NORTH AMERICAN DOMINIONS.
ERA OF DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION.
The discovery of the New World, has caused more discussion,
arising from interest, curiosity and scientific motives, during a
period of nearly three centuries, than any anterior extension of
geographical knowledge, in the annals of mankind. Numberless have
been the disputes concerning the probable duration, formation and
population of that vast continent; as well as on the identity of
the individual, who fortuitously opened that immeasurable region
and wonderful country to the admiring eyes of his brethren of the
eastern hemisphere.
This work professing solely to relate, from authentic documents,
what regards that portion of the New World which is claimed
by Spain, either by right of conquest or discovery, we shall,
consequently, not touch upon any of those indeterminate questions:
therefore, whatever may be the notions respecting voyages prior to
those of Columbus, having been performed by European navigators,
it is universally admitted that CRISTOVAL COLON, or as he is
usually called CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, was the first who made the
existence of America generally known; accordingly we shall take our
dates from the era of his discovery of the western world.
In the year 1492, on the 3d of August, being Friday, Columbus
sailed from Spain, in a small vessel called the _Santa Maria_,
having with her two others, and, after meeting with difficulties
which no one but a man possessed of the most extraordinary mind
could have overcome, he made the land of the New World, at ten
oʼclock on the night of the 11th of October, in the same year;
having himself first observed a light moving about on the shore;
although the land itself was not visible until two oʼclock, on the
morning of Friday the 12th, when it was seen by Roderic de Triana
in the ship Pinta: so that an interval of sixty-nine days, passed
in the greatest anxiety, elapsed, from the time of quitting the Old
to the arrival in sight of the New Hemisphere.
The joy of the Europeans at this discovery, knew no bounds; they
lavished encomiums on their leader, whom they had hitherto looked
on as a visionary; they solicited his pardon for their infidelity,
and pressed him to land: he set his foot on the shore, amid the
exultation of his companions, and the prostrations and astonishment
of the natives, who regarded their unexpected visitors as a
celestial people, and, accordingly, paid them divine honours.
Columbus took formal possession of the land in the name of the King
of Spain, hoisting the royal standard, displaying a flag with a
large green cross, and naming it San Salvador (The Holy Saviour);
but it is now known by the native name Guanahani, and is the Cat
Island of the British charts, one of the outermost of the Lucayos
or Bahamas Group. He afterward discovered Cuba and St. Domingo, or
Hispaniola, where he built a fort out of the timbers of his ship
which was cast ashore, and then returned to Spain. This fort was
afterwards destroyed, as well as its garrison, by the natives.
His next voyage lasted during the years 1493, 94, 95, when he
founded a town in Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, which town he
called Isabella. The natives styled this island Hayti (the Land
of Mountains); but Columbus chose to name it Hispaniola (little
Spain). This town, which Columbus founded about the 10th December,
1493, was the commencement of Spanish enterprize and colonization
in the New World, as it was a permanent settlement. Columbus
arrived in Europe in 1496, having spent the intermediate time in
researches amongst the Caribbean Islands.
The third voyage of Columbus in 1498, was the means of discovering
the island of Trinidad, and observing near it the mouth of a large
river, he proceeded farther; when, to his astonished view, the
continent presented itself. He landed on that part of the South
American coast, called Paria, which took place in the month of
August in the same year.
A person named Americo Vespucci, a Florentine, accompanied one of
the officers of Columbus to the New World, in 1499, (this officer
had been with Columbus during the second voyage), when they visited
those places which the Admiral had previously explored, and
returned to Europe.
Vespucci being a man of some science, published an account of the
New Countries, which being the first description that had been
given to the world at large, ungrateful Europe has decreed to him
the honour of allowing the New World to bear his name; neglecting
the genius whose daring imagination had dictated the Discovery,
and whose arduous exertion had completed it; he, receiving for his
reward, the disgraceful punishment of being conveyed to Spain, in
the year 1500, in fetters. An affecting proof of his sense of this
indignity is related by his son, who says, “These fetters Columbus
ever after kept with him, and on his death-bed, ordered them to be
deposited in the grave with his body!”
In 1502, Columbus, having discomfited his enemies, made a fourth
voyage, in which he discovered and explored a vast extent of the
continent of America; particularly the coast of Honduras, Verapaz,
and Veragua, with the harbour of Porto Bello.
Having thus briefly stated the voyage of Columbus, which has been
done with the view of fixing the epoch of Spanish colonization in
the New World, we shall not enter into the discoveries of parts of
the Spanish American colonies by other navigators or adventurers,
at present; but reserving these subjects for the particular
provincial descriptions, we shall proceed to relate what extent of
territory is claimed by the Spanish Crown in North America.
EXTENT AND BOUNDARIES.
In North America, the northern and eastern boundary of the Spanish
territory is situated in north latitude 31°, where an ideal line,
running through St. Maryʼs River, separates the United States from
the Floridas. The Atlantic Ocean on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on
the south, and the river Perdido on the west, complete the limit of
that division which comprises the tract of territory known by the
name of Florida.
The northern and western boundary is much disputed, but according
to the best information, it extends from Port St. Francisco on the
Pacific Ocean in 37° 48ʹ 30ʺ north latitude, and 122° 36ʹ 45ʺ west
longitude, (according to Vancouver); between which and Port Sir
Francis Drake, there is a wild country. Port Sir Francis Drake is
in about 39° north latitude, and to this port the British claims on
the western coast of America extend.
The Spanish government have set up an inadmissible claim to the
whole western coast, but, as much doubt has existed on the claims
of the two nations, 39° north latitude, has been usually taken as
the boundary of Spanish acquisitions in the New World; because
they have some settlements in that latitude to the north of the
town of Santa Fé, in New Mexico, as well as because the sources
of the Rio Bravo are situated thereabouts. Therefore, commencing
from the coast of the Pacific in 39° north latitude, we draw an
ideal line from that parallel across the country, until we have
passed the province of New Mexico; thence the line bends southward
and eastward, until it meets the River Mexicano, or Mermento,
which it follows to the Gulf of Mexico; where, in this quarter,
the boundaries are again disputed by the government of the United
States; who, since Louisiana has been ceded to them, lay claim to
the whole country, up to the eastern bank of the Rio Bravo del
Norte; the Spaniards, however, do not admit this, and fix their
boundaries at the estuary of the Mexicano, or Mermento. A reference
to the accompanying map will better explain those disputed limits
than any verbal account.
The western barrier of Spanish territory in North America, is the
Pacific Ocean; on the south east, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of
Honduras, and the Caribbean Sea, are the boundaries established by
nature; and on the south, a chain of mountains called the Sierro de
Canatagua, which run across the extremities of the two provinces
of Veragua and Panama, in about 80° 50ʹ west longitude. This chain
divides the northern from the southern continent of America, and
the country is here known by the geographical name of the Isthmus
of Darien.
The extent of these possessions may be computed, by taking 7° north
latitude, as the southern extremity, and 39° as the northern, which
will give about 1900 miles in length, whilst from the varying
form of the country in the Isthmus of Darien, the cutting out of
Louisiana, the singular figure of the Floridas, and the immense
inlet of the Californian Gulf, it may be computed at about 450
miles in mean breadth.
POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
THIS vast extent of continent, including the two West India islands
of Porto Rico, and Cuba, is divided into four great governments.
The viceroyalty of New Spain, or Mexico, the Capitania general of
Guatimala, and the two Capitanerias Generales of Porto Rico and
Cuba, which last includes the Floridas.
TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS.
THE face of the Spanish dominions in the North American Continent,
is divided into three great sections; on the east, Florida; in the
centre, north and west, New Spain; and on the south, Guitamala;
we shall therefore proceed to give a separate description of each
division, and its local divisions; commencing on the east with the
government of the Floridas.
_FLORIDA._
FLORIDA is bounded on the north by the United States, an ideal
line, commencing at the centre of the estuary of St. Maryʼs River,
in the Atlantic Ocean, extending thence along the coast of that
river, and across the Ekanfanega Swamp up to the junction of the
Flint and Apalachicola rivers; thence up the eastern bank of the
Apalachicola, until it meets the 31° of north latitude, when it
crosses the river, and follows the parallel of 31° to the river
Perdido, which separates the Floridas from the United States; on
the west, the line follows the river Perdido down into the Mexican
Gulf; on the south, the Gulf of Mexico, and on the east, the
Atlantic Ocean, complete the boundaries of Florida.
_Discovery._ The Floridas were originally not restricted to the
small tract of country now bearing, that name, but extended over
an immense region, which was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, in
1496; they certainly however, had their designation from Juan Ponce
de Leon, a Spanish navigator, who landed in Florida from Porto
Rico, on Saturday, 2d April, 1512; when the country being in full
verdure, and its appearance highly beautiful and picturesque, he
gave it the name of Florida, or Fairo.
The British were masters of this country till the termination of
the American war; when it was included in the Charter, granted by
Charles II. to Carolina, together with Georgia. The English founded
their right to Florida on the discoveries of Cabot, who was a
Venetian in the English service.
In 1564, the French occupied several parts of this country, but
being neglected by their government, the Spaniards, sent out an
expedition to dispossess them; in which they succeeded, and such
prisoners as were taken, were hung with labels attached to them,
bearing the inscription, “_Not as Frenchmen, but as Heretics_.”
However, these unfortunate colonists were revenged soon after by
their countryman Dominic de Gourges, an intrepid adventurer, who,
having disposed of his property in Gascony, built some vessels,
and choosing a band of restless spirits to assist him, sailed for
Florida. He defeated the Spaniards at all points, and after acting
with the most determined valour, to revenge the treatment of his
compatriots, he hung his prisoners, with this sentence attached to
their necks, “_Not as Spaniards, but as Assassins_!” This affair
had not the least effect towards resettling the Floridas by the
French, who unnoticed by their government, destroyed the fortified
places, and left the country.
The settlement by the Spaniards, after much bloodshed, on account
of the opposition of the natives, who were of a very warlike
disposition, did not finally succeed until the year 1665; when
they fortified the capital, Saint Augustine. This place suffered
repeated attacks from the neighbouring English colonists in
Georgia, and by the buccaneers; in 1702, Colonel More, the governor
of Carolina, besieged it with a body of five hundred troops, and
seven hundred Indians; the siege lasted three months, but they were
forced to raise it, by the arrival of a reinforcement of ships and
stores to the garrison.
