THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK I.

THE progress of men in discovering and peo­pling the various parts of the earth,BOOK I. The earth slowly peo­pled. has been extremely slow. Several ages elapsed before they removed far from those mild and fertile regions in which they were originally placed by their Creator. The occasion of their first general dis­persion is known; but we are unacquainted with the course of their migrations, or the time when they took possession of the different countries which they now inhabit. Neither history nor tradition furnish such information concerning those remote events, as enables us to trace, with any certainty, the operations of the human race in the infancy of society.

WE may conclude, however,First migra­tions by land. that all the early migrations of mankind were made by land. The ocean, which surrounds the habitable earth, as well as the various arms of the sea which separate one region from another, though destined to facilitate the communication between distant countries, seem, at first; view, to be formed to check the progress of man and to mark the bounds of that portion of the globe to which nature had confined him It was long, we may believe, before men attempted [Page 38] to pass these formidable barriers, and became so skilful and adventrous as to commit themselves to the mercy of the winds and waves, or to quit their native shores in quest of remote and unknown re­gions.

First at­tempts to­wards navi­gation.NAVIGATION and ship-building are arts so nice and complicated, that they require the ingenuity, as well as experience, of many successive ages to bring them to any degree of perfection. From the raft or canoe, which first served to carry a savage over the river that obstructed him in the chace, to the construction of a vessel capable of conveying a numerous crew with safety to a distant coast, the progress in improvement is immense. Many efforts would be made, many experiments would be tried, and much labour as well as invention would be employed, before men could accomplish this ardu­ous and important undertaking. The rude and imperfect state in which navigation is still found among all nations which are not considerably civil­ized, corresponds with this account of its progress, and demonstrates that, in early times, the art was not so far improved as to enable men to undertake distant voyages, or to attempt remote discoveries.

Introduc­tion of commerce.AS soon however, as the art of navigation be­came known, a new species of correspondence among men took place. It is from this aera, that we must date the commencement of such an inter­course between nations as deserves the appellation of commerce. Men are, indeed, far advanced in improvement before commerce becomes an object of great importance to them. They must even have made some considerable progress towards ci­vilization, before they acquire the idea of property, and ascertain it so perfectly as to be acquainted with the most simple of all contracts, that of ex­changing by barter one rude commodity for ano­ther. But as soon as this important right is esta­blished, and every individual feels that he has an [Page 39] exclusive title to possess or to alienate whatever he has acquired by his own labour or dexterity, the wants and ingenuity of his nature suggest to him a new method of increasing his acquisitions and en­joyments, by disposing of what is superfluous in his own stores, in order to procure what is neces­sary or desirable in those of other men. Thus a commercial intercourse begins, and is carried on among the members of the same community. By degrees, they discover that neighbouring tribes pos­sess what they themselves want, and enjoy com­forts of which they wish to partake In the same mode, and upon the same principles, that domestic traffic is carried on within the society, an external commerce is established with other tribes or nations. Their mutual interest and mutual wants render this intercourse desirable, and imperceptibly introduce the maxims and laws which facilitate its progress and render it secure. But no very extensive com­merce can take place between contiguous provin­ces, whose soil and climate being nearly the same, yield similar productions. Remote countries can­not convey their commodities by land, to those places, where on account of their rarity they are desired, and become valuable. It is to navigation that men are indebted for the power of transport­ing the superfluous stock of one part of the earth, to supply the wants of another. The luxuries and blessings of a particular climate are no longer con­fined to itself alone, but the enjoyment of them is communicated to the most distant regions.

IN proportion as the knowledge of the advan­tages derived from navigation and commerce con­tinued to spread, the intercourse among nations ex­tended. The ambition of conquest, or the neces­sity of procuring new settlements, were no longer the sole motives of visiting distant lands. The de­sire of gain became a new incentive to activity, roused adventurers, and sent them forth upon long [Page 40] voyages, in search of countries, whose products or wants might increase that circulation, which nou­rishes and gives vigour to commerce. Trade prov­ed a great source of discovery, it opened unknown seas, it penetrated into new regions, and contri­buted more than any other cause, to bring men ac­quainted with the situation, the nature, and com­modities of the different parts of the globe. But even after a regular commerce was established in the world, after nations were considerably civilized, and the sciences and arts were cultivated with ar­dour and success, navigation continued to be so imperfect, that it can hardly be said to have ad­vanced beyond the infancy of its improvement in the ancient world.

Imperfec­tion of na­vigation a­mong the ancients.AMONG all the nations of antiquity the structure of their vessels was extremely rude, and their me­thod of working them very defective. They were unacquainted with several principles and operations in navigation, which are now considered as the first elements on which that science is founded. Though that property of the magnet, by which it attracts iron, was well known to the ancients, its more im­portant and amazing virtue of pointing to the poles had entirely escaped their observation. Destitute of this faithful guide, which now conducts the pilot with so much certainty in the unbounded ocean, during the darkness of night, or when the heavens are covered with clouds, the ancients had no other method of regulating their course than by observ­ing the sun and stars. Their navigation was of consequence uncertain and timid. They durst seldom quit sight of land, but crept along the coast, exposed to all the dangers, and retarded by all the obstructions, unavoidable in holding such an aukward course. An incredible length of time was requisite for performing voyages, which are now finished in a short space. Even in the mildest [Page 41] climates, and in seas the least tempestuous, it was only during the summer months that the ancients ventured out of their harbours. The remainder of the year was lost in inactivity. It would have been deemed most inconsiderate rashness to have braved the fury of the winds and waves during winter.^*

WHILE both the science and practice of naviga­tion continued to be so defective, it was an under­taking of no small difficulty and danger to visit any remote region of the earth. Under every disad­vantage, however, the active spirit of commerce exerted itself. The Egyptians,Navigation and com­merce of the Egyp­tians. soon after the esta­blishment of their monarchy, are said to have opened a trade between the Arabian Gulph or Red Sea, and the western coast of the great Indian continent. The commodities which they imported from the east, were carried by land from the Ara­bian Gulph to the banks of the Nile, and conveyed down that river to the Mediterranean. But if the Egyptians in early times applied themselves to com­merce, their attention to it was of short duration. The fertile soil and mild climate of Egypt produced the necessaries and comforts of life with such pro­fusion, as rendered its inhabitants so independent of other countries, that it became an established maxim among that people, whose ideas and institu­tions differed in almost every point from those of other nations, to renounce all intercourse with fo­reigners. In consequence of this, they never went out of their own country; they held all sea-faring persons in detestation, as impious and profane; and fortifying their own harbours, they denied strangers admittance into them. ^† It was in the decline of their power, and when their veneration [Page 42] for ancient maxims had greatly abated, that they again opened their ports, and resumed any com­munication with foreigners.

Of the Phe­nicians.THE character and situation of the Phenicians were as favourable to the spirit of commerce and discovery as those of the Egyptians were adverse to it. They had no distinguishing peculiarity in their manners and institutions; they were not addicted to any singular and unsocial form of superstition; they could mingle with other nations without scruple or reluctance. The territory which they possessed was neither large nor fertile. Commerce was the only source from which they could derive opulence or power. Accordingly, the trade car­ried on by the Phenicians of Sidon and Tyre, was more extensive and enterprising than that of any state in the ancient world. The genius of the Phe­nicians, as well as the object of their policy and the spirit of their laws, were entirely commercial. They were a people of merchants who aimed at the empire of the sea, and actually possessed it. Their ships not only frequented all the ports in the Me­diterranean, but they were the first who ventured beyond the ancient boundaries of navigation, and passing the Streights of Gades, visited the western coasts of Spain and Africa. In many of the places to which they resorted, they planted colonies, and communicated to the rude inhabitants some know­ledge of their arts and improvements. While they extended their discoveries towards the north and the west, they did not neglect to penetrate into the more opulent and fertile regions of the south and east. Having rendered themselves masters of seve­ral commodious harbours towards the bottom of the Arabian Gulph, they, after the example of the Egyptians, established a regular intercourse with Arabia and the continent of India on the one hand, and with the eastern coast of Africa on the other. [Page 43] From these countries they imported many valuable commodities, unknown to the rest of the world, and during a long period, engrossed that lucrative branch of commerce without a rival.^*

THE vast wealth which the Phenicians acquired by monopolizing the trade carried on in the Red Sea, incited their neighbours the Jews,Of the Jews under the prosperous reigns of David and Solomon, to aim at being admitted to some share of it. This they obtained partly by their conquest of Idumea, which stretches along the Red Sea, and partly by their alliance with Hiram King of Tyre. Solomon fit­ted out fleets, which, under the direction of Phe­nician pilots, sailed from the Red Sea to Tarshish and Ophir. These it is probable were ports in In­dia and Africa which their conductors were ac­customed to frequent, and from them the Jewish ships returned with such valuable cargoes as sud­denly diffused wealth and splendour through the kingdom of Israel.^† But the singular institutions of the Jews, the observance of which was enjoined by their divine legislator, with an intention of pre­serving them a separate people, uninfected by ido­latry, formed a national character incapable of that open and liberal intercourse with strangers which commerce requires. Accordingly, this unsocial genius of the people, together with the disasters which befel the kingdom of Israel, prevented the commercial spirit which their monarchs laboured to introduce, and to cherish, from spreading among them. The Jews cannot be numbered among the nations which contributed to improve navigation, or to extend discovery.

BUT though the instructions and example of the Phenicians were unable to mould the manners andOf the Car­thaginians. [Page 44] temper of the Jews, in opposition to the tendency of their laws, they transmitted the commercial spirit with facility, and in full vigour, to their own de­scendants the Carthaginians. The commonwealth of Carthage applied to trade and to naval affairs, with no less ardour, ingenuity, and success, than its parent state. Carthage early rivalled, and soon surpassed Tyre, in opulence and power, but seems not to have aimed at obtaining any share in the commerce with India. The Phenicians had en­grossed this, and had such a command of the Red Sea, as secured to them the exclusive possession of that lucrative branch of trade. The commercial activity of the Carthaginians was exerted in another direction. Without contending for the trade of the east with their mother-country, they extended their navigation chiefly towards the west and north. Following the course which the Phenicians had opened, they passed the Streights of Gades, and pushing their discoveries far beyond those of the parent state, visited not only all the coasts of Spain, but those of Gaul, and penetrated at last into Bri­tain. At the same time that they acquired know­ledge of new countries in this part of the globe, they gradually carried their researches towards the South. They made considerable progress, by land, into the interior provinces of Africa, traded with some of them, and subjected others to their em­pire. They sailed along the western coast of that great continent, almost to the tropic of Cancer, and planted several colonies, in order to civilize the natives, and accustom them to commerce. They discovered the Fortunate Islands, now known by the name of the Canaries, the utmost boundary of ancient navigation in the western ocean.^*

[Page 45]NOR was the progress of the Phenicians and Carthaginians in their knowledge of the globe, owing entirely to the desire of extending their trade from one country to another. Commerce was followed by its usual effects among both these people. It awakened curiosity, enlarged the ideas and desires of men, and incited them to bold enter­prises. Voyages were undertaken, the sole object of which was to discover new countries, and to ex­plore unknown seas. Such during the prosperous age of the Carthaginian republic, were the famous navigations of Hanno and Himilco. Both their fleets were equipped by authority of the senate, and at public expence. Hanno was directed to steer towards the south, along the coast of Africa, and he seems to have advanced much nearer the equi­noctial line than any former navigator^*. Himilco had it in charge to proceed towards the north, and to examine the western coasts of the European con­tinent.^† Of the same nature was the extraordinary navigation of the Phenicians round Africa. A Phenician fleet, we are told, fitted out by Necho king of Egypt, took its departure about six hun­dred and four years before the Christian aera, from a port in the Red Sea, doubled the southern pro­montory of Africa, and after a voyage of three years, returned by the Streights of Gades, to the mouth of the Nile^‡. Eudoxus of Cyzicus is said to have held the same course, and to have accom­plished the same arduous undertaking.^§

THESE voyages, if performed in the manner [Page 46] which I have related, may justly be reckoned the greatest effort of navigation in the ancient world; and if we attend to the imperfect state of the art at that time, it is difficult to determine, whether we should most admire the courage and sagacity with which the design was formed, or the conduct and good fortune with which it was executed. But un­fortunately, all the original and authentic accounts of the Phenician and Carthaginian voyages, whether undertaken by public authority, or in prosecution of their private trade, have perished. The in­formation which we receive concerning them from the Greek and Roman authors, is not only obscure and inaccurate, but, if we except a short narrative of Hanno's expedition, is of suspicious authority.^* Whatever acquaintance with the remote regions of the earth the Phenicians or Carthaginians may have acquired, was concealed from the rest of mankind with a mercantile jealousy. Every thing relative to the course of their navigation was not only a mystery of trade, but a secret of state. Extraor­dinary facts are recorded concerning their solicitude to prevent other nations from penetrating into what they wished should remain undivulged.^† Many of their discoveries seem, accordingly, to have been scarcely known beyond the precincts of their own state. The navigation round Africa, in particular, is recorded by the Greek and Roman writers, rather as a strange amusing tale, which they did not comprehend, or did not believe, than as a real transaction, which enlarged their knowledge and influenced their opinions^‡. As neither the pro­gress of the Phenician or Carthaginian discoveries, nor the extent of their navigation, were communi­cated to the rest of mankind, all memorials of [Page 47] their extraordinary skill in naval affairs seem, in a great measure to have perished, when the mari­time power of the former was annihilated by Alex­ander's conquest of Tyre, and the empire of the latter was overturned by the Roman arms.

LEAVING then the obscure and pompous ac­counts of the Phenician and Carthaginian voyages to the curiosity and conjectures of antiquaries,Of the Greek [...]. his­tory must rest satisfied with relating the progress of navigation and discovery among the Greeks and Romans, which, though less splendid, is better as­certained. It is evident that the Phenicians, who instructed the Greeks in many other useful sciences and arts, did not communicate to them that exten­sive knowledge of navigation which they them­selves possessed; nor did the Romans imbibe that commercial spirit and ardour for discovery which distinguished their rivals the Carthaginians.— Though Greece be almost encompassed by the sea, which formed many spacious bays and commodious harbours, though it be surrounded by a great num­ber of fertile islands, yet notwithstanding such a favourable situation, which seemed to invite that ingenious people to apply themselves to navigation, it was long before this a [...]t attained any degree of perfection among them. Their early voyages, the object of which was piracy rather than commerce, were so inconsiderable, that the expedition of the Argonauts from the coast of Thessaly to the Eux­ine sea, appeared such an amazing effort of skill and courage, as entitled the conductors of it to be ranked among the demigods, and exalted the vessel in which they sailed to a place among the heavenly constellations. Even at a later period, when the Greeks engaged in their famous enterprize against Troy, their knowledge in naval affairs seems not to have been much improved. According to the ac­count of Homer, the only poet to whom history [Page 48] ventures to appeal, and who, by his scrupulous accuracy in describing the manners and arts of early ages, merits this distinction, the science of navigation, at that time, had hardly advanced be­yond its rudest state. The Greeks in the heroic age seem to have been unacquainted with the use of iron, the most serviceable of all the metals, with­out which no considerable progress was ever made in the mechanical arts. Their vessels were of con­siderable burthen, and mostly without decks. They had only one mast, which was erected or taken down at pleasure. They were strangers to the use of anchors. All their operations in sailing were clumsy and unskilful. They turned their ob­servations towards stars, which were improper for regulating their course, and their mode of ob­serving them was inaccurate and fallacious. When they had finished a voyage they drew their paltry barks ashore, as savages do their canoes, and these remained on dry land until the season of returning to sea approached. It is not then in the early or heroic ages of Greece that we can expect to ob­serve the science of navigation, and the spirit of discovery, making any considerable progress. Du­ring that period of disorder and ignorance, a thou­sand causes concurred in restraining curiosity and enterprize within very narrow bounds.

BUT the Greeks advanced with rapidity to a state of greater civilization and refinement. Go­vernment in its most liberal and perfect form, be­gan to be established in their different communi­ties; equal laws and regular police were gradually introduced; the sciences and arts which are useful or ornamental in life were carried to a high pitch of improvement, and several of the Grecian com­monwealths applied to commerce with such ardour and success, that they were considered, in the an­cient world, as maritime powers of the first rank. [Page 49] Even then, however, the naval victories of the Greeks must be ascribed rather to the native spirit of the people, and to that courage which the en­joyment of liberty inspires, than to any extraor­dinary progress in the science of navigation. In the Persian war, those exploits which the genius of the Greek historians has rendered so famous, were performed by fleets, composed chiefly of small ves­sels without decks;^* the crews of which rushed forward with impetuous valour, but little art, to board those of the enemy. In the war of Pelo­ponnesus, their ships seem still to have been of in­considerable burthen and force. The extent of their trade, how highly soever it may have been estimated in ancient times, was in proportion to this low condition of their marine. The maritime states of Greece hardly carried on any commerce beyond the limits of the Mediterranean sea. Their chief intercourse was with the colonies of their countrymen, planted in the lesser Asia, in Italy and Sicily. They sometimes visited the ports of Egypt, of the southern provinces of Gaul, and of Thrace; or passing through the Hellespont, they traded with the countries situated around the Euxine sea. Amazing instances occur of their ignorance even of those countries which lay within the narrow precincts to which their navigation was confined. When the Greeks had assembled their combined fleet against Xerxes at Egina, they thought it un­advisable to sail to Samos, because they believed the distance between that island and Egina to be as great as the distance between Egina and the Pillars of Hercules^†. They were either utterly unac­quainted with all the parts of the globe beyond the Mediterranean sea, or what knowledge they had of them was founded on conjecture, or derived from the information of a few persons, whom curiosity [Page 50] and the love of science had prompted to travel by land into the Upper Asia, or by sea into Egypt, the ancient seats of wisdom and arts. After all that the Greeks learned from them, they appear to have been ignorant of the most important facts on which an accurate and scientific knowledge of the globe is founded.

THE expedition of Alexander the Great into the east, considerably enlarged the sphere of naviga­tion and of geographical knowledge among the Greeks. That extraordinary man, notwithstanding the violent passions which incited him, at some times, to the wildest actions, and the most extra­vagant enterprises, possessed talents which fitted him not only to conquer, but to govern the world. He was capable of framing those bold and original schemes of policy, which gave a new form to hu­man affairs. The revolution in commerce, brought about by the force of his genius, is hardly inferior to that revolution in empire occasioned by the success of his arms. It is probable that the oppo­sition and efforts of the republic of Tyre, which checked him so long in the career of his victories, gave Alexander an opportunity of observing the vast resources of a maratime power, and conveyed to him some idea of the immense wealth which the Tyrians derived from their commerce, especially that with the East-Indies. As soon as he had ac­complished the destruction of Tyre, and reduced Egypt to subjection, he formed the plan of ren­dering the empire which he proposed to establish, the center of commerce as well as the seat of do­minion. With this view he founded a great city, which he honoured with his own name, near one of the mouths of the river Nile, that, by the Medi­terranean sea, and the neighbourhood of the Ara­bian Gulf, it might command the trade both of the east and west^*. This situation was chosen with [Page 51] such discernment, that Alexandria soon became the chief commercial city in the world. Not only during the subsistence of the Grecian empire in Egypt and in the east, but amidst all the successive revolutions in those countries, from the time of the Ptolemies to the discovery of the navigation by the Cape of Good Hope, commerce, particular­ly that of the East-Indies, continued to flow in the channel which the sagacity and foresight of Alexander had marked out for it.

HIS ambition was not satisfied with having open­ed to the Greeks a communication with India by sea; he aspired to the sovereignty of those regions which furnished the rest of mankind with so many precious commodities, and conducted his army thither by land. Enterprising, however, as he was, he may be said rather to have viewed, than to have conquered that country. He did not, in his progress towards the east, advance beyond the banks of the rivers that fall into the Indus, which is now the western boundary of the vast continent of India. Amidst the wild exploits which distin­guish this part of his history, he pursued mea­sures that mark the superiority of his genius, as well as the extent of his views. He had penetrated as far into India as to con [...]m his opinion of its commercial importan [...]e, and to perceive that im­mense wealth might be derived from intercourse with a country, where the arts of elegance having been more early cultivated, were arrived at greater perfection than in any other part of the earth^*. Full of this idea, he resolved to examine the course of navigation from the mouth of the Indus to the bottom of the Persian Gulf; and if it should be found practicable, to establish a regular com­munication [Page 52] between them. In order to effect this, he proposed to remove the cataracts, with which the jealousy of the Persians, and their aversion to correspondence with foreigners, had obstructed the entrance into the Euphrates;^* to carry the commo­dities of the east up that river, and the Tigris, which unites with it, into the interior parts of his Asiatic dominions; while, by the way of the Ara­bian Gulf, and the river Nile, they might be conveyed to Alexandria, and distributed to the rest of the world, Nearchus, an officer of eminent abilities, was entrusted with the command of the fleet fitted out for this expedition. He performed this voyage, which was deemed an enterprise so arduous and important, that Alexander reckoned it one of the most extraordinary events which distin­guished his reign. Inconsiderable as it may now appear, it was, at that time, an undertaking of no little merit and difficulty. In the prosecution of it, striking instances occur of the small progress which the Greeks had made in naval knowledge^†. Hav­ing never sailed beyond the bounds of the Medi­terranean, where the ebb and flow of the sea are hardly perceptible, when they first observed this phaenomenon at the mouth of the Indus, it ap­peared to them a prodigy, by which the gods testi­fied the displeasure of Heaven against their enter­prise.^‡ During their whole course, they seem never to have lost sight of land, but followed the bearings of the coast so servilely, that they could not much avail themselves of those periodical winds which facilitate navigation in the Indian ocean. Accordingly, they spent no less than ten ^§ months in performing this voyage, which, from the mouth [Page 53] of the Indus to that of the Persian Gulf, does not exceed twenty degrees. It is probable, that amidst the violent convulsions and frequent revolutions in the East, occasioned by the contests among the successors of Alexander, the navigation to India, by the course which Nearchus had opened, was discontinued. The Indian trade carried on at Alex­andria not only subsisted, but was so much ex­tended under the Grecian monarchs of Egypt, that it proved a great source of the wealth which distinguished their kingdom.

THE progress which the Romans made in navi­gation and discovery,Of the Ro­mans. was still more inconsiderable than that of the Greeks. The genius of the Ro­man people, their military education, and the spi­rit of their laws concurred in estranging them from commerce and naval affairs. It was the necessity of opposing a formidable rival, not the desire of extending trade, which first prompted them to aim at maritime power. Though they soon perceived that, in order to acquire the universal dominion after which they aspired, it was necessary to ren­der themselves masters of the sea, they still consi­dered the naval service as a subordinate station, and reserved for it such citizens as were not of a rank to be admitted into the legions^*. In the his­tory of the Roman republic, hardly one event oc­curs, that marks attention to navigation any farther than as it was instrumental towards conquest. When the Roman valour and discipline had sub­dued all the maritime states known in the ancient world; when Carthage, Greece, and Egypt had submitted to their power, the Romans did not im­bibe the commercial spirit of the conquered na­tions. Among that people of soldiers, to have ap­plied to trade would have been deemed a degrada­tion of a Roman citizen. They abandoned the me­chanical [Page 54] arts, commerce, and navigation, to slaves, to freedmen, to provincials, and to citizens of the lowest class. Even after the subversion of liberty, when the severity and haughtiness of ancient man­ners began to abate, commerce did not rise into high estimation among the Romans. The trade of Greece, Egypt, and the other conquered coun­tries, continued to be carried on in its usual chan­nels, after they were reduced into the form of Ro­man provinces. As Rome was the capital of the world, and the seat of government, all the wealth and valuable productions of the provinces flowed naturally thither. The Romans, satisfied with this, seem to have suffered commerce to remain almost entirely in the hands of the natives of the respective countries. The extent, however, of the Roman power, which reached over the greatest part of the known world, the vigilant inspection of the Roman magistrates, and the spirit of the Roman govern­ment, no less intelligent than active, gave such ad­ditional security to commerce, as animated it with new vigour. The union among nations was never so entire, nor the intercourse so perfect, as within the bounds of this vast empire. Commerce un­der the Roman dominion, was not obstructed by the jealousy of rival states, interrupted by frequent hostilities, or limited by partial restrictions. One superintending power moved and regulated the in­dustry of mankind, and enjoyed the fruits of their joint efforts.

NAVIGATION felt this influence, and improved under it. As soon as the Romans acquired a taste for the luxuries of the East, the trade with India through Egypt was pushed with new vigour, and carried on to greater extent. By frequenting the Indian continent, navigators became acquainted with the periodical course of the winds, which, in [Page 55] the ocean that separates Africa from India, blow with little variation during one half of the year from the east, and during the other half blow with equal steadiness from the west. Encouraged by observ­ing this, the pilots who sailed from Egypt to India abandoned their ancient slow and dangerous course along the coast, and as soon as the western monsoon set in, took their departure from Ocelis, at the mouth of the Arabian Gulf, and stretched boldly across the ocean ^*. The uniform direction of the wind supplying the place of the compass, and ren­dering the guidance of the stars less necessary, con­ducted them to the port of Musiris, on the western shore of the Indian continent. There they took on board their cargo, and returning with the eastern monsoon, finished their voyage to the Arabian Gulf within the year. This part of India, now known by the name of the Malabar coast, seems to have been the utmost limit of ancient navigation in that quarter of the globe. What imperfect knowledge the ancients had of the immense countries which stretch beyond this towards the east, they received from a few adventurers, who had visited them by land. Such excursions were neither frequent nor extensive, and it is probable, that while the Roman intercourse with India subsisted, no traveller ever penetrated farther than to the banks of the Ganges.^† The fleets from Egypt which traded at Musiris were loaded, it is true, with the spices and other rich com­modites of the continent and islands of the farther India; but these were brought to that port, which became the staple of the commerce between the East and West, by the Indians themselves, in canoes hol­lowed out of one tree^‡. The Egyptian and Roman [Page 56] merchants, satisfied with acquiring those commodities in this manner, did not think it necessary to explore unknown seas, and venture upon a dangerous navi­gation in quest of the countries which produced them. But though the discoveries of the Romans in India were so limited, their commerce there was such as will appear considerable, even to the present age, in which the Indian trade has been extended far beyond the practice or conception of any preced­ing period. We are informed by one autho of cre­dit, ^* that the commerce with India draned the Ro­man empire every year of more than four hundred thousand pounds; and by another, that one hundred and twenty ships sailed annually from the Arabian Gulf to that country^†.

Discoveries of the an­cients by land.THE discovery of this new method of sailing to In­dia, is the most considerable improvement in navi­gation made during the continuance of the Roman power. But in ancient times, the knowledge of re­mote countries was acquired more frequently by land than by sea;^† and the Romans, from their pe­culiar disinclination to naval affairs, may be said to have neglected totally the latter, though a more easy and expeditious method of discovery. The progress, however, of their victorious armies through a considerable portion of Europe, Asia, and Afri­ca, contributed greatly to extend discovery by land, and gradually opened the navigation of new and unknown seas. Previous to the Roman con­quests, the civilized nations of antiquity had little communication with those countries in Europe, which now form its most opulent and powerful kingdoms. The interior parts of Spain and Gaul were imperfectly known. Britain, separated from the rest of the world, had never been visited, ex­cept [Page 57] by its neighbours the Gauls, and by a few Carthaginian merchants. The name of Germany had scarcely been heard of. Into all these coun­tries the arms of the Romans penetrated. They entirely subdued Spain and Gaul; they conquered the greatest and most fertile part of Britain; they advanced into Germany, as far as the banks of the river Elbe. In Africa, they acquired a considera­ble knowledge of the provinces which stretch along the Mediterranean sea, from Egypt westward to the straits of Gades. In Asia, they not only sub­jected to their power most of the provinces which composed the Prussian and Macedonian empires, but, after their victories over Mithridates and Ti­granes, they seem to have made a more accurate survey of the countries contiguous to the Euxine and Caspian seas, and to have carried on a more extensive trade than that of the Greeks with the opulent and commercial nations, then seated round the Euxine sea.

FROM this succinct survey of discovery and navi­gation,Imperfec­tion of ge­ographical knowledge among the ancients. which I have traced from the earliest dawn of historical knowledge to the full establishment of the Roman dominion, the progress of both ap­pears to have been wonderfully slow. It seems neither adequate to what we might have expected from the activity and enterprise of the human mind, nor to what might have been performed by the power of the great empires which successively go­verned the world. If we reject accounts that are fabulous and obscure; if we adhere steadily to the light and information of authentic history, with­out substituting in its place the conjectures of fancy, or the dreams of etymologists, we must conclude, that the knowledge which the ancients had ac­quired of the habitable globe was extremely con­fined. In Europe, the extensive provinces in the eastern part of Germany were little known to them. [Page 58] They were almost totally unacquainted with the vast countries which are now subject to the Kings of Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, Poland, and the Russian empire. The more barren regions, that stretch within the arctic circle, were quite unex­plored. In Africa, their researches did not extend far beyond the provinces which border on the Me­diterranean, and those situated on the western shore of the Arabian Gulf. In Asia, they were unacquainted, as I formerly observed, with all the fertile and opulent countries beyond the Ganges, which furnish the most valuable commodities that, in modern times, have been the great object of the European commerce with India; nor do they seem to have ever penetrated into those immense regions occupied by the wandering tribes which they called by the general name of Sarmatians or Scythians, and which are now possessed by Tartars of various denominations, and by the Asiatic subjects of Russia.

A remar­kable proof of this.BUT there is one opinion, that universally pre­vailed among the ancients, which conveys a more striking idea of the small progress they had made in the knowledge of the habitable globe, than can be derived from any detail of their discoveries. They supposed the earth to be divided into five regions, which they distinguished by the name of zones. Two of these, which were nearest the poles, they termed frigid zones, and believed that the extreme cold which reigned perpetually there, rendered them uninhabitable. Another, seated under the line, and extending on either side towards the tropics, they called the torrid zone, and imagined it to be so burnt up with unremitting heat, as to be equally destitute of inhabitants. On the two other zones, which occupied the remainder of the earth, they bestowed the appellation of temperate, and taught that these, being the only regions in which life [Page 59] could subsist, were allotted to man for his habitation. This wild opinion was not a conceit of the unin­formed vulgar, or a fanciful fiction of the poets, but a system adopted by the most enlightened phi­losophers, the most accurate historians and geo­graphers, in Greece and Rome According to this theory, a vast portion of the habitable earth was pronounced to be unsit for sustaining the hu­man species. Those fertile and populous regions within the torrid zone, which are now known not only to yield their own inhabitants the necessaries and comforts of life, with most luxuriant profu­sion, but to communicate their superfluous stores to the rest of the world, were supposed to be the mansion of perpetual sterility and desolation. As all the parts of the globe with which the ancients were acquainted, lay within the northern temperate zone, their opinion that the other temperate zone was filled with inhabitants, was founded on reason­ing and conjecture, not on discovery. They even believed that, by the intolerable heat of the torrid zone, such an insuperable barrier was placed be­tween the two temperate regions of the earth, as would prevent for ever any intercourse between their respective inhabitants. Thus this extrava­gant theory not only proves that the ancients were unacquainted with the true state of the globe, but it tended to render their ignorance perpetual, by representing all attempts towards opening a com­munication with the remote regions of the earth, as utterly impracticable^*.

BUT, however imperfect or inaccurate the geo­graphical knowledge which the Greeks and Ro­mans had acquired may appear, in respect of the present improved state of that science, their progress in discovery will seem considerable, and the ex­tent [Page 60] to which they carried navigation and commerce must be reckoned great, when compared with the ignorance of early times. As long as the Roman empire retained such vigour as to preserve its au­thority over the conquered nations, and to keep them united, it was an object of public police, as well as of private curiosity, to examine and de­scribe the countries which composed this great body. Even when the other sciences began to de­cline, geography, enriched with new observations, and receiving some accession from the experience of every age, and the reports of every traveller continued to improve. It attained to the highest point of perfection and accuracy to which it ever arrived in the ancient world, by the industry and genius of Ptolemy the philosopher.Improve­ments in geography by Ptole­my. He flour­ished in the second century of the Christian aera, and published a description of the terreftri­al globe, more ample and exact than that of any of his predecessors.

The inva­sion of the Roman empire by barbarous nations.BUT, soon after, violent convulsions began to shake the Roman state; the fatal ambition or ca­price of Constantine, by changing the seat of go­verment, divided and weakened its force; the bar­barous nations, which Providence prepared as in­struments to overturn the mighty fabric of the Roman power, began to assemble and to muster their armies on its frontier; the empire tottered to its fall. During this decline and old age of the Roman state, it was impossible that the sciences should go on improving. The efforts of genius were, at that period, as languid and feeble as those of government. From the time of Ptolemy, no considerable addition seems to have been made in geographical knowledge, nor did any important revolution happen in trade, excepting that Constan­tinople, by its advantageous situation, and the encouragement of the eastern emperors, became a commercial city of the first note.

[Page 61]AT length, the clouds which had been so long gathering round the Roman empire, burst into a storm.Effects of their con­quests on commercial intercourse Barbarous nations rushed in from several quarters with irresistible impetuosity, and, in the general wreck, occasioned by the inundation which overwhelmed Europe, the arts, sciences, inven­tions, and discoveries of the Romans, perished in a great measure, and disappeared^*. All the various tribes, which settled in the different provinces of the Roman empire, were uncivilized, strangers to letters, destitute of arts, unacquainted with re­gular government, subordination, or laws. The manners and institutions of some of them were so rude, as to be hardly compatible with a state of social union. Europe, when occupied by such in­habitants, may be said to have returned to a second infancy, and had to begin anew its career in im­provement, science, and civility. The first effect of the settlement of those barbarous invaders was to dissolve the union by which the Roman power had cemented mankind together. They parcelled out Europe into many small and independent states, differing from each other in language and customs. No intercouse subsisted between the members of those divided and hostile communities. Accustom­ed to a simple mode of life, and averse to industry, they had few wants to supply, and few superflui­ties to dispose of. The names of stranger and of enemy became once more words of the same import. Customs every where prevailed, and even laws were established, which rendered it disagreeable and dangerous to visit any foreign country^†. Cities, in which alone an extensive commerce can be car­ried on, were few, inconsiderable, and destitute of those immunities which produce security or [Page 62] or excite enterprise. The sciences, on which geogra­phy and navigation are founded, were little culti­vated. The accounts of ancient improvements and discoveries, contained in the Greek and Roman au­thors, were neglected or misunderstood. The knowledge of remote regions was lost, their situation, their commodities, and almost their names, were unkn [...]wn.

Commerce still preser­ved in the Eastern empire.ONE circumstance prevented commercial inter­course with distant nations from ceasing altoge­ther. Constantinople, though often threatened by the fierce invaders, who spread desolation over the rest of Europe, was so fortunate as to escape their destructive rage. In that city, the knowledge of ancient arts and discoveries was preserved; a taste for splendour and elegance subsisted; the produc­tions and luxuries of foreign countries were in re­quest; and commerce continued to flourish there when it was almost extinct in every other part of Europe. The citizens of Constantinople did not confine their trade to the islands of the Archipelago, or to the adjacent coasts of Asia; they took a wider range, and following the course which the ancients had marked out, imported the commodi­ties of the East Indies from Alexandria. When Egypt was torn from the Roman empire by the Arabians, the industry of the Greeks discovered a new channel, by which the productions of India might be conveyed to Constantinople. They were carried up the Indus, as far as that great river is navigable; thence they were transported by land to the banks of the river Oxus, and proceeded down its stream to the Caspian sea. There they en­tered the Volga, and sailing up it, were carried by land to the Tanais, which conducted them into the Euxine sea, where vessels from Constantinople wait­ed their arrival.^* This extraordinary and tedious mode of conveyance merits attention, not only as [Page 63] a proof of the violent passion which the inhabitants of Constantinople had conceived for the luxuries of the east, and as a specimen of the ardour and ingenuity with which they carried on commerce; but because it demonstrates, that, during the igno­rance which reigned in the rest of Europe, an ex­tensive knowledge of remote countries was still preserved in the capital of the Greek empire.

AT the same time,and among the Arabi­ans. a gleam of light and know­ledge broke in upon the east. The Arabians having contracted some relish for the sciences of the peo­ple, whose empire they had contributed to over­turn, translated the books of several of the Greek philosophers into their own language. One of the first, was that valuable work of Ptolemy, which I have already mentioned. The study of geography became, of consequence, an early object of atten­tion to the Arabians. But that acute and ingenious people cultivated chiefly the speculative and scientific parts of geography. In order to ascertain the figure and dimensions of the terrestrial globe, they ap­plied the principles of geometry, they had recourse to astronomical observations, they employed expe­riments and operations, which, Europe, in more enlightened times, has been proud to adopt and to imitate. At that period, however, the fame of the improvements made by the Arabians did not reach Europe. The knowledge of their discoveries was reserved for ages capable of comprehending and of perfecting them.

BY degrees,Revival of commerce and naviga­tion in Eu­rope. the calamities and desolation brought upon the western provinces of the Roman empire by its barbarous conquerors, were forgotten, and in some measure repaired. The rude tribes which settled there, acquiring insensibly some idea of re­gular government, and some relish for the functions and comforts of civil life, Europe began to awake from its torpid and inactive state. The first symp­toms [Page 64] of revival were discerned in Italy. The northern tribes, which took possession of this coun­try, made progress [...] improvement with greater rapidity than the people settled in other parts of Europe. Various causes, which it is not the object of this work to enumerate or explain, concurred in restoring liberty and independence to the cities of Italy^*. The acquisition of these roused indus­try, and gave motion and vigour to all the active powers of the human mind. Foreign commerce revived, navigation was attended to and improved. Constantinople became the chief mart to which the Italians resorted. There they not only met with a favourable reception, but obtained such mercantile privileges as enabled them to carry on trade with great advantage. They were supplied both with the precious commodities of the east, and with many curious manufactures, the product of ancient arts and ingenuity which still subsisted among the Greeks. As the labour and expence of conveying the productions of India to Constantinople by that long and indirect course which I have described, rendered them extremely rare, and of an exorbitant price, the industry of the Italians discovered other methods of procuring them in greater abundance, and at an easier rate. They sometimes purchased them in Aleppo, Tripoli, and other ports on the coast of Syria, to which they were brought by a route not unknown to the ancients. They were con­veyed from India by sea, up the Persian Gulf, and ascending the Euphrates and Tigris, as far as Bag­dat, were carried by land across the desart of Pal­myra, and from thence to the towns on the Medi­terranean. But from the length of the journey, and the dangers to which the caravans were exposed, this proved always a tedious, and often a precarious mode of conveyance. At length, the Soldans of [Page 65] Egypt, having revived the commerce with India in its ancient channel, by the Arabian Gulf, the Italian merchants, notwithstanding the violent antipathy to each other with which Christians and the followers of Mahomet were then possessed, repaired to Alex­a [...], and enduring, from the love of gain, the insolence and exactions of the Mahometans, esta­blished a lucrative trade in that port. From that period, the commercial spirit of Italy became active and enterprising. Venice, Genoa, Pisa, rose from inconsiderable towns, to be populous and wealthy cities. Their naval power increased; their vessels frequented not only all the ports in the Mediterra­nean, but venturing sometimes beyond the Streights, visited the maritime towns of Spain, France, the Low Countries, and England; and, by distributing their commodities over Europe, began to commu­nicate to its various nations some taste for the valu­able productions of the east, as well as some ideas of manufactures and arts, which were then un­known beyond the precincts of Italy.

WHILE the cities of Italy were thus advancing in their career of improvement,Their pro­gress fa­voured by the Cru­sades. an event happen­ed, the most extraordinary perhaps in the history of mankind, which, instead of retarding the com­mercial progress of the Italians, rendered it more rapid. The martial spirit of the Europeans, height­ened and imflamed by religious zeal, prompted them to attempt the deliverance of the Holy Land from the dominion of Infidels. Vast armies, com­posed of all the nations in Europe, marched to­wards Asia, upon this wild enterprise. The Ge­noese, the Pisans, and Venitians furnished the trans­ports which carried them thither. They supplied them with provisions and military stores. Beside the immense sums which they received on this ac­count, they obtained commercial privileges and establishments, of great consequence in the settle­ments [Page 66] which the Crusaders made in Palestine, and in other provinces of Asia. From those sources, prodigious wealth flowed into the cities which I have mentioned. This was accompanied with a proportional increase of power, and, by the end of the Holy War, Venice, in particular, became a great maritime state, possessing an extensive com­merce, and ample territories^*. Italy was not the only country in which the Crusades contributed to revive and diffuse such a spirit as prepared Europe for future discoveries. By their expeditions into Asia, the other European nations became well ac­quainted with remote regions, which formerly they knew only by name, or by the reports of ignorant and credulous pilgrims. They had an opportunity of observing the manners, the arts, and the ac­modations of people more polished than themselves. This intercourse between the east and west sub­sisted almost two centuries. The adventurers, who returned from Asia, communicated to their coun­trymen the ideas which they had acquired, and the habits of life they had contracted by visiting more refined nations. The Europeans began to be sen­sible of wants with which they were formerly unac­quainted: new desires were excited; and such a taste for the commodities and arts of other coun­tries gradually spread among them, that they not only encouraged the resort of foreigners to their harbours, but began to perceive the advantage and necessity of applying to commerce themselves^†.

by the dis­coveries of travellers by land.THIS communication, which was opened between Europe and the western provinces of Asia, encour­aged several persons to advance far beyond the countries in which the Crusaders carried on their operations, and to travel by land into the more [Page 67] remote and opulent regions of the east. The wild fanaticism, which seems at that period to have mingled in all the schemes of individuals, no less than in all the counsels of nations, first incited men to enter upon those long and dangerous peregrina­tions. They were afterwards undertaken from prospects of commercial advantage, or from mo­tives of mere curiosity. Benjamin, a Jew of Tu­dela, in the kingdom of Navarre, possessed with a superstitious veneration for the law of Moses, and solicitous to visit his countrymen in the east, whom he hoped to find in such a state of power and opu­lence as might redound to the honour of his sect, set out from Spain in the year 1160, and travelling by land to Constantinople, proceeded through the countries to the north of the Euxine and Caspian seas, as far as Chinese Tartary. From thence he took his route towards the south, and after tra­versing various provinces of the farther India, he embarked on the Indian ocean, visited several of its Islands, and returned at the end of thirteen years by the way of Egypt, to Europe, with much in­formation concerning a large district of the globe, altogether unknown at that time to the western world^*. The zeal of the head of the Christan church co-operated with the superstition of Ben­jamin the Jew, in discovering the interior and re­mote provinces of Asia.1246. All Christendom having been alarmed with accounts of the rapid progress of the Tartar arms under Zengis Khan, Innocent IV. who entertained most exalted ideas concerning the plenitude of his own power, and the submission due to his injunctions, sent father John de Plano Carpini, at the head of a mission of Franciscan monks, and father Ascolino, at the head of another of Dominicans, to enjoin Kayuk Khan, the grand­son [Page 68] of Zengis, who was then at the head of the Tartar empire, to embrace the Christian faith, and to desist from desolating the earth by his arms. The haughty descendant of the greatest conqueror Asia had ever beheld, astonished at this strange mandate from an Italian priest, whose name and jurisdiction where alike unknown to him, received it with the contempt which it merited, though he dismissed the mendicants who delivered it with im­punity. But, as they had penetrated into the country by different routes, and followed for some time the Tartar camps, which were always in motion, they had opportunity of visiting a great part of Asia. Carpini, who proceeded by the way of Poland and Russia, travelled through its nor­thern provinces as far as the extremities of Thibet. Ascolino, who seems to have landed somewhere in Syria, advanced through its southern provinces, into the interior parts of Persia^*.

1253.NOT long after St. Louis of France contributed farther towards extending the knowledge which the Europeans had begun to acquire of those distant regions. Some designing impostor, who took ad­vantage of the slender acquaintance of Christendom with the state and character of the Asiatic nations, having informed him that a powerful Chan of the Tartars had embraced the Christian faith, the mo­narch listened to the tale with pious credulity, and instantly resolved to send ambassadors to this illus­trious convert, with a view of inciting him to at­tack their common enemy the Saracens in one quarter, while he fell upon them in another. As monks were the only persons in that age who pos­sessed such a degree of knowledge as qualified them for a service of this kind, he employed in it father Andrew, a Jacobine, who was followed by father [Page 69] William de Rubruquis, a Franciscan. With respect to the progress of the former, there is no memorial extant. The journal of the latter has been published. He was admitted into the presence of Mangu, the third Khan in succession from Zengis, and made a circuit through the interior parts of Asia, more ex­tensive than that of any European who had hi­therto explored them^*.

TO those travellers, whom religious zeal sent forth to visit Asia, succeeded others who ventured into remote countries, from the prospect of com­mercial advantage, or from motives of mere curi­osity. The first and most eminent of these was Marco Polo, a Venetian of a noble family.1269. Hav­ing engaged early in trade, according to the cus­tom of his country, his aspiring mind wished for a sphere of activity more extensive than was afforded to it by the established traffic carried on in those ports of Europe and Asia, which the Venetians frequented. This prompted him to travel into un­known countries, in expectation of opening a commercial intercourse with them, more suited to the sanguine ideas and hopes of a young adven­turer.

AS his father had already carried some European commodities to the court of the great Chan of the Tartars, and had disposed of them to advantage, he resorted thither. Under the protection of Kub­lay Chan, the most powerful of all the successors of Zengis, he continued his mercantile peregri­nations in Asia, upwards of twenty-six years; and, during that time, advanced towards the east, far beyond the utmost boundaries to which any Euro­pean traveller had ever proceeded. Instead of fol­lowing the course of Carpini and Rubruquis, along the vast unpeopled plains of Tartary, he passed [Page 70] through the chief trading cities in the more culti­vated parts of Asia, and penetrated to Cambalu, or Peking, the capital of the great kingdom of Cathay, or China, subject at that time to the suc­cessors of Zengis. He made more than one voyage, on the Indian ocean, he traded in many of the islands, from which Europe had long received spiceries and other commodities, which it held in high estimation, though unacquainted with the par­ticular countries to which it was indebted for those precious productions; and he obtained information concerning several countries, which he did not visit in person, particularly the island Zipangri, pro­bably the same now known by the name of Japan^*. On his return, he astonished his contemporaries with his descriptions of vast regions, whose names had never been heard of in Europe, and with such pompous accounts of their fertility, their popu­lousness, their opulence, the variety of their ma­nufactures, and the extent of their trade, as rose far above the conception of an uninformed age.

1322.ABOUT half a century after Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville, an Englishman, encouraged by his example, visited most of the countries in the east which he had described, and, like him, pub­lished an account of them^†. The narrations of those early travellers abound with many wild inco­herent tales concerning giants, enchanters, and monsters. But they were not, from that circum­stance, less acceptable to an ignorant age, which delighted in what was marvellous. The wonders which they told, mostly on hearsay, filled the mul­titude with admiration. The facts which they re­lated from their own observation, attracted the at­tention of the more discerning. The former, which [Page 71] may be considered as the popular traditions and fables of the countries through which they had passed, were gradually disregarded as Europe ad­vanced in knowledge. The latter, however incre­dible some of them may have appeared in their own time, have been confirmed by the obser­vations of modern travellers. By means of both, however, the curiosity of mankind was excited with respect to the remote parts of the earth, their ideas were enlarged, and they were not only insen­sibly disposed to attempt new discoveries, but re­ceived such information as directed to that parti­cular course in which these were afterwards carried on.

WHILE this spirit was gradually forming in Eu­rope, a fortunate discovery was made,and by the invention of the man­ne [...] com­pass which con­tributed more than all the efforts and ingenuity of preceding ages, to improve and to extend naviga­tion. That wonderful property of the magnet, by which it communicates such virtue to a needle o [...] slender rod of iron, as to point towards the poles of the earth, was observed. The use which might be made of this in directing navigation was imme­diately perceived. That valuable, but now familiar instrument, the mariner's compass, was construct­ed. When, by means of it, navigators found that, at all seasons, and in every place, they could dis­cover the north and south with so [...]ch ease and accuracy, it became no longer necessary to depend merely on the light of the stars and the observa­tion of the sea coast. They gradually abandoned their ancient timid and lingering course along the shore, ventured boldly into the ocean, and relying on this new guide, could steer in the darkest night, and under the most cloudy sky, with a security and precision hitherto unknown. The compass may be said to have opened to man the dominion of the sea, and to have put him in full posses­sion [Page 72] of the earth, by enabling him to visit every part of it. Flavio Gioia, a citizen of Amalfi, a town of considerable trade in the kingdom of Na­ples, was the author of this great discovery, about the year one thousand three hundred and two. It hath been often the fate of those illustrious bene­factors of mankind, who have enriched science and improved the arts by their inventions to de­rive more reputation than benefit from the happy efforts of their genius. But the lot of Gioia has been still more cruel; through the inattention or ignorance of contemporary historians, he has been defrauded even of the same to which he had such a just title. We receive from them no information with respect to his profession, his character, the precise time when he made this important discovery, or the accidents and inquiries which led to it. The knowledge of this event, though productive of greater effects than any recorded in the annals of the human race, is transmitted to us without any of those circumstances, which can gratify the cu­riosity that it naturally awakens^*. But though the use of the compass might enable the Italians to perform the short voyages to which they were ac­customed with greater security and expedition, its influence was not so sudden or extensive, as imme­diately to render navigation adventurous, and to excite a spirit of discovery. Many causes com­bined in preventing this beneficial invention from producing its full effect instantaneously. Men re­linquish ancient habits slowly, and with reluctance. They are averse to new experiments, and venture upon them with timidity. The commercial [...]ea­lousy of the Italians, it is probable, laboured to conceal the happy discovery of their countryman [Page 73] from other nations. The art of steering by the compass with such skill and accuracy as to inspire a full confidence in its direction, was acquired gra­dually. Sailors, unaccustomed to quit sight of land, durst not launch out at once and commit themselves to unknown seas. Accordingly, near half a century elapsed from the time of Gioia's dis­covery, before navigators ventured into any seas which they had not been accustomed to frequent.

THE first appearance of a bolder spirit may be dated from the voyages of the Spaniards to the Canary or Fortunate Islands.Some ap­pearance of a bolder spirit in na­vigation. By what accident they were led to the discovery of those small isles, which lie near five hundred miles from the Spanish coast, and above a hundred and fifty miles from the coast of Africa, contemporary writers have not explained. But, about the middle of the fourteenth century, the people of all the different kingdoms into which Spain was then divided, were accus­tomed to make piratical excursions thither, in or­der to plunder the inhabitants, or to carry them off as slaves. Clement VI. in virtue of the right claimed by the holy see, to dispose of all countries possessed by infidels, erected those isles into a king­dom, in the year one thousand three hundred and forty-four, and conferred it on Lewis de la Cerda, descended from the royal family of Castile. But that unfortunate prince, destitute of power to as­sert his nominal title, having never visited the Ca­naries, John de Bethencourt, a Norman baron, obtained a grant of them from Henry III. of Cas­tile^*. Bethencourt, with the valour and good fortune which distinguished the adventures of his country, attempted and effected the conquest, and the possession of the Canaries remained for some [Page 74] time in his family, as a fief held of the crown of Castile. Previous to this expedition of Bethen­court, his countrymen settled in Normandy are said to have visited the coast of Africa, and to have proceeded far to the south of the Canary islands.1365. But their voyages thither seem not to have been undertaken in consequence of any public or re­gular plan for extending navigation and attempting new discoveries. They were either excursions sug­gested by that roving piritical sp [...]it, which de­scended to the Normans from their ancestors, or the commercial enterprises of private merchants, which attracted so little notice, that hardly any me­morial of them is to be found in contemporary authors. In a general survey of the progress of discovery, it is sufficient to have mentioned this event; and leaving it among those of dubious ex­istence, or of small importance, we may conclude, that though much additional information concern­ing the remote regions of the East had been re­ceived by travellers who visited them by land, na­vigation, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, had not advanced beyond the state to which it had attained before the downfal of the Roman em­pire.

[...] regu­lar plan of discovery,AT length the period arrived, when Providence decreed that men were to pass the limits within which they had been so long confined, and open to themselves a more ample field wherein to display their talents, their enterprise, and courage. The first considerable efforts towards this were not made by any of the more powerful states of Eu­rope, or by those who had applied to navigation with the greatest assiduity and success. The glory of leading the way in this new career was reserved for Portugal,formed by the Portu­guese. one of the smallest and least powerful of the European kingdoms. As the attempts of the Portuguese to acquire the knowledge of those [Page 75] parts of the globe with which mankind were then unacquainted, not only improved and extended the art of navigation, but roused such a spirit of curi­osity and enterprise, as led to the discovery of the New World, of which I propose to write the his­tory, it is necessary to take a full view of the rise, the progress, and success of their various naval ope­rations. It was in this school that the discoverer of America was trained; and unless we trace the steps by which his instructors and guides advanced, it will be impossible to comprehend the circum­stances which suggested the idea, or facilitated the execution of his great design.

VARIOUS circumstances prompted the Portu­guese to exert their activity in this new direction,Circum­stances which led to this. and enabled them to accomplish undertakings ap­parently superior to the natural force of their mo­narchy. The kings of Portugal, having driven the Moors out of their dominions, had acquired power, as well glory, by the success of their arms against the infidels. By their victories over them, they had extended the royal authority be­yond the narrow limits within which it was ori­ginally circumscribed in Portugal, as well as in other feudal kingdoms. They had the command of the national force, could rouse it to act with united vigour, and, after the expulsion of the Moors, could employ it without dread of inter­ruption from any domestic enemy. By the perpe­tual hostilities carried on for several centuries against the Mahometans, the martial and adventurous spirit which distinguished all the European nations during the middle ages, was improved and height­ened among the Portuguese. A fierce civil war towards the close of the fourteenth century, occa­sioned by a disputed succession, augmented the mili­tary ardour of the nation, and formed or called forth men of such active and daring genius, as are [Page 76] fit for bold undertakings. The situation of the kingdom, bounded on every side by the dominions of a more powerful neighbour, did not afford free scope to the activity of the Portuguse by land, as the strength of their monarchy was no match for that of Castile. But Portugal was a maritime state, in which there were many commodious har­bours; the people had begun to make some progress in the knowledge and practice of navigation; and the sea was open to them, presenting the only field of enterprise in which they could distinguish them­selves.

First at­tempt.SUCH was the state of Portugal, and such the disposition of the people, when John I. surnamed the Bastard, obtained secure possession of the crown by the peace concluded with Castile, in the year one thousand four hundred and eleven. He was a prince of great merit, who, by superior courage and abilities, had opened his way to a throne, which of right did not belong to him. He in­stantly perceived that it would be impossible to preserve public order, or domestic tranquility, without finding some employment for the restless spirit of his subjects. With this view he assembled a numerous fleet at Lisbon, composed of all the ships which he could fit out in his own kingdom, and of many hired from foreigners. This great armament was destined to attack the Moors settled on the coast of Barbary.1412. While it was equipping. a few vessels were appointed to sail along the western shore of Africa bounded by the Atlantic ocean, and to discover the unknown countries situ­ated there. From this inconsiderable attempt, we may date the commencement of that spirit of dis­covery, which opened the barriers that had so long shut out mankind from the knowledge of one half of the terrestrial globe.

AT the time when John sent forth these ships [Page 77] on this new voyage, the art of navigation was still very imperfect. Though Africa lay so near to Portugal, and the fertility of the countries already known on that continent invited men to explore it more fully, the Portuguese had never ventured to sail beyond Cape Non. That promontory, as its name imports, was hitherto considered as a bound­ary which could not be passed. But the nations of Europe had now acquired as much knowledge, as emboldened them to disregard the prejudices and to correct the errors of their ancestors. The long reign of ignorance, the constant enemy of every curious inquiry, and of every new under­taking, was approaching to its period. The light of science began to dawn. The works of the an­cient Greeks and Romans began to be read with admiration and profit. The sciencies cultivated by the Arabians were introduced into Europe by the Moors settled in Spain and Portugal, and by the Jews, who were very numerous in both these kingdoms. Geometry, astronomy, and geography, the sciences on which the art of navigation is founded, became objects of studious attention. The memory of the discoveries made by the an­cients was revived, and the progress of their navi­gation and commerce began to be traced. Some of the causes which have obstructed the cultivation of science in Portugal, during this century and the last, did not exist, or did not operate in the same manner, in the fifteenth century^*; and the Por­tuguese, at that period, seem to have kept pace with other nations on this side of the Alps in lite­rary pursuits.

AS the genius of the age favoured the execution of that new undertaking,Its success. to which the peculiar state of the country invited the Portuguese, it [Page 78] proved successful. The vessels sent on the disco­very doubled that formidable Cape, which had terminated the progress of former navigators, and proceeded a hundred and sixty miles beyond it, to Cape Bojador. As its rocky cliffs, which stretched a considerable way into the Atlantic, ap­peared more dreadful than the promontory which they had passed, the Portuguese commanders durst not attempt to sail round it, but returned to Lisbon, more satisfied with having advanced so far, than ashamed of having ventured no farther.

Prince Henry the director of the Portu­guese dis­coveries.INCONSIDERABLE as this voyage was, it in­creased the passion for discovery, which began to arise in Portugal. The fortunate issue of the king's expedition against the Moors of Barbary, added strength to that spirit in the nation, and pushed it on to new undertakings.1417. In order to render these successful, it was necessary that they should be con­ducted by a person who possessed abilities capable of discerning what was attainable, who enjoyed leisure to form a regular system for prosecuting discovery, and who was animated with ardour that would persevere in spite of obstacles and repulses. Happily for Portugal, she found all those qualities in Henry Duke of Viseo, the fourth son of king John by Philippa of Lancaster, sister of Henry IV. king of England. That prince, in his early youth, having accompanied his father in his expedition to Barbary, distinguished himself by many deeds of valour. To the martial spirit, which was the cha­racteristic of every man of noble birth at that time, he added all the accomplishments of a more enlightened and polished age. He cultivated the arts and sciences, which were then unknown and despised by persons of his rank. He applied with peculiar fondness to the study of geography; and by the instruction of able masters, as well as by the accounts of travellers, he early acquired such know­ledge [Page 79] of the habitable globe, as discovered the great probability of finding new and opulent coun­tries, by sailing along the coast of Africa. Such an object was formed to awaken the enthusiasm and ardour of a youthful mind, and he espoused with the utmost zeal the patronage of a design which might prove as beneficial, as it appeared to be splendid and honourable. In order that he might pursue this great scheme without interrup­tion, he retired from court immediately after his return from Africa, and fixed his residence at Sa­gres, near Cape St. Vincent, where the prospect of the Atlantic ocean invited his thoughts continually towards his favourite project, and encouraged him to execute it. In this retreat he was attended by some of the most learned men in his country, who aided him in his researches. He applied for in­formation to the Moors of Barbary, who were ac­customed to travel by land into the interior pro­vinces of Africa, in quest of ivory, gold-dust, and other rich commodities. He consulted the Jews settled in Portugal. By promises, rewards, and marks of respect, he allured into his service several persons, foreigners as well as Portuguese, who were eminent for their skill in navigation. In taking those preparatory steps, the great abilities of the prince were seconded by his private virtues. His integrity, his affability, his respect for religion, his zeal for the honour of his country, engaged per­sons of all ranks to applaud his design, and to fa­vour the execution of it. His schemes were al­lowed by the greater part of his countrymen to proceed neither from ambition nor the desire of wealth, but to flow from the warm benevolence of a heart eager to promote the happiness of mankind, and which justly entitled him to assume a motto for his device, that described the quality, by which he wished to be distinguished, the talent of doing good.

[Page 80]HIS first effort, as is usual at the commence­ment of any new undertaking, was extremely in­considerable.Discovery of Porto Santo; 1418. He fitted out a single ship, and giving the command or it to John Gonzalez Zarco and Tristan Vaz, two gentlemen of his household, who voluntarily offered to conduct the enterprise, he instructed them to use their utmost efforts to double Cape Bojador, and thence to steer towards the south. They, according to the mode of navi­gation which still prevailed, held their course along the shore; and by following that direction, they must have encountered almost insuperable difficulties in attempting to pass Cape Bojador. But fortune came in aid to their want of skill, and prevented the voyage from being altogether fruit­less. A sudden squall of wind arose, drove them out to sea, and when they expected every moment to perish, landed them on an unknown island, which from their happy escape they named Porto Santo. In the infancy of navigation, the discovery of this small island appeared a matter of such moment, that they instantly returned to Por­tugal with the good tidings, and were received by Henry with the applause and honour due to for­tunate adventurers. This faint dawn of success filled a mind ardent in the pursuit of a favourite object with such sanguine hopes as were sufficient incitement to proceed.1419. Next year, Henry sent out three ships under the same commanders, to whom he joined Bartholomew Perestrello, in order to take possession of the island which they had discovered. When they began to settle in Porto Santo, they observed towards the south a fixed spot in the horizon like a small black cloud.Of Madei­ra. By degrees, they were led to conjecture that it might be land, and steering towards it, they arrived at a considerable island, uninhabited and covered with wood, which on that account they called Ma­deira ^*. [Page 81] As it was Henry's chief object to render his discoveries useful to his country, he immediately equipped a fleet to carry a colony of Portuguese to these islands. By his provident care,1420. they were furnished not only with the seeds, plants, and do­mestic animals common in Europe; but as he foresaw that the warmth of the climate and fer­tility of the soil would prove favourable to the rearing of other productions, he procured slips of the vine from the island of Cyprus, the rich wines of which were then in great request, and plants of the sugar-cane from Sicily, into which it had been lately introduced These throve so prosperously in this new country, that the benefit of cultivating them was immediately perceived, and the sugar and wine of Madeira quickly became articles of some consequence in the commerce of Portu­gal^†.

AS soon as the advantages derived from this first settlement to the west of the European continent began to be felt, the spirit of discovery appeared less chimerical, and became more adventurous. By their voyages to Madeira, ths Portuguese were gradually accustomed to a bolder navigation, and instead of creeping servilely along the coast,Double Cape Boja­dor. ven­tured into the open sea. In consequence of taking this course, Gilianez, who commanded one of Prince Henry's ships doubled Cape Bojador, the boundary of the Portuguese navigation upwards of twenty years, and which had hitherto been deemed unpassable. This successful voyage,1433. which the ignorance of the age placed on a level with the most famous exploits recorded in history, opened a new sphere to navigation, as it discovered the vast continent of Africa, still washed by the Atlantic [Page 82] ocean, and stretching towards the south. Part of this was soon explored; the Portuguese advanced within the tropics,Advance within the tropics. and in the space of a few years they discovered the river Senegal, and all the coast extending from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd.

Astonished at what they disco­vered there.HITHERTO the Portuguese had been guided in their discoveries, or encouraged to attempt them, by the light and information which they received from the works of the ancient mathematicians and geographers. But, when they began to enter the torrid zone, the notion which prevailed among the ancients, that the heat which reigned perpetually there, was so excessive as to render it uninhabit­able, deterred them, for some time, from proceed­ing. Their own observations, when they first ventured into this unknown and formidable region, tended to confirm the opinion of antiquity con­cerning the violent operation of the direct rays of the sun. As far as the river Senegal, the Portu­guese had found the coast of Africa inhabited by people nearly resembling the Moors of Barbary. When they advanced to the south of that river, the human form seemed to put on a new appear­ance. They beheld men with skins black as ebony, with short curled hair, flat noses, thick lips, and all the peculiar features which are now known to distinguish the race of negroes. This surprising alteration they naturally attributed to the influence of heat, and if they should advance nearer to the line, they began to dread that its effects would be still more violent. Those dangers were exaggerated, and many other objections against attempting farther discoveries were pro­posed by some of the grandees, who, from igno­rance, from envy, or from that cold timid pru­dence which rejects whatever has the air of novelty or enterprise, had hitherto condemned all prince Henry's schemes. They represented, that it was [Page 83] altogether chimerical to expect any advantage from countries situated in that region which the wisdom and experience of antiquity had pronounced to be unfit for the habitation of men; that their fore­fathers, satisfied with cultivating the territory which Providence had allotted them, did not waste the strength of the kingdom by fruitless projects, in quest of new settlements; that Portugal was already exhausted by the expence of attempts to discover lands which either did not exist, or which nature destined to remain unknown; and was drained of men, who might have been employed in undertakings attended with more certain success, and productive of greater benefit. But neither their appeal to the authority of the ancients, nor their reasonings concerning the interests of Portugal, made any impression upon the determined phi­losophic mind of Prince Henry. The discoveries which he had already made convinced him that the ancients had little more than a conjectural knowledge of the torrid zone. He was no less satisfied that the political arguments of his oppo­nents with respect to the interest of Portugal were malevolent and ill founded. In those sentiments he was strenuously supported by his brother Pedro, who governed the kingdom as guardian of their nephew Alphonso V.1438. who had succeeded to the throne during his minority; and instead of slack­ening his efforts, Henry continued to pursue his discoveries with fresh ardour.

BUT,Papal grant to Portugal of what countries it should dis­cover. in order to silence all the murmurs of opposition, he endeavoured to obtain the sanction of the highest authority in favour of his operations. With this view, he applied to the Pope, and re­presented in pompous terms, the pious and un­wearied zeal, with which he had exerted himself during twenty years, in discovering unknown countries, the wretched inhabitants of which were [Page 84] utter strangers to true religion, wandering in hea­then darkness, or led astray by the delusions of Mahomet. He besought the holy father, to whom, as the vicar of Christ, all the kingdoms of the earth were subject, to confer on the crown of Portugal a right to all the countries possessed by Infidels, which should be discovered by the in­dustry of its subjects, and subdued by the force of its arms. He intreated him to enjoin all Christian powers, under the highest penalties, not to molest Portugal while engaged in this laudable enterprise, and to prohibit them from settling in any of the countries which the Portuguese should discover. He promised that, in all their expeditions, it should be the chief object of his countrymen to spread the knowledge of the Christian religion, to es­tablish the authority of the holy see, and to in­crease the flock of the universal pastor. As it was by improving with dexterity every favourable con­juncture for acquiring new powers, that the court of Rome had gradually extended its usurpations, Eugine IV. the Pontiff to whom this application was made, eagerly seized the opportunity which now presented itself. He instantly perceived, that by complying with Prince Henry's request, he might exercise a prerogative no less flattering in its own nature, than likely to prove beneficial in its consequences. A bull was accordingly issued, in which, after applauding in the strongest terms the past efforts of the Portuguese, and exhorting them to proceed in that laudable career on which they had entered, he granted them an exclusive right to all the countries which they should disco­ver, from Cape Non to the continent of India.

EXTRAVAGANT as this donation, comprehend­ing such a large portion of the habitable globe, would now appear even in Catholic countries, no person in the fifteenth century doubted that the [Page 85] Pope, in the plenitude of his apostolic power, had a right to confer it. Prince Henry was soon sen­sible of the advantages which he derived from this transaction. His schemes were authorised and sanctified by the bull approving of them. The spirit [...] discovery was connected with zeal for religio [...] [...] in that age, was a principle of such a [...]vity and vigour, as to influence the con­duct of nations. All christian princes were de­terred from intruding into those countries which the Portuguese had discovered, or from interrupting the progress of their navigation and conquests^*.

THE fame of the Portuguese voyages soon spread over Europe. Men,Fame and progress of the Portu­guese disco­veries. long accustomed to circumscribe the activity and knowledge of the human mind within the limits to which they had been hitherto confined, were astonished to behold the sphere of navigation so suddenly enlarged, and a prospect opened of visiting regions of the globe, the existence of which was unknown in former times. The learned and speculative reasoned and formed theories concerning those unexpected dis­coveries. The vulgar inquired and wondered, while enterprising adventurers crowded from every part of Europe, soliciting Prince Henry to em­ploy them in this honourable service. Many Ve­netians and Genoese, in particular, who were, at that time, superior to all other nations in the science of naval affairs entered aboard the Portu­guese ships, and acquired a more perfect and ex­tensive knowledge of their profession in that new school of navigation. In emulation of these fo­reigners, the Portuguese exerted their own ta­lents. The nation seconded the designs of the prince. Private merchants formed companies,1446. with a view to search for unknown countries. The [Page 86] Cape de Verd islands, which lie off the promontory of that name, were discovered, and soon after the isles called Azores.1449. As the former of these are above three hundred miles from the African coast, and the latter nine hundred miles from any conti­nent, it is evident, by their venturing so boldly into the open seas, that the Portuguese had, by this time, improved greatly in the art of navigation.

Death of P Henry. 1463.WHILE the passion for engaging in new under­takings was thus warm and active, it received an unfortunate check by the death of prince Henry, whose superior knowledge had hitherto directed all the operations of the discoverers, and whose pa­tronage had encouraged and protected them. But notwithstanding all the advantages which they derived from these, the Portuguese, during his life, did not advance, in their utmost progress towards the south, within five degrees of the equi­noctial line; and, after their continued exertions for half a century,From 1412 to 1463. hardly fifteen hundred miles of the coast of Africa were discovered. To an age acquainted with the efforts of navigation in its state of maturity and improvement, those essays of its early years must necessarily appear feeble and unskilful. But, inconsiderable as they may be deemed, they were sufficient to turn the curiosity of the European nations into a new channel, to excite an enterprising spirit, and to point the way to future discoveries.

The passion for disco­very lan­guishes for some time.ALPHONSO, who possessed the throne of Portugal at the time of Prince Henry's death, was so much engaged in supporting his own pretensions to the crown of Castile, or in carrying on his expeditions against the Moors in Barbary, that the force of his kingdom being exerted into other operations, he could not prosecute the discoveries in Africa with ardour. He committed the conduct of them to Fernando Gomez, a merchant in Lisbon, to whom [Page 87] he granted an exclusive right of commerce with all the countries of which prince Henry had taken possession. Under the restraint and oppression of a monopoly, the spirit of discovery languished. It ceased to be a national object, and became the concern of a private man, more attentive to his own gain, than to the glory of his country. Some progress, however, was made. The Por­tuguese ventured at length to cross the line, and,1471. to their astonishment, found that region of the torrid zone, which was supposed to be scorched with intolerable heat, to be not only habitable, but populous and fertile.

JOHN II. who succeeded his father Alphonso,1481. Revives with addi­tional ardor possessed talents capable both of forming and exe­cuting great designs. As part of his revenues, while prince, had arisen from duties on the trade with the newly discovered countries, this naturally turned his attention towards them, and satisfied him with respect to their utility and importance. In proportion as his knowledge of these countries extended, the possession of them appeared to be of greater consequence. While the Portuguese proceeded along the coast of Africa, from Cape Non to the river of Senegal, they sound all that extensive tract to be sandy, barren, and thinly inhabited by a wretched people, professing the Mahometan religion, and subject to the vast em­pire of Morocco. But on the south of that river, the power and religion of the Mahometans were unknown. The country was divided into small independent principalities, the population was con­siderable, the soil fertile^*, and the Portuguese soon discovered that it produced ivory, rich gums, gold, and other valuable commodities. By the acquisi­tion [Page 88] of these, commerce was enlarged, and became more adventurous. Men, animated and rendered active by the certain prospect of gain, pursued discovery with greater eagerness, than when they were excited only by curiosity and hope.

Its progressTHIS spirit derived no small reinforcement of vigour from the countenance of such a monarch as John. Declaring himself the patron of every attempt towards discovery, he promoted it with all the ardour of his grand-uncle prince Henry, and with superior power. The effects of this were immediately felt.1484. A powerful fleet was fitted out, which, after discovering the kingdoms of Benin and Congo, advanced above fifteen hundred miles beyond the line, and the Portuguese, for the first time, beheld a new heaven, and observed the stars of another hemisphere. John was not only solicitous to discover, but attentive to secure the possession of those countries. He built forts on the coast of Guinea; he sent out colonies to settle there; he established a commercial intercourse with the more powerful kingdoms; he endeavour­ed to render such as were feeble or divided, tri­butary to the crown of Portugal. Some of the petty princes voluntarily acknowledged themselves his vassals. Others were compelled to do so by force of arms. A regular and well-digested system was formed with respect to this new object of policy, and by firmly adhering to it the Portuguese power and commerce in Africa were established upon a solid foundation.

Hopes of discovering a new route to the East Indies.BY their constant intercourse with the people of Africa, the Portuguese gradually acquired some knowledge of those parts of that country which they had not visited. The [...]ormation which they received from the natives, added to what they had observed in their own voyages, began to open prospects more extensive, and to suggest the idea [Page 89] of schemes more important, than those which had hitherto allured and occupied them. They had detected the error of the ancients concerning the nature of the torrid zone. They found, as they proceeded southwards, that the continent of Africa, instead of extending in breadth, according to the doctrine of Ptolemy^*, at that time the oracle and guide of the learned in the science of geography, appeared sensibly to contract itself, and to bend towards the cast. This induced them to give credit to the accounts of the ancient Phenician voyages round Africa, which had long been deem­ed fabulous, and led them to conceive hopes that by following the same route, they might arrive at the East Indies, and engross that commerce which has been the source of wealth and power to every nation possessed of it. The comprehensive genius of prince Henry, as we may conjecture from the words of the pope's bull, had early formed some idea of this navigation. But though his coun­trymen, at that period, were incapable of con­ceiving the extent of his views and schemes, all the Portuguese mathematicians and pilots now concurred in representing them as well-founded and practicable. The king entered with warmth into their sentiments, and began to concert mea­sures for this arduous and important voyage.

BEFORE his preparations for this expedition were finished, accounts were transmitted from Africa,Schemes for accom­plishing this. that various nations along the coast had mentioned a mighty kingdom situated on their continent, at a great distance towards the east, the king of which, according to their description, professed the Chris­tian religion. The Portuguese monarch imme­diately concluded, that this must be the emperor of [Page 90] Abyssinia, to whom the Europeans, seduced by a mistake of Rubruquis, Marco Polo, and other tra­vellers to the east, absurdly gave the name of Pres­ter or Presbyter John; and as he hoped to receive information and assistance from a Christian prince, in prosecuting a scheme that tended to propagate their common faith, he resolved to open, if pos­sible, some intercourse with his court. With this view, he made choice of Pedro de Covillam and Alphonso de Payva, who were perfect masters of the Arabic language, and sent them into the east, to search for the residence of this unknown potentate, and to make him proffers of friendship. They had in charge likewise to procure whatever intelligence the nations which they visited could supply, with respect to the trade of India, and the course of navigation to that continent^*.

Voyage of Bartholo­mew Diaz.WHILE John made this new attempt by land, to obtain some knowledge of the country, which he wished so ardently to discover, he did not neg­lect the prosecution of this great design by sea.1486. The conduct of a voyage for this purpose, the most arduous and important which the Portuguese had ever projected, was committed to Bartholomew Diaz, an officer whose sagacity, experience, and fortitude rendered him equal to the undertaking. He stretched boldly towards the south, and pro­ceeding beyond the utmost limits to which his countrymen had hitherto advanced, discovered near a thousand miles of new country. Neither the danger to which he was exposed, by a succes­sion of violent tempests in unknown seas, and by the frequent mutinies of his crew, nor the calami­ties of famine which he suffered from losing his store-ship, could deter him from prosecuting his [Page 91] enterprise. In recompence of his labours and perseverance, he at last descried that lofty pro­montory which bounds Africa to the south. But to descry it, was all that he had in his power to accomplish. The violence of the winds, the shattered condition of his ships, and the turbulent spirit of his sailors, compelled him to return, after a voyage of sixteen months, in which he discover­ed a far greater extent of country than any former navigator. Diaz had called the promontory which terminated his voyage Cabo Tormentoso, or the stormy Cape; but the king, his master, as he now entertained no doubt of having found the long desired route to India, gave it a name more in­viting and of better omen, The Cape of Good Hope ^*.

THOSE sanguine ex [...]ctations of success were confirmed by the intelligence which John received over land,More cer­tain pros­pects of success. in consequence of his embassy to Abys­sinia. Covillam and Payva, in obedience to their master's instructions, had repaired to Grand Cairo. From that city, they travelled along with a caravan of Egyptian merchants, and embarking on the Red Sea, arrived at Aden in Arabia. There they separated; Payva sailed directly towards Abyssinia; Covillam embarked for the East Indies, and hav­ing visited Calecut, Goa, and other cities on the Malabar coast, returned to Sofala, on the east side of Africa, and thence to Grand Cairo, which Payva and he had fixed upon as their place of rendez­vous. Unfortunately the former wras cruelly mur­dered in Abyssinia, but Covillam found at Cairo two Portuguese Jews, whom John, whose provi­dent sagacity attended to every circumstance that could facilitate the excution of his schemes, had dispatched after them, in order to receive a detail [Page 92] of their proceedings, and to communicate to them new instructions. By one of these Jews, Covillam transmitted to Portugal a journal of his travels by sea and land, his remarks upon the trade of India, together with exact maps of the coasts on which he had touched; and from what he himself had ob­served, as well as from the information of skilful seamen in different countries, he concluded, that by sailing round Africa, a passage might be found to the East Indies^*.

Preparati­ons for another voyage.THE happy coincidence of Covillam's opinion and report with the discoveries which Diaz had lately made, left hardly any shadow of doubt with respect to the possibility of sailing from Europe to India. But the vast length of the voyage, and the furious storms which Diaz had encountered near the Cape of Good Hope, alarmed and inti­midated the Portuguese to such a degree, al­though by long experience they were now become adventurous and skilful mariners, that some time was requisite to prepare their minds for this dan­gerous and extraordinary voyage. The courage, however, and authority of the monarch, gradually dispelled the vain fears of his subjects, or made it necessary to conceal them. As John thought him­self now upon the eve of accomplishing that great design, which had been the principal object of his reign, his earnestness in prosecuting it be­came so vehement, that it occupied his thoughts by day, and bereaved him of sleep through the night. While he was taking every precaution that his wisdom and experience could suggest, in order to ensure the success of the expedition, which was to decide concerning the fate of his favourite pro­ject, the fame of the vast discoveries which the [Page 93] Portuguese had already made, the reports concern­ing the extraordinary intelligence which they had received from the East, and the prospect of the voyage which they now meditated,The atten­tion of mankind fixed upon it; drew the at­tention of all the European nations, and held them in suspence and expectation. By some, the ma­ritime skill and navigations of the Portuguese were compared with those of the Phenicians and Car­thaginians, and exalted above them. Others formed conjectures concerning the revolutions which the success of the Portuguese schemes might occasion in the course of trade, and the political state of Europe. The Venitians began to be disquieted with the apprehension of losing their Indian com­merce, the monopoly of which was the chief source of their power as well as opulence, and the Portu­guese already enjoined in fancy, the wealth of the East. But, during this interval, which gave such scope to the various workings of curiosity, of hope and of fear,suddenly turned to a new object. an account was brought to Europe of an event no less extraordinary than unexpected, the discovery of a New World situated in the west; and the eyes and admiration of mankind turned immediately towards that great object.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK II.

BOOK II. Birth and education of Colum­bus.AMONG the foreigners whom the fame of the discoveries made by the Portuguese had allured into their service, was Christopher Colon or Columbus, a subject of the republic of Genoa.— Neither the time nor the place of his birth are known with certainty^*; but he was descended of an ho­nourable family, though reduced to indigence by various misfortunes. His ancestors having betaken themselves for subsistence to a sea-faring life, Co­lumbus discovered, in his early youth, the peculiar character and talents which mark out a man for that profession. His parents, instead of thwarting this original propensity of his mind, seem to have encouraged and confirmed it, by the education which they gave him. After acquiring some know­ledge of the Latin tongue, the only language in which science was taught at that time, he was in­structed in geometry, cosmography, astronomy, and the art of drawing. To these he applied with such ardour and predilection, on account of their con­nection with navigation, his favourite object, that [Page 95] he advanced with rapid proficiency in the study of them. Thus qualified, he went to sea at the age of fourteen,1461. and [...] his career on that element which conducted him to so much glory. His early voyages were to those ports in the Mediterranean which his countrymen the Genoese frequented. This being a sphere too narrow for his active mind,1467. he made an excursion to the northern seas, and visited the coast of Iceland, to which the English and other natio [...] had begun to resort on account of its fishery. As navigation, in every direction, was now became enterprising, he proceeded be­yond that island, the Thule of the ancients, and ad­vanced several degrees within the polar circle. Having satisfied his curiosity, by a voyage which tended more to enlarge his knowledge of naval affairs, than to improve his fortune, he entered into the service of a famous sea-captain, of his own name and family. This man commanded a small squadron, fitted out at his own expence, and by cruising sometimes against the Mahometans, some­times against the Venetians, the rivals of his coun­try in trade, had acquired both wealth and reputa­tion. With him Columbus continued for several years, no less distinguished for his courage, than for his experience as a sailor. At length, in an obstinate engagement, off the coast of Portugal, with some Venetian caravals, returning richly laden from the Low Countries, the vessel on board which he served took fire, together with one of the enemy's ships, to which it was fast grappled. In this dreadful extremity his intrepidity and presence of mind did not forsake him. He threw himself into the sea, laid hold of a floating oar, and by the support of it, and his dexterity in swimming, he reached the shore, though above two leagues distant, and saved a life reserved for great undertakings^*.

[Page 96]AS soon as he recovered strength for the jour­ney, he repaired to Lisbon, where many of his countrymen were settled.He enters into the Portuguese service. They soon conceived such a favourable opinion of his merit, as well as talents, that they warmly solicited him to remain in that kingdom, where his naval skill and experience could not fail of rendering him conspicuous. To every adventurer, animated either with curiosity to visit new countries, or with ambition to distinguish himself, the Portuguese service was at that time extremely inviting. Columbus listened with a fa­vourable ear to the advice of his friends, and hav­ing gained the esteem of a Portuguese lady, whom he married, fixed his residence in Lisbon. This alliance, instead of detaching him from a sea-faring life, contributed to enlarge the sphere of his naval knowledge, and to excite a desire of extending it still farther. His wife was a daughter of Bartho­lomew Perestrello, one of the captains employed by prince Henry in his early navigations, and who, under his protection, had discovered and planted the islands of Porto Santo and Maderia. Columbus got possession of the journals and charts of this expe­rienced navigator, and from them he learned the course which the Portuguese had held in making their discoveries, as well as the various circum­stances which guided or encouraged them in their attempts. The study of these soothed and in­flamed his favourite passion; and while he con­templated the maps, and read the descriptions of the new countries which Perestrello had seen, his impatience to visit them became irresistible. In order to indulge it, he made a voyage to Madeira, and continued during several years to trade with that island, with the Canaries, the Azores, the settlements in Guinea, and all the other places which the Portu­guese had discovered on the continent of Africa.^*

[Page 97]BY the experience which Columbus acquired, during such a variety of voyages, to almost every part of the globe with which, at that time,The effects of their dis­coveries upon him. any in­tercourse was carried on by sea, he was now be­come one of the most skilful navigators in Europe. But, not satisfied with that praise, his ambition aimed at something more. The successful progress of the Portuguese navigators had awakened a spirit of curiosity and emulation, which set every man of science upon examining all the circumstances that led to the discoveries which they had made, or that afforded a prospect of succeeding in any new and bolder undertaking. The mind of Columbus, naturally inquisitive, capable of deep reflection, and turned to speculations of this kind, was so often employed in revolving the principles upon which the Portuguese had founded their schemes of discovery, and the mode on which they had carried them on, that he gradually began to form an idea of improving upon their plan, and of ac­complishing discoveries which hitherto they had attempted in vain.

TO find out a passage by sea to the East Indies,He forms the idea of a new course to India. was the great object in view at that period. From the time that the Portuguese doubled Cape de Verd, this was the point at which they aimed in all their navigations, and, in comparison with it, all their discoveries in Africa appeared inconsider­able. The fertility and riches of India had been known for many ages; its spices and other valuable commodities were in high request throughout Eu­rope, and the vast wealth of the Venetians arising from their having engrossed this trade, had raised the envy of all nations. But how intent soever the Portuguese were upon discovering a new route to those desirable regions, they searched for it only by steering towards the south, in hopes of arriving at India, by turning to the east, after they had sailed [Page 98] round the farther extremity of Africa. This course was still unknown, and, even if discovered, was of such immense length, that a voyage from Europe to India must have appeared, at that period, an undertaking, extremely arduous, and of very uncer­tain issue. More than half a century had been em­ployed in advancing from Cape Non to the equa­tor; a much longer space of time might elapse be­fore the more extensive navigation from that to India could be accomplished. These reflections upon the uncertainty, the danger and tediousness of the course which the Portuguese were pursuing, naturally led Columbus to consider whether a shorter and more direct passage to the East Indies might not be found out. After revolving long and seriously every circumstance suggested by his supe­rior knowledge in the theory as well as practice of navigation, after comparing attentively the ob­servations of modern pilots with the hints and conjectures of ancient authors, he at last concluded, that by sailing directly towards the west, across the Atlantic ocean, new countries which probably formed a part of the great continent of India, must infallibly be discovered.

The princi­ples on which his theory was founded.PRINCIPLES and arguments of various kinds, and derived from different sources, induced him to adopt this opinion, seemingly as chimerical as it was new and extraordinary. The spherical figure of the earth was known, and its magnitude ascer­tained with some degree of accuracy. From this it was evident, that the comments of Europe, Asia, and Africa, as far as they were known at that time, formed but a small portion of the terraqueous globe. It was suitable to our ideas concerning the wisdom and beneficence of the Author of Nature, to believe that the vast space still unexplored, was not covered entirely by a waste unprofitable ocean, but occupied by countries fit for the habitation of [Page 99] man. It appeared likewise extremely probable, that the continent, on this side of the globe, was balanced by a proportional quantity of land in the other hemisphere. These conclusions concerning the existence of another continent, drawn from the figure and structure of the globe, were confirmed by the observations and conjectures of modern na­vigators. A Portuguese pilot, having stretched farther to the west than was usual at that time, took up a piece of timber artificially carved, float­ing upon the sea; and as it was driven towards him by a westerly wind, he concluded that it came from some unknown land, situated in that quarter. Columbus's brother-in-law had found, to the west of the Madeira isles, a piece of timber fashioned in the same manner, and brought by the same wind; and had seen likewise canes of an enormous size floating upon the waves, which resembled those described by Ptolemy as productions peculiar to the East-Indies^*. After a course of westerly winds, trees, torn up by the roots, were often driven upon the coasts of the Azores, and at one time the dead bodies of two men with singular features, resem­bling neither the inhabitants of Europe nor of Africa, were cast ashore there.

AS the force of this united evidence, arising from theoretical principles and practical observa­tions, led Columbus to expect the discovery of new countries in the western ocean, other reasons induced him to believe that these must be con­nected with the continent of India. Though the ancients had hardly ever penetrated into India farther than the banks of the Ganges, yet some Greek authors had ventured to describe the pro­vinces beyond that river. As men are prone, and at liberty, to magnify what is remote or unknown, [Page 100] they represented them as regions of an immense extent. Ctesias affirmed that India was as large as all the rest of Asia. Onesicritus, whom Pliny the naturalist follows^*, contended that it was equal to a third part of the habitable earth. Nearchus asserted, that it would take four months to march in a straight line from one extremity of India to the other^†. The journal of Marco Polo, who had proceeded towards the east far beyond the limits to which any European had ever advanced, seemed to confirm these exaggerated accounts of the ancients. By his magnificent descriptions of the kingdoms of Cathay and Cipango, and of many other countries, the names of which were unknown in Europe, India appeared to be a region of vast extent. From these accounts, which, however de­fective, were the most accurate that the people of Europe had received at that period, with respect to the remote parts of the East, Columbus drew a just conclusion. He contended, that, in propor­tion as the continent of India stretched out towards the East, it must, in consequence of the spherical figure of the earth, approach nearer to the islands which had lately been discovered to the west of Africa; that the distance from the one to the other was probably not very considerable; and that the most direct, as well as shortest course to the remote regions of the east, was to be found by sail­ing due west^‡. This notion concerning the vicinity of India to the western parts of our continent, was countenanced by some eminent writers among the ancients, the sanction of whose authority was ne­cessary, in that age, to procure a favourable recep­tion to any tenet. Aristotle thought it probable that the Columns of Hercules, or Straits of Gibral­tar, [Page 101] were not far removed from the East Indies, and that there might be a communication by sea be­tween them^*. Seneca, in terms still more explicit, affirms, that, with a fair wind, one might sail from Spain to India, in a few days^†. The famous At­lantic island described by Plato, and supposed by many to be a real country, beyond which an un­known continent was situated, is represented by him as lying at no great distance from Spain. After weighing all these particulars, Columbus, in whose character the modesty and diffidence of true genius was united with the ardent enthusiasm of a pro­jector, did not rest with such absolute assurance either upon his own arguments, or upon the au­thority of the ancients, as not to consult such of his contemporaries as were capable of comprehending the nature of the evidence which he produced in support of his opinion. As early as the year one thousand four hundred and seventy-four, he com­municated his ideas concerning the probability of discovering new countries, by sailing westwards, to Paul, a physician of Florence, eminent for his knowledge of cosmography, and who, from the learning as well as candour which he discovers in his reply, appears to have been well entitled to the confidence which Columbus placed in him. He warmly approved of the plan, suggested several facts in confirmation of it, and encouraged Columbus to persevere in an undertaking so laudable, and which must redound so much to the honour of his country, and the benefit of Europe^‡.

TO a mind less capable of forming and of exe­cuting great designs than that of Columbus,His schemes for carrying it into execu­tion. all those reasonings, and observations, and authorities, [Page 102] would have served only as the foundation of some plausible and fruitless theory, which might have furnished matter for ingenious discourse, or fanciful conjecture. But with his sanguine and enterprising temper, speculation led directly to action. Fully satisfied himself with respect to the truth of his system, he was impatient to bring it to the test of experiment, and to set out upon a voyage of dis­covery. The first step towards this was to secure the patronage of some of the considerable powers in Europe, capable of undertaking such an enter­prise. As long absence had not extinguished the affection which he bore to his native country, he wished that it should reap the fruits of his labours and invention.He applies to the Ge­ [...]; With this view, he laid his scheme before the Senate of Genoa, and making his country the first tender of his service, offered to fail under the banners of the republic, in quest of the new regions which he expected to discover. But Columbus had resided for so many years in foreign parts, that his countrymen were unac­quainted with his abilities and character; and, though a maritime people, were so little accustom­ed to distant voyages, that they could form no just idea of the principles on which he founded his hopes of success. They inconsiderately rejected his proposal, as the dream of a chimerical pro­jector, and lost for ever the opportunity of re­storing their commonwealth to its ancient splen­dour^*.

to the king of Portugal.HAVING performed what was due to his coun­try, Columbus was so little discouraged by the repulse which he had received, that, instead of relinquishing his undertaking, he pursued it with fresh ardour. He made his next overture to John II. king of Portugal, in whose dominions he [Page 103] had been long established, and whom he considered, on that account, as having the second claim to his service. Here every circumstance seemed to pro­mise him a more favourable reception. He ap­plied to a monarch of an enterprising genius, no incompetent judge in naval affairs, and proud of patronising every attempt to discover new coun­tries. His subjects were the most experienced navigators in Europe, and the least apt to be inti­midated either by the novelty or boldness of any maritime expedition. In Portugal, the professional skill of Columbus, as well as his personal good qualities, were thoroughly known; and as the former rendered it probable that his scheme was not altogether visionary, the latter exempted him from the suspicion of any sinister intention in pro­posing it. Accordingly, the king listened to him in the most gracious manner, and referred the consideration of his plan to Diego Ortiz, bishop of Ceuta, and two Jewish physicians, eminent cosmographers, whom he was accustomed to con­sult in matters of this kind. As in Genoa, igno­rance had opposed and disappointed Columbus; in Lisbon, he had to combat with prejudice, an enemy no less formidable. The persons, accord­ing to whose decision his scheme was to be ad [...]pted or rejected, had been the chief directors of the Portuguese navigations, and had advised to search for a passage to India, by [...]ee [...]ing a course directly opposite to that which Columbus recommended as shorter and more certain. They could not, there­fore, approve of his proposal, without submitting to the double mortification, of condemning their own theory, and of acknowledging his superior sagacity. [...]y whom [...] is de­ceived. After tearing him with captious ques­tions, and starting innumerable objections, with a view of betraying him into such a particular expla­nation of his system, as might dra [...] from him a [Page 104] full discovery of its nature, they deferred passing a final judgment with respect to it. In the mean time, they conspired to rob him of the honour and advantages which he expected from the success of his scheme, advising the king to dispatch a vessel secretly, in order to attempt the proposed disco­very, by following exactly the course which Co­lumbus seemed to point out. John, forgetting, on this occasion the sentiments becoming a mo­narch, meanly adopted this perfidious counsel. But the pilot, chosen to execute Columbus's plan, had neither the genius, nor the fortitude of its author. Contrary winds arose, no sight of ap­proaching land appeared, his courage failed, and he returned to Lisbon, execrating the project as equally extravagant and dangerous ^*.

He leaves Portugal, and repairs to the court of Spain.UPON discovering this dishonourable transaction, Columbus, felt the indignation natural to an inge­nious mind, and in the warmth of his resentment determined to break off all intercourse with a nation capable of such flagrant treachery. He instantly quitted the kingdom, and landed in Spain towards the close of the year one thousand four hundred and eighty-four. As he was now at liberty to court the protection of any patron, whom he could engage to approve of his plan, and to carry it into execution, he resolved to propose it in person to Ferdinand and Isabella, who at that time governed the united kingdoms of Castile and Aragon.Sende his brother in­to England But as he had already experienced the uncertain issue of applications to kings and mini­sters, he took the precaution of sending into Eng­land his brother Bartholomew, to whom he had fully communicated his ideas, in order that he might negociate, at the same time, with Henry [Page 105] VII. who was reputed one of the most sagacious as well as opulent princes in Europe.

IT was not without reason that Columbus enter­tained doubts and fears with respect to the recep­tion of his proposals in the Spanish court.Obstacles to his suc­cess in Spain. Spain was, at that juncture, engaged in a dangerous war with Grenada, the last of the Moorish kingdoms in that country. The wary and suspicious temper of Ferdinand was not formed to relish bold or uncommon designs. Isabella, though more gene­rous and enterprising, was under the influence of her husband in all her actions. The Spaniards had hitherto made no efforts to extend navigation beyond its ancient limits, and had beheld the amazing progress of discovery among their neigh­bours the Portuguese, without one attempt to imitate or to rival them. The war with the Infi­dels afforded an ample field to the national activity and love of glory. Under circumstances so unfa­vourable, it was impossible for Columbus to make rapid progress with a nation, naturally slow and dilatory in forming all its resolutions. His cha­racter, however, was admirably adapted to that of the people, whose confidence and protection he solicited. He was grave, though courteous in his deportment; circumspect in his words and actions; irreproachable in his morals; and exemplary in his attention to all the duties and functions of religion. By qualities so respectable, he not only gained many private friends, but acquired such general esteem, that, notwithstanding the plainness of his appearance, suitable to the mediocrity of his for­tune, he was not considered as a mere adventurer, to whom indigence had suggested a visionary pro­ject, but was received as a person to whose propo­sitions serious attention was due.

FERDINAND and Isabella,His s [...]me examined by unskil­ful judges, though fully occupied by their operations against the Moors, paid so [Page 106] much regard to Columbus, as to remit the consi­deration of his plan to the queen's confessor, Ferdinand de Talavera. He consulted such of his countrymen as were supposed best qualified to decide with respect to a subject of this kind. But true science had, hitherto, made so little progress in Spain, that the pretended philosophers, selected to judge in a matter of such moment, did not comprehend the first principles upon which Co­lumbus founded his conjectures and hopes. Some of them, from mistaken notions concerning the dimensions of the globe, contended that a voyage to those remote parts of the east, which Columbus expected to discover, could not be performed in less than three years. Others concluded, that either he would find the ocean to be of infinite extent, according to the opinion of some ancient philosophers; or, if he should persist in steering towards the west beyond a certain point, that the convex figure of the globe would prevent his re­turn, and that he must inevitably perish, in the vain attempt to open a communication between the two opposite hemispheres, which nature had for ever disjoined. Even without deigning to enter into any particular discussion, many rejected the scheme in general, upon the credit of a maxim, under which the ignorant and unenterprising shelter themselves in every age, "That it is presumptu­ous in any person, to suppose that he alone possesses knowledge superior to all the rest of mankind united." They maintained, that if there were really any such countries as Columbus pretended, they could not have remained so long concealed, nor would the wisdom and sagacity of former ages have left the glory of this invention to an obscure Genoese pilot.

who made unfavoura­ble reports concerning it.IT required all Columbus's patience and address to negociate with men capable of advancing such [Page 107] strange propositions. He had to contend not only with the obstinacy of ignorance, but with what is still more attractable, the pride of false knowledge. After innumerable conferences, and wasting five years in fruitless endeavours to inform and to satisfy judges so little capable of deciding with propriety, Talavera, at last, made such an unfavourable re­port to Ferdinand and Isabella, as induced them to acquaint Columbus, that until the war with the Moors should be brought to a period, it would be imprudent to engage in any new and extensive enterprise.

WHATEVER care was taken to soften the harsh­nesh of this declaration, Columbus considered it as a final rejection of his proposals. But happily for mankind, that superiority of genius, which is ca­pable of forming great and uncommon designs, is usually accompanied with an ardent enthusiasm, which can neither be cooled by delays, nor damped by disappointment. Columbus was of this san­guine temper. Though he felt deeply the cruel blow given to his hopes, and retired immediately from a court, where he had been amused so long with vain expectations, his confidence in the just­ness of his own system did not diminish, and his impatience to demonstrate the truth of it by an actual experiment, became greater than ever. Hav­ing courted the protection of sovereign states with­out success, he applied, next, to persons of inferi­or rank, and addressed successively the dukes of Medina, Sidonia, and Medina Celi, who, though subjects, were possessed of power and opulence more than equal to to the enterprise which he projected. His negociations with them proved as fruitless, as those in which he had been hitherto engaged; for these noblemen were either as little convinced by Columbus's arguments as their supe­riors, or they were afraid of alarming the jealousy, [Page 108] and offending the pride of Ferdinand, by counte­nancing a scheme which he had rejected ^*.

Negociati­on of his brother in England.AMID the painful sensations occasioned by such a succession of disappointments, Columbus had to sustain the additional distress, of having received no accounts of his brother, whom he had sent to the court of England. In his voyage to that coun­try, Bartholomew had been so unfortunate as to fall into the hands of pirates, who having stripped him of every thing, detained him a prisoner for se­veral years. At length he made his escape, and arrived in London, but in such extreme indigence, that he was obliged to employ himself, during a considerable time, in drawing and selling maps, in order to pick up as much money as would pur­chase a decent dress, in which he might venture to appear at court. He then laid before the king the proposals, with which he had been entrusted by his brother, and, notwithstanding Henry's excessive caution and parsimony, which rendered him averse to new or expensive undertakings, he received Co­lumbus's overtures, with more approbation, than any monarch to whom they had hitherto been pre­sented.

Columbus has some prospects of encou­ragement in Spain.MEANWHILE, Columbus being unacquainted with his brother's fate, and having now no prospect of encouragement in Spain, resolved to visit the court of England in person, in hopes of meeting with a more favourable reception there. He had already made preparations for this purpose, and taken measures for the disposal of his children during his absence, when Juan Perez, the guardian of the monastery of Rabida, near Palos, in which they had been educated, earnestly solicited him to defer his journey for a short time. Perez was a man of considerable learning, and of some credit [Page 109] with Queen Isabella, to whom he was known per­sonally. He was warmly attached to Columbus, with whose abilities as well as integrity he had many opportunities of being acquainted. Prompt­ed by curiosity or by friendship, he entered upon an accurate examination of his system, in conjunc­tion with a physician settled in the neighbou [...] [...] ▪ who was a considerable proficient in mathematical knowledge. This investigation satisfied [...] thoroughly, with respect to the solidity [...] principles on which Columbus founded his [...] ▪ and the probability of success in executing t [...] [...] which he proposed, that Perez, in order to pre­vent his country from being deprived of the glory and benefit, which must accrue to the patro [...] of such a grand enterprise, ventured to write to Isa­bella, conjuring her to consider the matter anew, with the attention which it merited.

MOVED by the representations of a person whom she respected, Isabella desired Perez to repair im­mediately to the village of Santa Fe, in which, [...] account of the siege of Granada, the court reside [...] at that time, that she might confer with him upon this important subject. The first effect of their in [...]terview was a gracious invitation of Columbus back to court, accompanied with the present of a small sum to equip him for the journey. As there was now a certain prospect, that the war with the Moors would speedily be brought to an happy issue by the reduction of Granada, which would leave the nation at liberty to engage in new undertakings; this, as well as the mark of royal savour, with which Columbus had been lately honoured, en­couraged his friends to appear with greater con­fidence than formerly in support of his scheme. The chief of these, Alonso de Quintanilla, comp­troller of the finances in Castile, and Luis de San­tangel, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues in [Page 110] Aragon, whose meritorious zeal in promoting this great design, entitles their names to an honourable place in history, introduced Columbus to many persons of high rank, and interested them warmly in his behalf.

Is again disappoin­ted.BUT it was not an easy matter to inspire Fer­dinand with favourable sentiments. He still re­garded Columbus's prospect as extravagant and chimerical; and in order to render the efforts of his partizans ineffectual, he had the address to em­ploy in this new negociation with him, some of the persons who had formerly pronounced his scheme to be impracticable. To their astonishment, Colum­bus appeared before them with the same confident hopes of success as formerly, and insisted upon the same high recompence. He proposed that a small fleet should be fitted out, under his command, to attempt the discovery, and demanded to be ap­pointed hereditary admiral and viceroy of all the seas and lands which he should discover, and to have the tenths of the profits arising from them, settled irrevocably upon himself and his de­scendants. At the same time, he offered o ad­vance the eighth part of the sum necessary for ac­complishing his design, on condition that he should be entitled to a proportional share of benefit from the adventure. If the enterprise should totally miscarry, he made no stipulation for any reward or emolument whatever. Instead of viewing this con­duct as the clearest evidence of his full persuasion with respect to the truth of his own system, or be­ing struck with that magnanimity which, after so many delays and repulses, would stoop to nothing inferior to its original claims, the persons with whom Columbus treated, began meanly to calculate the expence of the expedition, and the value of the reward which he demanded. The expence, mode­rate as it was, they represented to be too great for [Page 111] Spain, in the present exhausted state of its finances. They contended, that the honours and emolu­ments claimed by Columbus, were exorbitant, even if he should perform the utmost of what he had promised; and if all his sanguine hopes should prove illusive, such vast concessions to an adventurer would be deemed not only inconsiderate, but ridi­culous. In this imposing garb of caution and pru­dence, their opinion appeared so plausible, and was so warmly supported by Ferdinand, that Isabella declined giving any countenance to Columbus, and abruptly broke off the negociation with him which she had begun.

THIS was more mortifying to Columbus than all the disappointments which he had hitherto met with. The invitation to court from Isabella, like an unexpected ray of light, had opened such pro­spects of success, as encouraged him to hope that his labours were at an end; but now darkness and uncertainty returned, and his mind, firm as it was, could hardly support the shock of such an unfore­seen reverse. He withdrew in deep anguish from court, with an intention of prosecuting his voyage to England, as his last resource.

ABOUT that time Granada surrendered,Proves [...] last succe [...] ­ful. and Ferdinand and Isabella, in triumphal pomp, took possession of a city,1 [...]92▪ January 2. the reduction of which extir­pated a foreign power from the heart of their do­minions, and rendered them masters of all the pro­vinces, extending from the bottom of the Pyrenees to the frontiers of Portugal. As the flow of spirits which accompanies success elevates the mind, and renders it enterprising, Quinta [...]illa and Santangel, the vigilant and discerning patrons of Columbus,24 [...]. took advantage of this favourable situation, in or­der to make one effort more in behalf of their friend. They addressed themselves to Isabella, and after expressing some surprise, that she, who had [Page 112] always been the munificent patroness of generous undertakings, should hesitate so long to counte­nance the most splendid scheme that had ever been proposed to any monarch; they represented to her, that Columbus was a man of a sound understanding and virtuous character, well qualified, by his ex­perience in navigation, as well as his knowledge of geometry, to form just ideas with respect to the structure of the globe and the situation of its va­rious regions; that, by offering to risk his own life and fortune in the execution of his scheme, he gave the most satisfying evidence both of his integrity and hope of success; that the sum requisite for equipping such an armament as he demanded was inconsiderable, and the advantages which might accrue from his undertaking were immense; that he demanded no recompence for his invention and labour, but what was to arise from the countries which he should discover; that, as it was worthy of her magnanimity to make this noble attempt to extend the sphere of human knowledge, and to open an intercourse with regions hitherto unknown, so it would afford the highest satisfaction to her piety and zeal, after re-establishing the Christian faith in those provinces of Spain from which it had been long banished,1492. to discover a new world, to which she might communicate the light and bles­sings of divine truth; that if now she did not decide instantly, the opportunity would be irre­trievably lost; that Columbus was on his way to foreign countries, where some prince, more for­tunate or adventurous, would close with his pro­posals, and Spain would for ever bewail the fatal timidity which had excluded her from the glory and advantages that she had once in her power to have enjoyed.

THESE forcible arguments, urged by persons or such authority, and at a juncture so well chosen. [Page 113] produced the desired effect. They dispelled all Isabella's doubts and fears; she ordered▪ Columbus to be instantly recalled, declared her resolution of employing him on his own terms, and regretting the low state of her finances, generously offered to pledge her own jewels, in order to raise as much money as might be needed in making preparations for the voyage. Santangel, in a transport of gra­titude, kissed the queen's hand, and in order to save her from having recourse to such a mortifying expedient for procuring money, engaged to advance immediately the sum that was requisite ^*.

COLUMBUS had proceeded some leagues on his journey,The condi­tions of h [...] agreement with S [...]e▪ when the messenger from Isabella over­took him. Upon receiving an account of the un­expected revolution in his favour, he returned di­rectly to Santo Fe, though some remainder of diffidence still mingled itself with his joy. But the cordial reception which he met with from Isabella, together with the near prospect of setting out upon that voyage which had so long been the object of his thoughts and wishes, soon effaced the remem­brance of all that he had suffered in Spain, during eight tedious years of solicitation and suspence. The negociation now went forward with facility and dispatch, and a treaty or capitulation with Columbus was signed on the seventeenth of April, one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. The chief articles of it were, 1. Ferdinand and Isabella as sovereigns of the ocean, constituted Columbus their high admiral in all the seas, islands, and con­tinents which should be discovered by his industry; and stipulation that he and his heirs for ever should enjoy this office, with the same powers and prero­gatives which belonged to the high admiral of Castile, within the limits of his jurisdiction. 2. They [Page 114] appointed Columbus their viceroy in all the islands and continents which he should discover; but if, for the better administration of affairs, it should hereafter be necessary to establish a separate go­vernor in any of those countries, they authorised Columbus to name three persons, of whom they would choose one for that office; and the dignity of viceroy, with all its immunities, was likewise to be hereditary in the family of Columbus. 3. They granted to Columbus and his heirs for ever, the tenth of the free profits accruing from the pro­ductions and commerce of the countries which he should discover. 4. They declared, that if any controversy or law-suit shall arise with respect to any mercantile transaction in the countries which should be discovered, it should be determined by the sole authority of Columbus, or of judges to be appointed by him. 5. They permitted Columbus to advance one eighth part of what should be expended in preparing for the expedition, and in carrying on commerce with the countries which he should dis­cover, and intitled him, in return, to an eighth part of the profit ^*.

THOUGH the name of Ferdinand appears con­joined with that of Isabella in this transaction, his distrust of Columbus was still so violent that he refused to take any part in the enterprise as king of Aragon. As the whole expence of the expe­dition was to be defrayed by the crown of Castile, Isabella reserved for her subjects of that kingdom an exclusive right to all the benefits which might redound from its success.

The prepa­rations for his voyage.AS soon as the treaty was signed, Isabella, by her attention and activity in forwarding the prepa­rations for the voyage, endeavoured to make some [Page 115] reparation to Columbus for the time which he had lost in fruitless solicitation. By the twelfth of May, all that depended upon her was adjusted; and Co­lumbus waited on the king and queen, in order to receive their final instructions. Every thing re­specting the destination and conduct of the voyage, they committed implicitly to the disposal of his pru­dence. But that they might avoid giving any just cause of offence to the king of Portugal, they strictly enjoined him not to approach near to the Portuguese settlements on the coast of Guinea, or in any of the other countries to which the Portu­guese claimed right as discoverers. Isabella had ordered the ships, of which Columbus was to take the command, to be fitted out in the port of Palos, a small maritime town in the Province of Anda­lusia. As the guardian Juan Perez, to whom Co­lumbus had already been so much indebted, resided in the neighbourhood of this place, he, is by the influence of that good ecclesiastic, as well by his own connection with the inhabitants, not only raised among them what he wanted of the sum that he was bound by treaty to advance, but engaged se­veral of them to accompany him in the voyage. The chief of these associates were three brothers of the name of Pinzon, of considerable wealth, and of great experience in naval affairs, who were willing to hazard their lives and fortunes in the expedition.

BUT, after all the efforts of Isabella and Co­lumbus, the armament was not suitable, either to the dignity of the nation by which it was equipped, or to the importance of the service for which it was destined. It consisted of three vessels. The largest, a ship of no considerable burden, was commanded by Columbus, as admiral, who gave it the name of Santa Maria, out of respect for the blessed Vir­gin, whom he honoured with singular devotion. [Page 116] Of the second, called the Pinta, Martin Pinzon was captain, and his brother Francis, pilot. The third, named the Nigna, was under the command of Vincent Yanez Pinzon. These two were light vessels, hardly superior in burden or force to large boats. This squadron, if it merits that name, was victualled for twelve months, and had on board ninety men, mostly sailors, together with a few adventurers who followed the fortune of Columbus, and some gentlemen of Isabella's court, whom she appointed to accompany him. Though the ex­pence of the undertaking was one of the circum­stances which chiefly alarmed the court of Spain, and retarded so long the negociation with Co­lumbus, the sum employed in sitting out this squad­ron did not exceed four thousand pounds.

AS the art of ship-building in the fifteenth cen­tury was extremely rude, and the bulk of vessels was accommodated to the short and easy voyages along the coast which they were accustomed to perform, it is a proof of the courage as well as en­terprising genius of Columbus, that he ventured, with a fleet so unfit for a distant navigation, to ex­plore unknown seas, where he had no chart to guide him, no knowledge of the tides and currents, and no experience of the dangers to which he might be exposed. His eagerness to accomplish the great design which had so long engrossed his thoughts, made him overlook or disregard every circumstance that would have intimidated a mind less adventurous. He pushed forward the prepa­rations with such ardour, and was seconded so ef­fectually by the persons to whom Isabella committed the superintendance of this business, that every thing was soon in readiness for the voyage. But as Columbus was deeply impressed with sentiments [...] religion, he would not set out upon an expedi­tion so arduous, and of which one great object was [Page 117] to extend the knowledge of the Christian faith, without imploring publicly the guidance and pro­tection of Heaven. With this view [...]e, together with all the persons under his command, marched in solemn procession to the monastery of [...]abida. After confessing their sins, and obtaining absolution, they received the holy sacrament from the hands of the guardian, who joined his prayers to theirs for the success, of an enterprise which he had so zealously patronized.

NEXT morning being Friday the third day of August,His [...] ­ture from Spain in the year one thousand four hundred and ninety-two, Columbus set sail, a little before sun­rise, in presence of a vast crowd of spectators,August 13. who sent up their supplications to Heaven for the pro­sperous issue of the voyage, which they wished ra­ther than expected. Columbus steered directly for the Canary Islands, and arrived there without any occurrence that would have deserved notice on any other occasion. But, in a voyage of such expecta­tion and importance, every circumstance was the object of attention. The rudder of the Pinta broke loose, the day after she left the harbour, and that accident alarmed the [...]ew, no less superstitious than unskilful, as a certain omen of the unfortunate destiny of the expedition. Even in the short r [...] to the Canaries, the ships were found so crazy and ill appointed, as to be very improper for a na­vigation which was expected to be both long and dangerous. Columbus resitted them, however, to the best of his power, and having supplied himself with fresh provisions, he took his departure from Gomera, one of the most westerly of the Canary islands, on the sixth day of September.

HERE the voyage of discovery may properly be said to begin;The course which i [...] a [...]. for Columbus holding his course due west, left immediately the usual track of navi­gation, and stretched into unfrequented and un­known [Page 118] seas. The first day, as it was very calm, he made but little way; but on the second, he lost sight of the Canaries; and many of the sailors, de­jected already and dismayed, when they contem­plated the boldness of the undertaking, began to beat their breasts, and to shed tears, as if they were never more to behold land. Columbus comforted them with assurances of success, and the prospect of vast wealth, in those opulent regions whither he was conducting them. This early discovery of the spirit of his follower, taught Columbus, that he must prepare to shuggle, not only with the un­avoidable difficulties which might be expected from the nature of his undertaking, but with such as were likely to arise from the ignorance and ti­midity of the people under his command; and he perceived that the art of governing the minds of men, would be no less reqiusite for accomplishing the discoveries which he had in view, than naval skill and undaunted courage. Happily for himself, and for the country by which he was employed, he joined to the ardent temper and inventive genius of a projector, virtues of another species, which are rarely united with them. He possessed a thorough knowledge of mankind, an insinuating address, a patient perseverance in executing any plan, the perfect government of his own passions, and the talent of acquiring an ascendant over those of other men. All these qualities, which formed him for command, were accompanied with that superior knowledge of his profession, which begets confi­dence in times of difficulty and danger.Vigilance and [...] of Columbus To un­skilful Spanish sailors, accustomed only to coasting voyages in the Mediterranean, the maritime science of Columbus, the fruit of thirty years experience, improved by an acquaintance with all the inventions of the Portuguese, appeared immense. As soon as they put to sea, he regulated every thing by his [Page 119] sole authority; he superintended the execution of every order; and allowing himself only a few hours for sleep, he was at all other times upon deck. As his course lay through seas which had not formerly been visited, the founding-line, or instruments for observation, were continually in his hands. After the example of the Portuguese discoverers, he attended to the motion of tides and currents, watching the flight of birds, the ap­pearance of fishes, of sea-weeds, and of every thing that floated on the waves, and entered every occurrence, with a minute exactness, in the jour­nal which he kept. As the length of the voyage could not fail of alarming sailors habituated only to short excursions, Columbus endeavoured to conceal from them the real progress which they made. With this view, though they run eighteen leagues on the second day after they left Gomera, he gave out that they had advanced only fifteen, and he uniformly employed the same artifice of reckoning short during the whole voyage. By the fourteenth of September, the fleet was above two hundred leagues to the west of the Canary Isles, at a greater distance from land than any Spaniard had been before that time. [...] There they were struck with an appearance no less astonishing than new. They observed that the magnetic needle, in their compasses, did not point exactly to the polar star, but varied towards the west; and as they proceeded, this variation increased. This appearance, which is now familiar, though it still remains one of the mysteries of nature, into the cause of which the sagacity of man hath not been able to penetrate, filled the companions of Columbus with terror. They were now in a boundless and unknown ocean, far from the usual course of navigation; nature itself seemed to be altered, and the only guide which they had le [...]t was about to fail them. Co­lumbus, [Page 120] with no less quickness than ingenuity, in­vented a reason for this appearance, which, though it did not satisfy himself, seemed so plausible to them, that it dispelled their fears, or silenced their murmurs.

HE still continued to steer due west, nearly in the same latitude with the Canary islands. In this course he came within the sphere of the trade wind, which blows ivariably from east to west, between the tropics and a few degrees beyond them. He advanced before this steady gale with such uniform rapidity, that it was seldom necessary to shift a sail. When about four hundred leagues to the west of the Canaries, he found the sea so covered with weeds, that it resembled a meadow of vast extent, and in some places they were so thick, as to retard the motion of the vessels. This strange appearance occasioned new alarm and disquiet. The sailors imagined that they were now arrived at the utmost boundary of the navigable ocean; that these float­ing weeds would obstruct their farther progress, and conceal dangerous rocks, or some large tract of land, which had sunk, they knew not how, in that place. Columbus endeavoured to persuade them, that what had alarmed, ought rather to have encouraged them, and was to be considered as a sign of approaching land. At the same time, a brisk gale arose, and carried them forward. Seve­ral birds were seen hovering about the ship ^*, and directed their f [...]ight towards the west. The des­ponding crew resumed some degree of spirit, and began to entertain fresh hopes.

T [...] [...] in­ [...]UPON the first of October they were, according to the admiral's reckoning, seven hundred and seventy leagues to the west of the Canaries; but lest his men should be intimidated by the prodi­gious [Page 121] length of the navigation, he gave out that they had proceeded only five hundred and eighty-four leagues; and, fortunately for Columbus nei­ther his own pilot, nor those of the other ships, had skill sufficient to correct this error, and discover the deceit. They had now been above three weeks at sea; they had proceeded far beyond what former navigators had attempted or deemed possi­ble; all their prognostics of discovery, drawn from the flight of birds and other circumstances, had proved fallacious; the appearances of land, with which their own credulity or the artifice of their commander had from time to time flattered and amused them, had been altogether illusive, and their prospect of success seemed now to be as dis­tant as ever. These reflections occurred often to men, who had no other object or occupation than to reason and discourse concerning the intention and circumstances of their expedition. They made impression, at first, upon the ignorant and timid, and extending, by degrees, to such as were better informed or more resolute, the contagion spread at length from ship to ship. From secret whispers or murmurings, they proceeded to open cabals and public complaints. They taxed their sovereign with inconsiderate credulity, in paying such regard to the vain promises and rash conjectures of an in­digent foreigner, as to hazard the lives of so many of her own subjects, in prosecuting a chimerical scheme. They affirmed that they had fully per­formed their duty, by venturing so far in an un­known and hopeless course, and could incur no blame, for refusing to follow, any longer, a des­perate adventurer to certain destruction. They contended, that it was necessary to think of return­ing to Spain, while their crazy vessels were still in a condition to keep the sea, but expressed their fears that the attempt would prove vain, as the [Page 122] wind, which had hitherto been so favourable to their course, must render it impossible to sail in the opposite direction. All agreed that Columbus should be compelled by force to adopt a measure on which their common safety depended. Some of the more audacious proposed, as the most ex­peditious and certain method for getting rid at once of his remonstrances, to throw him into the sea, being persuaded that, upon their return to Spain, the death of an unsuccessful projector would excite little concern, and be enquired into with no curiosity.

The ad­dress of Columbus in soothing them.COLUMBUS was fully sensible of his perilous situa­tion. He had observed, with great uneasiness, the fatal operation of ignorance and of fear in produc­ing disaffection among his crew, and saw that it was now ready to burst out into open mutiny. He retained, however, perfect presence of mind. He affected to seem ignorant of their machinations. Notwithstanding the agitation and solicitude of his own mind, he appeared with a chearful coun­tenance, like a man satisfied with the progress he had made, and confident of success. Sometimes he employed all the arts of insinuation, to soothe his men. Sometimes he endeavoured to work upon their ambition or avarice, by magnificent descriptions of the fame and wealth which they were about to acquire. On other occasions, he assumed a tone of authority, and threatened them with vengeance from their sovereign, if by their dastardly behaviour, they should defeat this noble effort to promote the glory of God, and to exalt the Spanish name above that of every other nation. Even with seditious sailors, the words of a man whom they had been accustomed to reverence, were weighty and persuasive, and not only restrained them from those violent excesses, which they medi­tated, but prevailed with them to accompany their admiral for some time longer.

[Page 123]AS they proceeded, the indications of approach­ing land seemed to be more certain, and excited hope in proportion. The birds began to appear in flocks, making towards the south-west. Co­lumbus, in imitation of the Portuguese navigators, who had been guided, in several of their discove­ries, by the motion of birds, altered his course from due west towards that quarter whither they pointed their flight. But, after holding on for several days in this new direction, without any better success than formerly, having seen no object, during thirty days, but the sea and the sky, the hopes of his companions subsided faster than they had risen; their fears revived with additional force;Their f [...]e return. impatience, rage, and despair, appeared in every countenance. All sense of subordination was lost:Danger of a mutiny. the officers, who had hitherto concurred with Co­lumbus in opinion, and supported his authority, now took part with the private men; they assem­bled tumultuously on the deck, expostulated with their commander, mingled threats with their ex­postulations, and required him instantly to tack about and to return to Europe. Columbus per­ceived that it would be of no avail to have recourse to any of his former arts, which having been tried so often, had lost their effect; and that it was im­possible to rekindle any zeal for the success of the expedition among men, in whose breasts fear had extinguished every generous sentiment.Distress of Columbus. He saw that it was no less vain to think of employing either gentle or severe measures, to quell a mutiny so general and so violent. It was necessary, on all these accounts, to soothe passions which he could no longer command, and to give way to a torrent too impetuous to be checked. He promised so­lemnly to his men that he would comply with their request, provided they would accompany him, and obey his commands for three days longer, and if [Page 124] during that time, land were not discovered, he would then abandon the enterprise, and direct his course towards Spain^*.

Encourag­ing appear­ances of success.ENRAGED as the sailors were, and impatient to turn their faces again towards their native country, this proposition did not appear to them unreason­able. Nor did Columbus hazard much in confining himself to a term so short. The presages of discovering land were now so numerous and pro­mising, that he deemed them infallible. For some days the sounding line reached the bottom, and the soil which it brought up indicated land to be at no great distance. The flocks of birds increased, and were composed not only of sea fowl, but of such land birds as could not be supposed to fly far from the shore. The crew of the Pinta observed a cane floating, which seemed to have been newly cut, and likewise a piece of timber artificially carved. The sailors aboard the Nigna took up the branch of a tree with red berries, perfectly fresh. The clouds around the setting sun assumed a new ap­pearance; the air was more mild and warm, and, during night, the wind became unequal and varia­ble. From all these symptoms, Columbus was so confident of being near land, that on the even­ing of the eleventh of October, after public prayers for success, he ordered the sails to be furled, and the ships to lie to, keeping strict watch, lest they should be driven ashore in the night. During this interval of suspense and ex­pectation, no man shut his eyes, all kept upon deck, gazing intently towards that quarter where they expected to discover the land, which had been so long the object of their wishes.

Land dis­coveredABOUT two hours before midnight, Columbus standing on the forecastle, observed a light at a [Page 125] distance, and privately pointed it out to Pedro Guttierez, a page of the queen's wardrobe. Gut­tierez perceived it, and calling to Salcedo, comp­troller of the fleet, all three saw it in motion, as if it were carried from place to place. A little after midnight the joyful sound of land, land, was heard from the Pinta, which kept always ahead of the other ships. But, having been so often de­ceived by fallacious appearances, every man was now become slow of belief, and waited, in all the anguish of uncertainty and impatience, for the return of day. As soon as morning dawned,Friday. Oct. 12. all doubts and fears were dispelled. From every ship an island was seen about two leagues to the north, whose flat and verdant fields, well stored with wood, and watered with many rivulets, presented the aspect of a delightful country. The crew of the Pinta instantly began the Te Deum, as a hymn of thanksgiving to God, and were joined by those of the other ships, with tears of joy and transports of congratulation. This office of gratitude to Heaven was followed by an act of justice to their commander. They threw themselves at the feet of Columbus, with feelings of self-condemna­tion mingled with reverence. They implored him to pardon their ignorance, incredulity, and inso­lence, which had created him so much unnecessary di [...]quiet, and had so often obstructed the prosecution of his well-concerted plan; and passing, in the warmth of their admiration, from one extreme to another, they now pronounced the man, whom they had so lately reviled and threatened, to be a person inspired by Heaven with sagacity and for­titude more than human, in order to accomplish a design so far beyond the ideas and conception of all former ages.

AS soon as the sun arose,First inter­view with the na­tiv [...]. all their boats were manned and armed. They rowed towards the [Page 126] island with their colours displayed, with warlike music, and other martial pomp. As they ap­proached the coast, they saw it covered with a multitude of people, whom the novelty of the spectacle had drawn together, whose attitudes and gestures expressed wonder and astonishment at the strange objects which presented themselves to their view. Columbus was the first European who set foot in the New World which he had discovered. He landed in a rich dress, and with a naked sword in his hand. His men followed, and kneeling down, they all kissed the ground which they had so long desired to see. They next erected a cru­cifix, and prostrating themselves before it, returned thanks to God for conducting their voyage to such an happy issue. They then took solemn posses­sion of the country for the crown of Castile and Leon, with all the formalities which the Portuguese were accustomed to observe in acts of this kind, in their new discoveries^*.

Their mu­tual asto­nishment.THE Spaniards, while thus employed, were surrounded by many of the natives, who gazed, in silent admiration, upon actions which they could not comprehend, and of which they did not fore­see the consequences. The dress of the Spaniards, the whiteness of their skins, their beards, their arms, appeared strange and surprising. The vast machines in which they had traversed the ocean, that seemed to move upon the waters with wings, and uttered a dreadful sound resembling thunder, accompanied with lightning and smoke, struck them with such terror, that they began to respect their new guests as a superior order of beings, and concluded that they were children of the sun, who had descended to visit the earth.

THE Europeans were hardly less amazed at the [Page 127] scene now before them. Every herb, and shrub, and tree, was different from those which flourished in Europe. The soil seemed to be rich, but bore few marks of cultivation. The climate, even to the Spaniards, felt warm, though extremely de­lightful. The inhabitants appeared in the simple innocence of nature, entirely naked. Their black hair, long and uncurled, floated upon their shoul­ders, or was bound in tresses around their heads. They had no beards, and every part of their bodies was perfectly smooth. Their complexion was of a dusky copper colour, their features singular, ra­ther than disagreeable, their aspect gentle and timid. Though not tall, they were well shaped, and active. Their faces, and several parts of their body, were fantastically painted with glaring co­lours. They were shy at first through fear, but soon became familiar with the Spaniards, and with transports of joy received from them hawks-bells, glass beads, or other baubles, in return for which they gave such provisions as they had, and some cotton yarn, the only commodity of value that they could produce. Towards evening, Columbus returned to his ship, accompanied by many of the islanders in their boats, which they called canoes, and though rudely formed out of the trunk of a single tree, they rowed them with surprising dex­terity. Thus, in the first interview between the inhabitants of the old and new worlds, every thing was conducted amicably, and to their mutual satis­faction. The former, enlightened and ambitious, formed already vast ideas with respect to the ad­vantages which they might derive from the regions that began to open to their view. The latter, sim­ple and undiscerning, had no foresight of the calamities and desolation which were approaching their country.

[Page 128]COLUMBUS, who now assumed the title and authority of admiral and viceroy, called the island which he had discovered San Salvador. It is better known by the name of Guanahani, [...] which the natives gave to it, and is one of that large cluster of islands called the Lucaya or Bahama isles. It is situated above three thousand miles to the west of Gomera, from which the squadron took its de­parture, and only four degrees to the south of it; so little had Columbus deviated from the westerly course, which he had chosen as the most proper.

Proceeds towards the [...]th.COLUMBUS employed the next day in visiting the coasts of the island; and from the universal poverty of the inhabitants, he perceived it was not the rich country for which he sought. But, confor­mably to his theory concerning the discovery of those regions of Asia which stretched towards the east, he concluded that San Salvador was one of the isles which geopraphers described as situated in the great ocean adjacent to India^*. Having observed that most of the people whom he had seen wore small plates of gold, by way of ornament, in their nos­trils, he eagerly inquired where they got that preci­ous metal. They pointed towards the south, and made him comprehend by signs, that gold abound­ed in countries situated in that quarter. Thither he immediately determined to direct his course, in full confidence of finding there those opulent regions which had been the object of his voyage, and would be a recompence for all his toils and dangers. He took along with him seven of the natives of San Salvador, that, by acquiring the Spanish language, they might serve as guides and interpreters; and those innocent people considered it as a mark of distinction when they were selected to accompany him.

[Page 129]HE saw several islands, and touched at three of the largest, on which he bestowed the names of St. Mary of the Conception, Fernandina, and Isabella. But as their soil, productions, and inhabitants,Discovers Cuba. nearly resembled those of San Salvador, he made no stay in any of them. He inquired every where for gold, and the signs that were uniformly made by way of answer, confirmed him in the opinion that it was brought from the south. He followed that course, and soon discovered a country which appeared very extensive, not perfectly level, like those which he had already visited, but so diversi­fied with rising grounds, hills, rivers, woods, and plains, that he was uncertain whether it might prove an island, or part of the continent. The natives of San Salvador, whom he had on board, called it Cuba; Columbus gave it the name of Juanna. He entered the mouth of a large river with his squadron, and all the inhabitants fled to the mountains as he approached the shore. But as he resolved to careen his ships in that place, he sent some Spaniards, together with one of the people of San Salvador, to view the interior part of the country. They, having advanced above sixty miles from the shore, reported, upon their return, that the soil was richer and more cultivated than any they had hitherto discovered; that, be­sides many scattered cottages, they had found one village, containing above a thousand inhabitants; that the people, though naked, seemed to be more intelligent than those of San Salvador, but had treated them with the same respectful attention, kissing their feet, and honouring them as sacred beings allied to Heaven; that they had given them to eat a certain root, the taste of which resembled roasted chesnuts, and likewise a singular species of corn called maize, which, either when roasted whole or ground into meal, was abundantly pala­table; [Page 130] that there seemed to be no four-footed ani­mals in the country, but a species of dogs, which could not bark, and a creature resembling a rabbit, but of a much smaller size; that they had observed some ornaments of gold among the people, but of no great value^*.

His con­jectures with regard to it.THESE messengers had prevailed with some of the natives to accompany them, who informed Co­lumbus, that the gold of which they made their ornaments was found in Cubanacan. By this word they meant the middle or inland part of Cuba; but Columbus, being ignorant of their language, as well as unaccustomed to their pronunciation, and his thoughts running continually upon his own theory concerning the discovery of the East Indies, he was led, by the resemblance of sound, to sup­pose that they spoke of the Great Khan, and ima­gined that the opulent kingdom of Cathay, de­scribed by Marco Polo, was not very remote. This induced him to employ some time in viewing the country. He visited almost every harbour, from Porto del Principe, on the north coast of Cuba, to the eastern extremity of the island: but, though delighted with the beauty of the scenes which every where presented themselves, and amazed at the luxuriant fertility of the soil, both which, from their novelty, made a more lively impression upon his imagination^†, he did not find gold in such quantity as was sufficient to satisfy either the avarice of his followers, or the ex­pectations of the court to which he was to re­turn. The people of the country, as much asto­nished at his eagerness in quest of gold, as the Europeans were at their ignorance and simplicity, [Page 131] pointed towards the east, where an island which they called Hayti was situated, in which that metal was more abundant than among them. Columbus ordered his squadron to bend its course thither; but Martin Alonso Pinzon, impatient to be the first who should take possession of the treasures which this country was supposed to contain, quit­ted his companions, regardless of all the Admiral's signals to slacken sail until they should come up with him.

COLUMBUS, retarded by contrary winds,Discovers the island Hispaniola. did not reach Hayti till the sixth of December. He called the port where he first touched St. Nicholas, and the island itself Espagnola, in honour of the kingdom by which he was employed; and it is the only country, of those he had yet discovered, which has retained the name that he gave it. As he could neither meet with the Pinta, nor have any intercourse with the inhabitants, who fled in great consternation towards the woods, he soon quitted St. Nicholas, and sailing along the northern coast of the island, he entered another harbour, which he called Conception. Here he was more fortu­nate; his people overtook a woman who was flying from them, and after treating her with great gen­tleness, dismissed her with a present of such toys as they knew were most valued in those regions. The description which she gave to her countrymen of the humanity and wonderful qualities of the strangers; their admiration of the trinkets, which she shewed with exultation; and their eagerness to participate of the same favours; removed all their fears, and induced many of them to repair to the harbour. The strange objects which they be­held, and the baubles, which Columbus bestowed upon them, amply gratified their curiosity and their wishes. They nearly resembled the people of Guanahani and Cuba, They were naked like [Page 132] them, ignorant, and simple; and seemed to be equally unacquainted with all the arts that ap­pear most necessary in polished societies; but they were gentle, credulous, and timid, to a degree which rendered it easy to acquire the ascendant over them, especially as their excessive admiration led them into the same error with the people of the other islands, in believing the Spaniards to be more than mortals, and descended immediately from Heaven. They possessed gold in greater abundance than their neighbours, which they readily exchanged for bells, beads or pins; and in this unequal traffic both parties were highly pleased, each considering themselves as gainers by the transaction. Here Columbus was visited by a prince or cazique of the country. He appeared with all the pomp known among a simple people, being carried in a sort of palanquin upon the shoulders of four men, and attended by many of his subjects, who served him with great respect. His deportment was grave and stately, very re­served towards his own people, but with Columbus and the Spaniards extremely courteous. He gave the admiral some thin plates of gold, and a girdle of curious workmanship, receiving in return pre­sents of small value, but highly acceptable to him^*.

COLUMBUS, still intent on discovering the mines which yielded gold, continued to interrogate all the natives with whom he had any intercourse, con­cerning their situation. They concurred in point­ing out a mountainous country, which they called Cibao, at some distance from the sea, and farther towards the east. Struck with this found, which appeared to him the same with Cipango, the name by which Marco Polo, and other travellers to the east, distinguished the island of Japan, he no longer [Page 133] doubted with respect to the vicinity of the countries which he had discovered to the remote parts of Asia; and, in full expectation of reaching soon those regions which had been the object of his voy­age, he directed his course towards the east. He put into a commodious harbour, which he called St. Thomas, and found that district to be under the government of a powerful cazique, named Guaca­nahari, who, as he afterwards learned, was one of the five sovereigns among whom the whole island was divided. He immediately sent messengers to Columbus, who, in his name, delivered to him the present of a mask curiously fashioned, with the ears, nose, and mouth of beaten gold, and invited him to the place of his residence, near the harbour now called cape Francois, some leagues towards the east. Columbus dispatched some of his officers to visit this prince, who, as he behaved himself with greater dignity, seemed to claim more atten­tion They returned with such favourable ac­counts both of the country and of the people, as made Columbus impatient for that interview with Guacanahari to which he had been invited.

HE sailed for this purpose from St. Thomas,One of his ships lost. on the twenty fourth of December, with a fair wind, and the sea perfectly calm; and as, amidst the mul­tiplicity of his occupations, he had not shut his eyes for two days, he retired at midnight in order to take some repose, having committed the helm to the pilot with strict injunctions not to quit it for a moment. The pilot, dreading no danger, care­lessly left the helm to an unexperienced cabin boy, and the ship, carried away by a current, was dashed against a rock. The violence of the shock awak­ened Columbus. He ran up to the deck. There, all was confusion and despair. He alone retained presence of mind. He ordered some of the sailors to take a boat and carry out an anchor astern; [Page 134] but, instead of obeying, they made off towards the Nigna, which was about half a league distant. He then commanded the masts to be cut down, in order to lighten the ship; but all his endeavours were too late; the vessel opened near the keel, and filled so fast with water that its loss was inevi­table. The smoothness of the sea, and the timely assistance of boats from the Nigna, enabled the crew to save their lives. As soon as the islanders heard of this disaster, they crowded to the shore, with their prince Guacanahari at their head. In­stead of taking advantage of the distress in which they beheld the Spaniards, to attempt any thing to their detriment, they lamented their misfortune with tears of sincere condolence. Not satisfied with this unavailing expression of their sympathy, they put to sea a number of canoes, and under the di­rection of the Spaniards, assisted in saving what­ever could be got out of the wreck; and by the united labour of so many hands, almost every thing of value was carried ashore. As fast as the goods were landed, Guacanahari in person took charge of them. By his orders they were all deposited in one place, and armed centinels were posted, who kept the multitude at a distance, in order to pre­vent them not only from embezzling, but from inspecting too curiously what belonged to their guests ^*. Next morning this prince visited Co­lumbus, who was now on board the Nigna, and endeavoured to console him for his loss, by offer­ing all that he possessed to repair it^†.

Distress of Columbus.THE condition of Columbus was such, that he stood in need of consolation. He had hitherto pro­cured no intelligence of the Pinta, and no longer doubted but that his treacherous associate had set sail for Europe, in order to have the merit of car­rying [Page 135] the first tidings of the extraordinary disco­veries which had been made, and to pre-occupy so far the ear of their sovereign, as to rob him of the glory and reward to which he was justly intitled. There remained but one vessel, and that the smallest and most crazy of the squadron, to traverse such a vast ocean, and to carry so many men back to Eu­rope. Each of those circumstances was alarming, and filled the mind of Columbus with the utmost solicitude. The desire of overtaking Pinzon, and of effacing the unfavourable impressions which his misrepresentations might make in Spain, made it necessary to return thither without delay.Resolves to have a part of his crew in the i­sland. The difficulty of taking such a number of persons aboard the Nigna, confirmed him in an opinion, which the fertility of the country, and the gentle temper of the people, had already induced him to form. He resolved to leave a part of his crew in the island, that by residing there, they might learn the lan­guage of the natives, study their disposition, ex­amine the nature of the country, search for mines, prepare for the commodious settlement of the co­lony, with which he purposed to return, and thus secure and facilitate the acquisition of those advan­tages which he expected from his discoveries. When he mentioned this to his men, all approved of the design; and from impatience under the fa­tigue of a long voyage, from the levity natural to sailors, or from the hopes of amassing wealth in a country, which afforded such promising specimens of its riches, many offered voluntarily to be among the number of those who should remain.

NOTHING was now wanting towards the execu­tion of this scheme, [...] but to obtain the consent of Guacanahari; and his unsuspicious simplicity soon presented to the admiral a favourable opportunity of proposing it. Columbus having, in the best manner he could, by brok [...]n words and signs, ex­pressed [Page 136] some curiosity to know the cause which had moved the islanders to fly with such precipitation upon the approach of his ships; the cazique in­formed him that the country was much infested by the incursions of certain people, whom he called Carribeans, who inhabited several islands to the south east. These he described as a fierce and warlike race of men, who delighted in blood, and devoured the flesh of the prisoners who were so unhappy as to fall into their hands; and as the Spaniards, at their first appearance, were supposed to be Carribeans, whom the natives, however nu­merous, durst not face in battle, they had recourse to their usual method of securing their safety, by flying into the thickest and most impenetrable woods. Guacanahari, while speaking of those dreadful invaders, discovered such symptoms of terror, as well as such consciousness of the inability of his own people to resist them, as led Co­lumbus to conclude that he would not be alarmed at the proposition of any scheme which afforded him the prospect of an additional security against their attacks. He instantly offered him the assist­ance of the Spaniards to repel his enemies; he en­gaged to take him and his people under the pro­tection of the powerful monarch whom he served, and offered to leave in the island such a number of his men as should be sufficient, not only to defend the inhabitants from future incursions, but to avenge their past wrongs.

[...]THE credulous prince closed eagerly with the proposal, and thought himself already safe under the patronage of beings sprung from Heaven, and superior in power to mortal men. The ground was marked out for a small sort, which Columbus called Navidad, because he had landed there on Christmas day. A deep ditch was drawn around it. The ramparts were fortified with pallisades, [Page 137] and the great guns, saved out of the admiral's ship, were planted upon them. In ten days the work was finished, that simple race of men labouring with inconsiderate assiduity in erecting this first monument of their own servitude. During this time, Columbus, by his caresses and liberality, la­boured to increase the high opinion which the na­tives entertained of the Spaniards. But while he endeavoured to inspire them with confidence in their disposition to do good, he wished likewise to give them some striking idea of their power to punish and destroy such as were the objects of their indignation. With this view, in presence of a vast assembly, he drew up his men in order of battle, and made an ostentatious but innocent display of the sharpness of the Spanish swords, of the force of their spears, and the operation of their cross-bows. These rude people, strangers to the use of iron, and unacquainted with any hostile weapons, but arrows of reeds pointed with the bones of fishes, wooden swords and javelins hardened in the fire, wondered and trembled. Before this surprise or fear had time to abate, he ordered the great guns to be fired. The sudden explosion struck them with such terror that they fell flat to the ground, covering their faces with their hands; and when they beheld the astonishing effect of the bullets among the trees, towards which the cannon had been pointed, they concluded that it was impossible to resist men, who had the command of such de­structive instruments, and who came armed with thunder and lightning against their enemies.

AFTER giving such impressions both of the be­neficence and power of the Spaniards,His instruc­tions to those he left in it. as might have rendered it easy to preserve an ascendant over the minds of the natives, Columbus appointed thirty-eight of his people to remain in the island. He entrusted the command of these to Diego de [Page 138] Arado, a gentleman of Cordova, investing him with the same powers which he himself had re­ceived from Ferdinand and Isabella; and furnished him with every thing requisite for the subsistence or defence of this infant colony. He strictly en­joined them to maintain concord among themselves, to yield an unreserved obedience to their com­mander, to avoid giving offence to the natives by any violence or exaction, to cultivate the friend­ship of Guacanahari, but not to put themselves in his power, by straggling in small parties, or march­ing too far from the fort. He promised to revisit them soon, with such a reinforcement of strength as might enable them to take full possession of the country, and to reap all the fruits of their disco­veries. In the mean time, he engaged to mention their names to the king and queen, and to place their merit and services in the most advantageous light^*.

HAVING thus taken every precaution for the se­curity of the Colony, he left Navidad on the fourth of January,1493. one thousand four hundred and nine­ty-three, and steering towards the east, discovered, and gave names to most of the harbours on the northern coast of the island. On the sixth, he descried the Pinta, and soon came up with her, after a separation of more than six weeks. Pinzon endeavoured to justify his conduct, by pretending that he had been driven from his course by stress of weather, and prevented from returning by con­trary winds. The admiral, though he still sus­pected his perfidious intentions, and knew well what he urged in his own defence to be frivolous as well as false, was so sensible that this was not a proper time for venturing upon any high strain of [Page 139] authority, and felt such satisfaction in this junction with his consort, which delivered him from many disquieting apprehensions, that lame as Pinzon's apology was, he admitted of it without difficulty and restored him to favour. During his absence from the admiral, Pinzon had visited several har­bours in the island, had acquired some gold by trafficking with the natives, but had made no dis­covery of any importance.

