CALLAO, THE CHIEF SEAPORT OF PERU—STEAMSHIP LINES
[Illustration: MONUMENT TO ADMIRAL GRAU, CALLAO.]
Callao, the chief seaport of Peru, and one of the most important on the
Pacific coast, possesses an especial historical as well as commercial
interest. As the City of the Kings was the centre of political and
social authority under the viceroyalty, Callao was the headquarters of
its trade, the counting-house in which business operations connected
with the colonial service were carried on. All ships that traded between
Spain and its vast Peruvian provinces were obliged to load and discharge
their cargo in this port, where every article was registered and the
king’s duties were collected. The first buildings of the port were
erected in 1537, two years after Pizarro founded Lima; but it was not
until a hundred and thirty-four years later, in 1671, that Callao was
dignified with the title of city. In the intervening period, the
increasing wealth and prosperity of the viceroyalty and the importance
of its trade attracted pirates to the coast, the harbor of Callao being
made the chief point of attack, as in the case of Drake and Cavendish,
elsewhere referred to, and of the Dutch pirates who came later. These
invasions, though they wrought great damage to the city, were forgotten
in the flourishing period that followed, when Callao grew to be the
richest port of the Pacific and its harbor was constantly thronged with
vessels bringing in merchandise of all kinds, or loading precious
cargoes of gold and silver for the metropolis.
[Illustration: THE DOCKS AT CALLAO.]
A greater catastrophe than invasion of pirates befell the seaport in the
height of its prosperity, when, on the 28th of October, 1746, a terrible
earthquake, accompanied by a tidal wave of tremendous volume, completely
destroyed the city, about six thousand people perishing in the sea that
swept over the falling buildings in a deluge. The task of rebuilding
began at once, though not on the same site, which has ever since
remained under the sea. The location of the submerged city is indicated
between the points of Independencia and Camotal, south of the present
site, and in that part of the bay called the _Mar Brava_ (rough sea.)
For many years after this calamity, a sentry was stationed on the beach
to take charge of any treasure that might be washed ashore, and this
post was not dispensed with until after the inauguration of the
republic. When the new city was built, the port was fortified and placed
in charge of a strong military garrison. The part played by this
garrison in the last days of the viceroyalty is well known. Its
surrender was the signal of defeat to the royalist cause in Peru.
The foreigner who first sees the harbor and city of Callao from the deck
of a steamer, finds the view such a pleasing contrast to anything the
neighboring harbors have to offer, that he is not disposed to find fault
even with the barren aspect of San Lorenzo to the south, and the
monotonous line of houses facing the water front; he is charmed with the
beautiful green of the Rimac valley to the north, the distant glimpse of
Lima’s church towers, and behind them the purple hills that hide their
summits above the clouds. There is much to enjoy also in the busy scene
of the harbor; vessels of all nations are loading and discharging their
cargoes, tugs bustle about, and, while the pompous whistle of modern
steamers announces their arrival, the graceful sailing ship glides
silently into port, maintaining with dignity the credit of the good old
days, in the face of these rival _parvenus_ of twentieth century
transportation.
Nearly all passengers landing at Callao proceed immediately to Lima,
and, as soon as the routine of the custom house is finished, there is a
general rush for the train or the electric street car which runs to the
capital. If the foreigner were to be asked his first impression of
Callao, he would probably give a confused description of a place
remembered only for its Custom House, the narrow irregular streets and
old-fashioned houses of the water front, and the railway tracks to be
crossed on the way to the Station. But those who have seen Callao under
more favorable circumstances have found many attractions in the social
life of its kind and hospitable people and much to admire in the city
itself. Under the present administration, important improvements are
being carried to completion, notably the work of canalization, which
means a great deal to the healthfulness of the city. Block pavements
have been laid in the principal streets, the question of sanitation has
received special attention, and everything indicates a spirit of
progress active in public affairs.
[Illustration: THE CUSTOM HOUSE, CALLAO.]
The public buildings of Callao are situated chiefly in the central part
of the city, on one of the numerous squares, or plazas. The most
conspicuous of these edifices is the custom house, the chief _aduana_ of
the republic. It occupies the site formerly enclosed in the city’s
fortresses, and is a spacious building; though, it is claimed, the
accommodations do not fulfil the requirements of an establishment of
this kind, as the first custom house of Peru. The post office building
is a solid, well-built structure, overlooking the plaza; the prefecture
occupies a large and commodious building, the lower part of which is
used for the offices of the police authorities, the Junta Departmental,
the treasury and the criminal court; the civil court holds its sessions
elsewhere. Callao has a town council, a chamber of commerce, an
excellent fire brigade composed of four companies, a benevolent society
which maintains the hospitals of Guadalupe and San Juan de Dios, several
churches, and three social clubs. There are two protestant churches in
the city and two foreign clubs. The English Club has its headquarters in
a building overlooking the bay; its broad verandahs, adorned with shrubs
and plants, present a very attractive picture from the landing-place.
