The history of Peru in the remote ages is not so clearly ascertained as
that of Mexico; traditions were not handed down to posterity as in that
country by symbolical paintings, but were remembered only by means of
the quippus, a knotted string of different colours, or by the priests
who were brought up from their youth in temples, where the history of
the nation was one of the objects of the care of their elders in their
instruction.
Although it is doubtful which nation had advanced to the greatest state
of civilization, it is certain that the Mexicans had the most correct
chronological notions; and accordingly, the æras of their early history
are the most to be depended on. From what country the ancient Peruvians
migrated is not known; they were however of a character widely
different from the Mexicans, and have been conjectured by some authors
to have come from the south-east.
They remained for a length of time without any decided form of
government, until they were subdued by a tribe who were said to have
come from an island in a great lake to the south of Peru. These people
were warlike and totally different in their manners from the Peruvians,
who were merely tribes of wandering inoffensive savages. According to
some authors MANCO CAPAC, and MAMA OELLO his wife were the conquerors
of Peru, appearing on the banks of lake Chucuito, clothed in flowing
garments, and whiter than the natives whom they came amongst; they
gave themselves out as children of the sun, sent by that divinity to
reclaim and instruct mankind. Awed by the presence of these people,
the rude savages followed them till they settled at Cuzco, where they
founded a town, afterwards the capital of Peru. Persuading the tribes
who wandered over the country to collect around them, Manco Capac,
instructed the men in agricultural and other useful arts, while Mama
Oello taught the females to weave and spin. After securing the objects
of primary importance, those of providing food, raiment and habitations
for his followers, Manco Capac turned his attention towards framing
laws for their government, in order to perpetuate the good work he had
begun. He constituted himself their sovereign and high priest, enacted
a law that no one but his descendants were to fill this post, that they
were to be held sacred, and looked upon as inferior only to the planet
from whom they sprung.
At first his territories embraced only a few leagues in extent round
the capital, but these were rapidly enlarged from the mild and
beneficent effects of his patriarchal government.
He was now styled by his subjects Capac, or rich in virtue; he founded
the temple of the sun at Cuzco, which was to be served only by virgins
of royal descent. This monarch lived among his people for a number
of years and then suddenly disappeared. His successors increased the
boundaries of their territories by the force of their arms, and by the
greater force of persuasion, backed by the mildest exercise of their
royal functions.
These monarchs were styled Incas, and were distinguished by a peculiar
dress and ornaments, which none of their subjects dared to assume;
they were adored by the Peruvians, who looked upon them as the sons
and vicegerents of the divinity they worshipped. This unbounded power
of the Incas was unaccompanied by any ill effects, as their attention
was uniformly exerted for the good of their subjects, in extending the
benefits of civilization, and knowledge of the arts introduced by their
founder.
It seems highly probable that such a person as Manco Capac existed, and
that he introduced the measures we have related, but it is also most
probable that he was accompanied by followers who carried his dictates
into effect among the rude Peruvians, and therefore the supposition
that these people were conquered by a superior and warlike tribe from
the south, is by no means improbable, as at the present day, there
exist several tribes in the southern forests, who are more civilized
than the modern Peruvians, and who have successfully resisted the
invasion of the Spaniards. The successor of Manco Capac, who died in
the latter end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century,
was his son _Sinchi Roca_, or the brave, who extended his dominions
sixty miles south of Cuzco. The third Inca was _Lloque Yupanqui_, who
further extended the territories of Cuzco and reduced several tribes;
the fourth was _Maita Capac_, who also added to the empire, and erected
several splendid edifices; the fifth, _Capac Yupanqui_, was another
conqueror; the sixth, _Inca Roca_, subdued many small districts; the
seventh was named _Yahuar Huacac_; the eighth, _Inca Ripac_, and who
had an army of 30,000 men; he conquered many provinces, and obliged
the chief of Tucuman to pay him homage; the ninth was _Inca Urca_,
who was deposed after he had reigned eleven days; he was succeeded
by _Pachacutec_, who subdued Jauja, Tarma, and other provinces; the
eleventh was _Yupanqui_, who carried his conquests to the river Maule,
in Chili, and over the Mojos far to the east of the Andes; the
twelfth, _Tupac Yupanqui_, conquered several districts in Quito; and
the thirteenth, _Huayna Capac_, subdued the kingdom of Lican or Quito,
and established himself in the capital. His history has been related
in the historical description of that province. On his death-bed he
divided Quito and Peru between his sons; but _Inti Cusi Hualpa_, or
_Huascar_, was declared Inca; he fought a bloody battle with his
brother _Atahualpa_, and was taken prisoner, on which _Atahualpa_ or
_Atabalipa_, invested himself with the regal fillet, and was proclaimed
fifteenth Inca of the Peruvians. On his being killed by Pizarro, _Manco
Capac_ was crowned by permission of that general, but revolted from
the allegiance he had vowed to Spain, and retiring to the mountains,
is supposed to have died about 1553. The seventeenth and last of the
Incas, was _Sayri Tupac_, who resigned his sovereignty to Philip the
Eleventh of Spain, and died a christian, leaving only one daughter,
who married Onez de Loyola, a Spanish knight, from whom descend the
Marquesses of _Oropesa_ and _Alcanises._ Manco Capac, the Second, left
several children, one of whom, _Tupac Amaru_, was the oldest, and
was beheaded by the Spaniards, on pretence of his having assumed the
imperial fillet.
The discovery of Peru by the Europeans takes its date from the latter
end of the reign of Huana Capac in 1524, when three inhabitants of the
city of Panama entered into an association for the purpose of exploring
the continent south of the isthmus of Darien. Don Francisco Pizarro of
Truxillo, Don Diego Almagro of Malagon, and a priest named Hernando
de Luque, were at that time among the richest people of Panama, and
proposed to themselves the employment of their fortunes in one common
stock, to discover and conquer new countries on the south, after the
model of Cortez in Mexico, with whom Pizarro had served, and to whom
he was related. Having obtained permission from Pedro Arias de Avila,
the governor of Terra Firma, _Pizarro_ fitted out a vessel, in which he
embarked in the port of Panama with 114 men.
About fifty leagues from the harbour, he discovered a small barren
district, named _Peru_, and from this now unknown spot, the celebrated
country we are describing received its name. Beyond Peru, he explored
another district, which he called _El Pueblo Quemado_. The Indians
of that country were so resolute, that Pizarro was obliged to return
to the coast of Panama. In the mean time Almagro fitted out another
vessel and sailed in search of Pizarro, as far as the Rio San Juan, a
hundred leagues south of Panama, but not meeting with him, he returned
and landed on the coast of Pueblo Quemado, where finding certain
indications that he had been there, Almagro landed his men, who were
immediately attacked by the natives, and forced to retire to their ship
and put to sea; in this action Almagro lost an eye. Following the shore
to the north, he found Pizarro at Chinchama, near the Isla del Rey, in
the gulf of Panama; they had now by their junction an armed force of
200 men, and again resumed their expedition, and sailed to the south,
with their two vessels attended by three large canoes. They suffered
very much in their attempts to land on the coast from the barren nature
of the country, and from contrary winds and currents, as well as from
the native tribes.
Having lost several men from famine and the constant attacks of the
Indians, Almagro was dispatched to Panama for recruits and provisions.
