was im-
poffible it ſhould have been otherwiſe in a region
where there were neither tenants, nor artiſts, nor
merchants, nor great proprietors, and where
tillage was the fole or the principal occupation of
all men.
WE muft confider as fabulous the account of
thofe majeſtic palaces, deftined for the accommo-
dation of the Incas, in the place of their refidence
and on their travels. As far as it is poffible to
judge through thofe heaps of ruins which have
been ſtirred up fuch an infinite number of times by
the hand of avarice, in expectation of finding
treaſures among them, the royal manfions had
neither majefty nor ornament. They differed
only in extent and thickneſs from the ordinary
buildings, which were conftructed with reeds,
with wood, with compacted earth, and with rough
ftones without any cement, according to the nature
of the climate, or the vicinity of the materials.
WE must confider as fabulous the relation of
thoſe fortified places which defended the fron-
tiers of the empire. There were undoubtedly
fome of thefe. The Lower Peru ftill prefents us
with the ruins of two of them fituated upon
mountains,
D 2
36
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
;
BOOK mountains, the one conftructed with earth, the
VII. other with the trunks of trees. It is fuppofed
that they were furniſhed with ditches, and with
three walls, one commanding the other. This
was fufficient to contain the conquered people,
and to check the incurfions of neighbours that
were not very formidable. But theſe means of
defence could be of no avail againſt the valour
and the arms of the Europeans. Neither were the
fortreffes of the Upper Peru, though built of
ftone, better calculated for this purpoſe. M. de
la Condamine, who viſited, with that ſcrupulous
attention that diftinguiſhed him, the fort of
Cannar, which is the beſt preſerved, and the moſt
confiderable after that of Cuſco, found it to be of
very ſmall extent, and only ten feet high. A
people who had nothing but their arms to affift
them in carrying, or dragging the moſt bulky
materials, and who were ignorant of the ufe of
leavers and pullies, could not poffibly execute
any greater defigns.
WE must confider as fabulous the hiftory of
thoſe aqueducts and refervoirs that are faid to
have been comparable to the most magnificent
monuments of the fame kind tranfmitted to us
from the ancients. Neceffity had taught the Pe-
ruvians to dig trenches round the mountains, and
upon the flopes of hills, and canals and ditches
in the vallies, in order to make their lands fruit-
ful which were not fertilized by the rains, and to
bring water for their own ufe, when they had
never thought of conftructing wells for this pur-
pofe but theſe works of earth or dry ſtone had
nothing
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
37
:
VII.
nothing remarkable in them; nothing that could B O O K
imply the flighteft knowledge of hydraulics.
WE muſt alſo confider as fabulous the difplay
of thoſe fuperb roads which rendered communi-
cation fo eafy. The great roads of Peru were
nothing more than two rows of ſtakes diſpoſed in
a line, and intended for no other purpoſe but to
point out the way to travellers. There was no
road of any confequence, except that which bore
the name of the Incas, and which traverſed the
whole empire. This, which was the moſt beau-
tiful monument of Peru, was entirely deftroyed
during the civil wars of the conquerors.
WE muſt alſo confider as fabulous what has been
faid of thoſe bridges which are fo much boafted
of. How could the Peruvians, who were ignorant
of the method of conftructing arches, and knew
not the uſe of lime, raiſe ſtone bridges? It is
certain, however, that the traveller was continu-
ally ſtopped in his paffage by a great number of
torrents he met with among thefe regions. To
overcome this great obftacle, it was contrived to
put together feven or eight cables, or even a
greater number, made of ofier, to faſten them
with other fmaller cords, to cover them with the
branches of trees and with earth; and to fix
them ftrongly to the oppofite banks. Rivers that
were larger and lefs rapid, were croffed in fmall
failing-boats which tacked about with celerity.
WE muft alfo confider as fabulous, the wonders
related of the quipos, which were, among the
Peruvians, a fubftitute to the art of writing that
was unknown to them. Theſe were, as it hath
D 3
been
38
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK been faid, regifters made of cords, in which dif-
ferent kinds of knots and various colours, point-
ed out the facts, the remembrance of which it
was either important or agreeable to preferve;
thefe records were kept by depofitaries of confi-
dence appointed by public authority. It might
perhaps be raſh in us to affirm, that theſe kinds
of hieroglyphics, of which we have never had
any but obfcure defcriptions, could not poffibly
throw any light upon paſt events. But, when we
obſerve the many errors that infinuate themſelves
into our hiftories, notwithſtanding the great fa-
cility of avoiding them, we fhall fcarce be in-
clined to think, that annals of fo fingular a nature
as thoſe we have been mentioning, could ever
merit much confidence.
THE Spaniards do not deferve more credit,
when they tell us of thofe baths that were inade
of filver and gold, as well as the pipes that fup-
plied them; of thofe gardens full of trees, the
flowers of which were of filver, and the fruit of
gold, and where the eye, being deceived, mif-
took art for nature; of thoſe fields of maize, the
ftems of which were of filver, and the ears of
gold; of thoſe baffo-relievos, in which the herbs
and plants were ſo admirably exhibited, that who-
ever ſaw was tempted to gather them; of thoſe
dreffes covered over with grains of gold more
delicate than the feed of pearl, and the workman-
fhip of which the ableft artiſts of Europe could
not have equalled. We fhall not ſay, that theſe
works were not worthy to be preſerved, becauſe
they never have been. If the Greek ftatuaries in
their
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
39
VII.
their compofitions had only employed precious BOOK
metals, it is probable that few of the capital pro-
ductions of Greece would have reached us. But,
if we may judge of what hath perished by what
ftill remains, we may be certain that the Peru-
vians had made no progrefs in drawing. The
vaſes, which have eſcaped the ravages of time,
may ſerve as a ſignal proof of the patience of the
Indians; but they will never be confidered as mo-
numents of their génius. Some figures of ani-
mals, and of infects, in maffive gold, which were
long preferved in the treaſury of Quito, were not
more perfect. We cannot any longer judge of
them; for they were melted down in 1740, in
order to furnish fuccours for Carthagena, that
was then befieged by the English; and there was
not found in all Peru a Spaniard curious enough
to purchaſe a fingle piece at the bare weight.
FROM what hath been faid, it appears clearly,
that the Peruvians had made ſcarce any advances
in the abſtract fciences. Moft of them depend on
the progrefs of the arts, and theſe again on acci-
dents which nature produces only in a courfe of
feveral centuries, and of which the greateſt part
are loft among people who have no intercourfe
with enlightened nations.
Ir we reduce all thefe accounts to the fimple
truth, we fhall find that the Peruvians had arrived
at the art of fufing gold and filver, and of working
them. With theſe metals they made ornaments,
moft of which were very thin, for the arms, for the
neck, for the noſe, and for the ears; and hollow
ftatues, all of one piece, which, whether they
D 4
were
40
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADÉ
}
BOOK
VII.
1
were carved or caft in a mould, had no greater
degree of thicknefs. Vafes are feldom made of
theſe rich materials. Their ordinary vaſes were
of
very fine clay, eafily wrought, and of the fize
and figure adapted to the purpoſes for which
they were deſtined. Weights were not unknown
among them, and fcales are difcovered from
time to time, the bafons of which are of filver,
and which are in the ſhape of an inverted cone.
Two kinds of ſtone were uſed as looking-glaffes;
the one was foft, the other hard; one was en-
tirely opaque, the other had a fmall degree of
transparency; one was black, the other of a lead
colour: it had been contrived to give them a
fufficient poliſh to reflect objects. Wool, cot-
ton, and the barks of trees, were woven by theſe
people into a cloth more or lefs compact, and
more or less coarfe, which was uſed for wearing-
apparel, and of which houfehold furniture was
even made. Thefe ftuffs and cloths were dyed
black, blue, and red, by means of the arnotto,
by different plants, and by a kind of wild bean
that grows in the mountains. Their emeralds
were cut in all forts of forms. Thoſe that have
been often taken out of the tombs, moft of which
are in elevated fituations, where citizens of dif
tinction were buried with whatever they poffeffed
that was rare, prove that theſe precious ftones were
more perfect here than they have been found to be
any where elſe. Sometimes, by fortunate chance,
pieces of workmanſhip are diſcovered in red and
yellow copper, and others which partake of both
colours; from whence it hath been concluded,
that
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
41
VII.
that the Peruvians were acquainted with the art of BOOK
mixing metals. One more important matter is,
that this copper never rufts, and never collects
any verdigreafe; which feems to prove, that the
Indians mixed fomething in the preparing of it,
which had the property of preferving it from thefe
fatal inconveniences. It is to be regretted that
the uſeful art of tempering it in this manner has
been loft, either from want of encouraging the na-
tives of the country, or from the contempt which
the conquerors had for every thing that had no
concern with their paffion for riches.
BUT with what inftruments were thefe works,
executed, among a people who were unacquaint-
ed with iron, which is looked upon with reafon
as the foundation of all the arts? Nothing has
been preſerved in the private houſes, nor hath any
thing been diſcovered among the public monu-
ments, or in the tombs, which can give informa-
tion fufficient to folve this problem. Perhaps the
hammers and mallets that were uſed were made
of ſome ſubſtance that time may have either de-
ſtroyed or disfigured. If we will not admit of this
conjecture, we must conclude, that all the work-
manſhip was executed with thofe hatchets of cop-
per, which alſo ſerved the people for arms in battle,
In this cafe, labour, time, and patience, must have
fupplied among the Peruvians the deficiency of
tools.
It was alfo, perhaps, with hatchets of copper or
flint, and by inceffant friction, that they contrived
to cut ftones, to fquare them, to make them an-
fwer to each other, to give them the fame height,
and
!
i
42
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
اله
BOOK and to join them without cement. Unfortunately
thefe inftruments had not the fame effect on wood
as they had upon tone. Thus it happened that
the fame men who fhaped the granite, and who
drilled the emerald, never knew how to join tim-
ber by mortifes, tenons, and pins; it was faften-
ed to the walls only by rufhes. The moft re-
markable buildings had only a covering of thatch,
fupported by poles, like the tents of our armies.
They had but one floor, and no light except by
the entrance, and they confifted only of detached
apartments, that had no communication with
each other.
The fab-
jesion of
Pero is the
eposha of
the mot
tefts be-
Tween its
Bur whatever were the arts which the Spa-
niards found in the country of Peru, thefe barba-
rians were no fooner masters of this vaft empire,
bloody con- than they difputed the ſpoils of it with all the rage
which their firft exploits announced. The feeds
Conquerors. of thefe divifions had been fown by Pizarro him-
felf, who, when he went into Europe to prepare
for a fecond expedition into the South Seas, had
prevailed upon the miniftry to give him a great
fuperiority over Almagro. The facrifice of what
he had obtained from a temporary favour, had
contributed to reconcile him with his colleague,
who had been juftly incenfed at this perfidy; but
the divifion of Atabalipa's ranfom irritated again
theſe two haughty and rapacious robbers. A dif-
pute, which arofe concerning the limits of their re-
fpective governments, completed their animofity,
and this extreme hatred was attended with the
moſt deplorable confequences.
CIVIL
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
43
VII.
CIVIL wars uſually originate in tyranny and BOOK
anarchy. In a ſtate of anarchy the people divide
themſelves into ſmall parties. Each petty faction
hath its demagogue; each hath its pretenfions, be
they wife or extravagant, unanimous or contradic-
tory, without their being known. A number of
confufed clamours arife. The firft ftroke is follow-
ed by a thouſand others; and the people deftroy
each other without liftening to reaſon. Private
interefts and perfonal animofities prolong the du-
ration of the public troubles; and men do not
come to explanations till after they are tired with
carnage. Under the influence of tyranny, there
are ſcarce ever more than three parties, that of the
court, that of the oppoſition, and that of indif-
ferent perfons: thefe are indeed lukewarm citi-
zens, but ſometimes of great fervice by their im-
partiality, and by the ridicule they caft upon the
other two parties. In a ftate of anarchy, when
tranquillity is reſtored, the life of every individual
is fafe; under that of tyranny, tranquillity is fol-
lowed by the death of feveral individuals, or of
one only.
THOUGH the interefts which divided the chiefs
of the Spaniards were not of fuch importance, yet
their effects were equally terrible. After fome
negociations, difhoneft at leaft on one part, and
confequently uſeleſs, recourfe was had to the
fword, in order to determine which of the two
competitors fhould govern the whole of Peru.
On the 6th of April 1538, in the plains of Sa-
lines, not far from Cufco, fate decided againſt
Almagro, who was taken prifoner and beheaded.
THOSE
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
44
BOOK
VII.
}
THOSE of his partifans who had efcaped the
carnage, would willingly have reconciled them-
felves with the conquering party. But whether
Pizarro did not chooſe to truft the foldiers of his
rival, or whether he could not overcome a re-
fentment that was too deeply rooted, it is certain
that he always fhewed a remarkable averfion for
them. They were not only excluded from all the
favours that were profufely lavished upon the ac-
quifition of a great empire; but they were alſo
ftripped of the rewards formerly granted for their
fervices; they were perfecuted, and expoſed to
continual mortifications.
THIS treatment brought a great number of
them to Lima, There, in the houfe of the fon
of their general, they concerted in filence the de-
ftruction of their oppreffor. Nineteen of the moſt
intrepid went out, fword in hand, on the 26th of
June 1541, in the middle of the day, which in
hot countries is the time devoted to reft. They
penetrated, without oppofition, into the palace of
Pizarro; and the conqueror of fo many vaft king-
doms was quietly maffacred in the centre of a
town that he had founded, and the inhabitants of
which were compofed of his creatures, his fervants,
his relations, his friends, or his foldiers.
THOSE who were judged moſt likely to revenge
his death, were murdered after him: the fury of
the affaffins ſpread itſelf, and every one whọ ven-
tured to appear in the streets and in the fquares
was regarded as an enemy, and put to the fword.
Inftantly the houfes and temples were filled with
flaughter, and prefented nothing but mangled car-
cafes.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
45
VII.
cafes. The fpirit of avarice, which induced them BOOK
to confider the rich merely as partifans of the old -
government, was ftill more furious than that of
hatred, and rendered it more active, more fufpi-
cious, and more implacable. The reprefentation
of a place taken by affault by a barbarous nation,
would communicate but an imperfect idea of that
ſpectacle of horror which theſe ruffians now ex-
hibited, who wrefted from their accomplices the
booty of which they had fruftrated them.
THIS Cruel maffacre was followed by enormities
of another kind. The foul of young Almagro
feems to have been formed for tyranny. Every
one who had been in employment under the ad-
verſary of his family was inhumanly profcribed.
The ancient magiftrates were depofed. The troops
were put under the command of new officers.
The royal treaſury, and the wealth of thofe who
perifhed or were abfent, were feized upon by the
ufurper. His accomplices, attached to his for-
tune by being partakers of his crimes, were forced
to give their ſupport to undertakings which filled
them with horror. Thofe among them who fuf-
fered their uneasiness at theſe proceedings to
tranfpire, were either put to death in private,
or periſhed on a fcaffold. During the confufion,
in which a revolution fo unexpected had plunged
Peru, ſeveral provinces fubmitted to this mon-
ſter, who cauſed himſelf to be proclaimed gover-
nor in the capital: and he marched into the heart
of the empire, to complete the reduction of every
place that oppoſed, or hefitated to acknowledge
him.
A MUL-
1
46
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE ·
BOOK
VII.
A MULTITUDE of ruffians joined him on his
march. His army breathed nothing but ven-
geance and plunder: every thing gave way be-
fore it. If the military talents of the general
had equalled the ardour of his troops, the war
had ended here. Unhappily for Almagro, he
had loft his conductor, John de Herrada. His
inexperience made him fall into the fnares that
were laid for him by Pedro Alvares, who had put
himſelf at the head of the oppofite party. He loft,
in attempting to unravel his rival's plots, that
time which he ought to have employed in fight-
ing. In thefe circumftances, an event, which no
one could have forefeen, happened to change the
face of affairs.
THE licentiate Vafco di Caftro, who had been
fent from Europe to try the murderers of old Al-
magro, arrived at Peru. As he was appointed to
affume the government in cafe Pizarro was no
more, all who had not fold themfelves to the ty-
rant, haftened to acknowledge him. Uncertainty
and jealouſy, which had for too long a time kept
them difperfed, were no longer an obftacle to
their re-union. Caftro, who was as refolute as
if he had grown old in the fervice, did not fuffer
their impatience to languish, but inftantly led
them against the enemy. The two armies en-
gaged at Chapas on the 16th of September 1542,
and fought with inexpreffible obftinacy. Victory,
after having wavered a long time, at the clofe
of the day decided in favour of the government
party. Thoſe among the rebels who were moſt
guilty, dreading to languish under difgraceful
8
tortures,
1
19
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
47
0 x
VIL
tortures, provoked the conquerors to murder BOOK
them, crying out, like men in defpair, It was I
who killed Pizarro. Their chief was taken pri-
foner, and died on the fcaffold.
THESE fcenes of horror were juſt concluded,
when Blafco Nunnez Vela arrived in 1544 at
Peru, with the title and powers of viceroy. The
court had thought to invest their reprefentative
with a folemn dignity and with very extenfive
authority, in order that the decrees he was com-
miffioned to eſtabliſh, ſhould meet with lefs op-
pofition. Thefe decrees were intended to leffen
the oppreffion under which the Indians were funk,
and more particularly to render thefe immenfe
conqueſts uſeful to the crown: let us examine
whether they were judiciouſly contrived for this
purpoſe.
THEY declared that fome of the Peruvians
fhould be free from that moment, and the reft at
the death of their oppreffors: that for the future
they ſhould not be compelled to bury themſelves
in the mines; and that no kind of labour ſhould
be exacted from them without payment; that
their public labours and tributes fhould be regu-
lated; that the Spaniards who travelled through
the provinces on foot, fhould no longer have
three of theſe wretched people to carry their bag-
gage; nor five when they went on horfeback:
that the Caciques ſhould be freed from the obli-
gation of providing the traveller and his fuite
with food.
By the fame regulations, all the departments or
commanderies of the governors, of the officers
of
48
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK of juſtice, of the agents of the treaſury, of the
bishops, of the monafteries, of the hoſpitals, and
of all perfons who had been concerned in the
public troubles, were to be annexed to the do-
mains of the ſtate. The few lands that might
belong to other proprietors, were to be ſubject to
the fame law, after the prefent poffeffors had end-
ed their days, let their life be long or short; and
their heirs, their wives, or their children, were to
have no claim upon any part of them.
BEFORE fo great a revolution had been attempt-
ed, would it not have been more proper to have
foftened the ferocious manners of theſe people, to
have gradually bent to the yoke men who had
always lived in a ſtate of independence, to have
brought back to principles of equity injuftice it-
felf, to have connected to the general intereft thoſe
who had been hitherto influenced by private inte-
refts only, to have made citizens of adventurers,
who had, as it were, forgotten the country from
whence they ſprang; to have eſtabliſhed properties
where the law of the ſtrongeſt had before univer-
fally prevailed; to have made order ariſe from the
midſt of confufion; and, by a ſtriking contraſt to
the evils which had just been occafioned by an-
archy, to have conciliated attachment and reve-
rence to a well-regulated government? But with-
out any of theſe preliminary steps, how could the
court of Madrid expect fuddenly to attain the end
they propoſed?
EVEN fuppofing the matter public, did they em-
ploy a proper agent to effect it? At any rate, it
would have been a work of patience, and of a
con-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
49
}
VII.
conciliatory difpofition which would have required BOOK
all the talents of the most confummate negociator.
Did Nunnez poffefs any of theſe advantages?
Nature had only given him integrity, courage, and
firmneſs, and he had added nothing to her gifts.
With thefe virtues, which were almoſt defects in
his fituation, he began to fulfil his commiffion,
without any regard to place, to perſons, or to cir-
cumftances. To the aftoniſhment with which the
people were at firft feized, fucceeded indignation,
murmurs, and fedition.
CIVIL wars affume the character that diſtin-
guiſhes the caufes from whence they ſpring.
When an abhorrence of tyranny and the natural
love of liberty ftimulate a brave people to take
up arms, if they prove victorious, the tranquil-
lity that follows this tranfitory calamity is an æra
of the greateſt happineſs. The vigour, which
hath been excited in the foul of every individual,
manifefts itſelf in his manners. The ſmall num-
ber of citizens who have been witneffes and in-
ftruments of fuch troubles, poffefs more moral
ſtrength than the most populous nations. Abilities
and power are united: and every man is aſtoniſh-
ed to find that he occupies that very place which
nature had marked out for him.
Bur when diffenfions proceed from a corrupt
fource; when ſlaves fight about the choice of a
tyrant; when the ambitious contend in order to
opprefs, and robbers quarrel for the ſake of ſpoil;
the peace which terminates theſe horrors is ſcarce
ly preferable to the war which gave them birth.
Criminals affume the place of the judges who
VOL. IV.
E
had
f
50
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
B00K had difgraced them, and become the oracles of
VII. thoſe laws which they had infulted. Men ruined
by their extravagances and debaucheries, inſult,
with an overbearing pomp, thofe virtuous citi-
zens whoſe patrimony they have invaded. In this
ftate of utter confufion, the paffions only are at-
tended to. Avarice feeks to grow rich without
any trouble, vengeance to gratify its refentments
without fear, licentioufnefs to throw off every re-
ftraint, and difcontent to occafion a total fubver-
fion of affairs. The phrenzy of carnage is fucceed-
ed by that of debauchery. The facred bed of
innocence or of marriage is polluted with blood,
adultery, and brutal violence. The fury of the
multitude rejoices in deftroying every thing it
cannot enjoy; and thus in a few hours perifh the
monuments of many centuries.
IF fatigue, an entire laffitude, or fome fortunate
accidents, fufpend thefe calamities, the habit of
wickedneſs and murder, and the contempt of laws,
which neceffarily ſubfifts after ſo much confuſion,
is a leaven ever ready to ferment. Generals who
no longer have any command, licentious foldiers
without pay, and the people fond of novelty in
hopes of changing their ftate for a better; this
fituation of things, and theſe means of confuſion,
are always in readineſs for the firſt factious perfon
who knows how to avail himself of them.
SUCH was the difpofition of the Spaniards in
Peru, when Nunnez attempted to carry into exe-
cution the orders he had received from the old
hemiſphere. He was immediately degraded, put
in irons, and baniſhed to a defert ifland, where he
was
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
51
1
VII.
was to remain till he was conveyed to the mother- BOOK
country.
GONZALES PIZARRO was then returned from
a hazardous expedition, which had carried him as
far as the river of the Amazons, and had em-
ployed him long enough to prevent him from
taking a part in thofe revolutions which had fo
rapidly fucceeded each other. The anarchy he
found prevailing at his return, infpired him with
the idea of feizing the fupreme authority. His
fame and his forces made it impoffible that this
fhould be refufed him; but his ufurpation was
marked with ſo many enormities, that Nunnez
was regretted. He was recalled from exile, and
foon collected a fufficient number of forces to en-
able him to take the field. Civil commotions were
then renewed with extreme fury by both parties.
No quarter was aſked or given on either fide.
The Indians were forced to take part in this, as
they had done in the preceding wars; fome ranged
themſelves under the ftandard of the viceroy,
others under the banners of Gonzales. They
dragged up the artillery, levelled the roads, and
carried the baggage. After a variety of advan-
tages for a long time alternately obtained, fortune
at length favoured the rebellion under the walls
of Quito, in the month of January in the year
1545. Nunnez and the greateſt part of his men
were maffacred on that day.
PIZARRO took the road of Lima, where they
were deliberating on the ceremonies with which
they ſhould receive him. Some officers wifhed
that a canopy ſhould be carried for him to march
E 2
under,
;
:
:
.52
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK under, after the manner of kings. Others, with
VII.
An aged
priest at
→ adulation ſtill more extravagant, pretended that
part of the walls of the town, and even fome
houſes, muſt be pulled down; as was the cuftom
at Rome, when a general obtained the honours
of a triumph. Gonzales contented himſelf with
making his entrance on horfeback, preceded by
his lieutenants, who marched on foot. Four bi-
fhops accompanied him, and he was followed by
the magistrates. The ftreets were ſtrewn with
flowers, and the air refounded with the noiſe of
bells and various mufical inftruments. This ho-
mage totally turned the head of a man naturally
haughty and of confined ideas. He fpoke and
acted in the most defpotic manner.
length puts
an end to
the effufion
of Spaniſh
blood.
HAD Gonzales poffeffed judgment and the ap-
pearance of moderation, it would have been poſ
fible for him to render himſelf independent. The
principal perfons of his party wiſhed it. The ma-
jority would have viewed this event with indiffer-
ence, and the reft would have been obliged to
confent to it. Blind cruelties, infatiable avarice,
and unbounded pride, altered theſe difpofitions.
Even the perfons whofe intereſts were more con-
nected with thoſe of the tyrant, wiſhed for a de-
liverer.
SUCH a deliverer arrived from Europe in the
perfon of Pedro de la Gafca. He was a priest
advanced in years, but prudent, difintereſted,
firm, and eſpecially endowed with an acute dif
cernment. He brought no troops along with
him; but he had been intrufted with unlimited
powers. The firſt uſe he allowed himſelf to make
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDies.
53
VII.
of them, was to publiſh a general amnefty without BOOK
diſtinction of perfons or crimes, and to revoke
the fevere laws that had rendered the preceding
adminiſtration odious. This ftep alone fecured
to him the fleet and the mountainous provinces.
If Pizarro, to whom the amnefty had been parti-
cularly offered with every teftimony of diſtinction,
had accepted of it, as he was adviſed to do by
the moſt enlightened of his partiſans, the troubles
would have been at an end. The habit of com-
manding would not fuffer him to defcend to a
private ſtation; and he had recourfe to arms in
hopes of perpetuating his memory. Without
lofing a moment, he advanced towards Cufco,
where La Gaſca was affembling his forces. On
the 9th of April 1548, the battle was begun at
the diſtance of four leagues from this place, in the
plains of Saefahuana. One of the rebel general's
lieutenants, feeing him abandoned at the firſt
charge by his beſt foldiers, adviſed him, but in
vain, to throw himſelf into the enemy's battalions,
and periſh like a Roman; but this weak head of
a party chofe rather to furrender, and end his life
on a fcaffold. Nine or ten of his officers were
hanged round him. A more difgraceful fentence
was pronounced againft Carvajal.
THIS Confidant of Pizarro, who in all the ac-
counts is accuſed of having maffacred with his
own hand four hundred men, of having facri-
ficed, by means of his agents, more than a thou-
fand Spaniards, and of having deſtroyed more
than twenty thouſand Indians through excefs of
labour, was one of the moſt aftonishing men ever
recorded
E 3
54
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO O K recorded in hiſtory.
VII
At a time when the minds
of all men were elevated, he difplayed a degree
of courage which could never admit of a com-
pariſon. He, remained always faithful to the
cauſe he had engaged in, although the custom of
changing ſtandards according to circumftances,
was then univerfally prevalent. He never forgot
the moſt trifling fervice that had been rendered
him, while thofe who had once conferred an
obligation upon him, might afterwards affront
him with impunity. His cruelty was become a
proverb; and in the moſt horrid executions hẹ
ordered, he never loft any thing of his mirth.
Strongly addicted to raillery, he was appeafed
with a jeft, while he infulted the cry of pain, which
appeared to him the exclamation of cowardice or
weakneſs. His iron heart made a fport of every
thing. He took away or preſerved life for a no-
thing, becauſe life was a,nothing in his eftimation.
His paffion for wine did not prevent the uncom-
mon ftrength of his body and the dreadful vi-
gour of his foul from maintaining themfelves to
the moſt advanced time of life. In extreme old
age, he was ſtill the firft foldier, and the firſt
commander in the army. His death was con-
formable to his life. At the age of eighty-four,
he was quartered, without fhewing any remorfe
for what was paft, or any uneafinefs for the fu-
ture.
SUCH was the laft fcene of a tragedy, every act
of which hath been marked with blood. Civil wars
have always been cruel in all countries and in all
ages; but at Peru they were deftined to have a
peculiar
!
!
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
55
VII.
peculiar character of ferocity. Thoſe who excited B O O K
them, and thoſe who engaged in them, were moſt
of them adventurers without education and of
mean birth. Avarice, which had brought them
into the New World, was joined to other paffions
which render domeſtic diffenfions ſo lafting and
fo violent. All of them, without exception, con-
fidered the chief whom they had chofen merely
as a partner in their fortune, whofe influence was
only to extend to the guidance of their hoftilities.
None of them accepted any pay. As plunder
and confifcation were to be the fruits of victory,
no quarter was ever given in action. After the
engagement was over, every rich man was expofed
to informations; and there were nearly as many
citizens who perifhed by the hands of the execu-
tioner, as by thoſe of the foldiers in battle. The
gold that had been acquired by fuch enormities,
was foon exhaufted by the meaneft kind of in-
temperance and the moft extravagant luxury; and
the people returned again to all the exceffes of
military licence that knows no reſtraint.
FORTUNATELY for this opulent part of the new
hemiſphere, the moſt feditious of the conquerors,
and of thofe who followed their fteps, had perifh-
ed miferably in the feveral events that had fo fre-
quently fubverted it. Few of them had furvived
the troubles, except thofe who had conftantly pre-
ferred peaceable occupations to the tumult and
dangers of great revolutions. What ftill remained
of that commotion that had been raiſed in their
minds infenfibly fank into a calm, like the agita-
tion of waves after a long and furious tempeft.
E 4
Then,
·
56
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK Then, and then only, the Catholic kings might
with truth ftyle themſelves the fovereigns of the
Spaniards fixed in Peru. But there was one Inca
ftill remaining.
THIS legitimate heir of fo many vaft domi-
nions, lived in the midſt of the mountains in a
ftate of independence. Some princeffes of his
family, who had fubmitted to the conquerors,
abuſed his inexperience and youth, and prevailed
upon him to come to Lima. The ufurpers of
his rights carried their infolence ſo far as to fend
him letters of grace, and affigned to him only a
very moderate domain for his fubfiftence. He
went to hide his fhame and his regret in the valley
of Yucay, where, at the expiration of three years,
death, though ſtill too tardy, put an end to his
unfortunate career. An only daughter who fur-
vived him, married Loyola; and from this union
are fprung the houſes of Oropeſa and Alcannizas.
Thus was the conqueft of Peru completed towards
the year 1560.
WHEN the Caftilians had firſt made their
ap-
pearance in this empire, it had an extent of more
than fifteen thousand miles of coaft upon the South
Sea, and in its depth it was bounded only by the
higheſt of the Cordeleirias mountains. In lefs
than half a century, theſe turbulent men puſhed
on their conquefts eastward from Panama to the
river Plata, and weftward from the Chagre to the
Oroonoko. Although the new acquifitions were
moſt of them ſeparated from Peru by terrible.
defarts, or by people who obftinately defended
their liberty, yet they were all incorporated with
it,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
57
VII.
it, and fubmitted to the fame law, even down to BOOK
thefe latter times. Let us take a review of thoſe
which have preferved or acquired, fome degree of
importance; and we ſhall begin with the Darien.
concerning
of Darien.
whether
be of im-
portance
en ugh to
excite divi-
the nations?
THIS narrow flip of land, which joins South Notions
and North America together, is fortified by a the province
chain of high mountains, fufficiently folid to refift Inquiry
the attacks of the two oppofite feas. The country that country
is fo barren, ſo rainy, fo unwholeſome, and fo full
of infects, that the Spaniards, in all probability,
would never have thought of fixing there, had fions among
they not found at Porto-bello, and at Panama,
harbours well calculated for eftablishing an eaſy
communication between the Atlantic and the
Southern Ocean. The reft of the ifthmus had fo
little attraction for them, that the fettlements of
Saint Mary, and of Nombre de Dios, which
had at first been formed there, were foon anni-
hilated.
THIS neglect determined, in 1698, twelve hun-
dred Scotch to go there. The Company, united
for this enterpriſe, intended to gain the confi-
dence of the few favages whom the fword had
not destroyed; to arm them againſt a people
whofe ferocity they had experienced; to work
the mines which were thought more valuable than
they are; to intercept the galleons by cruiſes ſkil-
fully conducted; and to unite their forces with
thofe of Jamaica, with fufficient management to
acquire the fway in this part of the New World.
A PROJECT fo alarming difpleafed the court of
Madrid, which feemed determined to confifcate the
effects of all the English, who traded with ſo much
advantage
58
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
VII.
BOOK advantage in their dominions. It difpleafed Louis
XIV. who offered to a power already too much ex-
hauſted, a fleet ſufficient to fruftrate the defign: it
diſpleaſed the Dutch, who were afraid that this
new company would one day divide with them the
finuggling trade which they monopolized in theſe
latitudes it was even difpleafing to the British
miniſtry, who forefaw that Scotland, growing
rich, would wiſh to emerge from that kind of de-
pendence to which its poverty had hitherto re-
duced it. This violent and univerfal oppofition
determined king William to revoke a permiffion
which his favourites had extorted from him. It
then became neceffary to evacuate the golden
ifland upon which this colony had been placed.
Extent, cli..
mate, foil,
fortifica-
BUT the mere apprehenfion the Spaniards had
felt of having fuch a neighbour, determined them
to pay more attention themſelves to a country
which they had always hitherto difdained. Their
miffionaries fucceeded in forming nine or ten vil-
lages, each of which contained from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred favages. Whether from
the unfettled difpofition of the Indians, or from
the oppreffion of their guides, thefe rifing fettle-
ments began to fall off in 1716; and in our days,
there are no more than three of them remaining,
defended by four fmall forts and by a hundred
foldiers.
THE province of Carthagena is bordered on
the Weft by the river Darien, and on the Eaſt by
tions, har that of Magdalena. The extent of its coaft is
lation, fifty-three leagues, and of the inland countries
and trade of eighty-five. The arid and extremely high moun
bour, popu-
manners,
Carthagena.
tains
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
59
!
VII.
tains that occupy the greateſt part of this vaft BOOK
fpace, are ſeparated by large valleys, well watered
and fertile. The dampnefs and exceffive heat of
the climate prevent, indeed, the corn, the oils,
the wines, and the fruits of Europe from thriving
there but rice, caffava, maize, cacao, fugar,
and all the productions peculiar to America, are
very common. But cotton is the only article cul-
tivated for exportation; and even the wool of this
is fo long, and fo difficult in working, that it is
only fold for the lowest price in our markets, and
is rejected by moſt of the manufactures.
BASTIDAS was the first European, who, in 1502,
appeared in theſe unknown latitudes. La Cofa,
Guerra, Ojeda, Vefputius, and Oviedo, landed
there after him: but the people whom thefe
plunderers meant to enflave, oppofed them with
fuch firmness, that they were obliged to give up
all thoughts of forming a fettlement there. At
length Pedro de Heridia appeared in 1527, with
a force fufficient to reduce them. He built and
peopled Carthagena.
IN 1544, fome French pirates pillaged the new
town. Forty-one years after, it was burnt by the
celebrated Drake. Pointis, one of the admirals
of Louis XIV. took it in 1697; but by his cruel
rapacity, he difgraced the arms which his ambitious
maſter wiſhed to render illuftrious. The Engliſh
were difgracefully obliged, in 1741, to raiſe the
fiege of it, though they had undertaken it with
twenty-five fhips of the line, fix fire-fhips, two
bomb-ketches, and as many land-forces as were
fufficient to conquer a great part of America.
The miſunderſtanding between Vernon and Went-
worth;
60
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK worth; the cabals which divided the army and
VII.
the fleet; a want of experience in moſt of the
commanders, and of fubordination in the fubal-
terns all theſe caufes united to deprive the na-
tion of the glory and advantage it had flattered
itſelf with, from one of the moſt brilliant arma-
ments that had ever been diſpatched from the
British ports.
AFTER fo many revolutions, Carthagena now
fubfifts in ſplendour in a peninſula of fand, which
is joined to the continent only by two narrow
necks of land, the broadeft of which is not thirty-
five toifes. Its fortifications are regular. Nature
has placed at a little diſtance a hill of a tolerable
height, on which the citadel of St. Lazarus hath
been built. Theſe works are defended by a gar-
rifon more or lefs numerous, as circumſtances
require. The town is one of the beſt built, the
moft regular, and beft difpofed, of any in the New
World. It may contain twenty-five thouſand
fouls. Of this number the Spaniards form the
fixth part; the Indians, the Negroes, and feveral
races compofed of mixtures of an infinite variety,
make up the remainder.
THESE mixtures are more common at Cartha-
gena than in moft of the other Spanish colonies.
A multitude of vagabonds without employment,
without fortune, and without recommendations,
are continually reforting to this place. In a
country where they are totally unknown, no
citizen can venture to repofe any confidence in their
fervices; they are deſtined to fubfift wretchedly on
the alms of the convents, and to lie in the corner
of a fquare, or under the portico of fome church.
If
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
61
1
VII,
If the afflictions they experience in this miferable BOOK
ſtate ſhould bring ſome violent diſeaſe upon them,
they are commonly aſſiſted by the free negro wo-
men, whofe care and kindness they requite by mar-
rying them. Thoſe who have not the happineſs of
being in a fituation dreadful enough to excite the
compaffion of the women, are obliged to take re-
fuge in the country, and to devote themſelves to
fatiguing labours, which a certain national pride,
and ancient cuftoms, render equally infupportable.
Indolence is carried fo far in this country, that
men and women who are wealthy feldom quic
their hammocks, and that but for a little time.
THE climate muſt be one of the principal caufest
of this inactivity. The heat is exceffive and almoſt
continual at Carthagena. The torrents of water,
which are inceffantly pouring down from the
month of May to November, have this peculiar-
ity, that they never cool the air, which, however,
is fometimes a little tempered by the north-eaſt
winds in the dry ſeaſon. The night is as hot as
the day. An habitual perſpiration gives the in-
habitants the pale and livid colour of fickly per-
fons. Even when they are in perfect health, their
motions partake of the foftneſs of the climate,
which evidently relaxes their fibres. This indo-
lence manifefts itfelf even in their words, which
are always uttered flowly, and with a low voice.
Thoſe who come hither from Europe preferve
their freſh complexions and plumpnefs three or
four months: but they afterwards lofe both.
THIS decay is the forerunner of an evil ftill
more dreadful, but the nature of which is little
8
known..
62
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK known. It is conjectured that fome perſons are
VII.
affected with it from catching cold, others from
indigeftion. It manifefts itſelf by vomitings, ac-
companied with fo violent a delirium, that the
patient muſt be confined, to prevent him from
tearing himſelf to pieces. He often expires in
the midſt of theſe agitations, which feldom laſt
above three or four days. A lemonade made of the
juice of the opuntium, or Indian fig, is, accord-
ing to Godin, the beſt ſpecific that has been found
againſt ſo fatal a diſeaſe. Thoſe who have eſcaped
this danger at first, run no rifque for the future.
We are affured from the teftimony of men of
underſtanding, that even upon their return to
Carthagena, after a long abfence, they have no-
thing to fear.
THE town and its territory exhibit the ſpectacle
of a hideous leprofy, which indifcriminately attacks
both the inhabitants and ftrangers. The philofo-
phers who have attempted to afcribe this calamity
to the eating of pork, have not confidered that
nothing of a fimilar kind is ſeen in the other parts
of the New World, where this kind of food is not
lefs common. To prevent the progreſs of this
diftemper, an hofpital has been founded in the
country. Perfons who are fuppofed to be attack-
ed with it, are fhut up here, without diftinction
of fex, rank, or age. The benefit of fo wife an
eſtabliſhment is loft through the avarice of the
governors, who, without being deterred by the
danger of ſpreading the difeafe, fuffer the poor to
go in and out to beg. Thus it is that the number
of the fick is fo great, that the inclofure of the
dwelling
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
63
VII.
dwelling is of an immenfe extent. Every one BOOK
there enjoys a little.fpot of ground that is marked
out for him on his admiffion.
There he builds an
abode fuitable to his fortune, where he lives in
tranquillity to the end of his days, which are often
long, though unhappy. This diforder fo power-
fully excites that paffion which is the ſtrongeſt of
all others, that it has been judged neceffary to
permit marriage to fuch as are afflicted with it.
This is, perhaps, increafing the paffion by in-
creafing the means of fatisfying it. Theſe defires
appear to be irritated by the very gratification of
them, they increaſe by their very remedies, and
are reproduced by each other. The inconvenience
of beholding this ardent difeafe which infects the
blood, perpetuated in the children, hath given
way to the dread of other diſorders that are, per-
haps, chimerical.
LET us be allowed to form a conjecture.
There are ſome people in Africa that are fituated
nearly under the fame latitude, who have a cuſtom
of rubbing the body with an oil that is expreffed
from the fruit of a tree refembling the palm.
This oil is of a difagreeable finell: but befide the
property it has of keeping off infects which are
very troubleſome under this burning ſky, it ferves
to make the ſkin pliable, and to preferve, or re-
ftore to that organ fo effential to life, the free
exerciſe of the office for which nature has deſign-
ed it; it alfo quiets the irritation which drynefs
and aridity muſt bring on upon the fkin, which
then becomes fo hard, that all kind of perfpira-
tion is intercepted. If a fimilar method were
tried
64
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK tried at Carthagena, and if the cleanlineſs which
VII. the climate requires were added to it, perhaps
this leprofy might be reftrained, or even totally
aboliſhed.
NOTWITHSTANDING this difgufting diftemper,
the various defects of an inconvenient and dan-
gerous climate, and many other difagreeable cir-
cumftances, Spain hath always fhewn a great
predilection for Carthagena, on account of its
harbour, one of the beft that is known. It is
two leagues in extent, and hath a deep and excel-
lent bottom. There is not more agitation there,
than on the most calm river. There are two
channels that lead up to it. That which is called
Bocca Grande, and which is from ſeven to eight
hundred toiſes in breadth, had formerly fo little
depth, that the finalleft canoe could with difficulty
paſs through it. The ocean hath gradually in-
creaſed its depth fo much, that in fome parts
twelve feet of water may be found. If the revo-
lutions of time fhould bring about greater alter-
ations, the place would be expofed. Accordingly,
the attention of the court of Madrid is ſeriouſly
engaged in confidering the means of preventing fo
great an evil. Perhaps, after much reflection,
no fimpler or more certain expedient will be
found, than to oppofe to the enemy's fleets a dyke
formed of old fhips filled with ftones and funk in
the fea. The channel of Bocca Chica hath been
hitherto the only one practicable. This is fo
narrow, that only one veffel can enter at once.
The English, in 1741, having deftroyed the for-
tifications that defended this paffage, they have
been
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
65
:
.
t
VII.
been fince reſtored with greater ſkill. They were BOOK
no longer placed at the entrance of the gullet, but
further up the channel, where they will fecure a
better defence.
Ar the time that theſe countries were fupplied
with proviſions, by the well-known method of the
galleons, the veffels which fet out from Spain all
together, failed to Carthagena before they went
to Porto Bello, and vifited it again on their re-
turn to Europe: In the firſt voyage, they depo-
fited, the merchandife that was neceffary for the
fupply of the interior provinces, and received the
price of them in the fecond. When fingle fhips.
were ſubſtituted to theſe monftrous armaments,
the city ſerved for the fame kind of ſtaple. It was
always the point of communication between the
Old hemifphere and great part of the New. From
the year 1748 to 1753, this ftaple was only vifited
with twenty-feven ſhips from Spain: thefe, in ex-
change for the merchandiſe they had brought,
received every year, 9,357,806 livres *, in gold;
4,729,498 livres †, in filver; and 851,765 livres ‡,
in the produce of the country; in all, 14,939,069
livres §.:
1
THE article of the produce of the country, was
compoſed of four thoufand eight hundred and four-
fcore quintals of cacao, the value of which in Eu-
rope was 509,760 livres ; of five hundred and
eighty quintals of bark, of the value of 200,880
livres ; of feventeen quintals of vicuna wool, of
* 389,9081. 11s. 8d.
$ 35,4901. 14s. 2 d.
21,2401. 10S.
VOL. IV.
F
† 197,0721. 8s. 4d.
§ 622,4611. 13s. 4d.
¶8,3701.
the
66
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK the value of 12,474 livres *; of one quintal and a
half of vanilla, of the value of 11,988 livres t; of
feven quintals of tortoife-fhell, of the value of
4,698 livres ; of fifteen quintals of mother-of-
pearl, of the value of 1,701 livres §; of fixteen
quintals of balfam, of the value of 18,900 livres ||;
of two thouſand and thirty quintals of a fpecies
of Brafil wood, of the value of 29,295 livres ¶;
of two thouſand one hundred fkins, with the hair
on, of the value of 34,020 livres **; of forty-two
quintals of dragon's blood, of the value of 2,389
livres tt; of fix quintals of balfam of capivi, of
the value of 2,700 livres ‡‡; of feven quintals of
farfaparilla, of the value of 972 livres §§; of one
quintal of ivory, of the value of 388 livres ;
and laſtly, of one hundred and eighty-eight
quintals of cotton, of the value of 21,600
livres 44.
Cauſes of
the oblivion
In theſe returns, where there was nothing for
government, and where all was for trade, the ter-
ritory of Carthagena furniſhed only to the amount
93,241 livres ***
That of Saint Martha was
ftill lefs profitable.
of
THIS province, the extent of which, from
into which Eaft to Weſt, is eighty leagues, and one hundred
the province
of Saint
Martha is
fallen.
and thirty from North to South, was unfortu-
5191. 155.
‡ 1951. 159.
11 7871. 105.
** 1,4:71. 10s.
‡‡ 1131.
III 161. 3s. 4d.
*** 3,8851. os. 10d.
2
† 4991. 10s.
§ 711. 7s. 6d.
¶ 1,2201. 12s. 6d.
tt 991. 10s. Iod.
§§ 401. 9s.
¶¶ 9001. 10s.
nately
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
67
VII.
nately diſcovered, as were all the neighbouring BOOK
regions, at the difaftrous period when the kings
of Spain, folely intent upon their aggrandife-
ment in Europe, required only from thoſe of their
fubjects, who went into the New World, the
fifth part of the gold which they collected in their
plunders. Upon this condition, theſe robbers,
who were ftimulated by the love of novelty, by
an inordinate paffion for wealth, and even by the
hopes of meriting heaven, were left to be the
fole arbiters of their actions. Without dread of
puniſhment or of cenfure, they might wander
about from one country to another, preferve or
abandon a conqueft, improve a territory, or de-
ftroy it, and maffacre the people, or treat them
with humanity, as they thought proper. Every
thing fuited the Court of Madrid; provided they
were ſupplied with plenty of riches, the fource
from which they came always appeared honeft and
pure.
RAVAGES and cruelties that cannot be ex-
preffed, were the neceffary confequence of theſe
abominable principles; and univerfal defolation
prevailed. The fatal veftiges of it are ftill to be
traced in all parts, but more eſpecially at Saint
Martha. After thefe deftroyers had fpoiled the
colonies of the gold which they had picked up in
their rivers, and of the pearls which they had
fiſhed upon their coafts, they difappeared. The
few among them who fettled themſelves there,
raiſed one or two towns, and fome villages,
which remained without intercourfe with each
other, till it was opened by fome indefatigable
F 2
Capu-
68
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK Capucin miffionaries, who, in our days, have con-
trived to collect, in eight hamlets, three thouſand
one hundred and ninety-one Motilones, or Eva-
giras, the moſt ferocious of the favages who op-
pofed it. Here their defpicable poſterity vege-
tates, fed and waited upon by fome Indians or
Negroes. The mother-country hath never fent
one fingle veffel into this diſtrict, and hath never
received any kind of production from it. The
induſtry and activity of this place confifts only in
a fraudulent trade of cattle, and efpecially mules,
carried on with the Dutch, or with the other cul-
tivators of the neighbouring iſlands, who give in
exchange clothing, and fome other objects of
little value. Superftition keeps up this fatal in-
dolence. It prevents the people from difcerning
that it is not by ceremonies, by flagellations, or
by autos da fé, that the divinity is to be honoured;
but by the fweat of man's brow, by the clearing
of land, and by uſeful labours. Theſe proud
men perfuade themſelves that they are greater in
a church, or at the feet of a monk, than in the
fields or the workshop. The tyranny of their
priefts hath kept away from them that knowledge
which might have undeceived them. Even this
work, written purpofely to enlighten them, they
will never be acquainted with. If fome fortunate
event ſhould put it into their hands, they would
have an abhorrence of it, and would confider it
as a criminal production, the author of which
would deſerve to be burnt.
First events
ALPHONSO OJEDA was the first who reconnoi-
that have. tred, in' 1499, the country called Venezuela, or
nezuela,
Little
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
69
:
VII.
Little Venice, a name that was given to it, be- BOOK
cauſe ſome huts were feen there, fixed upon
ſtakes, to raiſe them above the ftagnant waters
that covered the plain. Neither this adventurer,
nor his immediate fucceffors, thought of forming
any fettlements there. Their ambition was only
to make flaves, that they might convey them to
the iſlands which their ferocity had depopulated.
It was not till 1527 that John d'Ampuez fixed
a colony, upon this coaft, and promifed to his
Court a region abounding in metals. This pro-
miſe gave rife, in the following year, to an ar-
rangement fingular enough to attract our atten-
tion.
CHARLES V. who had united fuch a number of
crowns upon his head, and concentrated fo much
power in himſelf, was engaged, by his ambition,
or by the jealoufy of his neighbours, in endlefs
difputes, the expences of which exceeded his
refources. In his neceffities, he had borrowed
confiderable fums of the Welfers of Augfbourg,
who were then the richest merchants in Europe.
That prince offered them in payment the pro-
vince of Venezuela, and they accepted it as a fief
of Caftile.
It was to be fuppofed that merchants, who
had acquired their fortune by the buying and
felling of territorial productions, would eſtabliſh
plantations in their domains. It was to be fup-
pofed, that Germans, who had been brought up
in the midſt of mines, would work thoſe which
were upon the ſpot that was granted to them.
But thefe expectations were entirely fruftrated.
F 3
The
70
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
BOOK The Welfers only fent into the New World four
VII. or five hundred of thofe fierce' foldiers, whom
their country began to fell to whoever would and
could pay for their blood. Theſe baſe hirelings
carried along with them beyond the feas, that
propenfity for pillaging, which they had con-
tracted in the different wars in which they had
ſerved. Under the guidance of their chiefs, Al-
finger and Sailler, they overran an immenfe tract
of country, putting the favages to the torture,
and ripping them open, to extort from them
where the gold was to be found. Some Indians,
dragged along, and laden with provifions, who
were put to death as foon as they fank under the
laffitude, followed this favage band. Hunger,
fatigue, and poifoned arrows, fortunately deli-
vered the earth of this odious burthen. The
Spaniards refumed poffeffion of a foil whịch the
Welfers would no longer have any concern with;
and their conduct was not very different from
that which had juft excited fo much horror.
Their commander Carvajal, indeed, forfeited his
life for theſe enormities: but this puniſhment did
not recall from the grave the victims that had
been precipitated into it. From their afhes arofe,
in proceſs of time, a few productions of which the
cacao was the principal.
The cacao
hath always
fixed the at
tention of
the Spani-
ards upon
Venezuela.
THE Cacao tree, which is of a middling fize,
generally throws out five or fix trunks from its
root. The wood of it is brittle and white;
its root reddifh, and rather rugged. As it
grows up it throws off fome inclined branches,
which do not ſpread far. Its leaves are alter-
nate,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
71
}
VII.
nate, oval, and terminated in a point. The BOOK
largeſt of them are from eight to nine feet in
length, and three in breadth. They are all
fixed upon fhort petals, flattened, and furniſhed
at their bafis with two membranes or ftipulæ.
The flowers arife in finall bunches along the ftems
and the branches. Their calix is greenish, and
hath five deep divifions. The five petals that
compofe the corolla are fmall, yellow, inflated
at their bafe, lengthened out into a kind of ſtrap,
which is folded up in a circular form, and widen-
ed at its extremity. Thefe petals are fixed to a
fpatha, formed by the affemblage of ten threads,
five of which bear ftamina. The five other in-
termediate ones are longer, and in the fhape of a
tongue. The piftil, which is placed in the centre,
and furmounted with one ftyle only, becomes an
oviform capfula, almoſt of a ligneous texture, fix
or ſeven inches in length, and two in breadth;
uneven upon its furface, marked with ten cofta,
and feparated internally by membranous parti-
tions into five cells. The kernels which it. con-
tains, to the number of thirty, or more, are co-
vered with a brittle fhell, and furrounded with a
whitish pulp.
THESE kernels are the baſis of the chocolate,
the goodneſs of which depends upon the oily
part they contain, and confequently upon their
perfect maturity. The capfula is gathered, when,
after having changed fucceffively from green to
yellow, it acquires a dark mufk colour. It is
flit with a knife, and all the kernels, furrounded
with their pulp, are taken out and heaped up in a
F 4
tub,
72
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
7
BOOK tub, in order that they may ferment. This ope-
VII.
ration deſtroys the principle of vegetation, and
removes the fuperfluous moisture from the ker-
nels, which are afterwards expoſed to the fun
upon hurdles, in order to complete the drying of
them. The cacao, thus prepared, keeps for a
confiderable time, provided it be in a dry place;
but it is not proper to keep it too long, becaufe
it lofes, with age, part of its oil and of its pro-
perties.
THE Cacao tree grows readily, from feeds that
are fown in holes ranged in a ſtraight line, and
at the diſtance of five or fix feet from each other.
Theſe feeds, which must be fresh, foon vegetate.
The tree grows up tolerably faft, and begins to
reward the labours of the cultivator at the end
of two years. Two crops are gathered every
year, which are equal in quality and quantity.
This tree requires a rich and moift foil, which
hath not been employed for any other kind of
culture. If it fhould want water, it would pro-
duce no fruit, wither, and die.
wither, and die. A fhade, to
fhelter it continually from the heat of the fun, is
not lefs neceffary to it. The fields in which the
cacao trees are planted, are alfo liable to be de-
ftroyed by the hurricanes, unleſs care be taken to
ſkirt them with ftronger trees. The culture which
the tree further requires is neither laborious nor
expenfive. It is 'fufficient to pull up the weeds
that grow round it, and which would deprive it
of its nouriſhment.
THE cacao tree is cultivated in ſeveral parts of
the New World; in fome of them it even grows
natu-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
1
73
VII.
naturally. Nevertheless, its fruit is no where fo BOOK
plentiful as at Venezuela; and no where of fo good-
a quality, if we except Soconufco.
BUT for the ſpace of two centuries, the labours
of the colony did not turn out to the profit of the
mother-country. The national trade was fo much
overburdened with taxes, and fo much embar-
raffed with formalities, that the province found
a confiderable advantage in receiving from the
hands of the Dutch of Curaçoa all the merchan-
dife they wanted, and in giving them for payment
the produce of their foil, which thefe indefati-
gable neighbours fold for an immenfe profit to
part of Europe, and even to the nation that was
proprietor of the territory in which it was colle&-
ed. This fimuggling intercourfe was fo brifk
and fo conftant, that from the year 1700 to the
end of 1727, only five fhips were fent out from
the ports of Spain to Venezuela, and they, all of
them without exception, made a voyage more or
leſs ruinous,
..
The pro-
Venezuela
vince of
to a mono-
poly. Fro-
fperity of the
is ſubjected
SUCH was the fituation of affairs, when fome
merchants of the province of Guipufcoa ima
gined, in 1728, that it would be advantageous to
them to unite in a body in order to undertake
this navigation. Their views were approved Company.
and encouraged by government. The principal
conditions of the grant were, that the Company
ſhould pay for every thing they might chooſe to
ſend out; and for every thing they might receive,
the taxes that were already fettled, and that they
ſhould entertain, at their own expence, a fufficienţ
number
1
74
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK number of guarda coftas, to prevent the inhabit-
ants from ſmuggling.
SOME alterations were fucceffively made in the
adminiſtration of this fociety. At first they were
only permitted to fit out two fhips every year;
but in 1734 they obtained leave to fend as many
as they thought proper.
In the beginning, the Company had not the
privilege of an exclufive charter. The govern-
ment granted it to them in 1742, for the depart-
ment of Caraccas; and ten years after for that of
Maracaibo, two territories, the union of which
forms the province of Venezuela, extending four
hundred miles along the coaft.
TILL the year 1744, the fhips, on their return
from the New World, were all to depofit their
whole cargo in the port of Cadiz. After this
period, they were only obliged to carry there, the
cacao neceffary for the fupply of Andalufia and
of the neighbouring diſtricts. They were allowed
to difembark the reft at Saint Sebaftian, the place
of the rife of the Company.
It was in this town that the general meeting of
the proprietors was originally holden. In 1751,
it was transferred to the capital of the empire,
where fome one of the moſt efteemed members of
the council of the Indies prefides over it every
two years.
THE merchandife was at firft delivered to the
highest bidder. The Court was then informed
that a general difcontent prevailed; that a ſmall
number of rich affociates ſhould monopolize the
cacao,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VII.
75
cacao, which is confidered in Spain as an article BOOK
of primary neceffity, and fhould afterwards fell it
at what price they chofe. Theſe murmurs occa-
fioned, in 1752, a regulation, that without fup-
preffing the magazines at Saint Sebaſtian, at
Cadiz, and at Madrid, new ones fhould be efta-
bliſhed at Corunna, at Alicant, and at Barcelona;
and that in all of them the cacao fhould be retail-
ed to the inhabitants at the price fettled by the
miniſtry.
THE Company obtained, in 1753, that their
fhares fhould be confidered as a real eſtate, that
they might be perpetually entailed, and formed
into thoſe unalienable and indiviſible majorafcos,
or inheritances fettled upon the eldeft heir, which
are in general fo flattering to the pride of the
Spaniards.
IT was decreed, in 1761, that the Company
fhould advance, to the members who might with
for it, the value of fixteen fhares; that thefe fhares
ſhould be put in truft, and that they might be
fold, if after a ſtipulated period the proprietor did
not withdraw them. The intent of this prudent
arrangement, was to fuccour fuch of the proprie-
tors whofe affairs might be fomewhat embarraffed,
and to maintain the credit of the Company by
honeft means.
ACCORDING to regulations made in 1776, the
operations of the Company are to extend to
Cumana, to the Oroonoko, to the islands of Tri-
nity and St. Margaret. Thefe countries, indeed,
have not been fubjected to its monopoly: but the
favours it has received are equivalent to an ex-
clufive privilege.
DURING
76
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
DURING thefe changes, the number of freemen
and of flaves were increafing at Venezuela. The
feven hundred and fifty-nine plantations, diftri-
buted in fixty-one villages, were emerging from
their languid ftate, and others were forming.
The former cultures were improved, and new
ones eſtabliſhed. The cattle penetrated more and
more into the inland parts of the country. But
it was chiefly in the diſtrict of Caraccas that the
improvements were moſt confpicuous. The town
which bears this name, contained four and twenty
thouſand inhabitants, moſt of them in eafy cir-
cumftances. The guayra which ferved for the
purpoſe of its navigation, though it afforded no-
thing more than an indifferent anchorage, fur-
rounded with a ſmall number of huts, was gra-
dually becoming a confiderable colony, and even
a tolerable harbour, by means of a large pier con-
ftructed with ſkill.
}
Ar Puerto Cabello, which had been entirely
abandoned, though one of the beſt ports of Ame-
rica, three hundred houſes were raiſed. Let us
endeavour to inveſtigate the cauſes of this fingular
profperity, under the fhackles of a monopoly.
THE Company underſtood from the first, that
their ſucceſs was infeparable from that of the
colony; and they therefore advanced to the in-
habitants as far as 3,240,000 livres, without in-
tereft. This debt was to be diſcharged in com-
modities; and thofe who did not fulfil their
engagements were fummoned to the tribunal of
**
135,0001.
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
77
.
VII.
the king's reprefentative, whoſe province it was B OOK
folely to judge, whether the cauſes of delay were,
or were not, reaſonable.
THE magazines of the Company were con-
ftantly ſupplied with every thing that might be of
ufe to the country, and always open to receive
every thing the country could pour into them.
By this method, the labours were never languid
for want of means, or of a market.
THE value of what the Company were to fell,
or to buy, was not left to the rapacity of their
agents. The government of the province always
fixed the price of what came from Europe; and
a meeting, compofed of the directors, colonifts,"
and factors, always regulated the price of the
productions of the foil.
SUCH of the inhabitants of the New World as
were not fatisfied with thefe regulations, were
allowed to fend into the Old one, upon their own
account, the fixth part of their crops, and to re-
ceive the value in merchandife; but thefe affairs
were always to be tranfacted by the fhips of the
Company.
By theſe arrangements the cultivator was bet-
ter rewarded for his labours, than he had been at
the time of the contraband trade. The new dif-
pofition of things was in reality fatal only to a
few ſcheming, turbulent, and adventurous men,
who collected in their hands, at a low price, the
productions of the country, in order to deliver
them afterwards to foreign navigators of the fame
character as themſelves.
THE
$8
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
THE new kingdom of Grenada, Mexico, fome
of the American inlands, and the Canaries, were
in the habit of drawing from Venezuela part of
the cacao confumed by their inhabitants. Theſe
colonies continued to enjoy this right without re-
ftraint. They even purfued it with greater advan-
tage, becauſe the production which they wanted
to procure became more plentiful, and was ob
tained at a cheaper rate.
FORMERLY Venezuela furniſhed nothing to the
trade of the mother-country. The Company,
fince their eftablifhment, have always fupplied it
with productions, the quantity of which hath fuċ-
ceffively increaſed. From the year 1748 to 1753,
the Company conveyed annually into the colony
to the value of 3,197,327 livres *, in merchan-
dife. They drew from thence annually to the
amount of 239,144 livres t, in filver; thirty-
feven thouſand quintals of cacao, which they
fold for 5,332,000 livres ; two thouſand five
hundred quintals of tobacco, fold for 178,200
livres §; one hundred and fifty-feven quintals
of indigo, fold for 198,990 livres ; twenty
thouſand ſkins, with the hair on, fold for
356,400 livres ; and fome dividi, fold for 27,000
livres **; fo that their returns amounted to
6,821,734 livres tt. The apparent profit was
* 132,2211. 199. 2 d.
1222,1661. 135. 4d.
|| 8,2911. 5 s.
** 1,1251.
† 9,9641. 6s. 8 d.
§ 7,425 1.
14,8sol.
tt 284,6461. 1 s. 8 d.
there-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VII.
79
therefore, 3,634,407 livres *. We call it appa- BOOK
rent, becauſe the expences and the cuſtoms ab-
forbed 1,932,500 livres † of this fum; fo that the
real profit of the Company was only 1,701,897
livres .
ALL theſe branches of commerce have been
increaſed except that of the dividi, which it hath
been neceſſary to give up, fince it hath been found
that it was not fit to be fubftituted to the Aleppo
nut in dying, as it had been rather inconfiderate-
ly imagined. The extenfion would have been
ftill greater, had it been poffible to put an end to
fmuggling. But notwithſtanding the vigilance
of ten cruizers, with eighty-fix guns, one hun-
dred and ninety-two fwivels, and five hundred
and eighteen men on board; notwithstanding
twelve poſts, with ten or twelve foldiers in each,
eſtabliſhed along the coaft, and notwithſtanding
the annual expence of 1,400,000 livres §, the
contraband trade hath not been entirely eradi-
cated; and it is chiefly at Coro that it is carried
on.
THE nation has profited equally by the efta-
bliſhment of the Company. It does not pay them
for the cacao more than half the price which the
Dutch uſed to charge. The quintal, which is
now bought in Spain for 160 livres |, ufed for-
merly to coft 320 ¶.
THE advantages which accrue to the govern-
ment from the eſtabliſhment of the Company are
* 151,4331. 12s. 6d.
‡ 70,9221. 7s. 6d.
H 61. i3s. 4d.
+ 80,5901. 16s. 8d.
§ 58,3331. 6s. 8d.
¶ 131. 6s. 8d.
not
80
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADË
VII.
BOOK not lefs evident. Before this period, the revenues
of the crown at Venezuela, were never fufficient
to defray the expences of fovereignty. They
have fince increafed confiderably, not only be-
cauſe the citadel of Puerto Cabello has been con-
ftructed, which hath coſt 1,620,000 livres *, but
alſo, becauſe a greater number of regular troops
are maintained in the country. The treaſury,
however, hath fome fuperfluous cafh, which it
diftributes at Cumana, at St. Margaret's, at Tri-
nity iſland, and on the Oroonoko. This is not.
the whole. In Europe, the productions of the
country pay annually to the State more than
1,600,000 t, and the navigation they give rife to
forms fifteen hundred failors for it, or keeps them
in conftant employment.
i
BUT hath the Company itself been equally pro-
fperous? There was every reafon to doubt, in
the beginning, whether it would maintain itſelf.
Although the colonists were allured to become
members of it, they refufed at firft to deliver
their productions to it. In Spain, where a com-
mercial affociation was a novelty, no great eager-
neſs was fhewn to become a member of it, not-
withstanding the example fet by the monarch,
by the queen, by the Infant Don Lewis, and by
the province of Guipufcoa. It was neceffary to
reduce the number of fhares to fifteen hundred,
which it had been refolved to carry on to three
thouſand; and the capital, intended to be fix
millions, was reduced to three §. Thefe diffi-
*
67,5001.
‡ 250,0001.
† 66,6661. 13s: 48.
$ 125,000l.
culties
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
81
VII.
السميد
culties did not prevent confiderable dividends BOOK
from being paid to the proprietors, even in the
very first years. The fums in referve were,
however, fufficient, in 1752, to double the ori-
ginal funds, and in 1766 to treble them, with
a regular intereſt of five per cent. exclufive of the
extraordinary dividends. On the firſt of January
1772, the Company's debts, even including the
value of the ſhares, which had rifen to 1,000,000
livres, amounted to no more than 15,198,618
livres 12 fols †, and they were in poffeffion of
21,153,760 livres four fols . Confequently,
they had 5,955,141 livres 12 fols § above what
they owed.
THE improper fpirit that generally prevails in
exclufive focieties, hath not affected that of Carac-
cas ſo much as others. It hath never been led aftray
from its ſyſtem by abfurd enterprifes. Its in-
tegrity hath preferved it from every kind of law,
and even from the flighteft contest. That its
deſtiny might not be expofed to the caprices of
the ocean, or to the rifques of war, its cargoes
have been all of them infured. Its engagements
have been fulfilled with inviolable fidelity. And
laftly, in a country where most of the landed
eftates are entailed, and where there are few
good vents for money, the Company hath ob-
tained all that it wanted, at two and a half
per cent.
* 375,0001.
881,407 1. 3 s. 6d.
† 633,2751. 15s. 6d.
§ 248,1501. 18s.
i
VOL. IV.
G
IN
82
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
In order to conciliate to itſelf the good wiſhes
of the nation, which are generally denied in all
párts to a monopoly, the Company hath always
been defirous of appearing animated with a pub-
lic fpirit. From the year 1735, it took upon
itſelf the care of the manufactures of Placentia,
which ſcarce uſed to furniſh eight thouſand fire-
locks per annum; and which, at prefent, without
reckoning fome other kinds of arms that have
begun to be fabricated there, fupplies fourteen
thouſand four hundred, with the fcutcheons
of their locks, which it was before neceffary
to bring from Liege. Though during the
fhort war of 1762, fix of the Company's vef-
fels, richly laden, fell into the hands of the
Engliſh, it ftill devoted to government all the
credit and influence it poffeffed. Wood for the
building of fhips was perifhing in the province
of Navarre, ſo that it became neceffary to cut it
down. Roads were alfo to be made to bring it
down to the borders of the Vidaffoa, and this
uncertain river was to be put in a ſtate fit to carry
this wood to its mouth, after which it was to be
conducted to the important harbour of Ferról.
Since the year 1766, all theſe things are executed
by the Company to the great advantage of the
military branch of the navy.
THIS Company ftill continues to announce
other enterpriſes uſeful to the ftate; but it is a
matter of doubt whether it will be allowed time
to execute them. The refolution which the
Court of Madrid feems to have taken, to open
its ports of the New World to all its fubjects
4
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
83
+
"
of the Old, muft neceffarily excite a prefumption BOOK
that the province of Venezuela will, fooner or
later, ceaſe to be under the reſtraints of a mono-
poly. It is however a problem, whether the
diffolution of the Company will be productive of
good or evil; and it can only be folved by the
nature of the meaſures that ſhall be adopted by
the Spaniſh miniſtry.
་
VII.
The Court
gives up Cu-
of Madrid
mana to the
care of Las
Cafas. In-
tempts of
brated man
effectual at-
this cele-
THE COaft of Cumana was diſcovered in 1498
by Columbus. Ojeda, who had embarked with
this great navigator, landed there the next year,
and even made fome exchanges peaceably with
the favages. It appeared more convenient to the
adventurers who fucceeded him, to ftrip thefe
feeble men of their gold or of their pearls; and
this kind of robbery was as common in this fourishing.
region as in the other parts of America, when
Las Cafas undertook to put a stop to it.
-
THIS man, fo famous in the annals of the New
World, had accompanied his father at the time
of the firſt diſcovery. The mildness and fimpli-
city of the Indians affected him ſo ſtrongly, that
he made himſelf an ecclefiaftic, in order to de-
vote his labours to their converfion. But this
foon became the leaft of his attentions. Being
more a man than a priest, he felt more for the
cruelties exerciſed againſt them, than for their
ridiculous fuperftitions. He was continually
hurrying from one hemifphere to the other, in
order to comfort thofe for whom he had con-
ceived fuch an attachment, or to ſoften their
tyrants. The inutility of his efforts convinced
him, that he ſhould never do any good in fettle-
G 2
ments
to render
this diftrict
84.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK ments that were already formed; and he propofed
to himſelf to eſtabliſh a colony upon a new
foundation.
His colonists were all to be planters, artificers,
or miffionaries. No one was to be allowed to mix
with them without his confent. A particular dreſs,
ornamented with a crofs, was to prevent them
from being thought to belong to that race of Spa-
niards which had rendered itſelf fo odious. He
reckoned, that with theſe kinds of knights, he
fhould be able, without war, violence, or flavery,
to civilize the Indians, to convert them, to ac-
cuſtom them to labour, and even to employ them
in working the mines. He afked no affiftance from
the treaſury at firft, and he was afterwards fatif-
fied with the twelfth of the tributes which he
fhould fooner or later bring into it.
-
THE ambitious, who govern empires, confi-
der the people as mere objects of trade, and treat
as chimerical every thing that tends to the im-
provement and happineſs of the human fpecies.
Such was at firſt the impreffion which the ſyſtem
of Las Cafas made upon the Spaniſh miniſtry.
He was not difcouraged by denials, and at
length fucceeded in having the diftrict of Cu-·
mana ceded to him, to put his theory in practice.
This man of ardent genius immediately went
through all the provinces of Caftile, in order to
collect men accuſtomed to the labours of the
field, and to thoſe of manufactures. But theſe
peaceful citizens had not fo eager a defire to leave
their country as foldiers or failors have. Scarce
could he prevail upon two hundred of them to
follow
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
85
VII.
follow him. With theſe he fet fail for America, BOOK
and landed at Porto-Rico in 1519, after a fortu-
nate voyage.
ALTHOUGH Las Cafas had only quitted the
New Hemiſphere two years before, yet he found
a total alteration in it at his return. The entire
deftruction of the Indians in the islands fubject to
Spain, had excited the refolution of going to the
continent in ſearch of flaves, to replace the un-
fortunate men who had perifhed from oppreffion.
This cruelty difgufted the independent minds of
the favages. In the height of their refentment,
they maffacred as many of the Spaniards as fell
into their hands by chance; and two miffionaries,
who probably came to Cumana with a laudable
defign, were the victims of thefe juft retaliations.
Ocampo immediately went from St. Domingo,
to puniſh an outrage committed, as it was faid,
againſt Heaven itself; and after having deſtroyed
all by fire and fword, he built a village upon the
ſpot, which he called Toledo.
:
It was within theſe weak palifades that Las
Cafas was obliged to place the fmall number
of his companions who had refifted the intem-
perance of the climate, and the attempts made
to feduce them from him. Their refidence was
not long here. Moſt of them were pierced with
the darts of an implacable enemy; and thoſe who
eſcaped, were forced, in 1521, to ſeek an aſylum
fome where elſe.
SOME Spaniards have fince fettled at Cumana;
but the population of this diftri&t hath always
been much confined, and hath never extended to
G 3
any.
86
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
VII.
BOOK any diſtance from the coafts. During the courfe
of two centuries, the mother-country had not any
direct intercourfe with this fpot. It is but lately,
that one or two fmall fhips have been fent there
annually, which, in exchange for the liquors and
merchandiſe of Europe, receive cocoa and fome
other productions.
Of the river
Oroonoko.
It was Columbus, who, in 1498, firſt diſco-
vered the Oroonoko, the borders of which have
fince been named Spaniſh Guiana. This great
river takes its fource among the Cordeleirias
mountains, and diſcharges itſelf into the ocean
by forty openings, after it hath been increaſed
throughout an immenfe track by the afflux of a
prodigious number of rivers more or lefs confi-
derable. Such is its impetuofity, that it flems
the ſtrongeſt tides, and preferves the freſhneſs of
its waters to the diſtance of twelve leagues from
that vaft and deep channel within which it was
confined. Its rapidity, however, is not always the
fame, which is owen to a circumſtance perhaps
entirely peculiar. The Oroonoko, which begins to
fwell in April, continues rifing for five months,
and during the fixth remains at its greateſt
height. From October, it begins gradually to
fubfide till the month of March, throughout the
whole of which it remains in the fixed ftate of its
greateſt diminution. Theſe alternate changes are
regular, and even invariable.
THIS phænomenon feems to depend much
more on the fea than on the land. In the fix
months that the river is rifing, the hemifphere
of the New World prefents nothing but feas, at
leaſt
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
87
VII.
leaft but little land, to the perpendicular action BOOK
of the rays of the fun. In the fix months of
its fall, America exhibits nothing but dry land
to the planet by which it is illuminated. The
fea at this time is lefs fubject to the influence of
the fun, or, at least, its current towards the
eaſtern ſhore is more balanced more broken
by the land, and muft therefore leave a freer
courſe to the rivers, which not being then ſo
ftrongly confined by the fea, cannot be fwelled
but by rains, or by the melting of the fnows
from the Cordeleirias. Perhaps, indeed, the
rifing of the waters of the Oroonoko may depend
entirely on the rainy feafon. But to be tho-
roughly acquainted with the caufes of fo fingu-
lar a phænomenon, it would be neceffary to
confider the connection between the courfe of
this river, and that of the Amazons by Rio Negro,
and to know the track and direction both of the
one and the other. From the difference of their
pofition, their fource, and their opening into the
fea, it is not improbable that the caufe of fo re-
markable a difference in the periods of their flux
and reflux might be diſcovered. All things are
connected in this world by fyftem. The courſes
of the rivers depend either on the diurnal or
annual revolutions of the earth. Whenever en-
lightened men fhall have vifited the banks of the
Oroonoko, they will difcover, or at leaft they
will attempt to diſcover, the cauſes of thefe phæ-
nomena: but their endeavours will be attended
with difficulties. This river is not fo navigable
as it might be prefumed from its magnitude;
G 4
its
&
88
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK its bed is in many places filled up with rocks,
VII.
Former and
prefent con-
which oblige the navigator, at times, to carry
both his boats and the merchandiſe they are laden
with.
BEFORE the arrival of the Europeans, the peo-
dition of the ple who border on this river, but little diftant
women on
the Orvo-
noko.
the banks of from the burning equator, knew not the uſe of
clothes, nor the reftraints of police; neither had
they any form of government. Free under the
yoke of poverty, they lived chiefly by hunting
and fiſhing, and on wild fruits. But little of
their time or labour could be ſpent on agricul-
ture, where they had nothing but a ftick to
plough with, and hatchets made of ftone to cut
down trees: which, after being burned, or rotted,
left the foil in a proper ftate for bearing.
:
THE Women lived in a ftate of oppreffion on
the Oroonoko, as they do in all barbarous re-
gions. The favage, whofe wants engage his
whole attention, is employed only in providing
for his fafety and his fubfiftence. He hath no
other allurement to partake of the pleaſures of
love, than that mere natural inftinct which
attends to the perpetuity of the fpecies. The
intercourfe between the two fexes, which is ge-
nerally cafual, would fcarce ever be followed by
any permanent confequences, if paternal and ma-
ternal tenderneſs did not attach the parents to
their offspring. But before the firft child can
provide for itſelf, others are born which call, for
the fame care. At length the inftant arrives,
when this focial reafon exifts no more: but then,
the power of long habit, the comfort of feeing
ourfelves
i
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
89
}
VII.
ourſelves furrounded by a family more or lef's BOOK
numerous, the hopes of being affifted in our latter
years by our pofterity; all theſe circumftances
expel the idea and the wish of a feparation. The
men are the perfons who reap the greateſt advan-
tages from this cohabitation. Among people who
hold nothing in eftimation but ftrength and cou-
rage, tyranny is always exerciſed over weakness,
in return for the protection that is afforded it.
The women live in a ſtate of difgrace. Labours,
confidered as the most abject, are their portion.
Men, whofe hands are accuſtomed to the hand-
ling of arms, and to the management of the oar,
would think themſelves degraded, if they employ-
ed them in fedentary occupations, or even in the
labours of agriculture.
AMONG a people of ſhepherds, who having a
more certain exiſtence, can beſtow rather more
attention upon making it agreeable, the women
are lefs wretched. In the eafe and leifure which
they enjoy, theſe people can form to themſelves an
idea of beauty, they can indulge their tafte in the
object of their affections; and, to the idea of natu-
ral pleaſure, can add that of a more noble ſenſa-
tion.
THE Connections between the two fexes are
ftill further improved, as foon as the lands begin
to be cultivated. Property, which had no exift-
ence among favages, and was of little confequence
among a people of fhepherds, begins to acquire a
degree of importance among a people engaged in
agriculture. The inequality which foon intro-
duces itſelf among the fortunes of men, muft oc-
cafion
7
!
مو
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK cafion fome in the confideration they hold. The
ties of marriage are then no longer formed by
chance; but according to conditions in life that
are ſuitable to each other. A man, in order to
be accepted, muſt make himſelf agreeable; and
this neceffity brings on attentions to the women,
and gives them a degree of dignity.
THEY receive additional importance from the
eſtabliſhment of the arts and of commerce. Bufi-
nefs is then increaſed, and connections are com
plicated. Men, who are often obliged, from more
extenfive affairs, to quit their manufactures and
their home, are under the neceffity of adding to
their talents the vigilance of their wives. As the
habit of gallantry, luxury, and diffipation, hath
not yet entirely diſguſted them of ſolitary or feri-
ous occupations, they devote themſelves, without
reſerve, and with fuccefs, to functions with which
they think themſelves honoured. The retirement
which this kind of life requires, renders the prac-
tice of all the domeſtic virtues dear and familiar
to them. The influence, the refpect, and the at-
tachment of all thofe that are about them, are the
reward of a conduct fo eftimable.
Ar length the time comes, when men grow,
difgufted of labour from the increaſe of their
fortunes. Their principal care is to prevent time
from hanging heavy on their hands, to multiply
their amuſements, and to extend their enjoyments.
At this period the women are eagerly fought af-
ter; both on account of the amiable qualities they
hold from nature, and of thoſe they have received
from education. Their connections become more
exten-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
gt
extenfive, ſo that they are no longer fuited for a
retired life, but required to fhine in a more bril-
liant fcene. When introduced upon the ftage of
the world, they become the foul of every plea-
fure, and the primum mobile of the most import-
ant affairs. Supreme happiness confifts in making
one's felf agreeable to them, and it is the height
of ambition to obtain fome diftinction from them.
Then it is, that the freedom which exifts be-
tween the two fexes in a ſtate of nature is revived,
with this remarkable difference, that in poliſhed
cities the hufband is often lefs attached to his
wife, and the wife to her huſband, than in the
midſt of the forefts; that their offspring, trufted,
at the inftant of their birth, to the hands of mer-
çenaries, are no longer a tie; and that infidelity,
which would be attended with no fatal confe-
quences among moft favage people, affects do-
meftic tranquillity and happineſs amongſt civil-
ized nations; where it is one of the principal
fymptoms of general corruption, and of the ex-
tinction of all decent affections.
THE tyranny exerciſed againſt the women upon
the banks of the Oroonoko, ftill more than in the
reft of the New World, muſt be one of the prin-
cipal cauſes of the depopulation of theſe countries
that are ſo much favoured by nature. Mothers
have contracted the custom of deftroying the
daughters they bring forth, by cutting the umbi-
lical cord ſo cloſe to the body, that the children
die of an hæmorrhage. Chriftianity itſelf hath not
even been able to put a stop to this abominable
practice. The fact is confirmed by the Jefuit
Gumilla;
BOOK
VII.
92
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
VII.
BOOK Gumilla; who being informed that one of his
converts had been guilty of fuch a murder, went
to her in order to reproach her of her crime in the
ftrongest terms. The woman liftened to the emif-
fary without fhewing the leaft figns of emotion.
When he had finiſhed his remonftrance, fhe de-
fired leave to anſwer him, which fhe did in the fol-
lowing manner :
"WOULD to God, O Father! Would to God,
"that at the inſtant of my birth, my mother had
"fhewed love and compaffion enough for her
"child, to ſpare me all the evils I have endured,
" and thoſe I fhall ftill fuffer, to the end of my
life! Had my mother deftroyed me at my birth,
"I fhould have died, but I fhould not have been
" fenfible of my death; and ſhould have eſcaped
"the moft miferable of conditions. How much
"have I already fuffered, and who knows what I
"have ftill to undergo!
""
Reprefent to thyfelf, O Father, the troubles
"that are reſerved for an Indian woman among
"theſe Indians. They accompany us into the
"fields with their bow and arrows; while we
CC
go there, laden with an infant, whom we carry
"in a baſket, and another, who hangs at our
"breaſt. They go to kill birds, or to catch
"fifh; while we are employed in digging the
"ground, and after having gone through all the
"labours of the culture, are obliged alfo to bear
"thoſe of the harveſt. They return in the even-
CC
ing without any burthen, and we bring them
"roots for their food, and maïze for their drink.
"As foon as they come home, they go and
"amufe
}
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
93
ř
" amuſe themſelves with their friends; while we
"are fetching wood and water to prepare for
"their fupper. When they have eaten, they
fall aſleep; and we paſs almoſt the whole night
"in grinding the maïze, and in preparing the
"chica for them. And what reward have we for
"theſe labours? They drink; and when they are
"intoxicated, they drag us by the hair, and trample
"us under foot.
"O Father, would to God that my mother had
"deſtroyed me at the inftant of my birth! Thou
"knoweft, thyſelf, that our complaints are juft;
"thou haft daily inftances before thine eyes of
"the truth of my affertions. But the greateſt
"misfortune we labour under, it is impoffible
"thou ſhouldeſt know. It is a melancholy cir-
"cumſtance for a poor Indian woman to ferve
" her huſband as a flave in the fields, oppreffed
"with fatigue, and at home deprived of tran-
quillity: but it is a dreadful thing, when
"twenty years are elapfed, to fee him take ano-
"ther woman, whofe judgment is not formed.
"He attaches himſelf to her.
"children; fhe commands us,
"her fervants; and if the leaft murmur efcape
"us, a ſtick raiſed .
Oh! Father,
<<
She beats our
and treats us as
"how is it poffible that we fhould bear this con-
"dition? What can an Indian woman do better,
"than to prevent her child from living in a ftate
"of flavery infinitely worſe than death? Would
"to God, O Father! I repeat it, that my mo-
ther had conceived affection enough for me to
"bury
BOOK
1
VII.
· 94
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK «‹ bury me when I was born! My heart would not
"have been thus afflicted; nor would mine.
"have been accuftomed to tears."
State of the
Spanish co-
eyes
THE Spaniards, who could not pay attention
lony formed to all the regions they diſcovered, loft fight of the
banks of the Oroonoko. They did not attempt to fail up this
Oroonoko, river again till the year 1535, when, not having
on the
1
found there the mines they were in fearch of, they
neglected it. Nevertheleſs, the few who had
been thrown upon this fpot, devoted themfelves
with fo much affiduity to the culture of tobacco,
that they delivered a few cargoes of it every year
to the foreign veffels which came to purchaſe it.
This contraband trade was prohibited by the
mother-country, and this weak fettlement was
twice plundered by enterprifing pirates. Theſe
difafters occafioned it to be forgotten. It was
recalled to mind again in 1753. The commo-
dore Nicholas de Yturiaga was fent there. This
prudent man eſtabliſhed a regular fyftem of go-
vernment in the colony, that had formed itſelf
infenfibly in this part of the New World.
IN 1771, thirteen villages were ſeen upon the
banks of the Oroonoko, which contained four
thouſand two hundred and nineteen Spaniards,
Meſtees, Mulattoes, or Negroes; four hundred
and thirty-one plantations; and twelve thoufand
eight hundred and fifty-four oxen, mules, or
horſes.