For amusement, there is a theatre and a bull ring, and lovers of sport
have their rifle and regatta clubs, besides which there is also the
Naval Club and the Italian Club. In the principal plazas of the city,
monuments have been erected in honor of the national heroes. The Plaza
Grau has a handsome monument in memory of the heroic commander of the
_Huascar_; a statue of General San Martin adorns the beautiful Plaza
Matriz; and in the Plaza “Dos de Mayo” stands a marble pillar,
supporting a bust of the hero José Galvez, Minister of War, who was
killed in the naval battle of 1866, in the bay of Callao.
[Illustration: STATUE OF THE LIBERATOR, CALLAO.]
The constitutional province of Callao was created by a decree of the
supreme government in 1836, the name “constitutional” being bestowed by
law in 1857, in remembrance of various occasions when its people had
defended the constitution of the State. The province extends from the
Rimac River on the north to the Mar Brava on the south, and from the
Pacific Ocean on the west to the haciendas Chacra Alta, Taboada, and La
Legua on the east. It includes the city of Callao, the wards, or
_barrios_, of Bella Vista and La Punta, and the islands of San Lorenzo,
Fronton, Palominos, Hormigos de Afuera, and neighboring rocks. The
province is governed by a prefect, an intendant of police, commissaries
and governors. Bella Vista and La Punta are under the authority of
commissaries. The present population of Callao is thirty-five thousand,
of which one-tenth are foreigners. Its chief industries are those
connected with maritime traffic, though the city has also a number of
factories and flour mills. The port is connected with the capital by
telegraph and telephone systems, and with all the cities of the world by
the Central and South American Telegraph Company, and the West Coast of
America Telegraph Company. Most of the consular offices are located in
Callao, which is within twenty minutes’ ride of Lima, on the electric
car. A business man may reside at the capital without any inconvenience
in getting to and from his office. The ride itself is a pleasant
_paseo_, across open country, with agreeable scenes all the way.
[Illustration: UNLOADING LUMBER AT CALLAO.]
Bella Vista is situated a mile east of Callao, where it was founded
after the earthquake of 1746, by order of the viceroy, the Count of
Superunda. Here the ship-owners, who had charge of the coasting trade at
that time, made their homes; and here were established warehouses for
the storage of wheat purchased from Chile to supply the market of Lima
and its neighborhood during the viceroyalty. These old buildings have
now been replaced by modern storehouses. In 1834, the government of Peru
ceded to the British Legation a piece of land for the purpose of a
Protestant cemetery, and here many distinguished foreigners have been
laid to rest. A mausoleum, erected by the Peruvian nation as a proof of
gratitude to the hero of the Independence, marks the grave of General
Miller, San Martin’s faithful follower.
[Illustration: CALLAO HARBOR.]
La Punta is the favorite bathing resort of Callao and of the capital,
its beach being thronged throughout the summer season. Its situation
marks the southern limit of the harbor, to which it forms a protection
from the southeast winds, stretching out for more than a mile into the
sea. The harbor is usually entered from the north, the narrow passage
between La Punta and the island of San Lorenzo, on the south, being
seldom frequented. The bay is large and affords safe anchorage for ships
at all times of the year. The only islands in the vicinity are San
Lorenzo, Fronton, Palominos, and a few small rocks. San Lorenzo is used
as a depository for explosives, and from its quarries are taken stones
for paving and other purposes; besides which it provides a good cement
for construction work. On the little island of Palominos, south of San
Lorenzo, stands a lighthouse, with a revolving light visible eighteen
miles distant. The government of Peru is putting up new lighthouses all
along its coast, thus meeting an urgent need. Another demand which is
being met with especial endeavor is the improvement of all the docks and
landing-places of the various ports of the republic. Callao’s dock and
wharf, called the Muelle Darsena, is built so that ships may disembark
passengers and cargo directly on shore, without requiring, as in nearly
all other ports of the Pacific, canoes and lighters to transfer them. In
some ports of the West Coast, both in North and South America, the
passengers are swung over the ship’s side in baskets; but, though the
novelty of the experience may have its charm, this is not a very
comfortable mode of landing. The Muelle Darsena at Callao permits of
ships of large tonnage anchoring close to its wharf. It encloses a space
covering more than fifty thousand square metres, has a pier one hundred
and eighty metres long, formed by the extension of one of its side
walls, and connects with the shore by means of a bridge nine hundred
metres long, constructed on iron piles. In addition to the Muelle
Darsena, the port of Callao has a floating dock with capacity to admit
vessels drawing twenty-one feet of water and registering five thousand
tons; and another floating dock is under construction which will admit
vessels of up to seven thousand tons’ register. During the past year
many improvements have been initiated, one of the most important being
the plan of fortifying the port, in accordance with the best modern
system. A new embankment, or breakwater, the “Malecon Figueredo,” is
under construction, which will add greatly to the attractiveness as well
as the protection of that part of the city which overlooks the harbor.