He soon rejoined Pizarro with twenty-four men and good supplies; they
therefore advanced to the coast of Tacames, beyond the river San Juan,
which had hitherto been the extent of their voyages; here they found
a better peopled country and plenty of provision; and the natives,
who were still hostile, were observed to wear ornaments of gold.
Almagro was therefore detached a second time to Panama to procure
more men, and Pizarro remained at the _Isla Gallo_, near the shore of
Barbacoas, to await his return; in which island his men suffered great
hardships from the want of food. On the arrival of Almagro at Panama,
he found the governor, Pedro de los Rios, adverse to the plan, and
he was not allowed to raise any recruits, while an order was sent to
Gallo, for those to return who wished not to engage in such a dangerous
enterprise. In consequence of this measure, the party of Pizarro was
reduced to twelve men, who were the whole that chose to abide the issue
of the voyage. They retired with their leader to a small uninhabited
isle, named _Gorgona_, at a greater distance from the coast, and
seventy miles nearer Panama. This isle abounding with rivulets, the
little band lived more comfortably than they had done at Gallo, and
waited with great anxiety for a supply of provisions from Panama, which
at last arrived in a small vessel.
With this assistance, Pizarro and his faithful twelve, embarked on
board the vessel, and putting themselves under the guidance of the
pilot, Bartolomeo Bruye of Moguer, they reached with great labour,
(from the adverse currents,) the coast of a district named _Mostripe_,
on which they landed and advanced a short way up the river Amatape,
which flows into the gulf of Payta, where they procured some Peruvian
camels or sheep, and took some of the natives to answer as interpreters
in their future progress.
Leaving this place, Pizarro sailed for the port of _Tumbez_ on the
south side of the bay of Guayaquil, where he had learnt that a rich
monarch who existed in the interior had a fine palace. At Tumbez, three
of his followers left him, and were afterwards slain by the Indians.
Procuring the information he wanted, Pizarro returned to Panama,
having spent three years in these discoveries, and from being the
richest was now reduced to be the poorest of the colonists of Tierra
Firma. In concert with Almagro, in the latter end of 1527, Pizarro
raised some money, and was sent to Spain to beseech the king to forward
the further discovery of the country, and to name a governor, which
office he solicited for himself. His demands were complied with, and
he returned to Panama, accompanied by his brothers Ferdinand, Juan and
Gonzalo.
Besides these, he brought with him Francisco Martin de Alcantara, his
uncle, and as many men as he could procure; he was assisted in raising
these men, by a supply of money from Cortez.
On his arrival in Panama, in 1530, a violent dispute broke out between
Almagro and himself, the former complaining that he had unjustly
procured the title of governor of Peru. Pizarro was obliged to soothe
him, by assuring him that he would renounce all pretensions to that
office, if Almagro could procure the consent of the Spanish monarch.
Almagro being appeased by this concession, exerted himself at first,
to the utmost, in forwarding the expedition, but owing to the jealousy
he still entertained of the Pizarros, he at last endeavoured to thwart
their efforts, and Pizarro sailed without him, with three small
vessels, carrying 180 soldiers, thirty-six of whom were horsemen in
February 1531; contrary winds obliged the general, after a voyage of
thirteen days, to land 100 leagues more to the north than he intended,
and the place of disembarkation was named the _Bay of St. Mateo_, from
whence the troops had to undergo a long and painful march, crossing
rivers and other obstacles; they at last reached _Coaque_, a place in
Tacames on the sea-side, where they procured fresh provision. After
subduing the natives of this town, Pizarro sent one of the ships which
had sailed along the coast, to Panama, and the other to Nicaragua, with
about 24,000 or 25,000 ducats worth of gold, which he had seized. This
was destined for Almagro and others, in order to procure a farther
reinforcement, with which he was gradually supplied, the first who
joined him being Benalcazar, from Nicaragua. He then continued his
march along the coast, and met with scarcely any resistance, until
he attacked the _Isle of Puna_, in the bay of Guayaquil. Six months
expired before he could reduce this island to subjection, and from
hence he went to Tumbez, where, on account of the disease which raged
among his men, he remained three months longer.
From Tumbez, he advanced in May 1532, to the river _Piura_, and close
to its mouth founded the first Spanish colony in Peru, to which he gave
the name of _San Miguel_, having subdued all the curacas or chiefs in
the vicinity. While engaged in founding this city, the general received
a message from Huascar, the reigning Inca, informing him of the revolt
of Atahualpa, and requesting his assistance in establishing the empire
in the hands of its lawful sovereign. Placing a garrison in San Miguel,
Pizarro determined to penetrate into the interior, under the guidance
of the Inca's messengers; his disposable force consisting at this time,
of sixty-two horsemen and 102 foot soldiers, twenty of whom were armed
with cross-bows, and three only carrying matchlocks, with two small
field-pieces. The Peruvian ambassador directed his march towards the
province of _Caxamarca_, in which Atahualpa then was. On his route he
received messengers from the usurper with costly presents, requesting
also his assistance.
Pizarro informed these people, that his views were entirely pacific,
and that he meant merely to assist in reconciling the difference
between the brothers. On his arrival, after a distressing march at
Caxamarca, he was shown a house, in which himself and troops were to
repose. This building, which was very extensive, was formed into
a square, in which stood a temple and a palace, and the whole was
surrounded with a strong rampart.
Atahualpa, immediately after the Spaniards had taken possession of
their quarters, paid their general a visit, accompanied with an immense
train of courtiers and warriors.
Father Vicente Valverde, the chaplain to the army, and bishop of Peru,
advanced to meet the usurping Inca, holding in one hand his breviary,
and a crucifix in the other, and commenced a long harangue, in which
he set forth the necessity of his immediately embracing the Christian
religion, related its forms, and told him that the king of Spain, had
received a grant from the pope of all the regions in the New World,
ending with desiring him to be baptized, to acknowledge the supremacy
of the pope, and the authority of the king of Castile, promising in
their names, that the general would favour his claims to the empire of
Peru, if he submitted, but denouncing war and vengeance if he refused.
The reply of Atahualpa, to such parts of this speech as he could
be made to comprehend, was temperate; he said, "he was lord of the
territories he had succeeded to by the laws of his country, that he
could not conceive how a foreign priest could pretend to dispose of his
dominions; he declared he had no intention to renounce the religion
of his fathers, and he wished to know where the Spaniards had learnt
all the wonderful things which Valverde had been relating;" the bishop
answered, "in the book he held," on which Atahualpa requested it from
him, and turning over a few leaves, and placing it to his ear, threw it
on the ground, saying, "it is silent, it tells me nothing." Valverde
turning to the Spanish troops, immediately exclaimed, "To arms! to
arms! Christians! the Word of God is insulted, avenge this profanation
on these impious dogs." Pizarro being of opinion that the numbers of
the Peruvians would overpower him if he waited their attack, gave the
signal of assault, advancing at the head of his band to the charge, he
pushed directly for the litter in which Atahualpa was borne, the people
who carried it were repeatedly slain, and as repeatedly replaced by
others, anxious for the honour of rescuing their sovereign. Pizarro
at last cut his way through the crowd to the unfortunate prince, and
seizing him by the long hair of his head, he dragged him from his seat.
In doing this, several soldiers cutting down the people who supported
the golden litter, and a sword glancing off, wounded Pizarro in the
hand, but regardless of the pain, he held fast his rich prize in spite
of the multitude of Peruvians who surrounded him.
