_PROGRESS OF THE COLONY._
1604-1792.
[Sidenote: 1604.]
_Don_ Garcia Raymon was once more appointed to the government of
_Chili_, and received one thousand soldiers from Europe and a fourth of
that number from _Mexico_. He thus found himself at the head of three
thousand regular troops, besides auxiliaries. With such a force at his
disposal, it was natural that he should once more invade _Arauco_, in
which territory he erected a fort; the existence of which, however, was
of short duration, it being abandoned to the Araucanians. Raymond
divided his force into two parts, both of which were successively
attacked and defeated by the new _Toqui_, Huenecura, so complete being
the rout that every single person was killed or taken. Such was the
dread entertained of the Araucanians that, in 1608, orders were issued
from Spain that a force of two thousand regular troops should constantly
be maintained on the frontier. For this purpose a sum of about three
hundred thousand _dollars_ was to be paid annually from the treasury of
_Peru_.
[Sidenote: 1610.]
In the following year the Court of Royal Audience was re-established at
_St. Iago_. The Captain-General, Raymon, who once more took the field,
ended his days at _Conception_, greatly regretted, not only by those
whom he had commanded and governed, but likewise by the Araucanians,
whom, when prisoners, he invariably treated with humanity. In
consequence of the representations of a Jesuit missionary, named Louis
Valdivia, respecting the injurious influence exercised by the
long-continued struggle on the progress of conversion, the pious Philip
III. sent orders to the government of _Chili_ to discontinue the war and
to establish peace, taking the _Bio-bio_ as a frontier. Louis Valdivia
returned to _Chili_ in 1612, the bearer of a letter from the King to the
Araucanian congress, with which he hastened to the frontier. In the
presence of fifty chiefs he made known the object of his errand. He was
thanked for his exertions, and received the promise of a favourable
report to the _Toqui_.
So zealous was King Philip in the object of converting the Araucanians
that, with the view the better to carry it out, he proposed not only to
raise the missionary Valdivia to the episcopal dignity, but further to
appoint him governor of _Chili_. But Valdivia’s was not a worldly
ambition. He declined the King’s offers; whilst he obtained the
nomination of a governor who was likely to carry out his views. This was
no other than Rivera, who had been removed from _St. Iago_ to _Tucuman_.
Rivera now besought the _Toqui_ to meet him at _Paicavi_ in order to
confer respecting peace. The _Toqui_ brought with him to the appointed
place a number of his Spanish prisoners, whom he released without
ransom: his conditions were accepted by the governor, and all promised a
speedy result; when the negotiations were interrupted by an unlooked-for
accident.
Ancanamon was compelled, before concluding peace, to consult four of his
chiefs. He was on his way to seek them, when he learned that his Spanish
wife had taken the opportunity of his departure to make her escape and
to take refuge with the governor with her two children. She brought with
her two others, his wives, and likewise his two daughters, three out of
the four having become Christians. This incident naturally changed the
purpose of the _Toqui_, who at once returned to the Spanish quarters to
seek the restoration of his family. This was, however, refused to him,
on the ground of concern for their religious welfare, although, by the
refusal, the object of the King of Spain in the negotiation with the
Araucanians was imperilled. All that Ancanamon could obtain was the
restoration of one of his daughters, who had not yet been baptized.
A new actor now appeared upon the scene in the person of the
_arch-Ulmen_, _Utiflami_, who, out of gratitude to Valdivia for the
release of one of his sons, undertook to manage the negotiation. He
proceeded, with this object, to the quarters of the _Toqui_, taking with
him three missionaries. On their appearance, however, Ancanamon was so
exasperated that, without listening to their arguments, he ordered them
to be put to death, together with Antiflami. Thus, out of care for the
souls of the refugees, the negotiations for peace and proselytizing were
brought to an end, and the war recommenced, with greater fury than ever.
Ancanamon, desirous of avenging the affront he had received, never
ceased to harass the Spanish provinces; and Rivera, up till his death in
1617, had no other opportunity of carrying out the special object with
which he had been reappointed governor of _Chili_.
[Sidenote: 1618.]
