SOUTH AMERICA--THE ANDEAN STATES
In its general surface features South America resembles North
America--that is, a central plain is bordered by low ranges on the east
and by a high mountain system on the west. In the southern part,
midsummer is in January and midwinter in July. The mineral-producing
states are traversed by the ranges of the Andes and all of them except
Chile are situated on both slopes of the mountains.
=Colombia.=--This republic borders both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific
Ocean. One port excepted, however, most of its commerce is confined to
the shores of the Caribbean Sea. The lowlands east of the Andes are
admirably adapted for grazing, and such cattle products as hides, horns,
and tallow are articles of export. This region, however, even with the
present facilities for transportation, produces only a small fraction of
the products possible.
The intermontane valleys between the Andean ranges have the climate of
the temperate zone; wheat and sheep are produced. The chief industrial
development, however, is confined to the lands near the Caribbean coast.
Coffee, cacao, and tobacco are grown for export, the business of
cultivation being largely controlled by Americans and Europeans. Rubber,
copaiba, tolu, and vegetable ivory[59] are gathered by Indians from the
forests.
[Illustration: A PASS IN THE ANDES]
The montane region has long been famous for its mines of gold and
silver. The salt mines near Bogota are a government monopoly and yield a
considerable revenue. Near the same city are the famous Muzo emerald
mines.
The rivers are the chief channels of internal trade. During the rainy
season steamboats ascend the Orinoco to Cabugaro, about two hundred
miles from Bogota. About fifty steamboats are in commission on the
Magdalena and its tributary, the Cauca. Mule trains traversing wretched
trails require from one to two weeks to transport the goods from the
river landings to the chief centres of population. Improvements now
under way in clearing and canalizing these rivers will add about five
hundred miles of additional water-way. The railways consist of short
lines mainly used as portages around obstructions of the rivers.
An unstable government and an onerous system of export taxes hamper
trade. Coffee, a leading product, goes mainly to Europe. Cattle
products, and balsam of tolu are purchased mainly in the United States.
Great Britain purchases the gold and silver ores. The chief
imports--textiles, flour, and petroleum--are purchased in the United
States. _Bogota_ and _Medellin_ are the largest cities. The isolation of
the region in which they are situated shapes the indifferent foreign
policy of the government. _Barranquilla_, _Sabanilla_, and _Cartagena_
are the chief ports.
=Panama.=--This state, formerly a part of Colombia, includes the isthmus
of Panama. Geographically it belongs to North America, and practically
it can be approached from Colombia by water only. The secession of
Panama was brought about by the complications of the isthmian canal. A
treaty with the United States gives the latter sovereign control over
the canal and the strip of land ten miles wide bordering it. _Panama_
and _Colon_ are the two ports of the canal. The United States exercises
police and sanitary regulations in these cities, but it has no
sovereignty over them.
=Peru.=--Peru has great resources, both agricultural and mineral. Cotton
is one of the chief products. The ordinary fibre is excelled only by the
sea-island cotton of the United States; the long-staple fibre of the
Piura is the best grown. The former is generally employed for mixing
with wool in the manufacture of underwear, and is sold in the United
States and Europe; the latter, used in the manufacture of thread and the
web of pneumatic tires, goes mainly to Great Britain.
Cane-sugar is a very large export crop, Great Britain, the United
States, and Chile being the principal customers. The area of coffee
production is growing rapidly. Coca-growing has become an important
industry, and the plantations aggregate about three million trees;[60] a
large part of the product is sent to the chemical laboratories of the
United States. A small crop of rice for export is grown on the coast.
The Amazon forest products yield a considerable revenue. Rubber and
vegetable ivory are the most valuable. Cinchona, or Peruvian bark,
however, is the one for which the state is best known; and there is
probably not a drug-shop in the civilized world that does not carry it
in stock.[61]
Cattle are grown for their hides, and of these the United States is the
chief purchaser. The wool of the llama, alpaca, and vicuña is used in
manufacture of the cloth known as alpaca, and the value of the shipments
to Great Britain usually exceeds one million dollars a year. In the
mining regions the llama is used as a pack-animal, and a large part of
the mine products reach the markets by this means of transportation. The
mines yield silver and copper; in the main the ores are exported to
Great Britain to be smelted.
The products already named are the chief exports; the imports are cotton
textiles, machinery, steel wares, and coal-oil. Great Britain has about
one-half the foreign trade; the United States controls about one-fourth.
_Callao_, the port of _Lima_, is the market through which most of the
foreign trade is carried on. Steamship lines connect it with San
Francisco and with British ports. _Mollendo_ is the outlet of Bolivian
trade. The railways are short lines extending from the coast.
=Ecuador.=--This state has but little commercial importance. The only
cultivated products for export are cacao, coffee, and sugar. The
first-named constitutes three-fourths of the exports, and most of it
goes to France. The land is held in large estates, and most of the
laboring people are in a condition of practical slavery. The
bread-stuffs consumed by the foreign population and the land proprietors
are imported. Animals are grown for their hides and these are sold to
the United States.
Another manufacture that connects Ecuador with the rest of the world is
the so-called "Panama" hat. The material used is toquilla straw, the
mid-rib of the screw-pine (_Carlodovica palmata_). The prepared straw
can be plaited only when the atmosphere is very moist, and much of the
work is done at night. The hats are made by Indians, who are governed
by their own ideas regarding style and shape. They bring from
twenty-five to fifty dollars apiece in the American markets, where
nearly all the product is sold.[62]
Mule-paths are the only means of inland communication. There is a
considerable local traffic on the estuaries of the rivers, but this is
confined to the rainy seasons. A railway built by an American company is
in operation from _Guayaquil_, a short distance inland. This city is the
chief market for foreign goods, and it is the only foreign port of the
Pacific coast of South America in which the volume of trade of the
United States approximates that of Germany and Great Britain.
