This government is the most extensive and one of the richest kingdoms
of the New World. It is bounded on the north by the vast steppe of the
Amazons, or, according to some authorities, by that noble river itself;
on the east the territories of the Portuguese and the Atlantic ocean
are its limits; on the west it is divided by the Andes from Peru and
Chili, having also a province bordering on the South Sea; and on the
south its bounds are the Pampas and Patagonia.
From Cape Lobos in the Atlantic to the most northerly settlements on
the Paraguay its extent may be estimated at 1600 miles; and from Cape
St. Antony, the mouth of the Plata, to the Andes of Chili, its breadth
is at least 1000 miles.
POLITICAL AND TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS, &c.
This country was erected into a viceroyalty in 1778, and at that time
several provinces were added to it from Peru and Chili. At present
it is divided into five governments, Los Charcas, Paraguay, Tucuman,
Cuyo, and Buenos Ayres, which are again subdivided into departments and
districts.
The whole is governed by a viceroy, whose title is at present disputed,
by the capital being in possession of the insurgent government; and the
ecclesiastical affairs of the country are under the guidance of the
archbishop of La Plata, in Charcas, who has six suffragans.
Its population is estimated at 1,100,000 Creoles and Spaniards: but the
Indians have not been numbered.
HISTORY, DISCOVERY, &c.
The Spaniards claim the honour of first discovering this country. Juan
Dias de Salis, having sailed from Spain with two ships, in 1515, to
explore Brazil, arrived at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, and took
formal possession of the land: but, deluded by the friendly appearance
of the Indians, and being off his guard, he was slain, with the few
attendants who had landed with him. In 1526, Sebastian Cabot, then in
the Spanish service, also endeavouring to make the coast of Brazil,
entered the same river, and discovered an island, which he called St.
Gabriel; advancing about 120 leagues, he found a fine river flowing
into the great stream, this he named St. Salvador, and causing his
fleet to enter this river, disembarked his men, and built a fort, in
which he left a garrison, while he proceeded farther up, and also
discovered the Paraguay. Having procured much silver from the Indians,
particularly the Guaranies, who brought the metal from the eastern
parts of Peru, he imagined that mines existed in the country he was in,
and accordingly gave the name of River of Silver, or Rio de la Plata,
to the great stream he had sailed up.
The Spaniards soon came to a determination of colonizing this valuable
acquisition, and to prevent any interference on the part of the other
nations of Europe, Don Pedro de Mendoza was sent from Spain, and
founded the city of Buenos Ayres, in 1535. From the early times of the
colonization of this country till the establishment of a viceroyalty,
the government was dependent on that of Peru; though the chief of
Buenos Ayres had the title of captain-general. Buenos Ayres continued
for a long time almost unknown, all the inhabited parts of the kingdom
lying at a distance from the ocean, and by the restrictions put upon
its commerce having no other communication with Europe than by the
annual flota from Spain, it languished in indigence and obscurity: but
the resources of so extensive and so fertile a territory could not
remain for ever concealed; as the population, and, consequently, in an
agricultural country, the riches increased, the constant remonstrances
of the people at last opened the eyes of the Spanish government to
the importance of the colony, a relaxation took place in the system
of commercial monopoly which had been hitherto rigorously adhered to,
and at last, in order to put a stop to a contraband trade that had
been carried to an alarming height, register ships were allowed to
sail under a licence from the council of the Indies at any time of
the year. The annual flota dwindled away from 15,000 to 2000 tons of
shipping, and, in 1748, they sailed for the last time to Cadiz, after
having carried on, for two centuries, the trade of Spanish America.
The register ships now supplied the market with European commodities at
a cheaper rate, and at all times of the year; and Buenos Ayres became
from that time a place of importance.
Other relaxations in the mercantile system followed soon after: in 1774
a free trade was allowed between several of the American ports, and
in 1778 seven Spanish sea-ports were declared free, to which in 1788,
five others were added, and these were allowed an open trade to Buenos
Ayres, and the ports of the Pacific.
The city and the captain-generalship was now advancing with rapid
strides into political importance; this was rendered stable by the
erection of the government into a viceroyalty in 1778; and since that
time its trade has progressively increased.
Previous to this epoch, not more than fifteen registered vessels traded
to South America, and these not oftener than once in two or three
years; but in 1778, their number at once augmented to 170. They kept
gradually increasing till 1797, when the memorable war began between
Spain and Great Britain, and a death blow was given to the commerce of
Spanish America, for in 1798, it was calculated, that three millions
of hides were rotting in the warehouses of Buenos Ayres and Monte
Video, for which no vent could be had, so active and vigilant were the
British cruizers. Various causes have since contributed to fluctuate
the commerce of this government; sometimes it has risen to an amazing
height, whilst at others, owing to foreign causes, or to its own
internal convulsions, it has been totally at a stand.
