As the countries of South America were all settled at about the same
time and by the same race and have passed through a like history, they
can be considered as a whole.
The United States and Canada, with a rough, uncongenial climate and
sterile soil, were settled by the Anglo-Saxons, the remainder of the
western continent by the Latin race and, excepting Brazil and Guiana,
by Spaniards. In North America the Anglo-Saxon race has dominated,
carrying civilization from the Atlantic to the Pacific, expelling and
exterminating the aborigines. There has been no mingling of the
Anglo-Saxon and Indian races, no backward step, but ever civil,
religious and intellectual progress. The Latin race conquered Central
America and South America, a perfect Eden of natural loveliness, one
hundred years prior to the settlement of the Anglo-Saxon; yet to-day
they constitute but a thin layer over a scarcely populated country.
Their leaders were men of unbounded ambition, rapacious, of great
endurance, but cruel and unscrupulous. They sought adventure,
expecting it would bring them gold and silver. For that end they
plundered, despoiled and enslaved the Indians. Gold and silver flowed
into their hands; luxury, effeminacy, and weakness followed.
The Spaniards in America have scarcely retained the civilization they
brought from the old world. They have intermarried with the Indians,
and this mixed race is said to inherit the vices of each of their
ancestors without the virtues of either.
A sparse population, mostly Spanish and foreigners, inhabit a zone ten
to twenty miles in depth along the coast of South America, from the
Bay of Panama to the Caribbean sea. All the cities and settlements,
excepting a few in the Argentine Republic, are near the coast.
Back of this zone, on the Pacific, is a mixed Spanish-Indian
population, much larger than the Spanish and foreign population; {16}
and on the Atlantic a population which is Spanish-Indian,
Spanish-Negro, and Negro-Indian, occupies a zone from twenty to one
hundred miles wide. Beyond the first zone a few Spanish families and
foreigners are found at the gold and silver mines, on the pampas, at
the cattle ranches, and on a few haciendas in Peru and Chili. In
Brazil the Portuguese and some Englishmen and Germans raise coffee and
sugar, and oversee the diamond and gold fields. On the Amazon there
are a few small settlements to collect the India rubber and cacao of
that valley.
Save these sparse settlements, the interior of South America is
inhabited by wild tribes of Indians, uncivilized save for the presence
of a few Catholic priests, who have given the Indians the cross and
the image of the Virgin Mary, which they worship, mingling the
Catholic religion with their old idolatries and barbarous rites. The
natives are believed to be more idle and less civilized than when the
Spaniards discovered America.
The Spaniards are the grandees of the country; too proud to work, they
leave all business to the foreigners and all labor to the Indians,
retaining in connection with the half-breeds all political power. When
the regents appointed by Spain were expelled in the early part of the
present century, republics were established, but they were republics
only in name; the people were neither educated nor fitted for
self-government. Their presidents generally exercised the powers of
dictators and often assumed that title. They have rarely enjoyed a
long rule, for their power and position were sought by others.
Revolution in these countries has passed from the acute to the chronic
stage.
A recent traveller in Peru, who wished to inspect its railroad system,
was informed that only 26 miles were in running order, the remainder
being under the control of the revolutionists who were then less than
80 miles from the capital. He asked why the rebels did not take Lima,
the capital, and was told, "because there is no unanimity among them;
they are suspicious of each other, and cannot depend upon any one
man." Instead of being anxious to serve their country they are only
interested in robbing her.
Another traveller in Bolivia, who witnessed some of these revolutions,
says they sometimes occurred three times in as many weeks, and that it
would have been ludicrous had not their results been often violent and
tragic. There has been no settled government, no continued peace, no
permanent policy, in any Spanish {17} country. The hope for the future
is that the English, German, and French population will increase and
become permanently identified with the country; they will then take an
active interest in politics and direct the policy and administration
of the government.
Commercial and banking business is in the hands of the French,
Germans, and English. The Italians carry on a small trade at corner
groceries and fruit stores; the French keep the hotels and
restaurants; the English and Germans are the shippers, merchants and
bankers.
Regular lines of English, French, and German steamers run from Europe
to Panama and thence along the western coast of South America,
stopping at ports en route; some return by Panama, others sail around
Cape Horn to Europe by Buenos Ayres and Rio Janeiro. Other lines run
direct from Europe to Brazil, and twenty-four lines connect Europe and
the Argentine Republic; while there are only four lines of American
steamers trading to South America.