As soon as the monarch was secured beyond redemption, universal panic
seized his army, and they fled in every direction, night alone putting
a period to their pursuit, by the cavalry; 4000 Indians fell in this
memorable battle, which decided the fate of a mighty empire; not a
single Spaniard was killed, and the plunder of the Indian camp was
immense. This action took place on the 10th of November 1532.
The captive Inca finding he had no chance of escape, offered a ransom,
which was to be so great a quantity of gold, that it would fill the
apartment in which he was confined, as high as he could reach. This
chamber was twenty-two feet in length, and sixteen in breadth, and a
line was drawn around the walls, to indicate the height to which the
treasure was to rise; and Pizarro, acceding to this proposal, the Inca
immediately dispatched emissaries to Cuzco, to procure the ransom; with
these messengers two Spanish officers were sent, to see that the gold
in the treasury of Cuzco was sufficient to answer the demand, as some
doubts had been shown by the Europeans on that subject. On their route,
they met the captive Inca Huascar, escorted by a party of Atahualpa's
troops; conferring with Huascar, they discovered that he possessed
treasures to a much greater amount; but as they were concealed, he
alone knew where they were; he informed the officers, that if Pizarro
would reinstate him in his dignity, he would give three times as much
gold as his brother, and promised to swear allegiance to the Spanish
king.
Soto and Barco, the two officers, told him it was out of their power to
return to Caxamarca, as they were ordered to go to Cuzco, but that they
would faithfully relate all that had passed to the general, when they
had executed their mission; this they did, but in the interval, the
whole conference had been detailed to Atahualpa, who foreseeing, that
if Pizarro once got possession of the enormous treasures of Huascar,
he should become of no importance, ordered his emissaries to kill his
unfortunate brother; and as his will was a law, the order was speedily
carried into execution.
Whilst these events were passing, Almagro arrived from Panama,
with a large reinforcement, to the great joy of the Spaniards; the
treasure from Cuzco also arrived, and consisted of golden utensils and
ornaments, used in the temples of the Sun; these, excepting a few which
were reserved as curiosities, were melted down; a fifth was set aside
for the king; 100,000 dollars were distributed to the followers of
Almagro; and the remainder, amounting to 1,528,500 dollars, an enormous
sum in those times, was divided among Pizarro and his troops, each
horseman receiving 8000 dollars, and each foot-soldier 4000.
After this ransom was paid, instead of releasing his prisoner, Pizarro,
who was alarmed on one hand by the exaction of an equal share of the
ransom by the troops under Almagro, and on the other by the accounts
of large armies forming in the interior determined to kill Atahualpa,
which fate that monarch hastened, by professing his contempt of
the general, on account of his want of learning. The Inca seeing
and admiring the method which the Europeans had of communicating
their ideas by writing, was for a long time unable to conceal his
astonishment and doubts, whether it was not managed by evil spirits;
accordingly he directed a soldier to write the name of God on his thumb
nail, and showed it to every Spaniard he saw, in order to observe
whether they all gave a similar account of its meaning.
At length he showed it to Pizarro, who blushing, acknowledged that he
was ignorant of the art of writing, which was an acquirement that most
of his nation possessed. From that time the Inca, who now clearly saw
the whole mystery, looked upon the general, as a person of low birth,
less instructed than the meanest of his soldiers, and not having the
address to conceal his sentiments, forfeited any good opinion which
Pizarro might have had for him. A mock trial was instituted, and the
Inca formally arraigned, before the self-constituted tribunal, which
consisted of Pizarro, Almagro, and two assistants; he was charged
by Philipillo, an Indian, who had been to Spain with Pizarro, with
attempting to seize the empire of Peru from his natural sovereign; with
putting him to death; with idolatry; permission and encouragement of
human sacrifices; with having many wives; with waste and embezzlement
of the royal treasure, and with inciting his subjects to take up arms
against the Spaniards.
Witnesses were examined, to whom Philipillo served as an interpreter,
and gave their evidence as he pleased. On these charges the Inca was
condemned to suffer death, by being burnt alive. Valverde signed the
warrant, and attended the monarch to the stake, which was immediately
prepared. Actuated by the fear of a cruel death, and tormented by
the infamous bishop, Atahualpa consented to be baptized, in hopes of
obtaining a release from so dreadful a punishment. Valverde crossed
and confessed his royal victim, baptized him, and then led him to be
strangled!
On the death of Atahualpa, his son was invested with the royal insignia
by Pizarro, who hoped to retain the Indians in subjection, by the
command he held over their sovereign.
Quizquiz, a Peruvian general, had made head in a province named Xauxa,
so that it was necessary for Pizarro to march against him; this was
accordingly done; and Hernando de Soto, moving forward with a strong
advanced guard, Quizquiz retreated, being unable to withstand Soto; but
that leader followed him, and obliged the Peruvians to retreat on Quito.
So great was the fame of Pizarro's conquests at this time, that
numerous bodies of troop joined him from Tierra Firma, Guatimala, &c.,
and he was now enabled to take the field with 500 men, besides leaving
sufficient garrisons in the conquered towns. He accordingly hastened
his march on Cuzco, the capital, in the route to which he met _Paulu
Inca_, a brother of Atahualpa, who had been solemnly invested with the
regal fillet by the Peruvians. He told the Spanish general that he had
a large army at Cuzco, who were ready to submit to his orders. On the
arrival of the Spaniards they were however attacked very vigorously by
the Peruvians, and a battle ensued which lasted till night.
The next day the general entered the metropolis without opposition,
where he found an immense booty; his thoughts were now turned on
colonizing the country, and placing such a force in Cuzco as should
insure a permanent settlement there; this he effected with much
difficulty, as many of his followers were determined to return to
Spain in order to enjoy in their native country the fruits of their
hard-earned wealth.
San Miguel the first town built by the Spaniards being poorly
garrisoned, Pizarro now sent Benalcazar with ten horsemen to reinforce
the place. This officer receiving complaints from the neighbouring
Indians of the exactions and vindictive proceedings of the Peruvians
at Quito, took with him a number of soldiers who had then arrived
from Panama and Nicaragua to subdue that country; his success was
complete. Quito and Cuzco the two capitals being now reduced Fernando
Pizarro was dispatched by his brother to Spain, to lay an account of
the proceedings of the Spanish Army before the king, carrying with him
an immensely valuable present in gold and silver. He was favourably
received, Pizarro was confirmed in his government and a further
addition of seventy leagues to the south made to his territories; on
Almagro was conferred the government of the countries 200 leagues
south of the limits prescribed to Pizarro, who was created Marquess of
Atavillos.
While the negotiations were going on, Alvarado the governor of
Guatimala had landed on the Peruvian coast with a large force, and gone
into the interior with the intention of dispossessing Almagro of his
command, and Pizarro of the possession of Cuzco, but marching against
the army of the former who was employed in reducing the provinces
between Quito and Peru, his men refused to fight their brethren, and
the leaders after much parleying became reconciled; Alvarado promising
to deliver over his troops to the two generals for a stipulated sum,
which was honourably paid him by Pizarro. These troubles being at an
end, Pizarro founded the city of Lima, on the 18th of January, 1533,
and transferred the colonists he had placed in Xauxa thither.
While he was thus employed Almagro having heard of the king's grant,
determined to take possession of Cuzco, which he considered within his
limit; in this attempt he was defeated by the municipal body of that
place, and Pizarro arriving in good time, put a stop to his further
proceedings. It was then agreed that Almagro should have 500 men, and
proceed southward, conquering such countries as he deemed expedient, in
which he was to be assisted by every means in Pizarro's power; this was
the commencement of the conquest of Chili.