Nothing of any material moment occurs in the political history of
Buenos Ayres, till the year 1806; when there appeared a British
squadron in the Rio de la Plata, from which a body of troops was
landed for the purpose of taking the capital; and this object General
Beresford accomplished in a very spirited manner. He had not however
had possession of the city for more than six weeks, when he was
assailed by such a superiority of force, that his garrison were obliged
to surrender on the 12th of August. Reinforcements arriving under Sir
Home Popham, from the Cape of Good Hope, Fort Maldonado at the mouth of
the La Plata was taken, and Monte Video unsuccessfully besieged. Other
troops commanded by Sir Samuel Auchmuty, coming to the assistance of
their companions, Monte Video was eventually taken by storm, and here
the combined forces waited for a further succour, to resume the attempt
on the capital. In May, 1807, these succours arrived, under General
Whitelocke, who assumed the chief command, and was joined on the 15th
of June by General Crawford. The army now amounting to 8000 men sailed
up the river, and disembarking below the capital, marched towards it.
But no sooner had they entered the place, than they were assailed
from all quarters, with a tremendous fire of grape and musquetry. The
subsequent results are well known; a convention was entered into, and
the British troops evacuated the territories of the viceroyalty.
When Sir Samuel Auchmuty took Monte Video, the people of Buenos Ayres
were in a state of ferment. They assembled an extraordinary junta, and
deposed their viceroy, Sobremonte, placing in his seat, Don Santiago
Liniers, a French emigrant, who had headed the military force, which
retook the metropolis, on the 12th August, 1806. This man had sunk
himself by a propensity for gambling into a state of great obscurity;
but when the British landed in the country, his superior military
talents, at once placed him above the inactive and ignorant Spanish
officers, who composed the army of the viceroyalty, and by his success
in retaking the capital, the populace looked upon him as the only
man fit to guide them to repel the second attack, which they were in
constant expectation of; thus rose Liniers to the highest station,
which could be obtained in a country, where a very short time before,
he had been unknown. But his reign lasted not long, attempting to
thrust on the people the yoke of Buonaparte, they began to doubt his
sincerity; and aided By Xavier Elio, who had been dispatched from the
junta of Cadiz, to assume the viceregal title, and who had succeeded in
getting possession of Monte Video, they became turbulent.
To quell this spirit, Liniers sent an expedition against Monte Video;
but while this was going on, Don Josef de Goyeneche arrived from Spain,
to endeavour to mediate between the newly formed parties. He caused
the inhabitants of Buenos Ayres to proclaim Ferdinand the Seventh;
advising at the same time, that a junta should be immediately formed.
So powerful were his measures, that on the 1st of January 1809, the
people rose in all parts of the city, and demanded the establishment of
a junta. They were however dispersed, and the leaders punished by the
troops who remained faithful to Liniers.
But this temporary triumph was not of long continuance, as in August,
1809, Cisneros, the new viceroy, arrived from Spain, and Liniers
was deposed by the junta, which now solemnly declared their rights.
Liniers was then exiled to Cordova, but the spirit of insurrection
had spread itself too widely by this time to admit of the new viceroy
continuing long in the exercise of his functions; commotion succeeded
to commotion, and on the 26th of May, 1810, a provisional government
assembled itself; deposed the new viceroy and sent him to Spain;
against this measure the interior provinces and Monte Video protested.
Liniers formed an army in the neighbourhood of his retreat, and in
Potosi another assembled under General Nieto. To check these, a force
marched from Buenos Ayres; Liniers and Nieto were defeated, and
themselves and six of their principal officers beheaded.
This violent measure did not extinguish the loyal feelings of the
natives of the kingdom; a force was put in motion in Paraguay, under
the governor Velasco, who was however taken prisoner and sent to Buenos
Ayres, but Monte Video still remained firm in her allegiance to Spain,
and repelled every attempt of the new government. Since this period
Monte Video has been taken possession of by the Portuguese. Buenos
Ayres, though threatened with a counter-revolution, still retains its
provisional government; the mines of Potosi are in the hands of the
viceroy of Peru; the greater part of Paraguay is quiet, and the spirit
of insurrection is chiefly confined to the capital; which furnishes a
great number of privateers that much annoy the Spanish merchant vessels
trading to Peru and the coasts of the Pacific. It would be endless to
recount the different actions which have taken place between the royal
troops and the insurgents, or between the city of Monte Video and that
of Buenos Ayres; but the latter have been generally victorious, and the
privateers of this new government still dare to show their flag in the
Pacific, and to keep the coasts of Chili and Peru in constant alarm.
FEATURES, CLIMATE, &c.