FROM the condition of his ships,Resolves to return to Europe. as well as the temper of his men, Columbus now found it ne­cessary to hasten his return to Europe. The for­mer, having suffered much during a voyage of such an unusual length, were extremely leaky. The latter expressed the utmost impatience to revisit their native country, from which they had been so long absent, and where they had things so wonderful and unheard of to relate. Accordingly, on the sixteenth of January, he directed his course to­wards the north-east, and soon lost sight of land. He had on board some of the natives, whom he had taken from the different islands which he dis­covered; and besides the gold, which was the chief object of research, he had collected specimens of all the productions which were likely to become subjects of commerce in the several countries, as well as many unknown birds, and other natural curiosities, which might attract the attention of the learned, or excite the wonder of the people. The voyage was prosperous to the fourteenth of Febru­ary, and he had advanced near five hundred leagues across the Atlantic Ocean,A violent storm ari­ses. when the wind began to rise, and continued to blow with increasing rage, which terminated in a furious hurricane. Every thing that the naval skill and experience of Colum­bus could devise was employed, in order to save the ships. But it was impossible to withstand the violence of the storm, and, as they were still far [Page 140] from any land, destruction seemed inevitable. The sailors had recourse to prayers to Almighty God, to the invocation of saints, to vows and charms, to every thing that religion dictates, or superstition suggests, to the affrighted mind of man. No prospect of deliverance appearing, they abandoned themselves to despair, and expected every moment to be swallowed up in the waves. Besides the pas­sions which naturally agitate and alarm the human mind in such awful situations, when certain death, in one of his most terrible forms, is before it, Co­lumbus had to endure feelings of distress peculiar to himself.The con­duct of Columbus. He dreaded that all knowledge of the amazing discoveries which he had made was now to perish; mankind were to be deprived of every benefit that might have been derived from the happy success of his schemes, and his own name would descend to posterity as that of a rash deluded adventurer, instead of being transmitted with the honor due to the author and conductor of the most noble enterprize that had ever been under­taken. These reflections extinguished all sense of his own personal danger. Less affected with the loss of life, than solicitous to preserve the memory of what he had attempted and atchieved, he retired to his cabin, and wrote upon parchment, a short account of the voyage which he had made, of the course which he had taken, of the situation and riches of the countries which he had discovered, and of the colony that he had left there. Having wrapped up this in an oiled cloth, which he in­closed in a cake of wax, he put it into a cask care­fully stopped up, and threw it into the sea, in hopes that some fortunate accident might preserve a de­posit of so much importance to the world^*.

[Page 141]AT length Providence interposed, to save a life reserved for other services. The wind abated, the sea became calm,Takes shelter in the Azores. and on the evening of the fif­teenth, Columbus and his companions discovered land; and though uncertain what it was, they made towards it. They soon knew it to be St. Mary, one of the Azores or western isles, subject to the crown of Portugal. There, after a violent con­test with the governor, in which Columbus dis­played no less spirit than prudence, he obtained a supply of fresh provisions, and whatever else he needed. One circumstance, however, greatly dis­quieted him. The Pinta, of which he had lost sight on the first day of the hurricane, did not appear; he dreaded for some time that she had foundered at sea, and that all her crew had perish­ed: afterwards, his former suspicions recurred, and he became apprehensive that Pinzon had borne away for Spain, that he might reach it before him, and, by giving the first account of his discoveries, might obtain some share of his fame.

IN order to prevent this,Feb. 24. Arrives at Lisbon. he left the Azores as soon as the weather would permit. At no great distance from the coast of Spain, when near the end of his voyage, and seemingly beyond the reach of any disaster, another storm arose, little inferior to the former in violence; and after driv­ing before it during two days and two nights, he was forced to take shelter in the river Tagus.March 4. Upon application to the king of Portugal, he was allowed to come up to Lisbon; and, notwithstand­ing the envy which it was natural for the Portuguese to feel, when they beheld another nation entering upon that province of discovery which they had hitherto deemed peculiarly their own, and in its first essay, not only rivalling, but eclipsing their fame, Columbus was received with all the marks of distinction due to a man who had performed [Page 142] things so extraordinary and unexpected. The king admitted him into his presence, treated him with the highest respect, and listened to the ac­count which he gave of his voyage with admiration mingled with regret. While Columbus, on his part, enjoyed the satisfaction of describing the importance of his discoveries, and of being now able to prove the solidity of his schemes to those very persons, who, with an ignorance disgraceful to themselves, and fatal to their country, had lately rejected them as the projects of a visionary or de­signing adventurer.^*

Returns to Spain.COLUMBUS was so impatient to return to Spain, that he remained only five days in Lisbon. On the fifteenth of March he arrived in the port of Palos, seven months and eleven days from the time when he set out thence upon his voyage. As soon as the ship was discovered approaching the port, all the inhabitants of Palos ran eagerly to the shore, in order to welcome their relations and fellow-citizens, and to hear tidings of their voyage. When the prosperous issue of it was known, when they beheld the strange people, the unknown animals, and singular productions brought from the countries which had been discovered, the effusions of joy was general and unbounded. The bells were rung, the cannon fired; Columbus was received at landing with royal honours, and all the people, in solemn procession, accompanied him and his crew to the church, where they returned thanks to Heaven, which had so wonderfully conducted and crowned with success, a voyage of greater length and of more importance, than had been at­tempted in any former age. On the evening of the same day, he had the satisfaction of seeing the Pinta, which the violence of the tempest had driven far to the north, enter the harbour.

[Page 143]THE first care of Columbus was to inform the king and queen, who were then at Barcelona, of his arrival and success. Ferdinand and Isabella,His reception there. no less astonished than delighted with this unex­pected event, desired Columbus, in terms the most respectful and flattering, to repair immedi­ately to court, that from his own mouth they might receive a full detail of his extraordinary services and discoveries. During his journey to Barcelona, the people crowded from the adjacent country, following him every where with admira­tion and applause. His entrance into the city was conducted, by order of Ferdinand and Isabella, with pomp suitable to the great event, which added such distinguishing lustre to their reign. The people whom he brought along with him from the countries which he had discovered, marched first, and by their singular complexion, the wild pecu­liarity of their features, and uncouth finery, ap­peared like men of another species. Next to them were carried the ornaments of gold, fashioned by the rude art of the natives, the grains of gold found in the mountains, and [...]st of the same metal gathered in the rivers. After these, appeared the various commodities of the new discovered countries, together with their curious productions. Columbus himself closed the procession, and at­tracted the eyes of all the spectators, who gazed with admiration on the extraordinary man, whose superior sagacity and fortitude had conducted their countrymen, by a route concealed from past ages, to the knowledge of a new world. Ferdinand and Isabella received him clad in their royal robes, and seated upon a throne, under a magnificent canopy. When he approached, they stood up, and raising him as he kneeled to kiss their hands, com­manded him to take his seat upon a chair prepared for him, and to give a circumstantial account of [Page 144] his voyage. He delivered it with a gravity and composure no less suitable to the disposition of the Spanish nation, than to the dignity of the audi­ence in which he spoke, and with that modest sim­plicity which characterises men of superior minds, who, satisfied with having performed great actions, court not vain applause by an ostentatious display of their exploits. When he had finished his nar­ration, the king and queen, kneeling down, offered up solemn thanks to Almighty God for the disco­very of these new regions, from which they ex­pected so many advantages to flow in upon the kingdoms subject to their government^*. Every mark of honour that gratitude or admiration could suggest was conferred upon Columbus. Letters patent were issued, confirming to him and to his heirs all the privileges contained in the capitulation concluded at Santa Fè; his family was ennobled; the king and queen, and, after their example, the courtiers, treated him, on every occasion, with all the ceremonious respect paid to persons of the highest rank. But what pleased him most, as it gratified his active mind, bent continually upon great objects, was, an order to equip, without delay, an armament of such force, as might enable him not only to take possession of the countries which he had already discovered, but to go in search of those more opu­lent regions, which he still confidently expected to to find^†.

Astonish­ment of mankind at his dis­coveries.WHILE preparations were making for this ex­pedition, the fame of Columbus's successful voyage spread over Europe, and excited general attention. The multitude, struck with amazement when they heard that a new world had been found, could hardly believe an event so much above their con­ception. [Page 145] Men of science, capable of comprehend­ing the nature, and of discerning the effects of this great discovery, received the account of it with ad­miration and joy. They spoke of his voyage with rapture, and congratulated one another upon their felicity, in having lived in the period when, by this extraordinary event, the boundaries of human knowledge were so much extended, and such a new field of inquiry and observation opened, as would lead mankind to a perfect acquaintance with the structure and productions of the habitable globe^*. Various opinions and conjectures were formed con­cerning the new-found countries, and what division of the earth they belonged to. Columbus adhered tenaciously to his original opinion, that they should be reckoned a part of those vast regions in Asia, comprehended under the general name of India. This sentiment was confirmed by the observations which he made concerning the productions of the countries he had discovered. Gold was known to abound in India, and he had met with such pro­mising samples of it in the islands which he visited, as led him to believe that rich mines of it might be found. Cotton, another production of the East Indies, was common there. The pimento of the [...]ands he imagined to be a species of the East-In­dian pepper. He mistook a root, somewhat re­sembling rhubarb, for that valuable drug, which was then supposed to be a plant peculiar to the East Indies^†. The birds brought home by him were adorned with the same rich plumage which dis­tinguishes those of India. The alligator of the one country appeared to be the same with the crocodile of the other. After weighing all these circum­stances, not only the Spaniards, but the other na­tions [Page 146] of Europe, seem to have adopted the opinion of Columbus. The countries which he had disco­vered were considered as a part of India. In con­sequence of this notion, the name of Indies is given to them by Ferdinand and Isabella, in a ratification of their former agreement, which was granted to Columbus upon his return^*. Even after the error which gave rise to this opinion was detected, and the true position of the New World was ascer­tained,Distin­guished by the name of the West Indies. the name has remained, and the appellation of West Indies is given by all the people of Europe to the country, and that of Indians to its inha­bitants.

Preparati­ons for a second voy­age.THE names by which Columbus distinguished the countries which he had discovered was so in­viting, the specimens of their riches and fertility, which he produced were so considerable, and the reports of his companions, delivered frequently with the exaggeration natural to travellers, so fa­vourable, as to excite a wonderful spirit of enter­prise among the Spaniards. Though little ac­customed to naval expeditions, they were impatient to set out upon the voyage. Volunteers of every rank solicited to be employed. Allured by the inviting prospects which opened to their ambition and avarice, neither the length nor danger of the navigation intimidated them. Cautious as Ferdi­nand was, and averse to every thing new or adven­turous, he seems to have catched the same spirit with his subjects. Under its influence, prepara­tions for a second expedition were carried on with a rapidity unusual in Spain, and to an extent that would be deemed not inconsiderable in the present age. The fleet consisted of seventeen ships, some of which were of good burden. It had on board fifteen hundred persons, among whom were many [Page 147] of noble families, who had served in honourable stations. The greater part of these being destined to remain in the country, were furnished with every thing requisite for conquest or settlement, with all kinds of European domestic animals, with such seeds and plants as were most likely to thrive in the climate of the West-Indies, with utensils and instruments of every sort, and with such artificers as might be most useful in an infant colony^*.

BUT,The right of Spain to the New World con­firmed by the Pope. formidable and well-provided as this fleet was, Ferdinand and Isabella did not rest their title to the possession of the newly-discovered countries upon its operations alone. The example of the Portuguese, as well as the superstition of the age, made it necessary to obtain from the Roman Pontiff a grant of those territories which they wished to occupy. The Pope, as the vicar and representa­tive of Jesus Christ, was supposed to have a right of dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth. Alexander VI. a pontiff infamous for every crime which disgraces humanity, filled the papal throne at that time. As he was born Ferdinand's subject, and very solicitous to secure the protection of Spain, in order to facilitate the execution of his ambitious schemes in favour of his own family, he was ex­tremely willing to gratify the Spanish monarchs. By an act of liberality which cost him nothing, and that served to establish the jurisdiction and preten­sions of the papal see, he granted in full right to Ferdinand and Isabella all the countries inhabited by Infidels, which they had discovered, or should discover; and, in virtue of that power which he derived from Jesus Christ, he conferred on the crown of Castile vast regions, to the possession of which he himself was so far from having any title, that he was unacquainted with their situation, [Page 148] and ignorant even of their existence. As it was necessary to prevent this grant from interfering with that formerly made to the crown of Por­tugal, he appointed that a line, supposed to be drawn from pole to pole, a hundred leagues to the west­ward of the Azores, should serve as a limit be­tween them; and in the plenitude of his power, bestowed all to the east of this imaginary line upon the Portuguese, and all to the west of it, upon the Spaniards^*. Zeal for propagating the Christian faith was the consideration employed by Ferdinand in soliciting this bull, and is mentioned by Alex­ander as his chief motive for issuing it. In order to manifest some concern for this laudable object, several friars, under the direction of Father Boyl, a Catalonian monk of great reputation, as aposto­lical vicar, were appointed to accompany Colum­bus, and to devote themselves to the instruction of the natives. The Indians, whom Columbus had brought along with him, having received some tincture of Christian knowledge, were baptized with much solemnity, the king himself, the prince his son, and the chief persons of his court, standing as their godfathers. Those first fruits of the New World have not been followed by such an increase as pious men wished, and had reason to expect.

Second voyage of Columbus.FERDINAND and Isabella having thus acquired a title, which was then deemed completely valid, to extend their discoveries and to establish their dominion over such a considerable portion of the globe, nothing now retarded the departure of the fleet. Columbus was extremely impatient to re­visit the colony which he had left, and to pursue that career of glory upon which he had entered. He set sail from the bay of Cadiz on the twenty-fifth [Page 149] of September, and touching again at the island of Gomera, he steered farther towards the south than in his former voyage. By holding this course, he enjoyed more steadily the benefit of the regu­lar winds, which reign within the tropics, and was carried towards a large cluster of islands, situated considerably to the east of those which he had al­ready discovered.Nov. 2. On the twenty-sixth day after his departure from Gomera, he made land^*. It was one of the Caribbee or Leeward islands, to which he gave the name of Deseada, on account of the impatience of his crew to discover some part of the New World. After this he visited succes­sively Dominica, Marigalante, Guadaloupe, Antigua, San Juan de Puerto Rico, and several other islands, scattered in his way as he advanced towards the north-west. All these he found to be inhabited by that fierce race of people whom Guacanahari had painted in such frightful colours. His descriptions appeared not to have been exaggerated. The Spaniards never attempted to land without meeting with such a reception, as discovered the martial and daring spirit of the natives; and in their ha­bitations were found relics of those horrid feasts which they had made upon the bodies of their ene­mies taken in war.

BUT as Columbus was eager to know the state of the colony which he had planted,Arrives at Hispaniola Nov. 22. and to supply it with the necessaries of which he supposed it to be in want, he made no stay in any of those islands, and proceeded directly to Hispaniola^†. When he arrived off Navidad, the station in which he had left the thirty-eight men under the com­mand of Arada, he was astonished that none of them appeared, and expected every moment to see [Page 150] them running with transports of joy to welcome [...] countrymen. Full of solicitude about their safety, and foreboding in his mind what had be­fallen them, he rowed instantly to l [...]d. All the natives from whom he might have received infor­mation had fled. But the fort which he had built was entirely demolished, and the tattered garments, the broken arms and utensils scattered about it, left no room to doubt concerning the unhappy fate of the garrison ^*. While the Spaniards were shedding tears over those sad memorials of their fellow-citi­zens, a brother of the cazique Guacanahari arrived. From him Columbus received a particular detail of what had happened after his departure from the island.The fate of the men whom he left there The familiar intercourse of the Indians with the Spaniards tended gradually to diminish the superstitious veneration with which their first ap­pearance had inspired that simple people. By their own indiscretion and ill conduct, the Spaniards speedily effaced those favourable impressions, and soon convinced the natives, that they had all the wants, and weaknesses, and passions of men. As soon as the powerful restraint which the presence and authority of Columbus imposed was withdrawn, the garrison threw off all regard for the officer whom he had invested with command. Regardless of the prudent instructions which he had given them, every man became independent, and gra­tified his desires without control. The gold, the women, the provisions of the natives, were all the prey of those licentious oppressors. They roamed in small parties over the island, extending their ra­pacity and insolence to every corner of it. Gentle and timid as the people were, those unprovoked injuries at length exhausted their patience, and rouzed their courage. The cazique of Cibao, [Page 151] whose country the Spaniards chiefly infested on account of the gold which it contained, surprised and cut off several of them, while they straggled in as perfect security as if their conduct had been al­together inoffensive. He then assembled his sub­jects, and surrounding the fort, set it on fire. Some of the Spaniards were killed in defending it, the rest perished in attempting to make their escape by crossing an arm of the sea. Guacanahari, whom all their exactions had not alienated from the Spa­niards, took arms in their behalf, and, in endeavour­ing to protect them, had received a wound, by which he was still confined ^*.

His prudent conduct.THOUGH this account was far from removing the suspicions which the Spaniards entertained with re­spect to the fidelity of Guacanahari, Columbus per­ceived so clearly that this was not a proper juncture for inquiring into his conduct with scrupulous ac­curacy, that he rejected the advice of several of his officers, who urged him to seize the person of that prince, and to revenge the death of their country­men by attacking his subjects. He represented to them the necessity of securing the friendship of some potentate of the country, in order to facilitate the settlement which they intended, and the danger of driving the natives to unite in some desperate attempt against them, by such an ill-timed and un­availing exercise of rigour. Instead of wasting his time in punishing past wrongs, he took precautions for preventing any future injury. With this view he made choice of a situation more healthy and commodious than that of Navidad. He traced out the plan of a town in a large plain near a spa­cious bay, and obliging every person to put his hand to work on which their common safety de­pended, [Page 152] the houses and ramparts were soon so far advanced by their united labour, as to afford them shelter and security. This rising city, the first that the Europeans founded in the New World, he named Isabella, in honour of his patroness the queen of Castile ^*.

Discontent of his fol­lowers.IN carrying on this necessary work, Columbus had not only to sustain all the hardships, and to en­counter all the difficulties, to which infant colonies are exposed when they settle in an uncultivated country, but he had to contend with what was more insuperable, the laziness, the impatience, and mutinous disposition of his followers. By the enervating influence of a hot climate, the natural in­activity of the Spaniards seemed to increase. Many of them were gentlemen, unaccustomed to the fa­tigue of bodily labour, and all had engaged in the enterprise with the sanguine hopes excited by the splendid and exaggerated description of their coun­trymen who returned from the first voyage, or by the mistaken opinion of Columbus, that the country which he had discovered was either the Cipango of Marco Polo, or the Ophir^†, from which Solomon imported those precious commodities which sud­denly diffused such extraordinary riches through his kingdom. But when, instead of that golden harvest which they had expected to reap without toil or pains, the Spaniards saw that their prospect of wealth was remote as well as uncertain, and that it could not be attained but by the slow and persever­ing efforts of industry, the disappointment of those chimerical hopes occasioned such dejection of mind as bordered on despair, and led to general discon­tent. In vain did Columbus endeavour to revive their spirits, by pointing out the fertility of the soil, [Page 153] and exhibiting the specimens of gold daily brought in from different parts of the island. They had not patience to wait for the gradual returns which the former might yield, and the latter they de­spised as scanty and inconsiderable. The spirit of disaffection spread, and a conspiracy was formed, which might have been fatal to Columbus and the colony. Happily he discovered it, and seizing the ringleaders, punished some of them, sent others prisoners into Spain, whither he dispatched twelve of the ships which had served as transports, with an earnest request for a reinforcement of men and a large supply of provisions.^*

MEANWHILE,1494. Examines into the state of the coun­try. in order to banish that idleness which, by allowing his people leisure to brood over their disappointments, nourished the spirit of dis­content, Columbus planned several expeditions into the interior parts of the country. He sent a de­tachment, under the command of Alonso de Ojeda, a vigilant and enterprising officer, to visit the di­strict of Cibao, which was said to yield the greatest quantity of gold, and followed him in person with the main body of his troops. In this expedition,March 12. he displayed all the pomp of military magnificence that he could exhibit, in order to strike the ima­gination of the natives. He marched with colours flying, with martial music, and with a small body of cavalry that paraded sometimes in the front, and sometimes in the rear. As those were the first horses which appeared in the New World, they were objects of terror no less than of admiration to the Indians, who having no tame animals them­selves, were unacquainted with that vast accession of power, which man hath acquired by subjecting them to his dominion. They supposed them to be rational creatures. They imagined that the horse [Page 154] and the rider formed one animal, with whose speed they were astonished, and whose impetuosity and strength they considered as irresistible. But while Columbus endeavoured to inspire the natives with a dread of his power, he did not neglect the arts of gaining their love and confidence. He ad­hered scrupulously to the principles of integrity and justice in all his transactions with them, and treated them on every occasion, not only with humanity, but with indulgence. The district of Cibao an­swered the description given of it by the natives. It was mountainous and uncultivated, but in every river and brook gold was gathered either in dust or in grains, some of which were of considerable size. The Indians had never opened any mines in search of gold. To penetrate into the bowels of the earth, and to refine the rude ore, were opera­tions too complicated and laborious for their talents and industry, and they had no such high value for gold as to put their ingenuity and invention upon the stretch in order to obtain it^*. The small quan­tity of that precious metal which they possessed, was either picked up in the beds of the rivers, or washed from the mountains by the heavy rains that fall within the tropics. But, from those indica­tions, the Spaniards could no longer doubt that the country contained rich treasures in its bowels, of which they hoped soon to be masters^†. In order to secure the command of this valuable province, Columbus erected a small fort to which he gave the name of St. Thomas, by way of ridicule upon some of his incredulous followers, who would not believe that the country produced gold, until they saw it with their own eyes, and touched it with their hands^‡.

[Page 155]THE account of those promising appearances of wealth in the country of Cibao came very season­ably to comfort the desponding colony, which was affected with distresses of various kinds.The distress and disaf­fection of the colony increase. The stock of provisions which had been brought from Europe was mostly consumed; what remained was so much corrupted by the heat and moisture of the climate, as to be almost unfit for use; the natives cultivated so small a portion of ground, and with so little skill, that it hardly yielded what was suffi­cient for their own subsistence; the Spaniards at Isabella had hitherto neither time nor leisure to clear the soil, so as to reap any considerable fruits of their own industry. On all these accounts, they became afraid of perishing with hunger, and were reduced already to a scanty allowance. At the same time, the diseases predominant in the torrid zone, and which rage chiefly in those uncultivated countries, where the hand of industry has not open­ed the woods, drained the marshes, and confined the rivers within a certain channel, began to spread among them. Alarmed at the violence and un­usual symptoms of those maladies, they exclaimed against Columbus and his companions in the for­mer voyage, who, by their splendid but deceitful descriptions of Hispaniola, had allured them to quit Spain for a barbarous uncultivated land, where they must either be cut off by famine, or die of unknown distempers. Several of the officers and persons of note, instead of checking, joined in those seditious complaints. Father Boyl, the apostolical vicar, was one of the most turbulent and outrage­ous. It required all the authority and address of Columbus to re-establish subordination and tran­quility in the colony. Threats and promises were alternately employed for this purpose; but nothing contributed more to sooth the malcontents, than the prospect of finding, in the mines of Cibao, such [Page 156] a rich store of treasure as would be a recompence for all their sufferings, and efface the memory of former disappointments.

Columbus attempts new discoveries.WHEN, by his unwearied endeavours, concord and order were so far restored, that he could ven­ture to leave the island, Columbus resolved to pur­sue his discoveries, that he might be able to ascer­tain whether those new countries with which he had opened a communication were connected with any region of the earth already known, or whe­ther they were to be considered as a separate por­tion of the globe hitherto unvisited. He appointed his brother Don Diego, with the assistance of a council of officers, to govern the island in his ab­sence; and gave the command of a body of soldiers to Don Pedro Margarita, with which he was to visit the different parts of the island and endeavour to establish the authority of the Spaniards among the inhabitants. Having left them very particu­lar instructions with respect to their conduct, he weighed anchor on the twenty-fourth of April, with one ship and two small barks under his com­mand. During a tedious voyage of full five months, he had a trial of almost all the numerous hardships to which persons of his profession are ex­posed, without making any discovery of importance, except the island of Jamaica. As he ranged along the southern coast of Cuba ^*, he was entangled in a labyrinth formed by an incredible number of small islands, to which he gave the name of the Queen's Garden. In this unknown course, among rocks and shelves, he was retarded by contrary winds, assaulted with furious storms, and alarmed with the terrible thunder and lightning which is often almost incessant between the tropics. At length his provisions fell short; his crew, exhausted [Page 157] with fatigue as well as hunger, murmured and threatened, and were ready to proceed to the most desperate extremities against him. Beset with dan­ger in such various forms, he was obliged to keep continual watch, to observe every occurrence with his own eyes, to issue every order, and to superin­tend the execution of it. On no occasion, was the extent of his skill and experience as a navigator so much tried. To these the squadron owed its safety. But this unremitted fatigue of body, and intense application of mind, overpowering his constitution, though naturally vigorous and robust, brought on a feverish disorder, which terminated in a lethargy, that deprived him of sense and memory, and had almost proved fatal to his life ^*.

BUT, on his return to Hispaniola,Sept. 27. On his re­turn, finds his brother Bartholo­mew at Isabella. the sudden emotion of joy which he felt upon meeting with his brother Bartholomew at Isabella, occasioned such a flow of spirits as contributed greatly to his recovery. It was now thirteen years since the two brothers, whom similarity of talents united in close friendship, had separated from each other, and du­ring that long period there had been no intercourse between them. Bartholomew, after finishing his negociation in the court of England, had set out for Spain by the way of France. At Paris he re­ceived an account of the extraordinary discoveries which his brother had made in his first voyage, and that he was then preparing to embark on a second expedition. Though this naturally induced him to pursue his journey with the utmost dispatch, the admiral had sailed for Hispaniola before he reached Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella received him with the respect due to the nearest kinsman of a person whose merit and services rendered him so conspi­cuous; [Page 158] and as they knew what consolation his pre­sence would afford to his brother, they persuaded him to take the command of three ships, which they had appointed to carry provisions to the co­lony at Isabella ^*.

The Indi­ans take arms a­gainst the [...].HE could not have arrived at any juncture when Columbus stood more in need of a friend capable of assisting him with his counsels, or of dividing with him the cares and burden of government. For although the provisions now brought from Europe, afforded a temporary relief to the Spani­ards from the calamities of famine, the supply was not in such quantity as to support them long, and the island did not hitherto yield what was sufficient for their sustenance. They were threatened with another danger, still more formidable than the re­turn of scarcity, and which demanded more imme­diate attention. No sooner did Columbus leave the island on his voyage of discovery, than the soldiers under Margarita, as if they had been set free from discipline and subordination, scorned all restraint. Instead of conforming to the prudent instructions of Columbus, they dispersed in straggling parties over the island, lived at discretion upon the natives, wasted their provisions, seized their women, and treated that inoffensive race with all the insolence of military oppression^†.

AS long as the Indians had any prospect that their sufferings might come to a period by the vo­luntary departure of the invaders, they submitted in silence, and dissembled their sorrow; but they now perceived that the yoke would be as permanent as it was intolerable. The Spaniards had built a town, and surrounded it with ramparts. They had erected sorts in different places. They had [Page 159] enclosed and sown several fields. It was apparent that they came not to visit the country, but to set­tle in it. Though the number of those strangers was inconsiderable, the state of cultivation among this rude people was so imperfect, and in such exact proportion to their own consumption, that it was with difficulty they could afford subsistence to their new guests. Their own mode of life was so indolent and inactive, the warmth of the climate so enervating, the constitution of their bodies naturally so feeble, and so unaccustomed to the laborious exertions of industry, that they were satisfied with a proportion of food amazingly small. A handful of maize, or a little of the insipid bread made of the cassada-root, was sufficient to support men, whose strength and spirits were not exhausted by any vigorous efforts either of body or mind. The Spaniards, though the most abstemious of all the European nations, appeared to them excessively voracious. One Spaniard consumed as much as several Indians. This keenness of appetite surprised them so much, and seemed to be so infatiable, that they supposed the Spaniards had left their own country, because it did not produce as much as was requisite to gra­tify their immoderate desire of food, and had come among them in quest of nourishment^*. Self-pre­servation prompted them to wish for the departure of guests who wasted so fast their slender stock of provisions. The injuries which they suffered, ad­ded to their impatience for this event. They had long expected that the Spaniards would retire of their own accord. They now perceived that, in order to avert the destruction with which they were threatened, either by the slow consumption of fa­mine, or by the violence of their oppressors, it was necessary to assume courage to attack those formi­dable [Page 160] invaders with united force, and drive them from the settlements of which they had violently taken possession.

War with them.SUCH were the sentiments which universally pre­vailed among the Indians, when Columbus re­turned to Isabella. Inflamed by the unprovoked outrages of the Spaniards, with a degree of rage of which their gentle natures, formed to suffer and submit, seemed hardly susceptible, they waited only for a signal from their leaders to fall upon the co­lony. Some of the caziques had already surprised and cut off several stragglers. The dread of this impending danger united the Spaniards, and re­established the authority of Columbus, as they saw no prospect of safety but in committing themselves to his prudent guidance. It was now necessary to have recourse to arms, the employing of which against the Indians, Columbus had hitherto avoided with the greatest solicitude. Unequal as the con­flict may seem, between the naked inhabitants of the New World, armed with clubs, sticks hard­ened in the fire, wooden swords, and arrows pointed with bones or flints; and troops accustomed to the discipline, and provided with the instruments of destruction known in the European art of war, the situation of the Spaniards was far from being exempt from danger. The vast superiority of the natives in number, compensated many defects. An hand­ful of men was about to encounter a whole nation. One adverse event, or even any unforeseen delay in determining the fate of the war, might prove fatal to the Spaniards. Conscious that success de­pended on the vigour and rapidity of his operations, Columbus instantly assembled his forces. They were reduced to a very small number. Diseases, engendered by the warmth and humidity of the country, or occasioned by their own licentiousness, had raged among them with much violence; ex­perience [Page 161] had not yet taught them the art either of curing these, or the precautions requisite for guard­ing against them;1495. two-thirds of the original ad­venturers wer [...] [...]d, and many of those who survived were [...]pable of service^*.March 24. The body which took the held consisted only of two hundred foot, twenty horse, and twenty large dogs; and how strange soever it may seem, to mention the last as composing a part of the military force, they were not perhaps the least formidable and destructive of the whole, when employed against naked and timid Indians. All the caziques of the island, Guacahanari excepted, who retained an inviolable attachment to the Spaniards, were in arms to oppose Columbus, with forces amounting, if we may believe the Spa­nish historians, to a hundred thousand men. In­stead of attempting to draw the Spaniards into the fastnesses of the woods and mountains, they were so imprudent as to take their station in the Vega Real, the most open plain in the country. Columbus did not allow them time to perceive their error, or to alter their position. He attacked them during the night, when undisciplined troops are least capable of acting with union and concert, and obtained an easy and bloodless victory. The consternation with which the Indians were filled by the noise and havock made by the fire-arms, by the impe­tuous force of the cavalry, and the fierce onset of the dogs, was so great, that they threw down their weapons, and fled without attempting resistance. Many were slain; more were taken prisoners, and reduced to servitude^†; and so thoroughly were the rest intimidated, that from that moment they abandoned themselves to despair, relinquishing all thoughts of contending with aggressors whom they deemed invincible.

[Page 162]COLUMBUS employed several months in march­ing through the island, and in subjecting it to the Spanish government, without meeting with any opposition.A tax im­posed upon them. He imposed a tribute upon all the inhabitants above the age of fourteen. Each per­son who lived in those districts where gold was found, was obliged to pay quarterly as much gold dust as filled a hawk's bell; from those in other parts of the country, twenty-five pounds of cotton were demanded. This was the first regular taxa­tion of the Indians, and served as a precedent for exactions still more intolerable. Such an imposi­tion was extremely contrary to those maxims which Columbus had hitherto inculcated, with respect to the mode of treating them. But intrigues were carrying on in the court of Spain at this juncture, in order to undetermine his power, and discredit his operations, which constrained him to depart from his own system of administration. Several unfa­vourable accounts of his conduct, as well as of the countries discovered by him, had been transmitted to Spain. Margarita and Father Boyl were now at court; and in order to justify their own conduct, or to gratify their resentment, watched with male­volent attention for every opportunity of spreading insinuations to his detriment. Many of the cour­tiers viewed his growing reputation and power with envious eyes. Fonseca, archdeacon of Seville, who was entrusted with the chief direction of In­dian affairs, had conceived such an unfavourable opinion of Columbus, for some reason which the contemporary writers have not mentioned, that he listened with partiality to every invective against him. It was not easy for an unfriended stranger, unpractised in courtly arts, to counteract the ma­chinations of so many enemies. Columbus saw that there was but one method of supporting his own credit, and of silencing all his adversaries. He [Page 163] must produce such a quantity of gold as would not only justify what he had reported with respect to the richness of the country, but encourage Fer­dinand and Isabella to persevere in prosecuting his plans. The necessary of obtaining it, forced him not only to impose this [...] tax upon the In­dians, but to exact payment of it with extreme ri­gour; and may be pleaded in excuse for his de­viating on this occasion from the mildness and humanity with which he uniformly treated that un­happy people^*.

THE labour, attention and foresight,Fatal ef­fects of that mea­sure. which the Indians were obliged to employ in procuring the tribute demanded of them, appeared the most in­tolerable of all evils, to men accustomed to pass their days in a careless, improvident indolence. They were incapable of such a regular and perse­vering exertion of industry, and felt it such a grie­vous restraint upon their liberty, that they had recourse to an expedient for obtaining deliverance from this yoke, which demonstrates the excess of their impatience and despair. They formed a scheme of starving those oppressors whom they durst not attempt to expel; and from the opinion which they entertained with respect to the vora­cious appetite of the Spaniards, they concluded the execution of it to be very practicable. With this view they suspended all the operations of agriculture; they sowed no maize, they pulled up the roots of the manioc or cassada which were planted, and re­tiring to the most inaccessible parts of the moun­tains, left the uncultivated plains to their enemies. This desperate resolution produced in some degree the effects which they expected. The Spaniards were reduced to extreme want; but they received such seasonable supplies of provisions from Europe, [Page 164] and found so many resources in their own ingenuity and industry, that they suffered no great loss of men. The wretched Indians were the victims of their own ill-concerted policy. A great multitude of people, shut up in the mountainous or wooded part of the country, without any food but the spon­taneous productions of the earth, soon felt the ut­most distresses of famine. This brought on conta­gious diseases; and, in the course of a few months, more than a third part of the inhabitants of the island perished, after experiencing misery in all its various forms^*.

Intrigues against Co­lumbus in the court of Spain.BUT while Columbus was establishing the found­ations of the Spanish grandeur in the New World, his enemies laboured with unwearied assiduity to deprive him of the glory and rewards, which by his services and sufferings he was entitled to enjoy. The hardships unavoidable in a new settlement, the calamities occasined by an unhealthy climate, the disasters attending a voyage in unknown seas, were all represented as the effects of his restless and inconsiderate ambition. His prudent attention to preserve discipline and subordination was deno­minated excess of rigour; the punishments which he inflicted upon the mutinous and disorderly were imputed to cruelty. These accusations gained such credit in a jealous court, that a commissioner was appointed to repair to Hispaniola, and to inspect into the conduct of Columbus. By the recom­mendation of his enemies, Aguado, a groom of the bed-chamber, was the person to whom this import­ant trust was committed. But in this choice they seem to have been more influenced by the obse­quious attachment of the man to their interest, [Page 165] than by his capacity for the station. Puffed up with such sudden elevation, Aguado displayed, in the exercise of this office, all the frivolous self-importance, and acted with all the disgusting inso­ [...] [...] are natural to little minds, when raised [...] [...]pected dignity, or employed in functions to which they are not equal. By listening with eagerness to every accusation against Columbus, and encouraging not only the malcontent Spa­niards, but even the Indians, to produce their grie­vances, real or imaginary, he fomented the spirit of dissension in the island, without establishing any re­gulation of public utility, or that tended to redress the many wrongs, with the odium of which he wished to load the admiral's administration. As Columbus felt sensibly how humiliating his situa­tion must be, if he should remain in the country while such a partial inspector observed his motions, and controlled his jurisdiction, he took the resolu­tion of returning to Spain,1496. in order to lay a full account of all his transactions, particularly with re­spect to the points in dispute between him and his adversaries, before Ferdinand and Isabella, from whose justice and discernment he expected an equal and a favourable decision. He committed the ad­ministration of affairs, during his absence, to Don Bartholomew his brother, with the title of Adelan­tado, or Lieutenant Governor. By a choice less fortunate, and which proved the source of many calamities to the colony, he appointed Francis Roldan chief justice, with very extensive powers^*.

IN returning to Europe,Returns to Spain. Columbus held a course different from that which he had taken in his for­mer voyage. He steered almost due east from Hispaniola, in the parallel of twenty-two degrees of latitude; as experience had not yet discovered [Page 166] the more certain and expeditious method of stretch­ing to the north, in order to fall in with the south­west winds. By this ill-advised choice, which, in the infancy of navigation between the New and Old Worlds, can hardly be imputed to the admi­ral as a defect in naval skill, he was exposed to in­finite fatigue and danger, in a perpetual struggle with the trade-winds, which blow without varia­tion from the east between the tropics. Notwith­standing the almost insuperable difficulties of such a navigation, he persisted in his course with his usual patience and firmness, but made so little way, that he was three months without seeing land. At length his provisions began to fail, the crew was reduced to the scanty allowance of six ounces of bread a-day for each peson. The admiral fared no better than the meanest sailor. But, even in this extreme distress, he retained the humanity which distinguishes his character, and refused to comply with the earnest solicitations of his crew, some of whom proposed to feed upon the Indian prisoners whom [...] were carrying over, and others insisted to throw them over-board, in order to lessen the consumption of their small stock. He represented that they were human beings, reduced by a common calamity to the same condition with themselves, and entitled to share an equal fate. His authority and remonstrances dissipated those wild ideas suggested by despair. Nor had they time to recur, as he came soon within sight of the coast of Spain, when all their fears and sufferings en­ded^*.

His [...].COLUMBUS appeared at court with the modest but determined confidence of a man conscious not only of integrity, but of having performed great services. Ferdinand and Isabella, ashamed of their [Page 167] own facility in lending too favourable an ear to fri­volous or ill-founded accusations, received him with such distinguished marks of respect as co­vered his enemies with shame. Their censures and calumnies were no more heard of at that juncture. The gold, the pearls, the cotton, and other com­modities of value which Columbus produced, seemed fully to refute what the malcontents had propagated with respect to the poverty of the country. By reducing the Indians to obedience, and imposing a regular tax upon them, he had se­cured to Spain a large accession of new subjects, and the establishment of a revenue that promised to be considerable. By the mines which he had found out and examined, a source of wealth still more copious was opened. Great and unexpected as those advantages were, Columbus represented them only as preludes to future acquisitions, and as the earnest of more important discoveries, which he still meditated, and to which those he had al­ready made would conduct him with ease and cer­tainty^*.

THE attentive consideration of all these circum­stances made such impression,A plan for­med for the more regu­lar esta­blishment of a colony not only upon Isa­bella, who was flattered with the idea of being the patroness of all Columbus's enterprises, but even upon Ferdinand, who, having originally expressed his disapprobation of his schemes, was still apt to doubt of their success, that they resolved to supply the colony in Hispaniola with every thing which could [...] it a permanent establishment, and to furnish Columbus with such a fleet, that he might proceed to search for those new countries, of whose existence he seemed to be confident. The measures most proper for accomplishing both these de­signs were concerted with Columbus. Discovery [Page 168] had been the sole object of the first voyage to the New World; and though, in the second, settle­ment had been proposed, the precautions taken for that purpose had either been insufficient, or were rendered ineffectual by the mutinous spirit of the Spaniards, and the unforeseen calamities arising from various causes. Now a plan was to be formed of a regular colony, that might serve as a model in all future establishments. Every particular was considered with attention, and the whole arranged with a scrupulous accuracy. The precise number of adventurers who should be permitted to embark was fixed. They were to be of different ranks and professions; and the proportion of each was established, according to their usefulness and the wants of the colony. A suitable number of wo­men was to be chosen to accompany these new settlers. As it was the first object to raise provi­sions in a country where scarcity of food had been the occasion of so much distress, a considerable body of husbandmen was to be carried over. As the Spaniards had then no conception of deriving any benefit from those productions of the New World which have since yielded such large returns of wealth to Europe, but had formed magnificent ideas, and entertained sanguine hopes with respect to the riches contained in the mines which had been discovered, a band of workmen, skilled in the various arts employed in digging and refining the precious metals, was provided. All these emi­grants were to receive pay and subsistence for some years, at the public expence^*.

A defect in it.THUS far the regulations were prudent, and well adapted to the end in view. But as it was foreseen that few would engage voluntarily to settle in a country, whose noxious climate had been fatal [Page 169] to so many of their countrymen. Columbus pro­posed to transport to Hispaniola such malefactors as had been convicted of crimes, which, though capital, were of a less atrocious nature; and that for the future a certain proportion of the offenders usually sent to the gallies, should be condemned to labour in the mines which were to be opened. This advice, given without due reflection, was as inconsiderately adopted. The prisons of Spain were drained, in order to collect members for the intended colony; and the judges empowered to try criminals, were instructed to recruit it by their fu­ture sentences. It is not, however, with such ma­terials that the foundations of a society, destined to be permanent, should be laid. Industry, so­briety, patience, and mutual confidence are indis­pensably requisite in an infant settlement, where purity of morals must contribute more towards establishing order, than the operation or authority of laws. But when such a mixture of what is cor­rupt is admitted into the original constitution of the political body, the vices of those unsound and incurable members will probably infect the whole, and must certainly be productive of violent and unhappy effects. This the Spaniards fatally expe­rienced; and the other European nations having successively imitated the practice of Spain in this particular, pernicious consequences have followed in their settlements, which can be imputed to no other cause^*.

THOUGH Columbus obtained,Executed slowly. with great faci­lity and dispatch, the royal approbation of every measure and regulation that he proposed, his endea­vours to carry them into execution were so long retarded, as must have tired out the patience of [Page 170] any man, less accustomed to encounter and to sur­mount difficulties. Those delays were occasioned partly by that tedious formality and spirit of pro­crastination, with which the Spaniards conduct business; and partly by the exhausted state of the treasury, which was drained by the expence of celebrating the marriage of Ferdinand and Isa­bella's only son with Margaret of Austria, and that of Joanna, their second daughter, with Philip archduke of Austria^*; but must be chiefly im­puted to the malicious arts of Columbus's enemies. Astonished at the reception which he met with upon his return, and ov [...]rawed by his presence, they gave way, for some time, to a tide of favour too strong for them to oppose. Their enmi [...] however, was too inveterate to remain long in­active. They resumed their operations, and by the assistance of Fonseca, the minister for Indian affairs, who was now promoted to the bishopric of Badajos, they threw in so many obstacles to pro­tract the preparations for Columbus's expedition, that a year elapsed before he^† could procure two ships to carry over a part of the supplies destined for the colony, and almost two years were spent before the small squadron was equipped, of which he himself was to take the command^‡.

1498. Third voy­age of Co­lumbus.THIS squadron consisted of six ships only, of no great burden, and but indifferently provided for a long or dangerous navigation. The voyage which he now meditated was in a course different from any he had undertaken. As he was fully persuaded that the fertile regions of India lay to the south-west of those countries which he had discovered, he proposed as the most certain me­thod of finding out these, to stand directly south [Page 171] from the Canary or Cape de Verd islands, until he came under the equinoctial line, and then to stretch to the west before the favourable wind for such a course, which blows invariably between the tro­pics. With this idea he set sail,May 30. and touched first at the Canary, and then at the Cape de Verd islands.July 4. From the former he dispatched three of his ships with a supply of provisions for the colony in Hispaniola: with the other three, he continued his voyage towards the south. No remarkable oc­currence happened until they arrived within five degrees of the line. There they were becalmed,July 19 and at the same time the heat became so excessive, that many of their wine casks burst, the liquor in others soured, and their provisions corrupted^*. The Spaniards, who had never ventured so far to the south, were afraid that the ships would take fire, and began to apprehend the reality of what the ancients had taught concerning the destructive qualities of that torrid region of the globe. They were relieved, in some measure, from their fears by a seasonable fall of rain. This, however, though so heavy and unintermitting that the men could hardly keep the deck, did not greatly mitigate the intenseness of the heat. The admiral, who with his usual vigilance had in person directed every operation from the beginning of the voyage, was so much exhausted by fatigue and want of sleep, that it brought on a violent fit of the gout, accom­panied with a fever. All these circumstances con­strained him to yield to the importunities of his crew, and to alter his course to the north-west, in order to reach some of the Caribbee islands, where he might resit, and be supplied with provisions.Discovers the conti­nent of A­merica.

ON the first of August, the man stationed in the round top surprised them with the joyful cry [Page 172] of land. They stood towards it, and discovered a considerable island, which the admiral called Tri­nidad, a name it still retains. It lies on the coast of Guiana, near the mouth of the Orinoco. This, though a river only of the third or fourth magni­tude in the New World, far surpasses any of the streams in our hemisphere. It rolls towards the ocean such a vast body of water, and rushes into it with such impetuous force, that when it meets the tide, which on that coast rises to an uncommon height, their collision occasions a swell and agita­tion of the waves no less surprising than formida­ble. In this conflict, the irresistible torrent of the river so far prevails, that it freshens the ocean many leagues with its flood^*. Columbus, before he could perceive the danger, was entangled among those adverse currents and tempestuous waves, and it was with the utmost difficulty that he escaped through a narrow strait, which appeared so tre­mendous, that he called it La Boca del Drago. As soon as the consternation which this occasioned, permitted him to reflect upon the nature of an ap­pearance so extraordinary, he discerned in it a source of comfort and hope. He justly concluded, that such a vast body of water as this river con­tained, could not be supplied by any island, but must flow through a country of immense extent, and of consequence that he was now arrived at that continent which it had long been the object of his wishes to discover. Full of this idea, he stood to the west along the coast of those provinces which are now known by the names of Paria and Cumana. He landed in several places, and had some intercourse with the people, who resembled those of Hispaniola in their appearance and manner of life. They wore, as ornaments, small plates of [Page 173] gold, and pearls of considerable value, which they willingly exchanged for European toys. They seemed to possess a better understanding, and greater courage than the inhabitants of the islands. The country produced four-footed animals of se­veral kinds, as well as a great variety of fowls and fruits^*. The admiral was so much delighted with its beauty and fertility, that with the warm enthu­siasm of a discoverer, he imagined it to be the paradise described in Scripture; which the Al­mighty chose for the residence of man, while he retained innocence that rendered him worthy of such an habitation^†. Thus Columb [...] [...] the glory not only of discovering to mankind the existence of a New World, but made considerable progress towards a perfect knowledge of it; and was the first man who conducted the Spaniards to that vast continent which has been the chief seat of their empire, and the source of their treasures in this quarter of the globe. The shattered condition of his ships, scarcity of provisions, his own infirmi­ties, together with the impatience of his crew, prevented him from pursuing his discoveries any farther, and made it necessary to bear away for His­paniola. In his way thither he discovered the islands of Cubagua and Margarita, which after­wards became remarkable for their pearl-fishery. When he arrived at Hispaniola,Aug 30. he was wasted to an extreme degree with fatigue and sickness; but found the affairs of the colony in such a situation, as afforded him no prospect of enjoying that re­pose of which he stood so much in need.

MANY revolutions had happened in that coun­try during his absence.State of Hispaniola [...] ri­val there. His brother the adelan­tado, [Page 174] in consequence of an advice which the ad­miral gave before his departure, had removed the colony from Isabella to a more commodious station, on the opposite side of the island, and laid the foundation of St. Domingo^*, which was long the most considerable European town in the New World, and the seat of the supreme court in the Spanish dominions there. As soon as the Spa­niards were established in this new settlement, the adelantado, that they might neither languish in in­activity, nor have leisure to form new cabals, marched into those parts of the island which his brother had not yet visited or reduced to obedi­ence. As the people were unable to resist, they submitted every where to the tribute which he imposed. But they soon found the burden to be so intolerable, that, overawed as they were by the superior power of their oppressors, they took arms against them. Those insurrections, how­ever, were not formidable. A conflict with timid and naked Indians was neither dangerous nor of doubtful issue.

Mutiny of Roldan.BUT while the adelantado was employed against them in the field, a mutiny, of an aspect far more alarming, broke out among the Spaniards. The ringleader of it was Francis Roldan, whom Co­lumbus had placed in a station which required him to be the guardian of order and tranquility in the colony. A turbulent and inconsiderate ambition precipitated him into this desperate measure, so unbecoming his rank. The arguments which he employed to seduce his countrymen were frivolous and ill-founded. He accused Columbus and his two brothers of arrogance and severity; he pre­tended that they aimed at the establishing an inde­pendent dominion in the country; he taxed them [Page 175] with an intention of cutting off part of the Spaniards by hunger and fatigue, that they might more easily reduce the remainder to subjection; he represented it as unworthy of Castilians, to remain the tame and passive slaves of three Genoese adventurers. As men have always a propensity to impute the hardships of which they feel the pressure, to the misconduct of their rulers; as every nation views with a jealous eye the power and exaltation of fo­reigners, Roldan's insinuations made a deep im­pression on his countrymen. His character and rank added weight to them. A considerable num­ber of the Spaniards made choice of him as their leader, and taking arms against the adelantado and his brother, seized the king's magazine of provisi­ons, and endeavoured to surprise the fort at St. Domingo. This was preserved by the vigilance and courage of Don Diego Columbus. The mu­tineers were obliged to retire to the province of Xaragua, where they continued not only to disclaim the adelantado's authority themselves, but excited the Indians to throw off the yoke^*.

SUCH was the distracted state of the colony when Columbus landed at St Domingo. He was asto­nished to find that the three ships which he had dispatched from the Canaries were not yet arrived. By the unskilfulness of the pilots, and the violence of currents, they had been carried a hundred and sixty miles to the west of St. Domingo, and forced to take shelter in a harbour of the province of Xaragua, where Roldan and his seditious followers were cantoned. Roldan carefully concealed from the commanders of the ships his insurrection against the adelantado, and employing his utmost address to gain their confidence, persuaded them to set on [Page 176] shore a considerable part of the new settlers whom they brought over, that they might proceed by land to St. Domingo. It required but few argu­ments to prevail with those men to espouse his cause. They were the refuse of the jails of Spain, to whom idleness, licentiousness, and deeds of violence were familiar; and they returned eagerly to a course of life nearly resembling that to which they had been accustomed. The commanders of the ships perceiving, when it was too late, their imprudence in disembarking so many of their men, stood away for St. Domingo, and got safe into the port a few days after the admiral; but their stock of provisions was so wasted during a voyage of such long continuance, that they brought little relief to the colony^*.

Composed by the pru­dent con­duct of Co­lumbus.BY this junction with a band of such bold and desperate associates, Roldan became extremely formidable, and no less extravagant in his de­mands. Columbus, though filled with resentment at his ingratitude, and highly exasperated by the insolence of his followers, made no haste to take the field. He trembled at the thoughts of kin­dling the flames of a civil war, in which, whatever party prevailed, the power and strength of both must be so much wasted, as might encourage the common enemy to unite and complete their destruc­tion. At the same time, he observed, that the prejudices and passions which incited the rebels to take arms, had so far infected those who still ad­hered to him, that many of them were adverse, and all cold to the service. From such sentiments, with respect to the public interest, as well as from this view of his own situation, he chose to nego­ciate rather than to fight. By a seasonable procla­mation, offering free pardon to such as should [Page 177] merit it by returning to their duty, he made im­pression upon some of the malcontents. By en­gaging to grant such as should desire it the liberty of returning to Spain, he allured all those unfor­tunate adventurers, who, from sickness and disap­pointment, were disgusted with the country. By promising to re-establish Roldan in his former office, he soothed his pride; and, by complying with most of his demands in behalf of his fol­lowers, he satisfied their avarice. Thus, gradually and without bloodshed, but after many tedious ne­gociations, he disolved this dangerous combination which threatened the colony with ruin; and re­stored the appearance of order, regular govern­ment, and tranquillity^*.

IN consequence of this agreement with the mu­tineers,A new mode of settlement established. lands were allotted them in different parts of the island, and the Indians settled in each district were appointed to cultivate a certain por­tion of ground for the use of those new masters.1499. The performance of this work was substituted in place of the tribute formerly imposed; and how necessary soever such a regulation might be in a sickly and feeble colony, it introduced among the Spaniards the Repartimientos, or distributions of Indians established by them in all their settlements, which brought numberless calamities upon that unhappy people, and subjected them to the most grievous oppression^†. This was not the only bad effect of the insurrection in Hispaniola; it pre­vented Columbus from prosecuting his discoveries on the continent, as self-preservation obliged him to keep near his person his brother the adelantado, and the sailors whom he intended to have em­ployed [Page 178] in that service. As soon as his affairs would permit, he sent some of his ships to Spain with a journal of the voyage which he had made, a description of the new countries which he had discovered, a chart of the coast along which he had sailed, and specimens of the gold, the pearls, and other curious or valuable productions which he had acquired by trafficking with the na­tives. At the same time he transmitted an ac­count of the insurrection in Hispaniola; he ac­ [...]sed the mutineers not only of having thrown the [...]ony into such violent convulsions as threatened its dissolution, but of having obstructed every attempt towards discovery and improvement, by their unprovoked rebellion against their superiors, and proposed several regulations for the better government of the island, as well as the extinction of that mutinous spirit, which, though suppressed at present, might soon burst out with additional rage. Roldon and his associates did not neglect to convey to Spain, by the same ships, an apology for their own conduct together with their recri­minations upon the admiral and his brothers. Un­fortunately for the honour of Spain, and the hap­piness of Columbus, the latter gained most credit in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella, and pro­duced unexpected effects^*.

The [...]age [...] [...]ood Hope.BUT, previous to the relating of these, it is pro­per to take a view of some events, which merit attention, both on account of their own importance, and their connection with the history of the New World. While Columbus was engaged in his suc­ce [...]ive voyages to the west, the spirit of discovery did not languish in Portugal, the kingdom where it f [...]st acquired vigour, and became enterprising. [Page 179] Self-condemnation and regret were not the only sentiments to which the success of Columbus, and reflection upon their own imprudence in rejecting his proposals, gave rise among the Portuguese. They excited a general emulation to surpass his performances, and an ardent desire to make some reparation to their country for their own error. With this view, Emanuel, who inherited the en­terprising genius of his predecessors, persisted in their grand scheme of opening a passage to the East Indies by the Cape of Good Hope, and soon after his accession to the throne, equipped a squa­dron for that important voyage. He gave the command of it to Vasco de Gama, a man of noble birth, possessed of virtue, prudence, and courage, equal to the station. The squadron, like all those fitted out for discovery in the infancy of naviga­tion, was extremely feeble, consisting only of three vessels, of neither burden nor force adequate to the service. As the Europeans were at that time little acquainted with the course of the trade-winds and periodical monsoons, which render navigation in the Atlantic ocean, as well as in the sea that separates Africa from India, at some seasons easy, and at others not only dangerous, but almost impracticable, the time chosen for Gama's departure was the most improper during the whole year. He set sail from Lisbon on the ninth of July, and standing towards:149 [...]. the south, had to struggle for four months with contrary winds, before he could reach the Cape of Good Hope. [...] Here their violence began to abate; and during an interval of calm weather▪ Gama doubled that formidable promontory, which had so long been the boundary of navigation, and directed his course towards the north-east, along the African coast. He touched at several ports; and after various adventures, which the Portuguese Historians relate with high but just encomiums upon [Page 180] his conduct and intrepidity, he came to anchor be­fore the city of Melinda. Throughout all the vast countries which extend along the coast of Africa, from the river Senegal to the confines of Zan­guebar, the Portuguese had found a race of men rude and uncultivated, strangers to letters, to arts, and commerce, and differing from the inhabitants of Europe, no less in their features and complexion, than in their manners and institutions. As they advanced from this, they observed, to their inex­pressible joy, that the human form gradually al­tered and improved; the Asiatic features began to predominate, marks of civilization appeared, letters were known, the Mahometan religion was esta­blished, and a commerce, far from being inconsi­derable, was carried on. At that time several ves­sels from India were in the port of Melinda. Gama now pursued his voyage with almost absolute cer­tainty of success, and under the conduct of a Ma­hometan pilot, arrived at Calecut, upon the coast of Malabar, on the twenty-second of May one thou­sand four hundred and ninety-eight. What he be­held of the wealth, the populousness, the cultiva­tion, the industry and arts of this highly civilized country, far surpassed any idea that he had formed, from the imperfect accounts which the Europeans had hitherto received of it. But as he possessed neither sufficient force to attempt a settlement, nor proper commodities with which he could carry on commerce of any consequence, he hastened back to Portugal, with account of his success in per­forming a voyage, the longest, as well as most dif­ficult, that had ever been made, since the first in­vention of navigation. He landed at Lisbon on the fourteenth of September, on thousand four hundred and ninety-nine, two years two months and five days from the time he left that port^*.

[Page 181]THUS, during the course of the fifteenth cen­tury, mankind made greater progress in exploring the state of the habitable globe, than in all the ages which had elapsed previous to that period. The spirit of discovery, feeble at first and cautious, moved within a very narrow sphere, and made its efforts with hesitation and timidity. Encouraged by success, it became adventurous, and boldly ex­tended its operations. In the course of its progres­sion, it continued to acquire vigour, and advanced at length with a rapidity and force which burst through all the limits within which ignorance and fear had hitherto circumscribed the activity of the human race, Almost fifty years were employed by the Portuguese in creeping along the coast of Africa from Cape Non to Cape de Verd, the latter of which lies only twelve degrees to the south of the former. In less than thirty years they ven­tured beyond the equinoctial line into another hemisphere, and penetrated to the southern ex­tremity of Africa, at the distance of forty-nine de­grees from Cape de Verd. During the last seven years of the century, a New World was discovered in the west, not inferior in extent to all the parts of the earth with which mankind were at that time acquainted. In the east, unknown seas and coun­tries were found out, and a communication, long desired, but hitherto concealed, was opened be­tween Europe and the opulent regions of India. In comparison with events so wonderful and unex­pected, all that had hitherto been deemed great or splendid, faded away and disappeared. Vast ob­jects now presented themselves. The human mind, roused and interested by the prospect, engaged with ardour in pursuit of them, and exerted its active powers in a new direction.

THIS spirit of enterprise, though but newly awakened in Spain, began soon to operate exten­sively. [Page 182] All the attempts towards discovery made in that kingdom, had hitherto been carried on by Columbus alone, and at the expence of the sove­reign.Discoveries carried on in Spain by private ad­venturers. But now private adventurers, allured by the magnificent descriptions he gave of the regions which he had visited, as well as by the specimens of their wealth which he produced, offered to fit out squadrons at their own risque, and to go in quest of new countries. The Spanish court, whose scanty revenues were exhausted by the charge of its expeditions to the New World, which, though they opened alluring prospects of future benefit, yielded a very sparing return of present profit, was extremely willing to devolve the burden of discovery upon its subjects. It seized with joy an opportunity of rendering the avarice, the ingenuity, and efforts of projectors, instrumental in promoting designs of certain advantage to the public,Ojeda the first of th [...]se. though of doubtful success with respect to themselves. One of the first propositions of this kind was made by Alonso de Ojeda, a gallant and active officer, who had accompanied Columbus in his second voyage. His rank and character pro­cured him such credit with the merchants of Se­ville, that they undertook to equip four ships, provided he could obtain the royal licence, autho­rising the voyage. The powerful patronage of the bishop of Badajos easily secured success in a suit so agreeable to the court. Without consulting Co­lumbus, or regarding the rights and jurisdiction which he had acquired by the capitulation in one thousand four hundred and ninety-two, Ojeda was permitted to set out for the New World. In order to direct his course, the bishop communicated to him the admiral's journal of his last voyage, and his charts of the countries which he had dis­covered. [...]y. Ojeda struck out into no new path of navigation, but adhering servilely to the route [Page 183] which Columbus had taken, arrived on the coast of Paria. He traded with the natives, and stand­ing to the west, proceeded as far as Cape de Vela, and ranged along a considerable extent of coast beyond that on which Columbus had touched. Having thus ascertained the opinion of Columbus, that this country was a part of the continent, Ojeda returned by way of Hispaniola to Spain,October. with some reputation as a discoverer, but with little benefit to those who had raised the funds for the expedition.^*

AMERIGO VESPUCCI, a Florentine gentleman,Is accom­panied by Amerigo Vespucci. accompanied Ojeda in this voyage. In what sta­tion he served, is uncertain; but as he was an ex­perienced sailor, and eminently skilful in all the sciences subservient to navigation, he seems to have acquired such authority among his companions, that they willingly allowed him to have a chief share in directing their operations during the voyage. Soon after his return, he transmitted an account of his adventures and discoveries to one of his countrymen; and labouring with the vanity of a traveller to magnify his own exploits, he had the address and confidence to frame his narrative, so as to make it appear that he had the glory of having first discovered the continent in the New World. Amerigo's account was drawn up not only with art, but with some elegance. It con­tained an amusing history of his voyage, and ju­dicious observations upon the natural productions, the inhabitants, and the customs of the countries which he had visited. As it was the first descrip­tion of any part of the New World that was pub­lished, a performance so well calculated to gratify the passion of mankind for what is new and mar­vellous, circulated rapidly, and [...] with ad­miration. [Page 184] The country of which Amerigo was supposed to be the discoverer, came gradually to be called by his name. The caprice of mankind, often as unaccountable as unjust,From whom the name of America is given to the New World. has perpetuated this error. By the universal consent of nations, AMERICA is the name bestowed on this new quar­ter of the globe. The bold pretensions of a for­tunate impostor have robbed the discoverer of the New World of a distinction which belonged to him. The name of Amerigo has supplanted that of Co­lumbus; and mankind may regret an act of injus­tice, which, having received the sanction of time, it is now too late to redress^*.

Voyage of Alonso Nigno.DURING the same year, another voyage of dis­covery was undertaken. Columbus not only in­troduced the spirit of naval enterprise into Spain, but all the first adventurers who distinguished them­selves in this new career, were formed by his in­structions, and acquired in his voyages the skill and information which qualified them to imitate his example. Alonso Nigno, who had served under the admiral in his last expedition, fitted out a single ship, in conjunction with Christopher Guerra, a mer­chant of Seville, and sailed to the coast of Paria. This voyage seems to have been conducted with greater attention to private emolument, than to any general or national object. Nigno and Guerra made no discoveries of any importance; but they brought home such a return of gold and pearls, as enflamed their countrymen with the desire or engaging in similar adventures^†.

1500. January 13. Of Vincent Yanez Pen­zon.SOON after, Vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of the admiral's companions in his first voyage, sailed from Palos with four ships. He stood boldly towards the south, and was the first Spaniard who ventured [Page 185] to cross the equinoctial line; but he seems to have landed on no part of the coast beyond the mouth of the Maragnon, or river of the Amazons. All these navigators adopted the erroneous theory of Co­lumbus, and believed that the countries which they had discovered were part of the vast continent of India^*.

DURING the last year of the fifteenth century,The Portu­guese dis­cover Bra­sil. that fertile district of America, on the confines of which Pinzon had stopt short, was more fully dis­covered, The successful voyage of Gama to the East Indies having encouraged the king of Por­tugal to fit o [...] a fleet so powerful, as not only to carry on trade, but to attempt conquest, he gave the command of it to Pedro Alvarez Cabral. In order to avoid the coast of Africa, where he was certain of meeting with variable breezes, or fre­quent calms, which might retard his voyage, Cabral stood out to sea, and kept so far to the west, that, to his surprise, he found himself upon the shore of an unknown country, in the tenth degree be­yond the line. He imagined, at first, that it was some island in the Atlantic ocean, hitherto unob­served; but, proceeding along its coast for several days, he was led gradually to believe that a coun­try so extensive formed a part of some great conti­nent. This latter opinion was well founded. The country with which he fell in belongs to that pro­vince in South America, now known by the name of Brasil. He landed; and having formed a very high idea of the fertility of the soil, and agreable­ness of the climate, he took possession of it for the crown of Portugal, and dispatched a ship to Lisbon with an account of this event, which appeared to be no less important than it was unexpected^†. Colum­bus's [Page 186] discovery of the New World was the effort of an active genius, enlightened by science, guided by experience, and acting upon a regular plan, executed with no less courage than perseverance. But from this adventure of the Portuguese, it ap­pears that chance might have accomplished that great design which is now the pride of human reason to have formed and perfected. If the saga­city of Columbus had not conducted mankind to America, Cabral, by a fortunate accident, might have led them a few years later, to the knowledge of that extensive continent^*.

Machina­ [...]s against Columbus.WHILE the Spaniards and Portuguese, by those successive voyages, were daily acquiring more en­larged ideas of the extent and opulence of that quarter of the globe which Columbus had made known to them, he himself, far from enjoying the tranquillity and honours with which his services should have been recompensed, was struggling with every distress in which the envy and malevolence of the people under his command, or the ingrati­tude of the court which he served, could involve him. Though the pacification with Roldan broke the union and weakened the force of the mutineers, it did not extirpate the seeds of discord out of the island. Several of the malcontents continued in arms, refusing to submit to the admiral. He and his brothers were obliged to take the field alter­nately, in order to check their incursions, or to punish their crimes. The perpetual occupation and disquiet which this created, prevented him from giving due attention to the dangerous machinations of his enemies in the court of Spain. A good number of such as were most dissatisfied with his administration, had embraced the opportunity of returning to Europe with the ships which he dis­patched [Page 187] from St. Domingo. The final disappoint­ment of all their hopes enflamed the rage of these unfortunate adventurers against Columbus to the utmost pitch. Their poverty and distress, by ex­citing compassion, rendered their accusations cre­dible, and their complaints interesting. They teazed Ferdinand and Isabella incessantly with memorials, containing the detail of their own grievances, and the articles of their charge against Columbus. Whenever either the king or queen appeared in public, they surrounded them in a tumultuary manner, insisting with importunate clamours for the payment of the arrears due to them, and de­manding vengeance upon the author of their suf­ferings. They insulted the admiral's sons where­ever they met them, approaching them as the offspring of the projector, whose fatal curiosity had discovered those pernicious regions which drained Spain of its wealth, and would prove the grave of its people. These avowed endeavours of the mal­contents from America to ruin Columbus, were seconded by the secret, but more dangerous insinu­ations of that party among the courtiers, which had always thwarted his schemes, and envied his success and credit^*.

FERDINAND was disposed to listen,Their in­fluence on Ferdinand and Isabel­la. not only with a willing, but with a partial ear, to these accusa­tions. Notwithstanding the flattering accounts which Columbus had given of the riches of Ame­rica, the remittances from it had hitherto been so scanty, that they fell far short of defraying the ex­pence of the armaments fitted out. The glory of the discovery, together with the prospect of remote commercial advantages, was all that Spain had yet received in return for the efforts which she had made. But time had already diminished the [Page 188] first sensations of joy which the discovery of a New World occasioned, and fame alone was not an ob­ject to satisfy the cold interested mind of Ferdinand. The nature of commerce was then so little under­stood, that where immediate gain was not acquired, the hope of distant benefit, or of slow and moderate returns, was totally disregarded. Ferdinand consi­dered Spain, on this account, as having lost by the enterprise of Columbus, and imputed it to his mis­conduct and incapacity for government, that a country abounding in gold had yielded nothing of value to its conquerors. Even Isabella, who from the favourable opinion which she entertained of Columbus, had uniformly protected him, was sha­ken at length by the number and boldness of his ac­cusers, and began to suspect that a disaffection so general must have been occasioned by real grie­vances, which called for redress. The bishop of Badajos, with his usual animosity against Columbus, encouraged these suspicions, and confirmed them.

Fatal ef­fects of this.AS soon as the queen began to give way to the torrent of calumny, a resolution fatal to Columbus was taken. Francis de Bouvadilla, a knight of Ca­latrava, was appointed to repair to Hispaniola, with full powers to enquire into the conduct of Colum­bus, and, if he should find the charge of mal-admi­nistration proved, to supersede him, and assume the government of the island. It was impossible to escape condemnation, when this preposterous com­mission made it the interest of the judge to pro­nounce the person whom he was sent to try, guilty. Though Columbus had now composed all the dis­sensions in the island; though he had brought both Spaniards and Indians to submit peaceably to his government; though he had made such effectual provision for working the mines, and cultivating the country, as would have secured a considerable revenue to the king, as well as large profits to in­dividuals, [Page 189] Bovadilla, without deigning to attend to the nature or merit of those services, discovered, from the moment that he landed in Hispaniola, a determined purpose of treating him as a criminal. He took possession of the admiral's house in St. Domingo, from which its master happened at that time to be absent, and seized his effects, as if his guilt had been already fully proved; he rendered himself master of the sort and of the king's stores by violence; he required all persons to acknow­ledge him as supreme governor; he set at liberty the prisoners confined by the admiral, and sum­moned him to appear before his tribunal, in order to answer for his conduct; transmitting to him, to­gether with the summons, a copy of the royal man­date, by which Columbus was enjoined to yield im­plicit obedience to his commands.

COLUMBUS,Columbus sent in chains to Spain. October. though deeply affected with the in­gratitude and justice of Ferdinand and Isabella, did not hesitate a moment about his own conduct. He submitted to the will of his sovereigns with a respectful silence, and repaired directly to the court of that violent and partial judge whom they had authorized to try him. Bovadilla, without admitting him into his presence, ordered him in­stantly to be arrested, to be loaded with chains, and hurried on board a ship. Even under this hu­miliating reverse of fortune, the firmness of mind which distinguishes the character of Columbus, did not forsake him. Conscious of his own integrity, and solacing himself with reflecting upon the great things which he had atchieved, he endured this insult offered to his character, not only with com­posure, but with dignity. Nor had he the consola­tion of sympathy to mitigate his sufferings. Bova­dilla had already rendered himself so extremely popular, by granting various immunities to the colony, by liberal donations of Indians to all who [Page 190] applied for them, and by relaxing the reins of dis­cipline and government, that the Spaniards, who were mostly adventurers, whom their indigence or crimes had impelled to abandon their native country, expressed the most indecent satisfaction with the disgrace and imprisonment of Columbus. They flattered themselves, that now they should enjoy an uncontrouled liberty, more suitable to their disposition and former habits of life. Among persons thus prepared to censure the proceedings, and to asperse the character of Columbus, Bova­dilla collected materials for a charge against him. All accusations, the most improbable, as well as inconsistent, were received. No informer, how­ever infamous, was rejected. The result of this inquest, no less indecent than partial, he transmit­ted to Spain. At the same time, he ordered Co­lumbus, with his two brothers to be carried thi­ther in fetters; and, adding cruelty to insult, he confined them in different ships, and excluded them from the comfort of that friendly intercourse which might have soothed their common distress. But while the Spaniards in Hispaniola viewed the arbitrary and insolent proceedings of Bovadilla with a general approbation, which reflects dis­honour upon their name and country, one man still retained a proper sense of the great actions which Columbus had performed, and was touched with the sentiments of veneration and pity due to his rank, his age, and his merit. Alonso de Vallejo, the captain of the vessel on board which the ad­miral was confined, as soon as he was clear of the island, approached his prisoner with great respect, and offered to release him from the fetters with which he was unjustly loaded. "No," replied Columbus with a generous indignation, "I wear these irons in consequence of an order from my sovereigns. They shall find me as obedient to this [Page 191] as to their other injunctions. By their command I have been confined, and their command alone shall set me at liberty^*."

FORTUNATELY,Nov. 23. Set at li­berty, but deprived of all autho­rity. the voyage to Spain was ex­tremely short. As soon as Ferdinand and Isabella were informed that Columbus was brought home a prisoner, and in chains, they perceived at once what universal astonishment this event must occa­sion, and what an impression to their disadvantage it must make. All Europe, they foresaw, would be filled with indignation at this ungenerous re­quital of a man who had performed actions worthy of the highest recompence, and would exclaim against the injustice of the nation, to which he had been such an eminent benefactor, as well as against the ingratitude of the princes whose reign he had rendered illustrious. Ashamed of their own con­duct, and eager not only to make some reparation for this injury, but to efface the stain which it might fix upon their character, they instantly issued orders to set Columbus at liberty,Dec. 17. invited him to court, and remitted money to enable him to appear there in a manner suitable to his rank. When he entered the royal presence, Columbus threw him­self at the feet of his sovereigns. He remained for some time silent; the various passions which agitated his mind suppressing his power of utter­ance. At length he recovered himself, and vin­dicated his conduct in a long discourse, producing the most satisfying proofs of his own integrity, as well as good intention, and evidence, no less clear, of the malevolence of his enemies, who, not satisfied with having ruined his fortune, labour­ed to deprive him of what alone was now left, his honour and his fame. Ferdinand received him [Page 192] with decent civility, and Isabella with tenderness and respect. They both expressed their sorrow for what had happened, disavowed their knowledge of it, and joined in promising him protection and future favour. But though they instantly degraded Bovadilla, in order to remove from themselves any suspicion of having authorised his violent proceed­ings, they did not restore to Columbus his juris­diction and privileges as viceroy of those countries which he had discovered. Though willing to ap­pear the avengers of Columbus's wrongs, that illiberal jealousy which prompted them to invest Bovadilla with such authority as put it in his power to treat the admiral with indignity still sub­sisted. They were afraid to trust a man to whom they had been so highly indebted, and retaining him at court under various pretexts, they appointed Nicholas de Ovando, a knight of the military or­der of Alcantara, governor of Hispaniola^*.

COLUMBUS was deeply affected with this new injury, which came from hands that seemed to be employed in making reparations for his past suffer­ings. The sensibility with which great minds feel every thing that implies any suspicion of their in­tegrity, or that wears the aspect of an affront, is exquisite. Columbus had experienced both from the Spaniards; and their ungenerous conduct ex­asperated him to such a degree, that he could no longer conceal the sentiments which it excited. Wherever he went, he carried about with him, as a memorial of their ingratitude, those fetters with which he had been loaded. They were constantly hung up in his chamber,1501. Progress of discovery. and he gave orders that when he died they should be buried in his grave^†.

[Page 193]MEANWHILE, the spirit of discovery, notwith­standing the severe check which it had received by the ungenerous treatment of the man, who first excited it in Spain, continued active and vigorous. Roderigo de Bastidas, a person of distinction,January. fitted out two ships in co-partnery with John de la Cosa, who having served under the admiral in two of his voyages, was deemed the most skilful pilot in Spain. They steered directly towards the con­tinent, arrived on the coast of Paria, and pro­ceeding to the west, discovered all the coast of the province now known by the name of Tierra Firme, from Cape de Vela to the gulf of Darien. Not long after Ojeda, with his former ass [...]iate Amerigo Vespucci, set out upon a second voyage, and being unacquainted with the destination of Ba­stidas, held the same course, and touched at the same places. The voyage of Bastidas was pro­sperous and lucrative, that of Ojeda unfortunate. But both tended to increase the ardour of discovery; for in [...]ortion as the Spaniards acquired a more extensive knowledge of the American continent, their idea of its opulence and fertility increased^*.

BEFORE these adventurers returned from their voyages, a fleet was equipped,Ovando ap­pointed go­vernor of Hispaniola. at the public ex­pence, for carrying over Ovando, the new go­vernor, to Hispaniola. His presence there was extremely requisite, in order to stop the inconsi­derate career of Bovadilla, whose imprudent ad­ministration threatened the settlement with ruin. Conscious of the violence and iniquity of his pro­ceedings against ColumbuS, he continued to make it his sole object to gain the favor and support of his countrymen, by accommodating himself to their passions and prejudices. With this view, he established regulations, in every point the reverse [Page 194] of those which Columbus deemed essential to the prosperity of the colony. Instead of the severe dis­cipline, necessary in order to habituate the dissolute and corrupted members of which the society was composed, to the restraints of law and subordina­tion, he suffered them to enjoy such uncontrouled licence, as encouraged the wildest excesses. In­stead of protecting the Indians, he gave a legal sanction to the oppression of that unhappy people. He took the exact number of such as survived their past calamities, divided them into distinct classes, distributed them [...] property among his ad­herents, and reduced all the people of the island to a state of complete servitude. As the avarice of the Spaniards was too rapacious and impatient to try any method of acquiring wealth but that of searching for gold,1502 this servitude became as grie­vous as it was unjust. The Indians were driven in crowds to the mountains, and compelled to work in the mines by masters, who imposed their tasks without mercy or discretion. Labour, [...] dis­proportioned to their strength and former habits of life, wasted that feeble race of men with such rapid consumption, as must have soon terminated in the utter extinction of the ancient inhabitants of the country^*.

New regu­lations es­tablished.THE necessity of applying a speedy remedy to those disorders, hastened Ovando's departure. He had the command of the most respectable arma­ment hitherto fitted out for the New World. It consisted of thirty-two ships, on board of which two thousand five hundred persons embarked, with an intention of settling in the country.1502. Upon the arrival of the new governor, with this powerful reinforcement to the colony, Bovadilla resigned his [Page 195] charge, and was commanded to return instantly to Spain, in order to answer for his conduct. Roldan, and the other ringleaders of the mutineers, who had been most active in opposing Columbus, were required to leave the island at the same time. A proclamation was issued, declaring the natives to be free subjects of Spain, of whom no service was to be exacted contrary to their own inclination, and without paying them an adequate price for their labour. With respect to the Spaniards them­selves, various regulations were made, tending to suppress the licentious spirit which had been so fatal to the colony, and to establish that reverence for law and order on which society is founded, and to which it is indebted for its increase and stability. In order to limit the exorbitant gain which private persons were supposed to make by working the mines, an ordinance was published, directing all the gold to be brought to a public smelting-house, and declaring one half of it to be the property of the crown^*.

WHILE these steps were taking for securing the tranquillity and welfare of the colony which Co­lumbus had planted,The disa­greeable situation of Columbus. he himself was engaged in the unpleasant employment of soliciting the favour of an ungrateful court, and, notwithstanding all his merit and services, he solicited in vain. He de­manded, in terms of the original capitulation in one thousand four hundred and ninety-two, to be reinstated in his office of viceroy over the countries which he had discovered. By a strange fatality, the circumstances which he urged in support of his claim, determined a jealous monarch to reject it. The g [...]ness of his discoveries, and the prospect of their increasing value, made Ferdinand consider [Page 196] the concessions in the capitulation as extravagant and impolitic. He was afraid of entrusting a sub­ject with the exercise of a jurisdiction that now ap­peared to be so extremely extensive, and might grow to be no less formidable. He inspired Isa­bella with the same suspicions; and under various pretexts equally frivolous and unjust, they eluded all Columbus's requisitions to perform that which a solemn compact bound them to accomplish. After attending the court of Spain for near two years, as an humble suitor, he found it impossible to remove Ferdinand's prejudices and apprehen­sions; and perceived, at length, that he laboured in vain, when he urged a claim of justice or merit with an interested and unfeeling prince.

He forms new schemes of discovery.BUT even this ungenerous return did not discou­rage him from pursuing the great object which first called forth his inventive genius, and excited him to attempt discovery. To open a new passage to the East Indies was his original and favourite scheme. This still engrossed his thoughts; and either from his own observations in his voyage to Paria, or from some obscure hint of the natives, or from the accounts given by Bastidas and de la Cosa, of their expedition, he conceived an opinion that, beyond the continent of America, there was a sea which extended to the East-Indies, and hoped to find some strait or narrow neck of land, by which a communication might be opened with it and the part of the ocean already known. By a very fortunate conjecture, he supposed this strait or isthmus to be situated near the gulph of Darien. Full of this idea, though he was now of an ad­vanced age, worn out with fatigue, and broken with infirmities, he offered, with the alacrity of a youthful adventurer, to undertake a voyage which would ascertain this important point, and perfect the grand scheme which from the beginning he [Page 197] proposed to accomplish. Several circumstances concurred in disposing Ferdinand and Isabella to lend a favourable ear to this proposal. They were glad to have the pretext of any honourable em­ployment for removing from court a man with whose demands they deemed it impolitic to com­ply, and whose services it was indecent to neglect. Though unwilling to reward Columbus, they were not insensible of his merit, and from their expe­rience of his skill and conduct, had reason to give credit to his conjectures, and to confide in his suc­cess. To these considerations, a third must be added of still more powerful influence. About this time the Portuguese fleet, under Cabral, arrived from the Indies; and, by the richness of its cargo, gave the people of Europe a more perfect idea than they had hitherto been able to form, of the opulence and fertility of the east. The Portuguese had been more fortunate in their discoveries than the Spa­niards. They had opened a communication with countries where industry, arts, and elegance flou­rished; and where commerce had been longer esta­blished, and carried to greater extent, than in any region of the earth. Their first voyages thither yielded immediate as well as vast returns of profit, in commodities extremely precious and in great request. Lisbon became immediately the seat of commerce and wealth; while Spain had only the expectation of remote benefit, and of future gain, from the western world. Nothing, then, could be more acceptable to the Spaniards than Columbus's offer to conduct them to the east, by a route which he expected to be shorter, as well as less danger­ous, than that which the Portuguese had taken. Even Ferdinand was roused by such a prospect, and warmly approved of the undertaking.

BUT interesting as the object of this voyage was to the nation,His fourth voyage. Columbus could procure only four [Page 198] small barks, the largest of which did not exceed seventy tons in burden, for performing it. Ac­customed to brave danger, and to engage in arduous undertakings with inadequate force, he did not he­sitate to accept the command of this pitiful squa­dron. His brother Bartholomew, and his second son Ferdinand, the historian of his actions, accom­panied him. He sailed from Cadiz on the ninth of May, and touched, as usual, at the Canary islands; from thence he proposed to have stood directly for the continent; but his largest vessel was so clumsy and unfit for service, as constrained him to bear away for Hispaniola, in hopes of exchanging her for some ship of the fleet that had carried out Ovando.June 29. When he arrived at St. Domingo, he found eighteen of these ships ready loaded, and on the point of departing for Spain. Columbus im­mediately acquainted the governor with the desti­nation of his voyage, and the accident which had obliged him to alter his route. He requested per­mission to enter the harbour, not only that he might negociate the exchange of his ship, but that he might take shelter during a violent hur­ricane, of which he discerned the approach from various prognostics, which his experience and sa­gacity had taught him to observe. On that ac­count, he [...]evised him likewise to put off for some days the departure of the fleet bound for Spain. But Ovando refused his request, and despised his counsel. Under circumstances in which humanity would have afforded refuge to a stranger, Colum­bus was denied admittance into a country of which he had discovered the existence and acquired the possession. His salutary warning, which merited the greatest attention, was regarded as the dream of a visionary prophet, who arrogantly pretended to predict an event beyond the reach of human foresight. The fleet set sail for Spain. Next [Page 199] night the hurricane came on with dreadful im­petuosity. Columbus, aware of the danger, took precautions against it, and saved his little squadron. The fleet destined for Spain met with the fate which the rashness and obstinacy of its commanders deserved. Of eighteen ships, two or three only escaped. In this general wreck pe­rished Bovadilla, Roldan, and the greater part of those who had been the most active in persecuting Columbus and oppressing the Indians. Together with themselves, all the wealth which they had acquired by their injustice and cruelty was swal­lowed up. It exceeded in value two hundred thousand pesos; an immense sum at that period, and sufficient not only to have screened them from any severe scrutiny into their conduct, but to have secured them a gracious reception in the Spanish court. Among the ships that escaped, one had on board all the effects of Columbus, which had been recovered from the ruins of his fortune. Histo­rians, struck with the exact discrimination of cha­racters, as well as the just distribution of rewards and punishments, conspicuous in those events, uni­versally attribute them to an immediate interpo­sition of divine Providence, in order to avenge the wrongs of an injured man, and to punish the op­pressors of an innocent people. Upon the igno­rant and superstitious race of men, who were wit­nesses of this occurrence, it made a different im­pression. From an opinion which vulgar admi­ration is apt to entertain with respect to persons who have distinguished themselves by their sagacity and inventions, they believed Columbus to be pos­sessed of supernatural powers, and imagined that he had conjured up this dreadful storm by magical art and incantations, in order to be avenged of his enemies.^*

[Page 200]COLUMBUS soon left Hispaniola, where he met with such an inhospitable reception, and stood to­wards the continent. After a tedious and dan­gerous voyage,July 14. Searches in vain for a passage to the Indian ocean. he discovered Guanaia, an island not far distant from the coast of Honduras. There he had an interview with some inhabitants of the continent, who arrived in a large canoe. They appeared to be a people more civilized, and who had made greater progress in the knowledge of useful arts, than any whom he had hitherto dis­covered. In return to the inquiries which the Spaniards made, with their usual eagerness, con­cerning the places where the Indians got the gold which they wore by way of ornament, they di­rected them to countries situated to the west, in which gold was found in such profusion, that it was applied to the most common uses. Instead of steering in quest of a country so inviting, which would have conducted him along the coast of Yu­catan to the rich empire of Mexico, Columbus was so bent upon his favourite scheme of finding out the strait which he supposed to communicate with the Indian ocean, that he bore away to the east towards the gulph of Darien. In this naviga­tion he discovered all the coast of the continent, from Cape Gracias a Dios, to a harbour which, on account of its beauty and security, he called Porto Bello. He searched, in vain, for the ima­ginary strait through which he expected to make his way into an unknown sea; and though he went on shore several times, and advanced into the country, he did not penetrate so far as to cross the narrow isthmus which separates the gulf of Mexico from the great southern ocean. He was so much delighted, however, with the fertility of the coun­try, and conceived such an idea of its wealth, from [...]e specimens of gold produced by the natives, that he resolved to leave a small colony upon the [Page 201] river Belem, in the province of Veragua, under the command of his brother, and to return him­self to Spain, in order to procure what was requi­site for rendering the establishment permanent.1503. But the ungovernable spirit of the people under his command deprived Columbus of the glory of plant­ing the first colony on the continent of America. Their insolence and rapaciousness provoked the natives to take arms, and as these were a more hardy and warlike race of men than the inhabitants of the islands, they cut off part of the Spaniards, and obliged the rest to abandon a station which was found to be untenable^*.

THIS repulse,Shipwreck­ed on the coast of Ja­maica. the first that the Spaniards met with from any of the American nations, was not the only misfortune that befel Columbus; it was followed by a succession of all the disasters to which navigation is exposed. Furious hurricanes, with violent storms of thunder and lightning, threat­ened his leaky vessels with destruction; while his discontented crew, exhausted with fatigue, and desti­tute of provisions, was unwilling or unable to exe­cute his commands. One of his ships perished; he was obliged to abandon another, as unfit for service; and with the two which remained, he quitted that part of the continent which in his an­guish he named the Coast of Vexation^†, and bore away for Hispaniola. New distresses awaited him in this voyage. He was driven back by a violent tempest from the coast of Cuba, his ships fell foul of one another, and were so much shattered by the shock, that with the utmost difficulty they reached Jamaica,June 24. where he was obliged to run them aground, to prevent them from sinking▪ The [Page 202] measure of his calamities seemed now to be full. He was cast ashore upon an island at a considerable distance from the only settlement of the Spaniards in America. His ships were ruined beyond the possibility of being repaired. To convey an ac­count of his situation to Hispaniola, appeared im­practicable; and without this it was vain to expect relief. His genius, fertile in resources, and most vigorous in those perilous extremities when feeble minds abandon themselves to despair, discovered the only expedient which afforded any prospect of deliverance. He had recourse to the hospitable kindness of the natives, who considering the Spa­niards as beings of a superior nature, were eager, on every occasion, to minister to their wants. From them he obtained two of their canoes, each formed out of the trunk of a single tree hollowed with fire, and so mis-shapen and aukward as hardly to merit the name of boats. In these, which were fit only for creeping along the coast, or crossing from one side of a bay to another, Mendez, a Spaniard, and Fieschi, a Genoese, two gentlemen particularly at­tached to Columbus, gallantly offered to set out for Hispaniola, upon a voyage of above thirty leagues^*. This they accomplished in ten days, after surmounting incredible dangers, and enduring such fatigues, that several of the Indians who ac­companied them sunk under it, and died. The attention paid to them by the governor of Hispa­niola was neither such as their courage merited, nor the distress of the persons from whom they came required. Ovando, from a mean jealousy of Columbus, was afraid of allowing him to set foot in the island under his government. This ungene­rous passion hardened his heart against every tender sentiment, which reflection upon the services and [Page 203] misfortunes of that great man, or compassion for his own fellow-citizens involved in the same cala­mities, must have excited. Mendez and Fieschi spent eight months in soliciting relief for their commander and associates, without any prospect of obtaining it.

DURING this period,His distress and suffer­ings there. various passions agitated the mind or Columbus, and his companions in ad­versity. At first the expectation of speedy deliver­ance, from the success of Mendez and Fieschi's voyage, cheered the spirits of the most desponding▪ After some time the more timorous began to suspect that they had miscarried in their daring at­tempt. At length, even the most sanguine con­cluded that they had perished.1504. The ray of hope which had broke in upon them, made their condi­tion appear now more dismal. Despair, heightened by disappointment, settled in every breast. Their last resource had failed, and nothing remained but the prospect of ending their miserable days among naked savages, far from their country and their friends. The seamen, in a transport of rage, rose in open mutiny, threatened the life of Columbus, whom they reproached as the author of all their calamities, seized ten canoes, which he had pur­chased from the Indians, and despising his remon­strances and entreaties, made off with them to a distant part of the island. At the same time the natives murmured at the long residence of the Spa­niards in their country. As their industry was not greater than that of their neighbours in Hispaniola, like them they found the burden of supporting so many strangers to be altogether intolerable. They began to bring in provisions with reluctance, they furnished them with a sparing hand, and threatened to withdraw those supplies altogether. Such a re­solution must have been quickly fatal to the Spa­niards. Their safety depended upon the good­will [Page 204] of the Indians; and unless they could revive the admiration and reverence with which that sim­ple people had at first beheld them, destruction was unavoidable. Though the licentious proceedings of the mutineers had, in a great measure, ef­faced those impressions which had been so fa­vourable to the Spaniards, the ingenuity of Co­lumbus suggested a happy artifice, that not only restored but heightened the high opinion which the Indians had originally entertained of them. By his skill in astronomy he knew that there was shortly to be a total eclipse of the moon. He assembled all the principal persons of the district around him on the day before it happened, and, after reproaching them for their sickleness in with­drawing their affection and assistance from men whom they had lately revered, he told them, that the Spaniards were servants of the Great Spirit who dwells in heaven, who made and governs the world; that he, offended at their refusing to support men who were the objects of his peculiar favour, was preparing to punish this crime with exemplary severity, and that very night the moon should withhold her light, and appear of a bloody hue, as a sign of the divine wrath, and an emblem of the vengeance ready to fall upon them. To this mar­vellous prediction some of them listened with the careless indifference peculiar to the people of Ame­rica; others, with the credulous astonishment na­tural to barbarians. But when the moon began gradually to be darkened, and at length appeared of a red colour, all were struck with terror. They ran with consternation to their houses, and return­ing instantly to Columbus loaded with provisions, threw them at his feet, conjuring him to intercede with the Great Spirit to avert the destruction with which they were threatened. Columbus, seeming to be moved by their entreaties, promised to com­ply [Page 205] with their desire. The eclipse went off, the moon recovered its splendour, and from that day the Spaniards were not only furnished profusely with provisions, but the natives, with superstitious attention, avoided every thing that could give them offence^*.

DURING those transactions,Ac [...]ual ad­ [...] to th [...]m. the mutineers had made repeated attempts to pass over to Hispaniola in the canoes which they had seized. But, from their own misconduct, or the violence of the winds and currents, their efforts were all unsuccessful. Enraged at this disappointment, they marched to­wards that part of the island where Columbus re­mained, threatening him with new insults and dan­ger. While they were advancing, an event hap­pened, more cruel and afflicting than any calamity which he dreaded from them. The governor of Hispaniola, whose mind was still filled with some dark suspicions of Columbus, sent a small bark to Jamaica, not to deliver his distressed countrymen, but to spy out their condition. Lest the sympathy of those whom he employed should afford them re­lief, contrary to his intention, he gave the com­mand of this vessel to Escobar, an inveterate ene­my of Columbus, who adhering to his instructions with malignant accuracy, cast anchor at some distance from the island, approached the shore in a small boat, observed the wretched plight of the Spaniards, delivered a letter of empty compliments to the admiral, received his answer, and departed. When the Spaniards first descried the vessel stand­ing towards the island, every heart exulted, as if the long-expected hour of their deliverance had at length arrived; but when it disappeared so sud­denly, they sunk into the deepest dejection, and [Page 206] all their hopes died away. Columbus alone, though he felt most sensibly this wanton insult which Ovando added to his past neglect, retained such composure of mind, as to be able to cheer his followers. He assured them, that Mendez and Fieschi had reached Hispaniola in safety; that they would speedily pro­cure ships to carry them off; but as Escobar's vessel could not take them all on board, that he had refused to go with her, because he was deter­mined never to abandon the faithful companions of his distress. Soothed with the expectation of speedy deliverance, and delighted with his apparent gene­rosity in attending more to their preservation than to his own safety, their spirits revived, and he re­gained their confidence.^*

WITHOUT this confidence, he could not have resisted the mutineers, who were now at hand. All his endeavours to reclaim these desperate men had no effect but to increase their frenzy. Their de­mands became every day more extravagant, and their intentions more violent and bloody. The common safety rendered it necessary to oppose them with open force. Columbus, who had been long afflicted with the gout, could not take the field.May 20. His brother, the adelantado, marched against them. They quickly met. The mutineers rejected with scorn terms of accommodation, which were once more offered them, and rushed on boldly to the attack. They fell not upon an enemy unpre­pared to receive them. In the first shock, several of their most daring leaders were slain. The ade­lantado, whose strength was equal to his courage, closed with their captain, wounded, disarmed, and took him prisoner^†. At sight of this, the rest fled with a dastardly fear, suitable to their former in­solence. [Page 207] Soon after, they submitted in a body to Columbus, and bound themselves by the most so­lemn oaths to obey all his commands. Hardly was tranquillity re-established, when the ships appeared, whose arrival Columbus had promised with great ad­dress, though he could foresee it with little certainty. With transports of joy, the Spaniards quitted an island in which the unfeeling jealousy of Ovando had suffered them to languish above a year, exposed to misery in all its various forms.

WHEN they arrived at St. Domingo,Aug. 15. His deli­verance, and arrival at Hispani­ola. the gover­nor, with the mean artifice of a vulgar mind, that labours to atone for insolence by servility, fawned on the man whom he envied, and had attempted to ruin. He received Columbus with the most studied respect, lodged him in his own house, and distin­guished him with every mark of honour. But amidst those over-acted demonstrations of regard, he could not conceal the hatred and malignity la­tent in his heart. He set at liberty the captain of the mutineers, whom Columbus had brought over in chains, to be tried for his crimes, and threatened such as had adhered to the admiral, with proceeding to a judicial enquiry into their conduct. Columbus submitted in silence to what he could not redress; but discovered an extreme impatience to quit a country, which was under the jurisdiction of a man who had treated him, on every occasion,Sept. 12. with inhu­manity and injustice. His preparations were soon finished, and he set sail for Spain with two ships. Disasters similar to those which had accompanied him through life, continued to pursue him to the end of his career. One of his vessels being disabled, was soon forced back to St. Domingo; the other, shattered by violent storms, sailed seven hundred leagues with jury-masts, and reached with difficulty the port of St. Lucar.December. ^*

[Page 208]THERE he received the account of an event the most fatal that could have befallen him, and which completed his misfortunes. This was the death of his patroness queen Isabella,Death of Isabella. Nov. 9. in whose justice, hu­manity and favour, he confided as his last resource. None now remained to redress his wrongs, or to reward him for his services and sufferings, but Ferdinand, who had so long opposed and so often injured him. To solicit a prince thus prejudiced against him, was an occupation no less irksome than hopeless. In this, however, Columbus was doomed to employ the close of his days. As soon as his health was in some degree re-established, he re­paired to court; and though he was received there with civility barely decent, he plied Ferdinand with petition after petition, demanding the punishment of his oppressors, and the restitution of all the pri­vileges bestowed upon him by the capitulation of one thousand four hundred and ninety-two. Fer­dinand amused him with fair words and unmeaning promises. Instead of granting his claims, he pro­posed expedients in order to elude them, and spun out the affair with such apparent art, as plainly dis­covered his intention that it should never be termi­nated. The declining health of Columbus flattered Ferdinand with the hopes of being soon delivered from an importunate suitor, and encouraged him to persevere in this illiberal plan. Nor was he decei­ved in his expectations. Disgusted with the ingra­titude of a monarch whom he had served with such fidelity and success, exhausted with the fatigues and hardships which he had endured, and broken with infirmities which these had brought upon him,Death of Columbus. Co­lumbus ended his life at Valladolid on the twentieth of May one thousand five hundred and six, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. He died with a com­posure of mind suitable to the magnanimity which [Page 209] distinguished his character, and with sentiments of piety becoming that supreme respect for religion, which he manifested in every occurrence of his life^*.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK III.

BOOK III. 1504. State of the colony in Hispaniola.WHILE Columbus was employed in his last voyage, several events worthy of notice happened in Hispaniola. The colony there, the parent and nurse of all the subsequent establishments of Spain in the New World, gradually acquired the form of a regular and prosperous society. The humane solicitude of Isabella to protect the Indians from oppression, and particularly the proclamation, by which the Spaniards were prohibited to compel them to work, retarded, it is true, for some time, the progress of improvement. The natives, who considered exemption from toil as supreme felicity, scorned every allurement and reward by which they were invited to labour. The Spaniards had not a sufficient number of hands either to work the mines or to cultivate the soil. Several of the first colonists, who had been accustomed to the service of the Indians, quitted the island, when deprived of those instruments, without which they knew not how to carry on any operation. Many of the new settlers who came over with Ovando, were seized with the distempers peculiar to the climate, and in a short space above a thousand of them died. At [Page 211] the same time, the exacting one half of the product of the mines as the royal share, was found to be a demand so exorbitant, that no adventurers would engage to work them upon such terms. In order to save the colony from ruin, Ovando ventured to relax the rigour of the royal edicts.1505. He made a new distribution of the Indians among the Spaniards, and compelled them to labour, for a stated time, in digging the mines, or in cultivating the ground; but, in order to screen himself from the imputation of having subjected them again to servitude, he en­joined their masters to pay them a certain sum, as the price of their work. He reduced the royal share of the gold found in the mines from the half to the third part, and soon after lowered it to a fifth, at which it long remained. Notwithstanding Isa­bella's tender concern for the good treatment of the Indians, and Ferdinand's eagerness to improve the royal revenue, Ovando persuaded the court to approve of both these regulations^*.

BUT the Indians,War with the Indians. after enjoying respite from oppression, though during a short interval, now felt the yoke of bondage to be so galling, that they made several attempts to vindicate their own li­berty. This the Spaniards considered as rebellion, and took arms in order to reduce them to subjec­tion. When war is carried on between nations whose state of improvement is in any degree simi­lar, the means of defence bear some proportion to those employed in the attack; and in this equal contest such efforts must be made, such talents are displayed, and such passions roused, as exhibit mankind to view in a situation no less striking than interesting. It is one of the noblest functions of history, to observe and to delineate men at a junc­ture when their minds are most violently agitated, [Page 212] and all their powers and passions are called forth. Hence the operations of war, and the struggles between contending states, have been deemed by historians, ancient as well as modern, a capital and important article in the annals of human actions. But in a contest between naked savages, and one of the most warlike of the European nations, where science, courage, and discipline on one side, were op­posed by ignorance, timidity, and disorder on the other, a particular detail of events would be as un­pleasant as uninstructive. If the simplicity and inno­cence of the Indians had inspired the Spaniards with humanity, had softened the pride of superiority into compassion, and had induced them to improve the inhabitants of the New World, instead of oppres­sing them, some sudden acts of violence, like the too rigorous chastisements of impatient instructors, might have been related without horror. But, un­fortunately, this consciousness of superiority ope­rated in a different manner. The Spaniards were advanced so far beyond the natives of America in improvement of every kind, that they viewed them with contempt. They conceived the Americans to be animals of an inferior nature, who were not in­titled to the rights and privileges of men. In peace, they subjected them to servitude. In war, they paid no regard to those laws, which, by a tacit convention between contending nations, regulate hostility, and set some bounds to its rage. They considered them not as men fighting in defence of their liberty, but as slaves, who had revolted against their masters. Their caziques, when taken, were condemned, like the leaders of banditti, to the most cruel and ignominious punishments; and all their subjects, without regarding the distinction of ranks established among them, were reduced to the same state of abject slavery. With such a spirit and sentiments were hostilities carried on against [Page 213] the cazique of Higuey, a province at the eastern extremity of the island. This war was occasioned by the perfidy of the Spaniards, in violating a treaty which they had made with the natives, and it was terminated by hanging up the cazique, who defended his people with bravery so far superior to that of his countrymen, as intitled him to a better fate^*.

THE conduct of Ovando,The cruel and trea­cherous conduct of Ovando. in another part of the island, was still more treacherous and cruel. The province anciently named Xaragua, which extends from the fertile plain where Leogane is now situated, to the western extremity of the island, was subject to a female cazique, named Anacoana, highly re­spected by the natives. She, from that partial fondness with which the women of America were attached to the Europeans, (the cause of which shall be afterwards explained,) had always courted the friendship of the Spaniards, and loaded them with benefits. But some of the adherents of Rol­dan having settled in her country, were so much exasperated at her endeavouring to restrain their excesses, that they accused her of having formed a plan to throw off the yoke, and to exterminate the Spaniards. Ovando, though he knew well what little credit was due to such profligate men, marched, without further inquiry, towards Xara­gua, with three hundred foot and seventy horse­men. To prevent the Indians from taking alarm at this hostile appearance, he gave out that his sole intention was to visit Anacoana, to whom his countrymen had been so much indebted, in the most respectful manner, and to regulate with her the mode of levying the tribute payable to the king of Spain. Anacoana, in order to receive this [Page 214] illustrious guest with due honour, assembled the principal men in her dominions, to the number of three hundred, and advancing at the head of these, accompanied by a great croud of persons of infe­rior rank, she welcomed Ovando with songs and dances, according to the mode of the country, and conducted him to the place of her residence. There he was feasted for some days, with all the kindness of simple hospitality, and amused with the games and spectacles usual among the Americans upon occasions of mirth and festivity. But, amidst the security which this inspired, Ovando was me­ditating the destruction of his unsuspicious enter­tainer and her subjects; and the mean perfidy with which he executed this scheme, equalled his bar­barity in forming it. Under colour of exhibiting to the Indians the parade of an European tourna­ment, he advanced with his troops, in battle array, towards the house in which Anacoana and the chiefs who attended her were assembled. The infantry took possession of all the avenues which led to the village. The horsemen encompassed the house. These movements were the object of admiration without any mixture of fear, until, upon a signal which had been concerted, the Spaniards suddenly drew their swords, and rushed upon the Indians, defenceless, and astonished at an act of treachery which exceeded the conception of undesigning men. In a moment Anacoana was secured. All her attendants were seized and bound. Fire was set to the house; and, without examination or con­viction, all these unhappy persons, the most illus­trious in their own country, were consumed in the flames. Anacoana was reserved for a more igno­minious fate. She was carried in chains to St. Domingo, and, after the formality of a trial before Spanish judges, she was condemned, upon the [Page 215] evidence of those very men who had betrayed her, to be publickly hanged^*.

OVERAWED and humbled by this atrocious treat­ment of their princes and nobles,Reduction of the In­dians, and its effects. who were objects of their highest reverence, the people in all the provinces of Hispaniola submitted, without farther resistance, to the Spanish yoke. Upon the death of Isabella, all the regulations tending to mitigate the rigour of their servitude were forgotten. The small gratuity paid to them as the price of their labour was withdrawn; and at the same time the tasks imposed upon them were increased. Ovando,1506. without any restraint, distributed Indians among his friends in the island. Ferdinand, to whom the queen had left by will one half of the revenue arising from the settlements in the New World, conferred grants of a similar nature upon his cour­tiers as the least expensive mode of rewarding their services. They farmed out the Indians, of whom they were rendered proprietors, to their countrymen settled in Hispaniola; and that wretch­ed people, being compelled to labour in order to satisfy the rapacity of both, the exactions of their oppressors no longer knew any bounds. But, bar­barous as their policy was, and fatal to the inha­bitants of Hispaniola, it produced for some time, very considerable effects. By calling forth the force of a whole nation, and exerting it in one direction, the working of the mines was carried on with amazing rapidity and success. During several years, the gold brought into the royal smelting-houses in Hispaniola amounted annually to four hundred and sixty thousand pesos, above a hundred thousand pounds sterling; which, if we [Page 216] attend to the great change in the value of money since the beginning of the sixteenth century to the present times, must appear a considerable sum. Vast fortunes were created, of a sudden, by some. Others dissipated in ostentatious profusion, what they acquired with facility. Dazzled by both, new adventurers crowded to America, with the most eager impatience, to share in those treasures which had enriched their countrymen; and notwithstand­ing the mortality occasioned by the unhealthiness of the climate, the colony continued to increase.^*

Progress of the colony.OVANDO governed the Spaniards with wisdom and justice, not inferior to the rigour with which he treated the Indians. He established equal laws, and, by executing them with impartiality, ac­customed the people of the colony to reverence them. He founded several new towns in different parts of the island, and allured inhabitants to them, by the concession of various immunities. He en­deavoured to turn the attention of the Spaniards to some branch of industry more useful than that of searching for gold in the mines. Some slips of the sugar-cane having been brought from the Canary islands by way of experiment, they were found to thrive with such increase in the rich soil and warm climate to which they were transplanted, that the cultivation of them soon became an object of com­merce. Extensive plantations were begun; sugar­works, which the Spaniards called ingenio's, from the various machinery employed in them, were erected, and in a few years the manufacture of this commodity was the great occupation of the inhabi­tants of Hispaniola and the most considerable source of their wealth.^†

THE prudent endeavours of Ovando, to promote [Page 217] the welfare of the colony, were powerfully seconded by Ferdinand. The large remittances which he re­ceived from the New World opened his eyes, at length,Political regulations of Ferdi­nand. with respect to the importance of those dis­coveries, which he had hitherto affected to under­value. Fortune, and his own address, having now extricated him out of those difficulties in which he had been involved by the death of his queen,1507. and by his disputes with his son-in-law about the govern­ment of her dominions^*, he had full leisure to turn his attention to the affairs of America. To his provident sagacity, Spain is indebted for many of those regulations which gradually formed that system of profound, but jealous policy by which she governs her dominions in the New World. He erected a court, distinguished by the title of the Casa de Contratacion, or Board of Trade, composed of persons eminent for rank and abilities, to whom he committed the administration of American affairs. This board assembled regularly in Seville, and was invested with a distinct and extensive jurisdiction. He gave a regular form to ecclesiastical govern­ment in America, by nominating archbishops, bi­shops, deans, together with clergymen of subor­dinate ranks, to take charge of the Spaniards es­tablished there, as well as of the natives who should embrace the Christian faith. But, notwith­standing the obsequious devotion of the Spanish court to the Papal See, such was Ferdinand's soli­citude to prevent any foreign power from claiming jurisdiction, or acquiring influence, in his new do­minions, that he reserved to the crown of Spain the sole right of patronage to the benefices in America, and stipulated that no papal bull or mandate should be promulgated there, until it was previously exa­mined and approved of by his council. With [Page 218] the same spirit of jealousy, he prohibited any goods to be exported to America, or any person to settle there, without a special licence from that council^*.

The num­ber of the Indians di­minishes fast.BUT, notwithstanding this attention to the police and welfare of the colony, a calamity impended which threatened its dissolution. The original in­habitants, on whose labour the Spaniards in Hispa­niola depended for their prosperity, and even their existence, wasted so fast, that the extinction of the whole race seemed to be inevitable. When Colum­bus discovered Hispaniola, the number of its in­habitants was computed to be at least a million^†. They were now reduced to sixty thousand in the space of fifteen years. This consumption of the human species, no less amazing than rapid, was the effect of several concurring causes. The natives of the American islands were of a more feeble consti­tution than the inhabitants of the other hemisphere. They could neither perform the same work, nor endure the same fatigue, with men whose organs were of a more vigorous conformation. The list­less indolence in which they delighted to pass their days, as it was the effect of their debility, contri­buted likewise to increase it, and render them, from habit as well as constitution, incapable of hard la­bour. The food on which they subsisted afforded little nourishment, and they were accustomed to take it in small quantities, not sufficient to invigo­rate a languid frame, and render it equal to the efforts of active industry. The Spaniards, without attending to those peculiarities in the constitution of the Americans, imposed tasks upon them, which, though not greater than Europeans might have per­formed with case, were so disproportioned to their [Page 219] strength, that many sunk under the fatigue, and ended their wretched days. Others, prompted by impatience and despair, cut short their own lives with a violent hand. Famine, brought on by compelling such numbers to abandon the culture of their lands, in order to labour in the mines, proved fatal to many. Diseases of various kinds, some occasioned by the hardships to which they were exposed, and others by their intercourse with the Europeans, who communicated to them some of their peculiar maladies, completed the desolation of the island. The Spaniards being thus deprived of the instruments which they were accustomed to employ, found it impossible to extend their im­provements, or even to carry on the works which they had already begun.1508. In order to provide an immediate remedy for an evil so alarming, Ovando proposed to transport the inhabitants of the Lucayo islands to Hispaniola, under the pretence that they might be civilized with more facility, and in­structed to greater advantage in the Christ [...]an re­ligion, if they were united to the Spanish colony, and placed under the immediate inspection of the missionaries settled there. Ferdinand, deceived by this artifice, or willing to connive at an act of violence which policy represented as necessary, gave his assent to the proposal. Several vessels were fitted out for the Lucayos, the commanders of which informed the natives, with whose language they were now well acquainted, that they came from a delicious country, in which the departed ancestors of the Indians resided, by whom they were sent to invite their descendants to resort thither, to partake of the bliss enjoyed there by happy spirits. That simple people listened with wonder and cre­dulity; and, fond of visiting their relations and friends in that happy region, followed the Spani­ards with eagerness. By this artifice, above forty [Page 220] thousand were decoyed into Hispaniola, to share in the sufferings which were the lot of the inha­bitants of that island, and to mingle their groans and tears with those of that wretched race of men^*.

New disco­veries and settlementsTHE Spaniards had, for some time, carried on their operations in the mines of Hispaniola with such ardour as well as success, that these seemed to have engrossed their whole attention. The spirit of discovery lanquished; and, since the last voyage of Columbus, no enterprise of any moment had been undertaken. But as the decrease of the In­dians rendered it impossible to acquire wealth in that island with the same rapidity as formerly, this urged some of the more adventurous Spaniards to search for new countries, where their avarice might be gratified with more facility. Juan Ponce de Leon, who commanded under Ovando in the east­ern district of Hispaniola, passed over to the island of St. Juan de Puerto Rico, which Columbus had discovered in his second voyage, and penetrated into the interior part of the country. As he found the soil to be fertile, and expected, from some symptoms, as well as from the information of the inhabitants, to discover mines of gold in the moun­tains, Ovando permitted him to attempt making a settlement in the island. This was easily effected by an officer eminent for conduct no less than for courage. In a few years Puerto Rico was sub­jected to the Spanish government, the natives were reduced to servitude; and, being treated with the same inconsiderate rigour as their neighbours in Hispaniola, the race of original inhabitants, worn out with fatigue and sufferings, was soon extermi­nated.^†

[Page 221]ABOUT the same time, Juan Diaz de Solis, in conjunction with vincent Yanez Pinzon, one of Columbus's original companions, made a voyage to the continent. They held the same course which Columbus had taken, as far as to the island of Gua­naios; but, standing from thence to the west, they discovered a new and extensive province, after­wards known by the name of Yucatan, and pro­ceeded a considerable way along the coast of that country^*. Though nothing memorable occurred in this voyage, it deserves notice, because it led to discoveries of greater importance. For the same reason, the voyage of Sebastian de Ocampo, must be mentioned. By the command of Ovando, he sailed round Cuba, and first discovered with cer­tainty, that this country, which Columbus once supposed to be a part of the continent, was a large island^†.

THIS voyage round Cuba was one of the last occurrences under the administration of Ovando.Diego Co­lumbus ap­pointed go­vernor of Hispaniola. Ever since the death of Columbus, his son Don Diego had been employed in soliciting Ferdinand to grant him the offices of viceroy and admiral in the New World, together with all the other im­munities and profits which descended to him by inheritance, in consequence of the original capi­tulation with his father. But if these dignities and revenues appeared so considerable to Ferdinand, that, at the expence of being deemed unjust as well as ungrateful, he had wrested them from Co­lumbus, it is not surprising that he should be un­willing to confer them on his son. Accordingly, Don Diego wasted two years in incessant but fruitless importunity. Weary of this, he endea­voured at length to obtain, by a legal sentence, [Page 222] what he could not procure from the favour of an interested monarch. He commenced a suit against Ferdinand before the council which managed In­dian affairs,1509. and that court, with integrity which reflects honour upon its proceedings, decided against the king, and sustained Don Diego's claim of the viceroyalty, together with all the other privileges stipulated in the capitulation. Even after this decree, Ferdinand's repugnance to put a subject in possession of such extensive rights, might have thrown in new obstacles, if Don Diego had not taken a step which interested very powerful persons in the success of his claims. The sentence of the council of the Indies gave him a title to a rank so elevated, and a fortune so opulent, that he found no difficulty in concluding a marriage with Donna Maria, Daughter of Don Ferdinand de Toledo, great commendator of Leon, and brother of the Duke of Alva, a nobleman of the first rank, and nearly related to the king. The duke and his family espoused so warmly the cause of their new ally, that Ferdinand could not resist their soli­citations. He recalled Ovando, and appointed Don Diego his successor, though, even in confer­ring this favour, he could not conceal his jealousy; for he allowed him to assume only the title of go­vernor, not that of viceroy, which had been ad­judged to belong to him ^*.

He repairs to Hispani­ola.DON Diego quickly repaired to Hispaniola, attended by his brother, his uncles, his wife, whom the courtesy of the Spaniards honoured with the title of vice-queen, and a numerous retinue of persons of both sexes, born of good families. He lived with a splendour and magnificence hitherto unknown in the New World; and the family of Columbus seemed now to enjoy the honours and [Page 223] rewards due to his inventive genius, of which he himself had been cruelly defrauded. The colony itself required new lustre by the accession of so many inhabitants, of a different rank and charac­ter from most of those who had hitherto migrated to America, and many of the most illustrious fa­miles in the Spanish settlements are descended from the persons who at that time accompanied Don Diego Columbus^*.

NO benefit accrued to the unhappy natives from this change of governors. Don Diego was not only authorized by a royal edict to continue the repartimientos, or distribution of Indians, but the particular number which he might grant to every person, according to his rank in the colony, was specified. He availed himself of that permission, and soon after he landed at St. Domingo, he di­vided such Indians as were still unappropriated, among his relations and attendants^†.

THE next care of the new governor was to comply with an instruction which he received from the king, about settling a colony in Cubagua,Pearl fishery of Cubagua. a small island which Columbus had discovered in his third voyage. Though this barren spot hardly yielded subsistence to its wretched inhabitants, such quantities of those oysters which produce pearls were found on its coast, that it did not long escape the inquisitive avarice of the Spaniards, and be­came a place of considerable resort. Large for­tunes were acquired by the fishery of pearls, which was carried on with extraordinary ardour. The Indians, especially those from the Lucayo islands, were compelled to dive for them; and this dan­gerous and unhealthy employment was an addi­tional [Page 224] calamity, which contributed not a little to the extinction of that devoted race^*.

ABOUT this period, Juan Diaz de Solis and Pinzon set out,New voy­ages. in conjunction, upon a second voyage. They stood directly south, towards the equinoctial line, which Pinzon had formerly crossed, and advanced as far as the fortieth degree of southern latitude. They were astonished to find that the continent of America stretched on their right hand, through all this vast extent of ocean. They landed in different places, to take possession in the name of their sovereign; but though the country appeared to be extremely fertile and in­viting, their force was so small, having been sitted out rather for discovery than making settle­ments, that they left no colony behind them. Their voyage, served, however, to give the Spa­niards more exalted and adequate ideas with re­spect to the dimensions of this new quarter of the globe.^†

A settle­ment on the conti­nent at­tempted.THOUGH it was about ten years since Columbus had discovered the main land of America, the Spaniards had hitherto made no settlement in any part of it. What had been so long neglected was now seriously attempted, and with considerable vigour, though the plan for this purpose was neither formed by the crown, nor executed at the expence of the nation, but carried on by the en­terprising spirit of private adventurers. This scheme took its rise from Alonso de Ojeda, who had already made two voyages as the discoverer, by which he acquired considerable reputation, but no wealth. But his character for intrepidity and con­duct easily procured him associates, who advanced the money requisite to defray the charges of the [Page 225] expedition. About the same time, Diego de Ni­cuessa, who had acquired a large fortune in Hispa­niola, formed a similar design. Ferdinand encou­raged both; and though he refused to advance the smallest sum, was extremely liberal of titles and patents. He erected two governments on the con­tinent, one extending from Cape de Vela to the gulf of Darien, and the other from that to Cape Gracias a Dios. The former was given to Ojeda, the latter to Nicuessa. Ojeda fitted out a ship and two brigantines, with three hundred men; Ni­cuessa, six vessels, with seven hundred and eighty men. They sailed about the same time from St. Domingo for their respective governments. In order to give their title to those countries some appearance of validity, several of the most eminent divines and lawyers in Spain were employed to prescribe the mode in which they should take pos­session of them ^*. There is not in the history of mankind any thing more singular or extravagant than the form which they devised for this purpose. They instructed those invaders, as soon as they landed on the continent, to declare to the natives the principal articles of the Christian faith; to ac­quaint them in particular, with the supreme juris­diction of the Pope over all the kingdoms of the earth; to inform them of the grant which this holy pontiff had made of their country to the king of Spain; to require them to embrace the doc­trines of that religion which the Spaniards made known to them; and to submit to the sovereign whose authority they proclaimed. If the natives refused to comply with this requisition, the terms of which must have been utterly incomprehensible to uninstructed Indians, then Ojeda and Nicuessa were authorised to attack them with fire and sword; [Page 226] to reduce them, their wives and children, to a state of servitude; and to compel them by force to re­cognize the jurisdiction of the church, and the au­thority of the monarch, to which they would not voluntarily subject themselves^*.

The dis­asters attending it.AS the inhabitants of the continent could not at once yield assent to doctrines too refined for their uncultivated understandings, and explained to them by interpreters imperfectly acquainted with their language; as they did not conceive how a foreign priest, of whom they had never heard, could have any right to dispose of their country, or how an un­known prince should claim jurisdiction over them as his subjects; they fiercely opposed the new in­vaders of their territories. Ojeda and Nicuessa endeavoured to effect by force what they could not accomplish by persuasion. The contemporary writers enter into a very minute detail in relating their transactions; but as they made no discovery of importance, nor established any permanent set­tlement, their adventures are not entitled to any considerable place in the general history of a pe­riod, where romantic valour, struggling with incre­dible hardships, distinguish even effort of the Spa­nish-arms. They found the natives in those coun­tries of which they were to assume the government, to be of a character very different from that of their countrymen in the islands. They were fierce and warlike. Their arrows were dipped in poison so noxious, that every wound was followed with certain death. In one encounter they slew above [...]verty of Ojeda's followers, and the Spaniards, for the first time were taught to dread the inhabitants of the New World. Nicuessa was opposed by people equally resolute in defence of their pos­sessions. [...]ing could soften their ferocity. [Page 227] Though the Spaniards employed every art to foothe them, and to gain their confidence, they refused to hold any intercourse,1510. or to exchange any friendly office, with men whose residence among them they considered as fatal to their liberty and independence. This implacable enmity of the na­tives, though it rendered an attempt to establish a settlement in their country extremely difficult as well as dangerous, might have been surmounted at length by the perseverance of the Spaniards, by the superiority of their arms, and their skill in the art of war. But every disaster which can be accumu­lated upon the unfortunate, combined to complete their ruin. The loss of their ships by various acci­dents upon an unknown coast, the diseases peculiar to a climate the most noxious in all America, the want of provisions, unavoidable in a country im­perfectly cultivated, dissension among themselves, and the incessant hostilities of the natives, involved them in a succession of calamities, the bare recital of which strikes one with horror. Though they received two considerable reinforcements from His­paniola, the greater part of those who had engaged in this unhappy expedition, perished, in less than a year, in the most extreme misery. A few who survived, settled as a feeble colony at Santa Maria el Antigua, on the gulf of Darien, under the com­mand of Vasco Nugnez de Balboa, who, in the most desperate exigencies, displayed such courage and conduct, as first gained the confidence of his countrymen, and marked him out as their leader in more splendid and successful undertakings. Nor was he the only adventurer in this expedition who will appear with lustre in more important scenes, Francisco Pizarro was one of Ojeda's companions, and in this school of adversity acquired or improved the talents which sitted him for the extraordinary actions which he afterwards performed. Hernan [Page 228] Cortes, whose name became still more famous, had likewise engaged early in this enterprise, which rouzed all the active youth of Hispaniola to arms; but the good fortune that accompanied him in his subsequent adventures, interposed to save him from the disasters to which his companions were exposed. He was taken ill at St. Domingo before the depar­ture of the fleet, and detained there by a tedious indisposition.^*

Conquest of Cuba.NOTWITHSTANDING the unfortunate issue of this expedition, the Spaniards were not deterred from engaging in new schemes of a similar nature. When wealth is acquired gradually by the perse­vering hand of industry, or accumulated by the slow operations of regular commerce, the means em­ployed are so proportioned to the end attained, that there is nothing to strike the imagination, and little to urge on the active powers of the mind to uncommon efforts. But when large fortunes were created almost instantaneously; when gold and pearls were procured in exchange for baubles; when the countries which produced these rich commodities, defended only by naked savages, might be seized by the first bold invader, objects so singular and alluring, roused a wonderful spirit of enterprise among the Spaniards, who rushed with ardour into this new path that was opened to wealth and dis­tinction. While this spirit continued warm and vigorous, every attempt either towards discovery or conquest was applauded, and adventurers engaged in it with emulation. The passion for new under­takings, which characterises the age of discovery in the latter part of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth century, would alone have been sufficient [Page 229] to prevent the Spaniards from stopping short in their career. But circumstances peculiar to His­paniola at this juncture, concurred with it in ex­tending their navigation and conquests. The ri­gorous treatment of the inhabitants of that island, having almost extirpated the race, many of the Spanish planters, as I have already observed, find­ing it impossible to carry on their works with the same vigour and profit, were obliged to look out for settlements in some country where people were not yet wasted by oppression. Others, with the inconsiderate levity natural to men upon whom wealth pours in with a sudden flow, had squan­dered in thoughtless prodigality, what they acquired with ease, and were driven by necessity to embark in the most desperate schemes, in order to retrieve their affairs. From all these causes, when Don Diego Columbus proposed to conquer the island of Cuba, and to establish a colony there,1511. many persons of chief distinction in Hispaniola engaged with ala­crity in the measure. He gave the command of the troops destined for that service to Diego Velas­quez, one of his father's companions in his second voyage, and who, having been long settled in His­paniola, had acquired an ample fortune, with such reputation for probity and prudence, that he seemed to be well qualified for conducting an expedition of importance. Three hundred men were deemed sufficient for the conquest of an island of above seven hundred miles in length, and filled with in­habitants. But they were of the same unwarlike character with the people of Hispaniola. They were not only intimidated by the appearance of their new enemies, but unprepared to resist them. For though, from the time that the Spaniards took possession of the adjacent island, there was reason to expect a descent on their territories; none of the small communities into which Cuba was divided, [Page 230] had either made any provision for its own defence, or had formed any concert for their common safety. The only obstruction the Spaniards met with was from Hatuey, a cazique, who had fled from Hispa­niola, and had taken possession of the eastern extre­mity of Cuba. He stood upon the defensive at their first landing, and endeavoured to drive them back to their ships. His feeble troops, however, were soon broken and dispersed; and he himself being taken prisoner, Velasquez, according to the barbarous maxim of the Spaniards, considered him as a slave who had taken arms against his master, and condemned him to the flames. When Hatuey was fastened to the stake, a Franciscan friar la­bouring to convert him, promised him immediate admittance into the joys of heaven, if he would embrace the Chrstian faith. ‘Are there any Spa­niards,’ says he, after some pause, ‘in that re­gion of bliss which you describe?’ "Yes," replied the monk, ‘but only such as are worthy and good.’ "The best of them," returned the indignant cazique, ‘have neither worth nor good­ness; I will not go to a place where I may meet with one of that accursed race^*.’ This dread­ful example of vengeance struck the people of Cuba with such terror, that they scarcely gave any op­position to the progress of their invaders, and Velasquez, without the loss of a man, annexed this extensive and fertile island to the Spanish mo­narchy^†.

Discovery of FloridaTHE facility with which this important conquest was completed, served as an incitement to other undertakings. Juan Ponce de Leon, having ac­quired both fame and wealth by the reduction of [Page 231] Puerto Rico, was impatient to engage in some new enterprise. He fitted out three ships at his own expence,1512. for a voyage of discovery, and his reputa­tion soon drew together a respectable body of fol­lowers. He directed his course towards the Lucayo islands; and after touching at several of them, as well as the Bahama isles, he stood to the southwest, and discovered a country hitherto un­known to the Spaniards, which he called Florida, either because he fell in with it on Palm Sunday, or on account of its gay and beautiful appearance. He attempted to land in different places, but met with such vigorous opposition from the natives, who were fierce and warlike, as convinced him that an in­crease of force was requisite to effect a settlement. Satisfied with having opened a communication with a new country, of whose value and importance he conceived very sanguine hopes, he returned to Puerto Rico, through the channel now known by the name of the Gulf of Florida.

IT was not merely the passion of searching for new countries that prompted Ponce de Leon to undertake this voyage; he was influenced by one of those visionary ideas, which at that time often mingled with the spirit of discovery, and rendered it more active. A tradition prevailed among the natives of Puerto Rico, that in the isle of Bimini, one of the Lucayos, there was a fountain of such wonderful virtue as to renew the youth, and recal the vigour of every person who bathed in its salu­tary waters. In hopes of finding this grand resto­rative, Ponce de Leon and his followers ranged through the islands, searching, with fruitless solici­tude and labour for the fountain, which was the chief object of their expedition. That a tale so fabulous should gain credit among simple unin­structed Indians is not surprising. That it should make any impression upon an enlightened peo­ple [Page 232] appears in the present age, altogether in­credible. The fact, however, is certain; and the most authentic Spanish historians mention this ex­travagant sally of their credulous countrymen. The Spaniards, at that period, were engaged in a career of activity which gave a romantic turn to their imagination, and daily presented to them strange and marvellous objects. A New World was opened to their view. They visited islands and continents, of whose existence mankind in former ages had no conception. In those delightful countries nature seemed to assume another form: every tree and plant and animal was different from those of the ancient hemisphere. They seemed to be trans­ported into enchanted ground; and, after the won­ders which they had seen, nothing, in the warmth and novelty of their admiration, appeared to them so extraordinary as to be beyond belief. If the ra­pid succession of new and striking scenes made such impression even upon the sound understanding of Columbus, that he boasted of having found the seat of Paradise, it will not appear strange that Ponce de Leon should dream of discovering the fountain of youth ^*.

Progress of Ba [...]a in Darien.SOON after the expedition to Florida, a disco­very of much greater importance was made in an­other part of America. Balboa having been raised to the government of the small colony at Santa Maria in Darien, by the voluntary suffrage of his associates, was so extremely desirous to obtain from the crown a confirmation of their election, that he dispatched one of his officers to Spain, in order to solicit a royal commission, which might invest him with a legal title to the supreme command. Con­scious, [Page 233] however, that he could not expect success from the patronage of Ferdinand's ministers, with whom he was unconnected, or from negociating in a court to the arts of which he was a stranger, he endeavoured to merit the dignity to which he aspired, and aimed at performing some signal ser­vice that would secure him the preference to every competitor. Full of this idea, he made frequent inroads into the adjacent country, subdued several of the caziques, and collected a considerable quan­tity of gold, which abounded more in that part of the continent than in the islands. In one of those excursions, the Spaniards contended with such eagerness about the division of some gold, that they were at the point of proceeding to acts of vio­lence against one another. A young cazique, who was present, astonished at the high value which they set upon a thing of which he did not discern the use, tumbled the gold out of the balance with indignation; and, turning to the Spaniards, "Why do you quarrel (says he) about such a trifle? If you are so passionately fond of gold, as to abandon your own country, and to disturb the tranquillity of distant nations for its sake, I will conduct you to a region where the metal which seems to be the chief object of your admiration and desire, is so common that the meanest utensils are formed of it." Transported with what they heard, Balboa and his companions inquired eagerly where this happy country lay, and how they might arrive at it. He informed them that at the distance of six suns, that is of six days journey towards the south, they should discover another ocean, near to which this wealthy kingdom was situated; but if they in­tended to attack that powerful state, they must as­semble forces far superior in number and strength to those with which they now appeared ^*.

[Page 234]THIS was the first information which the Spa­niards received concerning the great southern ocean, or the opulent and extensive country known afterwards by the name of Peru.The schemes which he forms. Balboa had now before him objects suited to his boundless ambition, and the enterprising ardour of his genius. He im­mediately concluded the ocean which the cazique mentioned, to be that for which Columbus had searched without success in this part of America, in hopes of opening a more direct communication with the East Indies; and he conjectured that the rich territory which had been described to him, must be part of that vast and opulent region of the earth. Elated with the idea of performing what so great a man had attempted in vain; and eager to accomplish a discovery which he knew would be no less acceptable to the king than beneficial to his country, he was impatient until he could set out upon this enterprise, in comparison of which all his former exploits appeared inconsiderable. But previous arrangement and preparation were requi­site to ensure success. He began with courting and securing the friendship of the neighbouring ca­ziques. He sent some of his officers to Hispa­niola with a large quantity of gold, as a proof of his past success, and an earnest of his future hopes. By a proper distribution of this, they secured the favour of the governor, and allured volunteers into the service. A considerable reinforcement from that island joined him, and he thought himself in a condition to attempt the discovery.

Difficulty of execut­ing it.THE isthmus of Darien is not above sixty miles in breadth; but this neck of land, which binds to­gether the continents of North and South Ame­rica, is strengthened by a chain of lofty mountains stretching through its whole extent, which render it a barrier of solidity sufficient to resist the impulse of two opposite oceans. The mountains are covered [Page 235] with forests almost inaccessible. The valleys in that moist climate, where it rains during two-thirds of the year, are marshy, and so frequently overflowed, that the inhabitants find it necessary, in many places, to build their houses upon trees, in order to be ele­vated at some distance from the damp soil, and the odious reptiles engendered in the putrid waters^*. Large rivers rush down with an impetuous current from the high grounds. In a region thinly inha­bited by wandering savages, the hand of industry had done nothing to mitigate or correct those natu­ral disadvantages. To march across this unexplored country with no other guides but Indians, whose fidelity could be little trusted, was, on all those ac­counts, the boldest enterprise on which the Spa­niards had hitherto ventured in the New World. But the intrepidity of Balboa was such as distin­guished him among his countrymen, at a period when every adventurer was conspicuous for daring courage. Nor was bravery his only merit;1513. he was prudent in conduct, generous, affable, and possessed of those popular talents which, in the most despe­rate undertakings, inspire confidence and secure at­tachment. Even after the junction of the volun­teers from Hispaniola, he was able to muster only an hundred and ninety men for his expedition. But they were hard veterans, inured to the climate of America, and ready to follow him through every danger. A thousand Indians attended them to carry their provisions; and to complete their warlike ar­ray, they took with them several of those fierce dogs, which were no less formidable than destruc­tive to their naked enemies.

BALBOA set out upon this important expedition on the first of September,Discov [...] the S [...] Sea. about the time that the periodical rains began to abate. He proceeded by [Page 236] sea, and without any difficulty, to the territories of a cazique whose friendship he had gained; but no sooner did he begin to advance into the interior part of the country, than he was retarded by every ob­stacle, which he had reason to apprehend, from the nature of the territory, or the disposition of its inha­bitants. Some of the caziques, at his approach, fled to the mountains with all their people, and car­ried off or destroyed whatever could afford subsist­ence to his troops. Others collected their subjects, in order to oppose his progress, and he quickly per­ceived what an arduous undertaking it was, to con­duct such a body of men through hostile nations, across swamps and rivers, and woods, which had never been passed but by straggling Indians. But by sharing in every hardship with the meanest sol­dier, by appearing the foremost to meet every dan­ger, by promising confidently to his troops the enjoyment of honour and riches superior to what had been attained by the most successful of their countrymen, he inspired them with such enthusi­astic resolution, that they followed him without murmuring. When they had penetrated a good way into the mountains, a powerful cazique ap­peared in a narrow pass, with a numerous body of his subjects, to obstruct their progress. But men who had surmounted so many obstacles, despised the opposition of such feeble enemies. They at­tacked them with impetuosity, and having dispersed them with much ease and great slaughter, continued [...]eir march. Though their guides had represented the breadth of the isthmus to be only a journey of six days, they had already spent twenty-five in forcing their way through the woods and mountains. Many of them were ready to sink under such un­interrupted fatigue in that sultry climate, several were taken ill of the dysentery and other diseases frequent in that country, and all became impatient [Page 237] to reach the period of their labours and sufferings. At length the Indians assured them, that from the top of the next mountain they should discover the ocean which was the object of their wishes. When, with infinite toil, they had climbed up the greater part of that steep ascent, Balboa commanded his men to halt, and advanced alone to the summit, that he might be the first who should enjoy a spec­tacle which he had so long desired. As soon as he beheld the South Sea stretching in endless prospect below him, he fell on his knees, and lifting up his hands to Heaven, returned thanks to God, who had conducted him to a discovery so beneficial to his country, and so honourable to himself. His followers, observing his transports of joy, rushed forward to join in his wonder, exultation and gra­titude. They held on their course to the shore with great alacrity, when Balboa advancing up to the middle in the waves with his buckler and sword, took possession of that ocean in the name of the king his master, and vowed to defend it, with these arms, against all his enemies.^*

THAT part of the great Pacific or Southern Ocean, which Balboa first discovered, still retains the name of the Gulf of St. Michael, which he gave to it, and is situated to the east of Panama. From several of the petty princes, who governed in the districts adjacent to that gulf, he extorted provisions and gold by force of arms. Others sent them to him voluntarily. To these acceptable pre­sents, some of the caziques added a considerable quantity of pearls; and he learned from them, with much satisfaction, that pearl oysters abounded in the sea which he had newly discovered.

TOGETHER with the acquisition of this wealth, [Page 238] which served to soothe and encourage his followers, he received accounts which confirmed his sanguine hopes of future and more extensive benefits from the expedition.He receives information concerning a more o­pulent country. All the people on the coast of the South Sea concurred in informing him that there was a mighty and opulent kingdom situated at a considerable distance towards the south-east, the in­habitants of which had tame animals to carry their burdens. In order to give the Spaniards an idea of these, they drew upon the sand the figure of the Llamas or sheep, afterwards found in Peru, which the Peruvians had taught to perform such services as they described. As the Llama, in its form, nearly resembles a camel, a beast of burden deemed peculiar to Asia, this circumstance in conjunction with the discovery of the pearls, another noted production of that country, tended to confirm the Spaniards in their mistaken theory with respect to the vicinity of the New World to the East Indies.^*

Obliged to return.BUT though the information which Balboa re­ceived from the people on the coast, as well as his own conjectures and hopes, rendered him extremely impatient to visit this unknown country, his pru­dence restrained him from attempting to invade it with an handful of men, exhausted by fatigue, and weakened by diseases^†. He determined to lead back his followers, at present, to their settlement at Santa Maria in Darien, and to return next season with a force more adequate to such an arduous en­terprize. In order to acquire a more extensive knowledge of the isthmus, he marched back by a different route, which he found to be no less dan­gerous and difficult than that which he had formerly taken. But to men elated with success, and ani­mated with hope, nothing is insurmountable. Balboa [Page 239] returned to Santa Maria, from which he had been absent for four months, with greater glory and more treasure than the Spaniards had acquired in the New World.1514. None of Balboa's officers distin­guished themselves more in this service than Fran­cisco Pizarro, or assisted with greater courage and ardour in opening a communication with those countries, in which he was destined to act soon a most illustrious part.^*

BALBOA'S first care was to send information to Spain of the important discovery which he had made,P [...]ias appointed governor of Darien. and to demand a reinforcement of a thou­sand men, in order to attempt the conquest of that opulent country, concerning which he had received such inviting intelligence. The first account of the discovery of the New World hardly occasioned greater joy, than the unexpected tidings that a passage was at last found to the great southern ocean. The communication with the East Indies, by a course to the westward of the line of demarkation, drawn by the Pope, seemed now to be almost certain. The vast wealth which flowed into Portugal from its extensive settlements and conquests in that country, excited the envy, and called forth the emulation of other states. Ferdinand hoped now to come in for a share in this lucrative commerce, and in his eagerness to obtain, it was willing to make an effort beyond what Balboa required. But even in this exertion, his jealous policy, as well as the fatal antipathy of Fonseca, now Bishop of Bur­gos, to every man of merit who distinguished him­self in the New World, were conspicuous. Not­withstanding Balboa's recent services, which marked him out as the most proper person to finish that great undertaking which he had begun, Ferdinand [Page 240] was so ungenerous as to overlook these, and to ap­point Pedrarias Davila governor of Darien. He gave him the command of fifteen stout vessels, and twelve hundred soldiers. These were fitted out at the public expence, with a liberality which Ferdi­nand had never displayed in any former armament destined for the New World; and such was the ar­dour of the Spanish gentlemen to follow a leader who was about to conduct them to a country, where, as fame reported, they had only to throw their nets into the sea and draw out gold^*, that fifteen hun­dred embarked on board the fleet, and if they had not been restrained, a much greater number would have engaged in the service^†.

PEDRARIAS reached the gulf of Darien with­out any remarkable accident, and immediately sent some of his principal officers ashore to inform Bal­boa of his arrival, with the king's commission, to be governor of the colony. To their astonishment, they found Balboa, of whose great exploits they had heard so much, and of whose opulence they had formed such high ideas, clad in a canvas jacket, and wearing coarse hempen sandals used only by the meanest peasants, employed, together with some Indians, in thatching his own hut with reeds. Even in this simple garb, which corresponded so ill with the expectations and wishes of his new guests, Bal­boa received them with dignity. The fame of his discoveries had drawn so many adventurers from the islands, that he could now muster four hundred and fifty men. At the head of those daring vete­rans, he was more than a match for the force which Pedrarias brought with him. But though his troops murmured loudly at the injustice of the king in superseding their commander, and com­plained [Page 241] that strangers would now reap the fruits of their toil and success, Balboa submitted with impli­cit obedience to the will of his sovereign, and re­ceived Pedrarias with all the deference due to his character^*.

NOTWITHSTANDING this moderation,Dissension between him and Balboa. to which Pedrarias owed the peaceable possession of his go­vernment, he appointed a judicial inquiry to be made into Balboa's conduct, while under the com­mand of Nicuessa, and imposed a considerable fine upon him, on account of the irregularities of which he had then been guilty. Balboa felt sensibly the mortification of being subjected to trial and to pu­nishment in a place where he had so lately occupied the first station. Pedrarias could not conceal his jealousy of his superior merit; so that the resent­ment of the one, and the envy of the other, gave rise to dissentions extremely detrimental to the co­lony. It was threatened with a calamity still more fatal.July. Pedrarias had landed in Darien at a most unlucky time of the year, about the middle of the rainy season, in that part of the torrid zone where the clouds pour down such torrents as are unknown in more temperate climates^†. The village of Santa Maria was seated in a rich plain, environed with marshes and woods. The constitution of Europeans was unable to withstand the pestilential influence of such a situation, in a climate naturally so noxious, and at a season so peculiarly unhealthy. A violent and destructive malady carried off many of the sol­diers who accompanied Pedrarias. An extreme scarcity of provisions augmented this distress, as it rendered it impossible to find proper refreshment for the sick, or the necessary sustenance for the healthy^‡. In the space of a month, above six hun­dred [Page 242] persons perished in the utmost misery. De­jection and despair spread through the colony. Many principal persons solicited their dismission, and were glad to relinquish all their hopes of wealth, in order to escape from that pernicious re­gion. Pedrarias endeavoured to divert those who remained from brooding over their misfortunes, by finding them employment. With this view, he sent several detachments into the interior parts of the country, to levy gold among the natives, and to search for the mines in which it was produced. Those rapacious adventurers, more attentive to pre­sent gain than to the means of facilitating their fu­ture progress, plundered without distinction where­ever they marched. Regardless of the alliances which Balboa had made with several of the ca­ziques, they stripped them of every thing valuable, and treated them, as well as their subjects, with the utmost insolence and cruelty. By their tyranny and exactions, which Pedrarias, either from want of authority or of inclination, did not restrain, all the country from the Gulf of Darien to the Lake of Nicaragua was desolated, and the Spaniards were inconsiderately deprived of the advantages which they might have derived from the friendship of the natives, in extending their conquests to the South Sea. Balboa, who saw with concern that such ill-judged proceedings retarded the execution of his favourite scheme, sent violent remonstrances to Spain against the imprudent government of Pedra­rias, which had ruined a happy and flourishing co­lony. Pedrarias, on the other hand, accused him of having deceived the king, by magnifying his own exploits, as well as by a false representation of the opulence and value of the country ^*.