In 1740, it was again besieged by General Oglethorpe, but he also
was forced to retire with some loss; so that the Floridas continued
under the domination of Spain, until the year 1763, when they were
ceded to Great Britain, in exchange for the Havannah, which Lord
Albermarle had taken from Spain.
Whilst the British possessed the country, they first divided it
into east and west Florida, separating them from each other, by the
great river Apalachicola. East Florida extends much further to the
south than West Florida, and is washed by the waters of the Mexican
Gulf, in the 25th degree of north latitude; while the southernmost
point of West Florida, is only in 29° 30ʹ north latitude.
The figure of East Florida is nearly that of a triangle; the base
towards Georgia being an imaginary line, as before described, of
more than 160 miles in breadth; the perpendicular being about 350
in length. West Florida has the figure of a parallelogram, and is
about 120 miles in length from east to west, and from 40 to 80 in
breadth. The river Perdido being its western, and the Apalachicola
its eastern limit.
The capital of East Florida is St. Augustin; that of West Florida,
Pensacola.
During the struggle of Great Britain with her American colonies
in 1781; Spain took forcible possession of Florida, and it was
confirmed to that crown by the treaty of peace in 1783.
The climate of the Floridas, is for the most part tolerably good;
in the summer it is very hot; the winters cold, and the rivers are
frequently frozen during that season. Inland, and on the mountains,
the air is very pure and salubrious.
The soil of the Floridas is sandy and barren on the coast; but
in the interior, and on the banks of the rivers, very fertile
and good; so rich indeed was the land thought to be by the first
explorers, and the climate so good, that the voyage of Ponce de
Leon was undertaken, in the hopes of conquering, and making his
fortune in this part of the New World. A tradition which existed
among Caribs had also some weight; they reported that on the
southern part of the eastern continent, existed a spring, of which
any person, advanced in life, tasting, they would become renovated,
and enjoy eternal youth. The Spaniards, ever fond of romance,
greedily swallowed the miraculous tale, and undertook voyages to
discover this invaluable fountain. Many Indians had embarked from
time to time, but as they never returned, they were supposed to be
so charmed with the country, and the all-healing water, that they
preferred living there, allured by all the bounties of Nature,
and the supreme bliss of perpetual youth. Ponce de Leon at last
set out; actuated by the motives before mentioned, as well as by
these, he explored Florida, and returning with increasing years,
and an increase of wisdom, made that country known to the Spanish
nation; who however neglected it, until the massacre of the French
settlers happened, excepting that in 1539, Ferdinand de Soto, had
many actions with the native tribes, who were not however finally
quelled until the year 1665. Luke Vasquez de Ayllon, and Pamphilo
de Narvaez (the same who had been routed in Mexico by Cortez) made
attempts to conquer Florida, and both lost their lives; and the
adventurers who accompanied them, as well as those who were with
Soto, suffered incredible hardships, after the death of their
commanders.
Rice and indigo are the chief productions of West Florida; and in
the eastern province the land is so fertile, that the inhabitants
have sometimes three crops of Indian corn a year. The interior of
this province is very hilly, a chain of mountains traversing it
from north to south, the sides of which are covered with forests,
and the valleys they form afford the richest pasturage. Oranges and
lemons grow without the assistance of cultivation, and are finer
than the European fruits of those kinds. Immense trees of the white
and red oak, the splendid and beautiful magniola, the cypress, red
and white cedar, the crab-oak, mulberry, pine, hickory, &c., are
here observed in grand masses, and form the most delightful shades
in the heats of summer.
Vines flourish and produce excellent fruit. They have also in
these provinces the best sassafras in America, palms, Indian
figs, chesnuts, walnuts, peaches, plums, cocoa nuts, and melons,
in abundance. Olives, which are indigenous, thrive exceedingly,
and are in great plenty. The cabbage tree affords the principal
nutriment to the native Indians, and constitutes a food, at once
pleasant and wholesome. Flax, hemp, and cotton, are produced in
abundance; cochineal forms a valuable article of the exports.
The coasts and rivers furnish fish of every description known in
these latitudes. Shell fish are found in the shallows, (which
are so numerous along the shores); particularly large and small
oysters, of excellent quality; along the southern beach, amber is
also occasionally found.
Numerous flocks of sheep and herds of cattle are fed in Florida;
swine are had here in great perfection; for as they feed chiefly on
the chesnuts and acorns of the forests, their flesh is supposed to
have a peculiar delicate flavour. In the woods and desert places,
are wild animals of various descriptions, amongst which are the
American tiger, the panther, coup cervier, racoon, buffalo, with
the fox, hare, rabbit, goat, otter, flying squirrel, opossum,
guano, armadillo, &c.; with many species of snakes and serpents.
The bird tribes are very extensive in Florida; among which, the
heron, crane, wild-goose, and duck, partridge, pigeon, macaw, hawk,
thrush, jay, &c. are a few of the most noted.
The alligator, or American crocodile, frequents the large rivers
and lakes; and the tribe of reptiles is also very numerous.
The interior of the Floridas has not been explored by scientific
travellers; it is chiefly inhabited by the native Indians, the
Europeans confining themselves mostly to the towns. The country in
general is not very thickly populated, and requires much exertion
to clear the forests, and drain the swamps, which, if done, would
render it a salubrious and desirable residence, where the wants of
man might be easily satisfied; and where he would rest secure from
some of those tremendous convulsions of Nature, which terrify and
destroy his fellow-creatures, in most other parts of the Spanish
colonies in the western world.
The capital of East Florida, _St. Augustine_, is situated on the
east coast of Florida, in St. Augustine Bay, west longitude 81° 10ʹ
and 30° north latitude, and contains a population of about 4000
souls.
This city was founded originally by the Spaniards, in 1586,
and fortified in 1665. Sir Francis Drake reduced the fort, and
pillaged both it and the town; Captain Davies also, and a body
of buccaneers, treated the place in a similar manner afterwards.
Also, as has been before stated, the British and Indians attacked
it under Colonel More, but were forced to retire, leaving their
vessels and stores behind them; in their retreat, they burnt the
houses in the neighbourhood, and ravaged the country to a great
extent; General Oglethorpe, in 1740, also bombarded the fort, but
was obliged to retreat.
The situation of this city, on the coast of the Atlantic, renders
it healthy, as it has all the advantage of the sea breezes; it
is 316 miles south-west of Charlestown, in South Carolina, 180
miles east of St. Markʼs, in East Florida; and 240 miles from the
entrance of the gulf or straits of Florida. The figure of the town
is an oblong, and it is built at the bottom of an eminence, along
the beach.
There are four principal streets, running parallel to each other;
these are wide and perfectly straight, and intersected by others of
a smaller size, at right angles. The church of St. Augustine, is
a well built edifice, and with the monastery, forms the principal
ornament of the place. The fortress which protects the town, is
called the Castle of St. Juan; it is built of stone, having four
bastions, the curtains between which are 180 feet in length, and
the rampart is twenty feet in height. The buildings are very good,
and the greater part are bomb-proof, and partly casemated; so that
this fortification is reckoned strong.
The other most noted towns of East Florida, are _St. Markʼs_, a
sea-port, situated on St. Markʼs river, near where it falls into
Apalachia Bay, 180 miles west of the capital, in 30° 10ʹ north
latitude, and 84° 36ʹ west longitude.
_Apalachia_, is also a sea-port on a bay of the same name, into
which the Apalachia river empties itself. In the environs of this
town, is a country inhabited by the Apalachia Indians; it is 130
miles east of Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, and 90 miles
west of the river del Espiritu Santo, and situated in 29° 48ʹ north
latitude, and 84° 28ʹ west longitude.
_St. Juan_, twelve miles north of St. Markʼs.
_St. Francisco_, fifty-six miles east south-east of St. Markʼs.
_St. Pedro_, forty-four miles east south-east of St. Markʼs.
_Apalachicola_, on the Apalachicola river, 100 miles north-east of
Pensacola in West Florida.
_Neuvilla_, fifty-four miles south south-east of St. Markʼs; and--
_Talahosochete_, an Indian town, 30 miles north of St. Markʼs.
In West Florida, the capital, _Pensacola_, is situated on the west
side of Pensacola Bay; this harbour is one of the finest in the
Floridas, safe from every wind, and having from seven to eight
fathom water, so that vessels drawing 21 feet may enter.
Pensacola, is in 30° 28ʹ north latitude, and 87° 12ʹ west
longitude. The city is of an oblong form, about a mile in length
and a quarter of a mile in breadth, delightfully placed, and
accounted a very healthy place. The entrance into the bay is
fortified by a small fort on Rosa Island, and a battery on the
opposite shore.
The Spaniards took this town on the 11th of May, 1781.
When it was in the hands of the English, the houses were elegant
and spacious; it exported, in skins, furs, logwood, and dyeing
stuffs to England, to the amount of 68,000_l._ annually, and
its imports from England were valued at 97,000_l._ for the same
period. The town and forts were not surrendered to the Spanish
troops, until the English garrison had made a most determined and
protracted resistance. The whole province fell at the same time
into their hands, since which, Pensacola has been on the decline.
A river called the Escambia Coenecah runs near the town, and
supplies it with water; it falls into the bay, and is navigable for
boats for fifty miles, and for sloops for twenty.
The other towns of most importance in West Florida are, _St.
Josef_, or the bay of St. Josef, near Cape St. Blaz, in the Gulf
of Mexico, situated in 85° 34ʹ west longitude, and 29° 45ʹ north
latitude.
_Wells_, a sea-port on the west-side of St. Andrewʼs Bay, and in
30° 25ʹ north latitude, and 85° 50ʹ west longitude, and--
_Campbeltown_, in Pensacola Bay, is seven miles north north-east of
Pensacola.
The rivers of East Florida are chiefly the _Apalachicola_, which
rises in the United States, and as before stated, forms the
boundary between the two Floridas; it is a considerable river, and
falls into the Mexican Gulf near Cape St. Blaz. The mouth of the
Apalachicola is encircled with a number of small islands, named St.