After the departure of Almagro on this scheme, Pizarro resumed his task
of giving a regular form to his government, by making the necessary
distributions of land to the colonists who were continually arriving,
by instituting courts of justice, and by founding towns, &c. Manco
Capac the reigning Inca revolted at this period, and entered, with
Philipillo and others, into a conspiracy to exterminate the armies of
Pizarro and Almagro; he obtained possession of Cuzco, which was not
taken from him until after eight days hard fighting, and with the loss
of Juan Pizarro, who was killed by a stone.
The brothers of Pizarro, who was at Lima, had much difficulty to
maintain possession of the capital; all communication between them and
the governor being cut off, and the place was vigorously besieged by
Manco Capac and his brothers Paullu and Villaoma, for eight months,
during which time the Spaniards lost many men. Almagro hearing of these
disasters, thought this a convenient time to assert his old pretensions
to the government of Cuzco, and accordingly marched from the frontiers
of Chili to that place in 1537. He was met by the Inca, who under
pretence of making overtures to him, drew him into a snare, from which
he narrowly escaped, with the loss of several of his men.
The brothers of Pizarro finding they had now a new enemy to withstand,
prepared Cuzco to undergo a formidable siege; but having lost six
hundred men during the attacks of the Peruvians, they were surprised by
the troops of Almagro who forced them to submit, and declared himself
governor of the place, imprisoning Fernando and Gonzalo Pizarro, and
quartering Philipillo, who was taken prisoner in the ambush of the Inca.
Manco Capac finding that Almagro was too strong to be easily ejected,
retired to the mountains, but his brother Paullu remaining at Cuzco,
was raised to the throne of Peru by Almagro. It was some time before
all these untoward tidings reached the ears of the new Marquess
Pizarro; he first heard of the attack of the city by the Inca, and
imagining it to be a trivial affair, detached small parties at
different periods to the assistance of his brothers; none of these
reached their destination, being always cut off by the Peruvians in the
narrow and difficult passes of the mountains. Some few of these people
escaping from the massacre, which always took place on their being
surprised, returned to Lima, and related the fate of their companions
to the Marquess, who recalling all his outposts, nominated Alvarado to
the command of the army, and sent him towards Cuzco, with 500 men; but
being closely invested at Lima by the Peruvians, under Titu Yupanqui, a
brother of Manco Capac, he sent off all his vessels to Panama, fearful
that the troops might otherwise desert, and by these ships he implored
assistance from the governors of New Spain and the West Indies.
Alvarado, after a harassing march, and fighting severe battles with
the Peruvians, halted near the bridge of _Abancay_ on the Apurimac;
at which place he was met by a messenger from Almagro, insisting on
his acknowledging the title he bore to the government of Cuzco. An
unsatisfactory reply being sent, Almagro advanced to attack the army
under Alvarado, and by dint of bribery, corrupting the greater part of
it, obtained a bloodless victory on the 12th of July, 1537.
Pizarro hearing nothing of his general, and receiving a strong
reinforcement from Hispaniola, marched from Lima with 700 men to
relieve his brothers at Cuzco from the Peruvians, not having yet heard
of the usurpation of Almagro. Having marched twenty-five leagues, he
received the intelligence of the death of one of his brothers, the
imprisonment of the other two, and of the determined opposition of
Almagro; this news so much alarmed him that he immediately returned to
Lima, and dispatched a messenger to Cuzco to treat with Almagro; but
that officer instead of returning an answer marched to within twenty
leagues of Lima, where he was met by Pizarro who seemed earnest to heal
the breach amicably; but after various endeavours to obtain this end,
he found it necessary to have recourse to force; and Almagro, finding
himself unable to cope with him, retreated to Cuzco, whither Ferdinand
Pizarro pursued him: a dreadful battle then took place near that city,
on a plain called _Salinas_ or _Cachipampa_, in which Almagro was
defeated and taken prisoner, and was soon afterwards brought to trial
and beheaded.
This important affair being settled, the marquess dispatched troops in
all directions to conquer and subdue those provinces which remained
under the domination of the Indians. In these expeditions, and in
settling the affairs of his government, Pizarro was fully occupied for
two years, during which time he was much distressed by the mutinous
conduct of the Almagrian party, who at last assassinated him on the
26th of June, 1541.
Soon after the untimely death of Pizarro, Vaca de Castro was appointed
governor, while the court of Madrid were employed in taking measures
to put a stop to the contentions of the colonies. He was removed to
make room for Blasco Vela, who was nominated the first viceroy of Peru,
and who landed at Tumbez in the month of February, 1543. The conduct
of this viceroy increased the disaffection and contention of the
colonists, many of whom siding with Gonzalo Pizarro, chose him as their
leader. After various actions with the royal troops, Gonzalo at last
utterly defeated them in a pitched battle, in which the viceroy was
slain.
Upon this occasion Gonzalo Pizarro was advised to assume the sceptre
of Peru, but he chose to treat with Spain. During the interval which
elapsed before the return of his ambassadors, Pedro de la Gasca, a
priest, was sent over as president: finding he could not persuade
Pizarro to any terms, he gave him battle, in which the latter was
taken, and being brought to trial by the president, was beheaded on the
10th of April, 1548.
After this action, Gasca set himself about to reform abuses, and render
the government more stable; he was occupied in this work till 1550,
when wishing to return to a private station, he quitted Peru, and
entrusted the command of the presidency to the royal court of audience,
till the pleasure of the king should be manifested.
After the departure of Gasca, till the arrival of the second viceroy,
Mendoza, Peru continued to be in a state of continual ferment, which
lasted more or less until his death. The next viceroy was the Marquess
de Canete, who arrived in Lima in July 1557. He was succeeded in July
1560, by the Conde de Neiva, who, dying suddenly, was replaced by
Lope Garcia de Castro with the title of president, until Francisco de
Toledo arrived from Spain, to assume the viceregal government, who had
been only two years in Peru, when he attacked _Tupac Amaru_, the son
of Manco Capac, who had taken refuge in the mountains. A force of two
hundred and fifty men was detached to Vilcapampa under Martin Garcia
Loyola, to whom the Inca surrendered himself, with his wife, two sons,
and a daughter, who were all carried prisoners to Cuzco.
This unfortunate prince was brought to trial for supposed crimes, and
at the same time, all the sons of Indian women by the Spaniards, were
committed to confinement, under the charge of endeavouring to assist
Tupac Amaru, in overturning the Spanish government. Many of these poor
people were put to the torture, others were banished, and all the males
who were nearly related to the Inca, or who were capable of succeeding
to the throne, were ordered to live in Lima, where the whole of them
died.
Tupac Amaru was sentenced to lose his head; previous to the execution,
the priests baptized him in the prison, from whence he was led on a
mule to the scaffold, with his hands tied, and a halter about his neck,
amid the tears of his people. Thus ended the line of the emperors of
Peru; than whom, a more beneficent race of monarchs, in a barbarous
state, has never been known.
The viceroy, Toledo, after continuing sixteen years in Peru, amassed
a large fortune and returned to Spain, when falling under royal
displeasure, he was confined to his house and his property sequestered,
which preyed so much on his mind, that he died of a broken heart.