[Page 243]FERDINAND became sensible at length of his im­prudence in superseding the most active and expe­rienced officer he had in the New World, and, by way of compensation to Balboa,Violent proceedings against Bal­boa. appointed him Ade­lantado, or Lieutenant-governor of the countries upon the South Sea, with very extensive privileges and authority. At the same time he enjoined Pe­drarias to support Balboa in all his operations, and to consult with him concerning every measure which he himself pursued.1515. But to effect such a sudden transition from inveterate enmity to perfect con­fidence, exceeded Ferdinand's power. Pedrarias continued to treat his rival with neglect; and Bal­boa's fortune being exhausted by the payment of his fine, and other exactions of Pedrarias, he could not make suitable preparations for taking possession of his new government. At length, by the inter­position and exhortations of the bishop of Darien, they were brought to a reconciliation; and, in or­der to cement this union more firmly, Pedrarias agreed to give his daughter in marriage to Balboa. The first effect of their concord was,1516. that Balboa was permitted to make several small incursions into the country. These he conducted with such pru­dence, as added to the reputation which he had al­ready acquired. Many adventurers resorted to him, and, with the countenance and aid of Pedrarias, he began to prepare for his expedition to the South Sea. In order to accomplish this, it was necessary to build vessels capable of conveying his troops to those provinces which he purposed to invade.1517. Af­ter surmounting many obstacles, and enduring a variety of those hardships which were the portion of the conquerors of America, he at length finished four small brigantines. In these with three hun­dred chosen men, a force superior to that with which Pizarro afterwards undertook the same expedition, he was ready to sail towards Peru, when he re­ceived [Page 244] an unexpected message from Pedrarias^*. As his reconciliation with Balboa had never been cor­dial, the progress which his son-in-law was making revived his ancient enmity, and added to its ran­cour. He dreaded the prosperity and elevation of a man whom he had injured so deeply. He suspect­ed that success would encourage him to aim at in­dependence upon his jurisdiction; and so violently did the passions of hatred, fear, and jealousy, ope­rate upon his mind, that, in order to gratify his vengeance, he scrupled not to defeat an enterprise of the greatest moment to his country. Under pretexts which were false, but plausible, he desired Balboa to postpone his voyage for a short time, and to repair to Acla, in order that he might have an interview with him. Balboa, with the unsuspicious confidence of a man conscious of no crime, in­stantly obeyed the summons; but as soon as he en­tered the place, he was arrested by order of Pedra­rias, whose impatience to satiate his revenge did not suffer him to languish long in confinement. Judges were immediately appointed to proceed to his trial. An accusation of disloyalty to the king, and of an intention to revolt against the governor, was preferred against him. Sentence of death was pronounced; and though the judges who passed it, seconded by the whole colony, interceded warmly for his pardon, Pedrarias continued inexorable; and the Spaniards beheld, with astonishment and sorrow, the public execution of a man whom they univer­sally deemed more capable than any who had borne command in America, of forming and accomplish­ing great designs^†. Upon his death, the expedition which he had planned was relinquished. Pedrarias, notwithstanding the violence and injustice of his [Page 245] proceedings, was not only screened from punish­ment by the powerful patronage of the bishop of Burgos and other courtiers, but continued in power. Soon after, he obtained permission to remove the colony from its unwholesome station of Santa Ma­ria to Panama, on the opposite side of the isth­mus; and though it did not gain much in point of healthfulness by the change, the commodious situ­ation of this new settlement contributed greatly to facilitate the subsequent conquests of the Spaniards in the extensive countries situated upon the South­ern Ocean^*.

DURING these transactions in Darien,1515. New disco­veries. the history of which it was proper to carry on in an uninter­rupted tenour, several important events occurred with respect to the discovery, the conquest, and government, of other provinces in the New World. Ferdinand was so intent upon opening a communi­cation with the Molucca or Spice Islands by the west, that, in the year one thousand five hundred and fifteen, he fitted out two ships at his own ex­pence, in order to attempt such a voyage, and gave the command of them to Juan Diaz de Solis, who was deemed one of the most skilful navigators in Spain. He stood along the coast of South Ame­rica, and on the first of January one thousand five hundred and sixteen, entered a river which he cal­led Janeiro, where an extensive commerce is now carried on. From thence he proceeded to a spa­cious bay, which he supposed to be the entrance into a strait that communicated with the Indian ocean; but upon advancing farther, he found it to be the mouth of Rio de Plata, one of the vast rivers by which the southern continent of America is watered. In endeavouring to make a descent in this country, De Solis and several of his crew were slain by the natives, who, in sight of the ships, cut their bodies [Page 246] in pieces, roasted and devoured them. Discou­raged with the loss of their commander, and terrified at this shocking spectacle, the surviving Spaniards set sail for Europe, without aiming at any farther discovery^*. Though this attempt proved abortive, it was not without benefit. It turned the attention of ingenious men to this course of navigation, and prepared the way for a more fortunate voyage, by which, a few years posterior to this period, the great design that Ferdinand had in view was ac­complished.

State of the colony in Hisponiola.THOUGH the Spaniards were thus actively em­ployed in extending their discoveries and settle­ments in America, they still considered Hispaniola as their principal colony, and the seat of govern­ment. Don Diego Columbus wanted neither in­clination nor abilities to have rendered the mem­bers of this colony, who were most immediately under his jurisdiction, prosperous and happy. But he was circumscribed in all his operations by the suspicious policy of Ferdinand, who on every occa­sion, and under pretexts the most frivolous, re­trenched his privileges, and encouraged the trea­surer, the judges, and other subordinate officers, to counteract his measures, and to dispute his au­thority. The most valuable prerogative which the governor possessed, was that of distributing In­dians among the Spaniards settled in the island. The rigorous servitude of those unhappy men hav­ing been but little mitigated by all the regulations in their favour, the power of parcelling out such necessary instruments of labour at pleasure, secured to the governor great influence in the colony. In order to strip him of this, Ferdinand created a new office, with the power of distributing the Indians, and bestowed it upon Rodrigo Albuquerque, a rela­tion [Page 247] of Zapata, his confidential minister. Mortified with the injustice, as well as indignity, of this inva­sion upon his rights, in a point so essential, Don Diego could no longer remain in a place where his power and consequence were almost annihilated. He repaired to Spain with the vain hopes of obtain­ing redress^*. Albuquerque entered upon his of­fice with all the rapacity of an indigent adventurer, impatient to amass wealth. He began with taking the exact number of Indians in the island, and found, that from sixty thousand, who, in the year one thousand five hundred and eight, survived after all their sufferings, they were now reduced to four­teen thousand. These he threw into separate divi­sions or lots, and bestowed them upon such as were willing to purchase them at the highest price. By this arbitrary distribution, several of the natives were removed from their original habitations, many were taken from their ancient masters, and all of them subjected to heavier burdens, and to more in­tolerable labour, in order to reimburse their new proprietors. Those additional calamities completed the misery, and hastened on the extinction of this wretched and innocent race of men^†.

THE violence of these proceedings,Controver­sy with re­spect to the treatment of the Indi­ans. together with the fatal consequences which attended them, not only excited complaints among such as thought themselves aggrieved, but touched the hearts of all who retained any sentiments of humanity. From the time that Ecclesiastics were sent as instructors into America, they perceived that the rigour with which their countrymen treated the natives, ren­dered their ministry altogether fruitless. The mis­sionaries, in conformity to the mild spirit of that religion which they were employed to publish, early [Page 248] remonstrated against the maxims of the planters with respect to the Americans, and condemned the repartimientos, or distributions, by which they were given up as slaves to their conquerors, as no less contrary to natural justice and the precepts of Christianity, than to sound policy. The Domini­cans, to whom the instruction of the Americans was originally committed, were most vehement in testifying against the repartimientos. In the year one thousand five hundred and eleven, Montesino, one of their most eminent preachers, inveighed against this practice in the great church at St. Do­mingo, with all the impetuosity of popular elo­quence. Don Diego Columbus, the principal officers of the colony, and all the laymen who had been his hearers, complained of the monk to his superiors; but they, instead of condemning ap­plauded his doctrine, as equally pious and season­able. The Franciscans, influenced by the spirit of opposition and rivalship which subsists between the two orders, discovered some inclination to take part with the laity, and to espouse the defence of the repartimientos. But as they could not with decency give their avowed approbation to a system of oppres­sion, so repugnant to the spirit of religion, they endeavoured to palliate what they could not justify, and alledged, in excuse for the conduct of their countrymen, that it was impossible to carry on any improvement in the colony, unless the Spaniards possessed such dominion over the natives, that they could compel them to labour^*.

Contrary [...]sions concerning this point.THE Dominicans, regardless of such political and interested considerations, would not relax in any degree the rigour of their sentiments, and even refused to absolve, or admit to the sacrament, [Page 249] such of their countrymen as continued to hold the natives in servitude^*. Both parties applied to the king for his decision in a matter of such import­ance. Ferdinand empowered a committee of his privy-council, assisted by some of the most emi­nent civilians and divines in Spain, to hear the deputies sent from Hispaniola, in support of their respective opinions. After a long discussion, the speculative point in controversy was determined in favour of the Dominicians, the Indians were de­clared to be a free people, intitled to all the na­tural rights of men; but, notwithstanding this decision, the repartimientos were continued upon their ancient footing^†. As this determination admitted the principle upon which the Dominicans founded their opinion, they renewed their efforts to obtain relief for the Indians with additional bold­ness and zeal. At length, in order to quiet the colony, which was alarmed by their remonstrances and censures, Ferdinand issued a decree of his privy council, declaring, that after mature consi­deration of the Apostolic Bull, and other titles by which the crown of Castile claimed a right to its possessions in the New World,1513. the servitude of the Indians was warranted by both the laws of God and of man; that unless they were subjected to the do­minion of the Spaniards, and compelled to reside under their inspection, it would be impossible to reclaim them from idolatry, or to instruct them in the principles of the Christian faith; that no far­ther scruple ought to be entertained concerning the lawfulness of the repartimientos, as the king and council were willing to take the charge of that upon their own consciences; and that therefore the Dominicians, and Monks of other religious [Page 250] orders, should abstain, for the future, from those invectives, which, from an excess of charitable but ill-informed zeal, they have uttered against that practice^*.

THAT his intention of adhering to this decree might be fully understood, Ferdinand conferred new grants of Indians upon several of his courtiers^†. But in order that he might not seem altogether in­attentive to the rights of humanity, he published an edict, in which he endeavoured to provide for the mild treatment of the Indians under the yoke to which he subjected them; he regulated the nature of the work which they should be required to perform, he prescribed the mode in which they should be clothed and fed, and gave directions with respect to their instruction in the principles of Chris­tianity^‡.

Effect of th [...]e.BUT the Dominicans, who from their experience of what was past, judged concerning the future, soon perceived the inefficacy of those provisions, and foretold, that as long as it was the interest of individuals to treat the Indians with rigour, no pub­lic regulations could render their servitude mild or tolerable. They considered it as vain to waste their own time and strength in attempting to commu­nicate the sublime truths of religion to men, whose spirits were broken, and their faculties impaired by oppression. Some of them, in despair, re­quested the permission of their superiors to remove to the continent, and pursue the object of their mis­sion among such of the natives as were not hitherto corrupted by the example of the Spaniards, or ali­enated by their cruelty from the Christian faith. Such as remained in Hispaniola continued to remon­strate, [Page 251] with decent firmness, against the servitude of the Indians^*.

THE violent operations of Albuquerque,Bartholo­mew de las Casas ap­pears in de­fence of the Indians. the new distributor of Indians, revived the zeal of the Do­minicans against the repartimientos, and called forth an advocate for that oppressed people, who pos­sessed all the courage, the talents, and activity re­quisite in supporting such a desperate cause. This was Bartholomew de las Casas, a native of Seville, and one of the clergymen sent out with Columbus in his second voyage to Hispaniola, in order to settle in that island. He early adopted the opinion prevalent among ecclesiastics, with respect to the unlawfulness of reducing the natives to servitude; and that he might demonstrate the sincerity of his conviction, he relinquished all the Indians who had fallen to his own share in the division of the inha­bitants among their conquerors, declaring that he should ever bewail his own misfortune and guilt, in having exercised for a moment this impious domi­nion over his fellow creatures^†. From that time, he became the avowed patron of the Indians; and by his bold interpositions in their behalf, as well as by the respect due to his abilities and character, he had often the merit of setting some bounds to the excesses of his countrymen. He did not fail to remonstrate warmly against the proceedings of Al­buquerque, and, though he soon found that atten­tion to his own interest rendered this rapacious officer deaf to admonition, he did not abandon the wretched people whose cause he had espoused. He instantly set out for Spain, with the most sanguine [Page 252] hopes of opening the eyes and softening the heart of Ferdinand, by that striking picture of the oppres­sion of his new subjects,1516. which he would exhibit to his view^*.

Solicits their cause in the court of Spain.HE easily obtained admittance to the king, whom he found in a declining state of health. With much freedom, and no less eloquence, he repre­sented to him all the fatal effects of the repartimientos in the New World, boldly charging him with the guilt of having authorised this impious measure, which had brought misery and destruction upon a numerous and innocent race of men, whom Provi­pence had placed under his protection. Ferdinand, whose mind as well as body was much enfeebled by his distemper, was greatly alarmed at this charge of impiety, which at another juncture he would have despised. He listened with deep compunction to the discourse of Las Casas, and promised to take into serious consideration the means of redressing the evil of which he complained. But death pre­vented him from executing his resolution. Charles of Austria, to whom all his crowns devolved, resided at that time in his paternal dominions in the Low Countries. Las Casas, with his usual ardour, pre­pared immediately to set out for Flanders, in order to occupy the ear of the young monarch, when car­dinal Ximenes, who, as regent, assumed the reins of government in Castile, commanded him to desist from the journey, and engaged to hear his com­plaints in person.

The regu­lation of Cardinal Ximenes.HE accordingly weighed the matter with atten­tion equal to its importance; and as his impetuous mind delighted in schemes bold and uncommon, he soon fixed upon a plan which astonished the mini­sters, trained up under the formal and cautious ad­ministration [Page 253] of Ferdinand. Without regarding either the rights of Don Diego Columbus, or the regula­tions established by the late king,1517. he resolved to send three persons to America as superintendants of all the colonies there, with authority, after examin­ing all circumstances on the spot, to decide finally with respect to the point in question. It was a matter of deliberation and delicacy to chuse men qualified for such an important station. As all the laymen settled in America, or who had been con­sulted in the administration of that department, had given their opinion that the Spaniards could not keep possession of their new settlements, unless they were allowed to retain their dominion over the Indians, he saw that he could not rely on their im­partiality, and determined to commit the trust to ecclesiastics. As the Dominicans and Franciscans had already espoused opposite sides in the contro­versy, he, from the same principle of impartiality, excluded both these fraternities from the commis­sion. He confined his choice to the monks of St. Jerome, a small, but respectable order in Spain. With the assistance of their general, and in concert with Las Casas, he soon pitched upon three persons whom he deemed equal to the charge. To them he joined Zuazo, a private lawyer of distinguished probity, with unbounded power to regulate all judicial proceedings in the colonies. Las Casas was appointed to accom­pany them, with the title of protector of the Indians^*.

TO vest such extraordinary powers,The man­ner in which they were exe­cuted. as might at once overturn the system of government cstablished in the New World, in four persons, who, from their humble condition in life, were little intitled to possess this high authority, appeared to Zapata, and other [Page 254] ministers of the late king, a measure so wild and dan­gerous, that they refused to issue the dispatches ne­cessary for carrying it into execution. But Xime­nes was not of a temper patiently to brook oppo­sition to any of his schemes. He sent for the refractory ministers, and addressed them in such a tone, that in the utmost consternation they obeyed his orders^*. The superintendants, with their asso­ciate Zuazo, and Las Casas, sailed for St. Domingo. Upon their arrival, the first act of their authority was to set at liberty all the Indians who had been granted to the Spanish courtiers, or to any person not residing in America. This, together with the information which had been received from Spain concerning the object of the commission, spread a general alarm. The colonists concluded that they were to be deprived at once of the hands with which they carried on their labour, and that, of consequence, ruin was unavoidable. But the fa­thers of St. Jerome proceeded with such caution and prudence, as soon dissipated all their fears. They discovered, in every step of their conduct, a knowledge of the world, and of affairs, which is seldom acquired in a cloister; and displayed a mo­deration as well as gentleness still more rare among persons trained up in the solitude and austerity of a monastic life. Their ears were open to information from every quarter, they compared the different accounts which they received, and, after a mature consideration of the whole, they were fully satisfied that the state of the colony rendered it impossible to adopt the plan proposed by Las Casas, and re­commended by the Cardinal. They plainly per­ceived that the Spaniards settled in America were so few in number, that they could neither work the mines which had been opened, nor cultivate the [Page 255] country; that they depended for effecting both, upon the labour of the natives, and if deprived of it, they must instantly relinquish their conquests, or give up all the advantages which they derived from them; that no allurement was so powerful as to surmount the natural aversion of the Indians to any laborious effort, and that nothing but the au­thority of a master could compel them to work; and if they were not kept constantly under the eye and discipline of a superior, so great was their na­tural listlessness and indifference, that they would neither attend to religious instruction, nor observe those rites of Christianity which they had been al­ready taught. Upon all those accounts, the super­intendants found it necessary to tolerate the repar­timientos, and to suffer the Indians to remain under subjection to their Spanish masters. They used their utmost endeavours, however, to prevent the fatal effects of this establishment, and to secure to the Indians the consolation of the best treatment compatible with a state of servitude. For this pur­pose, they revived former regulations, they pre­scribed new ones, they neglected no circumstance that tended to mitigate the rigour of the yoke; and by their authority, their example and their exhortations, they laboured to inspire their coun­trymen with sentiments of equity and gentleness towards the unhappy people upon whose industry they depended. Zuazo, in his department, se­conded the endeavours of the superintendants. He reformed the courts of justice, in such a manner as to render their decisions equitable as well as ex­peditious, and introduced various regulations which greatly improved the interior police of the colony. The satisfaction which his conduct, and that of the superintendants gave, was now universal among the Spaniards settled in the New World, and all ad­mired the boldness of Ximenes, in having departed [Page 256] from the ordinary path of business in forming his plan, as well as his sagacity, in pitching upon persons, whose wisdom, moderation, and disin­terestedness rendered them worthy of this high truth^*.

Las Casas dissatisfied with them.LAS CASAS alone was dissatisfied. The pruden­tial considerations which influenced the superin­tendants, made no impression upon him. He re­garded their idea of accommodating their conduct to the state of the colony, as the maxim of an unhallowed timid policy, which tolerated what was unjust, because it was beneficial. He contended, that the Indians were naturally free, and, as their protector, he required the superintendants not to bereave them of the common privilege of huma­nity. They received his most virulent remon­strances without emotion, but adhered firmly to their own system. The Spanish planters did not bear with him so patiently, and were ready to tear him in pieces for insisting in a requisition so odious to them. Las Casas, in order to screen himself from their rage, found it necessary to take shelter in a convent; and perceiving that all his efforts in America were fruitless, he soon set out for Europe, with a fixed resolution not to abandon the pro­tection of a people whom he deemed to be cruelly oppressed^†.

His nego­ciations with the ministers of Charles V.HAD Ximenes retained that vigour of mind with which he usually applied to business, Las Casas must have met with no very gracious reception upon his return to Spain. But he found that Car­dinal languishing under a mortal distemper, and preparing to resign his authority to the young king, who was daily expected from the Low Countries. [Page 257] Charles arrived, took possession of the govern­ment, and, by the death of Ximenes, lost a minister, whose abilities and integrity intitled him to direct his affairs. Many of the Flemish nobility had ac­companied their sovereign to Spain. From that warm predilection to his countrymen, which was natural at his age, he consulted them with respect to all the transactions in his new kingdom, and they with an indiscreet eagerness, intruded them­selves into every business, and seized almost every department of administration^*. The direction of American affairs was an object too alluring to escape their attention. Las Casas observed their growing influence, and though projectors are usually too sanguine to conduct their schemes with much dexterity, he possessed a bustling indefati­gable activity, which sometimes accomplishes its purposes with greater success, than the most ex­quisite discernment and address. He courted the Flemish Ministers with assiduity. He represented to them the absurdity of all the maxims hitherto adopted with respect to the government of Ame­rica, particularly during the administration of Fer­dinand, and pointed out the defects of those arrangements which Ximenes had introduced. The memory of Ferdinand was odious to the Flemings. The superior virtue and abilities of Ximenes had long been the object of their envy. They fondly wished to have a plausible pretext for condemning the measures, both of the mo­narch and of the minister, and of reflecting some discredit on their political wisdom. The friends of Don Diego Columbus, as well as the Spanish courtiers, who had been dissatisfied with the Car­dinal's administration, joined Las Casas in censuring the scheme of sending superintendants to America. [Page 258] This union of many interests and passions was irresistible; and, in consequence of it, the fathers of St, Jerome, together with their associate Zuazo, were recalled. Roderigo de Figueroa, a lawyer of some eminence, was appointed chief judge of the island, and received instructions, in compliance with the request of Las Casas, to ex­amine once more, with the utmost attention, the point in controversy between him and the people of the colony, with respect to the treatment of the natives; and in the mean time to do every thing in his power to alleviate their sufferings, and prevent the extinction of the race^*.

Scheme of supplying the colony with ne­groes.THIS was all that the zeal of Las Casas could procure, at that juncture, in favour of the Indians. The impossibility of carrying on any improvement in America, unless the Spanish planters could command the labour of the natives, was an insu­perable objection to his plan of treating them as free subjects. In order to provide some remedy for this, without which he found it was in vain to mention his scheme, Las Casas proposed to pur­chase a sufficient number of negroes from the Por­tuguese settlements on the coast of Africa, and to transport them to America, in order that they might be employed as slaves in working the mines and cultivating the ground. One of the first ad­vantages which the Portuguese had derived from their descoveries in Africa, arose from the trade in slaves. Various circumstances concurred in reviv­ing this odious commerce, which had been long abolished in Europe, and which is no less repug­nant to the feelings of humanity, than to the prin­ciples of religion. As early as the year one thousand five hundred and three, a few negro slaves had been sent into the New World^†. In [Page 259] the year one thousand five hundred and eleven, Ferdinand permitted the importation of them in greater numbers^*. They were found to be a more robust and hardy race than the natives of America. They were more capable of enduring fatigue, more patient under servitude, and the labour of one ne­gro was computed to be equal to that of four In­dians^†. Cardinal Ximenes, however, when soli­cited to encourage this commerce, peremptorily rejected the proposition, because he perceived the iniquity of reducing one race of men to slavery, while he was consulting about the means of restor­ing liberty to another^‡. But Las Casas, from the inconsistency natural to men who hurry with head-long impetuosity towards a favourite point, was incapable of making this distinction. While he contended earnestly for the liberty of the people born in one quarter of the globe, he laboured to enslave the inhabitants of another region; and in the warmth of his zeal to save the Americans from the yoke, pronounced it to be lawful and expedient to impose one still heavier upon the Africans. Unfortunately for the latter, Las Casas's plan was adopted. Charles granted a patent to one of his Flemish favourites, containing an exclusive right of importing four thousand negroes into America. The favourite sold his patent to some Genoese merchants for twenty-five thousand ducats, and they were the first who brought into a regular form that commerce for slaves between Africa and Ame­rica, which has since been carried on to such an amazing extent^§.

BUT the Genoese merchants,1518 [...] propor [...] sending la­bourers [...] Hispaniola. conducting their operations, at first, with the rapacity of monopo­lists, demanded such an high price for negroes, [Page 260] that the number imported into Hispaniola made no great change upon the state of the colony. Las Casas, whose zeal was no less inventive than indefatigable, had recourse to another expedient for the relief of the Indians. He observed, that most of the persons who had settled hitherto in America, were sailors and soldiers employed in the discovery or conquest of the country; the younger sons of noble families, allured by the prospect of acqui­ring sudden wealth; or desperate adventurers, whom their indigence or crimes forced to abandon their native land. Instead of such men, who were disso­lute, rapacious, and incapable of that sober perse­vering industry which is requisite in forming new colonies, he proposed to supply the settlements in Hispaniola and other parts of the New World with a sufficient number of labourers and husbandmen, who should be allured by suitable premiums to re­move thither. These, as they were accustomed to fatigue, would be able to perform the work, to which the Indians, from the feebleness of their con­stitution, were unequal, and might soon become useful and opulent citizens. But though Hispaniola stood much in need of a recruit of inhabitants, ha­ving been visited at this time with the small pox, which swept off almost all the natives who had sur­vived their long-continued oppression, and though Las Casas had the countenance of the Flemish mi­nisters, this scheme was defeated by the bishop of Burgos, who thwarted all his projects^*.

Forms the idea of a new colonyLAS CASAS now despaired of procuring any re­lief for the Indians in those places where the Spa­niards were already settled. The evil was become so inveterate there, as not to admit of a cure. But such discoveries were daily making in the continent, as gave an high idea both of its extent and popu­lousness. [Page 261] In all those vast regions there was but one feeble colony planted; and except a small spot on the isthmus of Darien, the natives still occupied the whole country. This opened a new and more ample field for the humanity and zeal of Las Casas, who flattered himself that he might prevent a per­nicious system from being introduced there, though he had failed of success in his attempts to overturn it, where it was already established. Full of this idea, he applied for a grant of the unoccupied country, stretching along the sea-coast from the gulf of Paria to the western frontier of that province now known by the name of Santa Martha. He proposed to settle there with a colony composed of husbandmen, labourers, and ecclesiastics. He en­gaged, in the space of two years, to civilize ten thousand of the natives, and to instruct them so thoroughly in the arts of social life, that, from the fruits of their industry, an annual revenue of fifteen thousand ducats should arise to the king. In ten years he expected that his improvements would be so far advanced, as to yield annually sixty thousand ducats. He stipulated, that no sailor or soldier should ever be permitted to settle in this district; and that no Spaniard whatever should enter it with­out his permission. He even projected to clothe the people whom he took along with him in some distinguishing garb, which did not resemble the Spanish dress, that they might appear to the natives to be a different race of men from those who had brought so many calamities upon their country^*. From this scheme, of which I have traced only the great lines, it is manifest that Las Casas had formed ideas concerning the method of treating the Indi­ans, similar to those by which the Jesuits afterwards carried on their great operations in another part of [Page 262] the same continent. He supposed that the Europe­ans, by availing themselves of that ascendant which they possessed in consequence of their superior pro­gress in science and improvements, might gradually form the minds of the Americans to relish those comforts of which they were destitute, might train them to the arts of civil life, and render them ca­pable of its functions.

Favourably received.BUT to the bishop of Burgos and the council of the Indies this project appeared not only chime­rical, but dangerous in a high degree. They deemed the faculties of the Americans to be natu­rally so limited, and their indolence so excessive, that every attempt to instruct or to improve them would be fruitless. They contended that it would be extremely imprudent to give the command of a country extending above a thousand miles along the coast, to a fanciful presumptuous enthusiast, a stranger to the affairs of the world, and unac­quainted with the arts of government. Las Casas, far from being discouraged with a repulse, which he had reason to expect, had recourse once more to the Flemish favourites, who zealously patronized his scheme, merely because it had been rejected by the Spanish ministers. They prevailed with their master, who had lately been raised to the Imperial dignity, to refer the consideration of this measure to a select number of his privy-counsellors; and Las Casas having excepted against the members of the counsel of the Indies, as partial and interested, they were all excluded. The decision of men chosen by recommendation of the Flemings, was perfectly conformable to their sentiments. They warmly approved of Las Casas's plan; and gave orders for carrying it into execution, but restricted the territory allotted him to three hundred miles along the coast of Cumana, allowing him, how­ever, [Page 263] to extend it as far as he pleased towards the interior part of the country^*.

THIS determination did not pass uncensured. Almost every person who had been in the West Indies exclaimed against it,A solemn deliberation concerning the mode of treating the Indians and supported their opinion so confidently, and with such plausible rea­sons, as made it adviseable to pause and to review the subject more deliberately. Charles himself, though accustomed, at this early period of his life, to adopt the sentiments of his ministers, with such submissive deference as did not promise that deci­sive vigour of mind which distinguished his riper years, could not help suspecting that the eagerness with which the Flemings took part in every affair relating to America, flowed from some improper motive, and began to discover an inclination to examine in person into the state of the question concerning the character of the Americans, and the proper manner of treating them.June 20. An opportunity of making this inquiry with great advantage soon occurred. Quevedo, the bishop of Darien, who had accompanied Pedrarias to the continent in the year one thousand five hundred and thirteen, hap­pened to land at Barcelona, where the court then resided. It was quickly known, that his senti­ments concerning the talents and disposition of the Indians differed from those of Las Casas; and Charles naturally concluded that by confronting two res­pectable persons, who, during their residence in America, had full leisure to observe the manners of the people whom they pretended to describe, he might be able to discover which of them had formed his opinion with the greatest discernment and accuracy.

A day for this solemn audience was appointed. [Page 264] The emperor appeared with extraordinary pomp, and took his seat on a throne in the great hall of the palace. His principal courtiers attended. Don Diego Columbus admiral of the Indies, was sum­moned to be present. The bishop of Darien was called upon first to deliver his opinion. He, in a short discourse, lamented the fatal desolautin of America, by the extinction of so many of its in­habitants; he acknowledged that this must be im­puted, in some degree, to the excessive rigour and inconsiderate proceedings of the Spaniards; but declared, that all the people of the New World, whom he had seen either in the continent or in the islands, appeared to him to be a race of men marked out, by the inferiority of their talents, for servitude, and whom it would be impossible to instruct or improve, unless they were kept under the continual inspection of a master. Las Casas, at greater length, and with more fervour, defended his own system. He rejected with indignation the idea that any race of men was born to servitude, as irreligious and inhuman. He asserted, that the faculties of the Americans were not naturally despi­cable, but unimproved; that they were capable of receiving instruction, in the principles of religion, as well as of acquiring the industry and arts which would qualify them for the various offices of social life; that the mildness and timidity of their nature rendered them so submissive and docile, that they might be led and formed with a gentle hand. He professed, that his intentions in proposing the scheme now under consideration were pure and dis­interested; and though, from the accomplishment of his designs, inestimable benefits would result to the crown of Castile, he never had claimed, nor ever would receive, any recompence on that account.

CHARLES, after hearing both, and consulting with his ministers, did not think himself sufficiently [Page 265] informed to establish any general arrangement with respect to the state of the Indians; but as he had perfect confidence in the integrity of Las Casas, and as even the bishop of Darien admitted his scheme to be of such importance,The scheme of Las Casas approved of. that a trial should be made of its effects, he issued a patent, granting him the district in Cumana formerly mentioned,1520. with full power to establish a colony there accord­ing to his own plan^*.

LAS CASAS pushed on the preparations for his voyage with his usual ardour.His prepa­rations for executing it. But either from his own inexperience in the conduct of affairs, or from the secret opposition of the Spanish nobility, who universally dreaded the success of an institution that might rob them of the industrious and useful hands which cultivated their estates, his progress in engag­ing husbandmen and labourers was extremely slow, and he could not prevail on more than two hundred to accompany him to Cumana.

NOTHING, however, could damp his zeal.Departs for America, and meets with for­midable obstacles. With this slender train, hardly sufficient to take possession of such a large territory, and altogether unequal to any effectual attempt towards civilzing its inhabit­ants, he set sail. The first place at which he touched was the island of Puerto Rico. There he received an account of a new obstacle to the execu­tion of his scheme, more insuperable than any he had hitherto encountered. When he left America in the year one thousand five hundred and sixteen, the Spaniards had little intercourse with any part of the continent, except the countries adjacent to the gulf of Darien. But as every species of inter­nal industry began to stagnate in Hispaniola, when, by the rapid decrease of the natives, the Spaniards were deprived of those hands with which they had [Page 266] hitherto carried on their operations, this prompted them to try various expedients for supplying that loss. Considerable numbers of negroes were im­ported; but, on account of their exorbitant price, many of the planters could not afford to purchase them. In order to procure slaves at an easier rate, some of the Spaniards in Hispaniola fitted out vessels to cruize along the coast of the continent. In places where they found themselves inferior in strength, they traded with the natives, and gave European toys in exchange for the plates of gold worn by them as ornaments; but, wherever they could surprise or overpower the Indians, they carried them off by force, and sold them as slaves^*. In those predatory excursions, such atrocious acts of violence and cruelty had been commited, that the Spanish name was held in detestation all over the continent. Whenever any ships appeared, the inhabitants either fled to the woods, or rushed down to the shore in arms, to r [...]pel those hated disturbers of their tranquillity. They forced some parties of the Spaniards to retreat with precipitation; they cut off others; and in the violence of their re­sentment against the whole nation, they murdered two Dominican missionaries, whose zeal had prompt­ed them to settle in the province of Cumana^†. This outrage against persons revered for their sanc­tity, excited such indignation among the people of Hispaniola, who, notwithstanding all their licenti­ous and cruel proceedings, were possessed with a wonderful zeal for religion, and a superstitious res­pect for its ministers, that they determined to inflict exemplary punishment, not only upon the perpetra­tors of that crime, but upon the whole race. With this view, they gave the command of five ships and three hundred men to Diego Ocampo, with orders to lay waste the country of Cumana with fire and [Page 267] sword, and to transport all the inhabitants as slaves to Hispaniola. This armament Las Casas found at Puerto Rico, in its way to the continent; and as Ocampo refused to defer his voyage, he immedi­ately perceived that it would be impossible to attempt the execution of his pacific plan in a country destined to be the seat of war and deso­lation^*.

IN order to provide against the effects of this unfortunate incident,April 1 [...]. Labours to surmount them. he set sail directly for St. Do­mingo, leaving his followers cantoned out among the planters in Puerto Rico. From many concur­ring causes, the reception which Las Casas met with in Hispaniola was very unfavourable. In his negociations for the relief of the Indians, he had censured the conduct of his countrymen settled there with such honest severity as rendered him uni­versally odious to them. They considered their own ruin as the inevitable consequence of his suc­cess. They were now elated with hope of receiving a large recruit of slaves from Cumana, which must be relinquished if Las Casas were assisted in settling his projected colony there. Figueroa, in conse­quence of the instructions which he had received in Spain, had made an experiment concerning the ca­pacity of the Indians, that was represented as decisive against the system of Las Casas. He collected in Hispaniola a good number of the natives, and set­tled them in two villages, leaving them at perfect liberty, and with the uncontrolled direction of their own actions. But that people, accustomed to a mode of life extremely different from that which takes place wherever civilization has made any con­siderable progress, were incapable of assuming new habits at once. Dejected with their own misfor­tunes as well as those of their country, they exerted [Page 268] so little industry in cultivating the ground, appeared so devoid of solicitude or foresight in providing for their own wants, and were such strangers to ar­rangement in conducting their affairs, that the Spaniards pronounced them incapable of being formed to live like men in social life, and considered them as children, who should be kept under the perpetual tutelage of persons superior to themselves in wisdom and sagacity^*.

Final mis­carriage of his schemeNOTWITHSTANDING all those circumstances which alienated the Spaniards in Hispaniola to whom Las Casas applied from himself and from his measures, he, by his activity and perseverance, by some concessions, and many threats, obtained at length a small body of troops to protect him and his colony at their first landing. But upon his re­turn to Puerto Rico, he found that the diseases of the climate had been fatal to several of his people; and that others having got employment in that island, refused to follow him. With the handful that remained, he set sail and landed in Cumana. Ocampo had executed his commission in that pro­vince with such barbarous rage, having massacred many of the inhabitants, sent others in chains to Hispaniola, and forced the rest to fly for shelter to the woods, that the people of a small colony, which he had planted at that place which he called Toledo, were ready to perish for want in a desolated coun­try. There, however, Las Casas was obliged to fix his residence, though deserted both by the troops appointed to protect him, and by those under the command of Ocampo, who foresaw and dreaded the calamities to which he must be exposed in that wretched station. He made the best provision in his power for the safety and subsistence of his fol­lowers; but as his utmost efforts availed little to­wards [Page 269] securing either the one or the other, he re­turned to Hispaniola, in order to solicit more effectual aid for the preservation of men, who from confidence in him had ventured into a post of so much danger. Soon after his departure, the na­tives, having discovered the feeble and defenceless state of the Spaniards, assembled secretly, attacked them with the fury natural to men exasperated by many injuries, cut off a great number, and com­pelled the rest to f [...]y in the greatest consternation to the island of Cubagua. The small colony settled there, on account of the pearl fishery, catching the panic with which their countrymen had been seized, abandoned the island, and not a Spaniard remained in any part of the continent, or adjacent islands, from the gulf of Paria to the borders of Darien. Asto­nished at such a succession of disasters, Las Casas was ashamed to shew his face after this fatal termination of all his splendid schemes. He shut himself up in the convent of the Dominicans at St. Domingo, and soon after assumed the habit of that order^*.

THOUGH the expulsion of the colony from Cu­mana happened in the year one thousand five hun­dred and twenty-one, I have chosen to trace the progress of Las Casas's negociations from their first rise to their final issue without interruption. His system was the object of long and attentive dis­cussion; and though his efforts in behalf of the op­pressed Americans, partly from his own rashness and imprudence, and partly from the malevolent opposition of his adversaries, were not attended with that success which he promised with too san­guine confidence, great praise is due to his humane activity, which gave rise to various regulations that [Page 270] were of some benefit to that unhappy people. I return now to the history of the Spanish discove­ries, as they occur in the order of time^*.

New disco­veries to­wards the week.DIEGO VELASQUEZ, who conquered Cuba in the year one thousand five hundred and eleven, still retained the government of that island, as the de­puty of Don Diego Columbus, though he seldom acknowledged his superior, and aimed at rendering his own authority altogether independent^†. Under his prudent administration, Cuba became one of the most flourishing of the Spanish settlements. The fame of this allured thither many persons from the other colonies, in hopes of finding either some permanent establishment or some employment for their activity. As Cuba lay to the west of all the islands occupied by the Spaniards, and as the ocean, which stretches beyond it towards that quarter, had not hitherto been explored, these circumstances na­turally invited the inhabitants to attempt new disco­veries. An expedition for this purpose, in which acti­vity and resolution might conduct to sudden wealth, was more suited to the genius of the age, than the patient industry requisite in clearing ground, and ma­nufacturing sugar. Instigated by this spirit, several officers, who had served under Pedrarias in Darien, entered into an association to undertake a voyage of discovery. They persuaded Francisco Hernandez Cordova, an opulent planter in Cuba, and a man of distinguished courage, to join with them in the ad­venture, and chose him to be their commander. Ve­lasquez not only approved of the design, but assisted in carrying it on. As the veterans from Darien were extremely indigent, he and Cordova advanced mo­ney for purchasing three small vessels, and furnishing them with every thing requisite either for traffic or [Page 271] for war. A hundred and ten men embarked on board of them, and sailed from St. Jago de Cuba on the eighth of February, one thousand five hun­dred and seventeen. By the advice of their chief pilot, Antonio Alaminos, who had served under the first admiral Columbus, they stood directly west, relying on the opinion of that great navigator, who uniformly maintained that a westerly course would lead to the most important discoveries.

ON the twenty-first day after their departure from St. Jago, they saw land, which proved to be Cape Catoche, the eastern point of that large pe­ninsula projecting from the continent of America, which still retains its original name of Yucatan. Yucatan. As they approached the shore, sive canoes came off full of people decently clad in cotton garments; an astonishing spectacle to the Spaniards, who had found every other part of America possessed by naked savages. Cordova endeavoured by small presents to gain the good-will of these people. They, though amazed at the strange objects now presented for the first time to their view, invited the Spaniards to visit their habitations, with an ap­pearance of cordiality. They landed accordingly, and as they advanced into the country, they ob­served with new wonder some large houses built with stone. But they soon found that, if the people of Yucatan had made progress in improvement beyond their countrymen, they were likewise more artful and warlike. For though the cazique re­ceived Cordova with many tokens of friendship, he had posted a considerable body of his subjects in ambush behind a thicket, who, upon a signal give [...] by him, rushed out and attacked the Spaniards with great boldness, and some degree of martial order. At the first flight of their arrows, fifteen of the Spaniards were wounded; but the Indians were struck with such terror by the sudden explo­sion [Page 272] of the fire-arms, and so surprised at the exe­cution done by them, by the cross-bows, and by the other weapons of their new enemies, that they fled precipitately. Cordova quitted a country where he had met with such a fierce reception, carrying off two prisoners, together with the orna­ments of a small temple, which he plundered in his retreat.

Campea­chy.HE continued his course towards the west, with­out losing sight of the coast, and on the sixteenth day arrived at Campeachy. There the natives re­ceived them more hospitably; but the Spaniards were much surprised, that on all the extensive coast along which they had sailed, and which they ima­gined to be a large island, they had not observed any river^*. As their water began to fail, they ad­vanced, in hopes of finding a supply; and at length they discovered the mouth of a river at Poton­chan, some leagues beyond Campeachy.

CORDOVA landed all his troops in order to pro­tect the sailors while employed in filling the casks; but notwithstanding this precaution, the natives rushed down upon them with such fury, and in such numbers, that forty-seven of the Spaniards were killed upon the spot, and one man only of the whole body escaped unhurt. Their commander, though wounded in twelve different places, directed the retreat with presence of mind equal to the courage with which he had led them on in the engagement, and with much difficulty regained their ships. After this fatal repulse, nothing remained but to hasten back to Cuba with their shattered forces. In their passage thither they suffered the most ex­quisite distress for want of water, that men wounded and sickly, shut up in small vessels, and exposed to the heat of the torrid zone, can be supposed to en­dure. Some of them, sinking under these calami­ties, [Page 273] died by the way; Cordova, their commander, expired soon after they landed in Cuba^*.

NOTWITHSTANDING the disastrous conclusion of this expedition,Voyage of Grijalva. it contributed rather to animate than to damp a spirit of enterprise among the Spa­niards. They had discovered an extensive country, situated at no great distance from Cuba, fertile in appearance, and possessed by a people far superior in improvement to any hitherto known in America. Though they had carried on little commercial in­tercourse with the natives, they had brought off some ornaments of gold, not considerable in value, but of singular fabric. These circumstances, rela­ted with the exaggeration natural to men desirous of heightening the merit of their own exploits, were more than sufficient to excite romantic hopes and expectations. Great numbers offered to engage in a new expedition. Velasquez, solicitous to dis­tinguish himself by some service so meritorious as might entitle him to claim the government of Cuba independent of the admiral, not only encouraged their ardour, but at his own expence fitted out four ships for the voyage. Two hundred and forty volunteers, among whom were several persons of rank and fortune, embarked in this enterprise. The command of it was given to Juan de Grijalva, a young man of known merit and courage, with instructions to observe attentively the nature of the countries which he should discover, to barter for gold, and, if circumstances were inviting, to settle a colony in some proper station. He sailed from St.1518. Jago de Cuba on the eighth of April, one thousand five hundred and eighteen.Discovers New Spain. The pilot Alaminos held the same course as in the former voyage; but [Page 274] the violence of the currents carrying the ships to the south, the first land which they made was the island of Cozumel, to the east of Yucatan, As all the inhabitants fled to the woods and mountains at the approach of the Spaniards, they made no long stay there, and without any remarkable occurrence they reached Potonchan on the opposite side of the peninsula. The desire of avenging their country­men who had been slain there, concurred with their ideas of good policy, in prompting them to land, that they might chastise the Indians of that district with such exemplary rigour, as would strike terror into all the people around them. But though they disembarked all their troops, and carried ashore some field pieces, the Indians fought with such courage, that the Spaniards gained the victory with difficulty, and were confirmed in their opinion that the inhabitants of this country would prove more formidable enemies than any they had met with in other parts of America. From Poton­chan, they continued their voyage towards the west, keeping as near as possible to the shore, and casting anchor every evening, from dread of the dangerous accidents to which they might be exposed in an unknown sea. During the day, their eyes were turned continually towards land, with a mixture of surprise and wonder at the beauty of the country, as well as the novelty of the objects which they beheld. Many villages were scattered along the coast, in which they could distinguish houses of stone that appeared white and lofty at a distance. In the warmth of their admiration, they fancied these to be cities adorned with towers and pinnacles; and one of the soldiers happening to remark that this coun­try resembled Spain in its appearance, Grijalva, with universal applause, called it New Spain, the name which still distinguishes this extensive and opulent province of the Spanish empire in Ame­rica^*. [Page 275] They landed in a river which the natives called Tabasco, and the fame of their victory at Po­tonchan having reached this place, the cazique not only received them amicably,June 9. Tobasco. but bestowed pre­sents upon them of such value, as confirmed the high ideas which the Spaniards had formed with respect to the wealth and fertility of the country. These ideas were raised still higher by what occurred at the place where they next touched. This was considerably to the west of Tobasco, in the province since known by the name of Guaxaca.Guaxaca. There they were received with the respect paid to superior be­ings. The people perfumed them as they landed, with incense of gum copal, and presented to them as offerings the choicest delicacies of their country. They were extremely fond of trading with their new visitants, and in six days the Spaniards obtained ornaments of gold, of curious workmanship, to the value of fifteen thousand pesos, in exchange for European toys of small price. The two prisoners whom Cordova had brought from Yucatan, had hitherto served as interpreters; but as they did not understand the language of this country, the Spa­niards learned from the natives by signs, that they were subjects of a great monarch called Monte­zuma, whose dominion extended over that and many other provinces. Leaving this place, with which he had so much reason to be pleased, Gri­jalva continued his course towards the west.June 29. He landed on a small island, which he named the Isle of Sacrifices, because there the Spaniards beheld, for the first time the horrid spectacle of human victims, which the barbarous superstition of the natives offered to their gods. He touched at ano­ther small island, which he called St. Juan de Ulua.St Juan de Ulua. From this place he dispatched Pedro de Alvarado, [Page 276] one of his officers, to Velasquez, with a full account of the important discoveries which he had made, and with all the treasure that he had acquired by trafficking with the natives. After the departure of Alvarado, he himself, with the remaining vessels, proceeded along the coast as far as the river Panuco, the country still appearing to be well peopled, fer­tile, and opulent.

Reasons for not leaving a colony there.SEVERAL of Grijalva's officers contended, that it was not enough to have discovered those delight­ful regions, or to have performed, at their different landing-places, the empty ceremony of taking pos­session of them for the crown of Castile, and that their glory was incomplete, unless they planted a colony in some proper station, which might not only secure the Spanish nation a footing in the country, but, with the reinforcements which they were certain of receiving, might gradually subject the whole to the dominion of their sovereign. But the squadron had now been above five months at sea; the greatest part of their provisions was ex­hausted, and what remained of their stores so much corrupted by the heat of the climate, as to be al­most unfit for use; they had lost some men by death; others were sickly; the country was crowded with people who seemed to be intelligent as well as brave; and they were under the government of one powerful monarch, who could bring them to act against their invaders with united force. To plant a colony under so many circumstances of dis­advantage, appeared a scheme too perilous to be attempted. Grijalva, though possessed both of am­bition and courage, was destitute of the superior talents capable of forming or executing such a great plan. He judged it more prudent to return to Cuba, having fulfilled the purpose of his voyage, and accomplished all that the armament which he commanded enabled him to perform. He returned [Page 277] to St. Jago de Cuba on the twenty-sixth of Octo­ber, from which he had taken his departure about six months before^*.

THIS was the longest as well as the most suc­cessful voyage which the Spaniards had hitherto made in the New World.Preparati­ons for a­nother ex­pedition. They had discovered that Yucatan was not an island as they had sup­posed, but part of the great continent of America. From Potonchan they had pursued their course for many hundred miles along a coast formerly unex­plored, stretching at first towards the west, and then turning to the north; all the country which they had discovered appeared to be no less valuable than extensive. As soon as Alvarado reached Cu­ba, Velasquez, transported with success so far be­yond his most sanguine expectations, immediately dispatched a person of confidence to carry this im­portant intelligence to Spain, to exhibit the rich productions of the countries which had been dis­covered by his means, and to solicit such an in­crease of authority as might enable and encourage him to attempt the conquest of them. Without waiting for the return of his messenger, or for the arrival of Grijalva, of whom he was become so jealous or distrustful that he resolved no longer to employ him, he began to prepare such a powerful armament, as might prove equal to an enterprise of so much danger and importance.

BUT as the expedition upon which Velasquez was now intent, terminated in conquests of greater moment than what the Spaniards had hitherto at­chieved, and led them to the knowledge of a peo­ple, who, if compared with those tribes of Ame­rica with whom they were hitherto acquainted, may be considered as highly civilised; it is proper to [Page 278] pause before we proceed to the history of events extremely different from those which we have al­ready related, in order to take a view of the state of the New World when first discovered, and to contemplate the policy and manners of the rude uncultivated tribes that occupied all the parts of it with which the Spaniards were at this time ac­quainted.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK IV.

TWENTY-SIX years had elapsed since Colum­bus conducted the people of Europe to the New World.BOOK IV. What parts of Ameri­ca were then known During that period the Spaniards had made great progress in exploring its various re­gions. They had visited all the islands scattered in different clusters through that part of the ocean which flows in between North and South America. They had sailed along the eastern coast of the continent from the river De la Plata to the bottom of the Mexican gulf, and had found that it stretch­ed without interruption through this vast portion of the globe. They had discovered the great Southern Ocean, which opened new prospects in that quar­ter. They had acquired some knowledge of the coast of Florida, which led them to observe the continent as it extended in an opposite direction; and though they pushed their discoveries no farther towards the north, other nations had visited those parts which they neglected. The English, in a voyage, the motives and success of which shall be related in another part of this History, had sailed along the coast of America from Labrador to the confines of Florida; and the Portuguese, in quest [Page 280] of a shorter passage to the East Indies, had ven­tured into the northern seas, and viewed the same regions^*. Thus, at the period where I have chosen to take a view of the state of the New World, its extent was known almost from its northern extre­mity to thirty-five degrees south of the equator. The countries which stretch from thence to the southern boundary of America, the great empire of Peru, and the interior state of the extensive dominions subject to the sovereigns of Mexico, were still undiscovered.

The vast extent of the New World.WHEN we contemplate the New World, the first circumstance that strikes us is its immense extent. It was not a small portion of the earth, so incon­siderable that it might have escaped the observa­tion or research of former ages, which Columbus discovered. He made known a new hemisphere, larger than either Europe, or Asia, or Africa, the three noted divisions of the ancient continent, and not much inferior in dimensions to a third part of the habitable globe.

AMERICA is remarkable not only for its magni­tude, but for its position. It stretches from the northern polar circle to a high southern latititude, above fifteen hundred miles beyond the fartherest extremity of the old continent on that side of the line. A country of such extent passes through all the climates capable of becoming the habitation of man, and fit for yielding the various productions peculiar either to the temperate or to the torrid regions of the earth.

Grand ob­jects it presents to view.NEXT to the extent of the New World, the grandeur of the objects which it presents to view is most apt to strike the eye of an observer. Nature seems here to have carried on her operations upon a larger scale, and with a bolder hand, and to have [Page 281] distinguished the features of this country by a pe­culiar magnificence. The mountains of America are much superior in height to those in the other divisions of the globe. Even the plain of Quito,Its moun­tains. which may be considered as the base of the Andes, is elevated farther above the sea than the top of the Pyrenees. This stupendous ridge of the Andes, no less remarkable for extent than elevation, rises in different places more than one third above the Pike of Teneriffe, the highest land in the ancient hemisphere. The Andes may literally be said to hide their heads in the clouds; the storms often roll, and the thunder bursts below their summits, which, though exposed to the rays of the sun in the center of the torrid zone, are covered with everlasting snows^*.

FROM these lofty mountains descend rivers,Rivers. proportionably large, with which the streams in the ancient continent are not to be compared, either for length of course, or the vast body of water which they roll towards the ocean. The Maragnon, the Orinoco, the Plata in South Ame­rica; the Missisippi and St. Laurence in North America, flow in such spacious channels, that, long before they feel the influence of the tide, they resemble arms of the sea, rather than rivers of fresh water^†.

THE lakes of the New World are no less con­spicuous for grandeur than its mountains and rivers.Lakes. There is nothing in other parts of the globe which resembles the prodigious chain of lakes in North America. They may properly be termed inland seas of fresh water; and even those of the second or third class in magnitude, are of larger circuit (the Caspian sea excepted) than the greatest lake of the ancient continent.

[Page 282]THE New World is of a form extremely fa­vourable to commercial intercourse. When a continent is formed,Its form favourable to com­merce. like Africa, of one vast solid mass, unbroken by arms of the sea penetrating into its interior parts, with few large rivers, and those at a considerable distance from each other, the greater part of it seems destined to remain for ever uncivilized, and to be debarred from any active or enlarged communication with the rest of mankind. When, like Europe, a continent is opened by inlets of the ocean of great extent, such as the Mediterranean and Baltic; or when, like Asia, its coast is broken by deep bays advancing far into the country, such as the Black Sea, the gulfs of Arabia, of Persia, of Bengal, of Siam, and of Leotang; when the surrounding seas are filled with large and fertile islands, and the conti­nent itself watered with a variety of navigable rivers, those regions may be said to possess what­ever can facilitate the progress of their inhabitants in commerce and improvement. In all these re­spects America may bear a comparison with the other quarters of the globe. The gulf of Mexico, which flows in between North and South America, may be considered as a Mediterranean sea, which opens a maritime commerce with all the fertile countries by which it is encircled. The islands scattered in it are inferior only to those in the In­dian Archipelago, in number, in magnitude, and in value. As we stretch along the northern divi­sion of the American hemisphere, the Bay of Chesapeak presents a spacious inlet, which conducts the navigator far into the interior parts of provinces no less fertile than extensive; and if ever the progress of culture and population shall mitigate the extreme rigour of the climate in the more northren districts of America, Hudson's Bay may become a subservient to commercial intercourse in [Page 283] that quarter of the globe, as the Baltic is in Eu­rope. The other great portion of the New World is encompassed on every side by the sea, except one narrow neck, which separates the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean; and though it be not opened by spacious bays or arms of the sea, its interior parts are rendered accessible by a num­ber of large rivers, fed by so many auxiliary streams, flowing in such various directions, that, almost without any aid from the hand of industry and art, an inland navigation may be carried on through all the provinces from the river De la Plata to the gulf of Paria. Nor is this bounty of Nature confined to the southern division of America; its northern continent abounds no less in rivers which are navigable almost to their sources, and by its immense chain of lakes provision is made for an inland communication, more extensive and commodious than in any quarter of the globe. The countries stretching from the gulf of Darien on one side, to that of California on the other, which form the chain that binds the two parts of the American continent together, are not destitute of peculiar advantages. Their coast on one side is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, on the other by the Pacific. Some of their rivers flow into the former, some into the latter, and secure to them all the commercial benefits that may result from a communication with both.

BUT what most distinguishes America from other parts of the earth,Tempera­ture of its climate. is the peculiar temperature of its climate, and the different laws to which it is subject with respect to the distribution of heat and cold. We cannot determine with precision the portion of heat felt in any part of the globe, merely by measuring its distance from the equator. The climate of a country is affected, in some de­gree, by its elevation above the sea, by the extent [Page 284] of continent, by the nature of the soil, the height of adjacent mountains, and many other circum­stances. The influence of these, however, is, from various causes, less considerable in the greater part of the ancient continent; and from knowing the position of any country there, we can pronounce with greater certainty, what will be the warmth of its climate, and the nature of its productions.

Predomi­nance of cold.THE maxims which are founded upon observa­tion of our hemisphere will not apply to the other. In the New World, cold predominates. The ri­gour of the frigid zone extends over half of those regions, which should be temperate by their posi­tion. Countries where the grape and the fig should ripen, are buried under snow one half of the year; and lands situated in the same parallel with the most fertile and best cultivated provinces in Europe, are chilled with perpetual frosts, which almost destroy the power of vegetation^*. As we advance to those parts of America which lie in the same parallel with provinces of Asia and Africa, blessed with an uniform enjoyment of such genial warmth as is most friendly to life and to vegetation, the dominion of cold continues to be felt, and winter reigns, though, during a short period, with ex­treme severity. If we proceed along the American continent into the torrid zone, we shall find the cold prevalent in the New World extending itself also to this region of the globe, and mitigating the excess of its fervour. While the negro on the coast of Africa is scorched with unremitting heat, the inhabitant of Peru breathes an air equally mild and temperate, and is perpetually shaded un­der a canopy of grey clouds, which inrercepts the fierce beams of the sun, without obstructing his [Page 285] friendly influence^*. Along the eastern coast of America, the climate, though more similar to that of the torrid zone in other parts of the earth, is nevertheless considerably milder than in those coun­tries of Asia and Africa which lie in the same latitude. If from the southern tropic we continue our progress to the extremity of the American continent, we meet with frozen seas, and countries horrid, barren, and scarcely habitable for cold, much sooner than in the north^†.

VARIOUS causes combine in rendering the cli­mate of America so extremely different from that of the ancient continent.Causes of this. Though the utmost extent of America towards the north be not yet discovered, we know that it advances much nearer to the pole than either Europe or Asia. Both these have large seas to the north, which are open dur­ing part of the year, and even when covered with ice, the wind that blows over them is less intensely cold than that which blows over land in the same high latitudes. But in America the land stretches from the river St. Laurence towards the pole, and spreads out immensely to the West. A chain of enormous mountains, covered with snow and ice, runs through all this dreary region. The wind, in passing over such an extent of high and frozen land, becomes so impregnated with cold, that it acquires a piercing keenness, which it retains in its progress through warmer climates, and is not entirely miti­gated until it reach the gulf of Mexico. Over all the continent of North America, a north-westerly wind and excessive cold are synonymous terms. Even in the most sultry weather, the moment that the wind veers to that quarter, its penetrating in­fluence [Page 286] is felt in a transition from heat to cold, no less violent than sudden. To this powerful cause we may ascribe the extraordinary dominion of cold, and its violent inroads into the southern provinces in that part of the globe^*.

OTHER causes, no less remarkable, diminish the active power of heat in those parts of the American continent which lie between the tropics. In all that portion of the globe, the wind blows in an invariable direction from east to west. As this wind holds its course across the ancient continent, it arrives at the countries which stretch along the western shores of Africa, inflamed with all the fiery particles which it hath collected from the sultry plains of Asia, and the burning sands in the African deserts. The coast of Africa is, accord­ingly, the region of the earth which feels the most fervent heat, and is exposed to the unmitigated ardour of the torrid zone. But this same wind which brings such an accession of warmth to the countries lying between the river of Senegal and Cafraria, traverses the Atlantic Ocean, before it reaches the American shore. It is cooled in its passage over this vast body of water, and is felt as a refreshing gale along the coast of Brasil^†, and Guinea, rendering these countries, though among the warmest in America, temperate, when com­pared with those which lie opposite to them in Africa^‡. As this wind advances in its course across America, it meets with immense plains, covered with impenetrable forests, or occupied by large rivers, marshes, and stagnating waters, where it can recover no considerable degree of heat. At length it arrives at the Andes, which run from [Page 287] north to south through the whole continent. In passing over their elevated and frozen summits, it is so thoroughly cooled, that the greater part of the countries beyond them hardly feel the ardour to which they seem exposed by their situation^*. In the other provinces of America, from Tierra Firmè westward to the Mexican empire, the heat of the climate is tempered, in some places, by the elevation of the land above the sea, in others, by their extraordinary humidity, and in all, by the enormous mountains scattered over this tract. The islands of America in the Torrid Zone are either small or mountainous, and are fanned alternately by refreshing sea and land breezes.

THE causes of the extraordinary cold towards the southern limits of America, and in the seas beyond it, cannot be ascertained in a manner equally satisfying. It was long supposed that a vast continent, distinguished by the name of Terra Australis Incognita, lay between the southern extre­mity of America and the Antarctic pole. The same principles which account for the extraordinary degree of cold in the northern regions of America, were employed in order to explain that which is felt at Cape Horn and the adjacent countries. The immense extent of the southern continent, and the large rivers which it poured into the ocean, were mentioned and admitted by philosophers as causes sufficient to occasion the unusual sensation of cold, and the still more uncommon appearances of frozen seas in that region of the globe. But the imaginary continent to which such influence was ascribed, having been searched for in vain, and the space which it was supposed to occupy having been found to be an open sea, new conjectures must be [Page 288] formed with respect to the causes of a temperature of climate, so extremely different from that which we experience in countries removed at the same distance from the opposite pole^*.

Condition when first discovered.AFTER contemplating those permanent and cha­racteristic qualities of the American continent, which arise from the peculiarity of its situation, and the disposition of its parts, the next object that merits attention is its condition when first disco­vered, as far as that depended upon the industry and operations of man. The effects of human ingenuity and labour are more extensive and consi­derable, than even our own vanity is apt at first to imagine. When we survey the face of the habi­table globe, no small part of that fertility and beau­ty which we ascribe to the hand of nature, is the work of man. His efforts, when continued through a succession of ages, change the appear­ance and improve the qualities of the earth. As a great part of the ancient continent has long been occupied by nations far advanced in arts and industry, our eye, is accustomed to view the earth in that form which it assumes when rendered fit to be the residence of a numerous race of men, and to supply them with nourishment.

Rude and uncultiva­ted.BUT in the New World, the state of mankind was ruder, and the aspect of nature extremely dif­ferent. Throughout all its vast regions, there were only two monarchies remarkable for extent of territory, or distinguished by any progress in improvement. The rest of this continent was possessed by small independent tribes, destitute of arts and industry, and neither capable to correct the defects, nor desirous to meliorate the condition of that part of the earth allotted to them for their habitation. Countries, occupied by such people, [Page 289] were almost in the same state as if they had been without inhabitants. Immense forests covered a great part of the uncultivated earth; and as the hand of industry had not taught the rivers to run in a proper channel, or drained off the stagnat­ing water, many of the most fertile plains were overflowed with inundations, or converted into marshes. In the southern provinces, where the warmth of the sun, the moisture of the climate, and the fertility of the soil, combine in calling forth the most vigorous powers of vegetation, the woods are so choked with its rank luxuriance, as to be almost impervious, and the surface of the ground is hid from the eye under a thick covering of shrubs and herbs and weeds. In this state of wild unassisted nature, a great part of the large provinces in South America, which extend from the bottom of the Andes to the sea, still remain. The European colonies have cleared and cultivated a few spots along the coast, but the original race of inhabitants, as rude and indolent as ever, have done nothing to open or improve a country, pos­sessing almost every advantage of situation and climate. As we advance towards the northern provinces of America, Nature continues to wear the same uncultivated aspect, and in proportion as the rigour of the climate increases, appears more desolate and horrid. There the forests, though not encumbered with the same exuberance of ve­getation, are of immense extent; prodigious marshes overspread the plains, and few marks appear of human activity in any attempt to culti­vate or embellish the earth. No wonder that the colonies sent from Europe were astonished at their first entrance into the New World. It appeared to them waste, solitary, and uninviting. When the English began to settle in America, they termed the countries of which they took possession, [Page 290] The Wilderness. Nothing but their eager expect­ation of finding mines of gold, could have induced the Spaniards to penetrate through the woods and marshes of America, where, at every step, they observed the extreme difference between the uncultivated face of Nature, and that which it acquires under the forming hand of industry and art^*.

Unwhole­some.THE labour and operations of man not only improve and embellish the earth, but render it more wholesome and friendly to life. When any region lies neglected and destitute of cultivation, the air stagnates in the woods, putrid exhalations arise from the waters; the surface of the earth, loaded with rank vegetation, feels not the purify­ing influence of the sun or of the wind; the ma­lignity of the distempers natural to the climate increases, and new maladies no less noxious are engendered. Accordingly, all the provinces of America, when first discovered, were found to be remarkably unhealthy. This the Spaniards expe­rienced in every expedition into the New World, whether destined for conquest or settlement.— Though by the natural constitution of their bodies, their habitual temperance, and the persevering vigour of their minds, they were as much formed as any people in Europe for active service in a sultry climate, they felt severely the fatal and per­nicious qualities of those uncultivated regions through which they marched, or where they en­deavoured to plant colonies. Great numbers were cut off by the unknown and violent diseases with which they were infected. Such as survived the destructive rage of those maladies, were not ex­empted from the noxious influence of the climate. They returned to Europe, according to the de­scription [Page 291] of the early Spanish historians, feeble, emaciated, with languid looks, and complexions of such a sickly yellow colour, as indicated the unwholesome temperature of the countries where they had resided^*.

THE uncultivated state of the New World af­fected not only the temperature of the air,Its animals. but the qualities of its productions. The principle of life seems to have been less active and vigorous there, than in the ancient continent. Notwith­standing the vast extent of America, and the va­riety of its climates, the different species of ani­mals peculiar to it are much fewer in proportion, than those of the other hemisphere. In the islands, there were only four kinds of quadrupeds known, the largest of which did not exceed the size of a rabbit. On the continent, the variety was greater; and though the individuals of each kind could not fail of multiplying exceedingly, when almost un­molested by men, who were neither so numerous, nor so united in society, as to be formidable ene­mies to the animal creation, the number of distinct species must still be considered as extremely small. Of two hundred different kinds of animals spread over the face of the earth, only about one third existed in America, at the time of its discovery^†. Nature was not only less prolific in the New World, but she appears likewise to have been less vigorous in her productions. The animals originally belonging to this quarter of the globe appear to be of an inferior race, neither so robust nor so fierce, as those of the other continent. America gives birth to no creature of such bulk as to be compared with the elephant or rhinoceros, [Page 292] or that equals the lion and tyger in strength and ferocity^*. The Tapyr of Brasil, the largest quadruped of the ravenous tribe in the New World, is not larger than a calf of six months old. The Puma and Jaguar, its fiercest beasts of prey, which Europeans have inaccurately deno­minated lions and tygers, possess neither the un­daunted courage of the former, nor the ravenous cruelty of the latter^†. They are inactive and timid, hardly formidable to man, and often turn their backs upon the least appearance of resistance^‡. The same qualities in the climate of America which stinted the growth, and enfeebled the spirit of its native animals, have proved pernicious to such as have migrated into it voluntarily from the other continent, or have been transported thither by the Europeans^§. The bears, the wolves, the deer of America, are not equal in size to those of the Old World^‖. Most of the domestic animals, with which the Europeans have stored the provinces wherein they settled, have degenerated with respect either to bulk or quality, in a country whose tem­perature and soil seem to be less favourable to the strength and perfection of the animal creation^¶.

Insects and reptiles.THE same causes, which checked the growth and the vigour of the more noble animals, were friendly to the propagation and increase of reptiles [Page 293] and insects. Though this is not peculiar to the New World, and those odious tribes, nourished by heat, moisture, and corruption, infest every part of the torrid zone; they multiply faster, per­haps, in America, and grow to a more monstrous bulk. As this country is, on the whole, less cul­tivated, and less peopled, than the other quarters of the earth, the active principle of life wastes its force in productions of this inferior form. The air is often darkened with clouds of insects, and the ground covered with shocking and noxious reptiles. The country around Porto-Bello swarms with toads in such multitudes, as hide the surface of the earth. At Guyaquil, snakes and vipers are hardly less numerous. Carthagena is infested with numerous flocks of bats, which annoy not only the cattle but the inhabitants^*. In the islands, legions of ants have, at different times, consumed every vegetable production^†, and left the earth entirely bare, as if it had been burnt with fire. The damp forest, and rank soil of the countries on the banks of the Orinoco and Maragnon, teem with almost every offensive and poisonous crea­ture, which the power of a sultry sun can quicken into life^‡.

THE birds of the New World are not distin­guished by qualities so conspicuous and character­istical,Birds. as those which we have observed in its quadrupeds. Birds are more independent of man, and less affected by the changes which his industry and labour make upon the state of the earth. They have a greater propensity to migrate from one [Page 294] country to another, and can gratify this instinct of their nature without difficulty or danger. Hence the number of birds common to both continents is much greater than that of quadrupeds, and even such as are peculiar to America nearly resemble those with which mankind were acquainted in si­milar regions of the ancient hemisphere. The American birds of the torrid zone, like those of the same climate in Asia and Africa, are decked in plumage, which dazzle the eye with the beauty of its colours; but nature satisfied with clothing them in this gay dress, has denied most of them that melody of sound, and variety of notes, which catch and delight the ear. The birds of the tem­perate climates there, in the same manner as in our continent, are less splendid in their appearance, but, in compensation for that defect, they have voices of greater compass, and more melodious. In some districts of America, the unwholesome temperature of the air seems to be unfavourable even to this part of the creation. The number of birds is less than in other countries, and the traveller is struck with the amazing solitude and silence of its forests^*. It is remarkable, however, that America, where the quadrupeds are so dwarfish and dastardly, should produce the Con­dor, which is entitled to pre-eminence over all the flying tribe, in bulk, in strength, and in courage^†.

Soil.THE soil, on a continent so extensive as America, must, of course, be extremely various. In each of its provinces, we find some distinguishing pe­culiarities, [Page 295] the description of which belongs to those who write their particular history. In ge­neral, we may observe, that the moisture and cold, which predominates so remarkably in all parts of America, must have great influence upon the nature of its soil; countries lying in the same parallel with those regions which never feel the extreme rigour of winter in the ancient continent, are frozen over in America during a great part of the year. Chilled by this intense cold, the ground never acquires warmth sufficient to ripen the fruits, which are found in the corresponding parts of the other con­tinent. If we wish to rear in America the produc­tions which abound in any particular district of the ancient world, we must advance several degrees nearer to the line than in the other hemisphere, as it requires such an increase of heat to counterba­lance the natural frigidity of the soil and climate^*. At the Cape of Good Hope, several of the plants, and fruits peculiar to the countries within the tro­pics, are cultivated with success; whereas, at St. Augustine, in Florida, and Charles-Town, in South Carolina, though considerably nearer the line, they cannot be brought to thrive with equal certainty^†. But, if allowance be made for this diversity in the degree of heat, the soil of America is naturally as rich and fertile as in any part of the earth. As the country was thinly inhabited, and by a people of little industry, who had none of the domestic ani­mals, which civilized nations rear in such vast num­bers, the earth was not exhausted by their con­sumption. The vegetable productions, to which the fertility of the soil gave birth, often remained untouched, and being suffered to corrupt on its surface, returned with increase into its bosom^‡. [Page 296] As trees and plants derive a great part of their nourishment from air and water, if they were not destroyed by man and other, animals, they would render to the earth more, perhaps, than they take from it, and feed rather than impoverish it. Thus the unoccupied soil of America may have gone on enriching for many ages. The vast number as well as enormous size of the trees in America, indic [...] the extraordinary vigour of the soil in its native state. When the Europeans first began to cultivate the New World, they were astonished at the luxu­riant power of vegetation in its virgin mould; and in several places the ingenuity of the planter is still employed in diminishing and wasting its superfluous fertility, in order to bring it down to a state fit for profitable culture^*.

How was America peopled?HAVING thus surveyed the state of the New World at the time of its discovery, and considered the peculiar features and qualities which distinguish and characterise it, the next inquiry that merits at­tention is, How was America peopled? By what course did mankind migrate from the one conti­nent to the other? and in what quarter is it most probable that a communication was opened between them?

No tradi­tion con­cerning it among themselvesWE know, with infallible certainty, that all the human race spring from the same source, and that the descendants of one man, under the protection, as well as in obedience to the command of Heaven, multiplied and replenished the earth. But neither the annals nor the traditions of nations reach back to those remote ages, in which they took possession of the different countries, where they are now settled. We cannot trace the branches of this first [Page 297] family, or point out with certainty the time and manner in which they divided and spread over the face of the globe. Even among the most en­lightened people, the period of authentic history is extremely short, and every thing prior to that is fabulous or obscure. It is not surprising, then, that the unlettered inhabitants of America, who have no solicitude about futurity, and little curiosity concerning what is past, should be altogether un­acquainted with their own original. The people on the two opposite coasts of America, who occupy those countries in America which approach nearest to the ancient continent, are so remarkably rude, that it is altogether vain to search among them for such information as might discover the place from whence they came, or the ancestors of whom they are descended^*. Whatever light has been thrown on this subject, is derived, not from the natives of America, but from the inquisitive genius of their conquerors.

WHEN the people of Europe unexpectedly dis­covered a New World,Various theories. removed at a vast distance from every part of the ancient continent which was then known, and filled with inhabitants whose ap­pearance and manners differed remarkably from the rest of the human species, the question concerning their original became naturally an object of curio­sity and attention. The theories and speculations of ingenious men with respect to this subject, would flll many volumes; but are often so wild and chimerical, that I should offer an insult to the un­derstanding of my readers, if I attempted either minutely to enumerate or to refute them. Some have presumptuously imagined, that the people of America were not the offspring of the same com­mon parent with the rest of mankind, but that they [Page 298] formed a separate race of men, distinguishable by peculiar features in the constitution of their bodies, as well as in the characteristic qualities of their minds. Others contend, that they are descended from some remnant of the Antediluvian inhabitants of the earth, who survived the deluge, which swept away the greatest part of the human species in the days of Noah; and preposterously suppose rude, uncivilized tribes, scattered over an uncultivated continent, to be the most ancient race of people on the earth. There is hardly any nation from the north to the south pole, to which some antiquary, in the extravagance of conjecture, has not ascribed the honour of peopling America. The Jews, the Canaanites, the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Scythians in ancient times, are sup­posed to have settled in this western world. The Chinese, the Swedes, the Norwegions, the Welsh, the Spaniards, are said to have sent colonies thither in later ages, at different periods, and on various occasions. Zealous advocates stand forth to sup­port the respective claims of those people; and though they rest upon no better foundation than the casual resemblance of some customs, or the supposed affinity between a few words in their dif­ferent languages, much erudition and more zeal have been employed, to little purpose, in defence of the opposite systems. Those regions of conjec­ture and controversy belong not to the historian. His is a more limited province, confined to what is established by certain or highly probable evi­dence. Beyond this I shall not venture, in offer­ing a few observations, which may contribute to throw some light upon this curious and much agi­tated question.

[...] foun­ded on [...] con­ [...]re,1. THERE are authors who have endeavoured by mere conjectures to account for the peopling of America. Some have supposed that it was ori­ginally [Page 299] united to the ancient continent, and dis­joined from it by the shock of an earthquake, or the irruption of a deluge. Others have imagined, that some vessel being sorced from its course by the violence of a westerly wind, might be driven by accident towards the American coast, and have given a beginning to population in that desolate continent^*. But with respect to all those systems, it is in vain either to reason or inquire, because it is impossible to come to any decision. Such events as they suppose are barely possible, and may have happened. That they ever did happen, we have no evidence, either from the clear testimony of history, or from the obscure intimations of tra­dition.

2. NOTHING can be more frivolous or uncertain than the attempts to discover the original of the Americans,or on re­semblance of man­ners. merely by tracing the resemblance between their manners and those of any particular people in the ancient continent. If we suppose two tribes, though placed in the most remote regions of the globe, to live in a climate nearly of the same temperature, to be in the same state of society, and to resemble each other in the degree of their im­provement, they must feel the same wants, and exert the same endeavours to supply them. The same objects will allure, the same passions will ani­mate them, and the same ideas and sentiments will arise in their minds. The character and occupa­tions of the hunter in America must be little dif­ferent from those of an Asiatic, who depends for subsistence on the chace. A tribe of savages on the banks of the Danube must nearly resemble one upon the plains washed by the Missisippi. Instead [Page 300] then of presuming from this similarity, that there is an affinity between them, we should only con­clude, that the disposition and manners of men are formed by their situation, and arise from the state of society in which they live. The moment that be­gins to vary, the character of a people must change. In proportion as it advances in improvement, their manners refine, their powers and talents are called forth. In every part of the earth the progress of man hath been nearly the same, and we can trace him in his career from the rude simplicity of savage life, until he attains the industry, the arts, and the elegance of polished society. There is nothing wonderful then in the similitude between the Ame­ricans and the barbarous nations of our continent. Had Lafitau, Garcia, and many other authors, at­tended to this, they would not have perplexed a subject which they pretend to illustrate, by their fruitless endeavours to establish an affinity between various races of people in the old and new conti­nents, upon no other evidence than such a resem­blance in their manners as necessarily arises from the similarity of their condition. There are, it is true, among every people, some customs, which, as they do not flow from any natural want or desire peculiar to their situation, may be denominated usages of arbitrary institution. If between two na­tions settled in remote parts of the earth, a perfect agreement with respect to any of these should be discovered, one might be led to suspect that they were connected by some affinity. If, for example, a nation were found in America that consecrated the seventh day to religious worship and rest, we might justly suppose that it had derived its know­ledge of this usage, which is of arbitrary institution, from the Jews. But, if it were discovered that another nation celebrated the first appearance of every new moon with extraordinary demonstrations [Page 301] of joy, we should not be entitled to conclude that the observation of this monthly festival was bor­rowed from the Jews, but ought to consider it merely as the expression of that joy which is na­tural to man on the return of the planet which guides and cheers him in the night. The in­stances of customs, merely arbitrary, common to the inhabitants of both hemispheres, are, indeed, so few and so equivocal, that no theory concerning the population of the New World ought to be founded upon them.

3. THE theories which have been formed with respect to the original of the Americans,or of reli­g [...]ous rites. from ob­servation of their religious rites and practices, are no less fanciful, and destitute of solid foundation. When the religious opinions of any people are neither the result of rational inquiry, nor derived from the instructions of revelation, they must needs be wild and extravagant. Barbarous nations are incapable of the former, and have not been blessed with the advantages arising from the latter. Still, however, the human mind, even where its opera­tions appear most wild and capricious, holds a course so regular, that in every age and country the dominion of particular passions will be attended with similar effects. The savage of Europe or America, when filled with superstitious dread of invisible beings, or with inquisitive solicitude to penetrate into the events of futurity, trembles alike with fear, or glows with impatience. He has re­course to rites and practices of the same kind, in order to avert the vengeance which he supposes to be impending over him, or to divine the secret which is the object of his curiosity. Accordingly, the ritual of superstition, in one continent, seems, in many particulars, to be a transcript of that esta­blished in the other, and both authorise similar in­stitutions, sometimes so frivolous as to excite pity, [Page 302] sometimes so bloody and barbarous as to create horror. But without supposing any consanguinity between such distant nations, or imagining that their religious ceremonies were conveyed by tradition from the one to the other, we may ascribe this uniformity, which in many instances seems very amazing, to the natural operation of superstition and enthusiasm upon the weakest of the human mind.

Not peo­p [...]d by any nation highly [...] ­ [...]ill [...],4. WE may lay it down as a certain principle in this enquiry, that America was not peopled by any nation of the ancient continent, which had made considerable progress in civilization. The inhabi­tants of the New World were in a state of society so extremely rude, as to be unacquainted with those arts which are the first essays of human ingenuity in its advance towards improvement. Even the most cultivated n [...]ions of America were strangers to many of those simple inventions, which were almost obeyed with society in other parts of the world, and were known in the earliest periods of civil life with which we have any ac­quaintance. From this it is manifest, tha [...] the tribes which originally migrated from America, came off from nations which must have been no less bar­barous than their posterity, at the time when they were first discovered by the Europeans. For, al­though the elegant and refined arts may decline or perish, amidst the violent shocks of those revolu­tions and disasters to which nations are exposed, the necessary arts of life, when once they have been introduced among any people, are never lost. None of the vicissitudes in human affairs affect these, and they continue to be practised as long as the race of men exists. If ever the use of iron had been known to the savages of America, or to their progenitors, if ever they had employed a plough, a loom, or a forge, the utility of those in­ventions. [Page 303] would have preserved them, and it is im­possible that they should have been abandoned or forgotten. We may conclude then, that the Ame­ricans sprung from some people, who were them­selves in such an early and unimproved stage of society, as to be unacquainted with all those necessary arts, which continued to be unknown among their posterity, when first visited by the Spaniards.

5. IT appears no less evident that America was not peopled by any colony from the more southern nations of the ancient continent.nor from the south­ern regions of our con­tinent. None of the rude tribes settled in that part of our hemisphere can be supposed to have visited a country so remote. They possessed neither enterprise, nor ingenuity, nor power, that could prompt them to undertake, or enable them to perform, such a distant voyage. That the more civilized nations in Asia or Africa are not the progenitors of the Americans is mani­fest, not only from the observations which I have already made concerning their ignorance of the most simple and necessary arts, but from an additional circumstance. Whenever any people have expe­rienced the advantages which men enjoy, by their dominion over the inferior animals, they can nei­ther subsist without the nourishment which these afford, nor carry on any considerable operation in­dependent of their ministry and labour. Accord­ingly, the first care of the Spaniards, when they set­tled in America, was to stock it with all the domestic animals of Europe; and if, prior to them, the Ty­ [...]ians, the Carthaginians, the Chinese, or any other polished people, had taken possession of that conti­nent, we should have found there the animals pe­culiar to those regions of the globe where they were originally sea [...]ed. In all America, however, there is not one animal, tame or wild, which pro­perly belongs to the warm, or even the more tem­perate countries of the adjacent continent. The [Page 304] camel, the dromedary, the horse, the cow, were as much unknown in America, as the elephant or the lion. From which it is obvious, that the people who first settled in the western world did not issue from the countries where those animals abound, and where men, from having been long accustomed to their aid, would naturally consider it, not only as beneficial, but as indispensably necessary to the im­provement, and even the preservation, of civil so­ciety.

The two continents seem to ap­proach nearest to each other towards the north.6. From considering the animals with which America is stored, we may conclude that the nearest point of contact between, the old and new conti­nents is towards the northern extremity of both, and that there the communication was opened, and the intercourse carried on between them. All the extensive countries in America which lie within the tropics, or approach near to them, are filled with indigenous animals of various kinds, entirely dif­ferent from those in the corresponding regions of the ancient continent. But the northern provinces of the New World abound with many of the wild animals which are common in such parts of our hemisphere as lie in a similar situation. The bear, the wolf, the fox, the hare, the deer, the roebuck, the elk, and several other species frequent the fo­rests of North America, no less than those in the north of Europe and Asia^*. It seems to be evident then, that the two continents approach each other in this quarter, and are either united, or so nearly adjacent, that these animals might pass from the one to the other.

This ascer­tained by discovery.7. The actual vicinity of the two continents is so clearly established by modern discoveries, that the chief difficulty with respect to the peopling of America is removed. While those immense re­gions, [Page 305] which stretch eastward from the river Oby to the sea of Kamchatka were unknown, or imper­fectly explored, the north-east extremities of our hemisphere were supposed to be so far distant from any part of the New World, that it was not easy to conceive how any communication should have been carried on between them. But the Russians, hav­ing subjected the western part of Siberia to their empire, gradually extended their knowledge of that vast country, by advancing towards the east into unknown provinces. These were discovered by hunters in their excursions after game, or by sol­diers employed in levying the taxes, and the court of Moscow estimated the importance of those coun­tries only by the small addition which they made to its revenue. At length Peter the Great ascended the Russian throne. His enlightened, comprehen­sive mind, intent upon every circumstance that could aggrandize his empire, or render his reign illustrious, discerned consequences of those disco­veries, which had escaped the observation of his ignorant predecessors. He perceived, that in pro­portion as the regions of Asia extended towards the east, they must approach nearer to America; that the communication between the two continents, which had long been searched for in vain, would probably be found in this quarter, and that by open­ing it, some part of the wealth and commerce of the western world might be made to flow into his dominions by a new channel. Such an object suited a genius that delighted in grand schemes. Peter drew up instructions with his own hand for prose­cuting this design, and gave orders for carrying it into execution^*.

HIS successors adopted his ideas, and pursued his [Page 306] plan. The officers whom the Russian court em­ployed in this service, had to struggle with so many difficulties, that their progress was extremely slow. Encouraged by some faint traditions among the people of Siberia, concerning a successful voyage in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-eight, round the north-east promontory of Asia, they attempted to follow the same course. Vessels were fitted out, with this view, at different times, from the rivers Lena and Kolyma; but in a frozen ocean, which nature seems not to have destined for navigation, they were exposed to many disasters, without being able to accomplish their purpose. No vessel fitted out by the Russian court ever dou­bled this formidable Cape^*; we are indebted for what is known of those extreme regions of Asia, to the discoveries made in excursions by land. In all those provinces an opinion prevails, that there are countries of great extent and fertility, which lie at no considerable distance from their own coasts. These the Russians imagined to be part of Ame­rica; and several circumstances concurred not only in confirming them in this belief, but in persuading them that some portion of that continent could not be very remote. Trees of various kinds, unknown in those naked regions of Asia, are driven upon the coast by an easterly wind. By the same wind, float­ing ice is brought thither in a few days; slights of birds arrive annually from the same quarter; and a tradition obtains among the inhabitants, of an in­tercourse formerly carried on with some countries situated to the east.

AFTER weighing all these particulars, and com­paring the position of the countries in Asia which had been discovered, with such parts in the north-west of America as were already known, the Russian [Page 307] court formed a plan, which would have hardly oc­curred to a nation less accustomed to engage in ardu­ous undertakings, and to contend with great difficul­ties. Orders were issued to build two vessels at the small village of Ochotz, situated on the sea of Kam­chatka, to sail on a voyage of discovery. Though that dreary uncultivated region furnished nothing that could be of use in constructing them, but some larch trees; though not only the iron, the cordage, the sails, and all the numerous articles requisite for their equipment, but the provisions for victualling them were to be carried through the immense de­serts of Siberia, down rivers of difficult navigation, and along roads almost impassable, the mandate of the sovereign, and the perseverance of the people, at last surmounted every obstacle.1741. June 4. Two vessels were finished, and, under the command of the captains Behring and Tschirikow, sailed from Kamchatka, in quest of the New World, in a quarter where it had never been approached. They shaped their course towards the east; and though a storm soon separa­ted the vessels, which never rejoined, and many dis­asters befel them, the expectations from the voyage were not altogether frustrated. Each of the com­manders discovered land, which to them appeared to be part of the American continent; and, according to their observations, it seems to be situated within a few degrees of the north-west coast of California. Each set some of his people ashore; but in one place the inhabitants fled as the Russians approached; in another, they carried off those who landed, and de­stroyed their boats. The violence of the weather, and the distress of their crews, obliged both cap­tains to quit this inhospitable coast. In their re­turn they touched at several islands, which stretch in a chain from east to west between the country which they had discovered and the coast of Asia. They had some intercourse with the natives, who [Page 308] seemed to them to resemble the North Americans. They presented to the Russians the calumet, or pipe of peace, which is a symbol of friendship universal among the people of North America, and an usage of arbitrary institution, peculiar to them.

THOUGH the islands of this New Archipelago have been frequented since that time by the Rus­sian hunters, the court of St. Petersburgh, during a period of more than forty years, seems to have relinquished every thought of prosecuting discove­ries in that quarter. But in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-eight, it was unexpectedly resumed. The Sovereign, who had been lately seated on the throne of Peter the Great, possessed the genius and talents of her illustrious predecessor. During the operations of the most arduous and extensive war in which the Russian empire was ever engaged, she formed schemes and executed undertakings, to which more limited abilities would have been incapable of attending but amidst the liesure of pacific times. A new voyage of discovery from the eastern extremity of Asia was planned, and captain Krenitzin and lieutenant Levasheff were appointed to command the two vessels fitted out for that purpose. In their voyage outward they held nearly the same course with the former navigators, they touched at the same islands, observed their situation and productions more carefully, and dis­covered several new islands, with which Behring and Tschirikow had not fallen in. Though they did not proceed so far to the east as to revisit the country which Behring and Tschirikow supposed to be part of the American continent, yet, by return­ing in a course considerably to the north of theirs, they corrected some capital mistakes into which their predecessors had fallen, and have contributed to facilitate the progress of future navigators in those seas^*.

[Page 309]THUS the possibility of a communication between the continents in this quarter rests no longer upon mere conjecture, but is established by undoubted evidence^*. Some tribe, or some families of wan­dering Tartars, from the restless spirit peculiar to their race, might migrate to the nearest islands, and, rude as their knowledge of navigation was, might, by passing from one to the other, reach at length the coast of America, and give a beginning to po­pulation in that continent. The distance between the Marian or Ladrone islands and the nearest land in Asia, is greater than that between the part of America which the Russians discovered, and the coast of Kamchatka; and yet the inhabitants of those islands are manifestly of Asiatic extract. If, notwithstanding their remote situation, we admit that the Marian islands were peopled from our con­tinent, distance alone is no reason why we should hesitate about admitting that the Americans may derive their original from the same source. It is probable that future navigators in those seas, by steering farther to the north, may find that the con­tinent of America approaches still nearer to Asia. According to the information of the barbarous people who inhabit the country about the north-east promontory of Asia, there lies, off the coast, a small island, to which they fall in less than a day. From that, they can descry a large continent, which, according to their description, is covered with fo­rests, and possessed by people whose language they do not understand^†. By them they are supplied with the skins of mart [...]ns, an animal unknown in the northern parts of Siberia, and which is never found but in countries abounding with trees. If we could rely on this account, we might conclude, that the American continent is separated from ours [Page 310] only by a narrow strait, and all the difficulties with respect to the communication between them would vanish. What could be offered only as a conjecture when this History was first published, is now known to be certain. The near approach of the two continents to each other has been discovered and traced in a voyage undertaken upon principles so pure and liberal, and conducted with so much professional skill, as reflect lustre upon the reign of the Sovereign by whom it was planned, and do honour to the officers entrusted with the execu­tion of it^*.

[...] north-west.IT is likewise evident from recent discoveries, that an intercourse between our continent and Ame­rica, might be carried on with no less facility from the north-west extremities of Europe. As early as the ninth century,A. D [...]. the Norwegians discovered Greenland, and planted colonies there. The com­munication with that country, after a long inter­ruption, was renewed in the last century. Some Lutheran and Moravian missionaries, prompted by zeal for propagating the Christian faith, have ven­tured to settle in this frozen and uncultivated region^†. To them we are indebted for much curious infor­mation with respect to its nature and inhabitants. We learn, that the north-west coast of Greenland is separated from America by a very narrow strait; that, at the bottom of the bay into which this strait conducts, it is highly probable that they are united^‡, that the inhabitants of the two countries have some intercourse with one another; that the Esquimaux of America perfectly resemble the Greenlanders in their aspect, dress, and mode of living; that some [Page 311] sailors, who had acquired the knowledge of a few words in the Greenlandish language, reported that these were understood by the Esquimaux; that, at length, a Moravian missionary,A. D 1784. well acquainted with the language of Greenland, having visited the country of the Esquimaux, found, to his astonish­ment, that they spoke the same language with the Greenlanders, that they were in every respect the same people, and he was accordingly received and entertained by them as a friend and a brother^*.

BY these decisive facts, not only the consangui­nity of the Esquimaux and Greenlanders is esta­blished, but the possibility of peopling America from the north of Europe is demonstrated. If the Nor­wegians, in a barbarous age, when science had not begun to dawn in the north of Europe, possessed such naval skill as to open a communication with Greenland, their ancestors, as much addicted to roving by sea, as the Tartars are to wandering by land, might, at some more remote period, accom­plish the same voyage, and settle a colony there, whose descendants might, in progress of time, mi­grate into America. But if, instead of venturing to sail directly from their own coast to Greenland, we suppose that the Norwegians held a more cau­tious course, and advanced from S [...]etland to the Feroe Islands, and from them to Iceland, in all which they had planted colonies, their progress may have been so gradual, that this navigation can­not be considered as either longer or more hazar­dous, than those voyages which that hardy and en­terprising race of men is known to have performed in every age.

8. THOUGH it be possible that America may have received its first inhabitants from our conti­nent,Probab [...] people [...] from the north-east. either by the north-west of Europe or the [Page 312] north-east of Asia, there seems to be good reason for supposing that the progenitors of all the Ame­rican nations, from Cape Horn to the southern confines of Labrador, migrated from the latter ra­ther than the former. The Esquimaux are the only people in America, who, in their aspect or character, bear any resemblance to the northern Europeans. They are manifestly a race of men, distinct from all the nations of the American con­tinent, in language, in disposition, and in habits of life. Their original then, may warrantably be traced up to that source, which I have pointed out. But, among all the other inhabitants of America, there is such a striking similitude in the form of their bodies, and the qualities of their minds, that, not­withstanding the diversities occasioned by the influ­ence of climate, or unequal progress in improve­ment, we must pronounce them to be descended from one source. There may be a variety in the shades, but we can every where trace the same ori­ginal colour. Each tribe has something peculiar which distinguishes it, but in all of them we discern certain features common to the whole race. It is remarkable, that in every peculiarity, whether in their persons or dispositions, which characterise the Americans, they have some resemblance to the rude tribes scattered over the north-east of Asia, but almost none to the nations settled in the north­ern extremities of Europe. We may, therefore, refer them to the former origin, and conclude that their Asiatic progenitors, having settled in those parts of America, where the Russians have disco­vered the proximity of the two continents, spread gradually over its various regions. This account of the progress of population in America, coincides with the traditions of the Mexicans concerning their own origin, which, imperfect as they are, were preserved with more accuracy, and merit greater [Page 313] credit, than those of any people in the New World. According to them, their ancestors came from a remote country, situated to the north-west of Mexi­co. The Mexicans point out their various stations as they advanced from this, into the interior pro­vinces, and it is precisely the same route which they must have held, if they had been emigrants from Asia. The Mexicans, in describing the appear­ance of their progenitors, their manners and habits of life at that period, exactly delineate those of the rude Tartars, from whom I suppose them to have sprung^*.

THUS have I finished a disquisition which has been deemed of so much importance, that it would have been improper to omit it in writing the History of America. I have ventured to inquire, but with­out presuming to decide. Satisfied with offering conjectures, I pretend not to establish any system. When an investigation is, from its nature, so intri­cate and obscure, that it is impossible to arrive at conclusions which are certain, there may be some merit in pointing out such as are probable^†.

THE condition and character of the American nations,Condition and charac­ter of the American [...]. at the time when they became known to the Europeans, deserve more attentive considera­tion, than the inquiry concerning their original. The latter is merely an object of curiosity, the former is one of the most important as well as in­structive researches which can occupy the philoso­pher or historian. In order to complete the history of the human mind, and attain to a perfect know­ledge of its nature and operations, we must con­template man in all those various situations wherein [Page 314] he has been placed. We must follow him in his progress through the different stages of society, as he gradually advances from the infant state of civil life towards its maturity and decline. We must observe, at each period, how the faculties of his understanding unfold, we must attend to the efforts of his active powers, watch the various movements of desire and affection, as they rise in his breast, and mark whether they tend, and with what ardour they are exerted. The philosophers and historians of ancient Greece and Rome, our guides in this as well as every other disquisition, had only a limited view of this subject, as they had hardly any oppor­tunity of surveying man in his rudest and most early state. In all those regions of the earth with which they were well acquainted, civil society had made considerable advances, and nations had finish­ed a good part of their career before they began to observe them. The Scythians and Germans, the rudest people of whom any ancient author has transmitted to us an authentic account, possessed flocks and herds, had acquired property of various kinds, and, when compared with mankind in their primitive state, may be reckoned to have attained to a great degree of civilization.

[...]BUT the discovery of the New World enlarged the sphere of contemplation, and presented nations to our view, in stages of their progress, much less advanced than those wherein they have been ob­served in our continent. In America, man ap­pears under the rudest form in which we can con­ceive [...] to subsist. We behold communities just beginning to unite, and may examine the senti­ments and actions of human beings in the infancy of social life, while they feel but imperfectly the force of its ties, and have scarcely relinquished their native liberty. That state of primaeval sim­plicity, which was known in our continent only by [Page 315] the fanciful description of poets, really existed in the other. The greater part of its inhabitants were strangers to industry and labour, ignorant of arts, imperfectly acquainted with the nature of property, and enjoying almost without restriction or controul the blessings which flowed spontaneously from the bounty of nature. There were only two nations in this vast continent which had emerged from this rude state, and had made any considerable progress in acquiring the ideas, and adopting the institutions, which belong to polished societies. Their govern­ment and manners will fall naturally under our re­view in relating the discovery and conquest of the Mexican and Peruvian empires; and we shall have there an opportunity of contemplating the Ameri­cans in the state of highest improvement to which they ever attained.

AT present,This in­quity con­fined to the rudest tribes. our attention and researches shall be turned to the small independent tribes which occupied every other part of America. Among these, though with some diversity in their charac­ter, their manners, and institutions, the state of society was nearly similar, and so extremely rude, that the denomination of Savage may be applied to them all. In a general history of America, it would be highly improper to describe the condition of each petty community, or to investigate every minute circumstance which contributes to form the character of its members. Such an inquiry would lead to details of immeasurable and tiresome extent. The qualities belonging to the people of all the different tribes have such a near resemblance, that they may be painted with the same features. Where any circumstances seem to constitute a di­versity in their character and manners worthy of attention, it will be sufficient to point these out as they occur, and to inquire into the cause of such peculiarities.

[Page 316]IT is extremely difficult to procure satisfying and authentic information concerning nations while they remain uncivilized.Difficulty of obtain­ing infor­mation, To discover their true charac­ter under this rude form, and to select the features by which they are distinguished, requires an ob­server possessed of no less impartiality than discern­ment. For, in every stage of society, the faculties, the sentiments and desires of men are so accommo­dated to their own state, that they become standards of excellence to themselves, they affix the idea of perfection and happiness to those attainments which resemble their own, and wherever the objects and enjoyments to which they have been accustomed are wanting, confidently pronounce a people to be barbarous and miserable. Hence the mutual con­tempt with which the members of communities, unequal in their degrees of improvement, regard each other. Polished nations, conscious of the advantages which they derive from their knowledge and arts, are apt to view rude nations with peculiar scorn, and, in the pride of superiority, will hardly allow either their occupations, their feelings, or their pleasures, to be worthy of men. It has sel­dom been the lot of communities, in their early and unpolished state, to fall under the observation of persons endowed with force of mind superior to vulgar prejudices, and capable of contemplating man, under whatever aspect he appears, with a candid and discerning eye.

From the incapacity of the first observers,THE Spaniards, who first visited America, and who had opportunity of beholding its various tribes while entire and unsubdued, and before any change had been made in their ideas or manners by inter­course with a race of men much advanced beyond them in improvement, were far from possessing the qualities requisite for observing the striking spec­tacle presented to their view. Neither the age in which they lived, nor the nation to which they be­longed, [Page 317] had made such progress in true science, as inspires enlarged and liberal sentiments. The con­querors of the New World were mostly illiterate adventurers, destitute of all the ideas which should have directed them in contemplating objects, so extremely different from those with which they were acquainted. Surrounded continually with danger, or struggling with hardships, they had little leisure, and less capacity, for any speculative inquiry. Eager to take possession of a country of such extent and opulence, and happy in finding it occupied by inhabitants so incapable to defend it, they hastily pronounced them to be a wretched order of men, formed merely for servitude; and were more employed in computing the profits of their labour, than in inquiring into the operations of their minds, or the reasons of their customs and institutions. The persons who penetrated at sub­sequent periods into the interior provinces, to which the knowledge and devastations of the first conquerors did not reach, were generally of a simi­lar character; brave and enterprising in an high degree, but so uninformed as to be little qualified either for observing or describing what they beheld.

NOT only the incapacity,and their prejudices; but the prejudices of the Spaniards, render their accounts of the people of America extremely defective. Soon after they planted colonies in their new conquests, a difference in opinion arose with respect to the treatment of the natives. One party, solicitous to render their ser­vitude perpetual, represented them as a brutish, ob­stinate race, incapable either of acquiring religious knowledge, or of being trained to the functions of social life. The other, full of pious concern for their conversion, contended that, though rude and ignorant, they were gentle, affectionate, docile, and by proper instructions and regulations might be formed gradually into good Christians and useful [Page 318] citizens. This controversy, as I have already re­lated, was carried on with all the warmth which is natural, when attention to interest on the one hand, and religious zeal on the other, animate the dis­putants. Most of the laity espoused the former opinion; all the ecclesiastics were advocates for the latter; and we shall uniformly find that, accord­ingly as an author belonged to either of these par­ties, he is apt to magnify the virtues or aggravate the defects of the Americans far beyond truth. Those repugnant accounts increase the difficulty of attaining a perfect knowledge of their character, and render it necessary to peruse all the descrip­tions of them by Spanish writers with distrust, and to receive their information with some grains of allowance.

and from the s [...]stems of philo­sophers.ALMOST two centuries elapsed after the disco­very of America, before the manners of its inhabi­tants attracted, in any considerable degree, the at­tention of philosophers. At length, they disco­vered that the contemplation of the condition and character of the Americans in their original state, tended to complete our knowledge of the human species, might enable us to fill up a considerable chasm in the history of its progress, and lead to spe­culations no less curious than important. They entered upon this new field of study with great ardour; but, instead of throwing light upon the subject, they have contributed, in some degree, to involve it in additional obscurity. Too impatient to inquire, they hastened to decide; and began to erect systems, when they should have been search­ing for facts on which to establish their foundations. Struck with the appearance of degeneracy in the human species throughout the New World, and astonished at beholding a vast continent occupied by a naked, feeble, and ignorant race of men, some authors of great name have maintained, that [Page 319] this part of the globe had but lately emerged from the sea, and become fit for the residence of man, that every thing in it bore marks of a recent origi­nal; and that its inhabitants, lately called into ex­istence, and still at the beginning of their career, were unworthy to be compared with the people of a more ancient and improved continent^*. Others have imagined, that, under the influence of an un­kindly climate, which checks and enervates the principle of life, man never attained in America the perfection which belongs to his nature, but remained an animal of an inferior order, defective in the vigour of his bodily frame, and destitute of sensibility, as well as of force, in the operations of his mind^†. In opposition to both these, other phi­losophers have supposed that man arrives at his highest dignity and excellence long before he reaches a state of refinement; and, in the rude simplicity of savage life, displays an elevation of sentiment, an independence of mind, and a warmth of at­tachment, for which it is vain to search among the members of polished societies^‡. They seem to consider that as the most perfect state of man which is the least civilized. They describe the manners of the rude Americans with such rapture, as if they proposed them for models to the rest of the species. These contradictory theories have been proposed with equal confidence, and uncom­mon powers of genius and eloquence have been ex­erted, in order to clothe them with an appearance of truth.

AS all those circumstances concur in rendering an inquiry into the state of the rude nations in Ame­rica intricate and obscure, it is necessary to carry it on with caution. When guided in our researches [Page 320] by the intelligent observations of the few philoso­phers who have visited this part of the globe, we may venture to decide. When obliged to have recourse to the superficial remarks of vulgar tra­vellers, of sailors, traders, buccaneers, and mis­sionaries, we must often pause, and comparing detached facts, endeavour to discover what they wanted sagacity to observe. Without indulging conjecture, or betraying a propensity to either sys­tem, we must study with equal care to avoid the extremes of extravagant and admiration, or of su­percilious contempt for those manners which we describe.

Method observed in the inquiry.IN order to conduct this enquiry with greater ac­curacy, it should be rendered as simple as possible. Man existed as an individual before he became the member of a community; and the qualities which belong to him under his former capacity should be known, before we proceed to examine those which arise from the latter relation. This is pecu­liarly necessary in investigating the manners of rude nations. Their political union is so incomplete, their civil institutions and regulations so few, so simple, and of such slender authority, that men in this state ought to be viewed rather as independent agents, than as members of a regular society. The character of a savage results almost entirely from his sentiments or feelings as an individual, and is but little influenced by his imperfect subjection to government and order. I shall conduct my re­searches concerning the manners of the Americans in this natural order, proceeding gradually from what is simple to what is more complicated.

I SHALL consider, I. The bodily constitution of the Americans in those regions now under review. II. The qualities of their minds. III. Their do­mestic state. IV. Their political state and institu­tions. V. Their system of war, and public secu­rity. [Page 321] VI. The arts with which they were ac­quainted. VII. Their religious ideas and institu­tions. VIII. Such singular detached customs as are not reducible to any of the former heads. IX. I shall conclude with a general review and estimate of their virtues and defects.

I. THE bodily constitution of the Americans.The con­stitution of their bo­dies.— The human body is less affected by climate than that of any other animal. Some animals are con­fined to a particular region of the globe, and can­not exist beyond it; others, though they may be brought to bear the injuries of a climate foreign to them, cease to multiply when carried out of that district which Nature destined to be their mansion. Even such as seem capable of being naturalized in various climates, feel the effect of every remove from their proper station, and gradually dwindle and degenerate from the vigour and perfection pe­culiar to their species. Man is the only living creature whose frame is at once so hardy and so flexible, that he can spread over the whole earth, become the inhabitant of every region, and thrive and multiply under every climate. Subject, how­ever, to the general law of Nature, the human body is not entirely exempt from the operation of climate; and when exposed to the extremes either of heat or cold, its size or vigour diminishes.

THE first appearance of the inhabitants of the New World,Complex­ion. filled the discoverers with such asto­nishment, that they were apt to imagine them a race of men different from those of the other he­misphere. Their complexion is of a reddish brown, nearly resembling the colour of copper^*. The hair of their heads is always black, long, coarse, and uncurled. They have no beard, and every part of their body is perfectly smooth. Their persons are [Page 322] of a full size, extremely straight and well propor­tioned^*. Their features are regular, though often distorted by absurd endeavours to improve the beauty of their natural form,More fee­ble. or to render their aspect more dreadful to their enemies. In the islands, where four-footed animals were both few and small, and the earth yielded her productions almost spontaneously, the constitution of the natives, neither braced by the active exercises of the chace, nor invigorated by the labour of cultivation, was extremely feeble and languid. On the continent, where the forests abound with game of various kinds, and the chief occupation of many tribes was to pursue it, the human frame acquired greater firmness. Still, however, the Americans were more remarkable for agility than strength. They resem­bled beasts of prey, rather than animals formed for labour^†. They were not only averse to toil, but incapable of it; and when rouzed by force from their native indolence, and compelled to work, they sunk under tasks which the people of the other continent would have performed with ease^‡. This feebleness of constitution was universal among the inhabitants of those regions in America which we are surveying, and may be considered as character­istic of the species there^§.

THE beardless countenance and smooth skin of the American seems to indicate a defect of vigour, occasioned by some vice in his frame. He is desti­tute of one sign of manhood and of strength. This peculiarity, by which the inhabitants of the New [Page 323] World are distinguished from the people of all other nations cannot be attributed, as some travel­lers have supposed, to their mode of subsistence^*. For though the food of many Americans be ex­tremely insipid, as they are altogether unacquainted with the use of salt, rude tribes in other parts of the earth have subsisted on aliments equally simple, without this mark of degradation, or any apparent symptom of a diminution in their vigour.

AS the external form of the Americans leads us to suspect that there is some natural debility in their frame,Less appe­tite. the smallness of their appetite for food has been mentioned by many authors as a confirmation of this suspicion. The quantity of food which men consume varies according to the temperature of the climate in which they live, the degree of activity which they exert, and the natural vigour of their constitutions. Under the enervating heat of the torrid zone, and when men pass their days in indo­lence and ease, they require less nourishment than the active inhabitants of temperate or cold countries. But neither the warmth of their climate, nor their extreme laziness, will account for the uncommon defect of appetite among the Americans. The Spaniards were astonished with observing this, not only in the islands, but in several parts of the conti­nent. The constitutional temperance of the natives far exceeded, in their opinion, the abstinence of the most mortified hermits^†; while, on the other hand, the appetite of the Spaniards appeared to the Ame­ricans insatiably voracious; and they affirmed, that one Spaniard devoured more food in a day than was sufficient for ten Americans^‡.

A PROOF of some feebleness in their frame,Less ve [...] ­mence of desire still more striking, is the insensibility of the Americans [Page 324] to the charms of beauty, and the power of love. That passion which was destined to perpetuate life, to be the bond of social union, and the source of tenderness and joy, is the most ardent in the human breast. Though the perils and hardships of the savage state, though excessive fatigue, on some oc­casions, and the difficulty at all times of procuring subsistence, may seem to be adverse to this passion, and to have a tendency to abate its vigour, yet the rudest nations in every other part of the globe seem to feel its influence more powerfully than the inha­bitants of the New World. The negro glows with all the warmth of desire natural to his climate; and the most uncultivated Asiatics discover that sensi­bility, which from their situation on the globe, we should expect them to have felt. But the Ameri­cans are, in an amazing degree, strangers to the force of this first instinct of nature. In every part of the New World the natives treat their women with coldness and indifference. They are neither the objects of that tender attachment which takes place in civilized society, nor of that ardent desire conspicuous among rude nations. Even in climates where this passion usually acquires its greatest vi­gour, the savage of America views his female with disdain, as an animal of a less noble species. He is at no pains to win her favour by the assiduity of courtship, and still less solicitous to preserve it by indulgence and gentleness^*. Missionaries themselves, notwithstanding the austerity of monastic ideas, can­not refrain from expressing their astonishment at the dispassionate coldness of the American young [Page 325] men in their intercourse with the other sex^*. Nor is this reserve to be ascribed to any opinion which they entertain with respect to the merit of female chastity. That is an idea too refined for a savage, and suggested by a delicacy of sentiment and af­fection to which he is a stranger.

BUT in inquiries concerning either the bodily or mental qualities of particular races of men,Reflections [...] to there there is not a more common or more seducing error, than that of ascribing to a single cause, those cha­racteristic peculiarities, which are the effect of the combined operation of many causes. The climate and soil of America differ, in so many respects, from those of the other hemisphere, and this differ­ence is so obvious and striking, that philosophers of great eminence have laid hold on this as suffi­cient to account for what is peculiar in the consti­tution of its inhabitants. They rest on physical causes alone, and consider the feeble frame and languid desire of the Americans, as consequences of the temperament of that portion of the globe which they occupy. But the influences of political and moral causes ought not to have been over­looked. These operate with no less effect than that on which many philosophers rest as a full ex­planation of the singular appearances which have been mentioned. Wherever the state of society is such as to create many wants and desires, which cannot be satisfied without regular exertions of in­dustry, the body accustomed to labour, becomes robust and patient of fatigue. In a more simple state, where the demands of men are so few and so moderate, that they may be gratified, almost with­out any effort, by the spontaneous productions of nature, the powers of the body are not called forth, [Page 326] nor can they attain their proper strength. The na­tives of Chili and of North-America, the two tem­perate regions in the New World, who live by hunting, may be deemed an active and vigorous race, when compared with the inhabitants of the isles, or of those parts of the continent where hardly any labour is requisite to procure subsistence. The exertions of a hunter are not, however, so regular, or so continued, as those of persons employed in the culture of the earth, or in the various arts of civilized life, and though his agility may be greater than theirs, his strength is on the whole inferior. If another direction were given to the active pow­ers of man in the New World, and his force aug­mented by exercise, he might acquire a degree of vigour which he does not in his present state pos­sess. The truth of this is confirmed by experience. Wherever the Americans have been gradually ac­customed to hard labour, their constitutions become robust, and they have been found capable of per­forming such tasks, as seemed not only to exceed the powers of such a feeble frame as has been deemed peculiar to their country, but to equal any effort of the natives, either of Africa or of Europe^*.

THE same reasoning will apply to what has been observed concerning their slender demand for food. As a proof that this should be ascribed as much to their extreme indolence, and often total want of occupation, as to any thing peculiar in the physical structure of their bodies, it has been observed, that in those districts, where the people of America are obliged to exert any unusual effort of activity, in order to procure subsistence, or wherever they are employed in severe labour, their appetite is not in­ferior to that of other men, and, in some places, it has struck observers as remarkably voracious^†.

[Page 327]THE operation of political and moral causes is still more conspicuous, in modifying the degree of attachment between the sexes. In a state of high civilization, this passion, inflamed by restraint, re­fined by delicacy, and cherished by fashion, occu­pies and engrosses the heart. It is no longer a simple instinct of nature; sentiment heightens the ardour of desire, and the most tender emotions of which our frame is susceptible, soothe and agitate the soul. This description, however, applies only to those, who, by their situation, are exempted from the cares and labours of life. Among persons of inferior order, who are doomed by their con­dition to incessant toil, the dominion of this pas­sion is less violent; their solicitude to procure sub­sistence, and to provide for the first demand of na­ture, leaves little leisure for attending to its second call. But if the nature of the intercourse between the sexes varies so much in persons of different rank in polished societies, the condition of man, while he remains uncivilized, must occasion a va­riation still more apparent. We may well suppose, that amidst the hardships, the dangers, and the simplicity of savage life, where subsistence is al­ways precarious, and often scanty, where men are almost continually engaged in the pursuit of their enemies, or in guarding against their attacks, and where neither dress nor reserve are employed as arts of female allurement, that the attention of the Americans to their women would be extremely feeble, without imputing this solely to any physical defect or degradation in their frame.

IT is accordingly observed, that in those coun­tries of America, where, from the fertility of the soil, the mildness of the climate, or some farther advances which the natives have made in improve­ment, the means of subsistence are more abundant, and the hardships of savage life are less severely [Page 328] felt, the animal passion of the sexes becomes more ardent. Striking examples of this occur among some tribes seated on the banks of great rivers well stored with food, among others who are masters of hunting-grounds abounding so much with game, that they have a regular and plentiful supply of nou­rishment with little labour. The superior degree of security and affluence which these tribes enjoy, is followed by their natural effects. The passions im­planted in the human frame by the hand of nature acquire additional force; new tastes and desires are formed; the women, as they are more valued and admired, became more attentive to dress and ornament; the men, beginning to feel how much of their own happiness depends upon them, no longer disdain the arts of winning their favour and affection. The intercourse of the sexes becomes very different from that which takes place among their ruder countrymen; and as hardly any restraint is imposed on the gratification of desire, either by religion, or laws, or decency, the dissolution of their manners is excessive^*.

None of them de­formed.NOTWITHSTANDING the feeble make of the Americans, hardly any of them are deformed, or mutilated, or defective in any of their senses. All travellers have been struck with this circumstance, and have celebrated the uniform symmetry and per­fection of their external figure. Some authors search for the cause of this appearance in their phy­sical condition. As the parents are not exhausted or over-fatigued with hard labour, they suppose that their children are born vigorous and sound. They imagine, that in the liberty of savage life, the human body, naked and unconfined from its earliest age, preserves its natural form; and that [Page 329] all its limbs and members acquire a juster propor­tion, than when fettered with artificial restraints, which stints its growth, and distort its shape^*. Something, without doubt, may be ascribed to the operation of these causes; but the true reasons of this apparent advantage, which is common to all savage nations, lie deeper, and are closely inter­woven with the nature and genius of that state. The infancy of man is so long and so helpless, that it is extremely difficult to rear children among rude nations. Their means of subsistence are not only scanty, but precarious. Such as live by hunting must range over extensive countries, and shift often from place to place. The care of children, as well as every other laborious task, is devolved upon the women. The distresses and hardships of the savage life, which are often such as can hardly be supported by persons in full vigour, must be fatal to those of more tender age. Afraid of under­taking a task so laborious, and of such long dura­tion, as that of rearing their offspring, the wo­men, in some parts of America, procure frequent abortions by the use of certain herbs, and extin­guish the first sparks of that life which they are unable to cherish^†. Sensible that only stout and well formed children have force of constitution to strug­gle through such an hard infancy, other nations abandon or destroy such of their progeny as appear feeble or defective, as unworthy of attention^‡. Even when they endeavour to rear all their chil­dren without distinction, so great a proportion of the whole number perishes under the rigorous treat­ment which must be their lot in the savage state, [Page 330] that few of those who laboured under any original frailty attain the age of manhood^*. Thus, in po­lished societies, where the means of subsistence are secured with certainty, and acquired with ease; where the talents of the mind are often of more importance than the powers of the body; children are preserved notwithstanding their defects or de­formity, and grow up to be useful citizens. In rude nations, such persons are either cut off as soon as they are born, or becoming a burden to them­selves and to the community, cannot long protract their lives. But in those provinces of the New World where, by the establishment of the Eu­ropeans, more regular provision has been made for the subsistence of its inhabitants, and they are re­strained from laying violent hands on their children, the Americans are so far from being eminent for any superior perfection in their form, that one should rather suspect some peculiar imbecility in the race, from the extraordinary number of individu­als who are deformed, dwarfish, mutilated, blind, or deaf^†.

Uniformity of their ap­pearance.HOW feeble soever the constitution of the Ame­ricans may be, it is remarkable, that there is less variety in the human form throughout the New World, than in the ancient continent. When Co­lumbus and the other discoverers first visited the different countries of America which lie within the torrid zone, they naturally expected to find people of the same complexion with those in the corres­ponding regions of the other hemisphere. To their amazement, however, they discovered that America contained no negroes^‡; and the cause of this singular appearance became as much the object of curiosity, as the fact itself was of wonder. [Page 331] In what part or membrane of the body that hu­mour resides which tinges the complexion of the negro with a deep black, it is the business of ana­tomists to enquire and describe. The powerful ope­ration of heat appears manifestly to be the cause which produces this striking variety in the human species. All Europe, a great part of Asia, and the temperate countries of Africa, are inhabited by men of a white complexion. All the torrid zone in Africa, some of the warmer regions adjacent to it, and several countries in Asia, are filled with people of a deep black colour. If we survey the nations of our continent, making our progress from cold and temperate countries towards those parts which are exposed to the influence of vehe­ment and unremitting heat, we shall find, that the extreme whiteness of their skin soon begins to di­minish; that its colour deepens gradually as we advance; and after passing through all the suc­cessive gradations of shade, terminates in an uni­form unvarying black. But in America, where the agency of heat is checked and abated by va­rious causes, which I have already explained, the climate seems to be destitute of that force which produces such wonderful effects on the human frame. The colour of the natives of the torrid zone, in America, is hardly of a deeper hue than that of the people in the more temperate parts of their continent. Accurate observers, who had an opportunity of viewing the Americans in very dif­ferent climates, and in provinces far removed from each other, have been struck with the amazing simi­larity of their figure and aspect^*.

BUT though the hand of Nature has deviated so little from one standard in fashioning the human form in America, the creation of fancy hath been [Page 332] various and extravagant, The same fables that were current in the ancient continent, have been revived with respect to the New World, and Ame­rica too has been peopled with human beings of monstrous and fantastic appearance. The inhabi­tants of certain provinces were described to be pig­mies of three feet high; those of others to be giants of an enormous size. Some travellers published ac­counts of people with only one eye, others pre­tended to have discovered men without heads, whose eyes and mouths were planted in their breasts. The variety of Nature in her productions is, indeed, so great, that it is presumptuous to set bounds to her fertility, and to reject indiscriminately every relation that does not perfectly accord with our own limited observation and experience. But the other ex­treme, of yielding a hasty assent, on the slightest evidence, to whatever has the appearance of being strange and marvellous, is still more unbecoming a philosophical inquirer, as, in every period, men are more apt to be betrayed into error, by their weak­ness in believing too much, than by their arrogance in believing too little. In proportion as science ex­tends, and nature is examined with a discerning eye, the wonders which amused ages of ignorance dis­appear. The tales of credulous travellers con­cerning America are forgotten; the monsters which they describe have been searched for in vain; and those provinces where they pretended to have found inhabitants of singular forms, are now known to be possessed by people no wise different from the other Americans.

THOUGH those relations may, without discussion, be rejected as fabulous, there are other accounts of varieties in the human species in some parts of the New World, which rest upon better evidence, and merit more attentive examination. This variety has been particularly observed in three different [Page 333] districts. The first of these is situated in the isthmus of Darien, near the centre of America. Lionel Wafer, a traveller possessed of more curiosity and intelligence than we should have expected to find in an associate of Buccaneers, discovered there a race of men few in number, but of a singular make. They are of low stature, according to his descrip­tion, of a feeble frame, incapable of enduring fa­tigue. Their colour is a dead milk white; not re­sembling that of fair people among Europeans, but without any tincture of a blush or sanguine com­plexion. Their skin is covered with a fine hairy down of a chalky white, the hair of their heads, their eye-brows, and eye-lashes, are of the same hue. Their eyes are of a singular form, and so weak, that they can hardly bear the light of the sun; but they see clearly by moon-light, and are most active and gay in the night^*. No race simi­lar to this has been discovered in any other part of America. Cortes, indeed, found some persons exactly resembling the white people of Darien, among the rare and monstrous animals which Mon­tezuma had collected^†. But as the power of the Mexican empire extending to the provinces bor­dering on the isthmus of Darien, they were pro­bably brought thence. Singular as the appearance of those people may be, they cannot be considered as constituting a distinct species. Among the ne­groes of Africa, as well as the natives of the Indian islands, nature sometimes produces a small num­ber of individuals, with all the characteristic fea­tures and qualities of the white people of Darien. The former are called Albinos by the Portuguese, the latter Kackerlakes by the Dutch. In Darien the parents of those Whites are of the same colour [Page 334] with the other natives of the country; and this ob­servation applies equally to the anomalous progeny of the negroes and Indians. The same mother who produces some children of a colour that does not belong to the race, brings forth the rest with the complexion peculiar to her country^*. One conclusion may then be formed with respect to the people described by Wafer, the Albinos and Kack­erlakes; they are a degenerated breed, not a sepa­rate class of men; and from some disease or defect of their parents, the peculiar colour and debility which mark their degradation are transmitted to them. As a decisive proof of this, it has been ob­served, that neither the white people of Darien, nor the Albinos of Africa, propagate their race: their children are of the colour and tempera­ment peculiar to the natives of their respective countries^†.

THE second district that is occupied by inhabi­tants differing in appearance from the other people of America, is situated in a high northern latitude, extending from the coast of Labrador towards the pole, as far as the country is habitable. The people scattered over these dreary regions, are known to the Europeans by the name of Esquimaux. They themselves, with that idea of their own superiority, which consoles the rudest and most wretched nati­ons, assume the name of Keralit or Men. They are of a middle size, and robust, with heads of a disproportioned bulk, and feet as remarkably small. Their complexion, though swarthy, by being con­tinually exposed to the rigour of a cold climate, in­clines to the European white, rather than to the copper colour of America, and the men have beards [Page 335] which are sometimes bushy and long^*. From these marks of distinction, as well as from one still less equivocal, the affinity of their language to that of the Greenlanders, which I have already mentioned, we may conclude, with some degree of confidence, that the Esquimaux are a race different from the rest of the Americans.

WE cannot decide with equal certainty concerning the inhabitants of the third district, situated at the southern extremity of America. These are the famous Patagonians, who, during two centuries and a half, have afforded a subject of controversy to the learn­ed, and an object of wonder to the vulgar. They are supposed to be one of the wandering tribes, which occupy that vast, but least known region of America, which extends from the river de la Plata to the Straits of Magellan. Their proper station is in that part of the interior country which lies on the banks of the river Negro; but in the hunting season they frequently roam as far as the Straits which separate Tierra del Fuego from the main­land. The first accounts of this people, were brought to Europe by the companions of Magel­lan^†, who described them as a gigantic race, above eight feet high, and of strength in proportion to their enormous size. Among several tribes of ani­mals, a disparity in bulk, as considerable, may be observed. Some large breeds of horses and dogs exceed the more diminutive races in stature and strength, as far as the Patagonian is supposed to rise above the usual standard of the human body. But animals attain the highest perfection of their species, only in mild climates, or where they find the most nutritive food in greatest abundance. It [Page 336] is not then in the uncultivated waste of the Magel­lanic regions, and among a tribe of improvident savages, that we should expect to find man posses­sing the highest honours of his race, and distin­guished by a superiority of size and vigour, far beyond what he has reached in any other part of the earth. The most explicit and unexceptionable evidence is requisite, in order to establish a fact repugnant to those general principles and laws, which seem to affect the human frame in every other instance, and to decide with respect to its nature and qualities. Such evidence has not hi­therto been produced. Though several persons, to whose testimony great respect is due, have vi­sited this part of America since the time of Magel­lan, and have had interviews with the natives; though some have affirmed, that such as they saw were of gigantic stature, and others have formed the same conclusion from measuring their footsteps, or from viewing the skeletons of their dead; yet their accounts vary from each other in so many essential points, and are mingled with so many cir­cumstances manifestly false or fabulous, as detract much from their credit. On the other hand, some navigators, and those among the most eminent of their order for discernment and accuracy, have asserted that the natives of Patagonia, with whom they had intercourse, though stout and well-made, are not of such extraordinary size as to be distin­guished from the rest of the human species ^*. The existence of this gigantic race of men seems, then, to be one of those points in natural history, with respect to which a cautious inquirer will hesitate, and will chuse to suspend his assent until more com­plete evidence shall decide, whether he ought to admit a fact, seemingly inconsistent with what rea­son [Page 337] and experience have discovered concerning the structure and condition of man, in all the various situations in which he has been observed.

IN order to form a complete idea with respect to the constitution of the inhabitants of this and the other hemisphere,Their state of health. we should attend not only to the make and vigour of their bodies, but consider what degree of health they enjoy, and to what period of longevity they usually arrive. In the simplicity of the savage state, when man is not oppressed with labour or enervated by luxury, or disquieted with care, we are apt to imagine that his life will flow on almost untroubled by disease or suffering, until his days be terminated, in extreme old age, by the gradual decays of nature. We find, accordingly, among the Americans, as well as among other rude people, persons, whose decrepit and shrivelled form seems to indicate an extraordinary length of life. But as most of them are unacquainted with the art of numbering, and all of them as forgetful of what is past, they are improvident for what is to come, it is impossible to ascertain their age, with any de­gree of precision ^*. It is evident, that the period of their longevity must vary considerably, accord­ing to the diversity of climate, and their different modes of subsistence. They seem, however, to be every where exempt from many of the distempers which afflict polished nations. None of the mala­dies, which are the immediate offspring of luxury, ever visited them; and they have no names in their languages by which to distinguish this numerous train of adventitious evils.

BUT, whatever be the situation in which man is placed, he is born to suffer; and his diseases,Diseases▪ in the savage state, though fewer in number, are, like [Page 338] those of the animals whom he nearly resembles in his mode of life, more violent, and more fatal. If luxury engenders and nourishes distempers of one species, the rigour and distresses of savage life bring on those of another. As men, in this state, are wonderfully improvident, and their means of sub­sistence precarious, they often pass from extreme want to exuberant plenty, according to the vissici­tudes of fortune in the chase, or in consequence of the various degree of abundance with which the earth affords to them its productions, in different seasons. Their inconsiderate gluttony in the one situation, and their severe abstinence in the other, are equally pernicious. For though the human constitution may be accustomed by habit, like that of animals of prey, to tolerate long famine, and then to gorge voraciously, it is not a little affected by such sudden and violent transitions. The strength and vigour of savages are, at some seasons, impair­ed by what they suffer from scarcity of food; at others they are afflicted with disorders arising from indigestion and a superfluity of gross aliment. These are so common, that they may be considered as the unavoidable consequence of their mode of sub­sisting, and cut off considerable numbers in the prime of life. They are likewise extremely sub­ject to consumptions, to pleuritic, asthmatic, and paralytic disorders^*, brought on by the immode­rate hardships and fatigue which they endure in hunting and in war; or owing to the inclemency of the seasons to which they are continually exposed. In the savage state, hardships and fatigue violently assault the constitution. In polished societies, in­temperance undermines it. It is not easy to deter­mine which of them operates with most fatal effect, [Page 339] or tends most to abridge human life. The influence of the former is certainly most extensive. The per­nicious consequences of luxury reach only a few members in any community, the distresses of savage life are felt by all. As far as I can judge, after very minute enquiry, the general period of human life is shorter among savages, than in well-regulated and industrious societies.

ONE dreadful malady, the severest scourge, with which, in this life, offended Heaven chastens the indulgence of criminal desire, seems to have been peculiar to the Americans. By communicating it to their conquerors, they have not only amply avenged their own wrongs, but by adding this ca­lamity to those which formerly imbittered human life, they have, perhaps, more than counterbalanced all the benefits which Europe has derived from the discovery of the New World. This distemper, from the country in which it first raged, or from the people by whom it was supposed to have been spread over Europe, has been sometimes called the Neapolitan, and sometimes the French disease. At its first appearance, the infection was so malignant, its symptoms so violent, its operations so rapid and fatal, as to basslle all the efforts of medical skill. Astonishment and terror accompanied this unknown affliction in its progress, and men began to dread the extinction of the human race by such a cruel visitation. Experience, and the ingenuity of phy­sicians, gradually discovered remedies of such vir­tue as to cure or to mitigate the evil. During the course of two centuries and a half, its virulence seems to have abated considerably. At length, in the same manner with the leprosy, which raged in Europe for some centuries, it may waste its force and disappear; and in some happier age, this west­ern infection, like that from the east, may be known only by description^*.

[Page 340]II. AFTER considering what appears to be pecu­liar in the bodily constitution of the Americans, our attention is naturally turned towards the powers and qualities of their minds.Power and qualities of their minds. As the individual ad­vances from the ignorance and imbecility of the infant state, to vigour and maturity of understand­ing, something similar to this may be observed in the progress of the species. With respect to it, too, there is a period of infancy, during which several powers of the mind are not unfolded, and all are feeble and defective in their operation. In the early ages of society, while the condition of man is simple and rude, his reason is but little exercised, and his desires move within a very narrow sphere. Hence arise two remarkable characteristics of the human mind in this state. Its intellectual powers are extremely limited; its emotions and efforts are few and languid. Both these distinctions are con­spicuous among the rudest and most unimproved of the American tribes, and constitute a striking part of their description.

Intellectual faculties very limit­ed.WHAT, among polished nations, is called specu­lative reasoning or research, is altogether unknown in the rude state of society, and never becomes the occupation or amusement of the human faculties, until man be so far improved as to have secured, with certainty, the means of subsistence, as well as the possession of liesure and tranquillity. The thoughts and attention of a savage are confined within the small circle of objects, immediately conducive to his preservation or enjoyment. Every thing be­yond that, escapes his observation, or is perfectly indifferent to him. Like a mere animal, what is before his eyes interests and affects him; what is out of sight, or at a distance, makes little impres­sion^*. There are several people in America whose [Page 341] limited understandings seem not to be capable of forming an arrangement for futurity; neither their solicitude nor their foresight extend so far. They follow blindly the impulse of the appetite which they feel, but are entirely regardless of distant con­sequences, and even of those removed in the least degree from immediate apprehension. While they highly prize such things as serve for present use, or minister to present enjoyment, they set no value upon those which are not the objects of some imme­diate want^*. When, on the approach of the even­ing, a Caribbee feels himself disposed to go to rest, no consideration will tempt him to sell his hammoc. But, in the morning, when he is sallying out to the business or pastime of the day, he will part with it for the slightest toy that catches his fancy^†. At the close of winter, while the impression of what he has suffered from the rigour of the climate is fresh in the mind of the North-American, he sets him­self with vigour to prepare the materials for erecting a comfortable hut to protect him against the imcle­mency of the succeeding season; but as soon as the weather becomes mild, he forgets what is past, abandons his work, and never thinks of it more, until the return of cold compels him, when too late, to resume it^‡.

IF in concerns the most interesting, and seem­ingly the most simple, the reason of man, while rude and destitute of culture, differs so little from the thoughtless levity of children, or the improvi­dent instinct of animals, its exertions in other di­rections cannot be very considerable. The ob­jects towards which reason turns, and the disquisi­tions in which it engages, must depend upon the [Page 342] state in which man is placed, and are suggested by his necessities and desires. Disquisitions, which ap­pear the most necessary and important to men in one state of society, never occur to those in ano­ther. Among civilized nations, arithmetic, or the art of numbering, is deemed an essential and elementary science, and in our continent, the in­vention and use of it reaches back to a period so remote as is beyond the knowledge of history. But among savages, who have no property to estimate, no hoarded treasures to count, no variety of ob­jects or multiplicity of ideas to enumerate, arith­metic is a superfluous and useless art. Accordingly, among some tribes in America it seems to be quite unknown. There are many who cannot reckon farther than three; and have no denomination to distinguish any number above it^*. Several can proceed as far as ten, others to twenty. When they would convey an idea of any number beyond these, they point to the hair of their head, intimating that it is equal to them, or with wonder declare it to be so great that it cannot be reckoned^†. Not only the Americans, but all nations, while extremely rude, seem to be unacquainted with the art of computation^‡. As soon, however, as they ac­quire such acquaintance or connection with a vari­ety of objects, that there is frequent occasion to combine or divide them, their knowledge of num­bers increases, so that the state of this art among any people may be considered as one standard, by which to estimate the degree of their improve­ment. The Iroquois, in North America, as they [Page 343] are much more civilized than the rude inhabitants of Brasil, Paraguay, or Guiana, have likewise made greater advances in this respect; though even their arithmetic does not extend beyond a thousand, as in their petty transactions they have no occasion for any higher number^*. The Cherokee, a less considerable nation on the same continent, can reckon only as far as a hundred, and to that extent have names for the several numbers; the smaller tribes in their neighbourhood can rise no higher than ten^†.

IN other respects, the exercise of the understand­ing among rude nations is still more limited.No abi [...] ideas The first ideas of every human being must be such as he receives by the senses. But, in the mind of man, while in the savage state, there seem to be hardly any ideas but what enter by this avenue. The ob­jects around him are presented to his eye. Such as may be subservient to his use, or can gratify any of his appetites, attract his notice; he views the rest without curiosity or attention. Satisfied with con­sidering them under that simple mode, in which they appear to him, as separate and detached, he neither combines them so as to form general classes, nor contemplates their qualities apart from the subject in which they inhere, nor bestows a thought upon the operations of his own mind concerning them. Thus, he is unacquainted with all the ideas which have been denominated universal, or abstract, or of reflection. The range of his understanding must, of course, be very confined, and his reasoning powers be employed merely on what is sensible. This is so remarkably the case with the ruder na­tions of America, that their languages (as we shall afterwards find) have not a word to express any thing but what is material or corporeal. Time, [Page 344] space, substance, and a thousand other terms which represent abstract and universal ideas, are altoge­ther unknown to them^*.By [...]ing A naked savage, cower­ing over the fire in his miserable cabin, or stretched under a few branches which afford him a temporary shelter, has as little inclination as capa­city for useless speculation. His thoughts extend not beyond what relates to animal life, and when they are not directed towards some of its concerns, his mind is totally inactive. In situations where no extraordinary effort either of ingenuity or labour is requisite, in order to satisfy the simple demands of nature, the powers of the mind are so seldom roused to any exertion, that the rational faculties continue almost dormant and unexercised. The numerous tribes scattered over the rich plains of South-America, the inhabitants of some of the islands, and of several fertile regions on the conti­nent, come under this description. Their vacant countenance, their staring unexpressive eye, their listless inattention, and total ignorance of subjects, which seem to be the first which should occupy the thoughts of rational beings, made such impression upon the Spaniards, when they first beheld those rude people, that they considered them as animals of an inferior order, and could not believe that they belonged to the human species^†. It required the authority of a papal bull to counteract this opinion, and to convince them that the Americans were ca­pable of the functions, and intitled to the privileges of humanity^‡. Since that time, persons more en­lightened and impartial than the discoverers or con­querors of America, have had an opportunity of contemplating the most savage of its inhabitants, [Page 345] and they have been astonished and humbled, with observing how nearly man, in this condition, ap­proaches to the brute creation. But in severer climates, where subsistence cannot be procured with the same ease, where men must unite more closely, and act with greater concert, necessity calls forth their talents, and sharpens their invention, so that the intellectual powers are more exercised and im­proved. The North-American tribes and the na­tives of Chili, who inhabit the temperate regions in the two great districts of America, are people of cultivated and enlarged understandings, when viewed in comparison with some of those seated in the islands, or on the banks of the Maragnon and Orinoco. Their occupations are more various, their system of policy, as well as of war, more complex, their arts more numerous. But, even among them, the intellectual powers are extremely limited in their operations, and unless when turned directly to those objects which interest a savage, are held in no estimation. Both the North-Americans and Chilese, when not engaged in some of the functions belonging to a warrior or hunter, loiter away their time in thoughtless indolence, unac­quainted with any other subject worthy of their attention, or capable of occupying their minds^*. If even among them, reason is so much circumscribed in its exertions, and never arrives, in its highest at­tainments, at the knowledge of those general prin­ciples and maxims, which serve as the foundation of science, we may conclude, that the intellectual pow­ers of man in the savage state, are destitute of their proper object, and cannot acquire any considerable degree of vigour and enlargement.

FROM the same causes, the active efforts of the mind are few, and, on most occasions, languid. [Page 346] If we examine into the motives which rouze men to activity in civilized life, and prompt them to persevere in fatiguing exertions of their ingenuity or strength,Active ef­forts of the mind few and lan­guid. we shall find that they arise chiefly from acquired wants and appetites. These are numerous and importunate; they keep the mind in perpetual agitation, and, in order to gratify them, invention must be always on the stretch, and industry must be incessantly employed. But the desires of simple nature are few, and where a favourable climate yields almost spontaneously what suffices to gratify them, they scarcely stir the soul, or excite any violent emotion. Hence the people of several tribes in America waste their life in a list­less indolence. To be free from occupation, seems to be all the enjoyment towards which they aspire. They will continue whole days stretched out in their hammocks, or seated on the earth, in per­fect idleness, without changing their posture, or raising their eyes from the ground, or uttering a single word^*.

Improvi­dent.SUCH is their aversion to labour, that neither the hope of future good, nor the apprehension of fu­ture evil, can surmount it. They appear equally indifferent to both, discovering little solicitude, and taking no precautions to avoid the one, or to secure the other. The cravings of hunger may rouse them; but as they devour, with little distinction, whatever will appease its instinctive demands, the exertions which these occasion, are of short dura­tion. Destitute of ardour, as well as variety of desire, they feel not the force of those powerful springs which give vigour to the movements of the mind, and urge the patient hand of industry to per­severe in its efforts. Man, in some parts of Ame­rica, appears in a form so rude, that we can disco­ver [Page 347] no effects of his activity, and the principle of un­derstanding which should direct it, seems hardly to be unfolded. Like the other animals, he has no fixed residence; he has erected no habitation to shelter him from the inclemency of the weather; he has taken no measures for securing certain sub­sistence; he neither sows nor reaps; but roams about as led in search of the plants and fruits which the earth brings forth in succession; and in quest of the game which he kills in the forests, or of the fish, which he catches in the rivers.

THIS description, however,Some va­riety with respect to all these. applies only to some tribes. Man cannot continue long in this state of feeble and uninformed infancy. He was made for industry and action, and the powers of his nature, as well as the necessity of his condition, urge him to fulfil his destiny. Accordingly, among most of the American nations, especially those seated in rigo­rous climates, some efforts are employed, and some previous precautions are taken, for securing subsist­ence. The career of regular industry is begun, and the laborious arm has made the first essays of its power. Still, however, the improvident and slothful genius of the savage state predominates. Even among those more improved tribes, labour is deemed ignominious and degrading. It is only to work of a certain kind that a man will deign to put his hand. The greater part is devolved entirely upon the women. One half of the community re­mains inactive, while the other is oppressed with the multitude and variety of its occupations. Thus their industry is partial, and the foresight which re­gulates it, is no less limited. A remarkable in­stance of this occurs in the chief arrangement with respect to their manner of living. They depend for their subsistence, during one part of the year, on fishing; during another, on hunting; during a third, on the produce of their agriculture. Though [Page 348] experience has taught them to foresee the return of those various seasons, and to make some provision for the respective exigencies of each, they either want sagacity to proportion this provision to their consumption, or are so incapable of any command over their appetites, that from their inconsiderate waste, they often feel the calamities of famine as severely as the rudest of the savage tribes. What they suffer one year does not augment their in­dustry, or render them more provident to prevent similar distresses^*. This inconsiderate thoughtless­ness about futurity, the effect of ignorance and the cause of sloth, accompanies and characterizes man in every stage of savage life^†; and, by a capricious singularity in his operations, he is then least solici­tous about supplying his wants, when the means of satisfying them are most precarious, and procured with the greatest difficulty^‡.

Their so­cial state.III. AFTER viewing the bodily constitution of the Americans, and contemplating the powers of their minds, we are led, in the natural order of in­quiry, to consider them as united together in society. Hitherto our researches have been confined to the operations of understanding respecting themselves, as individuals, now they will extend to the degree of their sensibility and affection towards their spe­cies.

Domestic union.THE domestic state is the first and most simple form of human association. The union of the sexes, among different animals, is of longer or shorter duration in proportion to the ease or difficulty of rearing their offspring. Among those tribes where the season of infancy is short, and the young [Page 349] soon acquire vigour or agility, no permanent union is formed. Nature commits the care of training up the offspring to the mother alone, and her ten­derness, without any other assistance, is equal to the task. But where the state of infancy is long and helpless, and the joint assiduity of both parents is requisite in tending their feeble progeny, there a more intimate connexion takes place, and conti­nues until the purpose of nature be accomplished, and the new race grow up to full maturity. As the infancy of man is more feeble and helpless than that of any other animal, and he is dependent, during a much longer period, on the care and fore­sight of his parents, the union between husband and wife came early to be considered, not only as a solemn, but as a permanent contract. A general state of promiscuous intercourse between the sexes, never existed but in the imagination of poets. In the infancy of society, when men, destitute of arts and industry, lead a hard precarious life, the rearing of their progeny demands the attention and efforts of both parents; and if their union had not been formed and continued with this view, the race could not have been preserved. Accordingly, in America, even among the rudest tribes, a regular union be­tween husband and wife was universal, and the rights of marriage were understood and recognized. In those districts where subsistence was scanty, and the difficulty of maintaining a family was great, the man confined himself to one wife. In warmer and more fertile provinces, the facility of procuring food concurred with the influence of climate, in inducing the inhabitants to increase the number of their wives^*. In some countries, the marriage union subsisted during life; in others, the impatience of [Page 350] the Americans under restraint of any species, toge­ther with their natural levity and caprice, prompted them to dissolve it on very slight pretexts, and often without assigning any cause^*.

Condition of women.BUT in whatever light the Americans considered the obligation of this contract, either as perpetual, or only as temporary, the condition of women was equally humiliating and miserable. Whether man has been improved by the progress of arts and civi­lization in society, is a question, which, in the wan­tonness of disputation, has been agitated among philosophers. That women are indebted to the refinements of polished manners for a happy change in their state, is a point which can admit of no doubt. To despise and to degrade the female sex, is the characteristic of the savage state in every part of the globe. Man, proud of excelling in strength and in courage, the chief marks of pre-eminence among rude people, treats woman, as an inferior, with disdain. The Americans, perhaps from that coldness and insensibility which has been considered as peculiar to their constitution, add neglect and harshness to contempt. The most intelligent tra­vellers have been struck with this inattention of the Americans to their women. It is not, as I have al­ready observed, by a studied display of tenderness and attachment, that the American endeavours to gain the heart of the woman whom he wishes to marry. Marriage itself, instead of being an union of affec­tion and interests between equals, becomes, among, them, the unnatural conjunction of a master with his slave. It is the observation of an author, whose opinions are deservedly of great weight, that where­ever wives are purchased, their condition is ex­tremely [Page 351] depressed^*. They become the property and the sla [...]s of those who buy them. In whatever part of the globe this custom prevails, the observa­tion holds. In countries where refinement has made some progress, women, when purchased, are excluded from society, shut up in sequestered apart­ments, and kept under the vigilant guard of their masters. In ruder nations, they are degraded to the meanest functions. Among many people of America, the marriage-contract is properly a pur­chase. The man buys his wife of her parents. Though unacquainted with the use of money, or with such commercial transactions as take place in more improved society, he knows how to give an equivalent for any object which he desires to pos­sess. In some places, the suitor devotes his service for a certain time to the parents of the maid whom he courts▪ in others, he hunts for them occasion­ally, or assists in cultivating their fields, and forming their canoes; in others he offers presents of such things as are deemed most valuable on account of their usefulness or rarity^†. In return for these, he receives his wife; and this circumstance, added to the low estimation of women among savages, leads him to consider her as a female servant whom he has purchased, and whom he has a title to treat as an inferior. In all unpolished nations, it is true, the functions in domestic oeconomy, which fall na­turally to the share of women, are so many, that they are subjected to hard labour, and must bear more than their full portion of the common burden. But in America their condition is so peculiarly grievous, and their depression so complete, that servitude is a name too mild to describe their [Page 352] wretched state. A wife, among most tribes, is no better than a beast of burden, destined to every office of labour and fatigue. While the men loiter out the day in sloth, or spend it in amusement, the women are condemned to incessant toil. Tasks are imposed upon them without pity, and services are received without complacence or gratitude^*. Every circumstance reminds women of this mortifying in­feriority. They must approach their lords with reverence; they must regard them as more exalted beings, and are not permitted to eat in their pre­sence^†. There are districts in America where this dominion is so grievous, and so sensibly felt, that some women, in a wild emotion of maternal ten­derness, have destroyed their female children in their infancy, in order to deliver them from that intolerable bondage to which they knew they were doomed^‡. Thus the first institution of social life is perverted. That state of domestic union towards which nature leads the human species, in order to soften the heart to gentleness and humanity, is ren­dered so unequal, as to establish a cruel distinction between the sexes, which forms the one to be harsh and unfeeling, and humbles the other to servility and subjection.