Ar the fame period, the Indians, who had been
prevailed upon to quit their favage life, were dif
tributed in forty-nine hamlets.
THE
i
!
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
95
VII.
THE five of theſe which had been under the BO O K
direction of the Jefuits, computed fourteen hun-
dred and twenty-fix inhabitants, three hundred
and forty-four plantations, and nine hundred and
fifty heads of cattle.
ELEVEN of them, which are under the direction
of the Franciſcan Friars, reckoned nineteen hun-
dred and thirty-four inhabitants, three hundred
and five plantations, and nine hundred and fifty
heads of cattle.
ELEVEN others, which are under the direction
of the Capucins of Arragon, computed two thou-
fand two hundred and eleven inhabitants, four
hundred and feventy plantations, and five hun-
dred and feven heads of cattle.
THE two and twenty which are under the di-
rection of the Capucins of Catalonia, reckoned
fix thouſand eight hundred and thirty inhabitants,
fifteen hundred and ninety-two plantations, and
forty-fix thouſand heads of cattle.
THIS amounted in the whole to fixty-two co-
lonies, fixteen thoufand fix hundred and twenty
inhabitants, three thouſand one hundred and forty-
two plantations, and feventy-two thouſand three
hundred and forty-one heads of cattle.
TILL theſe laſt mentioned times, the Dutch
of Curaçao were the only perfons who traded
with this fettlement. They fupplied its wants,
and were paid with tobacco, hides, and cattle.
The bargains were all concluded at St. Thomas,
the capital of the colony. The Negroes and the
Europeans managed their own affairs; but they
were
96
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
7
BOOK were the miffionaries alone who treated for their
VII.
品
​Short de-
fcription of
the New
kingdom of
Grenada.
converts. The fame arrangement of things ſtill
fubfifts, although for fome years paft the compe-
tition of the Spaniſh fhips hath begun to keep
away the fmuggling veffels.
It is pleafing to entertain a hope, that theſe
vaft and fertile regions will at length emerge from
the ſtate of obfcurity into which they are plunged,
and that the feeds which have been fown there
will produce, fooner or later, abundant fruits. Be-
tween a favage life and a ſtate of fociety, there is
an immenſe deſert to pafs: but from the infancy
of civilization to the full vigour of trade, there
are but a few ſteps to take. Time, as it increaſes
ftrength, ſhortens diſtances. The advantage that
might be obtained from the labour of theſe new
colonies, by procuring them conveniences, would
bring riches to Spain.
BEHIND thefe very extenfive coafts of which
we have been ſpeaking, and in the inland part of
the country, is found what the Spaniards call the
New kingdom of Grenada. Its extent is prodi-
gious. Its climate is more or lefs damp, more or
leſs cold, more or lefs hot, and more or lefs tem-
perate, according to the direction of the branches
of the Cordeleirias mountains which interfect the
different parts of it.
of it. Few of theſe mountains are
ſuſceptible of cultivation: but moſt of the plains
and valleys that feparate them, exhibit a fertile
foil.
EVEN before the conqueft, the country was
very
little inhabited. In the midſt of the ſavages
that
་
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VII.
95
that wandered over it, a nation had however BO O K
been formed which had a religion, a form of
government, and which practifed cultivation.
This nation, though inferior to the Mexicans
and Peruvians, had raiſed itſelf much above the
other people of America. Neither hiftory nor
tradition inform us in what manner this ftate had
been created; but we muſt ſuppoſe that it hath
exiſted, although there be no traces remaining of
its civilization.
This kingdom, if we may be allowed to call
it fo, was called Bogota. Benalcazar, who com-
manded at Quito, attacked it in 1526, on the
fouth fide; and Quefada, who had landed at
Saint Martha, attacked it on the north. It was
to be ſuppoſed, that men united among them-
felves, accuſtomed to fight together, and led on
by an abfolute chief, would make fome refiſt-
ance. This they accordingly did; but were at
length obliged to yield to the valour, the arms,
and the diſcipline of the Europeans. The two
Spaniſh captains had the glory, fince it is one, of
adding one large poffeffion to thofe with which
their fovereigns had fuffered themſelves to be
overloaded in this New Hemiſphere. In pro-
cefs of time, the provinces more or lefs diftant
from this central point, were partly fubjected.
We fay partly, becauſe fuch is the natural difpo-
fition of the country, that it was never poffible to
fubdue all its inhabitants; and that thoſe among
them who had fubmitted to the yoke, broke it as
foon as they had the courage to determine refo-
lutely about it. It is not even improbable, that
VOL. IV.
H
moft
|
98
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK moſt of them would have taken this refolution,
VII.
What the
New king-
nada hath
been, what
it is, and
what it may
become.
had they been employed in thoſe deſtructive la-
bours which have caufed fuch ravages in the other
parts of the New World.
SOME writers have fpoken with almoft unex-
dom of Gre- ampled enthuſiaſm, of the riches which were at
firft derived from this new kingdom. They make
them amount to a fum capable of aftoniſhing the
minds of thoſe who are moſt eager of the mar-
vellous. Never, perhaps, was exaggeration
carried fo far. If the reality had only approach-
ed near to the fabulous accounts, this remark-
able profperity would have been recorded in the
public regiſters, as well as the ftate of all the
colonies that are really important. Other mo-
numents could have perpetuated the remem-
brance of it. Thefe treaſures have never there-
fore exifted at any time, except under the
pen
of
a few writers, naturally credulous, or who fuffer-
ed themſelves to be feduced by the hope of add-
ing to the ſplendour with which their country al-
ready fhone.
·
THE New kingdom furniſhes at prefent the
emerald, a precious ftone, which is tranfparent,
and of a green colour, and which hath no greater
degree of hardneſs than the rock cryftal.
SOME Countries of Europe furnish emeralds;
but they are of a very imperfect kind, and in little
eftimation.
It was for a long time believed, that emeralds
of a bright green came from the East Indies, and
it is on this account that they have been called
oriental. This opinion hath been rejected, fince
thofe
+
99
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
thoſe who ſupported it have not been able to name
the places where they were found. It is now cer-
tain that Afia hath never fold us any of theſe
jewels, except what fhe herſelf had received from
the New Hemiſphere.
THESE beautiful emeralds, therefore, belong cer-
tainly to America alone. The firſt conquerors of
Peru found a great quantity of them, which they
broke on anvils, from an opinion which theſe ad-
venturers entertained, that they would not break
if they were fine. This lofs became the more fen-
fibly felt through the impoffibility of diſcovering
the mine from whence the Incas had drawn them.
The kingdom of New Grenada foon fupplied this
deficiency. This diftri&t fends at prefent a lefs
quantity of theſe jewels, whether it be that they
are become more fcarce, or that they are lefs in
fashion in our climate than they were. But gold
comes from thence in greater plenty, and it is fup-
plied by the provinces of Popayan and Chaco. It
is obtained without much rifque, and at no con-
fiderable expence.
THIS precious metal, which in other parts
must be digged out of the entrails of rocks,
mountains, and precipices, is here found almoſt
at the furface of the earth. It is mixed with it,
but eaſily ſeparated by wafhings, more or lefs
frequently repeated. The negroes, who are
never employed in mines of any depth, becaufe
experience hath fhewn, that the cold in thefe
mines deſtroyed them very faſt, are the only per-
fons burthened with thefe troublefome labours.
The cuſtom is, that the flaves fhould bring to
H 2
their
BOOK
VII.
Uor M
i
[
{
!
100
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BO OK their mafters a certain quantity of gold. All they
VII.
1
cán collect above this quantity belongs to them-
felves, as alfo what they find upon the days
confecrated to rest by religion; but under the
expreſs condition, that they ſhall provide for
their fubfiftence during theſe holy-days. By
theſe arrangements, the moſt laborious, the moſt
frugal, and the moft fortunate among them, are
able, fooner or later, to purchaſe their liberty.
Then they raiſe their eyes towards the Spaniards:
then they mix their blood with that of theſe proud
conquerors.
THE Court of Madrid was diffatisfied that a
region, the natural advantages of which were
continually extolled, fhould furnish fo few ar-
ticles, and fo little of each. The diſtance of this
immenfe country from the centre of authority,
eſtabliſhed at Lima for the government of all
South America, muſt have been one of the prin-
cipal cauſes of this inactivity. A more imme-
diate fuperintendance was accordingly given to it,
in order to communicate more motion to it, and
to make that motion more regular. The vice-
royalty of Peru was divided into two parts. That
which was eſtabliſhed in 1718, in the New king-
dom of Grenada, was formed upon the North
Sea, of all that ſpace that extends from the fron-
tiers of Mexico to the Oroonoko; and upon the
South Sea of that space which begins at Veragua
and ends at Tombez. In the inland parts of the
country Quito was alfo incorporated in it.
THIS new arrangement, though prudent and
neceffary, did not at firft produce the great ad-
vantages
Fi
*
ΤΟΣ
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VII.
vantages that were expected from it. Much time BOOK
is required to form good directors; and more ſtill,
perhaps, to eſtabliſh order, and to reſtore to la-
bour whole generations, enervated by continuing
for two centuries in a ſtate of idleness and liber-
tinifm. The revolution hath however begun to
take place; and Spain already receives fome be-
nefit from it.
HALF of the gold collected in the colony was
finuggled to foreigners; and it was chiefly by
the rivers Atrato and de la Hache, that this clan-
deftine trade was carried on. The government
have made themſelves mafters of the courfe of theſe
rivers, by forts properly fituated. Notwithstand-
ing theſe precautions, the ſmuggling will ftill con-
tinue, as long as the Spaniards and their neigh-
bours fhall find their intereft in it; but it will
diminiſh. The harbours of the mother-country
will ſend a greater quantity of merchandiſe, and
will receive more metals.
THE Communication between one province,
one city, and even one village and another, was
difficult or impracticable. Every traveller was
more or leſs expofed to be plundered or maf-
facred by the independent Indians. Thefe ene-
mies, who were formerly implacable, yield, by
degrees, to the invitations of the miffionaries
who have the courage to go in ſearch of them,
and to the marks of benevolence which have at
length fucceeded to the cruelties fo generally
practiſed in the New World. If this mild fpirit
should be continued, the favages of this region
H 3
may
102
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
/
BOOK
VII.
may one day become all civilized, and have a fixed
refidence.
NOTWITHSTANDING the known goodneſs of
great part of the territory, ſeveral of the provinces
forming the New kingdom, ufed to draw their
fubfiftence from Europe or from North America.
At length the government have been able to
prohibit the importation of foreign flour through-
out the extent of the vice-royalty, and even to
furnish Cuba with fome. When the means fhall
no longer be wanting, private plantations will be
eſtabliſhed in the New World along the coaſts;
but the difficulty and the dearnefs of tranfport
will never allow the inland parts of their country
to extend their harveſts beyond what is required
for local confumption. The chief wifh of the
people who inhabit thefe parts, is generally con-
fined to the extenfion of the mines.
EVERY thing announces that theſe mines are,
in a manner, innumerable in the New kingdom.
The quality of the foil points them out. The
almost daily earthquakes that happen there are
owen to them. It is from them that the gold
muſt flow, which the rivers habitually carry along
with them; and it is from them that the gold
came, which the Spaniards, at their firft arrival
in the New World, took from the favages on
the coafts in fuch great quantities. Thefe are
not mere conjectures at Maraquita, at Mufo, at
Pampeluna, at Tacayma, and at Canaverales.
The great mines that are found there are going
to be opened; and it is hoped they will not be
1
lefs
-
:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
103-
VII.
lefs abundant than thoſe of the valley of Neyva, BOOK
which for fome time paſt have been worked with
ſo much fuccefs. Thefe new treaſures will all
fo
unite themſelves to thofe of Chaco and Popayan
in Santa Fè de Bogota, the capital of the vice.
royalty.
1
THE city is fituated at the foot of a ſteep and
cold mountain, at the entrance of a vaft and
fuperb plain. In 1774, it contained feventeen
hundred and ſeventy houſes, three thouſand two
hundred and forty-fix families, and fixteen thou-
fand two hundred and thirty three inhabitants.
Population muſt neceffarily increaſe there, fince
it is the feat of government, the place where the
coin is ftricken, the ſtaple of trade; and laftly,
fince it is the refidence of an archbishop, whofe
immediate juriſdiction extends over thirty-one
Spanish villages, which are called towns; over
one hundred and ninety-five Indian colonies, an-
ciently fubdued; and over eight and twenty mif-
fions, eſtabliſhed in modern times. This arch-
biſhop hath likewife, as metropolitan, a fort of
inſpection over the diocefes of Quito, of Panama,
of Caraccas, of Saint Martha, and of Carthagena.
It is by this last place, though at the diſtance of
one hundred leagues, and by the river Magda-
lena, that Santa Fè keeps up its communica-
tion with Europe. The fame route ferves for
Quito.
THIS province is of immenfe extent; but the
greateſt part of this vaft fpace is full of forefts,
moraffes, and deferts, in which we meet with
H 4
nothing
Remark-
larities in
of Quito.
able finen
the province
+
104
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK nothing but a few wandering favages, at great
intervals of diſtance. The only part that can
properly be faid to be occupied, and governed
by the Spaniards, is a valley of fourfcore leagues
in length, and fifteen in breadth, formed by two
branches of the Cordeleras,
THIS is one of the fineft countries in the world,
Even in the centre of the torrid zone, fpring here
is perpetual. Nature hath combined, under the
line that covers fo many feas and fo little land,
every circumſtance that could moderate the ar-
dent heat of that beneficent conſtellation which
is the cauſe of univerfal fertility: thefe are, the
elevation of the globe in this fummit of its
fphere; the vicinity of mountains of immenſe
height and extent, and always covered with
fnows; and continual winds which refreſh the
country the whole year, by interrupting the force
of the perpendicular rays of heat. Nevertheless,
after a morning which is ufually delightful, va-
pours begin to arife about one or two o'clock in
the forenoon. The fky is covered with gloomy
clouds, which are changed into ſtorms. Then
the whole atmoſphere is illuminated, and appears
to be ſet on fire by lightning; and the thunder
makes the mountains refound with a terrible
noiſe. To thefe, dreadful earthquakes are fome-
times added: at other times rain or funſhine
prevails without intermiffion for fifteen days to-
gether; and then there is an univerfal conſterna-
tion. The excess of moisture fpoils what is fown,
and drought produces dangerous difeafes.
BUT,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
105
VII.
BUT, if we except thefe unhappy accidents, BOOK
which are extremely rare, the climate is one of
the moſt wholeſome. The air is fo pure, that
thoſe naufeous infects are there unknown which
infeſt almoſt the whole of America. Though
licentiouſneſs and neglect render venereal com-
plaints here almoft general, the people fuffer
very little from them. Thoſe who have inherited
this contagious diftemper, or who have acquired
it, grow old equally without danger and without
inconvenience.
THE moiſture and the action of the fun being
continual, and always fufficient to unfold and
ftrengthen the ſhoots, the agreeable picture of
the three moft beautiful feafons of the year is
continually prefented to the eye of the inhabit-
ants. In proportion as the grafs withers, freſh
grafs ſprings up; and the enamel of the meadows
is hardly paſt, but it appears afreſh. The trees
are inceffantly covered with green leaves, adorned
with odoriferous flowers, and always laden with
fruit; the colour, form, and beauty of which are
continually varying in all their ſeveral progreffive
ſtates, from their firſt appearance to their matu-
rity. The corn advances in the fame progreffion
of fertility that is always renewing. At one view
one may behold the new-fown feed ſpringing up,
fome that is grown larger and fpiked with ears,
fome turning yellow, and fome under the reaper's
ſcythe, The whole year is paffed in fowing and
reaping, within the compafs of the fame horizon,
This conftant variety depends on the diverſity of
the expoſures.
ACCORD
106
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
Reafons
why the
Country of
Quito is fo
populous as
[ 18. La.
bours of its
inhabitants.
ACCORDINGLY, this is the most populous part
of the continent of America. There are ten or
twelve thouſand inhabitants at St. Michael'd'Ibar-
ra. Eighteen or twenty thousand at Otabalo. Ten
or twelve thoufand at Latacunga. Eighteen or
twenty thouſand at Riobamba. Eight or ten
thouſand at Hambato. From five and twenty to
thirty thouſand at Cuença. Ten thoufand at
Loxa, and fix thouſand at Zaruma. The coun-
try places do not afford a lefs number of men than
the towns.
POPULATION Would certainly be lefs confider-
able, if, as in many other places, the people
had been buried in the mines. Numberless
writers have blamed the inhabitants of this diſtrict
for not having continued to work the mines that
were opened at the time of the conqueft, and for
having neglected thofe that have been fucceffively
difcovered. This reproach appears to be ill-
founded to enlightened perfons, who have an
opportunity of examining nearly into theſe mat-
ters. Their opinion in general is, that the mines
of this diſtrict are not ſufficiently plentiful to de-
fray the neceffary expences of working them.
We fhall not pretend to decide upon this difpute.
Nevertheless, if we do but juft confider the paffion
which the Spaniards have always fhewn for the
kind of wealth, which, without any labour on their
parts, cofts nothing more than the blood of their
flaves, we ſhall be induced to think, that nothing
but a total impoffibility, evinced by repeated ex-
perience, can have determined them to refift their
natural
1
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
107
VII.
natural propenfity, and the urgent folicitations BOOK
of the mother-country.
IN the country of Quito, the manufactures
keep thoſe perfons employed, who in other parts
are enervated by the mines. Many hats, cottons,
and coarſe woollen cloths, are fabricated there.
With the produce of the quantity of thefe articles,
confumed in the different countries of South
America, Quito paid for the wines, brandy, and
oils, which it was not allowed to procure from its
own foil; for the dried and falt fifh that came
from the coafts; for the foap, made of goat's
greafe, that was fupplied by Piura and-Trufcillo;
for the crude or wrought iron that was wanted for
its manufactures; and for the ſmall quantity that
it was poffible it fhould confume of the merchan-,
dife of our hemifphere. Theſe reſources have
been confiderably leffened, fince manufactures of
the fame kind have been eſtabliſhed in the neigh-
bouring provinces; and eſpecially fince the fupe-
rior cheapness of the European cottons and linens
hath extended the ufe of them in a fingular man-
ner. Accordingly, the country is fallen into the
most extreme ſtate of mifery.
It will never emerge from this fituation by its
provifions. Not but that its fields are in general
covered with fugar-canes, with all forts of corn,
with delicious fruits, and with numerous flocks.
It would be difficult to find a foil fo fertile, and
cultivated with fo little expence; but nothing
that it furniſhes can fupply foreign markets.
Its natural riches must be confumed upon the
fame territory that hath produced them. The
bark
108
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK bark is its only production which it has hitherto
been poffible to export.
The bark
comes from
of Quito.
Reflections
upon this
remedy.
THE tree which yields this precious remedy
the province hath a ftreight ftem, and rifes to a confiderable
height when left to itſelf. Its trunk and its
branches are proportioned to its height. The
leaves, which are oppofite, and connected at their
baſe by an intermediary membrane or ftipula,
are of an oval figure, fpread out at the lower
part, and acute at their apex; they are very
fmooth and of a beautiful green. From the
axillæ of the upper leaves, which are fmaller,
arife cluſters of flowers, refembling, at firft fight,
thoſe of the lavendar.
fhort, hath five divifions.
Their calix, which is
The corolla forms an
elongated tube, blueish on the outfide, and red
within; it is filled with five ftamina, fpread out
at the upper part, and divided into five lobes
finely dentated. It bears upon a piftil, which
being furmounted with a fingle ftyle, occupies
the fundus of the calix, and becomes with it a
dry fruit, truncated at the upper extremity, and
divided longitudinally into two half-pods full of
feeds, and lined with a membranous expan,
fion.
THIS tree grows upon the flope of mountains.
The only precious part of it is the bark, known
by its febrifuge qualities, and which requires no
other preparation than that of drying. The
thickeſt was preferred, till repeated analyſes and
experiments had fhewn, that the thinneft poffeffed
moſt virtue.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
100
!
VII.
THE inhabitants diftinguish three fpecies, or B OOK
rather three varieties of bark. The yellow and
the red, which are in equal eſtimation, and differ
only in the depth of their colour; and the white,
which being of a much inferior quality, is not in
great requeſt. It is diftinguifhed by its leaf
being leſs ſmooth and rounder, its flower whiter,
its feed larger, and its bark white on the out-
fide. The bark of the good fpecies is generally
brown, brittle, and rough on its furface, with
cracks upon it.
UPON the borders of the river Maragnon, the
country of Jaën furniſhes a great deal of white
bark: but it was imagined, for a long time, that
the yellow and the red were found no where but
upon the territory of Loxa, a town founded in
1546 by captain Alonzo de Mercadillo. The
moſt eſteemed was that which grew at the dif
tance of two leagues from this place, upon the
mountain of Cajanuma; and no longer than fifty
years ago, the merchants uſed to endeavour to
prove by certificates, that the bark which they
fold came from that celebrated fpot. In endea-
vouring to increafe the quantity collected, the
old trees were deftroyed, and the new ones were
not fuffered to come to their complete growth;
fo that the talleft of them are at prefent fcarce
three toifes high. This fcarcity occafioned the
trees to be ſearched for in other places. At
length the fame tree was diſcovered at Riobamba,
at Cuença, in the neighbourhood of Loxa; and
ftill more recently at Bogota in the New King-
dom.
THE
13
ito
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
THE bark was known at Rome in 1639. The
Jefuits, who had brought it there, diftributed it
gratis to the poor, and fold it at an exorbitant
price to the rich. The year following, John de
Vega, phyſician to a vice-queen of Peru, who
had experienced the falutary effects of it, efta-
bliſhed it in Spain at a hundred crowns a pound*.
This remedy foon acquired great reputation,
which it maintained till the inhabitants of Loxa,
not being able to fupply the demands that were
made on them, thought of mixing other barks
with that for which there was fo much demand.
This fraud diminiſhed the confidence that had
been placed in the bark. The meaſures taken
by the court of Madrid to remedy fo dangerous
an impofition, were not entirely fuccefsful. The
late diſcoveries have been more effectual than
authority, in putting a ftop to this adulteration.
Accordingly, the uſe of the remedy hath become
more general, eſpecially in England.
Ir is a generally received opinion, that the na-
tives of the country were very anciently acquaint-
ed with the bark, and that they had recourfe to
its virtues in intermittent fevers. It was fimply
infuſed in water, and the liquor given to the
M.
patient to drink, free of the refiduum.
Jofeph de Juffieu taught them to make the ex-
tract from it, the ufe of which is much preferable
to that of the bark in kind.
THIS botanist, the moft intelligent of thofe
whom their zeal for the improvement of natural
* 121. 109.
history
!
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
poffeffions BOOK
history hath carried into the Spaniſh poffeffions
in the New World, had formed a much more
extenfive plan. He went over moft of the moun-
tains of South America with incredible fatigues,
and was just going to enrich Europe with the
valuable diſcoveries he had made, when his pa-
pers,were ftolen from him. An excellent me-
mory might partly have repaired this misfortune;
but he was alſo deprived of this refource. There
was great want of a phyſician and an engineer in
Peru. M. de Juffieu poffeffed all the knowledge
which thefe two profeffions required, and the
government of the country called upon him to
employ his talents in this double capacity. Thefe
new employments were accompanied with fo
many contradictions, fo much difguft and in-
gratitude, that this excellent man could not bear
up against them. His mind was totally deranged,
when, in 1771, he was embarked, without for-
.tune, for a country which he had quitted fix-and-
thirty years. Neither the governinent which had
fent him to the other hemifphere, nor that which
had detained him there, condefcended to take
any care of his future deſtiny; which would in-
.deed have been deplorable, had it not been for
the tenderneſs of a brother, as refpectable for his
virtues as celebrated for his knowledge. The
worthy nephews of M. Bernard de Juffieu hawe
inherited their uncle's attention to this unfortu-
4
nate traveller, who died in 1779. May this
conduct of a family, whoſe name is illuftrious in
the fciences, ferve as a model to all thoſe,
who,
VII.
:
112
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
BOOK who, either for their happinefs or their misfor
VII. tune, apply themſelves to the cultivation of lite-
f
rature !
M. JOSEPH DE JUSSIEU, who found that the
people had received with docility the inſtructions
he had given them refpecting the bark, endea
voured alfo to perfuade them to improve, by con-
ftant and regular attention, the wild cochineal
which the country itſelf fupplied their manufac-
tures with, and the coarſe cinnamon which they
drew from Quixas and Macas: but his advice
hath hitherto had no effect, whether it be that
theſe productions have not been found ſuſceptible
of any improvement, or whether no pains have
been taken to bring it about.
THE laft conjecture will appear the moft pro-
bable to thoſe who have a proper idea of the
maſters of the country. Still more generally than
the other Spanish Americans, they live in a ftate
of idleness from which nothing can roufe them,
and in debaucheries which no motive can inter-
rupt.
Theſe manners are more particularly
the manners of the perfons, whofe refidence,
from birth, employments, or fortune, is fixed
in the city of Quito, the capital of the province,
and very agreeably built upon the declivity of the
celebrated mountain of Pitchincha. Fifty thou-
fand Meſtees, Indians, or Negroes, allured by
theſe feducing examples, alfo infeft this fpót
with their vices, and in particular carry their
paffion for rum, and for gaming, to an exceſs
that is unknown in the other great cities of the
New World.
BUT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
113.
VII.
Digreffion
mountains,
BUT, in order to relieve our imagination from BOOK
fuch a number of diftreffing pictures, which,
perhaps, have too much engaged our attention, upon the
let us for a moment quit thefe bloody fcenes, formation of
and let us enter into Peru, fixing our contem-
plation upon thoſe frightful mountains, where
learned and bold aſtronomers went to meaſure the
figure of the earth. Let us indulge ourſelves in
thoſe fenfations which they undoubtedly expe-
rienced, and which every traveller, learned or
ignorant, muft experience, wherever nature pre-
fents him with fuch a fcene. Let us even be
allowed to throw out fome general conjectures
reſpecting the formation of mountains.
AT the fight of thofe enormous maffes, which
rife to fuch prodigious heights above the humble
furface of the earth, where almost all mankind
have fixed their refidence: of thofe maffes, which
on one spot are crowned with impenetrable and
ancient forefts, that have never refounded with
the ftroke of the hatchet, and which prefent, on
another, nothing more than a barren and dreary
ſurface; which in one country reign in fedate
and filent majefty, that ftops the cloud in its
courfe, and breaks the impetuofity of the wind;
while in another, they keep the traveller at a
diſtance from their fummits by ramparts of ice
that furround them, from the centre of which
volleys of flame iffue forth; or frighten him who
attempts to aſcend thein, with horrid and con-
cealed caverns digged on each fide: maffes,
feveral of which give vent to impetuous torrents.
defcending with dreadful noiſe from their open
VOL. IV.
I
fides,
19
114
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fides, or to rivers, ftreams, fountains, and boil-
VII.
ing fprings; all of them fpreading their refreſhing
hade over the plains that furround them, and
affording them a fucceffive fhelter againf the
heat of the fun, from the moment that luminary
gilds their tops at the time of its rifing, till
that of its fetting: at this afpect, I fay, every
man is fixt with aſtoniſhment, and the inquirer
into nature is led into reflections.
He asks himſelf, who it is that hath given birth
here to Vefuvius, to Etna, to the Appenines,
and here to the Cordeleras? Thefe mountains,
are they as old as the world, have they been
produced in an inftant, or is the ftony particle
that is detached from them more ancient than
they are? Can they be the bones of a ſkeleton,
of which the other terreftrial fubftances are the
fleſh? Are they diftin&t maffes, or do they hold
together by one great common trunk of which
they are fo many branches, and which ferves as a
foundation to themfelves, and as a bafis for every
thing that covers them?
If we agree with one philofopher: "The
"centre of the earth being occupied by an im-
"menſe reſervoir of waters, the fubftance that
"contained them fuddenly burst. The cataracts
"of the sky were immediately opened, and
"the whole globe was confounded and funk
" under water.
The fabulous account of chaos
was renewed, and the earth did not begin to
"extricate itſelf from this ftate, till the time
"when the different materials precipitated, ac-
"cording to the laws of gravity, by which they
穆
​❝ were
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
115
ᏙᎥᎢ.
"were fucceffively impelled; the layers of thefe BOOK
"feveral heterogeneous fubftances were heaped
r
one upon another, and raiſed their fummits
"above the furface of the waters, which went to
"dig a bed for themfelves in the plains."
ANOTHER philofopher obferves: "That thefe
cauſes are infufficient to explain this phæno-
menon, without the intervention and approach
"of a comet, which he calls forth from the vaſt
"regions of ſpace where theſe bodies lofe them-
felves. The column of waters, he fays, which
"this comet drew along with it, was joined
by thoſe which rofe from the fubterranean
abyfs, and thoſe which defcended from the
"atmoſphere. The action of the comet made
"them rife above the highest mountains, which
were already exifting; and from the fediment
"of this deluge they were reproduced."
cc
A THIRD writer treats all theſe opinions as
idle dreams, and fays: "Let us caft our eyes.
..
around us, and we fhall fee the mountains.
"rifing from the very element that deftroys
"them. It is fire which hardens the ſoft layers
" of the earth; it is that, which, affifted in its
expanfion by air and by water, throws them
" up, and drives their fummits into the clouds
"it is that which burfts them and forms their
"immenfe caldrons. Every mountain is a
"volcano, which is either preparing, or hath
"ceaſed."
THESE opinions are again contradicted by a
moft eloquent modern writer, the charms of
whofe language, while I liften to it, fcarce leave
I 2
me
116
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK me at liberty to judge of his opinion. He ſays:
VII.
"In the beginning there were no mountains.
"The furface of the globe was uniformly co-
"vered with waters, which were not, however,
"in a ſtate of reft. The action of the fatellite
"that accompanies the earth agitated them, even
"to their greateſt depth, with the motion of
" ebb and flow which we now fee impreffed
<c
re
cc
upon them. At each ofcillatory motion, theſe
"waters dragged along with them a portion of
fediment, which they depofited upon a pre-
ceding portion. It is upon theſe depofits,
"continued through a long feries of ages, that
"the layers of the earth have been formed; and
"the enormous maffes, that aftoniſh us, are theſe
layers accumulated. Time is nothing to na-
"ture; and the flighteft caufe, acting un-
ઃઃ
<<
interruptedly, is capable of producing the
"greateſt effects. The imperceptible and
"continued action of the waters hath there-
"fore formed the mountains; and it is the ſtill
"more imperceptible, and not lefs continued,
"action of a vapour that ſoftens them, and of a
"wind that dries them up, which lowers them
"from day to day, and will at length reduce
"them to a level with the plains. Then the
"waters will again be ſpread uniformly over the
<<
equal furface of the earth. Then the firſt
"phænomenon will be renewed; and who
"knows how often the mountains have been de-
"ftroyed and reproduced?"
Ar theſe words the obferver Lehmann fimiles,
and, prefenting to me the book of the Jewish
Legif-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
1.17
VII.
Legiſlator, together with his own, fays to me: BOOK
Reſpect this book, and condefcend to caft
"thine eyes upon mine." Lehmann hath ex-
plained in his third volume of his Art of Mines,
his ideas upon the formation of the layers of the
earth, and upon the productions of mountains.
His fyftem is founded on conſtant and repeated
obfervations made by himſelf, with a very un-
common degree of fagacity, and with a labour,
the affiduity of which we can ſcarce conceive.
They comprehend the fpace from the frontiers
of Poland to the borders of the Rhine. The
analogy which renders them applicable to feveral
other regions, recommends the knowledge of
them to men who are ftudious of natural hiftory;
and although he attributes the formation of the
layers of the earth to a deluge, the facts with
which he ſupports his arguments are not the leſs
certain, nor his diſcoveries the leſs interefting.
HE diſtinguiſhes three kinds of mountains.
The antediluvian, or primitive; the poftdilu-
vian, and the modern. The firft, which are
of different elevation, are the higheft. They
are ſeldom found diſtinct, but are ufually formed
into chains, The declivity of them is ſteep.
They are furrounded on all fides by the poft-
diluvian mountains, or fuch as are compofed of
layers. The fubftance of them is more homoge-
neous; the portions of them lefs different, their
beds are always perpendicular, and thicker.
Their roots defcend to a depth which is ftill un-
known. The ores they contain, run in the
longitudinal direction of the mountain. Thofe
I 3
in
118
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK in the poftdiluvian mountains are difpofed in
VII.
layers which are formed of different fubftances.
The laſt of theſe, or that which is at the bafis, is
always of coal. The firft, or that which is
neareft the fummit, always furniſhes falt fprings.
The mountains never fail to terminate in the
former. They fupply copper, lead, quickfilver,
iron, and even filver, but in leaves, and capil-
laceous. But they would deceive our avidity
if we expected to find gold in them. The moun-
tains which produce this metal are the work of a
deluge.
THE modern mountains produced by fire,
by water, and by an infinite number of va
rious and recent accidents, exhibit in their in-
ternal parts, nothing but broken layers, a con-
fuſed mixture of all kinds of fubftances, and all
the marks of fubverfion and diforder.
IT is in vain that nature had concealed the
precious metals in the midſt of theſe hard
and moft compact maffes: our cupidity hath
broken them. This circumftance, however,
would not call for our cenfure, if we could ſay
of the men employed in theſe dreadful labours,
what we read of them in Caffiodorus:
"They
(C
go down poor into the mines, and come out
"of them wealthy. They enjoy a kind of riches
which no man dares to take away from them,
"They are the only perfons whofe fortune is
"neither fullied by rapine or meannefs."
EUROPEANS, reflect upon what this judicious.
writer adds: "To acquire gold by facrificing
"men, is a crime. To go in fearch of it acrofs
"the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
119
VII. *
"the perils of the fea, is a folly. To amafs it 300 K
"by corruption and vices, is bafe. The only
"profits that are juſt and honeſt, are thoſe that
are acquired without injury to any perfon;
" and we never can poffefs, without remorſe,
"what we have obtained at the expence of other
"men's happineſs."
AND you, in order to have gold, you have
gone across the feas. In order to have gold,
you have invaded other countries. In order to
have gold, you have maffacred the greateſt part
of the inhabitants. In order to have, gold, you
have precipitated into the bowels of the earth
thoſe whom your daggers had fpared. In order
to have gold, you have introduced upon the earth
the infamous trade of mankind and flavery. In
order to have gold, you repeat the fame crimes
every day. May the chimerical idea of Lazarro
Moro be realized; and may fubterraneous flames
fet on fire at once all thofe mountains of which
you have made fo many dungeons, where inno-
cence expires, for feveral ages paft!
ganization
called.
THIS Curfe would first fall upon the Corde- Natural or
leras, or Andes, which cut almoſt the whole of of Peru,
America through its length, and the different properly fo
branches of which extend themfelves irregularly
in its breadth. It is particularly under the Line,
and at Peru, that thefe mountains awe us by
their majeſtic appearance. Through the en-
ormous heaps of fnow that cover the moft con-
fiderable of them, it may easily be difcerned
that they formerly were volcanos. The clouds of
fmoke, and gufts of flame, which ftill iffue from
I 4
fome
120
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fome of them, cannot allow us to have the leaft
A
VII.
ì
doubt reſpecting the eruptions. Chimboraco,
the higheſt of them, and which is near three
thouſand two hundred and twenty toifes above
the level of the fea, is more than one third
higher than the Peak of Teneriff, the loftieft
mountain of the ancient hemifphere. The
Pitchincha, and the Caraçon, which have prin-
cipally ferved for taking the obfervations upon
the figure of the earth, have only two thouſand
four hundred and thirty, and two thouſand four
hundred and ſeventy toifes; and it is, however,
at this height, that the most intrepid travellers
have been obliged to ftop. Eternal fnows have
hitherto rendered fummits of greater height inac-
ceffible.
A PLAIN, which is from thirty to fifty leagues
in breadth, and is raiſed one thouſand nine hun-
dred and forty-nine toiſes above the level of the
ocean, ferves as the bafis to theſe aſtoniſhing
mountains. Part of this vaft fpace is occupied by
lakes more or lefs confiderable. That of Titi-
caca, which receives ten or twelve large rivers,
and ſeveral ſmall ones, is feventy toifes in depth,
and fourſcore leagues in circumference. In the
midst of it there rifes an ifland, where the legif-
lators of Peru pretended to have received their
birth. They owed it, as they faid, to the Sun,
who had preſcribed to them to eftablifh his wor-
ſhip, to raiſe mankind from a ſtate of barbarifin,
and to give them beneficent laws. This fable
rendered the ſpot venerable; and one of the moſt
auguft temples in the empire was conftructed
upon
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
121
VII.
upon it. Pilgrims reforted to it in crowds from BOOK
the provinces, with offerings of gold, filver, and
jewels. It is a tradition generally received in
the country, that at the arrival of the Spaniards,
the prieſts and the inhabitants threw all thefe
riches into the waters, as they had before done at
Cuſco, in another lake, fix leagues to the fouth
of that celebrated capital. From moſt of the lakes
there are torrents iffuing; which, in procefs of
time, have digged ravines of a tremendous depth.
At the fummit of them the mines are ufually found
in a foil generally arid. It is a little below this
that the corn grows, and the cattle feed: in the
bottom the ſugar, the fruits, and the maize, are
cultivated.
THE coaft, which is of an immenfe length,
and from eight to twenty leagues in breadth,
which extends from the plain we have been
fpeaking of to the fea, and which is known to us
by the name of the Vallies, is nothing but a heap
of fand. Solitude and eternal barrenneſs ſeem as
if they were intended to belong to this ungrateful
foil.
NATURE varies, and in a very remarkable
manner, in this uneven territory. The moſt
elevated places are perpetually covered with fnow.
After this come the rocks and naked fands.
Beneath theſe fome moffes begin to fhow them-
felves. Lower down is the Icho, a plant which
they burn, fomewhat refembling rushes; and
which grows longer and ſtronger in proportion as
one defcends. At length the trees make their ap-
pearance, to the number of three fpecies, particu-
lar
;
122
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK lar to thefe mountains, and which, all of them,
announce in their ftructure and their foliage,
the ſeverity of the climate that produces them.
The moſt uſeful of theſe trees is the caffis. It
is weighty; hath fome fubftance, and is lafting:
and thefe qualities have occafioned it to be de-
ftined to the labours of the mines. Thefe large
vegetable productions are not to be met with un-
der a milder ſky, and they are only replaced by
a finall number of others of a different quality,
There would not even be any one fpecies in the
vallies, if ſome had not been conveyed there, which
have become naturalized.
Circum-
» ftances in
which the
plains, and
vallies of
Peru differ
from each
other.
In this region, the air hath an evident influence
upon the conftitution of the inhabitants. Thoſe
mountains, of the moſt elevated diſtricts are fubject to aſthmas,
pleurifies, to pulmonary complaints, and to rheu-
matifms. Thefe difeafes, which are dangerous
to all individuals that are feized with them, are
commonly mortal to any one that hath contracted
venereal maladies, or is addicted to ftrong liquors;
and this is unfortunately the ufual ftate of thoſe
who are born in theſe climates, or have been led
into them by avarice.
THESE calamities do not affect the inferior
mountains; but other fcourges, ſtill more fatal,
are fubftituted to them. Putrid and intermittent
fevers, unknown in the countries we have been
mentioning, are habitual there. They are fo
eafily caught, that travellers are afraid to come
near the places that are infected with them.
They are frequently fo contagious, that not a
fingle man would efcape the infection, if the in-
habitants
I
IN THE EAST AND WEST
123
WEST INDIES.
VII.
habitants did not abandon their villages, in order BOOK
to return to them again when a fresh feafon hath
purified them. It was not thus in the time of the
Incas. But fince the Spaniards have introduced
the fugar canes into the narrow gorges of the
mountains, where the air circulates with difficulty,
there arife, from the moiftened foil which this
cultivation requires, infectious vapours, which,
being heated by the rays of the burning fun, be-
come fatal,
THE tertian, and other intermittent fevers, are
fcarce lefs common or lefs obftinate in the vallies
than in the gorges of the mountains: but they
are infinitely lefs dangerous; they are feldom
attended with fatal confequences, except in the
country places where no helps are to be had, and
where precautions are neglected.
ANOTHER general malady in this part of the
New World is the fmall-pox; which was brought
there in 1588. It is not habitual as in Europe;
but it occafions, at intervals, inexpreffible ra-
vages. It attacks, indifferently, the white men,
the Negroes, the Indians, and the mixed races.
It is equally deftructive in all the climates.
Much advantage is to be expected from the prac-
tice of inoculation, introduced two years fince ar
Lima, and which will undoubtedly foon become
general.
THERE is another fcourge prevailing here,
againſt which human invention will never find a
remedy. Earthquakes, which in other countries
are ſo rare, that whole generations frequently
fucceed each other without beholding one, are
fo
$
124
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
VII.
BOOK fo common in Peru, that they have there con-
tracted an habit of reckoning them as a ſeries of
epochas, fo much the more memorable, as
their frequent return does not diminish their vio-
lence.
THIS phænomenon, which is ever irregular in
its fudden returns, is however announced by very
perceptible omens. When the fhock is confi-
derable, it is preceded by a murmur in the air,
the noiſe of which is like that of heavy rain falling
from a cloud that fuddenly burfts and diſcharges
its waters. This noife feems to be the effect of a
vibration of the air, which is agitated in different
directions. The birds are then obferved to dart
in their flight. Neither their tails nor their wings
ferve them any longer as oars and helm to fwim
in the fluid of the fkies. They dafh themſelves in
pieces againſt the walls, the trees, and the rocks;
whether it be that this vertigo of nature dazzles
and confuſes them, or that the vapours of the
earth take away their ftrength and power to com¬
mand their movements.
To this tumult in the air is added the rumbling
of the earth, the cavities and deep receffes of
which re-echo each other's noiſes. The dogs
anſwer theſe previous tokens of a general diforder
of nature, by howling in an extraordinary man-
ner. The animals ſtop, and, by a natural inſtinct,
ſpread out their legs that they may not fall.
Upon theſe indications, the inhabitants inftantly
run out of their houſes, and fly to fearch, in the
encloſures of public places, or in the fields, an
afylum from the fall of their roofs. The cries of
children,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
125
VII.
children, the lamentations of women, the fudden BOOK
darkneſs of an unexpected night; every thing
combines to aggravate the too real evils of a dire
calamity, which fubverts every thing, by the ex-
cruciating tortures of the imagination, which is
diftreffed and confounded, and lofes, in the con-
templation of this diforder, the thought and cou-
rage to remedy it.
THE diverfity of aſpects under which volcano's
have preſented themſelves to one of our moſt
indefatigable and intelligent obfervers, hath
pointed out to him different periods, feparated
from each other by intervals of time fo confider-
able, that the first formation of our planet is
thrown back by them to a degree of antiquity at
which our imagination is ſtartled. At the first of
thefe periods, the volcanos throw out from their
fummits fire, fmoke, and aſhes, and pour out
torrents of lava from their fides that are laid
open. At the fecond, they are all of them extin-
guiſhed, and exhibit nothing but an immenſe cal-
dron. At the third, the air, the rain, the wind,
the cold, and the lime, have deftroyed the cal-
dron, or crater, and nothing but a hillock remains.
At the fourth period, this hillock, deprived of
its covering, diſcovers a kind of nidus, which
being deſtroyed by time, leaves nothing but the
place where the mountain and volcano have ex-
ifted; and this ftate conftitutes a fifth period.
From the centre of this place caufeways of lava
are extended to a diſtance; and theſe cauſeways,
whether entire or broken, or reduced into fepa-
rate fragments, are ftill as many other periods,
between
126
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
!
BOOK between each of which we may infert as many
VII.
years, as many ages, or as many thouſands of ages
as we chooſe. One thing however is certain, that
one of theſe periods, whichever of them we may
choofe, is not connected, in the memory of man,
with that which fucceeds it in the courfe of na-
ture. The principle, therefore, that from nothing
nothing can be produced; and the deftruction of
beings, which by being changed into others, fhew
us that nothing is annihilated, feem to announce
an eternity which hath preceded, an eternity which
will follow, and the co-exiſtence of the Great Ar-
chitect with his wonderful work.
THE climate exhibits fome very remarkable
fingularities in the Upper Peru. The inhabitants
experience on the fame day, fometimes in the
fame hour, and always in a very fhort space of
time, the temperature of the two oppofite zones.
Thoſe who come there from the vallies, are
pierced on their arrival with fevere cold, which
they cannot get the better of either by fire, by
motion, or by adding to their clothing; but the
impreffion of which ceafes to be difagreeable,
after a refidence of a month or three weeks.
The voyagers who come there for the firft time,
are tormented with the fymptoms of fea ficknefs,
with more or lefs violence, in proportion as they
have fuffered from it on the ocean. But, what-
ever may be the reafon of it, men are not expofed
to this accident in all parts; for not one of the
aftronomers, who meaſured the figure of the earth
upon the mountains of Quito, were attacked with
it.
OUR
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
127
VII.
OUR aſtoniſhment is equally, if not more, ex- BOOK
cited in the vallies. This country, though very-
near the equator, enjoys a delicious temperature.
The four feafons of the year are evidently marked,
and yet neither of them can be called trouble-
fome. The winter feafon is the moſt fenfibly
felt. This hath been attempted to be accounted
for from the winds of the South Pole, which
carry the effects of the fnows and ice over which
they have paffed. They preferve it only in part,
becauſe they blow under the influence of a thick
fog, which at that time covers the earth. Theſe
grofs vapours do not indeed riſe regularly till
about noon: but it is feldom they are diffipated.
The Sun generally remains fo much clouded, that
its rays, which fometimes make their appearance,
can only mitigate the cold in a very flight de-
gree.
WHATEVER may be the cauſe of fo conftant a
winter under the torrid zone, it is certain that it
never rains, or that it rains only every two or
three years, in the Lower Peru.
!
NATURAL philofophy hath exerted its efforts to
diſcover the cauſe of a phænomenon fo extraor-
dinary. May it not be attributed to the fouth-
weſt wind, which prevails there the greateſt part
of the year; and to the prodigious height of the
mountains, the fummit of which is covered with
eternal ice?
THE Country fituated between both, being
continually cooled on one fide, and continually
heated on the other, maintains fo equal a tem-
perature,
128
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADÉ
BOOK
+
1
VII.
perature, that the clouds which rife can never
be condenſed fo far as to be diffolved into wa-
ter.
RAINS, however, and even daily rains, would
be neceffary, to communicate fome degree of
fertility to the coafts which extend from Tumbez
to Lima, that is, throughout a ſpace of two hun-
dred and fixty-four leagues. The fands are in
general fo barren, that there is not a fingle herb
to be feen, except in parts which it is poffible to
water, and theſe do not often occur. There is
not a ſingle ſpring throughout the whole of
Lower Peru; rivers are not frequent there; and
thoſe which we do meet with have, for the moſt
part, water in them only for fix or feven months
in the year. They are torrents iffuing from the
lakes, of greater or lefs magnitude, that are
formed in the Cordeleras, which only flow over a
ſmall ſpace, and are dried up during the fummer.
In the times of the Incas, thefe precious waters
were carefully collected, and, by the affiftance of
feveral canals, difperfed over a large furface
which they fertilized. The Spaniards have avail-
ed themſelves of theſe labours. Their villages
and towns have been erected on the places where
the huts for the Indians were, which, perhaps for
this reaſon, were lefs numerous in the Lower Peru
than on the mountains. The vallies which lead
from the capital of the empire to Chili, have a
great refemblance with thofe we have fpoken of;
but they are in fome places more fufceptible of
cultivation.
NOT-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
129
VII.
The few
who have
Peruvians
eſcaped the
fword or ty-
any of the
into the
conquerors,
are fallen
moft de-
graded and
brutal ſtate.
NOTWITHSTANDING thefe defects of natural BOOK
organization, the region we have been defcribing
hath ſeen a flouriſhing empire arife in the midft
of it. Its population cannot reaſonably be
called in queſtion, when we behold felf-evident
proofs that this happy people had covered with
their colonies all the provinces that they had con-
quered; when we attend to the aſtoniſhing num-
ber of men engaged in the ſervice of government,
and deriving their fubfiftence from the ftate.
Such a variety of hands and levers employed in
moving the political machine, neceffarily imply
a confiderable degree of population, that may
be enabled to maintain, with the productions of
the earth, a very numerous claſs of the inhabit-
ants, who are not themſelves concerned in agri-
culture.
By what fatality, then, hath it happened, that
Peru is now fuch a defert? By tracing things to
their origin, we find that thofe who conquered the
coaſt of the South Sea, being ruffians, without
birth, education, and principle, originally com-
mitted greater enormities than the conquerors of
Mexico. The mother-country was a longer
time before ſhe checked their ferocity, which was
continually fomented by thofe long and cruel
civil wars that fucceeded the conqueft. A more
heavy and regular fyftem of oppreffion was after-
wards eſtabliſhed, than had prevailed in the other
countries of the New World, lefs diftant from
Europe.
UNIVERSAL difcouragement was the neceffary
confequence of this abominable conduct. Ac-
VOL. IV.
cordingly,
K
1
130
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK cordingly, the natives of the country grew dif
gufted of the ſtate of ſociety, and of the fatigues
it brings along with it. They continue in the
fame difagreeable difpofitions, and would not
even give themſelves the leaft trouble to culti-
vate fubfiftence for themfelves, were they not
compelled to it by the government. This com-
pulfion influences their behaviour. All the in-
habitants of one community, men, women, and
children, unite themſelves to till and fow a
field. Thefe labours, which are interrupted
every inftant by dancing and feafting, are carried
on by the found of various inftruments. The
harveſt of the maize, and of the other grain,
is gathered with the fame careleffnefs, and ac-
companied with the fame pleaſures. Theſe peo-
ple are not more anxious to procure themſelves
clothes. In vain hath it been attempted to in-
ſpire them with better difpofitions, and more
fuitable to the good of the empire. Authority
hath been unavailing againſt cuftoms which its
tyranny had given rife to, and which were kept
up by its injuftice.
1
THE Peruvians, all of them without exception,
are an inftance of that profound ftupidity into
which it is in the power of tyranny to plunge
men. They are fallen into a liftlefs and uni-
verfal indifference. Can it be poffible that theſe
people ſhould have any kind of attachment, whoſe
religion once elevated the foul, and from whom
the moſt abject flavery hath taken away every
fentiment of greatnefs and glory? The riches,
which nature hath fcattered at their feet, do not
tempt
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
131
tempt them; and they are even infenfible to
honours. They are whatever one choofes, with-
out any ill humour, or choice, vaffals or ca-
ciques, or mitayos, the objects of diftinction or
of public derifion. The fpring of all their paſ-
fions is broken. That of fear itſelf hath often
no effect on them, through the little attachment
they have to life. They intoxicate themſelves,
and dance; theſe are all the pleaſures they have,
when they are able to forget their mifery. Indo-
lence is their predominant habit. I am not hungry,
they fay to the perfon who would pay them for
their labour.
BOOK
THE void that had been made in the popula-
tion of Peru, and the indolence of the few men
that remained there, determined the conquerors
to introduce a foreign race; but this mode of
fubftitution, which was dictated by the refine-
ment of European barbarity, was more prejudi-
cial to Africa, than ufeful to the country of the
Incas. Avarice did not derive from thefe new
flaves all the advantages it had flattered itſelf
with. The government, ever intent on laying
taxes upon vices and virtues, upon induſtry and
idleneſs, upon good and bad projects, upon the
liberty of exercising oppreffions, and the permif-
fion of being exempted from them, made a mo-
nopoly of this bafe traffic. It was neceffary to
receive the Negroes from the hands of a rival or
an enemy, to carry them to the place of their
deſtination, through immenfe feas and unwhole-
fome climates, and to defray the expences of
feveral very dear markets. Nevertheless, this
K 2
+
fpecies
VII.
#
132
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK fpecies of men hath multiplied more at Peru
than at Mexico. There is alſo a much greater
number of Spaniards there, for the following
Preſent fate
of Peru.
reafons:
Ar the time when the first conquefts were
made, when emigrations were most frequent, the
country of the Incas had a much greater reputa-
tion for riches than New Spain; and, in reality,
for half a century, much more confiderable trea-
fures were brought away from it. The defire of
partaking of them muft neceffarily draw thither,
as was really the cafe, a greater number of
Caftilians. Though they almost all went over
there with the hope of returning to their country
to enjoy the fortune they might acquire, yet the
majority of them fettled in the colony. They
were induced to this by the foftnefs of the cli-
mate and the goodneſs of the provifions. They
alſo fuppofed they ſhould enjoy a great ſhare of
independence in a region fo remote from the mo-
ther-country.
We must now examine to what degree of pro-
ſperity Peru hath been raiſed by the united labours
of fo many different people.
THE immenſe coaſt that extends from Panama
to Tombez, and which, in 1718, was detached
from Peru to be incorporated in the New King-
dom, is one of the moft miferable regions of the
globe. A great part of it is occupied by fpa-
cious and numerous moraffes. The part that is
not covered with thefe, is deluged for fix months
in the year, with rains that fall down in torrents.
From the midſt of theſe ſtagnating and unwhole-
fome
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
133
1
VII.
fome waters, forefts arife, that are as ancient as BOOK
the world, and fo much choaked up with lianes,
or oziers, that the ſtrongeſt and moft intrepid
man cannot penetrate into them. Thick and fre-
quent fogs throw a dark veil over thefe hideous
countries. None of the productions of the Old
Hemiſphere can grow in this ungrateful foil, and
thofe even of the New Hemiſphere do not thrive
much. And, indeed, there is but a fmall num-
ber of favages to be feen here, and thofe, for the
moſt part, wandering; and fo few Spaniards, that
it might almoft be faid there were none. The
coaft is fortunately terminated by the gulph of
Guayaquil, where nature is in a lefs degenerate
ftate.
THE ſecond town which the Spaniards built in
Peru, was raiſed upon this river, in 1533. The
Indians did not long fuffer this monument,
erected against their liberty, to fubfift; but it
was rebuilt four years after by Orellana. It was
not placed in the bay of Charopte as it had been
at firſt. The back of a mountain, at the diſtance
of five or fix hundred toifes from the river, was
preferred. The exigencies of commerce after-
wards determined the merchants to fix their
dwellings upon the fide of the river itfelf. The
ſpace which ſeparated them from their former
habitation, hath been gradually filled up; fo that
at preſent the two quarters of the town are en-
tirely united. The houſes are in general built
of wood, both in the lower and in the upper town.
Formerly, they were all covered with thatch; but
this practice hath been abolished gradually by
K 3
the
134
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
2
BOOK the orders of government, who have thought
VII.
this regulation neceffary, to prevent the accidents
of fire, fo common in theſe countries. Guaya-
quil was lately an entirely open place. It is at
prefent defended by three forts, guarded only by
the inhabitants. Theſe are large beams difpofed
in palifades. Upon this foil, which is always
damp, and under water a great part of the year,
a fort of wood, which never rots, is preferable to
the beſt conſtructed works either in earth or in
ftone.
IT is a circumftance well known at prefent,
that on the coaſt of Guayaquil, as well as on that
of Guatimala, are found thoſe fnails which yield
the purple dye fo celebrated by the ancients, and
which the moderns have ſuppoſed to have been
loft. The fhell that contains them is fixed to
rocks that are watered by the fea. It is of the
fize of a large nut. The juice may be extracted
from the animal in two ways. Some perfons
kill the animal after they have taken it out of the
fhell; they then prefs it from the head to the tail
with a knife, and feparating from the body that
part in which the liquor is collected, they throw
away the reft. When this operation, repeated
upon feveral of the fnails, hath yielded a certain
quantity of the juice, the thread that is to be
dyed is dipped in it, and the buſineſs is done.
The colour, which is at firft as white as milk, be-
comes afterwards green, and does not turn purple
till the thread is dry.
THOSE who do not chufe this method, draw
the animal partly out of its fhell, and by preſ
fure
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
135
fure oblige it to diſcharge its liquor. This воок
ope- VII.
ration is repeated four different times, but at each
time with lefs advantage. If it be continued, the
animal dies, from the lofs of that fluid which was
the principle of its life, and which it hath no
longer the power to renew.
We know of no colour that can be compared
to the one we have been fpeaking of, either in
luftre or in permanency. It fucceeds better with
cotton, than with woollen, linen, or filk.
It is little more than an object of curiofity;
but Guayaquil fupplies the neighbouring pro-
vinces with oxen, mules, falt, and fifh. It for-
nishes a great quantity of cacao to Mexico and
to Europe. It is the univerfal dock-yard of the
South Sea, and might partly become that of the
mother-country. We know of no fpot upon the
earth more abundant in wood for mafts and for
fhip-building. The hemp and the pitch which
it is deftitute of, is procured from Chili and from
Guatimala.
THIS town is the neceffary ftaple of all the
trade which the Lower Peru, Panama, and Mexi-
co, keep up with the country of Quito. All the
commodities which theſe countries exchange, pafs
through the hands of its merchants. The largeſt
of the fhips ftop at the island of Puna, fix or
feven leagues diſtant from the place. The others
can go thirty-five leagues up the river as far as
Caracol.
NOTWITHSTANDING thefe feveral means of
profperity, Guayaquil, the population of which
confifts of twenty thoufand fouls, is far from
K 4
being
136
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
¡
VII.
BOOK being wealthy. The fortunes of its inhabitants
have been fucceffively deftroyed nine times, by
fires, and by pirates, who have twice facked the
town. Thoſe fortunes, which have been acquired
fince theſe fatal periods, have not continued in
the country. A climate, where the heat is into-
lerable the whole year, and the rains inceffant for
fix months; where dangerous and noiſome infects
do not allow any tranquillity; where diftempers,
prevailing in the moſt oppofite degrees of tempe-
rature, appear to be united; where one lives in
perpetual dread of lofing one's fight; fuch a cli-
mate is by no means proper to fix the refidence of
its inhabitants. Such perfons are only feen here,
as have not acquired fufficient wealth to enable
them to remove elſewhere, and ſpend their days.
in indolence and pleaſure.
ON quitting the territory of Guayaquil, we
enter into the vallies of Peru.
They occupy
four hundred leagues of the coaft, and upon this
extent there are a great number of bad harbours,
among which chance hath placed one or two that
are tolerably good. Throughout this vaft ſpace,
there is not the veftige of a fingle road; and it is
neceſſary to travel over it upon mules in the night-
time, becauſe the reverberation of the Sun ren-
ders theſe fands unpaffable in the day. At the
intervals of thirty or forty leagues, we find the
fmall towns of Piura, of Peyta, of Santa, of
Piſco, of Nafcar, of Ica, of Moquequa, and
of Arica, and in the intermediate fpace, a fmall
number of hamlets and villages. Throughout
this whole extent there are but three places
worthy
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
137
ہیں
VII.
worthy of being called towns; Truxillo, which B O O K
hath nine thouſand inhabitants; Arequipa, which
hath forty thouſand; and Lima, which hath fifty-
four thouſand. Theſe ſeveral ſettlements have
been formed wherever there was the leaſt appear-
ance of land fit for cultivation, and wherever
the waters were capable of fertilizing a flime na-
turally barren.
THE Country produces the fruits peculiar to
the climate, and moſt of thofe in Europe. The
culture of maize, of pimento, and of cotton,
which was found eſtabliſhed there, was not ne-
glected and that of wheat, barley, caffava,
potatoes, ſugar, and of the olive and vine, was
fet on foot there. The goat hath thriven very
well; but the ſheep have degenerated, and their
wool is extremely coarfe. Throughout the whole
of the vallies there is but one mine, which is
that of Huantajaha.
IN the Upper Peru, at the diftance of one
hundred and twenty leagues from the fea, ftands
Cuſco, built by the firſt of the Incas, on a very
uneven territory, and upon the declivity of feve-
ral hills. It was at firft only a fmall village,
which in proceſs of time became a confiderable
city, divided into as many quarters as there were
nations incorporated with the empire. Each of
thefe nations were allowed to follow their ancient
cuſtoms; but they were all of them obliged to
worſhip the brilliant conftellation that fertilizes
the globe. There was no edifice that had any
grandeur, elegance, or convenience, becauſe the
people were ignorant of the first elements of
archi-
138
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK architecture. Even the temple of the Sun itſelf
could not be diftinguiſhed from the other public
or private buildings, unlefs by its extent, and
by the profufion of metals with which it was or-
namented.
To the north of this capital was a kind of
citadel, built with much care, labour, and ex-
pence.
The Spaniards long ſpoke of this monu-
ment of Peruvian induſtry with a ſpirit of admi-
ration that impoſed upon all Europe. The ruins
of this fortrefs have been ſeen by enlightened
perfons, and the marvellous hath difappeared. It
hath been found, that this fortification had ſcarce
any advantage over the other works of the fame
kind erected in the country, except that of being
built with ftones of a more confiderable fize.
Ar the diſtance of four leagues from the city,
are the country-houfes of the great, and of the
Incas, in the wholefome and delicious valley of
Yucai. There it was that they went to recover
their health, or to relax from the fatigues of go-
vernment.
AFTER the conqueft, the place fcarce pre-
ferved any thing but its name. There were
other edifices, other inhabitants, other occupa-
tions, other manners, other prejudices, and ano-
ther religion. Thus the fatality which fubverts
the earth, the fea, empires, and nations; which
throws fucceffively upon all parts of the globe
the light of the arts and the darkness of igno-
rance; which changes the refidence of men, and
transfers their opinions from one place to ano-
ther, as marine productions are puſhed upon the
coaſt
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
139
VII.
coaft by the impulfe of the winds and the cur- BOOK
rents; that impenetrable and fingular deſtiny,
I fay, ordained that Europeans with all the ap-
pendages of their crimes, and monks with all
the prejudices of their faith, fhould come to
reign and repofe in thofe walls, where the vir-
tuous Incas had for fo long a time promoted the
felicity of mankind, and where the Sun was fo
folemnly adored. Who, therefore, can foreſee,
what kind of race, or form of worſhip, will one
day ariſe upon the ruins of our kingdoms and
our altars? Cufco reckons twenty-fix thoufand
inhabitants under its new mafters.
N
In the midst of thefe mountains other towns.
are ſtill to be ſeen. Chupuifaca, or La Plata, which
hath thirteen thouſand fouls; Potofi, twenty-five
thouſand; Oropefa, feventeen thoufand; La
Paz, twenty thoufand; Guancavelica, eight thou-
fand; and Huamanga, eighteen thousand five
hundred.
BUT let it be well obferved, that none of theſe
towns were erected in regions which prefented a
fertile foil, copious harveſts, excellent paſtures,
a mild and falubrious climate, and all the con-
veniencies of life. Thefe places, which had
hitherto been fo well cultivated by a numerous
and flouriſhing people, were now totally difre-
garded. Very foon they exhibited only a de-
plorable picture of a horrid defert; and this
wildneſs muſt have been more melancholy and
hideous than the dreary afpect of the earth before
the origin of focieties. The fight of confufion
is not always difpleafing; it fometimes afto-
niſhes :
Í 40
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK nifhes: that of deftruction afflicts us.
VII.
The tra-
veller, who was led by accident or curiofity into
theſe defolate plains, could not forbear abhorring
the barbarous and bloody authors of theſe de-
vaftations, while he reflected that it was not owen
even to the cruel illufions of glory and to the
fanaticism of conqueft, but to the ſtupid and
abject defire of gold, that they had facrificed fo
much more real treaſure, and fo numerous a po-
pulation.
THIS infatiable thirft of gold, which neither
attended to fubfiftence, fafety, nor policy, was
the only motive for eſtabliſhing new fettlements,
fome of which have been kept up, while feveral
have decayed, and others have been formed in
their ſtead. The fate of them all hath correſponded
with the diſcovery, progrefs, or decay of the mines
to which they were fubordinate.
FEWER errors have been committed in the
means of procuring provifions. The natives had
hitherto lived ſcarcely on any thing elſe but maize,
fruits, and pulfe, for which they had ufed no
other feaſoning except falt and pimento. Their
liquors, which were made from different roots,
were more diverfified; of theſe the chica was the
moſt uſual; it is made from maize foaked
in water, and taken out of the veffel when it
begins to ſprout. It is dried in the fun, then
parched a little, and at laft ground. The flour,
after it has been well kneaded, is put with water
into large pitchers. The fermentation may be
expected in two or three days, and muſt not
continue longer. The great inconvenience of
this
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
141
VII.
this drink, which, when ufed immoderately, BOOK
infallibly intoxicates, is, that it will not keep
more than ſeven or eight days without turning
four. Its tafte is nearly that of the moſt indif-
ferent kind of cyder.
ALL the cultivations eſtabliſhed in the empire,
were folely intended to fupply articles of primary
neceffity. The only thing cultivated for luxury
was the coca; this is a fhrub which ramifies
much, and feldom grows higher than three or
four feet. Its leaves are alternate, oval, entire,
and marked in their longitudinal direction with
three cofta, two of which are not very apparent.
The flowers collected in cluſters along the
ftems, are ſmall, compofed of a calix, with five
divifions, and five petals, furniſhed at their
baſe with a fcale. The piftil, furrounded
with ten ftamina, and furmounted with three
ftiles, is changed into a fmall, reddish, oblong
berry, which as it dries becomes triangular,
and contains one nut filled with a fingle ker-
nel.
THE leaf of the coca was the delight of the
Peruvians. They chewed it, after having mixed
it with an earth of a light grey colour, and of a
faponaceous quality, which they called Toura; it
was, in their opinion, one of the moſt falutary
reſtoratives they could take. Their tafte for the
coca hath fo little altered, that, if thofe among
them who are buried in the mines were to be
deprived of it, they would ceafe to work, what-
ever ſeverities might be employed to compel
them to it.
THE
142
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
Singularities
refpe&ting
the lama,
the pacos,
the guana-
co, and the
vicuna,
new one.
A
THE Conquerors were not fatisfied either with
the liquors or with the food of the people they
had fubdued. They naturalized freely, and with
fuccefs, all the corn, all the fruits, and all the
quadrupeds of the ancient hemiſphere, in the
The mother-country, which had pro-
poſed to ſupply its colonies with wine, oil, and
brandy, wifhed, at firft, to forbid the culture
of the vine and of the olive tree but it was foon
found, that it would be impoffible to convey re-
gularly to Peru, articles liable to fo many acci-
dents, and of ſo confiderable a bulk; and they
were permitted to multiply them there as much
as was confiftent with the climate and their
wants.
AFTER they had provided for a better and a
greater choice of fubfiftence, the next care of the
Spaniards was to have a drefs more commodious
and more agreeable than that of the Peruvians.
Theſe were, however, better clothed than any
other American nation. They owed this fupe-
riority to the advantage which they alone pof-
ſeſſed, of having the lama and the pacos, domeſtic
animals, which ferved them for this uſe.
THE lama is an animal four feet high, and five
or fix in length; of which its neck alone takes
up one half. Its head is well made, with large
eyes, a long fnout, and thick lips. Its mouth
hath no incifers in the upper jaw. Its feet are
cloven like thofe of the ox, but furnished with a
fpur behind, which enables it to faften itſelf on
the fides of fteep places, where it delights to
climb. Its wool, which is fhort on its back,
1
I
but
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
143
VII.
but grows long on its fides and under the belly, BOOK
conftitutes part of its uſefulneſs. Though very
falacious, theſe animals copulate with great dif-
ficulty. In vain the female proftrates herſelf to
receive the male, and invites him by her fighs;
they are ſometimes a whole day groaning, grum-
bling, and ineffectually attempting enjoyment,
if men do not help them to fulfil the defire of
nature. Thus feveral of our domeſtic animals,
that are confined, broken, forced, and reftrained
in all their freeft motions and fenfations, lofe,
through ineffectual efforts, the principles of
generation while they are confined in ftables, if
care and attention do not fupply the place of that
liberty of which they have been deprived. The
females of the lama have only two dugs, never
more than two young, commonly but one, which
follows the dam immediately after its birth; it is
of a very quick growth, and its life of a fhort
duration. At three years old it propagates its
fpecies, preferves its vigour till twelve, then de-
cays, and dies about the age of fifteen.
THE lamas are employed as mules, in carrying
on their backs loads of about a hundred weight.
They move with a flow but firm pace at the rate
of four or five leagues a-day, in countries that are
impracticable to other animals; defcending
through gullies, and climbing up rocks, where
men cannot follow them.
After four or five
days journey, they reft of their own accord for
twenty-four hours.
NATURE hath formed them for the people of
that climate where they are produced, mild, re-
gular,
144
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
!
BOOK gular, and phlegmatic, like the Peruvians.
VII. When they stop, they bend their knees and ſtoop
their body in fuch a manner as not to difcom-
poſe their burden. As foon as they hear their
driver whiſtle, they rife with the fame care, and
proceed on their journey. They browfe on the
grafs they find in their way, and chew the cud
at night, even when afleep, reclining on their
breaft, with their feet doubled under their belly.
They are neither difpirited by fafting nor drudg-
ery, while they have any ftrength remaining;
but, when they are totally exhauſted or fall under
their burden, it is to no purpoſe to haraſs and
beat them they will continue obftinately ftrik-
ing their heads against the ground, till they kill
themſelves. They never defend themſelves either
with their feet or their teeth; and in the height
of their indignation content themſelves with only
fpitting in the face of thoſe who infult them.
THE pacos is to the lama what the afs is to the
horſe, a ſubordinate fpecies, ſmaller in fize, with
fhorter legs, and a flat fnout; but of the fame
difpofition, the fame manners, and the fame
conftitution, as the lama; made, like the lama,
to carry burdens, but more obftinate in its ca-
prices, perhaps becauſe it is weaker.
THESE animals are ſo much the more uſeful to
man, as their fervice cofts him nothing. Their
thick fur fupplies the place of a pack-ſaddle..
The little grafs which they find along the road
fuffices for their food, and furniſhes them with a
plentiful and freſh faliva, which exempts them
from the neceffity of drinking.
IN
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
145
VII.
In the times of the Incas, the people fhewed a BOOK
great attachment to thefe ufeful animals, and
this ſpirit of benevolence hath been continued.
Before they are employed in the labours for which
they are adapted, the Peruvians affemble their
relations, friends, and neighbours. As foon as
the company are met, dancing and feſtivals be-
gin, which laſt two days and two nights. From
time to time the gueſts pay a vifit to the lamas.
and the pacos, fpeak to them in the moſt affec-
tionate terms, and beſtow upon them all the
careffes they would upon the perfon that was
moſt dear to them. They then begin to make
ufe of them, but do not ftrip them of the rib-
bands and bands with which their heads are
ornamented.
AMONG the lamas, there are fome of a wild
fpecies called guanacos, which are ftronger, more
fprightly, and more nimble, than the domeſtic
lamas; running like the ftag, and climbing like
the wild goat, covered with fhort wool, and of a
fawn colour. Though free, they like to collect
in herds, to the number fometimes of two or
three hundred. If they fee a man, they furvey
him at first with an air of greater aftoniſhment
than curiofity; then fnuffing up the air and neigh-
ing, they run all together to the fummit of the
mountains. Theſe animals feek the North, tra-
vel on the ice, and fix themfelves above the
height of the fnow; they are vigorous, and ap-
pear in vaſt numbers on the tops of the Corde-
leras; but ſmall in fize, and ſeldom met with at the
bottom of the mountains. When they are hunted
VOL. IV.
L
for
¡
146
3
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK for their fleece, if they gain the rocks, neither
hunters nor dogs can eyer catch them.
THE Vicunas, a fpecies of wild pacos, delight
ftill more in the cold, and on the fummits of
mountains. They are fo timid, that their fear
itſelf makes them an eafy prey to the hunter.
Men furround them and drive them into narrow
defiles, at the end of which they have fufpended
pieces of cloth or linen, on cords, that are raiſed
three or four feet from the ground. Thefe
rags, being agitated by the wind, ftrike fuch
terror into them that they ftand crowded and
fqueezed one againſt another, fuffering them-
felves to be killed rather than fly. But if there
happens to be, among the vicunas, a guanaco,
which, being more adventurous, leaps over the
cords, they follow it and eſcape.
ALL theſe animals belong fo peculiarly to
South America, and efpecially to the higheft
Cordeleras, that they are never feen on the fide
of Mexico, where the height of theſe mountains
is confiderably diminiſhed. Attempts have been
made to propagate the breed in Europe, but they
have all failed. The Spaniards, without reflect-
ing that theſe animals, even in Peru itſelf, fought
the coldeſt parts, have tranſported them to the
burning plains of Andalufia. They might, pof-
fibly, have fucceeded on the Alps or the Pyren-
nees. This conjecture of M. de Buffon, to
whom we are indebted for fo many uſeful and
profound obfervations on animals, is worthy the
attention of ſtatefmen, whofe fteps ought always
to be guided by the lights of philofophy.
5
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
147
VII.
THE flesh of the lamas and pacos may be eaten BOOK
when they are young. The fkin of the old ones
ferves the Indians for fhoes, and the Spaniards for
harneſs. The guanacos may alſo ferve for food.
But the vicunas are only fought after for their
fleece, and for the bezoar they produce.
THE Wool of theſe animals is not equally good.
That of the lama and the pacos, which are
domeftic animals, is much inferior to that of the
guanaco, and ftill more to that of the vicuna.
There is even a great difference in the fame
animal. The wool of the back is commonly of
a clear, light colour, and of moderate quality;
under the belly it is white and fine, and white
and coarſe upon the thighs. Its price, in Spain,
is from four to nine livres a pound, according
to its quality.
*
THESE fleeces were ufefully employed at Peru,
before the empire had fubmitted to a foreign
yoke. The inhabitants of Cufco made tapeſtry of
them for the ufe of the court. This tapeſtry was
ornamented with flowers, birds, and trees, which
were tolerably well imitated. It ferved alſo to
make mantles, which were worn over a 'fhirt of
cotton. It was cuftomary to tuck them up, in
order to have the arms free. The principal
people faſtened them with gold and filver claſps;
their wives with pins made of thefe metals, orna-
mented at the top with emeralds; and the com-
mon people with thorns. In hot countries, the
mantles of perfons in office were made of fine
* From 3s. 4d. to 4s. 2d.
L 2
cotton,
148
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
cotton, and dyed with various colours. The
common people in the fame climate had no
clothing at all, except a girdle that was compofed
of the filaments of the bark of a tree, and ſerved
to cover thofe parts which nature intended fhould
be concealed.
1
THE pride and the habits of the conquerors,
which generally made inconvenient or contempt-
ible to them, all the cuſtoms eſtabliſhed in the
countries upon which their avarice or their fury
was exerted, would not allow them to adopt the
dreſs of the Peruvians. They required from
Europe every thing that country could furnish
most complete and moft magnificent in linens
and cottons. In proceſs of time, the treaſures
that had been at first pillaged, were exhaufted;
and it was not poffible to acquire more, without
making confiderable advances, and without en-
tering upon labours, the profit of which was
doubtful. Then thefe extravagancies diminiſhed.
The ancient manufactures of cotton, which a
fyftem of oppreffion had reduced almoft to no-
thing, were revived. Others were fet on foot
of a different kind; and their number hath fuc-
ceffively increaſed.
WITH the wool of the vicuna they make, in
feveral provinces, ftockings, handkerchiefs, and
fcarfs. This wool, mixed with that of the ſheep
imported thither from Europe, which hath ex-
ceedingly degenerated, ferves for carpets, and
makes alfo tolerably good cloth. This laft kind
alone is employed to make ferges and other
coarſe ſtuffs.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
149
}
VII.
THE manufactures fubfervient to luxury are BOOK
eſtabliſhed at Arequipa, Cufco, and Lima. From
theſe three large towns come all the jewels and
diamonds, all the plate for the uſe of private
perfons, and alfo for the churches. Thefe manu-
factures are but coarfely wrought, and mixed
with a great deal of copper. There is feldom
more taſte or perfection difcovered in their gold,
filver, and other laces and embroideries, which
their manufactures alfo produce.
OTHER hands are employed in gilding leather,
in making, with wood and ivory, pieces of inlaid
work and ſculpture, and in drawing figures on
the marble that hath been lately found at Cuença,
or on linen imported from the Old Hemifphere.
Theſe productions of imperfect art, ferve for
ornaments for houſes, palaces, and temples:
the drawing of them is not abfolutely bad, but
the colours are neither exact nor permanent.
This fpecies of induſtry belongs almost exclu-
fively to the Indians fettled at Cufco,, who are lefs
oppreffed, and lefs degenerated upon this firft
ſcene of their glory, than throughout the reft of
the empire. If thefe Americans, to whom nature
hath denied the genius of invention, but who are
excellent imitators, had been ſupplied with able
mafters and excellent models, they would have
become good copyifts. At the clofe of the laſt
century, fome works of a Peruvian painter,
named Michael de St. Jaques, were brought to
Rome; and the connoiffeurs difcovered marks of
genius in them.
I 3.
THESE
!
150
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
THESE defcriptions excite the complaints of
fome of my readers. I hear them fay: How
can we be intereſted in theſe idle details, with
which you have troubled us fo long? Speak to
us of the gold and of the filver of Peru. In
this fo diftant region of the New World, I have
never confidered, and fhall never confider, any thing
but thefe metals. Whoever thou mayeſt be that
doft addrefs thyfelf to me in this manner, ava-
ricious mortal, and deftitute of tafte, who, when
conveyed to Mexico and Peru, wouldft neither-
ftudy the manners nor the cuſtoms, who wouldſt
difdain to caft a look upon the rivers, the moun-
tains, the forefts, the fields, the diverfity of cli-
mate, and the varieties of fifh and infects; but
who wouldſt only afk, where are the golden
mines where are the places in which the gold
is wrought? I fee that thou haft entered upon the
reading of my work, with the fame fpirit as the
ferocious Europeans entered upon thefe rich
and unhappy countries; I fee that thou wert
worthy to accompany them, becauſe thy propen-
fities are the fame as theirs. Defcend then into
the mines; and meet with thy deftruction by the
fide of thoſe who work them for thee; and if
thou doft come out of them again, make thyfelf.
at least acquainted with the criminal fource of
theſe fatal treaſures which thou doft covet; and
mayeft thou never poffefs them hereafter without
feeling the pangs of remorfe. May the gold
change its colour, and appear to thine eyes as if
it were dyed with blood.
IN
༔
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
151
VII.
Defcription
and particu
of platina
In the country of the Incas are found mines of BOOK
copper, tin, fulphur, and bitumen, which are
generally neglected. Extreme neceffity hath occa- of the mines
ſioned ſome attention to be paid to thoſe of falt. of Peru,
This foffil is cut into large pieces, proportioned larly thofe
to the ſtrength of the lamas and pacos, deſtined and quick-
to convey it in all the provinces of the empire
diſtant from the ocean. This falt is of a violet
colour, and is ſtreaked with veins of red like the
jafper. It is fold neither by weight nor meaſure,
but in pieces nearly of equal fize.
A NEW ſubſtance has been diſcovered lately in
theſe regions: this is the platina, fo called from
the Spanish word plata, from whence the dimi-
nutive platina, or little filver, is made.
THIS is a metallic fubftance, which hath hitherto
been brought from the New World into the Old,
only in the form of fmall, pointed, triangular, and
very irregular gravel, like the coarſe filings of
iron. Its colour is that of a white, between that
of filver and iron, partaking a little of the tena-
city of lead.
M. ULLOA is the firft who has ſpoken of the
platina, in the account he publiſhed in 1748, of
a long voyage to Peru, from whence he was juſt
returned. He informed Europe that this extraor-
dinary ſubſtance, and which may be confidered
as an eighth metal, came from the gold mines of
America, and was particularly found in thoſe of
the new kingdom.
THE year following, Wood, an English me-
tallurgift, brought fome fpecimens of it from
Jamaica to Great Britain. He had received them
L 4
eight
filver.
•
852
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
VII.
BOOK eight or nine years before from Carthagena, and
was the firſt perſon who made experiments upon
them.
SOME very ſkilful chymifts have fince em-
ployed themſelves in, experiments and inquiries
upon the platina; in England, Mr. Lewis; in
Sweden, M. Scheffer; in Pruffia, M. Margraff;
and in France, M. M. Macquer, Beaumé, De
Buffon, De Morveau, De Sickengen, and De
Milly. The united labours of theſe ſeveral chy-
mifts have fo much improved our knowledge upon
this article, that we do not fcruple to ſay, there
are few metallic fubftances, the nature of which is
better known to us at prefent than the platina.
That which comes into France is never entirely
pure. It is ufually mixed with rather a confi-
derable quantity of finall black fand, which is
as ftrongly affected by the loadſtone as the beſt
iron, but which is indiffoluble in acids, and can-
not be melted without great difficulty and lastly,
particles of very fine gold are fometimes obferved
in it.
THIS mixture, which is almoft always found,
of the native platina with gold and with iron, had
raiſed a fufpicion that it might be nothing more
than a combination of theſe two metals; and,
accordingly, on melting together gold and iron,
or rather gold and magnetic fand, fimilar to that
which is found mixed with the platina, a com-
bination is obtained, which hath fome apparent
affinities with this metallic fubftance: but a more
ſtrict examination feems to have destroyed this
opinion, and the experiments of M. M. Macquer
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
153
VII.
and Beaumé, and particularly thofe of M. le Ba- BOOK
ron de Sickengen, appear to have fhewn that the
platina is a peculiar kind of metal, which is not
formed by the union of any other, and which hath
properties belonging to itſelf.
THE little information which chymifts have
hitherto obtained refpecting the natural hiſtory of
the platina, and the fmall quantity they have had
in their poffeffion, hath not yet allowed them to
apply the proceffes of metallurgy to it at large;
but the methods they have given an account of,
and particularly thofe for which we are indebted
to the Baron de Sickengen, are fufficient for chy-
mical accuracy. Nothing remains now but to
make them more fimple and leſs expenſive.
THE firſt operation to be performed on the
platina, confifts in feparating from it the gold,
the iron, and the magnetic fand, with which it is
united. In order to do this, it is diffolved with
the affiſtance of a little heat, in an aqua regia,
compofed nearly of equal parts of the nitrous
and marine acid. The magnetic fand, which is
indiffoluble, remains at the bottom of the veffel,
and by pouring off the liquor a folution is ob-
tained, which contains gold, iron, and platina.
To ſeparate in the firſt inſtance the gold, a ſmall
portion of the vitriolum martis is added to the
folution. The gold immediately precipitates,
while the platina continues united to the folvent.
Laſtly, to get rid of the iron, fome alkali, which
hath been previouſly calcined with ox's blood, is
poured guttatim into the fame liquor. The iron
is instantly precipitated, under the colour of Pruf-
1
fian
154.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fian blue, and nothing more remains in the folu-
VII.
tion than the platina, perfectly pure, and combi-
ned with the aqua regia.
THE platina being thus purified, the next bu-
finefs is to ſeparate it from the folvent, and this
is to be done by the addition of ſalt ammoniac.
This fubftance precipitates the platina under a
yellow colour, and this precipitate being expofed
to a great heat, foftens, and even diffolves; and
by forging it with a hammer, the platina is ob-
tained very pure and malleable. It appears from
what we have been able to collect from the Baron
de Sickengen's Memoir, which hath been com-
municated to the Academy of Sciences, but not
yet publiſhed, that the rough platina, worked by
itfelf, and heated with an intenſe fire, becomes
fufficiently foft to be forged and made into bars
and this circumftance naturally indicates the me-
thod to be purſued for the management of it in
large works.
THE metal obtained by theſe feveral proceffes
is nearly of the fame fpecific weight as gold; it is
of an intermediate colour between that of iron
and filver; it can be forged and extended into
thin plates; it may alſo be worked into thread,
but it is not near fo ductile as gold, and the
thread obtained from it, is not, in equal diame-
ter, able to fupport fo great a weight without
breaking. When diffolved in aqua regia, it may
be made to affume, by precipitation, an infinite
diverfity of colours; and Count Milly hath fuc-
ceeded in varying thefe precipitates fo much,
that he hath had a picture painted, in the colour-
ing
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
155
VII.
ing of which there is ſcarce any thing but platina BOOK
made uſe of..
GOLD is fufceptible of combination with all
the metals, and platina hath in like manner this
property; but when too great a proportion of it
enters into the combination, it renders the metal
brittle. When allied with yellow copper, it forms
a hard and compact metal, which will take the
fineſt poliſh, which will not tarnish in the air, and
which would confequently be very fit for making
the mirrors of telescopes.
IT doth not appear that mercury hath any effect
upon platina; and therefore Mr. Lewis had pro-
pofed to amalgamate it with mercury, as a pro-
per method of feparating it from the gold with
which it might have been united; but this me-
thod hath been confidered by modern chymifts as
uncertain and defective; and there are others at
preſent more to be depended upon: fuch are
thoſe we have been mentioning at the commence-
ment of this article.
THIS new metal diſplays fome properties infi-
nitely intereſting to fociety. It cannot be affected
by any fimple acid, nor by any known folvent ex-
cept the aqua regia; it will not tarnish in the air,
neither will it ruft; it unites to the fixedneſs of
gold, and to the property it hath of not being
fufceptible of deftruction, a hardnefs almoft equal
to that of iron, and a much greater difficulty of
fufion. In a word, from confidering the advan-
tages of the platina, we cannot but conclude,
that this metal deferves, at leaft, from its fupe-
{
riority
156
HISTORY. OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK riority to all others, to fhare the title of king of
the metals, of which gold hath ſo long been in pof-
feffion.