Rivera’s successor, Lope de Ulloa, had to encounter a daring adversary
in the _Toqui_ Lientur, who was invariably successful in his encounters
with the Spaniards, till, worn out by age and fatigues, he resigned his
command, in 1625, to Putapichion, who pursued a like daring course. The
war continued, with occasional successes on either side, for many years
longer. A new governor was appointed to _Chili_ in the person of _Don_
Francisco Laso, who, having failed to obtain peace, carried on
hostilities continuously, until at length, in 1632, Putapichion was
slain in battle.
Laso had greatly at heart the fulfilment of the promise which he had
made to his King of putting an end to the war. From his talents and
experience no one was more capable of doing so; but he had to do with
an invincible people. Their love of their country has probably never
been exceeded, and was so strong that life had no charm for them beyond
the limits of _Araucania_. All prisoners were after a time deported by
Laso to _Peru_. When they came in sight of land they threw themselves
overboard, in the hope of swimming ashore, and many succeeded in this
manner in effecting their escape. Even from _Callao_ many escaped,
following, with incredible fatigue, the immense line of coast which
separated them from their native country.
[Sidenote: 1641.]
The court of Spain, owing to the long duration of the war and the great
losses on their side, declined to retain Laso any longer in command, and
appointed as his successor _Don_ Francisco Zuniga, to whom was reserved
the honour of concluding peace. Zuniga arrived in _Chili_ in 1630, and
sought a personal conference with Lincopichion, the _Toqui_ of the
Araucanians. On the 6th of January of the following year a solemn treaty
was concluded, putting a period to a war which had lasted for ninety
years. The Marquis de Baydes was attended by ten thousand persons to the
village of _Quillin_ in _Puren_, the place fixed for the ratification;
whilst Lincopichion came at the head of four hereditary _Toquis_ and a
large number of _Ulmenes_. The ratification was celebrated by a three
days’ festival on either side, all prisoners being released.
[Sidenote: 1643.]
Amongst the clauses of the treaty was one by which the Araucanians
engaged not to permit the landing of any strangers upon their coast, nor
to furnish such with supplies, and the prudence of this clause was not
long in being made apparent. Three years previously the Dutch had made a
second fruitless attempt to form an alliance with the Araucanians. Their
squadron, consisting of four ships, was dispersed by a storm; and two
boats’ crews were put to death. In 1643 the Dutch made a last attempt to
possess themselves of _Chili_. Having set out from _Brazil_ with a
numerous fleet, they took possession of the deserted harbour of
_Valdivia_, and began to fortify the entrance to the river. The
Araucanians were invited to an alliance; but they honourably adhered to
the terms of their treaty with the Spaniards, thus forcing the Dutch to
retire in consequence of hunger. On their retreat a fleet under the
command of the Marquis de Mancura, son of the Viceroy of _Peru_, arrived
with ten ships of war, and fortified the harbour and the island which
bears his family name.
[Sidenote: 1665.]
From some cause which is not recorded hostilities once more broke out,
after an interval of fifteen years, between the Chilians and their
neighbours. They were continued with great violence for ten years, but
were terminated, in 1665, by a more permanent peace; and from this time
the records of this portion of South America are of a less stirring
nature. In consequence of the war of the Spanish succession the French
obtained, for a time, all the external commerce of _Chili_, its ports
having been crowded with their vessels between the years 1707 and 1717.
At this period many of this nation settled in the country, which
possesses, in consequence, a portion of French blood.
[Sidenote: 1722.]
A peace of upwards of fifty years’ duration had naturally given room for
the development of a country possessed of such abundant natural
advantages as is _Chili_. Its interruption was owing to the missionaries
who were sent amongst the Araucanians, and to the officers who were
appointed to protect them, whose presence and pretensions the
Araucanians resented; and, in 1722, it was determined to have recourse
to arms. The _Toqui_, Vilumilla, even at this late date adopted so vast
a project as that of the expulsion of the Spaniards from _Chili_. Having
killed three or four of the missionaries’ protectors, he despatched
messengers to the Chilians in the Spanish provinces, inviting them to
rise on the appearance of signal-fires. The native Chilians, however,
declined to respond to the _Toqui’s_ invitation. The _Toqui_, nothing
daunted, set out at the head of his troops to attack the Spanish
settlements; but he was careful to give information to the missionaries,
in order that, by retiring from the country, they might avoid
ill-treatment. It is unnecessary to give the details of this short war,
which was terminated by the peace of _Negrete_, where the treaty of
_Quillin_ was once more confirmed, and the title of Captain of Friends
or protector of missionaries abolished.