Martin Garcia Loyola, who had made Tupac Amaru prisoner, married a
Coya, or Peruvian princess, daughter of the former Inca Sayri Tupac, by
whom he acquired a large estate; but being made governor of Chili, he
was slain in that country by the natives.
After the death of Tupac Amaru, the royal authority was gradually
established as firmly in Peru as in the other Spanish colonies, and
that country has continued to be governed by viceroys appointed by the
Spanish king, up to the present time. The only event of any particular
importance, which has occurred till very lately, was the insurrection
of the natives in 1781, under Jose Gabriel Condorcanqui, a descendant
of, and styling himself Tupac Amaru. He was born in Tongusuca, a
village of Tinta, and had been carefully educated by his family at
home; on the death of his father, he petitioned the Spanish court to
restore him the title of Marquess of Oropesa, which had been granted
to Sayri Tupac, his ancestor; but finding his request unattended to,
retired to the mountains, and giving himself out as the only and true
sovereign of Peru, the Indians flocked to his standard, especially
those in the neighbourhood of Cuzco, who had suffered severely from the
tyranny of the corregidor Arriaga.
With every mark of the most profound submission, they bound the
imperial fillet on his brow, and he was proclaimed Inca by the title of
_Tupac Amaru the Second_: collecting an immense army he appeared before
the walls of Cuzco, and in the beginning of his campaign, he protected
all ecclesiastics and people born in America, vowing vengeance solely
against the European Spaniards; but his followers, elevated by the
success which every where attended them, began a war of extermination
against all but Indians, the consequences of which were dreadful, and
will ever be remembered in Peru.
His brother Diego, and his nephew Andres Condorcanqui, favoured this
disposition of the Indians, and committed enormities which it was out
of the power of Tupac Amaru to repress. This insurrection lasted two
years, and he made himself master of the provinces or districts of
Quispicanchi, Tinta, Lampa, Asangara, Caravaja and Chumbivilca; but was
at last surprised and taken prisoner with all his family, and a short
time after this event, they were all quartered in the city of Cuzco,
excepting Diego, who had escaped.
So great was the veneration of the Peruvians for Tupac Amaru, that
when he was led to execution, they prostrated themselves in the
streets, though surrounded by soldiers, and uttered piercing cries and
execrations as they beheld the last of the children of the sun torn to
pieces.
Diego surrendered voluntarily, and a convention was signed between him
and the Spanish general, at the village of Siguani, in Tinta, on the
21st of January, 1782; from which time he lived peaceably with his
family, but was taken up twenty years afterwards on suspicion of being
concerned in a revolt that happened at Riobamba, in Quito, in which
great cruelty was exercised against the whites. His judges condemned
him to lose his head, and since that period, Peru has been in a state
of profound tranquillity, though now surrounded by states torn with the
most dreadful convulsions.
Having now related the principal occurrences concerning the history
of Peru, we shall give a concise description of the people of that
kingdom; and in so doing, shall be led to the general relation of
the manner in which the vast continent of Spanish America has been
governed, and to a summary of the history of the present struggle.
The Peruvians, at the time they were discovered by Pizarro, had
advanced to a considerable degree of civilization; they knew the arts
of architecture, sculpture, mining, working the precious metals and
jewels, cultivated their land, were clothed, and had a regular system
of government, and a code of civil and religious laws. The lands were
divided into regular allotments, one share being consecrated to the
sun, and its products appropriated to the support of religious rites;
the second belonged to the Incas, and was devoted to the support of
the government, and the last and largest share was set aside for the
people. These were cultivated in common, no person having a longer
title than one year to the portion given him.
In their agricultural pursuits they displayed great diligence and
ingenuity, irrigating their fields, and manuring them with the dung
of sea fowls procured from the islands on the coast; they also turned
up the earth with a sort of mattock formed of hard wood. In the arts
of architecture they had advanced far beyond the other nations of
America. The great temple of the sun at Pachacamac, with the palace
of the Inca, and the fortress, were so connected together as to form
one great building half a league in circuit, and many ruins of palaces
and temples still existing, prove the extent of the knowledge and
perseverance of these people.
The immense obelisks of _Tiahuacan_, and the town of _Chulunacas_,
with the mausolea of _Chachapoyas_, which are conical stone buildings
supporting large rude busts, are among the most singular, though
unfortunately the least known of the Peruvian remains; and are equally
curious as the great military roads with their accompanying palaces or
posts; together with the buildings still existing in the province of
Quito, which have already been described.
Their skill in polishing stones to form mirrors, in sharpening them
to serve as hatchets and instruments of war, was as admirable as the
ingenuity they displayed in all their ornamental works of gold, silver
and precious stones.
In the religion of the Peruvians few of those sanguinary traits which
so forcibly marked the character of the worship of the Mexicans were
found; they adored the Sun as the supreme Deity, under whose influence
they also acknowledged various dependent gods; and instead of offering
human victims on the altars, they presented to that glorious luminary
a part of the productions of the earth, which had come to life and
maturity through his genial warmth, and they sacrificed as an oblation
of gratitude some animals before his shrine, placing around it the most
skilful works of their hands.
Next to the sun they beheld their Incas with the greatest reverence,
looking upon them as his immediate descendants and vicegerents upon
earth. The system universally adopted by these patriarchal kings, bound
the affections of their people more firmly to them, than even this
their supposed divine legation; and as they never intermarried with
their subjects, they were kept at so great a distance that their power
was unbounded. The only sanguinary feature displayed in the Peruvian
rites, was in their burials; as, on the death of the Incas, or of any
great curaca or chief, a number of his servants and domestic animals
were slain and interred around the guacas or tumuli, that they might
be ready to attend them in a future state, in which these people fully
believed. When Huana Capac, the greatest of the Incas, was buried, 1000
victims were doomed to accompany his body to the tomb.
In ancient Peru the only very large city was Cuzco or Couzco; every
where else the people lived in villages or in scattered habitations:
and as the palaces of the Incas and their fortresses, which were built
in all parts of the country, were rarely surrounded with the houses of
the natives, very few distinct towns remain.
The ancient Peruvians had traditions concerning a deluge, in which
their ancestors were all drowned, excepting a few who got into caves
in the high mountains; they also adored two beings named Con and
Pachacamac, who created the race of Peruvians in an extraordinary
manner; and they asserted that Pachacamac dwelt amongst them till the
Spaniards came, when he suddenly disappeared.
But the Peruvians of the present day are a very different people from
their progenitors, as they are timid and dispirited, melancholy in
their temperament, severe and inexorable in the exercise of authority,
wonderfully indifferent to the general concerns of life, and seeming
to have little notion, or dread of death. They stand in awe of their
European masters, but secretly dislike and shun their society, and
they are said to be of a distrustful disposition, and though robust
and capable of enduring great fatigue, yet they are very lazy. Their
habitations are miserable hovels, destitute of every convenience
or accommodation, and disgustingly filthy; their dress is poor and
mean, and their food coarse and scanty; their strongest propensity
is to spirituous liquors, and to that they sacrifice all other
considerations, but which is unmixed with any love for gaming: they
follow all the external rites of the catholic religion, and spend large
sums in masses and processions.
Soon after the conquest of America, the country and the Indians were
parcelled out into _encomiendas_, a sort of feudal benefices which were
divided among the conquerors, and the priests and lawyers who arrived
from Spain; the holder of this property was obliged to reside on his
estate, to see the Indians properly instructed in religions duties,
and to protect their persons. In return the natives were bound to pay
the _encomendero_ a certain tribute, but they were not reduced to
absolute slavery. This system was variously modified and changed by the
successors of Charles V. who introduced it, till the reign of Philip V.
when it was entirely abolished on account of the continual complaints
which were made to that sovereign of the exactions of the Spaniards,
and their total neglect of the Indians.