In this work, the supreme government coöperates with the Junta
Departmental and the municipality, all being benefited by its results.
In giving attention to the improvements that contribute to make Callao a
better port, the government believes that the commerce of the country
will be greatly advanced thereby. Callao is now visited annually by five
hundred steamers and more than a thousand sailing vessels besides the
smaller craft engaged in the coasting trade. Every day in the year, one
may count twenty or more steamers and twice as many sailing ships
anchored in the harbor.
[Illustration: PIER OF THE ARSENAL, CALLAO.]
[Illustration: PASSENGERS LANDING AT ETEN FROM A STEAMER OF THE PACIFIC
LINE.]
The most important steamship companies of the world are represented in
the lines which include the port of Callao in their itinerary. The first
company to send steamers to the Pacific Coast was organized largely
through the initiative of shippers in this port. The Pacific Steam
Navigation Company, incorporated in England by Royal Charter in 1840,
began its service on the Pacific Coast under the usual difficulties
attending pioneer efforts. The working of the line was impeded by
innumerable drawbacks. At first it was a purely coastal service and the
mails, passengers and through traffic had to be conveyed across the
isthmus of Panamá on mules. Then the Panamá railroad was built and the
traffic was fostered; but the rates across the isthmus were very high
and the difficulties that attended the despatching of through traffic
were so discouraging that the Pacific Company instituted a line of
steamers between Liverpool and Valparaiso _via_ the Straits of Magellan,
to connect with the coast service plying between that port and Panamá.
Later, the line from Liverpool was extended to Callao, and for many
years this port was the headquarters of the company, until, in 1896,
owing to a falling off in trade after the decline of the guano industry,
the chief offices were transferred to Valparaiso. Of late years,
however, the company has greatly increased its fleet, and a special line
of passenger and cargo boats has been put on for service to Peruvian
ports. From a small commencement with two wooden paddle steamers of
seven hundred tons’ register, as described by Mr. Frederick Alcock in
his book _Trade and Travel in South America_, the fleet has grown until
its register now approximates two hundred thousand tons. Its new
steamer, the _Orcoma_, has a tonnage of eleven thousand five hundred,
and the _Orita_ registers nine thousand two hundred and sixty-five tons;
in addition to these handsome floating palaces, the fleet numbers
eighteen twin-screw steamers of lesser tonnage, all of modern
construction and commodious service. Of these, the _Oriana_, _Ortega_,
and _Oronsa_, are the largest and most noted for comfort and elegance.
At Chucuito, near Callao, where the company owns a large property, the
stores and works are being enlarged and improved. The Pacific steamers
connect with those of the Royal Mail both at Panamá and Buenos Aires,
the latter having no line on the west coast of America, though its
magnificent fleet ploughs all the seas, from Southampton to Panamá, to
Brazil and Argentina, to the Mediterranean, Suez Canal and India, and,
in the Pacific Ocean, to China and Australia.
In addition to the Pacific Steamship Line, there are numerous others
trading along the west coast of South America, all of which call at the
port of Callao. The South American Steamship Company of Chile has
steamers every week from Valparaiso to Panamá and the ports of Peru. The
Kosmos Line connects the European ports of Hamburg, Bremen, Antwerp, and
Havre with San Francisco, California, _via_ the Straits of Magellan and
west coast ports of South America. The “Merchant Line” carries on a
direct trade between New York and Callao, and the Japanese Steamship
Company connects the Peruvian ports with Japan.
Almost all the American and European steamship companies have lines to
Panamá, including the Panamá Railway Steamship Company and the Leyland
Line, from New York; the Royal Mail, from New York and England; the
Hamburg-Pacific, from Germany; the Compagnie Général Transatlantique,
from France; the Veloce, from Italy; the Transatlantica Española, from
Spain; and the Pacific Mail, from San Francisco. As soon as the Canal is
open for traffic, all these lines will extend their itineraries to
Callao, which is destined to be the commercial metropolis of the South
Pacific.
[Illustration: PREFECTURE, CALLAO.]
[Illustration: A TYPICAL HACIENDA OF THE COAST REGION.]