Their wo­men not prolific.IT is owing, perhaps, in some measure, to this state of depression, that women in rude nations are far from being prolific ^§. The vigour of their con­stitution is exhausted by excessive fatigue, and the wants and distresses of savage life are so numerous, as to force them to take various precautions in order to prevent too rapid an increase of their pro­geny. [Page 353] Among wandering tribes, or such as depend chiefly upon hunting for subsistence, the mother cannot attempt to rear a second child, until the first has attained such a degree of vigour as to be in some measure independent of her care. From this mo­tive, it is the universal practice of the American women to suckle their children during several years^*; and as they seldom marry early, the perid of their fertility is over, before they can finish the long but necessary attendance upon two or three children^†. Among some of the least polished tribes, whose industry and foresight do not extend so far as to make any regular provision for their own subsistence, it is a maxim not to burden them­selves with rearing more than two children^‡; and no such numerous families, as are frequent in civilized societies, are to be found among men in the savage state^§. When twins are born, one of them commonly is abandoned, because the mother is not equal to the task of rearing both^‖, When a mother dies while she is nursing a child, all hope of preserving its life fails, and it is buried together with her in the same grave^¶. As the parents are freqently exposed to want by their own improvi­dent indolence, the difficulty of sustaining their children becomes so great, that it is not uncommon to abandon or destroy them^**. Thus their experi­ence of the difficulty of training up an infant to ma­turity, [Page 354] amidst the hardships of savage life, often stifles the voice of nature among the Americans, and suppresses the strong emotions of parental ten­derness.

Parental af­fection and filial duty.BUT, though necessity compels the inhabitants of America thus to set bounds to the increase of their families, they are not deficient in affection and attachment to their offspring. They feel the power of this instinct in its full force, and as long as their progeny continue feeble and helpless, no people exceed them in tenderness and care^*. But in rude nations, the dependence of children upon their parents is of shorter continuance than in po­lished societies. When men must be trained to the various functions of civil life by previous disci­pline and education, when the knowledge of abstruse sciences must be taught, and dexterity in intricate arts must be acquired, before a young man is pre­pared to begin his career of action, the attentive feelings of a parent are not confined to the years of infancy, but extend to what is more remote, the establishment of his child in the world. Even then, his solicitude does not terminate. His pro­tection may still be requisite, and his wisdom and experience still prove useful guides. Thus a per­manent connexion is formed; parental tenderness is exercised, and filial respect returned, throughout the whole course of life. But in the simplicity of the savage state, the affection of parents, like the instinctive fondness of animals, ceases almost en­tirely as soon as their offspring attain maturity. Little instruction fits them for that mode of life to which they are destined. The parents, as if their duty were accomplished, when they have conducted their children through the helpless years of infancy, leave them afterwards at entire liberty. Even in their tender age, they seldom advise or admonish, [Page 355] they never chide or chastise them. They suffer them to be absolute masters of their own actions^*. In an American hut, a father, a mother, and their posterity, live together like persons assembled by accident, without seeming to feel the obligation of the duties mutually arising from this connexion ^†. As filial love is not cherished by the continuance of attention or good offices, the recollection of bene­fits received in early infancy is too faint to excite it. Conscious of their own liberty, and impatient of restraint, the youth of America are accustomed to act as if they were totally independent. Their parents are not objects of greater regard than other persons. They treat them always with neglect, and often with such harshness and insolence, as to fill those who have been witnesses of their conduct with horror^‡. Thus the ideas which seem to be natural to man in his savage state, as they result necessarily from his circumstances and condition in that period of his progress, affect the two capital relations in domestic life. They render the union between husband and wife unequal. They shorten the duration and weaken the force, of the con­nexion between parents and children.

IV. FROM the domestic state of the Americans,Political institutions▪ the transition to the consideration of their civil go­vernment and political institutions is natural. In every enquiry concerning the operations of men when united together in society, the first object of attention should be their mode of subsistence. Ac­cordingly as that varies, their laws and policy must be different. The institution suited to the ideas [Page 356] and exigencies of tribes, which subsist chiefly by fishing or hunting, and which have as yet acquired but an imperfect conception of any species of pro­perty, will be much more simple than those which must take place when the earth is cultivated with regular industry, and a right of property not only in its productions, but in the soil itself, is completely ascertained.

Mode of subsistence.ALL the people of America, now under review, belong to the former class. But though they may all be comprehended under the general denomina­tion of savage, the advances which they had made in the art of procuring to themselves a certain and plentiful subsistence, were very unequal. On the extensive plains of South-America, man appears in one of the rudest states in which he has been ever observed, or, perhaps, can exist. Several tribes depend entirely upon the bounty of nature for sub­sistence. They discover no solicitude, they em­ploy little foresight, they scarcely exert any in­dustry, to secure what is necessary for their support. The Topayers of Brasil, the Guaxeros of Tierra Firmê, the Caiguas, the Mox [...]s, and several other people of Paraguay, are unacquainted with every species of cultivation. They neither sow nor plant. Even the culture of the manioc, of which cassada bread is made, is an art too intricate for their inge­nuity, or too fatiguing to their indolence. The roots which the earth produces spontaneously, the fruits, the berries, and the seeds, which they gather in the woods, together with lizards and other rep­tiles, which multiply amazingly with the heat of the climate in a fat soil, moistened by frequent rains, supply them with food during some part of the year^*.By fishing. At other times they subsist by fishing; [Page 357] and nature seems to have indulged the laziness of the South-American tribes by the liberality with which she ministers, in this way, to their wants. The vast rivers of that region in America abound with an infinite variety of the most delicate fish. The lakes and marshes formed by the annual over-flowing of the waters, are filled with all the dif­ferent species, where they remained shut up, as in natural reservoirs, for the use of the inhabitants. They swarm in such shoals, that in some places, they are catched without art or industry^*. In others, the natives have discovered a method of infecting the water with the juice of certain plants, by which the fish are so intoxicated, that they float on the surface, and are taken with the hand^†. Some tribes have ingenuity enough to preserve them without salt, by drying or smoking them upon hurdles over a flow fire^‡. The prolific qua­lity of the rivers in South-America induces many of the natives to resort to their banks, and to de­pend almost entirely for nourishment on what their waters supply with such profusion^§. In this part of the globe, hunting seems not to have been the first employment of men, or the first effort of their in­vention and labour to obtain food. They were fishers before they became hunters; and as the oc­cupations of the former do not call for equal exer­tions of activity, or talents, with those of the latter, people in that state appear to possess neither the same degree of enterprise nor of ingenuity. The petty nations, adjacent to the Maragnon and Ori­noco, are manifestly the most inactive and least in­telligent of all the Americans.

NONE but tribes contiguous to great rivers canBy hunting [Page 358] sustain themselves in this manner. The greater part of the American nations, dispersed over the forests with which their country is covered, do not procure subsistence with the same facility. For al­though these forests, especially in the southern con­tinent of America, are stored plentifully with game^*, considerable efforts of activity and ingenuity are re­quisite in pursuit of it. Necessity incited the na­tives to the one, and taught them the other. Hunt­ing became their principal occupation; and as it called forth strenuous exertions of courage, of force, and of invention, it was deemed no less ho­nourable than necessary. This occupation was pe­culiar to the men. They were trained to it from their earliest youth. A bold and dexterous hunter ranked next in fame to the distinguished warrior, and an alliance with the former is often courted in preference to one with the latter^†. Hardly any de­vice, which the ingenuity of man has discovered for ensnaring or destroying wild animals, was un­known to the Americans. While engaged in this favourite exercise, they shake off the indolence pe­culiar to their nature, the latent powers and vigour of their minds are rouzed, and they become active, persevering, and indefatigable. Their sagacity in finding their prey, and their address in killing it, are equal. Their reason and their senses being constantly directed towards this one object, the former displays such fertility of invention, and the latter acquire such a degree of acuteness, as appear almost incredible. They discern the footsteps of a wild beast, which escape every other eye, and can follow them with certainty through the pathless fo­rest. If they attack their game openly, their ar­row [Page 359] seldom errs from the mark^*; if they endea­vour to circumvent it by art, it is almost impossible to avoid their toils. Among several tribes, their young men were not permitted to marry, until they had given such proofs of their skill in hunt­ing, as put it beyond doubt that they were capable of providing for a family. Their ingenuity, always on the stretch, and sharpened by emulation, as well as necessity, has struck out many inventions, which greatly facilitate success in the chase. The most singular of these is the discovery of a poison in which they dip the arrows employed in hunting. The slightest wound with those envenomed shafts is mortal. If they only pierce the skin, the blood fixes and congeals in a moment, and the strongest animal falls motionless to the ground. Nor does this poison, notwithstanding its violence and sub­tlety, insect the flesh of the animal which it kills. That may be eaten with perfect safety, and retains its native relish and qualities. All the nations situ­ated upon the banks of the Maragnon and Orinoco are acquainted with this composition, the chief in­gredient in which is the juice extracted from the root of the curare, a species of withe^†. In other parts of America, they employ the juice of the manchenille for the same purpose, and it operates with no less fatal activity. To people possessed of those secrets, the bow is a more destructive weapon than the musket, and, in their skilful hands, does great execution among the birds and beasts which abound in the forests of America.

BUT the life of a hunter gradually leads man to a state more advanced. The chase,By ag [...] ­ture. even where prey is abundant, and the dexterity of the hunter [Page 360] much improved, affords but an uncertain mainte­nance, and at some seasons it must be suspended altogether.By f [...]ing. If a savage trusts to his bow alone for food, he and his family will be often reduced to extreme distress^*. Hardly any region of the earth furnishes man spontaneously with what his wants require. In the mildest climates, and most fertile soils, his own industry and soresight must be exerted, in some degree, to secure a regular supply of food. Their experience of this surmounts the abhorrence of labour natural to savage nations, and compels them to have recourse to culture, as subsidiary to hunting. In particular situations, some small tribes may subsist by fishing, independent of any pro­duction of the earth, raised by their own industry. But thoughout all America, we scarcely meet with any nation of hunters, which does not practise some species of cultivation.

The [...] their [...].THE agriculture of the Americans, however, is neither extensive nor laborious. As game and fish are their principal food, all they aim at by cultiva­tion, is to supply any occasional defect of these. In the southern continent of America, the natives confined their industry to rearing a few plants, which, in a rich soil and warm climate, were easily trained to maturity. The chief of these is Maize, well known in Europe by the name of Turkey or Indian wheat, a grain extremely prolific, of simple culture, agreeable to the taste, and affording a strong hearty nourishment. The second is the Manioc, which grows to the size of a large shrub, or small tree, and produces roots somewhat resem­bling parsnips. After carefully squeezing out the juice, these roots are grated down to a fine powder, and formed into thin cakes, called Cassada bread, which, though insipid to the taste, proves no con­temptible [Page 361] food^*. As the juice of the manioc is a deadly poison, some authors have celebrated the ingenuity of the Americans, in converting a noxi­ous plant into wholesome nourishment. But it should rather be considered as one of the desperate expedients for procuring subsistence, to which ne­cessity reduces rude nations; or, perhaps, men were led to the use of it by a progress, in which there is nothing marvellous. One species of manioc is altogether free of any poisonous quality, and may be eaten without any preparation but that of roast­ing it in the embers. This, it is probable, was first used by the Americans as food, and necessity hav­ing gradually taught them the art of separating its pernicious juice from the other species, they have by experience found it to be more prolific as well as more nourishing^†. The third is the plantain, which though it rises to the height of a tree, is of such quick growth, that in less than a year it re­wards the industry of the cultivator, with its fruit. This, when roasted, supplies the place of bread, and is both palatable and nourishing^‡. The fourth is the potatoe, whose culture and qualities are too well known to need any description. The fifth is pimento, a small tree, yielding a strong aromatic spice. The Americans, who, like other inhabit­ants of warm climates, delight in whatever is hot and of poignant flavour, deem this seasoning a ne­cessary of life, and mingle it copiously with every kind of food they take^§.

SUCH are the various productions, which were [Page 362] the chief object of culture among the hunting tribe on the continent of America, and with a moderate exertion of active and provident industry, these might have yielded a supply to the wants of a numerous people. But men, accustomed to the free and vagrant life of hunters, are incapable of regular application to labour; and consider agri­culture as a secondary and inferior occupation. Accordingly, the provision for subsistence, arising from cultivation, was so limited and scanty among the Americans, that, upon any accidental failure of their usual success in hunting, they were often reduced to extreme distress.

IN the islands, the mode of subsisting was con­siderably different. None of the large animals which abound on the continent were known there. Only four species of quadrupeds, besides a kind of small dumb dog, existed in the islands, the biggest of which did not exceed the size of a rabbit^* To hunt such diminutive prey, was an occupation which required no effort either of activity or courage. The chief employment of a hunter in the isles was to kill birds, which on the continent are deemed ig­noble game, and left chiefly to the pursuit of boys^†. This want of animals, as well as their peculiar situation, led the islanders to depend principally upon fishing for their subsistence^‡. Their rivers, and the sea with which they are surrounded, sup­plied them with this species of food. At some par­ticular seasons, turtles, crabs, and other shell-fish, abounded in such numbers, that the natives could support themselves with a facility in which their in­dolence delighted^§. At other times, they ate li­zards, [Page 363] and various reptiles of odious forms^*. To fishing, the inhabitants of the islands added some degree of agriculture. Maize^†, manico, and other plants, were cultivated in the same manner as on the continent. But all the fruits of their industry,Their agri­culture ve­ry limited. together with what their soil and climate produced spontaneously, afforded them but a scanty mainte­nance. Though their demands for food▪ were very sparing, they hardly raised what was sufficient for their own consumption. If a few Spaniards settled in any district, such a small addition of supernume­rary mouths soon exhausted their scanty stores, and brought on a famine.

TWO circumstances,Two causes of its im­perfection. common to all the savage nations of America, concurred with those which I have already mentioned, not only in rendering their agriculture imperfect, but in circumscribing their power in all their operations. They had no tame animals; and they were unacquainted with the useful metals.

IN other parts of the globe, man,The want of tame animal [...] in his rudest siate appears as lord of the creation, giving law to various tribes of animals, which he has tamed and reduced to subjection. The Tartar follows his prey on the horse which he has reared; or tends his numerous herds, which furnish him both with food and clothing; the Arab has rendered the camel docile, and avails himself of its persevering strength; the Laplander has formed the rein-deer to be subservient to his will; and even the people of Kamchatka have trained their dogs to labour. This command over the inferior creatures is one of the noblest prerogatives of man, and among the greatest efforts of his wisdom and power. Without this, his dominion is incomplete. He is a mo­narch, who has no subjects; a master, without ser­vants, [Page 364] and must perform every operation by the strength of his own arm. Such was the condition of all the rude nations in America. Their reason was so little improved, or their union so incom­plete, that they seem not to have been conscious of the superiority of their nature, and suffered all the animal creation to retain its liberty, without establishing their own authority over any one spe­cies. Most of the animals, indeed, which have been rendered domestic in our continent, do not exist in the New World; but those peculiar to it are neither so fierce, nor so forminable, as to have exempted them from servitude. There are some animals of the same species in both continents. But the rein-deer, which has been tamed and broken to the yoke in the one hemisphere, runs wild in the other. The bison of America is manifestly of the same species with the horned cattle of the other he­misphere^* The latter, even among the rudest nations in our continent, have been rendered do­mestic; and, in consequence of his dominion over them, man can accomplish works of labour with greater facility, and has made a great addition to his means of subsistence. The inhabitants of many regions of the New World, where the bison abounds, might have derived the same advantages from it. It is not of a nature so indocile, but that it might have been trained to be as subservient to man as our cattle^†. But a savage, in that uncultivated state wherein the Americans were discovered, is the enemy of the other animals, not their superior. He wastes and destroys, but knows not how to multi­ply or to govern them^‡.

[Page 365]THIS, perhaps, is the most notable distinction between the inhabitants of the Ancient and New Worlds, and a high pre-eminence of civilized men above such as continue rude. The greatest opera­tions of man in changing and improving the face of nature, as well as his most considerable efforts in cultivating the earth, are accomplished by means of the aid which he receives from the animals whom he has tamed and employs in labour. It is by their strength that he subdues the stubborn soil, and con­verts the desert or marsh into a fruitful field. But man, in his civilized state, is so accustomed to the service of the domestic animals, that he seldom re­flects upon the vast benefits which he derives from it. If we were to suppose to him, even when most improved, to be deprived of their useful ministry, his empire over nature must in some measure cease, and he would remain a feeble animal, at a loss how to subsist, and incapable of attempting such arduous undertakings as their assistance enables him to exe­cute with ease.

IT is a doubtful point,Want of the useful metals. whether the dominion of man over the animal creation, or his acquiring the use of metals, has contributed most to extend his power. The aera of this important discovery is unknown, and in our hemisphere very remote. It is only by tradition, or by digging up some rude instruments of our forefathers, that we learn that mankind were originally unacquainted with the use of metals, and endeavoured to supply the want of them by employing flints, shells, bones, and other hard substances, for the same purposes which me­tals serve among polished nations. Nature com­pletes the formation of some metals. Gold, silver, and copper, are found in their perfect state in the clefts of rocks, in the sides of mountains, or the channels of rivers. These were accordingly the metals first known, and first applied to use. But [Page 366] iron, the most serviceable of all, and to which man is most indebted, is never discovered in its perfect form; its gross and stubborn ore must feel twice the force of fire, and go through two laborious pro­cesses, before it become fit for use. Man was long acquainted with the other metals, before he acquired the art of fabricating iron, or attained such ingenuity as to perfect an invention, to which he is indebted for those instruments wherewith he sub­dues the earth, and commands all its inhabitants. But in this, as well as in many other respects, the inferiority of the Americans was conspicuous. All the savage tribe, scattered over the continent and islands, were totally unacquainted with the metals which their soil produced in great abundance, if we except some trifling quantity of gold, which they picked up in the torrents that descended from their mountains, and formed into ornaments. Their devices to supply this want of the serviceable metals, were extremely rude and awkward. The most simple operation was to them an undertaking of immense difficulty and labour. To fell a tree with no other instruments than hatchets of stone, was employment for a month ^*. To form a canoe into shape, and to hollow it, consumed years, and it frequently began to rot before they were able to finish it^†. Their operations in agriculture were equally slow and defective. In a country covered with woods of the hardest timber, the clearing of a small field destined for culture required the united efforts of a tribe, and was a work of much time and great toil. This was the business of the men and their indolence was satisfied with performing it in a very slovenly manner. The labour of cultiva­tion was left to the women, who, after digging, or [Page 367] rather stirring the field, with wooden mattocks, and stakes hardened in the fire, sowed or planted it; but they were more indebted for the increase to the fertility of the soil, than to their own rude in­dustry^*.

AGRICULTURE, even when the strength of man is seconded by that of the animals which he has subjected to the yoke, and his power augmented by the use of the various instruments with which the discovery of metals has furnished him, is still a work of great labour; and it is with the sweat of his brow that he renders the earth fertile. It is not wonderful, then, that people destitute of both these advantages should have made so little progress in cultivation, that they must be considered as de­pending for subsistence on fishing and hunting, ra­ther than on the fruits of their own labour.

FROM this description of the mode of subsisting among the rude American tribes,Political institutions arising from this state. the form and ge­nius of their political institutions may be deduced, and we are enabled to trace various circumstances of distinction between them and more civilized na­tions.

1. THEY were divided into small independent communities.1. Divided into small communi­ties. While hunting is the chief source of subsistence, a vast extent of territory is requisite for supporting a small number of people. In propor­tion as men multiply and unite, the wild animals, on which they depend for food, diminish, or sly at a greater distance from the haunts of their enemy. The increase of a society in this state is limited by its own nature, and the members of it must either disperse, like the game which they pursue, or fall upon some better method of procuring food, than by hunting. Beasts of prey are by nature solitary and unsocial, they go not forth to the chase in [Page 368] herds, but delight in those recesses of the forest, where they can roam and destroy undisturbed. A nation of hunters resembles them both in occupation and in genius. They cannot form into large communities, because it would be im­possible to find subsistence; and they must drive to a distance every rival who may incroach on those domains, which they consider as their own. This was the state of all the American tribes, the num­bers in each were inconsiderable, though scattered over countries of great extent; they were far re­moved from one another, and engaged in perpetual hostilities or rivalship^*. In America, the word nation is not of the same import as in other parts of the globe. It is applied to small societies, not exceeding, perhaps, two or three hundred persons, but occupy­ing provinces greater than some kingdoms in Europe. The country of Guiana, though of larger extent than the kingdom of France, and divided among a great number of nations, did not contain above twenty-five thousand inhabitants^†. In the pro­vinces which border on the Orinoco, one may tra­vel several hundred miles in different directions, without finding a single hut, or observing the footsteps of a human creature^‡. In North Ame­rica, where the climate is more rigorous, and the soil less fertile, the desolation is still greater. There, journeys of some hundred leagues have been made through uninhabited plains and forests^§. As long as hunting continues to be the chief em­ployment of man to which he trusts for subsist­ence, [Page 369] he can hardly be said to have occupied the earth^*.

2. NATIONS which depend upon hunting are,Unac­qu [...]inted with the idea of property. in [...] great measure, strangers to the idea of property, As the animals on which the hunter feeds are not bred under his inspection, nor nourished by his care, he can claim no right to them, while they run wild in the forest. Where game is so plentiful that it may be catched with little trouble, men never dream of appropriating what is of small value, or of easy acquisition. Where it is so rare, that the la­bour or danger of the chase requires the united efforts of a tribe, or village, what is killed is a com­mon stock, belonging equally to all, who, by their skill or their courage, have contributed to the success of the excursion. The forest, or hunting-grounds, are deemed the property of the tribe, from which it has a title to exclude every rival nation. But no individual arrogates a right to any district of these, in preference to his fellow citizens. They belong alike to all; and thither, as to a ge­neral and undivided store, all repair in quest of sustenance. The fame principles by which they regulate their chief occupation, extend to that which is subordinate. Even agriculture has not introduced among them a complete idea of pro­perty. As the men hunt, the women labour toge­ther, and after they have shared the toils of the seed-time, they enjoy the harvest in common^†. Among some tribes, the increase of their cultivated lands is deposited in a public granary, and divided among them at stated times, according to their wants^‡. Among others, though they lay up sepa­rate stores, they do not accquire such an exlusive [Page 370] right of property, that they can enjoy superfluity, while those around them suffer want^*. Thus the distinctions arising from the inequality of possessions are unknown. The terms rich or poor enter not into their language, and being strangers to property, they are unacquainted with what is the great object of laws and policy, as well as the chief motive which induced mankind to establish the various arrangements of regular government^†.

High sense of equality and inde­pendence.3. PEOPLE in this state retain a high sense of equality and independence. Wherever the idea of property is not established, there can be no dis­tinction among men, but what arises from personal qualities. These can be conspicuous only on such occasions as call them forth into exertion. In times of danger, or in affairs of intricacy, the wis­dom and experience of age are consulted, and pre­scribe the measures which ought to be pursued. When a tribe of savages takes the field against the enemies of their country, the warrior of most ap­proved courage leads the youth to the combat^‡. If they go forth in a body to the chase, the most expert and adventurous hunter is foremost, and di­rects their motions. But during seasons of tran­quility and inaction, when there is no occasion to display those talents, all pre-eminence ceases. Every circumstance indicates, that all the members of the community are on a level. They are clothed in the same simple garb. They feed on the same plain fare. Their houses and furniture are exactly similar. No distinction can arise from the inequality of pos­sessions. Whatever forms dependence on one part, or constitutes superiority on the other, is unknown. [Page 371] All are freemen, all feel themselves to be such, and assert with firmness the rights which belong to that condition^*. This sentiment of independence is im­printed so deeply in their nature, that no change of condition can eradicate it, and bend their minds to servitude. Accustomed to be absolute masters of their own conduct, they disdain to execute the orders of another; and having never known con­troul, they will not submit to correction^†. Many of the Americans, when they found that they were treat­ed as slaves by the Spaniards, died of grief; many destroyed themselves in despair^‡.

4. AMONG people in this state,Sense of subordina­tion im­perfect. government can assume little authority, and the sense of civil subor­dination must remain very imperfect. While the idea of property is unknown, or incompletely con­ceived; while the spontaneous productions of the earth, as well as the fruits of industry, are consi­dered as belonging to the public stock, there can hardly be any such subject of difference or discussi­on among the members of the same community, as will require the hand of authority to interpose in order to adjust it. Where the right of separate and exclusive possession is not introduced, the great ob­ject of law and jurisdiction does not exist. When the members of a tribe are called into the field, either to invade the territories of their enemies, or to repel their attacks, when they are engaged to­gether in the toil and dangers of the chase, they then perceive that they are part of a political body. They are conscious of their own connection with the companions in conjunction with whom they act; and they follow and reverence such as excel in con­duct [Page 372] and valour. But, during the intervals between such common efforts, they seem scarcely to feel the ties of political union^*. No visible form of go­vernment is established. The names of magistrate and subject are not in use. Every one seems to enjoy his natural independence almost entire. If a scheme of public utility be proposed, the members of the community are left at liberty to chuse whe­ther they will or will not assist in carrying it into execution. No statute imposes any service as a duty, no compulsory laws oblige them to perform it. All their resolutions are voluntary, and flow from the impulse of their own minds^†. The first step towards establishing a public jurisdiction has not been taken in those rude societies. The right of revenge is left in private hands^‡. If violence is committed, or blood is shed, the community does not assume the power either of inflicting or of mo­derating the punishment. It belongs to the family and friends of the person injured or slain to avenge the wrong, or to accept of the reparation offered by the aggressor. If the elders interpose, it is to advise, not to decide, and it is seldom their counsels are listened to; for as it is deemed pusillanimous to suffer an offender to escape with impunity, resent­ment is implicable and everlasting^‖. The object of government among savages is rather foreign than domestic. They do not aim at maintaining interior order and police by public regulations, or the exertions of any permanent authority, but la­bour to preserve such union among the members of their tribe, that they may watch the motions of their [Page 373] enemies, and act against them with concert and vi­gour.

SUCH was the form of political order established among the greater part of the American nations.To what people those de­scriptions apply. In this state were almost all the tribes spread over the provinces extending eastward of the Missisippi, from the mouth of the St. Laurence to the confines of Florida. In a similar condition were the people of Brasil, the inhabitants of Chili, several tribes in Paraguay and Guiana, and in the countries which stretched from the mouth of the Orinoco to the pe­ninsula of Yucatan. Among such an infinite num­ber of petty associations, there may be peculiarities which constitute a distinction, and mark the various degrees of their civilization and improvement. But an attempt to trace and enumerate these would be vain, as they have not been observed by persons capable of discerning the minute and delicate cir­cumstances, which serve to discriminate nations resembling one another in their general character and features. The description which I have given of the political institutions that took place among those rude tribes in America, concerning which we have received most complete information, will apply, with little variation, to every people, both in its northern and southern division, who have ad­vanced no farther in civilization, than to add some slender degree of agriculture to fishing and hunt­ing.

IMPERFECT as those institutions may appear, se­veral tribes were not so far advanced in their politi­cal progress. Among all those petty nations which trusted for subsistence entirely to fishing and hunt­ing without any species of cultivation, the union was so incomplete, and their sense of mutual de­pendence so feeble, that hardly any appearance of government or order can be discerned in their pro­ceedings. Their wants are few, their objects of [Page 374] pursuit simple, they form into separate tribes, and act together, from instinct, habit, or conveni­ency, rather than from any formal concert and as­sociation. To this class belong the Californians, several of the small nations in the extensive country of Paraguay, some of the people on the banks of the Orinoco, and on the river St. Magdalene, in the new kingdom of Granada^*.Some irre­gular ap­pearances.

BUT though among these last-mentioned tribes there was hardly any shadow of regular govern­ment, and even among those which I first de­scribed, its authority is slender and confined within narrow bounds, there were, however, some places in America where government was carried far be­yond the degree of perfection which seems natural to rude nations. In surveying the political opera­tions of man, either in his savage or civilized state, we discover singular and eccentric institutions, which start as it were from their station, and fly off so wide, that we labour in vain to bring them within the general laws of any system, or to account for them by those principles which influence other communities in a similar situation. Some instances of this occur among those people of America, whom I have included under the common denomi­nation of savage. These are so curious and im­portant that I shall describe them, and attempt to ex­plain their origin.Particular­ly in some of the war­mer re­gions.

IN the New World, as well as in other parts of the globe, cold or temperate countries appear to be the favourite seat of freedom and independence. There the mind, like the body, is firm and vigo­rous. There men, conscious of their own dignity, and capable of the greatest efforts in asserting it, aspire to independence, and their stubborn spirits stoop with reluctance to the yoke of servitude. In [Page 375] warmer climates, by whose influence the whole frame is so much enervated, that present pleasure is the supreme felicity, and mere repose is enjoyment, men acquiesce, almost without a struggle, in the dominion of a superior. Accordingly, if we pro­ceed from north to south along the continent of America, she shall find the power of those vested with authority gradually increasing, and the spirit of the people becoming more tame and passive. In Florida, the authority of the sachems, caziques, or chiefs was not only permanent, but hereditary. They were distinguished by peculiar ornaments, they enjoyed prerogatives of various kinds, and were treated by their subjects with that reverence, which people accustomed to subjection pay to a master^*. Among the Natchez, a powerful tribe now extinct,Among the Natchez. formerly situated on the banks of the Missisippi, a difference of rank took place, with which the north­ern tribes were altogether unacquainted. Some fa­milies were reputed noble, and enjoyed hereditary dignity. The body of the people was considered as vile, and formed only for subjection. This distinc­tion was marked by appellations which intimated the high elevation of the one state, and the igno­minious depression of the other. The former were called Respectable; the latter, the Stinkards. The great Chief, in whom the supreme authority was vested, is reputed to be a being of a superior na­ture, the brother of the Sun, the sole object of their worship. They approach this great Chief with re­ligious veneration, and honour him as the repre­sentative of their deity. His will is a law, to which all submit with implicit obedience. The lives of his subjects are so absolutely at his disposal, that if any one has incurred his displeasure, the offender [Page 376] comes with profound humility and offers him his head. Nor does the dominion of the Chiefs end with their lives; their principal officers, their fa­vourite wives, together with many domestics of in­ferior rank, are sacrificed at their tombs, that they may be attended in the next world by the same per­sons who served them in this; and such is the reve­rence in which they are held, that those victims wel­come death with exultation, deeming it a recompence of their fidelity, and a mark of distinction, to be se­lected to accompany their deceased master^*. Thus a perfect despotism, with its full train of superstition, arrogance, and cruelty, is established among the Natchez, and by a singular fatality, that people has tasted of the worst calamities incident to polished nations, though they themselves are not far advanced beyond the tribes around them in civility and im­provement. In Hispaniola,In the Islands. Cuba, and the larger islands, their caziques or chiefs possessed extensive power. The dignity was transmitted by hereditary right from father to son. Its honours and preroga­tives were considerable. Their subjects paid great respect to the caziques, and executed their orders without hesitation or reserve^†. They were distin­guished by peculiar ornaments, and in order to pre­serve or augment the veneration of the people, they had the address to call in the aid of superstition to uphold their authority. They delivered their man­dates as the oracles of heaven, and pretended to pos­sess the power of regulating the seasons, and of dis­pensing rain or sunshine, according as their subjects stood in need of them.

In Bogota.IN some parts of the southern continent, the power of the caziques seems to have been as exten­sive [Page 377] as in the isles. In Bogota, which is now a pro­vince of the new kingdom of Granada, there was settled a nation, more considerable in number and more improved in the various arts of life, than any in America except the Mexicans and Peruvians. The people of Bogota subsisted chiefly by agriculture. The idea of property was introduced among them, and its rights, secured by laws, handed down by tra­dition, and observed with great care^*. They lived in towns which may be termed large, when compared with those in other parts of America. They were clothed in a decent manner, and their houses may be termed commodious, when compared with those of the small tribes around them. The effects of this uncommon civilization were conspicuous. Government had assumed a regular form. A juris­diction was established, which took cognizance of different crimes, and punished them with rigour. A distinction of ranks was known; their chief, to whom the Spaniards gave the title of monarch, and who merited that name on account of his splendour as well as power, reign with absolute authority. He was attended by officers of various conditions, he never appeared in public without a numerous reti­nue; he was carried in a sort of palanquin with much pomp, and harbingers went before him to sweep the road and strew it with flowers. This uncommon pomp was supported by presents or taxes received from his subjects, to whom their prince was such an object of veneration, that none of them presumed to look him directly in the face, or ever approached him but with an averted coun­tenance^†. There were other tribes on the same con­tinent, among which, though far less advanced than [Page 378] the people of Bogota in their progress towards refinement, the freedom and independence, na­tural to man in his savage state, was much abridged, and their caziques had assumed extensive autho­rity.

Causes of those irre­gular ap­pearances.IT is not easy to point out the circumstances, or to discover the causes which contributed to introduce and establish among each of those people a form of government so different from that of the tribes around them, and so repugnant to the genius of rude nations. If the persons who had an opportu­nity of observing them in their original state, had been more attentive and more discerning, we might have received information from their conquerors sufficient to guide us in this enquiry. If the trans­actions of people, unacquainted with the use of let­ters, were not involved in impenetrable obscurity, we might have derived some information from this domestic source. But as nothing satisfactory can be gathered, either from the accounts of the Spa­niards, or from their own traditions, we must have recourse to conjectures, in order to explain the irregular appearances in the political state of the people whom I have mentioned. As all those tribes which had lost then native liberty and inde­pendence were seated in the Torrid Zone, or in countries approaching to it, the climate may be supposed to have had some influence in forming their minds to that servitude, which seems to be the destiny of man in those regions of the globe. But though the influence of climate, more powerful than that of any other natural cause, is not be over­looked; that alone cannot be admitted as a solution of the point in question. The operations of men are so complex, that we must not attribute the form which they assume, to the force of a single prin­ciple or cause. Although despotism be confined in America to the Torrid Zone, and to the warm re­gions [Page 379] bordering upon it, I have already observed that these countries contain various tribes, some of which possess a high degree of freedom, and others are altogether unacquainted with the restraints of government. The indolence and timidity peculiar to the inhabitants of the islands, render them so in­capable of the sentiments or efforts necessary for maintaining independence, that there is no occa­sion to search for any other cause of their tame sub­mission to the will of a superior. The subjection of the Natchez, and of the people of Bogota, seems to have been the consequence of a difference in their state from that of the other Americans. They were settled nations, residing constantly in one place. Hunting was not the chief occupation of the former, and the latter seem hardly to have trusted to it for any part of their subsistence. Both had made such progress in agriculture and arts, that the idea of property was introduced in some degree in the one community, and fully established in the other. Among people in this state, avarice and ambition have acquired objects, and have begun to exert their power; views of interest allure the selfish; the desire of pre-eminence excites the enterprising; do­minion is courted by both; and passions unknown to man in his savage state prompt the interested and ambitious to encroach on the rights of their fellow-citizens. Motives, with which rude nations are equally unacquainted, induce the people to submit tamely to the usurped authority of their superiors. But even among nations in this state, the spirit of subjects could not have been rendered so obsequi­ous, or the power of rulers so unbounded without the intervention of superstition. By its fatal influ­ence, the human mind, in every stage of its pro­gress, is depressed, and its native vigour and inde­pendence subdued. Whoever can acquire the di­rection of this formidable engine, is secure of do­minion [Page 380] over his species. Unfortunately for the people whose institutions are the subject of enquiry, this power was in the hands of their chiefs. The caziques of the isles could put what responses they pleased into the mouths of their Cemis or gods; and it was by their interposition, and in their name, that they imposed any tribute or burden on their people^*. The same power and prerogative was exercised by the great chief of the Natchez as the principal minister as well as the representative of the Sun, their deity. The respect which the people of Bogota paid to their monarchs was likewise in­spired by religion, and the heir apparent of the kingdom was educated in the innermost recess of their principal tempel, under such austere discipline, and with such peculiar rites, as tended to fill his subjects with high sentiments concerning the sanc­tity of his character, and the dignity of his station^†. Thus superstition, which, in the rudest period of society, is either altogether unknown, or wastes its force in childish unmeaning practices, had acquired such an ascendant over those people of America, who had made some little progress towards refine­ment, that it became the chief instrument of bend­ing their minds to an untimely servitude, and sub­jected them, in the beginning of their political ca­reer, to a despotism hardly less rigorous than that which awaits nations in the last stage of their cor­ruption and decline.

Their art of war.V. AFTER examining the political institutions of the rude nations in America, the next object of at­tion is their art of war, or their provision for public security and defence. The small tribes dis­persed over America are not only independent and unconnected, but engaged in perpetual hostilities [Page 381] with one another^*. Though mostly strangers to the idea of separate property vested in any indivi­dual, the rudest of the American nations are well acquainted with the rights of each community to its own domains. This right they hold to be per­fect and exclusive, entitling the possessor to oppose the encroachment of neighbouring tribes. As it is of the utmost consequence to prevent them from destroying or disturbing the game in their hunting grounds, they guard this national property with a jealous attention. But as their territories are ex­tensive, and the boundaries of them not exactly ascertained, innumerable subjects of dispute arise, which seldom terminate without bloodshed. Even in this simple and primitive state of society, interest is a source of discord, and often prompts savage tribes to take arms, in order to repel or punish such as encroach on the forests or plains, to which they trust for subsistence.

BUT interest is not either the most frequent or the most powerful motive of the incessant hostilities among rude nations.Their mo­tives for engaging in war. These must be imputed to the passion of revenge, which rages with such vio­lence in the breast of savages, that eagerness to gratify it may be considered as the distinguishing characteristic of men in their uncivilized state. Circumstances of powerful influence, both in the interior government of rude tribes, and in their external operations against foreign enemies, concur in cherishing and adding strength to a passion fatal to the general tranquillity. When the right of re­dressing his own wrongs is left in the hands of every individual, injuries are felt with exquisite sensibility, and vengeance exercised with unrelenting rancour. No time can obliterate the memory of an offence, and it is seldom that it can be expiated but by the [Page 382] blood of the offender. In carrying on their public wars, savage nations are influenced by the same ideas,From the spirit of vengeance. and animated with the same spirit, as in pro­secuting private vengeance. In small communities, every man is touched with the injury or affront offered to the body of which he is a member, as if it were a personal attack upon his own honour or safety. The desire of revenge is communicated from breast to breast, and soon kindles into rage. As feeble societies can take the field only in small parties, each warrior is conscious of the importance of his own arm, and feels that to it is committed a considerable portion of the public vengeance. War, which between extensive kingdoms is carried on with little animosity, is prosecuted by small tribes with all the rancour of a private quarrel. The re­sentment of nations is as implacable as that of indi­viduals.Hence the ferocity of their wars, It may be dissembled or suppressed, but is never extinguished; and often, when least ex­pected or dreaded, it bursts out with redoubled fury^*. When polished nations have obtained the glory of victory, or have acquired an addition of territory, they may terminate a war with honour. But savages are not satisfied until they extirpate the community which is the object of their hatred. They fight not to conquer, but to destroy. If they engage in hostilities, it is with a resolution never to see the face of the enemy in peace, but to prosecute the quarrel with immortal enmity^†. The desire of vengeance is the first, and almost the only principle, which a savage instils into the minds of [Page 383] his children ^*. This grows up with him as he ad­vances in life; and as his attention is directed to few objects, it acquires a degree of force unknown among men, whose passions are dissipated and weakened by the variety of their occupations and pursuits. The desire of vengeance, which takes possession of the heart of savages, resembles the in­stinctive rage of an animal, rather than the passion of a man. It turns with undiscerning fury, even against inanimate objects. If hurt accidentally by a stone, they often seize it in a transport of anger, and endeavour to wreak their vengeance upon it^†. If struck with an arrow in a battle, they will tear it from the wound, break and bite it with their teeth, and dash it on the ground^‡. With respect to their enemies, the rage of vengeance knows no bounds. When under the dominion of this passion, man becomes the most cruel of all animals. He neither pities, nor forgives, nor spares.

THE force of this passion is so well understood by the Americans themselves, that they always apply to it, in order to excite their people to take arms. If the elders of any tribe attempt to rouze their youth from sloth, if a chief wishes to allure a band of warriors to follow him in invading an ene­my's country, the most persuasive topics of their martial eloquence are drawn from revenge. "The bones of our countrymen," say they, "lie unco­vered; their bloody bed has not been washed clean. Their spirits cry aginst us; they must be appeased. Let us go and devour the people by whom they were slain. Sit no longer inactive upon your mats; [Page 384] lift the hatchet, console the spirits of the dead, and tell them that they shall be avenged ^*."

and their perpetuity.ANIMATED with such exhortations, the youth snatch their arms in a transport of fury, raise the song of war, and burn with impatience to embrue their hands in the blood of their enemies. Private chiefs often assemble small parties, and invade a hostile tribe, without consulting the rulers of the community. A single warrior, prompted by ca­price or revenge, will take the field alone, and march several hundred miles to surprise and cut off a straggling enemy^†. The exploits of a noted warrior, in such solitary excursions, often form the chief part in the history of an American cam­paign^‡; and their elders connive at such irregular sallies, as they tend to cherish a martial spirit, and accustom their people to enterprise and danger^§. But when a war is national, and undertaken by public authority, the deliberations are formal and slow. The elders assemble, they deliver their opi­nions in solemn speeches, they weigh with matu­rity the nature of the enterprise, and balance its beneficial or disadvantageous consequences with no inconsiderable portion of political discernment or sagacity. Their priests and soothsayers are con­sulted, and sometimes they ask the advice even of their women ^‖. If the determination be for war, they prepare for it with much ceremony. A leader offers to conduct the expedition, and is accepted. But no man is constrained to follow him; the reso­lution of the community to commence hostilities, imposes no obligation upon any member to take [Page 385] part in the war. Each individual is still master of his own conduct, and his engagement in the service is perfectly voluntary ^*.

THE maxims by which they regulate their mi­litary operations,Mode of carrying on war. though extremely different from those which take place among more civilized and populous nations, are well suited to their own po­litical state, and the nature of the country in which they act. They never take the field in numerous bodies, as it would require a greater effort of fore­sight and industry, than is usual among savages, to provide for their subsistence, during a march of some hundred miles through dreary forests, or dur­ing a long voyage upon their lakes and rivers. Their armies are not incumbered with baggage or military stores. Each warrior, besides his arms, carries a mat and a small bag of pounded maize, and with these is completely equipped for any ser­vice. While at a distance from the enemies fron­tier, they disperse through the woods, and support themselves with the game which they kill, or the fish which they catch. As they approach nearer to the territories of the nation which they intend to attack, they collect their troops, and advance with greater caution. Even in their hottest and most active wars, they proceed wholly by stratagem and ambuscade. They place not their glory in attack­ing their enemies with open force. To surprise and destroy is the greatest merit of a commander, and the highest pride of his followers. War and hunt­ing are their only occupations, and they conduct both with the same spirit and the same arts. They follow the track of their enemies through the forest. They endeavour to discover their haunts, they lurk in some thicket near to these, and, with the patience of a sportsman lying in wait for game, will conti­nue [Page 386] in their station day after day, until they can rush upon their prey when most secure, and least able to resist them. If they meet no straggling part of the enemy, they advance towards their villages, but with such solicitude to conceal their own approach, that they often creep on their hands and feet through the woods, and paint their skins of the same colour with the withered leaves, in order to avoid detection^*. If so fortunate as to remain unobserved, they set on fire the enemies huts in the dead of night, and massacre the inhabitants, as they fly naked and defenceless from the flames. If they hope to effect a retreat without being pursued, they carry off some prisoners, whom they reserve for a more dreadful fate. But if, notwithstanding all their address and precautions, they find that their motions are discovered, that the enemy has taken the alarm, and is prepared to oppose them, they usually deem it most prudent to retire. They regard it as extreme folly to meet an enemy who is on his guard, upon equal terms, or to give battle in an open field. The most distinguished success is a disgrace to a leader, if it has been purchased with any considerable loss of his followers^†; and they never boast of a victory, if stained with the blood of their own countrymen^‡. To fall in battle, instead of being reckoned an honourable death, is a misfortune which subjects the memory of a warrior to the imputation of rashness or impru­dence^§.

THIS system of war was universal in America, and the small uncivilized tribes, dispersed through [Page 387] all its different regions and climates, display more craft than boldness in carrying on their hostilities. Struck with this conduct,Not owing to any de­fect of courage. so opposite to the ideas and maxims of Europeans, several authors contend that it flows from a feeble and dastardly spirit pe­culiar to the Americans, which is incapable of any generous or manly exertion^*. But when we reflect that many of these tribes, on occasions which call for extraordinary efforts, not only defend them­selves with obstinate resolution, but attack their enemies with the most daring courage, and that they possess fortitude of mind superior to the sense of danger or the fear of death, we must ascribe their habitual caution to some other cause than con­stitutional timidity^†. The number of men in each tribe is so small, the difficulty of rearing new mem­bers, amidst the hardships and dangers of savage life, so great, that the life of a citizen is extremely precious, and the preservation of it becomes a ca­pital object in their policy. Had the point of ho­nour been the same among the feeble American tribes as among the powerful nations of Europe, had they been taught to court fame or victory in contempt of danger and death, they must have been ruined by maxims so ill adapted to their con­dition. But wherever their communities are more populous, so that they can act with considerable force, and can sustain the loss of several of their members, without being sensibly weakened, the military operations of the Americans more nearly resemble those of other nations. The Brasilians, as well as the tribes situated upon the banks of the river De la Plata, often take the field in such nu­merous [Page 388] bodies, as deserve the name of armies^*. They defy their enemies to the combat, engage in regular battles, and maintain the conflict with that desperate ferocity, which is natural to men, who having no idea of war but that of exterminating their enemies, never give or take quarter^†. In the powerful empires of Mexico and Peru, great armies were assembled, frequent battles were fought, and the theory as well as practice of war were different from what took place in those petty societies which assume the name of nations.

Incapable of order or discipline.BUT though vigilance and attention are the qua­lities chiefly requisite, where the object of war is to deceive and surprize; and though the Ame­ricans, when acting singly, display an amazing de­gree of address in concealing their own motions, and discovering those of an enemy, yet it is re­markable that, when they take the field in parties, they can seldom be brought to observe the precau­tions most essential to their own security. Such is the difficulty of accustoming savages to subordina­tion, or to act in concert; such is their impatience under restraint, and such their caprice and pre­sumption, that it is rarely they can be brought to conform themselves to the counsels and directions of their leaders. They never station centinels around the place where they rest at night, and after marching some hundred miles to surprise an enemy, are often surprised themselves, and cut off, while sunk in as profound sleep as if they were not within reach of danger^‡.

IF, notwithstanding this negligence and security, which often frustrate their most artful schemes, [Page 389] they catch the enemy unprepared, they rush upon them with the utmost ferocity, and tearing off the scalps of all those who fall victims to their rage^*, they carry home those strange trophies in triumph. These they preserve as monuments, not only of their own prowess, but of the vengeance which their arm has inflicted upon the people who were objects of public resentment^†. They are still more solicitous to seize prisoners. During their retreat, if they hope to effect it unmolested, the prisoners are commonly exempt from any insult, and treated with some degree of humanity, though guarded with the most strict attention.

BUT after this temperate suspension, the rage of the conquerors rekindles with new fury. As soon as they approach their own frontier, some of their number are dispatched to inform their countrymen with respect to the success of the expedition. Then the prisoners begin to feel the wretchedness of their condition. The women of the village, together with the youth who have not attained to the age of bearing arms, assemble, and forming themselves into two lines, through which the prisoners must pass, beat and bruise them with sticks or stones in a cruel manner^‡. After this first gratification of their rage against their enemies, follow lamenta­tions for the loss of such of their own countrymen as have fallen in the service, accompanied with words and actions which seem to express the ut­most anguish and grief. But, in a moment, upon a signal given, their tears cease; they pass, with a sudden and unaccountable transition, from the depths of sorrow to transports of joy; and begin to celebrate their victory with all the wild exulta­tion [Page 390] of a barbarous triumph^*. The fate of the pri­soners remains still undecided. The old men deli­berate concerning it. Some are destined to be tortured to death, in order to satiate the revenge of the conquerors; some to replace the members which the community has lost in that or former wars. They who are reserved for this milder fate, are led to the huts of those whose friends have been killed. The women meet them at the door, and if they receive them, their sufferings are at an end. They are adopted into the family, and, according to their phrase, are seated upon the mat of the de­ceased. They assume his name, they hold the same rank, and are treated thenceforward with all the tenderness due to a father, a brother, husband, or a friend. But, if either from caprice, or an unre­lenting desire of revenge, the women of any family refuse to accept of the prisoner who is offered to them, his doom is fixed. No power can then save him from torture and death.

Their in­difference concerning their fate,WHILE their lot is in suspense, the prisoners them­selves appear altogether unconcerned about what may befal them. They talk, they eat, they sleep, as if they were perfectly at ease, and no danger im­pending. When the fatal sentence is intimated to them, they receive it with an unaltered counte­nance, raise their dead-song, and prepare to suffer like men.and forti­tude under torture. Their conquerors assemble as to a so­lemn festival, resolved to put the fortitude of the captive to the utmost proof. A scene ensues, the bare description of which is enough to chill the heart with horror, wherever men have been accus­tomed, by milder institutions, to respect their spe­cies, and to melt into tenderness at the sight of human sufferings. The prisoners are tied naked to a stake, but so as to be at liberty to move round [Page 391] it. All who are present, men, women, and chil­dren, rush upon them like furies. Every species of torture is applied that the rancour of revenge can invent. Some burn their limbs with red-hot irons, some mangle their bodies with knives, others tear their flesh from their bones, pluck out their nails by the roots, and rend and twist their sinews. They vie with one another in the refinements of tor­ture. Nothing sets bounds to their rage but the dread of abridging the duration of their vengeance by hastening the death of the sufferers; and such is their cruel ingenuity in tormenting, that by avoid­ing industriously to hurt any vital part, they often prolong this scene of anguish for several days. In spite of all that they suffer, the victims continue to chant their dead-song with a firm voice, they boast of their own exploits, they insult their tormentors for their want of skill in avenging their friends and relations, they warn them of the vengeance which awaits them on account of what they are now doing, and excite their ferocity by the most provoking re­proaches and threats. To display undaunted forti­tude in such dreadful situations, is the noblest tri­umph of a warrior. To avoid the trial by a vo­luntry death, or to shrink under it, is deemed in­famous and cowardly. If any one betray symptoms of timidity, his tormentors often dispatch him at once with contempt, as unworthy of being treated like a man^*. Animated with those ideas, they endure, without a groan, what it seems almost im­possible that human nature should sustain. They appear to be not only insensible of pain, but to court it. "Forbear," said an aged chief of the Iroquiois, when his insults had provoked one of his tormentors to wound him with a knife, "forbear these stabs of your knife, and rather let me die by [Page 392] fire, that those dogs, your allies, from beyond the sea, may learn by my example to suffer like men^*." This magnanimity, of which there are frequent in­stances among the American warriors, instead of exciting admiration, or calling forth sympathy, ex­asperates the fierce spirits of their torturers to fresh acts of cruelty^†. Weary at length of contending with men, whose constancy of mind they cannot vanquish, some chief in a rage puts a period to their sufferings, by dispatching them with his dag­ger or club^‡.

Sometimes eat their prisoners.THIS barbarous scene is often succeeded by one no less shocking. As it is impossible to appease the fell spirit of revenge which rages in the heart of a savage, this frequently prompts the Americans to devour those unhappy persons, who have been the victims of their cruelty. In the ancient world, tra­dition has preserved the memory of barbarous na­tions of cannibals, who fed on human flesh. But in every part of the New World there were people to whom this custom was familiar. It prevailed in the southern continent^§, in several of the islands^‖, and in various districts of North America^¶. Even in those parts, where circumstances, with which we are unacquainted, had in a great measure abolished this practice, it seems formerly to have been so well known, that it is incorporated into the idiom [Page 393] of their language. Among the Iroquois, the phrase by which they express their resolution of making war against an enemy is, "Let us go and eat that nation." If they solicit the aid of a neighbouring tribe, they invite it to "eat broth made of the flesh of their enemies^*." Nor was the practice peculiar to rude unpolished tribes; the principle from which it took rise is so deeply rooted in the minds of the Americans, that it subsisted in Mexico, one of the civilized empires in the New World, and relics of it may be discovered among the more mild inha­bitants of Peru. It was not scarcity of food, as some authors imagine, and the importunate crav­ings of hunger, which forced the Americans to those horrid repasts on their fellow-creatures. Hu­man flesh was never used as common food in any country, and the various relations concerning peo­ple who reckoned it among the stated means of subsistence, flow from the credulity and mistakes of travellers. The rancour of revenge first prompted men to this barbarous action^†. The fiercest tribes devoured none but prisoners taken in war, or such as they regarded as enemies^‡. Women and chil­dren who were not the objects of enmity, if not cut off in the fury of their first inroad into an hostile country, seldom suffered by the deliberate effects of their revenge^§.

THE people of South America gratify their re­venge in a manner somewhat different, but with no less unrelenting rancour. There prisoners, after meeting at their first entrance with the same [Page 394] rough reception as among the North Americans^*, are not only exempt from injury, but treated with the greatest kindness. They are feasted and ca­ressed, and some beautiful young women are ap­pointed to attend and solace them. It is not easy to account for this part of their conduct unless we impute it to a refinement in cruelty. For, while they seem studious to attach the captives to life, by supplying them with every enjoyment that can ren­der it agreeable, their doom is irrevocably fixed. On a day appointed, the victorious tribe assembles, the prisoner is brought forth with great solemnity, he views the preparations for the sacrifice with as much indifference as if he himself were not the victim, and meeting his fate with undaunted firm­ness, is dispatched with a single blow. The mo­ment he falls, the women seize the body, and dress it for the feast. They besmear their children with the blood, in order to kindle in their bosoms a hatred of their enemies, which is never extinguished, and all join in feeding upon the flesh with amazing greediness and exultation^†. To devour the body of a slaughtered enemy, they deem the most com­plete and exquisite gratification of revenge. Where­ever this practice prevails, captives never escape death, but they are not tortured with the same cruelty as among tribes which are less accustomed to such horrid feasts^‡.

AS the constancy of every American warrior may be put to such severe proof, the great object of mi­litary education and discipline in the New World is to form the mind to sustain it. When nations carry on war with open force, defy their enemies to the combat, and vanquish them by the superi­ority [Page 395] of their skill or courage, soldiers are trained to be active, vigorous, and enterprising. But in America, where the genius and maxims of war are extremely different, passive fortitude is the quality in highest estimation. Accordingly, it is early the study of the Americans to acquire sentiments and habits, which will enable them to behave like men, when their resolution shall be put to the proof. As the youth of other nations exercise themselves in feats of activity and force, those of America vie with one another in exhibitions of their patience under sufferings. They harden their nerves by those voluntary trials, and gradually accustom them­selves to endure the sharpest pain, without com­plaining. A boy and girl will bind their naked arms together, and place a burning coal between them, in order to try who first discovers such impatience as to shake it off.^† All the trials, customary in Ame­rica, when a youth is admitted into the class of warriors, or when a warrior is promoted to the dignity of captain or chief, are accommodated to this idea of manliness. They are not displays of valour, but of patience; they are not exhibitions of their ability to offend, but of their capacity to suffer. Among the tribes on the banks of the Ori­noco, if a warrior aspires to the rank of captain, his probation begins with a long fast, more rigid than any ever observed by the most abstemious hermit. At the close of this, the chiefs assemble, each gives him three lashes with a large whip, applied so vi­gorously, that his body is almost flayed, and if he betrays the least symptom of impatience or even sensibility, he is disgraced for ever, and rejected as unworthy of the honour to which he aspires. After some interval, the constancy of the candidate is proved by a more excruciating trial. He is laid [Page 396] in a hammoc with his hands bound fast, and an in­numerable multitude of venomous ants, whose bite occasions exquisite pain, and produces a violent inflammation, are thrown upon him. The judges of his merit stand around the hammoc, and, while these cruel insects fasten upon the most sensible parts of his body, a sigh, a groan, an involuntary motion expressive of what he suffers, would exclude him for ever from the rank of captain. Even after this evidence of his fortitude, it is not deemed to be completely ascertained, but must stand another test, more dreadful than any he has hitherto undergone. He is again suspended in his hammoc, and covered with leaves of the palmetto. A fire of stinking herbs is kindled underneath, so as he may feel its heat, and be involved in its smoke. Though scorched and almost suffocated, he must continue to endure with the same patient insensibility. Many perish in this rude essay of their firmness and cou­rage, but such as go through it with applause, re­ceive the ensigns of their new dignity with much solemnity, and are ever after regarded as leaders of approved resolution, whose behaviour, in the most trying situations will do honour to their country^*. In North America, the previous trial of a warrior is neither so formal nor so severe. Though even there, before a youth is permitted to bear arms, his patience and fortitude are proved by blows, by fire, and by insults, more intolerable to a haughty spirit than both^†.

THE amazing steadiness with which the Ame­ricans endure the most exquisite torments, has in­duced some authors to suppose that, from the pe­culiar feebleness of their frame, their sensibility is not so acute as that of other people; as women, [Page 397] and persons of a relaxed habit, are observed to be less affected with pain than robust men, whose nerves are more firmly braced. But the consti­tution of the Americans is not so different, in its texture, from that of the rest of the human species, as to account for this diversity in their behaviour. It flows from a principle of honour, instilled early and cultivated with such care, as to inspire man in his rudest state with an heroic magnanimity, to which philosophy hath endeavoured, in vain, to form him, when more highly improved and polish­ed. This invincible constancy he has been taught to consider as the chief distinction of a man, and the highest attainment of a warrior. The ideas which influence his conduct, and the passions which take possession of his heart, are few. They ope­rate of course with more decisive effect, than when the mind is crowded with a multiplicity of objects, or distracted by the variety of its pursuits; and when every motive that acts with any force in form­ing the sentiments of a savage, prompts him to suffer with dignity, he will bear what might seem to be impossible for human patience to sustain. But wherever the fortitude of the Americans is not roused to exertion by their ideas of honour, their feelings of pain are the same with those of the rest of mankind^*. Nor is that patience under suffer­ings for which the Americans have been so justly celebrated, an universal attainment. The constancy of many of the victims is overcome by the agonies of torture. Their weakness and lamentations com­plete the triumph of their enemies, and reflect dis­grace upon their own country^†.

THE perpetual hostilites carried on among the American tribes are productive of very fatal effects. [Page 398] Even in seasons of public tranquillity, their imper­fect industry does not supply them with any super­fluous store of provisions;Wasted by their per­petual wars. but when the irruption of an enemy desolates their cultivated lands, or disturbs them in their hunting excursions, such a calamity reduces a community, naturally unprovi­dent and destitute of resources, to extreme want. All the people of the district that is invaded, are frequently forced to take refuge in woods or moun­tains, which can afford them little subsistence, and where many of them perish. Notwithstanding their excessive caution in conducting their military operations, and the solicitude of every leader to preserve the lives of his followers, as the rude tribes in America seldom enjoy any interval of peace, the loss of men among them is considerable in propor­tion to the degree of population. Thus famine and the sword combine in thinning their numbers. All their communities are feeble, and nothing now re­mains of several nations, which were once consider­able, but the name^*.

Recruit their num­bers by adopting prisoners.SENSIBLE of this continual decay, there are tribes which endeavour to recruit their national force when exhausted, by adopting prisoners taken in war, and by this expedient prevent their total extinction. The practice, however, is not univer­sally received. Resentment operates more power­fully among savages, than considerations of policy. Far the greater part of their captives was anciently sacrificed to their vengeance, and it is only since their numbers began to decline fast, that they have generally adopted milder maxims. But such as they do naturalize, renounce for ever their native tribe, and assume the manners as well as passions of the people by whom they are adopted^†, so entirely, [Page 399] that they often join them in expeditions against their own countrymen. Such a sudden transition, and so repugnant to one of the most powerful instincts implanted by nature, would be deemed strange among many people; but among the members of small communities, where national enmity is vio­lent and deep-rooted, it has the appearance of being still more unaccountable. It seems, however, to result naturally from the principles upon which war is carried on in America. When nations aim at exterminating their enemies, no exchange of pri­soners can ever take place. From the moment one is made a prisoner, his country and his friends con­sider him as dead^*. He has incurred indeliable disgrace by suffering himself to be surprised or to be taken by an enemy; and were he to return home, after such a stain upon his honour, his nearest relations would not receive or even acknowledge that they knew him^†. Some tribes were still more rigid, and if a prisoner returned, the infamy which he had brought on his country was expiated, by putting him instantly to death^‡. As the unfortu­nate captive is thus an outcast from his own coun­try, and the ties which bound him to it are irrepa­rably broken, he feels less reluctance in forming a new connection with people, who, as an evidence of their friendly sentiments, not only deliver him from a cruel death, but offer to admit him to all the rights of a fellow-citizen. The perfect simi­larity of manners among savage nations facilitates and completes the union, and induces a captive to transfer not only his allegiance, but his affection, to the community into the bosom of which he is re­ceived.

[Page 400]BUT though war be the chief occupation of men in their rude state, and to excel in it their highest distinction and pride,Their infe­riority in war to po­lished na­tions. their inferiority is always ma­nifest when they engage in competition with po­lished nations. Destitute of that foresight which discerns and provides for remote events, strangers to the union and mutual confidence requisite in forming any extensive plan of operations, and in­capable of the subordination no less requisite in car­rying such plans into execution, savage nations may astonish a disciplined enemy by their valour, but seldom prove formidable to him by their con­duct; and whenever the contest is of long conti­nuance, must yield to superior art^*. The empires of Peru and Mexico, though their progress in civi­liziation, when measured by the European or Asia­tic standards, was inconsiderable, acquired such an ascendency over the rude tribes around them, that they subjected most of them with great facility to their power. When the people of Europe over­ran the various provinces of America, this supe­riority was still more conspicuous. Neither the courage nor number of the natives could repel a handful of invaders. The alienation and enmity, prevalent among barbarians, prevented them from uniting in any common scheme of defence, and while each tribe fought separately, all were sub­dued.

Their arts.VI. THE arts of rude nations unacquainted with the use of metals, hardly merit any attention on their own account, but are worthy of some notice, as far as they serve to display the genius and man­ners of man in this stage of his progress. The first distress a savage must feel, will arise from the man­ner in which his body is affected, by the heat, or cold, or moisture, of the climate under which he [Page 401] lives; and his first care will be to provide some co­vering for his own defence. In the warmer and more mild climates of America,Dress and ornaments. none of the rude tribes were clothed. To most of them Nature had not even suggested any idea of impropriety in being altogether uncovered^*. As under a mild climate there was little need of any defence from the inju­ries of the air, and their extreme indolence shun­ned every species of labour to which it was not urged by absolute necessity, all the inhabitants of the isles, and a considerable part of the people on the continent, remained in this state of naked sim­plicity. Others were satisfied with some slight co­vering, such as decency required. But though naked, they were not unadorned. They dressed their hair in many different forms. They fastened bits of gold, or shells, or shining stones, in their ears, their noses, and cheeks^†. They stained their skins with a great variety of figures; and they spent much time, and submitted to great pain, in ornamenting their persons in this fantastic manner. Vanity, however, which finds endless occupation for ingenuity and invention, in nations where dress has become a complex and intricate art, is circum­scribed within so narrow bounds, and confined to so few articles among naked savages, that they are not satisfied with those simple decorations, and have a wonderful propensity to alter the natural form of their bodies, in order to render it (as they imagine) more perfect and beautiful. This practice was uni­versal among the rudest of the American tribes. Their operations for that purpose begin as soon as an infant is born. By compressing the bones of the skull, while still soft and flexible, some flatten the [Page 402] crown of their heads; some squeeze them into the shape of a cone; others mould them as much as possible into a square figure^*; and they often en­danger the lives of their posterity by their violent and absurd efforts to derange the plan of Nature, or to improve upon her designs. But in all their at­tempts either to adorn or to new-model their per­sons, it seems to have been less the object of the Americans to please or to appear beautiful, than to give an air of dignity and terror to their aspect. Their attention to dress had more reference to war than to gallantry. The difference in rank and esti­mation between the two sexes was so great, as seems to have extinguished, in some measure, their soli­citude to appear mutually amiable. The man deemed it beneath him to adorn his person, for the sake of one on whom he was accustomed to look down as a slave. It was when the warrior had in view to enter the council of his nation, or to take the field against his enemies, that he assumed his choicest ornaments, and decked his person with the nicest care^†. The decorations of the women were few and simple; whatever was precious or splendid was reserved for the men. In several tribes the women were obliged to spend a consider­able part of their time every day in adorning and painting their husbands, and could bestow little at­tention upon ornamenting themselves. Among a race of men so haughty as to despise, or so cold as to neglect them, the women naturally became care­less and slovenly, and the love of finery and shew, which had been deemed their favourite passion, was [Page 403] confined chiefly to the other sex^*. To deck his person was the distinction of a warrior, as well as one of his most serious occupations^†. In one part of their dress, which at first sight, appears the most singular and capricious, the Americans have discovered considerable sagacity in providing against the chief inconveniencies of their climate, which is often sultry and moist to excess. All the different tribes, which remain unclothed, are accustomed to anoint and rub their bodies with the grease of ani­mals, with viscous gums, and with oils of different kinds. By this they check that profuse perspira­tion, which in the torrid zone, wastes the vigour of the frame, and abridges the period of human life. By this too, they provide a defence against the extreme moisture, during the rainy season^‡. They likewise, at certain seasons, temper paint of different colours with those unctuous substances, and bedaub themselves plentifully with that compo­sition. Sheathed with this impenetrable varnish, their skins are not only protected from the pene­trating heat of the sun, but, as all the innumerable tribes of insects have an antipathy to the smell or taste of that mixture, they are delivered from their teazing persecution, which amidst forests and marshes, especially in the warmer regions, would have been altogether intolerable in a state of per­fect nakedness^§.

THE next object to dress that will engage the savage,Habita­tions. is to prepare some habitation which may afford him shelter by day, and a retreat [Page 404] at night. Whatever is connected with his ideas of personal dignity, whatever bears any reference to his military character, the savage warrior deems an object of importance. Whatever relates only to peaceable and inactive life, he views with indiffer­ence. Hence, though finically attentive to dress, he is little solicitous about the elegance or disposi­tion of his habitation. Savage nations, far from that state of improvement, in which the mode of living is considered as a mark of distinction, and unacquainted with those wants, which require a variety of accommodation, regulate the construc­tion of their houses according to their limited ideas of necessity. Some of the American tribes were so extremely rude, and had advanced so little beyond the primeval simplicity of nature, that they had no houses at all. During the day, they take shelter from the scorching rays of the sun under thick trees; at night they form a shed with their branches and leaves^*. In the rainy season they retire into coves, formed by the hand of Nature, or hollowed out by their own industry^†. Others, who have no fixed abode, and roam through the forest in quest of game, sojourn in temporary huts, which they erect with little labour, and abandon without any concern. The inhabitants of those vast plains, which are deluged by the overflowing of rivers during the heavy rains that fall periodically between the tropics, raise houses upon piles fastened in the ground, or place them among the boughs of trees, and are thus safe amidst that wide extended inun­dation which surrounds them^‡. Such were the first [Page 405] essays of the rudest Americans towards providing themselves with habitations. But even among tribes which are more improved, and whose resi­dence is become altogether fixed, the structure of their houses is extremely mean and simple. They are wretched huts, sometimes of an oblong and sometimes of a circular form, intended merely for shelter, with no view to elegance, and little atten­tion to conveniency. The doors are so low, that it is necessary to bend or to creep on the hands and feet in order to enter them. They are without windows, and have a large hole in the middle of the roof, to convey out the smoke. To follow travellers in other minute circumstances of their description, is not only beneath the dignity of his­tory, but would be foreign to the object of my re­searches. One circumstance merits attention, as it is singular, and illustrates the character of the peo­ple. Some of their houses are so large as to con­tain accommodation for fourscore or a hundred persons. These are built for the reception of dif­ferent families, which dwell together under the same roof^*, and often around a common fire, without separate apartments, or any kind of screen or par­tition between the spaces which they respectively occupy. As soon as men have acquired distinct ideas of property; or when they are so much at­tached to their females, as to watch them with care and jealousy; families of course divide and settle in separate houses, where they can secure and guard whatever they wish to preserve. This singular mod [...] [...]f habitation among several people of Ame­rica, may therefore be considered not only as the effect of their imperfect notions concerning pro­perty, but as a proof of inattention and indifference towards their women. If they had not been accus­tomed [Page 406] to perfect equality, such an arrangement could not have taken place. If their sensibility had been apt to have taken alarm, they would not have trusted the virtue of their women amidst the temp­tations and opportunities of such a promiscuous in­tercourse. At the same time, the perpetual con­cord which reigns in habitations where so many families are crouded together, is surprising, and affords a striking evidence that they must be people of either a very gentle, or of a very phlegmatic temper, who, in such a situation, are unacquainted with animosity, brawling, and discord^*.

Their arms.AFTER making some provision for his dress and habitation, a savage will perceive the necessity of preparing proper arms with which to assault or repel an enemy. This, accordingly, has early ex­ercised the ingenuity and invention of all rude nations. The first offensive weapons were doubtless such as chance presented, and the first efforts of art to improve upon these, were extremely simple and awkward. Clubs made of some heavy woods, stakes hardened in the fire, lances whose heads were armed with flint or the bones of some animal, are weapons known to the rudest nations. All these, however, were of use only in close encoun­ter. But men wished to annoy their enemies while at a distance, and the bow and arrow is the most early invention for this purpose. This wea­pon is in the hands of people, whose advances in improvement are extremely inconsiderable, and is familiar to the inhabitants of every quarter of the globe. It is remarkable, however, that some tribes in America were so destitute of art and ingenuity, that they had not attained [...]o the discovery of this [Page 407] simple invention^*, and seem to have been unac­quainted with the use of any missive weapon. The sling, though in its construction not more complex than the bow, and among many nations of equal antiquity, was little known to the people of North-America^†, or the islands, but appears to have been used by a few tribes in the southern continent^‡. The people, in some provinces of Chili, and those of Patagonia, towards the southern extremity of America, use a weapon peculiar to themselves. They fasten stones, about the size of a fist, to each end of a leather thong of eight feet in length, and swing­ing these round their heads, throw them with such dexterity, that they seldom miss the object at which they aim^§.

AMONG people who had hardly any occupation but war or hunting,Their do­mestic utensil. the chief exertions of their in­vention^‖, as well as industry, were naturally di­rected towards these objects. With respect to every thing else, their wants and desires were so limited, that their invention was not upon the stretch. As their food and habitations are perfectly simple, their domestic utensils are few and rude. Some of the southern tribes had discovered the art of forming vessels of earthen ware, and baking them in the sun, so as they could endure the fire. In North Ame­rica, they hollowed a piece of hard wood into the form of a kettle, and filling it with water, brought it to boil, by putting red-hot stones into it^¶.Dr [...]ssing their food. These vessels they had used in preparing part of their pro­visions; and this may be considered as a step to­wards [Page 408] refinement and luxury, for men in their rudest state were not acquainted with any method of dressing their victuals, but by roasting them on the fire; and among several tribes in America, this is the only species of cookery yet known^*. But the master-piece of art,Construc­tion of their canoes. among the savages of America, is the construction of their canoes. An Eskimaux, shut up in his boat of whalebone, covered with the skins of seals, can brave that stormy ocean, on which the barrenness of his country compels him to depend for the chief part of his subsistence^†. The people of Canada venture upon their rivers and lakes, in boats made of the bark of trees, and so light that two men can carry them, wherever shallows or cataracts obstruct the naviga­tion^‡. In these frail vessels they undertake and accomplish long voyages^§. The inhabitants of the isles and of the southern continent form their ca­noes by hollowing the trunk of a large tree, with infinite labour, and though in appearance they are extremely aukward and unwieldy, they paddle and steer them with such dexterity, that Europeans, well acquainted with all the improvements in the science of navigation, have been astonished at the rapidity of their motion, and the quickness of their evolutions. Their pirogues, or war-boats, are so large as to carry forty or fifty men; their canoes employed in fishing and in short voyages are less capacious^‖. The form, as well as the materials of all these various kinds of vessels, is well adapted to the service for which they are destined; and the more minutely they are examined, the mechanism of their structure, as well as neatness of their fabric, will appear the more surprising.

[Page 409]BUT, in every attempt towards industry among the Americans, one striking quality in their cha­racter is conspicuous.Listlessness with which they apply to labour. They apply to work with­out ardour, carry it on with little activity, and, like children, are easily diverted from it. Even in operations which seem the most interesting, and where the most powerful motives urge them to vi­gorous exertions, they labour with a languid list­lessness. Their work advances under their hand with such slowness, that an eye-witness compares it to the imperceptible progress of vegetation^*. They will spend so many years in forming a ca­noe, that it often begins to rot with age before they finish it. They will suffer one part of a roof to decay and perish, before they complete the other^†. The slightest manual operation consumes an amazing length of time, and what in polished nations would hardly be an effort of industry, is among savages an arduous undertaking. This slow­ness of the Americans in executing works of every kind may be imputed to various causes. Among savages, who do not depend for subsistence upon the efforts of regular industry, time is of so little importance, that they set no value upon it; and provided they can finish a design, they never re­gard how long they are employed about it. The tools which they employ are so aukward and defec­tive, that every work in which they engage must necessarily be tedious. The hand of the most in­dustrious and skilful artist, were it furnished with no better instrument than a stone hatchet, a shell, or the bone of some animal, would find it difficult to perfect the most simple work. It is by length of labour, that he must endeavour to supply his defect of power. But above all, the cold phlegmatic temper peculiar to the Americans render their ope­rations languid. It is almost impossible to rouze [Page 410] them from that habitual indolence in which they are sunk; and unless when engaged in war or hunting, they seem incapable of exerting any vigorous effort. Their ardour of application is not so great as to call forth that inventive spirit which suggests expedients for facilitating and abridging labour. They will return to a task day after day, but all their methods of executing it are tedious and operose^*. Even since the Europeans have communicated to them the knowledge of their instruments, and taught them to imitate their arts, the peculiar genius of the Americans is conspicuous in every attempt they make. They may be patient and assidious in la­bour, they can copy with a servile and minute ac­curacy, but discover little invention, and no ta­lents for dispatch. In spite of instruction and ex­ample, the spirit of the race predominates; their motions are naturally tardy, and it is in vain to urge them to quicken their pace. Among the Spani­ards in America, the work of an Indian is a phrase by which they describe any thing, in the execution [...] which an immense time has been employed, and much labour wasted^†.

VII. NO circumstance respecting rude nations has been the object of greater curiosity than their religious tenets [...] [...]es; and none, perhaps, has been so imperfectly understood, [...] in­quiry. or represented with so little fidelity. Priests and missionaries are the persons who have had the best opportunities of carrying on this inquiry, among the most un­civilized of the American tribes. Their minds, engrossed by the doctrines of their own religion, and habituated to its institutions, are apt to disco­ver something which resembles those objects of their veneration, in the opinions and rites of every people. Whatever they contemplate, they view [Page 411] through one medium, and draw and accommodate it to their own system. They study to reconcile the institutions, which fall under their observation, to their own creed, not to explain them according to the rude notions of the people themselves. They ascribe to them ideas which they are incapable of forming, and suppose them to be acquainted with principles and facts, which it is impossible that they should know. Hence, some missionaries have been induced to believe, that even among the most bar­barous nations in America, they had discovered traces, no less distinct than amazing, of their ac­quaintance with the sublime mysteries and peculiar instiututions of Christianity. From their own inter­pretation of certain expressions and ceremonies, they have concluded that these people had some knowledge of the doctrine of the Trinity, of the incarnation of the Son of God, of his expiatory sa­crifice, of the virtue of the cross, and of the efficacy of the sacraments^*. In such unintelligent and cre­dulous guides, we can place little confidence.

BUT, even when we make our choice of conduc­tors, with the greatest care, we must not follow them with implicit faith. An inquiry into the reli­gious notions of rude nations is involved in pecu­liar intricacies, and we must often pause in order to separate the facts which our informers relate, from the reasonings with which they are accompa­nied, or the theories which they build upon them. Several pious writers, more attentive to the im­portance of the subject than to the condition of the people whose sentiments they were endeavour­ing to discover, have bestowed much unprofitable labour in researches of this nature^†.

[Page 412]THERE are two fundamental doctrines, upon which the whole system of religion, as far as it can be discovered by the light of nature,Confined to two ar­ticles. is established. The one respects the being of a God, the other the immortality of the soul. To discover the ideas of the uncultivated nations under our review with regard to those important points, is not only an object of curiosity, but may afford instruction. To these two articles I shall confine my researches, leaving subordinate opinions, and the detail of local superstitions, to more minute inquirers. Whoever has had any opportunity of examining into the religious opinions of persons in the in­ferior ranks of life,The being o [...] God. even in the most enlightened and civilized nations, will find that their system of belief is derived from instruction, not discovered by inquiry. That numerous part of the human species, whose lot is labour, whose principal and almost sole occupation is to secure subsistence, views the arrangement and operations of nature with little reflection, and has neither leisure nor ca­pacity for entering into that path of refined and in­tricate speculation which conducts to the knowledge of the principles of natural religion. In the early and most rude periods of savage life, such disquisi­tions are altogether unknown. When the intellec­tual powers are just beginning to unfold, and their lust feeble exertions are directed towards a few ob­jects of primary necessity and use; when the faculties of the mind are so limited, as not to have formed abstract or general ideas; when language is so bar­ren, as to be destitute of names to distinguish any thing that is not perceived by some of the senses; it is preposterous to expect that man should be ca­pable of tracing with accuracy the relation between cause and effect; or to suppose that he should rise from the contemplation of the one to the knowledge of the other, and form just conceptions of a Deity, [Page 413] as the Creator and Governor of the universe. The idea of creation is so familiar wherever the mind is enlarged by science, and illuminated with revelation, that we seld [...] reflect how profound and abstruse this idea is, or consider what progress man must have made in observation and research, before he could arrive at any knowledge of this elementary principle in religion. Accordingly, several tribes have been discovered in America, which have no idea whatever of a Supreme Being, and no rites of religious worship. Inattentive to that magnificent spectacle of beauty and order presented to their view, unaccustomed to reflect either upon what they themselves are, or to inquire who is the author of their existence, men, in their savage state, pass their days like the animals round them, without knowledge or veneration of any superior power. Some rude tribes have not in their language any name for the Deity, nor have the most accurate ob­servers been able to discover any practice or insti­tution which [...]med to imply that they recognised his authority, or were solicitous to obtain his favour^*. It is however only among men in the most unculti­vated state of Nature, and while their intellectual faculties are so feeble and limited, as hardly to ele­vate them above the irrational creation, that we dis­cover this total insensibility to the impressions of any invisible power.

BUT the human mind, formed for religion, soon opens to the reception of ideas, which are destined, [Page 414] when corrected and refined, to be the great source of consolation amidst the calamities of life. Among some of the American tribes, still in the infancy of improvement, we discern apprehensions of some in­visible and powerful beings. These apprehensions are originally indistinct and perplexed, and seem to be suggested rather by the dread of impending evils, than to flow from gratitude for blessings re­ceived. While Nature holds on her course with uniform and undisturbed regularity, men enjoy the benefits resulting from it, without inquiring con­cerning its cause. But every deviation from this regular course rouses and astonishes them. When they behold events to which they are not accus­tomed, they search for the reasons of them with eager curiosity. Their understanding is unable to penetrate into these; but imagination, a more for­ward and ardent faculty of the mind, decides with­out hesitation. It ascribes the extraordinary occur­rences in nature to the influence of invisible beings, and supposes that the thunder, the hurricane, and the earthquake, are effects of their interposition. Some such confused notion of spiritual or invisible power, superintending over those natural calamities which frequently desolate the earth, and terrify its inhabitants, may be traced among many rude na­tions^*. But besides this, the disasters and dangers of savage life are so many, and men often find them­selves in situations so formidable, that the mind, sensible of its own weakness, has no resource but in the guidance and protection of wisdom and power superior to what is human. Dejected with cala­mities which oppress him, and exposed to dangers which he cannot repel, the savage no longer relies upon himself; he feels his own impotence, and sees no prospect of being extricated, but by the interpo­sition [Page 415] of some unseen arm. Hence, in all unen­lightened nations, the first rites or practices which bear any resemblance to acts of religion, have it for their object to avert evils which men suffer or dread. The Manitous or Okkis of the North Americans were amulets or charms, which they imagined to be of such virtue, as to preserve the persons who reposed confidence in them from every disastrous event, or they were considered as tutelary spirits, whose aid they might implore in circumstances of distress^*. The Cemis of the islanders were reputed by them to be the authors of every calamity that afflicts the human race; they were represented under the most frightful forms, and religious homage was paid to them with no other view than to appease these furious deities^†. Even among those tribes whose religious system was more enlarged, and who had formed some conception of benevolent beings, which delighted in conferring benefits, as well as of malicious powers prone to inflict evil; superstition still ap­pears as the offspring of fear, and all its efforts were employed to avert calamities. They were persuaded that their good deities, prompted by the beneficence of their nature, would bestow every blessing in their power, without solicitation or ac­knowledgment; and their only anxiety was to soothe and deprecate the wrath of the powers whom they regarded as the enemies of mankind^‡.

SUCH were the imperfect conceptions of the greater part of the Americans with respect to the [Page 416] interpositions of invisible agents, and such, almost universally, was the mean and illiberal object of their superstitions. Were we to trace back the ideas of other nations to that rude state in which history first presents them to our view, we should discover a surprising resemblance in their tenets and practices; and should be convinced, that, in simi­lar circumstances, the faculties of the human mind hold nearly the same course in their progress, and arrive at almost the same conclusions. The im­pressions of fear are conspicuous in all the systems of superstition formed in this situation. The most ex­alted notions of men rise no higher than to a per­plexed apprehension of certain beings, whose power though super natural, is limited as well as partial.

Remarka­ble diversi­ty in their religious notions.BUT, among other tribes, which have been longer united, or have made greater progress in improvement, we discern some feeble pointing to­wards more just and adequate conceptions of the power that presides in nature. They seem to per­ceive that there must be some universal cause to whom all things are indebted for their being. If we may judge by some of their expressions, they appear to acknowledge a divine power to be the maker of the world, and the disposer of all events. They denominate him the Great Spirit ^*. But these ideas are faint and confused, and when they attempt to explain them, it is manifest, that among them the word spirit has a meaning very different from that in which we employ it, and that they have no con­ception of any deity but what is corporeal. They believe their gods to be of the human form, though of a nature more excellent than man, and retail such wild incoherent fables concerning their func­tions and operations, as are altogether unworthy of [Page 417] a place in history. Even among these tribes, there is no established form of public worship; there are no temples erected in honour of their deities; and no ministers peculiarly consecrated to their service. They have the knowledge, however, of several su­perstitious ceremonies and practices handed down to them by tradition, and to these they have re­course with a childish credulity, when roused by any emergence from their usual insensibility, and excited to acknowledge the power, and to implore the protection of superior beings^*.

THE tribe of the Natchez,System of the Nat­chez. and the people of Bogota had advanced beyond the other unculti­vated nations of America in their ideas of religion, as well as in their political institutions; and it is no less difficult to explain the cause of this distinction than of that which we have already considered. The Sun was the chief object of religious worship among the Natchez. In their temples, which were constructed with some magnificence, and decorated with various ornaments, according to their mode of architecture, they preserved a perpetual fire, as the purest emblem of their divinity. Ministers were appointed to watch and feed this sacred flame. The first function of the great chief of the nation, every morning, was an act of obeisance to the Sun; and festivals returned at stated seasons, which were celebrated by the whole community with solemn but unbloody rites^†. This is the most refined species of superstition known in America, and, per­haps, one of the most natural as well as most se­ducing. The Sun is the apparent source of the joy, fertility, and life, diffused through nature; and while the human mind, in its early essays to­wards [Page 418] inquiry, contemplates and admires his uni­versal and animating energy, its admiration is apt to stop short at what is visible, without reaching to the unseen cause; and pays that adoration to the most glorious and beneficial work of God, which is due only to him who formed it. As fire is the purest and most active of the elements, and in some of its qualities and effects resembles the Sun, it was, not improperly, chosen to be the emblem of his powerful operation. The ancient Persians, a people far superior, in every respect, to that rude tribe whose rites I am describing, founded their re­ligious system on similar principles, and established a form of public worship, less gross and exception­able than any people destitute of guidance from revelation. This surprising co-incidence in sen­timent between two nations, in such different states of improvement, is one of the many singular and unaccountable circumstances which occur in the his­tory of human affairs.

AMONG the people of Bogota, the Sun and Moon were, likewise, the chief objects of venera­tion. Their system of religion was more regular and complete, though less pure, than that of the Natchez. They had temples, altars, priests, sacri­fices, and that long train of ceremonies, which su­perstition introduces wherever she has fully established her dominions over the minds of men. But the rites of their worship were cruel and bloody. They of­fered human victims to their deities, and many of their practices nearly resembled the barbarous insti­tutions of the Mexicans, the genius of which we shall have an opportunity of considering more atten­tively in its proper place^*.

WITH respect to the other great doctrine of re­ligion, [Page 419] concerning the immortality of the soul, the sentiments of the Americans were more united: the human mind,Their ideas concerning the immor­tality of the soul. even when least improved and invi­gorated by culture, shrinks from the thoughts of annihilation, and looks forward with hope and ex­pectation to a state of future existence. This sen­timent, resulting from a secret consciousness of its own dignity, from an instinctive longing after immor­tality, is universal, and may be deemed natural. Upon this, are founded the most exalted hopes of man in his highest state of improvement; nor has nature withheld from him this soothing con­solation, in the most early and rude period of its progress. We can trace this opinion from one extremity of America to the other: in some re­gions more faint and obscure, in others more per­fectly developed, but no where unknown. The most uncivilized of its savage tribes do not appre­hend death as the extinction of being. All enter­tain hopes of a future and more happy state, where they shall be for ever exempt from the calamities which embitter human life in its present condition. This future state they conceive to be a delightful country, blessed with perpetual spring, whose fo­rests abound with game, whose rivers swarm with fish, where famine is never felt, and uninterrupted plenty shall be enjoyed without labour or toil. But as men, in forming their first imperfect ideas concerning the invisible world, suppose that there they shall continue to feel the same desires, and to be engaged in the same occupations, as in the pre­sent world; they naturally ascribe eminence and distinction, in that state, to the same qualities and talents which are here the object of their esteem. The Americans, accordingly, allotted the highest place, in their country of spirits, to the skilful hun­ter, to the adventrous and successful warrior, and to such as had tortured the greatest number of cap­tives, [Page 420] and devoured their flesh^*. These notions were so prevalent, that they gave rise to an univer­sal custom,induce them to bury arms, with the dead, which is, at once, the strongest evi­dence that the Americans believe in a future state, and the best illustration of what they expect there. As they imagine, that departed spirits begin their career anew in the world whether they are gone, that their friends may not enter upon it defenceless and unprovided, they bury together with the bo­dies of their dead their bow, their arrows, and other weapons used in hunting or war; they deposit in their tombs the skins or stuffs of which they make garments, Indian corn, manioc, venison, domestic utensils, and whatever is reckoned among the ne­cessaries in their simple mode of life^†. In some provinces, upon the decease of a cazique or chief, a certain number of his wives, of his favourites, and of his slaves, were put to death, and interred together with him, that he might appear with the same dignity in his future station, and be waited upon by the same attendants^‡. This persuasion is so deep-rooted, that many of the deceased person's retainers offer themselves as voluntary victims, and court the privilege of accompanying their departed master, as an high distinction. It has been found difficult, on some occasions, to set bounds to this enthusiasm of affectionate duty, and to reduce the train of a favourite leader to such a number as the tribe could afford to spare^§.

[Page 421]AMONG the Americans, as well as other unci­vilized nations, many of the rites and observances which bear some resemblance to acts of religion,Supersti­tion con­nected with devotion. have no connection with devotion, but proceed from a fond desire of prying into futurity. The human mind is most apt to feel, and to discover this vain curiosity, when its own powers are most feeble and uninformed. Astonished with occurrences, of which it is unable to comprehend the cause, it na­turally fancies that there is something mysterious and wonderful in their origin. Alarmed at events of which it cannot discern the issue or the conse­quences, it has recourse to other means of discover­ing them, than the exercise of its own sagacity. Wherever superstition is so established as to form a regular system, this desire of penetrating into the secrets or futurity is connected with it. Divination becomes a religious act. Priests, as the ministers of Heaven, pretend to deliver its oracles to men. They are the only soothsayers, augurs, and magici­ans, who profess the sacred and important art of dis­closing what is hid from other eyes.

BUT, among rude nations,This de­partment belong [...] to th [...] phy­s [...]ians. who pay no venera­tion to any superintending power, and who have no established rites or ministers of religion, their cu­riosity to discover what is future and unknown is cherished by a different principle, and derives strength from another alliance. As the diseases of men in the savage state, are (as have been already observed) like those of the animal creation, few but extremely violent, their impatience under what they suffer, and solicitude for the recovery of health, soon inspired them with extraordinary reverence for such as pretended to understand the nature of their mala­dies, and to be possessed of knowledge sufficient to preserve or deliver them from their sudden and fatal effects. These ignorant pretenders, however, were such utter strangers to the structure of the hu­man [Page 422] frame, as to be equally unacquainted with the causes of its disorders, and the manner in which they will terminate. Superstition, mingled fre­quently with some portion of craft, supplied what they wanted in science. They imputed the origin of diseases to supernatural influence, and prescribed or performed a variety of mysterious rites, which they gave out to be of such efficacy as to remove the most dangerous and inveterate maladies. The credulity and love of the marvellous, natural to uninformed men, favoured the deception, and pre­pared them to be the dupes of those impostors. Among savages, their first physicians are a kind of conjurers or wizards, who boast that they know what is past, and can foretel what is to come. In­cantations, sorcery, and mummeries of diverse kinds, no less strange than frivolous, are the means which they employ to expel the imaginary causes of malignity^*; and relying upon the efficacy of these, they predict with confidence what will be the fate of their deluded patients. Thus superstition, in its earliest form, flowed from the solicitude of man to be delivered from present distress, not from his dread of evils awaiting him in a future life, and was originally ingrafted on medicine, not on religion. One of the first, and most intelligent historians of America, was struck with this alliance between the art of divination and that of physic, among the people of Hispaniola^†. But this was not peculiar to them. The Alexis, the Piayas, the Autmoins, or whatever was the distinguishing name of their diviners and charmers in other parts of America, were all the physicians of their respective tribes, in the same manner as the Buhitos of Hispaniola. As their function led them to apply to the human mind [Page 423] when enfeebled by sickness, and as they found it, in that season of dejection, prone to be alarmed with imaginary fears, or amused with vain hopes, they easily induced it to rely with implicit confidence in the virtue of their spells, and the certainty of their predictions^*.

WHENEVER men acknowledge the reality of su­pernatural power and discernment in one instance,Gradually extends. they have a propensity to admit it in others. The Americans did not long suppose the efficacy of con­juration to be confined to one subject. They had recourse to it in every situation of danger or distress. When the events of war were peculiarly disastrous, when they met with unforeseen disap­pointments in hunting, when inundations or drought threatened their crops with destruction, they called upon their conjurers to begin their incantations, in order to discover the causes of those calamities, or to foretell what would be their issue^†. Their con­fidence in this delusive art gradually increased, and manifested itself in all the occurrences of life. When involved in any difficulty, or about to enter upon any transaction of moment, every individual regularly consulted the sorcerer, and depended upon his instructions to extricate him from the former, as well as to direct his conduct in the latter. Even among the rudest tribes in America, superstition appears in this form, and divination is an art in high esteem. Long before man had acquired such knowledge of the Deity as inspires reverence, and leads to adoration, we observe him stretching out a presumptuous hand to draw aside that veil with [Page 424] which Providence kindly conceals its purposes from human knowledge; and we find him labouring, with fruitless anxiety, to penetrate into the myste­ries of the divine administration. To discern, and to worship a superintending power, is an evidence of the enlargement and maturity of the human understanding; a vain desire of prying into futu­rity, is the error of is infancy, and a proof of its weakness.

FROM this weakness proceeded likewise the faith of the Americans in dreams, their observation of omens, their attention to the chirping of birds, and the cries of animals, all which they suppose to be indications of future events, and if any one of these prognostics is deemed unfavourable, they in­stantly abandon the pursuit of those measures on which they are most eagerly bent^*.

Detached customs.VIII. BUT if we would form a complete idea of the uncultivated nations of America, we must not pass unobserved some singular customs, which, though universal and characteristic, could not be reduced, with propriety, to any of the articles into which I have divided my inquiry concerning their manners.

Love of dancing.AMONG savages, in every part of the globe, the love of dancing is a favourite passion. As, during a great part of their time, they languish in a state of inactivity and indolence, without any occupation to rouse or interest them, they delight universally in a pastime which calls forth the active powers of their nature into exercise. The Spaniards, when they first visited America, were astonished at the fondness of the natives for dancing, and beheld with wonder a people, cold and unanimated in most [Page 425] of their other pursuits, kindle into life, and exert themselves with ardour, as often as this favourite amusement recurred. Among them, indeed, danc­ing ought not to be denominated an amusement. It is a serious and important occupation, which mingles in every occurrence of public or private life. If any intercourse be necessary between two American tribes, the ambassadors of the one ap­proach in a solemn dance, and present the calumet or emblem of peace; the sachems of the other re­ceive it with the same ceremony^*. If war is de­nounced against an enemy, it is by a dance, ex­pressive of the resentment which they feel, and of the vengeance which they meditate^†. If the wrath of their gods is to be appeased, or their beneficence to be celebrated; if they rejoice at the birth of a child, or mourn the death of a friend^‡, they have dances appropriated to each of these situations, and suited to the different sentiments with which they are then animated. If a person is indisposed, a dance is prescribed as the most effectual means of restoring him to health; and if he himself cannot endure the fatigue of such an exercise, the physician or conjurer performs it in his name, as if the virtue of his activity could be transferred to his patient^§.

ALL their dances are imitations of some action; and though the music by which they are regulated is extremely simple and tiresome to the ear by its dull monotony, some of their dances appear won­derfully expressive and animated. The war dance is, perhaps the most striking. It is the represent­ation of a complete American campaign. The [Page 426] departure of the warriors from their village, their march into the enemy's country, the caution with which they encamp, the address with which they station some of their party in ambush, the manner of surprising the enemy, the noise and ferocity of the combat, the scalping of those who are slain, the seizing of prisoners, the triumphant return of the conquerors, and the torture of the victims, are successively exhibited. The performers enter with such enthusiastic ardour into their several parts, their gestures, their countenance, their voice, are so wild and so well adapted to their various situa­tions, that Europeans can hardly believe it to be a mimic scene, or view it without emotions of fear and horror^*.

BUT however expressive some of the American dances may be, there is one circumstance in them remarkable, and connected with the character of the race. The songs, the dances, the amusements of other nations, expressive of the sentiments which animate their hearts, are often adapted to display or excite that sensibility which mutually attaches the sexes. Among some people, such is the ardour of this passion, that love is almost the sole object of festivity and joy; and as rude nations are strangers to delicacy, and unaccustomed to dis­guise any emotion of their minds, their dances are often extremely wanton and indecent. Such is the Calenda, of which the natives of Africa are so pas­sionately fond^†; and such the feats of the dancing girls, which the Asiatics contemplate with so much avidity of desire. But, among the Americans, more cold and indifferent to their females, from [Page 427] causes which I have already explained, the passion of love mingles but little with their festivals and pastimes. Their songs and dances are mostly so­lemn and martial, they are connected with some of the serious and important affairs of life^*, and hav­ing no relation to love or gallantry, are seldom common to the two sexes, but executed by the men and women apart^†. If, on some occasions, the women are permited to join in the festival, the character of the entertainment is still the same, and no movement or gesture is expressive of attachment, or encourages familiarity^‡.

AN immoderate love of play,Passion for gaming, especially at games of hazard, which seems to be natural to all people unaccustomed to the occupations of regular indus­try, is likewise universal among the Americans. The same causes, which so often prompt persons in civilized life, who are at their ease, to have re­course to this pastime, render it the delight of the savage. The former are independent of labour, the latter do not feel the necessity of it; and as both are unemployed, they run with transport to what­ever is interesting enough to stir and to agitate their minds. Hence the Americans, who at other times are so indifferent, so phlegmatic, so silent, and animated with so few desires, as soon as they en­gage in play become rapacious, impatient, noisy, and almost frantic with eagerness. Their furs, their domestic utensils, their clothes, their arms, are staked at the gaming-table, and when all is lost, high as their sense of independence is, in a wild emotion of despair or hope, they will often risk [Page 428] their personal liberty upon a single cast^*. Among several tribes, such gaming parties frequently recur, and become their most acceptable entertainment at every great festival. Superstition, which is apt to take hold of those passions which are most vigorous, frequently lends its aid to confirm and strengthen this favourite inclination. Their conjurers are ac­customed to prescribe a solemn match at play, as one of the most efficacious methods of appeasing their gods, or of restoring the sick to health^†

and for drinking.FROM causes similar to those which render them fond of play, the Americans are extremely addicted to drunkenness. It seems to have been one of the first exertions of human ingenuity to discover some composition of an intoxicating quality; and there is hardly any nation so rude, or so destitute of inven­tion, as not to have succeeded in this fatal research. The most barbarous of the American tribes have been so unfortunate as to attain this art; and even those which are so deficient in knowledge, as to be unacquainted with the method of giving an inebri­ating strength to liquors by fermentation, can ac­complish the same end by other means. The people of the islands of North America, and of California, used, for this purpose, the smoke of tobacco, drawn up with a certain instrument into the nostrils, the fumes of which ascending to the brain, they felt all the transports and frenzy of in­toxication^‡. In almost every other part of the New World, the natives possessed the art of ex­tracting an intoxicating liquor from maize or the manioc root, the same substances which they con­vert into bread. The operation by which they [Page 429] effect this, nearly resembles the common one of brewing, but with this difference, that in place of yest, they use a nauseous infusion of a certain quan­tity of maize or manioc chewed by their women. The saliva excites a vigorous fermentation, and in a few days the liquor becomes fit for drinking. It is not disagreeable to the taste, and when swallowed in large quantities, is of an intoxicating quality^*. This is the general beverage of the Americans, which they distinguish by various names, and for which they feel such a violent and insatiable desire, as it is not easy either to conceive or describe. Among polished nations, where a succession of va­rious functions and amusements keeps the mind in continual occupation, the desire for strong drink is regulated, in a great measure, by the climate, and increases or diminishes according to the variations of its temperature. In warm regions, the delicate and sensible frame of the inhabitants does not require the stimulation of fermented liquors. In colder countries, the constitution of the natives, more ro­bust and more sluggish, stands in need of generous liquors to quicken and animate it. But among sa­vages, the desire of something that is of power to intoxicate, is in every situation the same. All the people of America, if we except some small tribes near the Straits of Magellan, whether natives of the torrid zone, or inhabitants of its more temperate regions, or placed by a harder fate in the severe cli­mates towards its northren or southern extremity, appear to be equally under the dominion of this appetite^†. Such a similarity of taste, among people in such different situations, must be ascribed to the [Page 430] influence of some moral cause, and cannot be con­sidered as the effect of any physical or constitutional want. While engaged in war or in the chase, the savage is often in the most interesting situations, and all the powers of his nature are roused to the most vigorous exertions. But those animating scenes are succeeded by long intervals of repose, during which the warrior meets with nothing that he deems of sufficient dignity or importance to merit his attention. He languishes and mopes in this sea­son of indolence. The posture of his body is an emblem of the state of his mind. In one climate, cowering over the fire in his cabin; in another, stretched under the shade of some tree, he doses away his time in sleep, or in an unthinking joyless inactivity, not far removed from it. As strong liquors awake him from this torpid state, give a brisker motion to his spirits, and enliven him more thoroughly than either dancing or gaming, his love of them is excessive. A savage, when not engaged in action, is a pensive melancholy animal; but as soon as he tastes, or has a prospect of tasting, the intoxicating draught, he becomes gay and frolic­some^*. Whatever be the occasion or pretext on which the Americans assemble, the meeting always terminates in a debauch. Many of their festivals have no other object, and they welcome the return of them with transports of joy. As they are not accustomed to retain any appetite, they set no bounds to this. The riot often continues without intermission several days; and whatever may be the fatal effects of their excess, they never cease from drinking as long as one drop of liquor remains. The persons of greatest eminence, the most dis­tinguished warriors, and the chiefs most renowned for their wisdom, have no greater command of [Page 431] themselves than the most obscure member of the community. Their eagerness for present enjoy­ment renders them blind to its fatal consequences; and those very men, who, in other situations, seem to possess a force of mind more than human, are in this instance inferior to children in foresight, as well as consideration, and mere slaves of brutal appetite^*. When their passions, naturally strong, are height­ened and inflamed by drink, they are guilty of the most enormous outrages, and the festivity seldom concludes without deeds of violence, or blood­shed^†.

BUT, amidst this wild debauch, there is one cir­cumstance remarkable; the women, in most of the American tribes, are not permitted to partake of it^‡. Their province is to prepare the liquor, to serve it about to the guests, and to take care of their husbands and friends, when their reason is overpowered. This exclusion of the women from an enjoyment so highly valued by savages, may be justly considered as a mark of their inferiority, and as an additional evidence of that contempt with which they were treated in the New World. The people of North America, when first discovered, were not acquainted with any intoxicating drink; but as the Europeans early found it their interest to supply them with spiritous liquors, drunken­ness soon became as universal among them as among their countrymen to the south; and their women having acquited this new taste, indulge it with as little decency and moderation as the men^§.

IT were endless to enumerate all the detached customs which have excited the wonder of travel­lers [Page 432] in America; but I cannot omit one seemingly as singular as any that has been mentioned. When their parents and other relations become old,Put to death the aged and incurable. or labour under any distemper which their slender knowledge of the healing art cannot remove, the Americans cut short their days with a violent hand, in order to be relieved from the burden of support­ing and tending them. This practice prevailed among the ruder tribes in every part of the conti­nent, from Hudson's Bay to the river De la Plata; and however shocking it may be to those sentiments of tenderness and attachment, which, in civilized life, we are apt to consider as congenial with our frame, the condition of man in the savage state leads and reconciles him to it. The same hardships and difficulty of procuring subsistence, which deter savages, in some cases, from rearing their children, prompt them to destroy the aged and infirm. The declining state of the one is as helpless as the in­fancy of the other. The former are no less unable than the latter to perform the functions that belong to a warrior or hunter, or to endure those various distresses in which savages are so often involved, by their own want of foresight and industry. Their relations feel this, and, incapable of attending to the wants or weaknesses of others, their impatience under an additional burden prompts them to ex­tinguish that life which they find it difficult to sus­tain. This is not regarded as a deed of cruelty, but as an act of mercy. An American, broken with years and infirmities, conscious that he can no longer depend on the aid of those around him, places himself contentedly in his grave; and it is by the hands of his children or nearest relations that the thong is pulled, or the blow inflicted, which releases him for ever from the sorrows of life^*.

[Page 433]IX. AFTER contemplating the rude American tribes in such various lights, after taking a view of their customs and manners from so many dif­ferent stations,General es­timate of their cha­racter. nothing remains but to form a ge­neral estimate of their character, compared with that of more polished nations. A human being, as he comes originally from the hand of nature, is every where the same. At his first appearance in the state of infancy, whether it be among the rudest savages, or in the most civilized nation, we can discern no quality which marks any distinction or superiority. The capacity of improvement seems to be the same; and the talents he may afterwards acquire, as well as the virtues he may be rendered capable of exercising, depend, in a great measure, upon the state of society in which he is placed. To this state his mind naturally accommodates it­self, and from it receives discipline and culture. In proportion to the wants which it accustoms a human being to feel, and the functions in which these engage him, his intellectual powers are called forth. According to the connections which it esta­blishes between him and the rest of his species, the affections of his heart are exerted. It is only by attending to this great principle, that we can dis­cover what is the character of man in every different period of his progress.

IF we apply it to savage life,Intellectual powers. and measure the at­tainments of the human mind in that state by this standard, we shall find, according to an observation which I have already made, that the intellectual powers of man must be extremely limited in their operations. They are confined within the narrow sphere of what he deems necessary for supplying his own wants. Whatever has not some relation to these, neither attracts his attention, nor is the object of his enquiries. But however narrow the bounds may be within which the knowledge of a [Page 434] savage is circumscribed, he possesses thoroughly that small portion which he has attained. It was not communicated to him by formal instruction; he does not attend to it as a matter of mere specu­lation and curiosity; it is the result of his own ob­servation, the fruit of his own experience, and accommodated to his own condition and exigencies. While employed in the active occupations of war or of hunting, he often finds himself in difficult and perilous situations, from which the efforts of his own sagacity must extricate him. He is frequently engaged in measures, where every step depends upon his own ability to decide, where he must rely solely upon his own penetration to discern the dan­gers to which he is exposed, and upon his own wis­dom in providing against them. In consequence of this, he feels the knowledge which he possesses, and the efforts which he makes, and either in deli­beration or action rests on himself alone.

Political talents.AS the talents of individuals are exercised and improved by such exertions, much political wisdom is said to be displayed in conducting the affairs of their small communities. The council of old men in an American tribe, deliberating upon its interests, and determining with respect to peace or war, has been compared to the senate in more polished re­publics. The proceedings of the former, we are told, are often no less formal and sagacious, than those of the latter. Great political wisdom is exhi­bited in pondering the various measures proposed, and in balancing their probable advantages, against the evils of which they may be productive. Much address and eloquence are employed by the leaders, who aspire at acquiring such confidence with their countrymen, as to have an ascendant in those assem­blies^*. But, among savage tribes, the field for [Page 435] displaying political talents cannot be extensive. Where the idea of private property is incomplete, and no criminal jurisdiction is established, there is hardly any function of internal government to exer­cise. Where there is no commerce, and scarcely any intercourse among separate tribes; where enmity is implacable, and hostilities are carried on almost without intermission, there will be few points of public concern to adjust with their neighbours; and that department of their affairs which may be deno­minated foreign, cannot be so intricate as to require much refined policy in conducting it. Where in­dividuals are so thoughtless and improvident as seldom to take effectual precautions for self-pre­servation, it is vain to expect that public measures and deliberations will be regulated by the contem­plation of remote events. It is the genius of sa­vages to act from the impulse of present passion. They have neither foresight nor temper to form complicated arrangements with respect to their future conduct. The consultations of the Ameri­cans, indeed, are so frequent, and their negociations are so many^*, and so long protracted, as to give their proceedings an extraordinary aspect of wis­dom. But this is not owing so much to the depth of their schemes, as to the coldness and phlegm of their temper, which render them slow in deter­mining^†. If we accept the celebrated league, that united the Five Nations in Canada into a federal republic, which shall be considered in its proper place, we can discern few such traces of political wisdom, among the rude American tribes, as dis­cover any great degree of foresight or extent of in­tellectual abilities. Even among them, we shall find public measures more frequently directed by the impetuous ferocity of their youth, than regu­lated [Page 436] by the experience and wisdom of their old men.

Degree of affection.AS the condition of man in the savage state is unfavourable to the progress of the understanding, it has a tendency likewise, in some respects to check the exercise of affection, and to render the heart contracted. The strongest feeling in the mind of a savage is a sense of his own independ­ence. He has sacrificed so small a portion of his natural liberty by becoming a member of society, that he remains, in a great degree, the sole master of his own actions^*. He often takes his resolu­tions alone, without consulting, or feeling any con­nection with the persons around him. In many of his operations, he stands as much detached from the rest of his species, as if he had formed no union with them. Conscious how little he depends upon other men, he is apt to view them with a careless indifference. Even the force of his mind contri­butes to increase this unconcern, and as he looks not beyond himself in deliberating with respect to the part which he should act, his solicitude about the consequences of it seldom extends farther. He pursues his own career, and indulges his own fancy, without enquiring or regarding whether what he does be agreeable or offensive to others, whether they may derive benefit or receive hurt from it. Hence the ungovernable caprice of savages, their impatience under any species of restraint, their in­ability to suppress or moderate any inclination, the scorn or neglect with which they receive advice, their high estimation of themselves, and their con­tempt of other men. Among them, the pride of independence produces almost the same effects with interestedness in a more advanced state of society; it refers every thing to a man himself, it leads him [Page 437] to be indifferent about the manner in which his actions may affect other men, and renders the gra­tification of his own wishes the measure and end of conduct.

TO the same cause may be imputed the hardness of heart, and insensibility,Hardness of heart. remarkable in all savage nations. Their minds, roused only by strong emotions, are little susceptible of gentle, delicate, or tender affections^*. Their union is so incom­plete, that each individual acts as if he retained all his natural rights entire and undiminished. If a favour is conferred upon him, or any beneficial ser­vice is performed on his account, he receives it with much satisfaction, because it contributes to his enjoyment; but this sentiment extends not beyond himself, it excites no sense of obligation, he neither feels gratitude, nor thinks of making any return^†. Even among persons the most closely connected, the exchange of those good offices which strengthen attachment, mollify the heart, and sweeten the in­tercourse of life, is not frequent. The high ideas of independence among the Americans nourish a sullen reserve, which keeps them at a distance from each other. The nearest relations are mutually afraid to make any demand, or to solicit any ser­vice^‡, lest it should be considered by the other as imposing a burden, or laying a restraint upon his will.

I HAVE already remarked the influence of this hard unfeeling temper upon domestic life,Insensibi­lity. with re­spect to the connection between husband and wife, as well as that between parents and children. Its effects are no less conspicuous, in the performance of those mutual offices of tenderness which the in­firmities [Page 438] of our nature frequently exact. Among some tribes, when any of their number are seized with any violent disease, they are generally aban­doned by all around them, who, careless of their recovery, fly in the utmost conste [...]nation from the supposed danger of infection^*. But even where they are not thus deserted, the cold indifference with which they are attended can afford them little consolation. No look of sympathy, no soothing expressions, no officious services, contribute to al­leviate the distress of the sufferers, or to make them forget what they endure^†. Their nearest re­lations will often refuse to submit to the smallest inconveniency, or to part with the least trifle, how­ever much it may tend to their accommodation or relief.^‡ So little is the breast of a savage suscepti­ble of those sentiments which prompt men to that feeling attention which mitigates the calamities of human life, that, in some provinces of America, the Spaniards have found it necessary to enforce the common duties of humanity by positive laws, and to oblige husbands and wives, parents and children, under severe penalties, to take care of each other during their sickness^§. The same harshness of temper is still more conspicuous in their treatment of all the animal creation. Prior to their intercourse with the people of Europe, the North Americans had some tame dogs, which accompanied them in their hunting excursions, and served them with all the ardour and fidelity peculiar to the species. But, instead of that fond attachment which the hunter naturally feels towards those useful companions of [Page 439] his toils, they requite their services with neglect, seldom feed, and never caress them ^*. In other provinces, the Americans have become acquainted with the domestic animals of Europe, and avail themselves of their service; but it is universally observed that they always treat them harshly^†, and never employ any method, either for breaking or managing them, but force and cruelty. In every part of the deportment of man in his savage state, whether towards his equals of the human species, or towards the animals below him, we recognize the same character, and trace the operations of a mind intent on its own gratifications, and regu­lated by its own caprice, with little attention or sen­sibility to the sentiments and feelings of the beings around him.

AFTER explaining how unfavourable the savage state is to the cultivation of the understanding,Taciturnity and to the improvement of the heart, I should not have thought it necessary to mention what may be deemed its lesser defects, if the character of nations, as well as of individuals, were not often more dis­tinctly marked by circumstances apparently trivial than by those of greater moment. A savage, fre­quently placed in situations of danger and distress, depending on himself alone, and wrapt up in his own thoughts and schemes, is a serious melancholy animal. His attention to others is small. The range of his own ideas is narrow. Hence that taci­turnity which is so disgusting to men accustomed to the open intercourse of social conversation. When they are not engaged in action, the Americans often sit whole days in one posture, without open­ing their lips^‡. When they go forth to war, or to [Page 440] the chase, they usually march in a line at some dis­tance from one another, and without exchanging a word. The same profound silence is observed when they row together in a canoe^*. It is only when they are animated by intoxicating liquors, or rouzed by the jollity of the festival and dance, that they become gay and conversible.

Cunning.TO the same causes may be imputed the refined cunning with which they form and execute their schemes. Men, who are not habituated to a liberal communication of their own sentiments and wishes, are apt to be so distrustful, as to place little confi­dence in others, and to have recourse to an insidi­ous craft in accomplishing their own purposes. In civilized life, those persons, who, by their situa­tion, have but a few objects of pursuit on which their minds incessantly dwell, are most remarkable for low artifice in carrying on their little projects. Among savages, whose views are equally confined, and their attention no less persevering, those cir­cumstances must operate still more powerfully, and gradually accustom them to a disingenuous subtlety in all their transactions. The force of this is in­creased by habits which they acquire in carrying on the two most interesting operations wherein they are engaged. With them war is a system of craft, in which they trust for success to stratagem more than to open force, and have their invention conti­nually on the stretch to circumvent and surprise their enemies. As hunters, it is their constant ob­ject to ensnare, in order that they may destroy. Accordingly, art and cunning have been universally observed as distinguishing characteristics of all sa­vages. The people of the rude tribes of America are remarkable for their artifice and duplicity. Im­penetrably secret in forming their measures, they [Page 441] pursue them with a patient undeviating attention, and there is no refinement of dissimulation which they cannot employ, in order to insure success. The natives of Peru were engaged above thirty years, in concerting the plan of that insurrection which took place under the vice-royalty of the marquis de Villa Garcia; and though it was com­municated to a great number of persons in all dif­ferent ranks, no indication of it ever transpired during that long period; no man betrayed his trust, or by an unguarded look, or rash word, gave rise to any suspicion of what was intended ^*. The dis­simulation and craft of individuals is no less remark­able than that of nations. When set upon deceiv­ing, they wrap themselves up so artificially, that it is impossible to penetrate into their intentions, or to detect their designs^†.

BUT if there be defects or vices peculiar to the savage state,Virtues. there are likewise virtues which it in­spires, and good qualities, to the exercise of which it is friendly.Indepen­dent spirit. The bonds of society sit so loose upon the members of the more rude American tribes, that they hardly feel any restraint. Hence the spirit of independence, which is the pride of a savage, and which he considers as the unalienable prerogative of man. Incapable of controul, and disdaining to acknowledge any superior, his mind, though limited in its powers, and erring in many of its pursuits, acquires such elevation by the conscious­ness of its own freedom, that he acts on some occa­sions with astonishing force, and perseverance, and dignity.

AS independence nourishes this high spirit among savages,Fortitude. the perpetual wars in which they are en­gaged call it forth into action. Such long intervals of tranquillity as are frequent in polished societies [Page 442] are unknown in the savage state. Their enmities, as I have observed, are implacable and immortal. The valour of the young men is never allowed to rust in inaction. The hatchet is always in their hand, either for attack or defence. Even in their hunting excursions, they must be on their guard against surprise from the hostile tribes, by which they are surrounded. Accustomed to continual alarms, they grow familiar with danger; courage becomes an habitual virtue, resulting naturally from their situation, and strengthened by constant exer­tions. The mode of displaying fortitude may not be the same in small and rude communities, as in more powerful and civilized states. Their system of war, and standard of valour, may be formed upon different principles, but in no situation does the human mind rise more superior to the sense of danger, or the dread of death, than in its most sim­ple and uncultivated state.

Attach­ment t [...] their [...].ANOTHER virtue remarkable among savages, is attachment to the community of which they are members. From the nature of their political union, one might expect this tie to be extremely feeble. But there are circumstances which render the influ­ence, even of their loose mode of association, very powerful. The American tribes are small; com­bined against their neighbours, in prosecution of ancient enemies, or in avenging recent injuries, their interests and operations are neither numerous nor complex. These are objects, which the un­cultivated understanding of a savage can compre­hend. His heart is capable of forming connections, which are so little diffused. He assents with warmth to public measures, dictated by passions similar to those which direct his own conduct. Hence the ardour with which individuals undertake the most perilous service, when the community deems it ne­cessary. Hence their fierce and deep-rooted anti­pathy [Page 443] to the public enemies. Hence their zeal for the honour of their tribe, and that love of their country, which prompts them to brave danger that it may triumph, and to endure the most exquisite torments, without a groan, that it may not be disgraced.

THUS,Satisfaction with their own condi­tion. in every situation where a human being can be placed, even the most unfavourable, there are virtues which peculiarly belong to it; there are af­fections which it calls forth; there is a species of hap­piness which it yields. Nature, with most benefi­cent intention, conciliates and forms the mind to its condition; the ideas and wishes of man extend not beyond that state of society to which he is habituated. What it presents as objects of contemplation or enjoyment, fills and satisfies his mind, and he can hardly conceive any other mode of life to be plea­sant, or even tolerable. The Tartar, accustomed to roam over extensive plains, and to subsist on the product of his herds, imprecates upon his enemy, as the greatest of all curses, that he may be con­demned to reside in one place, and to be nourished with the top of a weed. The rude Americans, fond of their own pursuits, and satisfied with their own lot, are equally unable to comprehend the in­tention or utility of the various accommodations, which, in more polished society, are deemed essen­tial to the comfort of life. Far from complaining of their own situation, or viewing that of men in a more improved state with admiration or envy, they regard themselves as the standard of excel­lence, as beings the best entitled, as well as the most perfectly qualified, to enjoy real happiness. Unaccustomed to any restraint upon their will or their actions, they behold with amazement the in­equality of rank, and the subordination which take place in civilized life, and consider the voluntary submission of one man to another, as a renunciation, [Page 444] no less base than unaccountable, of the first distinc­tion of humanity. Void of foresight, as well as free from care themselves, and delighted with that state of indolent security, they wonder at the anxious precautions, the unceasing industry, and compli­cated arrangements of Europeans, in guarding against distant evils, or providing for future wants; and they often exclaim against their preposterous folly, in thus multiplying the troubles, and in­creasing the labour of life^*. This preference of their own manners is conspicuous on every oc­casion. Even the names by which the various nations wish to be distinguished, are assumed from this idea of their own pre-eminence. The ap­pellation which the Iroquois give to themselves is, the chief of men ^†. Caraibe, the original name of the fierce inhabitants of the Windward Islands, signifies the warlike people ^‡. The Chero­kees, from an idea of their own superiority, call the Europeans Nothings, or the accursed race, and assume to themselves the name of the beloved people ^§. The same principle regulated the notions of the other Americans concerning the Europeans; for although, at first, they were filled with astonish­ment at their arts, and with dread of their power, they soon came to abate their estimation of men, whose maxims of life were so different from their own. Hence they called them the froth of the sea, men without father or mother. They supposed, that either they had no country of their own, and therefore invaded that which belonged to others^‖; or that, being destitute of the necessaries of life at home, they were obliged to roam over the ocean, in order to rob such as were more amply provided.

[Page 445]MEN, thus satisfied with their condition, are far from any inclination to relinquish their own habits, or to adopt those of civilized life. The transition is too violent to be suddenly made. Even where endeavours have been used to [...]an a savage from his own customs, and to render the accommoda­tions of polished society familiar to him; even where he has been allowed to taste of those pleasures, and has been honoured with those distinctions, which are the chief objects of our desire, he droops and languishes under the restraint of laws and forms, he seizes the first opportunity of breaking loose from them, and returns with transport to the forest or the wild, where he can enjoy a careless and uncon­trouled freedom ^*.

THUS I have finished a laborious delineation of the character and manners of the uncivilized tribes scattered over the vast continent of America. In this, I aspire not at rivalling the great masters who have painted and adorned savage life, either in bold­ness of design, or in the glow and beauty of their colouring. I am satisfied with the more humble merit of having persisted with patient industry, in viewing my subjects in many various lights, and collecting from the most accurate observers such detached, and often minute features, as might enable me to exhibit a portrait that resembles the original.

BEFORE I close this part of my work,General caution with respect to this en­quiry. one ob­servation more is necessary, in order to justify the conclusions which I have formed, or to prevent the mistakes into which such as examine them may fall. In contemplating the inhabitants of a country so widely extended as America, great attention should be paid to the diversity of climates under which they are placed. The influence of this I [Page 446] have pointed out with respect to several important particulars, which have been the object of research; but even where it has not been mentioned, it ought not to be overlooked. The provinces of America are of such different temperament, that this alone is sufficient to constitute a distinction between their inhabitants. In every part of the earth where man exists, the power of climate operates, with decisive influence, upon his condition and character. In those countries which approach near to the extremes of heat or cold, this influence is so conspicuous as to strike every eye. Whether we consider man merely as an animal, or as being endowed with rational powers which fit him for activity and spe­culation, we shall find that he has uniformly at­tained the greatest perfection of which his nature is capable, in the temperate regions of the globe. There his constitution is most vigorous, his organs most acute, and his form most beautiful. There, too, he possesses a superior extent of capacity, greater fertility of imagination, more enterprising courage, and a sensibility of heart which gives birth to desires, not only ardent, but persevering. In this favourite situation he has displayed the utmost efforts of his genius, in literature, in policy, in com­merce, in war, and in all the arts which improve or embellish life ^*.

THIS powerful operation of climate, is felt most sensibly by rude nations, and produces greater ef­fects than in societies more improved. The talents of civilized men are continually exerted in render­ing their own condition more comfortable; and by their ingenuity and inventions, they can, in a great measure, supply the defects, and guard against the inconveniencies of any climate. But the improvi­dent [Page 447] savage is affected by every circumstance pe­culiar to his situation. He takes no precaution ei­ther to mitigate or to improve it. Like a plant, or an animal, he is formed by the climate under which he is placed, and feels the full force of its influence.

IN surveying the rude nations of America, this natural distinction between the inhabitants of the temperate and torrid zones is very remarkable. They may, accordingly, be divided into two great classes. The one comprehends all the North Americans, from the river St. Laurence to the Gulf of Mexico, together with the people of Chili, and a few small tribes towards the extremity of the southern continent. To the other belong all the inhabitants of the islands, and those settled in the various provinces which extend from the isthmus of Darien almost to the southern confines of Brasil, along the east side of the Andes. In the former, which comprehends all the regions of the tem­perate zone that in America are inhabited, the human species appears manifestly to be more per­fect. The natives are more robust, more active, more intelligent, and more courageous. They possess, in the most eminent degree, that force of mind, and love of independence, which I have pointed out as the chief virtues of man in his sa­vage state. They have defended their liberty with persevering fortitude against the Europeans, who subdued the other rude nations of America with the greatest ease. The natives of the temperate zone are the only people in the New World who are indebted for their freedom to their own valour. The North Americans, though long encompassed by three formidable European powers, still retain part of their original possessions, and continue to exist as independent nations. The people of Chili, though early invaded, still maintain a gallant con­test [Page 448] with the Spaniards, and have set bounds to their encroachments; whereas, in the warmer re­gions, men are more feeble in their frame, less vi­gorous in the efforts of their mind, of a gentle but dastardly spirit, more enslaved by pleasure, and more sunk in indolence. Accordingly, it is in the torrid zone that the Europeans have most com­pletely established their dominion over America; the most fertile and desirable provinces in it are subjected to their yoke; and if several tribes there still enjoy independence, it is either because they have never been attacked by an enemy already sa­tiated with conquest, and possessed of larger terri­tories than he was able to occupy, or because they have been saved from oppression by their remote and inaccessible situation.

CONSPICUOUS as this distinction may appear be­tween the inhabitants of those different regions, it is not, however, universal. Moral and political causes, as I have formerly observed, affect the dis­position and character of individuals as well as nations, still more powerfully than the influence of climate. There are, accordingly, some tribes, in various parts of the torrid zone, possessed of cou­rage, high spirit, and the love of independence, in a degree hardly inferior to the natives of more temperate climates. We are too little acquainted with the history of those people, to be able to trace the several circumstances in their progress and con­dition, to which they are indebted for this remark­able pre-eminence. The fact, nevertheless, is cer­tain. As early as the first voyage of Columbus, he received information that several of the islands were inhabited by the Caribbees, a fierce race of men, no wise resembling their feeble and timid neigh­bours. In his second expedition to the New World he found his information to be just, and was himself a witness of their intrepid va­lour^*. [Page 449] The same character they have maintained invariably in all subsequent contests with the people of Europe^†; and, even in our own times, we have seen them make a gallant stand in defence of the last territory which the rapacity of their invaders had left in their possession ^‡. Some nations in Brasil were no less eminent for vigiour of mind, and bra­very in war^§. The people of the isthmus of Da­rien boldly met the Spaniards in the field, and fre­quently repelled those formidable invaders^‖. Other instances might be produced. It is not attending to any single cause or principle, how powerful and extensive soever its influence may appear, that we can explain the actions, or account for the charac­ter of men. Even the law of climate, more uni­versal, perhaps, in its operation than any that affects the human species, cannot be applied, in judging of their conduct, without many exceptions.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK V.

WHEN Grijalva returned to Cuba,BOOK V. 1518. Prepara­tions of Velasquez for inva­ding New Spain. he found the armament destined to attempt the con­quest of that rich country which he had discovered, almost complete. Not only ambition, but avarice, had urged Velasquez to hasten his preparations; and having such a prospect of gratifying both, he had advanced considerable sums out of his private fortune towards defraying the expence of the expe­dition. At the same time, he exerted his influence as governor, in engaging the most distinguished persons in the colony to undertake the service^*. At a time when the spirit of the Spanish nation was adventurous to excess, a number of soldiers, eager to embark in any daring enterprise, soon ap­peared. But it was not easy to find a person qualified to take the command in an expedition of so much importance; and the character of Ve­lasquez, who had the right of nomination, greatly increased the difficulty of the choice. Though of most aspiring ambition, and not destitute of talents for government, he possessed neither such courage, [Page 4] nor such vigour and activity of mind, as to under­take in person the conduct of the armament which he was preparing. In this embarrassing situation, he formed the chimerical scheme, not only of atchieving great exploits by a deputy, but of se­curing to himself the glory of conquests which were to be made by another. In the execution of this plan, he fondly aimed at reconciling contra­dictions. He was solicitous to choose a commander of intrepid resolution, and of superior abilities, because he knew these to be requisite in order to ensure success; but at the same time, from the jealousy natural to little minds, he wished this per­son to be of a spirit so tame and obsequious, as to be entirely dependant on his will. But when he came to apply those ideas in forming an opinion concerning the several officers who occurred to his thoughts as worthy of being intrusted with the command, he soon perceived that it was impossible to find such incompatible qualities united in one character. Such as were distinguished for courage and talents were too high-spirited to be passive in­struments in his hands. Those who appeared more gentle and tractable, were destitute of capacity, and unequal to the charge. This augmented his perplexity and his fears. He deliberated long, and with much solicitude, and was still wavering in his choice, when Amador de Lares, the royal trea­surer in Cuba, and Andres Duero, his own secre­tary, the two persons in whom he chiefly confided, were encouraged by this irresolution to propose a new candidate, and they supported their recom­mendation with such assiduity and address, that, no less fatally for Velasquez than happily for their country, it proved successful^*.

[Page 5]THE man whom they pointed out to him was Fernando Cortes. He was born at Medellin, a small town in Estremadura, in the year one thou­sand four hundred and eighty-five,H [...] p [...]ints [...] com­ma [...]d [...]. and descended from a family of noble blood, but of very mode­rate fortune. Being originally destined by his pa­rents to the study of law, as the most likely method of b [...]ttering his condition, he was sent early to the university of Salamanca, where he imbibed some tincture of learning. But he was soon disgusted with an academic life, which did not suit his ardent and restless genius, and re [...]ir [...]d to Medellin, where he gave himself up entirel [...] to active sports and martial exercises. At this period of life, he was so impetuous, so overbearing, and so dissipated, that his father was glad to comply with his incli­nation, and send him abroad as an adventurer in arms. There were in that age two comple [...]ous theatres, on which such of the Spanish youth as courted military glory might display their valour; one in Italy, under the command of the Great Captain; the other in the New World. Cortes preferred the former, but was prevented by indis­position from embarking with a reinfor [...]ment of troops sent to Naples. Upon this di [...]appointment he turned his views towards America, whither he was allured by the prospect of the advantages which he might derive from the patronage of O [...]ndo^*, the governor of Hispaniola, who was his kinsman. When he landed at St. Domingo in one thousand five hundred and four, his reception was such as equalled his most sanguine hope [...], and he was em­ployed, by the governor in several honourable and l [...]crative stations. These, however, did not sa­tisfy his ambition; and in the year one thousand five hundred and eleven, he obtained permission to [Page 6] accompany Diego Velasquez in his expedition to Cuba. In this service he distinguished himself so much, that, notwithstanding some violent contests with Velasquez, occasioned by trivial events, un­worthy of remembrance, he was at length taken into favour, and received an ample concession of lands and of Indians, the recompence usually bestowed upon adventurers in the New World^*.

THOUGH Cortes had not hitherto acted in high command, he had displayed such qualities in seve­ral scenes of difficulty and danger, as raised uni­versal expectation, and turned the eyes of his coun­trymen towards him, as one capable of performing great things. The turbulence of youth, as soon as he found objects and occupations suited to the ardour of his mind, gradually subsided, and settled into a habit of regular indefatigable activity. The impetuosity of his temper, when he came to act with his equals, insensibly abated, by being kept under restraint, and mellowed into a cordial sol­dierly frankness. These qualities were accompa­nied with calm prudence in concerting his schemes, with persevering vigour in executing them, and with what is peculiar to superior genius, the art of gaining the confidence and governing the minds of men. To all which were added the inferior accom­plishments that strike the vulgar, and command their respect; a graceful person, a winning aspect, extraordinary address in martial exercises, and a constitution of such vigour as to be capable of en­during any fatigue.

AS soon as Cortes was mentioned to Velasquez by his two confidents, he flattered himself that he had at length found what he had hitherto sought in vain, a man with talents for command, but not an object for jealousy. Neither the rank nor the for­tune [Page 7] of Cortes, as he imagined, were such that he could aspire at independence. He had reason to believe that by his own readiness to bury ancient animosities in oblivion, as well as his liberality in conferring several recent favours, he had already gained the good-will of Cortes, and hoped, by this new and unexpected mark of confidence, that he might attach him for ever to his interest.

CORTES,Soon be­comes jea­lous of him. October 23. receiving his commission with the warmest expressions of respect and gratitude to the governor, immediately erected his standard before his own house, appeared in a military dress, and assumed all the ensigns of his new dignity. His utmost influence and activity were exerted in per­suading many of his friends to engage in the ser­vice, and in urging forward the preparations for the voyage. All his own funds, together with what money he could raise by mortgaging his lands and Indians, were expended in purchasing military stores and provisions, or in supplying the wants of such of his officers as were unable to equip themselves in a manner suited to their rank^*. Inoffensive, and even laudable as this conduct was, his disappointed competitors were malicious enough to give it a turn to his disadvantage. They repre­sented him as aiming already, with little disguise, at establishing an independent authority over his troops, and endeavouring to secure their respect or love by his ostentatious and interested liberality. They reminded Velasquez of his former dissensions with the man in whom he now reposed so much confidence, and foretold that Cortes would be more apt to avail himself of the power, which the governor was inconsiderately putting in his hands, to avenge past injuries, than to requite recent obli­gations. These insinuations made such impression [Page 8] upon the suspicious mind of Velasquez, that Cortes soon observed some symptoms of a growing aliena­tion and distrust in his behaviour, and was advised by Lares and Duero, to hasten his departure, be­fore these should become so confirmed, as to break out with open violence. Fully sensible of this danger, he urged forward his preparations with such rapidity, that he set sail from St. Jago de Cuba on the eighteenth of November, Velasquez accompanying him to the shore, and taking leave of him with an appearance of perfect friendship and confidence, though he had secretly given it in charge to some of Cortes's officers, to keep a watchful eye upon every part of their commander's conduct ^*.

Endeavours to depr [...]ve him of [...]is commis­sion.CORTES proceeded to Trinidad, a small settle­ment on the same side of the island, where he was joined by several adventurers, and received a sup­ply of provisions and military stores, of which his stock was still very incomplete. He had hardly left St. Jago, when the jealousy which had been working in the breast of Velasquez, grew so vio­lent, that it was impossible to suppress it. The ar­mament was no longer under his own eye and direction; and he felt, that as his power over it ceased, that of Cortes would become more abso­lute. Imagination now aggravated every circum­stance, which had formerly excited suspicion: the rivals of Cortes industriously threw in reflections which increased his fears; and with no less art than malice▪ they called superstition to their aid, employing the predictions of an astrologer in order to complete the alarm. All these, by their united operation, produced the desired effect. Velasquez repented bitterly of his own imprudence, in having committed a trust of so much importance to a per­son [Page 9] whose fidelity appeared so doubtful, and hastily dispatched instructions to Trinidad, empowering Verdugo, the chief magistrate there, to deprive Cortes of his commission. But Cortes had already made such progress in gaining the esteem and con­fidence of his troops, that finding officers as well as soldiers equally zealous to support his authority, he soothed or intimidated Verdugo, and was permitted to depart from Trinidad without molestation.

FROM Trinidad Cortes sailed for the Havana,and to lay him under arrest. in order to raise more soldiers, and to complete the victualling of his fleet. There several persons of distinction entered into the service, and engaged to supply what provisions were still wanting; but as it was necessary to allow them some time for performing what they had promised, Velasquez, sensible that he ought no longer to rely on a man of whom he had so openly discovered his distrust, availed himself of the interval, which this un­avoidable delay afforded, in order to make one attempt more to wrest the command out of the hands of Cortes. He loudly complained of Ver­dugo's conduct, accusing him either of childish facility, or of manifest treachery, in suffering Cortes to escape from Trinidad. Anxious to guard against a second disappointment, he sent a person of confidence to the Havana, with peremptory in­junctions to Pedro Barba, his lieutenant-governor in that colony, instantly to arrest Cortes, to send him prisoner to St. Jago under a strong guard, and to countermand the sailing of the armament until he should receive farther orders. He wrote like­wise to the principal officers, requiring them to assist Barba in executing what he had given him in charge. But before the arrival of his messenger, a Franciscan friar of St. Jaga had secretly conveyed an account of this interesting transaction to Bar­tholomew [Page 10] de Olmedo, a monk of the same order, who acted as chaplain to the expedition.

Cor [...]es de­feats his sch [...]mes, and con [...] ­nues his prepara­tions.CORTES, forewarned of the danger, had time to take precautions for his own safety. His first step was to find some pretext for removing from the Havana Diego de Ordaz, an officer of great me­rit, but in whom, on account of his known at­tachment to Velasquez, he could not confide in this trying and delicate juncture. He gave him the command of a vessel, destined to take on board some provisions, in a small harbour beyond Cape Antonio, and thus made sure of his absence, with­out seeming to suspect his fidelity. When he was gone, Cortes no longer concealed the intentions of Velasquez from his troops; and as officers and sol­diers were equally impatient to set out on an expe­dition, in preparing for which most of them had expended all their fortunes, they expressed their astonishment and indignation at that illiberal jea­lousy, to which the governor was about to sacri­fice, not only the honour of their general, but all their sanguine hopes of glory and wealth. With one voice they intreated that he would not aban­don the important station to which he had such a good title. They conjured him not to deprive them of the leader whom they followed with such well-founded confidence, and offered to shed the last drop of their blood in maintaining his autho­rity. Cortes was easily induced to comply with what he himself so ardently desired. He swore that he would never desert soldiers who had given him such a signal proof of their attachment, and promised instantly to conduct them to that rich country, which had been so long the object of their thoughts and wishes. This declaration was received with transports of military applause, accompanied with threats and imprecations against all who should presume to call in question the jurisdiction of their [Page 11] general, or to obstruct the execution of his de­signs.

EVERY thing was now ready for their departure; but though this expedition was fitted out by the united effort of the Spanish power in Cuba;The a­mount of his forces. though every settlement had contributed its quota of men and provisions; though the governor had laid out considerable sums, and each adventurer had ex­hausted his stock, or strained his credit, the po­verty of the preparations was such as must astonish the present age, and bore, indeed, no resemblance to an armament destined for the conquest of a great empire. The fleet consisted of eleven vessels; the largest of a hundred tons, which was dignified by the name of Admiral; three of seventy or eighty tons, and the rest small open barks. On board of these were six hundred and seventeen men; of which five hundred and eight belonged to the land service, and a hundred and nine were seamen or artificers. The soldiers were divided into eleven companies, according to the number of the ships; to each of which Cortes appointed a captain, and committed to him the command of the vessel while at sea, and of the men when on shore^*. As the use of fire-arms among the nations of Europe was hitherto confined to a few battalions of regularly disciplined infantry, only thirteen soldiers were armed with muskets, thirty-two were cross-bow men, and the rest had swords and spears. Instead of the usual defensive armour, which must have been cumbersome in a hot climata, the soldiers wore jackets quilted with cotton, which experience had taught the Spaniards to be a sufficient pro­tection against the weapons of the Americans. They had only sixteen horses, ten small field-pieces, and four falconets^†.

[Page 12]WITH this slender and ill-provided train did Cortes set sail, to make war upon a monarch whose dominions were more extensive than all the king­doms subject to the Spanish crown.Feb. 10. 1519. His depar­ture from Cuba. As religious enthusiasm always mingled with the spirit of adven­ture in the New World, and, by a combination still more strange, united with avarice, in prompt­ing the Spaniards to all their enterprises, a large cross was displayed in their standards, with this inscription, Let us follow the cross, for under this sign we shall conquer.

SO powerfully were Cortes and his followers ani­mated with both these passions, that no less eager to plunder the opulent country whither they were bound, that zealous to propagate the Christian faith among its inhabitants, they set out, not with the solicitude natural to men going upon dangerous services, but with that confidence which arises from security of success, and certainty of the divine protection.

Touches at Cozumel;AS Cortes had determined to touch at every place which Grijalva had visited, he steered di­rectly towards the island of Cozumel; there he had the good fortune to redeem Jerome de Agui­lar, a Spaniard, who had been eight years a pri­soner among the Indians. This man was perfectly acquainted with a dialect of their language, under­stood through a large extent of country, and pos­sessing besides a considerable share of prudence and sagacity, proved extremely useful as an inter­preter.March 4. and at Ta­basco. From Cozumel, Cortes proceeded to the river of Tabasco, in hopes of a reception as friendly as Grijalva had met with there, and of finding gold in the same abundance; but the dis­position of the natives, from some unknown cause, was totally changed. After repeated endeavours to conciliate their good-will, he was constrained to have recourse to violence. Though the forces of [Page 13] the enemy were numerous, and advanced with ex­traordinary courage, they were routed, with great slaughter, in several successive actions. The loss which they sustained, and still more the astonish­ment and terror excited by the destructive effect of [...]-arms, and the dreadful appearance of the horses, humbled their fierce spirits, and induced them to sue for peace. They acknowledged the king of Castile as their sovereign, and granted Cortes a supply of provisions, with a present of cotton garments, some gold, and twenty female slaves ^*.

CORTES continued his course to the west ward,Arrives at St. Juan de Ulua. keeping as near the shore as possible, in order to observe the country; but could discover no pro­per place for landing, until he arrived at St. Juan de Ulua^†.April 2. As he entered this harbour a large canoe, full of people, among whom were two who seemed to be persons of distinction, approached his ship with signs of peace and amity. They came on board without fear or distrust, and ad­dressed him in a most respectful manner, but in a language altogether unknown to Aguilar. Cortes was in the utmost perplexity and distress, at an event of which he instantly foresaw all the conse­quences, and already felt the hesitation and uncer­tainty with which he should carry on the great schemes which he meditated, if, in his transactions with the natives, he must depend entirely upon such an imperfect, ambiguous, and conjectural mode of communication, as the use of signs. But he did not remain long in his embarrassing situa­tion: a fortunate accident extricated him, when his own sagacity could have contributed little to­wards his relief. One of the female slaves, whom [Page 14] he had received from the cazique of Tabasco, happened to be present at the first interview be­tween Cortes and his new guests. She perceived his distress, as well as the confusion of Aguilar; and as she perfectly understood the Mexican lan­guage, she explained what they had said in the Yucatan tongue, with which Aguilar was ac­quainted. This woman, known afterwards by the name of Donna Marina, and who makes a con­spicuous figure in the history of the New World, where great revolutions were brought about by small causes and inconsiderable instruments, was born in one of the provinces of the Mexican em­pire. Having been sold as a slave in the early part of her life, after a variety of adventures she fell into the hands of the Tabascans, and had resided long enough among them to acquire their language, with out losing the use of her own. Though it was both tedious and troublesome to converse by the intervention of two different interpreters, Cortes was so highly pleased with having discovered this method of carrying on some intercourse with the people of a country into which he was determined to penetrate, that in the transports of his joy he considered it as a visible interposition of Providence in his favour^*.

Lands his troops.HE now learned, that the two persons whom he had received on board of his ship were deputies from Teutile and Pilpatoe, two officers entrusted with the government of that province, by a great monarch, whom they called Montezuma; and that they were sent to inquire what his intentions were in visiting their coast, and to offer him what assist­ance he might need, in order to continue his voyage. Cortes, struck with the appearance of [Page 15] those people, as well as the tenor of the message, assured them, in respectful terms, that he approach­ed their country with most friendly sentiments, and came to propose matters of great importance to the welfare of their prince and his kingdom, which he would unfold more fully, in person, to the go­vernor and the general. Next morning, without waiting for any answer, he landed his troops, his horses, and artillery; and having chosen proper ground, began to erect huts for his men, and to fortify his camp. The natives, instead of op­posing the entrance of those fatal guests into their country, assisted them in all their operations, with an alacrity of which they had ere long good reason to repent.