This plan was followed by one still more fatal, that of the
_repartimientos_; according to which the governor or judge of the
district was directed to supply the Indians in his department with
cattle, seed corn, implements of agriculture, clothes and food at a
fixed price. The abuses attendant on such a system were enormous, and
so grievously were the natives afflicted that it at last was abolished
in 1779. Spanish America was incorporated to the crown of Castile
by Charles V. on September 14th, 1559, at a solemn council held in
Barcelona; but notwithstanding this decree declared that the white
inhabitants of America were to have no personal controul over the
Indians, the greatest enormities were still committed.
In Caraccas the natives were enslaved, and carried to the plantations
in the West Indies, from which they were not freed till after the
repeated remonstrances of Las Casas, Montesino, Cordova and others;
these remonstrances gave rise to the establishment of the royal
audiences and the council of the Indies; the jurisdiction of the latter
extending to every department; all laws and ordinances relative to
the government and police of the colonies originate in it, and must
be approved by two-thirds of the members; all the offices, of which
the nomination is reserved as a royal prerogative, are conferred on
this council, and to it every person employed in Spanish America is
responsible.
It receives all dispatches, &c., and is in fact the government of the
Indies.
Since the establishment of this council, the royal audiences or
superior tribunals, and the regular succession of viceroys and
captain-generals, the Americas have been governed, if not with less
rigour, at least with more beneficial results to the Indians. They
are left to manage their own concerns as they please, and no one can
interfere in the disposal of their property. In Peru alone they are
subjected to the _mita_, a law obliging them to furnish certain quotas
for the mining operations, but for which they are well paid, and
generally become resident miners; they are not under the controul of
the inquisition, and pay no other tax than a capitation tribute, which
is very moderate, and rather a mark of vassalage or distinction from
the other classes, than a burden.
In their towns the Indians are always the magistrates, and they
are allowed to enter into holy orders: but no Spaniard or white is
permitted by the law to intermarry with them or to settle in their
towns, the Indians always residing in a distinct quarter from the
Europeans, and other castes. The Indians and their descendants
are the only people in this part of the world who can endure the
unwholesomeness and fatigues attendant on the mining operations, as
the Spaniards and Negroes sink under the toil in a short time; but
the number of Indians has decreased since the conquest to an alarming
extent from the ravages of the small-pox, and from the fatal effects
of intoxicating liquors, though according to the statements of late
travellers this branch of the population is again on the increase,
probably owing to the general introduction of vaccination, and to the
gradual abolition of the _mita_ in most of the governments.
The total population of Spanish America is reckoned at about
15,000,000, of which three millions are Creoles, or the descendants
of European whites, 200,000 are Spaniards, and the rest are Indians,
negroes, and the mixed descendants of these and the whites, the Indians
bearing the greatest proportion, as Peru alone contains 600,000;
but the negroes are not very numerous, and exist principally in the
provinces of Caraccas and New Granada.
Till the end of the last century the ports of Spanish America were shut
against the whole world, the commerce of the country being carried on
exclusively by two or three large ships called galleons from Manilla,
and by an annual fleet to Spain; but these vessels falling continually
into the hands of enemies, and generally containing all the treasure
on which the Spanish court relied, they were at last abolished, and
special licences were granted by some of the governors to carry on a
trade with the Antilles, and in 1797 the court of Madrid was obliged to
open some of the ports. Urged by extreme necessity Cisneros the Viceroy
of La Plata in 1809, declared the port of Buenos Ayres free to all
nations in alliance with Spain.
The power of Spain was maintained for a long while in her
trans-Atlantic colonies, by a very small number of Spanish troops, who
acted with the national militia on any unforeseen disturbances; the
most profound tranquillity reigned in these happy regions till the year
1797, with the exception of the revolt of Tupac Amaru in 1780, and some
other trifling occurrences. Three prisoners of state, who had been
banished from Spain for revolutionary crimes, arrived at La Guayra, the
port of Caraccas, in the first mentioned year; by dint of argument
these men gained over the soldiers by whom they were guarded, and they
were permitted to hold forth the doctrines at that time so dangerously
afloat in Europe, to the people who came from all parts to hear them,
and finding many admirers among the creoles and mestizoes, formed at
last the daring plan of revolutionizing the country.
These men, instead of remaining to head the revolt, retired to the
islands in the Caribbean sea, on which active measures being taken by
the government the plot was discovered; several who were concerned
in it were executed, and others banished. Previous to this, in 1781,
some reforms and additional taxes which were introduced in New Granada
created such dissatisfaction that 17,000 men collecting themselves
together marched against the city of Santa Fé de Bogota exclaiming
"Long live the King, but death to our bad governors," but this
insurrection was soon quelled by politic measures.
After the disturbances in 1797, the country was again tranquil, until
the period when Napoleon Buonaparte, assuming upon the numerous
victories which the French troops had gained, grasped at the sceptre of
Europe. After subduing, in part, the mother country, and depriving the
king of his liberty, he dispatched his emissaries in every direction
to America; these men were, in general, of acknowledged talents, and
endeavoured by every means in their power, under assumed characters, to
widen the breach which had gradually been opening between Spain and her
colonies.
The Americans, instigated by such advisers, and finding themselves
cut off from all communication with Spain, now intent solely on her
own preservation, were dubious how to act; but the mass of the people
resisted all idea of throwing off their allegiance, and would not
consent to their country being under French controul. Accordingly,
they established juntas in Caraccas, New Granada and Buenos Ayres, in
imitation of similar acts on the part of their Spanish brethren.
In Caraccas and other places, Ferdinand the Seventh was proclaimed with
all due solemnity, and when it was announced in July 1808, that Joseph
Buonaparte had usurped the throne of Spain, 10,000 of the inhabitants
of Caraccas flew to arms, surrounded the palace of the captain-general,
and demanded the proclamation of their sovereign; this he promised
to do next day, but such was their ardour, that they proclaimed
him immediately themselves. In Buenos Ayres, the viceroy, Liniers,
receiving intelligence of the events in the peninsula, in July 1808,
exhorted the people in the name of Buonaparte to remain quiet; but
Xavier Elio, the governor of Monte Video, accused him of disloyalty,
and separated his government from that of Buenos Ayres; and this
officer afterwards ineffectually endeavoured to persuade that city to
acknowledge the title of viceroy, which he had received from the mother
country.
In Mexico, the news of the Spanish affairs was not known, till the 29th
July 1808, when a junta was immediately established; and the city of La
Paz in Charcas, in the beginning of 1809, formed a similar junta for
its government; but the viceroys of Buenos Ayres and Peru opposed this
motion, and both sent armies to quell the insurrection, in which they
were successful.
In Quito a junta was established on the 10th of August, 1809, but
the viceroys of Peru and New Granada, with the greatest promptitude,
detached a force against this city, which compelled the insurgents to
abandon their project. At this time affairs wore a serious aspect in
America; numerous adventurers appeared on her shores, eager to enrich
themselves on the spoils of Spanish power. The partizans of revolution
in Caraccas, the coast of which was more accessible to emissaries from
Europe, formed themselves into a junta suprema, assumed the reins of
government, but still published their acts in the name of the Spanish
monarch. At Buenos Ayres a similar measure was taken; in Chili, the
junta was organized in September, and an insurrection breaking out in
the town of Dolores, near Guanaxuato in Mexico, the whole continent was
now in a state of alarm and tumult.