IT were undoubtedly to be wifhed, that a metal
fo precious might become common, and that it
might be employed for culinary utenfils, in the
arts, and in the laboratory of the chymift. It
would unite all the advantages of veffels of glafs,
of porcelain, and of ftone ware, without par-
taking of their fragility. A prejudice of the
Spanish miniſtry, and which hath for a long time
been adopted by all chymifts, deprives us of this
advantage. They have perfuaded themſelves that
the platina might be allied with gold, in fuch
a manner as that it could not be feparated from
it by any means, and they have confequently
thought proper to forbid the extraction and
tranſportation of a fubftance, that might be
productive of fo much mischief in the hands of
avaricious men. But at prefent, that we are ac-
quainted with methods as fimple and eaſy to
feparate gold from platina, as to feparate filver
from gold; at prefent, that the chymifts have
taught us, that when theſe two metals are dif-
folved in aqua regia, we may precipitate the gold
by the addition of the vitriolum martis, or the
platina by the addition of falt ammoniac, and that
in both theſe cafes the two metals are perfectly
diftinct; at prefent, in a word, that the rulers of
nations can eaſily obtain information by confult-
ing the academies, it cannot be doubted but that
the Spanish government will haften to avail itſelf
of a treaſure of which it feems hitherto to have
been
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
157
;
VII.
been the only poffeffor, and of which fo advan- BOOK
tageous a uſe may be made for the nation and for
fociety in general.
NATURE hath not formed any mines of gold or
filver, in what are called the Vallies of Peru,
except one." The large maffes of thefe precious
metals which we fometimes find there, have been
conveyed by fubterraneous fires, by volcanos,
and by earthquakes, as well as by the revolutions
which America hath experienced, and doth ftill
experience every day. Theſe detached maffes are
fometimes found in other parts. About the year
1730, a piece of gold, weighing ninety marks,
was found near the town of La Paz.
It was a
compofition of fix different fpecies of this preci-
ous metal, from eighteen to three and twenty ca-
rats and a half. There are but few ores, and thoſe
of baſe alloy, in the hillocks bordering upon the
fea. It is only in very cold or very high places
that they are rich and frequent.
THOUGH the Peruvians were unacquainted
with coin, they knew the ufe of gold and filver,
of which they made toys and even vafes. The
torrents and rivers furnished them with the firft
of theſe metals; but in order to obtain the ſe-
cond, more labour and induſtry was neceffary.
Moft. frequently the ground was opened, yet
never to fo great a depth, but that the workmen
themſelves could throw the ore on the borders of
the ditch which they had digged, or could at
leaſt convey it there by paffing it on from one
perfon to another. Sometimes the fides of the
moun.
158
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
The two
BOOK mountains were opened, and the different veins
VII. which chance might prefent, were followed,
though always to very ſmall extent.
metals were melted and difengaged from the
foreign materials that might be mixed with them
by the means of fire. Furnaces, in which a
current of air ſupplied the office of the bellows,
an inftrument entirely unknown in thefe coun-
tries, were employed to perform this difficult ope-
ration.
PORCO, at a little distance from the fpot where
one of the lieutenants of Pizarro founded, in 1539,
the city of La Plata, Porco was, of all the mines.
which the Incas cauſed to be worked, the moſt
plentiful and the most known. It was alſo the
firſt which the Spaniards worked after the con-
queft; and their labour was foon extended to a
multiplicity of others.
ALL of them, without exception, were found to
be very expenſive in the working. Nature hath
placed them in regions deſtitute of water, wood,
provifions, and all the neceffaries of life, which
muſt be conveyed at a great expence acrofs im-
menſe deſerts. Thefe difficulties have been, and
are ſtill, furmounted with more or lefs fuccefs.
SEVERAL mines, which have acquired fome
fhare of reputation, have been fucceffively aban-
doned. Their produce, though equal to what it
was originally, was not fufficient to defray the
expences neceffary to obtain it; this is a kind
of revolution which many of the reft will expe-
rience.
IT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
159
VII.
It hath alſo been neceffary to renounce ſome of B O O K
the mines which had given falfe hopes. Among
this number was that of Ucantaya, difcovered in
1703, fixty leagues to the fouth-east of Cuſco.
This was only an incrustation of almoſt maffive
filver, which at firft yielded a confiderable quan-
tity, but was foon exhaufted.
SOME very rich mines have been neglected
becauſe the waters had invaded them. The de-
clivity of the foil, which from the fummit of the
Cordeleras runs continually fhelving to the South
Sea, muſt neceffarily have rendered theſe events
more common at Peru than in other places. This
miſchief hath ſometimes been found irremediable;
at other times it hath been repaired: moft fre-
quently it hath been perpetuated for want of
means, activity, or ſkill.
THE gold mines were at firft preferably at-
tended to. Wife men foon determined in favour
of the filver mines, which are generally more ex-
tenfive,. more equal, and, confequently, lefs de-
ceitful. Several of the former, however, are ſtill
worked. A tolerably regular feries of fuccefs,
hath made thofe of Lutixaca, of Araca, of Suches,
of Caracava, of Lipoani, and of Cachabamba, to
be confidered as the richeft.
AMONG the filver mines which, in our days,
are the moſt celebrated, we must mention that
of Huantajaha, which hath been worked forty or
fifty years ago, at two leagues distance from the
fea, near the harbour of Iqueyqua. Upon dig-
ging five or fix feet in the plain, we often find
detached maffes, which at firft might be taken
only
i
160
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK only for a confuſed mixture of gravel and fand,
and which, upon trial, yield two-thirds of their
weight in filver. Sometimes they are fo confi-
derable, that, in 1749, two of them were fent
to the court of Spain, one of which weighed one
hundred and feventy-five pounds, and the other,
three hundred and feventy. In the mountains,
the ore is difpofed in veins, and is of two kinds.
That which in the country is called barra, is cut
with the rock, and is fent to Lima, where it is
wrought. It yields moft frequently from one,
two, three, four, and as far as five, parts of filver,
to one of ſtone. The other ſpecies is purified by
fire in the country itſelf. If five of its quintals do
not produce a mark of filver, it is thrown among
the rubbiſh. This neglect arifes from the excef-
five dearneſs of provifions, from the neceffity of
obtaining water fit for drinking fourteen leagues
off, and from that of grinding the ore at a very
confiderable diftance.
AT thirty leagues to the north-eaft of Are-
quipa ftands Caylloma. Its mines were dif-
covered very early; they have been fince incef-
fantly worked, and their produce is ftill the
fame.
THOSE of Potofi were diſcovered in 1545.
An Indian, named Hualpa, as it is faid, pur-
fuing fome deer, in order to climb certain ſteep
rocks, laid hold of a buſh, the roots of which
being loofened from the earth, brought to view
an ingot of filver. The Peruvian had recourfe
to it for his own ufe, and never failed to return
to his treaſure every time that his wants or his
defires
:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
161
VII.
defires folicited him to it. The change that had BOOK
happened in his fortune was remarked by his'coun-
tryman Guanca, to whom he avowed the ſecret.
The two friends could not keep their counſel and
enjoy their good fortune. They quarrelled; and
the indifcreet confidant difcovered the whole to
his maſter Villaroell, a Spaniard who was fettled
in the neighbourhood.
THIS diſcovery foon inflamed the minds of
the Spaniards. Several mines were immediately
opened in a mountain of a conical form, which is
one league in circumference, five or fix toifes in
height, and is of a dark red colour. In procefs
of time, a lefs confiderable mountain, iffuing
from the former, was alfo fearched, and with
equal fuccefs. The treaſures that were derived
from each of theſe mountains, were the origin of
one of the largeſt and moſt opulent cities in the
New World.
NATURE never offered to the avidity of man-
kind, in any country on the globe, fuch rich
mines as thofe of Potofi. Exclufive of what was
not registered, and was fmuggled away, the fifth
part, belonging to the government, from 1545
to 1564, amounted to 36,450,000 livres *
But this abundance of metals foon de-
creaſed. From 1564 to 1585, the annual fifth
part amounted to no more than 15,187,489
livres four fols †. From 1585 to 1624, it
amounted to 12,149,994 livres 12 fols . From
annum.
* 1,518, 751.
‡ 506,2491. 15s. 6d.
VOL. IV.
M
† 632,8121. 1S.
per
1624
}
162.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK 1624 to 1633, to 6,074,997 livres fix fols*.
From this laſt period, the produce of theſe mines
hath fo evidently decreaſed, that in 1763, the
fifth part, belonging to the king, did not exceed
1,364,682 livres 12 fols †.
In the firſt inſtance, each quintal of ore yielded
fifty pounds of filver. At prefent, fifty, quintals
do not produce more than two pounds of filver.
This is one part inſtead of twelve hundred and
fifty.
If this diminution ſhould be carried on a little
further, this fource of riches muft neceffarily be
given up. It is even probable that this event
would already have taken place, if the ore were
not fo foft at Potofi, if the waters were not fo
favourably ſituated for grinding it, and if the
expences were not infinitely less than at any other
place.
BUT while the mines of Potofi were gradually
lofing their celebrity, thofe of Oruro, not far
diftant from them, were rifing into great repu-
tation. Their profperity was even increafing,
when the waters flowed into the richeft of them.
At the period in which we are writing, it hath
not yet been poffible to drain them, and all theſe
treaſures ſtill remain under water. The mines
of Popo, the moſt confiderable of thofe that have
eſcaped this great difafter, are no more than
twelve leagues diftant from the town of San Philip
de Auftria de Gruro, which was built in this di-
ſtrict, formerly fo celebrated.
* 253,1241. 17s, 9d.
† 56,8611. 15s. 9d.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
163
VII.
THE labours of the miners, fettled to the east of B O O K
La Plata, in the diftrict of Carangas, were never
diſturbed by any accident; thofe, however, whom
chance had brought to Turco were conftantly the
moft fortunate, becauſe this mountain always af-
forded them an ore incorporated, or, as it were,
melted with the ftone, and confequently richer
than all the reſt.
In the dioceſe of La Paz, and near to the fmall
town of Puna, Jofeph Salcedo diſcovered, about
the year 1660, the mine of Laycacota. It was
fo rich that the filver of it was often cut with a
chiffel. Profperity, which debafes little minds,
had ſo elevated that of the proprietor of fo much
opulence, that he permitted all the Spaniards,
who came to feek their fortune in this part of the
New World, to work fome days for their own
benefit, without weighing or meaſuring the pre-
fent he made them. This generofity attracted
an infinite number of adventurers, whofe avidity
induced them to take up arms. They attacked
each other; and their benefactor, who had ne-
glected nothing that might prevent or extinguish
their fanguinary contentions, was hanged as be-
ing the author of them. Such incidents might
be fufficient to leffen in our hearts the inclination
to benevolence, and it is with reluctance I have
mentioned this.
WHILE Salcedo was in prifon, the water got
poffeffion of his mine. Superftition foon gave
birth to the idea, that this was a punishment for
the outrage committed against him. This idea
of divine vengeance was for a long time revered;
M 2
but
164
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
•
VII.
BOOK but at length, in 1740, Diego de Baena, and ſome
other enterpriſing men, affociated themfelves, in
order to turn away the fprings which had deluged
fo much treaſure. In 1754, the work was fo far
advanced, that fome utility was already derived
from it. We know not what hath happened fince
that period.
:
ALL the mines of Peru were originally worked
by means of fire. In moſt of them, mercury was
fubftituted to this in 1571.
THIS powerful agent is found in two different
ftates in the bofom of the earth. If it be altoge-
ther pure, and in the fluid form which is proper
to it, it is then denominated virgin mercury, be-
cauſe it hath not experienced the action of fire,
in order to be extracted from the mine. If it be
found combined with fulphur, it forms a fubftance
of a red colour, which is more or lefs vivid, called
cinnabar.
TILL the mine of virgin mercury, which was
lately diſcovered at Montpelier under the build-
ings of the town itſelf, and which for that reafon
will probably never be worked, there had been no
others known in Europe, except thofe of Udria
in Carniola. Theſe are in a valley, at the foot
of high mountains, which were called by the
Romans Alpes Julia. They were diſcovered by
chance in 1497. They are about nine hundred
feet deep. The defcent into them is by pits, as
into all other mines. There are under ground
an infinite number of galleries, of which fome are
fo low, that it is neceffary to stoop in order to pafs
along; and there are places where it is fo hot,
.
9
that
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
165
#
VII.
that it is not poffible to ftop without being in a BOOK
profuſe ſweat it is in thefe fubterraneous caverns
that mercury is found, in a kind of clay, or in
ftones. Sometimes even this fubftance is feen
running down like rain, and oozes fo copioufly
through the rocks which form the vaults of thefe
fubterraneous caverns, that one man hath often
gathered thirty-fix pounds of it in a day.
THERE are fome people fo fond of the marvel-
lous, that they prefer this mercury to the other;
which is a mere prejudice. Experience fhews.
that the beſt mercury that can be uſed, either in
medicine or in metallurgy, is that which hath
been extracted from cinnabar. In order to fepa-
rate the natural combination of theſe two volatile.
fubftances, fulphur and mercury, recourſe muſt
neceffarily be had to the action of fire, to which
fome intermediate fubftance muſt be joined. This
is either the filings of fteel or copper, or the re-
gulus of antimony, or lime, or fome fixed
alkaline falt. Europe is fupplied with this laſt
fpecies of mercury from Hungary, Sclavonia,
Bohemia, Carinthia, Friuli, and Normandy.
The quantity that Spain wants for Mexico comes
from the mine of Almaden, which was famous
even in the time of the Romans: but Peru hath
found within itfelf, at Guança-Velica, a fuffi-
cient quantity for all its exigencies.
THIS ore, as it is faid, was known to the an-
cient Peruvians, who made no other uſe of it
than to paint their faces. It was forgotten
during the confufion into which the conqueft
plunged this unfortunate region. It was found
M 3
again
1
166
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
;
VII.
BOOK again in 1556, according to fome hiftorians, and
in 1564, according to others; but Pedro Fer-
nandez Velafco was the first who, in 1574,
thought of employing it in working the other
mines; the government reſerved to itſelf the pro-
perty of it. They even forbad, upon any pre-
tence whatſoever, that other mines of the fame
kind ſhould be opened, left they ſhould be de-
frauded of the duties they laid upon mercury.
THE mine of Guança-Velica hath undergone
feveral changes. At the time in which we are
writing, its circumference meaſures one hun-
dred and eighty varas, its diameter fixty, and
its depth five hundred and thirteen. It hath
four openings, all of them at the top of the
mountain, a ſmall number of buttreffes, deſtined
to ſupport the foil, and three vent-holes, which
either let in air, or ferve to carry off the waters.
It is worked by fome partners, moft of them
without fortune, to whom the fovereign advances
whatever they want, and who deliver the mercury
to him at his ftipulated price. The men employed
in theſe labours were generally feized, formerly,
with convulfive motions. This malady is at
prefent much lefs frequent; whether it be that
the mercury contained in the mine hath leffened
by more than one-half, or that fome precautions
have been taken, which had at firſt been ne-
glected. Thoſe who have the care of the fur-
naces, are at prefent almoft the only perfons
who are expoſed to this calamity: they are, how-
ever, easily cured. The only thing neceffary is
to fend them into a warm climate, or to employ
1
them
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
167
:
VII.
them in cultivating the lands. The mercury, BOOK
which affected their limbs, is carried off by per-
ſpiration.
THE barrennefs of Guança-Velica, and of the
neighbouring lands, is remarkable. No fruit
tree can be naturalized there. Of all the ſpecies
of corn that have been fown, barley is the only
one that hath fprung up; and even that hath
never come to maturity. Nothing but the pota-
toe has thriven.
THE air is not more wholefome than the foil is
fertile. Children, newly born, die of the tetanos
ftill more frequently than in the reft of the New
World. Thoſe who have efcaped this danger,
are ſeized at the end of three or four months with
a violent cough, and moſt of them perish in
convulfions, unleſs care be taken to convey them
into a milder climate. This precaution, which
is neceffary for the Indians and for the Meftees,
is ftill more fo for the Spaniards, who are lefs
robuft. The extreme feverity of the climate,
the fulphureous vapours which cover the horizon,
and the generally vitiated conftitution of the fa-
thers and mothers, muſt be the principal cauſes
of fo great a calamity.
THE very elevated mountains of Guança-
Velica, had for a long time engaged the atten-
tion of men who are greedy of riches, when,
at length, they became interefting to philofo-
phers.
7
THE aſtronomers, who were fent in 1735 to
Peru, in order to meaſure the degrees of the me-
M 4
ridian,
168.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK ridian, travelled over a fpace of ninety leagues,
beginning a little to the north of the equator, and
proceeding as far as the fouth of the city of
Cuenca, without difcovering any mark which
could lead them to think that thefe mountains,
which were the higheft in the univerfe, had been
ever covered by the ocean. The banks of fhells
that were found out forme time after at Chili, did
not prove the contrary, becauſe they were upon
eminences of no more than fifty toifes. But fince
Guança-Velica hath furniſhed recent and petri-
fied fhells, and both of them in very great quan-
tity, it is neceffary to retract and give up all the
confequences that had been deduced from this
phænomenon.
It is not at Guança-Velica that the mercury is
delivered to the public. The government fends
it to the provinces where the mines are. The
places where it is depofited are twelve in number.
In 1763 Guança-Velica itſelf confumed one hun-
dred and forty-two quintals; Taiya, two hundred
and forty-feven; Pafca, feven hundred and twen-
ty-nine; Truxillo, one hundred and thirty-one;
Cufco, thirteen; La Plata, three hundred and
fixty-nine; La Paz, thirty; Caylloma, three
hundred and feventy-four; Caranjas, one hundred
and fifty; Oruro, twelve hundred and fixty-four ;
and Potofi, one thouſand feven hundred and
ninety-two. This made on the whole five thou-
fand two hundred and forty-one quintals.
ALTHOUGH the quality of the ore determines
the greater or lefs confumption of the mercury,
yet
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
169
VII.
yet it is generally thought in the other hemi- B O O K
ſphere, where the art of metallurgy is very im-
perfect, that, upon the whole, the confumption
of mercury is equal to the quantity of filver
obtained from the mines. In this fuppofition,
the twelve magazines which, from 1732 to 1763,
delivered, one year with another, five thoufand
three hundred and four quintals, eighteen
pounds of mercury, fhould have received the
fame quantity of filver. Nevertheless they re-
ceived no more than two thoufand two hundred
and fifty. Therefore, two thouſand ſeven hun-
dred and fifty-four quintals eighteen pounds, were
fecreted in order to defraud the cuſtoms.
and rebuild…
Manners of
LIMA hath always attracted the greateft part Subverfion
of theſe riches, whether they have efcaped the ing of Lima.
This capital, this capital
vigilance of the treafury or not.
built in 1535 by Francis Pizarro, and which of Peru.
hath fince become fo celebrated, is fituated at
two leagues from the fea, in a delicious plain.
The profpect from it on one fide extends over a
tranquil ocean, on the other it ſtretches as far as
the Cordeleras. Its foil is nothing but a heap
of flints, which the fea hath undoubtedly in a
ſeries of ages piled together, but they are covered
with earth a foot below the furface, which the
fpring waters, that are every where found on
digging, have brought from the mountains.
SUGAR-CANES, numberleſs olive trees, fome
vines, artificial meadows, paftures full of falt
which give meat an exquifite tafte, fmall grain
appropriated to the feeding of fowls, fruit-trees
#
of
:
170
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK of every kind, and certain other plantations, co-
ver the furface of thefe fortunate plains. Wheat
and barley profpered there for a long time; but
an earthquake happening about a century ago,
cauſed fuch a revolution, that the feeds rotted
without fprouting. It was not till after forty
years of barrennefs, that the foil refumed its
former fertility. Lima, as well as the other
towns of the vallies, owes its fubfiftènce chiefly
to the labours of the Negroes. It is fcarce any
where, except the inland parts, that the fields
are cultivated by the Indians.
BEFORE the arrival of the Spaniards, all the
edifices in Peru were conftructed without any
foundations. The walls of the houſes of private
perfons, as well as thofe of the public buildings,
were alike placed on the furface of the earth, of
whatever materials they might be made. Expe-
rience had taught theſe people, that in the coun-
try they inhabited this was the only way of
dwelling in fecurity. Their conquerors, who
had a fovereign contempt for every thing which
deviated from their habits, and who carried every
where along with them their European cuſtoms,
without confidering whether they were fuitable to
the countries they were invading; the con-
querors departed, particularly at Lima, from the
manner of building which they found generally
eſtabliſhed. Accordingly, when the natives of
the country faw them open deep trenches, and
make uſe of cement, they faid that their tyrants
were digging graves to bury themſelves in; and,
perhaps, it was fome confolation to the wretched-
nefs
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
171
VII.
nefs of the conquered to forefee, that the earth BOOK
would one day take upon itſelf to avenge them
of their deſtroyers.
THE prediction hath been fulfilled. The ca-
pital of Peru, after having been partially fub-
verted by eleven earthquakes, was at length
totally deſtroyed by the twelfth. On the 28th
of October 1746, at half an hour after ten at
night, all, or almoſt all the buildings, whether
large or ſmall, were thrown down in the ſpace of
three minutes. Thirteen hundred perfons were
cruſhed under the ruins. A much more confi-
derable number were mutilated; and most of
them expired in horrid torments.
CALLAO, which ferves as a harbour to Lima,
was likewife overthrown; but this was the leaft
of its misfortunes. The fea, which had ftarted
back with horror at the inftant of this dreadful
cataſtrophe, foon returned to invade with its
impetuous waves the space it had quitted. It
fwallowed up the few houſes and fortifications
that had eſcaped the former danger. Of the
four thousand inhabitants that were computed to
be in this celebrated port, there were only two
hundred faved. It then contained three and
twenty fhips; nineteen of them were fwallowed
up, and the rest thrown very far in upon the
land by the irritated ocean.
THE ravage extended itſelf all over the coaft.
The few veffels there were in theſe bad harbours
were fhattered. The towns in the vallies fuf-
tained in general fome damages; feveral of them
even were totally fubverted. Among the moun-
tains,
I
172
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK tains, four or five volcanos threw out ſuch pro-
digious columns of water, that the whole country
was deluged by them.
THE minds of men, which had been for a long
time in a ſtate of lethargy, were roufed by this
fatal calamity; and it was Lima that firſt ſet the
example of the change. The bufinefs was to
clear away immenfe ruins heaped one upon ano-
ther; and to get out prodigious treaſures that were
buried in theſe ruins. It was neceffary to bring
from Guayaquil, and from a ftill greater diftance,
every requifite for the conftruction of numberleſs
edifices; and with all theſe materials, collected
from theſe different regions, to raiſe a city fupe-
rior to that which had been deſtroyed. Theſe
miracles, which were not to be expected from an
indolent and effeminate people, were performed
with great rapidity. Neceffity infpired them
with activity, emulation, and induſtry. Lima,
though, perhaps, lefs wealthy, is at prefent more
agreeable than in 1682, when its gates pre-
fented to the view of the duke of Palata, the
viceroy, on his entering, ftreets paved with filver.
It is alfo built with greater folidity, and for the
following reafon :
THE vanity of having palaces, concealed for a
long time from the inhabitants of the capital of
Peru, the dangers to which this abfurd oftenta-
tion expoſed them. In vain had the earth fwal-
lowed up at different periods theſe enormous
maffes; the leffon was never powerful enough to
correct them. The laſt cataſtrophe hath at length
opened their eyes. They have yielded to necef-
fity,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
173
VII.
fity, and have at laft followed the example of 800K
other Spaniards fettled in the vallies.
THE houſes are at prefent very low, and have
moſt of them no more than a ground-floor. For
walls they have pofts placed at different diſtances.
The intervals are filled up with reeds, nearly
fimilar to ours, but which have no cavity, which
are very ſolid, which do not eafily rot, and which
are covered over with clay. Thefe fingular edi-
fices are topped with a wooden roof entirely flat,
and alſo covered with clay, a fufficient precaution
in a climate where it never rains. The feveral
parts of theſe buildings are faftened together,
and to the foundations with a ftrong kind of
ofier, which in the country is called chaglar.
With this kind of construction, the whole build-
ing readily yields to the motion communicated to
it by the earthquakes. They may poffibly be
damaged by the convulfive motions of nature, but
they cannot be eafily thrown down.
✓
THESE houſes, however, are not deficient in
appearance. The attention that is taken to paint
the walls and cornices, fo as to refemble free-
stone, conceals the quality of the materials of
which they are formed. They are even found to
have an air of grandeur and folidity, which it
would not be natural to expect. The defect of
conſtruction is ftill more concealed in the infide
of the houſes, where all the ornaments are
painted in a ſtyle of greater or lefs elegance.
The ordinary method of conftruction hath been
but a little deviated from in the public buildings.
Several of them are raiſed to the height of ten
feet,
:
174
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK feet, with bricks baked in the fun; fome of the
churches even are raiſed to the fame height in
ftone. The reſt of theſe monuments are in wood,
painted or gilt; as well as the columns and ftatues
which decorate them.
THE ſtreets of Lima are wide, parallel, and
interſect each other at right angles. Its walls
are continually washed and refreſhed by waters
brought from the river of Rimac. The water
that is not employed in this falutary purpoſe, is
advantageouſly diftributed for the convenience
of the citizens, for the ufe of-the gardens, and
for fertilizing the fields.
THE fcourges of nature, which have revived
induſtry to a certain degree in Lima, have had
lefs influence on the manners of its inhabit-
ants.
SUPERSTITION, which reigns throughout the
whole extent of the Spanish dominions, hath at
Peru two fceptres at its command; one of gold,
for the ufurping and triumphant nation; the other
of iron, for the enſlaved and pillaged inhabitants.
The fcapulary and the rofary are all the tokens
of religion which the monks require of the Spa-
niards of Peru. It is on the form and colour
of theſe kinds of talifmans that the populace
and the grandees found the profperity of their
undertakings, the fuccefs of their amorous in-
trigues, and the hopes of their falvation. The
monkiſh habit, affumed in the last moments,
conftitutes the ſecurity of opulent people who have
lived ill; they are convinced, that when wrapped
in this clothing, which is fo formidable to the
devil,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
175
1
devil, that avenging power of crimes will not
dare to defcend into their graves and feize
upon their fouls. If their afhes repofe near
the altar, they hope to partake of the facrifices
of the pontiffs, much more than the poor and the
flaves.
INFLUENCED by fuch fatal errors, what en-
ormities will they not commit to acquire riches,
which fecure their happineſs in this world and in
the next? The vanity of immortalizing their
name, and the promiſe of eternal life, fecure to
the monks a fortune, which can no longer be
enjoyed; and families are diſappointed of an in-
heritance, whether acquired by honefty or fraud,
by legacies which ferve to enrich men who have
diſcovered the fecret of efcaping poverty by de-
voting themſelves to it. Thus it is that the
order of fentiments, ideaș, and things, is fub-
verted; and the children of opulent fathers are
condemned to mifery by the pious rapacioufnefs
of a number of voluntary mendicants. The
Engliſh, the Dutch, and the French, lofe their
national prejudices by travelling; the Spaniard
carries his along with him throughout the whole
univerfe; and fuch is the madnefs of bequeath-
ing legacies to the church, that the ground of all
the houfes of Peru belongs to the priesthood, or
pays them fome fhare of rent. The inftitution
of monkiſh orders hath done at Peru, what the
law of the Vacuf will do, fooner or later, at Con-
ftantinople. Here the people bequeath their
fortunes to a minaret, in order to fecure it to
BOOK
their
VII.
1
J
176
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK their heirs; there they deprive an heir of it, by
VII. leaving it to a monaftery from the dread of being
damned. The motives are a little different, but
in the end the effect is the fame. In both coun-
tries the church is the gulph, in which all the
riches are abforbed; and thefe Caftilians, who
were heretofore fo formidable, ſhrink before fu-
perſtition, as Afiatic flaves do in the prefence of
their defpot.
THESE extravagancies might induce one to
ſuppoſe theſe people totally ftupid; but this
would be an injuftice. Since the beginning of
the century, good books are common enough at
Lima; the people are not entirely deftitute of
knowledge; and we may be allowed to fay, that
the French navigators, during the war for the
fucceffion, implanted fome good principles
Nevertheleſs the ancient habits.
among them.
have loft but little of their force. The Spaniſh
Creole lives conftantly among courtezans, or
amufes himſelf at home in drinking the herb of
Paraguay. He would be afraid to diminish the
joys of love by confining it within legitimate
bonds. His inclination leads him to marry in
the country behind the church, that is an ex-
preffion, which fignifies living in a ſtate of con-
cubinage. In vain do the bishops anathematize
every year, at Eafter, thofe perfons who are
united in theſe illicit bonds. But what power
have theſe vain terrors against the impulfe of
amorous defires, againſt cuſtom, and efpecially
againſt the climate, which is continually ftrug-
gling with, and at laft proves victorious over,
all
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
177
}
VII.
all the civil and religious laws that oppofe its BOOK
influence?
THE charms of the Peruvian women are fupe-
rior to the terror which the fpiritual arms of
Rome infpire. The majority of them, efpecially
the women of Lima, have eyes fparkling with
vivacity, a fair ſkin, a complexion that is deli-
cate, animated, full of ſprightlineſs and life, and
a flender and well-formed fhape; a foot better
turned and ſmaller than that of the Spaniſh wo-
men themſelves; thick and black hair, flowing
as if by chance, and without ornament, over
their neck and fhoulders; which are extremely
white.
THESE Various natural graces are heightened
by every improvement that art can add to them.
The clothing of the women is moft fumptuous,
and they uſe an unbounded profufion of pearls
and diamonds, in every kind of dreſs in which it
is poffible to introduce them. It is even looked
upon as a fort of grandeur and dignity, to fuffer
theſe valuable articles to be miſlaid or loft. A
woman even who hath no titles, and is not en-
nobled, feldom appears in public without gold
tiffues, and without jewels. She never goes out
without being attended by three or four flaves,
moſt of them mulatto women, in liveries as
the men are, and adorned with lace as their mif-
treffes.
PERFUMES are in general uſe at Lima. The
women are never without amber; they fcent their
linen and their clothes with it, and even their
nofegays, as if there were fomething wanting to
VOL. IV.
N
the
178
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII,
BOOK the natural perfume of flowers. The amber is
undoubtedly an additional allurement to the men,
and the flowers impart a new attraction to the
With theſe they adorn their fleeves,
and fometimes their hair, like fhepherdeffes.
women.
THE tafte for mufic, which prevails through-
out all Peru, is converted into a paffion in the
capital. The walls refound with nothing but
finging, and concerts of vocal and inſtrumental
mufic. Balls are frequent. The people dance
here with furpriſing lightnefs; but they neglect
the graces of the arms, to attend to the agility
of the feet, and efpecially to the inflections of
the body; as images of the true emotions of
voluptuoufnefs.
SUCH are the pleaſures which the women, who
are all dreffed rather with elegance than modefty,
taſte and diffuſe at Lima. But it is particularly
in thoſe delicious faloons where they receive
company, that they appear feducing. There,
careleſsly reclined on a couch, which is a foot and
a half high, and five or fix feet wide, and upon
carpets and fuperb cuſhions, they paſs their days
in tranquillity and in delicious repofe. The men,
who are admitted to their converfation, feat
themſelves at ſome diſtance, unleſs their adorers,
from greater intimacy, be permitted to come up
to the couch, which is, as it were, the fanctuary
of worship and of the idol. Yet thefe goddeffes
chooſe rather to be affable than haughty; and,
baniſhing ceremony, they play on the harp and
guittar, and fing and dance when they are
defired.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
179
VII.
THE most diftinguiſhed citizens find in thofe BOOK
majorafcos, or perpetual entails, tranfmitted to
them by the first conquerors their anceſtors, a
fufficiency to anſwer thefe profufions: but the
landed eſtates have not been adequate to the
expences of a great number, even of very an-
cient families. Moft of them have had recourſe
to trade. An employment fo worthy of man,
and which extends at once his activity, his know-
ledge, and his power, hath never appeared to
them to derogate from their nobility; and the
laws have given a fanction to a mode of think-
ing fo rational and fo ufeful. Their capitals,
added to the remittances that are continually fent
from the inland countries, have rendered Lima
the centre of all the tranfactions which the pro-
vinces of Peru carry on, either among them-
felves, or with Mexico and Chili; and of the more
important ones with the mother-country.
only Panama was
for a long
The time the
channel of
by comm
communi❤
cation be-
of cati
tween Peru
THE ftraits of Magellan appeared the
open way to form this laft connection.
length of the paffage, the terror infpired
ftormy and almoſt unknown feas, the fear
exciting the ambition of other nations,, the im- and Spain.
poffibility of finding an aſylum in cafe of unfor-
tunate accidents, and other confiderations, per-
haps, turned the general views towards Pa-
hama.
THIS town, which had been the gate through
which an entrance had been gained into Peru,
had risen to great profperity, when, in 1670,
it was pillaged and burnt by pirates. It was re-
built on a more advantageous fpot, at the distance
N 2
of
Manner in
which this
trade was
carried on,
!
180
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK of four or five miles from the firft, and of three
VII.
leagues from the harbour of Perico, which is
formed by a great number of iflands, and fuffici-
ently ſpacious to contain the moft numerous fleets.
It rules over the provinces of Panama, the Ve-
raguas, and Darien, regions without inhabit-
ants, without culture, and without riches, and
which were decorated with the great name of the
kingdom of Terra Firma, at a period when great
expectations were entertained of their mines.
Panama hath never furniſhed any thing to trade
from its own produce, except pearls.
THE pearl fishery is carried on in forty-three
iflands of the gulph. The greateſt part of the
inhabitants employ fuch of their Negroes in it as
are good fwimmers. Theſe flaves plunge and
replunge in the fea in fearch of pearls, till this
exercife hath exhaufted their ftrength or their
fpirits.
EVERY Negro is obliged to deliver a certain
number of oyfters. Thofe in which there are no
pearls, or in which the pearl is not entirely
formed, are not reckoned. What he is able to
find beyond the ftipulated obligation, is confi-
dered as his indifputable property: he may fell it
to whom he thinks proper, but commonly he cedes
it to his maſter at a moderate price.
SEA monsters, which abound more about the
islands where pearls are found than on the neigh-
bouring coafts, render this fishing dangerous.
Some of theſe devour the divers in an inſtant.
The manta fiſh, which derives its name from its
figure, rolls them under its body, and fuffocates
them.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
181
VII,
them. In order to defend themfelves against BOOK
fuch enemies, every diver is armed with a poniard:
the moment he perceives any of theſe voracious
fish, he attacks them with precaution, wounds
them, and drives them away. Notwithstanding
this, there are always fome fishermen deftroyed,
and a great number crippled.
fine water.
THE pearls of Panama are commonly of a very
Some of them are even remarkable
for their fize and figure: thefe were formerly fold
in Europe. Since art hath imitated them, and the
paffion for diamonds hath entirely fuperfeded or
diminiſhed the uſe of them, they are all carried
to Peru.
THIS branch of trade hath, however, infinitely
lefs contributed to give reputation to Panama,
than the advantage which it enjoyed of being
the ſtaple of all the productions of the country of
the Incas, that are deftined for the Old World.
Theſe riches, which were brought hither by a
fmall fleet, were carried, fome on mules, others
by the river Chagre, to Porto Bello, that is
fituated on the northern coaft of the ifthmus which
ſeparates the two feas.
THOUGH the fituation of this town had been
furveyed and approved by Columbus in 1502, it
was not built till 1584, from the ruins of Nom-
bre de Dios. It is difpofed in the form of a cref-
cent, on the declivity of a mountain which fur-
rounds the harbour. This celebrated harbour,
which was formerly very well defended by forts,
which Admiral Vernon deſtroyed in 1740, ſeems
to afford an entrance fix hundred toifes broad;
N 3
but
3
182
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK but it is fo ftraitened by rocks that are near the
furface of the water, that it is reduced to a very
narrow canal. Veffels can only be towed into
it, becauſe they always experience either contrary
winds or a great calm. Here they enjoy perfect¸
fecurity.
THE intemperature of the climate of Porto
Bello is fo notorious, that it hath been named the
grave of the Spaniards. It hath been more than
once neceffary to leave fhips here, becauſe all
their crews had perifhed. The inhabitants them-
felves do not live long, and have all a vitiated
conftitution. It is rather a difgrace to refide
here. Some Negroes and Mulattoes only are to
be met with, with a fmall number of white
people, fixed by the pofts they hold under go-
vernment. The garrifon itſelf, though only
confifting of a hundred and fifty men, doth not'
continue here more than three months at one
time. Till the beginning of the prefent century
no woman dared to lie in here: fhe would have
deemed it devoting both her child and herfelf to
certain death. The plants that are tranſplanted
into this fatal region, where the heat, the moiſture,
and the vapours are exceffive and continual,
have never profpered. It is an eſtabliſhed opi-
nion, that the domeftic animals of Europe, which
have prodigiouſly multiplied in all the parts of
the New World, loſe their fruitfulneſs on coming
to Porto Bello; and if we may judge by the few
that are now there, notwithſtanding the abun-
dance of paſtures, we might be induced to believe
that this opinion is not ill founded.
8
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
183
VII.
THE badneſs of the climate prevented not Porto BOOK
Bello from becoming at firft the centre of the moſt
extenſive commerce that ever exifted. While the
riches of the New World arrived there, to be
exchanged for the productions of the Old, the
veffels that failed from Spain, known by the
name of galleons, came hither, laden with all
the articles of neceffity, convenience, and lux-
ury, which could tempt the proprietors of the
mines.
THE deputies for tranfacting this commerce, on
both fides, regulated on board the admiral's fhip
the price of goods, under the infpection of the
commander of the fquadron and of the governor
of Panama. The eftimate was not adjuſted by
the intrinfic value of each article, but by its
fcarcity or plenty. The ability of the agents
confifted in forming their combinations fo judi-
ciouſly, that the cargo imported from Europe
fhould abforb all the treaſures that were come
from Peru. It was regarded as a bad market,
when there were found goods neglected for want
of money, or money not laid out for want of
goods. In this cafe only, the Spanish merchants
were allowed to go and complete the fale of their
merchandiſe in the South Seas, and the Peruvian
merchants were permitted to make remittances to
the mother-country for their purchaſes.
As foon as the prices were fettled, the traffic
commenced. This was neither tedious nor diffi-
cult; it was carried on with the utmoſt frank-
nefs. Every thing was tranfacted with fo much
honefty, that they never opened their chefts of
piaftres,
N 4.
184.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK piaftres, nor proved the contents of their bales.
воок
VH. This reciprocal confidence was never deceived.
There were found, more than once, facks of gold
mixed among facks of filver, and articles which
were not entered on the invoice. Thefe mif-
takes were rectified before the departure of the
ſhips, or on their return. There only happened
in 1654, an event which might have interrupted
this confidence. It was found in Europe, that all
the piaftres that were received at the laft fair,
had a fifth of alloy. The lofs was borne by the
Spaniſh merchants; but, as the coiners of Lima
were known to be the authors of this fraud, the
reputation of the Peruvian merchants incurred no
difgrace.
THE fair, the duration of which, on account
of the noxious qualities of the air, was limited to
forty days, was regularly holden. It is clear
from the acts of 1595, that the galleons muſt
have been diſpatched from Spain every year, or
at the lateſt every eighteen months; and the
twelve fleets that failed from the fourth of Auguſt
1628, to the third of June 1635, prove that this
rule was ftricty obferved. They returned after
a voyage of eleven, ten, and fometimes even
eight months, laden with immenfe riches, in
gold, filver, and merchandiſe.
THIS profperity continued without interruption
to the middle of the feventeenth century. After
the loss of Jamaica, a confiderable contraband
trade took place, which till that time had been
trifling. The facking of Panama in 1670, by
John Morgan the English pirate, was attended
with
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
185
BOOK
VII.
:
with ftill more diftrefsful confequences. Peru, BooK
which fent its ftock before-hand into this city,
now no longer tranfmitted it till after the arrival
of the galleons at Carthagena. This alteration
occafioned delays and uncertainties. The fairs
were not much frequented, and fmuggling in-
creaſed.
THE elevation of a French prince to the throne
of Charles V. excited a general war; and at the
very commencement of hoftilities, the galleons
were burnt in the port of Vigo; where the im-
poffibility of gaining Cadiz had obliged them to
take refuge. The communication of Spain with
Porto Bello was then totally interrupted; and the
South Sea had, more than ever, direct and regular
connections with foreign powers.
THE peace of Utrecht did not put an end to
the miſchief. The unfortunate fituation of cir-
cumſtances, made it impoffible for the court of
Madrid to difpenfe with granting exclufively to
an Engliſh Company the privilege of providing
Peru with flaves. They were even obliged to
grant to this encroaching company the right of
fending to each fair a veffel laden with the dif-
ferent merchandiſe that the country confumed.
This veffel, which ought not to have been of
more than five hundred tons burthen, always
carried more than a thouſand. It was neither
furniſhed with water nor provifions. Four or
five veffels, which followed it, fupplied its wants;
and frequently fubftituted new goods in the
place of fuch as had been fold. The galleons,
ruined by this competition, were ſtill more com-
pletely
116
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
Vil.
BOOK pletely fo by the fraudulent tranfactions carried
on in all the ports to which the Negroes were
conveyed. At laft, after the expedition of 1737,
it was impoffible to fupport this commerce any
longer; and a ftop was put to thofe famous fairs
envied by all nations, though they ought to have
been regarded as the common treaſure of all
people.
The Spani-
ards have
the route
through the
Magellan
Horn to that
+
FROM this period Panama and Porto Bello
have aftonishingly declined. Theſe two towns.
now only ſerve to carry on a few branches of a
languid trade. Affairs of greater importance have
been turned into another channel.
It is well known that Magellan difcovered, in
fubftituted 1520, at the fouthern extremity of America, the
famous Streight which bears his name. He faw
freights of there, and they have been frequently feen fince,
and by Cape men who were about a foot higher than Euro-
of Panama. peans. Other navigators have only feen in the
fame latitudes men of an ordinary ftature.
During the courſe of two centuries, navigators
have mutually accuſed each other of ignorance,
prejudice, and impofture. At length fome
voyagers have been fortunate enough to meet
with hords of a common fize, and others of a
more elevated ſtature; and they have concluded
from this decifive event, that the perfons who
had gone before them had been right in what
they affirmed, and wrong in what they denied..
Then only it occurred, that there were no fixed
inhabitants in theſe uncultivated regions; that
the people came there from countries more or lefs
diftant; and that it was probable that the favages
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
187
:
VII.
of one diſtrict were taller than that of another. BOOK
This conjecture hath been fupported by natural
philofophy. It can never indeed be reaſonably
imagined, that nature deviates more from her
principles, in producing thoſe perſons whom we
chooſe to call giants, than in giving birth to thofe
we call dwarfs.
THERE are giants and dwarfs in all countries.
There are giants, dwarfs, and men of a common
fize, born of the fame father and the fame mother,
There are giants and dwarfs in every fpecies of
animals, trees, fruits, and plants; and whatever
fyftem of generation we may adopt, we have no
greater reaſon to be aſtoniſhed at the difference
of ftature between men of the fame family, or of
different families, than to fee fruits of a different
fize upon a neighbouring tree, or upon the fame.
The man who fhall explain one of thefe phæno-
mena will explain them all.
THE Streight of Magellan is one hundred and
fourteen leagues long, and in fome places lefs
than a league in breadth. It feparates the land of
the Patagonians from the Terra del Fuego, which,
it is prefumed, were formerly one and the fame
continent. The conformity of their barren
coafts, of their rough climate, of their monftrous
rocks, of their inacceffible mountains, of their
eternal fnows, of their favage inhabitants: every
circumſtance, in a word, tends to fuggeft the idea,
that this large channel of navigation is the effect
of one of thoſe natural revolutions which fo often
change the face of the globe.
THOUGH
188
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VII.
THOUGH it was for a long time the only paffage
known into the South Sea, the dangers incurred
there cauſed it almoft to be forgotten. The
boldness of Drake, the celebrated navigator, who
failed by this track to ravage the coafts of Peru,
determined the Spaniards, in 1582, to form a
confiderable fettlement there, deſtined to preferve
this rich part of the New World from invafion.
This new colony periſhed almoft entirely for want
of provifions.
PEDRO SARMIENTO, who was charged with this'
important enterprife, fet out from Europe in 1581,
with twenty-three fhips, and three thouſand five
hundred men. The expedition was thwarted by
fo many repeated calamities, that the admiral ar-
rived the following year at the Streight with only
four hundred men, thirty women, and provifions
for ſeven or eight months. The deplorable re-
mains of fo fine a colony were fettled at Phillipe-
ville, in a fafe, commodious, and fpacious bay.
But the misfortunes that had fo cruelly attacked
the Spaniards in their paffage, obftinately pur-
fued them at the end of their voyage. No fuc-
cour was ſent to them; the country furnished
them no fubfiftence, and they perifhed with mi-
fery. Of the four-and-twenty wretches who had
eſcaped this terrible calamity, three-and-twenty,
whoſe fate hath always remained unknown, em-
barked for the river Plata. Fernando Gomez,
the only one that remained, was taken up in 1587,
by the Engliſh pirate Cavendish, who gave to the
place where he had found him, the name of Part
Famine.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
189
VII.
:
THE lofs of this colony was not, however, at- Boo K
tended with fuch confequences as had been appre-
hended. The Streights of Magellan foon ceaſed
to be the road of thefe pirates, who were urged
by their mercenary views to viſit theſe remote re-
gions. In 1616, fome Dutch navigators having
doubled Cape Horn, this became afterwards the
road which the enemies of Spain followed, who
defigned to paſs into the South Sea. It was ftill
more frequented by French veffels, during the
war which caufed fuch confufion in Europe at
the beginning of the prefent century. The im-
poffibility which Philip V. felt of furniſhing his
colonies himſelf with provifions, emboldened the
fubjects of his grandfather to go to Peru. The
want of every thing, which the inhabitants then
experienced, made the French to be received
with joy; and at firſt they got a profit of eight
hundred per cent. The merchants of Saint Malo,
who had feized upon this commerce, did not ac-
quire riches for themſelves alone. In 1709, they
delivered them up to their country, which was
exhauſted by the inclemency of the feafons, by
repeated defeats, and by an ignorant and arbitrary
adminiſtration. A navigation, which allowed of
fuch noble facrifices, foon excited an emulation
that was too univerfal. The competition became
fo confiderable, and the goods fell into fuch dif-
repute, that it was impoffible to fell them; and
feveral privateers burnt them, that they might not
be obliged to carry them back into their country.
The equilibrium was not long in re-eſtabliſhing
itfelf; and theſe foreign traders made advantages
that
190
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRÅDE
BOOK that were confiderable, when the court of Madrid,
VII.
Is Peru as
rich as it was
in 1718, took effectual meaſures to remove them
from theſe latitudes, which they had but too long
frequented.
It was not, however, till 1740 that the Spa-
niards began themſelves to double Cape Horn.
They employed fhips and pilots from Saint Malo
in their firft voyages: but a little experience foon
enabled them to go without theſe foreign affift-
ances; and theſe ſtormy ſeas foon grew more fa-
miliar to their navigators, than they had ever been
to their maſters in this career.
TILL then the high opinion that had been al-
formerly ways entertained, and for a long time with reaſon,
of the riches of Peru, had been kept up. The
court of Spain accufed the fmuggling trade of
having turned afide the greateſt part of them;
and they flattered themſelves that the new ſyſtem
they adopted, would bring them back into their
ports, in as great abundance, as at the moſt
diftant periods. A demonſtration, to which it was
impoffible not to accede, convinced the moſt in-
credulous perfons, that the mines of this part of
the New World were no longer what they had
been; and that the void they had left, had not
been filled up by any other objects.
FROM 1748 to 1753, Lima received from
Spain, for all Peru, ten fhips, which brought
back every year 30,764,617 livres *.
fum was compofed of 4,594,192 livres † in
gold; of 20,673,657 livres in filver ;
* 1,281,8591. os. 8d.
‡ 861,4021. 7s. 6d.
This
† 191,4041. 13.5. 6d.
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
191
and of 5,496,768 livres in various produc- BOOK
tions.
THESE productions were thirty-one thouſand
quintals of cacao, which were fold in Europe for
3,240,000 livres t. Six hundred quintals of bark,
which were fold for 207,360 livres ‡. Four
hundred and feventy quintals of Vicuna wool,
which were fold for 324,000 livres §. Ten thou-
fand eight hundred and fifty quintals of copper,
which were fold for 810,108 livres . Ten thou-
fand fix hundred quintals of tin, which were fold
for 915,300 livres T.
Of the gold and filver, 1,620,000 livres ** be-
longed to the government; 19,422,671 livres ††
to trade; and 4,225,178 livres ‡‡ to the clergy,
and the civil and military officers.
Of the merchandiſe, there were 1,381,569
livres §§ for the crown; and 4,115,199 livres ||||
for the merchants.
TIME hath produced fome little change in af-
fairs, but the improvement is not confiderable.
* 229,0321. 10s.
‡ 8,6401.
|| 33,7921.
** 67,5001.
‡‡ 176,0491. 1s. 8d.
171,4661. 12s. 6d.
† 135,000l.
§ 13,5001.
38,1371. 10s.
†† 809,2771. 19s. 2d.
§§ 57,5651. 7s. 6d.
VII.
192
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
Have the
Europeans
had a right
to found co-
lonies in the
New World?
воок
VIII.
Conquest of Chili and Paraguay by the Spa-
niards. Account of the Events that have
accompanied and followed the Invasion of
thefe Countries. Principles on which Spain
regulates her Colonies.
REA
EASON and equity both allow the founda-
tion of colonies: but they point out the
principles from which we ought not to deviate in
eſtabliſhing them.
ANY number of men, however confiderable,
coming into a foreign and unknown country, are
to be confidered only as one fingle man. Strength
increaſes with numbers, but the right is ſtill the
fame. If one or two hundred men can ſay, this
country belongs to us; one man may fay the fame.
THE Country is either defert, or partly deſert;
and partly peopled, or it is entirely peopled.
If it be entirely peopled, I have no right to
claim any thing but hofpitality, and the affift-
ance which one man owes to another, If I
fhould be expoſed to perifh with cold or hunger
upon any fhore, I fhall make uſe of my weapon,
I fhall take what I want by force, and I fhall kill
any one who refifts me. But when I have ob-
tained an aſylum, fire and water, bread and falt,
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
193
1
me.
VIII.
the people have fulfilled their obligations towards BOOK
If I require more, I become a thief and an
affaffin. I have been however fuffered to remain
among them, and have made myfelf acquainted
with their laws and manners. They fuit my in-
clinations, and I am defirous of fettling in the
country. If the people confent, it is a favour
they do me; if they refuſe, I have no right to be
offended. The Chineſe are perhaps bad politi-
cians, when they fhut the gates of their empire
against us; but they are not unjuft. Their coun-
try is fufficiently populous, and we are guefts of
too dangerous a nature.
If the country be partly deſert and partly oc-
cupied, the deferted part belongs to me; for I
may take poffeffion of it by my labour. The
former inhabitant would be barbarous if he came
fuddenly to overthrow my hut, deftroy my plant-
ations, and pillage my fields. I may repel his
irruption by force. I may extend my domain to
the confines of his. The forefts, the rivers, and
the ſhores of the fea, are common to us both,
unleſs the exclufive uſe of them fhould be necef-
fary to his fubfiftence. All he can require of me
further is, that I fhould be a peaceable neigh-
bour, and that my eſtabliſhment fhould have no
threatening afpect to him. Every nation is au-
thoriſed to provide for its future and prefent
fafety. If I make a formidable inclofure, if I
collect arms, if I raife fortifications, its deputies
will be wife if they come to tell me : Art thou
our friend or our enemy? If a friend, what is the
ufe of all theſe warlike preparations? If an
VOL. IV.
enemy,
194
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK enemy, you will give us leave to deftroy them;
➡and the nation will act prudently, if at the in-
ftant they get rid of their well-founded appre-
henfions. With much greater reafon may they
expel and exterminate me, without offence to
the laws of humanity and juftice, if I feize upon
their wives, their children, or their property; if
I make any attempts againſt their civil liberty;
if I reftrain them in their religious opinions; if
I pretend to give them laws; and if I wish to
enflave them. I then become one wild beaft
more in their neighbourhood; and they owe me
no more pity than they would a tiger. If I have
provifions which they want, and if they have fome
that are uſeful to me, I may propofe exchanges.
We are both of us at liberty to fet what price we
- chooſe on what belongs to us. A needle is of
more real value to a people reduced to the necef-
fity of fowing the ſkins of the beaſts which cover
them, with the bone of a fish, than their filver
can be to me. A fabre, or a hatchet, will be of
infinite value to him who fupplies the place of
theſe inſtruments with cutting ftones,
fixed in a
piece of wood hardened in the fire. Befides, I
have croffed the feas to bring theſe uſeful ar-
ticles, and I fhall croſs them again to carry back
into my country the things I have taken in
exchange. The expences of the voyage, the
averages, and the dangers, muft therefore enter
into the calculation. If I laugh within myſelf
at the abfurdity of the man who gives me up his
gold for iron, he, in his turn, laughs at me, who
give him up my iron, all the uſefulneſs of which
he
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
195
VIII.
he knows, for his gold which is of no fervice to BOOK
him. We are both mutually impofed upon, or
rather, indeed, there is no impofition on one
fide or the other. Exchanges ought to be per-
fectly free. If I want to take away by force what
is denied me, or to compel by violence the ac-
ceptance of what is rejected, they have a legal
right to confine me, or to drive me away. If I
feize upon the foreign commodity without offer-
ing the price for it, or if I carry it away clandef
tinely, I am a thief, who may be killed without
ſcruple.
A DESERT and uninhabited country is the only
one we can appropriate to ourſelves. The firſt
diſcovery, being well afcertained, was a legiti-
mate taking of poffeffion.
FROM theſe principles, which appear to me
founded in truth, let the European nations judge
of themſelves, and give themſelves what name
they deſerve. Their navigators arrive in a part
of the New World, which is not occupied by any
of the people belonging to the Old, and they
immediately bury in the ground a fmall plate of
metal upon which they have engraved thefe.
words: THIS DISTRICT BELONGS TO US. And
why does it belong to you? Are you not as
unjust and as foolifh as favages, who, being
thrown by chance upon your coafts, fhould write
upon the fand of your fhore, or upon the bark
of your trees: THIS COUNTRY BELONGS TO US?
You have no right over the infenfible and brute
part of the creation, over the foil where you
land, and yet you arrogate one over man, who is
O 2
your
196
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK your fellow-creature. Inftead of acknowledging
in this man a brother, you confider him only as a
ſlave or beaſt of burthen. O my fellow-citizens!
you think and you act in this manner, although
you have notions of justice, a fyftem of morality,
a holy religion, and one common Parent with
thoſe whom you treat fo tyrannically. This re-
proach fhould be addreffed more particularly to
the Spaniards; and it will unfortunately be ftill
more juftified by the enormities they have com-
mitted in the country of Chili.
First in up-
tions of the
Spaniards
THIS region, fuch as it is poffeffed by the
Spaniards, hath one common breadth of thirty
into Chili. leagues between the fea and the Cordeleras, and
nine hundred leagues of coaft, from the great
defert of Atacamas, which ſeparates it from Peru,
to the iſlands of Chiloe, which divide it from the
country of the Patagonians.
THE Incas had prevailed upon part of the inha-
bitants of this vaſt region to ſubmit to their wife
laws, and intended to fubdue the whole, had they
not met with infuperable difficulties.
THIS important project was refumed by the
Spaniards, as foon as they had conquered the
principal provinces of Peru. In the beginning
of 1535, Almagro fet out from Cufco with five
hundred and feventy Europeans, and fifteen
thousand Peruvians. He traverfed at first the.
country of Carcas, to which the mines of Potofi
have fince given fo much celebrity. To go from
this country to Chili, there were but two ways
known, and they were both confidered as im-
practicable. The first prefented along the bor-
ders
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
197
;
VIII.
ders of the fea, nothing but burning fands, with- BOOK
out water and without fubfiftence. To purfue
the ſecond, it was neceffary to cross very fteep
mountains of a prodigious height, and covered
with fnows as old as the creation. Theſe diffi-
culties did not difcourage the general; and he
determined upon the laſt of theſe, for no other rea-
fon than becauſe it was the fhorteft. His ambi-
tion was the deftruction of one hundred and fifty
Spaniards, and ten thoufand Indians: but at
length he accompliſhed his defign, and was re-
ceived with the greateft marks of fubmiffion by
the nations that had been formerly under the
dominion of the empire that had just been fub-
verted. The terror of his arms would, probably,
have procured him greater advantages, had not
fome concerns of a private nature brought him
back to the centre of the empire. His little
army refuſed to repafs the Cordeleras; and he
was obliged to bring it back by the way he had
first neglected. It accidentally met with fo many
fortunate circumstances, that it fuffered much
lefs than had been expected. This good fuccefs
enlarged the views of Almagro, and precipitated
him, perhaps, into thofe enterprifes, which occa-
fioned his fatal end.
THE Spaniards appeared again in Chili in 1541.
Valdivia, their leader, entered it without the leaft
oppofition. The nations that inhabited it were
no fooner recovered from the aftonishment with
which they had been ſeized at the view of the
European arms and difcipline, than they wished
to regain their independence. The war continued
O 3
incef
198
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
BOOK inceffantly for ten years. If fome diftricts, dif-
couraged by repeated loffes, refolved at laft to
ſubmit, many of them obftinately perſiſted in the
defence of their liberty, though they were gene-
rally defeated.
AN Indian captain, whofe age and infirmities
confined him to his hut, was continually told of
thefe misfortunes. The grief of feeing his people
always beaten by a handful of ſtrangers, infpired
him with courage.
He formed thirteen com-
panies of a thouſand men each, arranged them in
file, and led them againſt the enemy. If the firſt
company was routed, it was not to fall back upon
the next, but to rally, and be ſupported by it.
This order, which was ftrictly obeyed, difcon-
certed the Spaniards. They forced through all
the companies one after another, without gaining
any material advantage. As both the men and
horfes wanted reft, Valdivia retreated towards a
defile, where he judged he could eaſily defend
himself; but the Indians did not allow him time
fufficient to fecure his retreat thither. Their
rear marched through bye-ways and took poffef-
fion of the defile, while their vanguard followed
him with ſo much precaution, that he was fur-
rounded and maffacred, together with his hun-
dred and fifty men. It is faid, that the favages
poured melted gold down his throat, exclaiming
with exultation, glut thyself with that metal thou
art fo fond of. They availed themfelves of this
victory, to burn and deftroy many of the Euro-
pean fettlements, which would all have fhared
the fame fate, had not the Spaniards been time-
ly
1
·:་
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VIII.
199
ly affifted by fome confiderable reinforcements BO O K
from Peru, which enabled them to defend their
remaining pofts, and to recover thoſe they had
loft.
The Spani-
been obliged
ards have
to be conti-
nually en-
gaged in
THESE fatal hoftilities have been renewed, in
proportion as the ufurpers have wiſhed to extend
their empire, and frequently even when they did
not entertain this ambitious defign. The engage-lities
ments have been very bloody, and have fcarce in Chili.
ever been interrupted, except by truces of more
or lefs duration. Since the year 1771, however,
tranquillity hath not been diſturbed.
THE people of Arauco are the moſt common,
the most intrepid, and the moſt irreconcilable
enemies the Spaniards have in theſe regions,
They are often joined by the inhabitants of Tu-
capel, and of the river Biobio, and by thoſe who
extend towards the Cordeleras. As their manners
bear a greater reſemblance to thoſe of the favages
of North America, than to thofe of the Peruvians,
their neighbours, the confederacies they make are
always formidable.
WHEN they go to war, they carry nothing with
them, and want neither tents nor baggage. The
ſame trees from which they gather their food,
ſupply them with lances and darts. As they are fure
of finding in one place what they had in another,
they willingly refign any country which they are
unable to defend. All places are equally indif-
ferent to them. Their troops, free from all in-
cumbrance of proviſions and ammunition, march
with ſurpriſing agility. They expofe their lives
like men who fet little value on them; and, if
they
0 4
Manner in
which their
enemies
make war.
"
200
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK they loſe the field of battle, they are not at a loſs
for magazines and encampments wherever there
is ground covered with fruits.
THESE are the only people of the New World,
who have ventured to try their ſtrength with
the Spaniards in the open field, and who have
thought of the ufe of the fling to lance the ftroke
of death from afar against the enemy. They are
fo bold that they will attack the beft fortified
pofts. They fometimes fucceed in thefe violent
attacks, becauſe they are continually receiving
fuccours, which prevent them from being fenfible
of their loffes. If theſe be fo confiderable as to
oblige them to defift, they retire to the diftance
of a few leagues, and five or fix days after, they
direct their attacks to another poft. Theſe barba-
rians never think themfelves beaten unleſs they
be furrounded. If they can reach a place of dif-
ficult accefs, they think themfelves conquerors.
The head of a Spaniard, which they carry off in
triumph, comforts them for the loſs of a hundred
Indians.
A
SOMETIMES hoftilities are forefeen for a confi-
derable time before, and are concerted with pru-
dence. Very frequently a drunken fellow wan-
tonly calls to arms; the alarm is inftantly ſpread,
a chief is chofen, and war is determined.
certain night is immediately fixed upon, in the
dead of which, the time they always chufe for
the commencement of hoftilities, they fall upon
the next village where there are Spaniards, and
from thence proceed to others. They murder all
the inhabitants, except the white women, whom
they
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. ·
201
they always take to themſelves.
VIII.
This is the BOOK
origin of the many white and fair Indians that
are to be met with.
:
As theſe Americans carry on war without ex-
pence or inconvenience, they have nothing to
apprehend from its continuance; and it is a
conftant rule with them never to fue for peace.
The pride of Spain must always condefcend to
make the firft overtures. When theſe are fa-
vourably received, a conference is holden. The
governor of Chili and the Indian general, at-
tended by the moſt diſtinguiſhed captains on both
fides, fettle the terms of accommodation, at a
convivial meeting. Theſe meetings were for-
merly holden on the frontiers; but the two laſt
were in the capital of the colony. The favages
have even been prevailed upon to keep con-
ftantly fome deputies there, who are commif-
fioned to maintain harmony between the two
nations.
•
formed by
the Spani-
NOTWITHSTANDING the violence and obftinacy Settlements
of fo many engagements, feveral good fettle-
ments have been formed at Chili, chiefly on the
borders of the ocean.
COQUIMBO, or La Serena, a town built in
1544, at the diſtance of five or fix hundred toifes
from the fea, to contain the Indians, and to
fecure the communication between Chili and
Peru, was never a place of importance. It became
ſtill lefs confiderable after having been pillaged
and burnt by pirates. Notwithstanding the
fertility of its territory, and although plentiful
mines of the fineſt copper have been diſcovered
ards at
Chili.
in
}
1
202
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK in its neighbourhood, it hath never entirely got
the better of this misfortune.
VIII.
VALPARAISO was at firft nothing more than a
collection of huts, deftined to receive the mer-
chandiſe coming from Peru, and the proviſions
that were to be fent there. By degrees the
factors of this trade, which belonged entirely to
the merchants of the capital, fucceeded in ap-
propriating it to themſelves. Then this wretched
hamlet, though in a very diſagreeable fituation,
became a flourishing city. Its harbour runs a
league into the land. The bottom of it is a
tenacious and firm kind of mud. At the dif
tance of a thouſand toiſes from the fhore, there
are from thirty-fix to forty fathoms of water,
and from fifteen to fixteen quite clofe to the
fhore. In the months of April and May, the
North winds would expoſe the ſhips to fome dan-
ger, if care were not taken to faſten their anchors
ftrongly. The advantage which this port hath
of being the neareſt to the beſt plantations, and
to Saint Yago, may relieve it from the appre-
henfion of feeing its profperity diminiſh.
IN 1550, the town of La Conception was built
on an uneven and fandy foil, a little raiſed, upon
the borders of a bay which is near four leagues in
circumference, and which hath three ports, one
of which only is fafe. The town was at firft the
capital of the colony: but the neighbouring
Indians fo frequently made themſelves mafters of
it, that, in 1574, it was thought proper to de-
prive it of this uſeful and honourable diftinction.
In 1603, it was again deftroyed by an implacable
enemy.
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
203
T
enemy. Since that period it hath received very
confiderable damages from ſeveral earthquakes.
Such, however, is the excellence of its territory,
that it ftill retains fome degree of ſplendour.
Ar the diſtance of feventy-five leagues from
Conception ifland, and ftill on the borders of the
Pacific Ocean, ſtands Valdivia, a town more im-
portant than it is populous. Its harbour and
fortress, which are confidered as the key of the
South Sea, were for a long time under the imme-
diate infpection of the Viceroys of Peru. It was
at length found that this was too diſtant a ſuper-
intendence; and the place was incorporated with
the government of the province.
No one had yet thought of the iſlands of Chi-
loe. The good fortune which the Jefuits had
had, of collecting and civilizing a great number
of favages in the chief of them, which is fifty
leagues long and feven or eight broad, excited
a defire of fettling in them. In the centre are
the converted Indians. On the eaſtern coaft a
fortification named Chacao, hath been built,
where the garrifon neceffary for its defence is
maintained.
In the inland part of the country is Saint
Yago, haftily built in 1541, deſtroyed in 1730
by an earthquake, and immediately after rebuilt,
in a ſtyle ſo pleaſant, and with fuch convenien-
cies, as are very rarely found in the New World.
The houſes indeed are low, and conftructed with
bricks hardened in the fun: but they are all
white on the outfide, all painted within. They
have
BOOK
VIII.
204
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK have all large gardens, and are refreſhed with
VIII.
running ſteams. This city reckons forty thou-
fand inhabitants, and the number would be ſtill
greater, were it not for nine convents of monks,
and ſeven of nuns, which have been erected there
by fuperftition.
AMONG the number of unfortunate aufpices.
under which the diſcovery of the New World
was made, we muſt not forget the importance
which the prevailing ſpirit of fuperftition then
gave to the monks; an importance which in fome
countries hath fince been confiderably dimi-
nifhed; which feems to ftruggle powerfully
against the progrefs of fcience in others; which
fill prevails with imperious fway in thoſe poffef-
fions that are diftant from Spain, and which
would yet leave traces as permanent as they are
fatal, if even they were from this moment
counteracted by all the authority of the mi-
niftry.
SAINT YAGO is the capital of the ſtate and the
feat of empire. The commandant there is fub-
ordinate to the Viceroy of Peru in all matters
relating to the government, to the finances, and
to war: but he is independent of him as chief
adminiftrator of juſtice, and preſident of the royal.
audience. Eleven corregidors, diftributed in
the province, are charged, under his orders, with
the details of adminiftration.
A POPULATION of four or five hundred thou-
fand perfons hath fucceffively been formed in this
diftrict. There are but few here of thofe unfor-
tunate
*
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
205
1
The
1
VIII.
tunate flaves that Africa fupplies; and moft of BOOK
them are devoted to domeſtic fervice.
deſcendants of the first favages, who were fub-
dued with fo much difficulty by a ſet of ferocious
adventurers, have either taken refuge among in-
acceffible mountains, or are confounded with their
conquerors. All the colonifts are confidered and
treated as Spaniards. The pride of this defcent
hath not inſpired them with that invincible aver-
fion for uſeful labour, which is fo univerfal in
their nation. Moft of thefe healthy, active, and
robust men live upon feparate plantations, and
cultivate, with their own hands, a territory of
greater or lefs extent.
Chili, and
THEY are encouraged in thefe commendable Fertility of
labours, by a fky, always pure, and always its prefent
ferene; by a climate the moſt agreeably tem- ftate.
perate of any in the two hemifpheres; and ftill
more by a foil, the fertility of which aftoniſhes all
travellers. Upon this fortunate land, the crops
of the vine, of corn, and of the olive, although
little care hath been taken in the cultivation, are
four times as much as thofe we obtain in Europe,
with all our induſtry and with all our fkill. None
of the fruits of the earth have degenerated. Seve-
ral of our animals have improved, and the horſes,
in particular, have acquired a speed and a ſpirit,
which thoſe of Andalufia, from which they de-
fcend, never had. Nature hath carried her fa-
vours ftill farther, in beftowing upon this region
an excellent kind of copper, which is employed,
with advantage, in the Old and in the New
World. Gold is likewife found here.
BEFORE
206
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
BEFORE the year 1750, the treaſury had not
received in any year, for its twentieth of this
precious metal, more than 50,220 livres *. At
this period a mint was eſtabliſhed in the colony;
and this innovation was attended with favour-
able confequences. In 1771, the royal duties
amounted to 200,032 livres four fols†; and it
muſt have increafed confiderably fince. The
alcavala, and the cuſtoms, did not produce more
than 324,000 livres, and they now bring in
1,080,000 livres §. Theſe ſeveral branches of
revenue are increafed fince 1753, by the exclu-
five fale of tobacco.
It
ACCORDINGLY, Chili is no longer obliged to
draw any thing from the coffers of Peru for its
public expences. The moft confiderable of
thefe, is the maintenance of the troops.
amounts to 490,125 livres twelve fols ||, for the
pay of a thouſand infantry, of two hundred and
forty horſe, and of two companies of well-affected
Indians; which, fince 1754, form the eſtabliſh-
ment of the country. Exclufive of thefe forces,
which are diſtributed in the iſlands Juan Fernan-
dez, and of Chiloe, and in the ports of La Con-
ception, and of Val Paraifo, upon the frontiers of
the Andes, there is in Valdivia a particular gar-
rifon of ſeven hundred and forty-fix foldiers, the
maintenance of which cofts 655,473 livres twelve
fols ¶. Theſe means of defence' would be fup-
* 2,0921. 10 s.
↑ 13,500 1.
20,4211. 18s.
† 8,3341. 13s. 6d.
$ 45,000l.
¶ 27,3111. 8s.
I
ported,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
207
•
VIII.
ported, if neceffary, by a very numerous militia. BOOK
Perhaps, the infantry of theſe forces would make
but little reſiſtance, notwithſtanding the pains
that have been lately taken to exerciſe them: but
fome exertions might reafonably be expected
from the beſt horfemen there are, perhaps, on the
globe.
Chili with
CHILI hath always had commercial connections Trade of
with the neighbouring Indians on its frontiers, the favages,
with Peru, and with Paraguay:
with Peru,
and with
THE favages fupply it chiefly with the Pancho. Paraguay.
This is a woollen ftuff, fometimes white, and
generally blue, about three ells long, and two in
breadth. The head is paffed through a hole
made in the middle, and it falls down on all the
parts of the body. Except on occafions of fome
ceremonies that are very unfrequent, the men
and women, the common people, and perfons of
a more elevated rank, ufe no other clothing. It
cofts from thirty to one thouſand livres *, ac-
cording to the degree of its fineness, and efpe-
cially according to the borders, more or leſs
elegant, and more or leſs rich, that are added to
it. Theſe people receive in exchange fmall
looking-glaffes, toys, and fome other articles of
little value. Whatever may be their paffion for
theſe trifles, when they are diſplayed before them,
they would never go out of their forefts and fields
in fearch of them; it is therefore always neceffary
that they ſhould be carried to them. The mer-
chant who wiſhes to undertake this little trade,
* From 11. 5s." to 411. 13s. 4d.
applies
208
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK applies in the first inftance to the heads of the
VIII. families, who are the fole depofitaries of the
public authority. When he hath obtained per-
miffion to fell, he goes through the habitations,
and gives his merchandiſe indifcriminately to all
the perfons who afk for it. Having finiſhed this
bufinefs, he gives notice of his departure, and
every one who hath purchaſed any thing of him,
brings, without delay, to the village where he
first made his appearance, the goods agreed for
between them. There hath never been any in-
ftance of diſhonefty in this traffic. The merchant
is allowed an eſcort to affift him in conducting
the cloths and the cattle he hath received in pay-
ment, to the frontiers of the country.
It is not from what we find in the midſt of
forefts, but from what we obſerve in the centre
of polished focieties, that we learn to defpife and
to miſtruſt mankind. If any of our merchants,
in any one of our fairs, were indifcriminately to
diftribute his goods, without fecurity for the pay-
ment of them, to whomfoever fhould come to
receive them, is it to be imagined that he would
ever again fee the people return with the price of
the things they had purchaſed? A favage, unre-
ftrained by laws, would not be guilty of thoſe
things, which men who are under the influence
of honour, and the controul of civil and religious
laws, would not bluſh to commit, to the dif-
grace of our religion, of our policy, and of our
morals.
WINE and brandy were fold, till the year
1724, to theſe people, who, like moſt other fa-
vages,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
209
*.
vages are exceffively fond of them.
When BOOK
they were intoxicated they uſed to take up arms,
maffacre all the Spaniards they met with, and
ravage the country near their dwellings. It is
feldom that the corrupter doth not receive his
puniſhment from the very perfon he hath cor-
rupted. Frequent inftances of this are feen in
children with refpect to
reſpect to their fathers, who
have neglected their education; in women to-
wards their hufbands, whofe morals are bad; in
flaves, towards their mafters; in fubjects towards
their fovereigns, when neglected by them; in a
fubdued nation towards the ufurpers. We our-
felves have been puniſhed for the vices we have
transferred into the other hemifphere; among
ourſelves and among people of the New World,
whom we have fubdued; among ourſelves, by
the multitude of factitious wants we have created:
among them, in a variety of ways, and particu-
larly by teaching them the uſe of fpirituous
liquors, which hath often animated them with
artificial fury, which they have turned againſt us.
In whatever manner we proceed, whether by fu-
perftition, by patriotifi itfelf, or by fpirituous
liquors, in depriving man of his reaſon, it cannot
be done without fatal confequences. If we in--
toxicate him, whatever may be the nature of
the intoxication, it will foon go off, or it will be
productive of mifchief.
DRUNKENNESS, or an habitual excefs in the
uſe of ſpirituous liquors, is a coarſe and brutal
vice, which deprives the mind of its vigour,
and the body of part of its ftrength.
VOL. IV.
P
It is an
infringe-
VIII.
210
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK infringement of the law of nature, which forbids
man to forfeit his reafon, the only advantage
which diftinguiſhes him from other animals, who
live on the ſurface of the globe.
THIS irregularity, though always blameable,
is not equally fo every where, becauſe it is not
attended with the fame inconveniencies in all
regions. Generally fpeaking, it makes men
furious in hot countries, and only renders them
ſtupid in cold ones. It hath therefore been
neceffary to forbid it with more ftrictness in one
climate than in another. From hence it hath
happened, that wherever a regular form of go-
vernment hath been eftablished, this vice is be-
come more uncommon under the Equator than
towards the Pole.
THIS is not the cafe among favage nations.
Thofe of the South not being more reftrained
than thofe of the North, by the magiftrate or by
habit, they have all devoted themfelves with
equal fury to their paffion for ſtrong liquors. It
hath been a part of the policy of the Europeans, to
fupply the favages with them, either for the pur-
poſe of ſtripping or of enflaving them, or even
to induce them to employ themſelves in fome
uſeful labours. Thefe liquors have ſcarce been
leſs deſtructive to thefe people than our arms;
and we cannot forbear to rank them among the
number of calamities with which we have loaded
the other hemifphere.
1
SPAIN is to be commended for having at
length abstained from felling to the inhabitants
of Chili wine and brandy. This prudent ſtep
hath
¡
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
211
VIII.
hath evidently increafed the connections that BOOK
were kept up with them: but it is not poffible
that they ſhould for a long time become fo
confiderable as thofe that are maintained with
Peru.
CHILI fupplies Peru with hides, dried fruit,
copper, falt meat, horfes, hemp, and corn, and
receives in exchange, tobacco, ſugar, cocoa,
earthen ware, fome manufactures made at Quito,
and fome articles of luxury brought from Europe.
The ſhips fent from Callao on this traffic, which
is reciprocally uſeful, were formerly bound for
Conception Bay, but now come to Valparaiſo.
During the courſe of near a century, no naviga-
tor in thefe tranquil feas would venture to loſe
fight of land; and then theſe voyages laſted a
whole year.
!
A PILOT of the Old World having at length
obferved the winds, performed the navigation in
one month. He was confidered as a wizard, and
he was taken up by order of the inquifition,
whoſe ignorance becomes an object of ridicule,
when its cruelty doth not excite our abhorrence.
The journal he produced was his vindication
and it plainly appeared that to perform the fame
voyage, it was only neceffary to keep clear of the
coafts. His method was, therefore, univerfally
adopted.
CHILI fends to Paraguay wines, brandy, oil,
and chiefly gold; and receives in payment mules,
wax, cotton, the herb of Paraguay, Negroes,
and alſo much of the merchandife of our hemi-
ſphere, before the merchants of Lima had ob-
tained,
P 2
{
212
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
K
VIII.
BOOK tained, either by bribery, or by their influence,
that this laſt branch of commerce ſhould be pro-
hibited. The communication between the two
colonies is not carried on by fea; it hath been
found more expeditious, fafer, and even lefs ex-
penfive, to go by land, though there are three
hundred and fixty-four leagues, from St. Jago
to Buenos Ayres, and that more than forty of
thefe are amidſt the fnows and precipices of the
Cordeleras.
7
&
If the connexions between thefe two eftabliſh-
ments ſhould be multiplied or extended, they
must be kept up by the Streights of Magellan, or
by Cape Horn. It hath been hitherto a matter
of doubt which of theſe two ways was the beſt
but the problem feems to be folved by the ob-
fervations of the laft navigators. They almoft
generally prefer the Streights, on account of a
quantity of fresh water, wood, fifh, fhell-fish;
and the infinite number of plants, fpecific reme-
dies against the fcurvy, that are to be found
there. But this preference can only take place
from September to March, that is to fay, in the
fummer months. During the fhort days of
winter, it would be neceffary to fail only for
few hours, or to brave, in a channel moſt com-
monly narrow, the violence of the winds, the
rapidity of the currents, and the impetuofity of
the waves, with an almoft moral certainty of
being fhipwrecked. In this feafon of the year,
the open fea, and confequently the doubling of
Cape Horn, is to be preferred.
A NUMBER
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
213
VII.
A NUMBER of combinations palpably abfurd, BOOK
have conftantly deprived Chili of every imme-
diate connection with Spain. The little mer-
chandiſe of our hemifphere which this country
could confume, came to it from Peru, which
received them itſelf with difficulty, and at a great
expence, by the road of Panama. The fate of
Chili was not even changed, when the failing by
Cape Horn was fubftituted to that which was
practifed by the ifthmus of Darien; and it was
not till very late, that the fhips which uſed to
coaft this country in their way to Lima, were
permitted to leave fome finall portion of their
cargoes. At length, a more agreeable profpect
hath opened itſelf to this beautiful country. Since
the month of February 1778, all the ports of
the mother-country are allowed to trade there at
pleaſure. This fortunate adoption of the true
principles of commerce must be attended with
the greateſt fuccefs; and this innovation will have
the fame influence over Paraguay.
ards difcover
Extrava
THIS is an immenfe region, bounded on the The Spani-
north by Peru and the Brazils; on the ſouth by Paraguay.
the country bordering on the Streights of Ma-
gellan; on the eaft by the Brazils; and on the
weft, by Chili and Peru.
THE Paraguay derives its name from a large
river which all geographers have fuppofed to
proceed from the lake Xarayes. The Spanish
and Portugueſe commiffioners, appointed in
1751 to regulate the limits of the two empires,
were much ſurpriſed to meet each other at the
origin of this river, without having perceived
P 3
this
gance of
their con-
duct during
two centu-
ries.
214
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK this maſs of waters, which was faid to be im-
menfe. They afcertained, that what had been
before taken for a prodigious lake, was nothing
more than a very low portion of land, covered,
from the fixteenth to the nineteenth degree of
latitude, in the rainy feaſon, by the overflowings
of the river. Since that period it is known
that the Paraguay river takes its rife in the flat
country called Campo des Paracis, in the thirteenth
degree of fouthern latitude; and that towards
the eighteenth degree, it communicates, by fome
very narrow channels, with two great lakes in
the country of the Chiquitos.
BEFORE the arrival of the Spaniards, this im-
menfe country contained a great number of
nations, most of them confifting of a few families.
Their manners muſt have been the fame; and if
there had been any difference in their characters,
it would not have been perceived by the ftupid
adventurers, who had firſt fhed the blood of this
part of the New World. Theſe people lived
upon hunting, fishing, wild fruits, honey, which
was commonly found in the forefts, and roots
that grew ſpontaneous. With a view of procur-
ing greater plenty of wood, they were perpetually
wandering from one diftrict to another. As the
Indians had nothing to remove but a few earthen
veffels, and as branches of trees could be found
every where to build huts with, theſe emigrations
were attended with few incumbrances. Though
they all lived in a ſtate of abſolute independence,
yet the neceffity of mutual defence had obliged
them to connect their interefts. Some indivi-
duals
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES..
215
!
VIII.
duals united under the direction of a leader of BOOK
their own choice. Thefe affociations, which
were more or lefs numerous, in proportion to
the reputation and abilities of the chief, were as
eafly diffolved as formed.
THE diſcovery of the river Paraguay was
made in 1515, by Diaz de Solis, a noted pilot
of Caftile. He and moft of his men were maf-
facred by the natives, who, to avoid being en-
ſlaved, ſome years after alſo deſtroyed the Portu-
guefe of Brazil.
THE two rival nations, equally alarmed by
thefe calamities, gave up all thoughts of Paraguay,
and turned their avaricious views towards ano-
ther place. The Spaniards accidentally returned
there in 1526.
SEBASTIAN CABOT, who in 1496 had made the
diſcovery of Newfoundland for the crown of Eng-
land, finding that kingdom was too much taken
up with domeftic affairs to think of making fet-
tlements in a new world, offered his fervices to
Caftile, where his reputation made him be fixed
upon to conduct an important expedition.
THE Victory, celebrated for being the firft fhip
that ever failed round the world, and the only
one of Magellan's fquadron that returned to
Europe, had brought back from the East Indies a
great quantity of ſpices. The great profit that was
made from the fale of them, occafioned a fecond
expedition, the command of which was given to
Cabot. In purſuing the track of the former
voyage, he arrived at the mouth of the Plata.
Whether he was in want of provifions neceffary
P 4
for
!
216
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK for a longer voyage, or whether, which is more
probable, his men began to be mutinous, he
ftopped there. He even failed
He even failed up the river, gave
it the name of La Plata, becauſe among the
fpoils of a few Indians, inhumanly put to death,
fome ornaments of gold and filver had been
found, and built a kind of fortrefs at the entrance
of the river Riotecero, which comes down from
the mountains of Tucuman. The oppofition he
met with from the inhabitants of the country,
made him judge, that in order to form a folid
eftablishment, other means were wanting fupe-
rior to thofe he had; and, in 1530, he went to
Spain in order to folicit then. Thofe of his
companions whom he had left in the colony, were
moſt of them maffacred, and the few who escaped
from the arrows of the enemy foon followed
him.
SOME more confiderable forces, led by Men-
doza, appeared on the river in 1535, and laid
the foundations of Buenos-Ayres. They were
foon reduced to the neceffity of perifhing with
hunger within their pallifades, or of devoting
themſelves to certain death, if they ventured to
go out of them in order to procure fubfiftence.
A return into Europe feemed to be the only way
of relief from fo defperate a fituation: but the
Spaniards had perfuaded themſelves that the in-
land countries abounded in mines: and this pre-
judice induced them to perfevere. They aban-
doned a place where they could no longer re-
main, and went to found, in 1536, a colony on
the iſland of Affumption, three hundred leagues
+
1
up
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
217
VIII.
up the country, but ftill on the banks of the fame BOOK
river. By this change, they evidently removed
further from the affiftance of the mother-country,
but they imagined it brought them nearer the
fource of riches; and their avidity was ftill greater
than, their forefight.
THEY were ftill however reduced to the necef-
fity of perishing, unless they could fucceed in
diminishing the extreme antipathy the favages
bore them. The marriage of the Spaniards with
the Indian women, appeared calculated to effect
this great change; and it was accordingly refolved
upon. From the union of two fuch different na-
tions, fprang the race of the Meftees, which, in
proceſs of time, became fo common in South
America. Thus it is the fate of the Spaniards,
in all parts of the world, to be a mixed race.
The blood of the Moors ftill flows in their veins
in Europe, and that of the favages, in the other
Hemiſphere. Perhaps this mixture may be of
advantage, if it be a fact that men, as well as
animals, are improved by croffing the breed.