Georgeʼs Isles.
_Nassau River_; a small stream, which joins the ocean in 81° 42ʹ
west longitude, 30° 49ʹ north latitude.
_St. Maryʼs River_, famous only for its being a part of the
northern boundary between Georgia and Florida; it rises in a small
lake in the great Ekanfanoga Swamp, and after a short course, runs
into the Atlantic in St. Maryʼs Bay, in 81° 41ʹ west longitude,
and 30° 35ʹ north latitude. The Americans have a town called St.
Maryʼs, on their side of the mouth of the river.
_St. Johnʼs River_, which rises in a swamp in the southern part of
East Florida, and after running northerly for a short distance,
forms several lakes; the largest of which is Lake George; it then
again pursues its course to the northward, and turning to the
east, joins the Atlantic in 81° 42ʹ west longitude, and 30° 22ʹ
north latitude; its mouth is encumbered with a bar, otherwise it is
a broad and fine river, and being situated within ten leagues of
the capital is very serviceable.
_Apalachia River_, or _Apalache_, a small river which empties
itself into the Bay of Apalachia, in the Mexican Gulf, in 84° 28ʹ
west longitude, and 29° 43ʹ north latitude.
_St. Johnʼs River_, rises in Ekanfanoga Swamp, and after a winding
course of two hundred miles, falls into Apalachia Bay, to the east
of Apalachia River. This is said to be the purest of American
rivers, receiving in its course no tributary streams, but being
fed solely by the springs which exist in its banks; it is two
hundred yards broad, and twenty feet deep at the Indian town of
Talahosochete in East Florida.
There are a few other rivers in East Florida, the names of which
are, the Assilla, St. Markʼs river, St. Matheoʼs river, which falls
into Apalachia Bay, the Amajura, the Tampa and the Manatte; the
two latter of which fall into the Bay del Espirtu Santo, and the
Romano, which falls into Carlos harbour; but of these so little is
known, as indeed is the case with respect to every thing relating
to the Floridas, that a particular description is impracticable.
The latitudes and longitudes of many of the above places and
rivers, are variously laid down in the maps, and different accounts
are given of them by different authors; so that it is not probable
that they are exact; the most correct sources of information have
been sought, and as no late observations have been made in the
country we have been describing, the reader must unfortunately
remain satisfied with the imperfect account we are enabled to
give of a colony which belonged within the memory of the present
generation to Great Britain, but of which, no British author has
given an explicit account.
The rivers of West Florida, are the boundary stream, the _Rio
Perdido_, or Lost River, so called by the Spaniards, because it
loses itself for a short distance under ground, and then appears
again and empties itself into the Mexican Gulf, in Perdido Bay,
which is a large basin, though at its entrance not very wide, yet
gradually enlarging till it meets the mouth of the river, which
joins it in 87° 26ʹ west longitude, and 30° 26ʹ north latitude, ten
leagues east of Mobile Point, and four leagues west of the line of
Pensacola. This river stretches to the north-east, and in one place
comes within a mile of the Great Lasson, that is to the west of
Pensacola harbour.
The Rio Perdido, was formerly the boundary between the French and
Spanish dominions, and is now considered by the treaty of 1783,
as the limit between Mississippi territory and West Florida. By
this treaty, the eastern and southern boundaries of Louisiania
were fixed, and thus defined; “south on the Gulf of Mexico, from
the Bay of St. Bernard, south-west of the Mississippi River, to
the mouth of the Rio Perdido, up the Perdido to its source, and
thence, (if it rise not north of the 31° of north latitude,) in a
straight line north to that parallel, (31° north latitude,) thence
along the southern boundary of the United States, west to the
Mississipi, then up this river to its source.” The northern and
western boundary of Louisiania will be spoken of under the head of
New Mexico.
The _St. Andrewʼs River_ runs into a bay of the same name in the
Gulf of Mexico, in 85° 40ʹ west longitude, and 30° 17ʹ north
latitude.
SWAMPS.--The great swamp of Ekanfanska, called by the natives
Ouaquaphenogaw, forms a striking feature of East Florida; through
which the boundary of this province runs by an imaginary line.
The swamp is half in Georgia and half in Florida; it is 300 miles
in circumference, and in the rainy season, bears the appearance
of a vast lake, with several large spots of firm land, which may
be denominated islands, as they are nearly always surrounded with
water; one of these the American tribes call a heavenly dwelling,
which is peopled by a peculiarly gifted race, who enjoy all the
pleasures and luxuries of the savage life in perfection; whose
women are very lovely, and supposed to be the children of the Sun.
These people, who are conjectured to exist there, have been said,
though with less of the marvellous, to be a tribe of Indians, who
in some wars with the Creeks, had been nearly exterminated and fled
here for shelter. The islands in the swamp are fertile; in it rises
the river St. Mary and some others. There are several large tracts
of marshy ground in both the Floridas, which are extremely fertile.
LAKES.--The lakes of Florida are more numerous than large, the
principal one is Lake George, or the Great Lake, and Mayaco, a
large expanse of water and swampy land, in which, or near which,
the river St. John rises. Lake George is formed by the river St.
Juan, filling a large valley with its waters; it is about fifteen
miles in breadth, adorned with many beautiful and fertile islands,
the largest of which is two miles long, commanding an extensive
prospect; on this island are the remains of an Indian town of
considerable size. The waters of Lake George, are from fifteen to
twenty feet deep; the river St. John, forms in its course many
other lakes, but none of them so large as are laid down in early
maps, which are all, and even those of a later period, miserably
defective with respect to Florida, although that country has been
long in the possession of Great Britain. Another lake of some
extent is laid down in the best maps near Apalachia Bay; but of
it little information has been given; what is called Hillsborough
River, may with equal propriety be termed a lake; it cuts off a
long slip of land parallel to the east coast, reaching from St.
Augustine southwards.
ISLANDS.--The islands on the coast of Florida are numerous, but not
of any very great consequence. The chief ones are Amelia Island
near the north-west boundary of East Florida in the Atlantic;
extending from the mouth of the river St. Mary to the mouth of the
Nassau River, and on which is a town called Fernandina, with a
small fort.
_Corne Island_, on the coast of West Florida, ten miles long and
one broad, in 82° 32ʹ west longitude, and 30° 11ʹ north latitude.
_Roebuck Island_, near the same coast, in 84° 45ʹ west longitude,
30° 17ʹ north latitude.
_St. Anastasia Island_, on the east coast of East Florida, eighteen
miles in length, and from one to three wide, in 81° 36ʹ west
longitude, and 29° 48ʹ north latitude.
Cluster of the _Espiritu Santo Islands_, in a bay of the same name,
on the west coast of East Florida.
_Santa Rosa Island_, on the south coast of West Florida, thirty-six
miles in length, and two wide, in 86° 50ʹ west longitude, and 30°
26ʹ north latitude.
_Talbot Island_, on the coast of East Florida, eight miles long and
two wide, in 84° 42ʹ west longitude, and 30° 26ʹ north latitude;
and some others.
BAYS.--The bays of Florida are chiefly the following.
_Espiritu Santo_, or _Nassau Bay_, in East Florida or the west
coast, a large and fine bay full of islands, which reaches from 82°
35ʹ to 83° west longitude, and 27° 45ʹ to 28° 10ʹ north latitude.
_Santa Rosa Bay_, on the coast of West Florida, in 86° 5ʹ to 86°
32ʹ west longitude, and 30° 33ʹ north latitude.
_Pensacola Bay_ and the _Bay of St. Josef_, in West Florida.
The great bay _Apalachia_, _Carlos Bay_, _St. Maryʼs Bay_, and _Bay
of St. Augustine_, in East Florida.
CAPES.--The most remarkable capes or headlands are,--
_Cape St. Blaz_ or _St. Blas_, near the mouth of the Apallachicola
River, and situated in 85° 35ʹ west longitude, and 35° 44ʹ north
latitude.
_Sandy Point_, the north part of Santa Rosa Bay in West Florida.
_Cape Cross_, in 84° 80ʹ west longitude, 46° 25ʹ north latitude,
coast of West Florida.
_Cape Florida_, the most easterly point of East Florida, on the
west side of the Gulf or Straits of Florida, in 80° 37ʹ west
longitude, 25° 44ʹ north, latitude.
_Cape Roman_, in 82° 25ʹ west longitude, and 25° 40ʹ north latitude.
_Cape Sable_, the most southerly point of East Florida, in 81° 49ʹ
west longitude, and 24° 57ʹ north latitude, and--
_Cape Carnaveral_, _Punta Larga_, and the Promontory in East
Florida.
We shall close this account with some circumstances relating to
the government, the late events which have taken place on the
coast of Florida, and the funds allotted for the support of the
administration.
The Floridas are usually included under the government of the
Capitania-general of the Havannah, forming, with Cuba, one of the
great governments of the Spanish American colonies. So little
is known of the subdivisions of this captain-generalship, that
it would be futile to attempt an enumeration of them; as errors
must inevitably occur, so thus it will be better not to state the
uncertain knowledge we possess of them, than to run the risk of
misleading the reader.
The insurgents of Spanish America have lately been carrying on some
operations in this quarter, and have established themselves in
Amelia Island, at a town called Fernandina, where they have built
batteries for their defence, and to whose port they carry many of
the prizes they make of the Spanish merchant vessels in the West
Indian seas. They are principally European adventurers, who have
raised a flag in Amelia Island, which they display occasionally in
their predatory incursions on the neighbouring continent; on this
flag is a green cross, designated by them the green cross of the
Floridas; they have hitherto been unsuccessful in their efforts,
and have not been assisted by the Colonists. The government of the
United States, have lately taken forcible possession of this port.
The expences of the administration of Florida are disbursed from
the treasury of Mexico, the situado or annual remittance for
this purpose being sent by way of the Havannah to Pensacola, and
amounting in general to the sum of 62,700_l._ sterling. This sum is
usually remitted to the intendant or governor of Pensacola.
_NEW SPAIN._
The most important of all the kingdoms of Spanish America, is New
Spain; therefore, before commencing with a detailed description of
its boundaries and situation, we shall give a concise view of those
circumstances which are of most importance, with respect to its
history, colonization, &c.