In the mean time these proceedings were related to the council of
the regency in Spain, which determined that body to take such active
steps as their circumstances enabled them to do, and the coasts of the
captain-generalship of Caraccas were declared in a state of vigorous
blockade. From this period, the revolt in that province and the
northern parts of New Granada, became daily more alarming; General
Miranda was the commander of the Venezuelan army, in which capacity he
achieved one victory, the result of which can never be forgotten in
the Caraccas. The inhabitants of Valencia were for the royal cause,
and though of very inferior force, resisted the insurgent party in two
actions, in the first of which they were victorious, but in the second
were subdued.
The 4th of July 1811, was the day on which the congress of Venezuela
proclaimed themselves the representatives of the free provinces of
Caraccas; and the little village of Mariara, close to the beautiful
lake of Valencia, saw the first blood that was spilt in the civil
war of these unfortunate countries. On the return of the king to his
throne, on which he was placed by the glorious and ever-memorable
conduct of the British and Spanish troops commanded by the Duke of
Wellington; he issued a decree on the 4th of June 1814, announcing to
the Spanish Americans, his arrival in his kingdom, ordering them to lay
down their arms, and promising oblivion of the past; to enforce this
mandate, he also sent General Morillo from Cadiz with a well equipped
army of 10,000 men. This army landed on the coast of Caraccas in
April 1815; but the insurgents not paying attention to His Majesty's
commands, the general immediately commenced active measures. From
Campano, where he landed, he proceeded to Margarita, from thence to
Caraccas, and in the following August he besieged Carthagena.
Previous to his arrival, Boves, a Spaniard by birth, but a person of
low rank, collected a handful of men, attached to the royal cause,
and although destitute of assistance from the Spaniards, who were
besieged in Puerto Cabello, he found means to raise a large body of
troops in the interior, and seeking the insurgent army commanded by
Bolivar, he fought several battles with them, in all of which his band
was victorious, so that he was enabled to overthrow the new government
established at Caraccas.
This valiant individual, following the career he had so fortunately
begun, dispersed the army of the independents in every direction, but
was killed in storming their last strong-hold, at the moment of victory.
On the arrival of General Morillo he found the province free from the
independent troops, and therefore commenced his march for Carthagena,
joined by the natives of the country who had formed the army of Boves,
and who assisted him materially in taking Carthagena, and re-conquering
the revolted provinces of New Granada.
Castello and Bolivar were at this time the leaders of the independent
forces in this country, but dissensions occurring between them,
Carthagena was supplied with only 2000 troops; the siege lasted from
August to the 5th of December, 1815, when the governor and garrison
evacuated the place, and the royal army took possession of it, but 3000
persons perished through famine during this siege.
General Morillo now advanced through the provinces of New Granada to
the city of Santa Fé de Bogota, which place he entered in June, 1816,
remaining in it till the following November: during his stay the
leaders of the insurgents, and all who had been criminally engaged,
were imprisoned, shot or exiled. From this period Bolivar, who had gone
to Jamaica, turned his attention again towards Venezuela, planned an
expedition to assist the people of Margarita, and joining Borion, an
affluent native of Curaçoa, assembled the emigrants from Venezuela, and
part of the garrison which had evacuated Carthagena.
Borion was appointed commander of the naval forces, and sailing from
Aux-Cayes they landed in the beginning of May 1816, at La Margarita.
From this island Bolivar proceeded to Campano, five leagues west of the
city of Cumana, of which he dispossessed the royal forces, and having
armed many light troops who joined him, again embarked and proceeded to
Ocumare; landing at this port he issued a proclamation, enfranchising
all slaves, but was soon afterwards defeated by the royalists in a
severe and hard fought action, after which he retired to Aux-Cayes,
from whence he again brought new reinforcements in December 1816, to
Margarita. On this island he published another proclamation, convoking
the representatives of Venezuela to a general congress, and went
afterwards to Barcelona, where he organised a provisional government.
At this place he repulsed the royalists under Generals Real and
Morales, with great loss, but in the month following, on the 7th of
April, 1817, the city of Barcelona was taken by the Spanish troops,
and Morillo received an addition of 1600 men from Spain, in the month
of May; since this period the actions between the Spanish troops and
the insurgents have been frequent; the congress of Venezuela has been
established by Bolivar, and again overthrown by Morillo; the islanders
of Margarita have repulsed the Spanish forces, and at this moment
the army of the Independents is concentrated near the shores of the
Orinoco, and the Spanish troops are in possession of the capital and
all the principal towns.
While these events were going on in Caraccas, the congress of Buenos
Ayres declared its independence. The town of Monte Video was taken
possession of by the Portuguese, and the march of insurrection spread
itself into the remote government of Chili. Mina, who had been
concerned in the Caraccas revolution, undertook an expedition against
New Spain, in which, after sometimes repulsing, and at others being
repulsed, by the Spanish generals, he was at last taken prisoner and
beheaded at Mexico.
The United States have ejected the adventurers who had established
themselves on Amelia Island in the government of East Florida, and it
appears, that the revolutionary cause is only successful in Buenos
Ayres and Venezuela, in both which provinces, it cannot however be
said to be established, as a large Spanish army occupies part of one,
and the Portuguese troops have partial possession of the other. In
New Granada, Florida, Quito, Peru and Mexico, the insurgents have
very little sway, and in the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba they are
unknown; consequently the colonies of Spain, so far from being wrested
from her, are still under her dominion; and it appears extremely
probable, that they will remain so.
Recurring to the subject of the kingdom, which it is the primary object
of this section to describe, we must now treat of its capital, a city
which, from its former as well as from its present importance, may well
justify its pretensions to be the metropolis of Spanish South America.
_Capital._--LIMA is situated in 12° 2' 25" south latitude, and 77°
7' 15" west longitude, in the spacious and fertile valley of Rimac,
whence by corruption, the name Lima is derived. This city was formerly
called Ciudad de los Reyes, and was founded by Pizarro, on the 18th of
January, 1535. The name of the valley was derived from that of an idol
of the Peruvians, who was called by way of distinction Rimac, "he who
speaks." This city is an archbishopric, the rental of which is valued
at 30,000 dollars.
The scite of Lima is very advantageous, as it commands a view of the
whole valley in which it lies. A river of the same name washes the
walls of the town, over which there is an elegant and spacious bridge
of stone. On the north are the vast mountains of the Cordillera of the
Andes, from which some branches extend towards the city; those of St.
Christoval and Amancaes being the nearest. At the end of the bridge is
a gate of noble architecture which leads into a spacious square, the
largest in the place, and beautifully ornamented. In the centre of this
square is a fine fountain with bronze figures; the form of the city
is triangular, its base lying along the banks of the river. This base
is two-thirds of a league in length, whilst the perpendicular may be
estimated at two-fifths of a league, the whole being surrounded with a
brick wall, flanked with thirty-four bastions; it is entered by seven
gates and three posterns. Opposite to the river is the suburb of St.
Lazarus; and its streets, like those of the city, are broad, regular,
parallel, and crossed at right angles; they are also well paved, and
the drains are supplied from the river, thus rendering the place
exceedingly clean. The number of streets has been stated at 355.