It were indeed to be wifhed, that the various
races of mankind were loft in one, that there
might be an end of thoſe national antipathies,
which only ferve to perpetuate the calamities of
war, and all the feveral paffions that deftroy the
human fpecies. But difcord feems to arife of
itſelf between brothers; can it therefore be ex-
pected that all mankind fhould become one fa-
mily, the children of which ſprung, as it were,
from the fame common parent, fhould no longer
thirſt
218
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK thirst after each other's blood? For is not this
VIII. fatal thirft excited and maintained by that of
gold?
It was this fhameful paffion, which kept up
the cruelty of the Spaniards, even after the con-
nections they had formed. They feemed to
puniſh the Indians for their own obftinacy in
fearching for gold where there was none. Seve-
ral ſhips, which were bringing them troops and
ammunition, were loft, with all they had on
board, by venturing too far up the river; but
even this circumftance could not prevent them
from obftinately perfifting in their avaricious
views, though they had fo long been diſappointed
in them; till they were compelled, by repeated
orders from the mother-country, to re-eſtabliſh
Buenos-Ayres.
THIS neceffary undertaking was now become
eafy. The Spaniards, who had multiplied in
Paraguay, were ftrong enough to reftrain or
deftroy the nations that might oppoſe them.
Accordingly, as it had been expected, they met
with little difficulty. Juan Ortiz de Zarate exe-
cuted the plan in 1580, and rebuilt Buenos-
Ayres upon the fame fpot which had been for-
faken for forty years. Some of the petty nations
in the neighbourhood fubmitted to the yoke.
Thoſe which were more attached to their liberty,
went to a greater diftance, with a view of re-
moving ftill further, in proportion as their op-
preffors fhould extend their eſtabliſhments. Moft
of them at laſt took refuge in Chaco,
THIS
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
219
7
VII.
Such of the
mit to the
THIS Country, which is two hundred and fifty BOOK
leagues in length, and one hundred and fifty in
breadth, is reckoned one of the beſt in America;
and it is thought to be peopled with one hundred
thouſand favages. They form, as in other parts
of the New World, a great number of nations,
forty-fix or forty-feven of which are very imper-
fectly known.
THIS region is traverfed by feveral rivers.
The Pilcomayo, more confiderable than all the
reft, iffues from the province of Charcas, and
divides into two branches, feventy leagues before
it empties itſelf into the Rio de la Plata. The
courſe of this river appeared to be the moſt con-
venient way of eſtabliſhing fettled connections.
between Paraguay and Peru. It was not, how-
ever, till 1702, that an attempt was made to
fail up it. The people who dwelt upon the
banks, underſtood very well that they fhould
ſooner or later be enflaved, if the expedition were
fuccefsful; and they prevented this misfortune by
maffacring all the Spaniards who were engaged
in it.
NINETEEN years after, the Jefuits refumed this
grand project but when they had advanced
three hundred and fifty leagues, they were forced
to put back, becauſe they were in want of water
to continue their voyage. They were blamed
for having undertaken it in the months of Sep-
tember, October, and November, which, in theſe
countries, are the dry feafons; and there is no
doubt but that the enterprife would be fuccefsful
in the other ſeaſons of the year.
THIS
1
indians as
will not fub-
yoke of
refuge at
Spain take
Chaca,
220
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK · THIS road of communication must either have
VIII. appeared lefs advantageous, or muſt have pre-
The Spani.
in founding
fented greater difficulties than were at firft con-
ceived, fince no attempt hath fince been made to
open it. The government, however, have not
entirely given up their ancient project of ſub-
duing theſe people. After incredible fatigues,
and which were for a long time uſeleſs, fome
miffionaries have at length fucceeded- in fixing
three thouſand of theſe wanderers, in fourteen
villages, feven of which are fituated on the fron-
tiers of Tucuman, four on the fide of Santa
Cruz de la Sierra, two towards Taixa, and
only one in the neighbourhood of Affumption
Inland.
NOTWITHSTANDING the frequent incurfions of
ards fucceed the inhabitants of Chaco, and the fury of fome
three large other lefs numerous colonies, Spain hath fuc-
Peculiarities ceeded in forming three great provinces in this
in each of diftrict. That which is called Tucuman, is even,
provinces.
them,
well watered, and wholefome. The cotton and
the corn that is confumed in the country, is cul-
tivated there with the greateſt fuccefs; and fome
experiments have fhewn, that indigo, and the
other productions peculiar to the New World,
would thrive there as well as in any of the fettle-
ments which they have enriched for fo long a
time. The forefts are all filled with honey; and
there are not, perhaps, better pafturages on the
face of the globe. Moſt of the woods are of a
fuperior kind. There is one tree in particular,
known by the name of Quebracho, which is
faid to be nearly as hard, as weighty, and as
durable
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
221
VIII.
durable as the beſt marble, and which, on account BOOK
of the difficulty of conveyance, is fold at Potofi
for as much as ten thouſand livres*. That por-
tion of the Andes which is in this diftrict is
abounding in gold and copper, and fome mines
have been already opened there.
But it would require an infinite number of
hands, to extract from this immenfe territory the
riches it contains. Notwithſtanding this, the per-
fons who give the moſt favourable accounts of its
population do not reckon it to amount to more
than one hundred thouſand inhabitants, Spaniards,
Indians, and Negroes. They are collected in
feven villages, of which Saint Yago del Eftero is
the principal, or are diftributed upon fcattered
domains, fome of which have more than twelve
leagues in extent, and reckon as far as forty
thouſand horned cattle, and fix thoufand horfes,
without including other herds of animals of lefs
importance.
THE province which is particularly called Pa-
raguay, is much too damp, on account of the
forefts, lakes, and rivers, with which it is co-
vered. Accordingly, exclufive of the celebrated
miffions of the fame name which belong to it, it is
not computed to contain more than fifty-fix thou-
fand inhabitants. Four hundred only are at Af-
fumption, the capital; two other villages, which
alfo bear the names of towns, have ftill a lefs
number. Fourteen colonies, governed upon the
fame principle as thofe of the Guaranis, contain
4161. 13s. 4d.
fix
223
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VII.
BOOK fix thoufand Indians. All the reft live in the coun
try places, where they cultivate tobacco, cotton,
and fugar, which are fent, with the herb of Para-
guay, to Buenos-Ayres, from whence fome mer-
cantile articles brought from Europe are received
in exchange.
THIS Country was always expofed to the excur-
fions of the Portugueſe on the eaſtern fide, and
to thoſe of the favages on the north and on the
weft. It was neceſſary to adopt fome mode of
driving back enemies that were moftly impla-
cable. Forts were conftructed; lands were appro-
priated to the maintenance of them; and every
citizen bound himſelf to defend them for a week
in every month. Thefe arrangements, anciently
made, ſtill fubfift. If, however, this fervice fhould
be difagreeable to any one, or fhould interfere
with his buſineſs, he may be freed from it by
paying from 60 to 100 livres *, according to his
fortune.
THE part which at prefent conftitutes the pro-
vince of Buenos-Ayres, was originally part of
that of Paraguay. It was not feparated from it
till 1621, and it remained for a long time in the
greateft obfcurity. A fraudulent trade, which,
after the peace of Utrecht, was opened with it
by the fettlements of the Portugueſe at Saint Sa-
crament, and which enabled it to form fixed
connections with Chili and Peru, imparted to it
fome activity. The misfortune that happened
to the fquadron under Pizarro, who in 1740 was
* From 21. 10s. to 41. 3s. 4d.
com-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
223
VIII.
commiffioned to protect the South Sea against the BOOK
forces of Great Britain, increaſed its population
and activity. They both received an addition of
extenfion from thofe enterprifing men who fettled
in this country, when the courts of Madrid and
of Liſbon undertook to fix the too uncertain limits
of their territory. At length the war carried on
in 1776, between theſe two powers, with troops
fent from Europe, contributed to give ſtill greater
folidity to the colony.
AT prefent, the two banks of the river, from
the ocean to Buenos-Ayres, and from Buenos-
Ayres to Santa-Fé, are either covered with nu-
merous flocks, or tolerably well cultivated. Corn,
maize, fruits, and pulfe, every thing, in a word,
which fupplies the ordinary wants of life, except
wine and wood, grows there in great abundance.
raguay, and
of the dif-
gators must
BUENOS-AYRES, the capital of the colony, Of the ca-
unites many advantages. The fituation is healthy `pital of Pa-
and pleaſant, and the air temperate. It is regu-culties
larly built. Its ftreets are wide, and compofed which navi-
of houſes that are extremely low, but all of them furmount to
are embelliſhed with a garden of greater or lefs get there.
extent. The public and private buildings, which
fifty years ago were all made of earth, are more
folid and commodious, fince the natives have
learned the art of making brick and lime. The
number of inhabitants amounts to thirty thou-
fand. One fide of the town is defended by a fort-
refs, with a garriſon of fix or ſeven hundred men:
and the reſt is, furrounded by the river. Two
thouſand nine hundred and forty-three militia,
-
Spaniards,
1
224
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK Spaniards, Indians, Negroes, and free Mulattoes,
are always ready to join the regulars.
VIII.
!
THE town ftands fixty leagues from the fea.
The fhips get to it by failing up a river that
wants depth, is full of iſlands, fhoals, and rocks,
and where ſtorms are more frequent and more
dreadful than on the ocean. It is neceffary to
anchor every night on the ſpot they come to; and
on the moſt moderate days, a pilot muft go be-
fore in a boat to found the way for the fhip.
After having furmounted theſe difficulties, the
ſhips are obliged to ftop at the diftance of three
leagues from the town, to put their goods on
board fome light veffels, and to go to refit, and
to wait for their cargoes, at Incenada de Barra-
gan, fituated ſeven or eight leagues below.
THIS is a kind of village, formed by fome huts
built with ruſhes, covered with hides, and ſcat-
tered about without order. Neither magazines
nor fubfiftence are to be found there; and the
place is inhabited only by a few indolent men, from
whom fcarce any fervice is to be expected. The
mouth of a river, which is from five to fix thou-
fand toifes broad, ferves it for a harbour. No fhips
that draw above twelve feet of water can enter it.
Veffels that require more depth are obliged to
take refuge behind a neighbouring point, where
the anchorage, fortunately, is more inconvenient
than dangerous.
THE infufficiency of this afylum occafioned, in
1726, the town of Montevideo to be built forty
leagues below Buenos-Ayres, and upon a bay
2
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
225
•
which is two leagues in depth. It is defended on
the "fide of the land by a well-conſtructed cita-
del; and protected on the fide of the river by bat-
teries judiciously placed. Unfortunately, there
are not more than four or five fathoms of water,
and the veffels are obliged to run aground. This
is no great inconvenience for the merchantmen,
but the men of war perifh ſpeedily upon this
mud, and are eafily warped. Some experienced
navigators, on whom nature hath beftowed a
ſpirit of obſervation, have obferved, that with
little labour and expence, one of the fineſt har-
bours in the world might have been conftructed
in the neighbourhood, on the river Saint Lucia.
In order to effect this, the only thing neceffary
was to dig away the bank of fand which renders
the entrance of it difficult. The court of Madrid
will fooner or later be obliged to adopt this plan;
fince Maldonado, which was their only hope, is
at prefent acknowledged to be one of the worſt
harbours in the world.
THE richeſt produce that comes from the three
provinces, is the herb of Paraguay. It is the
leaf of a middle-fized tree, which hath not been
deſcribed or obſerved by any botanift. The taſte
is fimilar to that of mallows, and in ſhape it re-
fembles an orange-tree. It is divided into three
forts. The firſt, called caacuys, is the bud when
it just begins to unfold its leaves. This is far fu-
perior to the other two, but will not keep fo
long, and it is therefore difficult to export it to
any
diſtance. The next, which is called caamini,
is the full-grown leaf ftripped of its ftalks.
VOL. IV.
е
If
theſe
BOOK
VIII,
of the herb
the chief
of Paraguay,
riches of
the colony.
i
1
226
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII,
BOOK theſe be left on, it is called caaguaza, which is the
third fort. The leaves are first roafted, and then
kept in pits digged in the ground, and covered
with bulls hides.
THE mountains of Maracayu, at the eaft fide of
Paraguay, furniſh the herb that is moſt efteemed.
The tree which produces it grows in the marshy
vallies that lie between the hills. The city of
Affumption first brought this production, which
was the delight of the favages, into repute. The
exportation of it procured confiderable riches to
the town. But this advantage was not of long
continuance, for all the Indians of that district
were foon loft in the long voyage they were ob-
liged to take. The whole country became a de-
fert for forty leagues round the city, and the in-
habitants were obliged to give up this trade,
which was the only fource of their wealth.
To this firft mart fucceeded that of Villa Rica,
which was nearer to the production by thirty-fix
leagues. This alfo foon came to nothing, for the
fame reaſon as had occafioned the fall of that to
which it had fucceeded.
Ar length, in the beginning of the century,
Cunuguati was built, at the diftance of a hundred
leagues from Affumption, and at the foot of the
mountains of Maracayu. It is at prefent the great
market for the herb of Paraguay; but a compe-
tition hath lately rifen up against it, from a quar-
ter where there was no reafon to expect one.
THE Guaranis, who at firſt gathered the herb
only in fufficient quantity for their own confump-
tion, collected it, in proceſs of time, for fale.
This
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
227
BOOK
VIII.
voyage,
This employment, and the length of the
kept them abfent from their colonies for a confi-
derable part of the year. During this interval,
they were all deprived of inſtruction. Many of
them perished by change of air and fatigue.
Some grew weary of this laborious employment,
and retired into the woods, where they refumed
their former way of life. Befides, the miffions,
deprived of their defenders, were expofed to the
inroads of the enemy. Thefe evils were too nu-
merous. To obviate them, the Jefuits procured
feeds from Maracayu, and fowed them in thoſe
parts of the land that were moft analogous to the
foil they were brought from. They grew up very,
rapidly, and have not degenerated, at leaft in any
fenfible degree.
THE produce of thefe plantations, added to that
which grows fpontaneouſly, is very confiderable.
Part of this remains in the three provinces. Chili
and Peru confume annually twenty-five thoufand
quintals of it, which coft them near two millions
of livres *.
THIS herb, which the Spaniards and other in-
habitants of South America take fo much delight
in, and to which they attribute fo many virtues,
is in general ufe through this part of the New
World. It is dried and reduced almoſt to pow~-
der, then put into a cup with fugar, lemon-juice,
and ſweet-fcented pafte; boiling water is after-
wards thrown upon it, and it is drunk off directly,
before it hath time to turn black.
* 83,3331. 6s. 8d.
Q²
THE
228
•
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE ·
VIII.
воок THE herb of Paraguay is of no confequence to
Europe, which doth not confume any of it; nor
Connections do we intereft ourfelves more about the trade
which this diſtrict carries on with the other re-
gions of the New World, in excellent mules.
of Paraguay
with the
neighbour-
ing coun-
tries, and
with Spain.
*
THIS uſeful animal is generally multiplied upon
the territory of Buenos-Ayres. The inhabitants
of the Tucuman carry there woods for building,
and wax, which they exchange every year for
fixty thouſand mules of two years old, which for-
merly coft no more than three livres each, but
which now coft from eight to ten t. They are
kept fourteen months in the paſtures of Cordova,
eight in thoſe of Salta, and are conducted through
roads of fix, ſeven, and nine hundred leagues, by
herds of fifteen hundred or two thoufand, into
Peru, where they are fold near Oruro, Cuſco, and
Guanca-Velica, at the rate of ſeventy or a hun-
dred livres, according to the greater or leſs diſ-
tance they come from.
BESIDE this, the Tucuman furniſhes to Potofi
fixteen or eighteen thouſand oxen, and four or five
thouſand horſes, brought forth and reared upon its
own territory. This diſtrict would fupply twenty
times as much of both, if it were poffible to find
a mart for them.
It will perhaps be a matter of more confequence
to our merchants, to know the route the cargoes
take, which they fend into this part of this hemi-
fphere.
**
2s. 6d.
From 6s. 8d. to 8 s. 4d.
From 21. 18s. 4d. to 41. 3s. 4 d.
THERE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
229
?
VIII.
THERE is feldom any connection between the BOOK
villages ſcattered over this region, at a great dif-
tance from each other. Befide that it could not
be kept up without great fatigue and much dan-
ger, it would be of little uſe to men who have
not any thing, or who have fcarce any thing, to
offer or to require. Buenos-Ayres alone was much
intereſted in finding a vent for the merchandiſe
it received from Europe, fometimes openly, and
fometimes fraudulently; and it at laſt ſucceeded
in opening a tolerably regular trade with Chili
and with Peru. Originally the caravans, which
carried on this traffic, had recourſe to the uſe of
the needle to conduct them through the vaft de-
ſerts they were obliged to traverſe; but in proceſs
of time they have travelled without this inftru-
ment, which is fo neceffary for other purpoſes of
much greater importance.
AT prefent carriages fet out from Buenos-
Ayres for their reſpective deftinations. Several
of them go together, in order to be able to refift
the favage nations which attack them on their
march. They are all drawn by four oxen, carry
fifty quintals, and travel feven leagues a day.
Thoſe which take the route of Peru ftop at Ju-
gey, after having gone over four hundred and
fixty-feven leagues; and thofe which are deſtined
for Chili have no more than two hundred and
fixty-four to go over to reach Mendoza. The
firſt receive four piaftres, or twenty-one livres
eight fols * per quintal; and the fecond a price
17s. 10d.
Q3
propor
t
230
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK proportioned to the fpace they have travelled
VIII. over. Theſe carriages are always followed by a
L
herd of woolly and horned cattle. The travellers
who are tired or fatigued with the carriage ride
upon the horſes; the oxen ferve both for food,
and alfo for change in the harneſs.
THE year 1764 was the fortunate period of an-
other ufeful inftitution. The miniftry had at
length determined to diſpatch, every two months,
from Corunna, a packet-boat for Buenos Ayres.
This was a ftaple from which it was neceffary to
fend the letters and paffengers into all the Spaniſh
poffeffions in the South Sea. The paffage was
nine hundred and forty-fix leagues to Lima, and
three hundred and fixty-four to St. Yago; and
a part of this vaft space was occupied by im-
menfe deferts. An active and intelligent man
contrived, however, to eſtabliſh a regular poſt
from the capital of Paraguay, to the capitals of
Peru and Chili, to the great advantage of the
three colonies, and confequently of the mother-
country.
PARAGUAY fends feveral articles of greater or
lefs importance to Spain; but they have all been
brought there from neighbouring diftricts. The
only thing it furniſhes from its own territory is
hides.
WHEN the Spaniards forfook Buenos-Ayres in
1539, in order to go up the river again, they left
in the neighbouring fields fome horned cattle,
which they had brought over from their own
country. They multiplied to fuch a degree, that
when the town was re-eſtabliſhed, no one chofe to
appro-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
231
i
VIII.
appropriate them. It was afterwards found ufeful BOOK
to knock them on the head, in order to fell their
hides in Europe. The manner of doing this is
remarkable.
A NUMBER of huntfmen on horfeback repair to
ſuch places as are moſtly frequented by the wild
bulls. Each huntfman purfues the bull he fixes
upon, and hamſtrings him with a ſharp iron cut
in the fhape of a crefcent, and faſtened to a long
handle. When the animal falls down, the huntf-
man attacks others, and difables them in the fame
After forme days fpent in this violent
exercife, the huntfmen return in fearch of the
bulls they have difabled, which they flay, carry
away the hides, and fometimes the tongues and
the fat: the reft they leave to be devoured by
wild dogs or vultures.
manner.
THE price of hides was fo low at firft, that
they cost no more than two livres *; though the
buyers refuſed thofe that had the leaft defect,
becauſe they were fubject to the fame tax as
others that were in the beſt condition. In proceſs
of time, the number of them diminiſhed fo
much, that it was neceffary to give forty-three
livres four fóls † for the large ones; thirty-feven
livres fixteen fols for thoſe of an intermediate
fize; and thirty-two livres eight fols § for the
fmall ones. The government, which faw with
regret
this branch of commerce gradually reduced
to nothing, forbade the killing of the young bulls.
*
I s. 8d.
for
‡ 11. IIS.
{
6 d.
+ 11. 16s.
§ 11. 75.
Q4
Some
232
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
VIII.
BOOK Some active inhabitants collected a great number
of heifers in immenfe parks; and fince theſe in-
novations have been made, the hides which have
all the hair on, and which weigh from twenty to
fifty pounds, have been lowered about a third in
their price. They all pay eleven livres to go-
*
A fortunate
innovation,
vernment.
FROM 1748 to 1753, Spain received annually
from this colony 8,752,065 livres †. The gold
that made part of this fum amounted to 1,524,705
livres ; the filver, to 3,780,000 livres §; and
the productions to 3,447,360 livres | The laſt
article was compofed of three hundred quintals of
Vicuna wool, which produced 207,360 livres ¶.
and of one hundred and fifty thoufand hides, which
brought 3,240,000 livres **. All this was for the
benefit of trade, and none of it belonged to the
government.
THE mother-country will foon receive from
this region other articles of value; both becauſe
the colony of Saint Sacrament, through which the
riches uſed to flow, is now taken out of the hands
of the Portugueſe, and becauſe the Paraguay hath
acquired a state of greater importance than that
which it enjoyed.
THE immenfe empire which Caftile had founded
which muft in South America, was for a long time fubordi-
improve the
nate to one fingle chief. The parts that were
ftate of Pa-
raguay.
9s. 2 d.
‡ 63,5291. 17s. 6d.
|| 143,6401.
** 135,doal.
† 364,6691. 7s. 6d.
$157,500l.
¶ 8,6401,
:
diftant
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
233
VIII.
diſtant from the centre of authority, were then BOOK
neceffarily abandoned to the caprices, the inex-
perience, and the rapacity of a multitude of
fubaltern tyrants. No Spaniard, and no Indian,
was mad enough to travel thouſands of miles in
order to lay claim to juftice, which he was almoſt
certain of not obtaining. The force of habit,
which ſo often ftifles the voice of reaſon, and
which governs ftates with ſtill more abſolute ſway
than it does individuals, prevented men from
difcerning the true caufe of fo many calamities.
At length the confufion became fo general, that
what is called the New Kingdom of Granada
was detached, in 1718, from this enormous ex-
tent of dominion. It ftill remained much too
confiderable; and the miniſtry have again con-
fined it, in 1766, by forming of part of the dioceſe
of Cuſco, of the whole of that of La Paz, of the
archbishopric of La Plata, of the provinces of
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, of Cuyo, of Tucuman,
and of Paraguay, another viceroyalty; the feat
of which is at Buenos-Ayres. The government
will, undoubtedly, foon regulate the deftiny of
thefe fingular miffions, which have been ren-
dered equally celebrated by the praiſes of their
panegyrifts, as by the fatires of their detractors.
their mif-
AMERICA had been laid waſte during the courfe Principles
of a century, when the Jefuits conveyed there on which
the Jefuits
that indefatigable activity, which, from their founded
firſt origin, had made them fo fingularly remark- fions in Pa
able. Thefe enterprifing men could not recall
from the tomb, the too numerous victims which
had been unfortunately plunged into it by a blind
raguay.
feroci-
234
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK ferocioufnefs; they could not drag out of the
bowels of the earth, the timid Indians whom the
avarice of the conquerors obliged daily to de-
fcend there. Their tender anxiety was turned
towards the favages, whom a wandering life' had,
till then, preferved from the fword and from ty-
ranny. The plan was to draw them out of their
forefts and to collect them into a national body,
but at a distance from the places inhabited by the
oppreffors of the New Hemifphere. Thefe views
were crowned with more or lefs fuccefs, in Cali-
fornia, among the Moxos, among the Chiquitos,
upon the river Amazon, and in fome other coun-
tries. Nevertheleſs, none of their inftitutions
acquired fo great a degree of fplendour as that
which was formed at Paraguay; becauſe it had
for its bafis the maxims followed by the Incas in
the government of their empire and in their con-
quests.
THE defcendants of Manco Capac uſed to
march to their frontiers with armies, which at
leaſt knew how to obey, to fight, and to intrench
themſelves; and who, together with better
offenfive weapons than thoſe of the favages, had
alſo fhields and defenfive weapons, which their
enemies had not. They propoſed to the nation
which they wanted to unite to their government,
to embrace their religion, laws, and manners.
Theſe invitations were moſt commonly rejected.
Freſh deputies were fent, who urged thefe mat-
ters more ftrenuously than the former. Some-
times they were murdered; and the favages fell
fuddenly upon thoſe whom they reprefented. The
3
troops
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
235
VII.
troops that were attacked, had generally the ad- BOOK
vantage; but they fufpended the fight the inftant
they had gained the victory; and treated their
prifoners fo kindly, that they afterwards infpired
their companions with an affection for a con-
queror fo humane. A Peruvian army feldom
began the attack, and the Inca hath often been
known to forbear hoftilities, even after he had
experienced the perfidy of the barbarians, and ſe-
veral of his foldiers had been murdered.
THE Jefuits, who had no army, confined them-
felves to the arts of perfuafion. They penetrated.
into the forefts in fearch of the favages, and pre-
vailed upon them to renounce their old cuftoms
and prejudices, to embrace a religion which they
did not comprehend, and to enjoy the fweets of
fociety, to which they were before ftrangers.
THE Incas had another advantage over the Je-
fuits, which was the nature of their religion,
calculated to ſtrike the fenfes. It is a more
eafy matter to perfùade men to worship the fun,
which feems to announce its own divinity to
mortals, than to adore an invifible God, and to
believe doctrines and myfteries which they can-
not comprehend. Accordingly, the miffionaries
had the prudence to civilize the favages in fome
meaſure, before they attempted to convert them.
They did not pretend to make them Chriftians,
till they had made them men. As foon as they
had got them together, they began to procure
them every advantage they had promifed them,
and induced them to embrace Chriftianity, when,
by
236
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK by making them happy, they had contributed to
render them tractable.
VIII.
THEY imitated the example of the Incas in the
divifion of the lands into three fhares; for reli-
gious purpofes, for the public, and for indivi-
duals; they encouraged working for orphans, old
people, and foldiers; they rewarded great actions;
they infpected or cenfured the morals of the peo-
ple; they practifed acts of benevolence; they
eſtabliſhed feſtivals, and intermixed them with
laborious employments; they appointed military
exercifes, kept up a fpirit of fubordination in-
vented preſervatives againſt idleneſs, and inſpired
them with respect for religion and virtue
word, whatever was valuable in the legiſlation of
the Incas, was adopted, or even improved upon
at Paraguay.
in a
THE Incas and the Jefuits had alike eſtabliſhed
fuch a ſyſtem of regularity and order, as pre-
vented the commiffion of crimes, and removed
the neceffity of punishment. There was hardly
fuch a thing as a delinquent in Paraguay. The
morals of the people were good, and were main-
tained in this ftate of purity by ftill milder me-
thods than had been made uſe of in Peru. The
laws had been ſevere in that empire; they were
not fo among the Guaranis. Puniſhments were
not dreaded there, and men feared nothing but
the reproach of their own confcience.
AFTER the example of the Incas, the Jefuits
had eſtabliſhed the theocratical government, with
an additional advantage peculiar to the Chriftian
religion:
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
237
VIII.
religion: this was the practice of confeffion; BOOK
which, in Paraguay, brought the guilty perfon
to the feet of the magiftrate. There, far from
palliating his crime, remorfe made him rather
aggravate it; and inſtead of endeavouring to
elude his puniſhment, he implored it on his
knees. The more public and fevere it was, the
more did it contribute to quiet his confcience.
By theſe means, puniſhment, which in all other
places is the terror of the guilty, was here con-
fidered as a fource of confolation to them, as it
ftifled the pangs of remorfe by the expiation of
the guilt. The people of Paraguay had no civil
laws, becauſe they knew of no property; nor had
they any criminal ones, becauſe every one was
his own accufer, and voluntarily fubmitted to
puniſhment: their only laws were the precepts of
religion. Theocracy would be the moſt excel-
lent of all governments, if it were poffible to
preſerve it in its purity; but to effect this, it
would be neceffary that religion fhould teach
nothing but the duties of fociety; that it fhould
confider nothing as a crime but what violates the
natural rights of mankind; that its precepts
fhould not fubftitute prayers in lieu of labour,
vain ceremonies inſtead of works of charity, or
imaginary fcruples to juft remorſe.
This was
not entirely the cafe at Paraguay. The Spanish
miffionaries had brought along with them too
many of their monaftic notions and practices.
Perhaps, however, fo much good had never been
done to men, with fo little injury.
2
THERE
238
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
Reafens that
have pre-
THERE were more arts and conveniences in the
republics of the Jefuits, than there had been even
in Cuſco itſelf, without more luxury. The uſe
of coin was unknown there. The watchmaker,
weaver, lockſmith, and taylor, all depofited their
works in public warehouſes. They were fupplied
with every neceffary of life; and the hufbandman
had laboured for them. The religious inftitutors,
affifted by magiftrates who were chofen by the
people, attended to the ſeveral wants of the whole
community.
THERE was no diftinction of ftations; and it is
the only fociety on earth where men enjoyed that
equality which is the ſecond of all bleſſings; for
liberty is undoubtedly the firft.
}
THE Incas and the Jefuits have both infpired
men with a reverence for religion, by the dazzling
pomp
of external ceremonies. The temples of
the fun were as well conftructed, and as well or-
namented, as the imperfect ſtate of the arts and
of the materials would allow them to be; and the
churches in Paraguay are really very beautiful.
Sacred mufic, that awakened their fenfibility,
affecting hymns, lively paintings, the pomp of
ceremonies: every thing, in a word, confpired
to attract, and to detain the Indians in theſe
places of divine worfhip, where they found plea-
fure blended with the exerciſes of piety.
IT fhould feem that men muſt have multiplied
vented the confiderably under a government where none were
population idle, or fatigued with labour; where the food
in thefe ce- was equal in wholeſomeneſs, plenty, and quality
increaſe of
lebrated
miflions,
?
for
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
239
VIII.
for all the citizens; where every one was conve- BOOK
niently lodged and well clothed, where the aged
and the fick, the widows and orphans, were affifted
in a manner unknown in all other parts of the
world; where every one married from choice and
not from intereft, and where a number of chil-
dren was confidered as a bleffing, and could
never be burdenfome: where debauchery, the
neceffary confequence of idlenefs, which equally
corrupts the opulent and the poor, never tended
to abridge the term of human life; where no-
thing ferved to excite artificial paffions, or con-
tradicted thoſe that are regulated by nature and
reaſon; where the people enjoyed the advantages
of trade, and were not expofed to the contagion of
vice and luxury; where plentiful magazines, and a
friendly intercourfe between nations united in the
bonds of the fame religion, were a fecurity againſt
any ſcarcity that might happen from the incon-
ftancy or inclemency of the feafons; where public
juſtice had never been reduced to the cruel necef-
fity of condemning a fingle malefactor to death,
to ignominy, or to any punishment of long dura-
tion; where the very names of a tax or a law-fuit,
thoſe two terrible fcourges which every where elfe
afflict mankind, were unknown; fuch a country
muſt naturally be expected to have been the moſt
populous in the world; and yet it was far from
being fo.
THIS empire, which began in the year 1610,
extends from the river Parana, which runs into
the Paragua under the 20th degree of fouth lati-
tude, to the Uragua that falls into the fame river
towards
240
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK towards the 34th degree. On the banks of thoſe
two great rivers, which defcend from the moun-
tains near Brazil, in the fertile plains that lie
between them, the Jefuits had already, in 1676,
fettled twenty-two colonies; though no account
hath been given of their degree of population.
In 1702, there were twenty-nine, confifting in
all of 22,761 families, which amounted to 89,491
fouls. No account, that can be depended upon,
ever made the number of villages amount to
more than thirty-two, nor that of the inhabitants
to more than 121,168.
:
1
THESE religious legiflators have long been
fufpected of concealing the number of their fub-
jects, with a view of defrauding Spain of the tri-
bute theſe people had voluntarily fubmitted to
pay; and the court of Madrid hath diſcovered
fome anxiety on that account. An exact inquiry
hath diſpelled thofe injurious and ill-grounded
fufpicions. Can it with any probability be fup-
pofed, that a fociety, whoſe idol was always glory,
fhould, for a mean and fordid intereft, facrifice a
fenfe of greatnefs, adequate to the majefty of an
eſtabliſhment they were forming with fo much
care and pains?
THOSE who were too well acquainted with the
genius of the fociety, to charge it with fuch in-
jurious and illiberal accufations, have pretended
that the number of the Guaranis did not increaſe,
becauſe they periſhed by working in the mines.
This accufation, urged above a hundred years.
ago, hath been propagated by the fame fpirit of
avarice, envy, and malignity, that firſt invented
it.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
241
VIII.
it. The greater pains the Spaniſh miniftry have BOOK
employed in fearch of theſe hidden treaſures, the
more they have been convinced that they were all
chimerical. If the Jefuits had diſcovered any
fuch treaſures, they certainly would have taken
care to conceal the difcovery; which, if known,
would have introduced every kind of vice; by
which their empire would foon have been fub-
verted, and their power totally deſtroyed.
OTHERS are of opinion, that the oppreffion of
monkiſh government muſt have checked the po-
pulation of the Guaranis. But oppreffion con-
fifts in impofing labour and exacting tribute.
by compulfion; in arbitrary levies of men or
money to fupply armies and fleets, deftined for
deftruction; in the violent execution of laws
made without the confent of the people, and con-
trary to the remonftrances of the magiftrates; in
the violation of public, and the eſtabliſhment of
private privilege; in the inconfiftency of the
principles of an authority, which, under pretence
of being founded by divine will on the right of
the fword, lays claim to every thing by the one,
and commands every thing by the other; which
makes uſe of force to eſtabliſh religion, and of
religion to influence the decifions of juftice: this
is oppreffion. But it can never exift, where every
action is the refult of voluntary fubmiffion, and
proceeds from inclination founded on conviction,
and where nothing is done but from choice and
full approbation. This is that gentle fway of
opinion, the only one, perhaps, that it is lawful
for one man to exercife over another, becauſe it
VOL. IV.
makes
R
242
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK makes thofe people happy who fubmit to it.
Such, undoubtedly, was that of the Jefuits in
Paraguay, fince whole nations came voluntarily
to incorporate themſelves into their government,
and none have ever thrown off the yoke. It
cannot be pretended that fifty miffionaries could
have been able to compel a hundred thoufand
Indians to be their flaves, who had it in their
power either to maffacre their priests, or to take
refuge in the deſerts. This ſtrange paradox would
be equally rejected by men of a fanguine or of a
credulous difpofition.
F
SOME perfons have ſuſpected that the Jefuits
had propagated that love of celibacy among
their people, which was fo prevalent in Europe
in the dark ages of ignorance, and is not yet
entirely eradicated, notwithſtanding it hath con-
ftantly been urged how contrary it is to nature,
reaſon, and fociety. But this opinion is entirely
without foundation. The miffionaries have never
even given any idea to their converts, of a
ſuperſtition which was totally improper and
inconfiftent with the climate; and would have
been fufficient to prejudice them againſt their
beſt inſtitutions, or to defeat the defign of
them.
POLITICIANS have further endeavoured to ac-
count for the want of population among the
Guaranis, from their having no property. The
idea under which we confider property, namely
as a fource of the increaſe both of men and ſub-
fiftence, is an unquestionable truth; but ſuch is
the fate of the beft inftitutions, that our errors
will
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
243
will often threaten their deftruction.
Under the B O O K
law of property, when it is attended with avarice,
ambition, luxury, a multitude of imaginary
wants, and various other irregularities arifing
from the imperfections of our governments, and
from the bounds of our poffeffions, either too
confined, or too extended, prevent, at the fame
'time, both the fertility of our lands and the
increaſe of our fpecies. Theſe inconveniencies
exifted not in Paraguay.
譬
​All were fure of fub-
fiftence; confequently all enjoyed the great ad-
vantages of property, though deprived, in a ſtrict
fenſe, of the right to it. This privation cannot
justly be confidered as the reaſon that hath
impeded the progrefs of population among
them.
A MERCENARY writer, or one who is blinded
by his hatred, hath ventured to publifh, lately,
in the face of the whole univerfe, that the terri-
tory occupied by the Guaranis could not fubfift
more than the number of men who exifted upon
it, and that their miffionaries, rather than fuffer
them to extend themſelves fo as to have an in-
tercourſe with the Spaniards, had themſelves
ſtopped the progrefs of population, by per-
fuading, as it is faid, their converts to let their
children perifh, becauſe they would be ſo many
beings predestined to falvation, and fo many
protectors to them. Man or devil! whichever
thou art, haft thou reflected upon the atrociouf
neſs and the extravagance of thy accufation?
Haft thou any idea of the infult thou haft offered
to thy rulers, and to thy fellow-citizens, in fup-
pofing
R 2
VIII.
244
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK pofing that thou fhouldft obtain their favour or
VIII. their eſteem by fuch afperfions? How much muſt
thy nation have degenerated from the dignity
and generofity of its character, if it did not par-
take of my indignation upon this occafion!
To the chimerical notions we have been re-
futing, let us endeavour to fubftitute the real,
or the probable caufes of this deficiency of popu-
lation.
FIRST, the Portugueſe of St. Paul, in 1631,
deſtroyed twelve or thirteen communities in the
province of Guayra, bordering upon Brazil.
Thefe ruffians, whofe number did not amount to
more than two hundred and feventy-five, could
not indeed bring away more than nine hundred
of the twenty-two thouſand Guaranis that com-
pofed this rifing colony: but feveral of them
were destroyed by mifery and by the fword.
Several of them returned to their favage' life.
Scarce twelve thouſand of them eſcaped upon the
borders of the Parana and of the Uruguay, where
it had been refolved to fix them.
THE paffion which the devaftators had for
making flaves was not ftifled by this emigration.
They purſued their timid victims into their new
afylum; and, in procefs of time, would have
difperfed, enflaved, or affaffinated all of them,
unleſs the Indians could be fupplied with arms
fimilar to thofe of their aggreffors.
It was a nice matter to make this propofal:
for it was a maxim with Spain not to introduce
the uſe of fire-arms among the ancient inhabit-
ants of the other hemifphere, in the apprehen-
fion
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
245
VIII.
fion that they might one day uſe them themſelves BOOK
to recover their primitive rights. The Jefuits
approved of this precaution, as being neceffary
with nations whofe fubjection was compelled:
but they judged it to be uſeleſs with people, who
were freely attached to the kings of Spain by
fuch eafy bands, that they could be under no
temptation of breaking them. The arguments
or the folicitations of the miffionaries prevailed
over oppofition and prejudice. In 1639 fire-
locks were given to the Guaranis, and this fa-
vour delivered them for ever from the greateſt of
dangers they could incur.
THIS cauſe of deftruction was fucceeded by
others of a more obfcure nature. The cuſtom
had prevailed, to fend annually, to the diftance
of two or three hundred leagues from their fron-
tiers, fome of the inhabitants of the villages to
collect the herb of Paraguay, for which they
were known to have an unfurmountable defire.
In theſe long and fatiguing journies, feveral of
them periſhed with hunger and fatigue. Some-
times, during their abfence, their plantations,
deprived of moſt of their defenders, were laid
wafte by wandering favages. Theſe defects
were fcarce corrected before the miffions were
afflicted with a new calamity.
AN unfortunate concurrence of circumftances
brought among them the fmall-pox; the baneful
influence of which, was more deftructive in this
diſtrict than in the reft of the New World.
This contagion did not diminiſh, and continued
uninterruptedly to heap one victim upon ano-
R 3
ther.
246
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ther. Were the Jefuits ignorant of the falutary
VIII.
Examina-
tion of the
made to the
Jefuits con
cerning
their mif.
fions.
effects of inoculation upon the borders of the
Amazon, or did they, from motives of fuperfti-
tion, decline to adopt a practice, the advantages
of which are fo well afcertained?
But it was the climate which more particularly
ftopped the progrefs of population among the
Guaranis. The country they occupied, chiefly
on the Parana, was hot, damp, and inceffantly
covered with thick and immoveable fogs. Theſe
vapours gave rife, in every feafon, to contagious
diforders; and thefe calamities were aggravated
by the propenfities of the inhabitants, Inherit-
ing the voracious appetites which their fathers
had brought with them from the midst of the
foreſt, they fed upon green fruit, and ate meat
that was almoſt raw, while neither reaſon, nor
authority, nor experience, could root out thefe
inveterate habits. The mafs of blood being thus
corrupted by the air and by the food, it was im-
poffible that a numerous and long-lived offspring
ſhould be produced.
In order to inſure the felicity of the Guaranis,
reproaches whatever their number were, or might be, their
inftitutors had originally fettled with the court of
Madrid, that theſe people fhould never be em-
ployed in the labours of the mines, nor ſubjected
to any vaffalage. They foon found that this
firft ftipulation was not fufficient to procuré
tranquillity to the new republics, and occafioned
it to be decreed, that the Spaniards fhould be ex-
cluded from them, under whatever denomination
they prefented themfelves. They forefaw, that if
they
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
247
VIII.
they were admitted as traders, or even as tra- BOOK
vellers, they would excite commotions in thoſe
peaceable retreats, and would introduce vice and
every fpecies of corruption. Theſe rapacious
and deftructive conquerors were the more of-
fended at theſe meaſures, as they were approved
by prudent men. Their refehtment broke out in
imputations, for which there was an apparent,
and, perhaps, a real foundation.
THE miffionaries traded for the nation. They
fent to Buenos-Ayres wax, tobacco, hides, cot-
ton both raw and fpun, and received in ex-
change, vafes and ornaments for the temples;
iron, arms, toys, fome European commodities
that were not manufactured in the colony; and
metals defigned for the payment of the tribute
due from the male Indians from twenty to fifty
years of age. As far as it is poffible to judge,
and penetrate into the myſtery which hath always
furrounded thefe objects, the wants of the ftate
did not abſorb the entire profit of the fales. The
reft was fecreted for the benefit of the Jefuits.
Accordingly, they were traduced in all parts of
the world as a fociety of merchants, who, under
the veil of religion, attended only to their own
fordid intereſt.
THIS cenfure could not fall upon the firſt
founders of Paraguay. The deferts through
which they travelled afforded neither gold nor
mercantile commodities. In thefe they only met.
with foreſts, ferpents, and moraffes; ſometimes
they periſhed, or were expofed to the moft fevere
torments, and always to exceffive fatigue. The
hardships
R 4
248
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK hardships they endured with fo much patience,
and the pains they took to induce the favages to
quit their roving life, are not to be conceived.
They never entertained the idea of appropriating
to themſelves the produce of a land, which
their care only prevented from being a haunt of
wild beafts. Their fucceffors may probably have
been actuated by lefs noble and difintereſted
views; probably they might feek an increaſe of
fortune and power, where they ought to have
only fought the glory of Chriftianity and the
good of mankind. It was certainly a great crime
to rob the people of America, in order to acquire
confequence in Europe, and to increaſe over the
whole world an influence already too dangerous.
If any thing could diminiſh our abhorrence of fo
great a crime, it is, that the happineſs of the
Indians was never affected by it. They never
appeared to defire any thing beyond thofe conve-
niencies which they generally enjoyed.
THOSE who have not accufed the Jefuits of
avarice have cenfured their inftitutions in Pa-
raguay, as being the effect of blind fuperftition.
If our idea of ſuperſtition be the true one, it
retards the progrefs of population; it devotes to
uſeleſs ceremonies the time that fhould be em-
ployed in the labours of fociety; it deprives the
laborious man of his property, to enrich the in-
dolent and dangerous reclufe; it promotes dif-
cord and civil wars for things of little moment;
it gives the fignal for revolt in the name of God;
it frees its minifters from obedience to the laws,
and from the duties of fobiety: in a word, it
makes
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
249
VIII.
makes the people miſerable, and arms the wicked BOOK
againſt the virtuous. Have any of theſe calami-
ties been found among the Guaranis? If their
happy inſtitutions be the effect of fuperftition,
this is the only inſtance in which it ever was be-
neficial to mankind.
/
POLITICIANS, who are ever reſtleſs and ſuſpi-
cious, feemed to be apprehenfive that the repub-
lics formed by the Jefuits might one day detach
themſelves from the power under the protection
of which they had been raiſed. The inhabit-
ants appeared to them as the beſt difciplined fol-
diers of the New Hemifphere. They confidered
them as obedient from a principle of religion,
added to the energy of their new manners, and
as fighting with the fame zeal that brought fo
many martyrs to the ſcaffold, and overthrew fo
many empires by the arms of the followers of
Wodin and Mohammed. But it was their form
of government which particularly excited their
alarms.
In ancient forms of government, civil and reli-
gious authority, which are derived from the fame
fource, and tend to the fame end, have always
been united; or the one hath been ſo ſubſervient
to the other, that the people could not venture to
ſeparate them in idea, and were equally kept in
awe by both. Chriftianity introduced another
kind of ſpirit in Europe, and formed, at its firſt
origin, a fecret rivalfhip between theſe two
powers, the one of arms, the other of opinion.
This difpofition manifefted itſelf particularly when
the barbarous nations of the north made incur-
fions
7
250
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK fions upon the Roman empire. The Chriftians,
perfecuted by the heathen emperors, haftened to
implore the affiftance of theſe foreigners againſt
oppreffion. They preached to thefe conquerors a
new ſyſtem of religion, which enjoined to them
as a duty to extirpate the eſtabliſhed one; and
they demanded the ruins of the temples, in order
to erect their own fanctuaries upon thefe magni-
ficent spoils.
THE favages freely diſpoſed of what was not
their property; they facrificed to Chriftianity all
its enemies and their own; they feized upon the
perfons of men and upon their lands, and diftri-
buted fome of them to the church. They de-
manded tribute; but exempted the clergy from
it, becauſe they countenanced their ufurpations.
Noblemen became prieſts, and prieſts obtained
the rank of nobility. The great connected the
privileges of their birth with that of the prieſt-
hood which they embraced. The bishops im-
printed the ſeal of religion on the domains they
poffeffed. From this mixture and confufion of
birth with high ſtations, of titles with eftates, and
of perſons with things, ſprang up a monftrous
power, which, from the firft, endeavoured to
eſtabliſh itſelf as diftinct from the only true au-
thority, which is that of government; a power,
which afterwards attempted even to raiſe itſelf
above government; but having been unfuccefsful
in the attempt, hath fince fubmitted to ſeparate
itſelf from it, and to exert its authority in fecret
over thoſe who were willing to acknowledge it.
Theſe two powers have been always fo much at
variance,
6.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
251
VIII.
variance, that they have conftantly diſturbed the BOOK
harmony of all ftates.
THE Jefuits of Paraguay, who were well ac-
quainted with this fource of divifion, have been
warned by the miſchief their fociety hath often
done in Europe, and have exerted themfelves to
promote the real happineſs of America. They
have united both powers in one; which gave
them the entire difpofal of the thoughts, affec-
tions, and faculties of their converts.
the people
were happy
in thefe
miffions,
ther they
and whe-
have regret
ted their le-
DID fuch a ſyſtem of government render the Whether
legiflators formidable? Some perfons thought fo
in the New World; and this opinion was much
more prevalent in the Old one: but in all parts,
the neceſſary information was wanting to decide
the point. The readineſs, perhaps unexpected, giílators?
with which the miffionaries have evacuated what
was called their empire, hath feemed to fhew that
they were incapable of maintaining themfelves in
it. They have even been lefs regretted there than
it was thought they would be. It is not that thefe
people had any cauſe to complain of the negli-
gence or feverity of their leaders. An indifference
fo extraordinary, proceeded undoubtedly from the
weariſomeneſs which theſe Americans, apparently
fo happy, must have experienced, during the
courfe of a life too uniform not to be languid,
and under a government which, when confidered
in its true point of view, refembled rather a reli-
gious community than a political inftitution.
How was it poffible that a whole nation ſhould
live without reluctance under the reftraint of an
auftere law, which is not capable of fubjecting a
fmall
252
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
I
BOOK fmall number of men, although they may have
VIII.
put themſelves under its controul from a ſpirit of
enthuſiaſm, and from the moſt ſublime motives,
without infpiring them with melancholy, and
without fouring their tempers? The Guaranis
were a fpecies of monks; and there is not, per-
haps, a fingle monk, who at fome time or other
hath not detefted his habit. Their duties were ty-
rannically enforced, no fault efcaped puniſhment,
and order eſtabliſhed its controul in the midſt of
pleaſures. The Guaranis, whofe conduct was
cloſely inſpected even in their amuſements, could
not give themſelves up to any kind of excefs.
Noify mirth and freedom were banished from
theſe melancholy feftivals. Theſe manners were
too auftere. The ftate of equality to which theſe
people were reduced, and from which it was im-
poffible they ſhould raiſe themſelves, expelled
every kind of emulation from among them. One
Guaranis had no fort of motive to induce him to
excel another. He had acted fufficiently well,
when there was no caufe of complaint againſt
him, and when he could not be punished for
having done ill. Did not alfo the privation of
all property exert fome influence over the moſt
tender connections? It is not enough for the
happineſs of man, that he fhould have what is
fufficient for him; he muſt alſo have ſomething
to beſtow. A Guaranis could not be a benefactor
to his wife, his children, his relations, his friends,
or his countrymen; neither could any of thefe do
good for him. He felt no kind of appetency. If
he was without vice, he was alfo without virtue;
he
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
253
VIII.
he neither loved nor was beloved. A Guaranis, BOOK
with paffions, would have been the moft wretched
of beings; and a man without them exifts not,
either in the midst of forefts, in fociety, or in a
cell. There is no paffion but that of love, which,
being irritated and increaſed by reſtraint, could
poffibly find its advantage in them. But can it
be ſuppoſed that the Guaranis retained nothing of
the ſenſe of their favage ftate of liberty? Let the
reader take no account of what hath been written,
and reflect only upon the few lines I now fhall
add. The Guaranis had never any thing but very
confuſed ideas of what they owed to the care of
their legiflators, while they, in the moſt lively
manner, were continually fenfible of their defpot-
ifm. At the time that they were expelled, theſe
people readily perfuaded themſelves that they
fhould be free, and that their happineſs would
not be diminiſhed by it. All kind of authority is
more or lefs odious; and this is the reaſon why
all maſters, without exception, are paid with in-
gratitude from their fervants.
!
by the court
of Spain for
ment of
fteps taken
the govern
theſe mif
fions.
WHEN the miffions of Paraguay were taken Preliminary
out of the hands of the Jefuits in 1768, they were
arrived, perhaps, to the highest degree of civili-
zation to which it is poffible to bring recent na-
tions, and which was certainly very fuperior to
every thing that exifted in the rest of the New
Hemiſphere. The laws were obſerved; an exact
police was eſtabliſhed; the manners were pure;
and all the inhabitants were united by brotherly
love. All the arts of neceffity were improved,
and fome of thofe of luxury were known. Plenty
was
1
254
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK was univerfal, and the public ftores were filled.
The number of horned cattle amounted to feven
hundred and fixty-nine thouſand three hundred
and fifty-three; that of mules and horfes, to
ninety-four thouſand nine hundred and eighty-
three; and that of fheep to two hundred and
twenty-one thouſand five hundred and thirty-
ſeven, without reckoning other domeſtic animals.
AUTHORITY, which had been hitherto concen-
trated in the fame hands, was divided. A chief,
to whom three lieutenants were given, was charged
with the government of the country. Every thing
that concerned religion was committed to the care
of the monks of the orders of Saint Dominic,
Saint Francis, and La Merci.
THIS is the only change that hath been hitherto
made in the former arrangements. The court of
Madrid certainly wifhed to examine, whether the
order that was eftabliſhed was to be maintained
or altered? Attempts have been made to per-
fuade them to withdraw the Guaranis from a dif-
trict rather unwholeſome, and not fufficiently
fertile, in order to people with them the unin-
habited borders of the Rio Plata, from Buenos-
Ayres to Affumption. If this plan be adopted,
and that the people fhould refuſe to quit the land
of their forefathers, they will be reduced to the
neceffity of difperfing themfelves; if they fhould
- accede to the views of Spain, they will no longer
form a national body. Whatever may happen, the
moſt beautiful edifice that has been raiſed in the
New World will be overthrown.
BUT
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
255
!
VIII.
BUT this is enough, and perhaps too much, BOOK
upon the circumftances and revolutions, more or
lefs important, which have agitated Spaniſh Ame-
rica during the courfe of three centuries. It is
time to aſcend to the principles which directed
the foundation of this great empire, and to trace,
without malignity as without flattery, the confe-
quences of a fyftem of which antiquity hath not
left, and could not poffibly leave, any model. We
fhall begin, by giving an account of the ſeveral
fpecies of men which are at preſent collected in
this immenfe region.
inhabit Spa-
first of the
WE fhall not reckon among the inhabitants People who
of the New Hemiſphere, either the commanders nith Ame
who are commiffioned to give them laws, or the rica; and
troops deſtined to protect and contain them, or Chapetons.
the merchants employed in ſupplying their wants.
Theſe ſeveral orders of men do not fettle in Ame-
rica, but return all of them to Europe after a
ſhorter or a longer ſtay. Among the perfons fent
'by public authority, there are ſcarce any, except
a few magiftrates, and a few fubaltern directors,
who fix themſelves in thefe diftant regions, The
law prohibits every citizen from going there with-
out the conſent of government; but men who
are known, eafily obtain this permiffion, and ob-
fcure perfons frequently go there clandeftinely.
Individuals are powerfully ftimulated to this emi-
gration, by the hope of making a large fortune,
and ſometimes, alfo, by the certainty of acquir-
ing a degree of confideration which they would
not have enjoyed in the place of their origin. It
is fufficient to be born in Spain, to obtain diftin-
guifhed
4
256
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK guiſhed marks of reſpect; but this advantage is
not tranfmitted. The children that are brought
forth in this other World are not honoured with
the name of Chapetons, as their fathers were; they
are fimply called Creoles.
The Creoles,
ap-
THIS is the name given to thoſe who are of
Spanish iffue in the New Hemiſphere. Many of
them defcend from the firft conquerors, or their
immediate fucceffors; and others have had illuf-
trious anceſtors. Most of them have purchaſed
or obtained diftinguiſhed titles; but few of them
have directed the great fprings of government.
Whether the court thought them incapable of
plication, or whether they were apprehenſive they
fhould prefer the intereft of their own to that of
the mother-country, they excluded them early
from places of truft, and feldom deviated from
this fyftem, whether it were a proper or an
improper one. This contempt, or this miſtruſt,
difcouraged them, and they loft, in the vices
arifing from idleness, from the heat of the cli-
mate, and from the abundance of all things, the
remainder of that elevation of mind, of which
fuch great examples had been left them. A bar-
barous luxury, pleaſures of a fhameful kind, a
ſtupid fuperftition, and romantic intrigues, com-
pleted the degradation of their character. One
road ſtill remained open to the ambition of theſe
coloniſts, who are in fome meaſure profcribed
upon their native land. The court, the army,
the courts of juſtice, and the church, are purſuits
of greater or lefs eftimation in Spain, which they
are at liberty to follow. A very ſmall number,
however,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
257
VIII.
however, have entered into them, either becauſe B O O.K
their minds are entirely corrupted, or becauſe
the diſtance renders the accefs to them difficult.
Some of lefs diftinguifhed birth have turned,
even in America, their activity and their faculties
to the great operations of trade; and thefe have
been the most prudent and the moſt uſeful.
lees.
THE fame fuperiority which the Chapetons af- The Mef-
fected over the Creoles, the latter affumed over
the Meftees. Thefe are the race proceeding from
a European with an Indian woman. The Spa-
niards, who, at the first period of the difcovery,
landed in the New World, had no women with
them. Some of the most confiderable of them
waited till women were fent from Europe. Moft
of them plighted their faith to the moſt diftin-
guifhed or the moft agreeable girls of the coun-
try. Frequently even they became mothers
without being married. The law ordained, that
thefe children, legitimate or illegitimate, fhould
enjoy the fame privileges as their fathers; but
prejudice placed them in a lower rank. It is
fcarcely till after three generations, that is to fay,
when their complexion differs in nothing from
that of the white men, who are all very dark, that
in the ordinary courfe of civil life, they are
treated as the other Creoles are. Before they can
attain to fo flattering an equality, thefe Meftees,
who are every where very numerous, and whofe
fpecies is uninterruptedly renewed, were moſtly
employed in the mechanic arts, and in the mi-
nuter details of trade. When they have acquired
a greater ſhare of dignity, they are ftill obliged to
VOL. IV.
S
continue
1
1
258
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
BOOK continue the fame labours, till fome fortunate al-
liance, or fome particular circumftance, enables
them to pafs their uſeleſs days in pleaſure and
idleness.
The Ne-
groes.
SCARCE had the New World been diſcovered,
when Negroes were brought into it, in 1503.
Eight years afterwards, a greater number of them;
was introduced, becauſe experience had fhewn,
that they were infinitely better calculated for all
the labours than the natives of the country. The
government foon prohibited them, from an appre-
henfion that they would corrupt the Americans,
and incite them to revolt. Las Cafas, who was
deficient in proper notions concerning the rights
of mankind, but who was inceffantly employed
in the relief of the Indians, to whom he was at-
tached, obtained the revocation of a law, which he
thought would be injurious to them. Charles V.
permitted, in 1517, that four thousand of thefe
flaves fhould be conveyed into the Spanish colo-
nies; and the Flemish courtier who had obtained
the profit of this traffic, fold his privilege to the
Genoefe.
Ar the expiration of this grant, this vile com-
merce ceafed almost entirely; but the Portugueſe
having become fubjects of the court of Madrid,
revived it. It fell again, after theſe people had
fhaken off the yoke which they bore with for
much impatience; and did not recover any acti-
vity, till the two nations came to be upon better
terms with each other. At length, the fubjects
of the court of Liſbon engaged, in 1696, to fur-
nish, in five years time, twenty-five thoufand Ne-
groes
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
259
VII.
groes to their former tyrants; and they fulfilled B O O K
this engagement with the affiftance of their fove-
reign, who advanced two-thirds of the funds re-
quired for an undertaking which was then fo con-
fiderable.
THE French, who had just been giving a king
to Spain, too lightly took upon themfelves, in
1702, the engagements of the Portuguefe. Being
deficient in fettlements on the coaſt of Africa,
little ſkilled in maritime operations, and having
been unfortunate in the courſe of a long war, they
did nothing of what they had fo boldly promifed.
THIS contract paffed into the hands of the
Engliſh at the peace of Utrecht. The South-
Sea Company, to whom the Britiſh miniftry gave
it up, engaged to deliver, each of the thirty
years that their charter was to laft, four thouſand
eight hundred Africans to the Spanish fettle-
ments. They were confined to this number dur-
ing the five laft years of their grant; but all
the reft of the time they were allowed to intro-
duce as many as they could fell. They engaged
to pay thirty-three piaftres and one-third, or one
hundred and eighty livres *, for each of the firſt
four thoufand Negroes; the other eight hundred
were freed from this burthenfome tribute, in in-
demnity for 1,080,000 livres † advanced to the
court of Madrid, and which were only to be re-
imburſed in the courfe of ten years. This tribute
was reduced to half for all the flaves that were
not required by the contract. Philip V. indem-
71. 10s.
† 45,000l.
S 2
nified
260
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VOL.
BOOK nified himself for this facrifice, by referving the
fourth part of the profits made by the Company.
The execution of this treaty was only interrupted
by the hoftilities which, in 1739, divided the two
kingdoms. The peace of 1748 reftored to the
crown of England all its rights; but the Com-
pany which reprefented it, were induced, by an
indemnity that was offered to them, to give up
the fhort remains of a grant, which they forefaw
they ſhould not be allowed to enjoy without con-
fiderable reftrictions.
ROBERT MAYNE, a merchant of London, fuc-
ceeded, under a Spanish name, to the Affociation.
Such was the difhonefty or the negligence of the
agents whom he had fettled at Buenos Ayres,
which was become the ftaple of the trade, that in
1752 he was ruined, and obliged to give up an
undertaking, which, if more prudently managed,
or more carefully attended to, ought to have
yielded very confiderable profits.
*
THE refolution was then taken to receive flaves
at Porto Rico, which were to pay to government
two hundred and fixteen livres each, and which,
after having defrayed this heavy tax, were freely
admitted upon the continent and in the iſlands.
The English, who had treated with the governor
of Cuba, fulfilled their engagements punctually,
when the court of Madrid thought a change of fy-
ftem would be better calculated for their intereſt.
IN 1765, an affociation was formed between
fome Spanish, French, and Genoefe commercial
* 91.
houfes,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
261
VIII.
houſes, ſettled at Cadiz. This company, which 500 x
was ill ferved by its agents, and much loaded with
debt, was going to be diffolved, when, in 1773,
the miniftry thought it prudent and equitable to
offer fome alleviation of the terms they had at
firſt impoſed upon it. The charter was prolong-
ed, and the taxes diminished; and from that pe-
riod, the importation of flaves hath acquired freth
activity. They are bought indifcriminately in all
places where they can be procured to the beft ad-
vantage.
SAVAGE Europeans! ye doubted at firſt whe-
ther the inhabitants of the regions you had juft
difcovered were not animals which you might flay
without remorfe, becauſe they were black, and
you were white. You almoft envied them the
knowledge of God, your common Father. Moſt
horrid thought! But when you had permitted
them alfo to raife their hands and eyes to hea-
ven; when you had initiated them in your cere-
monies and myfteries; made them join in your
prayers and offerings, and in the hopes of a fu-
ture ftate, afforded by one common religion;
when you had acknowledged them to be your
brethren; was not the general horror redoubled,
at feeing you trample under foot the ties of this
facred confanguinity? You have put them more
upon an equality with your felves; and yet you
go to diftant parts in order to buy and fell them!
You fell them, too, as you would a bafe herd of
cattle! In order to repeople one part of the globe,
which you have laid wafte, you corrupt and de-
populate another.
If death be preferable to
flavery,
S 3
262
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK flavery, are ye, not ftill more inhuman upon the
VIII. coafts of Africa, than ye have been in the regions
of America? English, French, Spaniards, Dutch,
or Portugueſe, let me fuppofe that I am converf-
ing with one of you about a treaty concluded
between two civilized nations; and that I ſhould
afk him, what kind of compenfation he imagines
may have been agreed upon in the exchange you
have made? He will think it to confift in gold,
provifions, privileges, a town, or a province;
while, on the contrary, it confifts in a greater or
lefs number of your fellow-creatures, which the
one gives up to the other to diſpoſe of at pleaſure.
But fuch is the infamy of this unnatural contract,
that it doth not even prefent itſelf to the ideas of
the contracting parties.
EVERY thing announces, that the court of Spain
will ſhake off the dependence they had upon fo-
reign nations for their flaves. This is the only
view they can poffibly have had, in requiring of
Portugal, in 1771, the ceffion of two of their
iflands on the African coaft.
LABORIOUS Cultivations, and fome mines of a
particular kind, have employed part of the flaves
introduced upon the Spanish continent in the
New World. The fervice of the rich hath been
the deftiny of the greater number. Thefe have
foon become the confidents of their mafters plea-
fures; and by this infamous employment they
have gained their liberty. Their defcendants have
allied themfelves fometimes with the Europeans
and fometimes with the Mexicans, and have
formed the vigorous and numerous race of the
Mulat-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
263
VIII.
ལ་
Mulattoes, which, as that of the Meftees, but BOOK
two or three generations later, acquires the colour
and the rank of white people. Thofe among them
who are ſtill in flavery have affumed a determined
fuperiority over the wretched and poor. This fu-
periority they owe to the favour granted to them
by government. For this reafon, the Africans,
who, in the fettlements of other nations, are the
enemies of the white people, are become their
defenders in the Spaniſh Indies.
BUT why fhould the favour of government
be beſtowed upon the flave that was bought, in
preference to the flave that was conquered? It
is, becauſe the injury done to the latter was of
more ancient date, and greater than the injury
done to the former; that the latter was accuf-
tomed to the yoke, and that the former was to be
broken to it; and that the flave of a maſter, whom
a fyftem of policy hath made mafter of a flave, is
brought, by this diftinction, to take part with
the common tyrant. If the African, who is the
defender of the white people in the Spaniſh Indies,
hath been their enemy in all other parts, it is,
becauſe in all other parts he hath always obeyed,
and never commanded; it is, becauſe he was not
comforted in his fituation by the fight of one
more wretched than his own. In the Spanish In-
dies, the African is alternately flave and mafter;
in the fettlements of other nations, he is perpe-
tually a flave.
prefent ftate
THE Indians form the laft clafs of inhabitants, Ancient and
in a country which belonged entirely to their ofthe Indies.
anceſtors. The misfortunes of thefe people began
S 4
even
264
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK even at the era of the difcovery. Columbus dif-
tributed lands at firft to thofe who accompanied
him, and attached fome natives of the country to
them in 1499. This arrangement was not ap-
proved of by the court, who, three years after,
fent Ovando to St. Domingo, to reftore thefe
wretched people to liberty. This new command-
er, barbarous as he was, complied with the will
of his fovereigns: but the indolence of the Ame-
ricans, and the complaints of the Spaniards, foon
determined him to put thofe whom he had fet free
again into chains, and to add ftill a greater num-
ber to them. But he decreed, that thefe flaves
fhould reap fome advantage from their labour,
whether they were employed in the culture of the
lands or the working of the mines. In 1504,
this arrangement was confirmed by Ferdinand and
Ifabella, with a provifo, that the ftipend fhould
be regulated by government.
THE Dominicans, who had just arrived in the
colony, were incenfed at an arrangement which
overthrew all former principles. They refuſed,
in the confeffional chair, abfolution to thoſe in-
dividuals who folicited, or even accepted, thofe
gifts, which were indifcriminately ftyled reparti-
tions, or commanderies. They thundered out ex-
communications from the pulpit, againft the au-
thors or promoters of thefe injuftices. The excla-
mations of theſe monks, fo much revered at that
time, refounded throughout all Europe, where
the cuftom, which they attacked with fo much in-
veteracy, was again difcuffed in 1510, and was
again confirmed.
IN
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
265
VIII.
IN-1516, the Indians found in Las Cafas a more BOOK
zealous, more intrepid, and more active protec-
tor, than thoſe who had preceded him. His foli-
citations determined Ximenes, who at that time
governed Spain with fo much fplendour, to fend
over to America three friars to determine upon
this matter, which had already been twice decided.
The decrees they pronounced were not fuch as
were expected from their profeffion. They de-
cided in favour of the commanderies; but ex-
cluded from them all the courtiers and favourites
who did not refide in the New World.
LAS CASAS, who had been declared the pro-
tector of the Indians by the miniſter himſelf, and
who, invefted with this honourable title, had
accompanied the delegates, returned immediately
into Spain, in order to devote to public indigna-
tion, men of a pious profeffion, whom he accufed
of having facrificed humanity to political views.
He fucceeded in having them recalled, and Fi-
gueroa was fubftituted to them. This magiftrate
took the refolution to collect, in two large vil-
lages, a confiderable body of Indians, whom he
left entirely at their own difpofal. The experi-
ment did not turn out in their favour. The go-
vernment concluded, from their ſtupidity and
their indolence, that the Americans were children
incapable of conducting themſelves; and their
condition was not altered.
NEVERTHELESS, the clamours of many respect-
able perfons were raifed on all fides againſt theſe
arrangements; and the ftates of Caftile themſelves
demanded,
9
266
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK demanded, in 1523, that they should be annulled.
Charles V. yielded to all theſe folicitations. He
forbad Cortez, who had juft conquered Mexico,
to give any commanderies, and enjoined him to
revoke thoſe he might already have granted.
When theſe orders arrived in New Spain, the
repartitions were already fettled as in the other
colonies, and the monarch's pleafure was not com-
plied with.
1
FROM this, and all other countries fubject to
Caftile, intelligence was conftantly received, that
no real or uſeful labours would be carried on in
the New World, if the people who were ſubdued
fhould for a moment ceafe to be at the difpofal
of their conquerors. The apprehenfion of having
made the diſcovery of ſo rich a hemisphere with-
out advantage, made a great impreffion upon the
miniſtry: but, on the other hand, the idea of
having invaded one half of the globe, merely to
reduce the nations to flavery, was another point
of view which could not fail of exciting fome
alarms in the government. In this uncertainty,
commanderies were allowed or prohibited at
hazard. At length, in 1536, the government
adopted the medium of giving a fanction to
them for two generations. Although they had
been granted only for two years before this pe-
riod, they were in reality perpetual, fince there
was not a fingle inftance of the grant's not being
renewed. The king continued to referve to him-
felf all the Indians fettled in the ports or in the
principal towns.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
267
BOOK
VIII.
THE protector of thefe wretched people grew
indignant at theſe ordinances. He ſpoke, he
exerted himſelf, he fummoned his nation to the
tribunal of the whole univerſe, and made the two
hemifpheres fhudder with horror. O! Las
Cafas! thou waft greater by thy humanity, than
all thy countrymen were by their conquefts.
Should it happen in future ages, that theſe un-
fortunate regions which they have invaded,
fhould be peopled again, and that a fyftem of
laws, manners, and liberty, ſhould be eſtabliſhed
among them, the firſt ſtatue they would erect
would be thine. We fhould fee thee interpofing
between the American and the Spaniard, and
preſenting thy breaſt to the poniard of the one, in
order to fave the other. We fhould read, at the
bottom of this monument, IN AN AGE OF BARBA-
RITY, LAS CASAS, WHOM THOU SEEST, WAS A
BENEVOLENT MAN. In the mean while thy name
will remain engraved upon eyery feeling heart;
and when thy countrymen fhall blush at the bar-
barifm of their pretended heroes, they will take
pride in thy virtues. May theſe fortunate
times not be fo far diftant as we apprehend they
are!
CHARLES V. enlightened by his own reflec-
tions, or prevailed upon by the impetuous elo-
quence of Las Cafas, ordered, in 1542, that all
the commanderies which fhould become vacant,
fhould be indifcriminately reunited to the crown.
This decree was not in force in Mexico and Peru,
and occafioned a bloody and obftinate war. The
government were obliged to annul it three years
after i
268
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK after; but authority was eftabliſhed with fuffi-
cient folidity in 1549, to bid defiance to all
complaints, and to be no longer impeded by the
fear of infurrections.
AT this period the Indians were freed from
all perſonal ſervices, and the tribute they were to
pay to their commanders was regulated. The
mafters, hitherto fo oppreffive, were forbidden
to refide in the extent of their jurifdiction, and
to fleep there more than one night. They were
alſo prohibited from having any dwelling there,
from leaving their families, from poffeffing any
lands, from breeding any cattle, and from efta-
bliſhing any manufactures. They were forbidden
to intermix in marriage with their vaffals, and
to take any of them into their fervice. The perfon
commiffioned to collect their taxes, must have
the fanction of the magistrate, and must give
fecurity againſt any vexations he ſhould be guilty
of.
THE tax impofed upon the natives of the coun-
try, to make their conquerors fubfift with a
degree of dignity, is not even merely a gratuitous
favour. Theſe proud mafters are obliged to
collect their fubjects in a village, to build them
a church, and to pay the clergyman appointed to
inftruct them. They are obliged to fix their re-
fidence in the principal town of the province, in
which their commandery is fituated, and to have
always horfes and arms in readiness to repel an
enemy, whether foreign or domeftic. They are
not permitted to abfent themſelves,
till they
have
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
269
VIII.
have put a foldier, approved by government, in BOOK
their place.
!
No material alterations were made in theſe
regulations till 1568. It was then refolved that
the commanderies, which, for thirty-two years
paft, had been granted for two lives, fhould
continue to be given in the fame manner; but
that thofe, the revenue of which exceeded ten-
thouſand eight hundred livres *, fhould be fub-
ject to penfions. All of them were in future to
be proclaimed when they became vacant, and
fuppofing the merit of the competitors equal,
to be diftributed in preference to the heirs
of the conquerors, and, after them, to the
defcendants of the first colonifts.
The court,
perceiving that, thefe rewards were more fre-
quéntly diftributed by favour than by talents, or
the claim of an ancient origin, ordered, in 1608,
that they should be annulled, if the favours
granted by the viceroys were not confirmed in fix
years for Peru, and in five for the reft of Ame-
rica. The chief of the commandery, however,
entered into the enjoyment of his poſt as ſoon as
he was appointed. It was only required of him
to fecure the reftitution of the fums he might
have received, if the choice that had been made
of him were not ratified at the time preſcribed by
the ordinances.
Ar the beginning of the laft century, the go-
vernment appropriated to themſelves the third
part of the revenue of the commanderies. Soon
after this they took the whole of it into their
* 4501.
hands,
J
270
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
!
BOOK hands, and forbade their delegates to fill up
VIII. thoſe that ſhould become vacant. At length,
they were all fuppreffed in 1720, except thofe
that were given in perpetuity to Cortez, and to
fome hofpitals or religious communities. At this
period, fo remarkable in the annals of the New
World, the Indians were dependent only on the
crown.
WAS this fyftem the beft that could poffibly
be adopted for the intereft of Spain and the
felicity of the other hemifphere? Who will be
able to folve a problem, in which fo many cir-
cumftances are complicated? The rights of juf-
tice; the fentiments of humanity; the private
views of minifters; the fway of the moment; the
ambition of the great; the rapaciouſneſs of fa-
vourites; the projects of fpeculative men; the
authority of the priesthood; the influence of the
manners and of prejudice; the character of the
diſtant fubjects; the nature of the climate, of
the foil, and of the labours; the diftance of
places; the tardinefs and contempt of the fove-
reign's orders; the tyranny of governors; the
impunity of crimes; the uncertainty of accounts
and of accufations; and fuch a multitude of other
different matters. We need not therefore be
furpriſed at the long uncertainty of the court of
Madrid; when, in the centre of European na-
tions, at the foot of the throne, under the inme-.
diate inſpection of the directors of the ſtate, we
fee abuſes fubfifting, and often increafing, on
account of the abfurdity of meafures. The man,
with whom they were furrounded, was then
taken
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
271
VIII.
taken for the model of the man at a distance; BOOK
and it was imagined that the fame ſyſtem of legif-
lation which fuited the one, was equally adapted
to the other. In former times, and, perhaps,
even at prefent, we confound with each other,
two beings feparated by immenfe differences, the
favage and the civilized man; the man born in
the centre of liberty, and the man born in the
fhackles of flavery. The averfion of the favage
for our cities, arifeth from the improper manner
in which we have introduced ourſelves into his
forests.
AT prefent, the Indians, who have not been
fettled in the towns, are all collected in villages,
which they are not permitted to quit, and where
they form municipal affemblies, over which their
cacique prefides. To each of thefe villages a
territory of greater or lefs extent is attached,
according to the nature of the foil, and the num-
ber of its inhabitants. Part of it is cultivated in
common for the public neceffities, and the reft is
diftributed to the families for their private ufe.
The law hath ordained that this domain fhould
be unalienable; fome portions of it, however,
are, from time to time, allowed to be detached
from it, in favour of the Spaniards: but always
with an annual charge upon it, for the profit of
the fellers, under the inſpection of government.
There is no inftitution which prevents the Indians,
from having lands belonging to them; but they
have feldom the power or the inclination to make
acquifitions.
A$
پتے
272
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VHI.
As difgrace breaks down all the fprings of the
mind, one of the cauſes of this poverty and
of this diſcouragement, muft be the obligation
impofed upon thefe people of being alone de-
voted to the public labours. The law ordains
that they ſhould be paid for this humiliating
labour; but the diſtance from whence they may
be brought, and the time they may be detained,
depends upon the government of the spot.
ANOTHER duty impofed upon the Indians, is
to be at the difpofal of all the citizens; but
merely for the manufactures, and the cultures of
primary neceffity; and this in rotation only, for
eighteen days confecutively, and for a falary
fettled by the ordinances.
THEY have ftill a more burthenfome taſk,
and that is the working of the mines. The di-
rectors were originally the fole regulators of this
tafk. It was afterwards provided for by ftatutes,
which were frequently varied. At prefent no
Indians are called to the mines, except to thofe
of Guanca Velica, and of Potofi, which have
particular privileges, who live at the diftance of
more than thirty miles: they are allowed four
reals, or fifty-four fols per day; they are de-
tained no longer than fix months, and the feventh
part of a colony is only employed in them at
Peru, and the twenty-fifth part at Mexico.
Frequently even there are a lefs number, be-
caufe libertinifm, cupidity, the expectation of
thieving, and, perhaps, other motives, attract
*
* About 2 s. 3 d.
}
there
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
273
=
VIII.
there, a great number of Meftees, Mulattoes, BOOK
and natives.
A TRIBUTE which the male Indians, from
eighteen to fifty years of age, pay to the govern-
ment, completes this multitude of calamities.
This tax, which was originally paid in proviſions,
is not the fame in all parts. It is from eight
to fifteen, twenty, thirty, and forty livres *, ac-
cording to the different periods when, at the
request of the perfons who paid it, it was con-
verted into coin. The custom which prevailed
with the government, of requiring always in
money the value of the productions, the price of
which varies with time and place, introduced
thefe difproportions, which were greater, and
confequently more deftructive in South, than
they were in North America, where the capita-
tion is uſually of nine reals, or fix livres one fol
fix deniers †. The fourth part of this tax is
diftributed to the clergyman, to the cacique, and
to the Spaniard, commiffioned in each province
to prevent the oppreffion of the Indians, or
kept for the purpoſe of affifting the community
in any of its misfortunes. Such is the legal
condition of the Indians: but no one can deter-
mine how much private injuftice adds weight to
a burthen already too heavy. That, among the
vexations which hath moſt attracted the notice of
government, hath proceeded from the officer,
* From 6s. 8d. to 12 s. 10d.—16 s. 8d.—ıl. 5s. and
11. 13s. 4d.
+ Rather more than five fhillings.
VOL. IV.
T
I.
-
who
+
+
274
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK who is called an Alcade at Mexico, and a Corre-
gidor at Peru.
VIII.
THIS is a magiftrate charged, under the in-
ſpection of the viceroy, or of the tribunals, with
the adminiſtration of juftice; with the manage
ment of the finances, of war, of police, and of
every thing that can concern public order,
throughout the ſpace of thirty, forty, and fifty
leagues. Although the law prohibited him, as
well as the other depofitaries of authority, from
undertaking any trade; yet, from the earlieſt
times, he monopolized all that was poffible to be
carried on with the Indians under his jurifdiction.
As he only remained five years in office, he uſed
to deliver, almoft as foon as he got in, the mer-
chandiſe he had to fell, and employed the reſt
of his time in collecting in the payments. The
oppreffion became general. The unfortunate
natives of the country were always crushed by
the enormity of the prices, and frequently by
being obliged to take goods of no ufe to them,
but which the tyrant himſelf had fometimes been
compelled to receive from the merchants, who
afforded him a long and hazardous credit. Every
thing, or almoft every thing, was refuſed to the
poor, and thoſe who enjoyed any kind of eaſe in
their circumftances were overburthened. When
the payments became due, they were exacted
with barbarous feverity, by a creditor who is at
once both judge and party; and the moſt heavy
penalties were inflicted upon the debtors, who
failed either in the voluntary or compelled obli-
gations they had entered into.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
275
VIII.
THE humane and equitable chiefs were fenfibly BOOK
affected with theſe enormities, which were more
atrocious and more frequent in South, than
they were in North America. They thought it,
however, neceffary to tolerate them, from an
idea generally entertained, that if the chain
which was formed was once to be broken,
thefe indolent and thoughtless people would be
in want of clothing, of inftruments of agricul-
ture, of cattle neceffary for all the labours, and
that they would immediately fall into a ftate of
inaction and extreme mifery. Some prudent men
endeavoured to reconcile interefts that were fo
oppofite to each other; but none of their ideas
were found to be practicable. A fure method of
leffening the miſchief, would have been, to put
the magiftrates, who went to feek, in another
hemifphere, a fortune which their native country
refuſed them, upon a better footing: but the
miniftry would never confent to this increaſe of
expence. Since the year 1751, the Alcades and
the Corregidors are obliged to fix upon the
place of their refidence, the goods they have to
fell, and the price they mean to put upon them.
If they deviate from this rate, which is approved
of by their ſuperiors, they are to loſe their places,
and to restore the quadruple of what they have
purloined. This regulation, which is rather
ftrictly attended to, hath in ſome degree dimi- .
niſhed the depredations.
1
vernment
A FORM of government was wanting for the feve- Civil goe
ral people we have been ſpeaking of; and the court eftablished
of Madrid adopted that which was the moſt abfo- by Spain in
T 2
lute.
the New
World.
276
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK lute. The Spanish monarchs took all the rights
and all the powers into their own hands, and in- -
trufted the exercife of them to two delegates,
who, under the title of viceroys, were to enjoy
the prerogatives of fovereignty during all the
time of their commiffion. They were attended
in their public functions, and even in their pri
vate life, with a degree of pomp, which feemed
calculated to increaſe the refpect and terror
which was inſpired by authority. The number
of theſe diſtinguiſhed offices hath fince been
doubled, without the leaft derogation from their
dignity. Their conduct, however, as well as
that of the inferior agents, was fubject to the
cenfure of the Council for India; a tribunal.
erected in Europe, to govern, under the infpec-
tion of the monarch, the conquered provinces in
the New World.
IN thefe diftant countries were eſtabliſhed ten
courts of juſtice, appointed to infure the tran-
quillity of the citizens, and to ſettle any differ-
ences that might arife among them. Theſe
tribunals, known by the name of Audiences,
pronounced definitively upon criminal matters:
but cauſes that were merely civil, and which
were for more than 10,156 piaftres, or 54,843
livres, might be carried, by appeal, to the
council for India. The privilege granted to
theſe great bodies, to make remonstrances to the
depofitaries of the royal authority, and the ftill
more confiderable prerogative given to thofe of
*2,2851. 2s. 6d.
the
!
+
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
277
>
}
1
VIII.
the capitals, to fill the duties of the vice-royalty, BOOK
whenever they were vacant, raiſed them to a
degree of importance, which, as magiftrates, they
would not have acquired.
aftical go-
adopted in
IT feemed more difficult to regulate the eccle- Nature of
ſiaſtical form of government. At the period of the ecclefi-
the diſcovery of the New World, all Europe was vernment
covered with a veil of darkneſs, woven, or America.
thickened, by the prejudices which the court of
Rome had inceffantly diffuſed, fometimes openly,
and ſometimes with cunning. Theſe fuperfti-
tions were more deeply rooted, and more gene-
ral in Spain, where the infidels had for fo long
a time paft been the object of their hatred and of
their wars.
The fovereigns of this kingdom,
one would naturally imagine, would have efta-
bliſhed beyond the feas, the bad principles of the
pontiffs who gave them another hemifphere: but
this was not the cafe. Theſe princes, more en-
lightened, as it ſhould feem, than might be ex-
pected from the age they lived in, deprived the
ruler of Christendom of the privilege of collating
to the benefices of the church, and even of the
tithes, which the priests had affumed to them-
felves in all parts. Unfortunately, the prudence
that had dictated this fyftem, was not followed by
their fucceffors; who founded, or permitted to
be founded, too great a number of biſhopricks.
Numberless churches were conſtructed, and con-
vents of both fexes multiplied beyond every idea
of excefs. Celibacy became the ruling paffion
in a defert country. Metals, which ſhould have
been employed in fertilizing the earth, were
I 3
thrown
278
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK thrown away upon the churches. The clergy,
notwithstanding their ignorance and corruption,
obtained the restoration of the greateſt part of
thofe oppreffive tithes which had been drawn
out of their avaricious hands. America feemed
now to have been conquered but for them. In
the mean while, the inferior clergy, thoſe who are
in other parts fo mild and fo refpectable, did not
find themſelves fufficiently opulent. The Indian,
whom they were appointed to inftruct and com-
fort, did not dare to appear before them without
fome prefent. They indulged him in fuch of his
former fuperftitions as were of advantage to
themſelves; as for inftance, the cuſtom of putting
a great quantity of provifions upon the tombs of
the dead. They fet an exorbitant price upon
their functions, and had always fome pious inven-
tions, which gave them an opportunity of exact-
ing fresh taxes. Such a conduct had rendered
their tenets generally odious. Theſe people
went to mafs as they did to the labours of vaf-
falage, execrating the barbarous ftrangers, who
loaded their bodies and their fouls with burthens
equally weighty.
THE fcandal became public, and almoft gene-
ral. The fecular and the regular clergy, who
both of them fulfilled the fame miniftry, mutually
accuſed each other of theſe vexations. The first
defcribed their rivals as a fet of vagabonds, who
had withdrawn themſelves from the fuperintend-
ence of their fuperiors, in order to follow their
libertiniſm with impunity. The latter accuſed
the other of their ignorance and indolence, and
cenfured
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
279
VIII.
?
cenfured them for being wholly taken up with the BOOK
education of their families. We acknowledge,
with regret, that there was reaſon for theſe re-
proaches on both fides. The court was for a long
time diſturbed by the intrigues of thefe two ca-
bals, which were inceffantly renewed. At length
they decreed, in 1757, that the monks fhould oc-
cupy the benefices they held during life, but that
they ſhould not be fucceeded in them by men of
the fame profeffion. This determination, which
brings matters again into their natural order,
will probably be attended with favourable confe-
quences.