Buenos Ayres presents on its eastern territories a tract of land
so nearly level that many of its principal rivers, unable to roll
themselves forward with sufficient impetus, form large shallow lakes,
and it has been calculated that the great Paraguay in its course
southward does not fall above one foot in height between the 18th and
22d degrees of south latitude.
These immense levels are covered with a strong and luxuriant herbage,
which pastures innumerable herds of half-wild horses and cattle. No
hill or swelling rises in this expanse to a greater elevation than 600
feet above the plain, so that if placed on one of these eminences, the
eye wanders over a space resembling the ocean, uninterrupted, save by
the dark spots formed here and there by the grazeing cattle, or by the
travelling waggons and escorts.
But on the west the viceroyalty offers a very different scene, a vast
chain of mountains, whose summits are lost in the frozen regions of
the air, elevate their eternal barriers between the plains of the La
Plata, and the kingdoms of Peru and Chili. From this the main chain of
the Andes, a secondary Cordillera, branches out between 15° and 20° of
south latitude, and traversing the province of Chiquitos, it appears
to, and in fact does connect the Andes of Peru and Chili with the
mountain country of Brazil and Paraguay.
From it flow, on the north, the rivers that empty themselves into the
Maranon, whilst its southern flank supplies the streams which swell the
La Plata. This chain, named the _Cordillera of Chiquitos_, has not been
explored by any scientific traveller, and being inhabited by savage
nations, its structure and disposition are almost unknown.
The next remarkable features of this interesting country are its lakes
and rivers. In the flat plains of La Plata the _Los Xarayes_ is formed
by the collected waters of the torrents which flow, during the rainy
season, from the mountains of Chiquitos, and the Paraguay swelling over
its banks at that period, inundates an expanse of flat land under the
17° of south latitude to an extent of 330 miles in length, and 120 in
breadth; but when the waters of the Paraguay abate, this lake becomes
a marsh infested with multitudes of alligators. Its banks swarm with
jaguars, pumas, monkeys, stags, &c. and with venomous reptiles and
insects. It is never navigable for any other vessels than canoes and
small barks, in which the Portuguese cross it from their settlements in
Cuyaba. Besides this lake there are many others of great size, formed
in a similar manner, such as _Aguaracatay_, in the 25th degree, _Ypoa_
in the 26th degree, and _Neembuco_ in the 27th degree of south latitude.
There are also several smaller ones which are formed by the inability
of the rivers to continue their course without inundating the land in
the vicinity of their banks to find an outlet; these are permanent, but
generally of no depth, such as _Mandiha_ in 25° 20', _Ypacary_ in 25°
23', and the _Iberi_ between the 20th and 29th degree of south latitude.
This last lake gives rise to three rivers which fall into the Great
Parana; viz. the Sta. Lucia, the Batela and the Corrientes from its
south-west extremity, and to the Mirinay, which taking a south-east
course falls into the Uruguay.
Lake Iberi is shallow and filled with aquatic plants, but is
diversified with islands, on which feed deer and other animals; these
islands are unlike the plain surrounding the lake, being in general
covered with wood, and many settlements have been made on its banks,
which are in beautiful situations, supplied with plenty of game, and
fish, and it overflows twice a year.
_Titicaca_ or _Chucuito_ is not only among the largest but the
most remarkable lakes of La Plata. It is situated between the two
Cordilleras of the Andes, in the north-west part of Los Charcas, and
being formed by the surrounding mountains, has no outlet, and is in
some parts from 420 to 480 feet in depth: its circumference is about
240 miles, containing many islands, of which Titicaca the largest,
is three leagues long and one wide, and is famous as having been the
supposed residence of Manco Capac.
This lake is navigable for the largest vessels, but is subject to
dreadful storms owing to the tremendous gusts of wind which rush from
the Andes.
The rivers of Buenos Ayres are innumerable, but the largest and the
most noted is the RIO DE LA PLATA, which may be termed the great
channel by which the south-eastern part of America is drained. This
noble stream is the conjunct flood of the _Paraguay_, the _Pilcomayo_,
the _Parana_, the _Uruguay_, and a multitude of minor rivers which rise
either in the Andes or the mountains of Brazil.
It was first discovered by Juan de Salis in 1515, who sailed up as
far as an island in 34° 40' south latitude. The distance from the
confluence of the Parana and Paraguay to the mouth of the La Plata
is 600 miles; but if the length of any of the three great streams
is added, the La Plata will not yield in magnitude of course to the
Amazons or to the Orinoco.