NEXT day Teutile and Pilpatoe entered the Spanish camp with a numerous retinue,His first in­terview with the Mexicans. and Cortes considering them as the ministers of a great mo­narch, entitled to a degree of attention very dif­ferent from that which the Spaniards were ac­customed to pay to the petty caziques, with whom they had intercourse in the isles, received them with much formal ceremony. He informed them, that he came as ambassador from Don Car­los of Austria, king of Castile, the greatest mo­narch of the East, and was intrusted with propo­sitions of such moment, that he could impart them to none but the emperor Montezuma himself, and therefore required them to conduct him, without loss of time, into the presence of their master. The Mexican officers could not conceal their un­easiness at a request, which they knew would be disagreeable, and which they foresaw might prove extremely embarrassing to their sovereign, whose mind had been filled with many disquieting appre­hensions, ever since the former appearance of the Spaniards to his coasts. But before they attempted to dissuade Cortes from insisting on this demand, [Page 16] they endeavoured to conciliate his good-will, by entreating him to accept of certain presents, which, as humble slaves of Montezuma, they laid at his feet. They were introduced with great parade, and consisted of fine cotton cloth, of plumes of various colours, and of ornaments of gold and silver, to a considerable value; the workmanship of which appeared to be as curious as the materials were rich. The display of these produced an effect very different from what the Mexicans intended. Instead of satisfying, it increased the avidity of the Spaniards, and rendered them so eager and impa­tient to become masters of a country which abounded with such precious productions, that Cortes could hardly listen with patience to the ar­guments which Pilpatoe and Teutile employed to dissuade him from visiting the capital, and in a haughty determined tone he insisted on his demand, of being admitted to a personal audience of their sovereign. During this interview, some painters, in the train of the Mexican chiefs, had been dili­gently employed in delineating, upon white cotton cloths, figures of the ships, the horses, the artil­lery, the soldiers, and whatever else attracted their eyes, as singular. When Cortes observed this, and was informed that these pictures were to be sent to Montezuma, in order to convey to him a more lively idea of the strange and wonderful ob­jects now presented to their view, than any words could communicate, he resolved to render the re­presentation still more animated and interesting, by exhibiting such a spectacle as might give both them and their monarch an awful impression of the ex­traordinary prowess of his followers, and the irre­sistible force of their arms. The trumpets, by his order, sounded an alarm; the troops, in a moment, formed in order of battle, the infantry performed such martial exercises as were best suited to display [Page 17] the effect of their different weapons; the horse, in various evolutions, give a specimen of their agility and strength; the artillery, pointed towards the thick woods which surrounded the camp, were fired, and made dreadful havoc among the trees. The Mexicans looked on with that silent amaze­ment which is natural when the mind is struck with objects, which are both awful and above its com­prehension. But, at the explosion of the cannon, many of them fled, some fell to the ground, and all were so much confounded at the sight of men whose power so nearly resembled that of the gods, that Cortes found it difficult to compose and re­assure them. The painters had now many new objects on which to exercise their art, and they put their fancy on the stretch in order to invent figures and symbols to represent the extraordinary things which they had seen.

MESSENGERS were immediately dispatched to Montezuma with those pictures,Negocia­tions with Montesuma and a full account of every thing that had passed since the arrival of the Spaniards, and by them Cortes sent a present of some European curiosities to Montezuma, which though of no great value, he believed would be acceptable on account of their novelty. The Mexican monarchs, in order to obtain early in­formation of every occurrence in all the corners of their extensive empire, had introduced a refinement in police, unknown, at that time, in Europe. They had couriers posted at proper stations along the principal roads; and as these were trained to agi­lity by a regular education, and relieved one an­other at moderate distances, they conveyed intel­ligence with surprising rapidity. Though the ca­pital in which Montezuma resided was above a hundred and eight miles from St. Juan de Ulua, Cortes's presents were carried thither, and an an­swer to his demands was received in few days. The [Page 18] same officers who had hitherto treated with the Spaniards, were employed to deliver this answer; but as they knew how repugnant the determination of their master was to all the schemes and wishes of the Spanish commander, they would not venture to make it known until they had previously endea­voured to sooth and mollify him.His pre­sents. For this pur­pose, they renewed their negociation, by introduc­ing a train of a hundred Indians, loaded with pre­sents sent to him by Montezuma. The magnifi­cence of these was such as became a great monarch, and far exceeded any idea which the Spaniards had hitherto formed of his wealth. They were placed on mats spread on the ground, in such order, as shewed them to the greatest advantage. Cortes and his officers viewed, with admiration, the va­rious manufactures of the country, cotton stuffs so fine, and of such delicate texture, as to resemble silk; pictures of animals, trees, and other natural objects, formed with feathers of different colours, disposed and mingled with such skill and elegance, as to rival the works of the pencil in truth and beauty of imitation. But what chiefly attracted their eyes, were two large plates of a circular form, one of massive gold representing the sun, the other of silver, an emblem of the moon ^*. These were ac­companied with bracelets, collars, rings, and other trinkets of gold; and that nothing might be wanting which could give the Spaniards a complete idea of what the country afforded, with some boxes filled with pearls, precious stones, and grains of gold un­wrought, as they had been found in the mines or rivers. Cortes received all these with an appear­ance of profound veneration for the monarch by whom they were bestowed.Forbids Cortes to approach his capital. But when the Mexi­cans, presuming upon this, informed him, that their [Page 19] master, though he desired him to accept of what he had sent as a token of regard for that monarch whom Cortes represented, would not give his con­sent that foreign troops should approach nearer to his capital, or even to allow them to continue lon­ger in his dominions, the Spanish general declared, in a manner more resolute and peremptory than formerly, that he must insist on his first demand, as he could not, without dishonour, return to his own country, until he was admitted into the pre­sence of the prince whom he was appointed to visit in the name of his sovereign. The Mexicans, astonished at seeing any man dare to oppose that will, which they were accustomed to consider as supreme and irresistible, yet afraid of precipitating their country into an open rupture with such for­midable enemies, prevailed with Cortes to promise, that he would not move from his present camp, until the return of a messenger, whom they sent to Montezuma for farther instructions ^*.

THE firmness with which Cortes adhered to his original proposal,State of the Mexi­can empire at that pe­riod. should naturally have brought the negociation between him and Montezuma to a speedy issue, as it seemed to leave the Mexican monarch no choice, but either to receive him with confidence as a friend, or to oppose him openly as an enemy. The latter was what might have been expected from a haughty prince in possession of extensive power. The Mexican empire, at this period, was at a pitch of grandeur to which no so­ciety ever attained in so short a period. Though it had subsisted, according to their own traditions, only a hundred and thirty years, its dominion ex­tended from the North to the South Sea, over ter­ritories stretching, with some small interruption, [Page 20] above five hundred leagues from east to west, and more than two hundred from north to south, com­prehending provinces not inferior in fertility, po­pulation, and opulence, to any in the torrid zone. The people were warlike and enterprising; the au­thority of the monarch unbounded, and his reve­nues considerable. If, with the forces which might have been suddenly assembled in such an empire, Montezuma had fallen upon the Spaniards while encamped on a barren unhealthy coast, unsupported by any ally, without a place of retreat, and desti­tute of provisions, it seems to be impossible, even with all the advantages of their superior discipline and arms, that they could have stood the shock, and they must either have perished in such an un­equal contest, or have abandoned the enterprise.

Character of the mo­narch.AS the power of Montezuma enabled him to take this spirited part, his own dispositions were such as seemed naturally to prompt him to it. Of all the princes who had swayed the Mexican sceptre, he was the most haughty, the most vio­lent, and the most impatient of controul. His subjects looked up to him with awe, and his ene­mies with terror. The former he governed with unexampled rigour, but they were impressed with such an opinion of his capacity, as commanded their respect; and, by many victories over the lat­ter, he had spread far the dread of his arms, and had added several considerable provinces to his do­minions. But though his talents might be suited to the transactions of a state so imperfectly polished as the Mexican empire, and sufficient to conduct them while in their accustomed course, they were altogether inadequate to a conjuncture so extraordi­nary, and did not qualify him either to judge with the discernment, or to act with the decision, requi­site in such trying emergence.

FROM the moment that the Spaniards appeared on his coast, he discovered symptoms of timidity [Page 21] and embarrassment. Instead of taking such resolu­tions as the consciousness of his own power, or the memory of his former exploits, might have in­spired,His per­plexity and te [...]o [...] upon the arrival o [...] the Spa­niards. he deliberated with an anxiety and hesita­tion which did not escape the notice of his meanest courtiers. The perplexity and discomposure of Montezuma's mind upon this occasion, as well as the general dismay of his subjects, were not owing wholly to the impression which the Spaniards had made by the novelty of their appearance and the terror of their arms. Its original may be traced up to a more remote source. There was an opinion, if we may believe the earliest and most authentic Spanish historians, almost universal among the Americans, that some dreadful calamity was im­pending over their heads, from a race of formi­dable invaders who should come from regions to­wards the rising sun, to overrun and desolate their country. Whether this disquieting apprehension flowed from the memory of some natural calamity which had afflicted that part of the globe, and im­pressed the minds of the inhabitants with supersti­tious fears and forebodings, or whether it was an imagination accidentally suggested by the astonish­ment which the first sight of a new race of men o [...]asioned, it is impossible to determine. But as the Mexicans were more prone to superstition than any people in the New World, they were more deeply affected by the appearance of the Spaniards, whom their cre [...]lity instantly represented as the instrument destined to bring about this fatal revolu­tion which they dreaded. Under those circum­stances, [...]eases to be incredible that a handful of adventurers should alarm the monarch of a great empire, and all his subjects ^*.

[Page 22]NOTWITHSTANDING the influence of this im­pression, when the messenger arrived from the Spanish camp with an account that the leader of the strangers,Continues to nego­ciate. adhering to his original demand, re­fused to obey the order enjoining him to leave the country, Montezuma assumed some degree of re­solution, and, in a transport of rage natural to a fierce prince [...]stomed to meet with any oppo­sition to his will, he threatened to sacrifice those presumptuous men to his gods. But his doubts and fears quickly returned, and instead of issuing orders to carry his threats into execution, he again called his ministers to confer and offer their advice. Feeble and temporising measures will always be the result when men assemble to deliberate [...] a situation where they ought to act. The Mexi [...] counsellors took no effectual measure for expelling such troublesome intruders, and were satisfied with issuing a more possitive injunction, requiring them to leave the country; but this they preposterously accompanied with a present of such value, as proved fresh inducement to remain there.

Anxiety and appre­hensions of the Spani­ards.MEANWHILE, the Spaniards were not without solicitude or a variety of sentiments, in deliberating concerning their own future conduct. From what they had already seen, many of them formed such extravagant ideas concerning the opulence of the country, that despising danger or hardships, when they had in view treasures which appeared to be in­exhaustible, they were eager to attempt the con­quest. Others, estimating the power of the Mexi­can empire by its wealth, and enumerating the va­rious proofs which had occurred of its being under a well-regulated administration, contended, that it would be an act of the wildest frenzy to attack such a state with a small body of men, in want of provi­sions, unconnected with any ally, and already en­feebled by the diseases peculiar to the climate, and [Page 23] the loss of several of their number^*. Cortes se­cretly applauded the advocates for bold measures, and cherished their romantic hopes, as such ideas corresponded with his own, and favoured the exe­cution of the schemes which he had formed. From the time that the suspicions of Velasquez broke out with open violence in the attempts to deprive him of the command. Cortes saw the necessity of dis­solving a connection which would obstruct and em­barrass all his operations,Schemes of Cortes. and watched for a proper opportunity of coming to a final rupture with him. Having this in view, he had laboured by every art to secure the esteem and affection of his soldiers. With his abilities for command, it was easy to gain their esteem; and his followers were quickly satis­fied that they might rely, with perfect confidence, on the conduct and courage of their leader. Nor was it more difficult to acquire their affection. Among adventurers, nearly of the same rank, and serving at their own expence, the dignity of com­mand did not elevate a general above mingling with those who acted under him. Cortes availed himself of this freedom of entercourse, to insinuate himself into their favour, and by his affable manners, by well-timed acts of liberality to some, by inspiring all with vast hopes, and by allowing them to trade privately with the natives^†, he attached the greater part of his soldiers so firmly to himself, that they almost forgot that the armament had been fitted out by the authority, and at the expence, of an­other.

DURING those intrigues,His address in carrying them on Teutile arrived with the present from Montezuma, and, together with it, delivered the ultimate order of that monarch to de [...]t instantly out of his dominions; and when Cortes, instead of complying, renewed his request [Page 24] of an audience, the Mexican turned from him ab­ruptly, and quitted the camp with looks and ges­tures which strongly expressed his surprise and re­sentment. Next morning, none of the natives, who used to frequent the camp in great numbers, in order to barter with the soldiers, and to bring in provisions, appeared. All friendly correspondence seemed now to be at an end, and it was expected every moment that hostilities would commence. This, though an event that might have been fore­seen, occasioned a sudden consternation among the Spaniards, which emboldened the adherents of Velasquez not only to murmur and cabal against their general, but to appoint one of their number to remonstrate openly against his imprudence in at­tempting the conquest of a mighty empire with such inadequate force, and to urge the necessity of returning to Cuba, in order to refit the fleet and augment the army. Diego de Ordaz, one of his principal officers, whom the malecontents charged with this commission, delivered it with a soldierly freedom and bluntness, assuring Cortes that he spoke the sentiments of the whole army. He listened to this remonstrance without any appearance of emo­tion, and as he well knew the temper and wishes of his soldiers, and foresaw how they would receive a proposition fatal at once to all the splendid hopes and schemes which they had been forming with such complacency, he carried his dissimulation so far as to seem to relinquish his own measures in com­pliance with the request of Ordaz, and issued orders that the army should be in readiness next day to reimbark for Cuba. As soon as this was known, the disappointed adventurers exclaimed and threat­ened; the emissaries of Cortes, mingling with them, inflamed their rage; the ferment became general; the whole camp was almost in open mutiny; all demanding with eagerness to see their commander. [Page 25] Cortes was not slow in appearing; when, with one voice, officers and soldiers expressed their astonish­ment and indignation at the orders which they had received. It was unworthy, they cried,1518. of the Cas­tilian courage, to be daunted at the first aspect of danger, and infamous to sly before any enemy ap­peared. For their parts, they were determined not to relinquish an enterprise, that had hitherto been successful, and which tended so visibly to spread the knowledge of true religion, and to ad­vance the glory and interest of their country. Happy under his command, they would follow him with alacrity through every danger, in quest of those settlements and treasures which he had so long held out to their view; but if he chose rather to return to Cuba, and tamely give up all his hopes of distinction and opulence to an envious rival, they would instantly choose another general to conduct them in that path of glory, which he had not spirit to enter.

CORTES, delighted with their ardour, took no offence at the boldness with which it was uttered. The sentiments were what he himself had inspired, and the warmth of expression satisfied him that his followers had imbibed them thoroughly. He af­fected, however, to be surprised at what he heard, declaring that his orders to prepare for embarking were issued from a persuasion that this was agree­able to his troops; that, from deference to what he had been informed was their inclination, he had sacrificed his own private opinion, which was firmly bent on establishing immediately a settlement on the sea-coast, and then on endeavouring to pene­trate into the interior part of the country; that now he was convinced of his error; and as he perceived that they were animated with the generous spirit which breathed in every true Spaniard, he would resume, with fresh ardour, his original plan of ope­ration, [Page 26] and doubted not to conduct them, in the career of victory, to such independent fortunes as their valour merited.1519. Upon this declaration, shouts of applause testified the excess of their joy. The measure seemed to be taken with unanimous consent; such as secretly condemned it being obliged to join in the acclamations, partly to conceal their disaffection from their general, and partly to avoid the imputation of cowardice from their fellow-soldiers^*.

Establishes a form of civil go­vernment.WITHOUT allowing his men time to cool or to reflect, Cortes set about carrying his design into execution. In order to give a beginning to a co­lony, he assembled the principal persons in his army, and by their suffrage elected a council and magistrates in whom the government was to be vested. As men naturally transplant the institutions and forms of the mother-country into their new settlements, this was framed upon the model of a Spanish corporation. The magistrates were dis­tinguished by the same names and ensigns of office, and were to exercise a similar jurisdiction. All the persons chosen were most firmly devoted to Cortes, and the instrument of their election was framed in the king's name, without any mention of their de­pendance on Velasquez. The two principles of avarice and enthusiasm, which prompted the Spa­niards to all their enterprises in the New World, seem to have concurred in suggesting the name which Cortes bestowed on his infant settlement. He called it, The rich town of the true Cross ^†.

Resigns his commis­sion,THE first meeting of the new council was distin­guished by a transaction of great moment. As soon as it assembled, Cortes applied for leave to enter; and approaching with many marks of pro­found [Page 27] respect, which added dignity to the tribunal, and set an example of reverence for its authority, he began a long harangue, in which, with much art, and in terms extremely flattering to persons just entering upon their new function, he observed, that as the supreme jurisdiction over the colony which they had planted was now vested in this court, he considered them as clothed with the authority, and representing the person of their sovereign; that ac­cordingly he would communicate to them what he deemed essential to the public safety, with the same dutiful fidelity as if he were addressing his royal master; that the security of a colony settled in a great empire, whose sovereign had already discovered his hostile intentions, depended upon arms, and the efficacy of these upon the subordination and disci­pline preserved among the troops; that his right to command was derived from a commission granted by the governor of Cuba; and as that had been long since revoked, the lawfulness of his jurisdic­tion might well be questioned; that he might be thought to act upon a defective, or even a du­bious title; nor could they trust an army which might dispute the powers of its general, at a junc­ture when it ought implicity to obey his orders; that, moved by these considerations, he now re­signed all his authority to them, that they, having both right to choose, and power to confer full ju­risdiction, might appoint one, in the king's name, to command the army in its future operations; and as for his own part, such was his zeal for the ser­vice in which they were engaged, that he would most cheerfully take up a pike with the same hand that laid down the general's truncheon, and con­vince his fellow-soldiers, that though accustomed to command, he had not forgotten how to obey. Having finished his discourse, he laid the commis­sion from Velasquez upon the table, and after kissing [Page 28] his truncheon, delivered it to the chief magistate, and withdrew.

and is cho­sen chief justice and captain-ge­neral.THE deliberations of the council were not long, as Cortes had concerted this important measure with his confidents, and had prepared the other members with great address, for the part which he wished them to take. His resignation was accepted; and as the uninterrupted tenor of their prosperity under his conduct afforded the most satisfying evidence of his abilities for command, they, by their unanimous suffrage, elected him chief justice of the colony, and captain-general of its army, and appointed his com­mission to be made out in the king's name, with most ample powers, which were to continue in force until the royal pleasure should be farther known. That this deed might not be deemed the machina­tion of a junto, the council called together the troops, and acquainted them with what had been resolved. The soldiers, with eager applause, rati­fied the choice which the council had made; the air resounded with the name of Cortes, and all vowed to shed their blood in support of his authority.

Asserts his authority with vi­gour.CORTES having now brought his intrigues to the desired issue, and shaken off his mortifying depend­ance on the governor of Cuba, accepted of the commission, which vested in him supreme jurisdic­tion, civil as well as military, over the colony, with many professions of respect to the council, and gra­titude to the army. Together with his new com­mand, he assumed greater dignity, and began to exercise more extensive powers. Formerly he had felt himself to be only the deputy of a subject; now he acted as the representative of his sovereign. The adherents of Velasquez, fully aware of what would be the effect of this change in the situation of Cor­tes, could no longer continue silent and passive spectators of his actions. They exclaimed openly against the proceedings of the council as illegal, and [Page 29] against those of the army as mutinous. Cortes, in­stantly perceiving the necessity of giving a timely check to such seditious discourse by some vigorous measure, arrested Ordaz, Escudero,1518. and Velasquez de Leon, the ringleaders of this faction, and sent them prisoners aboard the fleet, loaded with chains. Their dependants, astonished and over-aw [...], re­mained quiet; and Cortes, more desirous to reclaim than to punish his prisoners, who were officers of great merit, courted their friendship with such a [...]i­duity and address, that the reconciliation was per­fectly cordial; and, on the most trying occasions, neither their connection with the governor of Cuba, nor the memory of the indignity with which they had been treated, tempted them to swerve from an inviolable attachment to his interest ^*. In this, as well as his other negotiations at this critical con­juncture, which decided with respect to his future [...]ame and for [...]e, Cortes owed much of his suc­cess to the Mexican gold, which he distributed with a liberal hand both among his friends and his opponents^†.

CORTES,His [...]. having thus rendered the union be­tween himself and his army indissoluble, by enga­ging it to join him in disclaiming any depen [...] on the governor of Cuba, and in repeated acts of disobedience to his authority, thought he might now venture to quit the camp in which he h [...] hi­therto remained, and advance into the country. To this he was encouraged by an event no less fortunate than seasonable. Some Indians having approached his camp in a mysterious manner, were introduced into his presence. He found that they were sent with a proffer of friendship from the cazique of Zempoalla, a considerable town at no [Page 30] great distance; and from their answers to a variety of questions which he put to them, according to his usual practice in every enterview with the peo­ple of the country, he gathered, that their master, though subject to the Mexican empire, was im­patient of the yoke, and filled with such dread and hatred of Montezuma, that nothing could be more acceptable to him than any prospect of deliverance from the oppression under which he groaned. On hearing this, a ray of light and hope broke in upon the mind of Cortes. He saw that the great em­pire which he intended to attack was neither per­fectly united, nor its sovereign universally beloved. He concluded, that the causes of disaffection could not be confined to one province, but that in other corners there must be malcontents, so weary of subjection, or so desirous of change, as to be rea [...]y to follow the standard of any protector. Full of those ideas, on which he began to form a scheme, that time, and more perfect information concern­ing the state of the country, enabled him to ma­ture, he gave a most gracious reception to the Zempoallans, and promised soon to visit their cazique. ^*

Marc [...]es to Zempoalla.IN order to perform this promise, it was not necessary to vary the route which he had already fixed for his march. Some officers, whom he had employed to survey the coast, having disco­vered a village named Quiabi [...]lan, about forty miles to the northward, which, both on account of the fertility of the soil, and commodiousness of the harbour, seemed to be a more proper station for a settlement than that where he was encamped, Cortes determined to remove thither. Zempoalla lay in his way, where the cazique received him in the manner which he had reason to expect; with [Page 31] gift and caresses, like a solicitous man to gain his good-will; with respect approaching almost to ado­ration,1519. like one who looked up to him as a do­verer. From him he learned many particulars with respect to the character of Montezuma, and the circumstances which rendered his dominion odious. He was a tyrant, as the cazique told him with tears, haughty, cruel, and suspicious; who treated his own subjects with arrogance, ruined the con­quered provinces by excessive exactions, and often tore their sons and daughters from them by violence; the former to be offered as victims to his gods; the latter, to be reserved as concubines for himself or favorites. Cortes, in reply to him, artfully insinuated, that one great object of the Spaniards in visiting a country so remote from their own, was to redress grievances, and to relieve the oppressed; and having encouraged him to hope for this inter­position in due time, he continued his march to Quiabislan.

THE spot which his officers had recommended as a proper situation,Build [...] fort. appeared to him to be so well chosen, that he immediately marked out ground for a town. The houses to be erected were only huts; but these were to be surrounded with fortifi­cations, of sufficient strength to resist the assaults of an Indian army. As the finishing of those fortifi­cations was essential to the existence of a colony, and of no less importance in prosecuting the de­signs which the leader and his followers meditated, both in order to secure a place of retreat, and to preserve their communication with the sea, every man in the army, officers as well as soldiers, put his hand to the work, Cortes himself setting them an example of activity and perseverance in labour. The Indians of Zempoalla and Quiabislan lent their aid; and this petty station, the parent of so [Page 32] many mighty settlements, was soon in a state of defence^*.

Concludes a [...] all once with seve­ral of the caziques.WHILE engaged in this necessary work, Cortes had several interviews with the caziques of Zem­poalla and Qu [...]abislan; and availing himself of their wonder and astonishment at the new objects which they daily beh [...]ld, he gradually inspired them with such an high opinion of the Spaniards, as beings of a superior order, and irresistible in arms, that, re­lying on their protection, they ventured to insult the Mexican power, at the very name of which they were accustomed to tremble. Some of Mon­tezuma's officers having appeared to levy the usual tribute, and to demand a certain number of human victims, as an expiation for their guilt in presu­ming to hold intercourse with those strangers whom the emperor had commanded to leave his domi­nions, instead of obeying the order, the caziques made them prisoners, treated them with great in­dignity, and, as their superstition was no less barba­rous than that of the Mexicans, they prepared to sacrifice them to their gods. From this last dan­ger they were delivered by the interposition of Cortes, who manifested the utmost horror at the mention of such a deed. The two caziques hav­ing now been published to an act of such open re­bellion, as left them no hope of safety but in attach­ing themselves inviolably to the Spaniards, they soon completed their union with them, by for­mally acknowledging themselves to be vassals of the same monarch. Their example was followed by the Totonaques, a fierce people who inhabited the mountainous part of the country. They wil­lingly subjected themselves to the crown of Castile, and offered to accompany Cortes, with all their forces, in his march towards Mexico^†.

[Page 33]CORTES had now been above three months in New Spain; and though this period had not been distinguished by martial exploits, every moment had been employed in operations, which,His mea­sures a confirma­tion of his authority by the king. though less splendid, were more important. By his ad­dress in conducting his intrigues with his own army, as well as his fagacity in carrying on his negociations with the natives, he had already laid the foundations of his future success. But what­ever confidence he might place in the plan which he had formed, he could not but perceive, that as his title to command was derived from a doubtful authority, he held it but a precarious tenure. The injuries which Velasquez had received, were such as would naturally prompt him to apply for redress to their common sovereign; and such a representa­tion, he foresaw, might be given of his conduct, that he had reason to apprehend, not only that he might be degraded from his present rank, but sub­jected to punishment. Before he began his march, it was necessary to take the most effectual precau­tions against this impending danger. With this view he persuaded the magistrates of the colony at Vera Cruz to address a letter to the king, the chief object of which was to justify their own conduct in establishing a colony independent on the jurisdic­tion of Velasquez. In order to accomplish this, they endeavoured to detract from his merit, in fit­ting out the two former armaments under Cordova and Grijalva, affirming that these had been equipped by the adventurers who engaged in the expedi­tions, and not by the governor. They contended that the sole object of Velasquez was to trade or barter with the natives, not to attempt the con­quest of New Spain, or to settle a colony there. They asserted that Cortes and the officers who served under him had defrayed the greater part of the expence in fitting out the armament. On this [Page 34] account, they humbly requested their sovereign to ratify what they had done in his name, and to con­firm Cortes in the supreme command by his royal commission. That Charles might be induced to grant more readily what they demanded, they give him a pompous description of the country which they had discovered; of its riches, the number of its inhabitants, their civilization and arts; they re­late the progress which they had already made in annexing some parts of the country situated on the sea-coast to the crown of Castile; and mention the schemes which they had formed, as well as the hopes which they entertained, of reducing the whole to subjection^*. Cortes himself wrote in a similar strain; and as he knew that the Spanish court, accustomed to the exaggerated representa­tions of every new country by its discoverers, would give little credit to their splendid accounts of New Spain, if these were not accompanied with such a specimen of what it contained, as would excite an high idea of its opulence, he solicited his soldiers to relinquish what they might claim as their part of the treasures which had hitherto been collected, in order that the whole might be sent to the king. Such was the ascendant which he had acquired over their minds, and such their own [Page 35] romantic expectations of future wealth, that an army of indigent and rapacious adventurers was capable of this generous effort, and offered to their sovereign the richest present that had hitherto been transmitted from the New World^*. Portocarrero and Montejo, the chief magistrates of the colony, were appointed to carry this present to Castile, with express orders not to touch at Cuba in their passage thither^†.

WHILE a vessel was preparing for their de­parture, an unexpected event occasioned a gene­ral alarm. Some soldiers and sailors,A conspira­cy against Cortes. secretly at­tached to Velasquez, or intimidated at the prospect of the dangers unavoidable in attempting to pene­trate into the heart of a great empire with such unequal force, formed the design of seizing one of the brigantines, and making their escape to Cuba, in order to give the governor such intelligence as might enable him to intercept the ship which was to carry the treasure and dispatches to Spain. This conspiracy, though formed by persons of low rank, was conducted with profound secrecy; but at the moment when every thing was ready for execution, they were betrayed by one of their associates.

THOUGH the good fortune of Cortes interposed so seasonably on this occasion,He destroys his fleet. the detection of this conspiracy filled his mind with most disquieting apprehensions, and prompted him to execute a scheme which he had long revolved. He per­ceived that the spirit of disaffection still lurked among his troops; that though hitherto checked by the uniform success of his schemes, or sup­pressed by the hand of authority, various events might occur which would encourage and call it [Page 36] forth. He observed, that many of his men, weary of the fatigue of service, longed to revisit their set­tlements in Cuba; and that upon any appearance of extraordinary danger, or any reverse of fortune, it would be impossible to restrain them from return­ing thither. He was sensible that his forces, al­ready too feeble, could bear no diminution, and that a very small defection of his followers would oblige him to abandon the enterprise. After ru­minating often, and with much solicitude, upon those particulars, he saw no hope of success, but in cutting off all possibility of retreat, and in re­ducing his men to the necessity of adopting the same resolution with which he himself was ani­mated, either to conquer or to perish. With this view, he determined to destroy his fleet; but as he durst not venture to execute such a bold resolution by his single authority, he laboured to bring his soldiers to adopt his ideas with respect to the pro­priety of this measure. His address in accomplish­ing this was not inferior to the arduous occasion in which it was employed. He persuaded some, that the ships had suffered so much by having been long at sea, as to be altogether unfit for service; to others he pointed out what a seasonable reinforce­ment of strength they would derive from the junc­tion of an hundred men, now unprofitably employ­ed as sailors; and to all, he represented the neces­sity of fixing their eyes and wishes upon what was be­fore them, without allowing the idea of a retreat once to enter their thoughts. With universal con­sent the ships were drawn ashore, and after strip­ing them of their sails, rigging, iron works, and whatever else might be of use, they were broke in pieces. Thus, from an effort of magnanimity, to which there is nothing parallel in history, five hun­dred men voluntarily consented to be shut up in a hostile country, filled with powerful and unknown [Page 37] nations; and having precluded every means of escape, left themselves without any resource but their own valour and perseverance^*.

NOTHING now retarded Cortes; the alacrity of his troops and the disposition of his allies were equally favourable. All the advantages, however, derived from the latter, though procured by much assiduity and address, were well nigh lost in a mo­ment, by an indiscreet sally of religious zeal, which, on many occasions, precipitated Cortes into actions inconsistent with the prudence that distinguishes his character. Though hitherto he had neither time nor opportunity to explain to the natives the errors of their own superstition, or to instruct them in the principles of the Christian faith, he com­manded his soldiers to overturn the altars and to destroy the idols in the chief temple of Zempoalla, and in their place to erect a crucifix and an image of the Virgin Mary. The people beheld this with astonishment and horror; the priests excited them to arms; but such was the authority of Cortes, and so great the ascendant which the Spaniards had acquired, that the commotion was appeased with­out bloodshed, and concord perfectly re-esta­blished^†.

CORTES began his march from Zempoalla on the sixteenth of August, with five hundred men,Advances into the country. fifteen horse, and six field-pieces. The rest of his troops, consisting chiefly of such as from age or infirmity were less fit for active service, he le [...]t as a garrison in Villa Rica, under the command of Escalante, an officer of merit, and warmly attached to his inte­rest. The cazique of Zempoalla supplied him with provisions, and with two hundred of those Indians called Tamemes, whose office, in a country where [Page 38] tame animals were unknown, was to carry burdens; and to perform all servile labour. They were a great relief to the Spanish soldiers, who hitherto had been obliged, not only to carry their own bag­gage, but to drag along the artillery by main force. He offered likewise a considerable body of his troops, but Cortes was satisfied with four hundred; taking care, however, to chuse persons of such note as might prove hostages for the fidelity of their master. Nothing memorable happened in his pro­gress, until he arrived on the confines of Tlascala. The inhabitants of that province, a warlike people, were implacable enemies of the Mexicans, and had been united in an ancient alliance with the caziques of Zompoalla. Though less civilized than the subjects of Montezuma, they were advanced in improvement far beyond the rude nations of Ame­rica, whose manners we have described. They had made considerable progress in agriculture; they dwelt in large towns: they were nor strangers to some species of commerce; and in the imperfect accounts of their institutions and laws, transmitted to us by the early Spanish writers, we discern traces both of distributive justice and of criminal jurisdic­tion, in their interior police. But still, as the de­gree of their civilization was incomplete, and as they depended for subsistence not on agriculture alone, but trusted for it, in a great measure, to hunting, they retained many of the qualities natu­ral to men in this state. Like them, they were fierce and revengeful; like them, too, they were high-spirited and independent. In consequence of the former, they were involved in peapetual hostili­ties, and had but a slender and occasional inter­course with neighbouring states. The latter inspired them with such detestation of servitude, that they not only refused to stoop to a foreign yoke, and maintained an obstinate and successful contest in de­fence [Page 39] of their liberty against the superior power of the Mexican empire, but they guarded with equal solicitude against domestic tyranny; and disdaining to acknowledge any master, they lived under the mild and limited jurisdiction of a council elected by their several tribes.

CORTES,His war with the Tlasca­lans. though he had received information concerning the martial character of this people, flattered himself that his professions of delivering the oppressed from the tyranny of Montezuma, their inveterate enmity to the Mexicans, and the example of their ancient allies the Zempoallans, might induce the Tlascalans to grant him a friendly reception. In order to dispose them to this, four Zempoallans of great eminence were sent ambas­sadors, to request, in his name, and in that of their cazique, that they would permit the Spaniards to pass through the territories of the republic in their way to Mexico. But instead of the favourable answer which was expected, the Tlascalans seized the ambassadors, and, without any regard to their public character, made preparations for sacrificing them to their gods. At the same time, they assem­bled their troops, in order to oppose those un­known invaders, if they should attempt to make their passage good by force of arms. Various mo­tives concurred in precipitating the Tlascalans into this resolution. A fierce people, shut up within its own narrow precincts, and little accustomed to any intercourse with foreigners, is apt to consider every stranger as an enemy, and is easily excited to arms. They concluded, from Cortes's proposal of visiting Montezuma in his capital, that, not­withstanding all his professions, he courted the friendship of a monarch whom they both hated and feared. The imprudent zeal of Cortes in violating the temples in Zempoalla, filled the Tlascalans with horror; and as they were no less attached to their [Page 40] superstition than the other nations of New Spain, they were impatient to avenge their injured gods, and to acquire the merit of offering up to them, as victims, those impious men who had dared to pro­fane their altars; they contemned the small num­ber of the Spaniards, as they had not yet measured their own strength with that of these new enemies, and had no idea of the superiority which they de­rived from their arms and discipline.

Aug. 30. Success of it.CORTES, after waiting some days, in vain, for the return of his ambassadors, advanced into the Tlascalan territories. As the resolutions of people who delight in war are executed with no less promptitude than they are formed, he found troops in the field ready to oppose him. They attacked him with great intrepidity, and, in the first encoun­ter, wounded some of the Spaniards, and killed two horses; a loss, in their situation, of great mo­ment, because it was irreparable. From this spe­cimen of their courage, Cortes saw the necessity of proceeding with caution. His army marched in close order; he chose the stations, where he halted, with attention, and fortified every camp with ex­traordinary care. During fourteen days he was exposed to almost uninterrupted assaults, the Tlas­calans advancing with numerous armies, and re­newing the attack in various forms, with a degree of valour and perseverance to which the Spaniards had seen nothing parallel in the New World. The Spanish historians describe those successive battles with great pomp, and enter into a minute detail of particulars, mingling many exaggerated and in­credible circumstances^*, with such as are real and marvellous. But no power of words can render the recital of a combat interesting, where there is no equality of danger; and when the narrative [Page 41] closes with an account of thousands slain on the one side,1518. while not a single person falls on the other, the most laboured descriptions of the previous disposi­tion of the troops, or of the various vicissitudes in the engagement, command no attention.

THERE are some circumstances, however,Some sin­gular cir­cumstances in it. in this war, which are memorable, and merit no­tice, as they throw light upon the character both of the people of New Spain, and of their con­querors. Though the Tlascalans brought into the field such numerous armies as appear sufficient to have overwhelmed the Spaniards, they were never able to make any impression upon their small batta­lion. Singular as this may seem, it is not inexpli­cable. The Tlascalans, though addicted to war, were, like all unpolished nations, strangers to mi­litary order and discipline, and lost in a great mea­sure the advantage which they might have derived from their numbers, and the impetuosity of their attack, by their constant solicitude to carry off the dead and wounded. This point of honour, founded on a sentiment of tenderness natural to the human mind, and strengthened by anxiety to pre­serve the bodies of their countrymen from being devoured by their enemies, was universal among the people of New Spain. Attention to this pious office occupied them even during the heat of com­bat^*, broke their union, and diminished the force of the impression which they might have made by a joint effort.

NOT only was their superiority in number of little avail, but the imperfection of their military weapons rendered their valour in a great measure inoffensive. After three battles, and many skir­mishes and assaults, not one Spaniard was killed in the field. Arrows and spears, headed with flint [Page 42] or the bones of fishes, stakes hardened in the fire, and wooden swords, though destructive weapons among naked Indians,1519. were easily turned aside by the Spanish bucklers, and could hardly penetrate the escaupiles, or quilted jackets, which the soldiers wore. The Tlascalans advanced boldly to the charge, and often fought hand to hand. Many of the Spaniards were wounded, though all slightly, which cannot be imputed to any want of courage or strength in their enemies, but to the defect of the arms with which they assailed them.

NOTWITHSTANDING the fury with which the Tlascalans attacked the Spaniards, they seem to have conducted their hostilities with some degree of barbarous generosity. They gave the Spaniards warning of their hostile intentions, and as they knew that their invaders wanted provisions, and imagined, perhaps, like the other Americans, that they had left their own country because it did not afford them subsistence, they sent to their camp a large supply of poultry and maize, desiring them to eat plentifully, because they scorned to attack an enemy enfeebled by hunger, and it would be an affront to their Gods to offer them famished vic­tims, as well as disagreeable to themselves to feed on such emaciated prey^*.

WHEN they were taught by the first encounter with their new enemies, that it was not easy to exe­cute this threat; when they perceived, in the sub­sequent engagements, that notwithstanding all the efforts of their own valour, of which they had a very high opinion, not one of the Spaniards was slain or [...]aken, they began to conceive them a supe­rior order of beings, against whom human power could not avail. In this extremity, they had re­course to their priests, requiring them to reveal the mysterious causes of such extraordinary events, [Page 43] and to declare what new means they should employ in order to repulse those formidable invaders. The priests, after many sacrifices and incantations, de­livered this response. That these strangers were the offspring of the sun, procreated by his ani­mating energy in the regions of the east; that, by day, while cherished with the influence of his pa­rental beams, they were invincible, but by night, when his reviving heat was withdrawn, their vigour declined and faded like the herbs in the field, and they dwindled down into mortal men^*. Theories less plausible have gained credit with more enlightened nations, and have influenced their conduct. In consequence of this, the Tlascalans, with the im­plicit confidence of men who fancy themselves to be under the guidance of heaven, acted in con­tradiction to one of their most established maxims in war, and ventured to attack the enemy, with a strong body, in the night-time, in hopes of destroy­ing them when enfeebled and surprised. But Cortes had greater vigilance and discernment than to be deceived by the rude stratagems of an Indian army. The centinels at his out posts, observing some ex­traordinary movement among the Tlascalans, gave the alarm. In a moment the troops were under arms, and sallying out, dispersed the party with great slaughter, without allowing it to approach the camp. The Tlascalans, convinced, by sad expe­rience, that their priests had deluded them, and satisfied that they attempted in vain, either to de­ceive or to vanquish their enemies, their fierceness abated, and they began to incline seriously to peace.

THEY were at a loss, however,The Tlas [...] [...] to peace. in what manner to address the strangers, what idea to form of their character, and whether to consider them as beings [Page 44] of a gentle or of a malevolent nature. There were circumstances in their conduct which seemed to fa­vour each opinion. On the one hand, as the Spa­niards constantly dismissed the prisoners whom they took, not only without injury, but often with pre­sents of European toys, and renewed their offers of peace after every victory; this lenity amazed people, who, according to the exterminating system of war known in America, were accustomed to sa­crifice and devour without mercy all the captives taken in battle, and disposed them to entertain fa­vourable sentiments of the humanity of their new enemies. But, on the other hand, as Cortes had seized-fifty of their countrymen who brought pro­visions to his camp, and, supposing them to be spies, had cut off their hands^*; this bloody spec­tacle, added to the terror occasioned by the fire­arms and horses, filled them with dreadful im­pressions of the ferocity of their invaders^†. This uncertainty was apparent in the mode of addressing the Spaniards. " If, said they, you are divinities of a cruel and savage nature, we present to you five slaves, that you may drink their blood, and eat their flesh. If you are mild deities, accept an offering of incense and variegated plumes. If you are men, here is meat, and bread and fruit to nourish you^‡." The peace which both parties now desired with equal ardour,Concluded. was now concluded. The Tlascalans yiel­ded themselves as vassals to the crown of Castile, and engaged to assist Cortes in all his future opera­tions. He took the republic under his protection, and promised to defend their persons and possessions from injury or violence.

Advantages of it to the Spaniards.THIS treaty was concluded at a seasonable juncture for the Spaniards. The fatigue of service among a [Page 45] small body of men, surrounded by such a multitude of enemies, was incredible. Half the army was on duty every night, and even they whose turn it was to rest,1518. slept always upon their arms, that they might be ready to run to their posts on a moment's warning. Many of them were wounded, a good number, and among these Cortes himself laboured under the distempers prevalent in hot climates, and several had died since they set out from Vera Cruz. Notwithstanding the supplies which they received from the Tlascalans, they were often in want of provisions, and so destitute of the necessaries most requisite in dangerous service, that they had no salve to dress their wounds▪ but what was composed with the fat of the Indians whom they had slain^*. Worn out with such intolerable toil and hardships, many of the soldiers began to murmur, and, when they reflected on the multitude [...]d boldness of their ene­mies, more were ready [...] despair. It required the utmost exertion of Corte's authority and address to check this spirit of despondency in its progress, and to re-animate his followers with their wonted sense of their own superiority over the enemies with wh [...] they had to contend.^† The submission of the Tlas­calans, and their own triumphant entry into the capital city, where they were received with the reve­rence paid to beings of a superior order, banished, at once, from the minds of the Spaniards, all me­mory of past sufferings, dispelled every anxious thought with respect to their future operations, and fully satisfied them that there was not now any pow­er in America able to withstand their arms^‡.

[Page 46]CORTES remained twenty days in Tlascala, in order to allow his troops a short interval of repose after such hard service.1519. Cortes [...]oli­citous to gain their confidence. During that time, he was employed in transactions and enquiries of great moment with respect to his future schemes. In his daily conferences with the Tlascalan chiefs, he received information concerning every particular relative to the state of the Mexican empire, or to the qualities of its sovereign, which could be of use in regulating his conduct, whether he should be obliged to act as a friend or as an enemy. As he found that the antipathy of his new allies to the Mexican nation was no less implacable than had [...]een represented, and perceived what benefit he might derive from the aid of such powerful confede­rates, he employed all his powers of insinuation in order to gain their confidence. Nor was any extraordinary exertion of these necessary. The Tlascalans, with the levity of mind natural to un­polished men, were, of their own accord, disposed to run from the extreme of hatred to that of fond­ness. Every thing in the appearance and conduct of their guests, was to them matter of wonder^*. They gazed with admiration at whatever the Spa­niards did, and fancying them to be of heavenly origin, were eager not only to comply with their demands, but to anticipate their wishes. They offered, accordingly, to accompany Cortes in his march to Mexico, with all the forces of the re­public, under the command of their most expe­rienced captains.

Which he had a most lost by his rash zeal.BUT, after bestowing so much pains on cement­ing this union, all the beneficial fruits of it were on the point of being lost, by a new effusion of that intemperate religious zeal with which Cortes was animated, no less than the other adventurers of the [Page 47] age. They all considered themselves as instruments employed by Heaven to propagate the Christian faith, and the less they were qualified, either by their knowledge or morals, for such a function, they were more eager to discharge it. The pro­found veneration of the Tlascalans for the Spaniards, having encouraged Cortes to explain to some of their chiefs the doctrines of the Christian religion, and to insist that they should abandon their own superstitions, and embrace the faith of their new friends, they, according to an idea universal among barbarous nations, readily acknowledged the truth and excellence of what he taught; but contended, that the Teules of Tlascala were divinities no less than the God in whom the Spaniards believed; and as that Being was entitled to the homage of Euro­peans, so they were bound to revere the same powers which their ancestors had worshipped. Cortes continued, nevertheless, to urge his de­mand in a tone of authority, mingling threats with his arguments, until the Tlascalans could bear it no longer, and conjured him never to mention this again, lest the gods should avenge on their heads the guilt of having listened to such a proposition. Cor­tes, astonished and enraged at their obstinacy, pre­pared to execute by force, what he could not ac­complish by persuasion, and was going to overturn their altars, and cast down their idols with the same violent hand as at Zempoalla, if father Bartholomew de Olmedo, chaplain to the expedition, had not checked his inconsiderate impetuosity. He repre­sented the imprudence of such an attempt in a large city newly reconciled, and filled with people no less superstitious than warlike; he declared, that the proceeding at Zempoalla had always appeared to him precipitate and unjust; that religion was not to be propagated by the sword, or infidels to be con­verted by violence; that other weapons were to be [Page 48] employed in this ministry; patient instruction must enlighten the understanding, and pious example captivate the heart, before men could be induced to abandon error, and embrace the truth^*. Amidst scenes, where a narrow-minded bigotry appears in such close union with oppression and cruelty, senti­ments so liberal and humane sooth the mind with unexpected pleasure; and at a time when the rights of conscience were little understood in the Christian world, and the idea of toleration unknown, one is astonished to find a Spanish monk of the sixteenth century among the first advocates against persecu­tion, and in behalf of religious liberty. The re­monstrances of an ecclesiastic, no less respectable for wisdom than virtue, had their proper weight with Cortes. He left the Tlascalans in the undis­turbed exercise of their own rites, requiring only that they should desist from the horrid practice of offering human victims in sacrifice.

Advances to Cholula.CORTES, as soon as his troops were fit for ser­vice, resolved to continue his march towards Mexico, notwithstanding the earnest dissuasives of the Tlas­calans, who represented his destruction as unavoid­able, if he put himself in the power of a prince so faithless and cruel as Montezuma. As he was ac­companied by six thousand Tlascalans, he had now the command of forces which resembled a regular army.Oct. 13. They directed their course towards Cholula; Montezuma, who had at length consented to admit the Spaniards into his presence, having informed Cortes, that he had given orders for his friendly reception there. Cholula was a considerable town, and though only five leagues distant from Tlascala, was formerly an independent state, but had been lately subjected to the Mexican empire. This was considered by all the people of New Spain as a holy [Page 49] place, the sanctuary and chief seat of their gods, to which pilgrims resorted from every province, and a greater number of human victims were offered in its principal temple than even in that of Mexico^*. Montezuma seems to have invited the Spaniards thither, either from some superstitious hope that the gods would not suffer this sacred mansion to be de­filed, without pouring down their wrath upon those impious strangers, who ventured to insult their power in the place of its peculiar residence; or from a belief that he himself might there attempt to cut them off with more certain success, under the immediate protection of his divinities.

CORTES had been warned by the Tlascalans,The seve­rity of his procedure the [...]e. be­fore he set out on his march, to keep a watchful eye over the Cholulans. He himself, though re­ceived into the town with much seeming respect and cordiality, observed several circumstances in their conduct which excited suspicion. Two of the Tlascalans, who were encamped at some distance from the town, as the Cholulans refused to admit their ancient enemies within its precincts, having found means to enter in disguise, acquainted Cortes, that they observed the women and children of the principal cities retiring in great hurry every night; and that six children had been sacrificed in the chief temple, a rite which indicated the execution of some warlike enterprise to be approaching. At the same time, Marina the interpreter received in­formation from an Indian woman of distinction, whose confidence she had gained, that the destruc­tion of her friends was concerted; that a body of Mexican troops lay concealed near the town; that some of the streets were barricaded, and in others, pits or deep trenches were dug, and slightly co­vered over, as traps into which the horses might [Page 50] fall; that stones or missive weapons were collected on the tops of the temples, with which to overwhelm the infantry▪ that the fatal hour was now at hand, and their ruin unavoidable. Cortes, alarmed at this concurring evidence, secretly arrested three of the chief priests, and extorted from them a confes­sion, that confirmed the intelligence which he had received. As not a moment was to be lost, he in­stantly resolved to prevent his enemies, and to in­flict on them such dreadful vengeance as might strike Montezuma and his subjects with terror. For this purpose, the Spaniards and Zempoallans were drawn up in a large court, which had been al­lotted for their quarters, near the centre of the town; the Tlascalans had orders to advance; the magistrates, and several of the chief citizens were sent for, under various pretexts, and seized. On a signal given, the troops rushed out, and fell upon the multitude, destitute of leaders, and so much astonished, that the weapons dropping from their hands, they stood motionless, and incapable of de­fence. While the Spaniards pressed them in front, the Tlascalans attacked them in the rear. The streets were filled with bloodshed and death. The temples, which afforded a retreat to the priests and some of the lea [...]ing men, were set on fire, and they perished in the flames. This scene of horror con­tinued two days; during which, the wretched in­habitants suffered all that the destructive rage of the Spaniards, or the implacable revenge of their Indian allies, could inflict. At length the carnage ceases, after the slaughter of six thousand Cholulans, with­out the loss of a single Spaniard. Cortes then re­leased the magistrates, and reproaching them bit­terly for their intended treachery, declared, that as justice was now appeased, he forgave the offence, but required them to recal the citizens who had fled, and re-establish order in the town. Such was [Page 51] the ascendant which the Spaniards had acquired over this superstitious race of men, and so deeply were they impressed with an opinion of their supe­rior discernment, as well as power, that, in obedi­ence to this command, the city was in a few days filled again with people, who, amidst the ruins of their sacred buildings, yielded respectful service to men, whose hands were stained with the blood of their relations and fellow-citizens^*.

FROM Cholula,Oct. 29. Advances towards Mexico. Cortes advanced directly towards Mexico, which was only twenty leagues distant. In every place through which he passed, he was re­ceived as a person possessed of sufficient power to deliver the empire from the oppression under which it groaned; and the caziques or governors com­municated to him all the grievances which they felt under the tyrannical government of Montezuma, with that unreserved confidence which men naturally repose in superior beings. When Cortes first ob­served the seeds of discontent in the remote pro­vinces of the empire, hope dawned upon his mind; but when he now discovered such symptoms of alienation from their monarch near the seat of go­vernment, he concluded that the vital parts of the constitution were affected, and conceived the most sanguine expectations of overturning a state, whose natural strength was thus divided and impaired. While those reflections encouraged the general to persist in his arduous undertaking, the soldiers were no less animated by observations more obvious to their capacity. In descending from the mountains of Chalco, across which the road lay, the vast plain of Mexico opened gradually to their view.First view of it. When they first beheld this prospect, one of the most striking and beautiful on the face of the earth; [Page 52] when they observed fertile and cultivated fields, stretching farther than the eye could reach; when they saw a lake resembling the sea in extent, encom­passed with large towns, and discovered the capital city rising upon an island in the middle, adorned with its temples and turrets; the scene so far ex­ceeded their imagination, that some believed the fanciful descriptions of romance were realized, and that its enchanted palaces and gilded domes were presented to their sight; others could hardly per­suade themselves that this wonderful spectacle was any thing more than a dream^*. As they advanced, their doubts were removed, but their amazement increased. They were now fully satisfied that the country was rich beyond any conception which they had formed of it, and flattered themselves that at length they should obtain an ample recompence for all their services and sufferings.

The i [...]reso­rion Mon­tezuma.HITHERTO they had met with no enemy to op­pose their progress, though several circumstances occured which led them to suspect that some design was formed to surprise and cut them off. Many messengers arrived successively from Montezuma, permitting them one day to advance, requiring them on the next to retire, as his hopes or fears alter­nately prevailed; and so wonderful was this infatu­ation, which seems to be unaccountable on any sup­position but that of a superstitious dread of the Spa­niards, as beings of a superior nature, that Cortes was almost at the gates of the capital, before the monarch had determined whether to receive him as a friend, or to oppose him as an enemy. But as no sign of open hostility appeared, the Spaniards, with­out regarding the fluctuations of Montezuma's sen­timents, continued their march along the causeway which led to Mexico through the lake, with great [Page 53] circumspection and the strictest discipline, though without seeming to suspect the prince whom they were about to visit.

WHEN they drew near the city, [...]is first in­terview with the Spaniards. about a thousand persons, who appeared to be of distinction, came forth to meet them, adorned with plumes, and clad in mantles of fine cotton. Each of these, in his order, passed by Cortes, and saluted him accord­ing to the mode deemed most respectful and sub­missive in their country. They announced the ap­proach of Montezuma himself, and soon after his harbingers came in sight. There appeared first two hundred persons in an uniform dress, with large plumes of feathers, alike in fashion, marching two and two, in deep silence, bare-footed, with their eyes fixed on the ground. These were followed by a company of higher rank, in their most showy apparel, in the midst of whom was Montezuma, in a chair or litter richly ornamented with gold, and feathers of various colours. Four of his principal favourites carried him on their shoulders, others supported a canopy of curious workmanship over his head. Before him marched three officers with rods of gold in their hands, which they lifted up on high at certain intervals, and at that signal all the people bowed their heads, and hid their faces, as unworthv to look on so great a monarch. When he drew near, Cortes dismounted, advancing to­wards him with officious haste, and in a respectful posture. At the same time Montezuma alighted from his chair, and leaning on the arms of two of his near relations, approached with a slow and stately pace, his attendants covering the street with cotton cloths, that he might not touch the ground. Cortes accosted him with profound reverence, after the European fashion. He returned the salutation, according to the mode of his country, by touching the earth with his hand, and then kissing it. This [Page 54] ceremony, the customary expression of veneration from inferiors towards those who were above them in rank, appeared such amazing condescension in a proud monarch, who scarcely deigned to con­sider the rest of mankind as of the same species with himself, that all his subjects firmly believed those persons, before whom he humbled himself in this manner, to be something more than human. Accordingly, as they marched through the crowd, the Spaniards frequently, and with much satisfac­tion, heard themselves denominated Toules, or di­vinities. Nothing material passed in this first in­terview. Montezuma conducted Cortes to the quarters which he had prepared for his reception, and immediately took leave of him, with a polite­ness not unworthy of a court more refined. "You are now," says he, "with your brothers in your own house; refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and be happy until I return^*." The place allotted to the Spaniards for their lodging was a house built by the father of Montezuma. It. was surrounded by a stone-wall, with towers at proper distances, which served for defence as well as for ornament, and its apartments and courts were so large, as to accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies. The first care of Cortes was to take pre­cautions for his security, by planting the artillery so as to command the different avenues which led to it, by appointing a large division of his troops to be always on guard, and by posting centinels at proper stations, with injunctions to observe the same vigilant discipline as if they were within sight of an enemy's camp.

His idea of the Spa­niards.IN the evening, Montezuma returned to visit his guests with the same pomp as in their first inter­view, and brought presents of such value, not only [Page 55] to Cortes and to his officers, but even to the pri­vate men, as proved the liberality of the monarch to be suitable to the opulence of his kingdom. A long conference ensued, in which Cortes learned what was the opinion of Montezuma with respect to the Spaniards. It was an established tradition, he told him, among the Mexicans, that their an­cestors came originally from a remote region, and conquered the provinces now subject to his domi­nion; that after they were settled there, the great captain who conducted this colony returned to his own country, promising, that at some future period his descendants should visit them, assume the go­vernment, and reform their constitution and laws; that, from what he had heard and seen of Cortes and his followers, he was convinced that they were the very persons whose appearance the Mexican traditions and prophecies taught them to expect; that accordingly he had received them, not as strangers, but as relations of the same blood and parentage, and desired that they might consider themselves as masters in his dominions, for both himself and his subjects should be ready to comply with their will, and even to prevent their wishes. Cortes made a reply in his usual style, with respect to the dignity and power of his sovereign, and his intention in sending him into that country; artfully endeavouring so to frame his discourse, that it might coincide as much as possible with the idea which Montezuma had formed concerning the ori­gin of the Spaniards. Next morning, Cortes and some of his principal attendants were admitted to a public audience of the emperor. The three sub­sequent days were employed in viewing the city; the appearance of which, so far superior in the order of its buildings and the number of its inhabitants to any place the Spaniards had beheld in America, and [Page 56] yet so little resembling the structure of an European city, filled them with surprise and admiration.

MEXICO, or Tenuchtitlan, as it was anciently called by the natives, is situated in a large plain, environed by mountains of such height, that, though within the torrid zone, the temperature of its climate is mild and healthful. All the moisture which descends from the high grounds is collected in several lakes, the two largest of which, of about ninety miles in circuit, communicate with each other. The waters of the one are fresh, those of the other brackish. On the banks of the latter, and on some small islands adjoining to them, the capital of Montezuma's empire was built. The access to the city was by artificial causeways or streets formed of stones and earth, about thirty feet in breadth. As the waters of the lake during the rainy season overflowed the flat country, these causeways were of considerable length. That of Tacuba, on the west, extended a mile and a half; that of Tepeaca^*, on the north-west, three miles; that of Cuoyacan, towards the south, six miles. On the east there was no causeway, and the city could be approached only by canoes^†. In each of these causeways were openings at proper intervals, through which the waters flowed, and over these beams of timber were laid, which being covered with earth, the causeway or street had every where an uniform appearance. As the approaches to the city were singular, its construction was remarkable. [Page 57] Not only the temples of their gods, but the houses belonging to the monarch, and to persons of dis­tinction, were of such dimensions, that,1518. in com­parison with any other buildings which had been hitherto discovered in America, they might be termed magnificent. The habitations of the com­mon people were mean, resembling the huts of other Indians. But they were all placed in a re­gular manner, on the banks of the canals which passed through the city, in some of its districts, or on the sides of the streets which intersected it in other quarters. In several places were large open­ings or squares, one of which, allotted for the great market, is said to have been so spacious, that forty or fifty thousand persons carried on tra [...]ic there. In this city, the pride of the New World, and the noblest monument of the industry and art of man, while unacquainted with the use of iron, and destitute of aid from any domestic animal, the Spaniards, who are most moderate in their compu­tations, reckon that there were at least sixty thou­sand inhabitants^*.

BUT how much soever the novelty of those ob­jects might amuse or astonish the Spaniards,Their dan­gerous si­tuation. they felt the utmost solicitude with respect in their own situation. From a concurrence of circumstances, no less unexpected than favourable to their pro­gress, they had been allowed to penetrate into the heart of a powerful kingdom, and were now lodged in its capital, without having once met with open opposition from its monarch. The Tlascalans, however, had earnestly dissuaded them from placing such confidence in Montezuma, as to enter a city of such a peculiar situation as Mexico, where that prince would have them at mercy, shut [Page 58] up as it were in a snare, from which it was impos­sible to escape. They assured him that the Mexi­can priests had,1519. in the name of the gods, coun­selled their sovereign to admit the Spaniards into the capital, that he might cut them off there at one blow with perfect security^*. They now per­ceived, too plainly, that the apprehensions of their allies were not destitute of foundation; that, by breaking the bridges placed at certain intervals on the causeways, or by destroying part of the cause­ways themselves, their retreat would be rendered impracticable, and they must remain cooped up in the centre of a hostile city, surrounded by multi­tudes sufficient to overwhelm them, and without a possibility of receiving aid from their allies. Mon­tezuma had, indeed, received them with distin­guished respect. But ought they to reckon upon this as real, or to consider it as feigned? Even if it were sincere, could they promise on its conti­nuance? Their safety depended upon the will of a monarch in whose attachment they had no reason to confide; and an order flowing from his caprice, or a word uttered by him in passion, might decide ir­revocably concerning their sate^†.

Solicitude a [...] of [...].THESE reflections, so obvious as to occur to the meanest soldier, did not escape the vigilant saga­city of their general. Before he set out from Cho­lula, Cortes had received advice from Villa Rica^‡, that Qua [...]p [...]p [...]ca, one of the Mexican generals on the frontiers, having assembled an army in order to attack some of the people whom the Spaniards had encouraged to throw off the Mexican yoke, Escalante had marched out with part of the garrison to support his allies; that an engagement had en­sued, in which, though the Spaniards were victo­rious, [Page 59] Escalante, with seven of his men, had been mortally wounded, his horse killed, and one Spa­niard had been surrounded by the enemy, and taken alive; that the head of this unfortunate captive, after being carried in triumph to different cities, in order to convince the people that their invaders were not immortal, had been sent to Mexico^*. Cortes, though alarmed with this intelligence, as an indication of Montezuma's hostile intentions, had continued his march. But as soon as he en­tered Mexico, he became sensible, that, from an excess of confidence in the superior valour and dis­cipline of his troops, as well as from the disad­vantage of having nothing to guide him in an un­known country, but the defective intelligence which he had received from people with whom his mode of communication was very imperfect, he had pushed forward into a situation, where it was diffi­cult to continue, and from which it was dangerous to retire. Disgrace, and perhaps ruin, was the cer­tain consequence of attempting the latter. The success of his enterprise depended upon supporting the high opinion which the people of New Spain had formed with respect to the irresistible power of his arms. Upon the first symptom of timidity on his part, their veneration would cease, and Mon­tezuma, whom fear alone restrained at present, would let loose upon him the whole force of his empire. At the same time, he knew that the countenance of his own sovereign was to be ob­tained only by a series of victories, and that no­thing but the merit of extraordinary success could screen his conduct from the censure of irregularity. From all these considerations, it was necessary to maintain his station, and to extricate himself out of the difficulties in which one bold step had involved [Page 60] him, by venturing upon another still bolder. The situation was trying, but his mind was equal to it; and after revolving the matter with deep attention, he fixed upon a plan no less extraordinary than daring.Resolves to seize Mon­tezuma He determined to seize Montezuma in his palace, and to carry him as a prisoner to the Spanish quarters. From the superstitious veneration of the Mexicans for the person of their monarch, as well as their implicit submission to his will, he hoped, by having Montezuma in his power, to ac­quire the supreme direction of their affairs; or, at least, with such a sacred pledge in his hands, he made no doubt of being secure from any effort of their violence.

His man­ner of exe­cuting thisTHIS he immediately proposed to his officers. The timid startled at a measure so audacious, and raised objections. The more intelligent and reso­lute, conscious that it was the only resource in which there appeared any prospect of safety, warmly approved of it, and brought over their companions so cordially to the same opinion, that it was agreed instantly to make the attempt. At his usual hour of visiting Montezuma, Cortes went to the palace, accompanied by Alvarado, Sandoval, Lugo, Velasquez de Leon, and Davila, five of his principal officers, and as many trusty soldiers. Thirty chosen men followed, not in regular order, but sauntering at some distance, as if they had no object but curiosity; small parties were posted at proper intervals, in all the streets leading from the Spanish quarters to the court; and the remainder of his troops, with the Tlascalan allies, were under arms, ready to sally out on the first alarm. Cortes and his attendants were admitted without suspicion; the Mexicans retiring, as usual, out of respect. He addressed the monarch in a tone very different from that which he had employed in former conferences, reproaching him bitterly as the author of the vio­lent [Page 61] assault made upon the Spaniards by one of his officers, and demanded public reparation for the loss which they had sustained by the death of some of their companions, as well as for the insult offered to the great prince whose servants they were. Mon­tezuma, confounded at this unexpected accusation, and changing colour, either from consciousness of guilt, or from feeling the indignity with which he was treated, asserted his own innocence with great earnestness, and, as a proof of it, gave orders in­stantly to bring Qualpopoca and his accomplices prisoners to Mexico. Cortes replied, with seeming complaisance, that a declaration so respectable left no doubt remaining in his own mind, but that some­thing more was requisite to satisfy his followers, who would never be convinced that Montezuma did not harbour hostile intentions against them, unless, as an evidence of his confidence and attach­ment, he removed from his own palace, and took up his residence in the Spanish quarters, where he should be served and honoured as became a great monarch. The first mention of so strange a pro­posal bereaved Montezuma of speech, and almost of motion. At length, indignation gave him ut­terance, and he haughtily answered, "That per­sons of his rank were not accustomed volutarily to give up themselves as prisoners; and were he mean enough to do so, his subjects would not per­mit such an affront to be offered to their sovereign." Cortes, unwilling to employ force, endeavoured alternately to sooth and to intimidate him. The altercation became warm; and having continued above three hours, Velasquez de Leon, an impe­tuous and gallant young man, exclaimed with im­patience, "Why waste more time in vain? Let us either seize him instantly or stab him to the heart." The threatning voice and fierce gestures with which these words were uttered, struck Monte­zuma. [Page 62] The Spaniards, he was sensible, had now proceeded so far, as left him no hope that they would recede. His own danger was imminent, the ne­cessity unavoidable. He saw both, and abandoning himself to his fate, complied with their request.

Montezu­ma carried to the Spa­nish quar­ters.HIS officers were called. He communicated to them his resolution. Though astonished and af­flicted, they presumed not to question the will of their master, but carried him in silent pomp, all bathed in tears, to the Spanish quarters. When it was known that the strangers were conveying away the emperor, the people broke out into the wildest transports of grief and rage, threatening the Spaniards with immediate destruction, as the punishment justly due to their impious audacity. But as soon as Montezuma appeared with a seem­ing gaity of countenance, and waved his hand, the tumult was hushed, and upon his declaring it to be of his own choice that he went to reside for some time among his new friends, the multitude, taught to revere every intimation of their sovereign's plea­sure, quietly dispersed^*.

THUS was a powerful prince seized by a few strangers in the midst of his capital, at noonday, and carried off as a prisoner without opposition or bloodshed. History contains nothing parallel to this event, either with respect to the temerity of the attempt, or the success of the execution; and were not all the circumstances of this extraordinary transaction authenticated by the most unquestion­able evidence, they would appear so wild and ex­travagant, as to go far beyond the bounds of that probability which must be preserved even in ficti­tious narrations.

[Page 63]MONTEZUMA was received in the Spanish quar­ters with all the ceremonious respect which Cortes had promised.1518. Received with appa­rent res­pect. He was attended by his own do­mestics, and served with his usual state. His prin­cipal officers had free access to him, and he carried on every function of government as if he had been at perfect liberty. The Spaniards, however, watch­ed him with the scrupulous vigilance which was na­tural in guarding such an important prize^*, endea­vouring at the same time to sooth and reconcile him to his situation, by every external demonstra­tion of regard and attachment. But from captive princes the hour of humiliation and suffering is never far distant. Qualpopoca, his son,Subjected to cruel in­dignit [...]es. and five of the principal officers who served under him, were brought prisoners to the capital, in conse­quence of the orders which Montezuma had issued.Dec. 4. The emperor gave them up to Cortes, that he might enquire into the nature of their crime, and determine their punishment. They were formally tried by a Spanish court-martial; and though they had acted no other part than what became loyal subjects and brave men, in obeying the orders of their lawful sovereign, and in opposing the inva­ders of their country, they were condemned to be burnt alive. The execution of such atrocious deeds is seldom long suspended. The unhappy victims were instantly led forth. The pile on which they were laid was composed of the weapons collected in the royal magazine for the public defence. An innumerable multitude of Mexicans beheld, in silent astonishment, the double insult offered to the majesty of their empire, an officer of distinction committed to the flames by the authority of stran­gers, for having done what he owed in duty to his natural sovereign; and the arms provided by the [Page 64] foresight of their ancestors for avenging public wrongs, consumed before their eyes.

1519.BUT these were not the most shocking indigni­ties which the Mexicans had to bear. The Spa­niards, convinced that Qualpopoca would not have ventured to attack Escalante without orders from his master, were not satisfied with inflicting venge­ance on the instrument employed in committing that crime, while the author of it escaped with im­punity. Just before Qualpopoca was led but to suffer, Cortes entered the apartment of Monte­zuma, followed by some of his officers, and a soldier carrying a pair of fetters; and approaching the monarch with a stern countenance, told him, that as the persons who were now to undergo the punish­ment which they merited, had charged him as the cause of the outrage committed, it was neces­sary that he likewise should make atonement for that guilt; then turning away abruptly, without waiting for a reply, commanded the soldier to clap the fetters on his legs. The orders were instantly executed. The disconsolate monarch, trained up with an idea that his person was sacred and invio­lable, and considering this profanation of it as the pre [...]ude of immediate death, broke out into loud lamentations and complaints. His attendants, speechless with horror, fell at his feet, bathing them with their tears; and bearing up the fetters in their hands, endeavoured with officious tenderness to lighten their pressure. Nor did their grief and despondency abate, until Cortes returned from the execution, and with a cheerful countenance ordered the fetters to be taken off. As Montezuma's spirits had sunk with unmanly dejection, they now rose into indecent joy; and with an unbecoming tran­sition, he passed at once from the anguish of despair to transports of gratitude and expressions of fond­ness towards his deliverer.

[Page 65]IN those transactions, as represented by the Spa­nish historians, we search in vain for the qualities which distinguish other parts of Cortes's conduct.Reasons of Cortes's conduct. To usurp a jurisdiction which could not belong to a stranger, who assumed no higher character than that of an ambassador from a foreign prince, and, under colour of it, to inflict a capital punishment on men whose conduct intitled them to esteem, appears an act of barbarous cruelty. To put the monarch of a great kingdom in irons, and, after such ignominious treatment, suddenly to release him, seems to be a display of power no less incon­siderate than wanton. According to the common relation, no account can be given either of the one action or the other, but that Cortes, intoxicated with success, and presuming on the ascendant which he had acquired over the minds of the Mexi­cans, thought nothing too bold for him to under­take, or too dangerous to execute. But, in one view, these proceedings, however repugnant to justice and humanity, may have flowed from that artful policy which regulated every part of Cortes's behaviour towards the Mexicans. They had con­ceived the Spaniards to be an order of beings supe­rior to men. It was of the utmost consequence to cherish this illusion, and to keep up the veneration which it inspired. Cortes wished that shedding the blood of a Spaniard should be deemed the most heinous of all crimes; and nothing appeared better calculated to establish this opinion, than to con­demn the first Mexican who had ventured to com­mit it to a cruel death, and to oblige their monarch himself to submit to a mortifying indignity, as an expiation for being accessary to a deed so atro­cious^*.

[Page 66]THE rigour with which Cortes punished the un­happy persons who first presumed to lay violent hands upon his followers,1520. The power which Cor­tes acquired. seems accordingly to have made all the impression that he desired. The spirit of Montezuma was not only overawed, but subdued. During six months that Cortes remained in Mexico, the monarch continued in the Spanish quarters, with an appearance of as entire satisfac­tion and tranquillity, as if he had resided there, not from constraint, but through choice. His mini­sters and officers attended him as usual. He took cognizance of all affairs; every order was issued in his name. The external aspect of government appearing the same, and all its ancient forms being scrupulously observed, the people were so little sen­sible of any change, that they obeyed the mandates of their monarch with the same submissive reve­rence as ever. Such was the dread which both Montezuma and his subjects had of the Spaniards, or such the veneration in which they held them, that no attempt was made to deliver their sovereign from confinement; and though Cortes, relying on this ascendant which he had acquired over their minds, permitted him not only to visit his temples, but to make hunting excursions beyond the lake, a guard of a few Spaniards carried with it such a terror as to intimidate the multitude, and secure the captive monarch ^*.

THUS, by the fortunate temerity of Cortes in seizing Montezuma, the Spaniards at once secured to themselves more extensive authority in the Mexi­can empire than it was possible to have acquired in a long course of time by open force; and they exercised more absolute sway in the name of an­other than they could have done in their own. The arts of polished nations, in subjecting such as are [Page 67] less improved, have been nearly the same in every period. The system of screening a foreign usurpa­tion, under the sanction of authority derived from the natural rulers of a country, the device of em­ploying the magistrates and forms already esta­blished as instruments to introduce a new dominion, of which we are apt to boast as sublime refinements in policy peculiar to the present age, were inven­tions of a more early period, and had been tried with success in the West, long before they were practised in the East.

CORTES availed himself to the utmost of the power which he possessed by being able to act in the name of Montezuma. He sent some Spaniards,Vse which he makes of it. whom he judged best qualified for such commissions, into different parts of the empire, accompanied by persons of distinction, whom Montezuma appointed to attend them both as guides and protectors. They visited most of the provinces, viewed their soil and pro [...]uctions, surveyed with particular care the dis­tricts which yielded gold or silver, pitched upon se­veral places as proper stations for future colonies, and endeavoured to prepare the minds of the people for submitting to the Spanish yoke. While they were thus employed, Cortes, in the name and by the authority of Montezuma, degraded some of the principal officers in the empire, whose abilities or independent spirit excited his jealousy, and substi­tuted in their place persons less capable or more ob­sequious.

ONE thing still was wanting to complete his se­curity. He wished to have such command of the lake as might ensure a retreat, if, either from le­vity or disgust, the Mexicans should take arms against him, and break down the bridges or cause­ways. This too, his own address, and the faci­lity of Montezuma, enabled him to accomplish. Having frequently entertained his prisoner with [Page 68] pompous accounts of the European marine and ar [...] of navigation, he awakened his curiosity to [...] those moving palaces which moved their way through the water without oars. Under pretext of gratifying this desire, Cortes persuaded Mon­tezuma to appoint some of his subjects to fetch part of the naval stores which the Spaniards had depo­sited at Vera Cruz to Mexico, and to employ others in cutting down and preparing timber. With their assistance, the Spanish carpenters soon completed two brigantines, which afforded a frivolous amuse­ment to the monarch, and were considered by Cortes as a certain resource, if he should be obliged to retire.

Montezu­ma ac­knowledges [...] a vassal of Spain.ENCOURAGED by so many instances of the mo­narch's tame submission to his will, Cortes ventured to put it to a proof still more trying. He urged Montezuma to acknowledge himself a vassal of the king of Castile, to hold his crown of him as supe­rior, aan [...] to subject his dominions to the payment of an annual tribute. With this requisition, the last and most humbling that can be made to one possessed of sovereign authority, Montezuma was so obsequious as to comply. He called together the chief men of his empire, and in a solemn harangue, reminded them of the traditions and prophe­cies which led them to expect the arrival of a people sprung from the same stock with themselves, in order to take possession of the supreme power, he declared his belief that the Spaniards were this promised race; that therefore he recognized the right of their monarch to govern the Mexican empire; that he would lay his crown at his feet, and obey him as a tributary. While uttering these words, Montezuma discovered how deeply he was afflicted in making such a sacrifice. Tears and groans frequently interrupted his discourse. Over­awed and broken as his spirit was, it still retained [Page 69] such a sense of dignity, as to feel that pang which pierces the heart of princes when constrained to resign independent power. The first mention of such a resolution struck the assembly dumb with astonishment. This was followed by a sullen mur­mur of sorrow, mingled with indignation, which indicated some violent eruption of rage to be near at hand. This Cortes foresaw, and seasonably in­terposed to prevent it, by declaring that his master had no intention to deprive Montezuma of the royal dignity, or to make any innovation upon the constitution and laws of the Mexican empire. This assurance, added to their dread of the Spanish power, and to the authority of their monarch's ex­ample, extorted a reluctant consent from the assem­bly^*. The act of submission and homage was exe­cuted with all the formalities which the Spaniards were pleased to prescribe^†.

MONTEZUMA, at the desire of Cortes,The a­mount of the treasure collected by the Spani­ards. accom­panied this profession of sealty and homage with a magnificent present to his new sovereign; and, af­ter his example, his subjects brought in very libe­ral contributions. The Spaniards now collected all the treasure which had been either voluntarily bestowed upon them at different times by Monte­zuma, or had been extorted from his people under various pretexts; and having melted the gold and silver, the value of these, without including jewels and ornaments of various kinds, which were pre­served on account of their curious workmanship, amounted to six hundred thousand pesos. The sol­diers were impatient to have it divided,Division of it, and the discontent it occasion­ed. and Cortes complied with their desire. A fifth of the whole was first set apart as the tax due to the king. Ano­ther [Page 70] fifth was allotted to Cortes, as commander in chief. The sums advanced by Velasquez, by Cortes, and by some of the officers, towards de­fraying the expence of fitting out the armament, were then deducted. The remainder was divided among the army, including the garrison of Vera Cruz, in proportion to their different ranks. After so many defalcations, the share of a private man did not exceed a hundred pesos. This sum fell so far below their sanguine expectations, that some soldiers rejected it with scorn, and others murmured so lonely at this cruel disappointment of their hopes, that it required all the address of Cortes, and no small exertion of his liberality, to appease them. The complaints of the army were not altogether destitute of foundation. As the crown had contri­buted nothing towards the equipment or success of the armament, it was not without regret that the soldiers beheld it sweep away so great a proportion of the treasure purchased by their blood and toil. What fell to the share of the general appeared, ac­cording to the ideas of wealth in the sixteenth century, an enormous sum. Some of Cortes's fa­vourites had secretly appropriated to their own use several ornaments of gold, which neither paid the royal fifth, nor were brought into account as part of the common stock. It was, however, so mani­festly the interest of Cortes at this period to make a large remittance to the king, that it is highly probable those concealments were not of great con­sequence.

Reasons why gold was found in such small quan­tities.THE total sum amassed by the Spaniards bears no proportion to the ideas which might be formed, either by reflecting on the descriptions given by historians of the ancient splendour of Mexico, or by considering the productions of its mines in mo­dern times. But, among the ancient Mexicans, gold and silver were not the standards by which the [Page 71] worth of other commodities was estimated; and destitute of the artificial value derived from this circumstance, were no farther in request than as they furnished materials for ornaments and trinkets. These were either consecrated to the gods in their temples, or were worn as marks of distinction by their princes and some of their most eminent chiefs. As the consumption of the precious metals was inconsiderable, the demand for them was not such as to put either the ingenuity or industry of the Mexicans on the stretch, in order to augment their store. They were altogether unacquainted with the art of working the rich mines with which their country abounded. What gold they had was ga­thered in the beds of rivers, native, and ripened into a pure metallic state ^*. The utmost effort of their labour in search of it was to wash the earth carried down by torrents from the mountains, and to pick out the grains of gold which subsided; and even this simple operation, according to the report of the persons whom Cortes appointed to survey the provinces where there was a prospect of finding mines, they performed very unskilfully^†. From all those causes, the whole mass of gold in posses­sion of the Mexicans was not great. As silver is rarely found pure, and the Mexican art was too rude to conduct the process for refining it in a pro­per manner, the quantity of this metal was still less considerable^‡. Thus, though the Spaniards had exerted all the power which they possessed in Mexico, and often with indecent rapacity, in order to gratify their predominant passion; and though Montezuma had fondly exhausted his treasures, in hopes of satiating their thirst for gold, the product of both, which probably included a great part of [Page 72] the bullion in the empire, did not rise in value above what has been mentioned^*.

BUT however pliant Montezuma might be in other matters,Montezu­ma inflexi­ble with re­spect to re­ligion. with respect to one point he was in­flexible. Though Cortes often urged him, with the importunate zeal of a missionary, to renounce his false gods, and to embrace the Christian faith, he always rejected the proposition with horror. Superstition, among the Mexicans, was formed into such a regular and complete system, that its institutions naturally took fast hold of the mind; and while the rude tribes in other parts of America were easily induced to relinquish a few notions and rites, so loose and arbitrary as hardly to merit the name of a public religion, the Mexicans adhered tenaciously to their mode of worship, which, how­ever barbarous, was accompanied with such order and solemnity as to render it an object of the highest veneration. Cortes, finding all his attempts inef­fectual to shake the constancy of Montezuma, was so much enraged at his obstinacy, that in a transport of zeal he led out his soldiers to throw down the idols in the great temple by for [...] ▪ But the priests taking arms in defence of their [...]tars, and the people crowding with great ardour to support them, Cortes's prudence overruled his zeal, and induced him to desist from his rash attempt, after dislodging the idols from one of the shrines, and placing in their stead an image of the Virgin Mary^†.

Schemes of the Mexi­cans to de­stroy the Spaniards.FROM that moment the Mexicans, who had permitted the imprisonment of their sovereign, and suffered the exactions of strangers without a strug­gle, began to meditate how they might expel or destroy the Spaniards, and thought themselves called upon to avenge their insulted deities. The priests and leading men held frequent consultations [Page 73] with Montezuma for this purpose. But as it might prove fatal to the captive monarch to attempt either the one or the other by violence, he was willing to try more gentle means. Having called Cortes into his presence, he observed, that now, as all the purposes of his embassy were fully ac­complished, the gods had declared their will, and the people signified their desire that he and his followers should instantly depart out of the empire. With this he required them to comply, or una­voidable destruction would fall suddenly on their heads. The tenor of this unexpected requisition, as well as the determined tone in which it was uttered, left Cortes no room to doubt that it was the result of some deep scheme concerted between Montezuma and his subjects. He quickly perceived that he might derive more advantage from a seeming com­pliance with the monarch's inclination, than from an ill-timed attempt to change or to oppose it; and re­plied, with great composure, that he had already be­gun to prepare for returning to his own country; but as he had destroyed the vessels in which he arrived, some time was requisite for building other ships. This appeared seasonable. A number of Mexicans were sent to Vera Cruz to cut down timber, and some Spanish carpenters were appointed to super­intend the work. Cortes flattered himself, that during this interval he might either find means to avert the threatened danger, or receive such rein­forcements as would enable him to despise it.

ALMOST nine months were elapsed since Porto­carrero and Montejo had sailed with his dispatches to Spain;Anxiety and danger of Cortes. and he daily expected their return with a confirmation of his authority from the king. Without this, his condition was insecure and pre­carious, and after all the great things which he had done, it might be his doom to bear the name and suffer the punishment of a traitor. Rapid and [Page 74] extensive as his progress had been, he could not hope to complete the reduction of a great empire with so small a body of men, which by this time diseases of various kinds considerably thinned; nor could he apply for recruits to the Spanish settle­ments in the islands until he received the royal ap­probation of his proceedings.

The arrival of a new armament,WHILE he remained in this cruel situation, anxi­ous about what was past, uncertain with respect to the future, and, by the late declaration of Monte­zuma, oppressed with a new addition of cares, a Mexican courier arrived with an account of some ships having appeared on the coast. Cortes, with fond credulity, imagining that his messengers were returned from Spain, and that the completion of all his wishes and hopes was at hand, imparted the glad tidings to his companions, who received them with transports of mutual gratulation. Their joy was not of long continuance. A courier from San­doval, whom Cortes had appointed to succeed Escalante in command at Vera Cruz, brought cer­tain information that the armament was fitted out by Velasquez, governor of Cuba, and instead of bringing the aid which they expected, threatened them with immediate destruction.

fitted out by Velas­quez,THE motives which prompted Velasquez to this violent measure are obvious. From the circum­stances of Cortes's departure, it was impossible not to suspect his intention of throwing off all depend­ence upon him. His neglecting to transmit any account of his operations to Cuba, strengthened this suspicion, which was at last confirmed beyond doubt, by the indiscretion of the officers whom Cortes sent to Spain. They, from some motive which is not clearly explained by the contemporary historians, touched at the island of Cuba, con­trary to the peremptory orders of their gene­ral^*. [Page 75] By this means Valasquez not only learned that Cortes and his followers, after formally renouncing all connection with him, had established an independ­ent colony in New Spain, and were soliciting the king to confirm their proceedings by his authority; but he obtained particular information concerning the opulence of the country, the valuable presents which Cortes had received, and the inviting prospects of success that opened to his view. Every passion which can agitate an ambitious mind; shame, at having been so grossly overreached; indignation, at being betrayed by the man whom he had selected as the object of his favour and confidence; grief, for hav­ing wasted his fortune to aggrandize an enemy; and despair of recovering so fair an opportunity of establishing his fame and extending his power, now raged in the bosom of Velasquez. All these, with united force, excited him to make an extraordinary effort in order to be avenged on the author of his wrongs, and to wrest from him his usurped autho­rity and conquests. Nor did he want the appear­ance of a good title to justify such an attempt. The agent whom he sent to Spain with an account of Grijalva's voyage, had met with a most favour­able reception; and from the specimens which he produced, such high expectations were formed concerning the opulence of New Spain, that Velas­quez was authorised to prosecute the discovery of the country, and appointed governor of it during life, with more extensive power and privileges than had been granted to any adventurer from the time of Columbus^†. Elated by this distinguishing mark of favour, and warrante [...] to consider Cortes not only as intru [...]ing upon his jurisdiction, but as dis­obedient [Page 76] to the royal mandate, he determined to vindicate his own rights and the honour of his so­vereign by force of arms^*.under the command of Narvaez. His ardour in carrying on his preparations, was such as might have been expected from the violence of the passions with which he was animated; and in a short time an armament was completed, consisting of eighteen ships, which had on board fourscore horsemen, eight hundred foot soldiers, of which eighty were musketeers, and an hundred and twenty cross-bow men, together with a train of twelve pieces of can­non. As Velasquez's experience of the fatal con­sequence of committing to another what he ought to have executed himself, had not rendered him more enterprising, he vested the command of this formidable body, which, in the infancy of the Spa­nish power in America, merits the appellation of an army, in Pamphilo de Narvaez, with instruc­tions to seize Cortes and his principal officers, to send them prisoners to him, and then to complete the discovery and conquest of the country in his name.

The pro­ceedings of Narvaez. April.AFTER a prosperous voyage, Narvaez landed his men without opposition near St. Juan de Ullua. Three soldiers, whom Cortes had sent to search for mines in that district, immediately joined him. By this accident, he not only received information concerning the progress and situation of Cortes, but as these soldiers had made some progress in the knowledge of the Mexican language, he acquired interpreters, by whose means he was enabled to hold some intercourse with the people of the coun­try. But, according to the low cunning of desert­ers, they framed their intelligence with more at­tention to what they thought would be agreeable, than to what they knew to be true; and represented [Page 77] the situation of Cortes to be so desperate, and the disaffection of his followers to be so general, as in­creased the natural confidence and presumption of Narvaez. His first operation, however, might have taught him not to rely on their partial ac­counts. Having sent to summon the governor of Vera Cruz to surrender, Guevara, a priest whom he employed in that service, made the requisition with such insolence, that Sandoval, an officer of high spirit, and zealously attached to Cortes, instead of complying with his demands, seized him and his attendants, and sent them in chains to Mexico.

CORTES received them not like enemies,Cortes deeply alarmed. but as friends, and condemning the severity of Sandoval, set them immediately at liberty. By this well-timed clemency, seconded by caresses and presents, he gained their confidence, and drew from them such particulars concerning the force and intentions of Narvaez, as gave him a view of the impending danger in its full extent. He had not to contend now with half-naked Indians, no match for him in war, and still more inferior in the arts of policy, but to take the field against an army in courage and martial discipline equal to his own, in number far superior, acting under the sanction of royal autho­rity, and commanded by an officer of known bra­very. He was informed that Narvaez, more soli­citous to gratify the resentment of Velasquez, than attentive to the honour or interest of his country, had begun his intercourse with the natives, by re­presenting him and his followers as fugitives and outlaws, guilty of rebellion against their own sove­reign, and of injustice in invading the Mexican empire; and had declared that his chief object in visiting the country was to punish the Spaniards who had committed these crimes, and to rescue the Mexicans from oppression. He soon perceived [Page 78] that the same unfavourable representations of his character and actions had been conveyed to Mon­tezuma, and that Narvaez had found means to as­sure him, that as the conduct of those who kept him under restraint was highly displeasing to the king his master, he had it in charge not only to rescue an injured monarch from confinement, but to reinstate him in the possession of his ancient power and independence. Animated with this pros­pect of being set free from subjection to strangers, the Mexicans in several provinces began openly to revolt from Cortes, and to regard Narvaez as a deliverer no less able than willing to save them. Montezuma himself kept up a secret intercouse with the new commander, and seemed to court him as a person superior in power and dignity to those Spaniards whom he had hitherto revered as the first of men^*.

His delibe­rations con­cerning his own con­duct.SUCH were the various aspects of danger and difficulty which presented themselves to the view of Cortes. No situation can be conceived more trying to the capacity and firmness of a general, or where the choice of the plan which ought to be adopted was more difficult. If he should wait the approach of Narvaez in Mexico, destruction seemed to be unavoidable; for while the Spaniards pressed him from without, the inhabitants, whose turbulent spirit he could hardly restrain with all his authority and attention would eagerly lay hold on such a favourable opportunity of avenging all their wrongs. If he should abandon the capital, set the captive monarch at liberty, and march out to meet the enemy; he must at once forego the fruits of all his toils and victories, and relinquish advan­tages which could not be recovered without ex­traordinary efforts, and infinite danger. If, in­stead [Page 79] of employing force, he should have recourse to conciliating measures, and attempt an accom­modation with Narvaez; the natural haughtiness of that officer, augmented by consciousness of his present superiority, forbad him to cherish any san­guine hope of success. After revolving every scheme with deep attention, Cortes fixed upon that which in execution was most hazardous, but if successful, would prove most beneficial to him­self and his country; and with the decisive in­trepidity suited to desperate situations, determined to make one bold effort for victory under every disadvantage, rather than sacrifice his own con­quests and the Spanish interest in Mexico.

BUT though he foresaw that the contest must be terminated finally by arms,His negoci­ations with the follow­ers of Nar­vaez. it would have been not only indecent, but criminal, to have marched against his countrymen, without attempting to ad­just matters by an amicable negociation. In this service he employed Olmedo, his chaplain, to whose character the function was well suited, and who possessed, besides, such prudence and address as qualified him to carry on the secret intrigues in which Cortes placed his chief confidence. Narvaez rejected, with scorn, every scheme of accommo­dation that Olmedo proposed, and was with diffi­culty restrained from laying violent hands on him and his attendants. He met, however, with a more favorable reception among the followers of Narvaez, to many of whom he delivered letters, either from Cortes or his officers, their ancient friends and companions. Cortes artfully accom­panied these with presents of rings, chains of gold, and other trinkets of value, which inspired those needy adventurers with high ideas of the wealth that he had acquired, and with envy of their good fortune who were engaged in his service. Some, from hopes of becoming sharers in those rich spoils, [Page 80] declared for an immediate accommodation with Cortes. Others, from public spirit, laboured to prevent a civil war, which, whatever party should prevail, must shake, and perhaps subvert the Spa­nish power, in a country where it was so imper­fectly established. Narvaez disregarded both, and by a public proclamation denounced Cortes and his adherents rebels and enemies to their country. Cortes, it is probable, was not much surprised at the untractable arrogance of Narvaez; and, after having given such a proof of his own pacific dis­position as might justify his recourse to other means, he determined to advance towards an enemy whom he had laboured in vain to appease.

Marches against him. May.HE left a hundred and fifty men in the capital, under the command of Pedro de Alvarado, an offi­cer of distinguished courage, for whom the Mexi­cans had conceived a singular degree of respect. To the custody of this slender garrison he committed a great city, with all the wealth he had amassed, and, what was still of greater importance, the person of the imprisoned monarch. His utmost art was em­ployed in concealing from Montezuma the real cause of his march. He laboured to persuade him, that the strangers who had lately arrived were his friends and fellow-subjects; and that, after a short interview with them, they would depart together, and return to their own country. The captive prince, unable to comprehend the designs of the Spaniards, or to reconcile what he now heard with the declarations of Narvaez, and afraid to discover any symptom of suspicion or distrust of Cortes, promised to remain quietly in the Spanish quarters, and to cultivate the same friendship with Alvarado which he had uniformly maintained with him. Cortes, with seeming confidence in this promise, but relying principally upon the injunctions which he had given Alvarado to guard his prisoner [Page 81] with the most scrupulous vigilance, set out from Mexico.

HIS strength, even after it was reinforced by the junction of Sandoval and the garrison of Vera Cruz, did not exceed two hundred and fifty men.Number of his troops. As he hoped for success chiefly from the rapidity of his motions, his troops were not incumbered either with baggage or artillery. But as he dreaded extremely the impression which the enemy might make with their cavalry, he had provided against this danger with the foresight and sagacity which distinguish a great commander. Having observed that the Indians in the province of Chinantla used spears of extraordinary length and force, he arm­ed his soldiers with these, and accustomed them to that deep and compact arrangement which the use of this formidable weapon, the best perhaps that ever was invented for defence, enabled them to assume.

WITH this small but firm battalion,Continues to negociate as he ad­vanced. Cortes ad­vanced towards Zempoalla, of which Narvaez had taken possession. During his march, he made re­peated attempts towards some accommodation with his opponent. But Narvaez requiring that Cortes and his followers should instantly recognize his title to be governor of New Spain, in virtue of the powers which he derived from Velasquez; and Cortes refusing to submit to any authority which was not founded on a commission from the emperor himself, under whose immediate protection he and his adherents had placed their infant colony; all these attempts proved fruitless. The intercourse, however, which this occasioned between the two parties, proved of no small advantage to Cortes, as it afforded him an opportunity of gaining some of Narvaez's officers by liberal presents, of soften­ing others by a semblance of moderation, and of dazzling all by the appearance of wealth among his [Page 82] troops, most of his soldiers having converted their share of the Mexican gold into chains, bracelets, and other ornaments, which they displayed with military ostentation. Narvaez and a little junto of his creatures excepted, all the army leaned towards an accommodation with their countrymen. This discovery of their inclination irritated his violent temper almost to madness. In a transport of rage, he set a price on the head of Cortes, and of his principal officers; and having learned that he was now advanced within a league of Zempoalla with his small body of men, he considered this as an insult which merited immediate chastisement, and marched out with all his troops to offer him battle.

Attacks Narvaez in the night.BUT Cortes was a leader of greater abilities and experience than, on equal ground, to fight an enemy so far superior in number, and so much better appointed. Having taken his station on the opposite bank of the river de Canoas, where he knew that he could not be attacked, be beheld the approach of the enemy without concern, and dis­regarded this vain bravade. It was then the begin­ning of the wet season^*, and the rain had poured down, during a great part of the day, with the violence peculiar to the torrid zone. The follow­ers of Narvaez, unaccustomed to the hardships of military service, murmured so much at being thus fruitlessly exposed, that, from their unsoldier-like impatience, as well as his own contempt of his adversary, their general permitted them to retire to Zempoalla. The very circumstance which induced them to quit the field, encouraged Cortes to form a scheme, by which he hoped at once to terminate the war. He observed, that his hardy veterans, though standing under the torrents which conti­nued [Page 83] to fall, without a single tent or any shelter whatsoever to cover them, were so far from re­pining at hardships which were become familiar to them, that they were still fresh and alert for ser­vice. He foresaw that the enemy would naturally give themselves up to repose after their fatigue, and that, judging of the conduct of others by their own effeminacy, they would deem themselves per­fectly secure at a season so unfit for action. He resolved, therefore, to fall upon them in the dead of night, when the surprise and terror of this un­expected attack might more than compensate the inferiority of his numbers. His soldiers, sensible that no resource remained but in some desperate ef­fort of courage, approved of the measure with such warmth, that Cortes, in a military oration which he addressed to them before they began their march, was more solicitous to temper than to in­flame their ardour. He divided them into three parties. At the head of the first he placed Sando­val; entrusting this gallant officer with the most dangerous and important service, that of seizing the enemy's artillery, which was planted before the principal tower of the temple, where Narvaez had fixed his head-quarters. Christoval de Olid commanded the second, with orders to assault the tower, and lay hold on the general. Cortes him­self conducted the third and smallest division, which was to act as a body of reserve, and to sup­port the other two as there should be occasion. Having passed the river de Canoas, which was much swelled with the rains, not without difficulty, the water reaching almost to their chins, they ad­vanced in profound silence, without beat of drum, or sound of any warlike instrument; each man armed with his sword, his dagger, and his Chinant­lan spear. Narvaez, remiss in proportion to his se­curity, had posted only two centinels to watch the [Page 84] motions of an enemy whom he had such good cause to dread. One of these was seized by the advanced guard of Cortes's troops, the other made his escape, and hurrying to the town with all the precipitation of fear and zeal, gave such timely notice of the enemy's approach, that there was full leisure to have prepared for their reception. But, through the arrogance and infatuation of Narvaez, this important interval was lost. He imputed this alarm to the cowardice of the centinel, and treated with derision the idea of being attacked by forces so unequal to his own. The shouts of Cortes's soldiers, rushing on to the assault, convinced him at last, that the danger which he despised was real. The rapidity with which they advanced was such, that only one cannon could be fired, before Sando­val's party closed with the enemy, drove them from their guns, and began to force their way up the steps of the tower. Narvaez, no less brave in action than presumptuous in conduct, armed him­self in haste, and by his voice and example ani­mated his men to the combat. Olid advanced to sustain his companions; and Cortes himself, rushing to the front, conducted and added new vigour to the attack. The compact order in which this small body pressed on, and the impenetrable front which they presented with their long spears, bore down all opposition before it.and over­comes him. They had now reached the gate, and were struggling to burst it open, when a soldier having set fire to the reeds with which the tower was covered, compelled Nar­vaez to sally out. In the first encounter he was wounded in the eye with a spear, and falling to the ground, was dragged down the steps, and in a mo­ment clapt in fetters. The cry of victory resound­ed among the troops of Cortes. Those who had sallied out with their leader now maintained the conflict feebly, and began to surrender. Among [Page 85] the remainder of his soldiers, stationed in two smaller towers of the temple, terror and confusion prevailed. The darkness was so great, that they could not distinguish between their friends and foes. Their own artillery was pointed against them. Wherever they turned their eyes, they beheld lights gleaming through the obscurity of night, which, though proceeding only from a variety of shining insects, that abound in moist and sultry climates, their affrighted imaginations represented as nume­rous bands of musketeers advancing with kindled matches to the attack. After a short resistance, the soldiers compelled their officers to capitulate, and before morning all laid down their arms, and submitted quietly to their conquerors.

THIS complete victory proved more acceptable,The effects of this victory. as it was gained almost without bloodshed, only two soldiers being killed on the side of Cortes, and two officers, with fifteen private men, of the ad­verse faction. Cortes treated the vanquished not like enemies, but as countrymen and friends, and offered either to send them back directly to Cuba, or to take them into his service, as partners in his fortune, on equal terms with his own soldiers. This latter proposition, seconded by a seasonable distribution of some presents from Cortes, and li­beral promises of more, opened prospects so agree­able to the romantic expectations which had invited them to engage in this service, that all, a few par­tizans of Narvaez excepted, closed with it, and vied with each other in professions of fidelity and attachment to a general, whose recent success had given them such a striking proof of his abilities for command. Thus by a series of events no less fortunate than uncommon, Cortes not only escaped from perdition which seemed inevitable, but, when he had least reason to expect it, was placed at the head of a thousand Spaniards, ready to follow [Page 86] wherever he should lead them. Whoever reflects upon the facility with which this victory was ob­tained, or considers with what sudden and unani­mous transition the followers of Narvaez ranged themselves under the standard of his rival, will be apt to ascribe both events as much to the intrigues as to the arms of Cortes, and cannot but suspect that the ruin of Narvaez was occasioned, no less by the treachery of his own followers, than by the valour of his enemy^*.

The Mexi­cans take arms against the Spa­niards.BUT, in one point, the prudent conduct and good fortune of Cortes were equally conspicuous. If, by the rapidity of his operations after he began his march, he had not brought matters to such a speedy issue, even this decisive victory would have come too late to have saved his companions whom he left in Mexico. A few days after the discomfi­ture of Narvaez, a courier arrived with an account that the Mexicans had taken arms, and having seized and destroyed the two brigantines, which Cortes had built in order to secure the command of the lake, and attacked the Spaniards in their quar­ters, had killed several of them, and wounded more, had reduced to ashes their magazine of pro­visions, and carried on hostilities with such fury, that, though Alvarado and his men defended themselves with undaunted resolution, they must either be soon cut off by famine, or sink under the multitude of their enemies. This revolt was excited by motives which rendered it still more alarming. On the departure of Cortes for Zempoalla, the Mexicans flattered themselves, that the long-expected oppor­tunity of restoring their sovereign to liberty, and of vindicating their country from the odious domi­nion of strangers, was at length arrived; that while [Page 87] the forces of their oppressors were divided, and the arms of one party turned against the other, they might triumph with greater facility over both. Consultations were held, and schemes formed with this intention. The Spaniards in Mexico, conscious of their own feebleness, suspected and dreaded those machinations. Alvarado, though a gallant officer, possessed neither that extent of capacity, nor dignity of manners, by which Cortes had ac­quired such an ascendant over the minds of the Mexicans, as never allowed them to form a just estimate of his weakness or of their own strength. Alvarado knew no mode of supporting his au­thority but force. Instead of employing address to disconcert the plans or to sooth the spirits of the Mexicans, he waited the return of one of their solemn festivals, when the principal persons in the empire were dancing, according to custom, in the court of the great temple; he seized all the avenues which led to it, and, allured partly by the rich or­naments which they wore in honour of their gods, and partly by the facility of cutting off at once the authors of that conspiracy which he dreaded, he fell upon them, unarmed and unsuspicious of any danger, and massacred a great number, none escap­ing but such as made their way over the battlements of the temple. An action so cruel and treacherous filled not only the city, but the whole empire, with indignation and rage. All called aloud for ven­geance; and regardless of the safety of their mo­narch, whose life was at the mercy of the Spaniards, or of their own danger in assaulting an enemy who had been so long the object of their terror, they committed all those acts of violence of which Cortes received an account.

TO him the danger appeared so imminent,He marches back to the capital. as to admit neither of deliberation nor delay. He set out instantly with all his forces, and returned from [Page 88] Zempoalla with no less rapidity than he had ad­vanced thither. At Tlascala he was joined by two thousand chosen warriors. On entering the Mexi­can territories he found that disaffection to the Spaniards was not confined to the capital. The principal inhabitants had deserted the towns through which he passed; no person of note appearing to meet him with the usual respect; no provision was made for the subsistence of his troops; and though he was permitted to advance without opposition, the solitude and silence which reigned in every place, and the horror with which the people avoid­ed all intercourse with him, discovered a deep-rooted antipathy, that excited the most just alarm. But, implacable as the enmity of the Mexicans was, they were so unacquainted with the science of war, that they knew not how to take the proper measures, either for their own safety or the destruc­tion of the Spaniards. Uninstructed by their for­mer error in admitting a formidable enemy into their capital, instead of breaking down the cause-ways and bridges, by which they might have in­closed Alvarado and his party, and have effectually stopt the career [...] Cortes,June 24. they again suffered him to march into the city without molestation, and to take quiet possession of his ancient station.

Improper conduct of Cortes.THE transports of joy with which Alvarado and his soldiers received their companions cannot be expressed. Both parties were so much elated, the one with their seasonable deliverance, and the other with the great exploits which they had atchieved, that this intoxication of success seems to have reached Cortes himself; and he behaved on this occasion neither with his usual sagacity nor atten­tion. He not only neglected to visit Montezuma, but imbittered the insult by expressions full of con­tempt for that unfortunate prince and his people. The forces of which he had now the command, [Page 89] appeared to him so irresistible, that he might assume an higher tone, and lay aside the mask of moderation, under which he had hitherto concealed his designs. Some Mexicans who understood the Spanish lan­guage, heard the contemptuous words which Cor­tes uttered, and reporting them to their country­men, kindled their rage anew. They were now convinced that the intentions of the general were equally bloody with those of Alvarado, and that his original purpose in visiting their country, had not been, as he pretended, to court the alliance of their sovereign, but to attempt the conquest of his dominions. They resumed their arms with the additional fury which this discovery in­spired,The violent hostility of the Mexi­cans. attacked a considerable body of Spaniards who were marching towards the great square in which the public market was held, and compelled them to retire with some loss. Emboldened by this success, and delighted to find that their op­pressors were not invincible, they advanced next day with extraordinary martial pomp to assault the Spaniards in their quarters. Their number was formidable, and their undaunted courage still more so. Though the artillery pointed against their nu­merous battalions, crowded together in narrow streets, swept off multitudes at every discharge; though every blow of the Spanish weapons fell with mortal effect upon their naked bodies, the impetuosity of the assault did not abate. Fresh men rushed forward to occupy the places of the slain, and meeting with the same fate, were suc­ceeded by others no less intrepid and eager for vengeance. The utmost effort of Cortes's abilities and experience, seconded by the disciplined valour or his troops, were hardly sufficient to defend the fortifications, that surrounded the post where the Spaniards were stationed, into which the enemy were more than once on the point of forcing their way.

[Page 90]CORTES beheld, with wonder, the implacable ferocity of a people who seemed at first to submit tamely to the yoke, and had continued so long passive under it.Distress of the Spa­niards. The soldiers of Narvaez, who fondly imagined that they followed Cortes to share in the spoils of a conquered empire, were asto­nished to find that they were involved in a dan­gerous war, with an enemy whose vigour was still unbroken, and loudly execrated their own weakness, in giving such easy credit to the delusive promises of their new leader^*. But surprise and complaints were of no avail. Some immediate and extraor­dinary effort was requisite to extricate themselves out of their present situation. As soon as the ap­proach of evening induced the Mexicans to re­tire, in compliance with their national custom of ceasing from hostilities with the setting sun, Cortes began to prepare for a sally, next day, with such a considerable force, as might either drive the enemy out of the city, or compel them to listen to terms of accommodation.

Cortes at­tacks them without success.HE conducted, in person, the troops destined for this important service. Every invention known in the European art of war, as well as every pre­caution, suggested by his long acquaintance with the Indian mode of fighting, were employed to ensure success. But he found an enemy prepared and determined to oppose him. The force of the Mexicans was greatly augmented by fresh troops, which poured in continually from the country, and their animosity was in no degree abated. They were led by their nobles, inflamed by the exhorta­tions of their priests, and fought in defence of their temples and families, under the eye of their gods, and in presence of their wives and children. Notwithstanding their numbers, and enthusiastic [Page 91] contempt of danger and death, wherever the Spa­niards could close with them, the superiority of their discipline and arms obliged the Mexicans to give way. But in narrow streets, and where many of the bridges of communication were broken down, the Spaniards could seldom come to a fair rencounter with the enemy, and as they advanced, were exposed to showers of arrows and stones from, the tops of houses. After a day of incessant exer­tion, though vast numbers of the Mexicans fell, and part of the city was burnt, the Spaniards, weary with the slaughter, and harrassed by multi­tudes which successively relieved each other, were obliged at length to retire, with the mortification of having accomplished nothing so decisive as to compensate the unusual calamity of having twelve soldiers killed, and above sixty wounded. Another sally, made with greater force, was not more effec­tual, and in it the general himself was wounded in the hand.

CORTES now perceived, too late,Montezu­ma slain. the fatal er­ror into which he had been betrayed by his own contempt of the Mexicans, and was satisfied that he could neither maintain his present station in the centre of an hostile city [...] or retire from it without the most imminent danger. One resource still re­mained, to try what effect the interposition of Montezuma might have to soothe or overawe his subjects. When the Mexicans approached next morning to renew the assault, that unfortunate prince, at the mercy of the Spaniards, and reduced to the sad necessity of becoming the instrument of his own disgrace, and of the slavery of his people^*, advanced to the battlements in his royal robes, and with all the pomp in which he used to appear on solemn occasions. At sight of their sovereign, [Page 92] whom they had long been accustomed to honour, and almost to revere as a god, the weapons dropt from their hands, every tongue was silent, all bowed their heads, and many prostrated themselves on the ground. Montezuma addressed them with every argument that could mitigate their rage, or persuade them to cease from hostilities. When he ended his discourse, a suller murmur of disappro­bation run through the ranks; to this succeeded reproaches and threats; and the fury of the multi­tude rising in a moment above every restraint of decency or respect, flights of arrows and volleys of stones poured in so violently upon the ramparts, that before the Spanish soldiers, appointed to cover Montezuma with their bucklers, had time to lift them in his defence, two arrows wounded the un­happy monarch, and the blow of a stone on his temple struck him to the ground. On seeing him fall, the Mexicans were so much astonished, that, with a transition not uncommon in popular tu­mults, they passed in a moment from one extreme to the other, remorse succeeded to insult, and they fled with horror, as if the vengeance of Heaven were pursuing the crime which they had com­mitted. The Spaniards, without molestation, car­ried Montezuma to his apartments, and Cortes hastened thither to console him under his misfor­tune. But the unhappy monarch now perceived how low he was sunk, and the haughty spirit which seemed to have been so long extinct, returning, he scorned to survive this last humiliation, and to protract an ignominious life, not only as the pri­soner and tool of his enemies, but as the object of contempt or detestation among his subjects. In a transport of rage he [...]ore the bandages from his wounds, and refused, with such obstinacy, to take any nourishment, that he soon ended his wretched [Page 93] days, rejecting with disdain all the solicitations of the Spaniards to embrace the Christian faith.

UPON the death of Montezuma, Cortes having lost all hope of bringing the Mexicans to an ac­commodation,New con­flicts. saw no prospect of safety but in at tempting a retreat, and began to prepare for it. But a sudden motion of the Mexicans engaged him in new conflicts. They took possession of a high tower in the great temple which overlooked the Spanish quarters, and placing there a garrison of their principal warriors, not a Spaniard could stir without being exposed to their missile weapons. From this post it was necessary to dislodge them at any risk; and Juan de Escobar, with a nume­rous detachment of chosen soldiers, was ordered to make the attack. But Escobar, though a gallant officer, and at the head of troops accustomed to conquer, and who now fought under the eyes of their countrymen, was thrice repulsed. Cortes, sensible that not only the reputation, but the safety of his army depended on the success of this assault, ordered a buckler to be tied to his arm, as he could not manage it with his wounded hand, and rushed with his drawn sword into the thickest of the combatants. Encouraged by the presence of their general, the Spaniards returned to the charge with such vigour, that they gradually forced their way up the steps, and drove the Mexicans to the platform at the top of the tower. There a dread­ful carnage began, when two young Mexicans of high rank, observing Cortes as he animated his soldiers by his voice and example, resolved to sa­crifice their own lives in order to cut off the author of all the calamities which desolated their country. They approached him in a supplicant posture, as if they had intended to lay down their arms, and seizing him in a moment, hurried him towards the battlements, over which they threw themselves [Page 94] headlong, in hopes of dragging him along to be dashed in pieces by the same fall. But Cortes, by his strength and agility, broke loose from their grasp, and the gallant youths perished in this ge­nerous though unsuccessful attempt to save their country^*. As soon as the Spaniards became mas­ters of the tower, they set fire to it, and without farther molestation, continued the preparations for their retreat.

The Spa­niards a­bandon the city.THIS became the more necessary, as the Mexi­cans were so much astonished at the last effort of the Spanish valour, that they began to change their whole system of hostility, and, instead of incessant attacks, endeavoured, by barricading the streets, and breaking down the causeways, to cut off the communication of the Spaniards with the continent, and thus to starve an enemy whom they could not subdue. The first point to be determined by Cor­tes and his followers, was, whether they should march out openly in the face of day, when they could discern every danger, and see how to regu­late their own motions, as well as how to resist the assaults of the enemy; or, whether they should endeavour to retire secretly in the night? The latter was preferred, partly from hopes that their national superstition would restrain the Mexicans from ven­turing to attack them in the night, and partly from their own fond belief in the predictions of a private sol­dier, who having acquired universal credit by a smattering of learning, and his pretensions to astro­logy, boldly assured his countrymen of success, if [Page 95] they made their retreat in this manner. They be­gan to move, towards midnight, in three divisions. Sandoval led the van; Pedro Alvarado, and Ve­lasquez de Leon, had the conduct of the rear; and Cortes commanded in the centre, where he placed the prisoners, among whom were a son and two daughters of Montezuma, together with several Mexicans of distinction, the artillery, the baggage, and a portable bridge of timber, intended to be laid over the breaches in the causeway. They marched in profound silence along the causeway which led to Tacuba, because it was shorter than any of the rest, and laying most remote from the road towards Tlascala and the sea-coast, had been left more en­tire by the Mexicans. They reached the first breach in it without molestation, hoping that their retreat was undiscovered.

BUT the Mexicans, unperceived,Attacked by the Mexicans. had not only watched all their motions with attention, but had made proper dispositions for a most formidable at­tack. While the Spaniards were intent upon placing their bridge in the breach, and occupied in conducting their horses and artillery along it, they were suddenly alarmed with the tremendous sound of warlike instruments, and a general shout from an innumerable multitude of enemies; the lake was covered with canoes; flights of arrows, and showers of stones poured in upon them from every quarter; the Mexicans rushing forward to the charge with fearless impetuosity, as if they hoped in that moment to be avenged for all their wrongs. Unfortunately the wooden bridge, by the weight of the artillery, was wedged so fast into the stones and mud, that it was impossible to remove it. Dismayed at this accident, the Spaniards advanced [...]h precipitation towards the second breach. The Mexi [...] hemmed them in on every side, and though [...] defended themselves with their usual [Page 96] courage, yet crouded together as they were on a narrow causeway, their discipline and military skill were of little avail, nor did the obscurity of the night permit them to derive great advantage from their fire-arms, or the superiority of their other weapons. All Mexico were now in arms, and so eager were the people on the destruction of their oppressors, that they who were not near enough to annoy them in person, impatient of the delay, pressed forward with such ardour, as drove on their countrymen in the front with irresistible violence. Fresh warriors instantly filled the place of such as fell. The Spaniards, weary with slaughter, and unable to sustain the weight of the torrent that poured in upon them, began to give way. In a mo­ment the confusion was universal; horse and foot, officers and soldiers, friends and enemies, were mingled together; and while all fought, and many fell, they could hardly distinguish from what hand the blow came.

Their dis­asters,CORTES, with about a hundred foot soldiers and a few horse, forced his way over the two remain­ing breaches in the causeway, the bodies of the dead serving to fill up the chasms, and reached the main land. Having formed them as soon as they arrived, he returned with such as were yet capa­ble of service, to assist his friends in their retreat, and to encourage them by his presence and exam­ple, to persevere in the efforts requisite to effect it. He met with part of his soldiers, who had broke through the enemy, but found many more overwhelmed by the multitude of their aggressors, or perishing in the lake; and heard the piteous la­mentations of others, whom the Mexicans, having taken alive, were carrying off in triumph to be sacrificed to the god of war. Before day, all who had escaped assembled at Tacuba. But when the morning dawned, and discovered to the view of Cortes his shattered battalion, reduced to less than [Page 97] half its number, the survivors dejected, and most of them covered with wounds, the thoughts of what they had suffered, and the remembrance of so many faithful friends and gallant followers who had fallen in that night of sorrow^*, pierced his soul with such anguish, that while he was forming their ranks, and issuing some necessary orders, his soldiers observed the tears trickling from his eyes, and remarked, with much satisfaction, that while attentive to the duties of a general, he was not insensible to the feelings of a man.

IN this fatal retreat many officers of distinction perished^†, and among these Velasquez de Leon,and loss. who having forsaken the party of his kinsman, the governor of Cuba, to follow the fortune of his companions, was, on that account, as well as for his superior merit, respected by them as the second person in the army. All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage, were lost; the greater part of the horses, and above two thousand Tlascalans, were killed, and only a very small portion of the trea­sure which they had amassed was saved. This, which had been always their chief object, proved a great cause of their calamity; for many of the soldiers having so overloaded themselves with bars of gold as rendered them unfit for action, and re­tarded their flight, fell, ignominiously, the victims of their own inconsiderate avarice. Amidst so many disasters, it was some consolation to find that Aguilar and Marina, whose functions as interpreters was of such essential importance, had made their escape^‡.

[Page 98]THE first care of Cortes was to find some shelter for his wearied troops; for as the Mexicans infested them on every side, and the people of Tacuba began to take arms,Difficult retreat of the Spani­ards. he could not continue in his present station. He directed his march towards the rising ground, and having fortunately disco­vered a temple situated on an eminence, took pos­session of it. There he found not only the shelter for which he wished, but, what was no less wanted, some provisions to refresh his men; and though the enemy did not intermit their attacks through­out the day, they were with less difficulty prevented from making any impression. During this time Cortes was engaged in deep consultation with his officers, concerning the route which they ought to take in their retreat. They were now on the west side of the lake. Tlascala, the only place where they could hope for a friendly reception, lay about sixty-four miles to the east of Mexico^*; so that they were obliged to go round the north end of the lake before they could fall into the road which led thither. A Tlascalan soldier undertook to be their guide, and conducted them through a coun­try, in some places marshy, in other mountainous, in all ill-cultivated and thinly peopled. They marched for six days with little respite, and under continual alarms, numerous bodies of the Mexi­cans hovering around them, sometimes harassing them at a distance with their missile weapons, and sometimes attacking them closely in front, in rear, in flank, with great boldness, as they now knew that they were not invincible. Nor were the fa­tigue and danger of those incessant conflicts the worst evils to which they were exposed. As the barren country through which they passed afforded hardly any provisions, they were reduced to feed [Page 99] on berries, roots, and the stalks of green maize; and at the very time that famine was depressing their spirits and wasting their strength, their situa­tion required the most vigorous and unremitting exertions of courage and activity. Amidst those complicated distresses, one circumstance supported and animated the Spaniards. Their commander sustained this sad reverse of fortune with unshaken magnanimity. His presence of mind never forsook him; his sagacity foresaw every event, and his vi­gilance provided for it. He was foremost in every danger, and endured every hardship with cheer­fulness. The difficulties with which he was sur­rounded seemed to call forth new talents; and his soldiers, though despairing themselves, continued to follow him with encreasing confidence in his abilities.

ON the sixth day they arrived near to Otumba,Battle of Otumba. not far from the road between Mexico and Tlas­cala. Early next morning they began to advance towards it, flying parties of the enemy still hang­ing on their rear; and, amidst the insolts with which they accompanied their hostilities, Marina remarked that they often exclaimed with exultation, "Go on, robbers; go to the place where you shall quickly meet the vengeance due to your crimes." The meaning of this threat the Spaniards did not com­prehend, until they reached the summt of an eminence before them. There a spacious valley opened to their view, covered with a vast army, extending as far as the eye could reach. The Mexicans, while with one body of their troops they harassed the Spaniards in their retreat, had assembled their principal force on the other side of the lake; and marching along the road which led directly to Tlascala, posted it in the plain of Otum­ba, through which they knew Cortes must pass. At the sight of this incredible multitude, which [Page 100] they could survey at once from the rising ground, the Spaniards were astonished, and even the boldest began to despair. But Cortes, without allowing leisure for their fears to acquire strength by reflec­tion, after warning them briefly that no alternative now remained but to conquer or to die, led them instantly to the charge. The Mexicans waited their approach with unusual fortitude. Such, how­ever, was the superiority of the Spanish discipline and arms, that the impression of this small body was irresistible; and whichever way its force was directed, it penetrated and dispersed the most nu­merous battalions. But while these gave way in one quarter, new combatants advanced from an­other, and the Spaniards, though successful in every attack, were ready to sink under those re­peated efforts, without seeing any end of their toil, or any hope of victory. At that time Cortes ob­served the great standard of the empire, which was carried before the Mexican general, advancing; and fortunately recollecting to have heard, that on the fate of it depended the event of every battle, he assembled a few of his bravest officers, whose horses were still capable of service, and placing himself at their head, pushed forward towards the standard with an impetuosity which bore down every thing before it. A chosen body of nobles, who guarded the standard, made some resistance, but were soon broken. Cortes, with a stroke of his lance, wounded the Mexican general, and threw him to the ground. One of the Spanish officers alighting, put an end to his life, and laid hold of the Imperial standard. The moment that their leader fell, and the standard, towards which all directed their eyes, disappeared, an universal panic struck the Mexicans, and, as if the bond which held them together had been dissolved, every ensign was lowered, each soldier threw away [Page 101] his weapons, and all fled with precipitation to the mountains. The Spaniards, unable to pursue them far, returned to collect the spoils of the field, which were so valuable, as to be some compensation for the wealth which they had lost in Mexico; for in the enemy's army were most of their principal warriors, dressed out in their richest ornaments, as if they had been marching to assured victory.July 8. Next day, to their great joy, they entered the Tlascalan territories.^*

BUT,Reception of the Spa­niards in Tlascala. amidst their satisfaction in having got beyond the precincts of an hostile country, they could not look forward without solicitude, as they were still uncertain what reception they might meet with from allies, to whom they returned in a con­dition very different from that in which they had lately set out from their dominions. Happily for them, the enmity of the Tlascalans to the Mexi­can name was so inveterate, their desire to avenge the death of their countrymen so vehement, and the ascendant which Cortes had acquired over the chiefs of the republic so complete, that, far from entertaining a thought of taking any advantage of the distressed situation in which they beheld the Spaniards, they received them with a tenderness and cordiality, which quickly dissipated all their suspicions.

SOME interval of tranquillity and indulgence was now absolutely necessary;New deli­berations of Cortes. not only that the Spa­niards might give attention to the cure of their wounds, which had been too long neglected, but in order to recruit their strength, exhausted by such a long succession of fatigue and hardships. During this, Cortes learn [...] ▪ that he and his com­panions were not the only Spaniards who had felt [Page 102] the effects of the Mexican enmity. A consider­able detachment, which was marching from Zem­poalla towards the capital, had been cut off by the people of Tepeaca. A smaller party, returning from Tlascala to Vera Cruz, with the share of the Mexican gold allotted to the garrison, had been surprised and destroyed in the mountains. At a juncture when the life of every Spaniard was of importance, such losses were deeply felt. The schemes which Cortes was meditating rendered them peculiarly afflictive to him. While his ene­mies, and even many of his own followers, consi­dered the disasters which had befallen him as fatal to the progress of his arms, and imagined that nothing now remained but speedily to abandon a country which he had invaded with unequal force, his mind, as eminent for perseverance as for enter­prise, was still bent on accomplishing his original purpose, of subjecting the Mexican empire to the crown of Castile. Severe and unexpected as the check was which he had received, it did not ap­pear to him a sufficient reason for relinquishing the conquests which he had already made, or against resuming his operations with better hopes of success. The colony at Vera Cruz was not only safe, but had remained unmolested. The people of Zempoalla and the adjacent districts had discovered no symptoms of defection. The Tlas­calans continued firm to their alliance. On their martial spirit, easily roused to arms, and inflamed with implacable hatred of the Mexicans, Cortes depended for powerful aid. He had still the com­mand of a body of Spaniards, equal in number to that with which he had opened his way into the centre of the empire, and had taken possession of the capital; so that with the benefit of greater experience, as well as more perfect knowledge of the country, he did not despair of quickly reco­vering [Page 103] all that he had been deprived of by untoward events.

FULL of this idea, he courted the Tlascalan chiefs with such attention,The mea­ [...] he takes. and distributed among them so liberally the rich spoils of Otumba, that he was secure of obtaining whatever he should require of the republic. He drew a small supply of am­munition, and two or three field-pieces, from his stor [...]s at Vera Cruz. He dispatched an Officer of co [...]si [...] with four ships of Narvaez's fleet to Hispaniol [...] and Jamaica, to engage adventurers, and to purchase horses, gunpowder, and other military stores. As he knew that it would be vain to attempt the reduction of Mexico, unless he could secure the command of the lake, he gave orders to prepare, in the mountains of Tlascala, mate­rials for building twelve brigantines, so as they might be carried thither in pieces ready to be put to­gether, and launched when he stood in need of their service.^*

BUT while, with provident attention,Mutinous spirit of his troops. he was taking those necessary steps towards the execution of his measures, an obstacle arose in a quarter where it was least expected, but most formidable. The spirit of discontent and mutiny broke out in his own army. Many of Narvaez's followers were planters rather than soldiers, and had accompanied him to New Spain with sanguine hopes of obtain­ing settlements, but with little inclination to en­gage in the hardships and dangers of war. As the same motives had induced them to enter into their new engagements with Cortes, they no sooner became acquainted with the nature of the service, than they bitterly repented of their choice. Such of them as had the good fortune to survive the perilous adventures in which their [Page 104] own imprudence had involved them, happy in having made their escape, trembled at the thoughts of being exposed a second time to similar cala­mities. As soon as they discovered the intention of Cortes, they began secretly to murmur and cabal, and waxing gradually more audacious, they, in a body, offered a remonstrance to their general against the imprudence of attacking a powerful empire with his shattered forces, and formally required him to lead them back directly to Cuba. Though Cortes, long practised in the arts of command, employed arguments, intreaties, and presents, to convince or to soothe them; though his own soldiers animated with the spirit of their leader, warmly seconded his endeavours; he found their f [...]rs too violent and deep-rooted to be removed, and the utmost he could effect was to prevail with them to defer their departure for some time, on a promise that he would at a more proper juncture, dismiss such as should de­sire it.

Means he employs to revive their confidence.THAT the malcontents might have no leisure to brood over the causes of their disaffection, he re­solved instantly to call forth his troops into action, He proposed to chastise the people of Tepeaca for the outrage which they had committed, and as the detachment which they had cut off happened to be composed mostly of soldiers who had served under Narvaez, their companions, from the desire of ven­geance, engaged the more willingly in this war. He took the command in person,August. accompanied by a numerous body of Tlascalans, and in the space of a few weeks, after various encounters, with great slaughter of the Tepeacans, reduced that province to subjection. During several months, while he waited for the supplies of men and ammunition which he expected, and was carrying on his pre­parations for constructing the brigantines, he kept [Page 105] his troops constantly employed in various expedi­tions against the adjacent provinces, all of which were conducted with an uniform tenor of success. By these, his men became again accustomed to victory, and resumed their wonted sense of supe­riority; the Mexican power was weakened; the Tlascalan warriors acquired the habit of acting in conjunction with the Spaniards; and the chiefs of the republic delighted to see their country enriched with the spoils of all the people around them, and astonished every day with fresh discoveries of the irresistible prowess of their allies, they declined no effort requisite to support them.

ALL, those preparatory arrangements, however,Strength­ened by se­veral rein­forcements. though the most prudent and efficacious which the situation of Cortes allowed him to make, would have been of little avail, without a reinforcement of Spanish soldiers. Of this he was so deeply sen­sible, that it was the chief object of his thoughts and wishes; and yet his only prospect of obtaining it from the return of the officer whom he had sent to the isles to solicit aid, was both distant and un­certain. But what neither his own sagacity nor power could have procured, he owed to a series of fortunate and unforeseen incidents. The governor of Cuba, to whom the success of Narvaez appear­ed an event of infallible certainty, having sent two small ships after him with new instructions, and a supply of men and military stores, the officer whom Cortes had appointed to command on the coast, artfully decoyed them into the harbour of Vera Cruz, seized the vessels, and easily persuaded the soldiers to follow the standard of a more able leader than him whom they were destined to join ^*. Soon after, three ships of more considerable force came into the harbour separately. These belonged [Page 106] to an armament fitted out by Francisco de Garay, governor of Jamaica, who, being possessed with the rage of discovery and conquest which animated every Spaniard settled in America, had long aimed at intruding into some district of New Spain, and dividing with Cortes the glory and gain of annexing that empire to the crown of Castile. They unad­visedly made their attempt on the northern pro­vinces, where the country was poor, and the peo­ple fierce and warlike; and, after a cruel succession of disasters, famine compelled them to venture into Vera Cruz, and cast themselves upon the mercy of their countrymen.October 28. Their fidelity was not proof against the splendid hopes and promises which had seduced other adventurers, and as if the spirit of revolt had been contagious in New Spain, they likewise abandoned the master whom they were bound to serve, and inlisted under Cortes^*. Nor was it America alone that furnished such unexpected aid. A ship arrived from Spain, freighted by some private merchants with military stores, in hopes of a profitable market in a country, the fame of whose opulence begun to spread over Europe. Cortes eagerly purchased a cargo which to him was inva­luable, and the crew following the general exam­ple, joined him at Tlascala ^†.

FROM those various quarters, the army of Cor­tes was augmented with an hundred and eighty men, and twenty horses, a reinforcement too in­considerable to produce any consequence which would entitle it to have been mentioned in the history of other parts of the globe. But in that of America, where great revolutions were brought about by causes which seemed to bear no propor­tion to their effects, such small events rise into im­portance, [Page 107] because they were sufficient to decide with respect to the fate of kingdoms. Nor is it the least remarkable instance of the singular felicity conspi­cuous in many passages of Cortes's story, that the two persons chiefly instrumental in furnishing him with those seasonable supplies, should be an avowed enemy who aimed at his destruction, and an envious rival who wished to supplant him.

THE first effect of the junction with his new fol­lowers was to enable him to dismiss such of Nar­vaez's soldiers as remained with reluctance in his service. After their departure,Number of his forces. he still mustered five hundred and fifty infantry, of which fourscore were armed with muskets or cross-bows, forty horsemen, and a train of nine field pieces ^*. At the head of these, accompanied by ten thousand Tlasca­lans and other friendly Indians, Cortes began his march towards Mexico, on the twenty-eighth of December, six months after his disastrous retreat from that city^†.

NOR did he advance to attack an enemy unpre­pared to receive him.Prepara­tions of the Mexicans for their defence. Upon the death of Monte­zuma, the Mexican chiefs, in whom the right of electing the emperor was vested, had instantly raised his brother Quetlavaca to the throne. His avowed and inveterate enmity to the Spaniards would have been sufficient to gain their suffrages, although he had been less distinguished for courage and capacity. He had an immediate opportunity of shewing that he was worthy of their choice, by conducting, in person, those fierce attacks which compelled the Spaniards to abandon his capital; and as soon as their retreat afforded him any respite from action, he took measures for preventing their return to Mexico, with prudence equal to the spirit [Page 108] which he had displayed in driving them out of it. As from the vicinity of Tlascala, he could not be unacquainted with the motions and intentions of Cortes, he observed the storm that was gathering, and began early to provide against it. He repaired what the Spaniards had ruined in the city, and strengthened it with such new fortifications as the skill of his subjects was capable of erecting. Beside filling his magazines with the usual weapons of war, he gave directions to make long spears headed with the swords and daggers taken from the Spaniards, in order to annoy the cavalry. He summoned the people in every province of the empire to take arms against their oppressors, and as an encourage­ment to [...]ert themselves with vigour, he promised them exemption from all the taxes which his pre­decessors had imposed ^*. But what he laboured with the greatest earnestness was, to deprive the Spaniards of the advantages which they derived from the friendship of the Tlascalans, by endea­vouring to persuade that people to renounce all con­nection with men, who were not only avowed ene­mies of the gods whom they worshipped, but who would not fail at last to subject them to the same yoke, which they were now inconsiderately lending their aid to impose upon others. These representa­tions, no less striking than well founded, were urged so forcibly by his ambassadors, that it required all the address of Cortes to prevent their making a dan­gerous impression^†.

BUT while Quctlavaca was arranging his plan of defence, with a degree of foresight uncommon in an American, his days were cut short by the small-pox. This distemper, which raged at that time in New Spain with fatal malignity, was unknown in [Page 109] that quarter of the globe, until it was introduced by the Europeans, and may be reckoned among the greatest calamities brought upon them by their in­vaders. In his stead the Mexicans raised to the throne Guatimozin, nephew and son-in-law of Mon­tezuma, a young man of such high reputation for abilities and valour, that in this dangerous crisis, his countrymen, with one voice, called him to the su­preme command^*.

AS soon as Cortes entered the enemy's territo­ries,1521. Cortes ad­vances to­wards Mex­ico. he discovered various preparations to obstruct his progress. But his troops forced their way with little difficulty, and took possession of Tezeuco, the second city of the empire, situated on the banks of the lake about twenty miles from Mexi­co^†. Here he determined to establish his head­quarters, as the most proper station for launching his brigantines, as well as for making his approaches to the capital. In order to render his residence there more secure, he deposed the cazique or chief, who was at the head of that community, under pretext of some defect in his title, and substituted in his place a person whom a faction of the nobles pointed out as the right heir of that dignity. At­tached to him by this benefit, the new cazique and his adherents served the Spaniards with inviolable fidelity.^‡

AS the preparations for constructing the brigan­tines advanced slowly under the unskilful hands of soldiers and Indians,His opera­tions slow and cauti­o [...]. whom Cortes was obliged to employ in assisting three or four carpenters who happened fortunately to be in his service, and as he had not yet received the reinforcement which he expected from Hispaniola, he was not in a con­dition [Page 011] to turn his arms directly against the capital. To have attacked, at this period, a city so popu­lous, so well prepared for defence, and in a situa­tion of such peculiar strength, must have exposed his troops to inevitable destruction. Three months elapsed before the materials for the brigantines were finished, and before he heard my thing with respect to the success of the officer whom he had sent to Hispaniola. This, however, was not a season of inaction to Cortes. He attacked succes­sively several of the towns situated around the lake; and though all the Mexican power was exerted to obstruct his operations, he either compelled them to submit to the Spanish crown, or reduced them to ruins. The inhabitants of other towns he en­deavoured to conciliate by more gentle means, and though he could not hold any intercourse with them but by the intervention of interpreters, yet, under all the disadvantage of that tedious and imperfect mode of communication, he had acquired such thorough knowledge of the state of the country, as well as of the dispositions of the people, that he conducted his negociations and intrigues with asto­nishing dexterity and success. Most of the cities adjacent to Mexico were originally the capitals of small independent states; and some of them having been but lately annexed to the Mexican empire, still retained the remembrance of their ancient li­berty, and bore with impatience the rigorous yoke of their new masters. Cortes having early observed symptoms of their disaffection, availed himself of this knowledge to gain their confidence and friend­ship. By offering, with confidence, to deliver them from the odious dominion of the Mexicans, and by liberal promises of more indulgent treat­ment, if they would unite with him against their oppressors, he prevailed on the people of several considerable districts, not only to acknowledge the [Page 111] king of Castile as their sovereign, but to supply the Spanish camp with provisions, and to strengthen his army with auxiliary troops. Guatimozin, on the first appearance of defection among his sub­jects, exerted himself with vigour to prevent or to punish their revolt; but in spite of his efforts, the spirit continued to spread. The Spaniards gradually acquired new allies, and with deep concern he be­held Cortes arming against his empire those very hands which ought to have been active in its defence; and ready to advance against the capi­tal at the head of a numerous body of his own sub­jects^*.

WHILE, by those various methods, Cortes was gradually circumscribing the Mexican power in such a manner that his prospect of overturning it seemed neither to be uncertain nor remote, all his schemes were well nigh defeated, by a conspi­racy no less unexpected than dangerous. The soldiers of Narvaez had never united perfectly with the original companions of Cortes; nor did they enter into his measures with the same cordial zeal. Upon every occasion that required any extraordi­nary effort of courage or of patience, their spirits were apt to sink; and now, on a near view of what they had to encounter, in attempting to reduce a city so inaccessible as Mexico, and defended by a numerous army, the resolution even of those among them who had adhered to Cortes when he was de­serted by their associates, began to fail. Their fears led them to presumptuous and unsoldier-like dis­cussions concerning the propriety of their general's measures, and the improbability of their success. From these they proceeded to censure and invec­tives, and at last began to deliberate how they [Page 112] might provide for their own safety, of which they deemed their commander to be totally negligent. Antonio Villefagna, a private soldier, but bold, intriguing, and strongly attached to Velasquez, art­fully fomented this growing spirit of disaffection. His quarters became the rendezvous of the mal­contents, where, after many consultations, they could discover no method of checking Cortes in his career, but by assassinating him and his most considerable officers, and conferring the command upon some person who would relinquish his wild plans, and adopt measures more consistent with the general security. Despair inspired them with cou­rage. The hour for perpetrating the crime, the persons whom they destined as victims, the officers to succeed them in command, were all named; and the conspirators signed an association, by which they bound themselves with most solemn oaths to mutual fidelity. But on the evening before the appointed day, one of Cortes's ancient followers, who had been seduced into the conspiracy, touched with compunction at the imminent danger of a man whom he had long been accustomed to revere, or struck with horror at his own treachery, went pri­vately to his general, and revealed to him all that he knew. Cortes, though deeply alarmed, dis­cerned at once what conduct was proper in a situa­tion so critical. He repaired instantly to Ville­fagna's quarters, accompanied by some of his most trusty officers. The astonishment and confusion of the man at this unexpected visit anticipated the confession of his guilt. Cortes, while his attendants seized the traitor, snatched from his bosom a paper containing the association, signed by the conspira­tors. Impatient to know how far the defection extended, he retired to read it, and found there names which filled him with surprise and sorrow. But, aware how dangerous a strict scrutiny might [Page 113] prove at such a juncture, he confined his judicial in­quiries to Villefagna alone. As the proofs of his guilt were manifest, he was condemned after a short trial,1521. and next morning he was seen hanging before the door of the house in which he had lodged. Cortes called his troops together, and having explained to them the atrocious purpose of the conspirators, as well as the justice of the punishment inflicted on Villefagna, he added, with an appearance of satis­faction, that he was entirely ignorant with respect to all the circumstances of this dark transaction, as the traitor, when arrested, had suddenly torn and swallowed a paper which probably contained an account of it, and under the severest tortures pos­sessed such constancy as to conceal the names of his accomplices. This artful declaration restored tranquillity to many a breast that was throbbing, while he spoke, with consciousness of guilt and dread of detection; and by this prudent modera­tion, Cortes had the advantage of having disco­vered, and of being able to observe such of his followers as were disaffected; while they, flatter­ing themselves that their past crime was unknown, endeavoured to avert any suspicion of it, by re­doubling their activity and zeal in his service^*.

CORTES did not allow them leisure to ruminate on what had happened;His sing [...] lar prepara­tions for building brigantines. and as the most effectual means of preventing the return of a mutinous spi­rit, he determined to call forth his troops imme­diately to action. Fortunately, a proper occasion for this occurred without his seeming to court it. He received intelligence that the materials for building the brigantines were at length completely finished, and waited only for a body of Spaniards to conduct them to Tezeuco. The command of this convoy, consisting of two hundred foot sol­diers, [Page 114] fifteen horsemen, and two field-pieces, he gave to Sandoval, who, by the vigilance, activity, and courage which he manifested on every occa­sion, was growing daily in his confidence, and in the estimation of his fellow-soldiers. The service was no less singular than important; the beams, the planks, the masts, the cordage, the sails, the iron-work, and all the infinite variety of articles requisite for the construction of thirteen brigantines, were to be carried sixty miles over land, through a mountainous country, by people who were unac­quainted with the ministry of domestic animals, or the aid of machines to facilitate any work of la­bour. The Tlascalans furnished eight thousand Tamenes, an inferior order of men destined for ser­vile tasks, to carry the materials on their shoul­ders, and appointed fifteen thousand warriors to accompany and defend them. Sandoval made the disposition for their progress with great propriety, placing the Tamenes in the centre, one body of warriors in the front, another in the rear, with con­siderable parties to cover the flanks. To each of these he joined some Spaniards, not only to as­sist them in danger, but to accustom them to re­gularity and subordination. A body so numerous, and so much encumbered, advanced leisurely, but in excellent order; and in some places, where it was confined by the woods or mountains, the line of march extended above six miles. Parties of Mexicans frequently appeared hovering around them on the high grounds; but perceiving no prospect of success in attacking an enemy conti­nually on his guard, and prepared to receive them, they did not venture to molest him; and Sandoval had the glory of conducting safely to Tezeuco, a convoy on which all the future operations of his countrymen depended ^*.

[Page 115]THIS was followed by another event of no less moment. Four ships arrived at Vera Cruz from Hispaniola, with two hundred soldiers, eighty horses, two battering cannon,Receives a new rein­forcement. and a considerable supply of ammunition and arms^*. Elevated with observing that all his preparatory schemes, either for recruiting his own army, or impairing the force of the enemy, had now produced their full effect, Cortes, impatient to begin the siege in form, has­tened the launching of the brigantines. To fa­cilitate this, he had employed a vast number of Indians for two months in deepening the small ri­vulet which runs by Tezeuco into the lake, and in forming it into a canal near two miles in length^†; and though the Mexicans, aware of his intentions, as well as of the danger which threatened them, endeavoured frequently to interrupt the labourers, or to burn the brigantines, the work was at last completed^‡. On the twenty-eighth of April,The bri­gantines launche [...] all the Spanish troops, together with the auxiliary In­dians, were drawn up on the banks of the canal; and with extraordinary military pomp, rendered more solemn by the celebration of the most sacred rites of religion, the brigantines were launched. As they fell down the canal in order, Father Ol­medo blessed them, and gave each its name. Every eye followed them with wonder and hope, until they entered the lake, when they hoisted their sails, and bore away before the wind. A general shout of joy was raised; all admiring that bold in­ventive genius, which, by means so extraordinary that their success almost exceeded belief, had ac­quired the command of a fleet, without the aid of which Mexico would have continued to set the Spanish power and arms at defiance^§.

[Page 116]CORTES determined to attack the city from three different quarters; from Tepeaca on the north side of the lake, from Tacuba on the west, and from Cuyocan towards the south.Dispositions for the [...]ge. Those towns were situated on the principal causeways which led to the capital, and intended for their defence. He appoint­ed Sandoval to command in the first, Pedro de Al­varado in the second, and Christoval de Olid in the third; allotting to each a numerous body of Indian auxiliaries, together with an equal division of Spa­niards, who, by the junction of the troops from Hispaniola, amounted now to eighty-six horsemen, and eight hundred and eighteen foot soldiers; of whom one hundred and eighteen were armed with muskets or cross-bows. The train of artillery con­sisted of three battering cannon, and fifteen field-pieces^*. He reserved for himself, as the station of greatest importance and danger, the conduct of the brigantines, each armed with one of his small can­non, and manned with twenty-five Spaniards.

May 10.AS Alvarado and Olid proceeded towards the posts assigned them, they broke down the aque­ducts which the ingenuity of the Mexicans had erected for conveying water into the capital, and by the distress to which this reduced the inhabitants, gave a beginning to the calamities which they were destined to suffer^†. Alvarado and Olid found the towns of which they were ordered to take possession deserted by their inhabitants, who had fled for safety to the capital, where Guatimozin had collected the chief force of his empire, as there alone he could hope to make a successful stand against the formida­ble enemies who were approaching to assault him.

[Page 117]THE first effort of the Mexicans was to destroy the fleet of brigantines, the fatal effects of whose operations they foresaw and dreaded. Though the brigantines,Mexicans attack the brigantines. after all the labour and merit of Cortes in forming them, were of inconsiderable bulk, rudely constructed, and manned chiefly with land­men, hardly possessed of skill enough to conduct them, they must have been objects of terror to a people unacquainted with any navigation but that of their lake, and possessed of no vessel larger than a canoe. Necessity, however, urged Guatimozin to hazard the attack; and hoping to supply by numbers what he wanted in force, he assembled such a multitude of canoes as covered the face of the lake. They rowed on boldly to the charge, while the brigantines, retarded by a dead calm, could scarcely advance to meet them. But as the enemy drew near, a breeze suddenly sprung up;Repulsed. in a moment the sails were spread, the brigantines, with the utmost ease, broke through their feeble opponents, overset many canoes, and dissipated the whole armament with such slaughter, as convinced the Mexicans, that the progress of the Europeans in knowledge and arts rendered their superiority greater on this new element, than they had hitherto found it by land ^*.