Diftribution
of the lands
in the New
World at the
Mode of
It was a great point, to have regulated, in the
firft inftance, all the great fprings of the new em-
pire. It now remained to fettle the deſtiny of time of the
thoſe who were to live in it. The fovereign, who conqueft.
thought himſelf the legitimate poffeffor of all the acquiring
lands of America, by right of conqueft, and by fions at pre-
the conceffion of the pontiffs, cauſed fome of them,
at first, to be diftributed among his foldiers, who
had fought in the New World.
1
THE foot foldier received a piece of ground of
the length of one hundred feet, and of the breadth
of fifty, to build upon; one thoufand eight hun-
dred and eighty-five toifes for garden-ground;
ſeven thouſand five hundred and forty-three for
his orchard; ninety-four thousand two hundred
and eighty-eight for the culture of European
corn; and nine thouſand four hundred and twenty-
eight for that of Indian corn; and all the extent
of ground that was neceffary to breed ten hogs,
twenty goats, one hundred ſheep, twenty horned
cattle,
T 4
thefe poffef-
fent.
280
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
་
BOOK cattle, and five horfes. The cavalry man was al-
VIII.
}
lowed double the quantity of ground for his build-
ings, and the quintuple of all the reft.
Soon after towns were conftructed. Theſe were
not left to the caprice of perſons who meant to in-
habit them. The ordonnances required that they
ſhould be in an agreeable fituation, in a whole-
fome air, on a fertile foil, abounding with waters.
They regulated the pofition of the churches, the
direction of the ſtreets, and the extent of the
public fquares. It was ufually fome rich and
active individual who undertook to build them,
after they had obtained the fanction of govern-
ment. If the whole was not finiſhed at the fti-
pulated time, he loft all the money he had ad-
vanced, and was likewife indebted to the trea-
fury 5,400 livres *. The other obligations im-
pofed upon him were, to find a clergyman for his
church, and to ſupply him with all that was re-
quired to keep up the decency of a regular form
of worship. He was alfo obliged to collect at leaſt
thirty Spaniſh inhabitants, each of whom was to
have ten cows, four oxen, one mare, one fow,
twenty fheep, one cock, and fix hens. When
thefe conditions were fulfilled, the civil and cri-
minal jurifdictions were granted to him in the firſt
inftance for two generations, the right of appoint-
ing the municipal officers, and four leagues fquare
of territory.
PART of this great space was taken up in the
placing of the city, by the commons, and by the
perfon
2251.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
281
perfon who undertook the buſineſs. The reft was
divided into equal portions, which were drawn
for by lot, and none of which could be alienated
till after five years cultivation. Every citizen was
to have as many lots as he had houſes; but his
property was never to exceed what Ferdinand had
originally granted at Saint Domingo to three
horfemen.
THOSE perfons who had poffeffions in the towns
that were already founded, were excluded by law
from the new fettlements: but this ftrict regula-
tion did not extend to their children. All the
Indians, who were not detained elſewhere by en-
gagements which they could not break, were al-
lowed to fettle there as fervants, as mechanics, or
as labourers.
EXCLUSIVE of the lands which were fecured to
the troops, and to the founders of towns, the
chiefs of the feveral colonies were authoriſed to
diſtribute ſome to the Spaniards who were in-
clined to fettle in the New Hemifphere. This
great privilege was taken from them in 1591.
Philip II. whofe ambition engaged him in perpe-
tual wars, and whofe obftinacy would never al-
low him to put an end to them, was not able to
anfwer fo many expences. The fale of the lands
in America, which to this period had been given
away, was one of the reſources that fuggefted it-
felf to him. His law had, even in fome fort, a
retroactive effect, in as much as it ordered the
confifcation of all that was poffeffed without a le-
gitimate title, unleſs the ufurper fhould confent
to
BOOK
VIII.
282
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK to redeem thefe poffeffions. An arrangement fo
uſeful in reality, or in appearance, to the treafury,
never received any modification at any period, nor
hath it yet experienced any.
But it was a more eaſy matter to beſtow lands
gratuitoufly upon fome adventurers, or to cede
them to fuch perfons at a low price, than to in-
duce them to make them fertile. This kind of
labour was deſpiſed by the firſt Spaniards, whom
their avidity had led into the Indies. The flow,
laborious, and expenſive mode of cultivation,
could ſcarce tempt men, who, in the hope of
making an eaſy, brilliant, and rapid fortune, had
braved the waves of an unknown ocean, and the
dangers of all kinds that awaited them, upon un-
wholeſome and barbarous coafts. They were in
hafte to enjoy; and the moft expeditious way of
doing this, was to feize upon the minerals. An
enlightened government would have endeavoured
to rectify the ideas of their fubjects, and to give,
as much as poffible, another bent to their ambi-
tion. But the direct contrary of this took place;
the error of individuals became the policy of the
miniftry; they were blind enough to prefer trea-
fures that are merely fo by convention, the quan
tity of which could not fail of being diminiſhed,
and which muſt daily lofe fomething of their ima-`
ginary price, to riches that are inceffantly ſpring-
ing up afreſh, and the value of which muſt gra-
dually increaſe in all times. This illufion of the
conquerors and of the fovereigns, threw the ftatę.
out of the road of profperity, and formed the.
-manners
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
283
}
1
VIII.
manners in America. Nothing was in eftimation BOOK
but gold or filver, accumulated by rapine, by op-
preffion, and by the working of the mines.
made at dif-
ferent pe-
riods for the
working of
In the earliest times of the conqueft, it was de- Regulations
creed that the mines fhould belong to the per-
fon who diſcovered them, provided he had them
regiſtered in the tribunal nearest to the fpot. The the mines.
government had at firft the imprudence to have
the portion of this rich foil, which they had re-
ferved for themfelves, fearched on their own ac-
count; but they foon renounced this ruinous
error, and contracted the habit of ceding it to the
proprietor of the rest of the mine for a very mo-
derate fum. If thefe treaſures were found in cul-
tivated parts, which fcarce ever happened, the
perfon who undertook the mine was to purchaſe
the extent of ground he wanted, or to give up
the hundredth part of the ore. Upon barren
mountains the proprietor was more than fuffi-
ciently indemnified for the little damage he re-
ceived, by the value which a new exertion gave
to the productions cultivated in the neighbour-
hood.
FROM the most ancient times, the mines, of
whatſoever nature they were, gave up to the trea-
fury in Spain the fifth of their produce. This
cuſtom was carried into the New World; but in
proceſs of time the government was obliged to
confine itſelf to a tenth for the gold, and even in
1735, for the filver in Peru. They were alfo
obliged in general to lower the price of mercury.
Till the year 1761, this neceffary agent had been
fold
284
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
*
BOOK fold for 432 livres the quintal. At this period
}
VIII.
it coft no more than 324 †, or even 216 livres,
for the mines that were not abundant, or which
were very expenſive in the working.
EVERY thing leads us to fuppofe, that the court
of Spain will be obliged, fooner or later, to make
other facrifices. In proportion as the metals
grow more common in commerce, they decreafe
in value, and they reprefent fewer commodities.
This degradation must one day make the beſt
mines be neglected, as it hath fucceffively made
the middling ones to have been abandoned, un-
lefs the burthen of thofe who work them be alle-
viated. The time, perhaps, is not far diftant,
when the Spaniſh miniftry muſt be contented with
two reals, or one livre feven fols §, which they
receive per mark for the ſtamp and for the coin-
age.
THE Circumſtance that might give great weight
to theſe conjectures is, that there are fcarce any
men, except thofe whofe affairs are in a doubtful
or ruinous fituation, who venture the taking of a
part in the mines. If it fhould fometimes hap-
pen, that a rich merchant fhould be ftimulated to
it by an unbounded avidity, he doth it always
under the veil of the most impenetrable fecrecy.
The bold fpeculator may confent to expoſe his
fortune, but never his name. He is well aware,
that if his engagements were known, his repu-
* 181.
$91.
† 131. 10's.
§ About Is. 1dž.
1
1
เ
tation
༣
i
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VIII.
285
tation and his credit would be inevitably loft. BOOK
It is not, till his raſhneſs hath been crowned with
the moſt brilliant fuccefs, that he can venture to
avow the rifques he hath run.
WHEN the government fhall be obliged to give
up the duties they yet receive from the metals,
they will ſtill have confiderable revenues for the
expences of fovereignty. The principal of theſe
ought to have been the tithes, which Ferdinand
had compelled the court of Rome to give up to
him: but Charles V. from motives which it is not
eaſy to conjecture, deprived himſelf of them in
favour of the bishops, the chapters, the rectors,
the hofpitals, the building of the churches; in a
word, in favour of men and of eſtabliſhments,
which were either too rich already, or foon be-
came fo. This prince ſcarce tranfinitted the ninth
part of them to his fucceffors. It was neceffary
that a tribute extorted from the Indians fhould
fill up a void fo inconfiderately made in the pub-
lic treaſure. The fuperior claffes of fociety were
not treated with lefs management; all the New
World was fubject to the Alcavala.
THIS is a tax levied only upon what is fold by
wholefale, and which doth not extend to articles
of daily confumption. It comes originally from
the Moors. The Spaniards adopted it in 1341,
and fettled it at the rate of five per cent. It was
afterwards carried up to ten, and even to four-
teen but, in 1750, arrangements were made,
which brought it back to what it had been in the
first inftance. Philip II. after the difafter of that
fleet, fo well known by the pompous title of In-
vincible,
Taxes efta
Spanish
bliſhed in
America.
286
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
!
BOOK vincible, was urged, in 1591, by his wants, to re-
VIII. quire this affiftance from his poffeffions in Ame-
rica. It was at firft only at two per cent. and in
1627 it roſe to four.
STAMPT paper, that mode fo wifely invented
to fecure the fortune of individuals, and which is
become, in all parts, one of the principles of their
ruin in the hands of the treaſury: ftampt paper, I
fay, was introduced, in 1641, into all the Spanish
provinces of the New World.
THE monopoly of tobacco began to diftrefs
Peru in 1752, Mexico in 1754, and in the in-
terval of thefe two periods, all the other parts of
the hemifphere dependent on Caftile.
Ar divers times, the crown hath appropriated
to itſelf, in the New as well as in the Old World,
the monopoly of gunpowder, lead, and cards.
THE most extraordinary of all impofts, how-
ever, is the crufade. It took its rife in thoſe
ages
of folly and fanaticifm, when millions of
Europeans went to lofe their lives in the Eaft for
the recovery of Paleftine. The court of Rome
revived it in favour of Ferdinand; who, in 1509,
wifhed to attack the Moors of Africa. This tax
ftill fubfifts in Spain, where it is never lower than
twelve fols fix deniers *, and never higher than
four livres †. A greater fum is paid for it in the
New World, where it is only collected every
two years, and where it rifes from thirty-five fols
to thirteen. livres, according to the rank and
* Rather more than 6 d.
From about 1 s. 7 d. to 11s. 8 d.
† 3s. 4d.
fortunes
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
287
VIII.
fortunes of the citizens. For this fum the people BOOK
acquire the liberty of obtaining abfolution from
their confeffors, for fuch crimes as are referved
for the abſolution of the Pope and the biſhops ;
they acquire the right of eating, upon days of ab-
ftinence, fome kinds of prohibited food, and a
multitude of indulgences, for fins already com-
mitted, or for thofe that may be committed in
future. The government do not strictly oblige
their fubjects to take this bull: but the prieſts
would refuſe the comforts of religion to thoſe
who ſhould neglect or difdain it; and there is not
perhaps, in all Spanish America, one man fuffi-
ciently bold or fufficiently enlightened to brave
this ecclefiaftical cenfure.
I WILL not, therefore, addrefs myſelf to a fet of
fooliſh mortals, whom we fhould in vain adviſe to
hake off the double yoke under which they are
oppreffed; and I will not fay to them, What! do
ye not conceive that Providence, which watches
over your preſervation, in prefenting you with
food which is proper for you, and in perpetuating
inceffantly the appetency you have for it, meant
undoubtedly to allow you the free ufe of it? If
the Heavens were irritated when you eat of it in
a forbidden feaſon, there is no power on earth
that could diſpenſe with your obedience. Do ye
not ſee that your ftupid credulity is impofed
upon, and that by an infamous kind of traffic,
a being who is not greater than you are, a crea-
ture who is nothing before the face of your com-
mon Maſter, arrogates to himſelf the right of
commanding you in his name, or of freeing you
8
from
288
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK from the obfervation of his orders for a piece of
money? This piece of money, doth he take it
for himſelf, or doth he give it to his God? Is his
God indigent? Doth he depend upon refources,
or doth he amafs treaſures? If in the other life
he be a rewarder of virtue, and an avenger of
crimes, neither the gold which you have given,
nor the abfolution which you fhall have pur-
chafed with that gold, will have any effect upon
the fcale. If his venal juftice fhould admit of
corruption, he would be as vile and as contempt-
ible as thoſe who are feated in your tribunals. If
his repreſentative had the fame power for himſelf,
as he hath perfuaded you that he hath for you,
he might be the moft wicked of mankind with
impunity, fince there is not any crime which he
would not have it in his power to pardon. Nei-
ther will I addrefs myſelf to the fubaltern mi-
nifters of this proud chief, becauſe they have a
common intereft with him; and that inſtead of
anfwering me they would light up the ftake
under my feet. But I will addreſs myſelf to the
chief himſelf, and to the whole body over which
he prefides, and I will tell them:
It is time you fhould renounce this unwor-
thy monopoly, which difgraces you, and which
diſhonours both the God whom you preach, and
the religion which you profefs. Simplify your
doctrine, and purge it from abfurdities. Aban-
don, with a good grace, all the poſts from which
you will be driven. The world is too enlight-
ened to be any longer gulled with incomprehenfi-
bilities that are repugnant to reaſon, `or to give
credit
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
289
your
VII.
credit to miraculous falfehoods, being common BOOK
to all religions, cannot be admitted as proofs
for any one. Return to a practicable and focial
fyftem of morality. Let the reformation of
theology be followed by that of your manners.
Since you enjoy the privileges of fociety, partake
of the burthens of it. Do not any longer plead
your immunities against the efforts of an equi-
table miniftry, who would wish to bring you
back to the general condition of other citizens.
Your ſpirit of intoleration, and the odious means
by which you have acquired, and ftill continue to
heap up riches upon riches, have done more in-
jury to your opinions, than all the arguments of
incredulity. Had you been the appeafers of pub-
lic and domeftic troubles, the advocates of the
poor, the ſupport of the perfecuted, the media-
tors between the husband and the wife, between
fathers and children; had you been, among ci-
tizens, the organs of the law, the friends of the
throne, and co-operators with the magiftrate;
however abfurd your tenets had been, mankind
would have been filent. No one would have
ventured to attack a clafs of men fo ufeful and fo
refpectable. But you have ſpread divifions over
Europe for concerns of the moſt frivolous nature.
All countries have been reeking with blood,
and for reaſons which at prefent we blufh to
think of. If you would reftore to your miniftry
its former dignity, be humble, be indulgent,
be even poor if it fhould be neceffary: for fo
your Founder was. His apoftles, his diſciples,
and their followers, who converted all the
VOL. IV.
known
U
290
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK known world, were fo likewife. Be neither
mountebanks nor hypocrites, nor fimoniacal, nor
dealers in things which you give out as holy.
Endeavour to become priefts again; that is to
fay, delegates from the Moft High, to preach
virtue to men, and to fhew them the example of
it. And thou, Pontiff of Rome, call thyfelf no
longer the fervant of the fervants of God, unleſs
thou wilt be fo. Confider that the era of thy
bulls, of thine indulgences, of thy pardons, and
of thy difpenfations, is paft. It is in vain that
thou wouldſt fell the Holy Ghoſt, if no one can
be found to purchaſe it. Thy fpiritual revenue
is continually decreaſing, and, fooner or later, it
muſt be reduced to nothing. Whatever the fub-
fidies may be, the nations that pay them are
naturally inclined to get rid of them; and the
flightest pretence is fufficient.
Since from a
fiſherman, thou haft made thyfelf a temporal
prince, become, as all good fovereigns are, the
promoter of agriculture, of the arts, of manufac-
tures, of trade, and of population. Thou wilt
then have no occafion for a traffic that is fcandal-
Thou wilt reftore to the labours of man,
the precious days which thou haft deprived him
of; and thou will recover our veneration, which
thou haft loft.
ous.
THE finances of the Spanish continent of the
other Hemiſphere were for a long time a myſtery
to the miniſtry themſelves. The chaos was in
fome meaſure cleared up by M. de la Enfenada.
Each of the twelve years of his fortunate admi-
niftration, the crown received from thefe coun-
tries,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
291
VIII.
tries, or from the duties they collected at the de- BOOK
parture and at the return of the fleets, 17,719,448
livres 12 fols *.
This reſource of
This refource of government
hath fince been much increaſed, both from the
value of the new taxes, and from the frictneſs
that hath been obferved in the collecting of the
old ones.
At preſent the public revenue of
Mexico amounts to 54,000,000 livres †; that of
Peru, to 27,000,000 livres ; that of Guatimala,
of the New Kingdom, of Chili, and of Paraguay,
to 9,100,000 livres §. This amounts in all to
90,100,000 livres . The local expences abforb
56,700,000 livres ; fo that there remain for the
treaſury, 34,500,000 livres **. Add to this fum,
20,584,450 livres tt; which they receive in Eu-
rope itſelf upon the articles fent to the colonies,
or which are brought from thence, and it will be
found that the court of Madrid draws annually
55,084,450 livres ‡‡ from its provinces in the
New World. But all theſe riches do not enter
into the royal coffers of the mother-country. Part
of them is employed in the Spaniſh iſlands in
America, for the expence of fovereignty, and
for the building of fhips, or for the purchaſing of
tobacco.
principles
SPAIN had fcarce difcovered this other Hemi- Deftruative
ſphere, when ſhe conceived the idea of a fyftem
*738,3101. 7s. 2d.
1,125,000l.
| 3,754,1661. 13 s. 4d.
** 1,437,500l.
‡‡ 2,295,1851. 8s. 4d.
U 2
† 2,250,0001.
§ 379,1661. 13s. 4d.
¶ 2,362,5001.
tt 857,5851. 8s. 4d.
unknown
upon which
Spain first
founded its
connections
with the
New Worlde
292
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
¿VIII.
BOOK unknown to the people of antiquity, but which
hath ſince been adopted by modern nations, that
of taking into her hands all the productions of
her colonies, and the whole care of fupplying
them with provifions. In this view the govern-
ment were not fatisfied with forbidding theſe new
eſtabliſhments, under capital penalties, to hold
any foreign intercourfe; but they carried their
ftrictneſs fo far, as to render all communication
between them impracticable, and to prohibit
them from fending any of their fhips to the
country from which they originally came. This
ſpirit of jealoufy foon betrayed itſelf in the
mother-country. The fhips, indeed, were at firſt
allowed to ſet out from different ports; but they
were all obliged to return to Seville. The
wealth, which this preference accumulated in
this city, foon enabled it to obtain, that the
fhips fhould be diſpatched from its harbour, as
well as they were compelled to return to it. The
river that waſhes its walls, not being afterwards
found confiderable enough to receive the fhips,
which had gradually increaſed to a certain fize,
it was the peninfula of Cadix, which became the
general ſtaple. All foreign merchants, ſettled in
this port, which was become famous, were for-
bidden to take a direct part in a trade of ſo lu-
crative a nature. In vain did they repreſent,
that as they confumed the provifions of the king-
dom, as they paid the taxes, and as they en-
couraged agriculture, induftry, and navigation,
they ought to be confidered as citizens. Thefe
reaſons were never attended to in a court where
cuftom
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
293
t
cuftom was the fupreme law. Theſe active, opu-
lent, and enlightened men, who for a long time
paſt had alone kept up the connections between
the Ancient and the New World, were always ob-
liged, with more diſguſt and inconvenience than
one would imagine, to cover their moft trifling
tranfactions under a Spanish name.
THE liberty of undertaking voyages to the
great fettlements that were forming on all fides
in the other Hemifphere, was even much re-
ftrained with regard to the natives themfelves.
The government took the refolution of regu-
lating, every year, the number of fhips that it
was thought proper to fend, and to fix the time
of their fetting out. It entered into their fyftem
of politics, to render theſe voyages very unfre-
quent, and the permiffion to fit out a veffel
became a very fignal favour. In order to obtain
it, the capital of the empire was filled with in-
trigues, and corruption was kept up in all the
offices.
UNDER the pretence of preventing frauds, of
eſtabliſhing an invariable order, and of procuring
entire fafety to fhips that were richly laden; de-
lays, vifitations, fearchings, failors, and forma-
lities of every kind were multiplied to fuch a
degree, both in Europe and America, that the
uſeleſs expences doubled the value of fome goods,
and enhanced confiderably that of others.
THE oppreffion of the cuftoms completed the
ruin of every thing. The articles exported to the
other Hemiſphere were fubjected to fuch duties
U 3
as
BOOK
VIII.
294
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK as had never exiſted in any age, or on any part of
the globe. The price even that had been given
for them was taxed. The gold, on its return, paid
four per cent. and the filver nine.
Reafonswhy
the court of
Madrid per
fevered in
their errone
ous fyftem.
BUT how was it poffible that the court of Ma-
drid fhould be fo grofsly deceived with refpect to
their interefts; or ftill more, how was it poffible
they ſhould perfift in their error? Let us endea-
vour, if we can, to find out the cauſes of ſo ſtrange
an infatuation.
THE empire of the Spaniards over the New
World was eſtabliſhed in an age of ignorance and
barbarifm. All the principles of government
were then forgotten; and we need not certainly
be ſurpriſed, that in the intoxication of their vic-
tories, a ſet of proud conquerors fhould not have
reſtored knowledge, which had been banished
from Europe for ten or twelve centuries paſt.
At this period of general infatuation, the court.
of Madrid did not conjecture that the fettlements
they were forming in another hemifphere would
only be uſeful, in as much as they ſhould pro-
duce an encouragement of their agriculture, in-
duſtry, and navigation. Far from making the
colonies fubordinate to the mother-country, it
was, in fome meaſure, the mother-country that
was fubordinate to the colonies. Every political
œconomy was either neglected or difdained; and
the grandeur of the monarchy was viewed only
in the gold and filver of America. The people
were feized with the fame ambition; and aban-
doned their native country in multitudes to go in
fearch
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
295
VIII.
fearch of thefe metals. Theſe immenfe and con- BOOK
tinual emigrations, left a void in the population
of the principal country, which was not filled up
by the refort of foreigners, becauſe they were in-
ceffantly driven from it by pride and the ſpirit of
intoleration.
SPAIN was confirmed, by fucceffes which were
maintained rather for a long time, in the falfe
road fhe had at firft marked out for herſelf. An
afcendency which fhe owed to circumſtances alone,
appeared to her to be a neceffary confequence of
her adminiſtration and her maxims.
THE calamities which afterwards invaded this
kingdom on all fides, might poffibly have en-
lightened it. An almoft continued ſeries of wars,
fome more fatal than others, deprived it of the
tranquillity neceffary to examine into the defects
of a fyftem, which had been uninterruptedly pur-
fued with the greateſt fecurity.
THE knowledge fucceffively acquired, or diffu-
fed by other nations, was very well calculated to
refute and diffipate the errors of Spain. Whether
from pride or jealoufy, this nation obftinately re-
jected the lights it might have obtained from its
rivals or its neighbours.
IN default of foreign aids, the Spaniards, born
with a ſpirit of reflection, and with penetrating
fagacity, might have diſcovered many circum-
ftances of confequence to their profperity. This
kind of genius, which was fit for every thing,
unfortunately turned itſelf towards contempla-
tions which could not but increafe their mif-
takes.
U 4
To
1
+
296
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
Confe-
quences
fatal combi-
miniftry
ed with,
even in the
mother.
country.
To fill up the meaſure of thefe misfortunes, the
court of Madrid had, from early times, impofed
a law upon themfelves, to fupport the meafores
they had followed, in order that they might not
be ſuſpected of having lightly taken a refolution.
Events, however difgraceful they were, did not
difguft them of theſe politics in their connections
with America, and they were confirmed in them,
by the combined or feparate fuffrages of a mul-
titude of corrupt or difhoneft agents, who infured
their own private fortune by the keeping up
univerfal confufion.
of
THE mifchief, however, was not felt from the
which the firft, although fome celebrated writers have af-
nations of ferted this with confidence. According to their
the Spanih opinion, Spain, feeing herſelf the miſtreſs of A-
were attend merica, voluntarily renounced her manufactures
and her agriculture. Such an extravagant idea
never entered into the fyftem of any nation. At
the period when the other Hemiſphere was dif-
covered, Seville was celebrated for its filk
manufactures; the woollens of Segovia were
eſteemed the fineft in Europe, and the ſtuffs of
Catalonia found an advantageous mart in Italy
and in the Levant. Other openings for trade
gave fresh activity to this induſtry, and to the
cultivation of the lands, which is infeparable
from it. Had it been otherwife, how is it poſ-
fible that this monarchy could have invaded fo
many provinces; fuftained fo many tedious and
bloody wars; paid fo many foreign and national
troops; equipped fuch numerous and formidable
fleets; kept up divifion in the neighbouring ſtates,
$
and
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
297
VIII.
and purchaſed traitors among them; fubverted BOOK
all nations by their intrigues; and given the im-
pulfe to all political events? How could they have
been the firſt, and, perhaps, the only power of the
univerfe?
BUT all theſe exertions occafioned an immenſe
confumption of men: feveral went over into the
New World: this other Hemifphere, more
wealthy and more populous, required more mer-
chandife; and hands were wanting for all the
labours. Then Spain was furniſhed with fub-
fiftence, and her colonies were ſupplied with
clothing, by foreign nations, where fpecie was
ſtill ſcarce, and, confequently, labour at a mo-
derate price. In vain were they excluded from
this traffic by ftrict regulations. Whether they
were friends or foes, they carried it on without
interruption, and with fuccefs, under the name of
the Spaniards, whofe honefty always deferved the
higheſt encomiums. The government thought
to remedy what they imagined to be an evil, but
which was nothing more than the neceffary con-
fequence of the ftate of things, by renewing the
ancient prohibition of exporting either gold or
filver. At Seville, and afterwards at Cadix, fome
bravoes, called Metedores, carried the ingots upon
the ramparts, and threw them over to other Me-
tedores, who were to deliver them to the boats
that came up to receive them. This clandeftine
trade was never difturbed by excifemen, or by
guards, who were all paid to fhut their eyes.
More ſtrictneſs would only have ferved to increaſe
the
+
298
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK the price of the merchandiſe, from the greater
difficulty of obtaining the value of it. If, in con-
formity to the rigour of the ordonnances, any de-
linquent had been feized, tried, and condemned
to death, and his property confifcated, fuch an
atrocious act, far from preventing the exportation
of the metals, would have increafed it; becaufe
the perfons who had before been fatisfied with a
moderate, gratuity, requiring a falary proportion-
ed to the danger they muft incur, would have in-
creaſed their profits by their rifks, and would have
made a great deal of money go out, in order that
they might have the more for themſelves.
SUCH was the ſtate of Spain, when the herfelf
voluntarily aggravated her calamities by the ex¬
pulfion of the Moors.
THIS nation had reigned for a long time, al-
moſt over the whole of the peninfula.
From
one poft to another, they were fucceffively driven
to Granada; where, after a ten years conti-
nuance of a bloody war, they were again forced,
in 1492, to fubmit to the yoke. By the terms
of capitulation, they were to be allowed to fol-
low their own form of worſhip; but the con-
queror, under various pretences, foon wifhed to
deprive them of this facred right; and they took
up arms in order to maintain it, Fortune de-
clared itfelf against thefe unfortunate Muffulmen;
and numbers of them perifhed by the fword.
Others purchaſed the right of taking refuge in
Africa; and the reft were condemned to appear
Chriſtians.
1
THIS
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
299
1
·
VIII.
THIS apparent compliance, with which Ferdi- BOOK
nand and Charles chofe to be fatisfied, did not
meet with the approbation of Philip II. This
perfecuting prince required that the Infidels
ſhould be really of his religion. In the hope of
engaging them to this more certainly, and in
leſs time, he ordered, in 1568, that theſe people
fhould renounce their idiom, their names, their
habits, their baths, their cuſtoms, and every thing -
that could diftinguifh them from his other fub-
jects. Defpotifm was carried fo far, as to for-
bid them from changing their refidence, without
the confent of the magiftrate; from marrying,
without the leave of the bifhop; from bearing
arms, under any pretence whatever; and even
from having any in their poffeffion. An obfti-
nate reſiſtance muſt have been the confequence of
ſo blind an act of tyranny. Unfortunately, men
who had no leader, no difcipline, and no means
of carrying on the war, could make none but
unavailing efforts against numerous armies, ac-
cuſtomed to carnage, and commanded by expe-
rienced generals. The inhabitants of the towns
and country places, who had entered into the
rebellion, were almoſt generally exterminated.
Servitude became the lot of all the prifoners of
both fexes. Thoſe even of the Moors who
had remained quietly at home, were conveyed
into the interior provinces of the kingdom,
where they met with nothing but infults and re-
proach.
}
THIS difperfion, and this humiliation, did not
produce the effect that was expected. The cruel-
ties,
300
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK ties, which were inceffantly renewed by a fangui-
nary tribunal, were not more availing. It ap-
peared to the clergy, that the only way remain-
ing, was to expel from the monarchy all theſe
enemies who fo obftinately perfifted in their doc-
trines. This was accompliſhed in 1610, notwith-
ftanding the oppofition of fome ftatefmen, and
notwithſtanding the ftill warmer folicitations of
the grandees, who kept in their palaces, or on
their domain, many flaves of the nation that was
perfecuted by fuperftition.
:
We find from all accounts, that this profcrip-
tion deprived Spain of a million of inhabitants.
Some authentic pieces, collected by Bleda, a
prudent and contemporary writer, fhew that this
number muſt be reduced to four hundred and
twenty-nine thoufand three hundred and four-
teen. This was not the whole of the Moors that
had escaped the fury of the wars and the fana-
ticiſm of the conquerors, or that remained from
the emigrations, fometimes tolerated and fome-
times clandeftine. The government retained the
women that were married to former Chriftians,
whoſe faith was not fufpicious to the bishops, and
all the children under feven years of age.
N
In the mean while the ftate loft the twen-
tieth part of their population, and the moft la-
borious part, as the profcribed and perfecuted
fects will always be. Whatever were the occu-*
pations of theſe people; whether their ftrength
was employed in the fields, in the manufactures,
or in the meaneft offices of fociety, it is certain
that a great deficiency was made in the labours,
as
t
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
301
VII.
as well as in the tributes collected. The burthen BO O K
which had been borne by the Infidels fell chiefly
upon the weavers. This additional weight drove
many of them into Flanders and into Italy; while
the reft, without quitting the country, renounced
their profeffion. The filks of Valencia, and the
fine wool of Andalusia and Caſtile, were no longer
manufactured by the Spaniards.
THE treaſury having no more manufacturers to
opprefs, now oppreffed the farmers. The taxes
levied upon agriculture were as ill-judged as
they were various and exceffive. Befide general
duties, there were what the financiers call extraor-
dinary duties, which is a mode of levying money
upon a particular claſs of citizens; a kind of tax
unprofitable to the ftate, and ruinous to thoſe
who are taxed, and which tends only to enrich the
perſon who hath contrived it. Theſe refources
proved inadequate to the urgent neceffities of go-
vernment, and the financiers were called upon to
advance confiderable fums. At this period they
became maſters of the ftate, and were empowered
to farm out the feveral parts of their leaſe. This
introduced a multitude of agents, and with them
numberleſs reſtraints and oppreffions. The laws
which theſe rapacious men were allowed to enact,
were only fo many fnares to feduce the honeft and
credulous. In procefs of time, they ufurped the
fovereign authority, and found means to elude the
royal tribunals, to chufe judges for themſelves,
and to pay them.
THE Owners of the lands that were oppreffed
by this tyranny, either threw up their eftates, or
neglected
302
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
BOOK neglected the improvement of them. That fer-
tile peninfula, which, though ſubject to frequent
droughts, ftill afforded fubfiftence to thirteen or
fourteen millions of inhabitants before the dif
covery of America, and had formerly been the
granary of Rome and of all Italy, was foon over-
ſpread with thorns and briars. The pernicious
cuſtom of fixing the price of corn was then adopt-
ed; and public granaries were eſtabliſhed in every
province, which were confequently managed with-
out either ſkill, care, or honefty. Befides, what
advantage could be expected to ariſe from fuch
precarious reſources? How could it poffibly enter
into any one's thoughts, to lay reſtraints upon the
price of corn, in order to increaſe the quantity
of it; to raiſe the price of proviſions, in order to
make them cheaper; or to facilitate monopoly,
in order to prevent it.
WHEN Once a nation hath begun to decline, it
feldom recovers itſelf. The lofs of population,
of the manufactures, of trade, and of agricul-
ture, was attended with the greateſt evils. While
Europe was daily improving in knowledge, and
all nations were animated with a ſpirit of induſtry,
Spain was falling into a ftate of inaction and bar-
barifm. The duties of the former cuſtoms, which
were ſtill ſuffered to remain upon goods paffing
from one province to another, were carried to
fuch an exceſs, as to prevent all communication
between them. Even the conveyance of money
from one province to another, was prohibited.
In a fhort time, not the leaft fign of a road was to
be ſeen. Travellers were ſtopped at the croffing
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
303
1
1
of rivers, where there was neither bridge nor
boats. There was not a fingle canal, or one na-
vigable river. People, the moſt fuperftitious in
the world, with regard to the obfervance of faſt
days, fuffered their fifheries to decline, and bought
fish every year to the amount of twelve millions*
Except a few ill-built veffels deftined for their
colonies, they had not a fingle fhip belonging to
government in their harbours. Their coafts lay
expoſed to the depredations of the Barbary cor-
fairs. To avoid thefe, they were obliged to
freight upon foreign bottoms, even the avisos
they fent to the Canary iſlands and to America.
Philip IV. poffeffed of all the rich mines of Ame-
rica, at once found all his gold changed into cop-
per, and was reduced to the neceffity of making
his copper coin bear almoſt the fame value as that
of filver.
THESE were not the greateſt grievances of the
monarchy. Spain, from an abfurd and fuperfti-
tious veneration for the age of her conquefts,
fcornfully rejected whatever was not practiſed in
thoſe glorious days. The Spaniards faw all other
nations growing more enlightened, more exalted,
and more powerful, but thought it beneath them
to copy after any one of them. An abfolute con-
tempt for the improvements and cuftoms of their
neighbours, formed the diſtinguiſhing character
of this people.
THE inquifition, that tremendous tribunal,
which was at firſt eſtabliſhed in order to ftop the
* 500,000l.
progreſs
BOOK
VIM.
304
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK progrefs of Judaiſm and of the Coran, had en-
VIII. tirely altered the character of the Spaniards. It
had accuſtomed them to reſerve, to miſtruft, and
to jealouſy. And, indeed, how ſhould it have
been otherwife? When a fon could accufe his
father, a mother her child and her huſband, a
man his friend or his fellow-citizen; when mu-
tual accufations were the bent of all the paffions;
when a man might be feized upon in the midſt
of his children, and thrown into a dark dungeon,
by the fatellites, either in the day, or in the
night-time; when the crime laid to a man's
charge was concealed from him; when a man
was compelled to defend himſelf, and being in
prifon for a fault which he had not committed,
was afterwards detained and tried for a ſecret
fault which he had avowed; when the trial was
carried on, and finifhed, without confronting
the witneffes; when fentence was pronounced
without allowing the accufed perfon to ſay any
thing in his defence: then men accuſtomed
themſelves to blood, and to the moſt atrocious
fcenes: then their minds were filled with that
fpirit of fanaticiſm, which diſplayed itſelf ſo
cruelly in both Hemiſpheres. Religious diſputes
occafioned, indeed, no difturbances or ravages
in Spain; but the nation remained in a ſtate of
the moſt profound ignorance. Such diſputes,
though always abfurd in themſelves, ferve how-
ever to exerciſe the mind. They induce men to
read and reflect, to confult antiquity, ftudy
hiſtory, and the ancient languages; hence arifes
criticiſm, which is productive of true tafte. The
8.
fubject
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
305
VIII.
fubject that firft excited the exertion of the mind, BOOK
foon becomes of no confequence; books written.
on controverfial points are neglected, but the
knowledge they have diffuſed remains. Religious
matters are like thofe active and volatile particles.
that exist in all bodies fit for fermentation.
They firſt occafion a cloud in the liquor that was
before clear, but foon put the whole mafs in mo-
tion. In this ferment, they fly off or fink to the
bottom; and when the whole is depurated, no-
thing remains but a foft, pleafant, and nutritive
fluid. But in the general ferment of theological
difputes, all the refufe ftill continued in Spain.
Superftition had fo blinded the nation, that they
even gloried in their infatuation.
INSTEAD of that energy which could alone ani-
mate the ſeveral parts of thoſe wide dominions
that lay too much ſcattered, the Spaniards were
fo flow in their motions, that all buſineſs was im-
peded. Such a variety of forms, precautions, and
deliberations, were multiplied to prevent impo-
fition, that they only put a stop to every com-
mercial tranſaction.
THE wars in which the Spaniards were engaged,
were as ill-conducted as their fyftem of politics.
A population, which was hardly fufficient for the
many garrisons they kept in Italy, in the Low
Countries, in Africa, and in the Indies, rendered
them incapable of raifing an army at home. At
the first breaking out of a war, they were obliged
to have recourſe to foreign troops. The few Spa-
niards who were fent to fight along with theſe
mercenaries, were fo far from being able to ma-
VOL. IV.
X
nage
Ի
!
306
VIII.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK nage them, that their own allegiance was
frequently fhaken by this intercourfe. They
have often revolted together with the foreign
troops, and ravaged the provinces that were
committed to their protection.
A REGULAR pay would infallibly have pre-
vented, or foon put a stop to this fpirit of fedi-
tion. But to provide for the payment of troops,
and to keep them in that ſtate of dependence and
fubordination fo neceffary to good difcipline,
government ſhould have fuppreffed that multi-
tude of uſeleſs officers, who by their falaries and
their oppreffions abforbed the greateft part of the
public revenue; the moft ancient rights of the
crown ſhould not have been alienated for a trifling
confideration, or fuffered to be invaded, nor
ſhould the royal treaſures have been fquandered
away, to entertain fpies, and to procure traitors in
every country. But care fhould have been par-
ticularly taken, that the grandeur of the prince
ſhould not have been made to confift in granting
penfions and favours to all who had no other
claim, but that which they derived from their
boldness in aſking for them.
THIS noble and iniquitous way of receiving
alms was become general. The Spaniard, natu-
rally generous, having acquired a fpirit of pride,
difdained the common occupations of life, and
aſpired after nothing but governments, biſhoprics,
and the chief employments in the ſtate.
THOSE who could not attain to theſe prefer-
ments, glorying in their proud infolence, ftill af-
fumed the ſtyle of the court, and maintained as
2
8
much
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
307
1
VIII.
much gravity in their idlenefs, as a minifter who BOOK
was abforbed in ftate affairs.
EVEN the lower clafs of the people would have
thought they defiled their victorious hands by
proftituting them to uſeful labours. They em-
ployed themſelves careleſsly, even in thoſe which
were the moſt creditable, and trufted all the reft
to foreigners, who carried fortunes away with
them, which ferved to fertilize or to enrich their
own country.
MEN born to no property, meanly preferring
idle flavery to laborious liberty, eagerly folicited
to be admitted into the number of domeſtics that
the great kept in their retinue, with that pomp
which magnificently difplays the pride of the moft
uſeleſs, and the degradation of the moſt neceffary
clafs of men.
THOSE who had too much vanity remaining to
live without fome diftinction, crowded into the
convents, where fuperftitious men had long fince
provided a convenient retreat for their indolence,
and had carried their abfurdity fo far, as to laviſh
marks of diſtinction upon them.
EVEN the Spaniards who had competent for-
tunes, languiſhed in a ftate of celibacy, choofing
rather to give up all thoughts of pofterity, than
to attend to the eſtabliſhment of it. If fome,
induced by love and virtuous motives, chofe, in
imitation of the great, to enter into marriage,
they ſent their fons, in their earlier years, to be
educated in the fuperftitious manner of the col-
leges and from the age of fifteen refigned them
The abilities and ſtrength of
to the courtezans.
X 2
theſe
308
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK theſe young men being thus vitiated, they were
equally enervated by theſe infamous connections,
which they did not even break off when they
entered into the facred ties of matrimony.
OUT of this degenerate race were choſen the
men who were to hold the reins of government.
Their adminiftration was anfwerable to their
education, being a conftant ſcene of idleness and
Corruption. They feldom difcovered any fenſe
of virtue or principles of equity, or the leaft
defire of promoting the happineſs of their fellow-
creatures. They thought only of plundering the
provinces intrufted to their care, in order to
diffipate in idlenefs and profufion at Madrid the
fruits of their extortion. This conduct was
always purſued with impunity, though it often
occaſioned feditions, infurrections, confpiracies,
and fometimes revolutions.
BESIDE theſe misfortunes, the ftates that were
united to Caftile by marriage or conqueft, con-
tributed to complete the ruin of the Spaniſh
monarchy. The Low Countries did not afford a
fufficiency to pay the garriſons that were kept to
defend them. Franche Compté ſupplied nothing;
Sardinia, Sicily, and the Milanefe, were even bur-
denfome to government. The tributes of Naples
and Portugal were mortgaged to foreigners.
Arragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Roufillon, the
Balearic iſlands, and Navarre, pretended they owed
nothing to the monarchy but a free gift, which
was always fettled by their deputies, but feldom
to the fatisfaction of a rapacious court, exhauſted
by abfurd liberalities.
WHILE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
309
VIII.
Calamities
of the court
hath ac-
on its co-
WHILE the mother-country was declining, the BOOK
colonies could not poffibly flourish. If the Spa-
niards had underſtood their true intereft, they which the
would perhaps, on the firſt diſcovery of Ame- infatuation
rica, have been content with eſtabliſhing an equi- of Spain
table intercourfe with the Indians, which would cumulated
have fettled a mutual dependence and recipro- lonies.
cal profits between the two nations. The manu-
factures of the Old World would have been
bartered for the produce of the mines of the New;
and wrought iron would have been exchanged for
its weight of unwrought filver. A lafting union,
the neceffary confequence of a peaceable traffic,
would have been eſtabliſhed without bloodſhed
or devaſtation. Spain would equally have been
miſtreſs of Mexico and Peru; becauſe any na-
tion that cultivates the arts, and does not com-
municate the method by which it carries them
on, will always have an evident fuperiority over
thoſe to whom it fells its manufactures.
THIS method of reafoning was not adopted by
the Spaniards. The cafe with which they had
fubdued the Indians, the afcendant which Spain
had affumed over all Europe, the natural pride
of conquerors, their ignorance of the true prin-
ciples of commerce; all thefe, and various other
cauſes, prevented them from eftabliſhing, in the
New World, a fyftem of government founded
upon good principles.
THE depopulation of America was the melan-
choly effect of this irregularity. The firft fteps
of the conquerors were marked with ftreams of
blood. Aſtoniſhed as much at their own victo-
X 3
ries,
310
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
BOOK ries, as the favages were at their defeat, and in-
VIII. toxicated with their fuccefs, they refolved to
extirpate the people they had plundered. Innu-
merable nations difappeared from the face of the
earth at the arrival of thefe barbarians; and
theſe horrid ſcenes of cruelty have been afcribed
to a thirft of gold and to a fpirit of fanaticifm.
BUT the ferocious difpofition natural to man,
unrestrained by the fear of puniſhment, or by any
fenſe of ſhame, and unawed by the prefence of
civilized men, might fo far conceal from the Spa-
niards the image of an organization fimilar to their
own (a fimilarity which is the foundation of all
moral duties), as to induce them to treat their
new-difcovered brethren as they did the wild
beafts of the other hemifphere, and to do it with
as little remorfe: befides, that the cruelty arifing
from military exploits increaſes in proportion to
the dangers the foldier hath gone through, to thofe
he now endures, or to thofe he expects; is he
not of a more fanguinary difpofition in remote
countries than at home; and do not the fenti-
ments of humanity grow weaker, the more diftant
we are from our native country? It may likewife
be conjectured that the Spaniards, who, on their
firſt landing, were taken for gods, might be
afraid of being detected and maffacred; that they
miftrufted the marks of kindnefs that were fhewn
them; that when once they had begun to fhed
blood, they thought their own fafety required
that they ſhould not difcontinue; that their army,
confifting only of a fmall number of men, being
furrounded by an innumerable multitude of na-
tives,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
311
y
VIII.
tives, whofe language they did not underſtand, BOOK
and whoſe cuftoms and manners they were ſtran-
gers to, was feized with a panic, either well or
ill grounded.
THE Spaniards, the defcendants or flaves of
the Visigoths, like them, divided among them-
felves the defert lands, and the men who had
eſcaped their ſword. Moſt of theſe wretched
victims did not long furvive, doomed to a ftate
of flavery worse than death. The laws that were
occafionally eſtabliſhed in order to alleviate the
hardſhips of their fervitude, afforded them but
fmall relief. The favage, proud, and rapacious
Spaniards, paid as little regard to the commands
of a monarch who was too far remote from
them, as to the tears of the poor miferable In-
dians.
1
THE mines proved ftill a greater caufe of de-
ftruction. Ever fince the difcovery of America,
the Spaniards had attended only to this fpecies of
wealth. In vain did fome men of more enlight-
ened underſtanding exclaim againſt this infatua-
tion. Let the gold remain where it is, faid they,
provided the furface of the earth that covers it
can but produce an ear of corn that will make
bread, or a blade of grafs to feed your fheep.
The only metal you really want is iron. Work
it into faws, hammers, and plough-fhares, but
not into weapons of deftruction. The quantity
of gold requifite for the purpoſes of exchange is
fo inconfiderable, that it is unneceffary to accu-
mulate any great ſtock of it. It is very imma-
terial whether a hundred ells of cloth or one
pound
X 4
i
312
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK pound or twenty pounds of gold, be given in ex-
change. The Spaniards have acted like the dog
in the fable, that dropped the meat out of his
mouth to bite at the image of it in the water,
and was drowned in attempting to get it.
UNFORTUNATELY the Indians were the victims
of this fatal error. Thoſe unhappy men were
fent to work at a very great depth under ground,
where they were deprived of day-light, of a free
and wholeſome air, and of the comfort of ming-
ling their tears with thoſe of their friends and
relations; and were doomed to dig their own
graves in thoſe dark manfions, which now con-
tain more aſhes of the dead than gold duft. All
the nations of the univerſe being incenfed at theſe
barbarities, the Spanish writers endeavoured to
prove, that the working of the mines was not
attended with any danger: but the evidence of
the ſenſes teſtified the contrary. It was well
known that man could not dwell in the obſcure
caverns of the earth, without fuffering fome
inconvenience with reſpect to his eye-fight; that
he could not breathe mercurial, fulphureous,
arfenical, and peftilential vapours, without injury
to his lungs that unwholefome air could not be
abforbed by the pores of the ſkin, or ſwallowed
by the mouth, without prejudice to the ftomach,
and to the humours of the body. But men
coming out of the mines, prefented the image of
death under all its forms; a tormenting cough,
a hideous atrophy, a melancholy marafmus, with
convulfions, contractions, and diftortions of the
limbs. The miners were obferved to have
wrinkles,
I
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
313
VIII,
wrinkles, debility, tremblings, and a declining BOOK
life, at the age of the moft vigorous health; and
confequently, far from giving any credit to the
accounts of the Spaniards, their deceit excited
indignation, when their ignorance was not an
object of ridicule.
NUMBERS of the Americans, in order to eſcape
theſe means of deftruction, and to withdraw
themſelves from other acts of European tyranny,
took refuge in the forefts, and among inaccef-
fible mountains. In thefe rough and wild cli-
mates, they contracted a ferocious diſpoſition,
which frequently diftreffed their mercileſs op-
preffors, and was the cauſe of much blood-
fhed.
IN fome districts, defpair was carried fo far,
that the men, in order not to leave behind them
any heirs of their misfortunes, refolved unani-
mouſly to have no connection with the women.
This abftinence from the moft natural defire im-
planted in human nature, which is the only
inſtance of the kind ever recorded in hiftory,
feems to have been referved to the æra of the
diſcovery of the New World, as a perpetual
monument of Spanish tyranny. What more
could the Americans oppofe to this thirſt of de-
ſtruction, than the horrid vow of ceafing to per-
petuate their pofterity? Thus the earth was ftained
with the blood of the fathers, and deprived of the
fucceeding generation.
FROM this period the country ſeemed to lie
under a curfe with refpect to thefe barbarous con-
querors. The empire they had founded began to
tend
1
314
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK tend to general deftruction. Profligacy and cor-
ruption made a rapid progreſs among them. The
moſt important fortreffes were fuffered to decay.
The country was left without arms or magazines.
The foldiers, who were neither exerciſed, fed, nor
clothed, became beggars or thieves. The firſt
principles of war and navigation were forgotten;
as well as the very names of the inftruments made.
ufe of in thoſe two neceffary arts.
}
TRADE confifted only in the art of cheating.
The gold and filver, which were to be brought
into the king's coffers, were fraudulently dimi-
niſhed, and reduced to a fourth part of the fum
they ought to have produced. All orders of men,
corrupted by avarice, united their efforts to pre-
vent a true ftate of things from being laid before
the throne, or to fcreen thofe perfons who had
rendered themſelves obnoxious to the law. The
magiftrates of every rank and degree always
unanimously exerted themſelves to fupport each
other in their injuftice.
THE ſcene of confufion occafioned by thefe ex-
tortions, introduced the fatal expedient of all ill-
governed ſtates, that of numberless taxes: it
feemed as if government had two objects in view,
to put a stop to every kind of induſtry, and to
increaſe oppreffion.
IGNORANCE kept pace with injuftice. Europe
was not then much enlightened. Even the know-
ledge that began to diffuſe itſelf in this quarter of
the globe, was rejected by Spain. In the mean
while, a thicker cloud was fpread over America.
The
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
3:15
VIII.
The moft fimple notions, upon objects of the BOOK
greateſt importance, were entirely obliterated
there.
As ignorance is always favourable to ſuperſti-
tion; the miniſters of religion, rather more en-
lightened than the coloniſts, affumed a fuperiority
over them in the management of all public affairs.
Being more fecure of impunity, they were always
the moſt forward to break through the laws of
juſtice, and through all rules of morality and de-
cency. The leaft corrupt among them became
traders, and the reft availed themſelves of their
ecclefiaftical power to extort from the Indians all
they were poffeffed of.
THE hatred which arofe between the Spaniards.
born in America, and thoſe who came from Eu-
rope, completed their ruin. The court had im-
prudently laid the foundation of thefe unhappy
divifions. The Creoles had been falfely repre-
fented as little better than barbarians, and nearly
of the fame character as Indians. They thought
they could not depend upon their ſkill, courage,
or fidelity, and therefore determined to exclude
them from all places of truſt and profit. This
injurious reſolution irritated the Creoles. The
Spaniards, who were invefted with authority over
them, were fo far from endeavouring to reconcile
them, that they ſtudied, on the contrary, to ex-
afperate them by humiliating partialities. This
produced an inveterate hatred between thefe two
orders of men, one of which was loaded with
favours, and the other ftigmatized with difgrace.
This animofity hath often broken out in fuch a
manner
316
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
BOOK manner as to endanger the dominion of the mo-
VIII.
Spain begins
to recover
from its
lethargy.
ther-country in the New World. This difcord
was fomented by the clergy on both fides, who
had alſo been infected with the contagion of thefe
diforders.
Ir is a pleaſing taſk to us to be able to think,
and to write, that the condition of Spain is every
day improving. No longer do the nobility affect
thoſe airs of independence which fometimes em-
barraſs the government. Men of no rank, but
of ability, have rifen to the direction of public
affairs, which, for too long a time, was confined
to perfons of high birth. The countries, which
are more populous and better cultivated, yield
fewer briars and more harvefts. From the ma-
nufactures of Grenada, of Malaga, of Seville,
of Priego, of Toledo, of Talavera, and eſpe-
cially of Valencia, filks are produced which are
in fome repute, and which deſerve it. The
manufacturers of Saint Ildefonſo furniſh very
beautiful mirrors; thofe of Guadalaxara and of
Efcaray fupply clothes and fcarlets; and thofe of
Madrid, hats, ribbands, tapeſtry, and porcelain.
All Catalonia is filled with manufactures of arms
and toys, of filk ftockings and handkerchiefs, of
printed cottons, of common woollen goods, and
of gold and filver and other lace. Communi-
cations are beginning to be opened between the
capital and the provinces, and theſe magnificent
roads are planted with uſeful or agreeable trees.
Canals for watering or navigation are digged, the
plan of which, fuggefted by foreigners, had fo
long difgufted the pride of the miniftry and that
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
317
VIII.
}
of the people. Excellent manufactures of paper; BOOK
printing executed with much tafte; and focieties
confecrated to arts of elegance and utility, and to
the ſciences, will fooner or later difpel prejudice
and ignorance. Theſe wiſe eſtabliſhments will be
feconded by the young men whom the miniftry
fend for inftruction into thofe countries, the glory
and profperity of which hath been extended by
their knowledge. The erroneous fyftem of tri-
butes, fo difficult to correct, hath already under-
gone very material reformations. The national
revenue, formerly fo limited, hath ariſen, as it is
faid, to 140,400,000 livres *. If the terrier, which
the court of Madrid is occupied in making fince
the year 1749, be fettled on good principles, and
if it be carried into execution, the treaſury will
again find its refources increaſe, and the perfons
who contribute will be relieved.
+
AT the death of the Emperor Charles V. the
public treaſury was fo much burthened, that it
was deliberated whether it would not be proper
to annul ſo many fatal engagements. Thefe
amounted to a thouſand million of livrest, or
perhaps more, under the uneafy and turbulent
reign of his fon Philip. The intereft of the fums
advanced to government, abforbed, in 1688, all
the produce of the taxes; and it then became ne-
ceffary to have recourfe to an entire bankruptcy.
The events fubfequent to this great crifis were
all of them ſo unfortunate, that the finances fell
fuddenly into the fame ftate of confufion from
1
* 5,850,0001.
+ 41,666,6661. 13s. 4d.
which
318
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
BOOK which a deſperate but neceffary refolution had ex-
tricated them. In the beginning of the century,
a more enlightened adminiftration eſtabliſhed a
fyftem of order in the recoveries, and a regula-
rity in the expences, which would have liberated
the ſtate, had it not been for the revolutions
which fucceeded each other, with a degree of ra-
pidity which it is difficult to trace. Neverthelefs,
in 1759, the debts of the crown amounted to no
more than 160,000,000 of livres *, which Ferdi-
nand left in his coffers. His fucceffor employed
half of this fum in liquidating fome debts; the
reft of it was confumed in the war of Portugal, in
the augmentation of the navy, and in a multitude
of expences that were neceffary to roufe the mo-
narchy from that languid ftate in which it had been
plunged during two centuries of ignorance and
inactivity.
THE vigilance of the new government hath not
confined itſelf to the fuppreffion of part of the
evils which contributed to the ruin of their pof-
feffions in Europe. Attention hath alſo been paid
to fome of the abuſes which impeded the profpe-
rity of their colonies. Their governors have been
chofen with more care, and better fuperintended.
Some of the vices that had infinuated themſelves
into the tribunals have been reformed; all the
branches of adminiftration have been improved;
and even the fate of the Indians is become lefs
unhappy.
* 6,666,6661. 13s. 4d.
THESE
!
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
319
VIII.
Means that
to
Spain ought
employ to
profperity in
in America.
haften her
Europe and
THESE firft fteps towards a reformation muft BOOK
be an inducement to the Spaniſh miniftry to
hope, that a good form of government may be
eſtabliſhed, when the true principles on which it
is founded ſhall be once known, and the pro-
per means made ufe of to effect it. The cha-
racter of the nation is not an invincible obſtacle
to this change, as it is too generally thought to
be. Indolence is not fo natural to the Spaniards
as we imagine. If we look back to thofe times
in which this unfavourable prejudice was firft en-
tertained, we fhall find that this want of acti-
vity did not extend to every thing; and that if
Spain was inactive at home, fhe was not fo
abroad, but was inceffantly diſturbing the repoſe
of her neighbours. Her idleness proceeds in
fome degree from fooliſh pride. Becauſe the no-
bility were unemployed, the people imagined it
was a mark of nobility to do nothing. They all
wanted to enjoy the fame prerogative; and the
ftarved, half-naked Spaniard, carelessly fitting on
the ground, looks with pity on his neighbours,
who are well clothed, live well, work, and laugh
at his folly. The one, from a motive of pride,
deſpiſes the conveniences of life; while the other,
from a principle of vanity, endeavours to acquire
them. The climate had made the Spaniard ab-
ftemious, and indigence hath rendered him more
fo. The monkifh fpirit, to which, he hath long
been fubject, makes him confider poverty, which
is occafioned by his vices, as a virtue. As he
hath no property, he covets none; but his aver-
fion
-
4.
320
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK fion for labour is greater ftill than his contempt
VIII.
for riches.
THAT poor and proud people have nothing left
of their ancient character, but an immoderate
fondness for every thing that hath the appearance
of grandeur. They must be flattered with chi-
merical ideas, and animated with the ftrongeſt
hopes of glory. The fatisfaction they feel in de-
pending on none but the crown fince the abafe-
ment of the grandees, makes them receive all
that comes from the court with refpect and confi-
dence. This powerful influence might be made
fubfervient to their happinefs. Some means
might be contrived to perfuade them that la-
bour is honourable, and the nation will foon be-
come what it was before the diſcovery of Ame-
rica, in thoſe glorious times, when, without any
foreign aid, Spain threatened the liberties of all
Europe.
WHEN the imagination of this people is once
properly directed, and they are brought to be
afhamed of their haughty fpirit of indolence,
other evils muſt be attended to. The moſt de-
ftructive to the bulk of the nation is the want of
population. Well-governed colonies will natu-
rally increase the population of the mother-coun-
try, which on her part promotes the increaſe of
theirs, by ſupplying them with advantageous
marts for the produce of their induftry. It is on
this plan, alike interefting to humanity and found
policy, that the more enlightened nations of the
Old Hemiſphere have formed their fettlements in
1
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
321
Spain
VIII.
the New one. This wife and noble defign hath B O`O K
been univerfally crowned with fuccefs.
alone, which had formed her fyftem in a darker
age, hath feen her population decreaſe at home, in
proportion as her poffeffions increaſed abroad.
WHEN the difproportion between the extent of
a territory and its inhabitants is not extreme, the
balance may be gradually reftored by activity,
œconomy, great encouragements given to matri-
mony, and a long peace. Spain, which, accord-
ing to the exact account taken in 1768, hath no
more than nine millions three hundred and feven
thouſand eight hundred and four inhabitants of
every age and ſex, and which doth not reckon,
in her colonies, the tenth part of the individuals
that would be neceffary to cultivate them, can-
not remedy this evil either at home or abroad,
without new and extraordinary efforts. To in-
creaſe the laborious claffes of men, there muſt be
a reduction of the clergy, who enervate and de-
ftroy the ſtate. Two thirds of her military force
muſt be aboliſhed, and thefe foldiers muſt be
employed in the arts; fince the connection with
France, and the weakneſs of Portugal, no longer
render them neceffary. The government muſt
apply itſelf to alleviate the burdens of the people
as foon as its poffeffions in both Hemiſpheres are
extricated from that confufion and diforder into
which they had been thrown, for theſe two centuries
paſt, through the effects of indolence, ignorance,
and tyranny. But it is firſt abſolutely neceffary
that the infamous tribunal of the inquifition fhould
be abolished.
VOL. IV.
Y
SUPER-
>
!
322
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
BOOK
VIII.
SUPERSTITION, whatever may be the reafon of
it, prevails among all nations, whether rude or
civilized. It proceeds undoubtedly from the fear
of evil, and from the ignorance of its caufes; or
of its remedy. At leaſt this alone is fufficient to
imprint it in the minds of all men. The calami-
ties of nature, plagues, fickneſs, unforeſeen acci-
dents, deſtructive phænomena, all the latent cauſes
of pain and death, are fo univerfal on earth, that
it would be very furpriſing if man had not been
deeply affected with them in every country and
in every age.
BUT this natural fear muft always have in-
creaſed, or have been magnified in proportion
to ignorance and fenfibility. It muſt have given
rife to the worſhip of the elements that are moſt
deftructive to the earth, fuch as manifeſt them-
felves in inundations, conflagrations, and plagues;
and to the worſhip of animals, whether venom-
ous or voracious, but always noxious. Hence
too muſt have arifen the worſhip of men who
have done the greateſt injuries to mankind, of
conquerors, of fortunate impoftors, of the work-
ers of prodigies, apparently good or bad; and
the worſhip of invifible and imaginary beings,
ſuppoſed to lie concealed in every inſtrument of
deftruction. Reflection, and the ſtudy of nature,
muſt have infenfibly leffened the number of theſe
inviſible agents, and the human mind muſt have
riſen from idolatry to theiſm; but this laſt fimple
and fublime idea will always have remained im-
perfect and confuſed in the minds of the vulgar,
and mixed with a multitude of errors and fancies.
REVE-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
323
A
REVELATION had confirmed and perfected the BOOK
idea of the doctrine of the unity of God; and,
perhaps, a more pure religion would then have
been eſtabliſhed, had not the northern barbarians,
who poured in upon the feveral provinces of the
Roman empire, brought along with them their
own facred prejudices, which could not be dif-
pelled but by other fables. Unfortunately, Chriſt-´
ianity was preached to men incapable of under-
ſtanding it thoroughly. They would not em-
brace it, unleſs it were attended with that exter-
nal pomp and fhew in which ignorance delights.
Intereſted motives burdened it, and debafed it
more and more with other obfervances, and con-
ftantly invented new doctrines and miracles,
which were the more revered as they were the lefs
credible. The nations, engaged during twelve
centuries in dividing and contefting about the fe-
veral provinces of an univerfal monarchy which
one nation had formed in lefs than two hundred
years, admitted, without examination, all the er-
rors which the prieſts, after much controverfy, had
agreed to teach the multitude. But the clergy, too
numerous to maintain any unanimity of opinion,
had fomented the feeds of divifion, which muft
fooner or later be communicated to the people.
The time came, when the fame fpirit of ambition
and avarice that actuated the whole church, ex-
erted itſelf with great animofity againſt many fu-
perftitions that were univerfally adopted.
As it was from cuftom that the people had re-
ceived all thofe puerile notions which they had
fuffered themfelves to be deluded into, and that
Y 2
they
VIII.
324
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
BOOK they were not attached to them from national
principles or party fpirit, thofe who were moſt
intereſted in ſupporting them, were unable to
defend them, when they were attacked with that
fteadineſs that was calculated to fix the attention
of the public. But nothing fo much promoted
the reformation of Luther and Calvin, as the li-
berty they granted to every one to examine and
determine finally upon the religious principles he
had been taught. Though the multitude were in-
capable of undertaking this difcuffion, yet every
man plumed himſelf upon having the privilege
to determine on a ſubject in which his moſt va-
luable and most important interefts were con-
cerned. The commotion was fo univerfal, that
the new opinions would in all probability have
triumphed totally over the old, had not the magi-
ftracy thought it their intereft to ſtem the torrent.
Implicit obedience was as neceffary for the fup-
port of the ſupreme power, as for that of religion,
and was the fureft foundation of its authority;
that power began therefore to be alarmed, left
thoſe who had overturned the old and firm found-
ations of the Roman hierarchy, might next pro-
ceed to examine into its own prerogatives. The
republican ſpirit which naturally ſpread itſelf
among the reformed, contributed to increaſe this
diftruft.
THE kings of Spain, more jealous of their
power than other fovereigns, endeavoured to ſup-
port it, by eſtabliſhing a more uniform fyftem of
fuperftition. They were not fenfible that the
opinions of men, concerning an unknown Being,
cannot
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
325
}
VIII.
cannot be all the fame. In vain did reafon ex- BO O K
poftulate with thoſe weak monarchs, alleging
that no power had a right to preſcribe to men
what they were to think; that fociety, in order
to fupport itſelf, is under no neceffity of reftrain-
ing the freedom of the foul; that to compel
men to ſubſcribe to certain articles of faith, is to
exact a falfe oath, which makes a man a traitor
to his confcience, in order that he may be a faith-
ful fubject; and that a citizen who ſerves his
country, is, in a political light, preferable to him
who is orthodox to no purpoſe. Theſe perma-
nent and inconteftible principles were not at-
tended to. They were overruled by the profpect
of great advantage, and ſtill more by the furious
clamours of a multitude of fanatical priefts, who
haftened to affume the fupreme authority. The
prince, thus reduced to become their flave, was
forced to abandon his fubjects to their caprices;
to fuffer them to be oppreffed, and to become an
idle fpectator of the cruelties exerciſed againſt
them. From that time, fuperftitious manners,
beneficial only to the priesthood, became prejudi-
cial to fociety. A people thus corrupt and dege-
nerate, were the moft cruel of any. Their obedi-
ence to the monarch was fubordinate to the will
of the prieſt, who oppreffed every other power,
and was in fact the fovereign of the ſtate.
INACTION was the neceffary confequence of a
ſuperſtition that enervated all the faculties of the
foul. The project which the Romans formed
from their earlieft origin, of becoming mafters of
the world, fhewed itſelf even in their religion. It
Y' 3
was
h
:
326
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
•
*
VIII.
BOOK was Victory, Bellona, Fortune, the genius of the
Roman people, Rome herſelf, that were their
gods. A nation that endeavoured to imitate their
example, and thought of becoming conquerors,
adopted a monkiſh government, which hath de-
ftroyed every proſpect of fuccefs, and will effec-
tually prevent their reſtoration either in Spain or
America, unleſs this kind of government be to-
tally fubverted, and every idea of the horror it
excites obliterated with it. The fuppreffion of
the inquifition muft certainly haften this great
change; and it is a pleafing expectation to think,
that if the court of Madrid will not determine
upon this neceffary ftep, they will one day be
compelled to it by a humane conqueror, who will
infert it as the firft article in a treaty of peace,
that the Autos-da-fé fhall be abolished in all the Spa-
nifh dominions both in Europe and America.
THIS ftep, however neceffary it may be to-
wards the reſtoration of the monarchy, is not
alone fufficient. Though Spain hath employed
more art to conceal her weaknefs, than was necef-
fary to enable her to acquire ftrength, the world
is not unacquainted with the diſorders fhe la-
bours under. They have taken fo deep a root,
and are of fo inveterate a nature, that they can-
not be remedied without foreign aids. If the will
but fubmit to accept them, fhe will foon fee her
provinces in both Hemiſpheres filled with new
inhabitants, who will bring with them number-
lefs branches of industry. The northern and
fouthern nations, actuated by that paffion for
riches which is the characteristic of the prefent
age,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
327
VIII.
}
age, will refort in multitudes to the regions that BOOK
are thrown open to excite their emulation. The
riches of the public will increaſe in proportion to
thofe of individuals; and thoſe which have been
acquired by foreigners will become a national
wealth, if they be permitted to enjoy them with
that fecurity, fatisfaction, and diſtinction, which
may induce them to forget their native country.
SPAIN Would foon fee her population increaſe
to the degree fhe would wifh, if fhe not only ad-
mitted perfons of her own perſuaſion, but even
encouraged, indifcriminately, all fects to ſettle
among them. This might be done without in-
jury to the principles of religion, and without
deviating from the maxims of true policy. Well-
regulated governments are not diſturbed by the
diverſity of opinions that prevail in them; nei-
ther doth Chriſtianity, rightly underſtood, pro-
ſcribe a liberty of confcience. The truth of thefe
maxims hath been fo clearly demonftrated, that
they cannot fail of being foon adopted as a rule
to all nations that are in any degree enlightened.
WHEN the Spaniards have once procured a ſuf-
ficient number of men, they will then think of
employing them in the moſt advantageous man-
ner. The anxiety they felt to fee the treaſures of
America paſs into the hands of their rivals and
enemies, made them imagine that the revival of
their manufactures was the only method that could
enable them to retain part of thofe treaſures at
home. Such of their writers upon finance as
have infifted upon this fyftem, appear to us to be
in an error. As long as the people, who are in
poffeffion
Y 4
*
,
328
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
i
BOOK poffeffion of thofe manufactures which ſerve to
VIII. ſupply the demands of América, will attend to
!
the preſervation of them, thoſe which may be at-
tempted to be eſtabliſhed in other parts, will
fcarce be able to vie with them. Theſe manu-
facturers may poffibly procure the materials and
workmanſhip at as reaſonable a rate: but fome
centuries muft pafs before they can be able to
attain to the fame degree of expedition and per-
fection in the work. Nothing could effect this
great change, but fuch a revolution as would
convey the beſt foreign workmen, and the moſt
ſkilful artiſts to Spain. Till this period fhall ar-
rive, which does not ſeem very near, any attempts
that are made will not be ſucceſsful.
We may proceed ftill further, and venture to
affirm, that though it fhould be in the power of
Spain to procure a fuperiority in the manufactures
reſpecting articles of luxury, the ought not to do
it. A tranfient fuccefs would be productive of
total ruin. Let us fuppofe that Spain can fur-
nifh all the commodities that are wanted in her
colonies; the immenfe treafures this trade will
bring in, will all centre in home circulation,
and the confequence will be, that the coin will
fink in value. This plenty of fpecie will cer-
tainly occafion a dearneſs of provifions, and en-
hance the price of labour. There will be no
proportion between the price Spain muſt require
for her manufactures, and that which the neigh-
bouring nations will fell theirs for. Thefe, be-
ing able to afford their commodities cheaper,
will oblige the Spaniards to take them, becaufe an
exorbitant
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
329
:
VIII.
exorbitant profit will furmount every obftacle. BOOK
The Spanish artificers, deftitute of employment,
will be reduced to the neceffity of feeking for it
in other places, and Spain will lofe both her in-
duſtry and her population.
SINCE then it is impoffible that the Spaniards
ſhould keep the whole produce of the American
mines in their own hands, and fince they muft un-
avoidably ſhare it with the reft of Europe, they
ſhould exert all their policy to preferve the greateſt
part of it, to make the balance incline in their
favour; and in order to render their advantages
permanent, they must be fatisfied with fuch as are
moderate. They will fecure to themſelves this
kind of fuperiority by the practice of the necef-
fary arts, and the plenty and goodneſs of their
natural productions.
THE Spaniſh miniftry have been fenfible of this
truth, but have been deceived in the opinion they
entertained, that the manufactures were the chief
promoters of agriculture. It is certain, however,
that they contribute to promote the culture of
lands. They are even neceffary, wherever the
expence of tranſport puts a ftop to the circulation
and confumption of the produce, fo that the cul-
tivator is at a loſs how to difpofe of his commo-
dities. But in all other cafes, the farmer can
fucceed without the affiftance of manufactures. If
he can but difpofe of his produce, he is under no
concern, whether it be for local confumption, or
for trade and exportation, and will go on with
his tillage.
SPAIN
330
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
SPAIN annually fells for exportation, in wool,
filk, oil, wine, iron, and kali, to the amount of
above eighty millions of livres. Thefe exports,
moſt of which cannot be replaced from any foil
in Europe, will admit of immenfe augmentation.
They will be fufficient, independent of what the
Spaniards receive from the Indies, to pay for all
the foreign goods that can be confumed in the
nation. We grant, that by thus fending their un-
wrought produce to other countries, they will in-
creaſe their population, wealth, and power; but
they will promote a more certain and more bene-
ficial kind of induftry at home. Their political
influence will foon claim a relative fuperiority,
and the nation employed in agriculture will foon
become greater than that which confines itſelf to
manufactures.
AMERICA will greatly increafe thefe advan-
tages; and will be beneficial to Spain, both by
her gold and filver, and by her commodities.
We have none but vague notions concern-
ing the quantity of metals and of provifions
which the Old World received from the New,
in the early periods after the conqueſt. Our
knowledge of thoſe points increaſes, in proportion
as we draw nearer to modern times. At pre-
fent, Spain receives annually, from the continent
of America, 89,095,052 livres † in gold or in
filver, and 34,653,902 livres, in productions;
* 3,233,3331. 6s. 8d.
↑ 1,443,9121. 11s. 8d.
† 3,712,2931. 16s. 8d.
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
331
VIIL
which makes, in the whole, 123,748,954 livres *.
* BOOK
Taking this calculation for a rule, it will be found
that the mother-country hath received from its
colonies, in the ſpace of two hundred and eighty-
ſeven years, 35,515,949,798 livres †.
It muſt be acknowledged, that a lefs quantity
of productions was received formerly than is at
prefent; but, on the other hand, the mines were
more plentiful. If we choofe to reckon the me-
tals only, Spain will have received no more than
25,570,279,924 livres ; and we fhall then ftrike
out of the calculation, the 9,945,669,874 livres §
of productions.
THERE Would be a poffibility of increafing this
mafs of metals and productions. For the first
of thefe objects, it would be fufficient that the
government fhould fend over to America fome
perfons fkilled in metallurgy, and make the con-
ditions eaſier on which they allow the working of
the mines. But this would be only a tranſient
advantage, fince it is undeniable that gold and
filver are not to be confidered as riches, but only
as the repreſentations of them. Thefe figns are
indeed very durable, as they ought to be to an-
fwer their deſtination. But the more they are
multiplied, the more they lofe of their value, be-
cauſe they ſerve to reprefent fewer things. In
proportion as they are become more common
fince the diſcovery of America, every thing is in-
creaſed in value twice, thrice, and four times
* 5,156,2061. 18 s. 4 d.
1,065,428,3301. 3 s. 4d.
+
† 1,479,831,2421. 1s. 6d.
§ 414,402,9111. 8 s. 4 d.
beyond
332
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK beyond what it was before. The produce of the
mines hath conftantly decreaſed, and the expence
of working them hath been continually greater.
The balance, which inclines more and more to
the lofing, fide, may ſo far deſtroy the equipoiſe,
that it may be found neceſſary to drop this fource
of wealth. But at all events, it will be adviſable
to render theſe operations more fimple, and to
try every poffible method to make this labour lefs
deftructive to the human race than it hath been
hitherto. There is another fource of profperity
for Spain, which will be fo far from decreaſ-
ing, that it will daily gather new ftrength; and
that is agriculture.
SUCH is the important end which the court of
Madrid muſt endeavour to compafs. If by
placing the metals in that inferior rank which be-
longs to them, they refolve to lay the foundation
of the public felicity on the productions that may
be derived from a fertile and immenfe territory,
the New Hemifphere will emerge from that ftate
of annihilation in which it was found, and in
which it hath been left. The fun, which hath
hitherto fhone only on uncultivated deferts, will
produce univerfal fertility.
To the number of productions which its rays,
affifted with the labour and fkill of man, fhall
bring forth there, we fhall add thofe which at
prefent enrich the islands of the New World,
the confumption of which is daily increafing,
and which, after having been for a long time ab-
jects of luxury, begin now to be confidered as
articles of indifpenfable neceffity.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
333
VIII.
THE aromatics and fpices of Afia, which BOOK
carry from ten to twelve millions of livres *
annually out of the monarchy, might be made to
thrive there; and there is particular reaſon to
expect this with regard to the cinnamon. It
grows naturally in fome of the vallies of the Cor-
deleras; and by cultivation, perhaps, fome of
the qualities it wants might be imparted to it.
SEVERAL of the provinces of Mexico formerly
produced excellent filks, which were manufac-
tured with fuccefs in Spain. This fource of
·
wealth hath been loft, by the numberlefs ob-
ſtructions it hath met with; but it might eaſily
be revived and extended.
THE Vicuna Wool is in great repute among
all nations. The quantity they are fupplied with,
is nothing in compariſon of the demands for it.
The moſt certain method of increafing this pre-
cious wool would probably be, to let the animal
that fupplies it live, after having taken it away
from him.
It would be impoffible to enumerate the pro-
ductions, which regions fo immenfe, climates fo
various, and foils of ſo different a nature, might
ſupply. Among ſuch a variety of cultivations,
fome, perhaps, might be found that would fuit
the Indians, others might probably induce fome
of the wandering nations to fix. Theſe affocia-
tions, diftributed with fkill, might alfo ferve to
eftablish communications between, colonies that
are now feparated from each other, by immenſe
*From 416,6661. 13s. 4d. to 500,000l.
?
and
334
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK and uninhabited fpaces. The laws, which al-
VIII. ways lofe their force among men too far diftant
from each other, and from the magiftrate, would
then be obſerved. Commerce, which is per-
petually interrupted by the impoffibility of con-
veying the merchandiſe to their deſtination,
would then become more animated. In caſe of
war, the people would be warned of any ap-
proaching danger, and would give each other
ſpeedy and effectual fuccours. It must be ac-
knowledged that this new fyftem could not be
eſtabliſhed without difficulty. Theſe falutary
views would be thwarted by indolence, by the
climate, and by prejudices: but knowledge, pru-
dently diſtributed, encouragements well ma-
naged, and marks of confideration properly be-
ftowed, would overcome, in procefs of time, all
obftacles. The progrefs of cultivation would be
much accelerated, by fuppreffing the practice now
become general, of thofe majorafcos, or perpetual
fucceffions, which occafion fuch a number of
idle perfons in the country, and which are pro-
ductive of ftill greater mifchief in the colonies.
The firſt conquerors, and thoſe who purſued their
meaſures, ufurped immenſe diſtricts, or obtained
the gift of them. They converted them into an
indiviſible inheritance for their children; and the
younger ones were thus, in fome meaſure, de-
voted to celibacy, to the cloifter, or to the
priesthood. Thefe enormous poffeffions have
remained uncultivated, and will ftill continue ſo,
till ſome ſteady and prudent man ſhall take upon
him to permit, or to order, the divifion of them.
7
Then
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
335
VIII.
Then the number of proprietors, which is at BOOK
preſent ſo much confined, notwithſtanding the
great extent of the territories, will be increaſed,
and productions will be multiplied with pro-
perty.
1
THE labours would advance more rapidly, if
foreigners were permitted to take a part in them.
The Spaniſh Indies were indifcriminately fhut
againſt them all, even at the period of the dif-
covery. The laws formally preſcribed, that the
perfons who had penetrated into them, in any
manner whatever, fhould be fent back into
Europe. Philip II. urged by his wants, autho-
rifed, in 1596, his delegates to naturalize the
few that had flipped in there, upon condition
that they ſhould pay the ſtipulated price for this
adoption. This kind of market has been fre-
quently renewed, but rather in favour of artiſts
of neceffary utility to the country, than for mer-
chants, who, it was fuppofed, would one day
retire with the wealth they had accumulated.
The number, however, both of the one and the
other, hath always been extremely confined,
becauſe it is prohibited to embark any in the
mother-country; and that the colonies them-
felves, whether from motives of miftruft or
jealouſy, reject them. The advancement of
knowledge gives us reaſon to think that this un-
fociable fpirit will have an end. The govern-
ment will at length underſtand what they have to
expect from a healthy and vigorous man, between
five-and-twenty and thirty years of age; what
miſchief he doth to the country which he quits,
and
336
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
VIII.
1
BOOK and how acceptable he is to the foreign nations,
among whom he transfers his ftrength and his
induſtry. They will comprehend, how ſtrangely
ftupid it is to make the right of hofpitality be
purchaſed by the man, who fhould come to mul-
tiply by his uſeful labours, either the productions
of the foil, or the works of the manufactures.
They will diſcern the deep policy of thoſe people,
who ſhould make a point of inviting the inha-
bitants of neighbouring regions, to fettle in their
towns, or in their country-places, or to traverſe
their provinces. They will find out what fort of
tribute ſhould be impofed upon nations, who
might fupply them with workmen, with culti-
vators, and with confumers; how much the
fpirit of intoleration which banishes is fatal;
what funds of wealth a nation derives from
toleration; and how indifferent a circumſtance it
is, to the value of commodities, whether they
be produced from the labours of orthodox perfons
or of heretics, of Spaniards, or of Hollanders. But
the greateſt encouragements that could be given
to the cultivation of the lands, and all the favours
which it would be poffible to add to them, would
be of no effect, without the certainty of an eaſy
and advantageous mart for the productions. M.
de la Enfenada firſt diſcovered that the exporta-
tion of them would be impracticable, as long as
the commerce of the New World fhould be con-
ducted in the manner it had been. Accordingly,
notwithstanding the oppofition he met with, and
notwithſtanding the prejudices he had to combat,
he fubftituted, in 1740, detached veffels to the
parade
1
(.
337
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
:
VIII.
parade fo anciently eſtabliſhed, and fo highly BOOK
revered, of galleons and fleets. He was medi-
tating other changes ftill more advantageous,
when an unexpected diſgrace ſtopped him in the
midst of his brilliant career.
ONE half of the good which this bold and able
minifter had done, was annulled in 1756, by the
re-eſtabliſhment of the fleets: but this miſchief
was partly repaired eight years after, by the fet-
ting on foot of the packet-boats, which, from
Corunna, were to carry, every month, to the
Havannah, the letters deftined for the northern
colonies; and every two months, to Buenos-
Ayres, thofe that were deftined for the fouthern
colonies. Thefe veffels, which were of no incon-
fidèrable fize, were allowed to load at their de-
parture with European merchandife, and at their
return, with American commodities.
i
THE exportation of metals was forbidden under
capital penalties. This abfurd prohibition was
made a jeft of, becauſe it was neceffary that
foreign commerce fhould receive the value of the
merchandiſe it had furniſhed. Ancient govern-
ments, which had for the laws the refpect they
deferve, would not have failed to abrogate one,
the obſervance of which had been fhewn to be
chimerical. In our modern times, when em-
pires are rather conducted by the caprices of the
governors, than regulated upon reaſonable prin-
ciples, Spain went no further, in 1748, than to
permit the exportation of gold and filver, upon
condition that a duty of three per cent. fhould be
paid to the treaſury. Twenty years after, this
VOL. IV.
Z
tax
338
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
:
VIII.
BOOK tax was increafed to four per cent. although the
government was warned by perpetual frauds, that
it was their intereft to lower it.
THE year 1774 was the period of another for-
tunate innovation. Till that time, every kind
of intercourfe between the feveral parts of the
American continent had been rigidly prohibited.
Mexico, Guatimala, Peru, and the New King-
dom, were all compelled to be ſtrangers to each
other. The action and re-action which would
have made them all partake of the advantages
nature had diftributed among them, were con-
fidered as crimes, and feverely puniſhed. But
what reafon can be affigned, why this profcription
fhould not have been extended from one town to
another, or from one dwelling to a neighbouring
one in the fame diftrict, from one family to ano-
ther in the fame diftrict? Hath nature traced
upon the foil, which men inhabit, any line of
limitation? How doth it happen, that under the
fame dominion, a place fituated at an equal dif-
tance from two other places, fhould be allowed a
free exercife of a privilege towards the Eaft,
which is refuſed to it towards the Weit? Doth
not ſuch an edict, properly interpreted, fignify,
let us forbid every country to cultivate more than
is neceffary for its own confumption, and every
inhabitant from being in want of any thing be-
fide the productions of his own foil? A free
communication was at length opened between
thefe provinces: and the inhabitants were allowed
to think themſelves fellow-citizens, and to treat
each other as brethren.
ONE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
339
VIII.
ONE law, of the month of February 1778, BOOK
permits all the ports of Spain to, difpatch fhips to
Buenos-Ayres, and to the South Sea. In the
month of October of the fame year, this liberty
hath been granted for the reft of the continent,
except for Mexico; which will undoubtedly foon
enjoy the fame advantage. This will be a con-
fiderable ſtep; but it will not be fufficient, as it is
fuppofed, to put a stop to the fmuggling trade,
which occafions fo many clamours.
ALL the people whofe poffeffions have been
near the Spaniſh fettlements, have endeavoured
to appropriate to themſelves, clandeftinely, their
treaſures and their commodities. The Portu-
guefe have turned their views towards the river
Plata; the French, the Danes, and the Dutch,
towards the coaft of Caraccas, Carthagena, and
Porto-Bello. The English, who knew and fre-
quented thefe roads, have found that the ceffions
made to them by the laſt treaty, have opened to
them other ways of obtaining a more confider-
able ſhare of theſe rich ſpoils. All theſe nations
have fucceeded in their attempts, by deceiving
or bribing the guarda coftas; and fometimes by
fighting them.
THE governors, far from remedying theſe
diforders, encouraged them as much as poffible.
Several of them had purchaſed their pofts; moſt
of them were in hafte to get fortunes, and wifhed
to be paid for the dangers they had incurred by
the change of climate. There was not a moment
to be loft, becaufe it was feldom they were con-
tinued in their places more than from three to
Z 2
five
340
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK five years. Among the leaft dangerous modes
they had of acquiring riches, was that of encou
raging the contraband trade, or of carrying it on
themſelves. No perfon in America exclaimed.
againſt a conduct which was favourable to all.