=Bolivia.=--Bolivia lost much of its possible commercial possible future
when, after a disastrous war, its Pacific coast frontage became a
possession of Chile. The agricultural lands are unfortunately situated
with reference to the mining population; as a result, a considerable
amount of food-stuffs must be imported from Argentina. Coffee, cacao,
and coca are the principal cultivated products. Rubber from the Amazon
forest is the most valuable vegetable product, but a considerable amount
of cinchona bark and ivory nuts are also exported.
The mines, however, are the chief wealth of the state and give it the
only excuse for its political existence. They produce silver, tin,
copper, gold, and borate of lime. Inasmuch as a large part of the ore
and ore products must be transported by llamas and mules, only the
richest mines can be profitably worked. With adequate means of
transportation, the mines should make Bolivia one of the most powerful
South American states.
Railways already connect _Oruro_ with the sea-coast. A railway now
under construction will connect _La Paz_ (the pass) with the Pacific
coast, and also Buenos Aires. Excellent roads to take the place of the
pack-trains are under construction.
Practically all the imports, consisting of cotton and woollen textiles,
machinery, and steel wares, are purchased in Great Britain. The exports
are more than double the imports. Most of the goods pass through the
Chilean port Antofagasto, or Mollendo, Peru. _La Paz_, _Oruro_, and
_Sucre_ are the chief cities.
The hypothetical state of Acré is situated in the angle where Bolivia,
Peru, and Brazil join. The rubber forests, together with the absence of
legal government, led to its existence. The government is wholly
insurrectionary, but it at least uses its powers to encourage the rubber
trade.
=Chile.=--This state comprises the narrow western slope of the Andes,
extending from the tropic of Capricorn to Cape Horn, a distance of about
three thousand miles. The resources of the state have been so skilfully
handled, that with the drawback of a very small proportion of cultivable
land, Chile is the foremost Andean state.
The cultivation of the ordinary crops is confined to the flood-plains of
the short rivers. These, as a rule, are from twenty to fifty miles long
and a mile or two in width. They are densely peopled and cultivated to
the limit. Between the river-valleys are long stretches of unproductive
land.
Within the valleys wheat, barley, fruit, and various food-stuffs are
grown. Of these there are not only enough for home consumption, but
considerable quantities are exported to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Much
of the cultivable land requires to be watered, and the system of
irrigation has been developed with extraordinary skill. The grazing
lands are extensive. In the northern part an excellent quality of merino
wool is produced; the greater part of the clip, however, is an ordinary
fibre. The cattle furnish a considerable amount of leather for export.
The conditions which have made the northern part a desert have also
given to the state its greatest resource--nitre.[63] The nitrate occurs
in the northern desert region. The crude salt is crushed and partly
refined at the mines, and carried by rail to the nearest port. The
working of the nitrate beds is largely carried on by foreign companies.
Nearly all the product is used as a fertilizer in Germany, France, and
Great Britain. Nitrate constitutes about two-thirds of the exports.
Iodine and bromine are also obtained from the nitrates, and the Chilean
product yields nearly all the world's supply.
Copper is extensively mined and, next to the nitrates, is the most
valuable product. Great Britain is the customer for the greater part.
Coal occurs in the southern part of the state, and is mined for export
to the various states of the Pacific coast. It is not a good coal for
iron smelting, however, and about three times as much is imported as is
exported. A considerable part of the imported coal comes from Australia,
and with it structural steel is made from pig-iron that is also
imported.
Chile is well equipped with railways, a part of which has been built and
are operated by the state. The most important line traverses the valley
between the Andes and the coast ranges, from Concepcion to Valparaiso.
In this region are most of the manufacturing enterprises.
The imports are chiefly coal, machinery, textile goods, and sugar. The
British control about two-thirds of the foreign trade; the Germans and
the French have most of the remainder. The United States supplies the
Chileans with a part of the textiles, a considerable quantity of Oregon
pine, and practically all the coal-oil used.
[Illustration: VALPARASIO]
_Valparaiso_ is the chief business centre of the Pacific coast of South
America. Most of the forwarding business is carried on by British and
German merchants. The transandine railway, now about completed, will
make it one of the most important ports of the world. _Santiago_ is the
capital. _Concepcion_ and _Talca_ are important centres of trade.
_Chillan_ is the principal cattle-market of the Pacific coast of South
America. _Copiapo_ is the focal point of the mining interests. _Iquique_
is the port from which about all the nitrates are shipped. _Punta
Arenas_, one of the "end towns" of the world, is an ocean post-office
for vessels passing through the Straits of Magellan. It is about as far
south as Calgary, B.C., is north.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
What will be the probable effect of an interoceanic canal on the
commerce of these states?
From the Abstract of Statistics make a list of the exports from the
United States to these countries.
From the statistics of trade in the Statesman's Year-Book compare the
trade of the United States with that of other countries in these states.
How have race characteristics affected the commerce and development of
these states?
What is meant by peonage?
What cities of the tropical part of these states are in the climate of
the temperate zone?
FOR COLLATERAL READING AND REFERENCE
Carpenter's South America.
Vincent's Around and About South America.
Fiske's Discovery of America--Chapters IX-X.
Procure, if possible, specimens of the following: Cacao and its
products, ivory nuts, cinchona bark, crude nitrate, Panama straw, iodine
(in a sealed vial), llama wool, alpaca cloth, Peruvian cotton.