FROM that time Cortes remained master of the lake,Singular p [...] of con­ducting the siege. and the brigantines not only preserved a communication between the Spaniards in their dif­ferent stations, though at considerable distance from each other, but were employed to cover the cause­ways on each side, and keep off the canoes, when they attempted to annoy the troops as they advanced towards the city. Cortes formed the brigantines in three divisions, appointing one to cover each of [Page 118] the stations from which an attack was to be car­ried on against the city, with orders to second the operations of the officer who commanded there. From all the three stations he pushed on the attack against the city with equal vigour; but in a manner so very different from the conduct of sieges in regu­lar war, that he himself seems afraid it would appear no less improper than singular, to persons un­acquainted with his situation^*. Each morning his troops assaulted the barricades which the enemy had erected on the causeways, forced their way over the trenches which they had dug, and through the canals where the bridges were broken down, and endeavoured to penetrate into the heart of the city, in hopes of obtaining some decisive advantage, which might force the enemy to surrender, and terminate the war at once; but when the obstinate valour of the Mexicans rendered the efforts of the day ineffectual, the Spaniards retired in the even­ing to their former quarters. Thus their toil and danger were, in some measure, continually renew­ed; the Mexicans repairing in the night what the Spaniards had destroyed through the day, and re­covering the posts from which they had driven them. But necessity prescribed this slow and un­toward mode of operation. The number of his troops were so small, that Cortes durst not, with a handful of men, attempt to make a lodgment in a city where he might be surrounded and annoyed by such a multitude of enemies. The remem­brance of what he had already suffered by the ill-judged confidence with which he had ventured into such a dangerous situation, was still fresh in his mind. The Spaniards, exhausted with fatigue, were unable to guard the various posts which they daily gained; and though their camp was filled [Page 119] with Indian auxiliaries, they durst not devolve this charge upon them, because they were so little ac­customed to discipline, that no confidence could be placed in their vigilance. Besides this, Cortes was extremely solicitous to preserve the city as much as possible from being destroyed, both because he destined it to be the capital of his conquests, and wished that it might remain as a monument of his glory. From all these considerations, he ad­hered obstinately, for a month after the siege was opened, to the system which he had adopted. The Mexicans, in their own defence, displayed valour which was hardly inferior to that with which the Spaniards attacked them. On land, on water, by night and by day, one furious conflict suc­ceeded to another. Several Spaniards were killed, more wounded, and all were ready to sink under the toils of unintermitting service, which were rendered more intolerable by the injuries of the season, the periodical rains being now set in with their usual violence^*.

ASTONISHED and disconcerted with the length and difficulties of the siege,Endeavours to take the city by storm. Cortes determined to make one great effort to get possession of the city, before he relinquished the plan which he had hi­therto followed, and had recourse to any other mode of attack. With this view, he sent instruc­tions to Alvarado and Sandoval to advance with their divisions to a general assault, and took the command in person of that posted on the causeway of Cuyocan. Animated by his presence, and the expectation of some decisive event,July 3. the Spaniards pushed forward with irresistible impetuosity. They broke through one barricade after another, forced their way over the ditches and canals, and having entered ths city, gained ground incessantly, in [Page 120] spite of the multitude and ferocity of their oppo­nents. Cortes, though delighted with the rapidity of his progress, did not forget that he might still find it necessary to retreat; and in order to secure it, appointed Julien de Alderete, a captain of chief note in the troops which he had received from Hispaniola, to fill up the canals and gaps in the causeway as the main body advanced. That offi­cer, deeming it inglorious to be thus employed, while his companions were in the heat of action and the career of victory, neglected the important charge committed to him, and hurried on, incon­siderately, to mingle with the combatants. The Mexicans, whose military attention and skill were daily improving, no sooner observed this, than they carried an account of it to their monarch.

Repulsed.GUATIMOZIN instantly discerned the conse­quence of the error which the Spaniards had com­mitted, and, with admirable presence of mind, prepared to take advantage of it. He commanded the troops posted in the front to slacken their ef­forts, in order to allure the Spaniards to push for­ward, while he dispatched a large body of chosen warriors through different streets, some by land, and others by water, towards the great breach in the causeway, which had been left open. On a signal which he gave, the priests in the principal temple struck the great drum consecrated to the god of war. No sooner did the Mexicans hear its doleful solemn sound, calculated to inspire them with contempt of death and enthusiastic ardour, than they rushed upon the enemy with frantic rage. The Spaniards, unable to resist men urged on no less by religious fury than hope of success, began to retire, at first leisurely, and with a good coun­tenance; but as the enemy pressed on, and their own impatience to escape increased, the terror and confusion became so general, that when they ar­rived [Page 121] at the gap in the causeway, Spaniards and Tlascalans, horsemen and infantry, plunged in promiscuously, while the Mexicans rushed upon them fiercely from every side, their light canoes carrying them through shoales which the brigantines could not approach. In vain did Cortes attempt to stop and rally his flying troops; fear rendered them regardless of his entreaties or commands. Finding all his endeavours to renew the combat fruitless, his next care was to save some of those who had thrown themselves into the water; but while thus employed, with more attention to their situation than to his own, six Mexican captains suddenly laid hold of him, and were hurrying him off in triumph; and though two of his officers rescued him at the expence of their own lives, he received several dangerous wounds before he could break loose.with consi­derable loss. Above sixty Spaniards perished in the rout; and what rendered the disaster more afflicting, forty of these fell alive into the hands of an enemy never known to shew mercy to a captive^*.

THE approach of night,Those who were taken sacrificed to the god of war. though it delivered the dejected Spaniards from the attacks of the enemy, ushered in, what was hardly less grievous, the noise of their barbarous triumph, and of the hor­rid festival with which they celebrated their vic­tory. Every quarter of the city was illuminated; the great temple shone with such peculiar splen­dour, that the Spaniards could plainly see the people in motion, and the priests busy in hastening the preparations for the death of the prisoners. Through the gloom, they fancied that they dis­cerned their companions by the whiteness of their skins, as they were stript naked, and compelled to [Page 122] dance before the image of the god to whom they were to be offered. They heard the shrieks of those who were sacrificed, and thought that they could distinguish each unhappy victim, by the well-known sound of his voice. Imagination added to what they really saw or heard, and augmented its horror. The most unfeeling melted into tears of compassion, and the stoutest heart trembled at the dreadful spectacle which they beheld^*.

New schemes and efforts of the Mexicans.CORTES, who, besides all that he felt in com­mon with his soldiers, was oppressed with the ad­ditional load of anxious reflections [...] to a ge­neral on such an unexpected calam [...] [...] could not, like them, relieve his mind by giving vent to its anguish. He was obliged to assume an air of tran­quillity, in order to revive the spirit and hopes of his followers. The juncture, indeed, required an extraordinary exertion of fortitude. The Mexi­cans, elated with their victory, sallied out next morning to attack him in his quarters. But they did not rely on the efforts of their own arms alone. They sent the heads of the Spaniards whom they had sacrificed, to the leading men in the adjacent provinces, and assured them that the god of war, appeased by the blood of their invaders, which had been shed so plentifully on his altars, had de­clared with an audible voice, that in eight days time those hated enemies should be finally destroy­ed, and peace and prosperity re-established in the empire.

Cortes de­serted by [...] Indian [...].A PREDICTION uttered with such confidence, and in terms so void of ambiguity, gained universal cre­dit among a people prone to superstition. The zeal of the provinces, which had already declared against the Spaniards, augmented; and several which had hitherto remained inactive, took arms, [Page 123] with enthusiastic ardour, to execute the decree of the gods. The Indian auxiliaries who had joined Cortes, accustomed to venerate the same deities with the Mexicans, and to receive the responses of their priests with the same implicit faith, abandon­ed the Spaniards as a race of men devoted to cer­tain destruction. Even the fidelity of the Tlasca­lans was shaken, and the Spanish troops were left almost alone in their stations. Cortes, finding that he attempted in vain to dispel the superstitious fears of his confederates by argument, took advantage, from the imprudence of those who had framed the prophecy, in fixing its accomplishment so near at hand, to give a striking demonstration of its falsity. He suspended all military operations during the period marked out by the oracle. Under cover of the brigantines, which kept the enemy at a distance, his troops lay in safety, and the fatal term expired without any disaster^*.

MANY of his allies,He regains the [...] friend­ship, ashamed of their own cre­dulity, returned to their station. Other tribes, judging that the gods who had now deceived the Mexicans, had decreed finally to withdraw their protection from them, joined his standard; and such was the levity of a simple people, moved by every slight impression, that in a short time after such a general defection of his confederates, Cortes saw himself, if we may believe his own account, at the head of a hundred and fifty thousand Indians. Even with such a numerous army,and adopts a new sys­tem of at­tack. he found it ne­cessary to adopt a new and more wary system of operation. Instead of renewing [...]his attempts to become master of the city at once, by such bold but dangerous efforts of valour as he had already tried, he made his advances gradually, and with every possible precaution against exposing his men to any [Page 124] calamity similar to that which they still bewailed. As the Spaniards pushed forward, the Indians re­gularly repaired the causeways behind them. As soon as they got possession of any part of the town, the houses were instantly levelled with the ground. Day by day, the Mexicans, forced to re­tire as their enemies gained ground, were hemmed in within more narrow limits. Guatimozin, though unable to stop the career of the enemy, continued to defend his capital with obstinate resolution, and disputed every inch of ground. The Spaniards not only varied their mode of attack, but, by or­der of Cortes, change [...] the weapons with which they fought. They were again armed with the long Chinantlan spears, which they had employed with such success against Narvaez; and, by the firm array in which this enabled them to range them­selves, they repelled, with little danger, the loose assault of the Mexicans: incredible numbers of them fell in the conflicts which they renewed every day^*. While war wasted without, famine began to con­sume them within, the city. The Spanish brigan­tines, having the entire command of the lake, ren­dered it almost impossible to convey to the besieged any supply of provisions by water. The immense number of his Indian auxiliaries enabled Cortes to shut up the avenues to the city by land. The stores which Guatimozin had laid up were exhaust­ed, by the multitudes which had crowded into the capital, to defend their sovereign and the temples of their gods. Not only the people, but persons of the highest rank, felt the utmost distresses of fa­mine. What they suffered, brought on infectious and mortal distempers, the last calamity that visits besieged cities, and which filled up the measure of their woes^†.

[Page 125]BUT, under the pressure of so many and such various evils, the spirit of Guatimozin remained firm and unsubdued. He rejected with scorn, every overture of peace from Cortes; and,Courage and con­stancy of Guatimo­zin. July 27. disdain­ing the idea of submitting to the oppressors of his country, determined not to survive its ruin. The Spaniards continued their progress. At length all the three divisions penetrated into the great square in the centre of the city, and made a secure lodge­ment there. Three fourths of the city were now reduced, and laid in ruins. The remaining quar­ter was so closely pressed, that it could not long withstand assailants, who attacked it from their new station with superior advantage, and more assured expectation of success. The Mexican nobles, soli­citous to save the life of a monarch whom they revered, prevailed on Guatimozin to retire from a place where resistance was now vain, that he might rouse the more distant provinces of the empire to arms, and maintain there a more successful struggle with the public enemy. In order to facilitate the execution of this measure, they endeavoured to amuse Cortes with overtures of submission, that, while his attention was employed in adjusting the articles of pacification, Guatimozin might escape unperceived. But they made this attempt upon a leader of greater sagacity and discernment than to be deceived by their arts. Cortes suspecting their intention, and aware of what moment it was to de­feat it, appointed Sandoval, the officer on whose vigilance he could most perfectly rely, to take the command of the brigantines, with strict injunctions to watch every motion of the enemy. Sandoval, attentive to the charge, observing some large ca­noes crowded with people rowing across the lake with extraordinary rapi [...]ity, instantly gave the sig­nal to chace. Garcia Holguin, who commanded the swiftest sailing brigantine, soon overtook them, [Page 126] and was preparing to fire on the foremost canoe, which seemed to carry some person whom all the rest followed and obeyed. At once the rowers dropt their oars,He is taken prisoner. and all on board, throwing down their arms, conjured him with cries and tears to forbear, as the emperor was there. Holguin eagerly seized his prize, and Guatimozin, with a dignified com­posure, gave himself up into his hands, requesting only that no insult might be offered to the empress or his children. When conducted to Cortes, he appeared neither with the sullen fierceness of a bar­barian, nor with the dejection of a supplicant. "I have done," said he, addressing himself to the Spa­nish general, "what became a monarch. I have defended my people to the last extremity. Nothing now remains but to die. Take this dagger," lay­ing his hand on one which Cortes wore, "plant it in my breast, and put an end to a life which can no longer be of use^*."

August 18. The city.AS soon as the fate of their sovereign was known, the resistance of the Mexicans ceased; and Cortes took possession of that small part of the capital which yet remained undestroyed. Thus terminated the siege of Mexico, the most memora­ble event in the conquest of America. It conti­nued seventy-five days, hardly one of which passed without some extraordinary effort of one party in the attack, or of the other in the defence of a city, on the fate of which both knew that the fortune of the empire depended. As the struggle here was more obstinate, it was likewise more equal, than any between the inhabitants of the Old and New Worlds. The great abilities of Guatimozin, the number of his troops, the peculiar situation of his capital, so far counterbalanced the superiority of [Page 127] the Spaniards in arms and discipline, that they must have relinquished the enterprise, if they had trusted for success to themselves alone. But Mexico was overturned by the jealousy of neighbours who dreaded its power, and by the revolt of subjects impatient to shake off its yoke. By their effectual aid, Cortes was enabled to accomplish what, with­out such support, he would hardly have ventured to attempt. How much soever this account of the reduction of Mexico may detract, on the one hand, from the marvellous relations of some Spanish wri­ters, by ascribing that to simple and obvious causes which they attribute to the romantic valour of their countrymen, it adds, on the other, to the merit and abilities of Cortes, who, under every disadvantage, acquired such an ascendant over unknown nations, as to render them instruments towards carrying his schemes into execution^*.

THE exultation of the Spaniards,Smallness of the boo­ty, and dis­appoint­ment of the Spaniards. on accom­plishing this arduous enterprise, was at first exces­sive. But this was quickly damped by the cruel disappointment of those sanguine hopes, which had animated them amidst so many hardships and dan­gers. Instead of the inexhaustible wealth which they expected from becoming masters of Monte­zuma's treasures, and the ornaments of so many temples, their rapaciousness could collect only an inconsiderable booty amidst ruins and desolation^†. Guatimozin, aware of his impending fate, had or­dered what remained of the riches amassed by his ancestors to be thrown into the lake. The Indian auxiliaries, while the Spaniards where engaged in conflict with the enemy, had carried off the most valuable part of the spoil. The sum to be divided [Page 128] among the conquerors was so small, that many of them disdained to accept of the pittance which fell to their share, and all murmured and exclaimed; some, against Cortes and his confidents, whom they suspected of having secretly appropriated to their own use a large portion of the riches which should have been brought into the common stock; others, against Guatimozin, whom they accused of obsti­nacy, in refusing to discover the place where he had hidden his treasure.

Guatimo­zin tor­tured.ARGUMENTS, intreaties, and promises were em­ployed in order to soothe them, but with so little effect, that Cortes, from solicitude to check this growing spirit of discontent, gave way to a deed which stains the glory of all his great actions. Without regarding the former dignity of Guati­mozin, or feeling any reverence for those virtues which he had displayed, he subjected the unhappy monarch, together with his chief favourite, to tor­ture, in order to force from them a discovery of the royal treasures, which it was supposed they had concealed. Guatimozin bore whatever the refined cruelty of his tormentors could inflict, with the invincible fortitude of an American warrior. His fellow-sufferer, overcome by the violence of the anguish, turned a dejected eye towards his master, which seemed to implore his permission to reveal all that he knew. But the high-spirited prince, darting on him a look of authority mingled with scorn, checked his weakness by asking, "Am I now reposing on a bed of flowers?" Overawed by the reproach, the favourite persevered in his dutiful silence, and expired. Cortes, ashamed of a scene so horrid, rescued the royal victim from the hands of his torturers, and prolonged a life reserved for new indignities and sufferings^*.

[Page 129]THE fate of the capital, as both parties had foreseen, decided that of the empire. The pro­vinces submitted one after another, to the con­querors.All the pro­vinces of the empire submit. Small detachments of Spaniards march­ing through them without interruption, penetrated in different quarters to the great Southern Ocean, which, according to the ideas of Columbus, they imagined would open a short as well as easy passage to the East In [...]ies, and secure to the crown of Ca­stile all the envied wealth of those fertile regions^*;Cortes forms schemes of new disco­veries, which are completed by Magel­lan. and the active mind of Corres began already to form schemes for attempting this important disco­very^†.

HE did not know, that during the progress of his victorious arms in Mexico, the very scheme, of which he began to form some idea, had been un­dertaken and accomplished. As this is one of the most splendi [...] events in the history of the Spanish discoveries, and has been productive of effects pe­culiarly interesting to those extensive provinces which Cortes had now subjected to the crown of Castile, the account of its rise and progress merits a particular detail.

FERDINAND MAGALHAENS, or Magellan, a Portuguese gentleman of honourable birth, having served several years in the East Indies, with dis­tinguished valour, under the famous Albuquerque, demanded the recompence which he thought due to his services, with the bol [...]ness natural to a high-spirited soldier. But as his general would not grant his suit, and he expected greater justice from his sovereign, whom he knew to be a good judge and a generous rewarder of merit, he quitted India abruptly, and returned to Lisbon. In order to induce Emanuel to listen more favourably to his [Page 130] claim, he not only stated his past services, but of­fered to add to them by conducting his countrymen to the Molucca or Spice Island [...], by holding a westerly course; which he contended would be both shorter and less hazardous than that which the Por­tuguese now followed by the Cape of Good Hope, through the immense extent of the Eastern Ocean. This was the original and favourite project of Co­lumbus, and Magellan founded his hopes of success on the ideas of that great navigator, confirmed by many observations, the result of his own naval ex­perience, as well as that of his countrymen in their intercourse with the East. But though the Portu­guese monarchs had the merit of having first awakened and encouraged the spirit of discovery in that age, it was their destiny, in the course of a few years, to reject two grand schemes for this purpose, the execution of which would have been attended with a great accession of glory to them­selves, and of power to their kingdom. In conse­quence of some ill-founded prejudice against Ma­gellan, or of some dark intrigue which contempo­rary historians have not explained, Emanuel would neither bestow the recompence which he claimed, nor approve of the scheme which he proposed; and dismissed him with a disdainful coldness intolerable to a man conscious of what he deserved, and ani­mated with the sanguine hopes of success peculiar to those who are capable of forming or conducting new and great undertakings. In a transport of resentment, Magellan formally renounced his alle­giance to an ungrateful master,1517. and fled to the court of Castile, where he expected that his talents would be more justly estimated. He endeavoured to recommend himself by offering to execute, un­der the patronage of Spain, that scheme, which he had laid before the court of Portugal, the accom­plishment of which, he knew, would wound the [Page 131] monarch against whom he was exasperated in the most tender part. In order to establish the justness of his theory, he produced the same arguments which he had employed at Lisbon; acknowledging, at the same time, that the undertaking was both arduous and expensive, as it could not be attempted but with a squadron of considerable force, and vic­tualled for at least two years. Fortunately, he ap­plied to a minister who was not apt to be deterred, either by the boldness of a design, or the expence of carrying it into execution. Cardinal Ximenes, who at that time directed the affairs of Spain, dis­cerning at once what an increase of wealth and glory would accrue to his country by the success of Magellan's proposal, listened to it with a most fa­vourable ear. Charles V. on his arrival in his Spa­nish dominions, entered into the measure with no less ardour, and orders were issued for equipping a proper squadron at the public charge, of which the command was given to Magellan, whom the king honoured with the habit of St. Jago and the title of Captain General^*.

ON the tenth of August,His voyage. one thousand five hun­dred and nineteen, Magellan sailed from Seville with five ships, which according to the ideas of the age, were deemed to be of considerable force, though the burden of the largest did not exceed one hundred and twenty tons. The crews of the whole amounted to two hundred and thirty-four men, among whom were some of the most skilful pilots in Spain, and several Portuguese sailors, in whose experience, as more extensive, Magellan placed still greater confidence. After touching at the Canaries, he stood directly south towards the [Page 132] equinoctial line along the coast of America, but was so long retarde [...] by tedious calms, and spent so much time in searching every bay and inlet for that communication with the Southern Ocean which he wished to discover, that he did not reach the river de la Plata till the twelith of January.1520. That spacious opening through which its vast body of water pours into the Atlantic allured him to enter; but after sailing up it for some days, he concluded, from the shallowness of the stream and the fresh­ness of the water, that the wished-for strait was not situated there, and continued his course towards the south. On the thirty-first of March he arrive [...]in the port of St. Julian, about forty-eight degrees south of the line, where he resolved to winter. In this uncomfortable station he lost one of his squad­ron, and the Spaniards suffered so much from the excessive rigour of the climate, that the crews of three of his ships, headed by their officers, rose in open mutiny, and insisted on relinquishing the visionary project of a desperate adventurer, and returning directly to Spain. This dangerous in­surrection Magellan suppressed, by an effort of courage no less prompt than intrepid, and inflicted exemplary punishment on the ringleaders. With the remainder of his followers, overawed but not reconciled to his scheme, he continued his voyage towards the south, and at length discovered, near the fifty-third degree of latitude, the mouth of a strait, into which he entered, notwithstanding the murmurs and remonstrances of the people under his command. After sailing twenty days in that winding dangerous channel, to which he gave his own name, and where one of his ships deserted him, the great Southren Ocean opened to his view, and with tears of joy he returned thanks to [Page 133] Heaven for having thus far crowned his endeavours with success^*.1521.

BUT he was still at a greater distance than he imagined from the object of his wishes. He sailed during three months and twenty days in an uni­form direction towards the north-west, without dis­covering land. In this voyage, the longest that had ever been made in the unbounded ocean, he suffered incredible distress. His stock of provi­sions was almost exhausted, the water became putrid, the men were reduced to the shorted al­lowance with which it was possible to sustain life, and the scurvy, the most dreadful of all the mala­dies with which sea-faring people are afflicted, be­gan to spread among the crew. One circumstance alone afforded them some consolation; they en­joyed an uninterrupted course of fair weather, with such favourable winds, that Magellan bestowed on that ocean the name of Pacific, which it still retains. When reduced to such extremity that they must have sunk under their sufferings, they fell in with a cluster of small but fertile islands,March 6. which afforded them refreshments in such abundance, that their health was soon re-established. From these isles, which he called De los Ladrones, he proceeded on his voyage, and soon made a more important dis­covery of the islands now known by the name of the Philippines. In one of these he got into an unfortunate quarrel with the natives, who attacked him with a numerous body of troops well arm­ed;April 26. and while he fought at the head of his men with his usual valour, he fell by the hands of those barbarians, together with several of his principal officers.

THE expedition was prosecuted under other commanders. After visiting many of the smaller [Page 134] isles scattered in the eastern part of the Indian ocean, they touched at the great island of Borneo, and at length landed in Tidore, one of the Mo­luccas,Nov. 8. to the astonishment of the Portuguese, who could not comprehend how the Spaniards, by holding a westerly course, had arrived at that se­questered seat of their most valuable commerce, which they themselves had discovered by sailing in an opposite direction. There, and in the ad­jacent isles, the Spaniards found a people ac­quainted with the benefits of extensive trade, and willing to open an intercourse with a new nation. They took in a cargo of the precious spices, which are the distinguished production of those islands; and with that, as well as with specimens of the rich commodities yielded by the other countries which they had visited,Jan. 1522. the Victory, which, of the two ships that remained of the squadron, was most fit for a long voyage, set sail for Europe, under the command of Juan Sebastian del Cano. He followed the course of the Portuguese, by the Cape of Good Hope, and, after many disasters and suf­ferings, he arrived at St. Lucar on the seventh of September one thousand five hundred and twenty-two, having sailed round the globe in the space of three years and twenty eight days^*.

THOUGH an untimely fate deprived Magellan of the satisfaction of accomplishing this great un­dertaking, his contemporaries, just to his memory and talents, ascribed to him not only the honour of having formed the plan, but of having sur­mounted almost every obstacle to the completion of it; and in the present age his name is still ranked among the highest in the roll of eminent and successful navigators. The naval glory of Spain [Page 135] now eclipsed that of every other nation; and by a singular felicity she had the merit, in the course of a few years,1522. of discovering a new continent almost as large as that part of the earth which was formerly known, and of ascertaining by experi­ence the form and extent of the whole terraqueous globe.

THE Spaniards were not satisfied with the glory of having first encompassed the earth; they expected to derive great commercial advantages from this new and boldest effort of their maritime skill. The men of science among them contended, that the spice islands, and several of the richest coun­tries in the East, were so situated as to belong of right to the crown of Castile, in consequence of the partition made by Alexander VI. The mer­chants, without attending to this discussion, en­gaged early in that lucrative and alluring com­merce, which was now opened to them. The Portuguese, alarmed at the intrusion of such for­midable rivals, remonstrated and negociated in Europe, while in Asia they obstructed the trade of the Spaniards by force of arms. Charles V. not sufficiently instructed with respect to the import­ance of this valuable branch of commerce, or distracted by the multiplicity of his schemes and operations, did not afford his subjects proper pro­tection. At last, the low state of his finances, ex­hausted by the efforts of his arms in every part of Europe, together with the dread of adding a new war with Portugal to those in which he was already engaged, induced him to make over his claim of the Moluccas to the Portuguese for three hundred and fifty thousand ducats. He reserved, however, to the crown of Castile the right of reviving its pretentions on repayment of that sum; but other objects engrossed his attention and that of his suc­cessors; and Spain was finally excluded from a [Page 136] branch of commerce in which it was engaging with sanguine expectations of profit^*.

THOUGH the trade with the Moluccas was relin­quished, the voyage of Magellan was followed by commercial effects of great moment to Spain. Philip II. in the year one thousand five hundred and sixty four, reduce those islands which he dis­covered in the Eastern Ocean to subjection, and established settlements there; between which and the kingdom of New Spain, a regular intercourse, the nature of which shall be explained in its proper place, is still carried on. I return now to the transactions in New Spain.

An order to supersede Cortes,AT the time that Cortes was acquiring such ex­tensive territories for his native country, and pre­paring the way for future conquests, it was his sin­gular fate not only to be destitute of any commis­sion or authority from the sovereign whom he was serving with such successful zeal, but to be regarded as an undutiful and seditious subject. By the in­fluence of Fonseca, bishop of Burgos, his conduct in assuming the government of New Spain was declared to be an irregular usurpation, in contempt of the royal authority; and Christoval de Tapia received a commission, impowering him to super­sede Cortes, to seize his person, to confiscate his effects, to make a strict scrutiny into his proceed­ings, and to transmit the result of all the enquiries carried on in New Spain to the council of the In­dies, of which the bishop of Burgos was president. A few weeks after the reduction of Mexico, Tapia landed at Vera Cruz with the royal mandate to strip its conqueror of his power, and to treat him as a criminal. But Fonseca had chosen a very improper instrument to wreak his vengeance on Cortes. Tapia had neither the reputation nor the [Page 137] talents that suited the high command to which he was appointed. Cortes, while he publicly ex­pressed the most respectful veneration for the em­peror's authority,which he eludes. secretly took measures to defeat the effect of his commission; and having involved Tapia and his followers in a multiplicity of nego­ciations and conferences, in which he sometimes had recourse to threats, but more frequently em­ployed bribes and promises, he at length prevailed on that weak man to abandon a province which he was unworthy of governing^*.

BUT notwithstanding the fortunate dexterity with which he had eluded this danger,Applies again to the court, May 15. Cortes was so sen­sible of the precarious tenure by which he held his power, that he dispatched deputies to Spain, with a pompous account of the success of his arms, with farther specimens of the productions of the coun­try, an [...] with rich presents to the emperor, as the earnest of future contributions from his new con­quest; requesting, in recompence for all his ser­vices, the approbation of his proceedings, and that he might be entrusted with the government of those dominions, which his conduct, and the valour of his followers, had added to the crown of Castile. The juncture in which his deputies reached the court was favourable. The internal commotions in Spain, which had disquieted the beginning of Charles's reign, were just appeased^†. The minis­ters had leisure to turn their attention towards foreign affairs. The account of Cortes's victories filled his countrymen with admiration. The ex­tent and value of his conquests became the object of vast and interesting hopes. Whatever stain he might have contracted, by the irregularity of the steps which he took in order to attain power, was [Page 138] so fully effaced by the splendour and merit of the great actions which this had enabled him to per­form, that every heart revolted at the thought of inflicting any censure on a man, whose services enti­tled him to the highest marks of distinction. The public voice declared warmly in favour of his pre­tensions, and Charles arriving in Spain about this time adopted the sentiments of his subjects with a youthful ardour.and is ap­pointed Captain-general and Governor of New Spain. Notwithstanding the claims of Velasquez, and the partial representations of the bishop of Burgos, the emperor appointed Cortes captain-general and governor of New Spain, judg­ing that no person was so capable of maintaining the royal authority, or of establishing good order both among his Spanish and Indian subjects, as the victorious leader whom the former had long been accustomed to obey, and the latter had been taught to fear and to respect^*.

His schemes and ar­range­ments.EVEN before his jurisdiction received this legal sanction, Cortes ventured to exercise all the powers of a governor, and by various arrangements, en­deavoured to render his conquest a secure and be­neficial acquisition to his country. He determined to establish the seat of government in its ancient sta­tion, and to raise Mexico again from its ruins; and having conceived high ideas concerning the future grandeur of the state of which he was laying the foundation, he began to rebuild its capital on a plan which hath gradually formed the most magni­ficent city in the New World. At the same time, he employed skilful persons to search for mines in different parts of the country, and opened some which were found to be richer than any which the Spaniards had hitherto discovered in America. He detached his principal officers into the remote pro­vinces, [Page 139] and encouraged them to settle there, not only by bestowing upon them large tracts of land, but by granting them the same dominion over the Indians, and the same right to their service, which the Spaniards had assumed in the islands.

IT was not, however,Insurrecti­ons of the Mexicans, and cruelty of the Spa­niards. without difficulty that the Mexican empire could be entirely reduced into the form of a Spanish colony. Enraged and ren­dered desperate by oppression, the natives often forgot the superiority of their enemies, and ran to arms in defence of their liberties. In every con­test, however, the European valour and discipline prevailed. But fatally for the honour of their country, the Spaniards sullied the glory redound­ing from these repeated victories by their mode of treating the vanquished people. After taking Guatimozin, and becoming masters of his capital, they supposed that the king of Castile entered on possession of all the rights of the captive monarch, and affected to consider every effort of the Mexicans to assert their own independence, as the rebellion of vassals against their sovereign, or the mutiny of slaves against their master. Under the sanction of those ill-founded maxims, they violated every right that should be held sacred between hostile nations. After each insurrection, they reduced the common people in the provinces which they sub­dued, to the most humiliating of all conditions, that of personal servitude. Their chiefs, supposed to be more criminal, were punished with greater severity, and put to death in the most ignominious or the most excruciating mode, that the insolence or the cruelty of their conquerors could devise. In almost every district of the Mexican empire, the progress of the Spanish arms is marked with blood, and with deeds so atrocious, as disgrace the enter­prising valour that conducted them to success. In the country of Panuco, sixty ca [...]iques or leaders, [Page 140] and four hundred nobles, were burnt at one time. Nor was this shocking barbarity perpetrated in any sudden sally of rage, or by a commander of inferior note. It was the act of Sandoval, an officer whose name is entitled to the second rank in the annals of New Spain, and executed after a solemn consultation with Cortes; and to complete the horror of the scene, the children and relations of the wretched victims were assembled, and compelled to be spec­tators of their dying agonies^*. It seems hardly possible to exceed in horror this dreadful example of severity; but it was followed by another, which affected the Mexicans still more sensibly, as it gave them a most feeling proof of their own degradation, and of the small regard which their haughty masters retained for the ancient dignity and splen­dour of their state. On a slight suspicion, con­firmed by very imperfect evidence, that Guati­mozin had formed a scheme to shake off the yoke, and to excite his former subjects to take arms, Cortes, without the formality of a trial, ordered the unhappy monarch, together with the caziques of Tezeuco and Tacuba, the two persons of greatest eminence in the empire, to be hanged; and the Mexicans, with astonishment and horror, beheld this disgraceful punishment inflicted upon persons, to whom they were accustomed to look up with reverence, hardly inferior to that which they paid to the gods themselves^†. the example of Cortes and his principal officers encouraged and justified persons of subordinate rank to venture upon com­mitting greater excesses. Nuno de Guzman, in particular, stained an illustrious name by deeds of peculiar enormity and rigour, in various expedi­tions which he conducted^‡.

[Page 141]ONE circumstance, however, saved the Mexi­cans from farther consumption, perhaps from one as complete, as that which had depopulated the islands.First object of industry among the conquerors. The first conquerors did not attempt to search for the precious metals in the bowels of the earth. They were neither sufficiently wealthy to carry on the expensive works, which are requisite for opening those deep recesses where nature has concealed the veins of gold and silver, not suffi­ciently skilful to perform the ingenious operations by which those precious metals are separated from their respective ores. They were satisfied with the more simple method, practised by the Indians, of washing the earth carried down rivers and torrents from the mountains, and collecting the grains of native metal deposited there. The rich mines of New Spain, which have poured forth their trea­sures with such profusion on every quarter of the globe, were not discovered for several years after the conquest^*. By that time,1552. a more orderly go­vernment and police were introduced into the co­lony; experience, derived from former errors, had suggested many useful and humane regulations for the protection and preservation of the Indians; and though it then became necessary to increase the number of those employed in the mines, and they were engaged in a species of labour more pernicious to the human constitution, they suffered less hardship or diminution than from the ill-judged, but less extensive, schemes of the first conque­rors.

WHILE it was the lot of the Indians to suffer,Their po­verty. their new masters seem not to have derived any considerable wealth from their ill-conducted re­searches. According to the usual fate of first set­tlers in new colonies, it was their lot to encounter [Page 142] danger, and to struggle with difficulties; the fruits of their victories and toils were reserved for times of tranquillity, and reaped by successors of greater industry, but of inferior merit. The early histo­rians of America abound with accounts of the suf­ferings and of the poverty of its conquerors^*. In New Spain, their condition was rendered more grievous by a peculiar arrangement. When Charles V. advanced Cortes to the government of that country, he at the same time appointed certain commissioners to receive and administer the roy­al revenue there, with independent jurisdiction^†. These men, chosen from inferior stations in various departments of public business at Madrid, were so much elevated with their promotion, that they thought they were called to act a part of the first consequence. But being accustomed to the mi­nute formalities of office, and having contracted the narrow ideas suited to the sphere in which they had hitherto moved, they were astonished, on ar­riving in Mexico,1524. at the high authority which Cortes exercised, and could not conceive that the mode of administration, in a country recently sub­dued and settled, must be different from what took place in one where tranquillity and regular govern­ment had been long established. In their letters, they represented Cortes as an ambitious tyrant, who having usurped a jurisdiction superior to law, aspired at independence, and by his exorbitant wealth and extensive influence, might accomplish those dis­loyal schemes which he apparently meditated^‡. These insinuations made such deep impression upon the Spanish ministers, most of whom had been formed to business under the jealous and rigid ad­ministration [Page 143] of Ferdinand, that, unmindful of all Cortes's past services, and regardless of what he was then suffering in conducting that extraordinary expedition, in which he advanced from the lake of Mexico to th [...] western extremities of Honduras^*, they infused the same suspicions into the mind of their master, and prevailed on him to order a so­lemn inquest to be made into his conduct, with powers to the licentiate Ponce de Leon, entrusted with that commission, to seize his person,1525. if he should find that expedient, and send him prisoner to Spain^†.

THE sudden death of Ponce de Leon,Cortes re­turns to Spain. a few days after his arrival in New Spain, prevented the execution of this commission. But as the object of his appointment was known, the mind of Cortes was deeply wounded with this unexpected return for services, which far exceeded whatever any sub­ject of Spain had rendered to his sovereign He endeavoured, however, to maintain his station, and to recover the confidence of the court. But every person in office, who had arrived from Spain since the conquest, was a spy upon his conduct, and with malicious ingenuity gave an unfavourable re­presentation of all his actions. The apprehensions of Charles and his ministers increased.1528. A new commission of enquiry was issued, with more ex­tensive powers, and various precautions were taken in order to prevent or to punish him, if he should be so presumptuous as to attempt what was incon­sistent with the fidelity of a subject^‡. Cortes be­held the approaching crisis of his fortune with all the violent emotions natural to a haughty mind, conscious of high desert, and receiving unworthy [Page 144] treatment. But though some of his des [...]erate fol­lowers urged him to assert his own rights against his ungrateful country, and with a bold hand to seize that power which the courtiers meanly ac­cused him of coveting^*, he retained such self-command, or was actuated with such sentiments of loyalty, as to reject their dangerous counsels, and to chuse the only course in which he could secure his own dignity, without departing from his duty. He resolved not to expose himself to the ignominy of a trial, in that country which had been the scene of his triumphs; but without waiting for the arrival of his judges, to repair directly to Castile, and com­mit himself and his cause to the justice and genero­sity of his sovereign^†.

His recep­tion there.CORTES appeared in his native country with the splendour that suited the conqueror of a mighty kingdom. He brought with him a great part of his wealth, many jewels and ornaments of great value, several curious productions of the country^‡, and was attended by some Mexicans of the first rank, as well as by the most considerable of his own officers. His arrival in Spain removed at once every suspicion and fear that had been entertained with respect to his intentions. The emperor, hav­ing now nothing to apprehend from the designs of Cortes, received him like a person whom consci­ousness of his own innocence had brought into the presence of his master, and who was entitled, by the eminence of his services, to the highest marks of distinction and respect. The order of St. Jago, the title of Marquis del valle de Guaxaca, the grant of an ample territory in New Spain, were suc­cessively bestowed upon him; and as his manners were correct and elegant, although he had passed [Page 145] the greater part of his life among rough adven­turers, the emperor admitted him to the same fa­miliar intercourse with himself, that was enjoyed by noblemen of the first rank^*.

BUT, amidst those external proofs of regard,Settlement of the go­vernment in New Spain. symptoms of remaining distrust appeared. Though Cortes earnestly solicited to be reinstated in the government of New Spain, Charles, too sagacious to commit such an important charge to a man whom he had once suspected, peremptorily refused to invest him again with powers which he might find it imposible to controul. Cortes, though dignified with new titles, returned to Mexico with diminished authority. The military department, with powers to attempt new discoveries, was left in his hands; but the supreme direction of civil affairs was placed in a board, called The Audience of New Spain. At a subsequent period, when, upon the increase of the colony, the exertion of authority more united and extensive became necessary, An­tonio de Mendoza, a nobleman of high rank, was sent thither as Viceroy, to take the government into his hands.

THIS division of power in New Spain, proved,New schemes of Cortes. as was unavoidable, the source of perpetual dissen­tion, which imbittered the life of Cortes, and thwarted all his schemes. As he had now no op­portunity to display his active talents but in at­tempting new discoveries, he formed various schemes for that purpose, all of which bear impres­sions of a genius that delighted in what was bold and splendid. He early entertained an idea, that, either by steering through the gulf of Florida along the east coast of North America, some strait would be found that communicated with the west­ern [Page 146] ocean; or that, by examining the isthmus of Darien, some passage would be discovered between the North and South Seas^*.1530. But having been dis­appointed in his expectations with respect to both, he now confined his views to such voyages of dis­covery as he could make from the ports of New Spain in the South Sea. There he fitted out suc­cessively several small squadrons, which either pe­rished in the attempt, or returned without making any discovery of moment.1536. Cortes, weary of entrust­ing the conduct of his operations to others, took the command of a new armament in person, and, after enduring incredible hardships, and encoun­tering dangers of every species, he discovered the large peninsula of California, and surveyed the greater part of the gulf which separates it from New Spain. The discovery of a country of such extent would have reflected credit on a common adventurer; but it could add little new honour to the name of Cortes, and was far from satisfying the sanguine expectations which he had formed^†. Disgusted with ill success, to which he had not been accustomed, and weary of contesting with adversaries to whom he considered it as a disgrace to be opposed,1540. he once more sought for redress in his native country.

His death.BUT his reception there was very different from that which gratitude, and even decency, ought to have secured for him. The merit of his ancient exploits was already, in a great measure, forgot­ten, or eclipsed by the fame of recent and more valuable conquests in another quarter of America. No service of moment was now expected from a man of declining years, and who began to be un­fortunate. [Page 147] The emperor behaved to him with cold civility; his ministers treated him, sometimes with neglect, sometimes with insolence. His grievances received no redress; his claims were urged without effect; and after several years spent in fruitless application to ministers and judges, an occupation the most irksome and mortifying to a man of high spirit, who had moved in a sphere where he was more accustomed to command than to solicit, Cortes ended his days on the second of December one thousand five hundred and forty-seven, in the sixty-second year of his age. His fate was the same with that of all the persons who distinguished themselves in the discovery or con­quest of the New World. Envied by his contem­poraries, and ill requited by the court which he served, he has been admired and celebrated by succeeding ages. Which has formed the most just estimate of his character, an impartial consideration of his actions must determine.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK VI.

FROM the time that Nugnez de Balboa disco­vered the great Southern Ocean, and received the first obscure hints concerning the opulent coun­tries with which it might open a communication,1523. Schemes for disco­vering Peru. the wishes and schemes of every enterprising person in the colonies of Darien and Panama were turned towards the wealth of those unknown regions. In an age when the spirit of adventure was so ardent and vigorous, that large fortunes were wasted, and the most alarming dangers braved, in pursuit of discoveries merely possible, the faintest ray of hope was followed with an eager expectation, and the slightest information was sufficient to inspire such perfect confidence, as conducted men to the most arduous undertakings^*.

ACCORDINGLY,Unsuccess­ful for some time. several armaments were fitted out in order to explore and take possession of the countries to the east of Panama, but under the conduct of leaders whose talents and resources [Page 150] were unequal to the attempt^*. As the excursions of those adventurers did not extend beyond the limits of the province to which the Spaniards have given the name of Tierra Firme, a mountainous region covered with woods, thinly inhabited, and extremely unhealthy, they returned with dismal accounts concerning the distresses to which they had been exposed, and the unpromising aspect of the places which they had visited. Damped by these tidings, the rage for discovery in that direc­tion abated; and it became the general opinion, that Balboa had founded visionary hopes, on the tale of an ignorant Indian, ill understood, or cal­culated to deceive.

Undertaken by Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque. 1524.BUT there were three persons settled in Panama, on whom the circumstances which deterred others made so little impression, that at the very moment when all considered Balboa's expectations of disco­vering a rich country, by steering towards the east, as chimerical, they resolved to attempt the execu­tion of his scheme. The names of those extraor­dinary men were Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro, and Hernando Luque. Pizarro was the natural son of a gentleman of an honourable family by a very low woman, and according to the cruel fate which often attends the offspring of unlawful love, had been so totally neglected in his youth by the author of his birth, that he seems to have destined him never to rise beyond the con­dition of his mother. In consequence of this unge­nerous idea, he set him, when bordering on man­hood, to keep hogs. But the aspiring mind of young Pizarro disdaining that ignoble occupation, he abruptly abandoned his charge, enlisted as a sol­dier, and, after serving some years in Italy, em­barked for America, which, by opening such a [Page 151] boundless range to active talents, allured every adventurer whose fortune was not equal to his am­bitious thoughts.1524. There Pizarro early distinguished himself. With a temper of mind no less daring than the constitution of his body was robust, he was foremost in every danger, patient under the greatest hardships, and unsubdued by any fatigue. Though so illiterate that he could not even read, he was soon considered as a man formed to com­mand. Every operation committed to his conduct proved successful, as, by a happy but rare conjunc­tion, he united perseverance with ardour, and was as cautious in executing, as he was bold in forming his plans. By engaging early in active life, with­out any resource but his own talents and industry, and by depending on himself alone in his struggles to emerge from obscurity, he acquired such a thorough knowledge of affairs, and of men, that he was fitted to assume a superior part in conducting the former, and in governing the latter^*.

ALMAGRO had as little to boast of his descent as Pizarro. The one was a bastard, the other a found­ling. Bred, like his companion, in the camp, he yielded not to him in any of the soldierly qualities of intrepid valour, indefatigable activity, or insur­mountable constancy in enduring the hardships in­separable from military service in the New World. But in Almagro these virtues were accompanied with the openness, generosity, and candour, natural to men whose profession is arms; in Pizarro, they were united with the address, the craft, and the dissimulation of a politician, with the art of con­cealing his own purposes, and with sagacity to pene­trate into those of other men.

[Page 152]HERNANDO DE LUQUE was an ecclesiastic, who acted both as priest and schoolmaster at Panama, and, by means which the contemporary writers have not described, had amassed riches that in­spired him with thoughts of rising to greater emi­nence.

Terms of their asso­ciation.SUCH were the men destined to overturn one of the most extensive empires on the face of the earth. Their confederacy for this purpose was authorised by Pedrarias, the governor of Panama. Each en­gaged to employ his whole fortune in the adven­ture. Pizarro, the least wealthy of the three, as he could not throw so large a sum as his associates into the common stock, engaged to take the de­partment of greatest fatigue and danger, and to command in person the armament which was to go first upon discovery. Almagro offered to con­duct the supplies of provisions and reinforcements of troops, of which Pizzaro might stand in need. Luque was to remain at Panama to negociate with the governor, and superintend whatever was carry­ing on for the general interest. As the spirit of en­thusiasm uniformly accompanied that of adventure in the New World, and by that strange union both acquired an increase of force, this confederacy, formed by ambition and avarice, was confirmed by the most solemn act of religion. Luque celebrated mass, divided a consecrated host into three, and reserving one part to himself, gave the other two to his associates, of which they partook; and thus, in the name of the Prince of Peace, ratified a con­tract of which plunder and bloodshed were the objects^*.

Their first attempt.THE attempt was begun with a force more suited to the humble condition of the three associates, than to the greatness of the enterprise in which they [Page 153] were engaged. Pizarro set sail from Panama with a single vessel, of small burden, and a hundred and twelve men. But in that age, so little were the Spaniards acquainted with the peculiarities of cli­mate in America,Nov. 14. that the time which Pizarro chose for his departure was the most improper in the whole year; the periodical winds, which were then set in, being directly adverse to the course which he purposed to steer^*. After beating about for seventy days, with much danger and incessant fatigue, Pizarro's progress towards the south-east was not greater than what a skilful navigator will now make in as many hours. He touched at se­veral places on the coast of Tierra Firme, but found every where the same uninviting country which former adventures had described; the low grounds converted into swamps by an overflowing of rivers; the higher, covered with impervious woods; few inhabitants, and those fierce and hos­tile. Famine, fatigue, frequent rencounters with the natives, and above all, the distempers of a moist, sultry climate, combined in wasting his slender band of followers.Attended with little success. The undaunted reso­lution of their leader continued, however, for some time, to sustain their spirits, although no sign had yet appeared of discovering those golden regions to which he had promised to conduct them. At length he was obliged to abandon that inhospitable coast, and retire to Chuchama, opposite to the pearl islands, where he hoped to receive a supply of provisions and troops from Panama.

BUT Almagro having sailed from that port with seventy men, stood directly towards that part of the continent where he hoped to meet with his as­sociate. Not finding him there, he landed his sol­diers, who, in searching for their companions, un­derwent [Page 154] the same distresses, and were exposed to the same dangers, which had driven them out of the country.1525 Repulsed at length by the Indians in a sharp conflict, in which their leader lost one of his eyes by the wound of an arrow, they likewise were compelled to re-embark. Chance led them to the place of Pizarro's retreat, where they found some consolation in recounting to each other their adven­tures,June 24. and comparing their sufferings. As Almagro had advanced as far as the river St. Juan, in the pro­vince of Popayan, where both the country and in­habitants appeared with a more promising aspect, than dawn of better fortune was sufficient to deter­mine such sanguine projectors not to abandon their [...]e, notwithstanding all that they had suffered in prosecuting it ^*.

1526. They [...].ALMAGRO repaired to Panama, in hopes of re­cruiting their shattered troops. But what he and Pizarro had suffered, gave his countrymen such an unfavourable idea of the service, that it was with difficulty he could levy fourscore men^†. Feeble as this reinforcement was, Almagro took the command of it, and having joined Pizarro, they did not he­sitate about resuming their operations. After a long series of disasters and disappointments, not inferior to those which they had already experienced, part of the armament reached the Bay of St. Matthew, on the coast of Quito, and landed at Tacamez, to the south of the river of Emeraulds, they beheld a country more champaign and fertile than any they had yet discovered in the Southern Ocean, the natives clad in garments of woollen or cotton stuff, and adorned with several trinkets of gold and silver.

[Page 155]BUT, notwithstanding those favourable appear­ances, magnified beyond the truth, both by the vanity of the persons who brought the report from Tacamez, and by the fond imagination of those who listened to them, Pizarro and Almagro durst not venture to invade a country so populous with a handful of men enfeebled by fatigue and diseases. They retired to the small island of Gallo, where Pizarro remained with part of the troops, and his associate returned to Panama, in hopes of bringing such a reinforcement as might enable them to take possession of the opulent territories, whose existence seemed to be no longer doubtful ^*.

BUT some of the adventurers, less enterprising,Pizarro re­called by the gover­nor of Pa­nama. or less hardy than their leaders, having secretly conveyed lamentable accounts of their sufferings and losses to their friends at Panama, Almagro met with an unfavourable reception from Pedro de los Rios, who had succeeded Pedradrias in the go­vernment of that settlement. After weighing the matter with that cold oeconomical prudence which appears the first of all virtues to persons whose li­mited faculties are incapable of conceiving or exe­cuting great designs, he concluded an expedition, attended with such certain waste of men, to be so detrimental to an infant and feeble colony, that he not only prohibited the raising of new levies, but dispatched a vessel to bring home Pizarro and his companions from the island of Gallo. Almagro and Luque, though deeply affected with those measures, which they could not prevent, and durst not oppose, found means of communicating their sentiments privately to Pizarro, and exhorted him not to relinquish an enterprise that was the founda­tion of all their hopes, and the only means of re-establishing their reputation and fortune, which [Page 156] were both on the decline. Pizarro's mind, bent with inflexible obstinacy on all its purposes, needed no incentive to persist in the scheme. He pe­remptorily refused to obey the governor of Pana­ma's orders,Persists in his design. and employed all his address and elo­quence in persuading his men not to abandon him. But the incredible calamities to which they had been exposed were still so recent in their memories, and the thoughts of revisiting their families and friends after a long absence, rushed with such joy into their minds, that when Pizarro drew a line upon the sand with his sword, permitting such as wished to return home to pass over it, only thirteen of all the daring veterans in his service had resolution to remain with their commander.^*

THIS small, but determined band, whose names the Spanish historians record with deserved praise, as the persons to whose persevering fortitude their country is indebted for the most valuable of all its American possessions, fixed their residence in the island of Gorgona. This, as it was farther remo­ved from the coast than Galloa, and uninhabited, they considered as a more secure retreat, where, un­molested, they might wait for supplies from Panama, which they trusted that the activity of their associ­ates would be able to procure. Almagro and Luque were not inattentive or cold solicitors, and their in­cessant importunity was seconded by the general voice of the colony, which exclaimed loudly against the infamy of exposing brave men, engaged in the public service, and chargeable with no error but what flowed from an excess of zeal and courage, to perish like the most odious criminals in a desert island. Overcome by those entreaties and ex­postulations, the governor at last consented to send [Page 157] a small vessel to their relief. But that he might not seem to encourage Pizarro to any new enterprise, he would not permit one landman to embark on board of it.

BY this time,Hardships he endured. Pizarro and his companions had remained five months in an island, infamous for the most unhealthy climate in that region of Ame­rica^*. During all this period, their eyes were turned towards Panama, in hopes of succour from their countrymen; but worn out at length with fruitless expectations, and dispirited with suffering hardships of which they saw no end, they, in de­spair, came to a resolution of committing them­selves to the ocean on a float, rather than continue in that detestable abode. But, on the arrival of the vessel from Panama, they were transported with such joy, that all their sufferings were forgotten. Their hopes revived, and, with a rapid transition, not unnatural among men accustomed by their mode of life to sudden vicissitudes of fortune, high confidence succeeding to extreme dejection, Pizarro easily induced not only his own followers, but the crew of the vessel from Panama, to resume his for­mer scheme with fresh ardour. Instead of return­ing to Panama, they stood towards the south-east, and more fortunate in this than in any of their past efforts, they, on the twentieth day after their de­parture from Gorgona, discovered the coast of Peru.Discovers Peru. After touching at several villages near the shore, which they found to be no wise inviting, they landed at Tumbez, a place of some note, about three degrees south of the line, distinguished for its stately temple, and a palace of the Incas or sove­reigns of the country^†. There the Spaniards feasted their eyes with the first view of the opu­lence and civilization of the Peruvian empire. [Page 158] They beheld a country fully peopled, and culti­vated with an appearance of regular industry; the natives decently clothed, and possessed of ingenuity so far surpassing the other inhabitants of the New World, as to have the use of tame domestic ani­mals. But what chiefly attracted their notice, was such a show of gold and silver, not only in the or­naments of their persons and temples, but in se­veral vessels and utensils for common use, formed of those precious metals, as left no room to doubt that they abounded with profusion in the country. Pizarro and his companions seemed now to have attained to the completion of their most sanguine hopes, and fancied that all their wishes and dreams of rich domains, and inexhaustible treasures, would soon be realized.

Returns to Panama.BUT with the slender force then under his com­mand, Pizarro could only view the rich country of which he hoped hereafter to obtain possession. He ranged, however, for some time along the coast, maintaining every where a peaceable intercourse with the natives, no less astonished at their new visitants, than the Spaniards were with the uniform appearance of opulence and cultivation which they beheld. Having explored the country as far as was requisite to ascertain the importance of the dis­covery,1527. Pizarro procured from the inhabitants some of their Llamas or tame cattle, to which the Spa­niards gave the name of sheep, some vessels of gold and silver, as well as some specimens of their other works of ingenuity, and two young men, whom he proposed to instruct in the Castilian language, that they might serve as interpreters in the expedi­tion which he meditated. With these he arrived at Pa [...]a, towards the close of the third year from the time of his departure thence^*. No adventurer [Page 159] of the age suffered hardships or encountered dan­gers which equal those to which he was exposed during this long period. The patience with which he endured the one, and the fortitude with which he surmounted the other, exceed whatever is re­corded in the history of the New World, where so many romantic displays of those virtues occur.1528. New schemes of the asso­ciates.

NEITHER the splendid relation that Pizarro gave of the incre [...]ible opulence of the country which he had discovered, nor his bitter complaints on ac­count of that unseasonable recal of his forces, which had put it out of his power to attempt making any settlement there, could move the governor of Pa­nama to swerve from his former plan of conduct. He still contended, that the colony was not in a condition to invade such a mighty empire, and re­fused to authorise an expedition which he foresaw would be so alluring that it might ruin the province in which he presided, by an effort beyond its strength. His coldness, however, did not in any degree abate the ardour of the three associates; but they per­ceived that they could not carry their scheme into execution without the countenance of superior au­thority, and must solicit their sovereign to grant that permission which they could not extort from his de­legate. With this view, after adjusting among themselves that Pizarro should claim the station of governor, Almagro that of lieutenant-governor, and Luque the dignity of bishop in the coun­try which they purposed to conquer, they sent Pizarro as their agent to Spain, though their fortunes were now so much exhausted by the repeated efforts which they had made, that they found some difficulty in borrowing the small sum requisite towards equip­ping him for the voyage^*.Pizarro sent to Spain to negociate..

PIZARRO lost no time in repairing to court, and [Page 160] new as the scene might be to him, he appeared be­fore the emperor with the unembarrassed dignity of a man conscious of what his services merited; and he conducted his negociations with an insinuating dexterity of address, which could not have been expected either from his education or former habits of life. His feeling description of his own sufferings, and his pompous account of the country which he had discovered, confirmed by the specimens of its productions which he exhibited, made such an impression both on Charles and his ministers, that they not only approved of the intended expedition, but seemed to be interested in the success of its leader.Neglects his associ­ates, Presuming on those dispositions in his favour, Pizarro paid little attention to the interest of his associates. As the pretensions of Luque did not interfere with his own, he obtained for him the ecclesiastical dignity to which he aspired. For Almagro, he claimed only the com­mand of the fortress which should be erected at Tumbez.July 26. and pro­cures the supreme command to himself. To himself he secured whatever his boundless ambition could desire. He was ap­pointed governor, captain-general, and adelantado of all the country which he had discovered, and hoped to conquer, with supreme authority, civil, as well as military; and with full right to all the privileges and emoluments usually granted to ad­venturers in the New World. His jurisdiction was declared to extend two hundred leagues along the coast to the south of the river St. Jago; to be independent of the governor of Panama; and he had power to nominate all the officers who were to serve under him. In return for those concessions, which cost the court of Spain nothing, as the en­joyment of them depended upon the success of Pizarro's own efforts, he engaged to raise two hundred and fifty men, and to provide the ships, arms, and warlike stores requisite towards subject­ing, [Page 161] to the crown of Castile, the country of which the government was allotted him.

INCONSIDERABLE as the body of men was which Pizarro had undertaken to raise,1529. Slender force he was able to raise. his funds and cre­dit were so low that he could hardly complete half the number; and after obtaining his patents from the crown, he was obliged to steal privately out of the port of Seville, in order to elude the scrutiny of the officers who had it in charge to examine, whether he had fulfilled the stipulations in his con­tract^*. Before his departure, however, he received some supply of money from Cortes, who having returned to Spain about this time, was willing to contribute his aid towards enabling an ancient com­panion, with whose talents and courage he was well acquainted, to begin a career of glory similar to that which he himself had finished^†.

HE landed at Nombre de Dios, and marched across the isthmus to Panama, accompanied by his three brothers, Ferdinand, Juan, and Gonzalo, of whom the first was born in lawful wedlock, the two latter, like himself, were of illegitimate birth, and by Francisco de Alcantara, his mother's brother. They were all in the prime of life, and of such abi­lities and courage, as fitted them to take a distin­guished part in his subsequent transactions.

ON his arrival at Panama,1530. His recon­ciliation with Al­magro. Pizarro found Alma­gro so much exasperated at the manner in which he had conducted his negociation, that he not only refused to act any longer in concert with a man, by whose perfidy he had been excluded from the power and honours to which he had a just claim, but la­boured to form a new association, in order to thwart or to rival his former confederate in his dis­coveries. Pizarro, however, had more wisdom and address than to suffer a rupture so fatal to all his [Page 162] schemes, to become irreparable. By offering vo­luntarily to relinquish the office of adelantado, and promising to concur in soliciting that title, with an independent government, for Almagro, he gra­dually mitigated the rage of an open-hearted sol­dier, which had been violent, but was not im­placable. Luque, highly satisfied with having been successful in all his own pretensions, cordially se­conded Pizarro's endeavours. A reconciliation was effected; and the confederacy renewed on its original terms, that the enterprise should be carried on at the common expence of the associates, and the profits accruing from it should be equally di­vided among them^*.

Their ar­mament.EVEN after their re-union, and the utmost efforts of their interest, three small vessels, with a hun­dred and eighty soldiers, thirty-six of whom were horsemen, composed the armament which they were able to fit out. But the astonishing progress of the Spaniards in America had inspired them with such ideas of their own superiority, that Pi­zarro did not hesitate to fail with this contemptible force to invade a great empire.1531. February. Almagro was left at Panama, as formerly, to follow him with what reinforcement of men he should be able to muster. As the season for embarking was properly chosen, and the course of navigation between Panama and Peru was now better known, Pizarro completed the voyage in thirteen days; though by the force of the winds and currents, he was carried above a hundred leagues to the north of Tumbez, the place of his destination, and obliged to land his troops in the bay of St. Matthew.Lords in Peru. Without losing a mo­ment, he began to advance towards the south, taking care, however, not to depart far from the [Page 163] sea-shore, both that he might easily effect a junc­tion with the supplies which he expected from Pa­nama, and secure a retreat in case of any disaster,1531. by keeping as near as possible to his ships. But as the country in several parts on the coast of Peru is barren, unhealthful, and thinly peopled; as the Spaniards had to pass all the rivers near their mouth, where the body of water is greatest; and as the imprudence of Pizarro, in attacking the na­tives when he should have studied to gain their confidence, had forced them to abandon their ha­bitations; famine, fatigue, and diseases of various kinds, brought upon him and his followers cala­mities hardly inferior to those which they had en­dured in their former expedition. What they now experienced corresponded so ill with the alluring description of the country given by Pizarro, that many began to reproach him, and every soldier must have become cold to the service, if even in this unfertile region of Peru, they had not met with some appearances of wealth and cultivation, which seemed to justify the report of their leader. At length they reached the province of Coaque; and,April 14. having surprised the principal settlement of the natives, they seized their vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, to the amount of thirty thousand pesos, with other booty of such value, as dispelled all their doubts, and inspired the most desponding with sanguine hopes^*.

PIZARRO himself was so much delighted with this rich spoil,His mea­sures for obtaining a reinforce­ment which he considered as the first-fruits of a land abounding with treasure, that he instantly dispatched one of his ships to Panama with a large remittance to Almagro; and another to Nicaraguay with a considerable sum to several persons of influence in that province, in hopes of [Page 164] alluring adventurers, by this early display of the wealth which he had acquired. Meanwhile, he continued his march along the coast, and disdain­ing to employ any means of reducing the natives but force, he attacked them with such violence in their scattered habitations, as compelled them either to retire into the interior country, or to submit to his yoke. This sudden appearance of invaders, whose aspect and manners were so strange, and whose power seemed to be so irresistible, made the same dreadful impression as in other parts of America. Pizarro hardly met with resistance until he attacked the island of Puna in the bay of Guay­quil. As that was better peopled than the country through which he had passed, and its inhabitants fiercer and less civilized than those of the conti­nent, they defended themselves with such obstinate valour, that Pizarro spent six months in reducing them to subjection. From Puna he proceeded to Tumbez, where the distempers which raged among his men compelled him to remain for three months^*.

WHILE he was thus employed, he began to reap advantage from his attention, to spread the fame of his first success at Coaque.Receives some, and continues to advance. Two different de­tachments arrived from Nicaragua, which, though neither exceeded thirty men, he considered as a re­inforcement of great consequence to his feeble band, especially as the one was under the com­mand of Sebastian Benalcazar,1532. and the other of Hernando Soto, officers not inferior in merit and reputation to any who had served in America.May 16. From Tumbez he proceeded to the river Piura, and in an advantageous station near the mo [...]th of [Page 165] it, he established the first Spanish colony in Peru; to which he gave the name of St. Michael.

AS Pizarro continued to advance towards the center of the Peruvian empire, he gradually re­ceived more full information concerning its extent and policy, as well as the situation of its affairs at that juncture. Without some knowledge of these, he could not have conducted his operations with propriety; and without a suitable attention to them, it is impossible to account for the progress which the Spaniards had already made, or to un­fold the causes of their subsequent success.

AT the time when the Spaniards invaded Peru,State of the Peruvian [...]. the dominions of its sovereigns extended in length, from north to south above fifteen hundred mile [...] along the Pacific Ocean. Its breadth, from east to west, was much less considerable; being uni­formly bounded by the vast ridge of the An [...]es, stretching from its one extremity to the other. Peru, like the rest of the New World, was origi­nally possessed by small independent tribes, differ­ing from each other in manners, and in their forms of rude policy. All, however, were so little civi­lized, that, if the traditions concerning their mode of life, preserved among their descendants, de­serve credit, they must be classed among the most unimproved savages of America. Strangers to every species of cultivation or regular industry, without any fixed residence, and unacquainted with those sentiments and obligations which form the first bonds of social union, they are said to have roamed about naked in the forests, with which the country was then covered, more like wild beasts than like men. After they had struggled for se­veral ages with the hardships and calamities which are inevitable in such a state, and when no circum­stance seemed to indicate the approach of any un­common effort towards improvement, we are told [Page 166] that there appeared on the banks of the lake Ti­tiaca, a man and woman of majestic form, and clothed in decent garments. They declared them­selves to be children of the Sun, sent by their be­neficent parent, who beheld with pity the miseries of the human race, to instruct and to reclaim them. At their persuasion, enforced by reverence for the divinity in whose name they were supposed to speak, several of the dispersed savages united together, and receiving their commands as hea­venly injunctions, followed them to Cuzco, where they settled, and began to lay the foundations of a city.

MANCO CAPAC and Mama Ocollo, for such were the names of those extraordinary personages, having thus collected some wandering tribes, formed that social union, which, by multiplying the desires, and uniting the efforts of the human species, excites industry, and leads to improve­ment. Manco Capac instructed the men in agri­culture, and other useful arts. Mama Ocollo taught the women to spin and to weave. By the labour of the one sex, subsistence became less pre­carious; by that of the other, life was rendered more comfortable. After securing the objects of first necessity in an infant state, by providing food, raiment, and habitations, for the rude people of whom he took charge, Manco Capac turned his attention towards introducing such laws and policy as might perpetuate their happiness. By his insti­tutions, which shall be more particularly explained hereafter, the various relations in private life were established, and the duties resulting from them prescribed with such propriety, as gradually formed a barbarous people to decency of manners. In public administration, the functions of persons in authority were so precisely defined, and the subordi­nation of those under their jurisdiction maintained [Page 167] with such a steady hand, that the society in which he presided, soon assumed the aspect of a regular and well-governed state.

THUS, according to the Indian tradition, was founded the empire of the Incas or Lords of Peru. At first its extent was small. The territory of Manco Capac did not reach above eight leagues from Cuzco. But within its narrow precincts he exercised absolute and uncontrouled authority. His successors, as their dominions extended, arrogated a similar jurisdiction over the new subjects which they acquired: the despotism of Asia was not more complete. The Incas were not only obeyed as monarchs, but revered as divinities. Their blood was held to be sacred, and, by prohibiting inter­marriages with the people, was never contaminated by mixing with that of any other race. The family, thus separated from the rest of the nation, was distinguished by peculiarities in dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful for others to assume. The monarch himself appeared with ensigns of royalty reserved for him alone; and received from his sub­jects marks of obsequious homage and respect, which approached almost to adoration.

BUT, among the Peruvians, this unbounded power of their monarchs seems to have been uni­formly accompanied with attention to the good of their subjects. It was not the rage of conquest, if we may believe the accounts of their countrymen, that prompted the Incas to extend their dominions, but the desire of diffusing the blessings of civiliza­tion, and the knowledge of the arts which they possessed, among the barbarous people whom they reduced. During a succession of twelve monarchs, it is said that not one deviated from this beneficent character^*.

[Page 168]WHEN the Spaniards first visited the coast of Peru, in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-six, Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch from the founder of the state, was seated on the throne. He is represented as a prince distinguished not only for the pacific virtues peculiar to the race, but eminent for his martial talents. By his victo­rious arms the kingdom of Quito was subjected, a conquest of such extent and importance as almost doubled the power of the Peruvian empire. He was fond of residing in the capital of that valuable province, which he had added to his dominions; and notwithstanding the ancient and fundamental law of the monarchy against polluting the royal blood by any foreign alliance, he married the daughter of the vanquished monarch of Quito.— She bore him a son named Atahualpa, whom, on his death at Quito, which seems to have happened about the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-nine, he appointed his successor in that kingdom, leaving the rest of his dominions to Hu­ascar, his eldest son, by a mother of the royal race. Greatly as the Peruvians revered the memory of a monarch who had reigned with greater reputation and splendour than any of his predecessors, the de­stination of Huana Capac concerning the succession, appeared so repugnant to a maxim coeval with the empire, and founded on authority deemed sa­cred, that it was no sooner known at Cuzco than it excited general disgust. Encouraged by those sen­timents of his subject, Huascar required his brother to renounce the government of Quito, and to ac­knowledge him as his lawful superior. But it had been the first care of Atahualpa to gain a large body of troops which had accompanied his father to Quito. These were the flower of the Peruvian warriors, to whose valour Huana Capac had been indebted for all his victories. Relying on their [Page 169] support, Atahualpa first eluded his brother's de­mand, and then marched against him in hostile array.

THUS the ambition of two young men, the title of the one founded on ancient usage, and that of the other asserted by the veteran troops, involved Peru in civil war, a calamity to which, under a succession of virtuous princes, it had hitherto been a stranger. In such a contest the issue was obvious. The force of arms triumphed over the authority of laws. Atahualpa remained victorious, and made a cruel use of his victory. Conscious of the defect in his own title to the crown, he attempted to ex­terminate the royal race, by putting to death all the children of the Sun descended from Manco Ca­pac, whom he could seize either by force or strata­gem. From a political motive, the life of his un­fortunate rival Huascar, who had been taken pri­soner in a battle which decided the fate of the em­pire, was prolonged for some time, that, by issuing orders in his name, the usurper might more easily establish his own authority^*.

WHEN Pizarro landed in the bay of St. Mat­thew,Favourable to the pro­gress of Pi­zarro. this civil war raged between the two bro­thers in its greatest fury. Had he made any hostile attempt in his former visit to Peru in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-seven, he must then have encountered the force of a powerful state, united under a monarch, possessed of capa­city as well as courage, and unembarrassed with any care that could divert him from opposing his progress. But at this time, the two competitors, though they received early accounts of the arrival and violent proceedings of the Spaniards, were so intent upon the operations of a war, which they [Page 170] deemed more interesting, that they paid no attention to the motions of an enemy, too inconsiderable in number to excite any great alarm, and to whom, it would be easy, as they imagined, to give a check when more at leisure.

He avails himself of it, and ad­vances.BY this fortunate coincidence of events, whereof Pizarro could have no foresight, and of which, from his defective mode of intercourse with the people of the country, he remained long ignorant, he was permitted to carry on his operations un­molested, and advanced to the centre of a great empire before one effort of its power was exerted to stop his career. During their progress, the Spa­niards had acquired some imperfect knowledge of this struggle between the two contending factions. The first complete information with respect to it, they received from the messengers whom Huascar sent to Pizarro, in order to solicit his aid against Atahualpa, whom he represented as a rebel and an usurper^*. Pizarro perceived at once the import­ance of this intelligence, and foresaw so clearly all the advantages which might be derived from this divided state of the kingdom, which he had in­vaded, that, without waiting for the reinforcement which he expected from Panama, he determined to push forward, while intestine discord put it out of the power of the Peruvians to attack him with their whole force, and while, by taking part, as circumstances should incline him, with one of the competitors, he might be enabled with greater ease to crush both. Enterprising as the Spaniards of that age were in all their operations against Ame­ricans, and distinguished as Pizarro was among his countrymen for daring courage, we can hardly sup­pose, that after having proceeded hitherto slowly, and with much caution, he would have changed at [Page 171] once his system of operation, and have ventured upon a measure so hazardous, without some new motive or prospect to justify it.

AS he was obliged to divide his troops,State of his forces. in order to leave a garrison in St. Michael, sufficient to de­fend a station of equal importance as a place of retreat in case of any disaster, and as a port for receiving any supplies which should come from Panama, he began his march with a very slender and ill-accoutred train of followers. They con­sisted of sixty-two horsemen^*, and a hundred and two foot-soldiers, of whom twenty were armed with cross-bows, and three with muskets. He di­rected his course towards Caxamalca, a small town at the distance of twelve days march from St. Michael, where Atahualpa was encamped with a considerable body of troops. Before he had pro­ceeded far, an officer dispatched by the Inca met him with a valuable present from that prince, accompanied with a proffer of his alliance, and assurances of a friendly reception at Caxamalca. Pizarro, according to the usual artifice of his coun­trymen in America, pretended to come as the am­bassador of a very powerful monarch, and declared that he was now advancing with an intention to offer Atahualpa his aid against those enemies who disputed his title to the throne^†.

AS the object of the Spaniards in entering their country was altogether incomprehensible to the Peruvians,Ideas of the Peruvians concerning their de­signs. they had formed various conjectures concerning it, without being able to decide whe­ther they should consider their new guests as beings of a superior nature, who had visited them from some beneficient motive, or as formidable avengers of their crimes, and enemies to their repose and [Page 172] liberty. The continual professions of the Spa­niards, that they came to enlighten them with the knowledge of truth, and lead them in the way of happiness, favoured the former opinion; the out­rages which they committed, their rapaciousness and cruelty, were awful confirmations of the latter. While in this state of uncertainty, Pizarro's decla­ration of his pacific intentions so far removed all the Inca's fears, that he determined to give him a friendly reception. In consequence of this reso­lution, the Spaniards were allowed to march in tranquillity across [...] sandy desart between St. Michael and Motupe, where the most feeble effort of an enemy, added to the unavoidable distresses which they suffered in passing through that com­fortless region, must have proved fatal to them^*. From Motupè they advanced towards the moun­tains which encompassed the low country of Peru, and passed through a defile so narrow and inac­cessible, that a few men might have defended it against a numerous army. But here likewise, from the same inconsiderate credulity of the Inca, the Spaniards met with no opposition, and took quiet possession of a fort erected for the security of that important station. As they now approached near to Caxamalca, Atahualpa renewed his professions of friendship; and as an evidence of their since­rity, sent them presents of greater value than the former.

Arrives at Caxamalca.ON entering Caxamalca, Pizarro took possession of a large court, on one side of which was a house which the Spanish historians call a palace of the Inca, and on the other a temple of the Sun, the whole surrounded with a strong rampart or wall of earth. When he had posted his troops in this ad­vantageous station, he dispatched his brother Fer­dinand [Page 173] and Hernando Soto to the camp of Ata­hua [...]pa, which was about a league distant from the town. He instructed them to confirm the declara­tion which he had formerly made of his pacific dis­position, and to desire an interview with the Inca, that he might explain more fully the intention of the Spaniards in visiting his country. They were trea [...] with all the respectful hospitality usual among the Peruvians in the reception of their most cordial friends, and Atahualpa promised to visit the Spanish commander next day in his quarters. The decent deportment of the Peruvian monarch, the order of his court, and the reverence with which his subjects approached his person and obeyed his commands, astonished those Spaniards, who had never met in America with any thing more digni­fied than the petty cazique of a barberous tribe. But their eyes were still more powerfully attracted by the vast profusion of wealth which they observed in the Inca's camp. The rich ornaments worn by him and his attendants, the vessels of gold and sil­ver in which the repast offered to them was served up, the multitude of utensils of every kind formed of those precious metals, opened prospects far ex­ceeding any idea of opulence that a European of the sixteenth century could form.

ON their return to Caxamalca,Perfidious scheme of Pizarro. while their minds were yet warm with admiration and desire of the wealth which they had beheld, they gave such a description of it to their countrymen, as confirmed Pizarro in a resolution which he had already taken. From his own observation of American manners during his long service in the New World, as well as from the advantages which Cortes had derived from seizing Montezuma, he knew of what conse­quence it was to have the Inca in his power. For this purpose, he formed a plan as daring as it was perfidious. Notwithstanding the character that he [Page 174] had assumed of an ambassador from a powerful mo­narch, who courted an alliance with the Inca, and in violation of the repeated offers which he had made to him of his own friendship and assistance, he determined to avail himself of the unsuspicious simplicity with which Atahualpa relied on his pro­fessions, and to seize the person of the Inca during the interview to which he had invited him. He prepared for the execution of his scheme with the same deliberate arrangement, and with as little compunction, as if it had reflected no disgrace on himself or his country. He divided his cavalry into three small squadrons, under the command of his brother Ferdinand, Soto, and Benalcazar; his infantry were formed in one body, except twenty of most tried courage, whom he kept near his own person to support him in the dangerous service which he reserved for himself; the artillery, con­sisting of two field-pieces^* and the cross-bowmen, were placed opposite to the avenue by which Ata­hualpa was to approach. All were commanded to keep within the square, and not to move until the signal for action was given.

Nov. 16. Visited by the Inca.EARLY in the morning the Peruvian camp was all in motion. But as Atahualpa was solicitous to appear with the greatest splendour and magnifi­cence in his first interview with the strangers, the preparations for this were so tedious, that the day was far advanced before he began his march. Even then, lest the order of the procession should be de­ranged, he moved so slowly, that the Spaniards became impatient, and apprehensive that some sus­picion of their intention might be the cause of this delay. In order to remove this, Pizarro dispatched one of his officers with fresh assurances of his friendly disposition. At length the Inca approach­ed. [Page 175] First of all appeared four hundred men, in an uniform dress, as harbingers to clear the way be­fore him. He himself,1523. sitting on a throne or couch, adorned with plumes of various colours, and almost covered with plates of gold and silver enriched with precious stones, was carried on the shoulders of his principal attendants. Behind him came some chief officers of his court, carried in the same manner. Several bands of singers and dan­cers accompanied this cavalcade; and the whole plain was covered with troops, amounting to more than thirty thousand men.

AS the Inca drew near the Spanish quarters,Strange ha­rangue of father Val­verde. fa­ther Vincent Valverde, chaplain to the expedition, advanced with a crucifix in one hand, and a bre­viary in the other, and in a long discourse explain­ed to him the doctrine of the creation, the fall of Adam, the incarnation, the sufferings and resur­rection of Jesus Christ, the appointment of St. Peter as God's vicegerent on earth, the transmis­sion of his apostolic power by succession to the popes, the donation made to the king of Castile by pope Alexander of all the regions in the New World. In consequence of all this, he required Atahualpa to embrace the Christian faith, to ac­knowledge the supreme jurisdiction of the pope, and to submit to the king of Castile as his lawful sovereign; promising, if he complied instantly with this requisition, that the Castilian monarch would protect his dominions, and permit him to continue in the exercise of his royal authority; but if he should impiously refuse to obey this summons, he denounced war against him in his master's name, and threatened him with the most dreadful effects of his vengeance.

THIS strange harangue,Reply of the Inca. unfolding deep myste­ries, and alluding to unknown facts, of which no power of eloquence could have conveyed at once [Page 176] a distinct idea to an American, was so lamely trans­lated by an unskilful interpreter, little acquainted with the idiom of the Spanish tongue,1532. and inca­pable of expressing himself with propriety in the language of the Inca, that its general tenor was altogether incomprehensible to Atahualpa. Some parts in it, of more obvious meaning, filled him with astonishment and indignation. His reply, however, was temperate. He began with observ­ing, that he was lord of the dominions over which [...]e reigned by hereditary succession; and added, that he could not conceive how a foreign priest should pretend to dispose of territories which did not belong to him; that if such a preposterous grant had been made, he, who was the rightful possessor, refused to confirm it; that he had no in­clination to renounce the religious institutions esta­blished by his ancestors; nor would he forsake the service of the Sun, the immortal divinity whom he and his people revered, in order to worship the God of the Spaniards, who was subject to death, that with respect to other matters contained in his discourse, as he had never heard of them before, he did not now understand their meaning, he de­sired to know where the priest had learned things so extraordinary. "In this book," answered Val­verde, reaching out to him his breviary. The Inca opened it eagerly, and turning over the leaves, lifted it to his ear: "This," says he, "is silent; it tells me nothing;" and threw it with disdain to the ground. The enraged monk, running towards his countrymen, cried out, "To arms, Christians, to arms; the word of God is insulted; avenge this profanation on those impious dogs^*."

Pizarro at­tacks the Peruvians.PIZARRO, who, during this long conference, had with difficulty restrained his soldiers, eager to [Page 177] seize the rich spoils of which they had now so near a view, immediately gave the signal of assault. At once the martial music struck up, the cannon and muskets began to fire, the horse sallied out fiercely to the charge, the infantry rushed on sword in hand. The Peruvians, astonished at the suddenness of an attack which they did not expect, and dismayed with the destructive effects of the fire-arms, and the irresistible impression of the cavalry, fled with universal consternation on every side, without at­tempting either to annoy the enemy, or to defend themselves. Pizarro, at the head of his chosen band, advanced directly towards the Inca; and though his nobles crowded around him with offi­cious zeal, and fell in numbers at his feet, while they vied one with another in sacrificing their own lives, that they might recover the sacred person of their sovereign, the Spaniards soon penetrated to the royal seat;and seizes the Inca. and Pizarro seizing the Inca by the arm, dragged him to the ground, and carried him as a prisoner to his quarters. The fate of the mo­narch increased the precipitate flight of his follow­ers. The Spaniards pursued them towards every quarter, and with deliberate and unrelenting bar­barity continued to slaughter wretched fugitives, who never once offered to resist. The carnage did not cease until the close of day. Above four thou­sand Peruvians were killed. Not a single Spaniard fell, nor was one wounded but Pizarro himself, whose hand was slightly hurt by one of his own soldiers, while struggling eagerly to lay hold on the Inca^*.

THE plunder of the field was rich beyond any idea which the Spaniards had yet formed concern­ing the wealth of Peru, and they were so transport­ed with the value of the acquisition, as well as the [Page 178] greatness of their success, that they passed the night in the extravagant exultation natural to indigent adventurers on such an extraordinary change of fortune.

Dejection of the Inca.AT first the captive monarch could hardly be­lieve a calamity which he so little expected to be real. But he soon felt all the misery of his fate, and the dejection into which he sunk was in pro­portion to the height of grandeur from which he had fallen. Pizarro, afraid of losing all the ad­vantages which he hoped to derive from the pos­session of such a prisoner, laboured to console him with professions of kindness and respect, that cor­responded ill with his actions. By residing among the Spaniards, the Inca quickly discovered their ruling passion, which, indeed, they were no-wise, solicitous to conceal, and by applying to that, made an attempt to recover his liberty.His [...] of [...]. He offered as a ransom what astonished the Spaniards, even after all they now knew concerning the opulence of his kingdom. The apartment in which he was con­fined was twenty-two feet in length and sixteen in breadth; he undertook to fill it with vessels of gold as high as he could reach. Pizarro closed eagerly with this tempting proposal, and a line was drawn upon the walls of the chamber, to mark the stipulated height to which the treasure was to rise.

ATAHUALPA, transported with having obtained some prospect of liberty, took measures instantly for fulfilling his part of the agreement, by sending messengers to Cuzco, Quito, and other places, where gold had been amassed in largest quantities, either for adorning the temples of the gods, or the houses of the Inca, to bring what was necessary for completing his ransom directly to Caxamalca. Though Atahualpa was now in the custody of his enemies, yet so much were the Peruvians accus­tomed to respect every mandate issued by their so­vereign, [Page 179] that his orders were executed with the greatest alacrity. Soothed with hopes of recover­ing his liberty by this means, the subjects of the Inca were afraid of endangering his life by forming any other scheme for his relief; and though the force of the empire was still entire, no preparations were made, and no army assembled to avenge their own wrongs or those of their monarch^*. The Spaniards remained in Caxamalca tranquil and un­molested.The Spani­ards visit different provinces. Small detachments of their number marched into remote provinces of the empire, and, instead of meeting with any opposition, were every where received with marks of the most submissive respect^†.

INCONSIDERABLE as those parties were,Almagro arrives with a reinforce­ment. and de­sirous as Pizarro might be to obtain some know­ledge of the interior state of the country, he could not have ventured upon any diminution of his main body, if he he had not about this time received an account of Almagro's having landed at St. Michael with such a reinforcement as would almost double the number of his followers^‡.December. The arrival of this long-expected succour was not more agreeable to the Spaniards, than alarming to the Inca. He saw the power of his enemies increase; and as he knew neither the source whence they derived their sup­plies, nor the means by which they were conveyed to Peru, he could not foresee to what a height the inundation that poured in upon his dominions might rise. While disquieted with such apprehen­sions, he learned that some Spaniards,1533 Hu [...]sc [...]r put to [...]. in their way to Cuzco had visited his brother Huascar in the place where he kept him confined, and that the captive prince had represented to them the justice of his own cause, and as an inducement to espouse it, had promised them a quantity of treasure greatly [Page 180] beyond that which Atahualpa had engaged to pay for his ransom. If the Spaniards should listen to this proposal, Atahualpa perceived his own destruc­tion to be inevitable; and suspecting that their in­satiable thirst for gold would tempt them to lend a favourable ear to it, he determined to sacrifice his brother's life, that he might save his own; and his orders for this purpose were executed, like all his other commands, with scrupulous punctuality^*.

The Spani­ards make a division of the spoil.MEANWHILE, Indians daily arrived at Caxa­malca from different parts of the kingdom, loaded with treasure. A great part of the stipulated quan­tity was now amassed, and Atahualpa assured the Spaniards, that the only thing which prevented the whole from being brought in, was the remote­ness of the provinces where it was deposited. But such vast piles of gold presented continually to the view of needy soldiers, had so inflamed their ava­rice, that it was impossible any longer to restrain their impatience to obtain possession of this rich booty. Orders were given for melting down the whole, except some pieces of curious fabric, re­served as a present for the emperor. After setting apart the fifth due to the crown, and a hundred thousand pesos as a donative to the soldiers which arrived with Almagro, there remained one million five hundred and twenty-eight thousand five hun­dred pesos to Pizarro and his followers. The fes­tival of St. James,July 25. the patron saint of Spain, was the day chosen for the partition of this en [...]mous sum, and the manner of conducting it strongly marks the strange alliance of fanaticism with ava­rice, which I have more than once had occasion to point out as a striking feature in the character of the conquerors of the New World. Though as­sembled [Page 181] to divide the spoils of an innocent people, procured by deceit, extortion, and cruelty, the transaction began with a solemn invocation of the name of God^*, as if they could have expected the guidance of Heaven in distributing those wages of iniquity. In this division above eight thousand pesos, at that time not inferior in effective value to as many pounds sterling in the present century, fell to the share of each horseman, and half that sum to each foot soldier. Pizarro himself, and his offi­cers, received dividends in proportion to the dig­nity of their rank

THERE is no example in history of such a sudden acquisition of wealth by military service,The effect of it. nor was ever a sum so great divided among so small a num­ber of soldiers. Many of them having received a recompence for their services far beyond their most sanguine hopes, were so impatient to retire from fatigue and danger, in order to spend the remain­der of their days in their native country, in ease and opulence, that they demanded their discharge with clamorous importunity. Pizarro, sensible that from such men he could expect neither enterprise in ac­tion nor fortitude in suffering, and persuaded that wherever they went, the display of their riches would allure adventurers, less opulent but more hardy, to his standard, granted their suit without reluctance, and permitted above sixty of them to accompany his brother Ferdinand, whom he sent to Spain with an account of his success, and the present destined for the emperor^†.

THE Spaniards having divided among them the treasure amassed for the Inca's ransom,The Inca demands his liberty in vain. he insisted with them to fulfil their promise of setting him at liberty. But nothing was farther from Pizarro's [Page 182] thoughts. During his long service in the New World, he had imbibed those ideas and maxims of his fellow-soldiers, which led them to consider its inhabitants as an inferior race, neither worthy of the name, nor entitled to the rights, of men. In his compact with Atahualpa, he had no other ob­ject than to amuse his captive with such a prospect of recovering his liberty, as might induce him to lend all the aid of his authority towards collecting the wealth of his kingdom. Having now accom­plished this, he no longer regarded his plighted faith; and at the very time when the credulous prince hoped to be replaced on his throne, he had secretly resolved to bereave him of life. Many circumstances seem to have concurred in prompting him to this action, the most criminal and atrocious that stains the Spanish name, amidst all the deeds of violence committed in carrying on the conquest of the New World.

He and the Spaniards mutually jealous.THOUGH Pizarro had seized the Inca, in imita­tion of Cortes's conduct towards the Mexican mo­narch, he did not possess talents for carrying on the same artful plan of policy. Destitute of the temper and address requisite for gaining the confi­dence of his prisoner, he never reaped all the ad­vantages which might have been derived from be­ing master of his person and authority. Atahualpa was, indeed, a prince of greater abilities and dis­cernment than Montezuma, and seems to have pe­netrated more thoroughly into the character and intentions of the Spaniards. Mutual suspicion and distrust accordingly took place between them. The strict attention with which it was necessary to guard a captive of such importance, greatly increased the fatigue of military duty. The utility of keeping him appeared inconsiderable; and Pizarro felt him as an incumbrance, from which he wished to be delivered^*.

[Page 183]ALMAGRO and his followers had made a demand of an equal share in the Inca's ransom; and though Pizarro had bestowed upon the private men the large gratuity which I have mentioned,Almagro and his fol­lowers de­mand his life. and en­deavoured to sooth their leader by presents of great value, they still continued dissatisfied. They were apprehensive, that as long as Atahualpa remained a prisoner, Pizarro's soldiers would apply whatever treasure should be acquired, to make up what was wanting of the quantity stipulated for his ransom, and under that pretext exclude them from any part of it. They insisted eagerly on putting the Inca to death, that all the adventurers in Peru might thereafter be on an equal footing^*.

PIZARRO himself began to be alarmed with ac­counts of forces assembling in the remote provinces of the empire,Motives [...] Pi­zarro to consent. and suspected Atahualpa of having issued orders for that purpose. These fears and suspicions were artfully increased by Philippillo, one of the Indians whom Pizarro had carried off from Tumbez in the year one thousand five hun­dred and twenty-seven, and whom he employed as an interpreter. The function which he performed admitting this man to familiar intercourse with the captive monarch, he presumed, notwithstanding the meanness of his birth, to raise his affections to a Coya, or descendent of the Sun, one of Atahualpa's wives; and seeing no prospect of gratifying that passion during the life of the monarch, he endea­voured to fill the ears of the Spaniards with such accounts of the Inca's secret designs and prepara­tions, as might awaken their jealousy, and incite them to cut him off.

WHILE Almagro and his followers openly de­manded the life of the Inca, and Philippillo la­boured [Page 184] to ruin him by private machinations, that unhappy prince inadvertently contributed to hasten his own fate. During his confinement he had at­tached himself with peculiar affection to Ferdinand Pizarro and Hernando Soto; who, as they were persons of birth and education superior to the rough adventurers with whom they served, were accus­tomed to behave with more decency and attention to the captive monarch. Soothed with this respect from persons of such high rank, he delighted in their society. But in the presence of the governor he was always uneasy and overawed. This dread soon came to be mingled with contempt. Among all the European arts, what he admired most was that of reading and writing; and he long delibera­ted with himself, whether he should regard it as a natural or acquired talent. In order to determine this, he desired one of the soldiers, who guarded him, to write the name of God on the nail of his thumb. This he shewed successively to several Spaniards, asking its meaning; and to his amaze­ment, they all, without hesitation, returned the same answer. At length Pizarro entered; and on presenting it to him, he blushed, and with some confusion was obliged to acknowledge his igno­rance. From that moment, Atahualpa considered him as a mean person, less instructed than his own soldiers; and he had not address enough to conceal the sentiments with which this discovery inspired him. To be the object of a barbarian's scorn, not only mortified the pride of Pizarro, but excited such resentment in his breast, as added force to all the other considerations which promped him to put the Inca to death^*.

His trial.BUT in order to give some colour of justice to this violent action, and that he himself might be [Page 185] exempted from standing singly responsible for the commission of it, Pizarro, resolved to try the Inca with all the formalities observed in the criminal courts of Spain. Pizarro himself, and Almagro, with two assistants, were appointed judges, with full power to acquit or to condemn; an attorney-general was named to carry on the prosecution in the king's name; counsellors were chosen to assist the prisoner in his defence; and clerks were or­dained to record the proceedings of court. Before this strange tribunal, a charge was exhibited still more amazing. It consisted of various articles; that Atahualpa, though a bastard, had dispossessed the rightful owner of the throne, and usurped the regal power; that he had put his brother and law­ful sovereign to death; that he was an idolater, and had not only permitted, but commanded the offer­ing of human sacrifices; that he had a great num­ber of concubines; that since his imprisonment he had wasted and embezzled the royal treasures, which now belonged of right to the conquerors; that he had incited his subjects to take arms against the Spaniards. On these heads of accusation, some of which are so ludicrous, others so absurd, that the effrontery of Pizarro, in making them the foun­dation of a serious procedure, is not less surpri­sing than his injustice, did this strange court go on to try the sovereign of a great empire, over whom it had no jurisdiction. With respect to each of the articles, witnesses were examined; but as they de­livered their evidence in their native tongue, Phi­lippillo had it in his power to give their words whatever turn best suited his malevolent intentions. To judges predetermined in their opinion,He is con­demned, this evidence appeared sufficient. They pronounced Atahualpa guilty, and condemned him to be burnt alive. Friar Valverde prostituted the authority of his sacred function to confirm this sentence, and by [Page 186] his signature warranted it to be just. Astonished at his fate, Atahualpa endeavoured to avert it by tears, by promises, and by entreaties, that he might be sent to Spain, where a monarch would be the ar­biter of his lot. But pity never touched the un­feeling heart of Pizarro. He ordered him to be led instantly to execution; and, what added to the bitterness of his last moments, the same monk who had just ratified his doom, offered to console, and attempted to convert him. The most powerful argument Valverde employed to prevail with him to embrace the Christian faith, was a promise of mitigation in his punishment. The dread of a cruel death extorted from the trembling victim a desire of receiving baptism. The ceremony was performed;and execu­ted. and Atahualpa, instead of being burnt, was strangled at the stake^*.

Several Spa­niards pro­test against it.HAPPILY for the credit of the Spanish nation, even among the profligate adventurers which it sent forth to conquer and desolate the New World, there were persons who retained some tincture of the Castilian generosity and honour. Though, be­fore the trial of Atahualpa, Ferdinand Pizarro had set out for Spain, and Soto was sent on a separate command at a distance from Caxamalca, this odious transaction was not carried on without censure and opposition. Several officers, and among those some of the greatest reputation and most respectable fa­milies in the service, not only remonstrated, but protested against this measure of their general, as disgraceful to their country, as repugnant to every maxim of equity, as a violation of public faith, and an usurpation or jurisdiction over an independent monarch, to which they had no title. But their [Page 187] laudable endeavours were vain. Numbers, and the opinion of such as held every thing to be lawful which they deemed advantageous, prevailed. His­tory, however, records even the unsuccessful exer­tions of virtue with applause; and the Spanish writers, in relating events where the valour of their nation is more conspicuous than its humanity, have not failed to preserve the names of those who made this laudable effort to save their country from the infamy of having perpetrated such a crime.^*

ON the death of Atahualpa,Dissolution of order and govern­ment in Peru. Pizarro invested one of his sons with the ensigns of royalty, hoping that a young man without experience might prove a more passive instrument in his hands, than an ambitious monarch, who had been accustomed to independent command. The people of Cuzco, and the adjacent country, acknowledged Manco Capac, a brother of Huascar, as Inca^†. But nei­ther possessed the authority which belonged to a sovereign of Peru. The violent convulsions into which the empire had been thrown, first by the civil war between the two brothers, and then by the invasion of the Spaniards, had not only de­ranged the order of the Peruvian government, but almost dissolved its frame. When they beheld their monarch a captive in the power of strangers, and at last suffering an ignominious death, the people in several provinces, as if they had been set free from every restraint of law and decency, broke out into the most licentious excesses^‡. So many descendants of the Sun, after being treated with the utmost indignity, had been cut off by [Page 188] Atahualpa, that not only their influence in the state diminished with their number, but the accustomed reverence for that sacred race sensibly decreased. In consequence of this state of things, ambitious men in different parts of the empire aspired to in­dependent authority, and usurped jurisdiction to which they had no title. The general who com­manded for Atahualpa in Quito, seized the brother and children of his master, put them to a cruel death, and disclaiming any connection with either Inca, endeavoured to establish a separate kingdom for himself.^*

Pizarro ad­vance to Cuzco.THE Spaniards, with pleasure, behold the spirit of discord diffusing itself, and the vigour of go­vernment relaxing among the Peruvians. They considered those disorders as symptoms of a state hastening towards its dissolution. Pizarro no longer hesitated to advance towards Cuzco, and he had received such considerable reinforcements, that he could venture, with little danger, to penetrate so far into the interior part of the country. The ac­count of the wealth acquired at Caxamalca ope­rated as he had foreseen. No sooner did his bro­ther Ferdinand, with the officers and soldiers to whom he had given their discharge after the par­tition of the Inca's ransom, arrive at Panama, and display their riches in the view of their astonished countrymen, than fame spread the account with such exaggeration through all the Spanish settle­ments on the South Sea, that the governors of Guatimala, Panama, and Nicaragua, [...]ould hardly restrain the people under their jurisdiction, from abandoning their possessions, and crowding to that inexhaustible source of wealth which seemed to be opened in Peru^†. In spite of every check and re­gulation, [Page 189] such numbers resorted thither, that Pi­zarro began his march at the head of five hundred men, after leaving a considerable garrison in St. Michael, under the command of Benalcazar. The Peruvians had assembled some large bodies of troops to oppose his progress. Several fierce en­counters happened. But they terminated like all the actions in America; a few Spaniards were killed or wounded; the natives were put to flight with incredible slau [...]hter. At length Pizarro forced his way to Cuzco, and took quiet possession of that capital. The riches found there, even after all that the natives had carried off and con­cealed, either from a superstitious veneration for the ornaments of their temples, or out of hatred to their rapacious conquerors, exceeded in value what had been received at Atahualpa's ransom. But as the Spaniards were now accustomed to the wealth of the country, and it came to be parcelled out among a greater number of adventurers, this dividend did not excite the same surprise, either from novelty, or the largeness of the sum that fell to the share of each individual^*.

DURING the march to Cuzco, that son of Ata­hualpa whom Pizarro treated as Inca, died; and as the Spaniards substituted no person in his place, the title of Manco Capac seems to have been uni­versally recognized^†.

WHILE his fellow-soldiers were thus employed,Quito con­quered by Benalcazar▪ Benalcazar, governor of St. Michael, an able and enterprising officer, was ashamed of remaining in­active, and impatient to have his name distin­guished among the discoverers and conquerors of the New World. The seasonable arrival of a fresh body of recruits from Panama and Nicaraguay, put it in his power to gratify this passion. Leaving a [Page 190] sufficient force to protect the infant settlement en­trusted to his care, he placed himself at the head of the rest, and set out to attempt the reduction of Quito, where according to the report of the na­tives, Atahualpa had left the greatest part of his treasure. Notwithstanding the distance of that city from St. Michael, the difficulty of marching through a mountainous country covered with woods, and the frequent and fierce attacks of the best troops in Peru, commanded by a skilful leader, the valour, good conduct, and perseverance of Benalcazar surmounted every obstacle, and he entered Quito with his victorious troops. But they met with a cruel mortification there. The natives, now acquainted to their sorrow, with the predominant passion of their invaders, and know­ing how to disappoint it, had carried off all those treasures, the prospect of which had prompted them to undertake this arduous expedition, and had supported them under all the dangers and hard­ships wherewith they had to struggle in carrying it on^*.

Alvarado's expedition.BENALCAZAR was not the only Spanish leader who attacked the kingdom of Quito. The fame of its riches attracted a more powerful enemy. Pedro de Alvarado, who had distinguished him­self so eminently in the conquest of Mexico, hav­ing obtained the government of Guatimala as a recompence for his valour, soon became disgusted with a life of uniform tranquillity, and longed to be again engaged in the bustle of military service. The glory and wealth acquired by the conquerors of Peru heightened this passion, and gave it a de­termined direction. Believing, or pretending to believe, that the kingdom of Quito did not lie within the limits of the province allotted to Pi­zarro, [Page 191] he resolved to invade it. The high reputa­tion of the commander allured volunteers from every quarter. He embarked with five hundred men, of whom above two hundred were of such distinction as to serve on horseback. He landed at Puerto Viejo, and without sufficient knowledge of the country, or proper guides to conduct him, attempted to march directly to Quito, by follow­ing the course of the river Guayquil, and crossing the ridge of the Andes towards its head. But in this route, one of the most impracticable in all America, his troops endured such fatigue in forcing their way through forests and marshes on the low grounds, and suffered so much from excessive cold when they began to ascend the mountains, that before they reached the plain of Quito, a fifth part of the men and half of their horses died, and the rest were so much dispirited and worn out, as to be almost unfit for service.^* There they met with a body, not of Indians but of Spaniards, drawn up in hostile array against them. Pizarro having re­ceived an account of Alvarado's armament, had detached Almagro with some troops to oppose this formidable invader of his jurisdiction; and these were joined by Benalcazar and his victorious party. Alvarado, though surprised at the sight of enemies whom he did not expect, advanced boldly to the charge. But, by the interposition of some moderate men in each party, an amicable accommodation took place; and the fatal period, when Spaniards suspended their conquests to em­brue their hands in the blood of their countrymen, was postponed a few years. Alvarado engaged to return to his government, upon Almagro's paying him a hundred thousand pesos to defray the expence of his armament. Most of his followers remained [Page 192] in the country; and an expedition, which threat­ened Pizarro and his colony with ruin, contributed to augment its strength^*.

1534. Honours conferred o [...] Pizarro and Alma­gro.BY this time Ferdinand Pizarro had landed in Spain. The immense quantities of gold and silver which he imported^†, filled the kingdom with no less astonishment than they had excited in Panama and the adjacent provinces. Pizarro was received by the emperor with the attention due to the bearer of a present so rich, as to exceed any idea which the Spaniards had formed concerning the value of their acquisitions in America, even after they had been ten years masters of Mexico. In recom­pence of his brother's services, his authority was confirmed with new powers and privileges, and the addition of seventy leagues, extending along the coast, to the southward of the territory granted in his former patent. Almagro received the honours which he had so long desired. The title of Ade­lantado, or governor, was conferred upon him, with jurisdiction over two hundred leagues of coun­try, stretching beyond the southern limits of the province allotted to Pizarro. Ferdinand himself did not go unrewarded. He was admitted into the military order of St. Jago, a distinction always acceptable to a Spanish gentleman, and soon set out on his return to Peru, accompanied by many persons of higher rank than had yet served in that country^‡.

Beginning of [...] Pi­zarro and Almagro.SOME account of his negociations reached Peru before he arrived there himself. Almagro no sooner learned that he had obtained the royal grant [Page 193] of an independent government, than, pretending that Cuzco, the imperial residence of the Incas, lay within its boundaries, he attempted to render himself master of that important station. Juan and Gonzalez Pizarro prepared to oppose him. Each of the contending parties was supported by powerful adherents, and the dispute was on the point of being terminated by the sword, when Francis Pizarro arrived in the capital. The recon­ciliation between him and Almagro had never been cordial. The treachery of Pizarro in engrossing to himself all the honours and emoluments, which ought to have been divided with his associate, was always present in both their thoughts. The former, conscious of his own perfidy, did not expect for­giveness; the latter, feeling that he had been de­ceived, was impatient to be avenged; and though avarice and ambition had induced them not only to dissemble their sentiments, but even to act in concert while in pursuit of wealth and power, no sooner did they obtain possession of these, than the same passions which had formed this temporary union, gave rise to jealousy and discord. To each of them was attached a small band of interested dependents, who, with the malicious art peculiar to such men, heightened their suspicions, and mag­nified every appearance of offence. But with all those seeds of enmity in their minds, and thus assiduously cherished, each was so thoroughly ac­quainted with the abilities and courage of his rival, that they equally dreaded the consequences of an open rupture. The fortunate arrival of Pizarro at Cuzco, and the address mingled with firmness which he manifested in his expostulations with Almagro and his partizans, averted that evil for the present. A new reconciliation took place; the chief article of which was, that Almagro should attempt the conquest of Chili; and if he did not [Page 194] find in that province an establishment adequate to his merit and expectations, Pizarro, by way of in­demnification, should yield up to him a part of Peru.June 12. This new agreement, though confirmed with the same sacred solemnities as their first con­tract, was observed with as little fidelity^*.

Regulati­ons of Pi­zarro.SOON after he concluded this important trans­action, Pizarro marched back to the countries on the sea-coast, and as he now enjoyed an interval of tranquillity, undisturbed by any enemy, either Spanish or Indian, he applied himself with that persevering ardour, which distinguishes his cha­racter, to introduce a form of regular government into the extensive provinces subject to his autho­rity. Though ill qualified by his education to enter into any disquisition concerning the principles of civil policy, and little accustomed by his former habits of life to attend to its arrangements, his natural sagacity supplied the want both of science and experience. He distributed the country into various districts; he appointed proper magistrates to preside in each; and established regulations con­cerning the administration of justice, the collection of the royal revenue, the working of the mines, and the treatment of the Indians, extremely simple, but well calculated to promote the public prospe­rity. But, though, for the present, he adapted his plan to the infant state of the colony, his aspiring mind looked forward to its future grandeur. He considered himself as laying the foundation of a great empire,Foundation of Lima. and deliberated long, and with much solicitude, in what place he should fix the seat of government. Cuzco, the imperial city of the Incas, was situated in a corner of the empire, above four hundred miles from the sea, and much farther from Quito, a province of whose value he had [Page 195] formed an high idea. No other settlement of the Peruvians was so considerable as to merit the name of a town, or to allure the Spaniards to fix their residence in it. But, in marching through the country, Pizarro had been struck with the beauty and fertility of the valley of Rimac, one of the most extensive and best cultivated in Peru. There, on the banks of a small river, of the same name with the vale which it waters and enriches, at the distance of six miles from Callao, the most com­modious harbour in the Pacific Ocean, he founded a city which he destined to be the capital of his government.1535. January 18. He gave it the name of Ciudad de los Reyes, either from the circumstance of having laid the first stone, at that season when the church celebrates the festival of the Three Kings, or, as is more probable, in honour of Juana and Charles, the joint sovereigns of Castile. This name it still retains among the Spaniards, in all legal and formal deeds; but it is better known to foreigners by that of Lima, a corruption of the ancient appellation of the valley in which it is situated. Under his inspec­tion, the buildings advanced with such rapidity, that it soon assumed the form of a city, which by a magnificent palace that he erected for himself, and by the stately houses built by several of his officers, gave, even in its infancy, some indication of its sub­sequent grandeur^*.

IN consequence of what had been agreed with Pizarro, Almagro began his march towards Chili;Almagro invades C [...] ▪ and as he possessed in an eminent degree the virtues most admired by soldiers, boundless liberality and fearless courage, his standard was followed by five hundred and seventy men, the greatest body of Europeans that had hitherto been assembled in [Page 196] Peru. From impatience to finish the expedition, or from that contempt of hardship and danger acquired by all the Spaniards who had served long in America, Almagro, instead of advancing along the level country on the coast, chose to march across the mountains by a route that was shorter indeed, but almost impracticable. In this attempt his troops were exposed to every calamity which men can suffer, from fatigue, from famine, and from the rigour of the climate in those elevated regions of the torrid zone, where the degree of cold is hardly inferior to what is felt within the polar circle. Many of them perished; and the survivors, when they descended into the fertile plains of Chili, had new difficulties to encounter. They found there a race of men very different from the people of Peru, intrepid, hardy, independent, and in their bodily constitution, as well as vigour of spirit, nearly resembling the warlike tribes in North America. Though filled with wonder at the first appearance of the Spaniards, and still more astonished at the operations of their cavalry and the effects of their fire-arms, the Chilese soon recovered so far from their surprize, as not only to defend themselves with obstinacy, but to attack their new enemies with more determined fierceness than any American nation had hitherto discovered. The Spaniards, however, continued to penetrate into the country, and collected some considerable quantities of gold; but were so far from thinking of making any settlement amidst such formidable neighbours, that, in spite of all the experience and valour of their leader, the final issue of the expedition still remained extremely dubious, when they were recalled from it by an unexpected revolution in Peru^*. The causes of this im­portant [Page 197] event I shall endeavour to trace to their source.

SO many adventurers had flocked to Peru from every Spanish colony in America,An in [...]r­rection of the Peru­vians. and all with such high expectations of accumulating independ­ent fortunes at once, that, to m [...]n possessed with notions so extravagant, any mention of acquiring wealth gradually, and by schemes of patient in­dustry, would have been not only a disappoint­ment, but an insult. In order to find occu­pation for men who could not with safety be al­lowed to remain inactive, Pizarro encouraged some of the most distinguished officers who had lately joined him, [...] invade different provinces of the empire, which [...] Spaniards had not hitherto visited. Several [...] bodies were formed for this purpose; and about the time that Almagro set out for Chili, they m [...]ched into remote districts of the country. No sooner did Manco Capac,Its rise, the Inca, observe the inconsiderate security of the Spa­niards in thus dispersing their troops, and that only a handful of soldiers remained in Cuzco, under Juan and Gonzalez Pizarro, than he thought that the happy period was at length come for vindi­cating his own rights, for avenging the wrongs of his country, and extirpating its oppressors. Though strictly watched by the Spaniards, who allowed him to reside in the palace of his ancestors at Cuzco, he found means of communicating his scheme to the persons who were to be entrusted with the execution of it. Among people accus­tomed to revere their sovereign as a divinity, every hint of his will carries the authority of a command; and they themselves were now con­vinced, by the daily increase in the number of their invaders, that the fond hopes which they had long entertained of their voluntary departure were altogether vain. All perceived that a vi­gorous [Page 198] effort of the whole nation was requisite to expel them, and the preparations for it were car­ried on with the secrecy and silence peculiar to Americans.

and progressAFTER some unsuccessful attempts of the Inca to make his escape, Ferdinand Pizarro happening to arrive at that time in Cuzco,1536. he obtained per­mission from him to attend to a great festival which was to be celebrated a few leagues from the capi­tal. Under pretext of that solemnity, the great men of the empire were assembled. As soon as the Inca joined them, the standard of war was erected; and in a short time all the fighting men, from the confines of Quito to the frontier of Chili, were in arms. Many Spaniards, living securely on the settlements allotted them, were massacred. Several detachments, as they marched carelessly through a country which seemed to be tamely sub­missive to their dominion, were cut off to a man. An army amounting (if we may believe the Spa­nish writers) to two hundred thousand men, at­tacked Cuzco, which the three brothers endea­voured to defend with only one hundred and seventy Spaniards. Another formidable body in­vested Lima, and kept the governor closely shut up. There was no longer any communication be­tween the two cities; the numerous forces of the Peruvians spreading over the country, intercepted every messenger; and as the parties in Cuzco and Lima were equally unacquainted with the fate of their countrymen, each boded the worst concerning the other, and imagined that they themselves were the only persons who had survived the general extinction of the Spanish name in Peru^*.

[Page 199]IT was at Cuzco, where the Inca commanded in person, that the Peruvians made their chief effort. During nine months they carried on the siege with incessant ardour, and in various forms;Siege of Cuzco. and though they displayed not the same undaunted ferocity as the Mexican warriors, they conducted some of their operations in a manner which discovered greater sagacity, and a genius more susceptible of improvement in the military art. They not only observed the advantages which the Spaniards de­rived from their discipline and their weapons, but they endeavoured to imitate the former, and turn the latter against them. They armed a considera­ble body of their bravest warriors with the swords, the spears, and bucklers, which they had taken from the Spanish soldiers whom they had cut off in different parts of the country. These they endea­voured to marshal in that regular compact order, to which experience had taught them that the Spa­niards were indebted for their irresistible force in action. Some appeared in the field with Spanish muskets, and had acquired skill and resolution enouqh to use them. A few of the boldest, among whom was the Inca himself, were mounted on the horses which they had taken, and advanced briskly to the charge like Spanish cavaliers, with their lances in the rest. It was more by their numbers, however, than by those imperfect essays to imitate European arts and to employ European arms, that the Pe­ruvians annoyed the Spaniards^*. In spite of the valour, heightened by despair, with which the three brothers defended Cuzco, Manco Capac re­covered possession of one half of his capital; and in their various efforts to drive him out of it, the Spaniards lost Juan Pizarro, the best beloved of all the brothers, together with some other persons [Page 200] of note. Worn out with the fatigue of incessant [...] ­ty, distressed with want at provisions, and desp [...]ring of being able any longer to resist an enemy who [...] numbers daily increased, the soldiers beca [...] [...] patient to abandon Cuzco, in hopes either of join­ing their countrymen, if any of them yet survived▪ or of forcing their way to the sea, and finding some means of escaping from a country which had been so fatal to the Spanish name^*. While they we [...] brooding over those desponding thoughts, which their officers laboured in vain to dispel, Alma­gro appeared suddenly in the neighbourhood of Cuzco.

Arrival of Almagro, and motives of his conduct.THE accounts transmitted to Almagro concern­ing the general insurrection of the Peruvians, were such as would have induced him, without hesita­tion, to relinquish the conquest of Chili, and hasten to the aid of his countrymen. But in this resolution he was confirmed by a motive less gene­rous, but more interesting. By the same messen­ger who brought him intelligence of the Inca's revolt, he received the royal patent creating him governor of Chili, and defining the limits of his jurisdiction. Upon considering the tenor of it, he deemed it manifest beyond contradiction, that Cuzco lay within the boundaries of his govern­ment, and he was equally solicitous to prevent the Peruvians from recovering possession of their capi­tal, and to wrest it out of the hands of the Pizarros. From impatience to accomplish both, he ventured to return by a new route; and in marching through the sandy plains on the coast, he suffered, from heat and drought, calamities of a new species, hardly inferior to those in which he had been in­volved by cold and famine on the summits of the Andes.

[Page 201]HIS arrival at Cuzco was in a critical moment. The Spaniards and Peruvians fixed their eyes upon him with equal solicitude. The former,1537. His opera­tions. as he did not study to conceal his pretensions, were at a loss whether to welcome him as a deliverer, or to take precautions against him as an enemy. The latter, knowing the points in contest between him and his countrymen, flattered themselves that they had more to hope than to dread from his opera­tions. Almagro himself, unacquainted with the detail of the events which had happened in his absence, and solicitous to learn the precise posture or affairs, advanced towards the capital slowly, and with great circumspection. Various negocia­tions with both parties were set on foot. The Inca conducted them on his part with much ad­dress. At first he endeavoured to gain the friend­ship of Almagro; and after many fruitless over­tures, dispairing of any cordial union with a Spa­niard, he attacked him by surprise with a nume­rous body of chosen troops. But the Spanish disci­pline and valour maintained their wonted superiority. The Peruvians were repulsed with such slaughter, that a great part of their army dispersed, and Al­magro proceeded to the gates of Cuzco without in­terruption.

THE Pizarros,Takes pos­session of Cuzco. as they had no longer to make head against the Peruvians, directed all their at­tention towards their new enemy, and took mea­sures to obstruct his entry into the capital. Pru­dence, however, restrained both parties for some time from turning their arms against one another while surrounded by common enemies, who would rejoice in the mutual slaughter. Different schemes of accommodation were proposed. Each endea­voured to deceive the other, or to corrupt his followers. The generous, open, affable temper of Almagro gained many adherents of the Pizarros, [Page 202] who were disgusted with their harsh domineering manners. Encouraged by this defection, he ad­vanced towards the city by night, surprised the centinels, or was admitted by them, and investing the house where the two brothers resided, com­pelled them, after an obstinate defence, to sur­render at discretion. Almagro's claim of juris­diction over Cuzco was universally acknowledged, and a form of administration established in his name^*.

Civil war, and first success of Almagro,TWO or three persons only were killed in this first act of civil hostility; but it was soon followed by scenes more bloody. Francis Pizarro having dispersed the Peruvians who had invested Lima, and received some considerable reinforcements from Hispaniola and Nicaragua, ordered five hundred men, under the command of Alonso de Alvarado, to march to Cuzco, in hopes of relieving his bro­thers, if they and their garrison were not already cut off by the Peruvians. This body, which, at that period of the Spanish power in America, must be deemed a considerable force, advanced near to the capital before they knew that they had any enemy more formidable than Indians to encounter. It was with astonishment that they beheld their countrymen posted on the banks of the river Aban­cay to oppose their progress. Almagro, however, wished rather to gain than to conquer them, and by bribes and promises endeavoured to seduce their leader. The fidelity of Alvarado remained un­shaken; but his talents for war were not equal to his virtue. Almagro amused him with various movements, of which he did not comprehend the meaning,July 12. while a large detachment of chosen sol­diers passed the river by night, fell upon his camp [Page 203] by surprise, broke his troops before they had time to form, and took him prisoner, together with his principal officers^*.

BY the sudden rout of this body,but does not improve hi [...] advantages. the contest between the two rivals must have been decided, if Almagro had known as well how to improve as how to gain a victory. Rodrigo Orgognez, an officer of great abilities, who having served under the constable Bourbon, when he led the Imperial army to Rome, had been accustomed to bold and decisive measures, advised him instantly to issue orders for putting to death Ferdinand and Gon­zalo Pizarros, Alvarado, and a few other persons whom he could not hope to gain, and to march directly with his victorious troops to Lima, before the governor had time to prepare for his defence. But Almagro, though he discerned at once the utility of the counsel, and though he had courage to have carried it into execution, suffered himself to be influenced by sentiments unlike those of a soldier of fortune grown old in service, and by scruples which suited not the chief of a party who had drawn his sword in civil war. Feelings of huma­nity restrained him from shedding the blood of his opponents; and the dread of being deemed a rebel, deterred him from entering a province which the king had allotted to another. Though he knew that arms must terminate the dispute between him and Pizarro, and resolved not to shun that mode of decision, yet, with a timid delicacy preposterous at such a juncture, he was so solicitous that his rival should be considered as the aggressor, that he marched quietly back to Cuzco, to wait his ap­proach^†.

[Page 204]PIZARRO was still unacquainted with all the in­teresting events which had happened near Cuzco. Accounts of Almagro's return, of the loss of the capital,Distress of Pizarro. of the death of one brother, of the impri­sonment of the other two, and of the defeat of Alvarado, were brought to him at once. Such a tide of misfortunes almost overwhelmed a spirit which had continued firm and erect under the rudest shocks of adversity. But the necessity of attending to his own safety, as well as the desire of revenge, preserved him from sinking under it. He took measures for both with his wonted saga­city.His artful conduct. As he he had the command of the sea-coast, and expected considerable supplies both of men and military stores, it was no less his interest to gain time, and to avoid action, than it was that of Almagro to precipitate operations, and bring the contest to a speedy issue. He had recourse to arts which he had formerly practised with success, and Almagro was again weak enough to suffer himself to be amused with a prospect of terminating their differences by some amicable accommodation. By varying his overtures, and shifting his ground as often as it suited his purpose, sometimes seeming to yield every thing which his rival could desire, and then retracting all that he had granted, Pizarro dexterously protracted the negociation to such a length, that though every day was precious to Almagro, several months elapsed without coming to any final agreement. While the attention of Almagro, and of the officers with whom he con­sulted, was occupied in detecting and eluding the fraudulent intentions of the governor, Gonzalo Pizarro and Alvarado found means to corrupt the soldiers to whose custody they were committed, and not only made their escape themselves, but persuaded sixty of the men who formerly guarded [Page 205] them to accompany their flight^*. Fortune having thus delivered one of his brothers, the governor scrupled not at one act of perfidy more to procure the release of the other. He proposed, that every point in controversy between Almagro and himself should be submitted to the decision of their sove­reign; that until his award was known, each should retain undisturbed possession of whatever part of the country he now occupied; that Ferdi­nand Pizarro should be set at liberty, and return instantly to Spain, together with the officers, whom Almagro purposed to send thither to represent the justice of his claims. Obvious as the design of Pi­zarro was in those propositions, and familiar as his artifices might now have been to his opponent, Al­magro with a credulity approaching to infatuation, relied on his sincerity, and concluded an agreement on these terms^†.

THE moment that Ferdinand Pizarro recovered his liberty, the governor,His prepa­rations for war. no longer fettered in his operations by anxiety about his brother's life, threw off every disguise which his concern for it had obliged him to assume. The treaty was forgotten; pacific and conciliating measures were no more mentioned; it was in the field he openly declared, and not in the cabinet; by arms, and not by ne­gociation; that it must now be determined who should be master of Peru. The rapidity of his preparations suited such a decisive resolution. Seven hundred men were soon ready to march towards Cuzco.1538. The command of these was given to his two brothers, in whom he could perfectly confide for the execution of his most violent schemes, as they were urged on, not only by the enmity flow­ing [Page 206] from the rivalship between their family and Almagro, but animated with the desire of venge­ance, excited by recollection of their own recent disgrace and sufferings. After an unsuccessful at­tempt to cross the mountains in the direct road be­tween Lima and Cuzco, they marched towards the south along the coast as far as Nasca, and then turning to the left, penetrated through the defiles in that branch of the Andes which lay between them and the capital. Almagro, instead of hearken­ing to some of his officers, who advised him to at­tempt the defence of those difficult passes, waited the approach of the enemy in the plain of Cuzco. Two reasons seem to have induced him to take this resolution. His followers amounted hardly to five hundred, and he was afraid of weakening such a feeble body by sending any detachment towards the mountains. His cavalry far exceeded that of the adverse party, both in number and discipline, and it was only in an open country that he could avail himself of that advantage.

His army marches to Cuzco.THE Pizarros advanced without any obstruction, but what arose from the nature of the desert and horrid regions through which they marched. As soon as they reached the plain, both factions were equally impatient to bring this long-protracted contest to an issue. Though countrymen and friends, the subjects of the same sovereign, and each with the royal standard displayed; and though they beheld the mountains that surrounded the plain in which they were drawn up, covered with a vast multitude of Indians, assembled to enjoy the spec­tacle of their mutual carnage, and prepared to at­tack whatever party remained master of the field; so fell and implicable was the rancour which had taken possession of every breast, that not one pa­cific counsel, not a single overture towards accom­modation proceeded from either side. Unfortu­nately [Page 207] for Almagro, he was so worn out with the fatigues of service, to which his advanced age was unequal, that, at this crisis of his fate, he could not exert his wonted activity; and he was obliged to commit the leading of his troops to Orgognez, who, though an officer of great merit, did not pos­sess the same ascendant either over the spirit or affec­tions of the soldiers, as the chief whom they had long been accustomed to follow and revere.

THE conflict was fierce,April 26. Almagro defeated. and maintained by each party with equal courage. On the side of Alma­gro, were more veteran soldiers, and a larger pro­portion of cavalry; but these were counterbalanced by Pizarro's superiority in numbers, and by two companies of well disciplined musketeers, which, on receiving an account of the insurrection of the Indians, the emperor had sent from Spain^*. As the use of fire-arms was not frequent among the adventurers in America^†, hastily equipped for service, at their own expence, this small band of soldiers, regularly trained and armed, was a no­velty in Peru, and decided the fate of the day. Wherever it advanced, the weight of a heavy and well-sustained fire bore down horse and foot before it; and Orgognez, while he endeavoured to rally and animate his troops, having received a dangerous wound, the rout become general. The barbarity of the conquerors stained the glory which they ac­quired by this complete victory. The violence of civil rage hurried on some to slaughter their coun­trymen with indiscriminate cruelty; the meanness of private revenge instigated others to single out individuals as the objects of their vengeance. Or­gognez and several officers of distinction were mas­sacred in cold blood; above a hundred and forty soldiers fell in the field; a large proportion, where [Page 208] the number of combatants were few, and the he [...] of the contest soon over. Almagro, though so feeble that he could not bear the motion of a horse, had insisted on being carried in a litter to an emi­nence which overlooked the field of battle. From thence, in the utmost agitation of mind, he viewed the various movements of both parties, and at last beheld the total defeat of his own troops, with all the passionate indignation of a veteran leader long accustomed to victory.and taken. He endeavoured to save himself by flight, but was taken prisoner, and guarded with the strictest vigilance^*.

THE Indians, instead of executing the resolution which they had formed, retired quietly after the battle was over; and in the history of the New World, there is not a more striking instance of the wonderful ascendant which the Spaniards had ac­quired over its inhabitants, than that after seeing one of the contending parties ruined and dispersed, and the other weakened and fatigued, they had not courage to fall upon their enemies, when for­tune presented an opportunity of attacking them with such advantage^†.

New expe­ditions.CUZCO was pillaged by the victorious troops, who found there a considerable booty, consisting partly of the gleanings of the Indian treasures, and partly of the wealth amassed by their antagonists from the spoils of Peru and Chili. But so far did this, and whatever the bounty of their leader could add to it, fall below the high ideas of the recompence which they conceived to be due to their merit, that Ferdinand Pizarro, unable to gratify such extra­vagant expectations. had recourse to the same ex­pedient which his brother had employed on a simi­lar occasion, and endeavoured to find occupation [Page 209] for this turbulent assuming spirit, in order to pre­vent it from breaking out into open mutiny. With this view, he encouraged his most active officers to attempt the discovery and reduction of various provinces which had not hitherto submitted to the Spaniards. To every standard erected by the leaders who undertook any of those new expedi­tions, volunteers resorted with the ardour and hope peculiar to the age. Several of Almagro's soldiers joined them, and thus Pizzaro had the satisfaction of being delivered both from the importunity of his discontented friends, and the dread of his an­cient enemies ^*.

ALMAGRO himself remained for several months in custody, under all the anguish of suspence.Almagro tried, For although his doom was determined by the Pizarros from the moment that he fell into their hands, prudence constrained them to defer gratifying their vengeance, until the soldiers who had served under him, as well as several of their own followers in whom they could not perfectly confide, had left Cuzco. As soon as they set out upon their differ­ent expeditions, Almagro was impeached of trea­son, formally tried, and condemned to die.condemned, The sentence astonished him, and though he had often braved death with undaunted spirit in the field, its approach under this ignominious form appalled him so much, that he had recourse to abject sup­plications, unworthy of his former fame. He be­sought the Pizarros to remember the ancient friend­ship between their brother and him, and how much he had contributed to the prosperity of their fa­mily; he reminded them of the humanity with which, in opposition to the repeated remonstrances of his own most attached friends, he had spared [Page 210] their lives when he had them in his power; he conjured them to pity his age and infirmities, and to suffer him to pass the wretched remainder of his days in bewailing his crimes, and in making his peace with Heaven. The entreaties, says a Spa­nish historian, of a man so much beloved, touched many an unfeeling heart, and drew tears from many a stern eye. But the brothers remained in­flexible. As soon as Almagro knew his fate to be inevitable,and put to death. he met it with the dignity and fortitude of a veteran. He was strangled in prison, and af­terwards publicly beheaded. He suffered in the seventy-fifth year of his age, and left one son by an Indian woman of Panama, whom, though at that time a prisoner in Lima, he named as successor to his government, pusuant to a power which the em­peror hast granted him ^*.

1539. Deliberati­ons of the cour [...] of Spain con­cerning the state of Peru.AS, during the civil dissentions in Peru, all in­tercourse with Spain was suspended, the detail of the extraordinary transactions there did not soon reach the court. Unfortunately for the victorious faction, the first intelligence was brought thither by some or Almagro's officers, who left the coun­try upon the ruin of their cause; and they related what had happened, with every circumstance un­favourable to Pizarro and his brothers. Their ambition, their breach of the most solemn engage­ments, their violence and cruelty, were painted with all the malignity and exaggeration of party hatred. Ferdinand Pizarro, who arrived soon af­ter, and appeared in court with extraordinary splen­dour, endeavoured to efface the impression which their accusations had made, and to justify his bro­ther and himself by representing Almagro as the aggressor. The emperor and his ministers, though [Page 211] they could not pronounce which of the contending factions was most criminal, clearly discerned the fatal tendency of their dissentions. It was obvious, that while the leader, entrusted with the conduct of two infant colonies, employed the arms which should have been turned against the common ene­my, in destroying one another, all attention to the public good must cease, and there was reason to dread that the Indians might improve the advan­tage which the disunion of the Spaniards presented to them, and extirpate both the victors and van­quished. But the evil was more apparent than the remedy. Where the information which had been received was so defective and suspicious, and the scene of action so remote, it was almost impossible to chalk out the line of conduct that ought to be followed; and before any plan that should be ap­proved of in Spain could be carried into execution, the situation of the parties, and the circumstances of affairs, might alter so entirely as to render its effects extremely pernicious.

NOTHING therefore remained but to send a per­son to Peru,Vaca de Castro sent thither [...] ample pow­ers. vested with extensive and discretionary▪ power, who, after viewing deliberately the posture of affairs with his own eyes, and enquiring upon the spot into the conduct of the different leaders, should be authorized to establish the government in that form which he deemed most conducive to the interest of the parent state, and the welfare of the colony. The man selected for this important charge was Christoval Vaca de Castro, a judge in the court of royal audience at Valladolid; and his abilities, integrity, and firmness, justified the choice. His instructions, though ample, were not such as to fetter him in his operations. According to the different aspect of affairs, he had power to take upon him different characters. If he found the [Page 212] governor still alive, he was to assume only the title of judge, to maintain the appearance of acting in concert with him, and to guard against giving any just cause of offence to a man who had merited [...]o highly of his country. But if Pizarro were dead, he was entrusted with a commission that he might then produce, by which he was appointed his suc­cessor in the government of Peru. This attention to Pizarro, however, seems to have flowed rather from dread of his power, than from any approba­tion of his measures; for at the very time that the court seemed so solicitous not to irritate him, his brother Ferdinand was arrested at Madrid, and con­fined to a prison, where he remained above twenty years ^*.

Pizarro di­vides Peru among his followers.WHILE Vaca de Castro was preparing for his voyage, events of great moment happened in Peru. The governor, considering himself, upon the death of Almagro, as the unrivalled possessor of that vast empire, proceeded to parcel out its territories among the conquerors; and had this division been made with any degree of impartiality, the extent of country which he had to bestow, was sufficient to have gratified his friends, and to have gained his enemies. But Pizarro conducted this transac­tion, not with the equity and candour of a judge attentive to discover and to reward merit, but with the illiberal spirit of a party leader. Large districts, in parts of the country most cultivated and populous, were set apart as his own property, or granted to his brother, his adherents and favourites. To others, lots less valuable and inviting were as­signed. The followers of Almagro, amongst whom were many of the original adventurers to whose valour and perseverance Pizarro was indebted for [Page 213] his success, were totally excluded from any portion in those lands, towards the acquisition of which they had contributed so largely.1540. As the vanity of every individual set an immoderate value upon his own services, and the idea of each concerning the recompence due to them rose gradually to a more exorbitant height in proportion as their conquests extended, all who were disappointed in their ex­pectations exclaimed loudly against the rapacious­ness and partiality of the governor. The partisans of Almagro murmured in secret, and meditated re­venge^*.

RAPID as the progress of the Spaniards in South America had been since Pizarro landed in Peru,Progress of the [...]panish arms. their avidity of dominion was not yet satisfied. The officers to whom Ferdinand Pizarro gave the command of different detachments, penetrated into several new provinces, and though some of them were exposed to great hardships in the cold and barren regions of the Andes, and others suffered distress not inferior amidst the woods and marshes of the plains, they made discoveries and conquests which not only extended their knowledge of the country, but added considerably to the territories of Spain in the New World. Pedro de Valdivia reassumed Almagro's scheme of invading Chili, and notwithstanding the fortitude of the natives in defending their possessions, made such progress in the conquest of the country, that he founded the city of St. Jago, and gave a beginning to the esta­blishment of the Spanish dominion in that pro­vince^†.Remarka­ble expedi­tion of Gon­zalo Pizar­ro. But of all the enterprizes undertaken about this period, that of Gonzalo Pizarro was the most remarkable. The governor, who seems [Page 214] to have resolved that no person in Peru should pos­sess any station of distinguished eminence or autho­rity but those of his own family, had deprived Be­nalcazar, the conqueror of Quito, of his com­mand in that kingdom, and appointed his brother Gonzalo to take the government of it. He in­structed him to attempt the discovery and conquest of the country to the east of the Andes, which, according to the information of the Indians, a­bounded with cinnamon and other valuable spices. Gonzalo, not inferior to any of his brothers in courage, and no less ambitious of acquiring dis­tinction, eagerly engaged in this difficult service. He set out from Quito at the head of three hun­dred and forty soldiers, near one half of whom were horsemen, with four thousand Indians to carry their provisions. In forcing their way through the defiles, or over the ridges of the Andes, ex­cess of cold and fatigue, to neither of which they were accustomed,Hardships they en­dure. proved fatal to the greater part of their wretched attendants. The Spani­ards, though more robust, and inured to a va­riety of climates, suffered considerably, and lost some men; but when they descended into the low country their distress increased. During two months it rained incessantly, without any interval of fair weather long enough to dry their clothes^*.— The immense plains upon which they were now entering, either altogether without inhabitants, or occupied by the rudest and least industrious tribes in the New World, yielded little subsistence. They could not advance a step but as they cut a road through woods, or made it through marshes. Such incessant toil, and continual scarcity of food, seem more than sufficient to have exhausted and dispirited [Page 215] any troops. But the fortitude and perseverance of the Spaniards in the sixteenth century were insu­perable. Allured by frequent but false accounts of rich countries before them, they persisted in strug­gling on, until they reached the banks of the Coca or Napo, one of the large rivers whose waters pour into the Maragnon, and contribute to its grandeur. There, with infinite labour, they built a bark, which they expected would prove of great utility, in conveying them over rivers, in procuring provisions, and in exploring the country. This was manned with fifty soldiers, under the command of Francis Orellana, the officer next in rank to Pizarro. The stream carried them down with such rapidity, that they were soon far a-head of their countrymen, who followed slowly and with difficulty by land.

AT this distance from his commander, Orellana,Deserted by Orellana. a young man of an aspiring mind, began to fancy himself independent, and transported with the pre­dominant passion of the age, he formed the scheme of distinguishing himself as a discoverer, by fol­lowing the course of the Maragnon, until it joined the ocean, and by surveying the vast regions through which it slows. This scheme of Orel­lana's was as bold as it was treacherous. For, if he be chargeable with the guilt of having violated his duty to his commander, and with having aban­doned his fellow-soldiers in a pathless desert, where they had hardly any hopes of success, or even of safety, but what were founded on the service which they expected from the bark; his crime is, in some measure, balanced by the glory of having ventured upon a navigation of near two thousand leagues, through unknown nations, in a vessel hastily con­structed with green timber, and by very unskilful hands, without provisions, without a compass, or [Page 216] a pilot. But his courage and alacrity supplied every defect. Committing himself fearlessly to the guidance of the stream, the Napo bore him along to the south,Sails down the Marag­non. until he reached the great channel of the Maragnon. Turning with it towards the coast, he held on his course in that direction. He made frequent descents on both sides of the river, some­times seizing by force of arms the provisions of the fierce savages seated on its banks; and sometimes procuring a supply of food by a friendly intercourse with more gentle tribes. After a long series of dangers which he encountered with amazing for­titude, and of distresses which he supported with no less magnanimity, he reached the ocean ^*, where new perils awaited him. These he likewise sur­mounted, and got safe to the Spanish settlement in the island Cubagua; from thence he sailed to Spain. The vanity natural to travellers who visit regions unknown to the rest of mankind, and the art of an adventurer, solicitous to magnify his own merit, concurred in prompting him to mingle an extra­ordinary proportion of the marvellous in the narra­tive of his voyage. He pretended to have disco­vered nations so rich, that the roofs of their temples were covered with plates of gold; and de­scribed a republic of women so warlike and power­ful, as to have extended their dominion over a con­siderable tract of the fertile plains which he had visited. Extravagant as those tales were, they gave rise to an opinion, that a region abounding with gold, distinguished by the name of El Dorado, and a community of Amazons, were to be found in this part of the New World; and such is the pro­pensity of mankind to believe what is wonderful, that it has been slowly and with difficulty that rea­son [Page 217] and observation have exploded those fables. The voyage, however, even when stripped of every romantic embellishment, deserves to be recorded, not only as one of the most memorable occurrences in that adventurous age, but as the first event which led to any certain knowledge of the extensive coun­tries that stretch eastward from the Andes to the ocean ^*.

NO words can describe the consternation of Pi­zarro,Distress of Pizarro. when he did not find the bark at the con­fluence of the Napo and Maragnon, where he had ordered Orellana to wait for him. He would not allow himself to suspect that a man, whom he had intrusted with such an important command, could be so base and so unfeeling, as to desert him at such a juncture. But imputing his absence from the place of rendezvous to some unknown accident, he advanced above fifty leagues along the banks of the Maragnon, expecting every moment to see the bark appear with a supply of provisions.1541. At length he came up with an officer whom Orellana had left to perish in the desert, because he had the courage to remonstrate against his perfidy. From him he learned the extent of Orellana's crime, and his followers perceived at once their own desperate situation, when deprived of their only resource. The spirit of the stoutest hearted veteran sunk with­in him, and all demanded to be led back instantly. Pizarro, though he assumed an appearance of tran­quillity, did not oppose their inclination. But he was now twelve hundred miles from Quito; and in that long march the Spaniards encountered hard­ships greater than those which they had endured in [Page 218] their progress outward, without the alluring hopes which then soothed and animated them under their sufferings. Hunger compelled them to feed on roots and berries, to eat all their dogs and horses, to devour the most loathsome reptiles, and even to gnaw the leather of their faddles and sword-belts. Four thousand Indians, and two hundred and ten Spaniards, perished in this wild disastrous ex­pedition, which continued near two years; and as fifty men were aboard the bark with Orellana, only fourscore got back to Quito. These were naked like savages, and so emaciated with famine, or worn out with fatigue, that they had more the appearance of spectres than of men ^*.

Number of malcon­tents in Peru.BUT, instead of returning to enjoy the repose which his condition required, Pizarro, on entering Quito, received accounts of a fatal event that threatened calamities more dreadful to him than those through which he had passed. From the time that his brother made that partial division of his conquests which has been mentioned, the ad­herents of Almagro, considering themselves as pro­scribed by the party in power, no longer enter­tained any hope of bettering their condition. Great numbers in despair resorted to Lima, where the house of young Almagro was always open to them, and the slender portion of his father's for­tune, which the governor allowed him to enjoy, was spent in affording them subsistence. The warm attachment with which every person who had served under the elder Almagro devoted him­self to his interests, was quickly transferred to his son, who was now grown up to the age of man­hood, [Page 219] and possessed all the qualities which capti­vate the affections of soldiers. Of a graceful ap­pearance, dexterous at all martial exercises, bold, open, generous,Consider young Al­magrians their leader. he seemed to be formed for com­mand; and as his father, conscious of his own in­feriority, from the total want of education, had been extremely attentive to have him instructed in every science becoming a gentleman; the accom­plishments which he had acquired heightened the respect of his followers, as they gave him distinction and eminence among illiterate adventurers. In this young man the Almagrians found a point of union which they wanted, and looking up to him as their head, were ready to undertake any thing for his advancement. Nor was affection for Al­magro their only incitement; they were urged on by their own distresses. Many of them, destitute of common necessaries^*, and weary of loitering away life, a burthen to their chief, or to such of their associates as had saved some remnant of their fortune from pillage and confiscation, longed im­patiently for an occasion to exert their activity and courage, and began to deliberate how they might be avenged on me author of all their misery. Their frequent cabals did not pass unobserved;Conspire against the life of Pi­zarro. and the governor was warned to be on his guard against men who meditated some desperate deed, and had resolution to execute it. But either from the native intrepidity of his mind, or from con­tempt of persons whose poverty seemed to render their machinations of little consequence, he dis­regarded the admonitions of his friends. "Be in no pain," said he carelessly, "about my life; it is perfectly safe, as long as every man in Peru knows that I can in a moment cut off any head [Page 220] which dares to harbour a thought against it." This security gave the Almagrians full leisure to digest and ripen every part of their scheme; and Juan de Herra [...]a, an officer of great abilities, who had the charge of Almagro's education, took the direc­tion of their consultations, with all the zeal which this connection inspired, and with all the authority which the ascendant that he was known to have over the mind of his pupil gave him.

ON Sunday, the twenty-sixth of June, at mid­day, the season of tranquillity and repose in all sultry climates, Herrada, at the head of eighteen of the most determined conspirators, sallied out of Almagro's house in complete armour; and draw­ing their swords, as they advanced hastily towards the governor's palace, cried out, "Long live the king, but let the tyrant die!" Their associates, warned of their motions by a signal, were in arms at different stations ready to support them. Though Pizarro was usually surrounded by such a nume­rous train of attendants as suited the magnificence of the most opulent subject of the age in which he lived, yet as he was just risen from table, and most of his domestics had retired to their own apart­ments, the conspirators passed through the two outer courts of the palace unobserved. They were at the bottom of the staircase, before a page in waiting could give the alarm to his master, who was conversing with a few friends in a large hall. The governor, whose steady mind no form of dan­ger could appal, starting up, called for arms, and commanded Francisco de Chaves to make fast the door. But that officer, who did not retain so much presence of mind as to obey this prudent order, running to the top of the stair-case, wildly asked the conspirators what they meant, and whither they were going? Instead of answering, they stab­bed [Page 221] him to the heart, and burst into the hall. Some of the persons who were there threw them­selves from the windows; others attempted to fly; and a few drawing their swords, followed their leader into an inner apartment. The conspirators, animated with having the object of their vengeance now in view, rushed forward after them. Pizarro, with no other arms than his sword and buckler, defended the entry, and supported by his half-brother Alcantara, and his little knot of friends, he maintained the unequal contest with intrepidity worthy of his past exploits, and with the vigour of a youthful combatant, "Courage," cried he, "companions, we are yet enow to make those traitors repent of their audacity." But the armour of the conspirators protected them, while every thrust they made took effect. Alcantara fell dead at his brother's feet; his other defenders were mortally wounded. The governor, so weary that he could hardly wield his sword, and no longer able to parry the many weapons furiously aimed at him, received a deadly thrist full in his throat, sunk to the ground, and expired.

AS soon as he was slain,Almagro acknow­ledged as his suc­cessor. the assassins ran out into the streets, and waving their bloody swords, proclaimed the death of the tyrant. Above two hundred of their associates having joined them, they conducted young Almagro in solemn pro­cession through the city, and assembling the magis­trates and principal citizens, compelled them to acknowledge him as lawful successor to his father in his government. The palace of Pizarro, toge­ther with the houses of several of his adherents, were pillaged by the soldiers, who had the satis­faction at once of being avenged on their enemies, and of enriching themselves by the spoils of those [Page 222] through whose hands all the wealth of Peru had passed ^*.