If the complaints of fome European merchants
reached the court, they were eaſily filenced by
proper gratuities to confeffors, miftreffes, or fa--
vourites. The delinquent not only fheltered
himſelf from puniſhment, but was alſo rewarded.
Nothing was fo well eſtabliſhed or fo generally
known as this practice. A Spaniard juft returned
from America, where he had filled an important
poft, was complaining to a friend of the injurious
reports that were ſpread concerning the diſcharge
of his truft. If you are flandered, fays his friend,
you are undone; but if your extortions are not ex-
aggerated, you have nothing to do but to give up part
of your plunder, and you will enjoy the remainder
peaceably, and even with credit.
THE fraudulent trade will continue till it hath
been made impoffible to bear the expences of it,
or to brave the dangers to which it expofes;
and this can never be done but by lowering the
duties, with which the Spaniſh ports have been
fucceffively overburthened. Even fince the fa-
crifices made by government in the regulations
of 1778, the contraband trader hath an advan-
tage of fixty-four per cent. over the fair dealer.
THE revolution which a judicious fyftem of
policy may bring about, will occafion a defici-
ency, and a very confiderable one, in the public
treafury: but the diftrefs that would refult from
1
:
1
f
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
VIII.
341
}
it, would be no more than momentary. Im- BOOK
menſe riches will one day be produced from this
long-expected arrangement of things.
ACCORDING to the new ſyſtem, Spain, which
hitherto hath furnished annually no more than
one thouſand ſeven hundred and forty-one túns
of wine and brandy, by which the cultivators
had not got one million of livres *, will now fend
ten or twelve times as much. This exportation
would fertilize an uncultivated territory, and
would diſguſt Mexico, as well as fome other
provinces of the New World, of the bad liquors
they are uſed to confume, on account of the
dearneſs of thoſe that have croffed the feás.
THE manufactures, which the impoffibility of
paying for thoſe which came from the Old Hemi-
ſphere hath caufed to be eſtabliſhed, would not
ſupport themſelves. It would have been the higheſt
act of tyranny to put them down by authority,
as fome inconfiderate, corrupt, and defpotic
miniſters have not fcrupled to propofe; but
nothing would be more reaſonable than to bring
them into disrepute with the perfons who now uſe
them for clothing, by offering them, at a price
fuitable to their circumftances, linens and ftuffs,
that would be more agreeable to their tafte or
to their vanity. Then the confumption of Eu-
ropean merchandife, which doth not exceed
annually fix thouſand fix hundred and twelve
tons, would be doubly increaſed, and in procefs
of time, much more.
* 41,6661. 139. 4d.
Z 3
THE
342
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
THE hands which are employed in manufac-
ture, would be transferred to agriculture, which
is at preſent much confined. The ports, how-
ever, of all nations, are open to their commodi-
ties. Several of them might perhaps object,
that Spain fhould make the most of her iſlands,
becauſe ſuch an improvement would neceffarily
occafion an evident injury to her colonies; but
they are all defirous that the fhould bring more
of the productions of her continent to market,
becauſe moſt of them are neceffary, and cannot
be replaced by others.
THIS new arrangement of things would be
equally favourable to the mines. Thofe which
have been neglected from their not being able to
pay for the mercury and other articles, would
be opened again. Thofe, the working of which
hath not been interrupted, would be followed up
with more activity and with greater means. The
plenty of metals would open fresh markets to
induſtry, which even the ablest men do not
think of.
THE Americans, become more rich and more
happy, would have more confidence in govern-
ment. They would readily confent to pay taxes,
the nature and levying of which can only be
properly regulated on the fpot, and from a ma-
ture confideration of the character and cuftoms
of the people. Thefe tributes, however trifling
they may be fuppofed to be, would do more than
fill up the deficiency occafioned in the public
coffers by the leffening of the duties.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
343
VIII.
}
THE Crown, enjoying a more confiderable re- BOOK
venue, would no longer abandon their provinces.
to the rapaciouſneſs of their agents. They would
leffen the number of them, pay thofe they re-
tained in a proper manner, and compel them to
reſpect the rights of the people and the intereſts
of government. To think it impoffible that this
fpirit of juftice fhould be eſtabliſhed, would argue
an ignorance of the refources of a well-managed
authority. Campillo fucceeded in it, during
his auftere miniſtry, although the governors of
America at that time had contracted the habit of
plunder, and that their appointments were not
fufficient to maintain the dignity which their rank
feemed to require.
Ir muſt be acknowledged, that the freedom of
trade between all Spain and America, hath been
reckoned a chimera. The harbours of this pen-
infula are, as it has been faid, fo poor, that
whatever ſteps may be taken, that of Cadix will
remain in the fole poffeffion of this monopoly. This
would undoubtedly happen, if the ancient fyftem
ſhould only be departed from in this point: but,
if the new plan be directed by the principles al-
ready eſtabliſhed, and already practiſed among
commercial nations; it will be found that
there are in moſt of the ports of this king-
dom funds fufficient for thefe undertakings.
Theſe armaments will even foon be multiplied,
becauſe the moderate rate of the freight, and of
the duties, will allow them to fend common
merchandiſe, and to receive in return, commo-
dities of fmall value. In procefs of time, the
Z A
naviga-
344
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK navigation of the mother-country, with its colo-
VIII. nies on the continent, which at prefent employs.
no more than from thirty to thirty-two fhips
every year, would receive fo great an increaſe,
that the boldeft fpeculators could not venture to
fix the limits of it.
IT hath been fuppofed, with more foundation,
that as foon as the ports of America fhould be
open to all the ports of the monarchy, and that
no kind of oppreffion would exift in the customs,
trade, when freed from theſe fhackles, would
occafion unlimited emulation. The avidity and
imprudence of the merchants, give reafon to
fufpect this confufion; which might perhaps turn.
out to advantage. The colonists, encouraged by
the cheapnefs, to the acquifition of enjoyments
which they had been never able to procure, will
have other wants, and confequently would devote
themſelves to other labours. If even the excess
of the competition would be an evil, it could
never be any thing more than a temporary one.
To endeavour to prevent this commotion, by
laws deftructive of every good, is to attempt
the prevention of a fortunate revolution, by a
continual fyftem of oppreffion.
BUT the objection which had been moft thought
of in the court of Madrid, hath been, it ſeems,
that all the European nations would find their
trade increaſe by thefe arrangements. This is
certainly true. But would not Spanish induftry
be equally encouraged, fince, when freed from
the duty which foreign merchandiſe would con-
tinue to pay on entering the kingdom, it would
preferve
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
345
BOOK
preferve all its advantages? Would not the go- VIII,
vernment ftill collect the duties they might
have thought proper to leave upon theſe pro-
ductions? Would not their navigators ftill gain
their freight? Would not their merchants be the
agents of this commerce? Would not their fub-
jects of the New World obtain at a cheaper rate
every thing that is conveyed to them? It is, per-
haps, a fortunate circumſtance for this power, to
be obliged to fhare with other people the ſupply-
ing of its American poffeffions. If it were other-
wife, the maritime powers would exert their ut-
moſt efforts to deprive it of them. Whether they
would fucceed or not, is a point which remains
to be examined.
whether the
Spanish em-
founded up-
pire be
on a folid
bafis in the
New World?
THE Dutch were the first people who ventured Inquiry
to turn their arms againſt Peru. They fent a
fmall fquadron thither in 1643, which eaſily took
Baldivia, the only fortified port of Chili, and the
key to thofe peaceful feas. Their navigators al-
ready poffeffed, in imagination, the treaſures of
thoſe rich countries, till their expectations were
diſappointed by the appearance of famine and
difeafe. The death of their favourite chief in-
creaſed their anxiety, and the troops that were
fent against them from Callao threw them into
total defpair. The idea of the distance they were
at from their native country, deprived them of
all their courage, and the fear of falling into the
hands of a nation whofe hatred they had fo often
experienced, determined them to re-imbark. If
their perfeverance had been greater, they would
probably have preferved their conquests till the
arrival
546
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK arrival of the fuccours that would have been ſent
VIII.
from the Zuyder-zee, when their firft fuccefs came
to be known.
SUCH was the opinion of thofe Frenchmen,
who, in 1595, united their riches and their ef-
forts to go and plunder Peru, and to form à
fettlement on that part of the coaft of Chili which
had been neglected by the Spaniards. This
fcheme was approved by Lewis XIV. who, to
facilitate the execution of it, granted fix men of
war. The fquadron proceeded very fortunately,
under the command of the brave De Gènes, till
it
got towards the middle of the Streights of Ma-
gellan. Succefs was thought to be near at hand,
when the navigators, obftinately repulfed by
contrary winds, and affailed with every poffible
calamity, were obliged to return to Europe.
Thefe adventurers, ftill thirsting after riches and
dangers, were intending to form a new affocia-
tion, when the courfe of events united the intereſts
of the two crowns.
THE English had turned their attention with
avidity towards theſe countries, before other peo-
ple. They were tempted by the mines as early
as the year 1624; but the weakneſs of the prince
who then reigned, proved the ruin of a confi-
derable affociation formed for this great purpoſe.
Charles II. refumed this important project, and ·
fent Sir John Narborough to reconnoitre thoſe
latitudes that were fo little known, and to en-
deavour to open fome communication with the.
favages of Chili. That monarch was fo impatient
to know the fuccefs of the expedition, that when
he
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
347
VIII.,
he was informed of the return of his admiral to B O O K
the Downs, he got into his barge, and went to
meet him at Gravefend.
THOUGH this first attempt had been of no
advantage, the Britiſh miniftry were not diſcou-
raged. The elevation of the Duke of Anjou to
the throne excited a general ferment. England,
which had put itſelf at the head of the con-
federacy formed to deprive this prince of the
throne, was victorious in all parts, but was ob-
liged to purchaſe this glory at a very dear rate.
The nation was groaning under the oppreffion of
taxes, while the treaſury had contracted immenſe
engagements. It ſeemed difficult to fulfil them,
and at the fame time to continue the war; when
the idea was fuggefted of a company which
fhould have the exclufive privilege of trading to
the South Seas, upon condition that they ſhould
liquidate the national debt. Such was the opi-
nion they entertained of the riches of Peru, and
of the great fortunes that might eaſily be made
there, that foreigners, as well as the people of
the country, were eager to lend their money to
this undertaking. The direction of it was given
to the Lord High Treaſurer Oxford, the author
of the project, and he employed, in the expences
of the ſtate, funds that were deſtined for a very
different purpoſe.
THEN the fhares of the new company fell into
the utmoſt diſrepute; but they foon rofe again.
At the peace, the court of London obtained from
that of Madrid, that the South Sea Company
fhould fulfil its deftination. The trade of Perú
was
348
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
1-
BOOK was formally given up to them. They were quietly
enriching themſelves, when a bloody war changed
the fituation of affairs. A fquadron, under the
command of Anfon, was fent, inftead of the fhips
of thoſe rapacious merchants, which frequented
thefe feas. It is probable he would have executed
the whole of his terrible commiffion, had he not
been prevented by the misfortunes that befel his
fquadron, in being obliged, from ill-concerted
meaſures, to double Cape Horn at an improper
and dangerous ſeaſon.
SINCE the laſt peace, the French in 1764, and-
the Engliſh in 1766, have undertaken to form a
fettlement not far from the coaſt of Patagonia, òr
in fifty-one degrees thirty minutes of fouthern la-
titude, in three islands, which the former have
called Malouine, and the latter Falkland Islands.
Spain, alarmed at feeing foreign nations in thefe
latitudes, eafily obtained from the court of Ver-
failles the facrifice of their feeble colony: but the
warmeſt repreſentations produced no effect upon
the court of London, which had not the ſame
motives of attention and complaifance. The mi-
niſtry on both fides grew warm. Port Egmont,
recently occupied, was fuddenly attacked, and
taken without refiftance. The two hemifpheres
were again going to be deluged with blood, if the
aggreffors had not at length determined to re-
ftore a poft, which they ought not to have feized
upon, at a time when negociations were opened to
examine into the rights of the two crowns. Eng-
land hath fince engaged, by a verbal agreement
of the 22d January 1771, to fuffer this feeble, ufe-
lefs,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
349
VIII.
leſs, and expenſive ſettlement gradually to decay. BOOK
Accordingly, in the month of May 1774, there
remained no more than five-and-twenty men
upon it, when it was evacuated, leaving an in-
ſcription to certify to pofterity, that theſe iſlands
had belonged, and had not ceafed to belong, to
Great Britain. Thefe navigators, attentive to
the dignity of their nation, infulted, at their de-
parture, the rival power. It is from motives of
condefcenfion, and not of fear, that they are will-
ing to defift from their claims. But when they
promiſe eternal duration to their empire, they
forget that their grandeur may difappear as ra-
pidly as it hath rifen. Of all the modern nations,
what remains will there be in the annals of the
world? The names only of a few illuftrious per-
fonages, of a Chriftopher Columbus, of a Def-
cartes, and of a Newton. What a number of petty
ftates, all ridiculously afpiring to the great defti-
nies of Rome!
WITHOUT the affiftance of this ftaple, and in-
deed without any, Anfon thought that the em-
pire of the Spaniards in the Pacific Ocean might
be attacked with advantage. According to the
plan of this celebrated navigator, twelve men of
war, fent from Europe with three or four thou-
fand troops, would direct their courfe towards the
South Sea. They would procure refreſhments
at Bahia, at Rio Janeiro, at St. Catherine's, and
throughout all the Brazils, where a ſtrong defire
prevails of humbling the Spaniards. The repairs
that might become neceffary, would be executed
with fafety upon the defert and uninhabitable coaft
of
/
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
350
VIII.
BOOK of Patagonia, at Port Defire, or St. Julian. The
fquadron would double Cape Horn, or would go
through the Streights of Magellan, according to
the different feaſons of the year. If they ſhould
chance to ſeparate, they would meet again at the
defert iſland of Socoro, and then attack Baldivia
with their united force.
་
THIS fortress, the only one that covers Chili,
being carried by a fudden and impetuous attack,
what fervice, for the defence of the country,
could be expected from enervated and unexpe-
rienced citizens, againſt troops inured to dif-
cipline and military exercifes? What could they
do againſt the Araucos and other favages, al-
ways difpofed to renew their cruelties and their
ravages?
THE COafts of Peru would make ftill lefs re-
fiftance. They are all defended only by Callao,
where a bad garriſon of fix hundred men would
foon capitulate. The reduction of this famous
port would open the way to Lima, which is no
more than two leagues off, and incapable of
making any defence. The feeble fuccours that
could be fent to the two cities from the inland
parts, where there are no foldiers, would not
fave them; and the fquadron would eaſily inter-
cept any that might come from Panama by fea.
Panama itſelf, which is furrounded only by a
wall, without a ditch or any outworks, would be
obliged to furrender. The garrifon, continually
weakened by detachments that must be fent to
Chagre, to Porto-Bello, and to other poſts, would
be unable to repulfe the moſt trifling force.
ANSON
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
35
VIII.
ANSON was of opinion, that the coafts being BOOK
once fubdued, the reft of the empire would foon
bé obliged to fubmit. This idea was founded
upon the effeminacy, cowardice, and ignorance
of theſe people in the management of arms. Ac-
cording to his informations, a bold enemy would
have had nearly as much advantage over the Spa-
niards, as they themſelves had over the Americans
at the period of the difcovery.
SUCH were, thirty years ago, the ideas of one
of the greateſt feamen England ever had. But
we may imagine that he would not talk in this
ſtyle at preſent. The court of Madrid, rouſed by
the humiliations and misfortunes of the laſt war,
have fent well-difciplined troops into Peru, and
have intrufted the fortified places to experienced
commanders. The fpirit of the militia is entirely
changed in this part of the New World. What
perhaps was poffible, is now no more fo. An
invafion would more particularly become a chi-
merical idea, if in that diftant region the land
forces were fupported by proportionate maritime
ftrength. We ſhall even venture to affirm, that
the junction of theſe two forces would infallibly
expel the flag of all other nations from thefe
roads.
THE operations of the fquadron fhould not
be limited, either to the fighting of the enemy,
or to the keeping of them at a distance. The
fhips of which it would confift might be ufe-
fully employed in producing, or in collecting
upon theſe coafts, the articles which either do
not
352
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK not grow there, or which are loft from the dif-
ficulty of exportation. Theſe encouragements
would probably awaken the colonifts from the
lethargic ftate in which they have continued for
three centuries. When they were affured that
the produce of their cultures would reach Pa-
nama without expence, and would there be em-
barked upon the Chagre, to be conveyed in-
to Europe, at a very moderate rate, they would
feel themſelves inclined to labours, the reward
of which would no longer be doubtful. This ac-
tivity would increafe, if the court of Madrid
would refolve to dig a canal of five leagues,
which would complete the communication be-
tween the two feas, already fo much advanced by
a navigable river. The general good of nations,
and the advantage of commerce, required, that
the Ifthinus of Panama, and the Ifthmus of Suez,
fhould be open to navigation, and fhould draw
the limits of the world nearer to each other. Ori-
ental defpotifm, and Spaniſh indolence, have for
too long a tine deprived the globe of fo confi-
derable a benefit.
IF from the South, we go on to the North
Sea, we ſhall find that the Spaniſh empire is efta-
bliſhed there, from the Miffiffippi to the Oroo-
noko. There are, throughout this immenfe ſpace,
many inacceffible fhores, and a ftill greater
number where it would be uſeleſs to land.
the ports that are confidered as important, fuch
as Vera Cruz, Chagre, Porto-Bello, Cartha-
gena, and Puerto-Cabello, are fortified, and ſome
8
All
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST ÍNDIES.
353
VIII.
of them are fo upon good principles. Experience, BOOK
however, hath fhewn, that none of theſe places
are impregnable. They might therefore be forced
again; but of what ſervice would this fuccefs be?
The conquerors, who would find it impoffible to
penetrate into the inland countries, would be con-
fined in fortreffes, where an air, which is danger-
ous in all ſeaſons, and fatal during fix months of
the year, to men who are accuftomed to a tem-
perate climate, would fooner or later bring them
to the grave.
If even, contrary to all probability, the con-
queft fhould be completed, can it be imagined
that the Spaniſh Americans, who from tafte, idle-
neſs, ignorance, habit, and pride, have an excef-
five attachment to their religion and to their
laws, would not break, at one time or other, the
chains that had been impofed upon them? If, to
prevent this revolution, it fhould be refolved to
exterminate them, this cruel expedient would be
as great a folly in politics, as it would be hor-
rible in morality. The nation that had been
guilty of this exceſs of barbarity could not reap
any advantage from its new poffeffions, without
facrificing to them its population, its activity, its
induſtry, and, in proceſs of time, all its power.
THESE Various obſtacles to the invaſion of
Spaniſh America, had, as it is faid, fuggefted in
England, during the laft hoftilities, the idea of a
fyftem aſtoniſhing to vulgar minds. The pro-
ject of this power, which was then miſtreſs of all
the feas, was to feize upon Vera Cruz, and to
fortify itſelf there in a very ftrong manner.
VOL. IV.
A a
It
would
354
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
VIII.
BOOK would not have been propoſed to Mexico to fub-
mit to a foreign yoke, for which it was known to
have too great an averfion; but the plan was to
detach that region from the mother-country, to
make it the arbiter of its own deſtiny, and to leave
it at liberty, either to chooſe a ſovereign of its
own, or to form itſelf into a republic. As there
were no troops in the country, the revolution was
infallible; and it would equally have taken place
in all the provinces of this vaft continent, which
had the fame motives for defiring it, and the fame
facility of carrying it into execution. The ef-
forts of the court of Madrid, to recover its rights,
would have been unavailing, becauſe Great Bri-
tain took upon herſelf to repel them, upon con-
dition that the new ftates fhould grant her an ex-
clufive trade, but upon terms infinitely lefs unfa-
vourable than thofe by which they had for fo long
a time been oppreffed.
If it were true that fuch ideas had ever ſeriouſly
engaged the attention of the cabinet of London,
they muſt have renounced theſe ambitious views,
fince the court of Madrid have taken the refolu-
tion to keep regular and European forces in their
poffeffions in the New World. Thefe forces will
contain the nations, and repel the enemy, ftrength-
ened as they are at prefent with a refpectable
navy.
As foon as the Spaniards had diſcovered an-
other Hemiſphere, they thought of appropriating
to themſelves every part of it. To give fome
eclat to their adminiſtration, the chiefs of the
great fettlements already formed, were continually
under-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
355
undertaking new enterpriſes; and private per-
fons, paffionately purſuing the fame kind of fame,
generally followed thefe brilliant projects. The
calamities infeparable from a career fo little
known, had not yet altered this active and inde-
fatigable courage, when fome bold and enter-
priſing navigators ventured to direct their courfe
towards regions, forbidden to every other nation,
except that which had conquered them. The
fuccefs which attended this boldnefs, convinced
Philip II. that it was time to fet bounds to his
ambition; and he renounced acquifitions, which
might expofe his arms or his fleets to infults.
This timid, or perhaps only prudent policy, was
attended with more important confequences than
had been foreſeen. The fpirit of enthuſiaſm was
at an end, and that of inactivity fucceeded to it.
A new race of men was formed in the Indies.
The people fank into fuperb effeminacy, and
thoſe who governed them no longer attended to
any thing but the accumulation of riches; and
the dignities that accompanied them, which had
formerly been referved to talents, to zeal, and to
fervices, were now purchaſed. At this period a
ftop was put to navigation, both in America and
in Europe.
A FEW veffels only, ill built, ill armed, ill fitted
out, and ill commanded, were diſpatched from
the ports of the mother-country. Spain could
not be awakened from its lethargy, either from
the terrible blows which it received from its ene-
mies, or with the ruinous extortions it experienced
from its allies.
A a 2
AT
BOOK
-VIII.
356
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
VIII.
Ar length, after two centuries of total inacti
vity, the docks are again revived. The Spaniſh
navy hath acquired real ftrength. It confifts, at
the time of our writing, of fixty-eight fhips, of the
line, carrying from one hundred and fourteen to
fixty guns, and five of theſe are upon the ſtocks;
and of eighty-eight other ſhips, carrying from
fifty-fix to twelve guns. There are fifty thouſand
feamen upon its lifts, a great number of whom
ſerve in the armaments fitted out by government.
Many of them are alfo employed in the merchant-
men of Bifcay, of Majorca, and of Catalonia.
Some are wanted for about a hundred ſmall vef.
fels, regularly deſtined for the American iſlands,
where fo few were formerly fent. They will mul-
tiply ftill more, when the voyages to the conti-
nent of the other Hemiſphere fhall be undertaken,
with all the freedom which the first regulations
ſeem to announce. The feas, which ſeparate the
two Worlds, will be covered with robuſt, active,
and intelligent men, who will become the defend-
ers of their country's rights, and will render her
fleets formidable.
SPANISH monarchs, ye are intrufted with the
happineſs of the moft brilliant parts of the two
Hemiſpheres. Shew yourſelves worthy of fo glo-
rious a deſtiny. In fulfilling this auguft and fa-
cred duty, ye will repair the injuries done by
your predeceffors and by their fubjects. They
have depopulated a world which they had difco-
vered; they have put millions of mankind to
death. Their conduct hath been ſtill more atro-
cious, not only in enflaving them, but alfo in
reducing
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES..
357
reducing thoſe whom their fword had ſpared to
the condition of brutes. Thoſe whom they have
flain, have fuffered only for an inftant, while the
wretches whom they have permitted to live, muft
have often envied the fate of their murdered
brethren. Poſterity will not forgive you, till
harveſts ſhall arife in thofe fields which you have
manured with fo much innocent blood; and till
thoſe immenſe ſpaces which you have laid wafte
ſhall be covered with happy and free inhabitants.
If ye would know the period in which you may
perhaps be abfolved of all your crimes, it will be
when you ſhall revive, in idea, fome one of the an-
cient monarchs of Mexico and Peru, and placing
him in the midft of his poffeffions, fhall be able
to ſay to him, BEHOLD THE PRESENT STÁTE OF
YOUR COUNTRY, AND OF YOUR SUBJECTS; INTER-
ROGATE THEM, AND FORM YOUR JUDGMENT OF
US.
BOOK
VIII.
A a 3
358
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
Camero
Whether
the Euro.
been well
with the art
colonies.
BOOK IX.
Settlement of the Portugueſe in the Brazils.
The wars they have fuftained there. Pro-
duce and riches of that country.
A
1
NATIONAL ſpirit is the refult of a great
number of cauſes, fome of which are per-
manent, and others variable. This part of the
peans have hiftory of a people is perhaps the moſt intereſt-
acquainted ing, and the leaft difficult to inveſtigate. The
of founding permanent cauſes are to be found on the portion
of the globe which they inhabit; the variable ones
are configned in their annals, and manifefted by
the effects which they have produced. While
theſe cauſes act in oppofition to each other, the
nation is in a ſtate of infanity, and doth not be-
gin to recover its proper underſtanding, till the
time when its fpeculative principles coincide
with the nature of its fituation. Then it is, that
it advances rapidly towards that fplendour, opu-
lence, and felicity, to which it may be allowed to
aſpire from a free ufe of its local refources.
BUT this national fpirit, which ought to prefide
in the counfels of the people, though it be not
always to be found there, fcarce ever regulates
the actions of individuals. They have intereſts
of their own, and paffions which torment and
blind them; and there is fcarce any one who
¿
I
would
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
359
IX.
would not raiſe his profperity upon the public BOOK
ruin. The capitals of empires are the centre of
the national ſpirit, that is to fay, the places where
it diſplays itſelf with the greateſt energy in words,
and where it is the most completely neglected in
actions. I except only fome unfrequent inftances,
where the general fafety is at ftake. In propor-
tion as the diſtance from the capital increaſes,
this maſk detaches itſelf; it falls off on the fron-
tiers; and, between one hemifphere and another,
is totally loſt.
WHEN a man hath croffed the line, he is nei-
ther an Engliſhman, a Dutchman, a Frenchman,
a Spaniard, or a Portugueſe. He preferves no-
thing of his country, except the principles and
prejudices which give a fanction to his conduct,
or furnish him with an excufe for it. Servile when
he is weak, and oppreffive when he is ftrong;
eager to acquire wealth, and to enjoy it; and ca-
pable of all the enormities which can contribute
moft speedily to the completion of his defigns;
he is a domeſtic tiger again let loofe in the
woods, and who is again feized with the thirſt of
blood. Such have all the Europeans indifcri-
minately fhewn themſelves in the regions of the
New World, where they have been actuated with
one common rage, the paffion for gold.
WOULD it not have been a more humane, more
ufeful, and leſs expenſive plan, to have fent into
each of thofe diftant regions fome hundreds of
young men and women? The men would have
married the women, and the women the men of
the country. Confanguinity, the tie that is the
moſt
A a 4
360
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK moſt ſpeedily formed, and the ftrongeft, would
foon have made one and the fame family of the
ftrangers and of the natives.
In this intimate connection, the favage inha-
bitant would foon have underſtood, that the arts
and ſciences conveyed into his country were
very conducive to the improvement of his def-
tiny. He would have entertained the higheſt
opinion of the perfuafive and mild inſtructors
brought to him by the fea, and he would have
given himſelf up to them without reſerve.
FROM this fortunate confidence peace would
have arifen, which would have been impracti-
cable, if the new comers had preſented them-
felves with the imperious and authoritative tone
of maſters and ufurpers. Commerce is efta-
bliſhed without difficulty among men who have
reciprocal wants; and they foon accuſtom them-
felves to confider as friends and as brethren, thoſe
whom intereft or other motives have brought into
their country. The Indians would have adopted
the European form of worſhip, becauſe a religion
becomes univerfal among all the inhabitants of
an empire, when the government leaves it to it-
felf, and when the folly and intolerant fpirit of
the priests doth not convert it into a principle of
difcord. In like manner civilization follows from
the propenfity which urges every man to im-
prove his fituation, provided there be no defire
to compel him to it by force, and that theſe ad-
vantages be not prefented to him by fufpicious
Arangers.
SUCH
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
361
SUCH would be the effects that would be pro-
duced in a rifing colony, by the allurement of
the moſt imperious of the fenfes. Let there be no
arms and no foldiers; but a multitude of young
women for the men, and numbers of young men
for the women. Let us examine what the Portu-
gueſe have done in Brazil by purſuing contrary
methods.
BRAZIL is an immenfe continent, bounded on
the North, by the river of the Amazons; on the
South, by the river Plata; on the Eaft, by the
fea; and on the Weft, by moraffes, lakes, torrents,
rivers, and mountains; which feparate it from the
Spaniſh poffeffions.
IF Columbus had continued his courſe to the
South, when he came to the entrance of the Oroo-
noko in 1499, he could not poffibly have miffed
the Brazils; but he chofe to fteer to the north-
weft, that he might not go too far from St. Do-
mingo, the only fettlement belonging to the Spa-
niards in the New World.
PETER ALVAREZ CABRAL had the honour of
diſcovering the Brazils the following year by a
fortunate chance.
How doth it happen that this is the cafe in al-
moſt all diſcoveries; and that chance hath always
more ſhare in them than ingenuity? It is becauſe
chance is ever employed, while the human un-
derſtanding is checked by indolence, changes its
objects through inconftancy, repoſes itſelf through
laffitude or tedium, and is thrown into a ſtate
of inactivity by a number of moral, natural, do-
meftic, or national caufes. Moft difcoveries are
therefore
BOOK
IX.
When, and
Brazil was
by whom,
diſcovered.
J
362
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
J
IX.
BOOK therefore owen to chance, or to that infinite num-
ber of men, who are always in motion, and whoſe
attention is conftantly engaged on all the objects
that furround, or ftrike them, oftentimes without
any defign of gaining information, or of making
thoſe diſcoveries, but merely becauſe they make
ufe of their fenfes.
To avoid falling in with the calms on the coaſt
of Africa, Cabral kept fo far out at ſea, that he
came within fight of an unknown land lying to
weftward. He was driven thither by ſtreſs of
weather, and anchored on the coaft in the 15th
degree of fouth latitude, at a place which he
called Porto-Seguro. He took poffeffion of the
country, but made no ſettlement in it, and gave
it the name of Santa Cruz, which was after-
wards changed for that of Brazil, becauſe the
Brazil wood was the moſt valuable production.
of that country to the Europeans, who uſed it in
dying.
As this country had been diſcovered in going
to India, and as it was doubtful whether it was
not a part of that country, the fame name was
given to it, becauſe the Spaniards had imagined,
that it might be referred to thofe countries they
had previouſly difcovered. All the Europeans,
however, diſtinguiſhed them by the appellation of
Weft Indies. This name was afterwards extended
to all the New World, and the Americans were
very improperly called Indians.
THUS it is that the names of places and things,
accidentally given by ignorant men, have always
perplexed philofophers, who have been defirous
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
363
of tracing the origin of theſe names from nature,
and not from circumftances merely incidental,
and oftentimes quite foreign to the natural pro-
perties of the things denoted by them. No-
thing can be more ftrange, for instance, than to
fee Europe tranfplanted into America, and there
regenerated, as it were, in the names and forms
of our European cities, and in the laws, man-
ners, and religion of our continent. But fooner
or later the climate will refume its influence, and
reinstate things in their proper order and with
their original names, though with thofe veftiges
of the change they have undergone, which a
great revolution always leaves behind it. Is it
not probable that in three or four thousand years
hence, the hiſtory of America at this prefent
period will be as confuſed, and as inexplicable to
its inhabitants, as the hiftory of Europe, previous
to the riſe of the Roman republic, is obfcure to
us? Thus it is that men, the knowledge they have
acquired, and the conjectures they have formed,
either with reſpect to events that are paffed, or to
future tranſactions, are all fubject to the laws and
motions of nature, which purſues her own courſe,
without paying the leaft regard either to our pro-
jects or to our opinions.
BOOK
1X.
the first in-
Portugal in-
NOTHING can afford us a more convincing Account of
proof of this great truth, than the imprudence habitants
and uncertainty of all the defigns and actions of conveyed by
men even in their moſt important undertakings, to the Bra-
the blindneſs with which their inquiries are pur-
fued, and more efpecially the improper uſe they
make of their diſcoveries. As foon as the court
zils.
of
354
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK of Liſbon had ordered a furvey to be taken of the
harbours, bays, rivers, and coafts of Brazil, and
was convinced that the country afforded neither
gold nor filver, they held it in fuch contempt,
that they ſent thither none but condemned crimi-
nals and abandoned women.
Two ſhips were fent every year from Portugal,
to carry the refufe of the kingdom to this New
World, and to bring home parrots, and woods
for the dyers and cabinet-makers. Ginger was
afterwards added, but was foon prohibited, left
it fhould interfere with the fale of the fame article
from India.
ASIA was then the object that attracted all men.
It was the road to fortune, to power, and to fame.
The great exploits of the Portugueſe in India,
and the wealth they brought from thence, gave
their nation fuch a fuperiority in all parts of the
world, that every individual wifhed to partake of
it, The enthufiafim was general. No perfon, in-
deed, went over voluntarily to America; but thoſe
unfortunate men, whom the inquifition had doom-
ed to deftruction, were added to the convicts al-
ready tranſported thither.
+
THERE never was a ſtronger and more invete-
rate hatred than that which the Portuguefe have
always entertained againſt the Spaniards.
Spaniards. Not-
withſtanding this national antipathy, which is of
fo long a ſtanding that its origin cannot be
traced, and fo confirmed that it can never be ex-
pected to ceaſe, they have borrowed moſt of their
maxims from a neighbour, whofe power they
dreaded as much as they detefted its manners.
Whether
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
365
Whether from a fimilarity of climate and temper,
or from a conformity of circumftances, they have
adopted the worst of its inftitutions, they could
not imitate any one more horrid than the inquifi-
tion.
THIS bloody tribunal, erected in Spain in 1482,
by a combination of policy and fanaticiſm, under
the reign of Ferdinand and Iſabella, was no foon-
er adopted by John III. than it ftruck terror into
every family. To eſtabliſh its authority, and
afterwards to ſupport it, no lefs than four or five
hundred victims were annually facrificed, a tenth
part of which was burnt alive, and the reft ba-
niſhed to Africa or to the Brazils. The fury of
this tribunal was particularly exerted againſt thoſe
who were ſuſpected of fodomy; a crime of later
date in the kingdom, and almoft unavoidable in
hot climates, where celibacy prevails. It alſo
proſecuted forcerers, who, in thoſe times of ig-
norance, were as much dreaded, as their number
was multiplied by the credulity, bigotry, and bar-
bariſm that prevailed all over Europe. The Mo-
hammedans, though greatly decreaſed fince they
had lost the empire, were alſo perfecuted by the
inquifition; but more eſpecially the Jews, be
cauſe they were the richeft.
It is well known, that when the Jews, who
had long been confined to a very ſmall ſpot upon
the face of the earth, were difperfed by the Ro-.
mans, many of them took refuge in Portugal.
There they multiplied after the Arabs had con-
quered Spain, were fuffered to enjoy all the
rights of citizens, and were not excluded from
public.
BOOK
IX.
366
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
{
BOOK public offices, till that country had recovered its
independence. This firſt act of oppreffion did
not prevent twenty thouſand Jewiſh families from
removing thither, when, after the conquéft of
Granada, the Catholic kings compelled them to
quit Spain, or to change their religion. Each
family paid twenty livres for the liberty of
fettling in Portugal. Superftition foon induced
John II. to aggravate the fufferings of that per-
fecuted nation: he demanded of them 20,000
crowns, and afterwards reduced them to a ſtate
of flavery. In 1496, Emanuel baniſhed all
thoſe who refuſed to embrace the Chriſtian reli-›¨
gion; thoſe who complied were reſtored to their
freedom, and foon ingroffed the Afiatic trade,
which then began to be laid open to every one.
The eſtabliſhment of the inquifition in 1548,
proved a check to their activity. Their mif-
trúft was increaſed by the frequent confifcations
made by that odious tribunal, and by the taxes
which government extorted from them at different
times. They were in hopes of purchaſing ſome
tranquillity, by furniſhing Sebaſtian with 250,000
livres for his African expedition; but, unfortu-
nately for them, that imprudent monarch came
to an untimely end. Philip II. who foon after
extended his dominion over Portugal, enacted
that fuch of his fubjects as were defcended from
a Jew or a Moor, fhould be excluded from all
ecclefiaftical or civil employments. This mark
* 16s. 8d.
‡ 10,4271. 138. 4d.
+ 2,5001.
?
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
367
IX.
of infamy, with which all the new converts to BOOK
Chriſtianity were branded, gave them fuch a dif
guſt for a country, where even the greateſt opu-
lence could not exempt them from being ftigma-
tized, that they removed, with their wealth, to
Bourdeaux, Antwerp, Hamburgh, and other
towns with which they had regular connections.
This emigration was the occafion of a great re-
volution; it diverted the commerce, which till
then had centered in Spain and Portugal, into
other countries, and deprived thofe two nation's
of the advantages the one derived from the Eaſt
and the other from the Weft Indies.
tures.
BEFORE theſe laſt periods, the Jews, who were
unremittingly perfecuted by the inquifition, were
baniſhed in numbers to the Brazils. Though
deprived of their fortunes by thefe infatiable
leeches, they fucceeded in eſtabliſhing fome cul-
This fortunate beginning convinced the
court of Lisbon that a colony might be ferviceable
to the mother-country by other means than by
metals. They began, as early as the year 1525,
to caſt a lefs difdainful look on this immenfe pof-
feffion, which chance had beftowed upon them,
and which had till then been confidered as the
fink into which all the filth of the monarchy was
poured.
Brazil divi-
feveral no-
ded between
blemen by
Government the court of
THE nation foon adopted the opinion of the
miniſtry, and the noblemen eſpecially were firft
animated with this new fpirit.
granted, fucceffively, to thofe among them who Libon
aſked for it, a ſpace of forty or fifty leagues upon
the coaft, with an unlimited extent in the inte-
rior
368
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
}
BOOK rior parts of the country. They were authoriſed
by their charter to treat the vanquished people in
whatever manner they chofe. They had a right,
which most of them exercifed, to difpofe of the
territory they had invaded, in favour of any Por-
tugueſe who would cultivate it; but they dif-
pofed of it only for three lives, referving alfo to
themſelves fome rent-charges. Thefe great pro-
prietors were to enjoy all the rights of fovereign-
ty, except that of condemning to death, coining,
and the tithes; prerogatives which the court kept
in their hands. Theſe uſeful and honourable
fiefs could only be forfeited by the neglecting to
cultivate and defend them, by the deficiency of
male iffue, or by the commiffion of fome capital
crime.
Character
and cuſtome
whom the
Portuguese
wished to
fubdue.
THOSE who had folicited and obtained theſe
provinces, expected to acquire the poffeffion of
them without much expence, and without ex-
pofing their lieutenants to any great danger.
Their hopes were chiefly founded upon the in-
dolence of the fmall nations they were to con-
quer.
MAN is undoubtedly formed for fociety; his
of the people wants and his weakneffes require it. But fo-
cieties of twenty or thirty millions of men, cities
confifting of four or five hundred thouſand fouls,
are fo many monftrous productions, which are fo
far from being formed by nature, that fhe, on
the contrary, is inceffantly ftudying to deſtroy
them. They are only fupported by conftant
forefight, and by most extraordinary efforts.
They would foon be diffipated, if a confiderable
portion
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
369
IX.
portion of this multitude did not attend to their BOOK
preſervation. The air is infected by them, the
waters are corrupted; the land exhaufted to a
great extent; the duration of life is fhortened
among them; the fweets of plenty are but little
felt, and the horrors of dearth are extreme.
They are the ſpot which gives birth to epidemic
difeafes; they are the haunts of crimes, of vices,
and of diffolute manners. Theſe enormous and
fatal heaps of men are likewiſe one of the ſcourges
of fovereignty, fince cupidity invites around the
throne, and perpetually increaſes the herd of
flaves, under an infinite variety of functions and
denominations. Theſe unnatural affemblages of
population, are fubject to ferment and to corrupt
during peace; and if war fhould increaſe the
ferment, the ſhock becomes dreadful.
SOCIETIES, in a ſtate of nature, are little nu-
merous; they fubfift of themfelves. They feparate
before a fuperabundance of population becomes
troubleſome. Each divifion removes to conve-
nient diftances. Such was the primitive ſtate of
the New Countries; fuch is that of the New Con-
tinent.
THE Brazilians in general were of the fize of
the Europeans, but not fo ftout. They were ſub-
ject to fewer diftempers, and were long-lived.
They wore no clothing; the women wore their
hair extremely long, the men cut theirs fhort;
the women wore bracelets of bones of a beauti-
ful white, the men necklaces of the fame; the
women painted their faces, and the men their
bodies.
VOL. IV.
B b
EVERY
370
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
EVERY Colony of this vaft continent had its
own idioms, but not one of them had any words
to convey general and abſtract ideas. This po-
verty of language, which is common to all na-
tions of South America, is a convincing proof
of the little progrefs the human underſtanding
had made in theſe countries. The analogy be-
tween the words in the feveral languages of this
continent fhews, that the reciprocal tranfmigra-
tions of theſe favages had been frequent.
THE food of the Brazilians was very fimple.
In a country deprived of domeſtic animals, they
lived upon fhell-fifh by the fea-fide; along the
rivers, by fishing; and in the forefts, by hunting.
When theſe precarious provifions failed, they fed
upon the caffava and other roots.
THESE men were very fond of dancing. Their
fongs were but one tedious uniform tone, with-
out any modulations, and commonly turned upon
their loves or their warlike exploits.
IN poliſhed ſtates, dancing and finging are
reckoned among the arts. In the midſt of the
foreſts they are almoft the natural expreffions of
concord and friendſhip, of tenderneſs and plea-
fure. We are obliged to have mafters to inftruct
us to diſplay our voices, and to move gracefully.
The favage hath no other inftructor but his paf-
fion, his heart, and nature. He really feels what
we affect to feel. Accordingly, the favage who
fings and dances is always happy.
THEIR amuſements are not interrupted by the
worſhip of a Supreme Being, for they know of
none; nor is their tranquillity difturbed by the
dread
A
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
371
E
воок
IX.
dread of a future ftate, of which they have no BOOK
idea. They have, however, their magicians, who
by ſtrange contortions, fo far work upon the cre-
dulity of the people as to throw them into violent
convulfions. If the impoftures of theſe magicians
are detected, they are immediately put to death,
which ferves, in fome degree, to check the fpirit
of deceit.
THESE atheiſts are equally ftrangers to all
notions of fubordination and fubmiffion, which
among ourſelves are originally derived from the
idea of a Supreme Being. They cannot conceive
that any person can have the audacity to com-
mand, much leſs that any one can be fo weak as
to obey. But they fhew moft deference to the
man who has killed the greateſt number of his
enemies.
THE Brazilians, like moft other favages, fhewed
no particular attachment to their native place. The
love of our country, which is a ruling paffion in
civilized ſtates; which in good governments rifes
to enthufiafm, and in bad ones grows habitual;
which for feveral centuries together perpetuates
in every nation its difpofition, cuftoms, and
tafte: this love of our country is but a factitious
fentiment ariſing from fociety, but unknown in
the ſtate of nature. The moral life of a favage
is the very reverſe of that of the civilized man.
The latter enjoys the gifts of nature only in his
infancy. As his ftrength increafes and his un-
derſtanding unfolds itfelf, he lofes fight of the
prefent, and is wholly intent upon the future,
Thus the age of paffions and pleaſures, the time
B b 2
deftined
372
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
?
BOOK deftined by nature for enjoyment, is fpent in
IX.
L
fpeculation and difappointment. The heart de-
nies itſelf what it wishes for, laments the indul-
gences it has allowed itſelf, and is equally tor-
mented by its felf-denials and its gratifications.
The civilized man, inceffantly deploring his li-
berty which he hath always facrificed, looks back
with regret on his earlieſt years, when a fuccef-
fion of new objects conftantly awakened his cu-
riofity, and kept his hopes alive. He recollects
with pleaſure the ſpot where he paffed his infant
days; the remembrance of his innocent delights.
endears them to his imagination, and forcibly at-
tracts him to his native fpot; whereas the favage,
who enjoys all the pleaſures and advantages pe-
culiar to every period of his life, and does not ab-
ſtain from them in expectation of greater indul-
gence in old age, finds equally, in all places, ob-
jects fuited to his defires, and feels that the fource.
of his pleafures is in himfelf, and that his country
is every where.
THOUGH the tranquillity of the Brazilians was
not the reſult of any laws, diffenfions were feldom
heard of in their little focieties. If drunkenness,
or fome unfortunate incident, occafioned a dif-
pute, and fome life was loft, the murderer was
inſtantly delivered up to the relations of the de-
ceafed, who immediately facrificed him to their
vengeance without hefitation; then both the fa-
milies met, and their reconciliation was fealed by
a joyous and noify feaſt.
EVERY Brazilian took as many wives as he
chofe, or as many as he could get, and put them
away
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIes.
373
IX.
away when he grew tired of them. When they BOOK
violated their marriage vow, they were punished,
according to a cuftom almoft generally adopted,
with death, and the huſband did not become an
object of ridicule on account of the injury his wife
had done him. When the women laid-in, they
kept their bed but a day or two; then the mother,
hanging the child to her neck in a cotton ſcarf,
returned to her ufual occupations without any
kind of inconvenience.
}
In general, the confequences of child-birth
among the favages, are not fo bad as they are
among the women of civilized countries, becaufe
the firſt always fuckle their children, and be-
cauſe the indolence of the men condemns them
to a laborious life, which occafions the menftrual
flux in them to be lefs plentiful, and renders the
channels, through which this fuperfluous blood is
to flow, fo much the more narrow. A long reft
after child-birth, far from being neceffary, would
become as fatal to them, as it would be among
u's to our women of the lower claſs. This is not
the only circumftance in which we find a com-
penfation for the advantages of the feveral ranks
of life. We feel the want of exerciſe, and go
into the country in fearch of health. Our wo-
men begin to deſerve the name of mothers, by
fuckling their own children; the children too
are juſt reſcued from the fhackles of fwaddling
clothes. What can thefe innovations be attri-
buted to, but to the conſciouſneſs that man can-
not deviate imprudently from the laws of nature,
without injury to his own happineſs? In all fu-
B b 3
ture
1
374
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ture ages the favages will advance by flow de-
IX.
grees towards the civilized ftate; and civilized
nations will return towards their primitive ftate;
from whence the philofopher will conclude, that
there exifts in the interval between theſe two
ſtates, a certain medium in which the felicity of
the human ſpecies is placed. But who is it that
can find out this medium? and even if it were
found, what authority would be capable of dire&-
ing the ſteps of man to it, and to fix him there?
TRAVELLERS were received with diftinguished
marks of civility in the Brazils. Wherever they
came, they were furrounded with women, who
wafhed their feet, and welcomed them with the
moſt obliging expreffions. Nothing was fpared
for their entertainment; but it would have been
an unpardonable affront, had they left the family
where they were firft entertained, in hopes of bet-
ter accommodation in another. This fpirit of
hofpitality is one of the moſt certain indications
that man was intended for fociety.
:
HOSPITALITY, the offspring of natural com-
miferation, was univerfally practifed in the
earliest times. It was almoft the only thing that
attached nations to each other; it was the fource
of the most ancient, the moft lafting, and the
moſt reſpected friendship, contracted between fa-
milies who were feparated by immenfe regions.
A man, perfecuted by his fellow-citizens, or
guilty of any mifdemeanour, retired to diftant
countries in queft of tranquillity or impunity.
He preſented himſelf at the entrance of a town,
or of a village, and faid, "I am fuch a one, the
"<fon
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
375
"fon of fuch a one, or the grandfon of fuch a BOOK
،
cc
cc
་
one, and I come for fuch reafons." And
then he related his ftory, or his invented tale, in
the manner the moft marvellous, the moft pa-
thetic, and the beſt calculated to give an idea of
his confequence. He was eagerly attended to;
and he added, "Receive me: for, if you or
your children, or your children's children,
"fhould ever be driven by any misfortunes to
my country, they need only name me, and
CC my friends will receive them." He was im-
mediately intreated to become their gueft, and the
perfons with whom he preferred to live, thought
themſelves honoured by this diftinction. He
took up his abode in their houfe, and was treated
by them like one of the family; fometimes he
became the hufband, the ravifher, or the feducer
of his hoft's daughter.
To fuch adventurers as thefe, who were, per-
haps, the firſt travellers, the origin of the demi-
gods of paganiſm, the offspring of hoſpitality and
licentioufnefs, may be aſcribed. Moft of them
owed their birth to paffengers, to whom a bed
had been given, and who were never ſeen after-
wards.
LET us be allowed to fay, that there is no oc-
cupation in the world fo immoral as that of a
traveller. The traveller by profeffion, is like a
man who is in poffeffion of an immenfe houſe;
and who, inſtead of fitting down with his wife,
and in the midft of his children, fhould employ
all his life in ranging about from one apartment
to another. Tyranny, guilt, ambition, curiofity,
B b 4
a kind
IX,
376
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK a kind of reftlefs fpirit, the defire of acquiring
knowledge, and of feeing things, tedium, and the
diſguſt arifing from exhaufted felicity, have
driven, and will at all times drive, men from
their country.
}
•
BUT, in ages previous to civilization, to com-
merce, and to the invention of figns to reprefent
riches, before intereft had prepared a habitation.
for the traveller, hofpitality fupplied its place.
The favourable reception of a ftranger was con-
fidered as a facred debt, which was often repaid
after the lapſe of ſeveral centuries, by the deſcend-
ants of the perſon who had been the object of it;
and who, upon his return into his own country,
took a delight in repeating the favours he had re-
ceived, the remembrance of which was conftantly
preſerved in his family.
THESE affecting inftances of humanity have.
decreaſed, in proportion as the intercourſe be-
tween nations hath been facilitated. Induftrious,
rapacious, and intereſted men, have formed, in
all parts, fettlements, where the traveller alights,
where he commands, and where he difpoſes of
all the conveniences of life as if he were at
home. The maſter, or the landlord, of the houſe,
is neither his benefactor, his brother, nor his
friend; he is only his upper fervant. The gold
that he ſpends at his houſe, entitles him to treat
his hoft as he choofes; he cares not for your re-
ſpect, but for your money. When you quit his
houfe, he thinks no more of you; nor do you
recollect him, any farther than as you have been
either diſpleaſed or fatisfied with him. Hofpi-
tality,
་
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
377
IX.
tality, that facred virtue which is extinguiſhed BOOK
amongſt all nations, where civilization and focial
inſtitutions have made any progreſs, is no longer
found but among the favages; and more particu-
larly in the Brazils than in any other country.
FAR from fhewing that indifference or weakneſs
which makes us fhun the dead, and makes us un-
willing to ſpeak of them, or to remain in the
places that might recall their image to our minds;
the Brazilians beheld their dead with tender emo-
tions, recounted their exploits with complacency,
and celebrated their virtues with transport. They
were buried upright in a round grave; and if the
deceaſed was the head of a family, his plumes,
his necklaces, and his arms, were interred with
him. When a clan removed to another place,
which often happened, merely for the fake of
changing, every family fixed fome remarkable
ftones over the graves of their moſt refpectable
relations, and they never approached thoſe monu-
ments of grief, without breaking out into dread-
ful outcries, not unlike the fhouts with which
they made the air refound when they were going
to battle.
i
MOTIVES of intereft or ambition never prompt-
ed the Brazilians to war.
The defire of avenging
their relations or friends, was always the occafion
of their most fanguinary contefts. Their chiefs,
or rather their orators, were old men, who de-
termined the commencement of hoftilities, gave
the fignal for marching, and exerted themſelves
during the march, in repeated expreffions of im-
placable hatred.
Sometimes, even the march
}
of
18
378
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK of the army was fufpended to liften to theſe paf-
fionate harangues, that lafted for many hours. This
cuftom makes thofe long fpeeches we meet with
in Homer, and in the Roman hiſtorians, appear
more probable; but in thofe days, the noife of
the artillery did not drown the voices of the ge-
nerals.
thick.
wood.
THE Combatants were armed with a club of
ebony fix feet long, one foot broad, and an inch
Their bows and arrows were of the fame
Their inftruments of martial mufic were
flutes made of the bones of their enemies. They
were as well calculated to infpire courage as our
drums, which ftifle our fenfe of danger, and as
our trumpets, which give the fignal, and per-
haps the fear, of death. Their generals were the
foldiers who had diſtinguiſhed themſelves moft in
former wars.
THE first attack was never made openly, but
both armies endeavoured to take the advantage
of a furprifal. Their courage feldom confifted in
maintaining their ground. The ambition of the
Brazilians was to make a great many prifoners,
which were flain and eaten with folemnity. Dur
ing the feaſt, the old men exhorted the young to
become intrepid warriors, that they might often
procure themſelves fuch an honourable repaſt.
This inclination for human flesh was never fo
prevalent as to induce the Brazilians to devour
fuch of their enemies as had fallen in battle; they
only ate thoſe who had been taken alive.
THE treatment of priſoners of war hath varied
according to the degree of perfection human rea-
fon
IN THE EAST AND. WEST INDIES.
379
IX.
fon hath gradually attained. The moſt civilized BOOK
nations ranfom them, exchange or reftore them
at the conclufion of a war. Nations, that are not
yet completely civilized, claim them as their pro-
perty, and make them ſlaves.
The common fa-
vages maffacre them without putting them to
torture. The moſt ſavage people of all, torture,
kill, and eat them. This is their execrable law
of nations.
THIS anthropophagy hath long been confidered
as a chimera in the opinion of fome fceptical per-
fons. They could not conceive, that any na-
tion could have been reduced to the cruel necef-
fity of feeding upon their fellow-creatures, to fa-
tisfy their own wants; and ſtill lefs could they
fuppofe, that any thing, except an abfolute priva-
tion of every ſupport of life, could have induced
man to commit fo atrocious a deed. Since the
doubts of the most incredulous have been re-
moved by a great number of facts, by teftimo-
nies of higher authority, and by more authentic
accounts, fome philofophers have attempted to
juſtify this practice of feveral favage nations.
They have ſtill exclaimed with vehemence againſt
the barbarity of the fovereigns, who, to fatisfy
their own caprice, fent their unfortunate fubjects
to the ſlaughter-houfe of war. But they have ima-
gined that it was a matter of indifference, whe
ther their carcaffes were devoured by men or by
birds.
PERHAPS, indeed, this cuſtom hath not in it-
ſelf any thing criminal, any thing that is repug-
nant to morality: but how pernicious would be
the confequences arifing from it? When man is
once
380
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK once authoriſed to eat the flesh of man, if the
tafte of it fhould fuit his palate, nothing will re-
main, but to make the ſtream of blood grateful to
the noftrils of the tyrant. Let us, then, form
an idea of theſe two phænomena, generally, pre-
vailing on the face of the globe, and let us fix
our eyes upon the human ſpecies, if we can pof-
fibly bear the fight.
Afcendant of
the miffion-
the natives
of Brazil,
Portugueſe,
exiftence of
the colony.
In the Brazils, the heads of the enemies flain
in action, or facrificed after the engagement,
were very carefully preferved, and fhewn with
oftentation to all ftrangers, as monuments of
valour and victory. The heroes of thofe favage
nations bore their exploits imprinted on their
limbs, by incifions which infured them refpect.
The more they were disfigured, the greater was
their glory.
!
SUCH manners had not difpofed the Brazilians
aries over to fubmit patiently to the yoke that was intended
to be impofed upon them: but what could the
and over the favages oppoſe to the arms and diſcipline of Eu-
at the first rope? A confiderable number of them had ſub-
mitted, when, in 1549, the court of Liſbon
thought proper to fend over'a governor, to regu-
late an eſtabliſhment which till then had been left
to the fury and the caprices of a fet of banditti.
Thomas de Soufa, indeed, by building San Sal-
vador, gave a centre to the colony; but the ho-
nour of restoring it to any kind of tranquillity
was referved to the Jefuits who attended him.
Thoſe intrepid men, who have always been
prompted by motives of religion or of ambition
to undertake great actions, diſperſed themſelves
among the Indians. Such of thefe miffionaries as
were
1
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
381
IX.
were murdered from hatred to the Portugueſe BOOK
name, were immediately replaced by others, who
were infpired with none but fentiments of peace
and charity. This magnanimity confounded the
barbarians, who had never had any idea of for-
giveneſs. By degrees they began to place fome
confidence in men who feemed to feek them only
with a view of making them happy. Their at-
tachment to the miffionaries grew into a paffion-
ate fondneſs. When a Jefuit was expected in one
of their nations, the young people flocked to
meet him, concealing themfelves in the woods
along the road. As he drew near, they fallied
forth, played upon their pipes, beat their drums,
danced, and made the air refound with joyful
fongs; and, in a word, omitted nothing that could
expreſs their fatisfaction. At the entrance of the
village, the old men and chief inhabitants were
affembled, who expreffed as much joy, but with
more fedatenefs. A little further on, ſtood
women and young girls, in a reſpectful pof-
ture ſuitable to their fex. Then they all joined,
and conducted their father in triumph to the place
where they were affembled. There he inftructed
them in the fundamental doctrines of religion;
exhorted them to a regularity of manners, to a
love of juftice, to brotherly charity, and to an
abhorrence for human blood; after which he
baptifed them.
As thefe miffionaries were too few in number to
tranfact all the buſineſs themſelves, they frequently
deputed fome of the moſt intelligent Indians in
their ſtead. Theſe men, proud of fo glorious an
office,
382
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK office, diftributed hatchets, knives, and looking-
IX.
glaffes among the favages they met with, and re-
preſented the Portugueſe as a harmleſs, humane,
and good fort of people. They never returned
from their excurfions without bringing with them
fome of the Brazilians, who followed them from
motives of curiofity. When thoſe favages had
once feen the Jefuits, it was with difficulty that
they ever quitted them. When they teturned
home, it was to invite their families and friends
to come and ſhare their happineſs, and to diſplay
the preſents they had received.
7
Ir any one fhould doubt theſe happy effects of
kindneſs and humanity over favage nations, let
him only compare the progrefs the Jefuits have
made, in a very fhort time, in South America,
with what the forces and navy of Spain and Por-
tugal have not been able to effect in the ſpace of
two centuries. While multitudes of foldiers.
were employed in changing two great and civil-
ized empires into deferts inhabited by roving fa-
vages, a few miffionaries have changed little wan-
dering clans into feveral great and civilized na-
tions. If thefe active and courageous men had
been lefs infected with the fpirit of the church
of Rome; if, when formed into a fociety in the
moſt intriguing and corrupt court in Europe,
they had not infinuated themſelves into other
courts to influence all political events; if they
had not diſguſted, by their ſpirit of intoleration,
all moderate perfons, and all the tribunals by
their paffion for defpotifm; if an outrageous zeal
for religion had not made them the fecret ene-
mies
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
383
IX.
mies to the progrefs of knowledge, and the perfe- BOOK
cutors of philofophy; if they had employed as
much art in making themſelves beloved, as they
did in making themſelves feared; if they had
been as jealous of increafing the fplendour of their
fociety, as of augmenting its power; if the chiefs
of the order had not made an ill uſe of the very
virtues of their members; the Old and New
World would ftill have reaped the advantage of
the occupations of a fet of men, who might have
been made uſeful, had they been prevented from
being neceffary; and the eighteenth century
would not have had cauſe to be afhamed of the
enormities that have attended the fuppreffion of
the fociety. The whole univerſe would continue
to be fertilized by their labours and by their
undertakings.
THE Brazilians had too much cauſe of hatred
againſt the Europeans, not to miftruft their kind-
nefs; but their diffidence was in fome meaſure re-
moved by a fignal act of justice.
THE Portugueſe had formed the fettlement of
St. Vincent on the fea-coaft, in the 24th degree
of fouth latitude. There they traded peaceably
with the Cariges, the mildeft and moſt civilized
nation in all the Brazils. The advantages they
reaped from this connection could not reſtrain
them from feizing upon feventy men to make
flaves of them. The perfon who had committed
the offence was condemned to carry the prifoners
back to the place from whence he had taken
them, and to make the proper excuſes for ſo hei-
nous an infult. Two Jefuits, who were appointed
8
to
384
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
0.0 K to difpofe the Indians to accept this fatisfaction,
which would never have been offered but at their
defire, gave notice of it to Farancaha, the moſt
reſpectable man of his nation. He came out to
meet them, and embracing them with tears of
joy; "Fathers," faid he, "we confent to for-
Co
get all that is paſt, and to enter into a freſh
"alliance with the Portuguefe; but let them
"for the future be more moderate, and more
"obfervant of the rights of nations. Our attach-
"ment entitles us at leaft to equitable pro-
"ceedings. We are called barbarians, yet we
"refpect juftice and our friends." The miffion-
aries having engaged that for the future their
nation fhould more religiouſly obferve the laws of
peace and unity, Farancaha proceeded thus: "If
you doubt the faith of the Cariges, I will give
<<
CC
Co
"
you proof of it. I have a nephew for whom
"I have a great affection; he is the hope of my
family, and the comfort of his mother; fhe
"would die with grief if the were to loſe her fon,
"Yet I will deliver him to you as a hoſtage.
« Take him along with you, cultivate his young
mind, take care of his education, and inſtruct
"him in your religion. Let his manners be gentle
«and pure.
I hope, when you return, you will
inftruct me alfo, and enlighten my mind."
Many of the Cariges followed his example, and
fent their children to St. Vincent's for education.
The Jefuits were too artful not to take great ad-
vantage of this event; but it does not appear that
they ever had any intention to deceive the Indians
by inculcating fubmiffion. Avarice had not yet
poffeffed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
385
•
IX.
poffeffed the minds of thefe miffionaries; and the BOOK
intereft they had at court fecured fufficient refpect
in the colony to make the fituation of their con-
verts a fortunate one.
THIS time of tranquillity was improved. For
fome years paft,, fugar plants had been tranf-
planted from Madeira to Brazil, where the cli-
mate and the foil were found favourable to this
rich produce. The culture of it was at firſt very
inconfiderable; but no fooner was the ftrength of
the Negroes fubftituted to the languid labours
of the Indians, towards the year 1570, than it
received an increaſe. This progrefs was growing
daily more confiderable, becauſe this production,
which had been hitherto only of ufe in medicine,
became more and more an article of luxury.
}
}
of the
THIS profperity, which was viſible in all the Irruption
markets of Europe, excited the cupidity of the French into
French. They attempted to form three or four the Brazils.
fettlements at Brazil. Their levity would not
fuffer them to wait the ufually flow progrefs of
new undertakings; and merely from inconftancy
and impatience, they gave up profpects that were
fufficient to have encouraged any, except fuch
volatile minds, that are as eafily diſcouraged as
they are ready to undertake. The only valuable
monument we have of their fruitlefs incurfions, is
a dialogue, which more particularly fhews the
natural good fenfe of the favages, as it is written
with that fimplicity of ftyle which diftinguished
the French language two hundred years ago; a
fimplicity in which there were graces we cannot
ftill but regret.
VOL. IV.
Cc
*
<< THE
386
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
BOOK
IX.
"THE Brazilians," fays Lery, one of the inter-
locutors, " being very much aftoniſhed to fee the
"French take fuch pains to get their wood, one
"of their old men once afked me this queftion:
"What can be the reafon that you Frenchmen
"come fo far to get wood for firing? Is there.
"none in your own country? To which I an-
"fwered, Yes, and a great deal too, but not
"fuch as theirs, which we did not burn as he
"thought; but as they themselves ufed it to dye
"their ftrings and their feathers, our people em-
"ployed it alfo in dying. He replied, Well, but
"do you want fo great a quantity? Yes, faid I;
"for in our country there are ſome merchants
"who have more rugs and fcarlet cloths than
"you ever faw in this country; one of thefe will
"buy ſeveral cargoes of this wood. Ha ha!
fays the favage, thou telleft me wonders. Then
"pauſing upon what I had been telling him,
«he faid; But this very rich man thou talkeſt
"of, is he never to die? Yes, yes, faid I, as
<< well as others. Upon which, as they are great
"talkers, he asked me again; So then, when he
"C
is dead, to whom does all the wealth he leaves
belong? It goes, faid I, to his children, or
"if he hath none, to his brothers, fifters, or next
"of kin. Truly, fays the old man, now I fee
"that you Frenchmen are great fools; for muſt
<<
you work fo hard, and crofs the fea to heap
"riches for them that come after you, as if the
"earth that had fed you was not fufficient to
"feed them likewife? We have children and re-
slations whom we love, as thou feeft; but as we
"C are
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
383
દ
IX.
are ſure that, after our death, the earth that B 0 0 K
hath provided for our fubfiftence, will equally
"provide for theirs, we are fatisfied.
of the Dutch
in the Bra
zils.
THIS mode of reafoning, fo natural to favages, Conquefts
whom nature hath exempted from ambition, but
fo foreign to civilized nations, who have expe-
rienced all the ill effects of luxury and avarice,
made no great impreffion on the French. They
could not withſtand the temptation of riches,
which all the maritime nations in Europe thirfted
after at that time. The Dutch, who were become
republicans by chance, and merchants from ne-
ceffity, were more perfevering and more fucceff-
ful than the French in their attempts on the Bra-
zils. The nation they had to contend with was
not more confiderable than their own, and, in
imitation of them, was preparing to ſhake off the
yoke of Spain, though they ſtill ſubmitted to that
of a regal government.
ALL hiftorical accounts are full of the acts of
tyranny and cruelty that excited the Low-countries
to riſe againſt Philip II. The richeft provinces
were retained, or brought back under the yoke of
a tyrannical government, while the pooreft, that
were in a manner funk under water, found means,
by more than human exertions, to fecure their in-
dependence. When their liberty was firmly efta-
bliſhed, they attacked their enemy upon the re-
moteft feas, on the Indus, on the Ganges, and as
far as the Moluccas, which made a part of the
Spaniſh dominions, fince Portugal had been in-
cluded in them. The truce of 1609 gave time to
that enterpriſing and fortunate republic to bring
Cc 2
her
1
388
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
Book her new projects to maturity. Thefe defigns were
manifeſted in 1621, by the eſtabliſhment of a
Weſt India Company, from which the fame fuc-
cefs was expected in Africa and America, that
were both compriſed in the charter, as the Eaſt
India company had experienced in Afia. The
operations of the new fociety began by the attack
of Brazil.
PRECAUTIONS had been taken to procure the
neceffary informations. Some Dutch fhips had
ventured thither, in defiance of the law that pro-
hibited the admittance of any ftrangers. As they
greatly underfold, according to the cuftom of their
country, the commodities that came from Spain,
they met with a favourable reception. At their
return, the contraband traders reported, that the
country was in a kind of anarchy; that foreign
dominion had ftifled in the people the love of their
country; that ſelf-intereft had corrupted their
minds, that the foldiers were turned merchants;
that they had forgotten the first principles of war,
and that whoever ſhould appear there with a com-
petent force, would infallibly furmount the trifling
obftacles that might be oppoſed to the conqueft
of that wealthy region.
THE Company committed this undertaking to
Jacob Willekins, in 1624. He went directly to
the capital. San Salvador furrendered at ſight of
the Dutch fleet; and the reft of the province, al-
though it was the most extenfive and moſt po-
'pulous of the colony, made little more refift-
ance.
1
THIS
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
389
IX.
THIS was a terrible misfortune, but it did not BOOK
give any pain to the Spanish council. Since that
crown had fubdued Portugal, they did not find
the people as fubmiffive as they wished them to
be. A diſaſter which might render them more
dependent, appeared to be a great advantage;
and their minifters congratulated themſelves,
upon having at length found an opportunity of
aggravating the yoke of their defpotifm.
1
PHILIP, without entertaining more equitable
ideas, or more elevated fentiments, thought that
the majefty of the throne required of him fome
outward appearance of decency. Accordingly, he
wrote to the Portugueſe of the firſt rank, exhort-
ing them to make fuch generous efforts as the
prefent exigencies required. This they were al-
ready inclined to. Self-intereft, patriotifm, the
defire of throwing a damp upon the joy of their
tyrants; all concurred to quicken their alacrity.
The monied men lavifhed their treafures; others
raiſed troops; all were eager to enter into the
fervice. In three months time twenty-fix fhips
were fitted out, which failed in the beginning of
the year 1626, in company with thofe from
Spain, which the tardiness and policy of that na-
tion had made them wait for much too long.
THE archbishop of San Salvador, Michael de
Texeira, had prepared matters fo as to facilitate
their fuccefs. That martial prelate, at the head
of 1500 men, had at firft ftopped the progrefs of
the enemy. He had infulted, haraffed, beaten,
driven, incloſed, and blocked them up in the town.
The Dutch, reduced by hunger, fatigue, and
Cc 3
want,
}
F
390
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
IX.
BOOK want, compelled the governor to furrender to the
troops which the fleet had landed on their arrival,
and they were all carried to Europe.
Their.
THE fuccefs of the company by fea, made them
amends for this lofs. Whenever their fhips came
into port they were victorious, and loaded with the
fpoils of the Spaniards and Portugueſe. They
were ſo profperous as to give umbrage even to the
powers
moſt intereſted in the welfare of Holland.
The ocean was covered with their fleets.
admirals endeavoured, by uſeful explaits, to pre-
ferve their confidence. The fubaltern officers
afpired to promotion, by feconding the valour
and ſkill of their commanders. The foldiers and
failors fought with unparalleled ardour, and no-
thing could difcourage thofe refolute and intrepid
men. The fatigues of the fea, fickness, and re-
peated engagements, all feemed to inure them to
war, and to increaſe their emulation. The com-
pany encouraged this uſeful ſpirit, by frequently
diftributing rewards. Exclufive of their
Excluſive of their pay, the
failors were allowed to carry on a private trade,
which was a great encouragement, and procured
a conſtant ſupply of men. By this wife regula-
tion, their intereft was fo immediately connected
with that of their employers, that they wished to
be always in action. They never ftruck to the
enemy, nor ever failed to attack their fhips with
that degree of ſkill, intrepidity, and perſeverance
which muſt inſure victory. In the courſe of thir
teen years, the company fitted out eight hundred
ſhips, which coft ninety millions They took
3,750,0001.
five
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
391
E
IX.
five hundred and forty-five of the enemy's fhips, BOOK
which, with the goods on board, fold for
180,000,000 livres *. The dividend was never
below twenty per cent. and often rofe to fifty.
This profperity, which was entirely owen to the
war, enabled the company to make a fecond at-
tack upon the Brazils.
THEIR admiral, Henry Lonk, arrived, in the
beginning of the year 1630, with forty-fix men of
war, on the coaft of Fernambucca, one of the
largeſt provinces in thofe parts, and the beſt for-
rified. He reduced it after feveral obftinate en-
gagements, in which he was always victorious.
The troops he left behind, fubdued the neigh-
bouring countries, in the years 1633, 1634, and
1635. This was the moft cultivated part of
Brazil, and confequently that which afforded
moſt commodities.
THE Company were fo elated with the acquifi-
tion of this wealth, which flowed to Amfterdam
inſtead of Liſbon, that they determined upon the
conqueft of all the Brazils, and intrufted Maurice
of Naffau with the conduct of that enterpriſe.
That general reached the place of his deftination
in the beginning of the year 1637. He found
the foldiers fo well difciplined, the commanders
fuch experienced men, and fo much readineſs in
all to engage, that he directly took the field. He
was fucceffively oppofed by Albuquerque, Ban-
jola, Lewis Rocca de Borgia, and the Brazilian
Cameron, the idol of his people, paffionately fond
7,500,0001.
Cc4
of
392
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK of the Portugueſe, brave, active, cunning, and
who wanted no qualification neceffary for a gene-
ral, but to have learned the art of war under
able commanders. Thefe feveral chiefs exerted
their utmoſt efforts to defend the poffeffions that
were under their protection; but their endea-
vours proved ineffectual. The Dutch completed
the conqueft of all the coafts extending from San
Salvador to the Amazon.
Complaints
of a Por-
tugueſe
preacher
upon the
heretic na-
It was in thefe circumftances that an elo-
quent Jefuit, named Anthony Vieira, pro-
nounced, in one of the churches of Bahia, the
fuccefs of a moft vehement and most extraordinary difcourfe
that hath perhaps ever been heard in a Chriftian
pulpit. The fingularity of this fermon will pro-
bably plead my excufe for the long extract I am
going to give of it.
1200.
VIEIRA took for his text that part of the
pfalms, where the prophet, addreffing himſelf to
God, exclaims, "Awake, O Lord; wherefore
"haft thou flept? Wherefore haft thou turned
"thy countenance from us? Wherefore haft thou
"forgotten our mifery and our tribulation?
"Awake and come to our fuccour. Think on
"the glory of thy name, and fave us."
"IT is in theſe words, full of pious firmnefs
"and of religious boldnefs; it is thus," faith the
orator," that the king prophet, proteſting ra-
«ther than praying, addreffeth himfelf to God.
"The times and circumftances are the fame
and I may alſo venture to ſay, Awake, where-
"fore haft thou flept?"
VIEIRA
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
393
IX.
VIEIRA repeated his text; and, after having BOOK
thewn the conformity between the misfortunes
of the Ifraelites and the Portugueſe, he adds,
It is not, therefore, to the people that my dif
"courſe this day fhall be addreffed. My voice
and my words fhall be employed upon a higher
theme. I afpire, at this inftant, to penetrate
" even into the breaft of the divinity. This is
"the laſt day of the fortnight which is deftined,
<< in all the churches of the mother-country, to
prayer before the facred altars: and fince this
"day is the laft, it is proper to have recourſe
"to the fole and laſt remedy. The preachers
"of the goſpel have in vain endeavoured to
"lead you to repentance. Since ye have been
"deaf; fince they have not converted you, it is
"thou, O Lord, whom I will convert; and al-
"though we are the finners, it is thou who ſhalt
<< repent.
<<
"WHEN the children of Ifrael had committed
"the crime in the defert, in worſhipping the
golden calf, thou didft reveal their fault to
"Mofes, and thou didst add, in thy wrath, that
"thou wouldst annihilate thofe ungrateful people,
"Mofes faid unto thee, Why doth thy wrath wax
"hot againſt thy people? Before thou puniſheſt,
"confider what is proper for thee to do. Shall
"the Egyptians accufe thee of having taken them
"out of flavery for miſchief, and to flay them in
"the mountains? Reflect on the glory of thy
<name.
"SUCH was the reaſoning made uſe of by Mo-
fes, and fuch fhall be mine. Thou didst repent
"thee
1
394
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
1
ļ
IX.
BOOK " thee of the defign which thou hadst formed.
"Thou art ſtill the fame; and my arguments are
<c
ſtronger than thofe of the Jewish legiflator.
They will have the fame effect upon thee; and
"if thou haft taken the refolution to deftroy us,
"thou wilt repent of it. Thou canst not be,
"ignorant that the heretic, inflated with the
"fuccefs which thou haft given him, hath al-
"ready faid, that it is to the falfity of our wor-
"ſhip he owes thy protection and his victories.
"And what doft thou think the Gentiles that
"furround us, the Talapouin, who is yet un-
"acquainted with thee, the inconftant Indian,
"and the ignorant and ftupid Egyptian, but juft
"waſhed with the waters of baptifm, will think
"of this? Are the people capable of fearching
into, and of adoring the depth of thy judg-
«ments? Arife, therefore, and if thou haft any
"care of thy glory, fuffer not that arguments
"againſt our faith ſhould be drawn from our de-
"feats. Awake, and let the ſtorms which have
difperfed our fleets diſperſe thoſe of our com-
"mon enemy. Let the peftilence, and the dif-
"eafes which have wafted our armies, bring de-
"ſtruction among theirs; and fince the councils
"of men are fruftrated at thy pleaſure, let dark-
"nefs and confufion prevail in theirs.
"JOSHUA was more holy and more patient.
"than we are; yet his language was not differ-
"ent from mine, and the circumftance was much
"leſs important. He croffed the Jordan, he at-
"tacked the city of Ai, and his troops were dif
perfed. His lofs was moderate, and yet be-
" hold
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES,
395
પ
IX.
*hold him rending his clothes, falling upon the BOOK
earth, giving way to the moft bitter complaints,
"and exclaiming: Wherefore haft thou brought us
"over Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the
" Amonites? And I, when the intereft of an im-
"menfe people, and in a vaſt extent of country,
are concerned, ſhall I not exclaim, Haft thou
given us thefe regions merely to deprive us of
"them again? If thou didst defign them for
"the Dutch, why didft thou not invite them
"while they were yet uncultivated? Has the he-
"retic rendered thee fuch great fervices, and are
"we fo vile in thine eyes, that thou fhouldſt
"have drawn us from our country, merely to
"clear their lands for them, to build their ci-
"ties, and to enrich them with our labours? Is
this the indemnity which thou haft fixed upon
s in thine heart, for fo many men flaughtered
upon
the earth, or loft in the waters? Yet if
"it be thy will, it must be fo. But I perceive
"that thoſe whom thou rejecteft, and whom thou
doft opprefs to-day, thou wilt fearch for in vain
to-morrow.
"JOB, when crufhed with misfortunes, expo-
"ftulated with thee. Thou doft not expect that
"we fhould bé more infenfible than he was. He
"faid to thee, Since thou haft refolved upon my de-
"ſtruction, complete thy work; kill me, and annibi-
"late me: but thou fhalt feek me in the morning and
Ifhall not be. Thou shalt find Sabeans, Chaldeans,
" and blafphemers of thy name; but Job, thy faithful
fervant, who worshippeth thee, will no more be
" found.
1
<< I WILL
$96
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
(c
"I WILL fay to thee, O Lord, with Job, burn,
deſtroy, and confume us all: but one day, but
in the morning, thou fhalt feek for Portugueſe,
"and thou fhalt feek in vain. Will Holland
furniſh thee, at thy call, with apoftolic con-
"querors, who, at the rifk of their lives, will
"convey over the face of the whole globe the
"ſtandard of the crofs? Will Holland eſtabliſh
"a feminary of apoftolic preachers, who will be
"ready, for the intereft of thy faith, to fpill their
"blood in barbarous regions? Will Holland
"raiſe temples that are agreeable to thee? Will
•
it conftruct altars upon which thou wilt de-
"fcend? Will it confecrate true minifters to
thee? Will it offer up to thee the great facri-
"fice? Will it worship thee in a manner worthy
"of thee? Yes-the worſhip thou wilt receive
" from her, will be the fame as that which the
C. practiſeth daily at Amſterdam, at Middlebourg,
"at Fleffing, and in the other diſtricts of thoſe
damp and cold infernal regions.
<c
"I KNOW Well, O Lord, that the propagation
"of thy faith, and the interefts of thy glory, do
"not depend upon us; and that if there were no
"men, thy power animating the ftones might
"raiſe up children to Abraham. But I alſo
"know, that fince the time of Adam, thou haft
"not created any mortals of a new fpecies; that
"thou doft make uſe of thoſe that exift; and that
"thou doſt admit in thy defigns thofe that are
"leſs good, only in default of the better. Wit-
"nefs the parable of the feaſt, Bring in the blind
"and the lame. Such is the proceeding of Pro-
"vidence;
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
397
IX.
"vidence; and wilt thou reverſe it at prefent? BOOK
"We have been invited, and we have not re-
"fuſed to come to the feaft, and yet thou doft
cc
prefer to us the blind and the lame, Lutherans
<< and Calvinifts, blind in the faith, and lame in
" their works!
"IF we be fo unfortunate, as that the Dutch
"ſhould make themſelves maſters of Brazil, the
"circumftance that I will repreſent to thee, with
"all humility, but with great earneftnefs, is, that
"thou wouldst confider well before the execu-
tion of thy decree. Weigh with attention
"what may be the confequence of it; and reflect
"while there is ftill time for it. If thou art to
repent, it is better that thou ſhouldſt do it
"at prefent, than when the evil fhall be without
"remedy. Thou perceiveft the ſcope of my argu-
<<
ment, and the reaſons, deduced from thine own
" conduct, for the remonftrance I make to thee.
"Before the time of the deluge, thou wert alſo
"much incenfed againſt mankind. In vain did
"Noah addrefs his prayers to thee during a cen-
tury. Thou didst perfift in thine anger, and the
"cataracts of the heavens were at length burſt,
" and the waters rofe above the fummits of the
"mountains. The whole earth was overflown,
"and thy juſtice was fatisfied. But three days
"after this, when the bodies floated upon the
"waters, when thine eyes beheld the multitude
"of livid carcafes, when the furface of the fea
"prefented to thee the moft melancholy and the
"moſt hideous fight that had ever afflicted the
"angelic choir, what was the confequence?
" affected
12
398
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADË
1
BOOK " affected with the fight, as if thou hadſt not
IX.
"foreſeen it, thy bowels were moved with an-
"guifh. Thou didst repent of having made the
"world. Thou didst regret the paſt, and didft
"take refolutions for the future. Since fuch is
6 C
<C
thy difpofition, why doft thou not ſpare thyſelf,
"in fparing us? Why doft thou perfift in thy
prefent wrath, if it be afterwards to excite thy
"murmurs; and if thy mercy is to be affected
by the decrees of thy juftice? Reflect upon it
" before thou doft begin, and confider the con-
fequences of the new deluge thou haft defigned
"to produce. Let me be allowed to reprefent
" them to thee.
<C
<c
<c
"LET us fuppofe Bahia and the reſt of Brazil
"are become the prey of the Dutch. Behold
"them entering into the city with the fury of
conquerors and with the rage of heretics.
"Behold that neither age nor fex are fpared.
"Behold the blood ſtreaming on all fides. Be-
"hold the guilty, the innocent, the women and
"the children, all put to the fword, and maf-
"facred one upon another. Behold the tears of
"the virgins, who weep for the injury they
"have fuffered. Behold the old men dragged
by their hair. Listen to the mixed cries of the
"monks and of the prieſts, who embrace thine
"altars, and who lift up their hands unto thee.
"Even thou thyfelf, O Lord! wilt not efcape
"their violence. Yes-thou wilt partake of it.
"The heretics will force the gates of thy temples.
"The hoft, which is thine own proper body,
"will be trampled under foot. The vaſes that
❝ have
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
399
ix.
"have been filled with thy blood, will ferve for BOOK
"rioting and drunkenneſs. Thine altars will
"be thrown down. Thy images will be torn to
"pieces. Sacrilegious hands will be laid upon
"thy mother.
<c
"THAT theſe inſults ſhould be offered to thee,
" and that thou fhouldft fuffer them, is not a
"matter of aſtoniſhment to me, fince thou haft
formerly fuffered others ftill more cruel: but
thy mother! O! where is filial piety? Didft
"thou not deprive Hofea of life, for having
"touched the ark? Didft thou not wither the
"arm that Jeroboam had raiſed againſt a pro-
se
cc
phet; and yet the heretics have thouſands of
"arms for more atrocious deeds? Thou didst de-
"throne, and didſt cauſe Balſhazzar to die, for
having drunk out of ſacred veffels, although
Ithy blood had not been confecrated in them;
" and yet thou doft fpare the heretic, and there
"are not two fingers and a thumb to trace upon
"the wall the fentence of their death.
<c
<<
"In a word, O Lord, when thy temples are
fpoiled, thine altars demolished, thy religion
"extinct in Brazil, and thy worſhip annihilated,
"when the grafs fhall grow upon the avenues to
<<
thy churches, Chriftmas-day fhall come round
" and no one fhall recollect the day of thy birth.
"Lent, and the holy week fhall come round,
and yet the myfteries of thy paffion fhall not
"be celebrated. The ftones of our ſtreets fhall
cry out, as the ftones did in the, folitary streets.
"of Jerufalem. There will be no more prieſts,
"no more facrifices, no more facraments. He-
<<
refy
400
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
$
IX.
BOOK " refy will ariſe in the pulpit of truth; and the
"children of the Portugueſe will be tainted with
"falſe doctrines. The children of my audience
"will be aſked, little boys what is your religion?
" and they will anfwer, we are Calvinists. And
you, little girls, what is yours? and they will
"anfwer, we are Lutherans. Then thou wilt be
<< moved with compaffion and repent: but if thy
repentance be to be awakened, why doft thou
"not prevent it?
cc
cc
"BUT tell me, what glory canft thou find in
"deſtroying a nation, and in caufing it to be
cc
fupplanted by another? This is a power thou
"didft formerly intruft to a mean inhabitant
"of Anatho. In puniſhing us, thou doft
"triumph over the weak; in pardoning us, thou
"doft triumph over thyfelf. Be merciful for
"thine own glory, and for the honour of thy
Let not thy wrath be prolonged for
<<name.
તા
ever, nor even for one day. Thou wilt not
"fuffer that the fun fhould fet upon our anger;
"and yet how often hath it not rifen, how often
"hath it not fet upon thine? Doft thou require
"from us a moderation thou doft not poffefs?
"Doft thou give us the precept without the ex-
"ample?
"FORGIVE US, O Lord! and put an end to our
"misfortunes. Holy Virgin, intercede for us;
"intreat thy fon; lay thy commands upon him.