Under the title of Viceroy of New Spain, a Spanish officer of
the highest rank governs a territory, which, in Europe, would be
designated as an empire; for it comprehends a surface extending
from the thirty-ninth to the sixteenth degree of north latitude; in
its broadest part, occupying 22 degrees of longitude, and is washed
by the waters of the Great Pacific on its western, and by those of
the Mexican Gulf, or Atlantic Ocean, on its eastern shores; having
unknown lands to its north; the republic of the United States
of America to its east; and the government of Guatimala, as its
southern limit; thus occupying one of the most advantageously
situated positions in the political world, whether for the
facilities afforded to its commerce, by the vicinity of two oceans,
or by its stretching through part of the Torrid and Temperate
Zones, affording from the heat of the one, the luxuries of the
East, and from the mildness of the other, the necessaries of human
existence in the most profuse abundance; here too exist more mines
of silver and gold, of copper, tin, &c., than in any other part of
America; whilst its western shores afford the pearl muscle, equal,
if not superior, to the celebrated produce of Ormus and Ceylon.
That enterprizing and enlightened traveller, M. le Baron de
Humboldt, states the population of this viceroyalty of Mexico, or
New Spain, to have exceeded, in the year 1806, six millions five
hundred thousand souls; and its surface to extend over a space
equal to 118,748 square leagues, at twenty-five leagues for each
degree.
_Discovery, &c._--The person who made the greatest figure in
discovering and subjugating this extensive region, was FERNANDO
CORTEZ, a native of Old Spain, born at a town called Medellin, in
Estremadura, about thirteen miles south-east of Merida, in the
year 1485, of a noble family whose fortune had declined. He was
intended for the law, and studied at Salamanca; but his restless
disposition caused him to quit all prospects in this pursuit,
and to follow the adventurers of the day in America; he went
accordingly to Hispaniola, where he obtained lucrative posts; but,
still dissatisfied, quitted the island in 1511, under the command
of Velasquez, in an expedition to the island of Cuba. Here he
distinguished himself by his bravery, and was chosen to undertake a
voyage of discovery to the coasts of Mexico; he spent the greater
part of his fortune in equipping his army and fleet; and on the
18th of November 1518, set sail from Cuba, but anchored again, and
sailed for the Havannah, to complete his stores; here he suffered
much delay and vexation from the jealousy of Velasquez, and having
secured the fidelity of his followers, by the promises of immense
wealth, and his engaging qualities (for he was a man of the most
insinuating address, and of great personal endowments, a robust and
soldier-like appearance, and a dauntless mind), he completed by his
own exertions, and those of his officers, amongst whom was Pizarro,
then a youth, who afterwards rendered himself so famous in Peru,
his armament, which consisted of eleven small vessels, containing
617 men, 508 being soldiers, and 109 sailors or workmen, with ample
stores of provision.
Cortez once more set sail from Cuba, in the year 1519, on the 10th
day of February, and steered for the Isle of Cozumel, on which he
landed, and then proceeded to the River Tabasco; where he forced
the natives to acknowledge the Spanish king. His standard bore a
cross with this motto, “_Follow we this sign, for beneath it we
shall conquer._” Procuring provisions, a present of gold, some
cotton clothing; and 20 female slaves, he sailed to the west,
and landed at the place now called St. Juan de Ullua, where he
fortified himself, disembarked all his men, horses, and guns,
having previously conciliated the natives.
The Emperor of Mexico hearing of the arrival of the Spanish ships
at this place, sent two embassadors to meet the strangers, to
inquire their intentions, and to offer his assistance in furthering
their voyage. They received from Cortez a haughty reply, that “he
would confer with no other person than the emperor.” The silly
Mexicans, alarmed at the unusual appearance of the troops, the
horses, the ships, and the artillery, endeavoured to conciliate the
commander by rich presents. The embassadors had painters in their
train, who were busily employed in tracing these wonderful objects,
during the interviews; and Cortez, observing the circumstance,
to give a greater effect to his warlike show, made his troops go
through their man[oe]uvres, and fired his cannon at some trees.
The poor Mexicans, astonished at this display, fell with their
faces to the earth, being unable to withstand the alarm caused
by the report of the guns. They returned to Mexico, and with
incredible dispatch, some presents which Cortez had given them,
were transported to the capital, a distance of 180 miles; and other
messengers returned, accompanied by a train of one hundred Indians,
bearing the most costly gifts of silver, gold, &c. An emblem of
the sun, in massive gold, and another of the moon, worth 5000_l._
in silver, were amongst the articles. These magnificent gifts, it
was hoped would conciliate the Spaniards, and make them consent to
relinquish their idea of marching into the interior; Montezuma, the
emperor, declaring he would not permit their staying longer in his
dominions; but instead of attempting to eject them, he sent another
and more costly present.
The natives however discontinued supplying the troops with
provision, and the embassadors of Montezuma left the camp in
resentment; the soldiers imagining that they should be attacked,
came to open mutiny; but Cortez, by promises, threats and presents,
gained their affections, and offered to lead them to the attack of
the capital; after having punished the ringleaders, he assembled
a council, and laid his warrant before them, telling them he
would only be chosen as their leader, by their united consent.
This experiment succeeded; they unanimously elected him commander
in chief and president of the new Colony, and then formed a
corporation to govern the town they were about to found. This they
immediately commenced, and called it Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz.
“The rich City of the true Cross.”
Whilst employed in this work, Cortez received overtures from the
Indian town of Zempoalla, to assist him in his enterprise against
Montezuma; he accordingly matched thither, and assisted by its
inhabitants, founded another settlement, about 100 miles to the
northward of Vera Cruz; this was at the Indian town of Quiabaslan.
The caciques or chiefs of Zempoalla and Quiabaslan, placed
themselves under his protection; and their example was followed by
the Totonaques, a powerful and warlike tribe, who inhabited the
mountain country.
Whilst engaged in fortifying his new acquisition, and rendering
it habitable, a second conspiracy was plotted against him; to
counteract this, he proposed two methods, the latter of which
was the most extraordinary that ever entered the mind of man. In
the first place, he proposed to the council, to send an account
of the riches, fertility, &c. of the country, to Don Carlos of
Austria, the Spanish monarch, and to request him to ratify their
proceedings, and to appoint Cortez, by the sign manual, as they
had already done, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty;
this they consented to, and a vessel was dispatched for Spain,
with orders not to touch at Cuba, for fear of the intention being
thwarted by Velasquez. The second proposal was “_To burn the
fleet_.” This, after great persuasion, and exhausting all his arts,
he obtained their consent to do, and it was accordingly performed;
thus leaving between five and six hundred men, at the mercy of a
powerful and populous empire.
After obtaining this triumph over the adherents of Velasquez,
who had no resource but in the capacity of their leader, and in
their own courage, marched from Zempoalla, on the 16th of August,
1519, with five hundred soldiers, fifteen horses, and six cannon;
the cacique of Zempoalla gave him four hundred warriors and two
hundred slaves. The rest of the troops were left as a garrison,
to defend Villa Rica. With this force, he entered the state of
Tlascala, where he met with great opposition for fourteen days; but
after having beaten the Tlascalans at all points, without losing
a man, these people made overtures for peace: he accepted their
proposals, and they ever after acted as his best allies. He halted
twenty days in Tlascala, where he endeavoured, as he had before
done at Zempoalla, to convert the natives; but succeeded only in
abolishing the immolation of human victims on the altars of their
deities. It was by the intervention of a priest, Bartolomeo de
Olvedo, his chaplain, whose name deserves to be recorded, that
Cortez was restrained from converting the natives by the sword,
when he found he could not otherwise attain that object.
He next advanced against the state of Cholula, where he was
treacherously received; and to avenge himself, massacred six
thousand of the Cholulans. Cholula was only sixty miles march
from Mexico. In the course of his advance, he was aided by the
rebellious state of the surrounding country; and after a march of
some days, saw the capital of the empire from the Chalco mountain.
His troops were invigorated at the sight; and beholding such a
rich and fertile country, such an immense city, and so beautiful
a landscape, they conceived their fortunes to be made, and that
their toils would now be soon ended. They marched until they
arrived within a very short distance of the entrance to the city;
when Montezuma, preceded by a train of a thousand nobles, himself
sitting on a chair richly adorned with gold, and borne by men,
surrounded with his guards and courtiers, advanced to meet the
Spaniards; Cortez dismounting from his horse, saluted the emperor
in an humble manner; cloths of cotton were then spread along the
road, and Montezuma, quitting his chair of state, walked to meet
and salute the Spanish commander; after much ceremony, the emperor
conducted the general to a house prepared for the reception of
himself and followers. No sooner had Cortez taken possession of
his new habitation; than he set to work, and fortified it in
the strongest manner he was able. The emperor shortly renewed
his visit, accompanied by people bearing rich presents to the
troops. It was at this interview, that Cortez learnt, from the
unguarded expressions of the Mexican ruler, the reason why he had
not been attacked. It appeared, that the Mexicans had traditions
and prophecies, that a powerful race would come from the regions
towards the East, where their deity, the Sun, rose, and that these
people would overturn and chastise their country for the punishment
of their sins; in this, Montezuma was a firm believer; and it was
from the motive of religion alone, supposing that the Sun would
exterminate his people if violence was offered to his children,
that the monarch was persuaded to act in the way he did.