THE boldness and success of the conspiracy, as well as the name and popular qualities of Alma­gro,New ap­pearances of discord. drew many soldiers to his standard. Every adventurer of desperate fortune, all who were dissatisfied with Pizarro, and from the rapacious­ness of his government in the latter years of his life, the number of malcontents was considerable, declared without hesitation in favour of Almagro, and he was soon at the head of eight hundred of the most gallant veterans in Peru. As his youth and inexperience disqualified him from taking the command of them himself, he appointed Herrada to act as general. But though Almagro speedily collected such a respectable force, the acquiescence in his government was far from being general. Pizarro had left many friends to whom his memory was dear; the barbarous assassination of a man to whom his country was so highly indebted, filled every impartial person with horror. The ignomi­nious birth of Almagro, as well as the doubtful title on which he sounded his pretensions, led others to consider him as an usurper. The officers who commanded in some provinces refused to recognize his authority, until it was confirmed by the em­peror. In others, particularly at Cuzco, the royal standard was erected, and preparations were begun in order to revenge the murder of their ancient leader.

Arrival of Vaca de Castro,THOSE seeds of discord, which could not have lain long dormant, acquired great vigour and acti­vity, when the arrival of Vaca de Castro was [Page 223] known. After a long and disastrous voyage, he was driven by stress of weather into a small har­bour in the province of Popayan; and proceeding from thence by land, after a journey no less tedious than difficult, reached Quito. In his way he received accounts of Pizarro's death, and of the events which followed upon it. He immediately produced the royal commission appointing him governor of Peru, with the same privileges and authority;who as­sumes the title of go­vernor. and his jurisdiction was acknowledged without hesitation by Benalcazar, adelantado or lieutenant-general for the emperor in Popayan, and by Pedro de Puelles, who in the absence of Gonzalo Pizarro, had the command of the troops left in Quito. Vaca de Castro not only assumed the supreme authority, but shewed that he pos­sessed the talents which the exercise of it at that juncture required. By his influence and address he soon assembled such a body of troops, as not only set him above all fear of being exposed to any in­sult from the adverse party, but enabled him to advance from Quito with the dignity that became his character. By dispatching persons of confi­dence to the different settlements in Peru, with a formal notification of his arrival and of his com­mission, he communicated to his countrymen the royal pleasure with respect to the government of the country. By private emissaries, he excited such officers as had discovered their disapprobation of Almagro's proceedings, to manifest their duty to their sovereign by supporting the person ho­noured with his commission. Those measures were productive of great effects. Encouraged by the approach of the new governor, or prepared by his machinations, the loyal were confirmed in their principles, and avowed them with greater boldness; the timid ventured to declare their sentiments; the [Page 224] neutral and wavering, finding it necessary to chuse a side, began to lean to that which now appeared to be the safest, as well as the most just ^*.

Conduct of Almagro.ALMAGRO observed the rapid progress of this spirit of disaffection to his cause, and in order to give an effectual check to it before the arrival of Vaca de Castro,1542. he set out at the head of his troops for Cuzco, where the most considerable body of opponents had erected the royal standard, under the command of Pedro Alvarez Holguin. During his march thither, Herrada, the skilful guide of his youth and of his counsel, died; and from that time his measures were conspicuous for their vio­lence, but concerted with little sagacity, and exe­cuted with no address. Holguin, who, with forces far inferior to those of the opposite party, was de­scending towards the coast at the very time that Almagro was on his way to Cuzco, deceived his unexperienced adversary by a very simple strata­gem, avoided an engagement, and effected a junc­tion with Alvarado, an officer of note, who had been the first to declare against Almagro as an usurper.

Progress of Vaca de Castro.SOON after, Vaca de Castro entered their camp with the troops which he brought from Quito, and erecting the royal standard before his own tent, he declared, that as governor, he would dis­charge in person all the functions of general of their combined forces. Though formed by the tenour of his past life to the habits of a sedentary and pacific profession, he at once assumed the acti­vity and discovered the decision of an officer long accustomed to command. Knowing his strength to be now far superior to that of the enemy, he was [Page 225] impatient to terminate the contest by a battle. Nor did the followers of Almagro, who had no hopes of obtaining a pardon for a crime so atro­cious as the murder of the governor, decline that mode of decision. They met at Chupaz,Sept. 16. about two hundred miles from Cuzco, and fought with all the fierce animosity inspired by the violence of civil rage, the rancour of private enmity, the eagerness of revenge, and the last efforts of despair. Victory, after remaining long doubtful,Defeats Al­magro. declared at last for Vaca de Castro. The superior number of his troops, his own intrepidity, and the martial talents of Francisco de Carvajal, a veteran officer formed under the great captain in the wars of Italy, and who on that day laid the foundation of his future fame in Peru, triumphed over the bra­very of his opponents, though led on by young Almagro with a gallant spirit, worthy of a better cause, and deserving another fate. The carnage was great in proportion to the number of the com­batants. Many of the vanquished, especially such as were conscious that they might be charged with being accessary to the assassination of Pizarro, rush­ing on the swords of the enemy, chose to fall like soldiers, rather than wait an ignominious doom. Of fourteen hundred men, the total amount of com­batants on both sides, five hundred lay dead on the field, and the number of the wounded was still greater^*.

IF the military talents displayed by Vaca de Castro, both in the council and in the field,Severity of his pro­ceedings. sur­prised the adventurers in Peru, they were still more astonished at his conduct after the victory. As he was by nature a rigid dispenser of justice, and per­suaded [Page 226] that it required examples of extraordinary severity to restrain the licentious spirit of soldiers so far removed from the seat of government, he proceeded directly to try his prisoners as rebels. Forty were condemned to suffer the death of trai­tors, others were banished from Peru. Their leader, who made his escape from the battle, being betrayed by some of his officers, was pub­licly beheaded in Cuzco; and in him the name of Almagro, and the spirit of the party, was ex­tinct^*.

Consultati­tions of the emperor concerning his dominions in A­merica.DURING those violent convulsions in Peru, the emperor and his ministers were intently employed in preparing regulations, by which they hoped not only to re-establish tranquillity there, but to intro­duce a more perfect system of internal policy into all their settlements in the New World. It is ma­nifest from all the events recorded in the history of America, that rapid and extensive as the Spanish conquests there had been, they were not carried on by any regular exertion of the national force, but by the occasional efforts of private adventurers. After fitting out a few of the first armaments for discovering new regions, the court of Spain, during the busy reigns of Ferdinand and of Charles V. the former the most intriguing prince of the age, and the latter the most ambitious, was encumbered with such a multiplicity of schemes, and involved in war with so many nations of Europe, that it had not leisure to attend to distant and less interesting objects. The care of prosecuting discovery, or of attempting conquest, was abandoned to individuals; and with such ardour did men push forward in this new career, on which novelty, the spirit of [Page 227] adventure, avarice, ambition, and the hope of meriting heaven, prompted them with combined influence to enter, that in less than half a century almost the whole of that extensive empire which Spain now possesses in the New World, was sub­jected to its dominion. As the Spanish court con­tributed nothing towards the various expeditions undertaken in America, it was not entitled to claim much from their success. The sovereignty of the conquered provinces, with the fifth of the gold and silver, was reserved for the crown; every thing else was seized by the associates in each ex­pedition as their own right. The plunder of the countries which they invaded served to demnify them for what they had expended in equipping themselves for the service, and the conquered ter­ritory was divided among them, according to rules which custom had introduced, as permanent esta­blishments which their successful valour merited. In the infancy of those settlements, when their ex­tent as well as their value were unknown, many irregularities escaped observation, and it was found necessary to connive at many excesses. The con­quered people were frequently pillaged with destructive rapacity, and their country parcelled out among its new masters in exorbitant shares, far exceeding the highest recompence due to their ser­vices. The rude conquerors of America, inca­pable of forming their establishments upon any general or extensive plan of policy, attentive only to private interest, unwilling to forego present gain from the prospect of remote or public benefit, seem to have had no object but to amass sudden wealth, without regarding what might be the consequences of the means by which they acquired it. But when time at length discovered to the Spanish court the importance of its American possessions, the ne­cessity of new-modelling their whole frame became [Page 228] obvious, and in place of the maxims and practices, prevalent among military adventurers, it was found requisite to substitute the institutions of regular government.

ONE evil in particular called for an immediate remedy. The conquerors of Mexico and Peru imitated the fatal example of their countrymen settled in the islands, and employed themselves in searching for gold and silver with the same incon­siderate eagerness. Similar effects followed. The natives employed in this labour by masters, who in imposing tasks had no regard either to what they felt or to what they were able to perform, pined away and perished so fast, that there was reason to apprehend that Spain, instead of possessing coun­tries peopled to such a degree as to be susceptible of progressive improvement, would soon remain proprietor only of a vast uninhabited desert.

THE emperor and his ministers were so sensible of this, and so solicitous to prevent the extinction of the Indian race, which threatened to render their acquisitions of no value, that from time to time various laws, which I have mentioned, had been made for securing to that unhappy people more gentle and equitable treatment. But the distance of America from the seat of empire, the feebleness of government in the new colonies, the avarice and audacity of soldiers unaccustomed to restraint, pre­vented these salutary regulations from operating with any considerable influence. The evil conti­nued to grow, and at this time the emperor found an interval of leisure from the affairs of Europe to take it into attentive consideration.The per­sons with whom he advises. He consulted not only with his ministers and the members of the council of the Indies, but called upon several per­sons who had resided long in the New World, to aid them with the result of their experience and [Page 229] observation. Fortunately for the people of Ame­rica, among these was Bartholomew de las Casas, who happened to be then at Madrid on a mission from a Chapter of his order at Chiapa^*. Though, since the miscarriage of his former schemes for the relief of the Indians, he had continued shut up in his cloister, or occupied in religious functions, his zeal in behalf of the former objects of his pity was so far from abating, that, from an increased knowledge of their sufferings, its ardour had aug­mented. He seized eagerly this opportunity of reviving his favourite maxims concerning the treat­ment of the Indians. With the moving eloquence natural to a man on whose mind the scenes which he had beheld had made a deep impression, he described the irreparable waste of the human spe­cies in the New World, the Indian race almost to­tally swept away in the islands in less than fifty years, and hastening to extinction on the continent with the same rapid decay. With the decisive tone of one strongly prepossessed with the truth of his own system, he imputed all this to a single cause, to the exactions and cruelty of his countrymen, and contended that nothing could prevent the de­population of America, but the declaring of its natives to be freemen, and treating them as sub­jects, not as slaves. Nor did he confide for the success of this proposal in the powers of his ora­tory alone. In order to enforce them, he com­posed his famous treatise concerning the de­struction of America^†, in which he relates, with many horrid circumstances, but with apparent marks of exaggerated description, the devastation of every province which had been visited by the Spaniards.

[Page 230]THE emperor was deeply afflicted with the re­cital of so many actions shocking to humanity. But as his views extended far beyond those of Las Casas,His solici­tude to in­troduce a general reformation of govern­ment. he perceived that relieving the Indians from oppression was but one step towards re [...]ering his possessions in the New World a valuable acquisi­tion, and would be of little avail, unless he could circumscribe the power and usurpations of his own subjects there. The conquerors of America, how­ever great their merit had been towards their coun­try, were mostly persons of such mean birth, and of such an abject rank in society, as gave no distinc­tion in the eye of a monarch. The exorbitant wealth with which some of them returned, gave umbrage to an age not accustomed to see men in inferior condition elevated above their level, and rising to emulate or to surpass the ancient nobility in splendour. The territories which their leaders had appropriated to themselves were of such enor­mous extent^*, that if the country should ever be improved in proportion to the fertility of the soil, they must grow too wealthy and too powerful for subjects. It appeared to Charles that this abuse re­quired a remedy no less than the other, and that the regulations concerning both must be enforced by a mode of government more vigorous than had yet been introduced into America.

New regu­lations for this pur­pose.WITH this view he framed a body of laws, containing many salutary appointments with re­spect to the constitution and powers of the supreme council of the Indies; concerning the station and jurisdiction of the royal audiences in different parts of America; the administration of justice; the order of government, both ecclesiastical and civil. These were approved of by all ranks of men. But together with them were issued the following regu­lations, [Page 231] which excited universal alarm, and occa­sioned the most violent convulsions: "That as the repartimientos or shares of land seized by several persons appeared to be excessive, the royal au­diences are empowered to reduce them to a moderare extent: That upon the death of any conqueror or planter, the lands and Indians granted to him shall not descend to his widow or children, but return to the crown: That the Indians shall henceforth be exempt from personal service, and shall not be compelled to carry the baggage of travellers, to labour in the mines, or to dive in the pearl fisheries: That the stated tribute due by them to their superior shall be ascertained, and they shall be paid as servants for any work they voluntarily perform: That all persons who are or have been in public offices, all ecclesiastics of every denomination, all hospitals and monasteries, shall be deprived of their lands and Indians allotted to them, and these be annexed to the crown: That every person in Peru, who had any criminal concern in he contests between Pizarro and Almagro, should forfeit his lands and Indians ^†."

ALL the Spanish ministers who had hitherto been entrusted with the direction of American affairs,His minis­ters remon­strate [...] a­gainst them. and who were best acquainted with the state of the country, remonstrated against those regula­tions as ruinous to their in ant colonies. They represented, that the number of Spaniards who had hitherto emigrated to the New World was so extremely small, that nothing could be expected from any effort of theirs towards improving the vast regions over which they were scattered; that the success of every scheme for this purpose must [Page 232] depend upon the ministry and service of the In­dians, whose native indolence and aversion to la­bour, no prospect of benefit or promise of reward could surmount; that the moment the right of im­posing a task, and exacting the performance of it, was taken from their masters, every work of in­dustry must cease, and all the sources from which wealth begun to pour in upon Spain must be stopt for ever. But Charles, tenacious at all times of his own opinions, and so much impressed at present with the view of the disorders which reigned in America, that he was willing to hazard the appli­cation even of a dangerous remedy, persisted in his resolution of publishing the laws. That they might be carried into execution with greater vi­gour and authority, he authorised Francisco Tello de Sandoval to repair to Mexico as Visitador or superintendant of that country, and to co-operate with Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy, in en­forcing them.A viceroy appointed for Peru. He appointed Blasco Nugnez Vela to be governor of Peru, with the title of Vice­roy; and in order to strengthen his administration, he established a court of royal audience▪ in Lima,1543. in which four lawyers of eminence were to preside as judges^*.

Effects of the regula [...]tion in New Spain.THE viceroy and superintendant sailed at the same time; and an account of the laws which they were to enforce reached America before them. The entry of Sandoval into Mexico was viewed as the prelude of general ruin. The unlimited grant of liberty to the Indians affected every Spaniard in America without distinction, and there was hardly one who might not on some pretext be included under the other regulations, and suffer by them. But the colony in New Spain had now been so [Page 233] long accustomed to the restraints of law and autho­rity under the steady and prudent administration of Mendoza, that how much soever the spirit of the new statutes was derested and dreaded, no at­tempt was made to obstruct the publication of them by any act of violence unbecoming subjects. The magistrates and principal inhabitants, how­ever, presented dutiful addresses to the viceroy and superintendent, representing the fatal consequences of enforcing them. Happily for them, Mendoza, by long residence in the country, was so thoroughly acquainted with its state, that he knew what was for its interest as well as what it could bear; and Sandoval, though new in office, displayed a degree of moderation seldom possessed by persons just en­tering upon the exercise of power. They engaged to suspend, for some time, the execution of what was offensive in the new laws, and not only con­sented that a deputation of citizens should be sent to Europe to lay before the emperor the appre­hensions of his subjects in New Spain with respect to their tendency and effects, but they concurred with them in supporting their sentiments. Charles, moved by the opinion of men whose abilities and integrity entitled them to decide concerning what fell immediately under their own view, granted such a relaxation of the rigour of the laws as re-established the colony in its former tranquillity.^*

IN Peru the storm gathered with i [...] aspect still more fierce and threatening,In Peru. and was not so soon dispelled. The conquerors of Peru, of a rank much inferior to those who had subjected Mexico to the Spanish crown, farther removed from the [Page 234] inspection of the parent state, and intoxicated with the sudden acquisition of wealth, carried on all their operations with greater licence and irregula­rity than any body of adventurers in the New World. Amidst the general subversion of law and order, occasioned by two successive civil wars, when each individual was at liberty to decide for himself, without any guide but his own interest or passions, this turbulent spirit rose above all sense of subordination. To men thus corrupted by anarchy, the introduction of regular government, the power of a viceroy, and the authority of a re­spectable court of judicature, would of themselves have appeared formidable restraints, to which they would have submitted with reluctance. But they re­volted with indignation against the idea of comply­ing with laws, by which they were to be stripped at once of all they had earned so hardly during many years of service and suffering. As the account of the new laws spread successively through the dif­ferent settlements, the inhabitants ran together, the women in tears, and the men exclaiming against the injustice and ingratitude of their sovereign in depriving them, unheard and unconvicted, of their possessions. "Is this," cried they, "the recom­pence due to persons, who, without public aid, at their own expence, and by their own valour, have subjected to the crown of Castile territories of such immense extent and opulence? Are these the re­wards bestowed for having endured unparalleled dis­tress, for having encountered every species of dan­ger in the service of their country? Whose merit is so great, whose conduct has been so irreproach­able, that he may not be condemned by some penal clause in regulations, conceived in terms as loose and comprehensive, as if it had been intended that all should be entangled in their snare? Every Spa­niard [Page 235] of note in Peru has held some public office, and all, without distinction, have been constrained to take an active part in the contect between the two rival chiefs. Were the former to be rob­bed of their property because they had done their duty? Were the latter to be punished on account of what they could not avoid? Shall the conquer­ors of this great empire, instead of receiving marks of distinction, be deprived of the natural consola­tion of providing for their widows and children, and leave them to depend for subsistence on the scanty supply they can extort from unfeeling cour­tiers^*? We are not able now, continued they, to explore unknown regions in quest of more se­cure settlements; our constitutions debilitated with age, and our bodies covered with wounds, are no longer fit for active service; but still we possess vigour sufficient to assert our just rights, and we will not tamely suffer them to be wrested from us^†."

BY discourses of this sort,An insur­rection pre­vented by the mode­ration of Castro. uttered with vehe­mence, and listened to with universal approbation, their passions were inflamed to such a pitch, that they were prepared for the most violent measures; and began to hold consulations in different places, how they might oppose the entrance of the viceroy and judges, and prevent not only the execution but the promulgation of the new laws. From this, however, they were diverted by the address of Vaca de Castro, who flattered them with hopes, that, as soon as the viceroy and judges should ar­rive, and had leisure to examine their petitions and remonstrances, they would concur with them in endeavouring to procure some mitigation in the [Page 236] rigour of laws which had been framed without due attention either to the state of the country, or to the sentiments of the people. A greater degree of accommodation to these, and even some concessions on the part of government, were now become re­quisite to compose the present ferment, and to soothe the colonists into submission, by inspiring them with confidence in their superiors. But with­out profound discernment, conciliating manners, and flexibility of temper, such a plan could not be carried on.The spirit of disaffec­tion increa­sed by the viceroy. The viceroy possessed none of these. Of all the qualities that fit men for high command, he was endowed only with integrity and courage; the former harsh and uncomplying, the latter bor­dering so frequently on rashness or obstinacy, that in his situation they were defects rather than vir­tues.March 4. From the moment that he landed at Tum­bez, Nugnez Vela seems to have considered him­self merely as an executive officer, without any dis­cretionary power; and regardless of whatever he observed or heard concerning the state of the country, he adhered to the letter of the regulations with unrelenting rigour. In all the towns through which he passed, the natives were declared to be free, every person in public office was deprived of his lands and servants; and as an example of obe­dience to others, he would not suffer a single In­dian to be employed in carrying his own baggage in his march towards Lima. Amazement and con­sternation went before him as he approached; and so little solicitous was he to prevent these from aug­menting, that, on entering the capital, he openly avowed that he came to obey the orders of his sovereign, not to dispense with his laws. This harsh declaration was accompanied with what ren­dered it still more intolerable, haughtiness in de­portment, a tone of arrogance and decision in dis­course, [Page 237] and an insolence of office grievous to men little accustomed to hold civil authority in high re­spect. Every attempt to procure a suspension or mitigation of the new laws, the viceroy considered as flowing from a spirit of disaffection that tended to rebellion. Several persons of rank were con­fined, and some put to death, without any form of trial. Vaca de Castro was arrested, and notwith­standing the dignity of his former rank, and his merit, in having prevented a general insurrection in the colony, he was loaded with chains, and shut up in the common jail^*.

BUT however general the indignation was against such proceedings,The mal­contents c [...]e Gon­zalo Pizar­ro to be their lead­er. it is probable the hand of autho­rity would have been strong enough to suppress it, or to prevent it bursting out with open violence, if the malcontents had not been provided with a leader of credit and eminence to unite and to di­rect their efforts. From the time that the purport of the new regulations was known in Peru, every Spaniard there turned his eyes towards Gonzalo Pizarro, as the only person able to avert the ruin with which they threatened the colony. From all quarters, letters and addresses were sent to him, conjuring him to stand forth as their common pro­tector, and offering to support him in the attempt with their lives and fortunes. Gonzalo, though inferior in talents to his other brothers, was equally ambitious, and of courage no less daring. The behaviour of an ungrateful court towards his bro­thers and himself, dwelt continually on his mind. Ferdinand a state prisoner in Europe, the children of the governor in custody of the viceroy, and sent aboard his fleet, himself reduced to the condition [Page 238] of a private citizen in a country, for the discovery and conquest of which Spain was indebted to his family. These thoughts prompted him to seek for vengeance, and to assert the rights of his family, of which he now considered himself as the guar­dian and the heir. But as no Spaniard can easily surmount that veneration for his sovereign which seems to be interwoven in his frame, the idea of marching in arms against the royal standard filled him with horror. He hesitated long, and still unresolved, when the violence of the viceroy, the universal call of his countrymen, and the certainty of becoming soon a victim himself to the severity of the new laws, moved him to quit his residence at Chuquisaca de la Plata, and repair to Cuzco. All the inhabitants went out to meet him, and received him with transports of joy as the deliverer of the colony. In the fervour of their zeal, they elected him procurator-general of the Spanish nation in Peru, to solicit the repeal of the late regulations. They empowered him to lay their remonstrances before the royal audience in Lima, and upon pre­text of danger from the Indians, authorised him to march thither in arms.1544. Under sanction of this nomination Pizarro took possession of the royal treasure, appointed officers, levied soldiers, seized a large train of artillery which Vaca de Castro had deposited in Gumanga, and set out for Lima, as if he had been advancing against a public enemy. Disaffection having now assumed a regular form, and being united under a chief of such distinguished name, many persons of note resorted to his stand­ard; and a considerable part of the troops, raised by the viceroy to oppose his progress, deserted to him in a body^*.

[Page 239]BEFORE Pizarro reached Lima, a revolution had happened there, which encouraged him to proceed with almost certainty of success.Dissentions of the vice­roy and c [...] of audience. The violence of the viceroy's administration was not more formi­dable to the Spaniards of Peru, than his overbear­ing haughtiness was odious to his associates, the judges of the royal audience. During their voyage from Spain, some symptoms of coldness between the viceroy and them began to appear^*. But as soon as they entered upon the exercise of their re­spective offices, both parties were so much exas­perated by frequent contests, arising from inter­ference of jurisdiction, and contrarity of opinion, that their mutual disgust soon grew into open en­mity. The judges thwarted the viceroy in every measure, set at liberty prisoners whom he had confined, justified the malcontents, and applauded their remonstrances. At a time when both de­partments of government should have united against the approaching enemy, they were contending with each other for superiority. The judges at length prevailed. The viceroy, universally odious,The viceroy imprisoned. Sept. 18. and abandoned even by his own guards, was seized in his palace, and carried to a desert island on the coast, to be kept there until he could be sent home to Spain.

THE judges, in consequence of this,Views of Pizarro. having assumed the supreme direction of affairs into their own hands, issued a proclamation suspending the execution of the obnoxious laws, and sent a mes­sage to Pizarro, requiring him, as they had already granted whatever he could request, to dismiss his troops, and to repair to Lima with fifteen or twenty attendants. They could hardly expect that a man so [...]aring and ambitious would tamely comply with [Page 240] this requisition. It was made, probably, with no such intention, but only to throw a decent veil over their own conduct; for Cepeda, the president of the court of audience, a pragmatical and aspiring lawyer, seems to have held a secret correspondence with Pizarro, and had already formed the plan, which he afterwards executed, of devoting himself to his service. The imprisonment of the viceroy, the usurpation of the judges, together with the universal confusion and anarchy consequent upon events so singular and unexpected, opened new and vast prospects to Pizarro. He now beheld the supreme power within his reach. Nor did he want courage to push on towards the object which for­tune presented to his view. Carvajal, the promp­ter of his resolutions, and guide of all his actions, had long fixed his eye upon it as the only end at which Pizarro ought to aim. Instead of the infe­rior function of procurator for the Spanish settle­ments in Peru, he openly demanded to be gover­nor and captain-general of the whole province, and required the court of audience to grant him a com­mission to that effect. At the head of twelve hun­dred men, within a mile of Lima, where there was neither leader nor army to oppose him, such a re­quest carried with it the authority of a command. But the judges, either from unwillingness to relin­quish power, or from a desire of preserving some attention to appearances, hesitated, or seemed to hesitate, about complying with what he demanded. Carvajal,He assumes the govern­ment. impatient of delay, and impetuous in all his operations, marched into the city by night, seized several officers of distinction obnoxious to Pizarro, and hanged them without the formality of a trial. Next morning the court of audience issued a commission in the emperor's name, appointing Pizarro governor of Peru, with full powers, civil [Page 241] as well as military, and he entered the town that day with extraordinary pomp, to take possession of his new dignity^*.

BUT amidst the disorder and turbulence which accompanied this total dissolution of the frame of government, the minds of men,Oct. 28. The viceroy recovers his liberty. set loose from the ordinary restraints of law and authority, acted with such capricious irregularity, that events no less ex­traordinary than unexpected followed in a rapid succession. Pizarro had scarcely begun to exercise the new powers with which he was invested, when he beheld formidable enemies rise up to oppose him. The viceroy having been put on board a vessel by the judges of the audience, in order that he might be carried to Spain under custody of Juan Alvarez, one of their own number; as soon as they were out at sea, Alvarez, either touched with re­morse or moved by fear, kneeled down to his pri­soner, declaring him from that moment to be free, and that he himself, and every person in the ship, would obey him as the legal representative of their sovereign. Nugnez Vela ordered the pilot of the vessel to shape his course towards Tumbez, and as soon as he landed there, erected the royal standard, and resumed his functions of viceroy. Several persons of note, to whom the contagion of the se­ditious spirit which reigned at Cuzco and Lima had not reached, instantly avowed their resolution to support his authority^†. The violence of Pizarro's government, who observed every individual with the jealousy natural to usurpers, and who punished every appearance of disaffection with unforgiving [Page 242] severity, soon augmented the number of the vice­roy's adherents, as it forced some leading men in the colony to fly to him for refuge. While he was gathering such strength at Tumbez, that his forces began to assume the appearance of what was considered as an army in America, Diego Centeno, a bold and active officer, exasperated by the cruelty and oppression of Pizarro's lieutenant-governor in the province of Charcas, formed a conspiracy against his life, cut him off, and declared for the viceroy^*.

1555. Pizarro marches a­gainst him.PIZARRO, though alarmed with those appear­ances of hostility in the opposite extremes of the empire, was not disconcerted. He prepared to assert the authority to which he had attained, with the spirit and conduct of an officer accustomed to command, and marched directly against the vice­roy as the enemy who was nearest as well as most formidable. As he was master of the public re­venues in Peru, and most of the military men were attached to his family, his troops were so nume­rous, that the viceroy, unable to face them, re­treated towards Quito. Pizarro followed him; and in that long march, through a wild moun­tainous country, suffered hardships and encoun­tered difficulties which no troops but those ac­customed to serve in America could have endured or surmounted^†. The viceroy had scarcely reached Quito, when the van-guard of Pizarro's forces ap­peared, led by Carvajal, who, though near four­score, was as hardy and active as any young sol­dier under his command. Nugnez Vela instantly abandoned a town incapable of defence, and with a rapidity more resembling a flight than a retreat, [Page 243] marched into the province of Popayan. Pizarro con­tinued to pursue; but finding it impossible to over­take him, returned to Quito. From thence he dis­patched Carvajal to oppose Centeno, who was grow­ing formidable in the southern provinces of the empire, and he himself remained there to make head against the viceroy^*.

BY his own activity,The vice­roy defeat­ed, and the assistance of Benal­cazar, Nugnez Vela soon assembled four hundred men in Popayan. As he retained, amidst all his disasters, the same elevation of mind, and the same high sense of his own dignity, he rejected with disdain the advice of some of his followers, who urged him to make overtures of accommodation to Pizarro, declaring that it was only by the sword that a contest with rebels could be decided. With this intention he marched back to Quito. Pizarro,1546. relying on the superior number, and still more on the discipline and valour of his troops, advanced reso­lutely to meet him.January 18 The battle was fierce and bloody, both parties fighting like men who knew that the possession of a great empire, the fate of their leaders, and their own future fortune, de­pended upon the issue of that day. But Pizarro's veterans pushed forward with such regular and well-directed force, that they soon began to make impression on their enemies. The viceroy, by ex­traordinary exertions, in which the abilities of a commander and the courage of a soldier were equally displayed, held victory for some time in suspence. At length he fell,and slain. pierced with many wounds; and the rout of his followers became ge­neral. They were hotly pursued. His head was [Page 244] cut off, and placed on the public gibbet in Quit [...], which Pizarro entered in triumph. The troops assembled by Centeno were dispersed soon after by Carvajal, and he himself compelled to fly to the mountains, where he remained for several months concealed in a cave. Every person in Peru, from the frontiers of Popayan to those of Chili, sub­mitted to Pizarro; and by his fleet, under Pedro de Hinojosa, he had not only the unrivalled com­mand of the South-Sea, but had taken possession of Panama, and placed a garrison in Nombre de Dios, on the opposite side of the isthmus, which rendered him master of the only avenue of com­munication between Spain and Peru, that was used at that period^*.

Pizarro ad­vised to assume the sovereignty of Peru.AFTER this decisive victory, Pizarro and his followers remained for some time at Quito, and during the first transports of their exultation, they ran into every excess of licentious indulgence with the riotous spirit usual among low adventurers upon extraordinary success. But amidst this dis­sipation, their chief and his confidents were obliged to turn their thoughts sometimes to what was se­rious, and deliberated with much solicitude con­cerning the part that he ought now to take, Car­vajal, no less bold and decisive in counsel than in the field, had from the beginning warned Pizarro, that in the career on which he was entering, it was vain to think of holding a middle course; that he must either boldly aim at all, or attempt nothing. From the time that Pizarro obtained possession of the government of Peru, he inculcated the same maxim with greater earnestness. Upon receiving [Page 245] an account of the victory at Quito, he remonstrated with him in a tone still more peremptory, "You have usurped (said he, in a letter written to Pizarro on that occasion) the supreme power in this coun­try, in contempt of the emperor's commission to the viceroy. You have marched, in hostile array, against the royal standard; you have attacked the representative of your sovereign in the field, have defeated him, and cut off his head. Think not that ever a monarch will forgive such insults on his dignity, or that any reconciliation with him can be cordial or sincere. Depend no longer on the pre­carious favour of another. Assume yourself the sovereignty over a country, to the dominion of which your family has a title founded on the rights both of discovery and conquest. It is in your power to attach every Spaniard in Peru of any consequence inviolably to your interest by liberal grants of lands and of Indians, or by instituting ranks of nobility, and creating titles of honour similar to those which are courted with so much eagerness in Europe. By establishing orders of knighthood, with privileges and distinctions re­sembling those in Spain, you may bestow a grati­fication upon the officers in your service, suited to the ideas of military men. Nor is it to your coun­trymen only that you ought to attend; endeavour to gain the natives. By marrying the Coya, or daugh­ter of the Sun next in succession to the crown, you will induce the Indians, out of veneration for the blood of their antient princes, to unite with the Spaniards in support of your authority. Thus, at the head of the antient inhabitants of Peru, as well as of the new settlers there, you may set at defi­ance the power of Spain, and repel with ease any feeble force which it can send at such a distance." Cepeda, the lawyer, who was now Pizaro's con­fidential [Page 246] counsellor, warmly seconded Carvajal's exhortations, and employed whatever learning he possessed in demonstrating, that all the founders of great monarchies had been raised to pre-eminence, not by the antiquity of their lineage, or the validity of their rights, but by their own aspiring valour and personal merit^*.

But chuses to negociate with the court of Spain.PIZARRO listened attentively to both, and could not conceal the satisfaction with which he contem­plated the object that they presented to his view. But happily for the tranquillity of the world, few men possess that superior strength of mind, and extent of abilities, which are capable of forming and executing such daring schemes, as cannot be accomplished without ove [...]urning the established order of society, and vio [...]ing those maxims of duty which men are acc [...]med to hold sacred. The mediocrity of Pizarro talents circumscribed his ambition within more [...]arrow limits. Instead of aspiring at independent power, he confined his views to the obtaining from the court of Spain a confirmation of the authority which he now pos­sessed; and for that purpose, he sent an officer of distinction thither, to give such a representation of his conduct, and of the state of the country, as might induce the emperor and his ministers, either from inclination or from necessity, to continue him in his present station.

Consulta­tions of the Spanish mi­nisters.WHILE PIZARRO was deliberating with respect to the part which he should take, consultations were held in Spain, with no less solicitude, concerning the measures which ought to be pursued in order to re-establish the emperor's authority in Peru. Though unacquainted with the last excesses of outrage to [Page 247] which the malcontents had proceeded in that coun­try, the court had received an account of the insur­rection against the viceroy, of his imprisonment, and the usurpation of the government by Pizarro. A revolution so alarming called for an immediate in­terposition of the emperor's abilities and authority. But as he was fully occupied at that time in Ger­many, in conducting the war against the famous league of Smalkalde, one of the most interesting and arduous enterprises in his reign, the care of pro­viding a remedy for the disorders in Peru devolved upon his son Philip, and the counsellors whom Charles had appointed to assist him in the govern­ment of Spain during his absence. At first view, the actions of Pizarro and his adherents, appeared so repugnant to the duty of subjects towards their sovereign, that the greater part of the ministers in­sisted on declaring them instantly to be guilty of rebellion, and on proceeding to punish them with exemplary rigour. But when the fervour of their zeal and indignation began to abate, innumerable obstacles to the execution of this measure presented themselves. The veteran bands of infantry, the strength and glory of the Spanish armies, were then employed in Germany. Spain, exhausted of men and money by a long series of wars, in which she had been involved by the restless ambition of two successive monarchs, could not easily equip an armament of sufficient force to reduce Pizarro. To tansport any respectable body of troops to a country so remote as Peru, appeared almost im­possible. While Pizarro continued master of the South Sea, the direct rout by Nombre de Dios and Panama was impracticable. An attempt to march to Quito by land through the new kingdom of Granada, and the province of Popayan, across regions of prodigious extent, desolate, unhealthy, [Page 248] or inhabited by force and hostile tribes, would be attended with unsurmountable danger and hardships. The passage to the South-Sea by the Straits of Magellan was so tedious, so uncertain, and so little known in that age, that no confidence could be placed in any effort carried on in a course of navi­gation so remote and precarious. Nothing th [...] remained but to relinquish the system which the ardour of their loyalty had first suggested, and to attempt by lenient measures what could not be af­fected by force. It was manifest, from Pizarro's solicitude to represent his conduct in a favourable light to the emperor, that, notwithstanding the excesses of which he had been guilty, he still re­tained sentiments of veneration for his sovereign. By a proper application to these, together with some such concessions as should discover a spirit of moderation and forbearance in government, there was still room to hope that he [...] [...]ht be yet re­claimed, or the ideas of loyalty natural to Spaniards might so far revive among his followers, that they would no longer lend their aid to uphold his usurped authority.

Gasca ap­pointed to repair to Peru as pre­sident.THE success, however, of this negociation, no less delicate than it was important, depended en­tirely on the abilities and address of the person to whom it should be committed. After weighing with much attention the comparative merit of va­rious persons, the Spanish ministers fixed with unanimity of choice upon Pedro de la Gasca, a priest in no higher station than that of counsellor in the Inquisition. Though in no public office, he had been occasionally employed by government in affairs of trust and consequence, and had conduct­ed them with no less skill than success; displaying a gentle and insinuating temper, accompanied with much firmness; probity, superior to any feeling of [Page 249] private interest; and a cautious circumspection in concerting measures, followed by such vigour in executing them, as is rarely found in alliance with the other. These qualities marked him out for the function to which he was destined. The emperor, to whom Gasca was not unknown, warmly ap­proved of the choice, and communicated it to him in a letter containing expressions of good-will and confidence, no less honourable to the prince who wrote, than to the subject who received it. Gasca, notwithstanding his advanced age and feeble consti­tution, and though, from the apprehensions natural to a man, who, during the course of his life, had never been out of his own country, he dreaded the effects of a long voyage, and of an unhealthy cli­mate^*, did not hesitate a moment about complying with the will of his sovereign.His mode­ration. But as a proof that it was from this principle alone he acted, he re­fused a bishopric which was offered to him, in order that he might appear in Peru with a more dignified character; he would accept of no higher title than that of president of the court of audience in Lima; and declared that he would receive no salary on account of his discharging the duties of that of­fice. All he required was, that the expence of supporting his family should be defrayed by the public, and as he was to go like a minister of peace with his gown and breviary, and without any reti­nue but a few domestics, this would not load the revenue with any enormous burden^†.

BUT while he discovered such disinterested mo­deration with respect to whatever related personally to himself,The pow­ers com­mitted to him. he demanded his official powers in a [Page 250] very different tone. He insisted, as he was to be employed in a country so remote from the seat of government, where he could not have recourse to his sovereign for new instructions on every emer­gence; and as the whole success of his negoci­ations must depend upon the confidence which the people with whom he had to treat could place in the extent of his powers, that he ought to be invested with unlimited authority; that his juris­diction must reach to all persons and to all causes; that he must be empowered to pardon, to punish, or to reward, as circumstances and the behaviour of different men might require; that in case of resistance from the malcontents, he might be au­thorised to reduce them to obedience by force of arms, to levy troops for that purpose, and to call for assistance from the governors of all the Spanish settlements in America. These powers, though manifestly conducive to the great objects of his mission, appeared to the Spanish ministers to be inalienable prerogatives of royalty, which ought not to be delegated to a subject, and they refused to grant them. But the emperor's views were more enlarged. As, from the nature of his employ­ment, Gasca must be entrusted with discretionary power in several points, and all his efforts might prove ineffectual if he was circumscribed in any one particular, Charles scrupled not to invest him with authority to the full extent that he demanded. Highly satisfied with this fresh proof of his master's confidence, Gasca hastened his departure, and, with­out either money or troops, set out to quell a for­midable rebellion^*.

July 27 His arrival at Panama.ON his arrival at Nom [...]re de Dios, he found Herman Mexia, an officer of note, posted there, [Page 251] by order of Pizarro, with a considerable body of men to oppose the landing of any hostile forces. But Gasca appeared in such pacific guise, with a train so little formidable, and with a title of no such dignity as to excite terror, that he was re­ceived with much respect. From Nombre de Dios he advanced to Panama, and met with a similar reception from Hinojosa, whom Pizarro had en­trusted with the government of that town, and the command of his fleet stationed there. In both places he held the same language, declaring that he was sent by their sovereign as a messenger of peace, not as a minister of vengeance; that he came to redress all their grievances, to revoke the laws which had excited alarm, to pardon past of­fences, and to re-establish order and justice in the government of Peru. His mild deportment, the simplicity of his manners, the sanctity of his profes­sion, and a winning appearance of candour, gained credit to his declarations. The veneration due to a person cloathed with legal authority, and acting in virtue of a royal commission, began to revive among men accustomed for some time to nothing more respectable than an usurped jurisdiction. Hinojosa, Mexia, and several other officers of dis­tinction, to each of whom Gasca applied separately, were gained over to his interest, and waited only for some decent occasion of declaring openly in his favour^*.

THIS the violence of Pizarro soon afforded them.Violent proceedings of Pizarro. As soon as he heard of Gasca's arrival at Panama, though he received, at the same time, an account of the nature of his commission, and was informed of his offers not only to render every Spaniard in [Page 252] Peru easy concerning what was past, by an act of general oblivion; but secure with respect to the future by repealing the obnoxious laws; instead of accepting with gratitude his sovereign's gracious concessions, he was so much exasperated on find­ing that he was not to be continued in his station as governor of the country, that he instantly resolved to oppose the president's entry into Peru, and to prevent his exercising any jurisdiction there. To this desperate resolution he added another highly preposterous. He sent a new deputation to Spain to justify this conduct, and to insist, in name of all the communities in Peru, for a confirmation of the government to himself during life, as the only means of preserving tranquillity there. The persons en­trusted with this strange commission, intimated the intention of Pizarro to the president, and required him, in his name, to depart from Panama and return to Spain. They carried likewise secret instructions to Hinojosa, directing him to offer Gasca a present of fifty thousand pesos, if he would comply vo­luntarily with what was demanded of him; and if he should continue obstinate, to cut him off either by assassination or poison^*.

Gasca gains his fleet.MANY circumstances concurred in pushing on Pizarro to those wild measures. Having been once accustomed to supreme command, he could not bear the thoughts of descending to a private station. Conscious of his own demerit, he suspect­ed that the emperor studied only to deceive him, and would never pardon the outrages which he had committed. His chief confidents, no less guilty, entertained the same apprehensions. The approach of Gasca without any military force excited no [Page 253] terror. There were now above six thousand Spa­niards settled in Peru ^*; and at the head of these he doubted not to maintain his own independence, if the court of Spain should refuse to grant what he required. But he knew not that a spirit of de­fection had already begun to spread among those whom he trusted most. Hinojosa, amazed at Pi­zarro's precipitate resolution of setting himself in opposition to the emperor's commission, and dis­daining to be his instrument in perpetrating the odious crimes pointed out in his secret instructions, publicly recognized the title of the president to the supreme authority in Peru. The officers under his command did the same. Such was the con­tagious influence of the example, that it reached even the deputies who had been sent from Peru; and at the time when Pizarro expected to hear either of Gasca's return to Spain, or of his death, he received an account of his being master of the fleet, of Panama, and of the troops stationed there.

IRRITATED almost to madness by events so un­expected, he openly prepared for war;1547. Pizarro re­solves on war. and in order to give some colour of justice to his arms, he appointed the court of audience in Lima to pro­ceed to the trial of Gasca, for the crimes of having seized his ships, seduced his officers, and prevented his deputies from proceeding in their voyage to Spain. Cepeda, though acting as a judge in vir­true of the royal commission, did not scruple to prostitute the dignity of his function by finding Gasca guilty of treason, and condemning him to death on that account^†. Wild, and even ridicu­lous [Page 254] as this proceeding was, it imposed on the low illiterate adventurers, [...]ith whom Peru was filled, by the semblance of [...] legal sanction war­ranting Pizarro to carry on hostilities against a con­victed traitor. Soldiers accordingly resorted from every quarter to his standard, and he was soon at the head of a thousand men, the best equipped that had ever taken the field in Peru.

Prepara­ti [...] Gasca.GASCA, on his part, perceiving that force must be employed in order to accomplish the purpose of his mission, was no less assiduous in collecting troops from Nicaragua, Carthagena, and other settlements on the continent; and with such suc­cess, that he was soon in a condition to detach a squadron of his fleet, with a considerable body of soldiers,April. to the coast of Peru. Their appearance excited a dreadful alarm; and though they did not attempt for some time to make any descent, they did more effectual service, by setting ashore in dif­ferent places persons who dispersed copies of the [...]ct of general indemnity, and the revocation of the late edicts; and who made known every where the pacific intentions, as well as mild temper, of the president. The effect of spreading this in­formation was wonderful. All who were dissatis­fied with Pizarro's violent administration, all who retained any sentiments of fidelity to their sove­reign, began to meditate revolt. Some openly deserted a cause which they now deemed to be un­just.Insurrec­tion of Centeno, Centeno, leaving the cave in which he lay concealed, assembled about fifty of his former ad­herents, and with this feeble half-armed band ad­vanced boldly to Cuzco. By a sudden attack in the night-time, in which he displayed no less mili­tary skill than valour, he rendered himself master of that capital, though defended by a garrison of five hundred men. Most of these having [Page 255] ranged themselves under his banners, he had soon the command of a respectable body of troops^*.

PIZARRO,against whom Pi­zarro marches, though astonished at beholding one enemy approaching by sea, and another by land, at a time when he trusted to the union of all Peru in his favour, was of a spirit more undaunted, and more accustomed to the vicissitudes of fortune, than to be disconcerted or appalled. As the dan­ger from Centeno's operations was the most urgent, he instantly set out to oppose him. Having pro­vided horses for all his soldiers, he marched with amazing rapidity. But every morning he found his force diminished, by numbers who had left him during the night; and though he became suspicious to excess, and punished without mercy all whom he suspected, the rage of desertion was too violent to be checked. Before he got within sight of the enemy at Huarina, near the lake Titiaca, he could not muster more than four hundred soldiers. But these he justly considered as men of tried attach­ment, on whom he might depend. They were indeed the boldest and most desperate of his fol­lowers, conscious, like himself, of crimes for which they could hardly expect forgiveness, and without any hope but in the success of their arms. With these he did not hesitate to attack Centeno's troops, though double to his own in number.Oct. 20. The royalists did not decline the combat. It was the most obstinate and bloody that had hitherto been fought in Peru.and defeats him. At length the intrepid valour of Pizarro, and the superiorty of Carvajal's military talents, triumphed over numbers, and obtained a complete victory. The booty was immense^†, and [Page 256] the treatment of the vanqished cruel. By this signal success the reputation of Pizarro was re-established, and being now deemed invincible in the field, his army increased daily in number^*.

BUT events happened in other parts of Peru, which more than counterbalanced the splendid victory at Huarina. Pizarro had scarcely left Lima, when the citizens, weary of his oppressive domi­nion, erected the royal standard, and Aldana, with a detachment of soldiers from the fleet, took pos­session of the town.Gasca lands at Peru. About the same time^†, Gasca landed at Tumbez with five hundred men. Encouraged by his presence, every settlement in the low country declared for the king. The situ­ation of the two parties was now perfectly reversed; Cuzco and the adjacent provinces were possessed by Pizarro; all the rest of the empire, from Quito southward, acknowledged the jurisdiction of the president. As his numbers augmented fast, Gasca advanced into the interior part of the coun­try. His behaviour still continued to be gentle and unassuming; he expressed on every occasion, his ardent wish of terminating the contest without bloodshed. More solicitous to reclaim than to punish, he upbraided no man for past offences, but received them as a father receives penitent children returning to a sense of their duty. Though desirous of peace, he did not slacken his preparations for war. He appointed the general rendezvous of his troops in the fertile valley of Xauxa, on the road to Cuzco^‡.Advances towards Cuzco. There he remained for some months, not only that he might have time to make another [Page 257] attempt towards an accommodation with Pizarro, but that he might train his new soldiers to the use of arms, and accustom them to the discipline of a camp, before he led them against a body of vic­torious veterans. Pizarro, intoxicated with the success which had hitherto accompanied his arms, and elated with having again near a thousand men under his command, refused to listen to any terms, although Cepeda, together with several of his officers, and even Carvajal himself^*, gave it as their advice to close with the president's offer of a general indemnity, and the revocation of the ob­noxious laws^†. Gasca having tried in vain every expedient to avoid imbruing his hands in the blood of his countrymen, began to move towards Cuzco,Dec. 29. at the head of sixteen hundred men.

PIZARRO, confident of victory,Both parties prepare for battle suffered the royalists to pass all the rivers which lie between Guamanga and Cuzco without opposition,1548. and to advance within four leagues of that capital, flat­tering himself that a defeat in such a situation as rendered escape impracticable would at once ter­minate the war. He then marched out to meet the enemy, and Carvajal chose his ground, and made the disposition of the troops with the discern­ing eye,April 9. and profound knowledge in the art of war conspicuous in all his operations. As the two armies moved forward slowly to the charge, the appearance of each was singular. In that of Pi­zarro, composed of men enriched with the spoils of the most opulent country in America, every officer, and almost all the private men were clothed in stuffs of silk, or brocade, embroidered with gold and silver; and their horses, their arms, their standards, were adorned with all the pride of [Page 258] military pomp^*. That of Gasca, though not so splendid, exhibited what was no less striking. He himself, accompanied by the archbishop of Lima, the Bishops of Quito and Cuzco, and a great num­ber of ecclesiastics, marching along the lines, bless­ing the men, and encouraging them to a resolute discharge of their duty.

Pizarro de­serted by his troops,WHEN both armies were just ready to engage, Cepeda set spurs to his horse, galloped off and sur­rendered himself to the president. Garcilasso de la Vega, and other officers of note, followed his ex­ample. The revolt of persons in such high rank struck all with amazement. The mutual confidence on which the union and strength of armies depend, ceased at once. Distrust and consternation spread, from rank to rank. Some silently slipped away, others threw down their arms, the greatest number went over to the royalists. Pizarro, Carvajal, and some leaders, employed authority, threats, and entreaties, to stop them, but in vain. In less than half an hour, a body of men, which might have decided the fate of the Peruvian empire, was totally dispersed. Pizarro, seeing all irretrievably lost, cried out in amazement to a few officers who still faithfully adhered to him, "What remains for us to do?" "Let us rush," replied one of them, "upon the enemy's firmest battalion, and die like Romans." Dejected with such a reverse of fortune, he had not spirit to follow this soldierly counsel, and with a tameness disgraceful to his former same,taken, he surrendered to one of Gasca's officers. Carvajal, endeavouring to escape, was overtaken and seized.

and put to death.GASCA, happy in this bloodless victory, did not stain it with cruelty. Pizarro, Carvajal, and a [Page 259] small number of the most distinguished or noto­rious offenders, were punished capitally. Pizarro was beheaded on the day after he surrendered. He submitted to his fate with a composed dignity, and seemed desirous to atone by repentance for the crimes which he had committed. The end of Car­vajal was suitable to his life. On his trial he offered no defence. When the sentence adjudging him to be hanged was pronounced, he carelessly re­plied, "One can die but once." During the in­terval between the sentence and execution, he dis­covered no sign either of remorse for the past, or of solicitude about the future; scoffing at all who visited him, in his usual sarcastic vein of mirth, with the same quickness of repartee and gross plea­santry as at any other period of his life. Cepe [...]a, more criminal than either, ought to have shared the same fate; but the merit of having deserted his associates at such a critical moment, and with such decisive effect, saved him from immediate punish­ment. He was sent, however, as a prisoner to Spain, and died in confinement^*.

IN the minute detail which the contemporary historians have given of the civil dissentions that raged in Peru, with little interruption, during ten years, many circumstances occur so striking, and which indicate such an uncommon state of manners, as to merit particular attention.

THOUGH the Spaniards who first invaded Peru were of the lowest order in society,No merce­nary soldi­ers in the civil wars of Peru. and the greater part of those who afterwards joined them were per­sons of desperate fortune, yet in all the bodies of troops brought into the field by the different lead­ers [Page 260] who contended for superiority, not one man acted as a hired soldier, that follows his standard for pay. Every adventurer in Peru considered himself as a conqueror, entitled, by his services, to an establishment in that country which had been acquired by his valour. In the contests between the rival chiefs, each chose his side as he was di­rected by his own judgment or affections. He joined his commander as a companion of his for­tune, and disdained to degrade himself by receiving the wages of a mercenary. It was to their sword, not to pre-eminence in office, or nobility of birth, that most of the leaders whom they followed were indebted for their elevation; and each of their adherents hoped, by the same means, to open a way for himself to the possession of power and wealth^*.Armies im­mensely ex­pensive;

BUT though the troops in Peru served without any regular pay, they were raised at immense ex­pence. Among men accustomed to divide the spoils of an opulent country, the desire of obtain­ing wealth acquired incredible force. The ardour of pursuit augmented in proportion to the hope of success. Where all were intent on the same object, and under the dominion of the same passion, there was but one mode of gaining men, or of securing their attachment. Officers of name and influence, besides the promise of future establishments, re­ceived in hand large gratuities from the chief with whom they engaged. Gonzalo Pizarro, in order to raise a thousand men, advanced five hundred thousand pesos^†. Gasca expended in levying the troops which he led against Pizarro nine hundred thousand pesos^‡. The distribution of property, [Page 261] bestowed as the reward of services, was still more exorbitant. Cepeda, as the recompence of his perfidy and address, in persuading the court of royal audience to give the sanction of its authority to the usurped jurisdiction of Pizarro,and im­mense re­wards to individuals. received a grant of lands which yielded an annual income of a hundred and fifty thousand pesos^*. Hinojosa, who, by his early defection from Pizarro, and sur­render of the fleet to Gasca, decided the fate of Peru, obtained a district of country affording two hundred thousand pesos of yearly value^†. While such rewards were dealt out to the principal offi­cers, with more than royal munificence, propor­tional shares were conferred upon those of inferior rank.

SUCH a rapid change of fortune produced its natural effects. It gave birth to new wants,Their pro­fusion and luxury. and new desires. Veterans, long accustomed to hard­ship and toil, acquired of a sudden a taste for pro­fuse and inconsiderate dissipation, and indulged in all the excesses of military licentiousness. The riot of low debauchery occupied some; a relish for expensive luxuries spread among others^‡. The meanest soldier in Peru wrould have thought him­self degraded by marching on foot; and at a time when the prices of horses in that country were ex­orbitant, each insisted on being furnished with one before he would take the field. But though less patient under the fatigue and hardships of service, they were ready to face danger and death with as much intrepidity as ever; and animated by the hope of new rewards, they never failed, on the day of bat­tle, to display all their ancient valour.

TOGETHER with their courage,Ferocity with which their con­tests were carried on. they retained all the ferocity by which they were originally dis­tinguished. [Page 262] Civil discord never raged with a more fell spirit than among the Spaniards in Peru. To all the passions which usually envenom contests among countrymen, avarice was added, and ren­dered their enmity more rancorous. Eagerness to seize the valuable forfeitures expected upon the death of every opponent, shut the door against mercy. To be wealthy, was of itself sufficient to expose a man to accusation, or to subject him to punishment. On the slightest suspicions, Pizarro condemned many of the most opulent inhabitants in Peru to death. Carvajal, without searching for any pretext to justify his cruelty, cut off many more. The number of those who suffered by the hand of the executioner, was not much inferior to what fell in the field^*; and the greater part was condemned without the formality of any legal trial.

and want of faith.THE violence with which the contending parties treated their opponents was not accompanied with its usual attendants, attachment and fidelity to those with whom they acted. The ties of honour, which ought to be held sacred among soldiers and the principle of integrity, interwoven as thoroughly in the Spanish character as in that of any nation, seem to have been equally forgotten. Even regard for decency, and the sense of shame, were totally lost. During their dissentions, there was hardly a Spaniard in Peru who did not abandon the party which he had originally espoused, betray the asso­ciates with whom he had united, and violate the engagements under which he had come. The viceroy Nugnez Vela was ruined by the treachery of Cepeda and the other judges of the royal au­dience, who were bound by the duties of their [Page 263] function to have supported his authority. The chief advisers and companions of Gonzalo Pizarro's revolt, were the first to forsake him, and submit to his enemies. His fleet was given up to Gasca, by the man whom he had singled out among his officers to entrust with that important command. On the day that was to decide his fate, an army of veterans, in sight of the enemy, threw down their arms without striking a blow, and deserted a leader who had often conducted them to victory. In­stances of such general and avowed contempt of the principles and obligations which attach man to man, and bind them together in social union, rarely occur in history. It is only where men are far removed from the seat of government, where the restraints of law and order are little felt, where the prospect of gain is unbounded, and were immense wealth may cover the crimes bv which it is ac­quired, that we can find any parallel to the levity, the rapaciousness, the perfidy and corruption pre­valent among the Spaniards in Peru.

ON the death of Pizarro,Gasca de­vi [...]es em­ployment for his sol­diers. the malcontents in every corner of Peru laid down their arms, and tranquillity seemed to be perfectly re-established. But two very interesting objects still remained to occupy the president's attention. The one was to find immediately such employment for a multitude of turbulent and daring adventurers with which the country was filled, as might prevent them from exciting new commotions. The other, to bestow proper gratifications upon those to whose loyalty and valour he had been indebted for his success. The former of these was in some measure accom­plished, by appointing Pedro de Valdivia to prose­cute the conquest of Chili; and by empowering Diego Centeno to undertake the discovery of the vast regions bordering on the river De la Plata. [Page 264] The reputation of those leaders, together with the hopes of acquiring wealth, and of rising to conse­quence in some unexplored country, alluring many of the most indigent and desperate soldiers to follow their standards, drained off no inconsiderable por­tion of that mutinous spirit which Gasca dreaded.

His divi­sion of the country among his followers.THE latter was an affair of greater difficulty, and to be adjusted with a more attentive and deli­cate hand. The repartimientos, or allotments of lands and Indians which fell to be distributed, in consequence of the death or forfeiture of the for­mer possessors, exceeded two millions of pesos of yearly rent^*. Gasca, when now absolute master of this immense property, retained the same disin­terested sentiments which he had originally pro­fessed and refused to reserve the smallest portion of it for himself. But the number of claimants was great; and whilst the vanity or avarice of every, individual fixed the value of his own services, and estimated the recompence which he thought due to him, the pretensions of each were so extravagant, that it was impossible to satisfy all. Gasca listened to them one by one, with the most patient atten­tion; and that he might have leisure to weigh the comparative merit of their several claims with ac­curacy, he retired, with the archbishop of Lima and a single secretary, to a village twelve leagues from Cuzco. There he spent several days in allotting to each a district of lands and number of Indians, in proportion to his idea of their past services and fu­ture importance. But that he might get beyond the reach of the fierce storm of clamour and rage, which he foresaw would burst out on the publica­tion of his decree, notwithstanding the impartial equity with which he had framed it, he set out for [Page 265] Lima, leaving the instrument of partition sealed up, with orders not to open it for some days after his departure.

THE indignation excited by publishing the de­cree of partition was not less than Gasca had ex­pected.Aug. 24. The discon­tent it occa­sions. Vanity, avarice, emulation, envy, shame, rage, and all the other passions which most vehe­mently agitate the minds of men, when both their honour and their interest are deeply affected, con­spired in adding to its violence. It broke out with all the fury of military insolence. Calumny, threats, and curses, were poured out openly upon the pre­sident. He was accused of ingratitude, of partia­lity, and of injustice. Among soldiers prompt to action, such seditious discourse would have been soon followed by deeds no less violent, and they already began to turn their eyes towards some discontented leaders, expecting them to stand forth in redress of their wrongs. By some vigorous interpositions of government, a timely check was given to this muti­nous spirit, and the danger of another civil war was averted for the present^*.

GASCA, however,1549. Re-esta­blishes or­der and go­vernment, perceiving that the flame was suppressed rather than extinguished, laboured with the utmost assiduity to soothe the mal [...]ontents, by bestowing large gratuities on some, by promising repartimientos, when they fell vacant, to others, and by caressing and flattering all. But that the public security might rest on a foundation more stable than their good affection, he endeavoured to strengthen the hands of his successors in office, by re-establish­ing the regular administration of justice in every part of the empire. He introduced order and sim­plicity into the mode of collecting the royal reve­nue. [Page 266] He issued regulations concerning the treat­ment of the Indians, well calculated to protect them from oppression, and to provide for their instruction in the principles of religion, without depriving the Spaniards of the benefit accruing from their labour. Having now accomplished every object of his mis­sion,1550. Gasca, longing to return again to a private station,Feb. 1. and sets out for Spain. committed the government of Peru to the court of audience, and set out for Spain. As, du­ring the anarchy and turbulence of the four last years, there had been no remittance made of the royal revenue, he carried with him thirteen hundred thousand pesos of public money, which the oeco­nomy and order of his administration enabled him to save, after paying all the expences of the war.His recep­tion there.

HE was received in his native country with uni­versal admiration of his abilities, and of his virtue. Both were, indeed, highly conspicuous. Without army, or fleet, or public funds; with a train so simple, that only three thousand ducats were ex­pended in equipping him^*, he set out to oppose a formidable rebellion. By his address and talents he supplied all those defects, and seemed to create instruments for executing his designs. He ac­quired such a naval force, as gave him the com­mand of the sea. He raised a body of men able to cope with the veteran bands which gave law to Peru. He vanquished their leader, on whose arms victory had hitherto attended, and in place of anarchy and usurpation, he established the govern­ment of laws, and the authority of the rightful sovereign. But the praise bestowed on his abili­ties, was exceeded by that which his virtue merited. After residing in a country where wealth presented allurements which had seduced every person who [Page 267] had hitherto possessed power there, he returned from that trying station with integrity not only un­tainted but unsuspected. After distributing among his countrymen possessions of greater extent and value than had ever been in the disposal of a subject of any age or nation, he himself remained in his ori­ginal state of poverty; and at the very time when he brought such a large recruit to the royal treasury, he was obliged to apply by petition for a small sum to discharge some petty debts which he had con­tracted during the course of his service^*. Charles was not insensible to such disinterested merit. Gasca was received by him with the most distinguishing marks of esteem, and being promoted to the bishop­ric of Palencia, he passed the remainder of his days in the tranquillity of retirement, respected by his country, honoured by his sovereign, and beloved by all.

NOTWITHSTANDING all Gasca's wise regulati­ons, the tranquillity of Peru was not of long con­tinuance. In a country, where the authority of government had been almost forgotten during the long prevalence of anarchy and misrule, where there were disappointed leaders ripe for revolt, and se­ditious soldiers ready to follow them, it was not difficult to raise combustion. Several successive in­surrections desolated the country for some years. But as those, though fierce, were only transient storms, excited rather by the ambition and turbu­lence of particular men, than by general or public motives, the detail of them is not the object of this history. These commotions in Peru, like every thing of extreme violence either in the natural or political body, were not of long duration, and by carrying off the corrupted humours which had given rise to the disorders, they contributed in the [Page 268] end to strengthen the society which at first they threatened to destroy, During their fierce contests, several of the first invaders of Peru, and many of those licentious adventurers whom the same of their success had allured thither, fell by each other's hands. Each of the parties, as they alternately prevailed in the struggle, gradually cleared the country of a number of turbulent spirits, by exe­cuting, proscribing, or banishing their opponents. Men less enterprising, less desperate, and more ac­customed to move in the path of sober and peaceable industry, settled in Peru; and the royal authority was gradually established as firmly there as in the other Spanish colonies.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK VII.

AS the conquest of the two great empires of Mexico and Peru forms the most splendid and interesting period in the History of America, a view of their political institutions, and a description of their national manners, will exhibit the human species to the contemplation of intelligent observers in a very singular stage of its progress^*.

WHEN compared with other parts of the New World,Mexico and Peru more polished than other parts of America. Mexico and Peru may be considered as polished states. Instead of small, independent, hostile tribes, struggling for subsistence amidst woods and marshes, strangers to industry and arts, unac­quainted with subordination, and almost without the appearance of regular government, we find countries of great extent subjected to the dominion of one sovereign, the inhabitants collected together in cities, the wisdom and foresight of rulers em­ployed in providing for the maintenance and security [Page 270] of the people, the empire of laws in some measure established, the authority of religion recognized, many of the arts essential to life brought to some degree of maturity, and the dawn of such as are ornamental beginning to appear.

Their infe­riority to the na [...]ions of the an­cient con­tinent.BUT if the comparison be made with the people of the ancient continent, the inferiority of Ame­rica in improvement will be conspicuous, and nei­ther the Mexicans nor Peruvians will be entitled to rank with those nations which merit the name of civilized. The people of both the great empires in America, like the rude tribes around them, were totally unacquainted with the useful metals, and the progress which they had made in extending their dominion over the animal creation was in­considerable. The Mexicans had gone no farther than to tame and rear turkeys, ducks, a species of small dogs, and rabbits^*. By this feeble essay of ingenuity, the means of subsistence were rendered somewhat more plentiful and secure, than when men depend solely on hunting; but they had no idea of attempting to subdue the more robust ani­mals, or of deriving any aid from their ministry in carrying on works of labour. The Peruvians seem to have neglected the inferior animals, and had not rendered any of them domestic except the duck; but they were more fortunate in taming the Llama, an animal peculiar to their country, of a form which bears some resemblance to a deer, and some to a camel, and is of a size somewhat larger than a sheep. Under the protection of man, this species multiplied greatly. Its wool furnished the Peruvians with clothing. Its flesh with food. It was even employed as a beast of burden, and carried a moderate load with much patience and [Page 271] docility^*. It was never used for draught; and the breed being confined to the mountainous country, its service, if we may judge by incidents which occur in the early Spanish writers, was not very extensive among the Peruvians in their original state.

IN tracing the line by which nations proceed towards civilization, the discovery of the useful metals, and the acquisition of dominion over the animal creation, have been marked as steps of ca­pital importance in their progress. In our conti­nent, long after men had attained both, society continued in that state which is denominated bar­barous. Even with all that command over nature which these confer, many ages elapse, before in­dustry becomes so regular as to render subsistence secure, before the arts which supply the wants and furnish the accommodations of life, are brought to any considerable degree of perfection, and before any idea is conceived of various institutions requisite in a well-ordered society. The Mexicans and Pe­ruvians, without knowledge of the useful metals, or the aid of domestic animals, laboured under disad­vantages which must have greatly retarded their progress, and in their highest state of improvement their power was so limited, and their operations so feeble, that they can hardly be considered as having advanced beyond the infancy of civil life.

AFTER this general observation concerning the most singular and distinguishing circumstance in the state of both the great empires in America,View of the institutions and man­ners of each. I shall endeavour to give such a view of the constitution and interior police of each, as may enable us to ascertain their place in the political scale, to allot them their proper station between the rude tribes in the New World, and the polished states of the anci­ent, [Page 272] and to determine how far they had risen above the former, as well as how much they fell below the latter.

Imperfect information concer [...] those of Mexico.MEXICO was first subjected to the Spanish crown. But our acquaintance with its laws and manners is not, from that circumstance, more complete. What I have remarked concerning the defective and inaccurate information on which we must rely with respect to the condition and customs of the savage tribes in America, may be applied likewise to our knowledge of the Mexican empire. Cortes, and the rapacious adventurers who accompanied him, had not leisure or capacity to enrich either civil or natural history with new observations. They undertook their expedition in quest of one object, and seemed hardly to have turned their eyes to­wards any other. Or, if during some short inter­val of tranquillity, when the occupations of war ceased, and the ardour of plunder was suspended, the institutions and manners of the people whom they had invaded drew their attention, the inquiries of illiterate soldiers were conducted with so little sagacity and precision, that the accounts given by them of the policy and order established in the Mexican monarchy are superficial, confused, and in­explicable. It is rather from indicents which they relate occasionally, than from their own deductions and remarks, that we are enabled to form some idea of the genius and manners of that people. The obscurity in which the ignorance of its conquerors involved the annals of Mexico, was augmented by the superstition of those who succeeded them. As the memory of past events was preserved among the Mexicans by figures painted on skins, on cotton cloth, on a kind of pasteboard, or on the bark of trees, the early missionaries, unable to comprehend their meaning, and struck with their uncouth forms, [Page 273] conceived them to be monuments of idolatry which ought to be destroyed, in order to facilitate the con­version of the Indians. In obedience to an edict issued by Juan de Zummaraga, a Franciscan monk, the first bishop of Mexico, as many records of the ancient Mexican story as could be collected were committed to the flames. In consequence of this fanatical zeal of the monks who first visited New Spain (which their successors soon began to la­ment), whatever knowledge of remote events such rude monuments contained was almost entirely lost, and no information remained concerning the an­cient revolutions and policy of the empire, but what was derived from tra [...]ition, or from some frag­ments of their historical paintings that escaped the barbarous researches of Zummaraga^*. From the experience of all nations it is manifest, that the me­mory of past transactions can neither be long pre­served, nor be transmitted with any fidelity, by tradition. The Mexican paintings, which are sup­posed to have served as annals of their empire, are few in number, and of ambiguous meaning. Thus, amidst the uncertainty of the former, and the ob­scurity of the latter, we must glean what intelligence can be collected from the scanty materials scattered in the Spanish writers^†.

[Page 274]ACCORDING to the account of the Mexicans themselves, their empire was not of long duration. Their country,Origin of the Mexi­can monar­chy. as they relate, was originally pos­sessed, [Page 275] rather than peopled, by small independent tribes, whose mode of life and manners resembled those of the rudest savages which we have de­scribed. But about a period correspon [...]ing to the beginning of the tenth century in the Christian aera, several tribes moved in successive migrations from unknown regions towards the north and north-west, and settled in different provinces of Anahuac, the ancient name of New-Spain. These, more civilized than the original inhabitants, began to form them to the arts o [...] social life. At length, towards the commencement of the thirteenth cen­tury, the Mexicans, a people more polished than any of the former, advanced from the border of the Californian gulf, and took possession of the plains adjacent to the great lake near the centre of the country. After residing there about fifty years, they founded a town, since distinguished by the name of Mexico, which from humble beginnings soon grew to be the most considerable city in the New World. The Mexicans, long after they were established in their new possessions, continued, like other martial tribes in America, unacquainted with regal dominion, and were governed in peace, and conducted in war, by such as were entitled to pre­eminence by their wisdom or their valour. But among them, as in other states whose power and territories become extensive, the supreme authority centered at last in a single person; and when the Spaniards under Cortes invaded the country, Mon­tezuma was the ninth monarch in order who had swayed the Mexican sceptre, not by hereditary right, but by election.

SUCH is the traditional tale of the Mexicans con­cerning the progress of their own empire.Very re­cent. Ac­cor [...]ing to this, its duration was very short. From the first migration of their parent tribe, they can [Page 276] reckon little more than three hundred years. From the establishment of monarchical government, not above a hundred and thirty years, according to one account^*, or a hundred and ninety-seven, ac­cording to another computation^†, had elapsed. If, on one hand, we suppose the Mexican state to have been of higher antiquity, and to have sub­sisted during such a length of time as the Spanish accounts of its civilization would naturally lead us to conclude, it is difficult to conceive how, among a people who possessed the art of recording events by pictures, and who considered it as an essential part of their national education, to teach their children to repeat the historical songs which cele­brated the exploits of their ancestors^‡, the know­ledge of past trans [...]ctions should be so slender and limited. If, on the other hand, we adopt their own system with respect to the antiquities of their nation, it is no less difficult to account either for that improved state of society, or for the extensive dominion to which their empire had attained when first visited by the Spaniards. The infancy of na­tions is so long, and, even when every circumstance is favourable to their progress, they advance so slowly towards any maturity of strength or policy, that the recent origin of the Mexicans seems to be a strong presumption of some exaggeration, in the splendid descriptions which have been given of their government and manners.

Facts which prove [...]heir progress in civiliza­tion.BUT it is not by theory or conjectures that his­tory decides with regard to the state or character of nations. It produces facts as the foundation of every judgment which it ventures to pronounce. In [Page 277] collecting those which must regulate our opinion in the present inquiry, some occur that suggest an idea of considerable progress in civilization in the Mexican empire, and others which seem to indi­cate that it had advanced but little beyond the sa­vage tribes aroun [...] it. Both shall be exhibited to the view of the reader, that, from comparing them, he may determine on which side the evidence pre­ponderates.

IN the Mexican empire,The right of property [...]lly esta­blished. the right of private pro­perty was perfectly understood, and established in its full extent. Among several savage tribes, we have seen, that the idea of a title to the separate and exclusive possession of any object was hardly known; and that among all, it was extremely limited and ill-defined. But in Mexico, where agriculture and industry had made some progress, the distinction be­tween property in land and property in goods had taken place. Both might be transferred from one person to another by sale or barter; both might de­scend by inheritance. Every person who could be denominated a freeman had property in land. This, however, they held by various tenures. Some pos­sessed it in full right, and it descended to their heirs. The title of others to their lands was derived from the office or dignity which they enjoyed; and when deprived of the latter, they lost possession of the former. Both these modes of occupying land were deemed noble, and peculiar to citizens of the highest class. The tenure, by which the great body of the people held their property, was very different. In every district a certain quantity of land was measured out in proportion to the num­ber of families. This was cultivated by the joint labour of the whole; its produce was deposited in a common storehouse, and divided among them according to their respective exigencies. The [Page 278] members of the Calpulle, or associations, could not alienate their share of the common estate; it was an indivisible permanent property, destined for the support of their families^*. In consequence of this distribution of the territory of the state, every man had an interest in its welfare, and the happi­ness of the individual was connected with the pub­lic security.

The num­ber and greatness of their cities.ANOTHER striking circumstance, which distin­guishes the Mexican empire from those nations in America we have already described, is the num­ber and greatness of its cities. While society con­tinues in a rude state, the wants of men are so few, and they stand so little in need of mutual as­sistance, that their inducements to crowd together are extremely feeble. Their in [...]ustry at the same time is so imperfect, that it cannot secure subsist­ence for any considerable number of families set­tled in one spot. They live dispersed, at this pe­riod, from choice as well as from necessity, or at the utmost assemble in small hamlets on the banks of the river which supplies them with food, or on the border of some plain left open by nature, or cleared by their own labour. The Spaniards, ac­customed to this mode of habitation among all the savage tribes with which they were hitherto ac­quainted, were astonished, on entering New Spain, to find the natives residing in towns of such extent as resembled those of Europe. In the first fervour of their admiration, they compared Zempoalla, though a town only of the second or third size, to the ci­ties of greatest note in their own country. When, afterwards, they visited in succession Tlascala, Cho­lula, Tacuba, Tezeuco, and Mexico itself, their [Page 279] amazement increased so much, that it led them to convey i [...]eas of their magnitude and populousness bordering on what is incredible. Even when there is leisure for observation, and no interest that leads to deceive, conjectural estimates of the num­ber of people in cities are extremely loose, and usually much exaggerated. It is not surprising, then, that Cortes and his companions, little ac­customed to such computations, and powerfully tempted to magnify, in order to exalt the merit of their own discoveries and conquests, should have been betrayed into this common error, and have raised their descriptions considerably above truth. For this reason, some considerable abatement ought to be ma [...]e from their calculations of the number of inhabitants in the Mexican cities, and we may fix the standard of their population much lower than they have done; but still they will appear to be cities of such consequence, as are not to be found but among people who have made some considerable progress in the arts of social life^*. From their accounts, we can hardly suppose Mexi­co, the capital of the empire, to have contained few­er than sixty thousand inhabitants.

THE separation of professions among the Mexi­cans is a symptom of improvement no less remark­able. Arts, in the early ages of society,The sepa­ration of professions. are so few and so simple, that each man is sufficiently master of them all, to gratify every demand of his own limited desires. The savage can form his bow, point his arrows, rear his hut, and hollow his ca­noe without calling in the aid of any hand more skilful than his own. Time must have augmented the wants of men, and ripened their ingenuity, be­fore the productions of art became so complicated [Page 280] in their structure, or so curious in their fabric, that a particular course of education was requisite to­wards forming the artificer to expertness in con­trivance and workmanship. In proportion as re­finement spreads, the distinction of professions in­creases, and they branch out into more numerous and minute subdivisions. Among the Mexican [...] this separation of the arts necessary in life had take [...] place to a considerable extent. The functions of the mason, the weaver, the goldsmith, the painter, and of several other crafts, were carried on by dif­ferent persons. Each was regularly instructed in his calling. To it alone his industry was confined; and by assiduous application to one object, together with the persevering patience peculiar to Ameri­cans, their artizans attained to a degree of neatness and perfection in work, far beyond what could have been expected from the rude tools which they em­ployed. Their various productions were brought into commerce; and by the exchange of them in the stated markets held in the cities, not only were their mutual wants supplied^*, in such orderly in­tercourse as characterizes an improved state of so­ciety, but their industry was daily rendered perse­vering and inventive.

The dis­tinction of ranks.THE distinction of ranks established in the Mexi­can empire is the next circumstance that merits attention. In surveying the savage tribes of Ame­rica, we observed, that consciousness of equality, and impatience of subordination, are sentiments na­tural to man in the infancy of civil life. During peace, the authority of a superior is hardly felt among them, and even in war it is but little ac­knowledged. Strangers to the idea of property, [Page 281] the difference in condition resulting from the ine­quality of it is unknown. Birth or titles confer no pre-eminence; it is only by personal merit and accomplishments that distinction can be acquired. The form of society was very different among the Mexicans. The great body of the people was in a most humiliating state. A considerable number, known by the name of Mayeques, nearly resembling in condition those peasants who, under various de­nominations, were considered, during the prevalence of the feudal system, as instruments of labour at­tached to the soil. The Mayeques could not change their place of residence without permission of the superior on whom they depended. They were conveyed, together with the lands on which they were settled, from one proprietor to another; and were bound to cultivate the ground, and to per­form several kinds of servile work^*. Others were reduced to the lowest form of subjection, that of do­mestic servitude, and felt the utmost rigour of that wretched state. Their condition was held to be so vile, and their lives deemed to be of so little value, that a person who killed one of these slaves was not subjected to any punishment^†. Even those considered as freemen were treate [...] by their haughty lords as beings of an inferior species. The nobles, possessed of ample territories, were divided into various classes, to each of which peculiar titles of honour belonged. Some of these titles, like their lands, descended from father to son in perpetual succession. Others were annexed to particular of­fices, or conferred during life as marks of personal distinction^‡. The monarch, exalted above all, en­joyed extensive power, and supreme dignity. Thus [Page 282] the distinction of ranks were completely established, in a line of regular subordination, reaching from the highest to the lowest member of the commu­nity. Each of these knew what he could claim, and what he owed. The people, who were not allowed to wear a dress of the same fashion, or to dwell in houses of a form similar to those of the nobles, ac­costed them with the most submissive reverence. In the presence of their sovereign, they durst not lift their eyes from the ground, or look him in the face^*. The nobles themselves, when admitted to an audience of their sovereign, entered bare-footed, in mean garments, and, as his slaves, paid him ho­mage approaching to adoration. This respect due from inferiors to those above them in rank, was prescribed with such ceremonious accuracy, that it incorporated with the language, and influenced its genius and idiom. The Mexican tongue abounded in expressions of reverence and courtesy. The stile and appellations, used in the intercourse between equals, would have been so unbecoming in the mouth of one in a lower sphere, when he accosted a person in higher rank, as to be deemed an insult^*. It is only in societies, which time and the institution of regular government have moulded into form, that we find such an orderly arrangement of men into different ranks, and such nice attention paid to their various rights.

Their poli­ti [...] [...]i­tution.THE spirit of the Mexicans, thus familiarized and bended to subordination, was prepared for sub­mitting to monarchial government. But the de­scriptions of their policy and laws, by the Spa­niards who overturned them, are so inaccurate and contradictory, that it is difficult to delineate the form of their constitution with any precision. Some­times [Page 283] they represent the monarchs of Mexico as absolute, deciding according to their pleasure, with respect to every operation of the state. On other occasions we discover the traces of established customs and laws, framed in order to circumscribe the power of the crown, and we meet with rights and privileges of the nobles which seem to be op­posed as barriers against its encroachments. This appearance of inconsistency has arisen from inat­tention to the innovations of Montezuma upon the Mexican policy. His aspiring ambition subverted the original system of government, and introduced a pure despotism. He disregarded the ancient laws, violated the privileges hel [...] most sacred, and reduced his subjects of every order to the level of slaves^*. The chiefs, or nobles of the first rank, submitted to the yoke with such reluctance, that, from impatience to shake it off, and hope of re­covering their rights, many of them courted the protection of Cortes, and joined a foreign power against their domestic oppressor^†. It is not then under the dominion of Montezuma, but under the government of his predecessors, that we can dis­cover what was the original form and genius of Mexican policy. From the foundation of the mo­narchy to the election of Montezuma, it seems to have subsisted with little variation. That body of citizens, which may be distinguished by the name of nobility, formed the chief and most respec [...]ble order in the state. They were of various ranks, as has been already observed, and their honours were acquired and transmitted in different manners. Their number seems to have been great. Accord­ing to an author accustomed to examine with at­tention [Page 284] what he relates, there were in the Mexican empire thirty of this order, each of whom had in his territories about an hundred thousand peo­ple, and subordinate to these, there were about three thousand nobles of a lower class^*. The ter­ritories belonging to the chiefs of Tezeuco and Tacuba were hardly inferior in extent to those of the Mexican monarch^†. Each of these possessed complete territorial jurisdiction, and levied taxes from their own vassals. But all followed the stand­ard of Mexico in war, serving with a number of men in proportion to their domain, and most of them pain tribute to its monarch as their superior lord.

IN tracing those great lines of the Mexican con­stitution, an image of feudal policy, in its most rigid form, rises to view, and we discern its three distinguishing characteristics, a nobility possessing almost independent authority, a people depressed into the lowest state of subjection, and a king en­trusted with the executive power of the state. Its spirit and principles seem to have operated in the New World in the same manner as in the ancient. The jurisdiction of the crown as extremely limited. All real and effective authority was retained by the Mexican nobles in their own hands, and the shadow of it only left to the king. Jealous to excess of their own rights, they guarded with the most vigi­lant anxiety against the encroachments of their so­vereigns. By a fundamental law of the empire, it was provided that the king should not determine concerning any point of general importance, with­out the approbation of a council composed of the [Page 285] prime nobility^*. Unless he obtained their consent he could not engage the nation in war, nor could he dispose of the most considerable branch of the public revenue at pleasure; it was appropriated to certain purposes from which it could not be di­verted by the regal authority alone^†. In order to secure full effect to those constitutional restraints, the Mexican nobles did not permit their crown to descend by inheritance, but disposed of it by election. The right of election seems to have been originally vested in the whole body of nobility, but was after­wards committed to six electors, of whom the Chiefs of Tezeuco and Tacuba were always two. From respect for the family of their monarchs, the choice fell generally upon some person sprung from it. But as the activity and valour of their prince were of greater moment to a people perpetually en­gaged in war, than a strict adherence to the order of birth, collaterals of mature age or of distin­guished merit were often preferred to those who were nearer the throne in direct descent^‡. To this maxim in their policy, the Mexicans appear to be indebted for such a succession of able and warlike princes, as raised their empire in a short period to that extraordinary height of power which it had attained when Cortes landed in New Spain.

WHILE the jurisdiction of the Mexican monarchs continued to be limited,Power and splendour of their mo­narchs. it is probable that it was exercised with little ostentation. But as their autho­rity became more extensive, the splendour of their government augmented. It was in this last state [Page 286] that the Spaniards beheld it; and struck with the appearance of Montezuma's court, they describe its pomp at great length, and with much admira­tion. The number of his atten [...]ants, the order, the silence, and the reverence with which they ser­ved him; the extent of his royal mansion, the variety of its apartments allotted to different officers, and the ostentation with which his grandeur was displayed, whenever he permitted his subjects to behold him, seem to resemble the magnifi­cence of the ancient monarchies in Asia, rather than the simplicity of the infant states in the New World.

Order of their go­vernment.BUT it was not in the mere parade of royalty that the Mexican potentates exhibited their power, they manifested it more beneficially in the order and regularity with which they conducted the in­ternal administration and police of their dominions. Complete jurisdiction, civil as well as criminal, over its own immediate vassals, was vested in the crown. Judges were appointed for each depart­ment, and if we may rely on the account, which the Spanish writers give of the maxims and laws upon which they founded their decisions with re­spect to the distribution of property and the punish­ment of crimes, justice was a ministered in the Mexican empire with a degree of order and equity resembling what takes place in societies highly ci­vilized.

Provision for the support of it.THEIR attention in providing for the support of government was not less sagacious. Taxes were laid upon land, upon the acquisitions of industry, and upon commodities of every kind exposed to sale in the public markets. These duties were considerable, but not arbitrary or unequal. They were imposed according to established rules, and each knew what share of the common burden he [Page 287] had to bear. As the use of money was unknown, all the taxes were paid in kind, and thus not only the natural productions of all the different pro­vinces in the empire, but every species of manufac­ture, and every work of ingenuity and art, were collected in the public store-houses. From those the emperor supplied his numerous train of attend­ants in peace, and his armies during war, with food, with clothes, and ornaments. People of inferior condition, neither possessing land nor engaged in commerce, were bound to the performance of va­rious services. By their stated labour the crown-lands were cultivated, public works were carried on, and the various houses belonging to the emperor were built and kept in repair^†.

THE improved state of government among the Mexicans is conspicuous,Their po­lice. not only in points essen­tial to the being of a well-ordered society, but in several regulations of inferior consequence with re­spect to police. The institution which I have al­ready mentioned, of public couriers, stationed at proper intervals, to convey intelligence from one part of the empire to the other, was a refinement in police not introduced into any kingdom of Eu­rope at that period. The structure of the capital city in a lake, with artificial dykes, and causeways of great length, which served as avenues to it from different quarters, erected in the water, with no less ingenuity than labour, seems to be an idea that could not have occured to any but a civilized people. The same observation may be applied to the structure of the aqueducts, or conduits, by which they conveyed a stream of fresh water, from a considerable distance, into the city, along one [Page 288] of the causeways^*. The appointment of a num­ber of persons to clean the streets, to light them by fires kindled in different places, and to patrole as watchmen during the night^†, discovers a degree of attention which even polished nations are late in ac­quiring.

Their arts.THE progress of the Mexicans in various arts, i [...] considered as the most decisive proof of their supe­rior refinement. Cortes, and the early Spanish au­thors, describe this with rapture, and maintain, that the most celebrate▪ European artists could not surpass or even equal them in ingenuity and neatness of workmanship. They represented men, animals, and other objects, by such a disposition of various coloured feathers, as is said to have pro­duced all the effects of light and shade, and to have imitated nature with truth and delicacy. Their ornaments of gold and silver have been described to be of a fabrick no less curious. But in forming any idea, from general descriptions, concerning the state of arts among nations imperfectly polished, we are extremely ready to err. In examining the works of people whose advances in improvement are nearly the same with our own, we view them with a critical, and often with a jealous eye. Whereas, when conscious of our own superiority, we survey the arts of nations comparatively rude, we are astonished at works executed by them un­der such manifest disadvantages, and, in the warmth of our admiration, are apt to represent them as productions more finished than they really are. To the influence of this allusion, without supposing any intention to deceive, we may impute the exag­geration of some Spanish authors, in their accounts of Mexican arts.

[Page 289]IT is not from those descriptions, but from con­sidering such specimens of their arts as are still pre­served, that we must decide concerning their de­gree of merit. As the ship in which Cortes sent to Charles V. the most curious productions of the Mexican artisans, which were collected by the Spaniards when they first pillaged the empire, was taken by a French corsair^*, the remains of their ingenuity are less numerous than those of the Pe­ruvians. Whether any of their works with fea­thers, in imitation of painting, be still extant in Spain, I have not learned; but many of their or­naments in gold and silver, as well as various utensils employed in common life, are deposited in the magnificent cabinet of natural and artificial productions, lately opened by the king of Spain; and I am informed by persons on whose judgment and taste I can rely, that these boasted efforts of their art are uncouth representations of common ob­jects, or very coarse images of the human and some other forms, destitute of grace and propriety^†. The justness of these observations is confirmed by inspecting the wooden prints and copper-plates of their paintings, which have been published by va­rious authors. In them every figure of men, of quadrupeds, or birds, as well as every representa­tion of inanimated nature, is extremely rude and awkward^‡. The hardest Egyptian style, stiff and [Page 290] imperfect as it was, is more elegant. The scrawls of children delineate objects almost as accurately.

[Page 291]BUT however low the Mexican paintings may be ranked, when viewed merely as works of art, a very different station belongs to them, when con­sidered as the records of their country, as historical monuments of its policy and transactions; and they become curious as well as interesting objects of attention. The noblest and most beneficial inven­tion of which human ingenuity can boast, is that of writing. But the first essays of this art, which hath contributed more than all others to the im­provement of the species were very rude, and it advanced towards perfection slowly, and by a gra­dual progression. When the warrior, eager for fame, wished to transmit some knowledge of his exploits to succeeding ages; when the gratitude of a people to their sovereign prompted them to hand down an account of his beneficent deeds to poste­rity; the first method of accomplishing this, which seems to have occurred to them, was to delineate, in the best manner they could, figures representing the action of which they were solicitous to preserve the memory. Of this, which has very properly been called picture-writing ^*, we find traces among some of the most savage tribes of America. When a leader returns from the field, he strips a tree of its bark, and with red paint scratches upon it some uncouth figures which represent the order of his march, the number of his followers, the enemy whom he attacked, the scalps and captives which he brought home. To those simple annals he trusts for renown, and soothes himself with hope that by their means he shall receive praise from the warri­ors of future times^†.

[Page 292]COMPARED with those awkward essays of their savage countrymen, the paintings of the Mexicans may be considered as works of composition and de­sign. They were not acquainted, it is true, with any other method of recording transactions, than that of delineating the objects which they wished to represent. But they could exhibit a more com­plex series of events in progressive order, and de­scribe, by a proper [...]isposition of figures, the oc­currences of a king's reign from his accession to his death; the progress of an infant's education from its birth until it attain to the years of ma­turity; the [...]ifferent recompences and marks of distinction conferred upon warriors, in proportion to the exploits which they ha [...] performed. Some singular specimens of this picture-writing have been preserved, which are justly consi [...]ered as the most curious monuments of art brought from the New World. The most valuable of these was published by Purchas in sixty-six plates. It is di­vided into three parts. The first contains the history of the Mexican empire under its ten mo­narchs. The second is a tribute-roll, representing what each conquered town paid into the royal treasury. The third is a code of their institutions, domestic, political, and military. Another speci­men of Mexican painting has been published in thirty-two plates, by the present archbishop of Toledo. To both are annexed a full explanation of what the figures were intended to represent, which was obtained by the Spaniards from Indians well acquainted with their own arts. The style of painting in all these is the same. They represent things, not words. They exhibit images to the eye, not ideas to the understanding. They may, therefore, be considered as the earliest and most imperfect essay of men in their progress towards [Page 293] discovering the art of writing. The defects in this mode of recording transactions must have been early felt. To paint every occurrence was from its nature, a very te [...]ious operation; and as affairs became more complicated, and events multiplied in any society, its annals must have swelled to an enormous bulk. Besides this, no objects could be delineated but those of sense; the conceptions of the mind had no corporeal form, and as long as picture-writing could not convey an i [...]ea of these, it must have been a very imperfect art. The ne­cessity of improving it must have rouzed and sharp­ened invention, and the human mind holding the same course in the New World as in in the Old, might have advanced by the same successive steps, first, from an actual picture to the plain hierogly­phic; next, to the allegorical symbol; then to the arbitrary character; until, at length, an alphabet of letters was discovered, capable of expressing all the various combinations of sound employed in speech. In the paintings of the Mexicans we, ac­cordingly, perceive, that this progress was begun among them. Upon an attentive inspection of the plates, which I have mentioned, we may observe some approach to the plain or simple hieroglyphic, where some principal part or circumstance in the subject is made to stand for the whole. In the an­nals of their kings, published by Purchas, the towns conquered by each are uniformly represented in the same manner by a rude delineation of a house; but in order to point out the particular towns which submitted to their victorious arms, peculiar emblems, sometimes natural objects, and sometimes artificial figures, are employed. In the tribute-roll published by the archbishop of To­ledo, the house which was properly the picture of the town, is omitted, and the emblem alone is em­ployed [Page 294] to represent it. The Mexicans seem even to have made some advances beyond this, to­wards the use of the more figurative and fanciful hieroglyphic. In order to describe a monarch, who had enlarged his dominions by force of arms, they painted a target ornamented with arts, and placed it between him and those towns which he subdued. But it is only in one instance, the no­tation of numbers, that we discern any attempt to exhibit ideas which had no corporeal form. The Mexican painters had invented artificial marks, or signs of convention, for this purpose. By means of these, they computed the years of their kings' reigns, as well as the amount of tribute to be paid into the royal treasury. The figure of a circle represented unit, and in small numbers, the computation was made by repeating it. Larger numbers were expressed by a peculiar mark, and they had such as denoted all integral numbers, from twenty to eight thousand. The short dura­tion of their empire prevented the Mexicans from advancing farther in that long course which con­ducts men from the labour of delineating real ob­jects, to the simplicity and ease of alphabetic writing. Their records, notwithstanding some dawn of such ideas as might have led to a more perfect style, can be considered as little more than a species of picture-writing, so far improved as to mark their superiori­ty over the the savage tribes of America; but still so defective, as to prove that they had not proceed­ed far beyond the first stage in that progress which must be completed before any people can be ranked among polished nations ^*.

THEIR mode of computing time may be consi­dered as a more decisive evidence of their progress [Page 295] in improvement. They divided their year into eighteen months, each consisting of twenty days, amounting in all to three hundred and sixty. But as they observed that the course of the sun was not completed in that time, they added five days to the year. These, which were properly intercalary days, they termed supernumerary or waste; and as they did not belong to any month, no work was done, and no sacred rite performed on them; they were devoted wholly to festivity and pastime ^*. This near approach to philosophical accuracy is a re­markable proof that the Mexicans had bestowed some attention upon inquiries and speculations, to which men in a very rude state never turn their thoughts^†.

SUCH are the most striking particulars in the manners and p [...]licy of the Mexicans,Facts indi­cating a small pro­gress in ci­vilization. which ex­hibit them to view as a people considerably refined. But from other circumstances, one is apt to suspect that their character, and many of their institutions, did not differ greatly from those of the other inha­bitants of America.

LIKE the rude tribes around them,Their wars continual and [...]ero­cious. the Mexi­cans were incessantly engaged in war, and the mo­tives which prompted them to hostility seem to have been the same. They fought, in order to gratify their vengeance, by shedeing the blood of their enemies. In battle they were chiefly intent on taking prisoners, and it was by the number of these that they estimated the glory of victory. No captive was ever ransomed or spared. All were [Page 296] sacrificed without mercy, and their flesh devoured with the same barbarous joy as among the fiercest savages. On some occasions it rose to even wilder excesses. Their principal warriors covered them­selves with the skins of the unhappy victims, and danced about the streets, boasting of their own va­lour, and exulting over their enemies ^*. Even in their civil institutions we discover traces of that barbarous disposition which their system of war inspired. The four chief counsellors of the em­pire were distinguishe [...] by titles, which could have been assumed only by a people who [...]elighted in bloo [...] ^†. This ferocity of character prevailed among all the nations of New Spain. The Tlas­calans, the people of Mechoacan, and other states at enmity with the Mexicans, delighted equally in war, and treated their prisoners with the same cruelty. In proportion as mankind combined in social union, and live under the influence of equal laws and regular policy, their manners soften, sen­timents of humanity arise, and the rights of the species come to be understood. The fierceness of war abates, and even while engaged in hostility, men remember what they owe one to another. The savage fights to destroy, the citizen to conquer. The former neither pities nor spares, the latter has acquired sensibility which tempers his rage. To this sensibility the Mexicans seem to have been per­fect strangers, and among them war was carried on with so much of its original barbarity, that we can­not but suspect their degree of civilization to have been very imperfect.

Their fune­ral rites.THEIR funeral rites were not less bloody than those of the most savage tribes. On the death of [Page 297] any distinguished personage, especially of the Em­peror, a certain number of his attendants were cho­sen to accompany him to the other World, and those unfortunate victims were put to death without mercy, and buried in the same tomb ^*.

THOUGH their agriculture was more extensive than that of the roving tribes who trusted chiefly to their bow for food,Their agri­cultu [...]e im­perfect. it seems not to have supplied them with such subsistence as men require when en­gaged in efforts of active industry. The Spaniards appear not to have been struck with any superiority of the Mexicans over the other people of America in bodily vigour. Both, according to their obser­vation, were of such a feeble frame as to be unable to endure fatigue, and the strength of one Spaniard exceeded that of several Indians. This they impu­ted to their scanty diet, on poor fare, sufficient to preserve life, but not to give firmness to the consti­tution. Such a remark could hardly have been made with respect to any people furnished plentifully with the necessaries of life. The difficulty which Cortes found in procuring subsistence for his small body of soldiers, who were often constrained to live on the spontaneous productions of the earth, seems to confirm the remark of the Spanish writers, and gives no high idea of the state of cultivation in the Mexican empire^†.

A PRACTICE that was universal in New Spain ap­pears to favour this opinion. The Mexican women gave suck to their children for several years, and du­ring that time they did not cohabit with their hus­bands^‡. This precaution against a burdensome in­crease of progeny, though necessary, as I have already [Page 298] observed, among savages, who, from the hardships of their condition, and the precariousness of their subsistence, find it impossible to rear a numerous family, can hardly be supposed to have continued among a people who lived at ease and in abun­dance.

Doubts concerning the extent of the em­pire.THE vast extent of the Mexican empire, which has been considered, and with justice, as the most decisive proof of a considerable progress in regular government and police, is one of those facts in the history of the New World which seems to have been admitted without due examination or suffi­cient evidence. The Spanish historians, in order to magnify the valour of their countrymen, are ac­customed to represent the dominion of Montezuma as stretching over all the provinces of New Spain from the northern to the Southern Ocean. But a great part of the mountainous country was possessed by the Otomies, a fierce uncivilized peo­ple, who seem to have been the residue of the ori­ginal inhabitants. The provinces towards the north and west of Mexico were occupied by the Chiche­mecas, and other tribes of hunters. None of these recognized the Mexican monarch as their superior. Even in the interior and more level country, there were several cities and provinces which had never submitted to the Mexican yoke. Tlascala, though only twenty-one leagues from the capital of the empire, was an independent and hostile republic. Cholula, though still nearer, had been subjected only a short time before the arrival of the Spa­niards. Tepeaca, at the distance of thirty leagues from Mexico, seems to have been a separate state, governed by its own laws^*. Mechoucan, the fron­tier of which extended within forty leagues of Mexi­co, was a powerful kingdom, remarkable for its [Page 299] implacable enmity to the Mexican name ^*. By these hostile powers the Mexican empire was cir­cumscribed on every quarter, and the high ideas which we are apt to form of it from the description of the Spanish historians, should be considerably moderated.

IN consequence of this independence of several states in New Spain upon the Mexican empire,Little in­tercourse a­mong its several pro­vinces. there was not any considerable intercourse between its various provinces. Even in the interior coun­try not far distant from the capital, there seem to have been no roads to facilitate the communication of one district with another; and when the Spa­niards first attempted to penetrate into its several provinces, they had to open their way through forests and marshes^†. Cortes, in his adventurous march from Mexico to Honduras in 1525, met with obstructions, and endured hardships, little inferior to those with which he must have struggled in the most uncivilized regions of America. In some places he could hardly force a passage through impervious woods, and plains overflowed with water. In others he found so little cultivation, that his troops were frequently in danger of perishing by famine. Such facts correspond ill with the pompous description which the Spanish writers give of Mexican police and industry, and convey an idea of a country nearly similar to that possessed by the Indian tribes in North America. Here and there a trading or a war path, as they are called in North America, led from one settlement to another^‡, but generally there appeared no sign of any established communica­tion, few marks of industry, and fewer monuments of art.

[Page 300]A PROOF of this imperfection in their commer­cial intercourse no less striking, is their want of money,A [...] proofs of this. or some universal standard by which to esti­mate the value of commodities. The discovery of this is among the steps of greatest consequence in the progress of nations. Until it has been made, all their transactions must be so awkward, so ope­ro [...]e, and so limited, that we may boldly pronounce that they have advanced but a little way in their career. The invention of such a commercial standard is of such high antiquity in our hemi­sphere, and rises so far beyond the aera of authen­tic history, as to appear almost coeval with the ex­istence of society. The precious metals seem to have been early employed for this purpose, and from their permanent value, their divisibility, and many other qualities, they are better adapted to serve as a common standard than any other substance of which nature has given us the command. But in the New World, where these metals abound most, this use of them was not known. The exigencies of ru [...]e tribes, or of monarchies imperfectly civi­lized, did not call for it. All their commercial in­tercourse was carried on by barter, and their igno­rance of any common standard by which to facili­tate that exchange of commodities which contri­butes so much towards the comfort of life, may be justly mentioned as an evidence of the infant state of their policy. But even in the New Word the inconveniance of wanting some general instrument of commerce began to be felt, and some efforts were made towards supplying that defect. The Mexicans, among whom the number and greatness of their c [...]s gave rise to a more extende [...] com­merce than in any other part of America, had began to employ a common standard of value, which ren­dered smaller transactions much more easy. As [Page 301] chocolate was the favourite drink of persons in every rank of life, the nuts or almonds of cocao, of which it is composed, were of such universal consumption, that, in their stated markets, these were willingly received in return for commodities of small pri [...]. Thus they came to be considered as the instrument of commence, and the value of what one wished to dispose of was estimated by the number of nuts of the cacao, which he might ex­pect in exchange for it. This seems to be the ut­most l [...]th which the Americans had advanced to­wards the discovery of any expedient for supplying the use of money. And if the want of it is to be held, on one hand, as a proof of their barbarity, this expedient for supplying that want, should be admitted on the other, as an evidence no less satis­fying, of some progress which the Mexicans had made in refinement and civilization, beyond the savage tribes around them.

IN such a rude state were many of the Mexican provinces when first visited by their conquerors.Doubts [...] [...]ning the [...] of their cities. Even their cities, extensive and populous as they were, seem more fit to be the habitation of men just emerging from barbarity, than the residence of a polished people. The description of Tlascala nearly resembles that of an Indian village. A number of low straggling huts, scattered about irregularly, according to the caprice of each pro­prietor, built with turf and stone and thatched with reeds, without any light but what they re­ceived by a door, so low that it could not be en­tered upright^*. In Mexico, though, from the peculiarity of its situation, the disposition of the houses was more orderly, the structure of the greater part was equally mean. Nor does the fa­bric [Page 302] of their temples, and other public edifices, ap­pear to have been such as entitled them to the high praises bestowed upon them by many Spanish authors.Temp [...]s, As far as one can gather from their ob­scure and inaccurate descriptions, the great temple of Mexico, the most famous in New Spain, which has been represented as a magnificent building, raised to such a height, that the ascent to it was by a slight of a hundred and fourteen steps, was a solid mass of earth of a square form, faced partly with stone. Its base on each side extended ninety feet, and decreasing gradually as it advanced in height, it terminated in a quadrangle of about thirty feet, where were placed a shrine of the deity, and two altars on which the victims were sacri­ficed ^*. All the other celebrated temples of New Spain exactly resembled that of Mexico^†. Such structures convey no high idea of progress in art and ingenuity; and one can hardly conceive that a form more rude and simple could have occurred to a nation in its first efforts towards erecting any great work.

and other public buildings.GREATER skill and ingenuity were displayed, if we may believe the Spanish historians, in the houses of the emperor and in those of the principal no­bility. There, some elegance of design was vi­sible, and a commodious arrangement of the apart­ments was attended to. But if buildings corre­sponding to such descriptions had ever existed in the Mexican cities, it is probable that some re­mains of them would still be visible. From the manner in which Cortes conducted the siege of Mexico, we can indeed easily account for the total destruction of whatever had any appearance of splendour in that capital. But as only two centuries [Page 303] and a half have elapsed since the conquest of New Spain, it seems altogether incredible that in a pe­riod [...]o short, every vestige of this boasted elegance and grandeur should have disappeared; and that in the other cities, particularly in those which did not suffer by the destructive hand of the conquerors, there are any ruins, which can be considered as mo­numents of their ancient magnificence.

EVEN in a village of the rudest Indians, there are buildings of greater extent and elevation than common dwelling-houses. Such as are destined for holding the council of the tribe, and in which all assemble on occasions of public festivity, may be called stately edifices, when compared with the rest. As among the Mexicans the distinction of rank was established, and property was unequally divided, the number of distinguished structures in their towns would of course be greater than in other parts of America. But these seem not to have been either so solid or magnificent as to merit the pompous epithets which some Spanish authors employ in describing them. It is probable that, though more ornamented, and built on a larger scale, they were erected with the same slight mate­rials which the Indians employed in their common buildings^*, and time, in a space much less than two hundred and fifty years, may have swept away all re­them^†.

FROM this enumeration of facts, it seems, upon the whole, to be evident, that the state of society in Mexico was considerably advanced beyond that of the savage tri [...]s which we have delineated. But it is no [...] manifest, that with respect to any particu­lar, the Spanish accounts of their progress appear to be highly embellished. There is not a more [Page 304] frequent or a more fertile source of deception in de­scribing the manners and arts of savage nations, or of such as are imperfectly civilized, than that of ap­plying to them the names and phrases appropriated to the institutions and refinements of polished life. When the leader of a small tribe, or the head of a rude community, is dignified with the name of king or emperor, the place of his residence can receive no other name but that of his palace; and whatever his attendants may be, they must be called his court. Under such appellations they acquire, in our estimation, an importance and dignity which does not belong to them. The illusion spreads, and giving a false colour to every part of the nar­rative, the imagination is so much carried away with the resemblance, that it becomes difficult to discern objects as they really are. The Spaniards, when they first touched on the Mexican coast, were so much struck with the appearance of attain­ments in policy and in the arts of li [...], far superior to those of the rude tribes with which they were hitherto acquainted, that they fancied they had at length discovered a civilized people in the New World. This comparison between the people of Mexico and their uncultivated neighbours, they appear to have kept constantly in view, and ob­serving with admiration many things which marked the pre-eminence of the former, they employ in describing their imperfect policy and infant arts, such terms as are applicable to the institutions of men far beyond them in improvement. Both these circumstances concur in detracting from the credit due to the descriptions of Mexican manners by the early Spanish writers. By drawing a parallel be­tween them and those of people so much less civi­lized, they raised their own ideas too high. By their mode of describing them, they conveyed [Page 305] ideas to others no less exalted above truth. Later writers have adopted the style of the original histo­rians, and improved upon it. The colours with which De Solis delineates the character, and de­scribes the actions of Montezuma, the splendor of his court, the laws and policy of his empire, are the same that he must have employed in exhibiting to view the monarch and institutions of an highly polished people.

BUT though we may admit, that the warm ima­gination of the Spanish writers has added some em­bellishment to their descriptions, this will not justify the decisive and peremptory tone, with which se­veral authors pronounce all their accounts of the Mexican power, policy and laws, to be the fictions of men who wished to deceive, or who delighted in the marvellous. There are few historical facts that can be ascertained by evidence more unex­ceptionable, than may be produced in support of the material articles, in the description of the Mexican constitution and manners. Eye witnesses relate what they beheld. Men who had resided among the Mexicans, both before and after the conquest, describe institutions and customs which were familiar to them. Persons of professions so different that objects must have presented them­selves to their view under every various aspect; soldiers, priests, and lawyers, all concur in their testimony. Had Cortes ventured to impose upon his sovereign, by exhibiting to him a picture of imaginary manners, there wanted not enemies and rivals who were qualified to detect his deceit, and who would have rejoiced in exposing it. But ac­cording to the just remark of an author, whose in­genuity has illustrated, and whose eloquence has adorned the history of America^*, this supposition [Page 306] is in itself as improbable, as the attempt would have been audacious. Who among the destroyers of this great empire was so enlightened by science, or so attentive to the progress and operations of men in social life, as to frame a fictitious system of policy so well combined and so consistent, as that which they delineate, in their accounts of the Mexican government? Where could they have borrowed the idea of many institutions in legisla­tion and police, to which, at that period, there was nothing parallel in the nations with which they were acquainted? There was not, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, a regular establishment of posts for conveying intelligence to the sovereign of any kingdom in Europe. The same observation will apply to what the Spaniards relate, with re­spect to the structure of the city of Mexico, the regulations concerning its police, and various laws established for the administration of justice, or se­curing the happiness of the community. Whoever is accustomed to contemplate the progress of na­tions, will often, at very early stages of it, discover a premature and unexpected dawn of those ideas, which give rise to institutions that are the pride and ornament of its most advanced period. Even in a state as imperfectly polished as the Mexican empire, the happy genius of some sagacious ob­server, excited or aided by circumstances unknown to us, may have introduced institutions which are seldom found but in societies highly refined. But it is almost impossible that the illiterate conquerors of the New World should have formed in any one instance a conception of customs and laws, beyond the standard of improvement in their own age and country. Or if Cortes had been capable of this, what inducement had those by whom he was superseded to continue the deception? Why should [Page 307] Corita, or Motolinea, or Acosta, have amused their sovereign or their fellow-citizens with a tale purely fabulous?

IN one particular, however,Religion of the Mexi­cans. the guides whom we must follow have represented the Mexicans to be more barbarous, perhaps, than they really were. Their religious tenets, and the rites of their wor­ship, are described by them as wild and cruel in an extreme degree. Religion, which occupies no considerable place in the thoughts of a savage, whose conceptions of any superior power are ob­scure, and his sacred rites few as well as simple, was formed, among the Mexicans, into a regular system, with its complete train of priests, temples, victims, and festivals. This, of itself, is a clear proof that the state of the Mexicans was very dif­ferent from that of the ruder American tribes. But from the extravagance of their religious no­tions, or the barbarity of their rites, no conclusion can be drawn with certainty concerning the degree of their civilization. For nations, long after their ideas begin to enlarge, and their manners to refine, adhere to systems of superstition founded on the crude conceptions of early ages. From the genius of the Mexican religion we may, however, form a most just conclusion with respect to its influence upon the character of the people. The aspect of superstition in Mexico was gloomy and atrocious. Its divinities were clothed with terror, and de­lighted in vengeance. They were exhibited to the people under detestable forms, which created horror. The figures of serpents, of tygers, and of other destructive animals, decorated their temples. Fear was the only principle that inspired their vo­taries. Fasts, mortifications, and penances, all ri­gid, and many of them excruciating to an ex­treme degree, were the means employed to appease [Page 308] the wrath of their gods, and the Mexicans never approached their altars without sprinkling them with blood drawn from their own bodies. But, of all offerings, human sacrifices were deemed the most acceptable. This religious belief, mingling with the implacable spirit of vengeance, and adding new force to it, every captive taken in war was brought to the temple, was devoted as a victim to the deity, and sacrificed with rites no less solemn than cruel^*. The heart and head were the portion con [...]ecrated to the gods; the warrior, by whose prowess the prisoner had been seized, carried off the body to feast upon it with his friends. Under the impression of ideas so dreary and terrible, and accustomed daily to scenes of bloodshed rendered awful by religion, the heart of man must harden and be steeled to every sentiment of humanity. The spirit of the Mexicans was accordingly un­feeling, and the genius of their religion so far counterbalanced the influence of policy and arts, that notwithstanding their progress in both, their manners, instead of softening, became more fierce. To what circumstances it was owing that super­stition assumed such a dreadful form among the Mexicans, we have not sufficient knowledge of their history to determine. But its influence is visible, and produced an effect that is singular in the history of the human species. The manners of the people in the New World who had made the greatest pro­gress in the arts of policy, were, in several re­spects, the most ferocious, and the barbarity of some of their customs exceeded even those of the savage state.

[Page 309]THE empire of Peru boasts of an higher anti­quity than that of Mexico. According to the tra­ditionary accounts collected by the Spaniards,Pretensions of Peru to an high an­tiquity it had subsisted four hundred years, under twelve suc­cessive monarchs. But the knowledge of their ancient story, which the Peruvians could com­municate to their conquerors, must have been both imperfect and uncertain^*.uncertain. Like the other Ame­rican nations, they were totally unacquainted with the art of writing, and destitute of the only means by which the memory of past transactions can be preserved with any degree of accuracy. Even among people to whom the use of letters is known, the a [...]a where the authenticity of history com­mences, is much posterior to the introduction of writing. That noble invention continued, every where, to be long subservient to the common busi­ness and wants of life, before it was employed in recording events, with a view of conveying infor­mation from one age to another. But in no coun­try did ever tradition alone carry down historical knowledge, in any full continued stream, during a period of half the length that the monarchy of Peru is said to have subsisted.

THE Quipos, Defects in [...] re­cords by Quipos. or knots on cords of different co­lours, which are celebrated by authors fond of the marvellous, as if they had been regular annals of the empire, imperfectly supplied the place of writing. According to the obscure description of them by Acosta^†, which Carcilasso de la Vega has adopted with little variation and no improvement, the quipos seem to have been a device for render­ing calculation more expeditious and accurate. By the various colours different objects were denoted, and by each knot a distinct number. Thus an [Page 310] account was taken, and a kind of register kept, of the inhabitants in each province, or of the several productions collected there for public use. But as by these knots, however varied or combined, no moral or abstract idea, no operation or quality of the mind could be represented, they contributed little towards preserving the memory of ancient events and institutions. By the Mexican paintings and symbols, rude as they were, more knowledge of remote transactions seems to have been con­veyed, than the Peruvians could derive from their boasted quipos. Had the latter been even of more extensive use, and better adapted to supply the place of written records, they perished so generally, together with other monuments of Peruvian inge­nuity, in the wreck occasioned by the Spanish con­quest, and the civil wars subsequent to it, that no accession of light or knowledge comes from them. All the zeal of Garcilasso de la Vega, for the honour of that race of monarchs from whom he descended, all the industry of his researches, and the superior advantages with which he car­ried them on, opened no source of information unknown to the Spanish authors who wrote before him. In his Royal Commentaries, [...] confines him­self to illustrate what they had related concerning the antiquities and institutions of Peru^*; and his illustrations, like their accounts, are derived en­tirely from the traditionary tales current among his countrymen.

VERY little credit then is due to the minute de­tails which have been given of the exploits, the battles, the conquests, and private character of the early Peruvian monarchs. We can rest upon no­thing in their story, as authentic, but a few facts, so [Page 311] interwoven in the system of their religion and po­licy, as preserved the memory of them from being lost; and upon the description of such customs and institutions as continued in force at the time of the conquest, and fell under the immediate observation of the Spaniards. By attending carefully to these, and endeavouring to separate them from what ap­pears to be fabulous, or of doubtful authority, I have laboured to form an idea of the Peruvian govern­ment and manners.

THE people of Peru, as I have already observed^*,Origin of their civil policy. had not advanced beyond the rudest form of savage life, when Manco Capac, and his consort Mama Ocollo, appeared to instruct and civilize them. Who these extraordinary personages were, whether they imported their system of legislation and knowledge of arts from some country more improved, or, if natives of Peru, how they acquired ideas so far su­perior to those of the people whom they addressed, are circumstances with respect to which the Peru­vian tradition conveys no information. Manco Capac and his consort, taking advantage of the propensity in the Peruvians to superstition, and par­ticularly of their veneration for the Sun, pretended to be children of that glorious luminary, and to deliver their instructions in his name, and by au­thority from him. The multitude listened and be­lieved. What reformation in policy and manners the Peruvians ascribe to those founders of their empire, and how, from the precepts of the Inca and his consort, their ancestors gradually acquired some knowledge of those arts, and some relish for that industry, which render subsistence secure and life comfortable, hath been formerly related. Those blessings were originally confined within narrow precincts; but in process of time, the successors of [Page 312] Manco Capac extended their dominion over all the regions that stretch to the west of the Andes from Chili to Quito, establishing in every province their peculiar policy and religious institutions.

Founded in religion.THE most singular and striking circumstance in the Peruvian government, is the influence of reli­gion upon its genius and laws. Religious ideas make such a feeble impression on the mind of a savage, that their effect upon his sentiments and manners is hardly perceptible. Among the Mexi­cans, religion, reduced into a regular system, and holding a considerable place in their public insti­tutions, operated with conspicuous efficacy in form­ing the peculiar character of that people. But in Peru, the whole system of civil policy was founded on religion. The Inca appeared not only as a le­gislator, but as the messenger of Heaven. His pre­cepts were received not merely as the injunctions of a superior, but as the mandates of the Deity. His race was to be held sacred; and in order to preserve it distinct, without being polluted by any mixture of less noble blood, the sons of Manco Capac married their own sisters, and no person was ever admitted to the throne who could not claim it by such a pure descent. To those Children of the Sun, for that was the appellation bestowed upon all the offspring of the first Inca, the people looked up with the reverence due to beings of a superior order. They were deemed to be under the im­mediate protection of the deity from whom they issued, and by his every order of the reigning Inca was supposed to be dictated.

Two re­markable effects of this.FROM those ideas two consequences resulted. The authority of the Inca was unlimited and abso­lute, in the most extensive meaning of the words. Whenever the decrees of a prince are considered as the commands of the Divinity, it is not only an act [Page 313] of rebellion, but of impiety, to dispute or oppose his will. Obedience becomes a duty of religion; and as it would be prophane to control a monarch who is believed to be under the guidance of Heaven, [...] abso­lute power of the Inca. and presumptuous to advise him, nothing remains but to submit with implicit respect. This must ne­cessarily be the effect of every government esta­blished on pretensions of intercourse with superior powers. Such accordingly was the blind submission which the Peruvians yielded to their sovereigns. The persons of highest rank and greatest power in their dominions acknowledged them to be of a more exalted nature; and in testimony of this, when admitted into their presence, they entered with a burden upon their shoulders, as an emblem of their servitude, and willingness to bear whatever the Inca was pleased to impose. Among their subjects, force was not requisite to second their commands. Every officer entrusted with the exe­cution of them was revered, and, according to the account of an intelligent observer of Peruvian manners^*, he might proceed alone from one extre­mity of the empire to another without meeting op­position; for, on producing a fringe from the royal Borla, an ornament of the head peculiar to the reigning Inca, the lives and fortunes of the people were at his disposal.

ANOTHER consequence of establishing govern­ment in Peru on the foundation of religion was,All crimes punished capitally. that all crimes were punished capitally. They were not considered as transgressions of human laws, but as insults offered to the Deity. Each, without any distinction between such as were slight and such as were atrocious, called for vengeance, and could be expiated only by the blood of the offender. [Page 314] Consonantly to the same ideas, punishment followed the trespass with inevitable certainty, because an offence against Heaven was deemed such an high enormity as could not be pardoned^*. Among a people of corrupted morals, maxims of jurisprudence so severe and unrelenting, by rendering men fero­cious and desperate, would be more apt to multiply crimes than to restrain them. But the Peruvians, of simple manners and unsuspicious faith, were held in such awe by this rigid discipline, that the number of offenders was extremely small. Vene­ration for monarchs, enlightened and directed, as they believed, by the divinity whom they adored, prompted them to their duty; the dread of pu­nishment, which they were taught to consider as unavoidable vengeance inflicted by offended Hea­ven, withheld them from evil.

Mild geni­us of their religion.THE system of superstition on which the Incas ingrafted their pretensions to such high authority, was of a genius very different from that established among the Mexicans. Manco Capac turned the veneration of his followers entirely towards natural objects. The Sun, as the great source of light, of joy, and fertility in the creation, attracted their principal homage. The Moon and Stars, as co­ [...]rating with him, were entitled to secondary ho­ [...]. Wherever the propensity in the human mind [...] acknowledge and to adore some superior power, takes this direction, and is employed in contemplating the order and beneficence that really exist in nature, the spirit of superstition is mild. Wherever imaginary beings, created by the fancy and the [...]ars of men, are supposed to preside in nature, and become the objects of worship, su­perstition always assumes a more severe and atro­cious [Page 315] form. Of the latter we have an example among the Mexicans, of the former among the people of Peru. The Peruvians had not, indeed, made such progress in observation or inquiry, as to have attained just conceptions of the deity; nor was there in their language any proper name or appellation of the Supreme Power, which inti­mated, that they had formed any idea of him as the Creator and Governor of the World^*. But by directing their veneration to that glorious luminary, which, by its universal and vivifying energy, is the best emblem of divine beneficence, the ri [...]es and observances which they deemed acceptable to him were innocent and humane. They offered to the Sun a part of those productions which his ge­nial warmth had called sorth from the bosom of the earth, and [...]ea [...]ed to maturity. They sacrificed, as an oblation of gratitude, some of the animals which were indebted to his influence for nourishment. They presented to him choice specimens of those works of ingenuity which his light had guided the hand of man in forming. But the Incas never stained his altars with human blood, nor could they conceive that their beneficent father the Sun would be delighted with such horrid victims^†. Thus the Peruvians, unacquainted with those bar­barous rites which extinguish sensibility, and sup­press the feelings of nature at the sight of human sufferings, were formed by the spirit of the super­stition which they had adopted, to a national cha­racter, more gentle than that of any people in America.

THE influence of this superstition operated in the same manner upon their civil institutions, [...] influ­ence [...] [...]i­vil policy. and tend­ed to correct in them whatever was adverse to gen­tleness [Page 316] of character. The dominion of the Incas, though the most absolute of all despotisms, was miti­gated by its alliance with religion. The mind was not humbled and depressed by the idea of a forced subjection to the will of a superior; obedience, paid to one who was believed to be clothed with divine authority, was willingly yielded, and im­plied no degradation. The sovereign, conscious that the submissive reverence of his people flowed from their belief of his heavenly descent, was con­tinually reminded of a distinction which prompted him to imitate that beneficent power which he was supposed to represent. In consequence of those impressions, there hardly occurs in the traditional history of Peru, any instance of rebellion against the reigning prince, and among twelve successive monarchs, there was not one tyrant.

and on their military syste [...]EVEN the wars in which the Incas engaged, were carried on with a spirit very different from that of other American nations. They fought not, like savages, to destroy and exterminate; or, like the Mexicans, to glut blood-thirsty divinities with human sacrifices. They conquered, in order to reclaim and civilize the vanquished, and to diffuse the knowledge of their own institutions and arts. Prisoners seem not to have been exposed to the in­sults and tortures, which were their lot in every other part of the New World. The Incas took the people whom they subdued under their pro­tection, and admitted them to a participation of all the advantages enjoyed by their original sub­jects. This practice, so repugnant to American ferocity and resembling the humanity of the most polished [...]tions, must be ascribed, like other pe­culiarities [...]ch we have observed in the Peruvian manners, to the genius of their religion. The Incas, considering the homage paid to any other [Page 317] object than to the heavenly powers which they adored is impious, were fond of gaining proselytes to their favourite system. The idols of every con­quered province were carried in trumph to the great temple at Cuzco^*, and placed there as tro­phies of the superior power of the divinity who was the protector of the empire. The people were treated with lenity, and instructed in the religious tenets of their new masters^†, that the conqueror might have the glory of having added to the num­ber of the votaries of his father the Sun.

THE state of property in Peru was no less sin­gular than that of religion, and contributed,Peculiar state of property. like­wise, towards giving a mild turn of character to the people. All the lands capable of cultivation were divided into three shares. One was conse­crated to the Sun, and the product of it was ap­plied to the erection of temples, and furnishing what was requisite towards celebrating the public rites of religion. The second belonged to the Inca, and was set apart as the provision made by the community for the support of government. The third and largest share was reserved for the maintenance of the people, among whom it was parcelled out. Neither individuals, however, nor communities, had a right of exclusive property in the portion set apart for their use. They possessed it only for a year, at the expiration of which a new division was made in proportion to the rank, the number, and exigencies of each family. All those lands were cultivated by the joint industry of the community. The people, summoned by a proper officer, repaired in a body to the fields, and per­formed their common task, while songs and musical [Page 318] instruments cheered them to their labour^*. By this singular distribution of territory, as well as by the mode of cultivating it,Effects of this. the idea of a common in­terest, and of mutual subserviency, was continually inculcated. Each individual felt his connection with those around him, and knew that he depended on their friendly aid for what increase he was to reap. A state thus constituted may be considered as one great family, in which the union of the members was so complete, and the exchange of good offices so perceptible, as to create stronger attachment, and to bind man to man in closer intercourse, than subsisted under any form of society established in America. From this resulted gentle manners, and mild virtues unknown in the savage state, and with which the Mexicans were little acquainted.

Inequality of ranks.BUT, though the institutions of the Incas were so framed as to strengthen the bonds of affection among their subjects, there was great inequality in their condition. The distinction of ranks was fully established in Peru. A great body of the inhabit­ants, under the denomination of Yanaconas, were held in a state of servitude. Their garb and houses were of a form different from those of free­men. Like the Tamemes of Mexico, they were employed in carrying burdens, and in performing every other work of drudgery^†. Next to them in rank, were such of the people as were free, but distinguished by no official or hereditary honours. Above them were raised, those whom the Spaniards call Orejones, from the ornaments worn in their ears. They formed what may be denominated the order of nobles, and in peace as well as war held every office of power or trust^‡. At the head [Page 319] of all were the children of the Sun, who, by their high descent, and peculiar privileges, were as much exalted above the Orejones, as these were elevated above the people.

SUCH a form of society,State of [...]ts. from the union of its members, as well as from the distinction in their ranks, was favourable to progress in the arts. But the Spaniards having been acquainted with the improved state of various arts in Mexico, several years before they discovered Peru, were not so much struck with what they observed in the latter country, and describe the appearances of ingenuity there with less warmth of admiration. The Peru­vians, nevertheless, had advanced far beyond the Mexicans, both in the necessary arts of life, and in such as have some title to the name of elegant.

IN Peru, agriculture,Improved [...] a­griculture. the art of primary neces­sity in social life, was more extensive, and carried on with greater skill than in any par [...] of America. The Spaniards, in their progress through the coun­try, were so fully supplied with provisions of every kind, that in the relation of their adventures we meet with few of those dismal scenes of distress oc­casioned by famine, in which the conquerors of Mexico were so often involved. The quantity of soil under cultivation was not left to the discretion of individuals, but regulated by public authority in proportion to the exigencies of the community. Even the calamity of an unfruitful season was but little felt, for the product of the lands consecrated to the Sun, as well as those set apart for the Incas, being deposited in the Tambes, or public storehouses, it remained there as a stated provision for times of scarcity^*. As the extent of cultiva­tion was determined with such provident attention [Page 320] to the demands of the state, the invention and in­dustry of the Peruvians were called forth to ex­traordinary exertions, by certain defects peculiar to their climate and soil. All the vast rivers that flow from the Andes take their course eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. Peru is watered only by some streams which rush down from the mountains like torrents. A great part of the low country is sandy and barren, and never refreshed with rain. In order to render such an unpromising region fertile, the ingenuity of the Peruvians had recourse to va­rious expedients. By means of artificial canals conducted, with much patience and considerable art, from the torrents that poured across their country, they conveyed a regular supply of mois­ture to their fields^*. They enriched the soil by manuring it with the dung of sea-fowls, of which they found an inexhaustible store on all the islands scattered along their coasts^†. In describing the customs of any nation thoroughly civilized, such practices would hardly draw attention, or be men­tioned as in any degree remarkable; but in the history of the improvident race of men in the New Worl [...], they are entitled to notice as singular proofs of industry and of art. The use of the plough, indeed, was unknown to the Peruvians. They turned up the earth with a kind of mattock of hard wood^‡. Nor was this labour deemed so degrad­ing as to be devolved wholly upon the women. Both sexes joined in performing this necessary work. Even the children of the Sun set an ex­ample of industry, by cultivating a field near Cuzco with their own hands, and they dignified this func­tion [Page 321] by denominating it their triumph over the earth^*.

THE superior ingenuity of the Peruvians is ob­vious, likewise,Their buildings. in the construction of their houses and public buildings. In the extensive plains which stretch along the Pacific Ocean, where the sky is perpetually serene, and the climate mild, their houses were very properly of a fabric ex­tremely slight. But in the higher regions, where rain falls, where the vicissitude of seasons is known, and their rigour felt, houses were constructed with greater solidity. They were generally of a square form, the walls about eight feet high, built with bricks hardened in the sun, without any windows, and the door low and strait. Simple as these struc­tures were, and rude as the materials may seem to be of which they were formed, they were so durable, that many of them still subsist in different parts of Peru, long after every monument that might have conveyed to us any idea of the domestic state of the other American nations has vanished from the face of the earth. But it was in the tem­ples consecrated to the Sun, and in the buildings destined for the residence of their monarchs, that the Peruvians displayed the utmost extent of their art and contrivance. The descriptions of them by such of the Spanish writers as had an opportunity of contemplating them, while, in some measure, entire, might have appeared highly exaggerated, if the ruins which still remain, did not vouch the truth of their relations. These ruins of sacred or royal buildings are found in every province of the empire, and by their frequency demonstrate that they are monuments of a powerful people, who must have subsisted, during a period of some extent, in [Page 322] a state of no inconsiderable improvement. They appear to have been edifices various in their di­mensions. Some of a moderate size, many of im­mense extent, all remarkable for solidity, and re­sembling each other in the stile of architecture. The temple of Pachacamac, together with a pa­lace of the Inca, and a fortress, were so connected together as to form one great structure, above half a league in circuit. In this prodigious pile, the same singular taste in building is conspicuous, as in other works of the Peruvians. As they were unacquainted with the use of the pulley, and other mechanical powers, and could not elevate the large stones and bricks which they employed in building to any considerable height, the walls of this edi­fice, in which they seem to have made their greatest effort towards magnificence, did not rise above twelve feet from the ground. Though they had not discovered the use of mortar or of any other cement in building, the bricks or stones were join­ed with so much nicety, that the seams can hardly be discerned^*. The apartments, as far as the dis­tribution of them can be traced in the ruins, were ill-disposed, and afforded little accommodation. There was not a single window in any part of the building; and as no light could enter but by the door, all the apartments of largest dimension must either have been perfectly dark, or illuminated by some other means. But with all these, and many other imperfections that might be mentioned in their art of building, the works of the Peruvians which still remain, must be considered as stupen­dous efforts of a people unacquainted with the use of iron, and convey to us an high idea of the power possessed by their ancient monarchs.

[Page 323]THESE, however, were not the noblest or most useful works of the Incas. The two great roads from Cuzco to Quito,The [...] pub­lic roads, extending in an uninter­rupted stretch above fifteen hundred miles, are en­titled to still higher praise. The one was conduct­ed through the interior and mountainous country, the other through the plains on the sea-coast. From the language of admiration in which some of the early writers express their astonishment when they first viewed those roads, and from the more pomp­ous descriptions of later writers, who labour to sup­port some favourite theory concerning America, one might be led to compare this work of the Incas to the famous military ways which remain as monuments of the Roman power: But in a country where there was no tame animal except the Llama, which was never use [...] for draught, and but little as a beast of burden, where the high roads were sel­dom trod by any but a human foot, no great de­gree of labour or art was requisite in forming them. The Peruvian roads were only fifteen feet in breadth^*, and in many places so slightly formed, that time has effaced every vestige of the course in which they ran. In the low country little more seems to have been done, than to plant trees or to fix posts at certain intervals, in order to mark the proper rout to travellers. To open a path through the mountainous country was a more arduous task. Eminences were levelled, and hollows filled up, and for the preservation of the road it was fenced with a bank of turf. At proper distances, Tambos, or storehouses, were erected for the accommoda­tion of the Inca and his attendants, in their progress, through his dominions. From the manner in which the road was originally formed in this higher and [Page 324] more impervious region, it has proved more du­rable; and though, from the inattention of the Spa­niards to every object but that of working their mines, nothing has been done towards keeping it in repair, its course may still be traced^*. Such was the celebrated road of the Incas; and even from this description, divested of every circum­stance of manifest exaggeration, or of suspicious aspect, it must be considered as a striking proof of an extraordinary progress in improvement and po­licy. To the savage tribes of America, the idea of facilitating communication with places at a dis­tance had never occurred. To the Mexicans it was hardly known. Even in the most civilized countries of Europe, men had advanced far in re­finement, before it became a regular object of na­tional police to form such roads as render inter­course commodious. It was a capital object of Roman policy to open a communication with all the provinces of their extensive empire, by means of those roads which are justly considered as one of the noblest monuments both of their wisdom and their power. But during the long reign of barba­rism, the Roman roads were neglected or destroyed; and at the time when the Spaniards entered Peru, no kingdom in Europe could boast of any work of public utility that could be compared with the great roads formed by the Incas.

and bridges.THE formation of those roads introduced another improvement in Peru equally unknown over all the rest of America. In its course from south to north, the road of the Incas was intersected by all the tor­rents which roll from the Andes towards the West­ern [Page 325] Ocean. From the rapidity of their course, as well as from the frequency and violence of their inundation, these were not fordable. Some expe­dient, however, was to be found for passing them. The Peruvians, from their unacquaintance with the use of arches, and their inability to work in wood, could not construct bridges either of stone or tim­ber. But necessity, the parent of invention, sug­gested a device which supplied that defect. They formed cables of great strength, by twisting toge­ther some of the pliable withs or o [...]iers, with which their country abounds; six of these cables they stretched across the stream parallel to one another, and made them fast on each side. These they bound firmly together by interweaving smaller ropes so close, as to form a compact piece of net-work, which being covered with branches of trees and earth, they passed along it with tolerable security^*. Proper persons were appointed to attend at each bridge, to keep it in repair, and to assist passen­gers^†. In the level country, where the rivers be­came deep and broad and still, they are passed in Balzas, or floats; in the construction, as well as navigation of which, the ingenuity of the Peruvi­ans appears to be far superior to that of any people in America. These had advanced no farther in na­val skill than the use of the paddle, or oar; the Pe­ruvians ventured to raise a mast, and spread a sail, by means of which their balzas not only went nim­bly before the wind, but could veer and tack with great celerity^‡.

NOR were the ingenuity and art of the Peruvians confined solely to objects of essential utility.Mo [...]e of re [...]ng [...]l­ver ore. They [Page 326] had made some progress in arts, which may be called elegant. They possessed the precious metals in greater abundance than any people of America. They obtained gold in the same manner with the Mexicans, by searching in the channels of rivers, or washing the earth in which particles of it were con­tained. But in order to procure silver, they ex­erted no inconsiderable degree of skill and inven­tion. They had not, indeed, attained the art of sinking a shaft into the bowels of the earth, and penetrating to the riches concealed there; but they hollowed deep caverns on the banks of rivers and the sides of mountains, and emptied such veins as did not dip suddenly beyond their reach. In other places, where the vein lay near the surface, they dug pits to such a depth, that the person who worked below could throw out the ore, or hand it up in baskets^*. They had discovered the art of smelting and refining this, either by the simple ap­plication of fire, or where the ore was more stub­born, and impregnated with foreign substances, by placing it in small ovens or furnaces, on high grounds, so artificially constructed, that the draught of air performed the function of a bellows, an en­gine with which they were totally unacquainted. By this simple device, the purer ores were smelted with facility, and the quantity of silver in Peru was so considerable, that many of the utensils employed in the functions of common life were made of it^†. Several of those vessels and trinkets are said to have merited no small degree of estimation, on account of the neatness of the workmanship, as well as the intrinsic value of the materials. But as the con­querors [Page 327] of America were well acquainted with the latter, but had scarcely any conception of the former, most of the silver vessels and trinkets were melted down, and rated according to the weight and fineness of the metal in the division of the spoil.

IN other works of mere curiosity or ornament,Works of elegance. their ingenuity has been highly celebrated. Many specimens of those have been dug out of the Gua­cas, or mounds of earth, with which the Peruvians covered the bodies of the dead. Among these are mirrors of various dimensions, of hard shining stones highly polished; vessels of earthen ware of different forms; hatchets, and other instruments, some des­tined for war, and others for labour. Some were of flint, some of copper, hardened to such a degree by an unknown process, as to supply the place of iron on several occasions. Had the use of those tools formed of copper been general, the progress of the Peruvians in the arts might have been such, as to emulate that of more cultivated nations. But either the metal was so rare, or the operation by which it was hardened so tedious, that their instru­ments of copper were few, and so extremely small, that they seem to have been employed only in slighter works. But even to such a circumscribed use of this imperfect metal, the Peruvians were in­debted for their superiority to the other people of America in various arts^*. The same observation, however, may be applied to them, which I for­merly made with respect to the arts of the Mexi­cans. From several specimens of Peruvian utensils and ornaments, which are deposited in the royal ca­binet of Madrid, and from some preserved in dif­ferent [Page 328] collections in other parts of Europe, I have reason to believe that the workmanship is more to be admired on account of the rude tools with which it was executed, than on account of its intrinsic nearness and elegance; and that the Peruvians, though the most improved of all the Americans, were not advanced beyond the infancy of arts.

An imper­fect civili­zation.BUT notwithstanding so many particulars, which seem to indicate an high degree of improvement in Peru, other circumstances occur that suggest the idea of a society still in the first stages of its transi­tion from barbarism to civilization. In all the do­minions of the Incas,No cities but Cuzco. Cuzco was the only place that had the appearance, or was entitled to the name of a city. Every where else, the people lived mostly in detached habitations, dispersed over the country, or, at the utmost, settled together in small vil­lages^*. But until men are brought to assemble in numerous bodies, and incorporated in such close union, as to enjoy frequent intercourse, and to feel mutual dependence, they never imbibe perfectly the spirit, or assume the manners of social life. In a country of immense extent, with only one city, the progress of manners, and the improvement either of the necessary or more refined arts, must have been so slow, and carried on under such disad­vantages, that it is more surprising the Peruvians should have advanced so far in refinement, than that they did not proceed farther.

No perfect separation of profes­sions.IN consequence of this state of imperfect union, the separation of professions in Peru was not so complete as among the Mexicans. The less closely men associate, the more simple are their manners, and the fewer their wants. The crafts of common and most necessary use in life do not, in such a state, [Page 329] become so complex or difficult, as to render it re­quisite that men should be trained to them by any particular course of education. All the arts ac­cordingly, which were of daily and dispensable uti­lity, were exercised by every Peruvian indiscrimin­ately. None but the artists employed in works of mere curiosity or ornament, constituted a separate order of men, or were distinguished from other citizens^*.

FROM the want of cities in Peru,Little com­mercial in­tercourse. another conse­quence followed. There was little commercial in­tercourse among the inhabitants of that great em­pire. The activity of commerce is coeval with the foundation of cities; and from the moment that the members of any community settle in consider­able numbers in one place, its operations become vigorous. The citizen must depend for subsistence on the labour of those who cultivate the ground. They, in return, must receive some equivalent. Thus mutual intercourse is established, and the productions of art are regularly exchanged for the fruits of agriculture. In the towns of the Mexi­can empire, stated markets were held, and what­ever could supply any want or desire of man was an object of commerce. But in Peru, from the singular mode of dividing property, and the man­ner in which the people were settled, there was hardly any species of commerce carried on between different provinces^†, and the community was less acquainted with that active intercourse, which is at once a bond of union, and an incentive to im­provement.

BUT the unwarlike spirit of the Peruvians was the most remarkable,Unwarlike spirit of the Peruvians. as well as most fatal defect in [Page 330] their character^*. The greater part of the rude nations of America opposed their invaders with undaunted ferocity, though with little conduct or success. The Mexicans maintained the struggle in defence of their liberties, with such persevering fortitude, that it was with difficulty the Spaniards triumphed over them. Peru was subbued at once, and almost without resistance; and the most fa­vourable opportunities of regaining their freedom, and of crushing their oppressors, were lost through the timidity of the people. Though the traditional history of the Peruvians represents all the Incas as warlike princes, frequently at the head of armies, which they led to victory and conquest; few symp­toms of such a martial spirit appear in any of their operations subsequent to the invasion of the Spa­niards. The influence, perhaps, of those institu­tions which rendered their manners gentle, gave their minds this unmanly softness; perhaps, the constant serenity and mildness of the climate may have enervated the vigour of their frame; perhaps, some principle in their government, unknown to us, was the occasion of this political debility. What­ever may have been the cause, the fact is certain, and there is not an instance in history of any people [...]o little advanced in refinement, so totally des­titute of military enterprize. This character hath descended to their posterity. The Indians of Peru are now more tame and depressed than any people of America. Their feeble spirits, relaxed in life­less inaction, seem hardly capable of any bold or manly [...]ertion.

BUT, besides those capital defects in the political state of Peru, some detached circumstances and [Page 331] facts occur in the Spanish writers, which discover a considerable remainder of barbarity in their man­ners. A cruel custom, that prevailed in some of the most savage tribes, subsisted among the Peru­vians. On the death of the Incas, and of other eminent persons, a considerable number of their at­tendants was put to death, and interred around their Guacas, that they might appear in the next world with their former dignity, and be served with the same respect. On the death of Huana-Capac, the most powerful of their monarchs, above a thousand victims were doomed to accompany him to the tomb^*. In one particular, their manners appear to have been more barbarous than those of most rude tribes. Though acquainted with the use of fire in preparing maize, and other vegetables for food; they devoured both flesh and fish perfectly raw, and astonished the Spaniards, with a practice repugnant to the ideas of all civilized people^†.

BUT though Mexico and Peru are the possessions of Spain in the New World, which,Other do­minions of Spain in America. on account both of their ancient and present state, have at­tracted the greatest attention; her other domini­ons there are far from being inconsiderable, either in extent or value. The greater part of them was reduced to subjection during the first part of the sixteenth century, by private adventurers, who fitted out their small armaments either in Hispa­niola or in Old Spain; and were we to follow each leader in his progress, we should discover the same daring courage, the same persevering ardour, the same rapacious desire of wealth, and the same ca­pacity of enduring and surmounting every thing in [Page 332] order to attain it, which distinguished the opera­tions of the Spaniards in their greater American conquests. But, instead of entering into a detail, which, from the similarity of the transactions, would appear almost a repetition of what has been already related,A brief sur­vey of them. I shall satisfy myself with such a view of those provinces of the Spanish empire in America, which have not hitherto been mentioned, as may convey to my readers an a equate idea of its great­ness, fertility, and opulence.

Such as are adjacent to the empire of Mexico.I BEGIN with the countries contiguous to the two great monarchies, of whose history and institutions I have given some account, and shall then briefly describe the other districts of Spanish America. The jurisdiction of the viceroy of New Spain ex­tends over several provinces, which were not sub­ject to the dominion of the Mexicans. The coun­tries of Cinaloa and Sonora,Cinaloa and Sonora, &c. that stretch along the east side of the Vermilion sea, or gulf of California as well as the immense kingdoms of New Navarre and New Mexico, which bend towards the west and north, did not acknowledge the sovereignty of Montezuma, or his predecessors. These regions, not inferior in magnitude to all the Mexican em­pire, are reduced some to a greater, others to a less degree of subjection to the Spanish yoke. They extend through the most delightful part of the tem­perate zone; their soil is, in general, remarkably fertile, and all their productions, whether animal or vegetable, are most perfect in their kind. They have all a communication either with the Pacific Ocean or with the Gulph of Mexico, and are wa­tered by rivers which not only enrich them, but may become subservient to commerce. The num­ber of Spaniards settled in those vast countries, is indeed extremely small. They may be said to have subdued rather than to have occupied them. But [Page 333] if the population in their ancient establishments in America shall continue to increase, they may gra­dually spread over those provinces, of which, how­ever inviting, they have not hitherto been able to take full possession.