"If he be angred with our offences, tell him
"that he muſt forgive them, as it is enjoined us
"by his law to forgive thoſe who have offended
" us."
WE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
401
E
.IX.
We know not whether the Lord liſtened to this BOOK
apoftrophe of the orator Vieira; but a little while
after the conqueft, the Dutch were interrupted by
a revolution which all nations wished for, and
which none had 'foreſeen.
THE Portugueſe had never enjoyed happy times
fince they had fubmitted to the Spaniſh yoke in
1581. Philip II. an avaricious, cruel, defpotic,
defigning, and falfe prince, had endeavoured to
vilify them; but concealed his intentions under
honourable pretences. His fon, who too clofely
followed his maxims, and thought it better to
reign over a ruined nation than to be indebted to
the good will of the people for their fubmiffion,
had fuffered them to be deprived of a multitude.
of conquefts, which had proved a fource of
riches, power, and glory to them, and which
they had acquired by much effufion of blood.
The fucceffor of that weak prince, who had ftill
lefs underſtanding than his father, openly and
contemptuously attacked their adminiſtration,
their privileges, their manners, and all that they
were moſt attached to. At the inftigation of
Olivarez, he wanted to provoke them to revolt,
that he might acquire the right of plundering
them.
THESE repeated outrages united all the Portu-
guefe, whom Spain had been labouring to divide.
A confpiracy, that had been forming for thres
years, with incredible fecrecy, broke out on the
third of December 1640. Philip IV. was igno-
miniouſly banished, and the duke of Braganza
was placed on the throne of his anceſtors. The
VOL. IV.
example
D d
402
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK example of the capital was followed by the whole
kingdom, and by all that remained of the fettle-
ments formed in happier times in Afia, Africa,
and America. No blood was fhed on this great
revolution, except that of Michael Vafconcellos,
the baſe and vile inftrument of tyranny.
+
THE new king united his interefts and his re-
fentments with thofe of the Engliſh, the French,
and all the enemies of Spain. On the 23d of
June 1641, he in particular concluded an offen-
five and defenfive alliance with the United Pro-
vinces for Europe, and a ten years truce for the
Eaft and Weft Indies. Naffau was immediately
recalled with moſt of the troops, and the go-
vernment of the Dutch poffeffions in Brazil was
given to Hamel, a merchant of Amſterdam; to
Baffis, a goldfmith of Haarlem; and to Bulle-
ftraat, a carpenter of Middleburgh. The decifion
of all affairs was to be referred to this council;
and theſe were now fuppofed to be confined to
the carrying on of a great and advantageous
trade.
A CONSIDERABLE obftacle fruftrated their
hopes. The lands belonged to the Portugueſe,
who had remained under the government of the
republic. Some of them had never acquired
fufficient means to form rich plantations; and
others had loft their fortunes by the calamities
which are infeparable from war. As foon as
this inability was known in Europe, the monied
men in the United Provinces haftened to fend
the funds neceffary for the carrying on of all the
labours which it was poffible to undertake. The
18
J
face
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
403
IX.
face of affairs was foon changed in thofe regions, BOOK
every thing feemed animated with new life; but
edifices too magnificent were erected, an infinite
number of flaves perifhed by a contagious difor-
der; and exceffive luxury was generally prevail-
ing. Theſe faults and misfortunes difabled the
debtors from fulfilling their engagements. In or-
der not to loſe all their credit, they were impru-
dent enough to borrow money at three and four
per cent. per month. This abfurd conduct foon
rendered them infolvent; and the prifons were
filled with unfortunate or guilty perfons. The
Company were obliged to take the debts upon
themſelves, in order to preferve this beautiful fet-
tlement from total ruin; but they required that
the cultivators fhould give up the entire price of
their productions, till all the debts ſhould be li-
quidated..
BEFORE this arrangement, the agents for the
monopoly had fuffered the fortifications to fall
into ruin; they had fold the arms and the am-
munition: they had permitted every foldier who
was defirous of it, to return to the mother-country.
This conduct had annihilated the public ftrength,
and had induced the Portugueſe to hope that they
might throw off a foreign yoke. The ftipulation,
which deprived them of all the comforts of life,
to which they were accuſtomed, determined them
to hasten the revolution.
THE boldeſt of them united in 1645, to take.
their revenge their defign was, to maffacre all
the Dutch who had any fhare in the
fhare in the government,
at an entertainment in the midft of the capital of
Fernam-
Dd 2
404
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK Fernambucca, and then to attack the people, who,
ſuſpecting no danger, would be unprepared. The
plot was diſcovered, but the confpirators had time
to get out of the town, and retire to a place of
fafety.
THEIR chief was a Portugueſe of obfcure birth,
named Juan Fernandez de Viera. From a com-
mon ſervant he had riſen to be an agent, and af-
terwards a merchant. His abilities had enabled
him to acquire a large fortune; his probity had
gained him univerfal confidence; and his genero-
fity had made him an infinite number of friends,
who were inviolably attached to his intereft. He
was not difcouraged by the difappointment he
had juſt met with; but he ventured, without the
confent or fupport of government, to commence
hoftilities.
His name, his virtues, and his projects, affem-
bled the Brazilians, the Portugueſe foldiers, and
even the coloniſts about him. He infpired them
with his confidence, his activity, and his courage.
They attended him in battle, crowded about his
perfon, and were determined to conquer or to
die with him. He triumphed, but did not
allow himſelf to flumber over his victories, or
give the enemy time to recover. Some checks
he met with in the courfe of his fucceffes, only
ſerved to diſplay the firmneſs of his foul, the ex-
tent of his genius, and the elevation of his mind.
He affumed a threatening afpect even after a
misfortune, and appeared ftill more formidable
by his perfeverance than by his intrepidity. He
ſpread fuch terror among his enemies, that they
dared
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
405
IX.
dared no longer keep the field. At this period BOOK
of his glory, Viera received orders not to pro-
ceed.
SINCE the truce, the Dutch had feized upon
fome places in Africa and Afia, which they ob-
ftinately refuſed to reftore. The court of Lisbon,
intent upon matters of greater importance, had
not been able to do themſelves juftice; but their
preſent inability had not leffened their refentment.
In this difpofition, they had rejoiced to fee the
republic attacked in Brazil; and had even clan-
deſtinely encouraged thoſe who had begun the
hoftilities. As they conftantly difavowed theſe
proceedings, and declared, both in Europe and
America, that they would one day punish the
authors of the difturbances, the Company ima-
gined they would foon fubfide; but their avarice,
which had been too long amufed with falfe and
frivolous proteftations, was at length roufed.
John IV. being informed that confiderable arma-
ments were preparing in Holland, and fearing to
be drawn into a war which he wished to avoid,
exerted himſelf in earneſt to put an end to the
hoftilities in the Brazils.
VIERA, who had no refource for the completion
of his deſigns, but in his fortune, his intereft,
and his abilities, did not even deliberate whether
he ſhould obey. If the king," faid he, "were
"but informed of our zeal and our ſucceſs, and
<<
acquainted with his own intereft; far from dif-
"arming us, he would encourage us to purfue
"our undertaking, and would fupport us with all
his power." Then, left the ardour of his com-
Dd 3
panions
406
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK panions fhould abate, he determined to haften his
operations; and they continued to be crowned
with fuch fuccefs, that with the affiftance of Ba-
retto, Vidal, and fome other Portugueſe, who
were able and willing to ferve their country, he
completed the ruin of the Dutch. The few of
theſe republicans who escaped the fword and fa-
mine, evacuated Brazil, in confequence of a capi-
tulation figned the 28th of January 1654.
}
WHAT changes are produced in the opinions.
of men! Theſe events feem no more to us, and
are, in fact, no more than the confequences of
fome political, moral, or natural caufes; and the
orator Vieira appears no more to us than an ele-
gant enthuſiaſt. But let us carry our imagina-
tions back to the times of the Hebrews, when
they had feminaries of inſpired men; to thoſe of
the Greeks, when people reforted to Delphos
from all parts of the world; to thofe of the Ro-
mans, who never dared to undertake any confi-
derable enterprife, without having previouſly
confulted the entrails of the victims, and the
facred fowls; and to the times of our anceſtors,
at the period of the crufades: let us imagine a
prophet, a witch, an augur, or a St. Bernard, in
the room of Vieira, and the revolution in the
Brazils will inftantly appear miraculous; it will
appear as if God, moved by the facred boldneſs
of an extraordinary perfon, had ſent an avenger to
the oppreffed nation.
THE peace, concluded three months after be-
tween England and the United Provinces, feemed
to put the latter in a condition to recover a valu-
able
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
407
IX.
able poffeffion, which they had loft by an ill- BOOK
judged parfimony, and by an unfortunate con-
currence of circumftances; but both the republic
and the company fruftrated the general expecta-
tion; and the treaty, which put an end to the
divifions between the two powers in 1661, ſe-
cured to Portugal the fole poffeffion of all the
Brazils, in confideration of eight millions of
livres *, which that crown engaged to pay to the
United Provinces, either in money or goods.
THUS did the Dutch part with a conqueft that
might have become the richeft of all the Euro-
pean colonies, and would have given the republic
a degree of importance it could never acquire
from its own territory. But, in order to keep it,
the government ought to have undertaken the
adminiſtration and defence of it; and to make it
profper, it ſhould have enjoyed full liberty.
With theſe precautions, Brazil would have been
preferved, and would have enriched the nation,
inſtead of ruining the company. Unfortunately,
it was not yet known that the only way to make
lands uſeful in America was to clear them, and
that this could not be done with fuccefs, unleſs
a free trade were opened to all the inhabitants
under the protection of government.
No fooner were the Portugueſe entirely freed,
by a firm treaty, from an enemy by whom they
had been fo often conquered, and fo often hum-
bled, than they applied themſelves to give fome
ſtability to their poffeffion, and to increafe its
* 333,3331. 6s. 8 d.
Dd 4
riches.
Situation of
guefe in the
Brazil, af-
the Portu-
ter they had
expelled th
Dule
408
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK riches. Unfortunately, fome of the fteps taken
in order to promote and infure profperity, bore
the marks of ignorance and prejudice; but they
were ftill much fuperior to any thing that had
been practiſed before this memorable æra.
Settlement
of the Por-
tugueſe on
the river of
the Ama-
zons.
WHILE the court of Lifbon was engaged in
regulating the interior concerns of the colony,
fome of the most active fubjects of Portugal were
devifing the means of extending it. They ad-
vanced to the fouth towards the river of Plata,
and to the north as far as that of the Amazons.
The Spaniards feemed to be in poffeffion of both
thefe rivers. The Portugueſe were determined to
drive them away, or to fhare the navigation with
them.
THE river of the Amazons, fo famous for the
length of its courfe; that great vaffal of the fea,
to which it brings the tribute it hath received
from fo many of its own vaffals; feems to be
produced by innumerable torrents that rush down
from the eaſt fide of the Andes, and unite in a
fpacious plan, to form that immenfe river. Yet
the common opinion is, that it comes from the
lake Lauricocha, as from a refervoir of the Cor-
deleras fituated in the diſtrict of Guanuco, thirty
leagues diftant from Lima, about the 11th de-
gree of fouth latitude.
In its progrefs of a
thouſand or eleven hundred leagues, it receives
the waters of a prodigious number of rivers, fome
of which come from far, and are very broad and
deep. It is interfperfed with an infinite number
of iſlands, that are too often overflowed to admit
of
i
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
409
IX.
of culture. It falls into the ocean under the line, BOOK
and is there fifty leagues broad.
THE mouth of this river was firft difcovered in
1500 by Vincent Pinçon, one of the companions
of Columbus; and its fource is thought to have
been found out by Gonzalo Pizarro in 1538. His
lieutenant Orellana embarked on this river, and
failed from one end to the other of it. He was
obliged to fight his way along, and to engage
with many nations, who obftructed his navi-
gation with their canoes, and poured fhowers of
arrows upon him from the fhore. It was cer-
tainly at this time that the fight of favages with-
out beards, as are all the American nations,
ftruck the lively imaginations of the Spaniards,
and fuggefted the idea of an army of female war-
riors: this must have induced the commanding
officer to change the name of that river, which
was then called the Maragnon, and to call it the
river of the Amazons; which name it retains to
this day.
It might appear a matter of aſtoniſhment, that
the diſcovery of America had not fuggefted any
miraculous ftories to the imagination of the Spa-
niards, of a people who indeed never poffeffed
the delicacy of tafte, the fenfibility, nor the graces
that were allotted to the Greeks; but whom na-
ture had indemnified for the want of thefe quali-
ties, by giving them a haughtiness of character,
an elevation of foul, and an imagination as fer-
tile, and more ardent, than fhe had beftowed on
any other nation.
1. HE
410
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
THE Greeks never travelled, either in or beyond
the precincts of their narrow territory, without
meeting with fomething marvellous. On the
fummit of the Pindus they faw Apollo, fur-
rounded with the nine Mufes. They heard the
caverns of Lemnos refound with the hammers of
the Cyclops. They faſtened Prometheus to the
top of the Caucafus. They crushed the giants
under a weight of mountains. If Ætna roared,
and vomited torrents of flame, this was aſcribed
to the labours of Typhöeus. The plains and
foreſts of the Greeks were peopled with fatyrs
and fauns, at whofe dances, there was not one
of their poets who had not affifted; while an
entirely new ſyſtem of nature did not excite any
new idea in the minds of the Spaniards. They
were neither affected with the variety of the
plants and animals, nor with the pictureſque
manners of a race of men till that time un-
known. What then could engage their atten-
tion? Slaughter, carnage, and plunder. The
fearch for gold, which kept them bent towards
the foot of the mountains, reduced them to the
poſture, and to the ftupidity of brutes.
As early as the times of Hercules and Thefeus,
the Greeks had imagined the exiſtence of a nation
of Amazons. With this fable they embelliſhed
the hiftory of all their heroes, not excepting that
of Alexander; and the Spaniards, infatuated with
this dream of antiquity, transferred it to the
New World. We can fcarce find a more pro-
bable origin of the opinion they eſtabliſhed both
in
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
411
IX.
in Europe and America, of a republic of female BOOK
warriors actually exifting, who did not live in
fociety with men, and only admitted them once
a year, for the purpoſes of procreation. To give
the more credit to this romantic ftory, it was re-
ported, not without reaſon, that the women in
America were all fo unhappy, and were treated
with fuch contempt and inhumanity, that many
of them had agreed to ſhake off the yoke of their
tyrants. It was further faid, that being accuf-
tomed to follow the men into the forefts, and to
carry their provifions and baggage when they
went out to fight or to hunt, they muft neceffarily
have been inured to hardſhips, and rendered ca-
pable of forming fo bold a refolution.
BUT it is abfurd to imagine that women, who
had ſo fixed an averfion for men, would ever con-
fent to become mothers; nor is it likely that the
men would go in queft of their wives, when they
had made their lives infupportable at home, and
always turned them away as foon as they had no
more occafion for them. Much lefs can it be
ſuppoſed that the fofter and more compaffionate
ſex would expofe or ftrangle their own children
becauſe they were boys; and coolly and delibe-
rately agree to commit fuch enormities as none
would be guilty of, but a few individuals urged
by rage and deſpair. Neither could an arifto-
cratical or democratical republic, which it re-
quires abilities to govern, be ruled by a fenate of
women; though a monarchical or defpotic ftate,
in which it is only neceffary to command, hath
been, and may ſtill be, fwayed by a female.
LET
412
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
量
​LET Us confider the weakneſs of organization
in women; their almoft conftant valetudinarian
ftate; their natural pufillanimity; the ſeverity of
the labours required in a focial ftate, in times
of peace or war; their abhorrence of blood;
their fear of dangers; and let us then endeavour.
to reconcile all theſe circumſtances with the poſ-
fibility of a female republic.
Ir fome ftrange prejudices have been able to
form ſocieties of both fexes amongſt us, who live
ſeparate, notwithſtanding that natural attraction
which was intended to unite them, it is not con-
fiftent with the nature of things, that chance
fhould have produced a nation of men without
women, and fill lefs a nation of women without
men. Certain it is, that fince this political con-
ftitution hath been talked of, infinite pains have
been taken to find it out, but no traces of it
could ever be difcovered. This fingular prodigy,
therefore, will be like many others, which are
always fuppoſed to exift, though we know not
where.
WHATEVER may be the cafe with regard to
this circumftance of the Amazons, the voyage of
Orellana excited more curiofity than it procured
information. An opportunity of fatisfying it did
not occur for ſome time, on account of the civil
wars that disturbed Peru; but when tranquillity
was restored, Pedro d'Orfua, a gentleman of Na-
varre, diftinguiſhed by his wifdom and courage,
offered the viceroy, in 1560, to refume that na-
vigation. He fet out from Cuſco with ſeven
hundred men. Theſe fanguinary people, inve.
terate
·
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
413
JX.
térate enemies to all worthy perfons, maffacred B O_O K
their chief, who was a man of good morals, and
attached to order and regularity. They fet up
at their head, with the title of king, a native of
Biſcay, of a ferocious difpofition, whoſe name
was Lopez d'Aguirre, and who promiſed them all
the treaſures of the New World.
0
INTOXICATED with fuch flattering hopes, theſe
barbarians failed down the river Amazon into the
ocean, and, landing at Trinidad, murdered the
governor and plundered the island. The coafts of
Cumana, Caraccas, and St. Martha, were ſtill more
feverely treated, becauſe they were richer, They
then penetrated into New Granada, and were ad-
vancing to Quito, and into the interior part of
Peru, where every thing was to be deftroyed by
fire and fword. A body of troops, haftily affem-
bled, attacked thefe defperate men, beat and
diſperſed them. D'Aguirre, feeing no way to
eſcape, marked his defpair by an atrocious act.
"My child," faid he, to his only daughter, who
attended him in his expeditions, "I thought to
"have placed thee upon a throne, but the event
"hath not answered my expectation. My ho-
"nour and thine own will not permit thee to
"live, and to be a flave to our enemies; die,
"therefore, by a father's hand." Saying this,
he inſtantly ſhot her through the body, and then
put an end to her life, by plunging a dagger
into her heart. After this unnatural act, his
ftrength failed, and he was taken prifoner, drawn
and quartered.
•
AFTER
414
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
AFTER theſe unfortunate events, the river of
the Amazons was entirely neglected, and was to-
tally forgotten for half a century. Some attempts
were afterwards made to refume the difcovery of
it, but they were ill-concerted and no better exe-
cuted. The honour of conquering thefe difficul-
ties, and of acquiring a uſeful knowledge of that
great river, was reſerved to the Portugueſe.
THAT nation, which ſtill retained fome remains
of her former vigour, had, fome years before,
built a town at the entrance of the river, which
was called Belem. Pedro Texeira failed from this
place in 1638, and with a great number of canoes,
full of Indians and Portugueſe, went up the river
of the Amazons, as far as the mouth of the Napo,
and then up the Napo, which brought him almoſt
to Quito, where he arrived by land. Notwith-
ſtanding the enmity fubfifting between the Spa-
niards and Portugueſe, though fubjects of the fame
mafter, Texeira was received with that regard,
eſteem, and confidence, which were due to a man
who was doing a fignal fervice. He returned in
company with d'Acugna and d'Artieda, two
learned Jefuits, who were commiffioned to verify
his obfervations, and to make others. An accu-
rate account of theſe two fuccefsful voyages was
fent to the court of Madrid, where it gave rife to
a very extraordinary project.
THE Communication between the Spaniſh co-
lonies had long been found very difficult. Some
pirates, who were at enmity with them, infefted
the North and South feas, and intercepted their
navigation. Even thoſe of their ſhips which had
got
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
415
IX.
got to the Havannah, and joined others, were not B O O K
perfectly fafe. The galleons were frequently at-
tacked and taken by whole fquadrons, and always
purſued by privateers, who feldom failed to carry
off the ftraggling veffels that were parted from
the convoy, either by ſtormy weather, or by failing
more flowly than the reft. The Amazon river
ſeemed as if it would obviate all theſe difficulties.
It was thought poffible, and even an eaſy matter,
to convey thither the treafures of New Granada,
Popayan, Quito, Peru, and Chili itfelf, by navi-
gable rivers, or at a fmall expence by land. It was
thought that coming down the river, they would
find the galleons ready in the harbour of Para to
receive them. The fleet from Brazil would then
have joined, and confequently ſtrengthened the
fleet from Spain. They would then have failed
with great fecurity in latitudes little known and
little frequented, and would have arrived in Eu-
rope at leaſt with a formidable appearance; or
might really have been in a condition to furmount
any obstacles they might have met with. The re-
volution which placed the duke of Braganza on
the throne, put an end to thefe important projects.
Each of the two nations was then only intent upon
fecuring to itſelf that part of the river which beſt
fuited its own fituation.
oa
THE Spanish Jefuits undertook to fet up a mif-
fion in the country lying between the banks of the
Amazon and of the Napo, as far as to the conflux
of both theſe rivers. Every miffionary, attended
only by one man, took with him hatchets, knives,
needles, and all kinds of iron tools, and pene-
trated into the thickeft of the forefts. There they
ſpent
416
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK ſpent whole months in climbing up the trees, to
fee if they could diſcover ſome hut, perceive any
fmoke, or hear the found of any drum or fife.
When they were affured that fome favages were in
the neighbourhood, they advanced towards them.
Moſt of them fled, efpecially if they were at war.
Thoſe whom the miffionaries could come within.
reach of, were eafily bribed by fuch prefents as
their ignorance made them fet a value upon. This
was all the eloquence they had in their power, or
all they had any occafion to employ.
WHEN they had affembled a few families, they
led them to the place they had fixed upon to form
a village. The ſavages were not eaſily prevailed
upon to take up their abode there. As they were
ufed to rove about, they found it an unfupport-
able hardſhip to remain always in the fame place.
The ſtate of independence in which they had
lived, they thought preferable to the focial life
that was recommended to them: and their uncon-
querable averfion for labour, induced them conti-
nually to return to the forefts where they had
paffed their lives in idlenefs. Even thofe who
were reftrained by the authority or the paternal
kindneſs of their legiflator, feldom failed to dif
perfe in his abfence, though ever fo fhort. But
his death at laſt occafioned a total fubverfion of
the ſettlement.
It is impoffible that any reader who reflects,
ſhould not be defirous of knowing what ftrange
infatuation can induce an individual, who enjoys
all the conveniences of life in his own country,
to undertake the laborious and unfortunate func-
15
tion
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
417
IX.
tion of a miffionary; to quit his fellow-citizens, B oo K
his friends, and his relations; to croſs the ſea, in
order to bury himſelf in the midſt of foreſts; to
expofe himſelf to all the horrors of the moft ex-
treme mifery; to run the rifque, at every ſtep,
either of being devoured by wild beafts, or maſ-
facred by favages; to fettle in the midft of them;
to conform himſelf to their manners, to fhare
their indigence and their fatigues; to be ex-
poſed to their paffions, or caprices, for at leaft as
long a time as is required to learn their language
and to make himſelf underſtood by them?
If this conduct be afcribed to the enthuſiaſm
of religion, what more powerful motive can be
imagined? If to refpect for the vows of obe-
dience taken to fuperiors, who have a right to
order them to go any where, and who cannot be
aſked the reaſon for thoſe orders, without com-
mitting the crime of perjury and apoftacy, what
good, or what evil, is it not in the power of hy-
pocritical or ambitious mafters to do, who com-
mand fo abfolutely, and who are fo fervilely
obeyed? If it be the effect of a deep fenſe of
compaffion for a part of the human fpecies, whom
it is intended to refcue from a ftate of ignorance,
ſtupidity, and mifery, what virtue can be more
heroic? With refpect to the conftancy with which
theſe extraordinary men perfevere in fo difguftful
an undertaking; I fhould have imagined, that
by living fo long among the favages, they would
have become favages themſelves: but I fhould
have been deceived in this conjecture. It is,
VOL. IV.
E e
on
418
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK on the contrary, one of the moft laudable of hu-
man vanities that fupports them in their career.
"My friend," faid once to me an old miffion-
ary, who had lived thirty years in the midſt of
the forefts, and who, fince he had returned into
his own country, had fallen into a profound me-
lancholy, and was for ever regretting his beloved
favages; "My friend (faid he), you know not
"what it is to be the king, almoft even the God,
"of a number of men, who owe to you the ſmall
" portion of happineſs they enjoy; and who are
"ever affiduous in affuring you of their gratitude.
"After they have been ranging through immenfe
"forefts, they return, overcome with fatigue and
"inanition; if they have only killed one piece of
"game, for whom do you fuppofe it to be in-
"tended? It is for the FATHER; for it is thus
"they call us and indeed they are really our
"children. Their diffenfions are fufpended at
"our appearance. A fovereign does not reft
"in greater fafety in the midſt of his guards,
"than we do furrounded by our favages. It is
among them that I will go and end my days."
WITH this perfevering fpirit, the Jefuits had
conquered, upon the Amazon, obſtacles appa-
rently invincible. Their miffion, which began
in 1637, confifted, in 1766, of ten thousand in-
habitants, who were diftributed in thirty-fix vil-
lages, twelve of which were fituated along the
Napo, and twenty-four on the banks of the Ama-
zon. They were from two, to ten, fifteen, or
fometimes twenty days journey diftant from one
another.
CC
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
419
воок
IX.
another. In moſt of the villages lived people BOOK
belonging to ſeveral nations, who were all ob-
ftinately attached to their cuftoms and to their
manners, and could never be brought to confider
themſelves as members of the fame community.
The efforts that were made to extend this fettle-
ment were not, nor could they be fuccefsful.
ture.
THE Women of this part of America are not
fruitful, and their barrennefs increafes when they
remove from one place to another. The men are
of a feeble habit, and the cuſtom they have of
bathing conftantly, by no means contributes to in-
creaſe their ſtrength. The climate is not healthy,
and contagious diftempers are frequent. It hath
never been poffible, and probably never will be, to
infpire the favages with an inclination for agricul-
Their chief delight is in fifhing and hunt-
ing, amuſements which are by no means favour-
able to the increaſe of population. In a country
which is almoſt all under water, there are few
convenient fituations to form a fettlement upon.
Moſt of them are at fo great a distance from
each other, that they cannot poffibly furniſh any
mutual affiftance. The nations which one might
endeavour to incorporate are alſo too far fepa-
rated; most of them are intrenched in inacceffible
places, and are ſo inconfiderable, that they often
confift only of five or fix families.
Of all the Indians the Jefuits had collected, and
whom they governed, none were fo lifelefs or fo
incapable of being animated as theſe. Every mif-
fionary was obliged to put himfelf at their head,
in order to make them pick up the cocoa, vanilla,
E e 2
and
✔
?
420
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
i
IX.
BOOK and farfaparilla, that nature plentifully offers them,
and which are fent every year to Quito, three hun-
dred leagues off, that they may be bartered for
articles of primary neceffity. Their whole pro-
perty confifts of a hut, open on all fides, made of
a few ofiers, and covered on the top with palm-
leaves, a few implements of hufbandry, a lance,
bows and arrows for hunting, fishing-tackle, a
tent, a hammock, and a canoe. It hath not been
poffible to inſpire them with defires beyond theſe.
They are fo well fatisfied with what they poffefs,
that they wish for nothing more; they live uncon-
cerned, and die without fear. They may be faid
to be happy, if happineſs confift more in an ex-
emption from the uneafy fenfation that attends
want, than in the multiplicity of enjoyments that
our wants require.
THIS infant ftate, the offspring of religion alone,
hath been hitherto of no fervice to Spain, and it
can hardly be expected it ever ſhould. However,
the government of Maynas, with its capital
Borja, have been formed there. The deftroyers of
America have never thought of eſtabliſhing any
fettlement in a country where there are no mines,
nor any of thofe rich commodities which fo
powerfully allured their covetouſneſs; but this
country hath fometimes attracted the neighbour-
ing favages.
WHILE fome miffionaries were eſtabliſhing the
authority of the court of Madrid on the banks of
the Amazon, others were doing the fame ſervice
to the court of Lisbon. Six or feven days jour-
ney below the fettlements of St. Ignacio de Pe-
16
vas,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
421
IX.
vas, the laſt under the jurifdiction of Spain, is St. BOOK
Paul, the first of the numerous villages formed
by the Portugueſe, at a very great diftance from
each other, on the banks of the largest river,
and on thoſe of the fmall ones that fall into it.
If the Maynas were at liberty to form connec-
tions with thefe neighbours, they might acquire
by this intercourfe fome conveniencies that they
cannot be ſupplied with from Quito, being fe-
parated from that place by the Cordeleras, which
cut off the communication more effectually than
immenfe feas would do. This indulgence of go-
vernment might perhaps be productive of confi-
derable advantages; and, poffibly, both Spain and
Portugal, though rival powers, might be fenfible
that it would be for their mutual intereft to extend
it. It is well known that the province of Quito
is poor, for want of an 'opportunity of diſpoſing
of the overplus of thofe very commodities that
are not to be had at Para. The two provinces
mutually affifting each other by means of the Napo
and of the Amazon, would rife to a degree of
profperity they could never attain without this in-
tercourſe. The mother-countries would in time
reap great advantages from it, and it could never
be prejudicial to them, becauſe Quito could never
purchaſe what is fent from Europe to America,
and Para confumes nothing but what Liſbon ob-
tains from foreign countries. But national anti-
pathies, and the jealoufies of crowned heads,
are attended with the fame effects as the paffions
and prejudices of men in private life. One un-
fortunate incident is fufficient to divide families
Ee 3
and
422
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
the
BOOK and nations for ever, whofe greateſt intereſt it is
to love and affift one another, and to promote
general good. The fpirit of hatred and revenge
will rather induce men to fubmit to fuffer than not
be gratified. Thofe paffions are conftantly kept
up by the mutual injuries and the effufion of blood
they occafion. How different is man in the ſtate
of nature from man corrupted by fociety! The
latter amply deferves all the misfortunes he brings
upon himſelf.
The Portu-
gueſe with
to form
Ir is a circumſtance we have lefs reaſon than
ever to expect, that any kind of confidence can
be eſtabliſhed in theſe countries, between the two
European nations that are in poffeffion of them.
It hath been for a long time fufpected, that the
river Amazon and the Oroonoko communicated
with each other by means of the Black River,
where the court of Liſbon hath feveral fettle-
ments. This circumftance, which had been fo
long a matter of conteft, was demonftrated in
1744, by fome Portugueſe boats, which having
ſet out from one of theſe rivers, failed into the
other. This produced a new ſource of jealouſy,
to which the two minifters ought to have put a
ſtop, when their attention was engaged in fettling
the differences which had too often ſtained the
river Plata with blood.
THE Portugueſe, who had appeared upon this
great river foon after the Spaniards, were not
on the river long before they forgot it. They did not come
there again till the year 1553, when they got as
fettlements
Plata.
Their dif
gutes with far as Buenos-Ayres, and took poffeffion of the
northern coaſt of the provinces. This act had
Spain. Ac.
commoda-
not
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
423
IX.
tions be-
not been attended with any confequences, when BOOK
the court of Lisbon ordered, in 1680, that the
colony of St. Sacrament ſhould be eſtabliſhed pre- tween the
cifely at the extremity of the territory which they two pow-
thought belonged to them. This claim appeared
to the Spaniards to be ill-founded; and they de-
ftroyed theſe rifing walls without much difficulty.
VIOLENT Conteſts immediately arofe between
the two powers. Spain proved that the new co-
lony was placed in the fpace allotted to her, by
the boundary marked by the popes. The Portu-
guefe did not deny this aftronomical truth, but
they maintained, that this agreement was annul-
led by later arrangements, and in a more par-
ticular manner by the treaty of 1668, which put
a ſtop to hoftilities, and fettled the fate of the
two nations. It was concluded in 1681, after a
multitude of contefts, that the Portugueſe ſhould
again be put in poffeffion of the poft they had oc-
cupied; but that the inhabitants of Buenos-
Ayres, as well as they, fhould have the enjoy-
ment of all the diſputed domains.
THE war between the two crowns, in the be-
ginning of the century, broke off this proviſional
agreement, and in the year 1705 the Portugueſe
were again driven out of St. Sacrament; but
were reinftated in the poffeffion of it by the peace
of Utrecht. This treaty granted them even more
than they had ever had, fince it infured to them
excluſively the whole territory of the colony.
Ar that period a confiderable ſmuggling trade
was begun, between the Portugueſe fettlement of
St. Sacrament, and that of the Spaniards at
Buenos-
E e 4
ers.
424
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK Buenos-Ayres, in which all parts of the Brazils
and of Peru, and even fome merchants of the
mother-countries, were more or lefs concerned.
!
THE Court of Madrid foon perceived that the
treaſures of the New World were conveyed into
another channel. In order to bring them back
again, they did not think of any more certain
method, than that of limiting, as much as pof-
fible, the ſtaple of theſe fraudulent connections.
Their miniſters afferted, that the places under the
dominion of the Portugueſe ought not to be ex-
tended beyond cannon-fhot; and they caufed all
the northern coaft of the Plata, from the mouth of
that great river, to the fettlement which occafioned
them fuch terrible alarms, to be filled up with flocks,
fheep-folds, and with the villages of Maldonado
and Montevideo, and contrived other known me-
thods of occupying this intermediate space.
THESE unforeſeen enterpriſes revived everlaft-
ing animofities, which had been for a fhort time
ſuſpended by their commercial connections. Theſe
neighbouring people carried on a clandeftine
war with one another. The two nations were
upon the brink of an open rupture, when, in
1750, a treaty was propofed, which appeared
likely to fettle the differences between theſe two
monarchies. By this treaty, the Portugueſe ex-
changed the colony of St. Sacrament, and its
territory, for the feven miffions formerly eſta-
bliſhed on the eaſtern coaft of the Uruguay.
It was neceffary that this treaty fhould be exe-
cuted in America; and this was not an eaſy mat-
The Jefuits, who from their earlieſt origin
ter.
had
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
425
IX.
had opened to themſelves a fecret road to domi- E O O K
nion, might have objected to the difinembering
of an empire which owed its exiſtence to their
labours. Independent of this great intereft, they
might have thought themſelves refponfible for
the felicity of a docile fet of people, who, by
throwing themſelves in their arms, had intrufted
them with the care of their future welfare. Be-
fides, the Guaranis had not been conquered; and
therefore, when they ſubmitted to Spain, they did
not give that crown the right of alienating them
from their dominion; without having reflected on
the inconteftible rights of nations, they might
imagine that it belonged to them alone to deter-
mine what was conducive to their happineſs. The
horror they were well known to entertain for the
Portugueſe yoke, was equally capable of leading
them aftray, or of enlightening them. So criti-
cal a fituation required the greateſt precautions,
and they were attended to.
THE forces which the two powers had fent
from Europe, and thoſe which could be affem-
bled in the New World, united themfelves in
order to furmount the obftacles that were fore-
feen; but theſe preparations did not terrify the
people that were the object of them. Although
the feven ceded colonies were not affifted by the
other colonies, at least not openly; although they
were no more headed by the chiefs who till that
time had led them on to battle, they were not
afraid of taking up arms to defend their liberty.
But their military conduct was not fuch as it
ought to have been. Inſtead of contenting them-
felves
426
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
iX.
BOOK felves with haraffing their enemies, and with in-
terrupting the provifions they were obliged to
get from the diftance of two hundred leagues, the
Guaranis ventured to wait for them in the open
field. They loft a battle which coft them two
thouſand men. This confiderable check diſcon-
certed their meaſures; their courage feemed to
give way, and they abandoned their territory,
without making thofe efforts which were expected
from their first refolution, and which were, per-
haps, confiftent with their ſtrength.
AFTER this event the Spaniards attempted to
take poffeffion of the colony of St. Sacrament.
The Portugueſe refuſed to give it up, alleging
that the inhabitants of the Uruguay were only
difperfed; and that, till the court of Madrid
ſhould fettle them in fome of their own domains,
they would always be diſpoſed to recover that
territory which they had quitted with fo much
regret. Theſe difficulties, whether real or ima-
ginary, prevented the conclufion of the treaty,
which was even entirely put a stop to by the two
courts in 1761, and every thing fell again into
confufion.
19
FROM that time, theſe deſerts have been almoſt
inceffantly ſtained with blood; fometimes by
hoftilities that were not publicly avowed, and
fometimes by open wars. Portugal, deprived
of the affiftance of England, hath at length been
obliged to fubmit. The treaties of the first of
October 1777, and of the eleventh of March
1778, have deprived it for ever of the colony.
of St. Sacrament; but they have reftored to it
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
427
IX.
the territory of the river St. Peter, which had BOOK
been taken from it, under the pretences fo fre-
quently alleged, of the line of mark.
WHILE theſe reſtlefs and enterprifing men were
ravaging the Amazon and the Plata, fome la-
borious and peaceable citizens were employed in
multiplying on the coaft of Brazil important pro-
ductions, which were delivered to the mother-
country, which, in return, fupplied them with
every thing they were in want of.
had fettled
tions with
the Brazila
plan; to
which a fyf-
nopoly, fill
upon a bad
tem of mo-
THE whole trade was carried by on a fleet, Portugal
which failed every year from Liſbon and Oporto its connec
in the month of March. The fhips it confifted
of parted when they came to a certain latitude,
and proceeded to their refpective deftinations;
but they afterwards all met at Bahia to fail for
Portugal, which they reached in September or fructive,
October the year following, under convoy of the
men of war, which had eſcorted them at their
going out.
A REGULATION fo contrary to maxims gene-
rally received, was cenfured by many judicious.
perfons, who thought it would have been better
to have left the merchants at liberty to fend out
their fhips, and order them home when it fuited
them beft. This fyftem would have reduced the
expence of freight, rendered the voyages more
frequent, increaſed the maritime forces, and en-
couraged every fpecies of agriculture. The
intercourfe between the colonies and the mother-
country being more conftant, would have given
information, which would have enabled govern-
ment
more de-
was fubfri
Tuted.
428
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK ment to extend its protection more eafily, and to
IX. fecure its authority.
THE Court of Lisbon feemed frequently in-
clined to yield to theſe confiderations, but was
deterred by the fear of feeing the fhips fall into
the enemy's hands if they failed feparately: by
custom, the fway of which is ftill more powerful
over government than over individuals; by the
infinuations of fome men in power, whofe inte-
reft would have been affected by the revolution;
and by variety of prejudices none of which could
have borne the flighteft fcrutiny.
Ir was upon this principle that the Portugueſe
fettlements in the Old and in the New World
were founded, when the difcovery of the gold
and diamond mines, in the beginning of the cen-
tury, fixed the attention of all nations upon the
Brazils. It was generally thought that thoſe
riches, added to thoſe of another kind furniſhed
by the colony, would render it one of the fineſt
fettlements of the globe. The Europeans were
not yet undeceived, when they learned with fur-
prife, that the most important part of thoſe
regions were juft fubjected to the yoke of mo-
nopoly.
PORTUGAL hath made immenſe diſcoveries in
Africa, and in the Eaft and Weft Indies, without
the affiftance of any company. This had been
done by fome affociations, which kings, nobles,
and merchants, had occafionally formed among
themſelves, and which fitted out fleets more or
lefs confiderable, for thofe three parts of the
globe. It was not to be expected that a nation,
which,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
429
IX.
which, in the barbarous ages, had purſued the BOOK
ineſtimable advantages of competition, would, at
laft, in an enlightened age, adopt a pernicious.
fyftem, which, by collecting the principles of
life and motion into a fmall part of the body po-
litic, leaves all the reft in a ſtate of inactivity and
ruin.
THIS plan was formed among the ruins of
Liſbon, when the earth had, as it were, caft out
her inhabitants, and left them no aſylum or place
of fafety but on the fea, or in the New World.
The dreadful fhocks which had fubverted that
fuperb capital were ftill repeated, and the flames
that had reduced it to afhes were fcarce extin-
guiſhed, when an exclufive company was efta-
bliſhed, for the purpofe of felling to foreign
nations, at the Brazils, and even in retail, within
the ſpace of three leagues, the wine fo well
known by the name of Port, which is drunk in
many of the colonies, in part of the north, and
eſpecially in England. This company hath a
capital of 3,000,000 livres *, divided into two
hundred ſhares, of 2,500 livres † each. They lend
to the proprietors of the vines, half the price
they are allowed to charge for the vintage; a
price which they can never raife, however fa-
vourable the year may be. For the beft wines,
they are paid at the rate of 156 livres five fols
per ton; but they receive no more than 125
livres § for thoſe of an inferior quality. How
S
* 125,0001.
† 1041. 3s. 4d.
61. 10s. 2 d.
§ 51. 4s. 2d.
great
430
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
BOOK great foever the dearth may be, or however
IX. confiderable the vent, the cultivator can never
expect an increaſe of more than 31 livres five
fols * per ton, and the ton conſiſts of about 220
gallons.
OPORTO, which is become the firſt city in the
kingdom for its population, riches, and com-
merce, fince Lifbon had, as it were, difappeared,
justly took the alarm, thinking that her trade
would be ruined by this fatal alienation of the
rights of the whole nation, in favour of a com-
pany. The province between the Douro and the
Minho, the most fruitful in the kingdom, formed
no further expectations from its cultures. De-
ſpair excited a ſpirit of fedition among the people,
and this gave occafion to the cruelties of the
Twelve hundred perfons were
government.
either executed, condemned to public labour,
baniſhed to the forts in Africa, or reduced to
poverty by odious confifcations of their poffef-
fions.
ON the 6th of June 1755, an exclufive com-
pany, with a capital of 3,000,000 livres t
divided into twelve hundred fhares, was efta-
bliſhed for the great Para, and for the Maragnan.
Four years after, the province of Fernambucca
was put under a fimilar yoke, with this difference,
that the latter monopoly had a fund of 3,500,000
livres, which was divided into three thouſand
four hundred fhares. The two focieties were
* 11. 6s. 24 d.
† 125,000 1.
145,8331. 6s. 8 d.
authoriſed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
431
IX.
authoriſed to gain fifteen per cent. exclufive of all B O_O K
expences, on articles of provifions, and to fell
their merchandife for forty-five per cent. more
than they would have coſt even at Liſbon. They
were allowed to pay as little as they choſe for the
provifions furniſhed by the diftricts fubject to
their tyranny. Such extraordinary favours were to
laft twenty years, and might be renewed, to the
great detriment of the colony.
tary, and
vernment
Brazils.
THE Brazils are at prefent divided into nine Civil, mili
provinces, which are all governed by a feparate religious go-
commander. Although theſe feveral chiefs are eftablished
expected to conform to the general regulations in the
which the Viceroy thinks proper to make, they
are independent of his authority, becauſe they
receive their orders directly from Liſbon, and
becauſe they themselves give an account to that
court of the affairs in their department. They
are only appointed for three years, but their
commiffion is uſually extended beyond that pe-
riod. They are prohibited by the law from
marrying in the country under their jurifdiction;
from being concerned in any branch of trade;
from accepting any prefent whatfoever; from
receiving any emoluments for the functions of
their office; and this law hath been rather ſtrictly
obferved for fome years paft. Accordingly, for-
tunes are at prefent very feldom made, or even
begun, in thoſe pofts in the New World. The
perfons who voluntarily refign, are obliged, as
well as thoſe who are recalled, to give an account
of their conduct to the commiffioners appointed
by the mother-country; and citizens of all ranks.
are
432
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK are indifcriminately admitted to impeach them.
If they happen to die in their poſt, the biſhop, the
higheſt military officer, and the firſt magiftrate,
jointly affume the reins of government, till the
arrival of the fucceffor.
THE jurifprudence of the Brazils is entirely
the fame as that of Portugal. There is a judge
eftabliſhed in each diſtrict, from whofe decifion
an appeal may be made to the fuperior tribunals
of Bahia, and of Rio Janeiro, and even to thoſe
of Liſbon, if it be upon matters of confequence.
The great Para and Maragnan alone, are allowed
to appeal immediately to the mother-country,
without being obliged to appear before the two
intermediate tribunals. In criminal cafes rather
a different plan is adopted. The judge of each
diſtrict hath a right to puniſh without appeal ſmall
miſdemeanours. The crimes are judged by the
governor, affifted by fome affeffors appointed by
the law.
A PARTICULAR tribunal is eſtabliſhed in every
province, to take care of the legacies which be-
long to heirs, whofe refidence is acroſs the feas.
They are allowed to deduct five per cent. for
their falaries, and the reft is fent to Portugal, to
be depofited in a place deftined to receive it.
The inconvenience of this otherwife judicious
inſtitution, is, that the Brazilian creditors can only
be paid in Europe.
THE finances of each province are adminiſtered
by the commandant and four magiftrates. Their
account is fent every year to the royal treaſury
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
?
433
of the mother-country, and ſcrutinized with great BOOK
feverity.
EVERY town, and every village, in the leaft
confiderable, hath a court of judicature. Their
buſineſs is to attend to the fmall concerns they
are intruſted with, and to ſettle, under the in-
ſpection of the commandant, the trifling taxes
that are neceffary. Several privileges have been
granted to this tribunal, eſpecially that of having
the right to carry any complaint they may have
againſt the head of the colony, immediately to
the fovereign.
THE military are upon the fame footing in
the Brazils, as in Portugal, and in the reft of
Europe. The troops are at the difpofal of every
governor, who appoints to all the vacant com-
miffions under the rank of captain. He hath
the fame authority over the militia, which con-
fifts of all the citizens that are not fidalgos, that is
to ſay, of the first nobility; or who have no
public employment. This body of men, who
are all obliged to wear a uniform at their own
expence, are never affembled in the interior parts
of the country, except in cafes of abfolute necef-
fity; but at Fernambucca, at Bahia, and at Rio
Janeiro, they are exercifed during one month
every year, and are then paid by the govern-
ment. The Negroes and Mulattoes have ſtand-
ards of their own; and the Indians fight under the
fame banners as the white men. The colony, at
this prefent time, confifts of fifteen thouſand eight
hundred and ninety-nine regulars, and of twenty-
one thouſand eight hundred and fifty militia.
VOL. IV.
F f
THOUGH
IX.
434
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
THOUGH the King, as Grand Maſter of the or-
der of Chrift, be folely in poffeffion of the tithes ;
and though the produce of the Cruſade belong
entirely to him, yet, in this extenfive part of the
New World, fix bifhoprics have been fuccef-
fively founded, which acknowledge for their fupe-
rior the archbishopric of Bahia, eſtabliſhed in
the year 1552. The fortunate prelates, moft of
them Europeans, who fill theſe honourable fees,
live in a very commodious manner upon the
emoluments attached to the functions of their
miniftry, and upon a penfion of twelve hundred,
and from that to thirty thouſand livres *, granted
to them by the government.
AMONG the inferior clergy, none but the mif-
fionaries who are fettled in the Indian villages, are
paid by government; but the others find fufficient
refources among the fuperftitious people, whom
they are to edify, to inftruct, and to comfort.
Befide an annual tribute, paid by every family to
the clergyman, he is intitled to forty fols † for
every birth, every wedding, and every burial.
The law which reduces this contribution to one half
for poor people, and to nothing for thoſe that
are entirely indigent, is feldom obferved. The
avidity of the priefts hath even been carried fo
far as to double this fhameleſs ſalary, in the dif-
tricts of the mines.
SOME few afylums for maidens have been fuf-
fered at Bahia, and at Rio Janeiro; but it hath
never been allowed to eftabliſh nunneries in the
*From 50l. to 12501.
I
† is. 8d.
Brazils.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
435
IX.
Brazils. The monks have been more fucceſsful; BOOK
and there are at prefent twenty convents of differ-
ent orders, the two richeft of which are occupied
by Benedictines, who are as idle as they are licen-
tious. None of theſe fatal eſtabliſhments are
founded in the gold countries. The Jefuits had
taken advantage of the influence they had over
government to evade the law, which forbade
any regular orders to fettle in thofe regions. No
inſtitution hath been powerful enough ſince their
expulfion, to extort fo fignal a favour.
THOUGH there be not abfolutely an inquifition
in the Brazils, the people of that country are not
protected from the outrages of that barbarous in-
ftitution. The ecclefiaftics of the colony, who
are appointed by that tribunal to be their agents,
are all of them imbued with the fame fanguinary
maxims. Their mercileſs ſeverity is moftly pro-
voked by accuſations of Judaifm. This fort of
fury roſe to ſuch an enormous height, from 1702
to 1718, that the minds of all men were im-
preffed with terror, and moft of the cultures were
neglected.
THERE is no particular ordonnance in the
Brazils for flaves, and they ought to be tried by
the common law. As their mafters are obliged
to feed them, and that it is become a general
cuſtom to allot them a fmall piece of ground,
which they are allowed to cultivate for their own
emolument, thofe among them who are induf-
trious and laborious, are, fooner or later,
enabled to purchaſe their liberty. It is feldom
refuſed them; and they may even demand it, at
Ff2
the
436
1
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
+
BOOK the price fettled by the regulations, when they
find themfelves oppreffed. It is, probably, for
this reaſon, that, notwithſtanding the great faci-
lity they have for eloping, yet there are few
fugitive Negroes thoughout this vaft continent.
Thoſe few who are found in the country of the
mines, only employ themfelves quietly at a dif-
tance, in cultivating the productions neceffary
for their fubfiftence.
Former and
preſent ſtate
SUCH of the Negroes as have purchaſed their
liberty, enjoy the rights of citizens as well as the
Mulattoes; but they are both excluded from the
priesthood, and from any civil employment.
Even in the fervice they can have no commiffion,
except in their own battalions. The white men
feldom marry the Negro women; moft of them
go no farther than to form illegal connections
with them. Thefe connections, which have the
fanction of the manners of the country, differ
fcarcely from matrimony, in regions where men
difpofe of their fortunes in conformity to their
caprices and paffions.
THE ftate of the Indians hath not always been
of the Indi- the fame; at firft they were feized upon, fold in
ans fubject
to Portugal public markets, and compelled to work like
in the Bra- flaves in the plantations.
zils.
IN 1570, Sebaſtian forbade that any Brazilian
ſhould be made a flave, except fuch as had been
taken priſoners in a juft war; but this law was
not attended to, becauſe the Portugueſe would
have thought themfelves difgraced in tilling the
ground; and at that time few cultivators had been
fent to Africa.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
437
¡
IX.
THE edict of Philip II. which, in 1595, con- BOOK
firmed the orders of Sebaftian, and which even
reduced to ten years the term of flavery, to thoſe
whom that prince had allowed to be kept in per-
petual fervitude, was equally diſregarded.
Two mandates, of 1605 and 1609, again de-
clared all the Indians, without exception, to be
entirely free. Philip III. being informed that
his commands were not obeyed, iffued a third
law, by which thoſe who infringed it were con-
demned to fevere penalties. But, at that period,
the colony was ſtill governed by a court of judica-
ture, most of the members of which were born
in America itſelf; ſo that the new arrangements
were not much more reſpected than the old ones
had been.
In the mean while, the miffionaries were every
day exclaiming, with greater vehemence, againſt
the tyranny with which their converts were op-
preffed. In 1647, the new court of Liſbon gave
way to their preffing folicitations, and formally
renewed the orders which forbade the detaining
of any Brazilian in flavery. The ſpirit of inde-
pendence, which manifefted itſelf throughout
the whole colony, convinced that ftill tottering
power, that they were not allowed to do every
thing that was juſt; and, eight years after, their
orders were qualified, by permitting that thoſe in-
dividuals who were born of a Negro mother and
of an Indian father, might be kept in flavery.
THE Dutch had just then been driven from
this part of the New World. The connections
with the coaft of Africa, which had been inter-
rupted
Ff3
438
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK rupted by the bloody wars the Portugueſe had
been obliged to fuftain againſt thofe republicans,
refumed their former courfe. The population of
the Negroes was increaſed in the Brazils. Their
fervices foon difgufted the Portugueſe of the na-
tives of the country, who were weaker, ånd not
fo laborious. Thoſe who periſhed were not re-
placed, and that ſpecies of fervitude was, by de-
grees, aboliſhed every where, except at St. Paul,
at Maragnan, and on the Amazon river, at which
places there were not yet any rich fettlements,
and where the Portugueſe were not capable of
purchafing flaves. The decrees iffued in 1680,
1713, and 1741, to extirpate theſe remains of
barbariſm, were of no effect; and it was not till
1755 that all the Brazilians became really free.
Ar this period they were declared citizens by
government; they were to enjoy that title in the
fame manner as their conquerors. The fame
road was laid open to their talents; and they
were allowed to afpire at the fame dignities.
An event fo much calculated to excite the emo-
tions of a feeling heart, was fcarce attended to.
Pleaſure, fortune, war, politics, engrofs every
body's attention, while a revolution, fo favour-
able to humanity, almoft generally eſcapes our
notice; and that even in the eighteenth century,
in the midft of that enlightened and philofophical
age. The happineſs of nations is much talked of,
but is neither perceived nor felt.
ALL the faulty operations of government are
attacked with ſeverity, and when they, by chance,
happen to do any good act, a general filence is
obferved.
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
439
་
IX.
obferved. Is this the kind of acknowledgment BOOK
which the people owe to thofe who attend to
their happiness? Or is this fort of ingratitude
calculated to attach them to their laborious
offices? Is it thus they can be induced to fill them
with diftinction? If the people expect that their
murmurs and their difcontents fhould be attended
to when they are oppreffed, they ſhould exprefs
their joy in the moſt lively manner, when they
have obtained redrefs. Whenever the burthen
of the taxes hath been alleviated, let the houſes
be illuminated; let them affemble in multitudes,
and fill the houſes and the ſtreets; let them light
up bonfires, and dance and fing round them; let
them pronounce with tranſport the name of their
benefactor. Is there one among all the directors
of the empire who would not be gratified with
fuch homage? Is there one who could ever
refolve to quit his place, or who could die with-
out having received it? Is there a man who would
not be defirous of increaſing theſe triumphs? Is
there one whoſe grandchildren would not feel a
`noble pride, in hearing it faid of him, his ancef-
tor was the man who occafioned the lighting up
of bonfires four or five times, during the courfe
of his adminiftration? Is there one who would
.not be ambitious of bequeathing fuch a mark of
diftinction to his defcendants? Is there a man
who would dare to have engraved upon his
tomb the poſt he had filled in his life-time, with-
out mentioning the public feftivals that had been
celebrated in his honour? Such a filence would
transform the inſcription into a fatire. The
+
Ff 4
people
440
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX
BOOK people are equally abject in profperity as in ad-
verfity; they know not how to complain, or how
to rejoice.
SOME men, more attentive to the intereſting
fcenes that are diſplayed from time to time on the
furface of the globe, conceived a good opinion of
the new ſyſtem. They flattered themſelves, that
the Indians would apply themſelves to cultiva-
tion, and multiply the productions; that their la-
bours would enable them to procure for themſelves
numberless conveniences which they had not yet
enjoyed; that the fight of their happineſs would
diſguſt the ſavages of their forefts, and would de-
termine them to a more quiet way of living; that
an entire confidence would gradually be efta-
bliſhed between the Americans and the Euro-
peans; and that they would in time become
one people. They flattered themfelves that the
court of Lisbon would have the prudence not to
diſturb fo defirable a harmony by any particu-
lar diſtinctions; that they would endeavour, by
all poſſible means, to obliterate the memory of
thofe evils which they had brought upon the New
Hemiſphere.
But how far are we from feeing theſe flatter-
ing hopes fulfilled! In the provinces of Fernam-
bucca, of Bahia, of Rio Janeiro, and of Minas-
Geraes, the Brazilians continue to be mixed with
the Portugueſe and with the Negroes, but with-
out any change in their characters, becauſe no
pains have been taken to enlighten them; becauſe
no efforts have been made to overcome their na-
tural lazineſs; becauſe no lands have been diftri-
buted
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
441
.-
IX.
buted to them, and becauſe nothing hath been BOOK
given them in advance, by which their emulation
might probably have been excited.
AT Para, at Maragnan, at Matto Groffo, at
Goyas, and at St. Paul, the Indians have been
united in a hundred and feventeen villages, over
each of which a white man prefides. It is his
buſineſs to ſettle the occupations, to direct the
cultures, to buy and to fell for the community;
to puniſh and to reward. It is he who delivers to
the agents of government the tenth of the territo-
rial productions. It is he who appoints thofe
among them, who, are obliged to fubmit to the
labours of vaffalage with which they are op-
preffed. Thefe fubaltern agents, diſperſed in the
feveral colonies, are fuperintended by a chief,
who is vefted with great authority.
THE opinions of men have been divided re-
ſpecting theſe regulations. A writer, who hath
never been out of Europe, would be confidered as
a very bold man, fhould he venture to decide be-
tween two parties, which an experience of three
centuries hath not been able to reconcile. But let
me at leaſt be permitted to obferve, that one of
the moſt enlightened men that ever lived at the
Brazils, hath frequently told me, that the Indians,
who are fuffered to be their own mafters in the
Portugueſe colony, are very fuperior in under-
ſtanding and induſtry to thoſe who are kept under
perpetual tuition.
ftate of the
THE government of Para is the moſt northern Prefent
of any of theſe colonies. It comprehends that govern-
portion of Guiana which belongs to the Portu- ment of
guefe;
Paia.
}
}
442
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK guefe; the borders of the Amazon, from the
conflux of the Madeira and the Mamore; and to
the eaſt, all that ſpace which extends as far as the
river of the Tocantines. This is the moſt barren
and the moſt unwholeſome country in theſe re-
gions.
No productions can be expected in Guiana,
except on the Black River, the elevated banks of
which would be very fit for all the productions
that enrich the beſt colonies of America. But this
country is only inhabited by Indians, who are
almoſt folely employed in the turtle fishery, and
whom it hath not yet been poffible to fix to any
thing but the cutting of fome woods for cabinet-
work. This river receives that of Cayari, where,
in 1749, a filver mine was diſcovered, which un-
doubtedly, for fome political reaſons, hath never
been worked.
THE borders of the Amazon, on the north
fide, are almoſt under water. The ſmall
The fmall quan-
tity of dry land that is found there, is perpetually
infeſted with all kinds of infects.
THOUGH the fouth part of the Amazon be
marſhy in many places, yet its foil is commonly
more firm, and lefs infefted with reptiles. The
great and numerous rivers which empty them-
ſelves into it, afford ſtill greater reſources for cul-
tivation, and yet there is no fettlement formed
upon them.
THE Portugueſe navigators did not enter the
Amazon before the year 1535. Ayres d'Acunha and
his followers were almoſt all fhipwrecked there.
It was not till 1615, that Francis Caldeira laid the
found-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
443
IX.
foundations of a town, which was called Belem, B 90 K
on the banks of the rivers. In 1663, the terri-
tory of Macapa was given by government to
Bento Maciel Parente, and afterwards the iſland
of Joanna to Macedo: but theſe two grants have
been fince reunited to the crown, the firſt by
the extinction of the family that had obtained
it, and the fecond by exchanges.
THE Portugueſe contented themſelves, for a
long time, with making excurfions of greater or
lefs extent, to carry off fome Brazilians. They were
a fet of turbulent and daring favages, who were en-
deavouring to fubdue other ſavages leſs ſtrong and
lefs courageous than themfelves. Thefe deftructive
fatigues, theſe unavailing cruelties, had lafted for
the space of a century, when fome miffionaries
undertook to civilize the wandering Indians.
They have affembled no inconfiderable number of
them in feventy-eight villages, but without being
able entirely to fix them there.
After having
ſpent four or five months in a fedentary and idle
life, thefe men, attracted by their ancient habits,
forfook their habitations and families, in order to
gather in the foreſts the productions of unculti-
vated nature, which, with very little labour, they
might have procured at home, or might have
fubftituted to them others of a fuperior quality.
The wild cacao, the vanilla, the tortoife, and
crab-fhells, the farfaparilla, the capivi balfam,
and the vegetable wool, which are collected in
thefe ruinous excurfions, that are renewed every
year, are carried to Belem, the capital of the
government.
THIS
1
"
444
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
THIS town, which is built at the diftance of twen-
ty leagues from the fea, and upon a foil that riſes
thirteen feet above the level of the ocean, was for
a long time nothing more than a ftaple, to which
the riches of the favages were conveyed from the
inland country. Some Negroes, whom it hath at
laft procured, have cultivated in its neighbour-
hood a fmall quantity of cotton, which is after-
wards manufactured in the country itſelf; and
fome fugar-canes, the indifferent produce of
which is afterwards made into brandy. They have
alfo cultivated coffee, rice, and cacao, for ex-
portation. The fale of the flocks, which grazed
in the iſland of Marajo, was for a confiderable
time one of their refources. At prefent they have
ſcarce oxen enough remaining for their own con-
fumption.
BEFORE the year 1755, this eſtabliſhment re-
ceived every year from the mother-country from
thirteen to fourteen fhips. Since it hath been
fubjected by a miſtaken or corrupted miniſtry
to a monopoly, it receives no more than five or
fix. The value of its exports feldom exceeds
600,000 livres *: This feeble produce is not
much increaſed by the wood for building, which
the government buys up, and carries away upon
its fhips.
THE population of the colony confifts of four
thouſand one hundred and twenty-eight white
men, of nine thoufand nine hundred and nine-
teen black flaves, or free Mulattoes, and of thirty-
!
*
25,000 1.
four
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
445
four thousand eight hundred and forty-four In- BOOK
dians.
THIS Country, which in 1778 hath been re-
lieved from the oppreffion neceffarily attending
an exclufive privilege, will undoubtedly avail
itſelf of its liberty. The port of Belem, which
is called Para, a name which is likewife fome-
times given to the city, doth not oppofe fo many
obftacles to the fuccefs of any enterprife as is
commonly imagined. It is, indeed, difficult of
accefs. Currents which run in contrary direc-
tions, and which are occafioned by a multitude
of ſmall iſlands, render the navigation of fhips
flow and uncertain. But when once they get into
the harbour, they anchor in a muddy bottom,
with four, five, or fix fathom of water. The ca-
nal which leads up to it, grows, however, more
ſhallow every day; and in a fhort time it will not
be practicable, if, as it muſt be fuppofed, the wa-
ters continue to depofit as much earth as they
have dragged into it for this laft century.
IX.
govern
THE Maragnan is feparated from Para on the State of the
North, by the river of the Tocantines; from ment of
Goyaz on the South, by that of the Cordeleras Maragnan.
mountains, which is called Guacuragua; and on
the Weft, from Fernambucca by the Ypiapaba
mountains.
THE Portugueſe arrived for the first time in
this province in 1535; and they were caft upon
it by a ftorm; but they did not fettle there till
1599. The French feized upon it in 1612, and
were driven from thence three years after. It re-
mained under the yoke of the Dutch from 1641
to
445
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK to 1644; at which period the firft ufurpers again
took poffeffion of it, and have kept it ever
fince.
*
THE bufinefs of collecting the ambergreafe
upon the coafts, which was the amufement of the
favages, became the occupation of the firft Euro-
peans. This trifling refource was foon exhauſted,
and no other was ſubſtituted to it, as there ought
to have been. The fettlement continued for a
long time in a languiſhing ftate; and it hath
been but lately perceived, that the cotton which
grew upon this territory was the beſt in the New
World. The culture of this plant increaſes
daily; and for fome years paft that of rice hath
been joined to it, though it be of an inferior
quality to the rice of the Levant, and even to
that of North America. Several attempts have
been made to produce filk there; but the climate
hath been found totally unfit for it. The pro-
ject, however, of enriching the country by the
culture of indigo, feems to promife much fuc-
cefs. The fineſt arnotto of the Brazils is already
gathered there.
THE part of the colony firft peopled was the
ifland of Saint Louis, which is feven leagues long
and four broad, and which is feparted from the
continent only by a very ſmall river. There is a
town of the fame name in it, where all the trade
is tranfacted, although it hath a bad harbour.
Some cultivations are carried on there; but the
moft confiderable are on the continent, upon the
rivers of Ytapicorié, of Mony, of Iquara, of Pin-
daré, and of Meary.
IN
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
447
IX.
In the fame government, and towards the back BOOK
of the province, is the country of Pauchy, where
the inhabitants of St. Paul penetrated in 1571. It
was not conquered without much difficulty, and
is not yet entirely fubdued on the Eaſtern fide.
Its foil is uneven and fandy, though exceedingly
elevated. It is inhabited by fhepherds. Upon
this foil, which is covered with faltpetre, they
rear a confiderable number of horfes and horned
cattle, which are fold to tolerable advantage in
the neighbouring countries; but the ſheep dege-
nerate there, as well as in the reft of the Brazils,
except in the Coritibe. Unfortunately, the too
frequent droughts, and the exceffive heats, very
often deftroy whole flocks, when fufficient at-
tention is not paid to lead them in time to diſtant
paſtures.
THE mines of fulphur, allum, copperas, iron,
lead, and antimony, are very common, and very
fuperficial, in theſe mountains, and yet none of
them have been opened. Permiffion was indeed
given, in 1572, to work the filver one which had
been diſcovered three or four years before: but
very ſoon after the court retracted this permif-
fion, for reaſons that are not known to us.
THIS government confifts of eight thoufand
nine hundred and ninety-three white men, feven-
teen thouſand eight hundred and forty-four Ne-
groes or free Mulattoes, and flaves; and of
thirty-eight thouſand nine hundred and thirty-fe-
ven Indians, either ſcattered, or affembled in ten
villages. The exportations have not as yet been
equal to this degree of population. Their value
was
448
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK was little more than 6 or 700,000 livres *; but
fince the monopoly hath been abolished, it muſt
become more confiderable.
State of
THE province which follows that of Maragnan,
the govern and which is called Fernambucca, was formed
out of four private eſtates.
ment of
Fernam-
bucca.
FERNAMBUCCA itfelf was given, in 1527, to
Edward Coelho; and was reunited to the crown
as a conqueſt, after the Dutch had been driven
from it in 1654.
THE hiftorian De Barros obtained the district
of Paraiba from John III., but he neglected the
peopling of it. Some vagabonds went over in
1560, and in 1591 were fubdued by the French,
who were foon obliged to evacuate it. Philip III.
cauſed a city to be erected upon this royal do-
main, which is at prefent known by the name of
Notre Dame de Neves.
THE property of Rio-Grande, a diſtrict which
had till then been entirely neglected, was ceded
to Emanuel Jordan in 1654. The fhipwreck
of this enterprifing man, at the entrance of the
harbour, reſtored to the hands of government,
lands, which were foon after cultivated by fame
individuals.
It is not known at what time, nor to whom,
Tamaraca had been granted; but it became a na-
tional poffeffion again foon after the elevation of
the houſe of Braganza to the throne of Portugal.
THIS flourishing government is at prefent fur-
rounded by the river St. Francis, and by feveral
* From 25,000l. to 29,1661. 13s. 4d.
branches
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
449
IX.
branches of the Cordeleras. The coafts afford a BOOK
fmall quantity of cotton. In no country of theſe
regions fugar is to be found in fuch great perfec-
tion as upon thoſe plains which are well watered.
The mountains are covered with horned cattle,
which ſupply a great quantity of leather. This
diſtrict alone furniſhes the Brazil wood.
THE tree which it is taken from is not perfectly
known by the botanists. It is, however, be-
lieved, that it is in fome refpects analogous to the
brefillet of the Antilles, and to the tara, or poin-
ciana fpinofa of Peru. Thoſe who have defcribed
it affirm, that it is tall, very branchy, and co-
vered with a brown bark full of thorns. Its
leaves are compofed of a common cofta, which
fupports from four to fix other coftæ, furniſhed
with two rows of finall green leaves, fhining, and
refembling the leaves of box. The flowers, dif-
pofed in cluſters towards the extremity of the
branches, are ſmall, and more odoriferous than
thofe of the lilly: they have a calix with. five di-
vifions, ten ftamina, and five petals, four of
which are yellow, and the fifth is of a beautiful
red colour. Their piftil becomes an oblong flat-
tened pod, ſtuck full of points, and filled with
fome red feeds.
THE bark of this tree is fo thick, that the wood
is reduced almoſt to nothing when ſtripped of it.
This wood is very fit for works of turnery, and
takes a good polifh: but its principal ufe is in the
red dye, where it fupplies the place of double the
quantity of logwood. The moſt arid ſoils, and
VOL. IV.
G g
the
450
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK the moſt craggy rocks, are the places which it
chiefly delights in.
*
THE trade of this wood is monopolized, and
it belongs to the queen's houſehold. The firſt
dealers in this article agreed to receive annually
in the magazines of government, where it is de-
pofited, thirty thouſand quintals of it, at 30
livres the quintal. It was diſcovered, after ſe-
veral experiments, that this quantity was not con-
fumed in Europe, and they were obliged to take
no more than twenty thoufand quintals, but it
was raiſed to 40 livres † the quintal. Such is the
preſent contract, which is in the hands of two
•Engliſhmen fettled in Portugal. They give
800,000 livres ‡ for the wood with which they
are furniſhed, and fell it at Lifbon itſelf for
1,000,000 livres §. The expences they are at
amount to 128,000 livres ||; and therefore the
profits are 72,000 livres ¶.
THE population of Fernambucca confiſts of.
nineteen thousand fix hundred and fixty-five white
men, thirty-nine thouſand one hundred thirty-
two Negroes or Mulattoes, and thirty-three
thouſand ſeven hundred and twenty-eight Indians.
There are four harbours fit to receive ſmall vef-
fels. That where the fhoal is, which is the port
of Olinda, can admit larger fhips; but they are
neither conveniently fituated, nor in fafety.
* il.
11. 5.S.
33,3331. 6s. 8.d.
| 5,3331. 6s. 8d.
}
+: 11. 13s. 4d.
§ 41,6661. 13 s. 4d.
¶3,0001.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
451
IX.
THE ifland of Fernando de Noronha is at fixty BOOK
leagues diftance from thefe coafts of Fernam-
bucca; but it is under its dependence. The
Portugueſe, who had at firft fettled there, foon
forfook it; but in 1738, the court of Lifbon,
ſuſpecting that the French Eaft India Company
meant to take poffeffion of it, built feven forts
there, conſtructed with great ſkill. They are pro-
vided with artillery, and defended with a garrifon
of regular troops, which is relieved every fix
months. There are no other inhabitants but a few
exiles, a fmall number of very indigent Meſtees,
and the Indians who are employed in the public
labours. Though this foil be deep and good,
no kind of cultivation hath ever fucceeded there,
becauſe the rains do not fall for three or four
years together. From the month of December
till the month of April, turtles are the only food;
after that time they difappear, and the inhabit-
ants have no refource but in the provifions fent
from the continent. There are two harbours for
foreign veffels in the iſland, where ſhips of all
rates are in fafety, when North and Weft winds
do not prevail.
THE government of Bahia is inclofed by the
river St. Francis on the North, by the river Doce
on the South, and by the river Preto, one of
the arms of the Green River, on the Eaſt. It
confifts of the captainship of Xegerippe, the re-
volutions of which are not known to us; of the
captainſhip of Itheos, of which George de Fi-
gueredo was deprived, after its deſtruction by the
Aimorés Indians; of the captainfhip of Porto Se-
guro,
Gg 2
State of
the govern
ment of
Bahia.
452
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
}
guro, which returned to the crown after the ex-
tinction of the family of the Tourinhos; and of
the country of Bahia, which was never a private
property.
San Salvador, the capital of this fettlement,
was for a long time that of all the Brazils. The
way to it is by the bay of All Saints, which is two
leagues and a half broad at the entrance. On
each ſide ſtands a fortrefs, intended rather to pre-
vent landing, than to hinder fhips from paffing
by. It is thirteen or fourteen leagues in length,
and interfperfed with little iflands, which are full
of cotton trees, and form an agreeable profpect.
It grows narrow towards the bottom, which is
ſheltered from every attack, and makes an excel-
lent harbour for the moft numerous fleets. The
town commands this harbour, being built on the
flope of a ſteep hill.
THIS city contains two thouſand houſes,
which are moſt of them built with great magni-
ficence. The furniture here is the more rich and
élegant, as extravagance in drefs is strictly prohi-
bited. By a very old law, which hath often been
broken, and which extends to the New World
fince the year 1749, the Portugueſe are forbid-
den to wear any gold or filver ftuffs, or any laced
clothes; but their paffion for fhew, which no
laws can eradicate, hath induced them to con-
trive fome fubftitute, and to wear diamond
croffes, medals, and chaplets, or beads, the rich
enfigns of a poor religion. The gold they cannot
wear themſelves, they lavish to adorn their do-
meſtic flaves.
As
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
453
;
IX.
As the fituation of the town will not admit of B OOK
coaches, the rich, who will always be diftinguiſhed
from the vulgar, have contrived to be carried in
cotton hammocks. Supinely ftretched upon vel-
vet cuſhions, and furrounded with filken curtains,
which they open and fhut at pleaſure, thofe proud
and lazy mortals move about more voluptuouſly,
though with lefs expedition, than in the moſt
eafy and elegant carriages.
THE Women feldom enjoy this luxury. Thefe
people, who are fuperftitious to a degree of fana-
ticiſm, will hardly allow them to go to church, co-
vered with their cloaks, on high feſtivals; and no
one is fuffered to fee them in their own houfes. This
reſtraint, which is the effect of an ungovernable
jealoufy, doth not prevent them from carrying on
intrigues, though they are fure of being ftabbed
to death upon the flighteſt fufpicion. By a lenity
more judicious than ours, a girl who, without
her mother's confent, or even under her protec-
tion, yields to the importunities of a lover, is
treated with leſs feverity. But if the father can-
not conceal her infamy by difpofing of her in
marriage, he abandons her to the fcandalous trade
of a courtezan. Thus it is that riches bring or
a train of vices and corruption, eſpecially when
they are acquired by bloodshed and murder, and
are not preſerved by labour,
THE want of fociety, confequent upon the fe-
paration of the fexes, is not the only impediment
to the pleaſures and enjoyments of life at Bahia.
The hypocrify of fome, the ſuperſtition of others;
avarice within, and pompous parade without; ex-
Gg 3
treme
}
454
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
13
IX.
B O_O K treme effeminacy, bordering upon extreme cruel-
ty, in a climate where all the fenfations are quick
and impetuous; the diftruft that attends weak-
nefs; the indolence that trufts every thing to
flaves, whether it relate to pleaſure or bufinefs;
all the vices that are to be found, either feparately
or collectively, in the moſt corrupt fouthern coun-
tries, conftitute the character of the Portugueſe at
Bahia. However, the depravity of their manners
feems to decreafe, fince they are become rather
more enlightened. The acquifition of know-
ledge, the abuſe of which will fometimes corrupt
virtuous nations, may refine, if not reform, a de-
generate nation; it will at leaſt make crimes lefs
frequent, will caft a varniſh of elegance over cor-
ruption, and will introduce an hypocritical kind of
urbanity, and a contempt for the groffer vices.
THOUGH San Salvador be no longer the capital
of the Brazils, yet the province is ftill the moſt
populous of the colony. It confifts of thirty-
nine thousand feven hundred and eighty-four
white men, and fixty-eight thouſand and twenty-
four Negroes. It fhares with the other colonies
the culture of fugar, cotton, and of fome other
productions; and hath the advantage over them
of the fishery, and of tobacco.
THE whale-fishery hath been very anciently
eſtabliſhed in the Brazils. All the Portugueſe of
the Old and of the New World had enjoyed,
from its first rife, the natural rights of this
fishery; but it hath been, for a long time paft,
fubjected to an exclufive privilege, purchaſed by
a company formed at Liſbon, whoſe ſhips are
freighted
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
455
1
IX.
freighted at Bahia. Its annual produce confifts, BOOK
at prefent, of three thouſand five hundred and
thirty pipes of oil, which, at the rate of 175
livres the pipe, amounts to 617,750 livres t
and of two thouſand and ninety quintals of whale-
bone, which, at the rate of 150 livres the quin-
tal, amount to 313,500 livres |.
Theſe two
*
fums added together, amount to 931,250 livres §.
The monopolizers give to government 300,000
livres **. Their expences do not exceed 268,750
livres ++; and their profits amount to 362,500
livres ‡‡.
THIS branch of induftry muſt be entirely given
up, unless it be immediately put upon a different
footing. Nothing but an unlimited freedom of
trade can poffibly fuftain the competition of the
American traders, whofe activity hath already ex-
tended itſelf as far as thofe diftant feas, and ſtill
beyond them. The court of Lisbon ought even
to encourage, by all poffible means, the whale-
fishery in the Cape de Verd Iſlands, and in the
other iſlands near the burning fhores of Africa,
which are at preſent ſo uſeleſs to them.
1
THOUGH moft of the countries of Brazil fur-
niſh a ſmall quantity of tobacco, it may be
faid, that this article hath not become an object
of confequence any where, except at Bahia. It
thrives in a ſpace of ninety leagues, and in the
* 71. 5s. 10d.
61. 5s.
1
§ 38,8021. Is. 8d.
tt 11,1981. 8s. 4d.
† 25,7401. s. 8 d.
13,0621. 10S.
** 12,5001.
15,1541. 3.S. 4d.
Gg 4
diftrict
456
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK diftrict of Cachoeira ftill better than in any other
IX. place. This production had for a long time been
enriching the province, when the taxes with
which it was loaded, on its exportation from
Portugal, raiſed its price fo high as to prevent
the conſumption of it. There was fo little de-
mand for it in foreign markets, that in 1773,
the cargoes of it did not exceed eight-and-twenty
thoufand quintals. The year following, the
duties, which amounted to 27 livres 12 fols *
per hundred weight, were fuppreffed and this
cultivation immediately recovered its former
proſperity. The colonift then received for this
commodity 22 livres 16 fols † per quintal, in-
ftead of 12 livres 10 fols, which he received
before.
TEN thouſand quintals of inferior tobacco are
fent annually from the Brazils to the coafts of
Africa, which being purchaſed in the colony
itſelf, even at the rate of 18 livres § per hundred
weight, bring in 180,000 livres . Fifty-eight
||
thouſand five hundred quintals are fent into
Portugal, which, at their firft entrance into the
country, are fold for 40 livres the hundred
weight; the total value of which is 2,340,000
livres **, and the two fums put together, amount
to 2,520,000 livres tt.
EVERY fpeculator is allowed to purchaſe the
tobacco that is conveyed to the mother-country;
* 11.
11. 3.
$ 15s.
** 97,5001.
+ 19s.
II 7,5001:
I 10s. 5d.
¶ 11. 13s. 4d.
tt 105,0001.
but
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
457
*
IX.
but it muſt be depofited in a public warehouſe, BOOK
where it pays two fols fix deniers per quintal to
the government for ſtore-room. From this ware-
houſe is taken that quantity of tobacco which the
kingdom is not in want of, and which is to be
difpofed of to foreign nations. Genoa purchaſes
that of the best quality. Spain, as well as Por-
tugal, confumes only the fecond fort, and Ham-
burgh is fatisfied with the moſt inferior kind of
tobacco. It is this which is alſo purchaſed by
the French, and other navigators who are in
want of it for their Negro trade.
THE purchaſer freely applies to the merchants
in whom he confides; but the court of Madrid,
who never have any tobacco bought but for
ſmoking, ufually employ only one agent, to
whom they pay for it at the rate of nine fols † the
pound.
PORTUGAL, Madeira, and the Azores, where
the tobacco is equally monopolized by the crown,
do not confume annually, for fmoking, more
than ſeven hundred thouſand weight of it, which,
at the rate of five livres the pound, muft
amount to 3,520,000 livres §; and in fnuff, only
five hundred and twenty-eight thouſand pounds,
which, at the rate of feven livres ten fols ||
per pound, muſt produce 3,960,000 livres ; fo
that the whole amount of this article is 7,480,000
*About five farthings.
I 4s. zd.
W 6s. 3d.
#
1
+ 4 d.
§ 146,6661. 13s, 4d.
¶ 165,0001.
livres.
458
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK livres *. The government, however, does not
IX.
State of the
government
neiro.
receive more than 5,481,250 livres t. The
remainder of the fum is expended in the purchaſe
of materials, the expences of preparing the to-
bacco, and the profits of the people who farm
it.
THE fnuff which is confumed in Africa, and
in the East Indies, is likewife under the yoke of
monopoly; but it is the queen's revenue.
receives 450,000 livres
fifty quintals, which are
She
for one hundred and
annually fent to thofe
diſtant regions; exclufive of the profits which
muft ariſe from the fale of the pepper that is
fent from Goa in exchange.
THE government of Rio Janeiro almoft totally
of Rio Ja occupies the long coaft, which commences at the
river Doce, and ends at that of Rio Grande of
St. Peter; and in the inland countries, it is
bounded only by the enormous chain of moun-
tains which extends from Una to Minas-Geraes.
It has abforbed the captainfhips of St. Efprit, of
Cabofrio, and of the South Paraiba, granted by
government at different periods, and which have
fallen in again in feveral ways to the domains of
the crown.
THE cultures remained for a long time in a
languid ftate, in this ſpacious and beautiful pro-
vince: but they daily acquire fome importance.
Tobacco, indeed, is neither better, nor in greater
* 311,6661. 13s. 4d.
‡ 18,7501.
† 228,3851. 8s. 4d.
plenty,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
459
IX.
plenty, than it was formerly; but for theſe three BOOK
years paſt the ſugar-canes have multiplied there,
and more eſpecially in the plains of Guatacazès.
Twelve modern plantations of excellent indigo,
announce a more confiderable number, and a
tolerable quantity of coffee hath been brought
from thence by the laft fhips. The fouthern di-
ftricts of the colony, as far as Rio Grande, fur-
niſh a great many hides, fome flour, and very
good falt provifions. There are fourteen or
fifteen different kinds of wood for dying, which
will foon be cut down; and feven or eight forts
of gums, which will at laft be gathered. Two
plants were diſcovered at Bahia, about twenty
years ago, which are known by the names of
Curuata and Tocum, and which might be em-
ployed for fails and cordage. A fmall fhrub,
infinitely more fit for theſe purpoſes, hath been
lately diſcovered on the territory of Rio Janeiro,
and is very common. It is fometimes white,
fometimes yellow, and fometimes purple; but
the firft of thefe colours is the beſt.
THERE is no deficiency of hands for the carry-
ing on the labours. The province reckons
forty-fix thouſand two hundred and feventy-one
white men, thirty-two thouſand one hundred and
twenty-fix Indians, and fifty-four thousand and
ninety-one Negroes.
THE riches that are produced by the labours
of thefe men, either free or flaves, are carried to
Rio Janeiro, formerly the capital of all the Bra-
zils, and the place of the Viceroy's refidence.
IT
460
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
-воок
IX.
It is one of the fineſt harbours that is known;
though narrow at its beginning, it widens gra-
dually. Ships of all denominations enter it with
eaſe, from ten or twelve o'clock in the morning,
till the evening, and are carried in by a regular
and moderate fea breeze. It is fpacious, fafe,
and convenient. It hath an excellent bottom of
mud, and five or fix fathom of water in every
part.
It was firſt diſcovered in 1525 by Dias de Solis.
Some French Proteftants, who were perfecuted
in their own country, made a ſmall fettlement
there under the guidance of Villegagnon. This
fettlement confifted only of fifteen or twenty huts,
made of boughs and covered over with grafs,
after the manner of the favages in thofe parts.
Some ſmall bulwarks that were erected for plant-
ing of cannon, occafioned the name of Fort
Coligni to be given to it. It was deftroyed three
years after by Emanuel de Sa, who, in a fertile
foil, under a beautiful fky, and at the foot of
feveral mountains, which are difpofed in form of
an amphitheatre, laid the foundation of a city,
which is become famous, fince fome confiderable
mines have been diſcovered in its neighbourhood.
THIS city is the grand ftaple of the riches
which flow from the Brazils to Portugal, and the
harbour where the fineft fleets deftined for the
fupply of that part of the New World put in.
Befide the treafures that this continual circulation
muft produce, 3,000,000 livres remain there
* 125,000 1.
*
every
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
461
IX.
every year for the expences of government, and BOOK
a much larger fum, when the miniſtry of Liſbon
think it fuitable to their fyftem of politics to have
men of war built there.
A TOWN, where bufinefs is fo confiderable and
fo conftant, muft have been fucceffively enlarged
and peopled. Moſt of the citizens live in houſes
two ftories high, built with freeftone, or bricks,
covered with tolerably fine flate, and ornamented
with a balcony, furrounded with lattices. It is
at theſe balconies that the women, either by
themſelves, or attended by their flaves, make
their appearance; it is from thence, that they
caft flowers on the men whom they chooſe to
diſtinguiſh, and upon thoſe whom they wish to
invite to the moft intimate connection between
the two fexes. The ftreets are large and even,
terminated by a chapel, where the people fing
hymns every evening before a faint, magnifi-
cently habited, and fixed up in a gilded nitch,
well illuminated, and covered with the cleareſt
mirror. There is no public edifice worthy of
attention, except a large aqueduct, which con-
veys the water from the neighbouring heights,
and the mint. The churches are all gloomy,
low, and overcharged with ornaments, executed
without tafte.
THE morals are the fame at Rio Janeiro as at
Bahia, and in all the mine countries. Similar
thefts, fimilar treafons, fimilar revenges, and
fimilar exceffes of all kinds prevail, and with
equal impunity.