Cortez immediately seized the idea, and by his artful conduct
was received as a child of the same universal Parent, the Sun,
by the emperor and by his people. He spent several successive
days in viewing the city, and making his observations; at the
same time assuring Montezuma, that he was the embassador of the
greatest monarch amongst the children of the Sun; and that his
master had sent him with the most friendly designs to his brethren
the Mexicans. Having fortified his house, which was surrounded
by a stone wall and turrets, and keeping a large body of his men
constantly on the alert, he came to the resolute determination of
seizing Montezuma in his palace, and confining him in the Spanish
quarters. He entered the palace, thirty men waiting outside of the
audience hall, whilst Cortez, five officers, and five soldiers,
placed themselves in the presence. He addressed Montezuma, and
complaining of several things which he affected to dread, he
requested the emperor would condescend to live in the Spanish
quarters, until the alarm excited by some unusual appearances, had
subsided. Montezuma reluctantly consented, and was escorted thither
by the men. He was at first treated with all the attention and
respect due to a mighty sovereign; but, after a short interval,
Cortez, with a soldier bearing fetters, came to his apartment,
and told him that his garrison at Villa Rica had been attacked,
and that he was the instigator of the insult; that he had ordered
the guilty to be executed, and that the emperor himself must feel
the weight of his anger. Turning fiercely to the soldier, he
commanded him to fetter the legs of Montezuma. The unfortunate
monarch and his attendants were sunk in grief and affliction, and
Cortez left the room to attend at the execution of the sentence on
the culprits. After this was ended, he repaired to the Emperorʼs
chamber, and with his own hands, took off the shackles.
For six months Montezuma remained a prisoner, and Cortez during
this time was employed in reconnoitring the country, preparing
to build vessels on the lake, and dividing the spoils amongst
his soldiers. In attempting to establish the Catholic faith, by
throwing down the Mexican idols, he nearly ruined all his schemes,
as the whole people were about to rise. At this juncture Montezuma
requested he might be liberated, and declared that his power of
saving the Spaniards was at an end, as his people would inevitably
revenge the insult offered their Gods; he concluded by requesting
that the embassy would withdraw from his territories, as he could
no longer answer for their safety: previously however to this
communication, the Emperor had acknowledged himself a vassal of
the Spanish King, and had sent to Cortez his tokens of homage,
executed in all the prescribed forms, with a magnificent present,
accompanied by others from his subjects. The Spanish commander
had therefore good reason for not listening to the request of
Montezuma; he replied, that he intended to send to his master the
presents, and in time to return himself, but that he must build new
ships first.
Whilst these discussions were going on, Velasquez, who had heard
of the success of Cortez by the vessel which had touched at Cuba,
(contrary to express command), had fitted out a fleet of eighteen
vessels, with 800 infantry, eighty horse soldiers, twelve pieces
of ordnance, and 120 arquebusiers, or crossbow men. Pamphilo de
Narvaez, was appointed commander of the force, with instructions to
seize Cortez and his staff, to conquer the empire in the name of
Velasquez, and send the general and his officers prisoners to Cuba.
Cortez hearing of the arrival of this armament, and that the troops
under Narvaez, had marched to Zempoalla, determined to quit Mexico,
leaving 150 men to guard Montezuma, and the capital; arriving at
Zempoalla, he sent bribes to the officers of Narvaez army, many of
whom were seduced, and attacking his enemy in the night with only
250 men, completely defeated him, and was joined by his followers
the next day; receiving notice however, soon after the combat,
that his little garrison in the capital had been attacked by the
Mexicans, he returned to that city with two thousand Tlascalan
warriors, who joined him in his march. He entered the city without
resistance, but was soon after attacked in his fortress in the most
resolute manner, and having made a sally in which he lost twelve
men, and sixty wounded, he was forced to retreat; he again sallied,
and was wounded in the hand. He then had recourse to the stratagem
of placing the Emperor in the view of his enraged subjects.
Montezuma endeavoured to pacify them; they listened with attention,
but directly he had finished his speech, they again renewed the
assault, and the forlorn monarch was wounded by an arrow.
He refused all aid from the Spaniards, and tearing open his
wounds, expired, frantic with rage and despair. After the death
of the Emperor, Cortez found that he could no longer maintain
his position; he according quitted it secretly in the night, and
marched for the Tlascalan territories. On viewing his troops
after several hot assaults, which they experienced on the march,
he is reported to have shed tears. Having recruited the spirits
of his followers, and mustering the remainder of his forces, he
again bent his course towards the capital, determined to perish
or conquer. His infantry amounted to 550 men, his cavalry to 40,
and he had 9 pieces of cannon; with this force of Spaniards, there
marched 10,000 Indian allies, mostly Tlascalans, and on the 28th of
December, 1520, the whole army were in motion exactly six months
after the evacuation of Mexico.
He fixed his head-quarters at Tezcuco, on the banks of the lake 20
miles from the capital. In this city, the natives adhered to his
cause, and assisted him in building thirteen small ships, which he
launched on the lake. At this juncture, four vessels, fitted out
by his friends in Hispaniola arrived with two hundred infantry,
eight horses, and supplies of arms and ammunition. He therefore
immediately attacked the city on the east, west and south. It was
defended by Guatimozin, the new Emperor, with undaunted courage,
and Cortez himself was once taken prisoner, but fortunately
rescued, though wounded in the attempt. His soldiers who fell into
the hands of the Mexicans, were immolated with horrid barbarity
on the altars of the god of war. His allies, the Indians, now
amounted to 150,000, and his vessels kept possession of the lakes
Tezcuco and Chalco. This siege continued with vigour for 75 days,
and the town capitulated on the 21st August, 1521, when Guatimozin,
the Emperor, was taken prisoner; but the Spaniards had ruined
three-fourths of the city in their attempts to take it; they had,
therefore, a barren triumph. Cortez stained his victory by ordering
the Emperor to be put to the torture, in order to make him confess
where he had hid his treasure; which, in fact, he had caused to
be thrown into the lake. It would be useless to detail the other
proceedings of the army in the conquest of the provinces of the
Mexican empire; suffice it to say, that they all yielded without
much opposition to the Spanish conquerors.
Cortez now projected other discoveries, and named the country he
had taken possession of, New Spain; in his views of aggrandizement,
he was much impeded by cabal both at home and abroad; even an
edict was issued by the King of Spain, to seize his person; this
was, however, revoked, and he was appointed Captain-General of New
Spain, by the Emperor Charles the Fifth. Other cabals being formed
against him, and a fresh order of seizure made out, which was only
prevented being put into effect by the death of the commissioner,
Ponce de Leon. Cortez, after settling his affairs in the New World,
returned to Spain, where his address and manners gained him the
affections of Charles, who conferred on him the order of St. Jago,
and the title of Marques del Valle de Guaxaca (still held by his
descendants) together with the grant of a large district of New
Spain. His unabated ardour for discovery caused him to return to
the New World, which he did in 1530.
Long previous to this event, the Spanish government determined that
he should have only the situation of commander in chief, and hence
arose the division of power which afterwards embittered his whole
life. An _audienza real_, or royal audience, was appointed for
New Spain; through the hands of this Court, all the civil affairs
of the country were administered. Having now, therefore, neither
the authority nor the influence he before held, he determined to
remove himself from the scene of his disgusts; and accordingly,
finding that the plans of discovery which he had prepared and sent
people to put in execution, in 1522, had all failed, he determined,
in 1536, to undertake them himself, and having fitted out some
vessels, he discovered the vast Californian Gulf and part of its
shores, when, after enduring incredible hardships, he returned to
Mexico; here his distresses were renewed, and once more to obtain
justice, he sailed for his native country, where he arrived in
1540; not being able to obtain his wishes, his vexation had so much
effect upon his health, that his constitution, robust and vigorous
as it had ever been, was unable to withstand the shock, and this
extraordinary man quitted this transitory existence on the 2d of
December, 1547, in the sixty-second year of his age.
During the absence of Cortez in California, in 1535, after the
new kingdom of Spain had been governed by Luis Ponce de Leon,
Nuno de Gusman and Ramirez de Fuenleal, a viceroy arrived from
the Mother Country; this was the first viceroy of New Spain, and
the government has descended from one to another ever since: the
enumeration of them would be uninteresting, and tedious; we shall
therefore pass them over, with the exception only of mentioning
that there have been fifty (up to the year 1808), and that of these
only one was an American, the Marquess de Casa Fuerte, who was a
native of Peru; a descendant of the unfortunate Montezuma, Don
Josef Sarmiento Valladares, Conde de Montezuma governed New Spain
from the year 1697 to the year 1701; and of the descendants of that
monarch, there are still three branches remaining, all of whom are
Spanish nobles. A descendant of Columbus, Don Pedro Nuno Colon,
Duke of Veragua, also held the viceroyalty of New Spain for six
days, dying, suddenly after he was invested.
It is requisite for the nobleman who is advanced to this dignity to
possess a large fortune, or there must be considerable emoluments
attached to the vice-regal office _sub rosa_; for the salary of an
American viceroy is only 12,600_l._ per annum, and with this he has
to observe the state of a king; he has his body guards, who precede
him whenever he goes out; he is served by pages, and allowed to
eat only with the members of his own family, it being too great a
condescension in the viceroy, to permit any inferior to sit at the
same table with him.
The nobles of New Spain are represented as extremely numerous;
the creoles seeking with great avidity after Spanish honours; the
government have also ennobled the caciques or heads of the Indian
tribes, who are extremely proud of their distinction. It is a
singular circumstance, that the descendants of the kings and great
chiefs who were in alliance with Montezuma at the time of the
conquest, should many of them at present hold the chief authority
by consent of the Spaniards over the tribes, which their ancestors
governed, and which they now oppress still more than their
forefathers did; the caciques being generally very proud, ignorant
and vain of their fancied superiority.
In describing the natives of this country, we shall relate the
manner in which they have been and are still governed; at present
it will be necessary to recur to the political divisions of the
territory of New Spain.
POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS.
The viceroyalty of New Spain is divided into three provinces and
twelve intendancies; which again suffer also some other minute
subdivisions, which the enumerations will hereafter be given.
The three provinces and twelve intendancies are as follow:--The
province of New Mexico; two provinces of California, or Old and New
California. The intendancies of New Biscay, or Durango, Sonora,
San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Guadalaxara, Guanaxuato, Valladolid
or Mechoacan, Mexico, Puebla or Tlascala, Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, or
Guaxaca, and Merida or Yucatan. The civil affairs of these great
territories are under the control of two supreme councils, called
_Audienzas Reales_, which govern the districts situated to the
north and south of a certain line beginning thirty miles to the
northward of the Panuco river, or Rio Tampico, in the Gulf of
Mexico, and thence to St. Luis Potosi, along the southern boundary
of the intendancy of Zacatecas and west side of the intendancy of
the Guanaxuato, through the intendancy of Guadalaxara to Guatlan, a
port on the Pacific.