[Sidenote: 1742.]
_Chili_ was ruled over for fifteen years with wisdom and humanity by
_Don_ Gabriel Cano; and his successor received instructions to gather
the Spanish inhabitants into more compact societies. For this purpose he
founded, in 1742, the cities of _Copiapo_, _Aconcagua_, _Melipilla_,
_Rancagua_, _St. Fernando_, _Curico_, _Talca_, _Tutuben_, and _Angeles_,
and was rewarded by the dignity of Viceroy of _Peru_. From 1753 date
_Santa Rosa_, _Guasco-alto_, _Casablanca_, _Bella-Isla_, _Florida_,
_Coulemu_, and _Quirigua_; whilst at the same time a settlement was
formed on the island of _Juan Fernandez_, which till then had been the
retreat of pirates.
[Sidenote: 1773.]
_Don_ Antonio Gonzaga, whilst governor of _Chili_, undertook to bring
the Araucanians to live in cities, with the only result, however, of
forcing that brave people to take up arms once more in defence of their
liberties. An accommodation was at length arrived at, by which things
reverted to their previous state, the Araucanians, in acknowledgment of
their autonomy, being conceded the right of keeping a minister-resident
in _St. Iago_. Thus has this brave people, although inconsiderable in
point of numbers, succeeded in maintaining its independence, after
having cost Spain a greater sacrifice of blood and treasure than
sufficed for all her conquests in the New World.
[Sidenote: 1792.]
The Spaniards in _Chili_ now confined their views to consolidating their
settlements in the region lying between the southern frontiers of _Peru_
and the _Bio-bio_, a sufficiently extensive area, since it occupied the
space between degrees 24 and 36½ of southern latitude. This territory
was divided into thirteen provinces. The Captaincy-General of _Chili_
likewise included the fortress of _Valdivia_, the archipelago of
_Chiloë_, and the island of _Juan Fernandez_. The Captain-General[12]
was responsible to the King alone, unless in case of war, when he had to
act in subordination to the Viceroy of _Peru_. The provinces were
respectively governed by prefects, who possessed jurisdiction over both
civil and military affairs. In each provincial capital there existed a
municipal magistracy called the _Cabildo_. The inhabitants were divided
into regiments, which were obliged to march to the frontier or to the
sea-coast in case of war. In the year 1792 there were in the royal
service fifteen thousand eight hundred and fifty militia troops; and
besides this regular force there were likewise city bands of militia;
and in addition to both there was a sufficient force of imperial troops
to provide for the defence of the country.
_Chili_ was divided into the two dioceses of _St. Iago_ and
_Conception_, the bishops resident in these cities, respectively, being
suffragans to the Archbishop of _Lima_. The Court of Inquisition of
_Lima_ had a commissioner at _St. Iago_. The first ecclesiastics in
_Chili_ were the monks of the Order of Mercy, who were soon followed by
Dominicans and Franciscans, and later by Augustins and Hospitalers of
St. John of God. The Jesuits who were introduced in 1593, with the
nephew of their founder, were expelled in 1767. _St. Iago_ and
_Conception_ were the only cities which, in the colonial period,
contained convents of nuns. The churches were more remarkable for the
wealth which they displayed than for their architecture.
The population of _Chili_ presented the usual mixture of Europeans,
_Creoles_, Natives, Negroes, and _Mustees_, or half-castes. The
_Creoles_, or colonial Spaniards, displayed a laudable desire for
education, to complete which they, in many instances, proceeded to
_Lima_. The peasantry, though for the greater part of Spanish origin,
wore the Araucanian costume. Their lot was a happy one. Possessed of
perfect liberty, and dwelling in a delightful climate, they lived on the
produce of a fertile soil, and were robust, healthy, and lively. The
language of the country was Spanish, excepting on the frontiers, when
Araucanian or Chilian was likewise spoken. _Lima_ was the Paris of South
America, and prescribed the fashions for _Chili_. It may be added that
_Chili_ alone, of all the American provinces, could boast of two of its
citizens being exalted to the dignity of _Grandee_ of Spain.