IT
462
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
IT hath properly been faid, that gold was the
reprefentative of all kinds of riches; but it might
have been added, that it was likewife the repre-
fentative of happineſs and misfortune, of almoft
all the vices, and of almoſt all the virtues: for
what good or bad action cannot be done by
means of gold? It cannot therefore be furprifing
that nothing. fhould be a check upon us, in our
attempts to obtain fo important an object! It
cannot be furprifing, that when obtained, it
fhould become the fource of the moſt fatal
abuſes, and that theſe abuſes ſhould be multiplied
in proportion to the vicinity and to the abun-
dance of this precious and pernicious metal.
THE fituation of the city, in twenty-two de-
grees twenty minutes of fouthern latitude, placed
it at ſuch a diftance from the Old World, that it
might have been prefumed moderate fortifica-
tions only would be required for its defence;
but as the temptation for attacking it might
become greater, in proportion to the increaſe of
its riches, it was thought proper to add to the
works. Theſe were already very confiderable,
when Du Guay Trouin took it in 1711, with
fuch intrepidity and fkill, as redounded much to
his honour, and was a great addition to the fame
he had already acquired. The new fortifications
that have fince been added to thoſe the French
had maſtered, have not made the town more im-
pregnable, as it may be attacked on other fides,
where the landing is very practicable. If gold
can make its way into brazen towers through
3
iron
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
463
down the BOOK
iron gates, much more will iron break
gates that defend gold and diamonds. And, in-
deed, the court of Lisbon has not thought it
fufficient to fortify Rio Janeiro.
IN the government of Rio Janeiro, we meet
with the iſland of St. Catherine; nine leagues in
length, and two in breadth, and ſeparated from
the continent by a narrow channel. Though the
land be not low, it is not feen at a diſtance, be-
cauſe it is ſhaded by the neighbouring mountains
on the continent. Navigators find there a per-
petual ſpring, excellent water, great plenty of
wood, a variety of delicious fruits, vegetables,
which are fo welcome to failors, and a pure
air, except in the harbour, where the hills inter-
cept the circulation of air, and make it conftantly
damp and unwholeſome.
TOWARDS the year 1654, the court of Lifbon
gave Saint Catherine to Francis Dias Velho, in
the fame manner as the other countries in Brazil
had been ceded. This captain was killed by an
Engliſh pirate; and his ifland became the refuge
of vagabonds. Thefe adventurers acknowledged,
in a vague manner, the authority of Portugal,
but did not adopt the exclufive fyftem of that
ftate. They admitted indifcriminately the fhips
of all nations that were failing to the South Seas,
or to India, and gave them their oxen, their
fruits, their pulfe, and all their productions, in
exchange for arms, brandy, linen, and wearing
apparel. Befide their contempt for gold, they
ſhewed an indifference for all the conveniences
that
IX.
464
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK that nature did not fupply them with, which
would have done honour to a virtuous people.
•
THE fcum and refufe of civilized bodies may
fometimes form a well-regulated fociety. The
iniquity of our laws, the unjuft diftribution of
property, the miferies of want, the infolence and
impunity of wealth, and the abuſe of power,
often make rebels and criminals. If we collect
together all thofe unfortunate men, who are ba-
nifhed from fociety by the too great rigour, and
often the injuſtice, of the laws; and give them
án intrepid, generous, humane, and enlightened
chief; we ſhall make theſe profligate men be-
come honeft, tractable, and rational. If their
neceffities urge them to war, they will become
conquerors; and to aggrandife themſelves they
will violate the rights of nations, though ſtrict ob-
fervers of their own reciprocal duties: fuch were
the Romans. If, for want of an able leader, they
be left to chance and natural events, they will be
miſchievous, reftlefs, rapacious, unfettled, for
ever at war, either among themſelves or with
their neighbours: fuch were the Pauliſts. Laſtly,
if they can more eafily live upon the natural fruits.
of the earth, or by agriculture and trade, than
by plunder; they will contract the virtues proper
to their fituation, and the mild inclinations that
arife from a rational love of eafe. Civilized by
the happineſs and fecurity of an honeſt and peace-
able life, they will refpect in others thoſe rights
which they themſelves enjoy, and will barter the
fuperfluities of their produce, for the conveniences.
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
465
IX.
of other nations: fuch were the people who had BOOK
taken refuge at St. Catherine's.
THEY lived with freedom and tranquillity,
when, towards the year 1738, it was thought
proper to give them an adminiſtration, to fend
them troops, and to furround their harbour, which
was one of the beſt in America, with fortifica-
tions. Theſe means of defence have drawn
upon them, in 1778, the arms of Spain, and
have not preſerved them from an invafion. Since
they are returned under the dominion of their
former mafter, in confequence of the reconcilia-
tion between the two crowns, they have acquired
the cochineal, from which they expect great ad-
vantages in future.
THE town of St. Patil is thirteen leagues dif-
tant from the ocean, in a delightful climate, and
in the midſt of a country equally favourable for
the productions of the two hemifpheres. It was
built about the year 1570, by the malefactors
with which Portugal had infefted the coafts of
the New World. No fooner did thefe villains
perceive that it was intended to fubject them to
fome fyftem of police, than they abandoned the
ſhores upon which they had been caft by chance,
and took refuge on fome diftant fpot, where the
power of the laws could not reach them. A fitu-
ation which a fmall number of men could defend
againſt a greater number of troops than could be
fent againſt them, infpired them with the bold-
nefs of determining to be their own maſters; and
their ambition was crowned with fuccefs. They
were recruited and multiplied by other banditti,
VOL. IV.
Hh
and
466
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK and by the defcendants proceeding from their
connections with the women of the country. It
is faid that all travellers were ſtrictly forbidden
to enter this new republic. To obtain an admit-
tance, it was previoufly neceffary to promiſe to
fettle there; and candidates were to undergo a
fevere trial. Thofe who could not go through
that kind of noviciate, or who were fufpécted of
perfidy, were barbarously murdered; as were
likewife all who fhewed any inclination to quit
the fettlement.
A PURE air, a ferene fky, a very temperate
climate, though in the 24th degree of South
latitude, and a land abounding with corn, fugar,
and excellent paſture; all theſe circumftances
confpired to induce the Paulifts to lead a life of
indolence, eafe, and effeminacy; but that reft-
leffneſs ſo natural to refolute banditti; that defire
of dominion, which is nearly connected with a
love of independence; the advances of liberty,
which lead men to wish for glory of fome kind
or other, and to diſtinguiſh themſelves; perhaps,
all theſe motives combined, prompted them to
forego an eaſy life, and to engage in hazardous
and troublefome excurfions.
THEY over-ran all the inland parts of the Bra-
zils, from one extremity to the other. All the
Indians who refifted them were put to death;
fetters were the portion of cowards; and feveral
of the inhabitants hid themfelves in the moun-
tains, to avoid flavery or death. It would be
impoffible to enumerate the devaftations, cruel-
ties, and enormities, of which thefe atrocious
12
J
men
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
457
IX.
men were guilty. In the midft of thefe horrors, BOOK
however, fome colonies were forming under a
municipal government, which may be confidered
as the origin of all the fettlements Portugal is at
prefent in poffeffion of in thoſe territories. Theſe
fmall republics, detached, in fome meaſure, from
the great one, gradually yielded to the intreaties
that were made ufe of, in order that they fhould
be fubjected to an authority which they had never
entirely difavowed; and, in proceſs of time, the
Paulifts fubmitted to the crown in the fame
manner as the other fubjects.
THAT diftrict then became a government; to
which were added, the captainfhips of St. Vin-
cent and of St. Amaro, which had been given
to the two brothers, Alphonfo and Peter Lopès
de Soufa, their two towns having been deſtroyed
by pirates. This arrangement, for which it is
difficult to affign a caufe, divides the province
of Rio Janeiro in two parts.
THE Country of St. Paul does not at preſent
confiſt of more than eleven thouſand and ninety-
three white men, thirty-two thouſand one hundred
and twenty-fix Indians, and eighty-feven Ne-
groes, or Mulattoes. It fends nothing to Eu-
rope except a fmall quantity of cotton, and its
inland trade is confined to the furniſhing of Rio
Janeiro with flour and falt provifions. It hath
been found by ſome, that flax and hemp would
fucceed very well there; and there is no doubt
of its being as eafy and important to grow filk
in the country. The plentiful mines of iron and
tin, which are found between the rivers Thectè
Hh 2
and
468,
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE,
IX.
BOOK and Mogyaffu, in the Cordeleras of Paranan-
Piacaba, at the diſtance of four leagues from
Sorocoba, might alſo be worked to great advan-
tage.
State of the
three inland
govern-
ments
where the
mines are
fituated,
THE fix provinces we have juft been fpeak-
ing of, are fituated along the coafts; there are
three others, extending from the Weft to the
Eaft, which occupy, in the centre of the Bra-
zils, the large plain from which all the rivers.
fpring, that empty themſelves into the Paraguai,
into the Amazon, and into the Ocean. It is the
moſt elevated ſpot of Portugueſe America, and
is filled with mountains, running in various di-
rections. Gold is found almoft throughout the
whole of it, for which reafon it is called the mine
country.
THE moſt important of theſe rich governments
is known by the name of Minas Geraes. It reckons
thirty-five thoufand one hundred and twenty-
eight white men, twenty-fix thouſand and ſe-
venty-five Indians, and one hundred and eight
thouſand four hundred and fix ſlaves. Its capital.
is Villa Rica.
JOYAS, the capital of which is Villa Boa, con-
tains eight thoufand nine hundred and thirty-one
white men; twenty-nine thoufand fix hundred
and twenty-two Indians, and thirty-four thou-
fand one hundred and four Negroes.
MATTO GROSSo, the only village of which is
Villa Bella, hath not yet increafed its population
beyond two thoufand and thirty-five white men,
four thouſand three hundred and thirty-five
Indians, and ſeven thouſand three hundred and
fifty-
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
469
IX.
fifty-one flaves. It is the moft western part of BOOK
the Portugueſe dominions. It is bounded by
the Chiquitos, and by the Maxos, who were
fubjected to Spain by the labours of the Je-
fuits.
the gold
zils. The
THE knowledge of the gold mines, in this part Hiftory of
of the New World, is traced to much more dif- mines found
tant periods than is generally thought. As far back in the Bra-
as the year 1577, the Paulifts difcovered fome manner of
working
near the mountains of Jaguara; but the unfor- them.
tunate death of king Sebaftian foon occafioned
this ſource of wealth, which at that time had not
been of any great advantage either to the ftate or
to individuals, to be forgotten.
In the heights of Jacobino, in the district of
Rio das Velhas, new mines were again difco-
vered in 1588, and to as little effect. Philip II.
being determined to contain by mifery, people
who bore the Spaniſh yoke with too much im-
patience, would not permit them to be worked.
If he apparently confented to this, in 1603, it
was with a refolution to prevent it, and his baſe
fucceffors adopted his tyrannical policy,
THE fortunate revolution which, in 1640,
freed the Portugueſe of their fetters, was fol-
lowed by long and obftinate wars. During the
courfe of this violent crifis, the attention of the
nation was wholly taken up in the defence of its
liberty, and the miniftry were always engaged
in looking out for the refources of which they
were continually in want,
THE ſtate of the monarchy began to be fearched
into, and its improvement to be thought of;
Hh 3
when,
470
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK when, in 1699, chance offered to fome enter-
prifing men great treaſures in the province of
Minas Geraes. The gifts of bounteous nature
were no more difregarded; and, three years
after, the court of Liſbon formed the fettlements
that were neceffary to fecure the benefit of them.
Sabara, Rio das Mortes, Cachoeira, Paracatu,
Do Carmo, Rio das Velhas, Rio Doce, and
Auro Preto, are the places in that government
where gold hath been fucceffively found, and
where it is ftill difcovered at this day.
THE mines of Goyas were not difcovered till
1726; they are fituated in the diftricts of San
Felix, Meia Ponta, O Fanado, Mocambo, and
Natividade.
In the year 1735, new ones were found in the
province of Matto Groffo, at St. Vincent, at
Chapada, at St. Anne, at Cuiaba, and at
Araès.
BESIDE theſe countries, which are called by
preference the Mine Regions, the mines of Jaco-
bino, and of Rio.das Contas, are worked in the
government of Bahia, as are alfo thofe of Par-
naguay and Tibogy, in the government of St.
Paul; but neither of them are very abundant.
!
THE extraction of gold is neither very labo-
rious, nor dangerous, in thoſe parts of the New
World. It is fometimes on the furface of the
foil, and this is the pureft kind: and, at other
times, it is neceffary to dig for it to the depth of
three or four fathoms, but feldom lower. A
layer of fandy earth, known in the country
by the name of Saibro, then ufually informs
the
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
47!
IX.
the miners that it would be uſeleſs to fearch BOOK
any further. Although, in general, the veins
that are regular, and in the fame direction, be
the richeft, it hath been obferved, that thoſe
fpaces, the furface of which was moſt ſpangled
with cryftals, were thofe which furnished the
greateſt plenty of gold. It is found in larger
pieces upon the mountains, and barren or ftony
rocks, than in the vallies, or on the borders of
rivers. But whatever place it may have been
gathered in, it is of three-and-twenty carats and
a half on coming out of the mine, unleſs it be
mixed with fulphur, filver, iron, or mercury, a,
circumftance that is common only at Goyas and
Araès.
EVERY man who difcovers a mine, muft give
notice of it to government. If the vein be
thought of little confequence, by perfons of the
art appointed to examine it, it is always given.
up to the public. If it be declared to be a rich
vein, the government referve a portion of it to
themſelves. Another fhare is given to the com-
mandant; a third to the intendant, and two fhares.
are fecured to the difcqverer; the reft is divided
amongst all the miners of the diftrict, in pro-
portion to their circumftances, which are deter-
mined by the number of their flaves. The dif-
putes which this ſpecies of property may give riſe
to, are under the cognizance of the intendant:
but an appeal lies from his decrees to the fupreme
court eſtabliſhed at Lifbon, under the title of
Council d'Outremer.
Hh 4.
THE
472
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
THE miners are obliged to deliver to the king
the fifth part of the gold, which they extract by
operations more or lefs fucceſsful. This fifth was
formerly confiderable, as it exceeded 9,000,000
of livres * annually, from the year 1728 to 1734;
but it hath fince gradually decreaſed. At prefent
the annual produce of Minas-Geraes amounts
only to 18,750,000 livres †; that of Goyas to
4,687,500 livres ; that of Matto Groffo to
1,312,500 livres ||; and that of Bahia and St.
Paul together, only to 1,562,500 livres §. This
makes, upon the whole, 25,312,500 livres ¶,
of which the government receives 5,062,500
livres **. The duties for the working of the gold
into ſpecie yield 1,647,500 livres ††; and, at the
rate of 2 per cent. they get 393,000 livres ‡‡ for
the conveyance, which is executed by their fhips,
of all the gold that belongs to trade; fo that
upon the 25,312,500 | which the mines pro-
duce, the miniftry take 7, 103,000 livres §§. They
would even receive fomething more, if to the
amount of about 600,000 livres were not
annually fmuggled without paying the two last
mentioned taxes,
*375,0001.
195.3121. 10s.
$ 65,1041. 3s. 4d.
** 210,937 1. 10 s.
* 16,375 1.
§§ 295.9581. 6s. 8d.
† 781,2501.
54,6871. 10s.
¶ 1,054,6871. 10s.
tt 68,645 1. 16 s. 8 d.
1,054,687 1. 10 s.
¶¶ 25,0001.
THE
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
473
IX.
THE amount of all the metals conftantly cir- BOOK
culating in the Brazils is not computed at more
than 20,000,000 livres *
THE first political writers who turned their
thoughts towards the diſcoveries made in this re-
gion of the New World, did not heſitate to fore-
tel, that the difference of value between gold and
filver would be diminiſhed. The experience of
all countries and of all ages had taught them, that
though many ounces of filver had always been
given for an ounce of gold, becauſe mines of the
former had always been more common than of the
latter, yet the value of both metals had varied in
every country, in proportion to the abundance of
either.
IN Japan, the proportion of gold to filver is as
one to eight; in China, as one to ten; in other
parts of India, as one to eleven, twelve, thirteen,
or fourteen, as we advance further Weft.
#
THE like variations are to be met with in Eu-
rope. In ancient Greece, gold was to filver as
one to thirteen. When the produce of all the
mines in the univerfe was brought to Rome, the
miſtreſs of the world, the moft fettled proportion
was one to ten. It rofe as far as one to thirteen
under Tiberius. Numberlefs and infinite varia-
tions are to be met with in the barbarous ages. In
a word, when Columbus penetrated into America,
the proportion was less than one to twelve.
!
THE quantity of theſe metals, which was then
brought from Mexico and Peru, not only made
* 833,333 1. 6 s. 8 d.
them
474
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK them more common, but ftill increaſed the value
IX.
Hiftory of
mines dif-
covered in
the Brazils.
Remarks
upon the
nature of
that flone,
of gold above filver, as there was greater plenty
of the latter in thofe parts. Spain, that was of
courſe the beſt judge of the proportion, fettled it
as one to fixteen in the coin of the kingdom;
and this fyftem, with fome flight variations, was
adopted throughout Europe.
THIS proportion ftill exifts; but we have no
reafon on that account to contradict thofe who
had foretold that it would alter. If gold hath fal-
len but little in the markets, and not at all in the
coin, fince the Brazils furnish a great quantity of
it, this is owen to particular circumftances, which
do not affect the principle. A great deal of gold
is now used for fetting of jewels, and for gilding,
which has prevented the price of it from fall-
ing fo much, as it would have done if our faſhions
had not altered. It is this fame fpirit of luxury
that hath always kept up the price of diamonds,
though they are grown more common.
Ar all times men have affected to make a parade
the diamond of their riches, either becauſe they were originally
the reward of ſtrength and the mark of power;
or becauſe they have every where obtained that
regard, which is due only to abilities and virtue.
A defire of attracting the attention of others,
prompts a man to ornament himfelf with the
choiceft and moft brilliant things nature can fup-
ply. The fame vanity, in this refpect, prevails
among the favages as in civilized nations. Of all
the ſubſtances that reprefent the fplendour of
lence, none is ſo precious as the diamond; nor hath
any been of fuch value in trade, or fo ornamental
opu-
in
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
475
M
IX.
in fociety. Our women are fometimes dazzling BOOK
with them. It fhould feem as if they were more
anxious to appear rich than handſome. Are they
not then fenfible, that a neck and an arm ele-
gantly turned, are a thouſand times more attract-
ing when uncovered, than when they are con-
cealed under jewels? that the weight of their ear-
rings disfigures their ears? that the luftre of the
diamond only diminiſhes that of their eyes? that
this expenſive dreſs is rather a fatire upon their
huſbands or their lovers, than an encomium upon
their charms? that the Venus de Medicis hath
nothing but a plain bracelet? and that he who
only admires in a fine woman the brilliancy of
her jewels, is a man devoid of tafte?
:
THERE are diamonds of all colours, and of
every fhade of the feveral colours. The diamond
hath the red of the ruby, the orange of the hya-
cinth, the blue of the fapphire, and the green of
the emerald. This laft is the moſt ſcarce and the
dearest when it is of a beautiful tint. The rofe
diamonds, blue and yellow, are the next in va-
lue. The yellowish and the blackiſh are leaft
efteemed. Tranſparency and clearnefs are the na-
tural and effential properties of the diamond, to
which art hath added the brilliant and fparkling
luftre of the feveral faces.
THE diamond is a cryftalized ſtone, of the form
of an octohedron, more or less well-fhaped. Its
furfaces are in the fhape of a pyramid, either long
or flat; but its folid angles are never fo clearly
nor fo regularly terminated, as they appear in the
other
476
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK other cryftalized ftones, and especially in the rock
- cryſtal.
BUT this does not prevent its cryftallization
from being regular in the infide. This ftone is
compoſed of fmall layers, exceedingly thin, and
fo cloſely joined together as to form a ſmooth and
brilliant furface, even at the parts where they are
broken. Notwithstanding this very clofe con-
nection between the elements of cryftallization
in the diamond, it can only be poliſhed by find-
ing out the difpofition of the layers in their
tranſverſe direction, at the point where the ex-
treme end of one layer lies over the other. With- ·
out this precaution, the lapidaries would not fuc-
ceed, and the diamond would not take the po-
liſh, as is always the cafe with thoſe which they
call veiny diamonds, in which thefe extremities are
not uniform, and in the ſame direction. The
diamond-cutters compare the compofition of theſe
ftones to the arrangement of the fibres of wood
in the knotty parts, where they interfect each
other in every direction.
THE diamond is fuperior to any other precious
ftone, in its luftre, its fire, and its folidity. To
thefe advantages are added thofe of being more
electrical, of receiving a greater quantity of light,
when gently warmed by the fire, or expoſed to
the rays of the fun, and of retaining this light
longer than other bodies, when it is afterwards
placed in the dark. Theſe properties, and per-
haps likewiſe ſome imaginary qualities, have in-
duced natural philofophers to think, that the dia-
2
mond
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
477
IX.
mond was formed of a more pure fubftance than BOOK
any other ftone. Several perfons have even ima-
gined it contained ſome of that primitive adami-
tical earth, which hath been for fo long a time
the object of ſo many laborious inquiries and ex-
travagant ſpeculations.
THE hardneſs of the diamond fuggefted the
idea of its being impoffible to be deftroyed, even
by the moſt intenſe fire; and this opinion ap-
peared to be very well founded. Notwithſtand-
ing this, the analogy upon this point, deduced
from other ftones, and efpecially from thofe that
are compofed of quartz, which do not undergo
any alteration by fire, was never more defective
than in this inftance,
THERE are no accounts of the diamond having
been fubmitted to the action of fire previous to
the year 1694 and 1695, when the celebrated
Averani expofed one to the focus of a burning-
glaſs, for the information of his pupil John Gaſ-
ton de Medicis. The celebrated natural philofo-
phers of thoſe times, who affifted at this experi-
ment, beheld with aftonifhment that the dia-
mond was exhaled in vapour, and difappeared
entirely, while the ruby, of a leſs compact tex-
ture than the diamond, only grew fofter; and
while other precious ftones, of a ftill fofter texture,
did not experience fuch confiderable alterations.
This fingular experiment was repeated upon ſe-
veral diamonds with equal fuccefs; but the in-
tenſeneſs of the fire employed, was a convincing
proof that it could not have been done by any
other means. Theſe firft experiments were buried
in
478
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK in oblivion, till the reign of the Emperor Fran-
cis I. who repeated them at Vienna; expofing
diamonds, and other precious ftones, to the moſt
intenfe fire of a furnace. The refult was a con-
firmation of the fact, that diamonds are deftroyed
with the greateſt eaſe by fire, while other pre-
cious ſtones, even thoſe of the fofteft kind, are
at moft but flightly affected.
THE facts, though well attefted, appeared fo
extraordinary, and were fo contrary to the re-
ceived prejudices, that they funk again into obli-
vion. Though recorded by the cotemporary
writers, they were nevertheleſs either unknown,
or denied by thoſe who had not been witneffes of
them.
Ar length M. Darcet undertook in France, in
1758, to expofe the diamond to the fame heat
as porcelain. After he had fatisfied himſelf of the
truth of the experiments made in Germany, he
communicated them to the Academy of Sciences,
and afterwards repeated them in the midst of
Paris, in order that they might be eſtabliſhed with
all poffible authenticity. As this able philofo-
pher hath fince varied and combined his expe-
riments, the inconteftible refult of them, and of
thoſe that have been made after him, is, that the
diamond evaporates and burns away readily in the
fire and in the open air; and that the complete de-
ftruction of it, far from requiring the intenſe heat
which it had been expoſed to before his time,
fcarce requires the degree of heat neceffary to
keep fine filver in fufion.
M. DAR
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
479
T
IX.
تــ
M. DARCET hath moreover proved, that the BOOK
diamond can be deſtroyed, not only in the open
air, but likewife in crucibles made of the beſt
baked porcelain, and hermetically ſealed, provided
the crucibles be put in the fire of large glaſs-
houſes, or in the intenſe fires for making porce-
lain, and which have been long kept up.
THE most active menftruums, fuch as alkaline
falts in fufion, and the moſt concentrated mine-
rals, affifted even by the heat of fire, have no
effect upon the diamond. It is not affected by
their action; it does not mix with any glafs in vi-
trification; it does not unite with any fubftance
that is yet known; and thefe qualities are equally
common to the diamonds of India as to thoſe of
Brazil; to the white diamonds, as to thoſe that
are black, or coloured; to the perfect diamonds,
and to the veiny diamonds, which cannot be
worked.
SUCH are the particular properties of this fub-
ftance, which is hitherto unparalleled in nature;
that although it poffeffes all the external appear-
ances of other ftones, it hath not the leaft affinity
to them in the nature of its compofition; that,
notwithſtanding its exceffive hardneſs, it is the"
only one of the fpecies which doth not refift
the action of even a moderate fire, but is entirely
diffipated by it. Thus it is that Nature, in her
three kingdoms, difplays an infinite variety of
furprifing irregularities. Sometimes fhe feems to
confine herſelf in the chain and ſcale of beings, tỏ
the order of almoſt imperceptible differences;
and fometimes, breaking through every kind of
feries,
480
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADË
IX.
BOOK feries, fhe takes a fudden flight, leaving an im-
menfe void behind her, and fixes two diftant
boundaries, the intervals of which it is impoffible
to fill up. Thus it is that certain vegetables al-
ready enjoy fome of the advantages of animal
life! It is the fame thing with gold, with mer-
cury, and with fulphur, compared to other mine-
ral and metallic fubftances. It is the fame, in a
word, with man, who leaves all other animals at
ſo great a diſtance behind him.
THERE are very few diamond mines. Till of
late years, we knew of none but in the Eaft In-
dies. The oldeft is on the river Gouel, that
iffues from the mountains, and falls into the
Ganges. It is called the mine of Solempour, from
the name of a village built near that part of the
river where the diamonds are found. Very few
diamonds have ever been taken out of it, any
more than out of the Succadan, a river in the
inland of Borneo. The chain of mountains that
extends from Cape Comorin to Bengal hath yielded
much more.
THERE is a great variety in the foil from
whence the diamonds are extracted. Several of
theſe mines are fix, eight, and fometimes as far
as twelve feet deep, in a fandy and ftony foil
others are found in a fpecies of ferruginous mine-
ral, where they are fifty fathoms deep. But in all
parts this fingular ſtone is infulated, and doth not
ſeem to adhere to any bafis, or to any rock. It
is furrounded on all fides by a thin pellicle, rather
opaque, and of the nature of the diamond itſelf.
This pellicle is commonly covered over with a
cruft
事
​IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
481
IX.
cruft not very folid, which is formed by the fur- BOOK
rounding earth or fand.
THE Europeans, except a few inquifitive tra-
vellers, do not frequent the mines of Indoftan.
They are worked by the natives, who deliver the
diamonds to the rich Banians, who carried them
formerly to Madras; but who, fince the roads
have been made, begin to convey them to Cal-
The whole of this branch of commerce
cutta.
is almost entirely fallen, for a confiderable time
paſt, into the hands of a few Engliſhmen, who
trade on their own account. They fort the ftones
of different weight and of different qualities, and
put them into proper bags, which are ſealed up,
and fold in London with their invoice. Reckoning
the fix laſt years as one common year, the united
value of all thefe diamonds hath amounted an-
nually to 3,420,000 livres *. To this eftimate,
which only comprehends what is registered, muft
be added what hath been concealed, in order to
avoid the duty of two and three quarters per cent.
which muſt be paid to the India Company.
AMONG theſe diamonds there was one found
of an irregular fhape, and which weighed 193
carats when cut. It was the property of an Ame-
rican, who refuſed to cede it to the emprefs of
Ruffia for the fum of 2,500,000 livres †, befide a
life annuity of 25,000 livres ‡. This merchant
met with no purchafer, and thought himſelf very
fortunate when Count Orloff, fome time after,
* 142,5001.
1,0411. 13 s. 4 d.
VOL. IV.
I i
† 104,1661. 13s. 4d.
renewed
482.
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
B.O_OK renewed the offer of 2,500,000*, but without the
IX.
annuity. In 1772, Catherine condefcended to
accept, on her feftival day, this valuable prefent
from the hands of her favourite.
It was to be feared, that the revolutions which
fo frequently fubvert Indoftan would occafion a
ſcarcity of diamonds; but this apprehenfion was
removed by a difcovery which was made in
1728, at Brazil, upon fome branches of the river
das Caravelas, and at Serro de Frio, in the pro-
vince of Minas-Geraes.
SOME flaves, condemned to ſearch for gold,
uſed to find ſome little bright pebbles mixt with
it, which they threw away as ufelefs among the
fand and gravel. Antonio Rodrigues Banha fuf-
pected the value of them, and communicated his
idea to Pedro d'Almeida, the governor of the coun-
try. Some of theſe brilliant pebbles were ſent to
the court of Lifbon, who, in 1730, commiffioned
d'Acunha, their minifter in Holland, to have them
examined. After repeated experiments, the artiſts
pronounced them to be very fine diamonds.
THE Portugueſe immediately gathered them
with fo much diligence, that the Rio Janeiro
fleet brought home eleven hundred and forty-fix
ounces. This plenty leffened their price confi-
derably; but the meaſures taken by an attentive
miniſtry ſoon made them rife to their original va-
lue. They conferred the exclufive right of
fearching for diamonds on a few wealthy affo-
ciates; and in order even to reſtrain the avidity
* 104,1661. 13 s. 4d.
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
·483
IX.
of the company itſelf, it was ftipulated that it BOOK
fhould employ no more than fix hundred flaves in
that business. It hath fince been permitted to in-
creaſe their number at pleaſure, paying 100 fols*
per day for every miner.
To inſure the buſineſs of the chartered company,
the gold mines, which were worked in the neigh-
bourhood, were in general ſhut up; and thoſe who
had founded their expectations of fortune upon
this frequently deceitful baſis, were compelled to
turn their activity into fome other channel. The
ather citizens were fuffered to remain upon their
eftates; but capital puniſhments were decreed by
the law against any perfon who fhould encroach
upon the exclufive rights granted to the com-
pany. Since the fovereign hath fucceeded to the
company, all the citizens are allowed to fearch
for diamonds, but under the restriction of deli-
vering them to the agents of the crown at the
price it hath ftipulated, and on paying twenty per
cent. upon this fum.
THE diamonds that are intended to be ſent
from the New World to the Old, are inclofed in
a cafket which hath three locks, the keys of
which are feparately put into the hands of the
chief members of adminiſtration; and thoſe keys
are depofited in another cafket, which is to be
fealed with the viceroy's feal.
While the ex-
clufive privilege fubfifted, this precious depofit,
on its arrival in Europe, was remitted to govern-
ment, who retained, according to a fettled regu-
*
4s. 2 d.
li 2
lation,
484
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
!
IX.
BOOK lation, the very fcarce diamonds which exceeded
twenty carats, and delivered every year, for the
profit of the company, to one, or to feveral
contractors united, forty thouſand carats, at
prices which have fucceffively varied. An en-
gagement was made on one hand to receive that
quantity; and on the other, not to diſtribute any
more; and whatever might be the produce of
the mines, which neceffarily varied, the contract
was faithfully adhered to.
AT prefent, the court throws fixty thoufand
carats of diamonds into trade. Theſe are monopo-
lifed by one fingle merchant, who gives 3,120,000
livres *, at the rate of 25 livres † the carat for
them. If the fmuggling amounts to a tenth,
as well-informed perfons fuppofe, the fum of
312,000 livres must be added to the fum re-
ceived by government: it will be found that the
produce of thofe mines, the riches of which there
is ſo great a propenſity to exaggerate, doth not
amount annually to more than 3,432,000 livres .
Theſe rough diamonds are purchaſed by England
and Holland, who furnish them to other nations,
more or less well cut.
THE diamonds of Brazil are not found in
quarries; most of them are ſcattered in the rivers,
the courſe of which is more or leſs frequently al-
tered. It is a queftion not yet decided, whether
they be formed there, or whether they have been
carried there by the waters which empty them-
* 130,0001.
# 13,cool.
† il os. 1od.
143,000l.
felves
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
485
:
IX.
felves into thefe rivers. The increaſe of their BOOK
quantity in the rainy feafons, and after violent
ftorms, would induce one to believe, that they
have been washed away by the torrents which
have detached them from the rocks and moun-
tains.
.!
IN the Eaft and Weſt Indies, the mines are
fituated at a finall diftance from the equator;
ſome of them in the first degrees of northern lati-
tude, and others in the correſpondent degrees
of fouthern latitude. The cruft which the rough
diamonds are furrounded with, is thicker in the
diamonds of Brazil than in thofe of Indoftan ;
and it is an eaſy matter, or at leaſt poffible, to dif-
tinguish them in that primary ftate. But the moſt
fkilful lapidaries are deceived in them, after they
have been once cut; they are accordingly of
equal value in trade; but this equality is to be
underſtood only of the fmall diamonds. Moſt of
the American diamonds, beyond four or five ca-
rats, have blemishes, which are feldom found in
thoſe of Afia; and in that cafe the difference in
the price is prodigious. Some artiſts are likewife
of opinion, that the latter are harder and more
brilliant than the former; but this opinion is not
generally received.
SOME very imperfect amethifts and topazes are
likewife found in the diamond and gold country,
as well as fome tolerable fine cryfolites. Thefe
precious ftones were never under the yoke of
monopoly; and thoſe who diſcover them are at
liberty to diſpoſe of them in whatever manner
they think moſt ſuitable to their intereft.
Their
Ii 3
annual
486
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK annual exportation, however, does not amount tò
more than 150,oco livres *, and the duties which
government receives from them, at the rate of
one per cent. do not exceed 1,500 livres †.
Prefent
frate of
Brazil.
MINES of iron, fulphur, antimony, tin, lead,
and quickfilver, are likewife found in thefe rich
countries, and in fome other provinces of Brazil;
but no care hath been taken to open any of them,
Copper only ſeems to have been refuſed by na-
ture to this vaft and fruitful region of the New
Hemiſphere.
A COLONY fo interefting hath been uſeful to
Portugal in feveral ways. The increaſe of the
public revenue, by the Brazils, feems to have been
the kind of advantage which hitherto hath moſtly
engaged the attention of the government. The
obligation to pay for the tranfportation of the
metals, which is referved for fhips of war; the
exclufive trade of diamonds, the fale of a great
number of monopolies, the overloading of the
cuſtoms; fuch are the principal fources of wealth,
which, even in Europe, an infatiable treafury
hath opened to itſelf.
‡.
THESE Vexations have been carried ftill far-
ther in America. A fifth of the profits upon gold
and diamonds is required, which amounts to 6 or
7,000,000 livres . A tenth is demanded upon
all kinds of productions, which, though collected
without feverity, amounts to 2,873,000 livres .
The inhabitants are obliged to purchaſe crufades,
* 6,250 1.
+ 621. 10 s.
From 250,000l. to 291,6661. 13 s. 4 d.
119,7081. 6s. 8 d.
which
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
487
}
IX.
which do not exceed 160,000 livres *. A duty is BOOK
alfo exacted upon flaves, which amounts to
1,076,650.livres t. Another for the rebuilding
of Liſbon, and for public ſchools, which amounts
to 385,000 livres ; another from all fubaltern of-
ficers of justice, which amounts to 153,000 livres |.
Tenper cent. is likewife required upon every im-
port and export, which may yield 4,882,000 livres §;
and 1,124,000 livres are demanded for the li-
berty of conveying to inland countries the liquors
and the commodities that are brought into port.
Government hath alſo reſerved to itſelf the mo-
nopoly of falt, foap, mercury, aqua fortis, and
cards, which it farms out for 710,320 livres **
NOTWITHSTANDING all theſe taxes, which
bring in annually 18,073,970 livres †† to the
crown, it hath ſtill contracted engagements in the
Brazils. It owes 713,000 livres ‡‡ to Para,
517,600 to St. Paul and to Matto Groffo,
10,110,000 livres §§ to Rio Janeiro; in all
11,344,600 livres . In the former of theſe
¶¶.
governments, the debt hath been occafioned by
the recent conſtruction of ſome forts, more or lefs
neceffary; and in the latter, by the wars which
were obliged to be carried on againſt the Guaranis
in 1750, and by thoſe which it hath been requifite
to fuftain againſt Spain.
* 6,6661. 13s. 4d.
16,0411. 135. 4d.
§ 203,4161. 13s. 4d.
** 29,5961. 13s. 4d,
‡‡ 29,7081. 6s. 8d.
$$ 421,2501.
I i 4
+ 44,8601. 8s. 4d.
|| 6,3751.
43,8331. 6s. 8d.
++ 753,0821. Is. 8d.
21,7911. 13s. 4d.
¶¶ 472,5251.
ON
488
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK ON the other hand, in 1774, the Brazils were
indebted to the merchants of the mother-country
to the amount of 15,165,980 livres *. This was
at leaſt the opinion of a man who hath attended
moſt to this great fettlement, and hath acquired
the beſt information concerning it.
Foreign
connections
of Brazil.
THE Colony hath formed ſome commercial in-
tercourſe with ſeveral countries of the globe. For-
merly the ſhips which returned from the Eaft In-
dies to Portugal ufed to put in there, and to dif-
poſe of part of their cargo. This intercourfe
hath been interrupted in latter times, for reaſons
with which we are unacquainted, but which can-
not be good ones.
THE western coaft of Africa, from the Cape
de Verd Iſlands to beyond the country of Angola,
is more than ever frequented by the Brazilian na-
vigators; and thofe of Rio Janeiro have begun,
not long ago, to trade on the northern coaft.
Veffels are employed in theſe voyages which are
built in the colony itſelf, and which are not of
lefs than fixty tons burthen, nor more than one
hundred and forty. The crew is either entirely or
moſtly compoſed of Negroes and Mulattoes. It
is for the working of the mines, and for the cul-
tivation of the lands, that this great exertion is
made. It is evident from fome very authentic
memorials which are now before us, that for
thefe eight years paft, fixteen thoufand three hun-
dred and three flaves have been carried off from
#
631,915 1. 16 s. 8 d.
thefe
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
489
IX.
theſe unfortunate fhores every year. Thefe flaves, BOOK
at the rate of 312 livres *, one with another,
muſt have coſt 5,161,536 livres †. They have
been paid for with the gold, the tobacco, the
rums, and the cottons, which come from Brazil;
and with the glafs manufactures, the mirrors, the
ribbands, and feveral kinds of toys brought from
Europe.
THE Connections of the colony with the Portu-
gueſe iſlands are maintained for another purpoſe.
It receives annually from Madeira, by means of
eight or nine fmall fhips, to the amount of
400,000 livres in wine, vinegar, and brandy;
and from the Azores, by means of four or five
more veffels, to the amount of 610,000 livres §
in liquors; to which are added, linens, falt pro-
vifions, and flour. The agents of this trade lade
themſelves, in return, with thofe productions of
Brazil, the exclufive property of which the' mo-
ther-country hath not referved to itſelf. Thefe
feveral branches of trade united, do not carry
away annually more than to the amount of
2,271,000 livres of the production of the co-
||
lony.
ALMOST all the riches of this vaft region of the
New World, are carried into Portugal. From
the year 1770 to 1775, they amounted annually
to the fum of 56,949,290 livres ¶. Gold, dia-
monds, four hundred and forty-three thoufand
* 131.
16,6661. 13 s. 4d.
94,625 1.
† 215,0641.
§ 25,4161. 13s. 4d.
¶ 2,372,8871. 1s. 8d.
quintals
490
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
воок
IX.
BOOK quintals of fugar, fifty-eight thouſand five hun-
dred quintals of tobacco; four thousand five
hundred quintals of cotton, twenty thouſand
quintals of wood for dying, one hundred four-
teen thousand and twenty hides, together with
fome other objects of lefs importance, made up
this great fum.
¡
AFTER the period we have been ſpeaking of, a
few variations took place. We are not fuffi-
ciently acquainted with them to afcertain them
with precifion; but we know to a certainty,
that the mother-country hath received every year
from Rio Janeiro, a fmall quantity of coffee and
of indigo, together with one thouſand quintals
of fugar, more than it received formerly. We
know to a certainty, that it hath received from
Para and from Maragnan, every year, three
hundred and twenty-one quintals of rice and
one hundred and ninety-two quintals of cotton
more than were formerly fent; and we alfo
know, that there hath been an annual diminu-
tion of four thousand hides and of 965,000
livres in the gold, among the feveral remittances
that have been made.
*
THE Colony is paid with merchandiſe, which
have not coft originally above fifteen or fixteen
millions of livres t. The duties received by
the fovereign himſelf, feveral monopolies, exor-
bitant taxes, the dearnefs of freighting, and the
profits of the trade, abſorb the remainder.
* 40,2081. 6s. 8d.
+ From 625,000l. to 666,6661. 13s. 4d.
PORTUGAL
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
491
IX.
PORTUGAL did not formerly ſend from its own B 0 0 K
country to its colonies any thing befide liquors;
but fince the induſtry of the province is, in fome
degree, revived, it furniſhes one half of the con-
fumptions made in the part of the New Hemi-
ſphere that is under its dominion.
IT is with two-thirds of the productions of
Brazil, which are fold to foreigners; it is with
the gold and the diamonds which come from
theſe regions; it is with the wines, the woollen
cloths, the falt, and the fruits of the mother-
country itſelf, that Portugal is enabled to pay
fixty millions* for the merchandiſe which they
annually receive from the feveral countries of
Europe. The ſhare which the feveral nations
have taken in this trade hath experienced great
variations. At this prefent time, England is in
poffeffion of fourteen parts of it, Italy of eight,
Holland of feven, Hamburgh of fix, France of
five, Sweden of four, Denmark of four, Spain
of two, and Ruffia of one only. The ſpoils of this
nation have not always been thus divided,
THE first conquefts of the Portugueſe in Africa Portugal,
and Afia did not ftifle the feeds of their induftry. diftant fet-
and its
tlements,
into a ftate
of the ut-
darion.
Though Liſbon was become the general ware- are fallen
houfe for India goods, her own filk and woollen
manufactures were ftill maintained, and were moft degras
fufficient for the confumption of the mother- Reafons of
country and of Brazil. The national activity
extended to every thing, and made fome amends
for the deficiency of population, which was be-
* 2,500,000 1.
this.
coming
492
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK coming daily more confiderable. Amidst the
various calamities that Spaniſh tyranny oppreffed
the kingdom with, the Portuguefe could not
complain of a ceffation of labour at home; nor
was the number of manufactures much leffened at
the time when they recovered their liberty.
THE happy revolution that placed the duke of
Braganza upon the throne, was the period of this
decay. A fpirit of enthuſiaſm feized upon the
people. Some of them croffed the feas, in order
to defend diſtant poffeffions againſt an enemy
who was imagined to be more formidable than he
really was. The reſt took up arms to cover the
frontiers. The intereft of the whole nation pre-
vailed over private views, and every patriot was
folicitous only for his country. It might natu-
rally be expected, that when the first enthufiafin
was paft, every one would refume his ufual em-
ployment; but, unfortunately, the cruel war which
followed that great event, was attended with
fuch devaſtations in an open country, that the
people choſe rather to forego their labours, than
to expoſe themſelves to fee the fruits of them
continually deſtroyed. The miniftry encouraged
this fpirit of indolence by measures which cannot
be too feverely cenſured,
THEIR fituation put them under a neceffity of
forming alliances. Political reafons fecured to
them all the enemies of Spain. The advantages
they must neceffarily reap from the diverfions
made in Portugal, could not fail of attaching
them to its intereft. If the new court had
formed fuch extenfive views, as from the nature
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
493
IX.
of their enterpriſe it might be prefumed they BOOK
had, they would have known that they had no
need to make any facrifices in order to acquire
friends. By an ill-judged precipitation they
ruined their affairs. They gave up their trade to
other powers, who were almoft as much inte-
refted in their prefervation as they were them-
felves. This infatuation made thofe powers
imagine they might venture any thing, and their
avidity ftill prompted them to encroach upon the
privileges that had been fo improperly laviſhed
upon them. The induftry of the Portugueſe was
deſtroyed by this competition, but was again
revived, in fome degree, by an error of the
French miniſtry.
THIS Crown had, for a confiderable time paſt,
been in poffeffion of fome iſlands in America.
The fhackles with which they had been reſtrained
had till then impeded their fertility. The cul-
tures would ſpeedily and infallibly have been
improved, by a well-digefted plan of liberty.
The crown chofe rather to fecure to the mono-
poly, to which they were fubjected, the excluſive
right of fupplying the kingdom; and the fugars
and tobaccos of Brazil were ftrictly prohibited
there in 1664. The court of Lisbon, irritated,
as they had reafon to be, with this inconfiderate
prohibition, forbad, on their parts, the import-
ation of French manufactures, the only ones, at
that period, which were efteemed in Portugal.
Genoa immediately feized upon the filk trade,
and hath kept it ever fince; and England appro-
priated to itſelf the woollen trade, though with
lefs
494
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK leſs uninterrupted fuccefs. The Portugueſe,
inftructed by workmen from all quarters, began,
in 1681, to manufacture the fleeces of their own
flocks. The progrefs of this manufacture was
fufficiently rapid, to enable the government to
profcribe feveral kinds of foreign woollen cloths,
and, foon after, to forbid thofe of all kinds.
GREAT BRITAIN was much chagrined at theſe
arrangements. For a long time, the Englifh
ftrove, with great affiduity, to open the commu-
nication afreſh, which had been ſhut against them.
Their endeavours were fometimes likely to be
attended with fuccefs; but they were foon after
obliged to give up thoſe hopes, which they had
reaſon to think fo well founded. It was impof-
fible to diſcover in what manner theſe attempts
would end, when a revolution happened in the
political fyftem of Europe, which at once over-
turned all the former ideas.
A GRANDSON of Lewis XIV. was called to the
throne of Spain. All nations were alarmed at
this acceffion of power to the houſe of Bourbon,
which they already thought too formidable and
too ambitious. Portugal, in particular, which
had always confidered France as a firm friend,
now beheld in her an enemy, who muſt neceffarily
defire, and perhaps promote, her ruin. This
induced her to apply for the protection of Eng-
land, which being accuſtomed to turn every
event to her own commercial advantage, could
not fail of availing itſelf, with warmth, of a cir-
cumftance fo favourable to its intereft. The
English ambaffador Methuen, a profound and
able
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
495
IX.
able negociator, figned a treaty, on the 27th of BOOK
December 1703, by which the court of Lifbon
engaged to permit the importation of all Britiſh
woollen goods, on the fame footing as before the
prohibition; upon condition that the Portugal
wines fhould pay a duty one third lefs than
thoſe of France, to the cuftom-houfe in Eng-
land.
THE advantages of this ftipulation were very
certain for one of the parties, but only probable
for the other. England obtained an exclufive
privilege for her manufactures, as the prohibition
remained in full force with regard to thofe of
other nations; but granted nothing on her part,
having already fettled, for her own intereft, what
The now artfully reprefented to her ally as a great
favour. Since France had bought no more cloths
of the English, they had obferved that the high
price of French wines was prejudicial to the ba-
lance of trade, and had therefore endeavoured
to leffen the confumption, by laying heavier
duties upon them. They have again increaſed
them from the fame motive, and ſtill made a
merit of it to the court of Lifbon, as being a
proof of their friendſhip.
THE Portugueſe manufactures fell, being
unable to ſupport the competition of the English.
Great Britain clothed her new ally; and as the
wine, oil, falt, and fruit the bought, was a trifle
in comparison to what fhe fold, it was neceffary
that the deficiency fhould be fupplied with the
gold of Brazil. The balance inclined more and
more
496
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK more in favour of the Engliſh, and it was ſcarce
poffible that it ſhould not.
ALL perfons who are converfant with the theory
of commerce, or have attended to its revolutions,
know that an active, rich, and intelligent nation,
which hath once appropriated to itſelf any confi-
derable branch of trade, will foon engrofs all
the leſs important branches of it. It hath fuch
great advantages over its competitors, that it
difgufts them, and makes itſelf maſter of the
countries where its induſtry is exerted. Thus it
is that Great Britain hath found means to en-
grofs all the productions of Portugal and her
colonies.
Ir furniſhed Portugal with clothing, food, hard-
ware, materials for building, and all articles of
luxury, and returned her own materials manufac-
tured. Theſe uſeful labours employed a million
of English artificers or hufbandmen.
IT furniſhed her with fhips, and with naval and
warlike ftores for her fettlements in America, and
carried on all her navigation in other parts of the
world.
IT had engroffed the whole money trade of
Portugal. Money was borrowed in London at
three or three and a half per cent. and negociated
at Liſbon, where it was worth ten.
In ten years
time, the capital was paid by the
ftill remained due.
intereft, and
There were
Ir engroffed all the inland trade.
Engliſh houſes fettled at Lisbon, which received
all the commodities of their own country, and
diftributed
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
497
IX.
diſtributed them to merchants, who difpofed of BOOK
them in the provinces, moftly for the benefit of
their employers. A fmall profit was the only
reward of this induftry, which is difgraceful to a
nation that worked at home for the benefit of
another.
It carried off even the agency bufinefs. The
fleets deſtined for the Brazils were the fole pro-
perty of the Engliſh. The riches they brought
back belonged to them. They would not even
fuffer them to paſs through the hands of the Por-
tugueſe, and only borrowed or purchaſed their
name, becauſe they could not do without it.
Theſe ſtrangers difappeared as foon as they had
acquired the fortune they intended, and left that
nation impoverished and exhaufted, at whofe ex-
pence they had enriched themſelves. It is de-
monftrable from the regiſters of the fleets, that
in the space of fixty years, that is, from the
diſcovery of the mines to the year 1756,
2,400,000,000 livres worth of gold had been
brought away from Brazil, and yet, in this latter
period, all the fpecie in Portugal amounted to
no more than 15 or 20,000,000 †, and at that
time the nation owed one hundred million,‡, or
more.
*
BUT what Liſbon was lofing, London gained.
England, by her natural advantages, was only
intended for a fecondary power. Though the
* 100,000,000 1.
† From 625,000l. to 833,3331. 6s. 8d.
‡ 4,166,6661. 13s. 4d.
VOL. IV.
K k
changes
498
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK changes that had fucceffively happened in the
IX.
}}
religion, government, and induftry of the Eng-
liſh, had improved their condition, increaſed their
ſtrength, and unfolded their genius, they could
not poffibly act a capital part.. They knew by
experience that the means which, in ancient
governments, could raiſe a nation to any height,
when, without any connection with its neigh-
bours, it emerged, as it were, fingly out of
nothing, were infufficient in modern times, when
the intercourſe of nations, making the advantages
of each common to all, left to numbers and
ftrength their natural fuperiority. Since fol-
diers, generals, and nations, had hired them-
felves to engage in war; fince the power of gold
had opened every cabinet and made every treaty;
England had learned that the greatneſs of a ſtate
depended upon its riches, and that its political
power was eſtimated in proportion to its millions.
This truth, which muſt have alarmed the am-
bition of the English, became favourable to
them, as foon as they had prevailed upon Por-
tugal to depend upon them for neceffaries, and
had bound them by treaties to an impoffibility of
procuring them from any other power. Thus was
that kingdom made dependent on a falfe friend
for food and raiment. Theſe were, to borrow
the expreffion of a certain politician, like two
anchors which the Britons had faftened upon that
empire. They went further ftill: they made the
Portugueſe loſe all confideration, all weight, all
influence in the general ſyſtem of affairs, by per-
fuading them to have neither forces nor alliances.
5
Truft
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
499
IX.
Truſt to us, faid the English, for your fafety; BOOK
we will negociate and fight for you. Thus,
without bloodshed or labour, and without expe-
riencing any of the evils that attend upon con-
queft, they made themſelves more effectually
mafters of Portugal, than the Portugueſe were of
the mines of Brazil.
ALL things are connected, both in nature and
politics. It is fcarce poffible that a nation fhould
lofe its agriculture and its induſtry, without a
viſible decay of the liberal arts, letters, fciences,
and all the found principles of policy and govern-
ment. The kingdom of Portugal furniſhes a
melancholy inftance of this truth. As foon as
Great Britain had condemned it to a ſtate of in-
action, it is fallen into fuch barbarifm as is fcarce
credible. The light which had fhone all over
Europe, did not extend itſelf to the frontiers of
Portugal. That kingdom was even obferved to
degenerate, and to attract the contempt of thofe,
whofe emulation and jealoufy it had before ex-
cited. The advantage of having tolerable laws,
while all other ftates were involved in horrible
confufion; this ineftimable advantage has been of
no fervice to the Portuguefe. They have loft the
turn of their genius, by forgetting the principles
of reaſon, morality, and politics. The efforts
they may make to emerge from this ftate of de-
generacy and infatuation, might poffibly prove
ineffectual; becaufe good reformers are not eafily
to be found in that nation which ftands moft in
need of them. Men who are qualified to caufe
revolutions in empires, are generally prepared to
Kk 2
it
500
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK it by previous circumftances; and feldom ftart
IX.
Means
which the
court of
Lisbon
ought to
employ to
extricate
the mother
country, and
from their
languid
ftate.
up at once. They have generally had their fore-
runners, who have awakened the minds of the
people, diſpoſed them to receive the light, and
prepared the neceffary means for bringing about
great revolutions. As there is no appearance of
any fuch preparatory ſteps in Portugal, the nation
muſt ſtill continue for a long time in this humi-
liating condition, unless it will adopt the prin-
ciples followed, with fo much fuccefs, by the
moft enlightened ftates.
fa
THE firſt ſtep towards its recovery, that firm
and vigorous one without which all the reft
would be unſteady, uncertain, uſeleſs, and per-
haps dangerous, would be to ſhake off the yoke
of England. Portugal, in her prefent fituation,
her colonies, cannot fubfift without foreign commodities;
therefore, it is her intereft to promote the greateſt
competition of fellers fhe poffibly can, in order
to reduce the price of what fhe is obliged to buy.
As it is no lefs the intereft of the Portugueſe to
difpofe of the overplus of their own produce and
that of the colonies, they ought, for the fame
reaſon, to invite as many purchafers as poffible
to their harbours, to enhance the price and
increaſe the quantity of their exports. Theſe
political meaſures are certainly liable to no ob-
jection.
By the treaty of 1703, the Portugueſe are only
obliged to permit the importation of woollen
goods from England, on the terms ftipulated be-.
fore the prohibition. They might grant the fame
privilege to other nations, without incurring the
reproach
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
501
IX.
reproach of having broken their engagement. A BOOK
liberty granted to one nation, was never inter-
preted as an exclufive and perpetual privilege,
that could deprive the prince who granted it, of
his right of extending it to other nations. He
muft neceffarily be the judge of what fuits his
own kingdom. It is not eafy to conceive what
rational objection a British miniftry could make
to a king of Portugal who ſhould tell them, I will
encourage merchants to come to my dominions,
who will feed and clothe my fubjects as cheap
and cheaper than you, merchants who will take
the produce of my colonies, from whence you
will receive nothing but gold.
We may judge of the effect this wife conduct
would have, by the events that have taken place,
independent of this fpirited refolution. It ap-
pears from the regiſters of the cuftoms, that in
the ſpace of five years, from 1762 to 1766 in-
clufively, England, which, till very lately, en-
groffed the whole trade of Portugal, hath only
fent there goods to the value of 95,613,547
livres 10 fous; and hath received commodities
to the amount of 37,761,075 livres ; fo that
the balance in money hath been but 57,692,475
livres .
THE Circumſtance which deceives all Europe,
with regard to the extent of the Engliſh trade,
is, that all the gold of Brazil is conveyed by the
road of the Thames. This feems to be a naturál
* 3,983,8971. 16s. 3d.
2,403,8531. 2s. 6d.
Kk 3
† 1,573,3781. 2s. 6d,
and
502
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK and neceffary confequence of the affairs carried
IX.
on by that nation. But the truth is, that metals
are not allowed to go out of Portugal; and,
therefore, can only be brought away by men of
war, which are not liable to be fearched; that
Great Britain ſends two every week, as regularly
as the fea will permit; and that theſe fhips bring
the riches of all nations into their iſland, from
whence the merchants, difperfed in the feveral
countries, receive them, either in kind, or in bills
of exchange, paying one per cent.
THE Britiſh miniſtry, who are not the dupes of
theſe dazzling appearances, and are but too fen-
fible of the diminution of this most valuable
branch of their trade, have, for fome time paft,
taken incredible pains to reſtore it to its former
ftate. Their endeavours will never fucceed, be-
cauſe this is one of thofe events which are not
within the reach of political wiſdom. If the evil
aroſe from favours granted to rival nations, or if
England had been debarred from her former
privileges, fome well-conducted negociations.
might occafion a new revolution. But the court
of Liſbon hath meyer varied its conduct neither
with Great Britain nor with other ftates. Her
fubjects have had no other inducement to give
the preference to the merchandiſe brought them
from all parts of Europe, than becauſe thoſe of
their former friends were fo loaded with taxes,
that they bore an exorbitant price. The Por-
tugueſe will procure many articles at a ftill more
reaſonable rate, whenever their government fhall
eſtabliſh
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
503
eſtabliſh a perfect equality in their ports between BOOK
all nations.
THE Court of Lisbon, after removing, in fome
meaſure, the difadvantages of their trade, which
is merely paffive, fhould endeavour to make it
active. Their minifters, in conformity with the
prevailing taſte of the age, have already eftabliſhed
fome manufactures of filk, of cotton, and of
fteel. We think that they ought to have begun
by refuming the cultures that have been dropped,
and by reanimating thofe that are languid.
THE climate of Portugal is favourable to the
production of filk, of which there was formerly
great plenty. The baptifed Jews made it their
buſineſs to breed worms, and to prepare the filk,
till they were perfecuted by the inquifition, which
was ftill more fevere and more powerful under
the houſe of Braganza, than it had ever been
under the Spaniſh dominion. Moſt of the manu-
facturers fled to the kingdom of Valencia, and
thoſe who fold the produce of their labours, re-
moved, with their effects, to England and Hol-
land, which improved the activity of both thofe
countries. This difperfion was the ruin of the
filk trade in Portugal, fo that no trace of it re-
mains at prefent; but it might be refumed.
THE next cultivation that ought to be attended
to, is that of the olive tree. It is now carried on,
and conſtantly ſupplies all the oil that is wanted
for home confumption, befide a fmall quantity
every year for exportation; but this is not fuffi-
çient. It would be an eaſy matter for Portugal
Kk 4
to
IX.
504
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK to fhare, in a more direct manner, with other
IX.
nations, the profits they derive from this produc-
tion, which is wholly confined to the fouthern
provinces of Europe.
THEIR Wool is likewife capable of improve-
ment. Though it be inferior to that of Spain;
the French, the Dutch, and even the Engliſh,
buy up twelve or thirteen thoufand quintals of it
every year, and would purchaſe a greater quantity
if it were brought to market. Thofe who have
travelled through Portugal, with that fpirit of
obfervation which enables men to form a right
judgment of things, are of opinion that double
the quantity might be obtained, without in-
juring the other branches of induſtry; and
that, on the contrary, it might tend to their im-
provement,
THE trade of falt
cloſely attended to.
feems to have been more
The North annually takes
off a hundred and fifty thouſand tons, which may
coft 1,500,000 livres *. It is corrofive, and takes
off from the weight and flavour of our food; but
hath the advantage of preferving fish and meat
longer than French falt. This property will oc-
cafion a greater demand for it, in proportion as
the navigation of the country is extended.
THE Portugueſe found a greater vent for their
wines, than might have been expected from their
flavour and quality. Particular circumftances had
rendered them moft commonly uſed in the North
of Europe and of America. It was impoffible
* 62,5001.
to
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
505
The order for
IX.
to foreſee, that the court of Lifbon itſelf would BOOK
put a stop to the fale of them.
rooting up the vines in Portugal, could only be
dictated by private intereft. The pretence for fo
extraordinary a law is fo abfurd, that no one has
given credit to it. It is very well known that
the ground where the vines have ſtood, can never
be fit for the culture of corn.
BUT if this were ever fo practicable, it would
ftill be an unwarrantable infringement of the
facred and unalienable right of property. In a
monaſtery every thing belongs to all: nothing is
the property of any individual, but the joint pro-
perty of the whole community; it is one fingle
animal with twenty, thirty, forty, a thouſand,
or ten thouſand heads. But it is not the fame in
fociety. Here every individual hath the diſpoſal
of himſelf and of his property; he poffeffes a fhare
of the general wealth, which he is abfolute maf-
ter of, and may uſe, or even abuſe, as he thinks
proper. A private man must be at liberty to let
his ground lie fallow, if he chufes it, without
the intervention of adminiftration. If govern-
ment fhould affume a right to judge of the abufe
of property, it would foon take upon itſelf to
judge of the uſe of it; and then every true idea
of liberty and property will be deſtroyed. If it
can require me to employ my own property ac-
cording to its fancy; if it fhould inflict puniſh-
ments on my difobedience, my negligence, or
my folly, and that, under pretence of general
and public utility, I am no longer abfolute mafter
of my own, I am only an adminiftrator, who is
to
506
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
· IX.
BOOK to be directed by the will of another. The man
who lives in fociety, muft in this refpect be left
at liberty to be a bad citizen, becauſe he will foon
be feverely punished by poverty, and by con-
tempt, which is worfe than poverty. He who
burns his own corn, or throws his money away,
is a fool too rarely to be met with, to make it ne-
ceffary to bind him by prohibitive laws, which
would be injurious in themſelves, by their in-
fringement of the univerfal and facred idea of
property. In every well-regulated conſtitution,
the business of the magiftrate must be confined to
what concerns the public ſafety, inward tranquil-
lity, the conduct of the army, and the obferv-
ance of the laws. Wherever authority is extended
beyond this, we may affirm that the people are
expoſed to oppreffion. If we take a furvey of all
ages and nations, that great and fublime idea of
public utility will prefent itſelf to our imagination
under the ſymbolical figure of a Hercules, crush-
ing one part of the people with his club, amidſt
the fhouts and acclamations of the other part,
who are not fenfible that they are foon to fall un-
der the fame ftrokes.
To return to Portugal: that country ftands in
need of other meaſures than have hitherto been
purfued, to restore the culture of corn; it is in ſo
languid a ſtate, that the Portugueſe annually im-
port three-fourths of the corn they confume.
They never, perhaps, will be able to gather their
whole fubfiftence from a foil which is not fuffi-
ciently well watered; but it behoves them to leff-
en, as much as they poffibly can, their depend-
ence
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
50%
IX.
ence upon foreign fuccours. The population is BOOK
fufficient to carry on the labours with fpirit, fince,
by allowing four perfons and a half to each fire-
fide, it amounts to one million nine hundred and
fixty thouſand fouls, exclufive of the monks.
THE Court of Lifbon would lie under a fatal
miftake, if they ſhould imagine that time alone
will bring about fo great a revolution. It behoves
them to pave the way for it, by a complete re-
formation of the taxes, which have never been
well regulated fince the foundation of the mo-
narchy, and the confuſion of which increaſes every
year, When the impediments are removed,
every kind of encouragement muſt be given.
One of the moft fatal prejudices, and moft de-
ſtructive of the happineſs of men and the profpe-
rity of nations, is that which fuppoſes that men
only are wanting for the purpoſes of agriculture.
The experience of all ages hath fhewn, that much
cannot be required of the earth, till much hath
been bestowed upon it. There are in all Portu-
gal very few farmers who are able to advance the
neceffary fums. Government fhould, therefore,
affift them. A revenue of 46,884,531 livres *;
properly diſpenſed, would facilitate this liberality,
which is frequently more economical than the
moſt fordid avarice.
THIS firft change will be productive of others.
The arts neceffary to agriculture will infallibly rife
and grow up with it. Induſtry will extend its fe-
veral branches, and Portugal will no longer exhi-
* 1,953,523 l. 2s. 6d,
bit
508
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK bit an inftance of a favage people in the midſt of
civilized nations. The citizen will no longer be
forced to devote himſelf to celibacy, or to leave
his country in fearch of employment. Commo-
dious houfes will be erected upon ruins; and ma-
nufactures fupply the place of convents. The
fubjects of this almoſt ruined ſtate, which now re-
ſemble thoſe ſcattered and folitary fhrubs that are
found upon the foil of the richeft mines, will no
longer be reduced to thofe neceffities they now ex-
perience, notwithstanding their mountains and
rivers of gold. The wealth of the ftate will be
kept in conftant circulation, and will no longer
be buried in the churches. Superftition will be
banished, together with ignorance, defpair, and
indolence. Thoſe who have no other object in
view, but to commit exceffes, and expiate them,
who are fond of miracles and magic arts, will
then be inflamed with public ſpirit. The nation,
freed from its fetters, and reſtored to its natural
activity, will exert itself with a ſpirit worthy of
its former exploits.
PORTUGAL will recollect, that ſhe was indebted
to her navy for her opulence, her glory, and her
ſtrength, and will attend to the means of reſtoring
it. It will no longer be reduced to feventeen
men of war, to twenty-five warlike fhips of
fmaller rates, and about a hundred merchant-
men, from fix to eight hundred tons burden,
which are ſtill in a more ruinous ftate. Her po-
pulation, reduced to one million nine hundred
and fixty thouſand fouls, will increaſe and fill
her harbours and roads with active fleets. The
revival
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
509
IX.
revival of her navy will be doubtlefs difficult for B O O K
a power, whofe flag is not known on any of the
European feas, and which, for a century paſt, has
given up her navigation to any power that would
attend to it; but every obftacle will be fur-
mounted by a wife and prudent government.
When once it carries, on all the navigation that
ſhould belong to it, confiderable fums will be re-
tained in the kingdom, which are now conſtantly
expended for freight.
THIS change will extend its influence to the
islands that are dependent on the crown. Ma-
deira, the annual exports of which amount to
4,658,800 livres *, will extend its labour, its
profperity, and its riches. The Azores will be
ftill more improved. We know that this Archi-
pelago, confifting of nine iflands, of which Ter-
cera is the principal, hath no more than one hun-
dred and forty-two thouſand inhabitants; and fells
at prefent to the mother-country, to Brazil, and
to North America, its wines, its linens, its corn,
and its cattle, to the amount only of 2,440,000
livrest. Even the Cape de Verd Iſlands, not-
withſtanding the frequent droughts they expe-
rience, will be able to multiply their mules, and
more eſpecially to cultivate the Perella, that fpe-
cies' of grafs of the colour of mofs, which the
North of Europe employs with fo much advan-
tage in dying. The government will not con-
fine themſelves to the encouragement in their pof-
feffions, of the cultures only that are known
*
194,1161. 135. 4d. † 101,6661. 13s. 4d.
there;
$10
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK there; they will take care to introduce new ones,
IX. which the fertility of the foil, and the tempera-
ture and variety of the climate, feem inceffantly
to require.
THESE new improvements will be principally
felt in Brazil, that great colony, which hath never
been what it ought.
BEFORE the year 1525, it received only fome
baniſhed perfons, without either morals or for-
tune.
THE grandees, who at this period obtained pro-
vinces there, made it a ſcene of carnage and de-
ftruction. For the ſpace of fixty years, there was
a continual ftruggle between the Portugueſe,
who wiſhed to enflave all; and the Indians, who
refuſed to bear the chains that were intended for
them, or who broke them after they had been
obliged to fubmit to them.
EVEN the labours of a few Brazilians, who
were kept under the yoke, by a watchful ex-
ertion of tyranny, were inconfiderable. Thofe of
the Europeans were nothing, becauſe they would
have thought themfelves degraded by flavifh oc-
cupations. The only fuccefs that could be ex-
pected was from the Negroes; but they did not
begin to multiply there till towards the year
1570.
TEN years after this Portugal was enflaved;
and we may readily fuppofe that the Spaniſh go-
vernment, which fuffered its own ancient poffef-
fions in the other Hemiſphere to fall into confu-
fion, did not exert itſelf in improving the colo-
nies
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.`
511
nies of a nation, which, though fubdued, ftill ex-
cited its fufpicions.
THE long and bloody wars which Brazil had to
fuftain againſt the Dutch, retarded its progreſs in
every particular.
THIS was alfo again impeded, by the revolu
tion which freed Portugal from the yoke of Spain,
while it kept the two nations in arms during
eighteen years.
WHILE theſe conteſts were fubfifting, the
European nations that had formed fettlements
in America, began to cultivate there pro-
ductions, which till that time had been pecu-
liar to Brazil. This competition lowered the
price of them; and the colony, difcouraged, did
not export more than half of what they previouſly
fold. So great a misfortune warned the miniftry
of the neceffity of freeing thefe commodities from
the taxes with which they were laden at their en-
trance into the mother-country. The difcovery
of the mines occafioned thefe objects to be ne-
glected, which from that time appeared to be lefs
important than they really were.
GOLD and diamonds, which are articles of va-
lue merely by convention, were themſelves preju-
dicial to cultures, which they might have encou-
raged. The hopes of making a brilliant fortune,
by collecting theſe fugitive and precarious riches,
determined a great number of proprietors to aban-
don their plantations.
THIS fatal illufion began to be diffipated, when
the ſyſtem of monopolies put a stop to the incli-
nation generally fhewn, of refuming a plan which
was
BOOK
IX.
512
4
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
+}
BOOK was more fafe, and even more lucrative, than
that which had at firft fo much inflamed the ima-
ginations of men.
THE laft difputes with Spain were, in a word,
a new fource of defolation to the colony. The in-
habitants were compelled by violence to quit their
labours; loans were extorted from them without
intereft, for which they have not yet been reim-
burfed; they were expofed to the utmoft outrages
of the moſt barbarous defpotifm.
AT prefent, that theſe obftacles to every kind
of good are most of them removed, the riches
which Brazil offers in vain, for three centuries
paſt, are no longer to be rejected. The climate
is wholeſome in that part of the New World; the
harbours are numerous; and the coafts, which are.
of eaſy acceſs, are generally fertile. The inland
part of the country, which is ftill more fruit-
ful, and interfected by a great number of navi-
gable rivers, may be cultivated for the wants or
for the luxuries of Europe. All the productions
peculiar to America thrive there, notwithſtanding
the havock made by the ants, and without appre-
henfion of ſeeing them deftroyed by thofe ter-
rible hurricanes and by thofe devouring droughts
which fo frequently lay wafte the beſt iſlands of
this hemifphere. It gives encouragement to la-
bour, from the plenty of provifions, of cattle,
and of flaves: nothing is wanting to make it one
of the fineſt eſtabliſhments upon the face of the
globe.
It will become ſo, when it ſhall be freed from.
that number of impoſts, and from that multitude
of
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
513
IX.
of contractors which keep it in a ftate of humi- BOOK
liation and oppreffion, when its activity fhall no
longer be reftrained by numberlefs monopolies ;
when the price of the merchandiſe conveyed to
it fhall not be doubled by the taxes impofed upon
them; when its productions fhall pay no more.
duties, or fhall only pay fuch as are not more
confiderable than thofe of its competitors; when
its intercourſe with the other national poffeffions
fhall have been difencumbered from the fhackles
which confine it; when the Eaft Indies fhall be
laid open to it, and when it ſhall be permitted to
draw from its own produce the money required
to carry on this new connection.
1
THE Colony hath hands fufficient to multiply
and to extend theſe labours. At the time of our
writing, it reckons one hundred feventy-fix thou-
fand and twenty-eight white men; three hundred
forty-feven thouſand eight hundred and fifty-eight
flaves; two hundred feventy-eight thouſand three
hundred and forty-nine Indians; which together
forms a population of eight hundred and two
thouſand two hundred and thirty-five perfons.
The number of favages, ftill wandering about in
the Brazils, is computed at two hundred thou-
fand. Perhaps it might not be impoffible to in-
duce them to acknowledge the authority of the
court of Lisbon; but this would not be attended
with much advantage, unless directors, more en-
lightened than their predeceffors, fhould contrive
methods that have efcaped the reflection of men
for three centuries paſt.
VOL. IV.
LI
A MORE
514
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
BOOK
IX.
A MORE certain method of increafing the mafs
of productions, would be to admit into the Bra-
zils all foreigners who would undertake the cul-
tivation of them; an infinite number of Ameri-
cans, English, French, or Dutch, whofe planta-
tions are exhauſted; and many Europeans prompt-
ed by the ardent defire, at preſent grown fo com-
mon, of making a rapid fortune, would convey
their activity, their induſtry, and their capitals
into the country. Theſe enterprifing men would
introduce a better fpirit into the colony, and
would infuſe into the degenerate race of the Por-
tugueſe Creoles, that kind of animation which
they have loft for ſo long a time.
THIS order of things might be eſtabliſhed with-
out prejudice to any other intereft. Two thirds
of the borders of the great rivers are cultivated.
Thefe virgin lands belong to the crown, whofe
fyftem it hath always been to grant gratuitouſly
one league of territory, under the exprefs condi-
tion of cultivating it in a given time. By diftri
buting theſe domains to their new fubjects, they
would not ſpoil their old ones, and they would
increaſe their cultures as well as the number of
their defenders.
BUT in order to accelerate the advantages of
this new plan, it would be neceffary to efface
even the ſlighteſt veftige of the inquiſition, that
horrible tribunal the very name of which makes
all people fhudder who have not entirely given
their reaſon. This would even be a matter
of little importance, if at the fame time the in-
fluence of the clergy were not alfo diminiſhed
up
in
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
515
IX.
in the public deliberations and in the affairs of B O O K
individuals.
- SOME ftates have been known to favour the
corruption of priefts, in order to weaken the
afcendant that fuperftition gives them over the
minds of the people. That this method is not
always infallible, appears from what has happened
in the Brazils, nor is this execrable policy recon-
cilable with the principles of morality. It would
be more fecure and more eligible to open the doors
of the fanctuary to all the citizens without dif-
tinction. Philip II. when he became mafter of
Portugal, enacted, that they ſhould be ſhut againſt
all fuch whofe blood was tainted with any mix-
ture with Jews, Heretics, or Negroes. This dif-
tinction hath given a dangerous fuperiority to a
fet of men who were already too powerful. It
hath been abolished in the African fettlements
and why fhould it be continued in America? Why,
after taking from the clergy the authority they
derived from their birth, fhould they not be
abridged of the power they affume on account of
their riches?
SOME politicians have afferted that no govern-
ment ought ever to appoint a fixed income for the
clergy, but that their fpiritual fervices fhould be
paid by those who have recourfe to them. That
this method would excite their zeal and vigilance.
That they would grow daily more expert in the
care of fouls by experience, ftudy, and applica-
tion. Theſe ſtateſmen have been oppofed by
philofophers, who maintained that an economy,
which would tend to increaſe the activity of the
clergy,
L1 2
516
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK clergy, would be fatal to public tranquillity; and
that it was better to lull that ambitious body into
idleneſs, than to give it new ftrength. It is ob-
ſerved, fay they, that churches and religious houſes,
which have no fettled income, are fo many repofi-
tories of ſuperſtition, maintained at the expence of
the lower clafs of people, where faints, miracles,
relics, and all the inventions with which impoſture
hath loaded religion, are made. So that it would
be a benefit to ſociety, if the clergy had a ſtated
provifion; but fo moderate, as to reftrain the
ambition of the body and the number of its mem-
bers. Poverty makes them fanatical; opulence
independent; and both concur to render them
feditious.
SUCH at leaſt was the opinion of a philofopher,
who faid to a great monarch: There is a powerful
body in your dominions, which hath affumed a
power of fufpending the labour of your fubjects,
whenever it thinks proper to call them into its
temples. This body is authoriſed to ſpeak to
them a hundred times a-year, and to ſpeak in the
name of God. It tells them that the moſt pow-
erful fovereign is no more in the fight of the Su-
preme Being than the meaneft flave; and that, as
it is infpired by the Creator of all things, it is to
be believed in preference to the mafters of the
world. The effects of fuch a fyftem threaten the
total fubverſion of ſociety, unleſs the minifters of
religion are made dependent on the magiftrate;
and they will never be effectually fo, unless they
derive their fubfiftence from him.
only way to eſtabliſh a harmony
This is the
between the
oracles
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
517.
IX.
oracles of heaven and the maxims of government. BOOK
It is the buſineſs of a prudent administration to
bring, without difturbances or commotions, the
clergy to that ſtate in which they will be able to
do good, without having it in their power to do
mifchief.
TILL the court of Liſbon hath attained this fa-
lutary end, all projects of reformation will be in-
effectual. The defects of ecclefiaftical govern-
ment will ſtill fubfift, notwithſtanding all endea-
vours to reform them. The clergy must be
brought to depend upon the magiftrate, before
the Portugueſe who live in Brazil can venture to
oppofe their tyranny. Perhaps even the prejudices
theſe inhabitants have imbibed from a faulty and
monaſtic education, may be too deeply rooted in
their minds, to be ever eradicated. Thefe en-
lightened views feem to be referved for the next
generation. This revolution might be haftened,
by obliging the chief proprietors to fend their
children to Europe for education, and by reforme
ing the plan of public education in Portugal.
ALL ideas are easily impreffed upon tender or-
gans. The foul, without experience as without
reflection, readily admits truth and falfehood in
matters of opinion, and equally adopts what is
either conducive or prejudicial to the public wel-
fare. Young people may be taught to value or
depreciate their own reafon; to make ufe of it, or
to neglect it; to conſider it as their beſt guide, or
to miſtruſt its powers. Fathers obftinately defend
the abfurdities they were taught, in their infancy;
their children will be as fond of the leading prin
L13
ciples
518
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
}
IX.
BOOK ciples in which they have been trained. They
will bring back into Brazil notions of religion,
morality, adminiftration, commerce, and agri-
culture. The mother-country will confer places
of truft on them alone. They will then exert the
talents they have acquired, and the face of the
colony will be totally changed. Writers who
fpeak of it, will no longer lament the idleness, the
ignorance, the blunders, the fuperftitions which
have been the ground-work of its adminiſtration.
The hiſtory of this colony will no longer be a fa-
tire upon it.
Whether
the court of
Lifbon
ought to put
a stop to
their pro-
jects of re-
formation
from the ap-
of a rupture
with Eng-
jand.
THE fear of incenfing Great Britain muft not
protract theſe happy alterations one fingle mo-
ment. The motives which, perhaps, have pre-
vented them hitherto are but prejudices, which
will be removed upon the flighteft examination.
prehenfion There are numberlefs political errors, which,
once adopted, become principles. Such is the
prevailing notion at the court of Liſbon, that the
ſtate cannot exiſt or profper but by means of the
English. It is forgotten that the Portugueſe
monarchy was formed without the help of other
nations; that during the whole time of their con-
teſts with the Moors, they were fupported by no
foreign power; that their greatnefs had been in-
creafing for three centuries fucceffively, when
they extended their dominion over Africa and the
Eaſt and Weft Indies by their own ftrength. All
theſe great revolutions were performed by the
Portugueſe alone. Was it neceffary then that
this nation fhould difcover a great treafure, and
be a proprietor of rich mines, merely to fug-
geft
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
IX.
519
geft the idea of its being unable to fupport it- BOOK
felf? Are the Portugueſe to be compared to thofe
fooliſh individuals, whoſe heads are turned by the
embarraffinent which their newly-acquired riches
occafion?
No nation ought to fubmit to be protected. If
the people are wife, they will have forces relative
to their fituation; and will never have more ene-
mies than they are able to withſtand. Unleſs
their ambition be unbounded, they have allies,
who, for their own fakes, will warmly and faith-
fully ſupport their intereft. This general truth ist
peculiarly applicable to thofe ftates that are pof-
feffed of mines. It is the intereft of all other na-
tions to be in amity with them, and if there be
occafion for it, they will all unite for their pre-
fervation. Let Portugal but hold the balance
even between all the powers of Europe, and they
will form an impenetrable barrier around her.
England herſelf, though deprived of the prefer-
ence ſhe hath too long enjoyed, will ftill fupport
a nation whoſe independence is effential to the
balance of power in
in Europe. All nations would
quickly join in one common caufe, if Spain fhould
ever be ſo mad for conqueft, as to attempt any
thing againſt Portugal. Never would the jealous,
reſtleſs, and quick-fighted policy of our age fuffer
all the treaſures of the New World to be in the
fame hands, or that one houfe fhould be fo pow-
erful in America, as to threaten the liberties of
Europe,
THIS fecurity, however, fhould not induce the
court of Lisbon to neglect the means of their own
prefer-
14
520
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADE
IX.
BOOK prefervation, as they did when they trufted to the
Britiſh arms for their defence, or indolently reft-
ed on the fupinenefs of their neighbours: when,
deftitute of land or fea forces, they were accounted
as nothing in the political fyftem, which is the
greateſt diſgrace that can befal a nation. If the
Portugueſe will regain the confequence they have
loft, they must put themſelves in fuch a ftate, as
not to be afraid of war, and even to declare it
themſelves, if their rights or their fafety fhould
require it. It is not always an advantage to a
nation to continue in peace, when all the reft are
in arms. In the political as in the natural world,
a great event will have very extenfive effects. The
rife or fall of one empire will affect all the reſt.
Even thoſe which are furtheft removed from the
feat of war, are fometimes the victims of their
moderation or of their weakneſs. Theſe maxims
are directly applicable to Portugal, particularly
at this juncture, when the example of her neigh-
bours, the critical fituation of her haughty allies,
the folicitations of the powers who are jealous of
her friendship; in fhort, every thing calls upon
her rouſe, and to exert herſelf.
If the Portugueſe will not at length frequent
the feas, where alone they can diftinguiſh them-
felves, and from whence they muft derive their
profperity, if they do not appear with a powerful
force at the extremity of Europe, where nature
hath fo happily placed them, their fate is decided,
the monarchy is at an end. They will fall again
into the chains they had fhaken off for a moment:
as a lion that ſhould drop afleep at the door of his
13
den,
IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
521
IX.
den, after he had broken it open. The little cir- BOOK
culation there is ftill within, would but indicate
thofe feeble figns of life, which are the fymptoms
of approaching death. The few trifling regula-
tions they might make from time to time, re-
ſpecting the finances, the police, commerce, and
the navy, whether at home or for the colonies,
would be but weak palliatives, which, by conceal-
ing their ſituation, would make it only the more
dangerous.
ably to be
that Portu-
prove its
Atate and
that of its
colonies?
It cannot be denied that Portugal hath fuffered Is it reafon-
the moſt favourable opportunity, that could have expected,
offered, of refuming her former fplendour, to gal will im-
eſcape. They are not politics alone that prepare
revolutions. Some deftructive phænomenon may
change the face of an empire. The earthquake
of the firft of November 1755, which overthrew
the capital of Portugal, ought to have reſtored
the kingdom. The deftruction of a proud city
is often the preſervation of a whole ftate, as the
opulence of one man may be the ruin of thou-
fands. Stately edifices might be fubverted; ef-
fects, mostly belonging to foreigners, might be
deſtroyed; idle, debauched, and corrupt men
might be buried under heaps of ruins, without
affecting the public welfare. The earth, in a
tranfient fit of rage, had only taken what ſhe was
able to reſtore; and the gulphs fhe opened under
one city, were already digged for the foundations
of another.
:
BUT we cannot flatter ourfelves with the hopes
of future improvements, while we do not fee a
better order of things, a new ftate, and a new
people,
522
HISTORY OF SETTLEMENTS AND TRADÉ
IX.
BOOK people, a better management rifing out of the
ruins of Lisbon. The nation that is not im-
proved by a great cataſtrophe is ruined without
reſource, or the period of its reftoration is re-
ferved for fuch diftant ages, that it is probable it
will fooner be annihilated than it can be regene-
rated. May Heaven preſerve Portugal from this
fatal event! May it remove from my mind the
prefage which cannot be impreffed upon it with-
out plunging me into the deepeſt affliction! But
at this inſtant I cannot conceal from myſelf, that
as much as the great fhocks of nature give en-
ergy to enlightened minds, fo much do they
deprefs thofe that are vitiated by the habit of
ignorance and fuperftition. Government, which
every where takes advantage of the credulity of
the people, and which nothing can divert from
the fettled purpoſe of extending the boundaries
of authority, became more encroaching at the
very inftant that the nation grew more timorous.
Men of bold fpirits oppreffed thofe that were
weak; and the epocha of that great phænomenon
turned out to be the epocha of accumulated flave-
ry; a melancholy but common effect of the cata-
ſtrophes of nature. They ufually make men a
prey to the artifices of thoſe who are ambitious of
ruling over them. Then it is that they take large
trides, by repeated acts of arbitrary power;
whether it be that thofe who govern, do really,
believe that the people were born to obey, or
whether they think that, by extending their own
power, they increaſe the ſtrength of the public,
Thofe falfe politicians are not aware that with
fuch
'IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.
IX.
523
fuch principles, a ſtate is like an over-ftrained в O O X
fpring, which will break at laſt, and recoil
againſt the hand that bends it. The prefent
fituation of the continent of South America but
too plainly evinces the juftnefs of this compa-
rifon. Let us now proceed to fhew the effects of
a different conduct in the American islands.
END OF THE FOURTH VOLUME.
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