To the north of this line, the audienza of Guadalaxara exerts its
authority, and the southern part, till New Spain is bounded by the
kingdom of Guatimala, is subject to the audienza of Mexico.
This immense viceroyalty is situated partly in the northern
temperate, and partly in the torrid zone; and is politically
governed by a viceroy nominated by the Court of Spain, and two
captain-generals or _comandantes generales_, who are in some
measure under his authority. These last named governors have
authority over,--Sonora, New Biscay, New Mexico, and the two
Californias, which comprise the western captain-generalship; and
Coaguila, Texas, the colony of New Santander, and New Leon, in
the Intendancy of St. Luis Potosi; which comprise the eastern
captain-generalship: part of these are, however, only subject
to their authority as military commands, and to name those
would afford no satisfaction, as the minute subdivisions of the
governments of so vast a country are liable to constant changes.
BOUNDARIES.
New Spain is bounded on the north by an imaginary line the 39° of
north latitude, reaching to Port San Francisco on the Pacific; the
Pacific Ocean and Gulf of California bounds it on the west; on the
east the United States Territory of Louisiana, the Mexican Gulf
and Bay of Honduras; and on the south the kingdom of Guatimala
completes its boundaries.
EXTENT.
The extent of this viceroyalty occupies a space equal to 118,478
square leagues, of twenty-five to a degree.
CLIMATE.
The climate of New Spain may be looked upon as the most
extraordinary in the world, varying from the tropical heats to the
mild and healthful climate of middle Europe, and to the frosts and
snows of Siberia; this phenomenon being observable in a journey of
a few hours across the ridge of the Cordilleras.
The sea coasts are hot and insalubrious in general; the port of
Vera Cruz, on the east, and that of Acapulco, on the west, the
two great emporiums of Mexican commerce, being amongst the most
unhealthy places in the world. The southern parts of this kingdom,
which are not on elevated land, are, during the whole year, subject
to excessive heats; even in December the heat exceeding that of the
English summer. The plains which extend along the ridges of the
Cordillera are in general healthy, and their climate temperate, and
the yellow fever extends its ravages only to a small distance from
the coast to the interior; as soon as the land begins to rise this
pestilence ceases.
The whole province of Mexico is crossed by a vast plain at the
height of from 2000 to 2700 yards above the level of the sea; here
the inhabitants enjoy a perpetual spring; and, although they live
under the Torrid Zone, they occasionally feel a considerable degree
of cold in the northern districts. The climate in the interior is
so delightful that the natives sleep, with little covering, under
the canopy of heaven.
FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, PRODUCTIONS, &c.
The great Mexican plain above mentioned, may be said to extend
through the whole of New Spain. Carriages traverse a distance of
five hundred leagues on it from Mexico to Santa Fé in the north;
the whole road being made with little labour, and nearly level.
This enormous plain, or table land, as well as several others of
less dimensions, forms the ridge of the Cordilleras, which goes
by the names of Anahuac, Sierra Madre, Topia, &c. and is of great
breadth. On its bosom repose the summits of gigantic mountains,
which reach the region of perpetual snow. On the east coast the
land is generally flat and swampy; and on the west, the descent of
the central chain has four parallel valleys of great depth, which
are richly cultivated.
The Cordillera of New Spain is evidently a continuation of the
Andes; it traverses the captain-generalship of Guatimala, along its
western coast, throwing out arms into the province of Honduras; it
then turns eastward, for a short distance, on entering the kingdom
of New Spain, and sends an arm into the province of Yucatan; rising
afterwards gradually to the north, and occupying the middle of the
continent; it then, in the province of Mexico, goes off to the
east, where, forming the vast plain of Anahuac, it has its greatest
elevation, and is here called Sierra Madre; the Popocatepetl,
Iztaccihuatl, Pico de Orizaba, and Cofre de Perote being either in
or on the borders of this province; the Popocatepetl, the highest
summit of New Spain is 17,716 feet above the level of the sea.
The Cordillera then passes on to the north-west, and throws out
three branches, one into New Leon, one into Guadalaxara, and one
to the province of Zacatecas; it then continues northward, being
of great breadth, till it passes the kingdom of New Spain, and
on the borders assumes the names of Sierra de las Grullas, and
Sierra Verde, after which it joins the Blue Mountains, and Stoney
Mountains of north-west America. Amongst the lofty masses we have
mentioned are some volcanoes, which constitute a magnificent part
of the scenery; no less than five existing in the provinces of
Mexico, Puebla, and Vera Cruz, some of which are enveloped in
perpetual snows.
The sides of this great chain are covered with immense forests
of every species of trees, which luxuriate according to their
position; the hardy pine and fir occupying the upper, and the
tropical productions the lower regions.
In the valleys, on the plains, sides, and at the foot of the
chain, are observed beautiful cities, villages, and romantically
situated farms, forests, interspersed with rivers, cataracts, and
extraordinarily formed rocks. It is here that the painter might
mature his taste for the wonderful, the rude, and the majestic
features of nature. The soil, adapted to cultivation, is mostly a
deep clay, which requires nothing more than irrigation to render it
fertile in the extreme. The agricultural objects are principally
wheat, maize, cotton, indigo, pimento, sugar, tobacco, the agave
and cochineal plant. This applies chiefly to the southern portion,
the more northerly being nearly in a state of nature. Sugar,
cotton, cocoa and indigo flourish between 19° and 22° of north
latitude, and are only abundantly produced at an elevation of from
1900 to 2600 feet; as also European grains at the height of from
between 4550 to 9750 feet.
The oaks of Mexico grow to maturity only at from 2600 to 9750 feet
of elevation; pines reach, toward the lower term of congelation,
to a height of 13,000 feet, and descend on the east coast as low as
6000 feet above the level of the sea.
The banana, the great support of the natives, is found no higher
than 4600 in a state of perfection. This fruit forms the principal
food of the natives; when gathered green they cut it into slices,
and lay them in the sun to dry, and pound it into meal, which they
use for the same purposes that flour is generally put to; the fruit
is also eaten.
The plantations of the banana are kept up by suckers. The same
region which matures the banana, is also favourable to the manioc,
which is powdered and made into bread. Of this root there are two
kinds, one sweet, the other bitter; the latter is poisonous, unless
carefully made into bread by separating the noxious juice. The
bread of the manioc is called cassava, and is extremely nutritive;
forming, when made up in a particular manner, by being smoked and
grated, a substance which resists the attacks of insects, making
one of the chief articles of provision on long journeys. They also
make of the poisonous juice a sort of soy; but it is sometimes
dangerous to use this sauce.
Manioc is cultivated by slips, and they have one harvest a-year,
the whole process being nearly similar to that of potato planting.
Maize occupies the same region, and reaches to maturity at the
same elevation as the two former plants. This plant is of the
utmost importance to the colonies, and, being indigenous, thrives
better here than anywhere. It grows to the height of nine feet,
and yields a hundred-and-fifty fold. It succeeds better in the
southern provinces than in the northern, and forms a principal
article of food to the inhabitants, to the mules employed in the
mines, and in conveying goods from one province to another, and to
the poultry, &c. When the harvest of maize fails, the unfortunate
natives are reduced to the greatest straits. It yields, in the
most favourable situations, three crops annually. This maize, or
Indian corn, is eaten boiled and roasted, and, when ground, is
made into bread. The meal is used for soups, under which form it
is principally consumed. The Indians, also, by fermentation, make
several intoxicating liquors from this plant, as well as a sort of
beer; and, before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mexicans made
sugar of the stalks.
Wheat was first introduced by the Spaniards, and promises to
become, with the other European grains, when the great roads are
completed, one of the most abundant articles of the commerce of
New Spain, as it already enters into competition, at the Havannah,
with the flour of the United States; but the means of transport
are at present so bad in the interior, that no great quantity is
cultivated for exportation. The potato which was introduced by the
Europeans thrives very well; for although it originally came from
America, it was known only in the southern part at the time of the
conquest. The capsicum, or pimento, the tomatas, rice, turnips,
cabbages, sallads of all sorts, onions, and every kind of European
vegetable are successfully cultivated. The table land produces all
sorts of European fruits in great plenty; plums, apricots, figs,
cherries, peaches, melons, pears, apples, &c. The vine and olive
also flourish equally well, but are not frequently to be seen,
on account of the Spanish Government discouraging the culture of
these plants, as the commerce of the Peninsula, in oils and wine,
would cease, if they were allowed to be reared; the climate of
New Spain being more favourable for their production than that
of Europe; however they are found in California, and some of the
northern provinces, in great abundance. The tropical fruits, of
every species, are met with in New Spain, guavas, ananas, sapotes,
mameis, &c; and the Europeans appear to take great delight in their
gardens. The orange and lemon plants, of almost every species,
grow in these delightful regions, where animal food forms the
secondary article of human nourishment.
The principal vegetable decoction which supplies the place of the
brandies and strong liquors of Europe, is that produced from the
agave, or maguey. The natives and Spaniards have large plantations
of agave, for the purpose of forming from it their favourite
beverage, called pulque, which is procured by wounding the plant at
a particular season, from which there flows a ropy liquor, which
they collect and ferment. Pulque, from being the great beverage
of the Indians, and lower orders of Mexican Spaniards, yields an
immense revenue to the government. The sugar cane is successfully
cultivated, and sugar already forms one of the principal articles
of export. Cotton is also an article of commerce, as is likewise
coffee, but neither of them to a great amount. Their cocoa and
chocolate have long been famous; the name of the latter being
originally Mexican, but the best chocolate comes from Guatimala.
Vanilla, of the finest quality, is imported into Spain from
Mexico. Sarsaparilla and jalap, which takes its name from the
town of Xalapa, near which it is found, are celebrated articles
of its export trade. Of tobacco, it does not grow enough for
its own consumption, not owing to the soil, but to its culture
being discouraged. The indigo from the Spanish colonies is raised
chiefly in Guatimala. Odoriferous, gums, medicinal plants, and
drugs; the dying woods, particularly logwood; the valuable woods
used in making articles of furniture; are the produce of this
Viceroyalty; which is as rich in the productions of the vegetable
as of the mineral kingdom. Cochineal, and the plant on which the
insect feeds and comes to maturity, are amongst the most singular
of its products; they are principally managed by the Indians, who
are most skilful in the mode of collecting the harvests of this
extraordinary dye.