Towards the east and west within the walls are many fruit and kitchen
gardens, and most of the principal houses have gardens watered by
canals. The city abounds with churches, chapels, convents, nunneries,
colleges, and hospitals, and it has a noble university founded in 1576.
All the churches are magnificently decorated, and are in general large,
and adorned with paintings of value.
The viceroys of Peru usually reside at Lima and keep their court
there, giving public audience every day, for which purpose there are
three fine rooms in the palace. The tribunals of account, of justice,
of the treasury, &c., are also held there, which, with the royal mint,
the court of the municipal body, and the police, afford employment to
numbers of persons, and render Lima the most lively and magnificent
place in South America.
The viceroy's palace, formerly a fine structure, but which was damaged
by the great earthquake in 1687, the city prison, the archiepiscopal
palace, the council house, and the cathedral, stand in the great
square, and occupy three sides of it.
In the suburbs, as well as in most parts of the city, the houses are
of wood-work, interlaced with wild canes and osiers, both within and
without, plastered over with clay and white washed; the fronts being
painted to imitate stone. Most of the houses are only one story high
with a flat roof, covered on the top with slight materials to keep out
the wind and sun, as it never rains violently in this part of Peru, and
the rafters which support the roofs are carved and decorated within
side, and covered with clay on the outside. This mode of building
has been adopted, in consequence of the destructive effects of the
earthquakes which have so often devastated Lima.
On solemn festivals, or on the entrance of a new viceroy, the riches
and pomp displayed in this city are astonishing, the churches being
loaded with massive plate, consisting of tables, candlesticks, statues
of saints of solid silver, the holy vestments and chalices covered with
gold, diamonds, pearls and precious stones, and even on the common days
of office, the decorations of the churches is richer than can be seen
at the most splendid catholic festival in Europe.
Luxury in dress and splendid retinues are the prevailing passion of
the gentry and people of Lima, so that the public walks and malls are
crowded with carriages. The dress of the ladies is extremely rich;
and even those of low rank never appear without bracelets, rosaries,
and gold images about their necks and arms. The white females are in
general of a middling stature, handsome, of a very fair complexion,
with beautiful dark hair and bright eyes; they are naturally gay,
sprightly and without levity in their outward behaviour, though taxed
with vicious propensities; and all the women of Lima have a great
fondness for music: the dress of the men is also very superb, but they
are said to be in general fonder of gallantry than of following any
useful avocations, though they occasionally show great ardour for the
acquisition of knowledge.
The theatre of Lima is a neat building, but the performers are said to
be very wretched; coffee-houses were only established here in 1771,
cock-fighting and bull-baiting are the favourite amusements of the
populace, who are also greatly addicted to gaming.
In Lima the number of inhabitants has been estimated at 54,000, the
monks and clergy being 1390, the nuns 1580, the Spaniards at 17,200,
with 3200 Indians, and 9000 negroes, the rest being mestizoes and other
castes.
The rich priests, proprietors of estates, military and civil officers,
physicians, lawyers and artizans, compose a body of 19,000, and
the remaining 35,000 are slaves, domestics and labourers; but the
population has declined since the erection of the viceroyalty of La
Plata.
The climate of this city is agreeable, and though the variation of the
four seasons is perceptible, yet they are all moderate; spring begins
in November, winter in June or July, when the south winds cease, and
this season continues, with the intervention of a second spring or
autumn until November; rain is seldom or ever known at Lima, tempests
rarely happen, and the inhabitants are strangers to thunder and
lightning; but they are infested with vermin and insects during the
summer months, and are always subject to the recurrence of earthquakes,
several of which have nearly ruined the city at different times in the
16th, 17th, and 18th centuries; the one which happened in 1746, being
the most tremendous and destructive, and which took place on the 28th
of October at half after ten at night, continuing for many weeks. The
city was nearly destroyed, numbers of the inhabitants perished, and
the port of Callao was submerged by the sea; twenty-four vessels were
lying in the harbour, nineteen of which were sunk, and a frigate, and
three others carried up by the rise of the waves into the country a
considerable distance from the beach; out of 4000 people, the number
which escaped at Callao was only 200, while at Lima 1300 were buried
under the ruins, and numbers wounded and maimed.
In Lima, the most common disorders are malignant, intermittent, and
catarrhous fevers, pleurisies and constipations. The small-pox was
formerly very fatal; but in 1802, a merchant vessel, the _Santo Domingo
de la Calzada_, put into Callao, in a voyage from Spain to Manilla; a
philanthropic individual in Spain had sent some vaccine matter on board
of this ship for the Philippines; but as the small-pox was raging at
that time in Lima, Don M. Unanue, the professor of anatomy, hearing of
this precious cargo, and instantly availing himself of it, vaccinated
his patients, which he performed with the greatest success, and since
that period, the Jennerian system having been followed, the virulence
of the small-pox gives way.
The great wealth of the citizens of Lima is mostly derived from the
mines in the internal provinces, but agricultural pursuits are much
followed, and the pastures in the vicinity feed multitudes of horses,
mules and cattle. The ancient Peruvians had rendered the valley of
Rimac very fertile by intersecting it with small canals, and this
plan has been adopted by the Spaniards who irrigate their spacious
fields of wheat and barley, their meadows, plantations of sugar-cane,
olives, vines, as well as their gardens, which are thus rendered very
productive, but the frequent earthquakes having tended to alter the
good quality of the soil, it consequently requires much care to manage.
Bread, butter, milk, beef, mutton, pork, poultry, &c., are all
excellent in Lima, and the place is plentifully supplied with fish from
the bay of Callao, and the adjacent villages, as well as from the river
Lima. The wines used in this city are generally the produce of Chili
and the southern provinces, from which the brandies are also brought;
most of the European and dried fruits are also supplied by Chili, but
no manufactures are carried on in the place itself, as it depends
entirely on being the emporium of the commerce of Peru with Chili, New
Granada, Guatimala and New Spain.
The port of Lima is _Ballavista_ or _Callao_, the former name being
that of the new town which was founded at the distance of a quarter of
a league from the remains of Callao, which had been totally destroyed
by the earthquake in 1746. At the present port there is a fort named
San Fernando, with a garrison to protect the bay, which, on the
south-west is fenced by a barren island called San Lorenzo. Here all
the vessels anchor about two leagues from Lima; and the harbour of
Callao is one of the finest in the South-Sea, the anchorage being deep,
but the ocean always tranquil, and the largest vessels lying in perfect
safety.
The river _Rimac_ or _Lima_, discharging itself into the sea here,
furnishes an abundant supply of fresh water for the vessels, and every
thing can be procured of which a ship may be in need; as in Callao it
may be said that the productions of the four quarters of the world are
exchanged for each other; the ships from Europe meeting those from the
East Indies, from Africa, and from the northern shores of America.
Callao is situated in 12° 3' 42" south latitude, and 77° 14' west
longitude, at about five English miles distance from the city of Lima.
_INTENDANCY OF TRUXILLO._
This province is the most northerly of those in Peru, it is bounded by
the river Tumbez and Guayaquil, on the north-west; Jaen de Bracamoros
on the north-east; the Lauricocha or Tunguragua on the north; the Rio
Guallaga and Pampas del Sacramento on the east; the Pacific on the
west; and the province of Tarma on the south; containing within its
limits seven jurisdictions; viz. Sana, Piura, Truxillo, Caxamarca,
Chachapoyas, Llulia, and Chiloas and Pataz.