ONE circumstance may contribute to the speedy population ot some districts.Rich mines Very rich mines both of gold and silver have been discovered in many of the regions which I have mentioned. Wherever these are opened, and worked with success, a mul­titude of people resort. In order to supply them with the necessaries of life, cultivation must be in­creased, artisans of various kinds must assemble, and industry as well as wealth will be gradually diffused. Many examples of this have occurred in different parts of America since they fell under the dominion of the Spaniards. Populous villages and large towns have suddenly arisen amidst uninhabited wilds and mountains; and the working of mines, though far from being the most proper object to­wards which the attention of an infant society should be turned, may become the means both of pro­moting useful activity, and of augmenting the number of people.A recent and remar­kable dis­covery. A recent and singular instance of this has happened, which, as it is but little known in Europe, and may be productive of great effects, merits attention. The Spaniards settled in the provinces of Cinaloe and Sonora, had been long disturbed by the depredations of some fierce tribes of Indians. In the year 1765, the incursions of those savages became so frequent, and so destruc­tive, that the Spanish inhabitants, in despair, ap­plied to the Marquis de Croix, viceroy of Mexico, for such a body of troops as might enable them to drive those formidable invaders from their places of retreat in the mountains. But the treasury of Mexico was so much exhausted by the large sums [Page 334] drawn from it, in order to support the late war against Great Britain, that the viceroy could afford them no aid. The respect due to his virtues, ac­complished what his official power could not effect. He prevailed with the merchants of New Spain to advance about two hundred thousand pesos for defraying the expence of the expedition. The war was conducted by an officer of abilities; and after being protracted for three years, chiefly by the dif­ficulty of pursuing the fugitives over mountains and through defiles which were almost impassable, it terminated, in the year 1771, in the final submis­sion of the tribes, which had been so long the ob­ject of terror to the two provinces. In the course of this service, the Spaniards marched through countries into which they seem not to have pene­trated before that time, and discovered mines of such value, as was astonishing even to men ac­quainted with the riches contained in the mountains of the New World. At Cineguilla, in the province of Sonora, they entered a plain of fourteen leagues in extent, in which, at the depth of only sixteen inches, they found gold in grains of such a size, that some of them weighed nine marks, and in such quantities, that in a short time with a few labour­ers, they collected a thousand marks of gold in grains, even without taking time to wash the earth that had been dug, which appeared to be so rich, that persons of skill computed that it might yield what would be equal in value to a million of pesos. Before the end of the year 1771,Probable effects of this. above two thou­sand persons were settled in Cineguilla, under the government of proper magistrates, and the inspec­tion of several ecclesiastics. As several other mines, not inferior in richness to that of Cineguilla, have been discovered, both in Sonora and Cinaloa^*, it is [Page 335] probable that these neglected and thinly inhabited provinces, may soon become as populous and va­luable as any part of the Spanish empire in America.

THE peninsula of California,California, its state, on the other side of the Vermilion sea, seems to have been less known to the ancient Mexicans, than the provinces which I have mentioned. It was discovered by Cortes in the year 1536^*. During a long period it continued to be so little frequented, that even its form was unknown, and in most charts it was represented as an island, not as a peninsula^†. Though the cli­mate of this country, if we may judge from its situation, must be very desirable; the Spaniards have made small progress in peopling it. Towards the close of the last century, the Jesuits, who had great merit in exploring this neglected province, and in civilizing its rude inhabitants, imperceptibly acquired a dominion over it as complete as that which they possessed in their missions in Paraguay, and they laboured to introduce into it the same po­licy, and to govern the natives by the same maxims. In order to prevent the court of Spain from con­ceiving any jealousy of their designs and operations, they seem studiously to have depreciated the coun­try, by representing the climate as so disagreeable and unwholesome, and the soil as so barren, that nothing but a zealous desire of converting the natives, could have induced them to settle there^‡. Several public-spirited citizens endeavoured to un­deceive their sovereigns, and to give them a bet­ter view of California; but in vain. At length,and proba­bility of its improving. on the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Spanish dominions, the court of Madrid, as prone at that [Page 336] juncture to suspect the purity of the Order's in­tentions, as formerly to confide in them with im­plicit trust, appointed Don Joseph Galvez, whose abilities have since raised him to the high rank of minister for the Indies, to visit that peninsula. His account of the country was favourable; he found the pearl fishery on its coasts to be valuable, and he discovered mines of gold of a very promising appearance^*. From its vicinity to Cinaloa and So­nora, it is probable, that if the population of these provinces shall increase in the manner which I have supposed, California may, by degrees, receive from them such a recruit of inhabitants, as to be no longer reckoned among the desolate and useless districts of the Spanish empire.

Yucatan and Hon­duras.ON the east of Mexico, Yucatan and Honduras are comprehended in the government of New Spain, though anciently they can hardly be said to have formed a part of the Mexican empire. These large provinces, stretching from the Bay of Cam­peachy beyond Cape Gracias a Dios, do not, like the other territories of Spain in the New World, derive their value either from the fertility of their soil, or the richness of their mines; but they pro­duce in greater abundance, than any part of Ame­rica, the logwood tree, which, in dying some co­lours, is so far preferable to any other material, that the consumption of it in Europe is consider­able, and it has become an article in commerce of great value. During a long period, no European nation intruded upon the Spaniards in those pro­vinces, or attempted to obtain any share in this branch of trade. But after the conquest of Ja­maica by the English, it soon appeared what a formidable rival was now seated in the neighbour­hood [Page 337] of the Spanish territories. One of the first objects which tempted the English settled in that [...]and, was the great profit arising from the log­wood trade, and the facility of wresting some por­tion of it from the Spaniards.Their de­cline, Some adventurers from Jamaica made the first attempt at Cape Ca­ [...]che, the south-east promontory of Yucatan, and by cutting logwood there, carried on a gainful traffic. When most of the trees near the coast in that place were felled, they removed to the island of Trist, in the Bay of Campeachy; and in later times, their principal station has been in the Bay of Honduras. The Spaniards, alarmed at this en­croachment, endeavoured by negociation, remon­strances, and open force, to prevent the English from obtaining any footing on that part of the A­merican continent. But after struggling against it for more than a century, the disasters of last war extorted from the Court of Madrid a reluctant consent to tolerate this settlement of foreigners in the heart of its territories^*. The pain which this humbling concession occasioned, seems to have prompted the Spaniards to devise a method of ren­dering it of little consequence, more effectual than all the efforts of negociation or violence. The logwood produced on the west coast of Yucatan, where the soil is drier, is in quality far superior to that which grows on the marshy grounds where the English are settled.and revival. By encouraging the cutting of this, and permitting the importation of it into Spain without paying any duty^†, such vigour has been given to this branch of commerce, and the logwood which the English bring to market has sunk so much in value, that their trade to the Bay [Page 338] of Honduras has gradually declined^* since it ob­tained a legal fanction; and, it is probable, will soon be finally abandoned. In that event, Yucatan and Honduras will become possessions of consider­able importance to Spain.

Costa Rica and Vera­gua.STILL farther east than Honduras lie the two provinces of Costa Rica and Veragua, which like­wise belong to the vice-royalty of New Spain; but both have been so much neglected by the Spaniards, and are apparently of such small value, that they merit no particular attention.

Chili.THE most important province depending on the vice-royalty of Peru, is Chili. The Incas had established their dominion in some of its northern districts; but in the greater part of the country, its gallant and high-spirited inhabitants maintained their independence. The Spaniards, allured by the same of its opulence, early attempted the con­quest of it under Diego Almagro; and after his death, Pedro de Valdivia resumed the design. Both met with fierce opposition. The former relin­quished the enterprize in the manner which I have mentioned^†. The latter, after having given many displays, [...]th of courage and military skill, was cut off, together with a considerable body of troops under his command. Francisco de Villagra, Val­divia's lieutenant, by his spirited conduct, checked the natives in their career, and saved the remain­der of the Spaniards from destruction. By de­grees, all the champaign country along the coast was subjected to the Spanish dominion. The mountainous country is still possessed by the Puel­ches, Araucos, and other tribes of its original in­habitants, formidable neighbours to the Spaniards; [Page 339] with whom, during the course of two centuries, they have been obliged to maintain almost perpe­tual hostility, suspended only by a few intervals of insecure peace.

THAT part of Chili then,Excellence of its cli­mate and soil. which may properly be deemed a Spanish province, is a narrow district, extended along the coast from the desert of Ata­camas to the island of Chiloe, above nine hundred miles. Its climate is the most delicious in the New World, and is hardly equalled by that of any re­gion on the face of the earth. Though bordering on the Torrid Zone, it never feels the extremity of heat, being screened on the east by the Andes, and refreshed from the west by cooling sea-breezes. The temperature of the air is so mild and equable, that the Spaniards give it the preference to that of the southern provinces in their native country. The fertility ot the soil corresponds with the benignity of the climate, and is wonderfully accommodated to European productions. The most valuable of these, corn, wine, and oil, abound in Chili, as if they had been native to the country. All the fruits imported from Europe attain to full maturity there. The animals of our hemisphere not only multiply, but improve in this delightful region. The horned cattle are of larger size than those of Spain. Its breed of horses surpasses, both in beauty and in spirit, the famous Andalusian race, from which they sprung. Nor has nature exhausted her bounty on the surface of the earth; she has stored its bowels with riches. Valuable mines of gold, of silver, of copper, and of lead, have been discovered in va­rious parts of it.

A COUNTRY distinguished by so many blessings,Cause of its being neglected by the Spa­niards. we may be apt to conclude, would early become a favourite station of the Spaniards, and must have been cultivated with peculiar predilection and care. [Page 340] Instead of this, a great part of it remains unoccu­pied. In all this extent of country, there are not above eighty thousand white inhabitants, and about three times that number of negroes and people of a mixed race. The most fertile soil in America lies uncultivated, and some of its most promising mines remain unwrought. Strange as this neglect of the Spaniards to avail themselves of advantages, which seemed to court their acceptance, may ap­pear, the causes of it can be traced. The only intercourse of Spain with its colonies in the South Sea, was carried on during two centuries by the annual fleet to Porto-bello. All the produce of these colonies was shipped in the ports of Callao, or Arica in Peru, for Panama, and carried from thence across the isthmus. All the commodities which they received from the mother-country, were conveyed from Panama, to the same harbours. Thus both the exports and imports of Chili passed through the hands of merchants settled in Peru. These had of course a profit on each; and in bou [...] transactions the Chilese felt their own subordina­tion; and having no direct intercourse with the parent state, they depended upon another province for the disposal of their productions, as well as for the supply of their wants. Under such discourage­ments, population could not increase,Prospect of its im­provement. and industry was destitute of one chief incitement. But now that Spain, from motives which I shall mention hereafter, has adopted a new system, and carries on her commerce with the colonies in the South Sea, by ships which go round Cape Horn, a direct in­tercourse is opened between Chili and the mother-country. The gold, the silver, and the other com­modities of the province will be exchanged in its own harbours for the manufactures of Europe, Chili may speedily rise into that importance among [Page 341] the Spanish settlements to which it is entitled by its natural advantages. It may become the granary of Peru, and the other provinces along the Pacific Occean. It may supply them with wine, with cattle, with horses, with hemp, and many other articles for which they now depend upon Europe. Though the new system has been established only a few years, those effects of it begin already to be observed^*. If it shall be adhered to with any steadiness for half a century, one may venture to foretel, that popula­tion, industry, and opulence will advance in this province with rapid progress.

TO the east of the Andes,Provinces of Tucu­man and Rio de la Plata. the provinces of Tu­cuman and Rio de la Plata border on Chili, and like it were dependent on the vice-royalty of Peru. These regions of immense extent stretch in length from north to south above thirteen hundred miles, and in brea [...]th more than a thousand.Northern and south­ern division. This coun­try, which is larger than most European kingdoms, naturally forms itself into two great divisions, one on the north, and the other on the south of Rio de la Plata. The former comprehends Paraguay, the famous missions of the Jesuits, and several other districts. But as disputes have long subsisted be­tween the courts of Spain and Portugal, concern­ing its boundaries, which, it is probable, will be soon finally ascertained, either amicably, or by the decision of the sword, I chuse to reserve my account of this northern division, until I enter upon the his­tory of Portuguese America, with which it is in­timately connected; and, in relating it, I shall be able, from authentic materials, supplied both by Spain and Portugal, to give a full and accurate de­scription of the operations and views of the jesuits, in rearing that singular fabric of policy in America, [Page 342] which has drawn so much attention, and has been so imperfectly understood. The latter division of the province contains the governments of Tucuman and Buenos-Ayres, and to these I shall at present con­fine my observations.

View of the latter.THE Spaniards entered this part of America by the river De la Plata; and though a succession of cruel disasters besel them in their early attempts to establish their dominion in it, they were encouraged to persist in the design, at first by the hopes of disco­vering mines in the interior country, and afterwards by the necessity of occupying it, in order to prevent any other nation from settling there, and penetrating by this rout into their rich possessions in Peru. But except at Buenos-Ayres, they have made no settle­ment of any consequence in all the vast space which I have mentioned. There are, indeed, scattered over it, a few places on which they have bestowed the name of towns, and to which they have endea­voured to add some dignity, by erecting them into bishoprics; but they are no better than paltry vil­lages, each with two or three hundred inhabitants. One circumstance, however, which was not ori­ginally foreseen, has contributed to render this dis­trict, though thinly peopled, of considerable import­ance. The province of Tucuman, together with the country to the south of the Plata, instead of being covered with wood like other parts of Ame­rica, forms one extensive open plain, almost without a tree. The soil is a deep fertile mould, watered by many streams descending from the Andes, and clothed in perpetual verdure. In this rich pasturage, the horses and cattle imported by the Spaniards from Europe have multiplied to a degree which al­most exceeds belief. This has enabled the inhabit­ants not only to open a lucrative trade with Peru, by supplying it with cattle, horses, and mules, but [Page 343] to carry on a commerce no less beneficial, by the exportation of hides to Europe. From both, the colony has derived great advantages. But its com­modious situation for carrying on contraband trade, has been the chief source of its prosperity. While the court of Madrid adhered to its ancient system, with respect to its communication with America, the river De la Plata lay so much out of their course of Spanish navigation, that interlopers, almost without any risk of being either observed or obstructed, could pour in European manufactures in such quan­tities, that they not only supplied the wants of the colony, but were conveyed into all the eastern districts of Peru. When the Portuguese in Brasil extended their settlements to the banks of Rio de la Plata, a new channel was opened, by which pro­hibited commodities flowed into the Spanish ter­ritories, with still more facility, and in greater abundance. This illegal traffic, however detri­mental to the parent state, contributed to the in­crease of the settlement, which had the immediate benefit of it, and Buenos-Ayres became gradually a populous and opulent town. What may be the effect of the alteration lately made in the govern­ment of this colony, the nature of which shall be described in the subsequent Book, cannot hitherto be known.

ALL the other territories of Spain in the New World, the islands excepted,Other ter­ritories of Spain. of whose discovery and reduction I have formerly given an account, are comprehended under two great divisions; the former denominated the kingdom of Tierra Firme, toe provinces of which stretch along the Atlantic, from the eastern frontier of New Spain to the mouth of the Orinoco; the latter, the New King­dom of Granada, situated in the interior country. With a short view of these I shall close this part of my work.

[Page 344]TO the east of Veragua, the last province sub­ject to the viceroy of Mexico, lies the isthmus of Darien. Though it was in this part of the con­tinent that the Spaniards first began to plant co­lonies, they have made no considerable progress in peopling it. As the country is extremely moun­tainous, deluged with rain during a good part of the year, remarkably unhealthful, and contains no mines of great value, the Spaniards would pro­bably have abandoned it altogether, if they had not been allured to continue by the excellence of the harbour of Porto-bello on the one sea, and that of Panama on the other. These have been called the keys to the communication between the north and south sea, between Spain and her most valuable colonies. In consequence of this advantage, Pa­nama has become a considerable and thriving town. The peculiar noxiousness of its climate has pre­vented Porto-bello from increasing in the same pro­portion. As the intercourse with the settlements in the pacific Ocean is now carried on by another channel, it is probable that both Porto-bello and Panama will decline, when no longer nourished and enriched by that commerce▪ to which they were indebted for their prosperity, and even their existence.

Carthagena and Santa Martha.THE provinces of Carthagena and Santa Martha stretch to the eastward of the isthmus of Darien. The country still continues mountainous, but its vallies begin to expand, are well watered, and extremely fertile. Pedro de Heredia subjected this part of America to the crown of Spain, about the year 1532. It is thinly peopled, and of course ill cultivated. It produces, however, a variety of valuable drugs, and some precious stones, parti­cularly emeralds. But its chief importance is de­rived from the harbour of Carthagena, the safest [Page 345] and best fortified of any in the American dominions of Spain. In a situation so favourable, commerce soon began to flourish. As early as the year 1544, it seems to have been a town of some note. But when Carthagena was chosen as the port in which the galeons should first begin to trade on their ar­rival from Europe, and to which they were di­rected to return, in order to prepare for their voyage homeward, the commerce of its inhabitants was so much favoured by this arrangement, that it soon became one of the most populous, opulent, and beautiful cities in America. There is, how­ever, reason to apprehend, that it has reached its highest point of exaltation, and that it will be so far affected by the change in the Spanish system of trade with America, which has withdrawn from it the desirable visits of the galeons, as to feel at least a temporary decline. But the wealth now collected there, will soon find or create employment for it­self, and may be turned with advantage into some new channel. Its harbour is so safe, and so con­veniently situated for receiving commodities from Europe, its merchants have been so long accus­tomed to convey these into all the adjacent pro­vinces, that it is probable they will still retain this branch of trade, and Carthagena continue to be a city of great importance.

THE province contiguous to Santa Martha on the east, was first visited by Alonso de Ojeda,Venezuela. in the year 1499^*; and the Spaniards, on their landing there, having observed some huts in an Indian village built upon piles, in order to raise them above the stagnated water which covered the plain, were led to bestow upon it the name of Venezuela, or Little Venice, by their usual propen­sity [Page 346] to find a resemblance between what they dis­covered in America, and the objects which were familiar to them in Europe. They made some at­tempts to settle there, but with little success. The final reduction of the province was accomplished by means very different from those to which Spain was indebted for its other acquisitions in the New World. The ambition of Charles V. often engaged him in operation of such variety and extent, that his revenues were not sufficient to defray the ex­pence of carrying them into execution. Among other expedients for supplying the deficiency of his funds, he had borrowed large sums from the Velsers of Augsburgh, the most opulent merchants at that time in Europe. By way of retribution for these, or in hopes, perhaps, of obtaining a new loan, he bestowed upon them the province of Venezuela, to be held as an hereditary fief from the crown of Cas­tile, on condition that within a limited time they should render themselves masters of the country, and establish a colony there. Under the direction of such persons, it might have been expected, that a settlement would have been established on maxims very different from those of the Spaniards, and bet­ter calculated to encourage such useful industry, as mercantile proprietors might have known to be the most certain source of prosperity and opulence. But unfortunately they committed the execution of their plan to some of those soldiers of fortune with which Germany abounded in the sixteenth century. These adventurers, impatient to amass riches, that they might speedily abandon a station which they soon discovered to be very uncomfortable, instead of planting a colony in order to cultivate and im­prove the country, wandered from district to dis­trict in search of mines, plundering the natives with unfeeling rapacity, or oppressing them by the im­position [Page 347] of intolerable tasks. In the course of a few years, their avarice and exactions, in compari­son with which those of the Spaniards were mode­rate, desolated the province so completely, that it could hardly afford them subsistence, and the Vel­fers relinquished a property from which the incon­siderate conduct of their agents left them no hope of ever deriving any advantage^*. When the wretched remainder of the Germans deserted Vene­zuela, the Spaniards again took possession of it; but notwithstanding many natural advantages, it is one of their most languishing and unproductive set­tlements.

THE provinces of Caraccas and Cumana are the last of the Spanish territories on this coast;Caraccas and Cuma­na. but in relating the origin and operations of the mercantile company, in which an exclusive right of trade with them has been vested, I shall hereafter have occasion to consider their state and productions.

THE New Kingdom of Granada is entirely an inland country of great extent.New king­dom of Granada. This important addition was made to the dominions of Spain about the year 1536, by Sebastian de Benalcazar and Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, two of the bravest and most accomplished officers employed in the conquest of America. The former, who com­manded at that time in Quito, attacked it from the south; the latter made his invasion from Santa Martha on the north. As the original inhabitants of this region were farther advanced in improve­ment, than any people in America but the Mexi­cans and Peruvians^†, they defended themselves with great resolution and good conduct. The abi­lities and perseverance of Benalcasar and Quesada [Page 348] surmounted all opposition, though not without en­countering many dangers, and reduced the country into the form of a Spanish province.

THE New Kingdom of Granada is so far ele­vated above the level of the sea, that though it approaches almost to the equator, the climate is remarkably temperate. The fertility of its vallies is not inferior to that of the richest districts in America, and its higher grounds yield gold and precious stones of various kinds. It is not by digging into the bowels of the earth that this gold is found; it is mingled with the soil near the sur­face, and separated from it by repeated washing with water. This operation is carried on wholly by negro slaves; for though the chill subterranean air has been discovered, by experience, to be so fatal to them, that they cannot be employed with advantage in the deep silver mines, they are more capable of performing the other species of labour than Indians. As the natives in the New Kingdom of Granada are exempt from that service, which has wasted their race so rapidly in other parts of Ame­rica, the country is still remarkably populous. Some districts yield gold with a profusion no less wonderful than that in the vale of Cineguilla, which I have formerly mentioned, and it is often found in large pepitas, or grains, which manifest the abundance in which it is produced. On a rising ground near Pampalona, single labourers have col­lected in a day what was equal in value to a thou­sand pesos^*. A late governor of Santa Fé brought with him to Spain a lump of pure gold, estimated to be worth seven hundred and forty pounds ster­ling. This, which is, perhaps, the largest and finest specimen ever found in the New World, is [Page 349] now deposited in the royal cabinet of Madrid. But without founding any calculation on what is rare and extraordinary, the value of the gold usually collected in this country, particularly in the pro­vinces of Popayan and Choco, is of considerable amount. Its towns are populous and flourishing. The number of inhabitants in almost every part of the country daily increases. Cultivation and in­dustry of various kinds begin to be encouraged, and to prosper. A considerable trade is carried on with Carthagena, the produce of the mines, and other commodities, being conveyed down the great river of St. Magdalen to that city. On another quarter, the New Kingdom of Granada has a com­munication with the Atlantic by the river Orinoco; but the country which stretches along its banks to­wards the east, is little known, and imperfectly oc­cupied by the Spaniards.

THE HISTORY OF AMERICA. BOOK VIII.

AFTER tracing the progress of the Spaniards in their discoveries and conquests during more than half a century,BOOK VIII. View of the policy and trade of the Spanish co­lonies. I have conducted them to that period when their authority was established over almost all the vast regions in the New World still subject to their dominion. The effect of their set­tlements upon the countries of which they took possession, the maxims which they adopted in forming their new colonies, the interior structure and policy of these, together with the influence of their progressive improvement upon the parent state, and upon the commercial intercourse of na­tions, are the objects to which we now turn our attention.

THE first visible consequence of the establish­ments made by the Spaniards in America,Depopula­tion of A­merica the first effect of them. was the diminution of the ancient inhabitants, to a degree equally astonishing and deplorable. I have already, on different occasions, mentioned the disastrous influence under which the connection of the Ame­ricans [Page 352] with the people of our hemisphere com­menced, both in the islands, and in several parts of the continent, and have touched upon various causes of their rapid consumption. Wherever the inhabitants of America had resolution to take arms in defence of their liberty and rights, many perished in the unequal contest, and were cut off by their fierce invaders. But the greatest desolation fol­lowed after the sword was sheathed, and the con­querors were settled in tranquillity.Causes of this in the islands, and some parts of the con­tinent. It was in the islands, and in those provinces of the continent which stretch from the Gulf of Trinidad to the confines of Mexico, that the fatal effects of the Spanish dominion were first and most sensibly felt. All these were occupied either by wandering tribes of hunters, or by such as had made but small pro­gress in cultivation and industry. When they were compelled by their new masters to take up a fixed residence, and to apply to regular labour; when tasks were imposed upon them disproportioned to their strength, and were exacted with unrelenting severity, they possessed not vigour either of mind or of body to sustain this unusual load of oppres­sion. Dejection and despair drove many to end their lives by violence. Fatigue and famine de­stroyed more. In all those extensive regions, the original race of inhabitants wasted away; in some it was totally extinguished. In Mexico, where a powerful and martial people distinguished their op­position to the Spaniards by efforts of courage wor­thy of a better fate, great numbers fell in the field; and there, as well as in Peru, still greater numbers perished under the hardships of attending the Spa­nish armies in their various expeditions and civil wars, worn out with the incessant toil of carrying their baggage, provisions, and military stores.

In New Spain and Peru.BUT neither the rage nor cruelty of the Spa­niards were so destructive to the people of Mexico [Page 353] and Peru, as the inconsiderate policy with which they established their new settlements. The for­mer were temporary calamities, fatal to individuals; the latter was a permanent evil, which, with gra­dual consumption, wasted the nation. When the provinces of Mexico and Peru were divided among the conquerors, each was eager to obtain a district, from which he might expect an instantaneous re­compence for all his services. Soldiers, accustomed to the carelessness and dissipation of a military life, had neither industry to carry on any plan of regu­lar cultivation, nor patience to wait for its slow but certain returns, Instead of settling in the val­lies occupied by the natives, where the fertility of the soil would have amply rewarded the diligence of the planter, they chose to fix their stations in some of the mountainous regions, frequent both in New Spain and in Peru. To search for mines of gold and silver, was the chief object of their acti­vity. The prospects which this opens, and the alluring hopes which it continually presents corre­spond wonderfully with the spirit of enterprize and adventure that animated the first emigrants to Ame­rica in every part of their conduct. In order to push forward those favourite projects, so many hands were wanted, that the service of the natives became indispensably requisite. They were ac­cordingly compelled to abandon their ancient ha­bitations in the plains, and driven in crowds to the mountains. This sudden transition from the sultry climate of the vallies, to the chill penetrating air peculiar to high lands in the torrid zone; exorbi­tant labour, scanty or unwholesome nourishment, and the despondency occasioned by a species of op­pression to which they were not accustomed, and of which they saw no end, affected them nearly as much as their less industrious countrymen in the [Page 354] islands. They sunk under the united pressure of those calamities, and melted away with almost equal rapidity^*. In consequence of this, together with the introduction of the small-pox, a malady unknown in America, and extremely fatal to the natives^†, the number of people both in New Spain and Peru was so much reduced, that in a few years the accounts of their ancient population appeared almost incredible^‡.

Not the re­sult of any system of policySUCH are the most considerable events and causes which, by their combined operation, contributed to depopulate America. Without attending to these, many authors, astonished at the suddenness of the desolation, have ascribed this unexampled event to a system of policy no less profound than atrocious. The Spaniards, as they pretend, con­scious of their own inability to occupy the vast regions which they had discovered, and foreseeing the impossibility of maintaining their authority over a people infinitely superior to themselves in num­ber, in order to preserve the possession of America, resolved to exterminate the inhabitants, and by con­verting a great part of the country into a desert, en­deavoured to secure their own dominion over it^§. But nations seldom extend their views to objects so remote, or lay their plans so deep; and, for the honour of humanity we may observe, that no na­tion ever deliberately formed such an execrable scheme. The Spanish monarchs, far from acting upon any such system of destruction, were uniformly solicitous for the preservation of their new subjects. With Isabella, zeal for propagating the Christian [Page 355] faith, together with the desire of communicating the knowledge of truth, and the consolations of religion, to people destitute of spiritual light, were more than ostensible motives for encouraging Co­lumbus to attempt his discoveries. Upon his suc­cess, she endeavoured to fulfil her pious purpose, and manifested the most tender concern to secure not only religious instruction, but mild treatment, to that inoffensive race of men subjected to her crown^*. Her successors adopted the same ideas; and, on many occasions, which I have mentioned, their authority was interposed in the most vigorous exertions, to protect the people of America from the oppression of their Spanish subjects. Their re­gulations for this purpose were numerous, and often repeated. They were framed with wisdom, and dictated by humanity. After their possessions in the New World became so extensive, as might have excited some apprehension of difficulty in retaining their dominion over them, the spirit of their regu­lations was as mild as when their settlements were confined to the islands alone. Their solicitude to protect the Indians seems rather to have augmented as their acquisitions increased; and from ardour to accomplish this, they enacted, and endeavoured to enforce the execution of laws, which excited a for­midable rebellion in one of their colonies, and spread alarm and disaffection through all the rest. But the avarice of individuals was too violent to be con­trouled by the authority of laws. Rapacious and daring adventurers, far removed from the seat of government, little accustomed to the restraints of military discipline while in service, and still less disposed to respect the feeble jurisdiction of civil power in an infant colony, despised or eluded every [Page 356] regulation that set bounds to their exactions and tyranny. The parent state, with persevering atten­tion, issued edicts to prevent the oppression of the Indians, the colonists, regardless of these, or trust­ing to their distance for impunity, continued to consider and treat them as slaves. The governors themselves, and other officers employed in the co­lonies, several of whom were as indigent and rapa­cious as the adventurers over whom they presided, were too apt to adopt their contemptuouts ideas of the conquered people; and instead of checking, en­couraged or connived at their excesses. The deso­lation of the New World should not then be charged on the court of Spain, or be considered as the effect of any system of policy adopted there. It ought to be imputed wholly to the indigent and often un­principled adventurers, whose fortune it was to be the conquerors and first planters of America, who, by measures no less inconsiderate than unjust, coun­teracted the edicts of their sovereign, and have brought disgrace upon their country.

nor the ef­fect of re­ligion.WITH still greater injustice, have many authors represented the intolerating spirit of the Roman Catholic religion, as the cause of exterminating the Americans, and have accused the Spanish ecclesias­tics of animating their countrymen to the slaughter of that innocent people, as idolators and enemies of God. But the first missionaries who visited Ame­rica, though weak and illiterate, were pious men. They early espoused the defence of the natives, and vindicated their character from the aspersions of their conquerors, who, describing them as inca­pable of being formed to the offices of civil life, or of comprehending the doctrines of religion, con­tended, that they were a subordinate race of men, on whom the hand of nature had set the mark of servitude. From the accounts which I have given [Page 357] of the humane and persevering zeal of the Spanish missionaries, in protecting the helpless flock com­mitted to their charge, they appear in a light which reflects lustre upon their function. They were mi­nisters of peace, who endeavoured to wrest the rod from the hands of oppressors. To their powerful interposition, the Americans were indebted for every regulation tending to mitigate the rigour of their fate. The clergy in the Spanish settlements, regu­lar as well as secular, are still considered by the Indians as their natural guardians, to whom they have recourse under the hardships and exactions to which they are too often exposed^*.

BUT,The num­ber of the Indians still remaining. notwithstanding the rapid depopulation of America, a very considerable number of the native race still remains both in Mexico and Peru, espe­cially in those parts which were not exposed to the first fury of the Spanish arms, or desolated by the first efforts of their industry, still more ruinous. In Guatimala, Chiapa, Nicaragua, and the other delightful provinces of the Mexican empire, which stretch along the South-sea, the race of Indians is still numerous. Their settlements in some places are so populous, as to merit the name of cities^†. In the three audiences into which New Spain is divided, there are at least two millions of Indians; a pitiful remnant, indeed, of its ancient population, but such as still forms a body of people superior in number to that of all the other inhabitants of this extensive country^*. In Peru several districts, par­ticularly in the kingdom of Quito, are occupied almost entirely by Indians. In other provinces they are mingled with the Spaniards, and in many of their settlements are almost the only persons who practise the mechanic arts, and fill most of the in­ferior ^‡ [Page 358] stations in society. As the inhabitants both of Mexico and Peru were accustomed to a fixed residence, and to a certain degree of regular in­dustry, less violence was requisite in bringing them to some conformity with the European modes of civil life. But wherever the Spaniards settled among the savage tribes of America, their attempts to incorporate with them have been always fruitless, and often fatal to the natives. Impatient of re­straint, and disdaining labour as a mark of servility, they either abandoned their original seats, and sought for independence in mountains and forests inacces­sible to their oppressors, or perished when reduced to a state repugnant to their ancient ideas and ha­bits. In the districts adjacent to Carthagena, to Panama, and to Buenos-Ayres, the desolation is more general than even in those parts of Mexico and Peru, of which the Spaniards have taken most full possession.

General ideas of the policy of Spain in its colonies.BUT the establishments of the Spaniards in the New World, though fatal to its ancient inhabit­ants, were made at a period when that monarchy was capable of forming them to best advantage. By the union of all its petty kingdoms, Spain was become a powerful state, equal to so great an un­dertaking. Its monarchs, having extended their prerogative far beyond the limits which once cir­cumscribed the regal power in every kingdom of Europe, were hardly subject to controul, either in concerting or in executing their measures. In every wide extended empire, the form of govern­ment must be simple, and the sovereign authority such, that its resolutions may be taken with promp­titude, and may pervade the whole with sufficient force. Such was the power of the Spanish mo­narchs, when they were called to deliberate concern­ing the mode of establishing their dominion over [Page 359] the most remote provinces, which had ever been subjected to any European state. In this delibera­tion, they felt themselves under no constitutional restraint, and that, as independent masters of their own resolves, they might issue the edicts requisite for modelling the government of the new colonies, by a mere act of prerogative.

THIS early interposition of the Spanish crown,Early inter­position of the regal authority. in order to regulate the policy and trade of its co­lonies, is a peculiarity which distinguishes their progress from that of the colonies of any other European nation. When the Portuguese, the Eng­lish, and French, took possession of the regions in America which they now occupy, the advantages which these promised to yield were so remote and uncertain, that their colonies were suffered to struggle through a hard infancy, almost without guidance or protection from the parent state. But gold and silver, the first productions of the Spanish settlements in the New World, were more alluring, and immediately attracted the attention of their mo­narchs. Though they had contributed little to the discovery, and almost nothing to the conquest of the New World, they instantly assumed the func­tion of its legislators; and having acquired a spe­cies of dominion formerly unknown, they formed a plan for exercising it, to which nothing similar occurs in the history of human affairs.

THE fundamental maxim of Spanish jurispru­dence with respect to America,All power and proper­ty vested in the crown. is to consider what has been acquired there as vested in the crown rather than in the state. By the bull of Alex­ander VI. on which, as its great charter, Spain founded its right, all the regions that had been, or should be discovered, were bestowed as a free gift upon Ferdinand and Isabella. They and their successors were uniformly held to be the universal [Page 360] proprietors of the vast territories, which the arms of their subjects conquered in the New World. From them, all grants of land there flowed, and to them they finally returned. The leaders who conducted the various expeditions, the governors who pr [...]sided over the different colonies, the offi­cers of justice, and the ministers of religion, were all appointed by their authority, and removable at their pleasure. The people who composed infant settlements were entitled to no privileges inde­pendent of the sovereign, or that served as a barrier against the power of the crown. It is true, that when towns were built, and formed into bodies corporate, the citizens were permitted to elect their own magistrates, who governed them by laws which the community enacted. Even in the most despotic states, this feeble spark of liberty is not ex­tinguished. But in the cities of Spanish America, this jurisdiction is merely municipal, and is con­fined to the regulation of their own interior com­merce and police. In whatever relates to public government, and the general interest, the will of the sovereign is law. No political power originates from the people. All centers in the crown, and in the officers of its nomination.

All the new domi­nions of Spain sub­jected to two vice toys.WHEN the conquests of the Spaniards in Ame­rica were completed, their monarchs, in forming the plan of internal policy for their new dominions, divided them into two immense governments, one subject to the viceroy of New Spain, the other to the viceroy of Peru. The jurisdiction of the for­mer extended over all the provinces belonging to Spain in the northern division of the American continent. Under that of the latter, was compre­hended whatever she possessed in South America. This arrangement, which, from the beginning, was attended with many inconveniences, became in­tolerable [Page 361] when the remote provinces of each vice­royalty began to improve in industry and popula­tion. The people complained or their subjection to a superior, whose place of residence was so dis­tant, or so inaccessible, as almost excluded them from any intercourse with the seat of government. The authority of the viceroy over districts so far removed from his own eye and observation, was unavoidably both feeble and ill directed. As a remedy for those evils, a third viceroyalty has been established in the present century, at Santo Fé de Bogota, the capital of the new kingdom of Gra­nada, the jurisdiction of which extends over the whole kingdom of Tierra Firmè, and the province of Quito.^* Those viceroys not only represent the person of their sovereign,Their powers. but possess his regal pre­rogatives within the precincts of their own govern­ments, in their utmost extent. Like him, they ex­ercise supreme authority in every department of go­vernment, civil, military, and criminal. They have the sole right of nominating the persons who hold many offices of the highest importance, and the oc­casional privilege of supplying those which, when they become vacant by death, are in the royal gift, until the successor appointed by the king shall ar­rive. The external pomp of their government is suited to its real dignity and power. Their courts are formed upon the model of that at Madrid, with horse and foot guards, a household regularly esta­blished, numerous attendants, and ensigns of com­mand, displaying such magnificence, as hardly re­tains the appearance of delegated authority.^†

BUT as the viceroys cannot discharge in person the functions of a supreme magistrate in every part of their extensive jurisdiction,Courts of Au [...]. they are aided in their [Page 362] government by officers and tribunals similar to those in Spain. The conduct of civil affairs in the va­rious provinces and districts, into which the Spa­nish dominions in America are divided, is com­mitted to magistrates of various orders and deno­minations; some appointed by the king, others by the viceroy, but all subject to the command of the latter, and amenable to his jurisdiction. The ad­ministration of justice is vested in tribunals, known by the name of Audiences, and formed upon the mo­del of the court of Chancery in Spain. These are eleven in number, and dispense justice to as many dis­tricts, into which the Spanish dominions in Ame­rica are divided.^* The number of judges in the Court of Audience is various, according to the ex­tent and importance of their jurisdiction. The sta­tion is no less honourable than lucrative, and is commonly filled by persons of such abilities and merit as renders this tribunal extremely respectable. Both civil and criminal causes come under their cognizance, and for each peculiar judges are set apart.Then juris­diction. Though it is only in the most despotic go­vernments, that the sovereign exercises in person the formidable prerogative of administering justice to his subjects, and in absolving, or condemning, consults no law but what is deposited in his own breast: though, in all the monarchies of Europe, judicial authority is committed to magistrates, whose decisions are regulated by known laws and esta­blished forms, the Spanish viceroys have often at­tempted to intrude themselves into the seat of jus­tice, and with an ambition which their distance from the controul of a superior rendered bold, have aspired at a power which their master does not ven­ture to assume. In order to check an usurpation [Page 363] which must have annihilated justice and security in the Spanish colonies, by subjecting the lives and property of all to the will of a single man, the viceroys have been prohibited, in the most explicit terms, by repeated laws, from interfering in the ju­dicial proceedings of the courts of Audience, or from delivering an opinion, or giving a voice with respect to any point litigated before them^*. In some particular cases, in which any question of ci­vil right is involved, even the political regulations of the viceroy may be brought under the review of the court of Audience, which, in those instances, may be deemed an intermediate power placed be­tween him and the people, as a constitutional bar­rier to circumscribe his jurisdiction. But as legal restraints on a person who represents the sovereign, and is clothed with his authority, are little suited to the genius of Spanish policy; the hesitation and reserve with which it confers this power on the courts of Audience are remarkable. They may advise, they may remonstrate; but, in the event of a direct collision between their opinion and the will of the viceroy, what he determines must be carried into execution, and nothing remains for them, but to lay the matter before the king and the council of the Indies^†. But to be entitled to remonstrate, and inform against a person, before whom all others must be silent, and tamely submit to his decrees is a privilege which adds dignity to the courts of Audi­ence. This is farther augmented by another cir­cumstance. Upon the death of a viceroy, without any provision of a successor by the king, the supreme power is vested in the court of Audience resident in [Page 364] the capital of the viceroyalty, and the senior judge, assisted by his brethern, exercises all the functions of the viceroy while the office continues vacant^*. In matters which come under the cognizance of the Audiences, in the course of their ordinary jurisdic­tion, as courts of justice, their sentence are final in every litigation concerning property of less value than six thousand pesos; but when the subject in dispute exceeds that sum, their decisions are subject to review, and may be carried by appeal before the royal council of the Indies^†.

Council of the Indies.IN this council, one of the most considerable in the monarchy for dignity and power, is vested the supreme government of all the Spanish dominions in America. It was first established by Ferdinand, in the year 1511, and brought into a more perfect form by Charles V.Its power. in the year 1524. Its juris­diction extends to every department, ecclesiastical, civil, military, and commercial. All laws and ordi­nances relative to the goverment and police of the colonies originate there, and must be approved of by two-thirds of the members, before they are issued in the name of the king. All the offices, of which the nomination is reserved to the crown, are conferred in this council. To it each person employed in America, from the viceroy down­wards, is accountable. It reviews their conduct, rewards their services, and inflicts the punishments due to their malversations^‡. Before it, is laid whatever intelligence, either public or secret, is received from America, and every scheme of im­proving the administration, the police, or the com­merce of the colonies, is submitted to its consider­ation. From the first institution of the council of [Page 365] the Indies, it has been the constant object of the catholic monarchs to maintain its authority, and to make such additions from time to time, both to its power and its splendor, as might render it formi­dable to all their subjects in the New World. Whatever degree of public order and virtue still remains in that country, where so many circum­stances conspire to relax the former, and to cor­rupt the latter, may be ascribed in a great measure to the wise regulations and vigilant inspection of this respectable tribunal^*.

AS the king is supposed to be always present in his council of the Indies,Casa de Contrata­cion. its meetings are held in the place where he resides. Another tribunal has been instituted, in order to regulate such commer­cial affairs as required the immediate and personal inspection of those appointed to superintend them. This is called Casa de la Contratacion, or the house of trade, and was established in Seville, the port to which commerce with the New World was con­fined, as early as the year 1501.Its func­tions. It may be con­sidered both as a board of trade, and as a court of judicature. In the former capacity, it takes cog­nizance of whatever relates to the intercourse of Spain with America, it regulates what commodities should be exported thither, and has the inspection of such as are received in return. It decides con­cerning the departure of the fleets for the West Indies, the freight and burden of the ships, their equipment and destination. In the latter capacity, it judges with respect to every question, civil, com­mercial, or criminal, arising in consequence of the transactions of Spain with America; and in both these departments, its decisions are exempted from the review of any court but that of the council of the Indies^†.

[Page 366]SUCH is the great outline of that system of go­vernment, which Spain has established in her Ame­rican colonies. To enumerate the various subordi­nate boards and officers employed in the administra­tion of justice, in collecting the public revenue, and in regulating the interior police of the country; to describe their different functions, and to enquire into the mode and effect of their operations; would prove a detail no less intricate than minute, and uninteresting.

First object to secu [...]e an exclusive trade.THE first object of the Spanish monarchs was to secure the productions of the colonies to the parent state, by an absolute prohibition of any intercourse with foreign nations. They took possession of America by right of conquest, and conscious not only of the feebleness of their infant settlements, but aware of the difficulty in establishing their do­minion over regions so extensive, or in retaining so many reluctant nations under the yoke, they dreaded the intrusion of strangers; they even shun­ned their inspection, and endeavoured to keep them at a distance from their coasts. This spirit of jealousy and exclusion, which at first was natural, and per­haps necessary, augmented as their possessions in America extended, and the value of them came to be more fully understood. In consequence of it, a system of colonizing was introduced, to which there had hitherto been nothing similar among mankind. In the ancient world, it was not uncom­mon to send forth colonies. But they were of two kinds only. They were either migrations, which served to disburden a state of its superfluous sub­jects, when they multiplied too fast for the terri­tory which they occupied; or they were military detachments, stationed as garrisons in a conquered province. The colonies of some Greek republics, and the swarms of northern barbarians which settled [Page 367] in different parts of Europe, were of the first species. The Roman colonies were of the second. In the former, the connection with the mother-country quickly ceased, and they became independent states. In the latter, as the disjunction was not complete, the dependence continued. In their American settlements,Regulati­ons for that pur­pose. the Spanish monarchs took what was peculiar to each, and studied to unite them. By sending colonies to regions so remote, by establish­ing in each a form of interior policy and administra­tion, under distinct governors, and with peculiar laws, they disjoined them from the mother-country. By retaining in their own hands the rights of legis­lation, as well as that of imposing taxes, together with the power of nominating the persons who filled every department of executive government, civil or military, they secured their dependence upon the parent state. Happily for Spain, the situ­ation of her colonies was such, as rendered it possible to reduce this new idea into practice. Almost all the countries which she had discovered and occu­pied, lay within the tropics. The productions of that large portion of the globe are different from those of Europe, even in its most southern provinces. The qualities of the climate and of the soil natu­rally turn the industry of such as settle there into new channels. When the Spaniards first took pos­session of their dominions in America, the precious metals which they yielded, were the only object that attracted their attention. Even when their efforts began to take a better direction, they employed themselves almost wholly in rearing such peculiar productions of the climate, as, from their rarity or value, were of chief demand in the mother-country. Allured by vast prospects of immediate wealth, they disdained to waste their industry on what was less lucrative, but of superior moment. [Page 368] In order to render it impossible to correct this error, and to prevent them from making any efforts in industry which might interfere with those of the mother-country, the establishment of several species of manufactures, and even the culture of the vine, or olive, are prohibited in the Spanish colonies^*, under severe penalties^†. They must trust entirely to the mother-country for the objects of primary necessity. Their clothes, their furniture, their in­struments of labour, their luxuries, and even a con­siderable part of the provisions which they consume, were imported from Spain. During a great part of the sixteenth century, Spain, possessing an ex­tensive commerce and flourishing manufactures, could supply with ease the growing demands of her colonies, from her own stores. The produce of their mines and plantations was given in exchange for these. But all that the colonies received, as well as all that they gave, was conveyed in Spanish bottoms. No vessel belonging to the colonies was ever permitted to carry the commodities of Ame­rica to Europe. Even the commercial intercourse of one colony with another, was either absolutely prohibited, or limited by many jealous restrictions. All that America yields flows into the ports of Spain; all that it consumes must issue from them. No foreigner can enter its colonies without express permission; no vessel of any foreign nation is re­ceived into their harbours; and the pains of death, with confiscation of moveables, are denounced against every inhabitant who presumes to trade with them^‡. Thus the colonies are kept in a state of perpetual pupillage; and by the introduction of this [Page 369] commercial dependence, a refinement in policy of which Spain set the first example to the European nations, the supremacy of the parent state hath been maintained over remote colonies during two cen­turies and a half.

SUCH are the capital maxims to which the Spa­nish monarchs seem to have attended in forming their new settlements in America.Slow pro­gress of po­pulation from Eu­rope. But they could not plant with the same rapidity that they had de­stroyed; and from many concurring causes, their progress has been extremely slow, in filling up the immense void which their devastations had occa­sioned. As soon as the rage for discovery and ad­venture began to abate, the Spaniards opened their eyes to dangers and distresses, which at first they did not perceive, or had despised. The numerous hardships with which the members of infant colo­nies have to struggle, the diseases of unwholesome climates, fatal to the constitution of Europeans; the difficulty of bringing a country, covered with fo­rests, into culture; the want of hands necessary for labour in some provinces, and the slow reward of industry, in all unless where the accidental discovery of mines enriched a few fortunate adventurers, were evils universally felt and magnified. Discouraged by the view of these, the spirit of migration was so much damped, that sixty years after the discovery of the New World, the number of Spaniards in all its provinces is computed not to have exceeded fifteen thousand^*.

THE mode in which property was distributed in the Spanish colonies,Discourag­ed by the state of property. and the regulations established with respect to the transmission of it, whether by descent or by sale, were extremely unfavourable to population. In order to promote a rapid in­crease [Page 370] of people in any new settlement, property in land ought to be divided into small shares, and the alienation of it should be rendered extremely easy^*. But the rapaciousness of the Spanish conquerors of the New World paid no regard to this fundamental maxim of policy; and as they possessed power, which enabled them to gratify the utmost extrava­gance of their wishes, many seized districts of great extent, and held them as encomiendas. By degrees they obtained the privilege of converting a part of these into Mayorasges, a species of fief, introduced into the Spanish system of feudal jurisprudence^†, which can neither be divided nor alienated. Thus a great portion of landed property, under this rigid form of entail, is withheld from circulation, and de­scends from father to son unimproved, and of little value either to the proprietor or to the community. In the account which I have given of the reduction of Peru, various examples occur of enormous tracts of country occupied by some of the conquerors^‡. The excesses in other provinces were similar, for as the value of the lands which the Spaniards ac­quired, was originally estimated according to the number of Indians which lived upon them, Ame­rica was in general so thinly peopled, that only dis­tricts of great extent could afford such a number of labourers as might be employed in the mines with any prospect of considerable gain. The pernicious effects of those radical errors in the distribution and nature of property in the Spanish settlements, are felt through every department of industry, and may be considered as one great cause of a progress in population so much slower than that which has taken place in better constituted colonies^§.

[Page 371]TO this we may add, that the support of the enormous and expensive fabric of their ecclesiastical establishment,and the na­ture of their ecclesiasti­cal policy. has been a burden on the Spanish colonies, which has greatly retarded the progress of population and industry. The payment of tithes is a heavy tax on industry; and if the exaction of them be not regulated and circumscribed by the wisdom of the civil magistrate, it becomes intole­rable and ruinous. But, instead of any restraint on the claims of ecclesiastics, the inconsiderate zeal of the Spanish legislators admitted them into America in their full extent, and at once imposed on their infant colonies a burden which is in no slight degree oppressive to society, even in its most improved state. As early as the year 1501, the payment of tithes in the colonies was enjoined, and the mode of it regulated by law. Every article of primary necessity, towards which the attention of new set­tlers must naturally be turned, is subjected to that grievous exaction^*. Nor were the demands of the clergy confined to articles of simple and easy cul­ture. Its more artificial and operose productions, such as sugar, indigo, and cochineal, were soon de­clared to be tithable^†; and thus the industry of the planter was taxed in every stage of its progress, from its rudest essay to its highest improvement. To the weight of this legal imposition, the bigotry of the American Spaniards has made many volun­tary additions. From their fond delight in the external pomp and parade of religion, and from superstitious reverence for ecclesiastics of every de­nomination, they have bestowed profuse donatives on churches and monasteries, and have unprofitably wasted a large proportion of that wealth, which might have nourished and given vigour to pro­ductive labour in growing colonies.

[Page 372]BUT so fertile and inviting are the regions of America which the Spaniards have occupied, that,Various or­ders of peo­ple in the colonies. notwithstanding all the circumstances which have checked and retarded population, it has gra­dually increased, and filled the colonies of Spain with citizens of various orders. Among these, the Spaniards, who arrive from Europe, distinguished by the name of Chapetones, Chapetones the first. are the first in rank and power. From the jealous attention of the Spanish court to secure the dependence of the colonies on the parent state, all departments of consequence are filled by persons sent from Europe; and, in order to prevent any of dubious fidelity from being em­ployed, each must bring proof of a clear descent from a family of Old Christians, untainted with any mixture of Jewish or Mahometan blood, and never disgraced by any censure of the inquisition^*. In such pure hands, power is deemed to be safely lodged, and almost every public function, from the viceroyalty downwards, is committed to them alone. Every person, who by his birth, or residence in America, may be suspected of any attachment or interest adverse to the mother-country, is the ob­ject of distrust to such a degree, as amounts nearly to an exclusion from all offices of confidence or authority^†. By this conspicuous predilection of the court, the Chapetones are raised to such pre-emi­nence in America, that they look down with dis­dain on every order of men.

Creoles the second.THE character and state of the Creoles, or de­scendants of Europeans settled in America, the second class of subjects in the Spanish colonies, have enabled the Chapetones to acquire other advantages, hardly less considerable than those which they derive from the partial favour of government. Though [Page 373] some of the Creolian race are descended from the conquerors of the New World; though others can trace up their pedigree to the noblest families in Spain; though many are possessed of ample for­tunes, yet, by the enervating influence of a sultry climate, by the rigour of a jealous government, and by their despair of attaining that distinction to which mankind naturally aspire, the vigour of their minds is so entirely broken, that a great part of them waste life in luxurious indulgencies, mingled with an illiberal superstition still more debasing. Languid and unenterprising, the operations of an active extend­ed commerce would be to them so cumbersome and oppressive, that in almost every part of America they decline engaging in it. The interior traffic of every colony, as well as any trade which is permit­ted with the neighbouring provinces, and with Spain itself, are carried on chiefly by the Chapetones^*; who, as the recompence of their industry, amass immense wealth, while the Creoles, sunk in sloth, are satisfied with the revenues of their paternal estates.

FROM this stated competition for power and wealth between those two orders of citizens,Rivalship between these. and the vari­ous passions excited by a rivalship so interesting, their hatred is violent and implacable. On every occasi­on, symptoms of this aversion break out, and the common appellations which each bestows on the other, are as contemptuous as those which flow from the most deep-rooted national antipathy^†. The court of Spain, from a refinement of distrustful policy, cherishes those seeds of discord, and foments this mutual jealousy, which not only prevents the two most powerful classes of its subjects in the New World from combining against the parent state, but [Page 374] prompts each, with the most vigilant zeal, to observe the motions and to counteract the schemes of the other.

A mixed race forms the third order of citizens.THE third class of inhabitants in the Spanish co­lonies is a mixed race, the offspring either of an European and a Negro, or of an European and In­dian, the former called Mulattoes, the latter Mesti­zos. As the court of Spain, solicitous to incorporate its new vassals with its ancient subjects, early encou­raged the Spaniards settled in America to marry the natives of that country, several alliances of this kind were formed in their infant colonies^*. But it has been more owing to licentious indulgence, than to compliance with this injunction of their sovereigns, that this mixed breed has multiplied so greatly, as to constitute a considerable part of the population in all the Spanish settlements. The se­veral stages of descent in this race, and the gradual variations of shade until the African black, or the copper colour of America, brighten into an Euro­pean complexion, are accurately marked by the Spa­niards, and each distinguished by a peculiar name. Those of the first and second generations are con­sidered, and treated as mere Indians and Negroes; but in the third descent, the characteristic hue of the former disappears; and in the fifth, the deeper tint of the latter is so entirely effaced, that they can no longer be distinguished from Europeans, and become entitled to all their privileges^†. It is chiefly by this mixed race, whose frame is remarkably robust and hardy, that the mechanic arts are carried on in the Spanish settlements, and other active functions in society are discharged, which the two higher classes [Page 375] of citizens, from pride, or from indolence, disdain to exercise^*.

THE negroes hold the fourth rank among the in­habitants of the Spanish colonies.Negroes form the fourth or­der. The introduction of that unhappy part of the human species into A­merica, together with their services and sufferings there, shall be fully explained in another place; here they are mentioned chiefly, in order to point out a peculiarity in their situation under the Spanish do­minion. In several of their settlements, particularly in New Spain, negroes are mostly employed in do­mestic service. They form a principal part in the train of luxury, and are cherished and caressed by their superiors, to whose vanity and pleasures they are equally subservient. Their dress and appearance are hardly less splendid than that of their masters, whose manners they imitate, and whose passions they imbibe^†. Elevated by this distinction, they have assumed such a tone of superiority over the In­dians, and treat them with such insolence and scorn, that the antipathy between the two races has become implacable. Even in Peru, where negroes seem to be more numerous, and are employed in field-work as well as domestic service, they maintain their ascendant over the Indians, and the mutual hatred of one to the other subsists with equal violence. The laws have industriously fomented this aversion, to which accident gave rise, and, by most rigorous injunctions, have endeavoured to prevent every in­tercourse that might form a bond of union between the two races. Thus, by an artful policy, the Spa­niards derive strength from that circumstance in po­pulation, which is the weakness of other European [Page 376] colonies, and have secured as associates and defen­ders, those very persons who elsewhere are objects of jealousy and terror^*.

The Indi­ans form the last or­der of ci­tizens.THE Indians form the last, and the most de­pressed order of men in the country, which be­longed to their ancestors. I have already traced the progress of the Spanish ideas with respect to the condition and treatment of that people, and have mentioned the most important of their more early regulations, concerning a matter of so much consequence in the administration of their new do­minions. But since the period to which I have brought down the history of America, the informa­tion and experience acquired during two centuries, have enabled the court of Spain to make such im­provements in this part of its American system, that a short view of the present condition of the Indians may prove both curious and interesting.

Their pre­sent condi­tion.BY the famous regulations of Charles V. in 1542, which have been so often mentioned, the high pre­tensions of the conquerors of the New World, who considered its inhabitants as slaves, to whose service they had acquired a full right of property, were finally abrogated. From that period, the Indians have been reputed freemen, and entitled to the privileges of subjects. When admitted into this rank, it was deemed just, that they should contri­bute towards the support and improvement of the society which had adopted them as members. But as no considerable benefit could be expected from the voluntary efforts of men unacquainted with re­gular industry, and averse to labour, the court of Spain found it necessary to fix and secure, by proper regulations,Tax im­posed on them. what it thought reasonable to exact from them. With this view, an annual tax [Page 377] was imposed upon every male, from the age of eighteen to fifty; and at the same time, the nature as well as the extent of the services which they might be required to perform, were ascertained with precision. This tribute varies in different provinces; but if we take that paid in New Spain as a medium, its annual amount is nearly four s [...]illings a head; no exorbitant sum in countries where, as at the source of wealth, the value of money is extremely low^*. The right of levying this tribute likewise varies. In America, every Indian is either an immediate vassal of the crown, or depends upon some subject to whom the district in which he resides has been granted for a limited time, under the denomination of an encomienda. In the former case about three-fourths of the tax is paid into the royal treasury; in the latter, the same proportion of it belongs to the holder of the grant. When Spain first took possession of Ame­rica, the greater part of it was parcelled out among its conquerors, or those who first settled there, and but a small portion reserved for the crown. As those grants which were made for two lives only^†, reverted successively to the sovereign, he had it in his power either to diffuse his favours by grants to new proprietors, or to augment his own revenue by valuable annexations^‡. Of these, the latter has been frequently chosen; the number of Indians now depending immediately on the crown, is much greater than in the first age after the conquest, and this branch of the royal revenue continues to extend.

THE benefit arising from the services of the In­dians accrues either to the crown,The servi­ces de­manded. or to the holder [Page 378] of the encomienda, according to the same rule ob­served in the payment of tribute. Those services, however, which can now be legally exacted, are very different from the tasks originally imposed upon the Indians. The nature of the work which they must perform is defined, and an equitable re­compence is granted for their labour. The stated services demanded of the Indians may be divided into two branches. They are either employed in works of primary necessity, without which society cannot subsist comfortably, or are compelled to labour in the mines, from which the Spanish co­lonies derive their chief value and importance. In consequence of the former, they are obliged to assist in the culture of maize, and other grain of ne­cessary consumption; in tending cattle; in erecting edifices of public utility; in building bridges; and in forming high roads^*; but they cannot be con­strained to labour in raising vines, olives, and sugar­canes, or any species of cultivation, which has for its object the gratification of luxury, or commercial profit^†. In consequence of the latter, the Indians are compelled to undertake the more unpleasant task of extracting ore from the bowels of the earth, and of refining it by successive processes, no less unwhole­some than operose^‡.

The mode of exacting these.THE mode of exacting both these services is the same, and is under regulations framed with a view of rendering it as little oppressive as possible to the Indians. They are called out successively in divi­sions, termed Mitas, and no person can be com­pelled to go but in his turn. In Peru, the number called out must not exceed the seventh part of the in­habitants [Page 379] in any district^*. In New Spain, where the Indians are more numerous, it is fixed at four in the hundred^†. During what time the labour of such Indians, as are employed in agriculture, con­tinues, I have not been able to learn^‡. But in Pe­ru, each Mita, or division, destined for the mines, remains there six months; and while engaged in this service, a labourer never receives less than two shillings a day, and often earns more than double that sum^§. No Indian, residing at a greater distance than thirty miles from a mine, is included in the Mita, or division employed in working it^‖; nor are the inhabitants of the low country exposed now to certain destruction, as they were at first, when un­der the dominion of the conquerors, by compelling them to remove from that warm climate, to the cold elevated regions where minerals abound^¶.

THE Indians who live in the principal towns,How go­verned. are entirely subject to the Spanish laws and magi­strates; but in their own villages, they are go­verned by Caziques, some of whom are the de­scendants of their ancient lords, others are named by the Spanish viceroys. These regulate the petty affairs of the people under them according to maxims of justice, transmitted to them by tradition from their ancestors. To the Indians, this juris­diction, lodged in such friendly hands, affords some consolation; and so little formidable is this dignity to their new masters, that they often allow it to de­scend by hereditary right^**. For the farther relief of men so much exposed to oppression, the Spanish court has appointed an officer in every district, with the title of Protector of the Indians. It is his [Page 380] function, as the name implies, to assert the rights of the Indians; to appear as their defender in the courts of justice; and, by the interposition of his authority to set bounds to the encroachments and exactions of his countrymen^*. A certain portion of the reserved fourth of the annual tribute, is des­tined for the salary of the caziques and protectors; another is applied to the maintenance of the clergy employed in the instruction of the Indians^†. An­other part seems to be appropriated for the benefit of the Indians themselves, and is applied for the payment of their tribute in years of famine, or when a particular district is affected by any extraordinary local calamity^‡. Besides this, provision is made by various laws, that hospitals shall be founded in every new settlement for the reception of Indi­ans^§. Such hospitals have accordingly been erected, both for the indigent and infirm, in Lima, in Cuzco, and in Mexico, where the Indians are treated with tenderness and humanity ^‖.

SUCH are the leading principles in the jurispru­dence and policy by which the Indians are now go­verned in the provinces belonging to Spain. In those regulations of the Spanish monarchs, we dis­cover no traces of that cruel system of extermina­tion, which they have been charged with adopting; and if we admit, that the necessity of securing sub­sistence for their colonies, or the advantages de­rived from working the mines, give them a right to avail themselves of the labour of the Indians, we must allow, that the attention with which they re­gulate and recompence that labour, is provident and [Page 381] sagacious. In no code of laws is greater solicitude displayed, or precautions multiplied with more pru­dent concern for the preservation, the security, and the happiness of the subject, than we discover in the collection of the Spanish laws for the Indies. But those later regulations, like the more early edicts which have been already mentioned, have too often proved ineffectual remedies against the evils which they were intended to prevent. In every age, if the same causes continue to operate, the same effects must follow. From the immense distance between the power entrusted with the execution of laws, and that by whose authority they are enacted, the vigour even of the most absolute government must relax, and the dread of a superior, too remote to observe with accuracy, or to punish with dispatch, must in­sensibly abate. Notwithstanding the numerous in­junctions of the Spanish monarch, the Indians still suffer on many occasions, both from the avarice of individuals, and from the exactions of the magis­trates, who ought to have protected them; unrea­sonable tasks are imposed; the term of their labour is prolonged beyond the period fixed by law, and they groan under many of the insults and wrongs which are the lot of a dependent people^*. From some information on which I can depend, such op­pression abounds more in Peru, than any other co­lony. But it is not general. According to the ac­counts, even of those authors who are most dispo­sed to exaggerate the sufferings of the Indians, they, in several provinces, enjoy not only ease, but afflu­ence; they possess large farms; they are masters of numerous herds and flocks: and by the knowledge which they have acquired of European arts and in­dustry, are supplied not only with the necessaries, but with many luxuries of life^†.

[Page 382]AFTER explaining the form of civil government in the Spanish colonies, and the state of the various orders of persons subject to it,Ecclesiasti­cal consti­tution of the colo­nies. the peculiarities in their ecclesiastical constitution merit consideration. Notwithstanding the superstitious veneration with which the Spaniards are devoted to the Holy See, the vigilant and jealous policy of Ferdinand early prompted him to take precautions against the in­troduction of the papal dominion into America. With this view,Restraints on the pa­pal juris­diction. he solicited Alexander VI. for a grant to the crown of the tithes in all the newly-discovered countries^*, which he obtained on con­dition of his making provision for the religious in­struction of the natives. Soon after Julius II. con­ferred on him, and his successors, the right of pa­tronage, and the absolute disposal of all ecclesiastical benefices there^†. But these pontiffs, unacquainted with the value of what he demanded, bestowed those donations with an inconsiderate liberality, which their successors have often lamented, and wished to recal. In consequence of those grants, the Spanish monarchs have become in effect the heads of the American church. In them the ad­ministration of its revenues is vested. Their no­mination of persons to supply vacant benefices is instantly confirmed by the pope. Thus, in all Spanish America, authority of every species centers in the crown. There no collision is known be­tween spiritual and temporal jurisdiction. The king is the only superior, his name alone is heard of, and no dependence upon any foreign power has been introduced. Papal bulls cannot be admitted into America, nor are they of any force there, until they have been previously examined, and approved [Page 383] of by the royal council of the Indies^*; and if any bull should be surreptitiously introduced, and cir­culated in America without obtaining that appro­bation, ecclesiastics are required not only to prevent it from taking effect, but to seize all the copies of it, and transmit them to the council of the Indies^†. To this limitation of the papal jurisdiction, equally singular, whether we consider the age and nation in which it was devised, or the jealous attention with which Ferdinand and his successors have studied to maintain it in full force^‡, Spain is indebted, in a great measure, for the uniform tranquillity which has reigned in her American dominions.

THE hierarchy as established in America in the same form is in Spain,Form and endow­ments of the church in the Spa­nish colo­nies. with its full train of arch­bishops, bishops, deans, and other dignitaries. The inferior clergy are divided into three classes, under the denomination of Curas, Doctrineros, and Mis­sioneros. The first are parish-priests in those parts of the country where the Spaniards have settled. The second have the charge of such districts as are inhabited by Indians subjected to the Spanish go­vernment, and living under its protection. The third are employed in instructing and converting those fiercer tribes, which disdain submission to the Spanish yoke, and live in remote or inaccessible regions, to which the Spanish arms have not pe­netrated. So numerous are the ecclesiastics of all those various orders, and such the profuse liberality with which many of them are endowed, that the revenues of the church in America are immense. The Romish superstition appears with its utmost pomp in the New World. Churches and convents [Page 384] there are magnificent, and richly adorned; and on high festivals, the display of gold and silver, and precious stones, is such as exceeds the conception of an European^*. An ecclesiastical establishment so splendid and expensive, is unfavourable, as has been formerly observed, to the progress of rising colonies; but in countries where riches abound, and the peo­ple are so delighted with parade, that religion must assume it, in order to attract their veneration, this propensity to ostentation has been indulged, and becomes less pernicious.

Pernicious effects of monastic institutions.THE early institution of monasteries in the Spa­nish colonies, and the inconsiderate zeal in multi­plying them, have been attended with consequences more fatal. In every new settlement, the first ob­ject should be to encourage population, and to in­cite every citizen to contribute towards augment­ing the number and strength of the community. During the youth and vigour of society, while there is room to spread, and sustenance is procured with facility, mankind increase with amazing rapidity. But the Spaniards had hardly taken possession of America, when with a most preposterous policy, they began to erect convents, where persons of both sexes were shut up, under a vow to defeat the pur­pose of nature, and to counteract the first of her laws. Influenced by a misguided piety, which ascribes transcendant merit to a state of celibacy, or allured by the prospect of that listless ease, which, in sultry climates, is deemed supreme felicity, num­bers crowded into those mansions of sloth and su­perstition, and are lost to society. As none but persons of Spanish extract are admitted into the monasteries of the New World, the evil is more sensibly felt, and every monk or nun may be con­sidered [Page 385] as an active person withdrawn from civil life. The impropriety of such foundations in any situation where the extent of territory requires ad­ditional hands to improve it, is so obvious, that some catholic states have expressly prohibited any person in their colonies from taking the monastic vows^*. Even the Spanish monarchs, on some oc­casions, seem to have been alarmed with the spread­ing of a spirit so adverse to the increase and pros­perity of their colonies, that they have endeavoured to check it^†. But the Spaniards in America, more thoroughly under the influence of superstition than their countrymen in Europe, and directed by ec­clesiastics more bigotted and illiterate, have con­ceived such an high opinion of monastic sanctity, that no regulations can restrain their zeal; and, by the excess of their ill-judged bounty, religious houses have multiplied to a degree no less amazing than pernicious to society^‡.

IN viewing the state of colonies,Character of ecclesi­astics in Spanish A­merica, where not only the number but influence of ecclesiastics is so great, the character of this powerful body is an object that merits particular attention. A considerable part of the secular clergy in Mexico and Peru are natives of Spain. As persons long accustomed, by their education, to the retirement and indolence of aca­demic life, are more incapable of active enterprize, and less disposed to strike into new paths, than any order of men, the ecclesiastical adventurers by whom the American church is recruited, are commonly such as, from merit or rank in life, have little pro­spect of success in their own country.of the se­cula [...], According­ly, the secular priests in the New World, are still [Page 386] less distinguished than their brethern in Spain, for literary accomplishments of any species; and though by the ample provision which has been made for the American church, many of its members enjoy the ease and independence which are favourable to the cultivation of science, the body of secular clergy has hardly, during two centuries and a half, pro­duced one author whose works convey such useful information, or possess such a degree of merit, as to be ranked among those which attract the atten­tion of enlightened nations.of the re­gulars. But the greatest part of the ecclesiastics in the Spanish settlements are regulars. On the discovery of America, a new field opened to the pious zeal of the monastic or­ders; and, with a becoming alacrity, they imme­diately sent forth missionaries to labour in it. The first attempt to instruct and convert the Americans, was made by monks; and, as soon as the conquest of any province was completed, and its ecclesiasti­cal establishment began to assume some form, the popes permitted the missionaries of the four mendi­cant orders, as a reward for their services, to ac­cept of parochial charges in America, to perform all spiritual functions, and to receive the tithes, and other emoluments of the benefice, without de­pending on the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese, or being subject to his censures. In con­sequence of this, a new career of usefulness, as well as new objects of ambition presented themselves. Whenever a call is made for a fresh supply of mis­sionaries, men of the most ardent and aspiring minds, impatient under the restraint of a cloister, weary of its insipid uniformity, and fatigued with the irksome repetition of its frivolous functions, offer their service with eagerness, and repair to the New World in quest of liberty and distinction. Nor do they pursue distinction without success. The [Page 387] highest ecclesiastical honours, as well as the most lucrative preferments in Mexico and Peru, are often in the hands of regulars; and it is chiefly to the monastic orders that the Americans are in­debted for any portion of science which is culti­vated among them. They are almost the only Spanish ecclesiastics, from whom we have received any accounts, either of the civil or natural history of the various provinces in America. Some of them, though deeply tinged with the indelible su­perstition of their profession, have published books which give a favourable idea of their abilities. The natural and moral history of the New World, by the Jesuit Acosta, contains more accurate obser­vations, perhaps, a more sound science, than are to be found in any description of remote countries published in the sixteenth century.

BUT the same disgust with monastic life,Dissolute manners of some of them. to which America is indebted for some instructors of worth and abilities, filled it with others of a very different character. The giddy, the profligate, the avari­cious, to whom the poverty and rigid discipline of a convent are intolerable, consider a mission to America as a release from mortification and bond­age. There they soon obtain some parochial charge, and far removed, by their situation, from the inspection of their monastic superiors, and ex­empt, by their character, from the jurisdiction of their diocesan^*, they are hardly subject to any controul. According to the testimony of the most zealous catholics, many of the regular clergy in the Spanish settlements are not only destitute of the virtues becoming their profession, but regard­less of that external decorum and respect for the opinion of mankind, which preserve a resemblance [Page 388] of worth where the reality is wanting. Secure of impunity, some regulars, in contempt of their vow of poverty, engage openly in commerce; and are so rapaciously eager in amassing wealth, that they become the most grievous oppressors of the Indians, whom it was their duty to have protected. Others, with no less flagrant violation of their vow of chastity, indulge with little disguise in the most dissolute licentiousness^*.

VARIOUS schemes have been proposed for re­dressing enormities so manifest and so offensive. Several persons, no less eminent for piety than dis­cernment, have contended, that the regulars, in conformity to the canons of the church, ought to be confined within the walls of their cloisters, and should no longer be permitted to encroach on the functions of the secular clergy. Some public-spirited magistrates, from conviction of its being necessary to deprive the regulars of a privilege be­stowed at first with good intention, but of which time and experience had discovered the pernicious effects,1618. openly countenanced the secular clergy in their attempts to assert their own rights. The prince D'Esquilache, viceroy of Peru under Philip III. took measures so decisive and effectual for circum­scribing the regulars within their proper sphere, as struck them with general consternation^†. They had recourse to their usual arts. They alarmed the superstitious, by representing the proceedings of the viceroy as innovations fatal to religion. They employed all the refinements of intrigue, in order to gain persons in power; and seconded by the powerful influence of the Jesuits, who claimed and enjoyed all the privileges which belonged to the Mendicant orders in America, they made a deep [Page 389] impression on a bigotted prince, and a weak mi­nistry. The ancient practice was tolerated. The abuses which it occasioned continued to increase, and the corruption of monks, exempt from the re­straints of discipline, and the inspection of any su­perior, became a disgrace to religion. At last, as the veneration of the Spaniards for the monastic orders began to abate,June 23, 1757. and the power of the Jesuits was on the decline, Ferdinand VI. ventured to apply the only effectual remedy by issuing an edict, prohibiting regulars of every denomination from taking the charge of any parish with the cure of souls; and declaring, that on the demise of the present incumbents, none but secular priests, sub­ject to the jurisdiction of their diocesans, shall be presented to vacant benefices^*. If this regulation is carried into execution with steadiness in any de­gree proportional to the wisdom with which it is framed, a very considerable reformation may take place in the ecclesiastical state of Spanish America, and the secular clergy may gradually become a re­spectable body of men. The deportment of many ecclesiastics, even at present, seems to be decent and exemplary, otherwise we can hardly suppose that they would be held in such high estimation, and possess such a wonderful ascendant over the minds of their countrymen throughout all the Spanish settlements.

BUT whatever merit the Spanish ecclesiastics in America may possess,Small pro­gress in con­verting the Indians to christiani­ty. the success of their endea­vours in communicating the knowledge of true re­ligion to the Indians, has been more imperfect than might have been expected, either from the degree of their zeal, or from the dominion which they had acquired over that people. For this, various rea­sons [Page 390] may be assigned. The first missionaries, in their ardour to make proselytes, admitted the peo­ple of America into the christian church, without previous instruction in the doctrines of religion, and even before they themselves had acquired such knowledge of the Indian language, as to be able to explain to the natives the mysteries of faith, or the precepts of duty. Resting upon a subtle distinction in scholastic theology, between that degree of assent which is founded on a complete knowledge and conviction of duty, and that which may be yielded when both these are imperfect, they adopted this strange practice, no less inconsistent with the spirit of a religion which addresses itself to the under­standing of men, than repugnant to the dictates of reason. As soon as any body of people over­awed by dread of the Spanish power, moved by the example of their own chiefs, incited by levity, or yielding from mere ignorance, expressed the slightest desire of embracing the religion of their conquerors, they were instantly baptized. While this rage of convers [...]ion continued, a single clergy-man, baptized in one day above five thousand Mexicans, and did not desist until he was so exhausted by fatigue, that he was unable to lift his hands^*. In the course of a few years, after the reduction of the Mexican empire, the sacrament to baptism was administered to more than four mil­lions^†. Proselytes adopted with such inconsiderate haste, and who were neither instructed in the na­ture of the tenets to which it was supposed they had given assent, nor taught the absurdity of those which they were required to relinquish, retained their veneration for their ancient superstitions in full [Page 391] force, or mingled an attachment to its doctrines and rites with that slender knowledge of Christi­anity which they had acquired. These sentiments the new converts transmitted to their posterity, into whose minds they have sunk so deep, that the Spa­nish ecclesiastics, with all their industry, have not been able to eradicate them. The religious insti­tutions of their ancestors are still remembered, and held in honour by many of the Indians, both in Mexico and Peru; and whenever they think themselves out of reach of inspection by the Spa­niards, they assemble and celebrate their idolatrous rites^*.

BUT this is not the most unsurmountable obstacle to the progress of Christianity among the Indians. The powers of their uncultivated understandings are so limited, their observations and reflections reach so little beyond the mere objects of sense, that they seem hardly to have the capacity of forming abstract ideas, and possess not language to express them. To such men, the sublime and spiritual doctrines of Christianity must be, in a great measure, incom­prehensible. The numerous and splendid cere­monies of the popish worship catch the eye, please and interest them; but when their instructors at­tempt to explain the articles of faith, with which those external observances are connected, though the Indians may listen with patience, they so little conceive the meaning of what they hear, that their acquiescence does not merit the name of belief. Their indifference is still greater than their incapa­city. Attentive only to the present moment, and ingrossed by the objects before them, the Indians so seldom reflect upon what is past, or take thought [Page 392] for what is to come, that neither the promises nor threats of religion, make much impression upon them; and while their foresight rarely extends so far as the next day, it is almost impossible to in­spire them with solicitude about the concerns of a future world. Astonished equally at their slowness of comprehension, and at their insensibility, some of the early missionaries pronounced them a race of men so brutish, as to be incapable of understanding the first principles of religion. A council held at Lima decreed, that, on account of this incapacity, they ought to be excluded from the sacrament of the Eucharist^*. Though Paul III. by his famous bull, issued in the year 1537, declared them to be rational creatures, entitled to all the privileges of Christians^†; yet, after the lapse of two centuries, during which they have been numbers of the church, so imperfect are their attainments in know­ledge, that very few possess such a portion of spiritual discernment, as to be deemed worthy of being admitted to the holy communion^‡. From this idea of their incapacity and imperfect knowledge of re­ligion, when the zeal of Philip II. established the inquisition in America in the year 1570, the Indians were exempted from the jurisdiction of that severe tribunal^§, and still continue under the inspection of their diocesans. Even after the most perfect in­struction, their faith is held to be feeble and du­bious; and though some of them have been taught the learned languages, and have gone through the ordinary course of academic education with ap­plause, their frailty is still so much suspected, that [Page 393] few Indians are either ordained priests, or received into any religious order^*.

FROM this brief survey,Producti­ons of the Spanish co­lonies. some idea may be formed of the interior state of the Spanish colonies. The various productions with which they supply and enrich the mother-country, and the system of com­mercial intercourse between them, come next in order to be explained. If the dominions of Spain in the New World had been of such moderate ex­tent, as bore a due proportion to the parent state, the progress of her colonizing might have been attended with the same benefit as that of other na­tions. But when, in less than half a century, her inconsiderate rapacity had seized on countries larger than all Europe, her inability to fill such vast re­gions with a number of inhabitants sufficient for the cultivation of them, was so obvious, as to give a wrong direction to all the efforts of the colonists. They did not form compact settlements, where in­dustry, circumscribed within proper limits, both in its views and operations, is conducted with that sober persevering spirit, which gradually converts what­ever is in its possession to a proper use, and derives thence the greatest advantage. Instead of this, the Spaniards, seduced by the boundless prospect which opened to them, divided their possessions in Ame­rica into governments of great extent. As their number was too small to attempt the regular culture of the immense provinces, which they occupied rather than peopled, they bent their attention to a few objects, that allured them with hopes of sudden and exorbitant gain, and turned away with con­tempt from the humbler paths of industry, which lead more slowly, but with greater certainty, to wealth and increase of national strength.

[Page 394]OF all the methods by which riches may be ac­quired, that of searching for the precious metals is one of the most inviting to men,From their mines. who are either unaccustomed to the regular assiduity with which the culture of the earth and the operations of com­merce must be carried on, or who are so enterprising and rapacious as not to be satisfied with the gradual returns of profit which they yield. Accordingly, as soon as the several countries in America were subjected to the dominion of Spain, this was almost the only method of acquiring wealth which occur­red to the adventurers, by whom they were con­quered. Such provinces of the continent as did not allure them to settle, by the prospect of their affording gold and silver, were totally neglected. Those in which they met with a disappointment of the sanguine expectations they had formed, were abandoned. Even the value of the islands, the first-fruits of their discoveries, and the first object of their attention, sunk so much in their estimation, when the mines which had been opened in them were exhausted, that they were deserted by many of the planters, and left to be occupied by more in­dustrious possessors. All crowded to Mexico and Peru, where the quantities of gold and silver found among the natives, who searched for them with little industry and less skill, promised an unex­hausted store, as the recompence of more intelli­gent and persevering efforts.

Discovery of those of Potosi and Sacotecas.DURING several years, the ardour of their re­searches was kept up by hope, rather than success. At length, the rich silver mines of Potosi, in Peru, were accidentally discovered in the year 1545^*, by an Indian, as he was clambering up the mountain, in pursuit of a Llama which had strayed from his [Page 395] flock. Soon after the mines of Sacotecas, in New Spain, little inferior to the other in value, were opened. From that time, successive discoveries have been made in both colonies, and silver mines are now so numerous, that the working of them, and of some few mines of gold in the province of Tierra Firmè, and the new kingdom of Granada, has become the capital occupation of the Spaniards, and is reduced into a system no less complicated than interesting. To describe the nature of the various ores, the mode of extracting them from the bowels of the earth, and to explain the several processes by which the metals are separated from the substances with which they are mingled, either by the action of fire, or the attractive powers, of mercury, is the province of the natural philosopher or chymist, rather than of the historian.

THE exuberant profusion with which the moun­tains of the New World poured forth their trea­sures, astonished mankind,Riches which they yield. who had been accu­stomed hitherto to receive a penurious supply of the precious metals, from the more scanty stores con­tained in the mines of the ancient hemisphere. Ac­cording to principles of computation, which appear to be extremely moderate, the quantity of gold and silver that has been regularly entered in the ports of Spain, is equal in value to four millions sterling annually, reckoning from the year 1492, in which America was discovered, to the present time. This, in two hundred and eighty three years, amounts to eleven hundred and thirty-two millions. Immense as this sum is, the Spanish writers con­tend, that as much more ought to be added to it, in consideration of treasure which has been extracted from the mines, and imported fraudulently into Spain, without paying duty to the king. By this account, Spain has drawn from the New World a [Page 396] supply of wealth, amounting at least to two thousand millions of pounds sterling^*.

Spirit to which this gives rise.THE mines, which have yielded this amazing quantity of treasure, are not worked at the expence of the crown, or of the public. In order to en­courage private adventurers, the person who dis­covers and works a new vein, is entitled to the property of it. Upon laying his claim to such a discovery before the governor of the province, a certain extent of land is measured off, and a certain number of Indians allotted him, under the obliga­tion of his opening the mine within a limited time, and of his paying the customary duty to the king, for what it shall produce. Invited by the facility with which such grants are obtained, and encou­raged by some striking examples of success in this line of adventure; not only the sanguine and the bold, but the timid and diffident enter upon it with astonishing ardour. With vast objects always in view, fed continually with hope, and expecting every moment that fortune will unveil her secret stores, and give up the wealth which they contain to their wishes, they deem every other occupation insipid and uninteresting. The charms of this pur­suit, like the rage for deep play, are so bewitching, and take such full possession of the mind, as even to give a new bent to the natural temper. Under its influence, the cautious become enterprising, and the covetous profuse. Powerful as this charm natu­rally is, its force is augmented by the arts of an order of men known in Peru by the cant name of searchers. These are commonly persons of despe­rate fortunes, who, availing themselves of some skill in mineralogy, accompanied with the insinu­ating manner, and confident pretensions peculiar to [Page 397] projectors, address the wealthy and the credulous. By plausible descriptions of the appearances which they have discovered of rich veins hitherto unex­plored; by producing, when requisite, specimens of promising ore; by affirming, with an imposing assurance, that success is certain, and that the ex­pence must be trifling, they seldom fail to per­suade. An association is formed; a small sum is advnaced by each copartner; the mine is opened; the searcher is entrusted with the sole direction of every operation; unforeseen difficulties occur; new demands of money are made; but, amidst a succes­sion of disappointments and delays, hope is never extinguished, and the ardour of expectation hardly abates. For it is observed, that if any person once enter this seducing path, it is almost impossible to return; his ideas alter, he seems to be possessed with another spirit, visions of imaginary wealth are continually before his eyes, and he thinks, and speaks, and dreams of nothing else^*.

SUCH is the spirit that must be formed,Fatal effects of it. wherever the active exertions of any society are chiefly em­ployed in working mines of gold and silver. No spirit is more adverse to such improvement in agri­culture and commerce, as render a nation really opulent. If the system of administration in the Spanish colonies had been founded upon principles of sound policy, the power and ingenuity of the legislature would have been exerted with as much ardour, in restraining its subjects from such perni­cious industry, as is now employed in alluring them towards it. "Projects of mining" (says a good judge of the political conduct of nations), ‘instead of replacing the capital employed in them, together with the ordinary profit of stock, [Page 398] commonly absorb both capital [...] profit. They are the projects, therefore, to which of all others, a prudent lawgiver, who desired to in­crease the capital of his nation, would least choose to give any extraordinary encouragement, or to turn towards them a greater share of that capital than would go to them of its own accord. Such, in reality, is the absurd confidence which all men have in their own good fortune, that wherever there is the least probability of success, too great a share of it is apt to go to them of its own ac­cord†.’ But in the Spanish colonies, govern­ment is studious to cherish a spirit which it should have laboured to depress, and, by the sanction of its approbation, augments that inconsiderate cre­dulity, which has turned the active industry of Mexico and Peru into such an improper channel. To this may be imputed the slender progress which Spanish America has made during two centuries and a half, either in useful manufactures, or in those lucrative branches of cultivation, which furnish the colonies of other nations with their staple commo­dities. In comparison with the precious metals every bounty of nature is so much despised, that this extravagant idea of their value has mingled with the idiom of language in America, and the Spaniards settled there denominate a country, rich, not from the fertility of its soil, the abundance of its crops, or the exuberance of its pastures, but on account of the minerals which its mountains con­tain. In quest of these, they abandon the delight­ful plains of Peru and Mexico, and resort to barren and uncomfortable regions, where they have built some of the largest towns which they possess in the New World. As the activity and enterprise of the ^* [Page 399] Spaniards originally took this direction, it is now so difficult to bend them a different way, that al­though, from various causes, the gain of working mines is much decreased; the fascination continues, and almost every person, who takes any active part in the commerce of New Spain or Peru, is still en­gaged in some adventure of this kind ^*.

BUT though mines are the chief object of the Spaniards,Other com­modities of the Spanish colonies. and the precious metals which these yield, form the principal article in their commerce with America; the fertile countries which they possess there, abound with other commodities of such value or scarcity, as to attract a considerable degree of attention. Cochineal is a production al­most peculiar to New Spain, of such demand in commerce, that the sale is always certain, and it yields such profit, as amply rewards the labour and care employed in rearing the curious insects of which this valuable drug is composed, and prepar­ing it for the market. Quinqina, or Jesuits Bark, the most salutary simple, perhaps, and of most restorative virtue, that Providence, in compassion to human infirmity, has made known unto man, is found only in Peru, to which it affords a lucrative branch of commerce. The Indigo of Guatimala is superior in quality to that of any province in Ame­rica, and cultivated to a considerable extent. Ca­coa, though nor peculiar to the Spanish colonies, attains to its highest state of perfection there, and from the great consumption of chocolate in Eu­rope, as well as in America, is a valuable commo­dity. The Tobacco of Cuba, of more exquisite flavour than any brought from the New World; the Sugar raised in that island, in Hispaniola, and in New Spain, together with drugs of various kinds, may be mentioned among the natural pro­ductions [Page 400] of America, which enrich the Spanish commerce. To these must be added, an article of no inconsiderable account, the exportation of hides; for which, as well as for many of those which I have enumerated, the Spaniards are more indebted to the wonderful fertility of the country than to their own foresight and industry. The domestic animals of Europe, particularly horned cattle, have multiplied in the New World with a rapidity which almost exceeds belief. A few years after the Spaniards settled there, the herds of tame cattle became so numerous that their proprietors reckoned them by thousands^*. Less attention being paid to them, as they continued to increase, they were suffered to run wild, and spreading over a country of boundless extent, under a mild cli­mate, and covered with rich pasture, their num­ber became immense. They range over the vast plains which extend from Buenos Ayres, towards the Andes, in herds of thirty or forty thousand; and the unlucky traveller who once falls in among them, may proceed several days before he can dis­entangle himself from among the crowd that covers the face of the earth, and seems to have no end. They are hardly less numerous in New Spain, and in several other provinces: they are killed merely for the sake of their hides; and the slaughter at certain seasons is so great, that the stench of their carcases, which are left in the field, would insect the air, if large packs of wild dogs, and vast flocks of gallinazos, or American vultures, the most voracious of all the feathered kind, did not instantly devour them. The number of those hides exported in every fleet to Europe is [Page 401] very great, and is a lucrative branch of com­merce ^*.

ALMOST all these may be considered as staple commodities peculiar to America, and different, if we except that last mentioned, from the produc­tions of the mother-country.

WHEN the importation into Spain of those va­rious articles from her colonies,Advanta­ges which Spain de­rives from her colo­nies. first became active and considerable, her interior industry and manu­factures were in a state so prosperous, that with the product of these she was able both to purchase the commodities of the New World, and to an­swer its growing demands. Under the reigns of Ferdinand and Isabella, and Charles V. Spain was one of the most industrious countries in Europe. Her manufactures in wool, and flax, and silk, were so extensive, as not only to furnish what was suffi­cient for her own consumption, but to afford a sur­plus for exportation. When a market for them, formerly unknown, and to which she alone had access, opened in America, she had recourse to her domestic store, and found there an abundant sup­ply^†. This new employment must naturally have added vivacity to the spirit of industry. Nourished and invigorated by it, the manufactures, the popu­lation, and wealth of Spain might have gone on in­creasing in the same proportion with the growth of her colonies. Nor was the state of the Spanish marine at this period less flourishing than that of its manufactures. In the beginning of the sixteenth century, Spain is said to have possessed above a thousand merchant ships^‡, a number probably far superior to that of any nation in Europe in that [Page 402] age. By the aid which foreign trade and domestic industry give reciprocally to each other in their progress, the augmentation of both must have been rapid and entensive, and Spain might have received the same accession of opulence and vigour from her acquisitions in the New World, that other powers have derived from their colonies there.

Why she does not now derive the same.BUT various causes prevented this. The same thing happens to nations as to individuals. Wealth, which flows in gradually, and with moderate in­crease, feeds and nourishes that activity which is friendly to commerce, and calls it forth into vigor­ous and well-conducted exertions; but when opu­lence pours in suddenly, and with too full a stream, it overturns all sober plans of industry, and brings along with it a taste for what is wild and extrava­gant, and daring in business or in action. Such was the great and sudden augmentation of power and revenue, that the possession of America brought into Spain, and some symptoms of its pernicious influence upon the political operations of that mo­narchy soon began to appear. For a considerable time, however, the supply of treasure from the New World was scanty and precarious, and the genius of Charles V. conducted public measures with such prudence, that the effects of this influence were little perceived. But when Philip II. ascended the Spanish throne, with talents far inferior to those of [...] her, and remittances from the colonies be­c [...]me a regular and considerable branch of revenue, the fatal operation of this rapid change in the state of the kingdom, both on the monarch and his people, was at once conspicuous. Philip, pos­sessing that spirit of unceasing affiduity, which often characterises the ambition of men of moderate ta­lents, entertained such an high opinion of his own resources, that he thought nothing too arduous for [Page 403] him to undertake. Shut up himself in the solitude of the Escuriel, he troubled and annoyed all the nations around him. He waged open war with the Dutch and English; he encouraged and aided a rebellious faction in France; he conquered Portugal, and maintained armies and garrisons in Italy, Africa, and both the Indies. By such a multiplicity of great and complicated operations, pursued with ar­dour during the course of a long reign, Spain was drained both of men and money. Under the weak administration of his successor, Philip III. the vi­gour of the nation continued to decreas [...], and sunk into the lowest decline,A. D. 1611 when the incon [...]derate bi­gotry of that monarch expelled at once [...]ear a mil­lion of his most industrious subjects, at the very time when the exhausted state of the kingdom re­quired some extraordinary exertion of political wis­dom to augment its numbers, and to revive its strength, Early in the seventeenth century, Spain felt such a diminution in the number of her people, that from inability to recruit her armies, she was obliged to contract her operations. Her flourishing manufactures were fallen into decay. Her fleets, which had been the terror of all Europe, were ruined. Her extensive foreign commerce was lost. The trade between different parts of her own dominions was interrupted, and the ships which at­tempted to carry it on, were taken and plundered by enemies whom she once despised. Even agri­culture, the primary object of industry in every prosperous state, was neglected, and one of the most fertile countries in Europe hardly raised what was sufficient for the support of its own inhabit­ants.

IN proportion [...]s the population and manufac­tures of the parent state declined, [...]. the demands of her colonies continued to increase. The Spaniards, [Page 404] like their monarchs, intoxicated with the wealth which poured in annually upon them, deserted the paths of industry, to which they had been accus­tomed, and repaired with eagerness to those regions from which this opulence issued. By this rage of emigration [...] another drain was opened, and the strength of the colonies augmented by exhausting that of the mother-country. All those emigrants, as well as the adventurers who had at first settled in America, depended absolutely upon Spain for almost every article of necessary consumption. En­gaged in more alluring and lucrative pursuits, or prevented by restraints which government imposed, they could not turn their own attention towards establishing the manufactures requisite for comfort­able subsist [...]nce. They received (as I have observed in another place) their cloathing, their furniture, whatever ministers to the ease or luxury of life, and even their instruments of labour, from Europe. Spain, thinned of people, and decreasing in indus­try, was unable to supply their growing demands. She had recourse to her neighbours. The manu­factures of the Low Countries, of England, of France, and of Italy, which her wants called into existence, or animated with new vivacity, furnished in abundance whatever she required. In vain did the fundamental law, concerning the exclusion of foreigners from trade with America, oppose this innovation. Necessity more powerful than any statute, defeated its operations, and constrained the Spaniards themselves to concur in eluding it. The English, the French, and Dutch, relying on the fidelity and honour of Spanish merchants, who lend their names to cover the deceit, send out their manufactures to America, and receive the exorbitant price for which they are sold there, either in specie, or in the rich commodities of the New [Page 405] World. Neither the dread of danger, nor the al­lurement of profit, ever induced a Spanish factor to betray or defraud the person who confided in him ^*. and that probity, which is the pride and distinction of the nation, contributes to its ruin. In a short time, not above a twentieth part of the commodities exported to America was of Spanish growth or fabric^†. All the rest was the property of foreign merchants, though entered in the name of Spaniards. The treasure of the New World may be said henceforward not to have belonged to Spain. Before it reached Europe, it was antici­pated as the price of goods purchased from fo­reigners. That wealth which, by an internal cir­culation, would have spread through each vein of industry, and have conveyed life and movement to every branch of manufacture, flowed out of the kingdom with such a rapid course, as neither en­riched nor animated it. On the other hand, the artizans of rival nations, encouraged by this quick sale of their commodities, improved so much in skill and industry, as to be able to afford them at a rate so low, that the manufactures of Spain, which could not vie with theirs, either in quality or cheapness of work, were still farther depressed. This destructive commerce drained off the riches of the nation faster and more completely, than even the extravagant schemes of ambition carried on by its monarchs. Spain was so much astonished and distressed, at beholding her American treasures vanish almost as soon as they were imported, that Philip III. unable to supply what was requisite in circulation, issued an edict, by which he endea­voured to raise copper money to a value in cur­rency [Page 406] nearly equal to that of silver^*; and the lord of the Peruvian and Mexican mines was reduced to a wretched expedient, which is the last resource of petty impoverished states.

THUS the possessions of Spain in America have not proved a source of population and of wealth to her, in the same manner as those of other na­tions. In the countries of Europe, where the spirit of industry subsists in full vigour, every person settled in such colonies as are similar in their situa­tion to those of Spain, is supposed to give employ­ment to three or four at home in supplying his wants^*, But wherever the mother-country cannot afford this supply, every emigrant may be consi­dered as a citizen lost to the community, and strangers must reap all the benefit of answering his demands.

Increased by the mode of regulating its inter­course with America.SUCH has been the internal state of Spain from the close of the sixteenth century, and such her in­ability to supply the growing wants of her colo­nies. The fatal effects of this disproportion be­tween their demands and her capacity of answer­ing them, have been much increased by the mode in which Spain has endeavoured to regulate the in­tercourse between the mother-country and the co­lonies. It is from her idea of monopolizing the trade with America, and debarring her subjects there from any communication with foreigners, that all her jealous and systematic arrangements have arisen. These are so singular in their nature and consequences as to merit a particular explanation. In order to secure the monopoly at which she aimed, Spain did not vest the trade with her colonies in an exclusive company, a plan which has been adopted by nations more commercial, and at a period when [Page 407] mercantile policy was an object of greater atten­tion, and ought to have been better understood. The Dutch gave up the whole trade with their colonies, both in the East and West Indies, to exclusive companies. The English, the French, the Danes, have imitated their example with respect to the East Indian commerce; and the two former have laid a similar restraint upon some branches of their trade with the New World. The wit of man cannot, perhaps, devise a method for checking the progress of industry and population in a new colony more effectual than this. The interest of the co­lony, and of the exclusive company, must in every point be diametrically opposite; and as the latter possesses such advantages in this unequal contest, that it can prescribe, at pleasure the terms of inter­course, the former must not only buy dear and sell cheap, but must suffer the mortification of having the increase of its surplus stock discouraged by those very persons to whom alone it can dispose of its productions^*.

SPAIN, it is probable,This con­fined to one part in Spain. was preserved from fall­ing into this error in policy, by the high ideas which she early formed concerning the riches of the New World. Gold and silver were commo­dities of too high value to vest a monopoly of them in private hands. The crown wished to retain the direction of a commerce so inviting; and, in order to secure that, ordained the cargo of every ship fitted out for America, to be inspected by the [...]ffir [...]rs of the C [...]sa de Contra [...]acion in Seville, be­f [...]re it could receive a licence to make the voyage; and that on its return, a report of the commodities which it brought should be made to the same board, before it could be permitted to land them. In con­sequence [Page 408] of this regulation, all the trade of Spain, with the New World centered originally in the port of Seville, and was gradually brought into a form, in which it has been conducted, with little varia­tion, from the middle of the sixteenth century al­most to our own times. For the greater security of the valuable cargoes sent to America, as well as for the more easy prevention of fraud, the commerce of Spain, with its colonies, is carried on by fleets which sail under strong convoys. These fleets con­sisting of two squadrons, one distinguished by the name of the Galeons, the other by that of the Flota, are equipped annually. Formerly they took their departure from Seville; but as the port of Cadiz has been found more commodious, they have sailed from it since the year 1720.

Carried on by the Ga­leons,THE Galeons destined to supply Tierra Firmé, and the kingdoms of Peru and Chili, with almost every article of luxury, or necessary consumption, that an opulent people can demand, touch first at Carthagena, and then at Porto-bello. To the former, the merchants of Santa Martha, Carracas, the New Kingdom of Granada, and several other provinces, resort. The latter is the great mart for the rich commerce of Peru and Chili. At the season when the Galeons are expected, the product of all the mines in these two kingdoms, together with their other valuable commodities, is transported by sea to Panama. From thence, as soon as the ap­pearance of the fleet from Europe is announced, they are conveyed across the isthmus, partly on mules, and partly down the river Chagre to Porto-bello. This paltry village, the climate of which, from the pernicious union of excessive heat, conti­nual moisture, and the putrid exhalations arising from a rank soil, is more fatal to life than any per­haps in the known world, is immediately filled with [Page 409] people from being the residence of a few negroes and mulattoes, and of a miserable garrison relieved every three months, Porto-bello assumes suddenly a very different aspect, and its streets are crowded with opulent merchants from every corner of Peru, and the adjacent provinces. A fair is opened, the wealth of America is exchanged for the manufactures of Europe; and, during its prescribed term of forty days, the richest traffic on the face of the earth is begun and finished, with that simplicity of trans­action and that unbounded confidence which ac­company extensive commerce^*.and Flota, The Flota holds its course to Vera Cruz. The treasures and com­modities of New Spain, and the depending pro­vinces which were deposited at Puebla de los An­geles in expectation of its arrival, are carried thither, and the commercial operations of Vera Cruz, con­ducted in the same manner with those of Porto-bello, are inferior to them only in importance and value. Both fleets, as soon as they have completed their cargoes from America, rendezvous at the Havanna, and return in company to Europe.

THE trade of Spain with her colonies,Bad effects of this ar­rangement. while thus fettered and restricted, came necessarily to be conducted with the same spirit, and upon the same principles, as that of an exclusive company. Be­ing confined to a single port, it was of course thrown into a few hands, and almost the whole of it was gradually engrossed by a small number of wealthy houses, formerly in Seville, and now in Cadiz. These by combinations, which they can easily form, may altogether prevent that competi­tion which preserves commodities at their natural price; and by acting in concert, to which they are prompted by their mutual interest, they may raise or lower the value of them at pleasure. In conse­quence [Page 410] of this, the price of European goods in America, is always high, and often exorbitant. A hundred, two hundred, and even three hundred per cent. are profits not uncommon in the com­merce of Spain with her colonies^*. From the same engrossing spirit it frequently happens, that traders of the second order, whose warehouses do not contain a complete assortment of commodities for the American market, cannot purchase from the more opulent merchants such goods as they want, at a lower price than that for which they are sold in the colonies. With the same vigilant jealousy that an exclusive company guards against the intrusion of the free trader, those overgrown monopolists endeavour to check the progress of every one whose encroachments they dread^†. This restraint of the American commerce to one port not only affects its domestic state, but limits its foreign operations. A monopolist may acquire more, and certainly will hazard less, by a confined trade which yields exorbitant profit, than by an extensive commerce in which he receives only a moderate return of gain. It is often his interest not to enlarge, but to circumscribe the sphere of his activity; and, instead of calling forth more vigorous exertions of commercial industry, it may be the object of his attention to check and set bounds to them. By some such maxim, the mer­cantile policy of Spain seems to have regulated its intercourse with America. Instead of furnishing the colonies with European goods in such quantity as might render both the price and the profit mo­derate; the merchants of Seville and Cadiz seem to have supplied them with a sparing hand, that [Page 411] the eagerness of competition amongst customers obliged to purchase in a scanty market, might en­able the Spanish factors to dispose of their cargoes with exorbitant gain. About the middle of the last century, when the exclusive trade to America from Seville was in its most flourishing state, the burden of the two united squadrons of the Galeons and Flota, did not exceed twenty-seven thousand five hundred tons^*. The supply which such a fleet could carry, must have been very inadequate to the de­mands of those populous and extensive colonies, which depended upon it for all the luxuries, and many of the necessaries of life.

SPAIN early became sensible of her declension from her former prosperity,Remedies proposed. and many respectable and virtuous citizens employed their thoughts in devising methods for reviving the decaying in­dustry and commerce of their country. From the violence of the remedies proposed, we may judge how desperate and fatal the malady appeared. Some, confounding a violation of police with cri­minality against the state, contended, that in or­der to check illicit commerce, every person con­victed of carrying it on, should be punished with death, and confiscation of all his effects^†. Others, forgetting the distinction between civil offences and acts of impiety, insisted, that contraband trade should be ranked among the crimes reserved for the cognizance of the Inquisition; that such as were guilty of it might be tried and punished, ac­cording to the secret and summary form in which that dreadful tribunal exercises its jurisdiction^‡. Others, uninstructed by observing the pernicious [Page 412] effects of monopolies in every country where they have been established, have proposed to vest the trade with America in exclusive companies, which interest would render the most vigilant guardians of the Spanish commerce against the encroachment of the interlopers^*.

BESIDES these wild projects, many schemes, bet­ter digested and more beneficial, were suggested. But under the feeble monarchs, with whom the reign of the Austrian line in Spain closed, inca­pacity and indecision are conspicuous in every de­partment of government. Instead of taking for their model the active administration of Charles V. they affected to imitate the cautious procrastinating wisdom of Philip II. and destitute of his talents, they deliberated perpetually, but determined no­thing. No remedy was applied to the evils under which the national commerce, domestic as well as foreign, languished. These evils continued to in­crease, and Spain, with dominions more extensive and more opulent than any European state, pos­sessed neither vigour, nor money^†, nor industry. At length, the violence of a great national con­vulsion roused the slumbering genius of Spain. The efforts of the two contending parties in the civil war, kindled by the dispute concerning the succession of the crown at the beginning of this century, called forth, in some degree, the ancient spirit and vigour of the nation. While men were thus forming, capable of adopting sentiments more liberal than those which had influenced the councils of the monarchy during the course of a century, Spain derived from an unexpected source the means of availing itself of their talents. The various powers who favoured the petensions either of the [Page 413] Austrian or Bourbon candidate for the Spanish throne, sent formidable fleets and armies to their support; France, England, and Holland remitted immense sums to Spain. These were spent in the provinces which became the theatre of war. Part of the American treasure, of which foreigners had drained the kingdom, flowed back thither. From this aera, one of the most intelligent Spanish au­thors dates the revival of the monarchy; and, how­ever humiliating the truth may be, he acknow­ledges, that it is to her enemies his country is in­debted for the acquisition of a fund of circulating specie, in some measure adequate to the exigencies of the public^*.

AS soon as the Bourbons obtained quiet posses­sion of the throne,Step to­wards im­provement by the Bourbon monarchs, they discerned this change in the spirit of the people, and in the state of the na­tion, and took advantage of it; for although that family has not given monarchs to Spain remark­able for superiority of genius, they have all been beneficent princes, attentive to the happiness of their subjects, and solicitous to promote it. It was, accordingly, the first object of Philip V. to suppress an innovation which had crept in during the course of the war, and had overturned the whole system of the Spanish commerce with Ame­rica. The English and Dutch,by exclud­ing foreign­ers from trade with Peru. by their supe­riority in naval power, having acquired such com­mand of the sea, as to cut off all intercourse be­tween Spain and her colonies; Spain, in order to furnish her subjects in America those necessaries of life, without which they could not exist, and as the only means of receiving from thence any part of their treasure, departed so far from the usual rigour of its maxims as to open the trade with Peru to her allies the French. The merchants of [Page 414] St. Malo, to whom Louis XIV. granted the pri­vilege of this lucrative commerce, engaged in it with vigour, and carried it on upon principles very different from those of the Spaniards. They sup­plied Peru with European commodities at a mode­rate price, and not in stinted quantity. The goods which they imported were conveyed to every pro­vince of Spanish America, in such abundance as had never been known in any former period. If this intercourse had been continued, the exportation of European commodities from Spain must have ceased, and the dependence of the colonies on the mother-country have been at an end.1713. The most peremptory injunctions were therefore issued, pro­hibiting the admission of foreign vessels into any port of Peru or Chili^*, and a Spanish squadron was employed to clear the South Sea of intruders, whose aid was no longer necessary.

by check-contraband trade,BUT though, on the cessation of the war, which was terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, Spain obtained relief from one encroachment on her commercial system, she was exposed to another which she deemed hardly less pernicious. As an inducement that might prevail with Queen Anne to conclude a peace, which France and Spain de­sired with equal ardour, Philip V. not only con­veyed to Great Britain the assiento, particularly of the Eng­lish Assien­to com­pany. or contract for supplying the Spanish colonies with negroes, which had formerly been enjoyed by France, but granted it the more extraordinary privilege of sending an­nually to the fair of Porto-bello, a ship of five hundred tons, laden with European commodities. In consequence, of this, British factories were esta­blished at Carthagena, Panama, Vera Cruz, Bue­nos Ayres, and other Spanish settlements. The [Page 415] veil with which Spain had hitherto covered the state and transactions of her colonies was removed. The agents of a rival nation, residing in the towns of most extensive trade, and of chief resort, had the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with the interior condition of the American provinces, of observing their stated and occasional wants, and of knowing what commodities might be imported into them with the greatest advantage. In conse­quence of information so authentic and expedi­tious, the merchants of Jamaica and other Eng­lish colonies who traded to the Spanish main, were enabled to assort and proportion their cargoes so exactly to the demands of the market, that the contraband commerce was carried on with a faci­lity, and to an extent unknown in any former pe­riod. This however was not the most fatal conse­quence of the assiento to the trade of Spain. The agents of the British South-Sea Company, under cover of the importation which they were autho­rised to make by the ship sent annually to Porto­bello, poured in their commodities on the Spanish continent, without limitation or restraint. Instead of a ship of five hundred tons, as stipulated in the treaty, they usually employed one which exceeded nine hundred tons in burden. She was accom­panied by two or three smaller vessels, which, mooring in some neighbouring creek, supplied her clande [...]tinely with fresh bales of goods, to replace such as were sold. The inspectors of the fair, and officers of the revenue, gained by exorbitant pre­sents, connived at the fraud^*. Thus, partly by the operations of the company, and partly by the activity of private interlopers, almost the whole trade of Spanish America was engrossed by fo­reigners. The immense commerce of the Ga­leons, [Page 416] formerly the pride of Spain, and the envy of other nations, sunk to nothing, and the squa­dron itself reduced from fifteen thousand to two thousand tons^*,1737. served hardly any purpose but to fetch home the royal revenue arising from the fifth on silver.

Guarda Costas em­ployed [...] this pur­pose.WHILE Spain observed those encroachments, and felt so sensibly their pernicious effects, it was impossible not to make some effort to restrain them. Her first expedient was to station ships of force under the appellation of Guarda Costas, upon the coasts of those provinces, to which interlopers most frequently resorted. As private interest con­curred with the duty which they owed to the pub­lic, in rendering the officers who commanded those vessels vigilant and active, some check was given to the progress of the contraband trade, though in dominions so extensive, and so accessible by sea, hardly any number of cruisers was sufficient to guard against its inroads in every quarter. This interrup­tion of an intercourse, which had been carried on with so much facility, that the merchants in the British colonies were accustomed to consider it al­most as an allowed branch of Commerce, excited murmurs and complaints. These authorised, in some measure, and rendered more interesting, by several unjustifiable acts of violence committed by the captains of the Spanish Guarda Costas, pre­cipitated Great Britain into a war with Spain;1739. in consequence of which the latter obtained a final release from the Assiento, and was left at liberty to regulate the commerce of her colonies, with­out being restrained by any engagement with a fo­reign power.

The use of register ships intro­duced.AS the formidable encroachments of the English on their American trade, had discovered to the [Page 417] Spaniards the vast consumption of European goods in their colonies, and taught them the advantage of accommodating their importations to the occa­sional demand of the various provinces, they per­ceived the necessity of devising some method of supplying their colonies, different from their an­cient one, of sending thither periodical fleets. That mode of communication had been found not only to be uncertain, as the departure of the Ga­leons and Flota was sometimes retarded by various accidents, and often prevented by the wars which raged in Europe; but long experience had shewn it to be ill adapted to afford America a regular and timely supply of what it wanted. The scar­city of European goods in the Spanish settlements frequently became excessive; their price rose to an enormous height; the vigilant eye of mercantile attention did not fail to observe this favourable opportunity, an ample supply was poured in by interlopers from the English, the French, and Dutch islands; and when the Galeons at length arrived, they found the markets so glutted by this illicit commerce, that there was no demand for the commodities with which they were loaded. In order to remedy this, Spain has permitted a con­siderable part of her commerce with America, to be carried on by register ships. These are fitted out, during the intervals between the stated sea­sons when the Galeons and Flota sail, by merchants in Seville or Cadiz, upon obtaining a licence from the council of the Indies, for which they pay a very high premium, and are destined for those ports in America where any extraordinary demand is foreseen or expected. By this expedient, such a regular supply of the commodities, for which there is the greatest demand, is conveyed to the A­merican market, that the interloper is no longer al­lured [Page 418] by the same prospect of excessive gain, or the people in the colonies urged by the same necessity to engage in the hazardous adventures of contra­band trade.

The Gale­ons abo­lished.IN proportion as experience manifested the ad­vantages of carrying on trade in this mode, the number of register ships increased; and at length, in the year 1748, the Galeons after having been employed upwards of two centuries, were finally laid aside. From that period there has been no intercourse with Chili and Peru but by single ships, dispatched from time to time as occasion requires, and when the merchants expect a profitable market will open. These ships sail round Cape Horn, and convey directly to the ports in the South Sea the productions and manufactures of Europe, for which the people settled in those countries were formerly obliged to repair to Porto-bello or Panama. These towns, as has been formerly observed, must gradu­ally decline, when deprived of that commerce to which they owed their prosperity. This disadvan­tage however is more than compensated by the bene­ficial effects of this new arrangement, as the whole continent of South America receives new supplies of European commodities, with so much regularity, and in such abundance, as must not only contri­bute greatly to the happiness, but increase the po­pulation of all the colonies settled there. But as all the register ships destined for the South Seas, must still take their departure from Cadiz, and are obliged to return thither^*, this branch of the Ame­rican commerce, even in its new and improved form, continues subject to the restraints of a species of monopoly, and feels those pernicious effects of it, which I have already described.

[Page 419]NOR has the attention of Spain been confined to regulating the trade with its more flourishing colo­nies,Schem [...] for reviving commerce. it has extended likewise to the reviving com­merce in those settlements where it was neglected, or had decayed. Among the new tastes which the people of Europe have acquired in consequence of importing the productions of those countries which they conquered in America, that for chocolate is one of the most universal. The use of this liquor made with a paste, formed of the nut, or almond of the cacao-tree, compounded with various ingredi­ents, the Spaniards first learned from the Mexicans; and it has appeared to them, and to the other Euro­pean nations, so palatable, so nourishing, and so wholesome, that it has become a commercial article of considerable importance. The cacao-tree grows spontaneously in several parts of the torrid zone; but the nuts of the best quality, next to those of Guatimala, and the South Sea, are produced in the rich plains of Caraccas, a province of Tierra Firme. In consequence of this acknowledged superiority in the quality of cacao in that province, and its com­munication with the Atlantic, which facilitates the conveyance to Europe, the culture of the cacao there is more extensive than in any district of Ame­rica. But the Dutch, by the vicinity of their set­tlements in the small islands of Curazoa and Buen-Ayre, to the coast of Caraccas, gradually ingrossed the greatest part of the cacao trade. The traffic with the mother-country for this valuable commo­dity ceased almost entirely; and such was the su­pine negligence of the Spaniards, or the defects of their commercial arrangements, that they were ob­liged to receive from the hands of foreigners this production of their own colonies, at an exorbitant price. In order to remedy an evil no less disgrace­ful,by esta­blishing the company of Caraccas. than pernicious to his subjects, Philip V. in the [Page 420] year 1728, granted to a body of merchants, an exclusive right to the commerce with Garaccas and Cumana, on condition of their employing at their own expence, a sufficient number of armed vessels to clear the coast of interlopers. This so­ciety, distinguished sometimes by the name of the Company of Guipuscoa, from the province of Spain in which it is established, and sometimes by that of the Company of Caraccas, from the district of Ame­rica to which it trades, has carried on its operations with such vigour and success, that Spain has reco­vered an important branch of commerce, which she had suffered to be wrested from her, and is plenti­fully supplied with an article of extensive consump­tion at a moderate price. Not only the parent state, but the colony of Caraccas, has derived great advantages from this institution; for although, at the first aspect it may appear to be one of those monopolies, whose tendency is to check the spirit of industry instead of calling it forth to new exer­tions, it has been prevented from operating in this manner by several salutary regulations, framed upon foresight of such bad effects, and of purpose to obviate them. The planters in the Carraccas are not left to depend entirely on the company, either for the importation of European commodities, or the sale of their own productions. The inhabit­ants of the Canary islands have the privilege of sending thither annually a register ship of consider­able burden; and from Vera Cruz in New Spain, a free trade is permitted in every port compre­hended in the charter of the company. In conse­quence of this, there is such a competition, that both with respect to what the colonies purchase, and what they sell, the price seems to be fixed at its natural and equitable rate. The company has not the power of raising the former, or of degra­ding [Page 421] the latter at pleasure; and accordingly, since it was established, the increase of culture, of popu­lation, and of live stock, in the province of Carac­cas, has been very considerable^*.

BUT as it is slowly that nations relinquish any system which time has rendered venerable,Enlarge­ment of commercial ideas in Spain. and as it is still more slowly that commerce can be diverted from the channel in which it has long been accus­stomed to flow; Philip V. in his new regulations concerning the American trade, paid such deference to the ancient maxim of Spain, concerning the li­mitation of all importation from the New World to one harbour, as to oblige both the register ships which returned from Peru, and those of the Gui­puscan Company from Caraccas, to deliver their cargoes in the port of Cadiz. Since his reign, sen­timents more liberal and enlarged begin to spread in Spain. The spirit of philosophical inquiry, which it is the glory of the present age to have turned from frivolous or abstruse speculations, to the business and affairs of men, has extended its influence beyond the Pyrenees. In the researches of ingenious authors, concerning the police or commerce of nations, the errors and defects of the Spanish system with respect to both met every eye, and have not only been exposed with severity, but are held up as a warning to other states. The Spa­niards, stung with the reproaches of these authors, or convinced by their arguments, and admonished by several enlightened writers of their own coun­try, seem at length to have discovered the destruc­tive tendency of those narrow maxims, which, by cramping commerce in all its operations, have so long retarded its progress. It is to the monarch now on the throne, that Spain is indebted for the first public regulation formed in consequence of such enlarged ideas.

[Page 422]WHILE Spain adhered with rigour to her an­cient maxims concerning her commerce with America,Establish­ment of re­gular pack­et boats. she was so much afraid of opening any channel, by which an illicit trade might find ad­mission into the colonies, that she almost shut her­self out from any intercourse with them, but that which was carried on by her annual fleets. There was no establishment for a regular communication of either public or private intelligence, between the mother-country and its American settlements. From the want of this necessary institution, the operations of the state, as well as the business of individuals, were retarded or conducted unskil­fully, and Spain often received from foreigners her first information with respect to very interesting events in her own colonies. But though this de­fect in police was sensibly felt, and the remedy for it was obvious, that jealous spirit with which the Spanish monarchs guarded the exclusive trade, restrained them from applying it. At length Charles III. surmounted those considerations which had deterred his predecessors, and in the year 1764 appointed packet-boats to be dispatched on the first day of each month, from Corugna to the Havanna of Porto-Rico. From thence letters are conveyed in smaller vessels to Vera Cruz and Porto-bello, and transmitted by post through the kingdoms of Tierra Firme, Granada, Peru, and New Spain. With no less regularity packet-boats sail once in two months to Rio de la Plata, for the accommodation of the provinces to the east of the Andes. Thus provision is made for a speedy and certain circulation of intelligence throughout the vast dominions of Spain, from which equal advan­tages must redound to the political and mercantile interest of the kingdom^*. With this new arrange­ment, [Page 423] a scheme of extending commerce has been more immediately connected. Each of the packet-boats, which are vessels of some considerable bur­den, is allowed to take in half a loading of such commodities as are the product of Spain, and most in demand in the ports whither they are bound. In return for these they may bring home to Co­rugna an equal quantity of American productions^*. This may be considered as the first relaxation of those rigid laws, which confined the trade with the New World to a single port, and the first attempt to admit the rest of the kingdom to some share in it.

IT was soon followed by one more decisive.Free trade permitted to several provinces. In the year 1765, Charles III. laid open the trade to the windward islands, Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto. Rico, Margarita, and Trinidad, to his subjects in every province of Spain. He permitted them to sail from certain ports in each province, which are specified in the edict, at any season, and with what­ever cargo they deemed most proper, without any other warrant than a simple clearance from the custom-house of the place whence they took their departure. He released them from the numerous and oppressive duties imposed on goods exported to America, and in place of the whole, substituted a moderate tax of six in the hundred on the com­modities sent from Spain. He allowed them to return either to the same port, or to any other where they might hope for a more advantageous market, and there to enter the homeward cargo, on payment of the usual duties. This ample pri­vilege, which at once broke through all the fences which the jealous policy of Spain had been labour­ing, for two centuries and a half, to throw round [Page 424] its commercial intercourse with the New World, was soon after extended to Louisiana, and to the provinces of Yucatan and Campeachy^*.

Beneficial effects of it.THE propriety of this innovation, which may be considered as the most liberal effort of Spanish le­gislation, has appeared from its effects. Prior to the edict in favour of the free trade, Spain derived hardly any benefit from its neglected colonies in Hispaniola, Porto-Rico, Margarita, and Trinidad. Its commerce with Cuba was inconsiderable, and that of Yucatan and Campeachy was ingrossed al­most entirely by interlopers. But as soon as a ge­neral liberty of trade was permitted, the inter­course with those provinces revived, and has gone on with a rapidity of progression, of which there are few examples in the history of nations. In less than ten years, the trade of Cuba has been more than tripled. Even in those settlements where, from the languishing state of industry, greater ef­forts were requisite to restore its activity, their commerce has been doubled. It is computed, that such a number of ships is already employed in the free trade, that the tonnage of them far exceeds that of the Galeons and Flota, at the most flourish­ing aera of their commerce. The benefits of this arrangement are not confined to a few merchants, established in a favourite port. They are diffused through every province of the kingdom; and by opening a new market for their various produc­tions and manufactures, must encourage and add vivacity to the industry of the farmer and artificer. Nor does the kingdom profit only by what it ex­ports, it derives advantage likewise from what it receives in return, and has the prospect of being soon able to supply itself with several commodities [Page 425] of extensive consumption, for which it formerly depended on foreigners. The consumption of sugar in Spain is perhaps as great in proportion to the number of its inhabitants, as that of any European kingdom. But though possessed of countries in the New World, whose soil and climate are most proper for rearing the sugar cane; though the domestic culture of that valuable plant in the king­dom of Granada was once considerable; such has been the fatal tendency of ill judged institutions in America, and such the pressure of improper taxes in Europe, that Spain has lost almost entirely this branch of industry, which has enriched other na­tions. This commodity, which has now become an article of primary necessity in Europe, the Spa­niards were obliged to purchase of foreigners, and had the mortification to see their country drained annually of great sums on that account^*. But if that spirit, which the permission of free trade has put in motion, shall persevere in its efforts with the same vigour, the cultivation of sugar in Cuba and Porto-Rico may increase so much, that in a few years, it is probable, that their growth of sugars may be equal to the demand of the king­dom.

SPAIN has been induced,Free trade permitted between the colonies. by her experience of the beneficial consequences resulting from having relaxed somewhat of the rigour of her ancient laws with respect to the commerce of the mother-coun­try with the colonies, to permit a more liberal in­tercourse of one colony with another. By one of the jealous maxims of the old system, all the pro­vinces situated on the South Seas were prohibited, under the most severe penalties, from holding any communication with one another. Though each [Page 426] of these yield peculiar productions, the reciprocal exchange of which might have added to the happi­ness of their respective inhabitants, or have facili­tated their progress in industry, so solicitous was the council of the Indies to prevent their receiving any supply of their wants, but by the periodical fleets from Europe, that in order to guard against this, it cruelly debarred the Spaniards in Peru, in the southern provinces of New Spain, in Guatimala and the New Kingdom of Granada, from such a correspondence with their fellow-subjects, as tended manifestly to their mutual prosperity. Of all the numerous restrictions devised by Spain for securing the exclusive trade with her American settlements, none perhaps was more illiberal, none seems to have been more sensibly felt, or to have produced more hurtful effects. This grievance, coeval [...]th the settlements of Spain in the countries situated on the Pacific Ocean, is at last redressed. In the year 1774, Charles III. published an edict, granting to the four great provinces which I have mentioned, the privilege of a free trade with each other^*. What may be the effects of opening this communication between countries destined by their situation for reciprocal intercourse, cannot yet be determined by experience. They can hardly fail of being be­neficial and extensive. The motives for granting this permission are manifestly no less laudable, than the principle on which it is founded is liberal; and both discover the progress of a spirit in Spain, far elevated above the narrow prejudices and maxims on which her system for regulating the trade, and conducting the government of her colonies, was originally founded.

AT the same time that Spain has been intent on [Page 427] introducing regulations, suggested by more enlarged views of policy, into her system of American commerce, she has not been inattentive to the interior government of her colonies.New regu­lation con­cerning the [...] of the co­lonies. Here too there was much room for reformation and im­provement, and Don Joseph Galvez, who has now the direction of the department for Indian affairs in Spain, has enjoyed the best opportunities, not only of observing the defects and corruption in the political frame or the colonies, but of discovering the sources of those evils. After being employed seven years in the New World on an extraordinary mission, and with very extensive powers, as in­spector-general of New Spain; after visiting in person the remote provinces of Cinaloa, Sonora, and California, and making several important al­terations in the state of the police and revenue; he began his ministry with a general reformation of the tribunals of justice in America.Reforma­tion of the [...] of justice. In conse­quence of the progress of population and wealth in the colonies, the business of the Courts of Au­dience has increased so much, that the number of judges of which they were originally composed, has been found inadequate to the growing labours and duties of the office, and the salaries settled upon them have been deemed inferior to the dignity of the station. As a remedy for both, he obtained a royal edict, establishing an additional number of judges in each court of audience, with higher titles, and more ample appointments ^*.

TO the same intelligent minister Spain is in­debted for a new distribution of government in its American provinces.New distri­bution of govern­ment. Even since the establishment of a third viceroyalty in the New kingdom of Granada, so great is the extent of the Spanish do­minions in the New World, that several places [Page 428] subject to the jurisdiction of each viceroy, were at such an enormous distance from the capitals in which they resided, that neither their attention, nor their authority, could reach so far. Some pro­vinces subordinate to the viceroy of New Spain, lay above two thousand miles from Mexico. There were countries subject to the viceroy of Peru still farther from Lima. The people in those remote districts could hardly be said to enjoy the benefit of civil government. The oppression and insolence of its inferior ministers they often feel, and rather submit to these in silence, than involve themselves in the expence and trouble of resorting to the dis­tant capitals, where alone they can find redress. As a remedy for this,New vice­royalty. Aug. 1776, on Rio de la Plata. a fourth viceroyalty has been erected, to the jurisdiction of which are subjected the provinces of Rio de la Plata, Buenos-Ayres, Paraguay, Tucuman, Potosi, St^a Cruz de la Sierra, Charcas, and the towns of Mendoza and St. Juan. By this well-judged arrangement, two advantages are gained. All the inconveniencies occasioned by the remote situation of those provinces, which had been long felt, and long complained of, are in a great measure, removed. The countries most distant from Lima are separated from the viceroy­alty of Peru, and united under a superior, whose seat of government at Buenos-Ayres, will be com­modious and accessible. The contraband trade with the Portuguese, which was become so exten­sive, as must have put a final stop to the exportation of commodities from Spain to her southern colonies, may be checked more thoroughly, and with greater facility, when the supreme magistrate, by his vi­cinity to the places in which it is carried on, can view its progress and effects with his own eyes. Don Pedro Zevallos, who has been raised to this new dignity, with appointments equal to those of [Page 429] the other viceroys, is well acquainted both with the state and the interest of the countries over which he is to preside, having served in them long, and with distinction. By this dismemberment, succeeding that which took place at the erection of the viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada, almost two-third parts of the territories, originally subject to the viceroys of Peru, are now lopped off from their jurisdiction.

THE limits of the viceroyalty of New Spain have likewise been [...]derably circumscribed,New go­ver [...] [...] of S [...]nora, &c. and with no less propriety and discernment. Four of its most remote provinces. Sonora, Cinaloa, Califor­nia, and New Navarro, have been formed into a separate government. The Chevalier de Croix, who is intrusted with this command, is not dignified with the title of viceroy, nor does he enjoy the appoint­ments belonging to that rank, but his jurisdiction is altogether independent on the viceroyalty of New Spain. The erection of this last government seems to have been suggested, not only by the considera­tion of the remote situation of those provinces from Mexico, but by attention to the late discoveries made there, which I have mentioned^*. Countries con­taining the richest mines of gold that have hitherto been discovered in the New World, and which pro­bably may arise into great importance, required the immediate inspection of a governor, to whom they should be specially committed. As every consider­ation of duty, of interest, and of vanity, must concur in prompting those new governors to encourage such exertions as tend to diffuse opulence and pro­sperity through the provinces committed to their charge, the beneficial effects of this arrangement may be considerable. Many districts in America, long depressed by the languor and feebleness natural to provinces which compose the extremities of an over­grown [Page 430] empire, may be animated with vigour and activity, when brought so near the seat of power as to feel its invigorating influence.

Attempts to reform domestic policy.SUCH, since the accession of the princes of the House of Bourbon, to the throne of Spain, has been the progress of their regulations, and the gradual expansion of their views with respect to the com­merce and government of their American colonies. Nor has their attention been so entirely engrossed by what related to the more remote parts of their dominions, as to render them neglectful of what was still more important, the reformation of domestic errors and defects in policy. Fully sensible of the causes to which the declension of Spain, from her former prosperity, ought to be imputed, they have made it a great object of their policy, to revive a spirit of industry among their subjects, and to give such extent and perfection to their manufactures, as may enable them to supply the demands of America from their own stock, and to exclude fo­reigners from a branch of commerce which has been so fatal to the kingdom. This they have endea­voured to accomplish, by a variety of edicts issued since the peace of Utrecht. They have granted bounties for the encouragement of some branches of industry; they have lowered the taxes on others; they have either entirely prohibited, or have loaded with additional duties, such foreign manufactures as come in competition with their own; they have instituted societies for the improvement of trade and agriculture; they have planted colonies of hus­bandmen in some uncultivated districts of Spain, and divided among them the waste fields; they have had recourse to every expedient, devised by com­mercial wisdom, or commercial jealousy, for reviv­ing their own industry, and discountenancing that of other nations. These, however, it is not my [Page 431] province to explain, or to enquire into their pro­priety and effects. There is no effort of legislation more arduous, no experiment in policy more un­certain, than an attempt to revive the spirit of in­dustry where it has declined, or to introduce it where it is unknown. Nations already possessed of extensive commerce, enter into competition with such advantages, derived from the large capitals and extensive credit of their merchants, the dexte­rity of their manufactures, the alertness acquired by habit in every department of business, that the state which aims at rivalling, or supplanting them, must expect to struggle with many difficulties, and be content to advance slowly. If the quantity of productive industry, now in Spain, be compared with that of the kingdom under the last listless mo­narchs of the Austrian line, its progress must ap­pear considerable, and is sufficient to alarm the jea­lousy, and to call forth the most vigorous efforts, of the nations now in possession of the lucrative trade which the Spaniards aim at wresting from them. One circumstance may render those exertions of Spain an object of more serious attention to the other European powers. They are not to be ascribed wholly to the influence of the crown and its mini­sters. The sentiments and spirit of the people seem to second the provident care of their monarchs, and to give it greater effect. The nation has adopted more liberal ideas, not only with respect to commerce, but domestic policy. In all the later Spanish writers, defects in the arrangements of their country concerning both are acknowledged, and remedies proposed, which ignorance rendered their ancestors incapable of discerning, and pride would not have allowed them to confess^*. But after all that the Spaniards have done, much remains to do. [Page 432] Many pernicious institutions and abuses, deeply in­corporated with the system of internal policy and taxation, which has been long established in Spain must be abolished, before industry and manufactures can recover an extensive activity.

Contraband trade.STILL, however the commercial regulations of Spain with respect to her colonies are too rigid and systematical to be carried into complete exe­cution. The legislature that loads trade with im­positions too heavy, or fetters it by restrictions too severe, defeats its own intention; and is only mul­tiplying the inducements to violate its statutes, and proposing an high premium to encourage illicit traffic. The Spaniards, both in Europe and Ame­rica, being circumscribed in their mutual intercourse by the jealousy of the crown, or oppressed by its exactions, have their invention continually on the stretch how to elude its edicts. The vigilance and ingenuity of private interest discover means of effecting this, which public wisdom cannot foresee, nor public authority prevent. This spirit counter-acting that of the laws, pervades the commerce of Spain with America in all its branches; and from the highest departments in government, descends to the lowest. The very officers appointed to check contraband trade are often employed a [...] instruments in carrying it on; and the boards instituted to re­strain and punish it, are the channels through which it flows. The king is supposed, by the most in­telligent Spanish writers, to be defrauded, by vari­ous artifices, of more than one half of the revenue which he ought to receive from America^*; and as long as it is the interest of so many persons to screen those artifices from detection, the knowledge of them will never reach the throne. ‘How many ordinances, says Corita, how many instructions, [Page 433] how many letters from our sovereign, are sent in order to correct abuses, and how little are they ob­served, and what small advantages is derived from them! To me the old observation appears just, that where there are many physicians, and many medicines, there is a want of health; where there are many laws, and many judges, there is want of justice. We have viceroys, pre [...]ents, go­vernors, oydors, corrigidors, alcaldes, and thou­sands of alguazils abound every where; but not­withstanding all these, public abuses continue to multiply^*.’ Time has increased the evils which he lamented as early as the reign of Philip II. A spirit of corruption has infected all the colonies of Spain in America. Men far removed from the seat of government; impatient to acquire wealth, that they may return speedily from what they are apt to consider as a state of exile in a remote un­healthful country; allured by opportunities too tempting to be resisted, and seduced by the ex­ample of those around them; find their sentiments of honour and of duty gradually relax. In private life, they give themselves up to a dissolute luxury, while in their public conduct they become unmind­ful of what they owe to their sovereign and to their country.

BEFORE I close this account of the Spanish trade in America, there remains one detached,Trade be­tween New Spain and the Philip­pines. but im­portant branch of it, to be mentioned. Soon after his accession to the throne, Philip II. formed a scheme of planting a colony in the Philippine islands, which had been neglected since the time of their discovery; and he accomplished it by means of an armament fitted out from New Spain^†. Manila,1564. [Page 434] in the island of Luconia, was the station chosen for the capital of this new establishment. From it an active commercial intercourse began with the Chi­nese, and a considerable number of that industrious people, allured by the prospect of gain, settled in the Philippine islands under the Spanish protection. They supplied the colony so amply with all the valuable productions and manufactures of the East, as enabled it to open a trade with America, by a course of navigation, the longest from land to land on our globe. In the infancy of this trade, it was carried on with Callao, on the coast of Peru; but experience having discovered the impropriety of fixing upon that as the port of communication with Manila, the staple of the commerce between the east and west was removed from Callao to Acapul­co, on the coast of New Spain.

AFTER various arrangements, it has been brought into a regular form. One or two ships depart an­nually from Acapulco, which are permitted to carry out silver to the amount of five hundred thousand pesos^*, but they have hardly any thing else of value on board; in return for which, they bring back spices, drugs, china, and japan wares, callicoes, chintz, mu [...]lins, silks, and every precious article, with which the benignity of the climate, or the in­genuity of its people, has enabled the East to supply [...] rest of the world. For some time the mer­chants of Peru were admitted to participate in this traine, and might send annually a ship to Acapulco. to wait the arrival of the vessels from Manila, and receive a proportional share of the commodities which they imported. At length, the Peruvians were excluded from this trade by most rigorous [Page 435] edicts, and all the commodities from the East re­served solely for the consumption of New Spain.

IN consequence of this indulgence, the inhabitants of that country enjoy advantages unknown in the other Spanish colonies. The manufactures of the East are not only more suited to a warm climate, and more showy than those of Europe, but can be sold at a lower price; while, at the same time, the profits upon them are so considerable, as to enrich all those who are employed, either in bringing them from Manila, or vending them in New Spain. As the interest both of the buyer and seller concurred in favouring this branch of commerce, it has continu­ed to extend in spite of regulations, concerted with the most anxious jealousy to circumscribe it. Un­der cover of what the laws permit to be imported, great quantities of India goods are poured into the markets of New Spain^*, and when the slota arrives at Vera Cruz from Europe, it often finds the wants of the people already supplied by cheaper and more acceptable commodities.

THERE is not, in the commercial arrangements of Spain, any circumstance more inexplicable than the permission of this trade between New Spain and the Philippines, or more repugnant to its fun­damental maxim of holding the colonies in perpe­tual dependence on the mother-country, by pro­hibiting any commercial intercourse that might suggest to them the idea of receiving a supply of their wants from any other quarter. This permis­sion must appear still more extraordinary, from considering that Spain herself carries on no direct trade with her settlements in the Philippines, and grants a privilege to one of her American colonies, which she denies to her subjects in Europe. It is [Page 436] probable, that the colonists who originally took possession of the Philippines, having been sent out from New Spain, began this intercourse with a country which they considered, in some measure, as their parent state, before the court of Madrid was aware of its consequences, or could establish regulations in order to prevent it. Many remon­strances have been presented against this trade, as detrimental to Spain, by diverting into another channel a large portion of that treasure which ought to flow into the kingdom, as tending to give rise to a spirit of independence in the colonies, and to encourage innumerable frauds, against which it is impossible to guard, in transactions so far re­moved from the inspection of government. But as it requires no slight effort of political wisdom and vigour to abolish any practice which numbers are interested in supporting, and to which time has added the sanction of its authority, the commerce between New Spain and Manila seems to be as con­siderable as ever, and may be considered as one chief cause of the elegance and splendor conspicu­ous in this part of the Spanish dominions.

BUT notwithstanding this general corruption in the colonies of Spain,P [...]olic re­venue from America. and the diminution of the income belonging to the public, occasioned by the illicit importations made by foreigners, as well as by the various frauds of which the colonists them­selves are guilty in their commerce with the parent state, the Spanish monarchs receive a very consi­derable revenue from their American dominions. This arises from taxes of various kinds, which may be divided into three capital branches. The first contains what is paid to the king, as sove­reign, or superior lord of the New World: to this class belongs the duty on the gold and silver raised [Page 437] from the mines, and the tribute exacted from the Indians; the former is termed by the Spaniards the right of signiory, the latter is the duty of vasulage. The second branch comprehends the numerous du­ties upon commerce, which accompany and oppress it in every step of its progress, from the greatest transactions of the wholesale merchant, to the petty traffic of the vendor by retail. The third includes what accrues to the king, as head of the church, and administrator of ecclesiastical funds in the New World. In consequence of this he receives the first fruits, annates, spoils, and other spiritual revenues, levied by the apostolic chamber in Europe; and is entitled, likewise, to the profit arising from the sale of the bull of Cruzado. This bull, which is pub­lished every two years, contains, an absolution from past offences by the pope, and, among other immu­nities, a permission to eat several kinds of prohibited food, during Lent, and on m [...]gre days. The monks employed in dispersing those bulls, extol their vir­tues with all the fervour of interested eloquence; the people, ignorant and credulous, listen with im­plicit assent; and every person in the Spanish colo­nies, of European, Cre [...]lian, or mixed race, pur­chases a bull, which is deemed essential to his sal­vation, at the rate set upon it by government^*.

WHAT may be the amount of those various funds,Its amount. it is almost impossible to determine with preci­sion. The extent of the Spanish dominions in America, the jealousy of government, which ren­ders them inaccessible to foreigners, the mysterious silence which the Spaniards are accustomed to ob­serve with respect to the interior state of their colo­nies, combine in covering this subject with a veil, which it is not easy to remove. But an ac­count, [Page 438] apparently no less accurate than it is cu­rious, has lately been published of the royal re­venue in New Spain, from which we may form some idea with respect to what is collected in the other provinces. According to that account, the crown does not receive from all the departments of taxation in New Spain above a million of our money, from which one half must be deducted as the expence of the provincial establishment^*. Peru, it is probable, yields a sum not inferior to this; and if we suppose that all the other regions of America, including the islands, furnish a third share of equal value, we shall not perhaps be far wide from the truth, if we conclude, that the net public revenue of Spain, raised in America, does not exceed a million and a half sterling. This falls far short of the immense sums to which sup­positions, founded upon conjecture, have raised the Spanish revenue in America^†. It is remark­able, however, upon one account. Spain and Por­tugal are the only European powers, who derive a direct revenue from their colonies. All the ad­vantage that accrues to other nations, from their American dominions, arises from the exclusive en­joyment of their trade; but beside this, Spain has brought her colonies to contribute towards in­creasing the power of the state; and in return for protection, to bear a proportional share of the com­mon burden.

ACCORDINGLY, the sum which I have computed to be the amount, of the Spanish revenue from America, arises wholly from the taxes collected there, and is far from being the whole of what accrues to the king from his dominions in the New World. The heavy duties imposed on the commo­dities [Page 439] exported from Spain to America^*, as well as what is paid by those which she sends home in re­turn; the tax upon the negro-slaves, with which Africa supplies the New World, together with se­veral smaller branches of finance, bring large sums into the treasury, the precise extent of which I can­not pretend to ascertain.

BUT if the revenue which Spain draws from America be great, [...] of [...] the expence of administration in her colonies bears proportion to it. In every department, even of her domestic police and finances, Spain has adopted a system more com­plex, and more encumbered with a variety of tri­bunals, and a multitude of officers, than that of any European nation, in which the sovereign pos­sesses such extensive power. From the jealous spirit with which Spain watches over her American settle­ments, and her endeavours to guard against fraud in provinces so remote from inspection; boards and officers have been multiplied there with still more anxious attention. In a country where the expence of living is great, the salaries allotted to every person in public office must be high, and must load the revenue with an immense burden. The parade of government greatly augments the weight of it. The viceroys of Mexico, Peru, and the New Kingdom of Granada, as representatives of the king's person, among people fond of often­tation, maintain all the state and dignity of royalty. Their courts are formed upon the model of that at Madrid, with horse and foot guards, a house­hold regularly established numerous attendants, and ensigns of power, displaying such pomp, as hardly retains the appearance of a delegated autho­rity. All the expence incurred by supporting the [Page 440] external and permanent order of government is defrayed by the crown. The viceroys have besides peculiar appointments suited to their exalted sta­tion. The salaries fixed by law are indeed ex­tremely moderate; that of the viceroy of Peru is only thirty thousand ducats; and that of the vice­roy of Mexico, twenty thousand ducats^*. Of late they have been raised to forty thousand.

THESE salaries, however, constitute but a small part of the revenue enjoyed by the viceroys. The exercise of an absolute authority extending to every department or government, and the power of dis­posing of many lucrative offices, afford them many opportunities of accumulating wealth. To these, which may be considered as legal and allowed emoluments, large sums are often added by ex­actions, which in countries so far removed from the seat of government, it is not easy to discover, and impossible to restrain. By monopolizing some branches of commerce, by a lucrative concern in others, by conniving at the frauds of merchants, a viceroy may raise such an annual revenue, as no subject of any European monarch enjoys^†. From the single article of presents made to him on the anniversary of his Name-day (which is always ob­served as an high festival), I am informed that a viceroy has been known to receive sixty thousand pesos. According to a Spanish saving, the legal revenues of a viceroy are known, his real profits depend upon his opportunities and his conscience. Sensible of this, the kings of Spain, as I have formerly observed, grant a commission to their viceroys only for a few years. This circumstance, however, renders them often more rapacious, and [Page 441] adds to the ingenuity and ardour wherewith they labour to improve every moment of power which they know is hastening fast to a period; and short as its duration is, it usually affords sufficient time for repairing a shattered fortune, or for creating a new one. But even in situations so trying to hu­man frailty, there are instances of virtue that re­mains unseduced. In the year 1772, the Marquis de Croix finished the term of his viceroyalty in New Spain with unsuspected integrity; and in­stead of bringing home exorbitant wealth, returned with the admiration and applause of a grateful people, whom his government had [...]endered happy.