The animals wild and domestic, are chiefly the horse, mules, of
which thousands are employed in carrying goods over the crests of
the mountains separating the two oceans, and in drawing the metals
from the mines, &c., sheep, goats, and cattle; the cougar, or
American tiger; the puma, the tiger-cat, loupcervier, wild-boar,
swine, buffalo bison, tapir, marmadillo, and immense tribes of apes
and monkeys, with birds of every variety and beauty, amongst which
are wild and tame turkeys, ducks, domestic fowls, &c.
The insects are as numerous as singular, and the serpents and
reptiles thrive under the vertical sun, and amid the humid
exhalations of the low-lands. The alligator is found in its rivers
and swamps, and is nearly as formidable as the Egyptian crocodile.
In the northern part of New Spain, horses, cattle, sheep and
goats, are found in a state of nature, having multiplied to an
extraordinary degree in the wide spread plains and Savannahs.
The silk-worm is reared in some of the provinces; but as the
growing of silk would interfere with the commerce of the East
Indian possessions of Spain, this article is not much attended to.
Honey and wax are procured in the greatest plenty, as may
reasonably be imagined in a country abounding with aromatic herbs
and flowers; wax forms a great article of its home consumption,
which is the case in all Catholic countries, where such immense
quantities of it are burnt in processions and the churches.
The pearl fisheries of the Californian Gulf, are not at present
carried on with much activity, but pearls of great value have been
found on its coasts.
In the description of the different provinces of this kingdom, we
shall occasionally give more particular relations of the animal and
vegetable productions of New Spain.
The gulf of Mexico, the bay of Honduras on the eastern side,
the Pacific on the western, with the immense inlet or sea of
California, afford to this rich and fertile viceroyalty the
favourable opportunities for the most extensive commerce, were it
not that it is greatly impeded by the want of numerous roads across
the elevated land of the interior; these, however, are gradually
opening; and in proportion as the Spaniards exert themselves in
forming them, so will the commerce of Mexico increase in value
above that of the neighbouring continental states, with whom,
at present, it is, for this cause alone, unable to enter into
competition. The distance in some parts of New Spain, from ocean
to ocean is very inconsiderable; and some rivers which run from
opposite sides of the same mountain approach so near, at their
sources, to each other, as to offer to an enterprising people every
facility for internal navigation; at present, the commerce of these
colonies is tardily carried on from the coasts of the Pacific, to
those of the Atlantic by means of mules, which travel in cavalcades
along the roads crossing the chain, or by Indians carrying burdens
on their backs.
The commerce of New Spain centres chiefly at the port of Acapulco
in the Pacific, to which the vessels from Manilla bring the
productions of the East Indies, which, with the commercial articles
of the country itself, are transported over the mountains to
Vera Cruz, the Atlantic port, from whence they proceed to the
Havannah, and to Europe. We have related what the vegetable and
animal kingdoms chiefly furnish towards this trade; it now remains
to state the share which the mineral kingdom affords. New Spain
is probably richer in productions of this nature than any other
country of the world; but for want of the mechanical means which
are so extensively employed in raising the metals of Europe, the
produce of the Mexican mines, as well as of all those of the New
World, is not so great as has been usually imagined, many of the
richest veins having been abandoned (after enormous expences and
labour employed in opening them), on account of water gaining on
the operations of the miners. That useful and surprising instrument
the steam-engine, requires to be introduced generally into the
mining system of the Americans, before any great accumulations of
the precious and useful metals can be had on that continent; then
also will the terrible labour of those unfortunate people, who
carry on their backs, in baskets, from the depths of these heated
caverns, the ores which are there discovered, to the surface,
be discontinued; the human race will sensibly increase, and the
sterile wastes and thick forests will give way to the arts of
agriculture.
The mining stations of gold and silver in New Spain amount to
more than 450. They are divided into thirty-seven districts,
each governed by a council of the mines. Humboldt supposes that
near three thousand actual mines exist in these 450 stations.
The principal and most valuable are those of the provinces of
Guanaxuato, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Guadalaxara,
Durango, Sonora, Valladolid, Oaxaca, Puebla, Vera Cruz, and Old
California. The veins exist mostly in primitive and transition
rocks, and the richest silver veins, which are single, run to an
amazing breadth and length; the poorest are those in which the
silver is dispersed in small and numerous ramifications. The best
and most productive of the silver mines of New Spain, are situated
at a height of from 5900 to 9840 feet above the level of the sea,
and there are three which supply more than half as much again as
all the rest put together; these are the mines of Guanaxuato,
Catorce, and Zacatecas. The quantity of silver exported from New
Spain to Europe and India, per annum, is about one million six
hundred and fifty thousand pounds in weight. After the three above
mentioned, the mines of Real del Monte, Tasco, and Zimapan in
Mexico; Guarisamez, Batopilas, and Parral in Durango; Bolaños in
Guadalaxara; Sombrerete and Fresnillo in Zacatecas and Ramos in San
Luis Potosi, are those which afford the greatest quantity of ore.
Gold is generally procured in the sands of torrents by washings.
It is produced abundantly in Sonora, where it is found in the
alluvious grounds; in the sands of Hiaqui and in Pimeria, where
grains of very large size have been discovered. It is also procured
from the mines of Oaxaca in veins, as well as in most of the
silver mines, mixed with the silver, crystallized, in plates,
&c. The produce of gold in New Spain is stated to amount, in the
most favourable seasons, to a million of piastres, or 218,333_l._
sterling; the produce of silver at twenty-two millions of piastres,
is 4,812,500_l._ sterling.
Native silver is sometimes found in great masses in the mines of
Batopilas, as well as in some others.
The mines of Guanaxuato, of which the most celebrated is the one
named _Valenciana_, are said to produce double the quantity of gold
and silver to that of the celebrated Potosi in South America. In
this mine the great vein is twenty-two feet in breadth; and, as the
chasm is entirely dry, it is easier worked than almost any other
American mine. The pits extend to the breadth of 4900 feet, and
the lowest is 1640 feet in depth. The undertaking employs upwards
of 900 men in carrying the ores to the surface up the stairs on
their backs, 1800 workmen in procuring and sorting the ore, with
400 women and children, carrying the minerals to the sorters; the
total expences of the materials, workmen, overseers, &c., is above
187,500_l._ sterling per annum, and the net profit, during the same
period, to the proprietors, after deductions of the kingʼs fifth,
and all expences, is from 82,500_l._ to 123,759_l._ per annum.
The mine of Sombrerete in Zacatecas yielded in one year a profit of
above 833,400_l._ sterling to its proprietor. In San Luis Potosi,
the mine of La Purissima Catorce yields annually to its owners
a profit of upwards of 43,700_l._ sterling. The others we have
mentioned, as being the richest, yield immense revenues to their
holders and to the government.
In these rich mines the miners and labourers contrive occasionally
to steal the valuable metals. They, however, undergo a very
rigorous search on leaving the pit; nevertheless, like the Indians
in the diamond mines of Golconda, they frequently are adroit enough
to secrete the ores, notwithstanding many of them go nearly naked.
The greater part of the silver is procured by the means of mercury
from the ores, smelting being not much used for want of fuel:
the quantity of mercury used in the process of amalgamation is
estimated at upwards of two millions one hundred pounds troy weight.
Copper, of which the ancient Mexicans made their tools, is found
both native and in the mines of Valladolid; as well as in those of
New Mexico.
Tin is found in grains and in wood tin in the clayey soil of
Guanaxuato and Zacatecas.
The quantity of these metals which is brought to market is very
trifling, as they are not much sought after; as is also the case
with iron, which exists in various parts of New Spain in great
abundance, and under every form. Lead is chiefly found in New Leon,
and New Santander; and in Mexico, antimony, zinc, and arsenic.
Mercury is procured in Mexico and Guanaxuato, particularly at
Chica, Celaya, and Zimapan: but the mines are insufficiently
worked, the mercury for amalgamation coming entirely through Spain
to the northern colonies of Spanish America. Coal exists in New
Mexico; and salt is yielded from the lakes of the Mexican plains;
diamonds, topazes, emeralds, and other gems; asphalt, amber,
jasper, alabaster, and the magnet, are produced in New Spain. The
affairs of the mining interest are directed by a council-general;
on this council, which has a president, the thirty-seven districts
depend. The mines are wholly the property of individuals; their
councils are only erected to judge of the affairs relating to
the payment of the duties, and to the general ordering of the
undertakings. At Mexico there is a college of mining, where young
men are educated by the government, to instruct them in all the
branches of science necessary to be attained, in order that the
mines may be worked in the best manner. The council-general
receives a tithe on all metals, and with this, the salaries of the
members, the expences of the college, and advances to undertakers,
are paid.
RIVERS.--New Spain does not contain such extensive and majestic
rivers as are to be found in her sister colonies of the south;
nevertheless some of the streams are by no means inconsiderable;
the _Rio Bravo del Norte_, and the _Rio Colorado_, roll a vast body
of water to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Rio Bravo rises
in the Sierra Verde, near the northern boundaries of the kingdom;
this noble river, after various intricate windings, and watering a
tract of country, inhabited principally by the aborigines, loses
itself in the Gulf of Mexico, having performed a course of nearly
two thousand miles; which immense length of river is obstructed
by cataracts in the mountainous country of the interior, and by
bars of sand in the flat and marshy lands towards the sea coast;
canoes navigate, however, a surprising distance up the stream. The
Rio Colorado rises in the same mountains, and nearly in the same
latitude; but on the opposite side to the sources of the Rio del
Norte, and running through a country either waste or inhabited only
by the Indians, empties itself into the upper extremity of the Gulf
of California, by a large estuary, after a course of a thousand
miles; canoes navigate this river for three hundred miles from its
mouth. The other rivers of New Spain which are of the greatest
importance, are the Mexicana, Arighitas, Flores, Trinidad, Colorado
de Texas, Medina or San Josef, Magdalena or Rio Guadalupe, the
Nueces, the Gila near the Great Colorado, and almost equalling it
in length; the Hiaqui, Mayo, Nasas, Rio Grande de St. Jago, Panuco,
Zacatula, Yopez, Alvarado, Tula, or Moetesuema, with many others of
smaller note, the names of which will be mentioned under the heads
of the several provinces in which they are situated.