The _Paraguay_ is generally supposed to be the original river; this
stream rises in 13° south latitude in the mountains, forty leagues
north of the Portuguese town of Cuyaba, and on the opposite side of the
chain in which rises the Arinos, a broad navigable river flowing into
the Maranon. The sources of the Paraguay are very numerous, forming,
soon after their issue, large rivers, and successively joining into
one stream, under the name of the Paraguay. In 16° 24' south latitude,
seven leagues from Villa Bella, the _Jauru_ flows into this river, and
is noted as being the point where a fine marble pyramid is erected,
which was brought from Lisbon, and denotes, by several inscriptions,
that this place is the boundary of Brazil and Spanish America. From its
sources to this point the Paraguay has a navigation interrupted only by
one fall; and the lofty chain of mountains in which this river rises,
are terminated seven leagues below the pyramid, in south latitude 16°
43' by a point called Morro Excalvado. East of this cape all is marsh;
nine leagues further south, the _Rio Nuevo_ joins the Paraguay; this
river was only discovered in 1786. In 17° 33' the west or Spanish
banks of the great river again become mountainous, and three leagues
to the south of his parallel there is a deep break in the chain which
forms the mouth of lake _Gaiba_, which is connected with another named
_Uberava_; six leagues and a half below the mouth of the Gaiba, and
opposite the mountain bank the St. _Lourenço_ or Porrudos enters the
Paraguay from Brazil. This river receives several very large ones,
such as the Cuyaba, the Paraiba, the Jaquari, and the Itaquiri. The
_Itaquiri_ rises near the great Parana in Brazil, and allowing only for
a short portage, canoes actually circumnavigate the country included
between the Parana and the Paraguay.
The mountains continue on the western banks under different names; on
the eastern bank the river receives the _Taquari_ by many estuaries,
the largest of which is in 19° 15' south latitude, and 54° degrees
west longitude. Five leagues lower, and on the same side, the
_Embotetieu_ or _Mondego_, flows into the Paraguay, one league below
the mouth of which two high capes front each other, and here, at the
foot of the mountain, on the west, is _Fort Nueva Coimbra_, the last
and southernmost Portuguese settlement on the Paraguay, which, after
bounding the possessions of the two nations from the pyramid of Jaura,
becomes wholly a Spanish river, after passing _Bahia Negra_, a large
inlet eleven leagues south of Coimbra.
Thence the river continues to south latitude 21°, where, on the west
bank, on a hill named Miguel Josef, the Spaniards have a station with
four pieces of cannon, named _Fort Bourbon_, and previous to reaching
this fort, the little river _Guirino_ flows into it from the east.
In south latitude 21° 22' the river forms two channels by passing an
island, and the banks are here high on both sides, the interior being
very mountainous. At this point the great inundations of the river
which commenced at the mouth of the Jaura, and have received the name
of _Lake Los Xarayes_ terminate.
During the rainy season, the channel of the Paraguay is here confounded
with those of its tributary streams, in such a manner that it is
difficult to find. The banks of the river continue high; and in 22° 5'
south latitude, it receives a large river from the west, and twenty
leagues south of this, the _Corientes_ joins its streams.
The _Xexuy_ flows into it from the east in 24° 11'; from thence
the Paraguay runs southwards for thirty-two leagues to the city of
Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.
Six leagues below Asuncion, the first mouth of the great _Pilcomayo_
joins the main river, its second mouth being fourteen or sixteen
leagues lower. In the intermediate space on the eastern side several
small rivers join, and on one of them, the _Tibiquari_, at 20 leagues
south-east of Asuncion is Villa Rica, a fine Spanish town. The _Rio
Vermelho_ enters the west bank of the Paraguay in 26° 50' on which,
in the interior, is the town of Salto. The stream of the Paraguay,
being now augmented by the Pilcomayo, proceeds with increased rapidity
and volume to 27° 25', where the immense body of waters, (much larger
than itself) of the _Parana_ join it, and their united streams take
the name of the _Rio de la Plata_, and continue their course by an
immense channel to the south, forming several islands, and receiving
many noble streams, till it has passed the thirty-fourth degree of
south latitude, when it begins to take an easterly course, and after
receiving the great _Uruguay_ or _River of the Missions_ above Buenos
Ayres, it flows with a steady and majestic course, and by an immense
estuary into the Atlantic ocean. The cape Santa Maria on the north,
and St. Antonio on the south side of its mouth are 180 miles distant
from each other, in 35° 30' south latitude; but the navigation of this
fine river is interrupted by banks, rocks and islands, and is rendered
dangerous by violent winds, which, sweeping with great velocity over
the plains, cause perfect hurricanes in the La Plata. It is even said
that the storms are more frequent than at sea, and it requires very
little nautical knowledge to know that they must be infinitely more
dangerous than on that element. The water of the ocean is fresh at a
great distance from the La Plata, owing to the rapidity with which that
river discharges itself.
The other noted streams and features of Buenos Ayres will be noticed in
the description of the different provinces.