The Chilians had the reputation of being exceedingly hospitable to
strangers, and of having been such good masters to their negro slaves
that the greatest punishment which could be inflicted on these latter
was to lose their protection; and it is stated that in many instances
they refused to avail themselves of the liberty afforded to them. The
masters exercised over them an authority similar to that of the Roman
_pater-familias_ over his _familia_. In correcting their faults the
degree of punishment was left to the master, unless in cases of capital
crime. The word slavery, so repugnant to our ears, may imply widely
different conditions of existence. Domestic slavery amongst the Turks,
for instance, may mean that the slaves are treated merely as
children--that is to say, that although a certain restriction is placed
upon their movements, they receive every kindness and care, whilst as
Moslem they may appeal to the laws of the _Koran_, &c. Very different,
however, was the lot of the field labourer in the transatlantic colonies
or of the mines in _Peru_. By all accounts the lot of the Chilian slave
was of the former character, and affords a pleasing contrast to that of
the natives of _Mexico_ in the hands of the conquerors.
This chapter may conclude with some notice of the native tribes which
have been repeatedly alluded to as taking part in the war between the
Spaniards and the Araucanians. The _Pehuenches_ inhabit that part of the
Chilian _Andes_ lying between the 34th and 37th degrees of south
latitude, to the east of the Spanish provinces of _Calchagua_, _Maúle_,
_Chillan_, and _Huilquilemu_. The dress is very similar to that of the
Araucanians, except that instead of breeches they wear round the waist a
piece of cloth after the fashion of the Japanese. Their boots, or shoes,
are all of one piece, and made from the skin of an ox. These
mountaineers, although having occasionally shown themselves to be
valiant soldiers, are nevertheless fond of decorating themselves like
women. They wear ornaments of glass beads upon their arms and amongst
their hair, and suspend around their heads little bells. Although
possessing herds of cattle and sheep, they prefer, like the Tartars,
horseflesh to any other, but, more delicate than that people, will only
eat it when cooked. They dwell in tents made of skins, disposed in a
circular form, leaving in the centre a spacious field in which the
cattle graze during the continuance of the herbage. When that begins to
fail they remove to another situation, and in this manner they traverse
the valleys of the _Cordilleras_.
Each village or encampment is governed by an _Ulmen_. In their language
and religion they differ not from the Araucanians. They are fond of
hunting, and often, in pursuit of game, traverse the vast plains lying
between the river _Plate_ and the Straits of _Magellan_. In these
excursions, which sometimes extend as far as to _Buenos Ayres_, they
plunder the country in that vicinity, and frequently attack the caravans
of merchandise going thence to _Chili_, with such success that commerce
is said to have suffered severely thereby. Their favourite weapon is the
_laque_ or _lasso_, which they carry fastened to their girdles. Although
of a wandering and restless disposition, the _Pehuenches_ are the most
industrious and commercial of any savages. The women work cloths of
various colours; the men occupy themselves in making baskets and a
variety of beautiful articles of wood, feathers, or skins, which are
highly prized by their neighbours. Assembling every year on the Spanish
frontier, they hold a kind of fair, that usually continues for fifteen
or twenty days, when, in exchange for fossil salt, gypsum, pitch,
bed-coverings, _ponchos_, skins, wool, bridle-reins beautifully wrought
of plaited leather, baskets, wooden vessels, feathers, ostrich eggs,
horses and cattle, &c., they receive wheat, wine, and the manufactures
of Europe. Being very skilful in traffic, they can with difficulty be
overreached; and when indulging in the pleasures of wine, a portion of
them is set apart to guard their property from plunder. They are
generally humane, complacent, lovers of justice, and possess all those
good qualities that are produced or perfected by commerce.
The _Chiquillanians_, whom some have erroneously supposed to be a part
of the _Pehuenches_, live to the north-east of them, on the eastern
border of the _Andes_, and are the most savage and least numerous of any
of the Chilians. They go almost naked, merely wrapping around them the
skin of the _guanaco_. It is observable that all the Chilians who
inhabit the eastern valleys of the _Andes_, namely, the _Pehuenches_,
the _Puelches_, the _Huilliches_, and the _Chiquillanians_, are much
redder than their countrymen dwelling westward of those mountains. All
the mountaineers dress themselves in skins and paint their faces; and,
living in general by hunting, lead a wandering and unsettled life. They
are, generally speaking, of a lofty stature and of great strength.