LAKES.--The lakes of New Spain are chiefly the lakes of Mexico,
near which the capital is built. Lake Chapala in New Gallicia,
a large sheet of water, the dimensions of which have not been
accurately obtained; it contains several islands, in one of which,
some of the insurgents who had been routed by the Spanish troops,
shut themselves up. Also Lake Cayman in New Biscay, in a desert
country, called the Bolson de Mapimi, not so large as that of
Chapala; and lake Pascuaro near Valladolid. The lakes of this part
of the American continent, are neither large nor very numerous;
the whole country descending rapidly from the central Cordillera,
towards the east and west, throws off the deposits which may
commence from the springs, into the form of rivers.
The bays and coasts, cities, towns, &c. will be described in
following the provincial relations.
The islands of Spanish North America, are described at the end of
the First Part.
TEMPERATURE.--In order to give some notion of different regions
inhabited by man in this extraordinary country, we shall adduce
the temperatures of the coast and of the higher lands.
On the coast and at the foot of the mountains under the tropical
sun, the heat is excessive, and the temperature of the air is as
great as in the hottest of the West India islands. This is called
the hot region; and above it is the temperate region which enjoys a
perpetual spring, and a temperature of from 60° to 70° Fahrenheit,
at an elevation of from 3930 to 4920 feet above the sea; they
are, however subject to thick fogs, as it is the height at which
clouds usually float in the atmosphere. Above this and to the
height of 7200 feet, is the cold region, where the mean heat is 62°
Fahrenheit; beyond which the cold becomes greater and greater till
the region of perpetual snow commences, at the height in the 19°
and 20° of north latitude of nearly 15,050, above the ocean.
POPULATION.--The extent of the population of New Spain may be
said to be about six millions and a half, of which the Indians
are conjectured to amount to nearly three millions; the remainder
consists of European Spaniards, Creoles, or people of Spanish
extraction; Mestizoes, from the Spaniards and Indians; Mulattoes,
from whites and negroes; Zambos, from negroes and Indians; negroes,
and the aboriginal race, or Indians, which are totally unmixed,
and are the descendants of the people who inhabited the country
at the conquest. The European Spaniards hold the chief offices,
civil, military and ecclesiastical; but the Creoles view with great
jealousy this assumption of power, which causes these two casts to
look with very little complacency on each other; and as, by the
cultivation of their minds, they hold the first rank in the colony,
it has been observed by a late Spanish writer, that the struggle
which unfortunately exists against the mother country, has been
materially favoured by the latter class. Humboldt relates, that the
expression of “I am not a Spaniard, I am an American,” had been
frequently heard during the time he was on the continent.
The Europeans and Creoles, or whites, are computed to amount to
1,200,000; of whom, about 80,000 are European Spaniards.
The whites in New Spain possess the greatest property, both in
the mines and the land; a descendant of Cortez, the Duke of
Monteleone, a Neapolitan and non-resident, is amongst the richest
who derive no advantage from mining operations; the whites are
those who principally cultivate their minds, though instances of
scientific attainments are not uncommon in the other classes. New
Spain can boast of several learned men of Creolian birth, who have
considerably advanced the arts and mathematical sciences in their
country; many painters also of considerable talent exist in this
portion of the New World. The manners and customs of the whites are
nearly the same as those of their European brethren.
The religion is Roman Catholic, and the clergy of New Spain are
a mixture of all the casts, excepting the negroes; the beneficed
and dignified clergy, being chiefly whites; they consist of an
archbishop of Mexico, and eight bishops of Puebla, Guadalaxara,
Valladolid. Durango, Monterey, Oaxaca, Sonora, and Yucatan
or Merida, with about 14,000 dignitaries, parish priests,
missionaries, monks, lay brothers, and servants.
The revenues of the archbishop and bishops amount to about
118,000_l._, out of which the archbishop has 27,000_l._, per annum.
The negroes and slaves of New Spain form a very inconsiderable part
of the population; of the negroes, there are only about 6000, and
many of them are free; of slaves, about 10,000, who are negroes,
and the Indians who are taken on the frontiers by the missionariesʼ
troops; these slaves are to be found only at Vera Cruz, Acapulco,
and on the coasts; employed in the ports, the culture of sugar,
indigo, &c. being almost entirely the work of the free people. The
slaves are, with the exception of the Indian prisoners, treated
mildly, and gain their freedom by amassing, if they are of an
active turn, a small sum which they give to their owner, who is
forced to emancipate them; this sum is from sixty to eighty pounds.
The mestizoes, mulattoes, zambos, and people of mixed blood, amount
to about 2,400,000. The mestizoes, are represented as a mild and
well conducted people, differing in hardly any thing from the
whites.
The mulattoes have that revengeful disposition, versatility of
conduct and voluble tongue, which they possess in all other
quarters of the world.
The aboriginal race form a large section of the Mexican population;
their number, as before stated, amounts to about three millions;
they inhabit, chiefly the central and southern part of New Spain,
and in these regions they are mostly to be found concentrated in
towns and villages. Towards the north the Indians are, with the
exception of a few, who have been converted by the missionaries,
wandering tribes who subsist by the chace, and by the plunder
of the Spanish settlers. The military stations are in constant
activity against these people, they frequently capture numbers, who
are sent to Mexico, as slaves. For the history of the migration of
the Mexican race we must refer to the description of the province
of Mexico, under which head will be found some interesting details
of the principal events which have taken place in respect to these
people, up to the period at which they were subjugated by the
Spaniards.
The Indians of New Spain are of a copper colour, and in general
well made, with very little beard, but long smooth, shining dark
hair, prominent cheek bones, and thick lips. Their temperament
is melancholic, and their physiognomy indicating a great share
of moroseness, strangely intermingled with gentleness. The
Mexican Indians generally wear some hair on the upper lip, no
doubt in imitation of the Spaniards; they are extremely fond of
an intoxicating liquor, made of the juice of the agave, and those
who addict themselves to this practice, by taking very little
solid food, greatly weaken their constitutions; otherwise they
are a robust race, and attain in general a healthy old age. They
are in their common demeanour, silent and reserved, and appear to
entertain for the Spaniards a constant sort of distrust. In the
Indian towns and villages, few whites settle, and they are governed
by magistrates, elected from their own tribes, who are represented
to be more severe, and fond of punishing their brethren, than the
Spaniards themselves. Very few of the Indians who are subject to
Spanish power, are in any other situations than those of small
cultivators, labourers, or artisans, and are a hard working people
when urged by interested motives; otherwise they are idly disposed,
as is the case with most people who live in a warm climate; they
are however free, and receive for their labour, when employed
in the mines or other work, very good wages. They are, in some
instances, forced to supply a certain number of labourers for
particular operations, but these are always paid.
The women are more lively, and of a less reserved disposition than
the men, and are kept by them in a state of much subjection.
Carving on wood, and rough paintings, or rather designs, with
the fabrication of pottery and cotton cloths, are the principal
arts in which they excel, and they are represented as equalling
the Chinese in their taste and ability in imitating objects of
European workmanship. Flowers are a part of the household goods of
the Mexican Indians; their shops for the display of fruit, &c. in
Mexico, being completely lined with the most beautiful productions
of the flower garden, in which they take great delight.
The Indian tribes who inhabit the northern part of New Spain,
are mostly free from the domination of the Spaniards; they are a
warlike people, and are a more noble race than their subjugated
brethren, carrying on a constant warfare against the settlers, and
only trading with them, when in absolute want of some articles of
finery, or nourishment. This trade never takes place personally;
the Indian leaves his goods, at a stated place, and the Spaniard
takes them, and deposits in return the articles the Indians are
known to be in need of; this commerce is said to be carried on with
a rectitude of principle highly honourable to both parties.
The whole of the Indians are styled tributary by the Spanish laws,
excepting only such as are descended from the ancient kings and
nobles of the country; these are called Caciques, who levy the
tribute, and are appointed to the magisterial functions in the
Indian towns and villages; but are not a jot better informed than
their brethren. Many of them have embraced the rigid rules of the
monastery, and their daughters are often devoted to the veil; in
most of their towns or villages, the curate is an Indian.
At the conquest, these unfortunate people suffered very much,
they were used as beasts of burden, in the working of the mines,
the erection of buildings, and as slaves, in fact, in every
thing where labour was required; their conquerors disdaining to
work. They were divided as spoil among the soldiers and the new
settlers, particularly the monks; thus they languished for some
time under the pressure of this burden, and it was not until the
eighteenth century, that these poor people were in some measure
freed from slavery. Charles III. abolished the right of possession,
which had been granted over the Indians to the Spanish settlers;
intendancies were established, to watch over the welfare of the
natives, and since that period they have gradually enjoyed a milder
form of government, and, comparatively speaking, are very little
oppressed.
Many of the Indian families possess considerable wealth from
their plantations. M. de Humboldt mentions Indian families at
Cholula, where there are no Caciques, who possess from these
sources, capitals from 33,000 to 50,000_l._ sterling; but they
live nevertheless very wretched, at least in exterior appearance.
The Indian tribute levied on all individuals, amounts to about
9_s._ each _per annum_; by paying which, they are exempted from
all other taxes; they are, however, looked upon by the law, as a
sort of irrational beings, and consequently, great impediments to
their advancement in the arts of civilisation, and intermixture
with Europeans takes place; they can enter into no contracts above
a very small sum, and the whites are forbidden to settle in Indian
towns, or to intermarry with that people.
The laws are still more severe with respect to the blacks and their
descendants.
_Antiquities, &c._--The ancient monuments of the Mexicans, at
present remaining, are chiefly their teocallies or temples of a
pyramidal form; these are generally divided into steps or separate
platforms with a square top, on which the priests officiated; the
greatest and most striking of them, are those of Cholula, Mitla and
Papantla, which will be spoken of in describing the provinces.